Rumours: What Apple will Launch at Paris Expo

A lot of Rumours about announcements at Apple Expo Paris:

-aluminium 15-inch PowerBook (that would explain why we can't get any for now)
-19-inch iMac
-60GB iPod
-the iTunes Music Store for Europe
-iPhoto Print Service

RealPC pronounced dead

FWB Software has announced the end of PC emulator RealPC.

In a statement issued yesterday, new company CEO Marko Kostyrko admitted the company had been party to "vapourware". Kostyrko said: "The previous management had made claims regarding the status and upcoming release of RealPC for OSX, claiming it was in late beta and about to be released.
"After more thorough investigation and interviews with the previous staff, we have found that the development had not formally been started, and it appears not a single line of code has been written."

The company has decided that the potential development costs of such a product are too high: "The new management has determined that it is not in the best interests of FWB to go forward with the development of RealPC," he said.
This follows yesterday's revelation by Microsoft that its recently-acquired emulation software Virtual PC will not presently function on Apple's G5 processor, because it does not support certain key features on the chip.

Virtual PC and G5 incompatibility confirmed

Microsoft's PC emulation application Virtual PC 6.1 is incompatible with Apple's now-shipping Power Mac G5s, Microsoft has confirmed.
Microsoft category development manager home and retail division Sandra Peignaux (who holds special responsibility for the product in Europe): "Currently, Virtual PC 6.1 does not run on the Power Mac G5."
Users attempting to install the application will meet an error dialogue, saying: "This application is not supported by the CPU," she said. Users will then be asked to visit Microsoft's Mac support site, MacTopia, where a Knowledge Base article will soon be made available, explaining the situation. This will be "regularly updated".
Peignaux confirmed the reason for this problem: "Virtual PC relies on a feature of the G3/G4 processors called 'pseudo little-endian mode' for increased performance when emulating a Pentium processor," she said.
While Peignaux could not comment on a shipping date for the new version of Virtual PC, she said: "When we acquired the product we also hired several excellent engineers from Connectix, with an expertise in the product. Development of the next version of Virtual PC is on track." (Source:Macworld)

Quebec School Board to purchase 5,000 iBooks

Quebec's Eastern Townships School Board announced a new three-year program, which will provide every student in its schools with a Apple iBook. The Board said that the program will be the first board-wide laptop initiative implemented in Canada and that the first stage of the Board's three-year program will begin when school starts this Fall (September 2003) with the first deployment of 1,630 wireless iBook computers to students in grades 5 and 6, as well as to level 5 students in its secondary schools.

By the third year of the program, all Eastern Townships students, from the 3rd grade of elementary school to the 5th level of high school, will be given their own portable computer to use during the school year.

Over the next three years, the School Board will acquire over 5,000 portable wireless computers under a partnership agreement with Apple Canada . Along with the hardware and software, Apple will offer both technical and curriculum integration training to ensure a smooth deployment of the technology. The School Board will roll out the first phase of its implementation strategy next month by introducing laptop equipment in three schools--two elementary and one secondary.

OrangeLink FireWire 800 PC card for notebooks

Orange Micro today announced the OrangeLink FireWire 800 PC card , which allows legacy notebooks with a Type II CardBus slot to connect to newer FireWire 800 peripherals. It offers plug and play convenience, backward compatibility with the previous FireWire 400/1394a standard, daisy-chain capability, and up to 45 watts of bus power that can be provided through the connection (with an optional external AC power supply). It is equipped with two 9-pin FireWire 800/1394b ports. It is expected to ship on September 30th and includes BTV Pro software.

OrangeLink FireWire 800 PC card for notebooks

Orange Micro today announced the OrangeLink FireWire 800 PC card , which allows legacy notebooks with a Type II CardBus slot to connect to newer FireWire 800 peripherals. It offers plug and play convenience, backward compatibility with the previous FireWire 400/1394a standard, daisy-chain capability, and up to 45 watts of bus power that can be provided through the connection (with an optional $15 external AC power supply). It is equipped with two 9-pin FireWire 800/1394b ports. It is expected to ship on September 30th and includes BTV Pro software.

A P C Offers Free Interactive Webinars Focused on Safeguarding and Preparing for Blackouts

Free Interactive Webinars to Support and Educate for Future Power Disturbances

The Blackout of 2003 affected over 50 million people causing data loss, downtime, and damage to critical electronics in the home and business. This event has shown that U.S. power grids are vulnerable and susceptible to both minor and major power outages. With ongoing repairs and upgrades over the coming months and years along with the continuous demand on these power grids, consumers and businesses may potentially experience further blackouts, brownouts, sags, and surges.

American Power Conversion (APC) is a leading manufacturer of power protection equipment for computer and IT equipment. APC is offering free interactive Webinars to support and educate consumers and partners on power protection. The Webinars hosted by APC are currently in session. To register for a free Webinar, visit www.apc.com and the Blackout Support Center. For more information about APC's comprehensive selection of power protection solutions, call 800-877-4080 or visit APC's Web site (Source:PRNewswire)

Dantz and Maxtor Expand OEM Agreement to Deliver Best-in-Class External Storage Backup Solution

Maxtor Selects Retrospect Backup Software For Next Generation OneTouch External Hard Drive

Dantz(R) Development Corp. today announced it has extended its OEM relationship with Maxtor Corporation ( NYSE:MXO ) , a worldwide leader in hard disk drives. Dantz Retrospect(R) will power the signature OneTouch capability in Maxtor's new external hard drive family, branded Maxtor OneTouch(TM), which will come integrated with Retrospect backup and restore software.

The second generation of Maxtor's OneTouch product line extends the power and simplicity of the innovative OneTouch button with Dantz Retrospect Express backup and restore software. Retrospect Express, designed specifically for the Maxtor OneTouch, includes disaster recovery features that can restore the entire system including files, folders, applications, user settings, and operating system settings, in the event of catastrophic data loss. The Maxtor OneTouch drive has a new industrial design with aluminum enclosure, comes in capacities up to 300GB, and is both Mac and Windows compatible.
(Source: PRNewswire)

Sony's New Camcorder Is Sized Down and Charged Up

Handycam Station Keeps Camcorder at Hand, Powered Up and Ready to Go

Sony is taking another leap forward in miniaturization with today's introduction of the DCR-IP1 MICROMV(TM) Handycam(R) camcorder -- the smallest and lightest tape-based camcorder in the world.
Weighing just 8 ounces with pint-size measurements of 1 9/16 inches x 3 5/8 inches x 2 3/4 inches, the new camcorder is about the size of a deck of cards and slips into a shirt pocket with ease.

The camcorder's streamlined design still finds room for high-quality Carl Zeiss(R) optics, a 10X optical/120X precision digital zoom and a one-megapixel Advanced HADTM CCD imager. The imager can capture stills at 1152 x 864 resolution and produce video with 520 lines of horizontal video resolution.
The DCR-IP1 model is the first Sony Handycam camcorder to incorporate an automatic, retractable lens cover that opens and closes when the camcorder is powered on or off. And to help minimize camera shake, the camcorder adds Super SteadyShot(R) picture stabilization.

Handy, Charged and Connected
Like a cell phone or handheld cradle, the accompanying Handycam Station charges the DCR-IP1 camcorder and connects it to a TV or PC, while keeping the camcorder easily accessible. The Handycam Station comes fully loaded with all the necessary inputs, including S-Video and an audio/video terminal for hooking the unit up to a TV as well as a USB 1.1 port and an i.LINK(R) (IEEE-1394) interface for connection to compatible PCs. (Source:PRNewswire)

Sony's Three-Megapixel Camcorder Creates New Class Of Digital Video/Still Combination Camera

Sony's latest MiniDV Handycam(R) camcorder is the industry's first single-CCD, 3.31-megapixel consumer model, giving it the highest quality combination of digital video and still camera optics.

The new DCR-PC330 model has a Advanced HAD(TM) CCD imager, a Carl Zeiss(R) Vario-Sonnar(R) T* lens, and a new advanced primary color filter, which together create outstanding video and digital photographs. It is expected to be available in October for about $1,700.

"The PC330 Handycam model eliminates any compromise that digital still photographers might feel when looking for a combined digital video and still unit," said Linda Vuolo, Sony Electronics' director of camcorder product management. "The new CCD imager plays double-duty by enhancing the already stellar quality of the MiniDV format, by bringing it up to 530 lines of resolution, while producing outstanding, print-quality still images." (Source PRNewswire)

Thomson ISI ResearchSoft Ships EndNote Version 7 for Macintosh OS X

World's Most Popular Bibliographic Software Offers New Connectivity and Publishing Solutions

Thomson ISI ResearchSoft ships a major upgrade to EndNote(R) -- the bibliographic software used by millions of researchers and students. Known for introducing innovative features to search online bibliographic databases, organize references and create instant bibliographies, EndNote7 delivers subject bibliographies, flexible image handling, and connectivity to explore and mobilize reference collections. (Source:PRNewswire)

SCM Microsystems Introduces World's First Mobile Terrestrial Broadcast Digital TV Receiver for Laptop PCs

SCM Microsystems, Inc. today introduced the world's first receiver for mobile terrestrial Digital TV in the PC-Card form factor (PCMCIA). Presented publicly for the first time at the international broadcasting show IFA in Berlin, the Mobile Terrestrial Receiver enables consumers to receive digital terrestrial broadcast TV (DVB-T) programs and use wireless data services including Internet access on their Laptop PCs, tablet PCs or PDAs with a PCMCIA interface. The receiver is very small, lightweight and needs no power supply. Volume deliveries of the receiver will start in the first quarter of 2004.

The Mobile Terrestrial Receiver positions SCM Microsystems to capitalize on the worldwide trend toward DVB-T. While the first model targets the German market, the Mobile Terrestrial Receiver can be readily adapted for use in any country with DVB-T broadcasting, including Asia and the United States. Today DVB-T is available in some Scandinavian countries, in the UK and in Germany in and around the Berlin area, and the service will be available very soon in other larger German cities. By the end of 2006, terrestrial digital services will be available all over Germany. Using SCM's receiver, end-users will be in a position to watch Digital Free-to-Air television on their notebooks and other portable devices, as well as using other digital services, like travel information, local news or streamed video enabled by third-party service providers anywhere at any time. (Source PRNewswire-FirstCall)

2004 O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference Call for Participation

You Are Here--Mapping the Future of Computing:

Are you a technologist, strategist, CTO or CIO,
programmer, hacker, entrepreneur, researcher, or standards worker
itching to put a particular computing innovation or issue on the map?
If so, we invite you to submit a proposal to lead tutorials and
conference sessions at the upcoming O'Reilly Emerging Technology
Conference. The third annual event happens at the Westin Horton Plaza
in sunny San Diego, CA for four days, February 9-12, 2004.

Program chair and O'Reilly editor Rael Dornfest notes that mobility
will be one of the primary technological directions for this year's
conference: what's happening with data, devices, and communication now
that they're freed from the desktop and broadcast models of the past
decade? The conference will also explore a number of juicy ideas, such
as post-browser interfaces for data and services; social software, from
Hiptop Nation to weblogs; the untethered world of ad hoc networking
made possible by wireless technologies like WiFi, Bluetooth, cellular,
and Rendezvous; Geolocation, sensors, and RFID. These themes will be
organized under six tracks:Interfaces, Social Software, Untethered, Location,
Hardware, Business Models.

Submitting Proposals
Individuals and companies interested in making presentations, giving a
tutorial, or participating in panel discussions are invited to submit
proposals for session presentations and tutorials. Session
presentations are 45 minutes long, and tutorials are three hours long.
The deadline to submit proposals is September 24, 2003. For more
conference details and to submit a proposal, visit:
http://conferences.oreilly.com/etcon .

If you are interested in participating in or moderating panel
discussions, or otherwise contributing to the conference, please let us
know (and please include your area of expertise). If you have an idea
for a panel discussion or a particularly provocative group of panelists
that you'd love to see square off, feel free to send your suggestions
to etech-idea@oreilly.com .

"Participation" is a key word at O'Reilly conferences, and the O'Reilly
Emerging Technology Conference has a reputation as an exceptional
meeting place for people passionately interested in how technology
shapes the world in which we live--not only computing, but
communication, lifestyle, business, and education. Conference
participants, particularly speakers, can be profound catalysts for
change, influencing new applications, network, and online culture. Come
be a part of the conversation.

Plextor debuts 8-in-one FireWire drive

Plextor today announced the new external PX-708UF DVD+/-R/RW drive for burning DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW, and CD-R/RW discs. It offers a dual USB 2.0/FireWire interface and supports 8X DVD+R and 4X DVD-R writing; 4X DVD+RW and 2X DVD-RW rewriting; and 12X max DVD-reading. The DVD/CD burner also boasts high-speed 40X CD-R write, 24X CD-RW rewrite, and 40X CD read speeds.
The drive, due next month, includes a 2MB buffer and bundles Roxio Toast 5 Lite. The internal ATAPI version is also available for pre-order .

Sources provide Wireless Keyboard/Mouse details

Sources provided some further details on the Apple Wireless Keyboard and Mouse. The details were revealed in company documents provided to Think Secret earlier this week.

The exact names of Apple's forthcoming Bluetooth input devices were first reported this morning by MacRumors , discovered in error messages in Mac OS X 10.3 "Panther" builds.

The new input devices, also known by their project names Q6 and P91a, will indeed ship under the names Apple Wireless Keyboard and Mouse, as shown by Panther's Bluetooth input preference panel. (Use of the input devices will require built-in Bluetooth or an adapter.)

Apple plans to tout the new devices' Bluetooth connection as secure and high-performance, providing users with an easy way to de-clutter a desktop of cables as well as delivering new freedom to position the keyboard and mouse wherever the user wants.

The Wireless Keyboard will run on four AA batteries, while the Mouse will take two AA batteries. Batteries will be included, and the system will warn the user when battery power is low. As with Apple's current keyboards, the Wireless Keyboard will feature audio and eject controls. (Source thinksecrets)

15inch PowerBook Details and Supplies

Despite high expectations for PowerBook updates, the earliest reported date has come and gone.
Still one recent rumor confirms that PowerBooks are imminent.
In the meanwhile, a new reliable report casts some light on the 15" PowerBook update... and reports that the new 15" PowerBook screen comes in at 15.2" . This is contrary to an early report (and subsequent report ) from Digitimes, which claimed that 15.4" PowerBooks would be coming this year. This screen size was then echoed by a number of sites ( 1,2,3) over the course of this year.

The 15" PowerBook will also sport an illuminated keyboard and similar improvements to bring it in line with the Aluminum PowerBooks.

Apple Releases Updated RAID Software

Fresh from the Software Update pane "RAID Admin Update 1.1 delivers event logging, Xserve RAID firmware flashing capabilities, improved communications reliability when managing and monitoring over IP networks, better Java performance, and French, German, Japanese language support. It is recommended that all Xserve RAID users install this update."

FireWire Added To Oxford English Dictionary

In the most recent batch of additions (PDF) to the Oxford English Dictionary, lost amid myriad new entries including "bootylicious", "EOF", and "fizzy" is our own favorite serial bus: FireWire. The entry for FireWire reads: " FireWire ,noun trademark a standard high-performance serial bus for connecting devices to a personal computer." Congratulations to Apple on their contributions to the English language. (Source macslash)