It may not be officially released yet, but I have already downloaded and installed the iPhone 2.0 firmware. This enables a bunch of new features, most notably support for the iTunes App Store. They have also included the ability to take screenshots of the iPhone display (hold Home button and press Sleep button on the top of the phone). I’ve already installed a couple programs including the AIM client, Exposure (Flickr client), Super Monkey Ball, Remote (remote control iTunes + AppleTV), and WeatherBug. So far, I’m liking the upgrade! =)

After hearing about geotagging on a recent Macbreak Weekly podcast, I thought it would be a great idea to geotag photos from the various trips that I go on throughout the year, especially when I'm snowboarding. While I love taking pictures on the slopes, I often find it difficult to remember exactly where a picture was shot so that I can accurately tag and describe it on my flickr account. Using a third party piece of software called HoudahGeo and a hardware GPS data logger (I chose the AMOD AGL3080 after reading several very positive reviews), I can now embed geographic coordinates into all of my pictures. Even better, this data can be loaded into Google Earth, allowing me to see exactly where I was when I took each photograph. In order to test to see just how well it worked, I took the data logger and my camera with me while I went on a hike through the Oak Openings Preserve out near Cheryl's house. Below is the route we took, as captured by the data logger.

All in all, I'm very impressed with this device and just how easily I was able to sync and write the data to my photos. You can take a look at the photos I took along the way in my latest flickr set (Sand Dunes & Picnic), and expect to see more geotagged photos in the near future!

EDIT: You can also view the photos I took along the way via a map interface from my flickr account... too cool! =)

With the official release of HandBrake .9.2, I decided it would be a good time to post my preset that allows me to encode a DVD to a video format that maintains high audio and video quality while maintaining compatibility with both the AppleTV and iPhone. Below is a copy of what I posted to the HandBrake forums earlier tonight. I've been helping out the project for a little over a year now, and have seen it grow tremendously. I can only imagine what they'll come up with for the next release.

Here is the preset I have been using to generate encodes that are compatible with both the AppleTV and the iPhone, while taking advantage of the new features in .9.2 (including AAC+AC3, improved anamorphic support, and VFR to name a few). Using these settings, I have yet to come across an encode that did not work on both devices.

It should be noted that this uses CRF, which means you cannot accurately predict what the output file size is going to be. This has resulted in some files that seem quite large in comparison to the 8GB of space on my iPhone, but have so far been below 2.5GB. I need Steve to announce a 32GB 3G iPhone in the very near future!

CLI Equivalent (untested): -U -F -m -e x264 -q .63 -8 weak -p -E aac+ac3 -B 160 -R 48 -D 1.51 -v -x cabac=0:ref=2:analyse=all:me=umh:subq=6:no-fast-pskip=1:trellis=1:mixed-refs=1:merange=32:level=30

GUI settings -

Format: MP4 File
Codec: AVC/H.264 Video/AAC + AC3 Audio
Insert iPod Atom: Checked (not really necessary)

Video -
Encoder: x264
Constant Quality: 63% (will bump up to 64-65% for select titles) <-- ensure CRF is still checked in preferences

Picture Settings -
Anamorphic: Strict (can use loose if you want)
Crop: Automatic
VFR: Enabled (thank you jbrjake... I have finally encoded Futurama to my liking after numerous attempts before!)
Denoise: Weak (usually set, but this is really a personal preference)

Audio + Subtitles -
Track 1: English AC3 5.1 (Track 1 Mix: DPL2 + AC3)
Bitrate: 160kbps (only affects AAC)
Sample Rate: 48khz
Dynamic Range Compression: 1.51 (only affects AAC, and is really a personal preference)
Subtitles: Autoselect (Forced Subtitles Only - Checked)

Chapters: Enabled

Advanced: cabac=0:ref=2:analyse=all:me=umh:subq=6:no-fast-pskip=1:trellis=1:mixed-refs=1:merange=32:level=30

For older television shows, I've stuck with using pretty much the same settings as above, except using an average bitrate of 1750kbps (Quicktime reports ~1500kbps final bitrate) and AAC audio only.

From Mac Rumors:

The Financial Times reports that Apple has signed on the 20th Century Fox studio to a new online video-on-demand service "that could change the way people pay for online film content." The new service is set to launch at Macworld Expo, which kicks off on January 15th with Steve Jobs' keynote speech. The service will allow consumers to rent the latest Fox DVD releases by downloading a copy from iTunes for a limited time.

Rumors of Apple adopting a rental-model for movies have been circulating since last year. While no pricing information is provided with today's rumor, the Financial Times claimed in June that Apple was negotiating a rental service for $2.99/film for a 30-day rental. Pricing details, however, may have changed since negotiations first began.

Meanwhile, a digitally protected version of a film is also expected be included with DVD releases, allowing users to copy the movie easily to their iPods and iPhones, without resorting to "ripping" or otherwise converting the DVD to another format. This digital version would employ the same FairPlay copy-protection system used by Apple on their iTunes store purchases, though the details of the restrictions are unknown at this time. This move would help cement Apple's iPod and iPhone as the standard devices for mobile video content.

While there has been a lot of rumors floating around of a possible iTunes-rental service coming soon, this is probably the most concrete information I've seen posted on the Internet to date. I just hope that any update Apple makes to the iTunes Store is reflected in an update to the increasingly-insignificant AppleTV (which I still love by the way).

Not even twenty-four hours after my previous post, Apple officially announced that OSX 10.5 Leopard will be available in stores starting at 6:00pm on Friday, October 26th. As luck would have it, I had already planned to take the day off to relax after traveling to Philadelphia, so it looks like I'll be heading up to the Ann Arbor Apple Store in order to stand with the Apple faithful and pickup my own copy. I'm hoping that they give out free t-shirts, but I think the experience of attending a release event at an actual Apple Store will be worth the trip. I might also take the opportunity to visit the Corner Brewery in Ypsilanti...

For more information on Leopard itself, you can visit Apple's website; they have compiled a list of 300 new features available in the new OS. I'll be sure to post pictures from the event when I return home (after I upgrade my Macs of course).

Well, they did it. I didn't expect them to, or even care if they did, but Apple announced earlier today through a message from Jobs himself that early iPhone adopters will receive a $100 credit to the Apple Store. Don't get me wrong, I'll gladly take the $100 credit and buy a copy of OSX 10.5 Leopard or a new keyboard, or even a $100 gift card for iTunes, but it was completely unnecessary and surprising. It's the price you pay when you want to be an early adopter, and I hope this doesn't come back to bite Apple in the future when they want to do something similar with another line. But thanks Steve, you've further cemented my position as a genuine Apple fanboy.

9inchnails.com has finally posted their Year Zero fan remix CD entitled The Limitless Potential for download. This two CD set contains 21 tracks selected from over 200 submitted remixes and features some pretty interesting tracks. Much credit must be given to Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails who released the original songs in GarageBand format that allowed them to be easily remixed by these fans. If you want to check it out, visit http://www.9inchnails.com/remixes/.

Apple hosted one of its press events earlier today and introduced a completely revamped iPod line, including the phone-less iPod Touch, as well as a significant price reduction on the iPhone itself. While I am a little upset that I paid $200 more than the current price approximately 70 days ago, I'm still very satisfied with my purchase as it is simply the best phone I have owned... ever. Besides having no coverage between Findlay and Kenton on my way home, AT&T has worked out very well for me, with just as good of coverage as I recall using Verizon. That might change when I travel to Utah in January, but I'll have my Verizon company phone on me just in case anyways. The most interesting announcement was the introduction of the Wi-Fi iTunes Music Store, which will find its way to the iPhone later this month. While I'm sure I'll make a lot of use out of this feature, I do wish you could browse videos as well. I also have to wonder if they plan on extending this functionality to the AppleTV anytime soon. Now if they could only work things out with NBC...

Apple announced today that, due to NBC Universal's demand that they pay more than double the wholesale cost for NBC content on the iTunes Store (effectively raising the price to $4.99), Apple will not be selling any of their new shows from the upcoming season. All I have to say is good job NBC; I was all set to order season passes for Battlestar Galactica, Heroes, My Name Is Earl, and The Office, but now I don't have to. I'm not going to mess around with other services (whatever you come up with won't likely work with Macs/iPods anyways), so I guess I'll have to find other ways to get the content I want for my AppleTV and iPhone. Smart move NBC, I'm sure I am not the only one...

HandBrake is an open-source and multiplatform DVD (and now other MPEG2 sources) to MPEG4 converter that I've been using to encode my DVDs into the high-quality H.264 format for playback on my AppleTV and iPhone (using a modified version of the iPod high-quality preset). I've been helping the development team test and troubleshoot issues and new features for awhile now, and have been very impressed with the new features they have been able to implement on an almost daily basis. If you're looking for an easy-to-use yet extremely powerful encoding tool, look no further than HandBrake. Below is a list of just a few of the more than 300 fixes/improvments in this latest release.

• 
  
• New interface for the Mac client; complete rewrite of the Windows frontend in C#
  
• Better image scaling, deinterlacing, image filters (denoise, deblocking, inverse telecine)
  
• Speed improvements thanks to updated x264 and ffmpeg libraries
  
• Support for DTS audio sources
  
• Limited support for .vob and .ts files as sources
  
• Matroska file container (MKV) support
  
• Initial support to send finished encodes to MetaX for tagging
  

Here's some great "insight" into what the designers were thinking when they introduced Microsoft Paint to the masses; it's well worth the three minutes or so to watch. Thanks to Fake Steve Jobs for posting it to his blog!

Some sad news this week, Apple has officially announced that its productivity package AppleWorks has reached the end of its life and has been officially discontinued. The suite of applications has been around since the Apple II days, and I can personally attest to spending many hours using it at the YMCA camp my mom works at before they switched over to PCs. This was back in the days when I hated Apple products and I took every opportunity to voice my displeasure. They sure thought it was funny when I brought my Macbook Pro in last year.

In its place, Apple has positioned iWork '08; a bundle of applications including Pages (word processing/page layout), Keynote (presentations), and now Numbers (spreadsheets). All of the programs feature compatibility with all popular formats including those used by Microsoft Office. I purchased but rarely used iWork '07 when I received my Macbook Pro; it just didn't seem like Apple had fully developed the user interface and features for someone wanting an alternative coming from a Microsoft environment. In its defense, Keynote produced amazing quality presentations, but Pages was clearly designed with page layout in mind rather than standard word processing. This has been corrected with the introduction of a word processing mode and I've found it much more enjoyable to use than Office 2004. Numbers also sports a refreshing interface for spreadsheet manipulation. Neither claim to include every feature found in Word and Excel, but for the typical user these applications are great alternatives, especially at the price ($79.99 from Apple). I'm currently using the 30-day demo, but see no reason why I won't run up to the Ann Arbor Apple Store to pickup my copy sometime in the next month.

My prayers have been answered... sort of. Apple is opening an Apple Store this weekend, but it's not in Toledo... it's in Ann Arbor. The store will be opening this Saturday at 10:00am in the Briarwood Mall on the south side of the city. It will be located in-between The Limited and D.O.C. Optical. Now here's a conundrum: do I go up there for the grand opening, or do I wait at my apartment for the last Harry Potter book to arrive from Amazon?

I'm finding myself doing things a little differently since I bought my iPhone, and I thought it might be a good idea to write up a little bit about my experiences in case they might help someone else who buys an iPhone. So, without further delay, here is the first one (of possibly many).

Since buying my Macbook Pro and switching last January, I've been using a neat technology called RSS (really simple syndication) to keep tabs on a number of websites. These RSS feeds allow you to quickly keep up with the latest news and updates by presenting either a summary or a copy of the entire posting that a user can subscribe to. With the help of a RSS reader, users can aggregate a number of these feeds and receive all their information at once instead of manually visiting each website. While Safari has some basic RSS functionality built-in, I quickly purchased NetNewsWire as it was highly regarded as one of the best RSS readers for the Mac platform that offered functionality to sync stories between multiple computers. This was important to me as I have two Macs; my laptop and an iMac desktop. I didn't want to have to either reread old stories or manually mark them as read. NetNewsWire took care of all of this for me, and I was happy for it.

However, with my purchase of the iPhone, I was facing a dilemma; how could I extend this functionality to this device since a) Apple failed to include a RSS reader, and b) third-party applications are very limited as to what they can do on the iPhone? Enter Google Reader. The developers at Google have built a powerful RSS reader using the latest in web technologies, making it very easy to import a copy of all of your feeds and keep multiple systems up-to-date and in-sync with each other. Coupled with a custom interface specifically tailored to the iPhone, this is a pretty slick solution that I'm sure will only get better as Apple and Google continue to work together. This application works remarkably well when connected via Wi-Fi or even AT&T's EDGE network as the amount of data transmitted is much less than actually visiting each website. And, my feeds are instantly available from any laptop or desktop with an available Internet connection in just a few seconds.

Even though I've paid for the NetNewsWire software, I think this is going to be my solution from now on.

Well, I've been an iPhone owner for almost a week now and I must say that my overall experience has been very good. Except for some activation issues (took about 12 hours to activate, and another 2 days to complete the port of my phone number), I've enjoyed using the iPhone so far. My biggest concern going into the purchase was the speed of the EDGE network that the phone uses for its data capabilities (internet/email), but the recent updates done by AT&T seem to have minimized this issue. As long as the phone has a decent signal (which it has pretty much everywhere I've gone), the download speeds have been better than expected. After the connection is made, websites and email are quickly received and available to use. Navigation is amazingly simple and the virtual keyboard is no where near as bad as the media was making it out to be. I was able to type with two fingers within 24 hours of using the device; the key is to ignore your errors (unless they are in some proper names) and let the software recognize the error and make the appropriate corrections. Once you finally accept this, you can type fairly quickly on the screen. The camera is also fairly decent if not overly simplistic; I've created a seperate page for all of the pictures I've taken using it here. While I don't think I'll take it on the slopes with me (thanks to a SIM card, I can buy a cheapo phone to use), the screen and casing is of a high quality and hasn't scratched yet. All in all, this is the perfect device for those times when you want to stay connected to the world, but you don't want to lug around a laptop.

My only major complaint is that the iPhone is not 100% compatible with my Belkin Auto Kit car charger. This adapter features not only charging capabilities, but a line-out that I use to connect my iPod to the stereo in my Honda Civic. While the charging functionality seems to work, I have been unable to get the line-out to work properly. I'm hoping that there can be a software fix for this, but I'll probably end up buying a new cable once the "Made for iPhone" hardware starts to hit the stores. I can't say that I blame Apple (or Belkin) for this product not working; there are a number of interference issues that need to be addressed so that the phone can continue to function. My iHome Audio alarm clock works, but I do get some static through the speakers whenever the unit connects to the GSM network, which it does periodically.

All in all, the experience of camping out and waiting for the phone to be released was pretty cool and I'm glad that I did it. While I ended up sitting outside for almost 10 hours, I did end meet a lot of great people (and Apple fanatics) who made the time go by fairly quickly. I had worried that people would be fanatical about stepping out of line for a couple minutes to use the bathroom or simply stretch, but everyone watched each others spots so we could wonder around. I would have liked to have gone to an Apple Store, but since the closest one is well over an hour away, I'm glad I decided to go to the Maumee AT&T store. Maybe Apple will decide to open a store at the new Fallen Timbers outdoor mall in time for the OSX 10.5 Leopard release. =)

Last night, Cheryl and I went to see Pixar's new movie Ratatouille at the National Amusements theater in Maumee. In typical Pixar fashion, they have created an animated movie that appeals not only to kids, but has enough references and jokes aimed at adults to make it an enjoyable experience. We'll be making the trek back down to Bellefontaine this weekend to see the Indian Lake fireworks and spend some time with the family. Should be an interesting experience as always...

I don't even have an iPhone in my hand yet, and I've already ordered my first accessory for it. While all of the cases from Qase are beautiful compared to some of the others I've seen online, the SWiFT (pictured above) fits exactly what I am looking for: a nice simple design, protection for the screen (not a huge concern thanks to it being made of glass) and casing (the bigger concern), and it's available in both black and brown leather (you don't know how hard it is to find brown leather cases). They cost $34.95 and quickly ship from Virginia; mine will be here just in time to meet my shiny new iPhone.

I'll be sure to post my initial thoughts on the phone sometime later this weekend; I'm going to a wedding on Saturday, so I'll have plenty of time to play around with it there. =)

From Macrumors:

Apple has released details of the service plans that will be available for the iPhone. Three special monthly plans are available:

- $59.99 for 450 minutes talktime
- $79.99 for 900 minutes talktime
- $99.99 for 1,350 minutes talktime

All three plans include unlimited data (email & web), Visual Voicemail, 200 SMS text messages, roll over minutes and unlimited mobile to mobile. Plans have a $36 one-time activation fee and have two year contracts.

In addition, any standard AT&T service plan may be chosen.

iPhone goes on sale at 6:00 pm local time on Friday. Apple Stores will be closing at 2:00 pm on Friday in preparation.

This seals the deal for me, I will have an iPhone Friday evening!

Today was the beginning of Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco and, as is usually the case, Steve Jobs presented the opening keynote. He focused on three main topics: Leopard (OSX 10.5), Safari 3.0 (coming to Windows), and iPhone development. He opened the keynote by announcing a number of big-name gaming companies have pledged support for the Apple platform, including Electronic Arts and id Software. EA has a number of titles that will be released starting in July. To round out the presentation, Jobs also announced a way to allow third-party developers to develop applications for the iPhone using web 2.0 technologies. While this isn't exactly what everyone was hoping for, I think it is a good first step, especially since Apple will allow these applications to interact directly with the built-in iPhone functions.

Below is a list of some of the key new features of OSX 10.5, courtesy of Engadget:

1. New Desktop - First off is the new desktop, featuring a new menu bar, a snazzed up dock and "Stacks" to help you keep your desktop clean. For instance, there's a default Stack that collects all your downloads in one place on the dock.

2. New Finder - More on the aesthetics side, Apple is going with a unified look for apps, which nixes the brushed metal style and instead mimics the current iTunes theme -- surprise, surprise. In fact, the new Finder looks and performs almost exactly like iTunes, all the way down to integrated Cover Flow for shuffling through your files. You can also save smart searches in the "playlists" side of the interface. On the back end of things, Leopard includes "Back to my Mac," which keeps track of your home Mac's IP address through various (and secure!) magicks, letting you browse your files remotely as if they were on a local network. Spotlight search also works over networks now, as expected.

3. Quick Look - Another new Finder integrated function, Quick Look lets you open up previews of most common document types without opening the respective app, and unsupported doc types can be added through extensions.

4. 64-bit top to bottom - Apple is driving a hard line and going fully 64-bit in every aspect of Leopard. Hard luck for those rocking older machines, but the speed demons should rejoice.

Apple also announced a public beta, available today, of Safari 3.0 for both OSX 10.4 and Windows XP/Vista. You can download a copy of it by clicking here.

EDIT: This is an interesting tidbit... before leaving the stage, Jobs reportedly announced that the iPhone would be available on June 29th at 6pm. I think this is the first time I've ever seen a new product with not only a release date, but time as well. Oh well, I guess I'll just leave work a little early instead of arriving a little late. =)

You can rest assured I will be waiting at the AT&T Wireless store early in the morning on June 29th!

http://www.apple.com/iphone/ads/

From MacRumors:

Apple, Inc's worth climbed to above $100 billion today in heavy trading. The company is now worth approximately double rival computer maker Dell's market cap ($59.4 billion), but still trails behemoth Microsoft by a hefty margin, whose worth sits at $294.94 billion.

Note that Dell does not compete in as many areas as Apple, and Microsoft competes in more, which helps explain some of the disparity.

AppleInsider attributes part of the surge of Apple's stock price to recent bullish forecasts by some financial analysts, who have raised the 'BUY' price of Apple's stock to $150. Perhaps also contributing to the surge were announcements today of iTunes 7.2 with DRM-free songs.

I've purchased two of the new high-quality, DRM-free albums already this morning -- Pink Floyd's Animals and Dark Side of the Moon. While I have never really had any problem with Apple's DRM strategy, I do like that they having bumped up the quality of their downloads while allowing people who had previously-purchased the songs to upgrade for a nominal fee. Hopefully more studios see EMI's surge in iTunes sales and decides to follow suit soon!

From AppleInsider:

Apple Inc. on Thursday received the official go-ahead on its first ever mobile handset, with the Federal Communications Commission giving the iPod maker the green light to commence sales of the device in the United States.

According to FCC documents obtained by AppleInsider, the "GSM Cellular Telephone with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi" carriers model number A1203 and FCC ID: BCGA1203.

In an SAR Test Report conducted on February 6th, 2006, FCC Test Lab Manager Lothar Schmidt wrote the following:

"The Apple Inc. A1203 GSM Cellular Telephone with Bluetooth and Wifi, FCC ID: BCGA1203, is in compliance with the limits for general population uncontrolled exposure specified in FCC 2.1093. The device was tested according to the measurement standards and procedures specified in FCC OET Bulletin 65, Supplement C (Edition 01-01) and IEEE p1528/D1.2, April 21, 2003."

Per Apple's request, the test report omitted the following for "short term" confidentiality reasons: Test Setup Photos, External Photographs, Internal Photographs, and the iPhone User Manual.

Permanent confidentiality omissions included the iPhone's Block Diagram, Operational Description, Radio Schematic, Radio Bill of Material, Radio Tune-up Procedure, and Exhibit notes.

Apple has maintained that it is on track to begin shipping iPhone by late June.

I'm counting down the days until I can throw my Razr into the Maumee River!

According to Fortune magazine, Apple is the 6th most desirable employer for new MBAs. Each year "research firm Universum surveys MBA candidates on where they'd most like to work." The list was topped by Google, with most of the rest of the top ten in financial services or computer related. Interestingly, Microsoft came in 7th right after Apple. Presumably, these MBAs don't actually know that much about what it would be like to work for these firms, meaning this is just a popularity contest. But since it's reasonable to suppose that a lot of them want to be where the action is, this does probably show something about broader perceptions of Apple, Inc. at this time.

I think I can honestly say that I would love to work for Apple starting in July. The #1 company, Google, would be awesome too (if they'd ever get the Ann Arbor campus up and running)!

Full list: Fortune Online

From CNet:

Now Cingular is confirming that the release date will be June 11. A customer service manager at Cingular (we called 800-947-5096 and were transferred to sales) gave us that date late Thursday, but, alas, said he didn't have any additional information beyond that.

While I hardly call Cingular's customer service a reliable source, June 11th is the first day of Apple's World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco. Many are speculating that the conference could also be the launching point for Leopard, the newest operating system. If true, June could be a VERY expensive month (but at least I'll be graduating!)...

EDIT: Just noticed there has been a lot of Tech postings here... I promise I'll put something else up sooner or later.

From AppleInsider:

Apple on Friday began offering iTunes Store customers a new service called Complete My Album that allows them to turn their individual tracks into a complete album at a reduced price by giving them a full 99 cent credit for every track they have previously purchased from that album.

“Music fans can now round out their music collections by upgrading their singles into complete albums with just one click, and get full credit for those songs they have previously purchased from iTunes,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “Complete My Album is a wonderful new way that iTunes helps customers grow and enjoy their music collections.”

Complete My Album offers customers up to 180 days after first purchasing individual songs from any qualifying album to purchase the rest of that album at a reduced price. When users buy any song on iTunes the corresponding album will immediately appear on their personalized Complete My Album page with the reduced price listed.

For example, Apple said a user who’s already purchased three 99 cent singles and decides to buy the corresponding $9.99 album would be able to download the remaining songs to complete the album for just $7.02, without having to buy the singles again.

I've got to say, this is a pretty nice addition to the iTunes Store and a nice incentive to buy the rest of the album after purchasing a couple single tracks. If you have installed iTunes, you can click here and see all of the albums you are eligible to purchase under this new plan.

Last Thursday, I received quite a surprise when a package from Apple was delivered for me at the office. My AppleTV had arrived a day early all the way from China and I had the unbearable task of looking at the box sitting on my desk all day, and then having to work on two papers at Beaners before going to class. Thankfully, class got out early and I was able to go home and finally open up the box and see exactly what Apple had sent me. As some people may be aware, this product was supposed to be released back in February; I was hoping it was worth the wait.

The setup process was classic Apple; very simple. In less than ten minutes, I had it connected via HDMI to my television and the initial setup done. In order to stream content, you must first authorize the AppleTV unit from within iTunes through a simple process of typing in a four digit code when you have iTunes open. Once open, anything stored within iTunes (that meets specifications) is instantly available on AppleTV through a very simple and clean interface.

While my impressions have generally been good, I have had a few issues. First, you cannot stream photos from iPhoto; you must sync your library to the AppleTV's internal hard drive for them to be viewable on your TV. While a small annoyance, it isn't a huge issue for me as I'm not planning on using the hard drive for anything else. Also, while the ATV is promoted as a high-definition product, Apple has yet to add any HD content to the iTunes Store. While I believe this will change soon, I've already taken it upon myself to find alternative sources for the HD programs that I want. Furthermore, the ATV will not output discrete 5.1 audio, despite having the hardware necessary to do so. Like the HD content, I believe this will soon change via a software update after a Steve Job's keynote. Finally, while streaming works extremely well, I did run into some issues when trying to stream HD videos between my iMac and the ATV. When both devices were using 802.11n, I would get an occasional video freeze; however, connecting my iMac directly to my router completed solved this issue.

All in all, I think the AppleTV is an excellent device that has already revolutionized the way people get content from their computers to their living rooms by providing a simple, easy-to-use interface that everyone can use. There is definitely room for improvement, and if their past is any indication, Apple is already hard at work on the next software update.

Yesterday morning, I received an email from Apple letting me know that my AppleTV was finally shipping after a one month delay. Coming straight from China, FedEx's website states that I should have it in my hands no later than Friday at 10:30am. In preparation, I've started converting some videos over to an AppleTV-compatible format using the recently updated Quicktime Pro and VisualHub programs. Both of these titles added presets to encode files to meet the specifications required by Apple for playback on the device through iTunes. Unfortunately, the encoding process takes a very long time, especially when dealing with high-definition files. Needless to say, I will be rushing home Friday to get this installed so I can play around with it over the weekend. Expect my initial impressions here soon!

I logged into iTunes this morning and was surprised to see a couple new snowboard shows listed in the TV section of the store. If you have iTunes installed on your computer, you can click the links below to be taken directly to the videos, and even watch a 30-second preview of each. Now if we could just get them to add FuelTV's The Standard Snowboard Show...

Ten80 Snowboarding (Studio411)
THAT (Forum Snowboarding Videos)

While I am hesitant to buy new videos from the iTunes Store as I am a firm believer they will be upgrading their service to offer HD resolution videos soon, the first video is in a 4:3 format and it is unlikely that it was originally filmed in high definition. Apple really needs to hurry up and make the switch; there are a number of Season Passes I would love to purchase...Heroes is a prime example. After last night's episode, it may have bumped The Office from the top spot on my list of favorite shows, and I LOVE that show.

EDIT: It just keeps getting better for us snowboarders... I've also found a number of highlight videos from the 2006 Winter X-Games snowboard events, and two videos featuring Shaun White and his career in 2006 and 2007. While I'm not the biggest White fan out there, its always fun to see him on the slopes or in the pipe.

Winter X-Games Classicx

Taken from Macworld.com:

Owners of Tivo’s popular digital video recorders (DVR) will soon be able to download films and television shows for rental and purchase from Amazon.com, the two companies announced Wednesday.

“Amazon Unbox on Tivo” is an extension of Amazon Unbox, the online retailer’s digital download service launched in September. Neither company indicated a launch date for the service, except to indicate that it was now available for beta testing.

Tivo owners must have a Series 2 or Series 3 DVR, an Amazon.com account, and a broadband connection to use the service. Tivo said about 1.5 million of its machines are enabled to use it.

Episodes of television programs will sell for $1.99 each, with films priced between $9.99 and $14.99. Films can be rented for $1.99. A record of all purchases will be kept both on the DVR and in the user’s Amazon.com, account, the company said.

Amazon said content would be available from film and television studios including CBS, Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Entertainment.

This is pretty good news, however, there is no mention of any HD content. Plus, Amazon Unbox videos are unplayable on any of my computers. While definitely a step in the right direction, I'll keep waiting to see what Jobs and Company announce in the upcoming weeks/months.

ALSO, it has been confirmed that Apple is planning on opening a store in the Briarwood Mall just 40 minutes north of Toledo in Ann Arbor. =)

An article written by Apple CEO Steve Jobs has appeared on the company's website. You can (and should) read the entire thing by clicking here, but I've included a little excerpt below:

The third alternative is to abolish DRMs entirely. Imagine a world where every online store sells DRM-free music encoded in open licensable formats. In such a world, any player can play music purchased from any store, and any store can sell music which is playable on all players. This is clearly the best alternative for consumers, and Apple would embrace it in a heartbeat. If the big four music companies would license Apple their music without the requirement that it be protected with a DRM, we would switch to selling only DRM-free music on our iTunes store. Every iPod ever made will play this DRM-free music.

From The Toldeo Blade (thanks to Brad for forwarding this to me):

The city of Toledo could become the first major city in Ohio to have wireless Internet access citywide under a proposal presented yesterday by Mayor Carty Finkbeiner.

A leading potential bidder is EarthLink, which operates the wireless or "wi-fi" network in Philadelphia, although Buckeye CableSystem, Inc., AT&T, and others are expected to bid for the citywide license.

Mr. Finkbeiner, who has boasted of Toledo's 2005 designation by Intel Corp. as the fifth "most-unwired" city in the nation, said his administration has distributed a request for proposals (RFP) for providers who could make wireless Internet service available throughout the city's 88 square miles.

City officials said the wireless system would be as secure as Internet access obtained through phone lines or broadband cable.

The RFP seeks bidders willing to make the expected $10 million investment in infrastructure in return for a license to be branded as "Wireless Toledo."

The mayor said the contract would not cost taxpayers a penny, but would provide plenty of benefits: free wireless service to city agencies, such as police and fire departments; free wireless access in certain public buildings and outdoor areas; and discounted wireless service for low-income people. Most people would pay an undetermined fee to use the service.

Perhaps most important of all, Toledo would gain the distinction of being on the cutting edge of cities with wireless communications technology.

This could be interesting, especially with the wi-fi enabled iPhone being released in June (and on my "to buy" list)... I'm just hoping good old Carty doesn't mess this one up. Click here to read the entire article.

AppleInsider is reporting that we may see The Beatles library in iTunes very soon, possibly on or before Valentine's Day. This would be a landmark for a couple reasons. First, it would mark the first time their catalog has been available electronically for distribution over the Internet. Secondly, and probably most significant, it would signal an agreement between Apple Corps and Apple, Inc. who have been fighting a number of public legal battles over the years. Rumors of such a move have been spreading around the Internet since the Steve Jobs keynote at MacWorld, where his presentation featured a number of Beatles references. Below is a snippet of the AppleInsider article:

The news, while to be taken with a grain of salt, gains momentum from Steve Jobs' recent Macworld keynote address. The Apple Inc. chief executive recently piqued the interest of many avid Mac and iPod followers by making seemingly continuous use of The Beatles material in the music sections of both his Apple TV and iPhone demos, leading some to believe that he was deliberately stoking the fires of existing rumors linking The Beatles and iTunes.

Conspicuously, Jobs scrolled past a "My Beatlemania!" playlist and at least one Beatles album when browsing songs on the Apple TV set-top box. He also played two songs from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band -- complete with high-detail album art -- while showing the iPhone's music playback functions. Lastly, keen-eyed viewers pointed out the disproportionately large number of Beatles albums in the iPhone's music library.

While this should defintely be looked at as simply a rumor at this point, it would be an interesting addition to the iTunes Store as they continue to add more content to their already large library. Other rumors circulating include another increase in video resolution to match the AppleTV's 720p output (which seems very logical to me since Apple is quick to mention that the AppleTV was built for high-definition content, yet they currently only offer movie trailers at that resolution).

UPDATE: According to reports from the Toronto Sun, Apple is planning a "special" announcement during a commercial playing during the Super Bowl on February 4th. Many are speculating that this will be a formal confirmation of the above rumor. Good thing I usually watch the Super Bowl for the commercials!

Below is a 4:30 minute clip from CBS News that shows the iPhone in action. Do I want one of these? Yes. Is it going to be hard to wait until June to have one in my hands? Yes. I hope we see more information about the capabilities and service plans as we get closer to the release date.

This Sunday, I'm heading up to Detroit for the North American International Auto Show. I'll be bringing my camera along (hopefully with the battery this time), so expect pictures up here by the evening.

January 9, 2007 may be remembered as the day that Apple unveiled yet another revolutionary product to the masses. This week in San Francisco is the annual Macworld Expo, with Steve Jobs (Apple CEO) delivering the keynote speech. It was at this event last year that he announced the transition to the Intel CPUs (and their first Intel-equipped product, the Macbook Pro, which I pre-ordered shortly afterwards). This year, he didn't have too much in the way of Macintosh-specific announcements only saying that there would be a number of big announcements over the next couple months (most notably the release of OSX 10.5 -- Leopard). Much of his time was spent talking about the success of the iTunes Store as well as two hardware announcements. (You can watch a streaming version of the keynote by clicking here.)

1.) iTunes Store News
Probably the biggest piece of iTunes news was that, contrary to earlier reports, iTunes sales have not declined, and in fact totaled over 1.1 billion in the first 10 months of 2006. Jobs also announced that another movie studio had finally opened their catalog up to the service, with Paramount adding an additional 250 titles to be available over the next day or two.

2.) iTV = AppleTV
For the second part of the keynote speech, Steve unveiled more about the iTV project he first introduced at the WWDC conference last September. In its simplest form, the AppleTV is a hardware unit that brings content from your iTunes library to your living room. Optimized for widescreen televisions, the device features an Intel processor, 40GB hard drive, HDMI and component outputs (capable of up to 720p resolution), and 802.11b/g/n wireless networking support. One thing Jobs was sure to point out was the fact that the unit could not only stream content from authorized computers, but also store data so that it is instantly available. Not only can you share your own content with your AppleTV, but you can also stream data from friend's laptops once they are connected to the network. All in all, this sounds like a great device; it'll ship sometime in February for $299. More pictures are available here courtesy of AppleInsider.

3.) Widescreen iPod + Phone + Internet Device = iPhone
The one thing that everyone has been talking about for almost the past six months was the possibility of Apple releasing a phone product sometime in 2007. While I also believed that this would happen, I must say that I was a little surprised by just how finished and polished the product looked when it was unveiled during the keynote. According to Steve Jobs, the company has been working on the device for the past 2.5 years. Running a modified version of the OSX operating system, the device is completely free of buttons (sans a lone home button at the bottom of the device); rather it features a 3.5" high-resolution screen that can dynamically change based on what the user is doing. The screen looked very crisp and detailed when watching iTunes videos, and the CoverFlow (as introduced in iTunes 7.0) way of selecting music works all too well. It also features very cool implementations of Google Maps, Safari for internet access, and Dashboard-like widgets. If you know me, you'll know that I'm usually not very excited when it comes to mobile phone technology, but after watching the keynote video I can say that I am truly anticipating owning one of these in the very near future. Hardware specs include a two megapixel digital camera, WiFi (802.11b/g), Bluetooth 2.0, and GSM+EDGE cellular network compatibility. Available exclusively through Cingular, the phone will sell in two versions: a 4GB model for $499, and an 8GB one for $599. It is expected to be available in the United States in June. For more pictures, click here.

One other interesting thing to note from the keynote was that Apple Computer Inc. is now known simply as Apple Inc. to better represent the overall product strategy of the company. While the above announcements are extremely exciting, I can't help but feel a little disheartened that we didn't hear any major Macintosh-specific announcements. There was no mention of any of the "secret" features of Leopard, nothing on iLife and iWork '07, and no new computer models/upgrades. However, Steve did promise that we'll be hearing more about these in the near future, so maybe a little patience is in order. While not formally announced during the keynote, an 802.11n version of Apple's Airport Extreme was made available for pre-order when the Apple online store was reopened.

Personally, I'm very interested in both the AppleTV and iPhone. I'll likely have the new Airport Extreme wireless router and an AppleTV shortly after they are released, and am very strongly considering switching to Cingular once the iPhone is released later this year. I'll have to start saving for that purchase now though; hopefully my change jar will cover a significant portion of that bill. =)

Via GameSpot:

Arcades may be all but gone for gamers in North America, but the advent of digital distribution with the new generation of consoles is ensuring that they aren't completely forgotten. Sony Online Entertainment today announced that it has licensed the rights to sell downloadable versions of a half-dozen Midway arcade games for the PlayStation 3.

The six games announced in the deal are Mortal Kombat II, Gauntlet II, Joust, Rampage World Tour, Rampart, and Championship Sprint. Sony Online said those titles were chosen specifically for their multiplayer components--the company is adding online play for all six.

The first titles from the deal should be made available in "early 2007." Sony Online Entertainment also hinted that this would be only the beginning of the company's downloadable PS3 offerings. The company's senior vice president and CFO John Needham said in a statement, "SOE will continue to explore additional opportunities to bring fun and unique digital content to the PlayStation Network."

I for one can't wait to be able to play Mortal Kombat 2 again (although the controls are probably going to be a little funky). It is announcements like this that will help get the PS3 and the PlayStation Network closer in line with the offerings from its competitors.

I plan on posting the stories from CES and Macworld that I find interesting to this blog throughout the next week. Tomorrow should be especially exciting since Steve Jobs will be giving the keynote speech at Macworld, and he always has more than a few tricks up his sleeves. Rumored announcements include the iPhone, iTV, Leopard (OSX 10.5), iLife & iWork '07 upgrades, .mac upgrades, new Airport routers, and more. Check back here throughout the week to see what news stories I've posted!

As a bone-fide switcher of almost a year, I've found a number of great applications that I believe every Mac user could benefit from having. All of the mentioned applications are Universal Binaries, meaning they all run natively on the new Intel CPUs, and are currently installed on both my iMac and Macbook Pro. This is by no means a complete list, or should be considered the definitive list of programs; this list is just my opinion on some of the great software that is available for this platform. 2007 looks to be even better as Apple releases Leopard (10.5) and the Mac community continues to grow in size.

1.) AdiumX (Freeware, http://www.adiumx.com)
Much like Trillian on the Windows platform, AdiumX is the application for those who wish to have a program that can manage multiple Instant Messenger accounts and still have access to the majority of the features found in the original client packages. One advantage AdiumX has over Trillian -- it's completely free and open source. While a stable version has been available for a number of months, the developers are hard at work on building a 1.0 client for release hopefully in 2007. With a number of skins, styles, and more available, AdiumX is a great (and free) alternative for those looking for a little more in a IM program.

2.) Parallels Desktop ($79.99,