Quick Bytes for June 29

Jobs to Keynote WWDC '06, Preview Leopard

Announced in a press release this morning, Steve Jobs will headline a group of Apple's top brass to preview OS X 10.5 "Leopard" at the Worldwide Developer's Conference beginning at 10:00 a.m. PDT on August 7.

Intel Quietly Ships 2.33 GHz Core Duo

Intel has begun shipping Core Duo T2700 series (2.33 GHz), the company's latest and greatest "Yonah" derived CPU (via DailyTech). It is currently expected that this will be the last Core Duo release before the mobile Core 2 Duo. Still no sign of a 3 GHz Core Duo....

Leopard To Include iChat-To-Phone?

According to AppleInsider, iChat 4.0 (to be included with Mac OS 10.5 "Leopard") will include the capability to call traditional phone lines, much like existing VoIP top-dog Skype and betas from Microsoft and Google.

MIT Tech Review Reports a A Record-Breaking Camera Chip

This new imaging advance packs 100 million pixels into a picture.

Apple Starts eMac Repair Program

Apple recently launched a special repair program for eMacs that are suffering from video and power-related problems.

Microsoft to Enter Business Phone Market

Microsoft plans to extend its reach into the business telephone market as early as June 2007.
Imagine; "Your call could not be completed since you need to up date your software to Service Pack 2" Just a joke!
With Bill staying at home now, he needs more than ever to call the "Office" Again just a joke!

Mac Gaming News - Aspyr Ships Civilization IV

Aspyr Media, Inc. announced that it has started shipping the strategy game Civilization IV.

Marware Protection Pack for MacBook Available

Marware announced the immediate availability the Protection Pack for Apple's new MacBook on Tuesday. A smart package for smart MacBook owners.

France Charges Virgin with Music Piracy

A French court has found Virgin guilty of selling a song online without permission of the copyright holder. Here we go again, it's seems that it's the story of Virgin since it's creation...

PDFpen, ChronoSync, iSync See Updates

SmileOnMyMac, Econ Technologies, and Nova Media on Wednesday updated their PDFpen, ChronoSync, and iSync plug-in applications.

QuickTime 7.1.2 Update Addresses iDVD Issue

The update notes say simply that QuickTime 7.1.2 addresses an issue previewing iDVD projects.Apple is still, however, recommending the update for all QuickTime 7 users. The update is 51.4MB, and can be found through the Software Update control panel.

Apple releases Mac OS X 10.4.7

Apple released Mac OS X 10.4.7 Tuesday evening, delivering numerous improvements and fixes to the operating system. Meanwhile, Apple's first Intel-based Xserve may be announced in the very near future.

Apple to play integral role in Best Buy Mac sales

Apple will staff Best Buy locations selling its computers with its own employees in a similar fashion as the company has done with its displays at many CompUSA stores.

FileMaker Pro 8.5 Advanced arriving soon with Intel support

FileMaker, Inc. is currently wrapping up development of FileMaker Pro 8.5 Advanced, sources familiar with the application's plans have disclosed. The upgrade will mark the first Universal Binary of the database application, a feature the Apple subsidiary originally planned for version 9.

Apple Moving Fast on the Stain Book Problem?

AppleInsiderStainBook problem we reported a few weeks back.


Report about one MacBook owner took complaints about his notebook's discoloration and "odd fan noises" directly to an employee at the company's Brea, Calif. retail store and was pleasantly surprised with the response.

"He didn't even look at the MacBook to see the discolorations, he just gave me a new one," the customer wrote in a post on Apple's MacBook support forums. "I was so impressed that I used the money I was planning on using to pay restocking fees and invested into the applecare 3 year warranty."

It's good to see Apple addressing this. Hopefully, the next revision just won't have the problem, period. It's not like this is new -- I had a G3 iBook 900 Mhz that did the same thing. Remember -- non-acetone nail polish remover.

Apple's Pro Applications Updated

Apple today released numerous updates to its Pro Applications via its Software Update Utility, and on the Web.

GarageGames releases Torque Game Builder

GarageGames today announced the release of Torque Game Builder and Torque Game Builder Pro for Windows and Mac OS X platforms. "Built upon the definitive technology of the popular 3D Torque Game Engine, Torque Game Builder features animated sprites, flexible tiles, special effects system, state-of-the-art collision, real world physics, and hardware-accelerated 2D rendering. Combined with these powerful features, the easy-to-use editors for interface creation, effects, tiles, level building, and packaging make Torque Game Builder approachable by anybody with the desire and drive to make a game.

Apple Post iPhoto 6.0.4 Update

Apple has posted iPhoto 6.0.4 via its Software Update utility and on the Web. This update to iPhoto contains a variety of new Greeting Card and Postcard themes for use with Apple print services, including invite and thank you card designs for summer parties, weddings, birthdays, etc.

Avid to ship new Media Composer family June 21

Avid Technology today announced that it expects to ship the new family of Media Composer products on Wednesday, June 21. Introduced in April at NAB 2006, the new Media Composer family is now available to editors in a range of configurations, including a software-only application, which offers portability and the option to add hardware acceleration as required. All products in the Media Composer family feature version 2.5 software, which delivers improved dual-platform functionality, with the addition of broad HD capabilities and real-time multi-cam support on Mac OS X.

Civilization IV for Mac shipping June 26

Aspyr Media today announced that Sid Meier’s Civilization IV for Mac (US$49.99) will begin shipping on June 26.

Opera 9 Web browser released

Opera Software today announced the release of Opera 9, the latest version of its free Web browser.

Apple releases Shake 4.1 Universal, lowers price

Apple today announced the release of Shake 4.1, the first Universal version of its compositing software, and cut its price substantialy.

Apple in talks to offer movies at iTunes

According to a story in Daily Variety yesterday, Apple is in talks with most of Hollywood's studios to offer movie downloads on iTunes, notes Reuters. "Citing unnamed sources, Variety said iTunes might begin offering film downloads by the end of 2006, but currently a price on iTunes is a sticking point in negotiations. Apple's Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs is said to want one flat price of US$9.99 per movie, whereas studio executives want a range of prices that mirrors videos and DVDs.

iListen Goes Mac Universal Binary

iListen goeas Universal Mac Binary with the release of Version 1.7 of this Speech Recognition, and it still comes bundle with a noise canceling microphone.