There will be new iPod nanos out of Apple sometime between July an September of this year, according to iLounge. While that prediction is nothing to write home about (September? Really? Surely you jest!), some of the changes might spark your interest if you’re still a fan of the little flash-based player.
The latest metrics report is in from mobile ad firm AdMob for the month of April 2009. Like most previous reports, Apple is still far and away at the forefront of mobile network use among smartphones. For the first time, however, Apple has surpassed Symbian-based smartphones for the largest share of worldwide mobile requests on AdMob’s network.
Apple’s annual back-to-school promotion started today, with the promise of a free iPod touch with a Mac purchase—identical to last year’s promotion. Also, the company has quietly bumped the specs (again) on the entry-level white MacBook.
A developer has discovered that most recent beta of the iPhone SDK includes icons for an iPhone model labeled “iPhone2,1.” The icons are normally displayed in the settings section of iTunes when an iPhone is connected, and that model ID is believed to refer to the next-gen hardware Apple plans to unveil this summer.
VPlay is an interactive system based on a Microsoft Surface that is being developed over at Microsoft Research Cambridge. In short, it allows one or multiple users to manipulate video in real time. VPlay is designed for VJing (live video mixing) and achieves the real-time aspect by using digital objects that represent video clips, effects, and mixers. Users can then use simple touch gestures to move them around and arrange them while looking at the resulting ever-changing video output. Over the weekend, I found a video that shows off VPlay quite extensively. I’ve included the text from this video so that you can still get a feel for what’s happening even if you can’t watch the video:
A new server product from Dell, for a small number of large customers,
sheds some light on one direction a part of the server space may take.
The IT giant has announced
a new server center which will pack twelve complete Nano systems,
complete with storage and power supply, in a 2U server chassis.
Similar systems have been observed lately from several vendors, and it
looks as though the Blade market may soon feature a variety of such
products, because although they can’t win on core density or
performance per watt, they can offer low cost and, for small centers,
an alternative to virtualization.
If you can’t wait until June 8 to hit the ground running at WWDC 2009, iPhone Boot Camp San Francisco may offer the early workout you’re looking for.
One of the biggest disappointments for owners of the Mac mini versions that were released prior to the latest update were the numerous small barriers to using the device as a home theater PC. Sure, the mini’s form factor is perfect for an entertainment center, but the pre-2009 models don’t support HDMI, and the first generation of minis lacks even the optical outs for digital audio. Even my own Core 2 Duo-based mini with optical outs, which many originally greeted as a real HTPC from Apple, is a pain to use with HDMI. I never did get the DVI-to-HDMI cable that I bought at the Apple Store to work properly with my Pioneer plasma screen, so I gave up and just used VGA. And then there are the audio codec issues with playing MKV files, specifically MKVs with DTS—I also gave up on getting the mini’s optical out to produce anything but stereo with these files.
Just how much piracy goes on among iPhone users? Has Best Buy dropped hints about an updated iPhone in its internal inventory system? Are students still switching to Macs en masse? All these questions and more are answered in our weekly roundup of Apple news.
Cheaper iPhone data plans may be coming, according to AT&T’s Ralph de la Vega, but the details are still being hammered out. de la Vega spoke about the possible tweaks to its data services this week at the Reuters Global Technology Summit in New York, noting that the company is looking for ways to “stimulate additional demand” by considering tiered data options.
