SmashWorld: Apple is in a rush to gather content for a portable video solution. I spoke on the phone with a contact working at Apple and uncovered some pretty interesting stuff!
Macsimum News has the juice on new notebook clock devices that promise to reduce power consumption dramatically in notebooks.
IDT (Integrated Device Technology), a communications IC company, has introduced new notebook clock devices that purportedly reduce power consumption by up to half that of previous generation products.
The new low-power PC clock devices support Intel Centrino mobile technology-based laptops, which are built upon the Intel ?Napa? platform and will also support Intel?s next-generation computing architecture. Since Macs are moving to Intel chips, it seems likely that future Apple laptops will utilize the IDT technology. And power consumption in portables has been one of the company?s biggest concerns.
Read on for more details and links…
Fujitsu Computer Products of America has announced the MHV2160BT, a 4200RPM, 160GB, Serial ATA (SATA), 2.5-inch hard drive for notebook computers. Curiously the Fujitsu MHV2160BT only spins at a relatively pokey 4200RPM, whereas lower capacity drives like the recently announced 120GB Seagate Momentus 5400.2 spin at 5400RPM. The Fujitsu MHV2160BT mechanism is expected to ship by the end of this year.
Macsimum News is reporting that new Hi-Def audio codecs could find their way into future Apple portables. Digital microphones offering high-definition audio input in laptops would improve voice quality for applications such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), voice instant messaging (IM) and speech recognition according to the article.
SigmaTel, which makes mixed-signal integrated circuits for the portable consumer electronics and computing markets, has introduced a new family of high-fidelity high-definition (HD) audio codecs. Ron Edgerton, president and CEO of SigmaTel, says the new codecs will allow for digital microphone capabilities and the ability to implement audio and modem functionality directly on the computer motherboard.
Motorola’s much-anticipated iTunes phone, the E790 (a.k.a. Motorola ROKR Model E1), is expected to hit the market soon. Documents posted to the Federal Communications Commission’s Web site on Saturday indicate that Motorola has received regulatory approval to start selling the phone.
AppleInsider has posted a 5-page portion of the E790 manual which describes the basic functions of the iTunes mobile software, which can be controlled largely by the handset’s navigational key.
The document also indicates that the Motorola E790, a modified version of the company’s E398, will ship with stereo speakers, removable flash memory, Bluetooth and a dedicated iTunes button.
The question that remains is how the Motorola E790 will compete with the new Sony Ericsson w800i Walkman phone.
The Mac EVDO Experts at EVDOinfo.com who in the past have shown us how to make every Verizon BroadbandAccess card work on the PowerBook, is now reporting that software is available that brings full support of the Kyocera KPC650 to PowerBooks. Click through for the link…
Speaking of blowing out iPods, if you want to throw caution to the wind and open your iPod mini, iPoding.com has posted the autopsy photos. They don’t tell you how to do it, but a little bird told me that the procedure involves a holding a hot hair dryer to the top panel to soften up the glue. You’ll obviously be voiding your warranty (yadda, yadda) but with new iPods on the horizon, who cares? You can pick up a new one next month. Oh, the price of being an early adopter!
According to this post at SlickDeals.net Office Depot is blowing out HP branded iPods for 20 percent off. The deal is in store only and not available for Internet orders. There is some speculation that Office Depot will honor Staples’ US$30 off purchases over US$150 coupon but we’re skeptical. If you know different or can confirm, drop us a line.
Ever wonder why your PowerBook’s battery life seems to suck? If your battery life isn’t exact what is used to be, or you’re just curious about how much capacity is left in the darned thing, check out coconutBattery 1.1. This little universal binary application that gives you live feedback about the cells in your PowerBook or iBook, including:
- Current battery charge
- Maximum battery charge
- Current battery capacity
- Original battery capacity
- Battery load cycles
- Age of your Mac
- Charger connected
- Battery is charging
More battery goodness:
If coconutBattery detects that you have connected the wrong charger (i.e. an ibook-charger plugged in a powerbook) it will warn you! That’s a cool feature!
Of course you are able to save the current maximum capacity of your battery – with just one click! coconutBattery uses Apple’s new and really powerful technology names “CoreData” to realize that.
(Thanks TUAW)
An article on Slashdot discusses the impact of spotlight has on a PowerBook’s battery life:
Viltvodlian Deoderan asks: “So, Spotlight for Mac OS X Tiger is very cool. I can now let my innate ability to disorganize things shine through. However, when using my PowerBook unplugged, it seems that my battery lasts a noticeably less time. A close reading of Ars Technica’s description of how spotlight works suggests that this is due to keeping the index file up-to-date on disk. Has anyone else noticed the same thing? Does someone have a better explanation for why my battery seems to drain out, prematurely? Is there some way real-time indexing can be turned off to conserve power?”
Click through for the Ars Technica link and to read the comments, they’re priceless (as always).
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