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New Apple Mouse Official

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Apple has officially released a new wireless “Mighty Mouse” which is a new version of its popular multi-button mouse.

The new wireless Mighty Mouse has a secure connection to Macs and features a new laser tracking engine that is 20 times more sensitive than a standard optical mice. Apple say it is better for tracking and works on more surfaces. Priced at $109, Mighty Mouse includes up to four independently programmable buttons and a Scroll Ball that lets users scroll in any direction.

The secret of Apple’s new mouse was found in FCC filings in the USA earlier this month. In the May 6th filing, Apple provided both interior and exterior photos of the device, which it referred to as both “M6” and the “Apple Bluetooth Mouse” in accompanying documents.


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Based on the photos, M6 is aesthetically equivalent to Apple’s current USB Mighty Mouse peripheral, sans the USB cable. It requires a Bluetooth enabled Mac, Mac OS X 10.4.6 or later and a USB mouse and keyboard (which are used for setup purposes), according to a draft of a user manual also made available through the FCC.

The mouse will also function as a multi-button scrolling mouse with versions of Mac OS X earlier than 10.4.6, the documents state, though other features will be disabled.

“The Apple Bluetooth Mouse, model number A1197, operates in the 2.4 GHz unlicensed Industrial, Scientific and Medical band and uses Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum,” Apple wrote in the filing. “This device uses the CSR BC417143B BlueCore4 External which is a single chip radio and baseband IC for Bluetooth 2.4 GHz system. Technical Information on the Apple Bluetooth Mouse is provided in the table below.”

Along with the filing, the traditionally tight-lipped Apple made a request for confidentiality to the FCC, asking that certain documents such as schematics and block diagrams not be published.

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“These documents contain detailed system and equipment description and related information about the product that Apple Computer, Inc. considers to be proprietary, confidential, and a custom design and, otherwise would not release to the general public,” Apple EMC and wireless engineer Mike Kreige wrote.

“Since this design is a basis from which future technological products will evolve, Apple Computer, Inc. considers that this information would be of benefit to its competitors, and that disclosure of the information in these documents would give competitors an unfair advantage in the market.”

Apple introduced its wired USB Mighty Mouse nearly a year ago, calling it a solution for power users that offers up to four independently programmable buttons, without compromising simplicity for users who prefer just a single-button mouse. It also features a “Scroll Ball” that lets users scroll in any direction — vertically, horizontally and even diagonally.

Word of the latest Bluetooth Mighty Mouse filing first appeared on the technology Web site DailyTech.

 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 

Windows 98 Read The Last Rites

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Windows 98 fans, if you have tears, prepare to shed them now. The once all-powerful operating system is no more – at least in Microsoft’s eyes.

The software company yesterday officially ended all support for Win 98, SE and Millennium Edition (ME), including security updates.

The company had dropped free technical support for these systems in 2003, but had continued to provide critical updates and paid technical support. Microsoft yesterday said that the company is ending support for these products “because they are outdated and these older operating systems can expose customers to security risks.” A technical database with Windows 98-related support questions will be maintained on Microsoft’s site until July next year.

Around 50 million people round the globe are believed to be still using
Win98 systems daily.

– Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has vowed that the company will never again leave it five-to-six years between major OS releases. Vista, the next version of Windows is due early in 2007 – two years late, and five years since the launch of Windows XP. “We’ll never have a gap between Windows releases as long as the one between XP and Vista,” vowed Ballmer at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference in Boston.

Chips 100 Times Faster Than Current Ones Tested

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Scientists in the USA have driven an IBM processor – made of germanium impregnated silicon – to over 500GHz, at least 100 times faster than current desktop chips.

Although the addition of germanium makes silicon chips run more efficiently, it doesn’t eliminate the heat generated by such intense computations. Liquid helium was used to drop the initial temperature of the chip to -268.5C, just a shred above absolute zero, which enabled it to hit the 500GHz mark. At room temperature the same processor managed around 350GHz – still an astounding feat.

The team, composed of scientists from IBM and the Georgia Institute of Technology, are investigating the potential of using non-silicon materials within chips. Germanium – especially when used in conjunction with silicon – doesn’t significantly increase the cost of manufacturing chips, unlike expensive materials like Gallium Arsenide. The scientists believe their experiments could lead to processors that hit 1THz at room temperature.

“We observe effects in these devices at cryogenic temperatures, which potentially make them faster than simple theory would suggest,” Professor John Cressler told the BBC. “Understanding the basic physics of these advanced transistors arms us with knowledge that could make the next generation of silicon-based integrated circuits even better.”

New Form Factor Media Centres Claims Intel Boss

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Intel Australia Channel boss Andrew Mclean claims that the launch of new Intel computer chips that deliver up to 40 percent more processing power while using 40 percent less electricity will result in new smaller form factor Media Centres being delivered to market “very soon” by white box manufacturers. He was speaking at the CEDIA Expo in Surfers Paradise where Intel is showing the latest in Viiv powered Media Centres.

 

Said Mclean “We have had an excellent response from manufacturers to the new processors as the technology we are delivering allows them to build not only new form factor systems but eliminate problems such as heat while delivering faster processing speed. This will result in some sleek new form factors for Media Centres”.

The Core 2 Duo, so named because it squeezes two computing brains onto a single microprocessor, allows the world’s largest chip maker to leapfrog past its archrival, Advanced Micro Devices, in the race to give customers better chips to run computer servers, desktop and laptop computers.

Industry analysts said the new chips showed Intel still has competitive juice in computer chip design. “They are back,” said Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst at Insight 64 in Saratoga. “For the last 18 months, Intel as a formidable competitor has sort of waned. They just didn’t have the product line-up that they needed to compete with AMD’s product on a feature or performance or power basis.”

While Santa Clara-based Intel dwarfs Sunnyvale-based AMD in corporate size, AMD had taken the lead in recent years in chip design. Since launching its first dual-core Opteron chip in 2003, AMD has gained 10 percentage points of market share based on revenue, growing from 7.5 percent of the market in the second quarter of 2003 to 17 percent in the first quarter of 2006, according to Insight64.

The Core 2 Duo is Intel’s most important product launch since 2000, when it rolled out the Pentium 4 chips.

“This does not change the situation that AMD will continue as a formidable competitor, but now AMD will be facing a formidable competitor,” Brookwood said. “The empire has struck back.”

Prices for desktop Core 2 Duo chips range from $183 to $999. Prices for laptop chips haven’t been announced yet.

Consumers will see desktop computers carrying the new Core 2 Duo chips on store shelves starting next week. With the Core 2 Duo punching up the power in HP’s media center, “you can stream high-definition video from your PC to your television,” said Sean Paterson, an HP desktop product manager. And while a child is watching a movie in the living room, a parent sitting in the home office can edit a video running on the same PC while a virus scan runs in the background.

For bigger corporate computers, the Core 2 Duo’s ability to conserve power will save money and headaches. Corporate data centers — which are filled with racks of the computer servers that deliver Web sites, handle transactions and house data — eat up a lot of electricity cooling the equipment to prevent overheating. If a business’s data center goes down because it can’t cope with the rising temperature, or if it falls victim to rolling blackouts, “it can be crippling,” said Colette LaForce, vice president of marketing for Rackable Systems, a Milpitas-based company that’s introducing a Core 2 Duo computer server.

And die-hard video-game players crave faster processing power, which reduces the lag time between when gamers hit a keyboard button and can see the result on the screen.

“You end up getting killed because you can’t see what’s going on,” Morgan Romine, a professional gamer, said as her colleague Ashley Jenkins showed on screen how to stab a cyclops in the eye.

Graphics chip-maker Nvidia then stole the stage to demonstrate the movie-like quality video gamers will soon be able to immerse themselves in using Nvidia chips working with the Core 2 Duo-powered PCs.

But, in sign of how competitive the chip industry remains, Nvidia’s competitor ATI Technologies said Intel rescinded an invitation to appear on stage at the event after the Canadian company announced Monday that it agreed to be acquired by Intel’s rival, AMD.

Intel spokesman Robert Manetta said no one from ATI was ever scheduled to appear on stage at the Core 2 Duo launch. But he added, “We did make a decision on Tuesday after the purchase was announced that it didn’t seem appropriate for a system with an ATI component to be on stage.”

Sean Maloney, Intel’s executive vice president and chief sales and marketing officer, said the launch was “a big day” for Intel, a celebration on par with a birthday plus a wedding.

 

Gizmo Support Launched In Australia

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Computers and CE devices have become so crucial to our lives that when they go wrong it becomes a stressful event to fix them. Now help is at hand in the form of health professionals for CE and IT devices.

Gizmo is a brand new CE and IT support service that has been launched in Sydney. Their primary objective is to deliver health care for new and sick devices.
The Gizmo service provides help in setting up and maintaining computer systems, home networking, peripherals and media/entertainment centres.

Gizmo is initially providing in-home service in the Sydney metropolitan area, with telephone assistance available nationwide. The in-home service is set to be expanded across Australia over the next 12 months based on the success of the service in the Sydney market.

Similar to the Geek Squad in the USA Gizmo has a team of qualified, technicians with knowledge of digital technology.


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“The growth of broadband and multiple devices in the home is resulting in increasingly sophisticated home technology, such as wireless networking,” said Brett Chenoweth, Gizmo’s CEO. “Gizmo can help people deal with these issues so that they can enjoy more of their personal time while getting the most out of their digital devices.”
“The Gizmo vision is to remove the frustrations and complexity of technology and open our customers up to a world of new ideas, experiences and opportunities. We love technology, we’ve read the manuals and we’re serious about making technology fun and simple,” Brett added.

Recent GfK Group research1 shows that 77 percent of Australians now have more than eight digital devices in their homes. “Many people are linking these devices together via broadband and networking, creating a new and growing level of complexity in household technology,” said Angus Macaskill, an analyst at GfK Group, highlighting that nearly 50 percent of people have installation issues with technology such as wireless routers. “A service such as Gizmo, that enables Australians to manage their home technology challenges, is very timely,” he said.

Gizmo allows people to select from a list of service packages designed specifically to address the diverse needs of home technology and digital devices. Home service visits are priced2 at a flat rate and range from $120 to $240 depending on the service required while over the phone service is a flat $60 (support that requires less than ten minutes costs only $20). Additionally, Gizmo offers a ‘no fix, no fee’ guarantee.

We Love A Mouse More Than A Partner

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A new survey by Logitech has found that almost half of us spend more time with our computer mouse than our partner or pet.

 In a survey of just over 2000 people, 41% say they spend over 5 hours on an average day in the company of a computer mouse. Furthermore, 6% of us spend over 10 hours a day with our mouse, at home or at work.

Compared to spending time with partners or pets, only 32% of us spend more than 5 hours a day with a partner and only 15% over 5 hours with a pet.

However in an effort to get people to spend more money on the peripheral, Logitech say that although 25% of people are happy to spend more than $3000 a year on their loved ones, 80% of mice get less than $50 worth of accessories, treats, and repairs a year.

Common complaints include leads getting in the way and mouse balls needing to be cleaned. The company’s recommendation? To invest in a cordless laser mouse of course.

Cool Acer Monitor With TV Built In

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Occasionally a monitor comes along that has it all, cool looks great screen and built in goodies like a TV tuner. That beast is the Acer AL2032 which is a gem of a product.

 The Acer AL2032 WA offers broadly the same specifications and image quality as the Sony screen, but has a much more singular goal in that it’s designed as a PC monitor, pure and simple.owing the current vogue for widescreen format, the Acer boasts a 20in display with extended width and native resolution of 1,680×1,050 pixels. This makes it ideal for multi-tasking, because you can run two applications side by side with plenty of breathing space. We also found the widescreen format ideal for photo editing, especially with wider format D-SLR shots; you can easily fit the images on the screen at a reasonably high resolution and still have room for the many and varied software tool panels on the side.

Continuing the Acer’s excellence in the realm of digital image and movie editing, the screen uses the company’s new CrystalBrite technology, which is similar to Sony’s X-Black technology. This means that, although the screen isn’t as good at cutting out reflections as conventional LCD panels, you get a much sharper looking display, with richer colours and excellent tonal range, enabling you to see the finer points in lowlight and highlight areas of your images.

As an object d’art, the Acer is beautifully designed in a slimline package with lustrous acrylic finish. Even the stand is pleasantly curved in the shape of an arc, which not only looks elegant but cuts down on the monitor’s footprint. Meanwhile, back at the sharp end, the display itself is the perfect size for DVD movie-watching and, as such, the Acer’s fast 8ms response time makes for fluid movement. On paper, the response speed isn’t quite a match for the Sony but, in our tests, we didn’t notice the slightest difference in performance between the two monitors.

With analogue, digital, S-Video and AV Composite inputs, there’s no shortage of connection possibilities, but the sound quality from built-in speakers is only average. Even so, for a widescreen monitor without built-in TV tuner, the Acer is our pick for quality and design, as well as being excellent value.

Reccomended Retail price $1,299.00

see www.acer.com.au

 

New Blackberry SmartPhone

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A new “Blackberry Smart Phone” that Research in Motion has been keeping under wraps has been exposed by bloggers.

 But the burning question is they bloggers or a carefully developed viral PR campaign. In recent weeks RIM followers have been teased by an enigmatic and resourceful character that has been sending proprietary product information to the Web. The source goes by the e-pseudonym of Boy Genius and has been feeding his scoops to Engadget.com, one of the industry’s most popular blogs.

 

In June, he gave word of a “Stealth BlackBerry” that would play music and appear on a provider network by October or November. By the beginning of this month, Boy Genius had the first public pictures of the device, showing its four-inch length alongside a ruler, and the exterior from all angles. A few days later he had a name and a price. The “Pearl” would make its debut at $199 (U.S.) next month complete with a 1.3-megapixel camera and expandable memory, he said.

 

“He has very good connections within the industry,” Peter Rojas, founder and editor of Engadget, said in a phone interview. “I don’t want to say too much about his background, but he actually approached us and said I want to give you guys some great exclusives.” Many people are coming to the site with information, but 95 per cent of it never gets published because of credibility concerns, he added.

 

As Boy Genius has been posting, RIM’s stock has been surging. It’s up 30 per cent this month, closing at $82.74 yesterday on the Nasdaq Stock Market. “RIM, I know you love how The Boy Genius has your stock above $80 per share for the first time since April. This is viral marketing at its best,” the mysterious source said in a posting on Engadget yesterday.

 

Some consumer electronics experts, however, question how beneficial the hype really is.

 

“If I know there’s a great product coming out in six months, why do I want to buy the product that’s on the market today? It can destroy demand for the existing offering,” said analyst Rob Enderle Group, which specialises in emerging technology.

 

“You can run into revenue problems. That’s the trade-off. Investors get excited about future products that will bid the stock up, but then if you miss your revenue numbers, that stock will come down dramatically.”

 

Publications don’t have any responsibility to maintain a company’s secrets as long as they are obtained legally. But a company whose product is leaked has a security problem that needs to be fixed, Mr. Enderle said.

 

In commenting on the situation, RIM spokesman Mark Guibert said last night that “the on-line rumour mill is simply a fact of life for any manufacturer, but it doesn’t typically change a company’s launch plans.”

 

This week, Boy Genius posted a video to Engadget, panning several lines of a document that appeared to come from an internal website at a major US carrier. The posting described the document as guidelines for staff about RIM’s forthcoming device.

Apple Boss Says No To Mac Expo Keynote

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Apple Computer boss Steve Jobs is set to snub his European faithful by refusing to deliver a keynote address at next month’s Apple Expo in France, show organisers have said.

Apple Insiders say that Jobs is furious at the French Government attempts to introduce laws that would change the way Apple distributes music for the iPod in France with one insider telling SHN that Jobs consulted his own legal team prior to making the decision to not appear at the Paris Expo.In a statement provided to Macworld UK, Reed Expositions spokeswoman Clementine Tisserand confirmed the lack of keynote address at the annual Apple trade show — the largest of its kind in Europe.

“There will be no keynote at this year’s show,” she said, adding only that the decision not to offer a keynote was not made by the company she represents.

In the weeks and months leading up to previous Apple Expos, hopes and expectations of an appearance by the charismatic Jobs have often run high amongst the company’s faithful. However, the Apple co-founder, for one reason or another, has failed to deliver a keynote address in Paris since 2003

In 2004, Jobs’ scheduled keynote presentation was conducted by Apple vice president Phil Schiller after Jobs took leave from his duties at Apple in order to recuperate from pancreatic cancer surgery. Jobs was also expected to present the opening keynote at last year’s Apple Expo, but later changed his plans when several product launches failed to fall into alignment. Instead, Jobs used special media events in September and October to introduce new iPods and the company’s fall Mac computer line.

This year’s Apple expo is slated to run from September 12 – 16 at Porte De Versailles in Paris, France.