Ever wish you could connect your iPod shuffle to those “big boy” iPod speakers you own that was made for the iPod nano or full sized iPods? How about connecting an iPod shuffle to a Universal iPod Dock, that is “universal” to all iPods except your shuffle? The iPod shuffle is a great value at $79, but locks you out of some iPod accessories, especially speakers.

Enter the Griffin Dock Adapter for iPod shuffle $19.99 US available online or your local Apple Store. This slick little device does one simple thing, it allows you to connect your iPod shuffle to made-for-iPod speakers. In my case I wanted to play my iPod shuffle in my iPod ready vehicle that ONLY sports an iPod dock connector.

Continue reading Review: Griffin Dock Adapter for iPod shuffle…

I picked up one of Apple’s new Wireless Keyboard $79US over the weekend. I connected it to a Mac mini I have in my home office replacing an older Apple Wireless keyboard. My main reason was to have more desk space. The second reason was this new Apple Wireless Keyboard is so very cool looking.

The new Apple Wireless Keyboard is probably one of the thinnest keyboards you will find. The unit runs on three AA batteries that come included. Set-up was quick and easy. Although, you MUST run your Software Update on your Mac after you connect the new keyboard to download and install the Keyboard Software Update 1.2 (or download it from the link) for the special function keys such as brightness, volume, eject, play/pause, Dashboard and Exposé to work.

Continue reading Review: Apple Wireless Keyboard with Bluetooth…

Apple released iPod Software 1.0.2 for the new iPod classic and 3G iPod nano, noting only “bug fixes” in this release. After applying this update changes to both iPod models in the TV Out, Calendar/Contact synchronization, and Cover Flow are now apparent.

Unfortunately, I saw no new compatibility with older add-ons I own. However, the TV Out lock I hated has been changed a bit, but not eliminated. Apple’s under this new update now enables you to choose from On, Off, or Ask options under Video Settings, but when you try to output video with On or Ask, you are prompted with new second screen to allow unlocking with connected Apple-authorized, authentication chip-equipped accessory only in order to start the video playing. Apple, again I must tell you this sucks! What makes it really bad is that this restriction is NOT at all technical!

Continue reading Apple Releases Update 1.02 for iPod classic and nano…

There have been some rumors and now they are confirmed that Bungie Studios the developer of the popular Halo series has split from Microsoft and become independent again. Under the terms of the split Microsoft will retain ownership of the Halo intellectual property, but it will only be guaranteed as the publisher of the series, along with any upcoming Bungie titles in the forseeable future. Microsoft says it intends to continue working on a new “interactive series” in the Halo universe, along with existing projects such as the upcoming “Halo Wars” strategy game and the movie produced by Peter Jackson. Bungie Studios, now renamed Bungie LLC, became a privately held independent company, effective Oct. 1, 2007.

Continue reading Bungie Halo’s Developer Splits Microsoft…

According to a post on Ars Technica covering the Capitol Records, et al v. Jammie Thomas case, Sony BMG’s head of litigation attorney Jennifer Pariser was called to the stand to testify. According to Pariser, ripping your OWN purchased CDs is STEALING.

Pariser in testimony, “When an individual makes a copy of a song for himself, I suppose we can say he stole a song.” Making “a copy” of a purchased song is just “a nice way of saying ‘steals just one copy’,” I guess she skipped “fair use” in law school. Pariser view clearly suggests that consumers have no right to make backups of the music that they have purchased in CD form or even in download form. According to her view ripping a CD to put on your iPod is illegal. Nice. Could be one of he reasons Sony has done so poorly with digital music.

Continue reading iPhone Tip #11: Get a Larger Keyboard for Web Surfing…

I am a long time user and fan of Elgato’s EyeTV. I have been using the EyeTV software and an Elgato EyeTV 200 (this model has been replaced with the 250) for sometime now. When I first bought this PVR (personal video recorder) I had analog cable from Cablevision and used the built-in analog tuner to schedule and record TV with my Mac. FiOS TV soon replaced my old analog cable and I was able to continue to use my EyeTV by adding a ZephIR ($49.95) IR blaster to control the channel changes on the FiOS set top box. The EyeTV is a great companion to the Apple TV and can be a replacement for DVRs rented by the cable company for some.

You have been able to quickly add your recordings to iTunes and sync them to your iPod for some time. Elgato even sells a small device, the Turbo.264 ($99), making these conversions faster. Elgato recently updated their software to 2.5 adding yet another cool feature, Wi-Fi access for the iPhone and iPod touch. You can now “stream” your recorded TV programs to your iPhone or iPod touch over your home network (with a few tweaks, you can get this to work over the Internet) with no syncing needed.

Continue reading EyeTV Adds Wi-Fi Access for iPhone and iPod touch…

Gateway has recently unveiled a PC model designed to compete with the iMac they call One. The new model tries its best to look like an iMac and is available for pre-order with an estimated ship date of November 26, 2007.

It will only be available with a 19″ LCD screen (the iMacs come in 20 or 24 inch screens), while featuring only a Core 2 Duo 1.5GHz, 400GB HD, 2GB RAM, Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition, DVD burner, webcam, and Microsoft Works at $1,499.99. More expensive than the iMac 20 inch. Who said that Macs were more expensive than PCs?

Gateway says: Never before has the PC world seen such beauty and power in one machine. The technological marvels of the Gateway® One include a sleek all-in-one design featuring an integrated 19” widescreen. Really, I thought the iMac has been around for years!

I say buy the 20 inch iMac, it is prettier, faster, cheaper, comes with Apple’s iLife, and you can run Windows on it if you must!

According to the New York Times, wireless positioning firm Navizon is now offering refunds to customers who signed up for its $24.95 iPhone service. The latest Apple firmware update has killed third party apps, so the company’s software no longer works on the iPhone. Navizon short-lived iPhone GPS-like application seemed to be quite popular over seventy thousand downloads for other phone models.

If you own an iPod and wished you could watch videos on a long flight the MicroPack™ multimedia dock & battery might be for you. The MicroPack™ built-in lithium-ion battery offers up to 80 hours of audio playback or up to 8 hours of video playback. Your mileage may vary due to which iPod model and settings you use.

I remember a long flight to Central America a while ago, where my other half and I were trying to share a video iPod’s screen to catch up on some episodes of Lost. We first discovered the iPod had to be angled correctly to see the small screen. Using a plastic cup, tape, hair pins, and whatever else we could find to prop the iPod up for viewing as holding it for 6 hours was not really an option.

Continue reading Review: XtremeMac’s MicroPack™ Multimedia Dock & Battery…

I am a bit underwhelmed by this announcement. Microsoft has given us a peek into their online strategy to compete with Google Docs and Zoho with this invitation only beta testing of Office Live Workspace.

Office Live Workspace will be a free web-based feature that lets Microsoft Office users share their documents online. Basically, pay for Microsoft Office for your desktop, use it to create documents, and FINALLY you can share them online. With Google Docs or Zoho, you can use any web browser on any computer to pull up or create new documents, HTML, spreadsheets, or presentations. Office Live Workspace just lets you access files you’ve already created. Not too impressive. Nice to have another free storage site, but that is about it. Seems Microosoft still wants to save their cash cow and only wants to try and put their “finger in the leaky dyke.”

Radiohead is a band that has had a history with limiting digital downloads of its songs. Radiohead in the past never allowed single songs to be sold online, instead insisting only entire albums be purchased. This has made their music non-existant in the iTunes Music Store, it has also made them a target for pirates. Radiohead’s catalog has long been popular as an illegal download.

Well in a surprise twist, that may scare the pants off some record company executives, Radiohead plans to offer their new album, In Rainbows, on their own website as high quality MP3s that are DRM-free for whatever you want to pay, even free. The new album was not expected until next year, but will now be released on October 10th. (YOUR PURCHASE MAY BE SUBJECT TO A TRANSACTION FEE. THIS WILL BE SHOWN AT THE CHECKOUT.)

Continue reading Radiohead Tries New Method For Releasing New Album, Pay What You Want…

Finnish telecom giant Nokia has announced its intention to purchase one of the world’s two digital mapping powerhouses (the other being TomTom target TeleAtlas) in an $8.1 billion deal that will be one of its largest acquisitions ever. Nokia expects to have pulled NAVTEQ into the fold by the end of Q1 2008.

Nokia also said NAVTEQ would continue to support its existing customers. The NAVTEQ map data business will continuing to operate independently, but it will be organized as a Nokia group company. NAVTEQ has been viewed as a takeover target since the early summer, when navigation device maker TomTom said it would pay 1.8 billion euros ($2.55 billion) for NAVTEQ’s top rival in the mapping market, Tele Atlas.

Continue reading Nokia buying NAVTEQ for $8.1 Billion…