Apple has released the Apple Airport Extreme Base Station with 802.11n Firmware 7.1. This update includes general fixes, compatibility updates, and security improvements for the AirPort Extreme Base Station with 802.11n. This update requires AirPort Utility 5.1. If you have AirPort Utility 5.0 installed, you can update to AirPort Utility 5.1 by installing AirPort Base Station Update 2007-001:

• AirPort Base Station Update 2007-001 for Mac
• AirPort Base Station Update 2007-001 for Windows

Apple’s newest AirPort Extreme Base Station allows for printer sharing and network storage via its USB port. More info and download link (4.6MB) for AirPort Extreme Base Station with 802.11n Firmware 7.1 here.

The award-winning news and information site, washingtonpost.com, is now offering free high-definition (HD) podcasts via the iTunes store. This video content can be viewed on HD television via the Apple TV and computer screens. All washingtonpost.com videos are shot with high-definition cameras, and the series available on iTunes is coded to play in 720p especially for the Apple TV.

Continue reading Washington Post Now Offering HD Podcasts via iTunes…

According to Ars Technica, Google has introduced the latest service designed to make it easier to find information. This time, when you are not in front of your computer! Project Google Voice Local Search, is a free (typical charges associated with making local phone calls do apply) 411 service that users can call via voice phone to request information on local businesses. The system is automated and uses voice recognition to determine what the caller is seeking.

Continue reading Need Information? Call 1-800-GOOG-411…

I have just received my Joost invite:

The waiting’s over! Since we received your application to join the Joost beta test program, we’ve been very busy fine-tuning it for you.

So here’s some good news: we’re now ready to expand our beta test program, and we’re delighted to invite you to join us.

You can download the Joost software right away, by clicking on the link below. You’ll find instructions for installing and running the software on our download pages.

I will get this on a Intel Mac and a Windows XP machine ASAP and report back. Check here if you want to know about Joost: Joost To Get Content From Viacom

Verizon has announced plans to implement a new technology called G-PON that they are acquiring from Alcatel-Lucent which will increase the speed of FiOS fiber-to-the-premises “by four to eight times.”

Alcatel-Lucent with the forthcoming gigabit passive optical network (G-PON), which is slated to “increase the aggregate broadband speeds on Verizon’s FTTP systems by four times downstream to the customer, and by eight times upstream back to the Internet.” Verizon also has stated that it would “continue deploying the broadband passive optical network (B-PON)” that it has been using since 2004, and took a moment to boast about “how simple” upgrading FiOS actually was.

Continue reading FiOS Customers To Eventually Get Speed Boost From G-PON Technology…

Best Buy, the nation’s largest consumer electronics retailer, is expanding a pilot program that began in late May of last year, bringing Macs to 200 of its stores by this fall.

Best Buy began with a select number of stores selling Mac systems, which grew to 50 stores across the U.S. in mid-October. The most recent pilot expansion reveals the success of its predecessors, increasing the exposure of Mac computers at Best Buy locations by three-fold. Circuit City also said it would begin selling Macs in a small number of its stores in the Eastern U.S. in early September to test the waters of Mac sales in its retail outlets.

I meant to post this last week. Garmin has released POI loader and WebUpdater in beta for OS X. Although, I have been adding pictures and music to from OS X from day one. This makes me very happy as I no not have to use a Windows machine to update my Garmin Nuvi anymore. Garmin has finally delivered on their promise for Mac compatible software after a long time of waiting. Garmin delivered Training Center back in January, for Mac users. So Garmin should be commended for getting better for Mac users.

The POI Loader allows you to load custom points of interest into Garmin GPS from your Mac. And the WebUpdater for Mac lets you update the firmware on the Garmin device. Now lets get MapSource on the Mac, guys!

According to ComputerWorld, Microsoft has a new lawsuit to deal with accusing them of using deceptive marketing to tout Vista. Disgruntled customers who purchased computers before Windows Vista was released were promised that their new computers would be Vista compatible once it became available. Well NOT so it seems. Boy, did I see this one coming. I advised everyone I know to wait!

The lawsuit claims that Microsoft was deceptive by allowing PC makers to promote hardware as Vista Capable. PC makers placed stickers on computers stating this, despite the fact that many of them only had the capability to run the most basic version of Windows Vista that has very few features. Many of the computers have no chance of running Home Premium where some of Vista’s best features are introduced. Those same features are the ones that Microsoft has used to market Vista, like the Aero Interface.

Continue reading Microsoft Sued For “Windows Vista Capable” Marketing…

Google has released Google Desktop for Mac, a desktop search tool the company states will work alongside Apple’s Spotlight feature built into Mac OS X 10.4. Google Desktop listed as a beta, functions as localized search tool as well as a web-enabled tool that can search through GMail, Google’s image engine, the company’s map program, and available online media.

The application includes a new Google application that enables users to stay up-to-date and download other Mac applications from the company. It also integrates with Google’s Web search, offering both the ability to search the local desktop from Google.com (option can be turned off) or find more results from local search on the Web as well as user’s Gmail account.

I run Google Desktop for Windows on one of my Windows laptops, but have not yet tried this new Mac version. I am happy to see Google supporting Mac users with their software solutions. Google Desktop is a Universal Binary and runs natively on both PowerPC and Intel Macs.

See: A Quick, Possibly Incomplete Guide to What Gets Installed by the Google Desktop Installer

Apple had a nice surprise waiting for me this morning on their website. A new Mac Pro to go with the new Adobe CS3 expected next month. I can’t wait to see the Apple software releases that should come from NAB.

Mac Pro with 8-core Xeon processing:

• Two 3.0GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5300 series processors
• Intel Core microarchitecture
• 8MB of L2 cache per processor (16MB total; each pair of cores shares 4MB)
• 128-bit SSE3 vector engine
• 64-bit data paths and registers
• Energy efficiency optimization
• 1.33GHz, 64-bit dual independent frontside buses

The Apple website says that this beauty will ship in 24 hours and prices start at $2499. Oh yeah, by the way it comes in 4-core also.

Apple has also dropped the price of their Cinema Displays with the 20-inch from $699 to $599, 23-inch from $999 to $899 and the 30-inch which drops from $1,999 to a more affordable $1,799.

Newer iBook, PowerBook, MacBook and MacBook Pro can be scrolled through simply by using an extra finger on the trackpad. This feature is not available from Apple before the 2005 laptops shipped. Now you can add this feature to many older Apple laptops.

Daniel Becker’s iScroll 2 0.27, free (make a donation if you like it) adds two-finger scrolling support on most of Apple’s PowerBook G4 and all iBook G4 models introduced from 2003 to 2004. iScroll, download is available from sourceforge.net, is based on Apple’s AppleADBMouse driver, which was written for the Apple Desktop Bus-powered trackpads found on older Apple laptops. This code was then released via Apple’s Darwin project and has since been rewritten to support newer laptop models.

Continue reading iScroll2: Add Two-Finger-Scrolling for pre-2005 PowerBooks and iBooks…

EMI Music launches DRM-free superior sound quality downloads across its entire digital repertoire allowing Apple’s iTunes store to be the first online music store to sell EMI’s new downloads.

EMI Group CEO Eric Nicoli today hosted a press conference at EMI’s headquarters in London where he made the announcement. Nicoli was joined by Apple CEO Steve Jobs who recently posted an open letter against DRM for music downloads. The event also featured a musical performance by The Good, The Bad & The Queen.

Continue reading EMI Goes DRM-free on iTunes – UPDATED…

This is not an April Fools joke. According to the BBC, EMI will hold a media event on Monday featuring Apple boss Steve Jobs as special guest, prompting speculation that Beatles songs will finally go online. There is speculation that it is actually possible that EMI may announce some of their extensive music catalog may be available minus DRM.

With none of the Beatles tracks still not available to download on any online music service. It will be a nice coup for Apple if iTunes could do something with EMI and Apple Corps, the Beatles company to bring them to iTunes first. Maybe a special iPod. Although several sources claim the Beatles catalog is not included it tomorrow’s annoucements and that DRM being dropped by EMI is the real issue.

Well we will have to wait until tomorrow to see what is announced. The invite to the media sent out on Sunday, with EMI announcing an “exciting new digital offering.”

Continue reading EMI To Hold Special Media Event With Steve Jobs…