Apple took a more aggressive stance with its latest “Security” commercial in its “Get a Mac” ad campaign.
The 29-second ad features Justin Long (Mac) and John Hodgman (PC) attempting to hold a conversation while a Secret Service-esque agent stands behind Hodgman asking whether the PC will cancel or allow each element of the conversation. Hodgman explains that this is the new security element of his new Windows Vista operating system and that turning it off would defeat the purpose of having it.
And for those of you who want it right now, here’s the YouTube footage:

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Macworld News has an article on Novatel Wireless’ announcement today that the firm will ship its US$179.99 Merlin EX720 ExpressCard later this month. The card will be made available through telephone and cell phone provider Sprint.
The card, which fits into the ExpressCard slot found on Apple’s MacBook Pro laptops, provides download speeds around 600 kilobits to 1.4 megabits per second and average upload speeds around 350 to 500 kilobits per second in Sprint-serviced EV-DO Revision A areas.
The Merlin EX720 will ship with GPS software and requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later to run.

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Randy Green of SlappingTurtle has released version 0.19b of iAlertU, a shareware “car alarm” system for Apple MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops. The software, which uses the laptop’s built-in sudden motion sensor, can detect movement on the laptop and triggers a loud audible alarm noise as well as flashes the screen to alert those nearby that the laptop is being stolen.
The system also functions even when the laptop’s screen has been closed and turns on and off via the standard infrared remote that ships with each MacBook and MacBook Pro. The software can be configured with regard to preferred alarm noises, the duration of the alarm and the overall sensitivity of the MacBook. iAlertU is also capable of using the laptop’s built-in iSight camera to snap pictures of the thief and will be able to e-mail these photos to a user-specified e-mail address in a future version.
Given that a picture’s worth a thousand words, demo footage of iAlertU can be found here thanks to YouTube.
iAlertU is a 717 kilobyte download courtesy of MacUpdate.
If you have any comments or feedback, let us know.

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MacFixIt is reporting that Apple has released a firmware update for the NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT graphics card found in some of their Mac Pro units.
The updater, a 1.1 megabyte download through the Software Update feature in Mac OS X (provided your Mac Pro has the card) or a 773 kilobyte standalone download, resolves pre-existing screen distortion bugs and may resolve the 2 gigabyte RAM limit that some users found with the card.
The updater application installs into the /Applications/Utilities folder and is run at a later point. Users allow the software to run, the update shutting down the monitor when necessary, then asking the user to reboot the computer to finish the update process.
The firmware update requires Mac OS X 10.4.7 or later to run.
If you have any comments or feedback about this update, let us know.

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iFixIt.com got a new Airport Extreme 802.11n and has posted takeapart pictures and benchmarks of the new Apple access point.

We decided to deviate from our standard modus operandi and run some benchmarks before we took it apart. (I know, I know– our screwdrivers were lonely for a while.)

The new base station is amazing. We achieved a 10x performance boost, and a 3x usable range increase! We achieved over 9 MB/s in short range lab testing with a MacBook Pro. Long range testing was equally impressive. At 300 feet (with a building in the way), we reached transfer rates of 500 KB/s.

Airport Extreme 802.11n Disassembly >> iFixIt.com

technorati tags:airport, extreme, 802.11n, wireless, takeapart, benchmark

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Given the hype, attention and overall speculation regarding Apple’s iPhone, we thought it was time to put the question to our readers: do you plan to buy this thing when it’s released?

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According to an article on Macworld News, hard drive manufacturer Western Digital introduced its My Book Premium ES Edition external hard drive on Monday.
The drive will feature both USB 2.0 and external Serial ATA (eSATA) protocols and is available in 320 gigabyte and 500 gigabyte capacities. The 320 gigabyte model will retail for US$179 and the 500 gigabyte model will retail for US$229.
Click the jump for the full story…

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Engadget has a cool story about the upcoming iLuv i182 docking station.
The iLuv i182 docking station allows live video recording from a composite or S-Video source to your iPod or choice of media card. The i182 can reportedly bring in a wider variety of video formats and allows users to establish pre-set recording lengths while keeping 640 x 480 resolution video down to 2.5 megabits per second and 720 x 480 resolution video down to 5 megabits per second.
The device synchs to a computer via a USB 2.0 protocol and according to the Engadget story, can be expected to appear on the shelves in March for about US$229.99.

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iPodObserver has a story about third-party hardware firm Fastmac extended its “Just Say No To Crack” iPod LCD replacement program to also include iPod Mini models.
The firm offers the replacement as a same day mail order service as well as a Do It Yourself kit, complete with tools and instructional videos. The replacement program currently cover fifth generation iPods with video, the fourth generation iPod (Click Wheel), the iPod Nano and the iPod mini.
The replacement LCD screens arrive with a one year warranty as well as a 30 day money back guarantee and the prices for the screens range from US$29.95 to US$49.95 depending on the model serviced.

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Digg.com is running a BSAlert.com story wherein Apple is warning users that iTunes 7.0.2 may not work with Microsoft’s recently released Windows Vista on many PCs.
Apple has recommended that users wait until a compatible version of iTunes, which is due for release within the next few weeks, is available before migrating to Visa.
Click the jump for the full story…

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