Engadget is reporting that Apple is previewing iPhone OS 3.0 on March 17th. They got an invitation for the preview which will also include a look at the iPhone SDK. The shortish Engadget post also states that they’re expecting no releases of any actual software as the invitation says that the event is “an advanced preview of what we’re building”. The event will take place at 12:00 P.M. CST and Engadget will be liveblogging the preview.

We here at AYAAW sincerely hope that Apple includes the following with OS 3.0:

• A better way to organize/move apps around.
• Copy & Paste.
• Push notifications (battery friendly of course).
• MMS texting.
• A better way to organize/move apps around.

That’s not a typo. We really, really want a better way to organize/move apps around. After the third or fourth full screen of apps it’s a big pain in the ol’ arse to do anything other than let iTunes just plunk them in the first available spot. From an organizational and productivity standpoint that’s just plain inefficient.

Tags:announcement

Isaiah Carew of YourHead today announced the official 1.0 release of Stacks. Stacks is an amazing RapidWeaver plug-in that allows simple drag-and-drop web page creation.

“We're very proud to announce that we've completed our beta testing and we've released Stacks 1.0. Over the past two months we've had help from thousands of beta testers and have fixed more bugs than we care to admit. The result of all that hard work by the dedicated testers is the most powerful tool for RapidWeaver layout ever.”

Stacks come with a number of ready made Stacks objects: Text, Columns, Image, Left Float Image (text wraps around the image), Right Float Image (text wraps around image), HTML and Stack (think rows). Third party developers are also building Stacks Objects to add even more functionality. Theme design outfit Elixir Graphics has released a free Twitter stack that imports a Twitter feed into your web page.

The best thing about Stacks is that you can “nest” objects within other objects. For example, lets say you want a two column layout on the top of your page and in the right hand column you want to easily place a Twitter feed:



Check out the Stacks page over at YourHead for more info. Isaiah has created some excellent screen casts showing how to use Stacks and highlighting its feature set. You can also download the demo before you buy.

Stacks is $19.95 and requires Leopard 10.5, RapidWeaver 4.2.1 or later and will work on both Intel and PowerPC Macintosh computers.

Tags:plug-ins, new, announcement

During the first quarter conference call yesterday COO Tim Cook dispelled any notions of Apple introducing an iPhone Nano:

"You know us, we're not going to play in the low-end voice phone business. That's not who we are. That's not why we're here. We'll let somebody do that, our goal is not to be the unit share leader in the phone industry. It is to build the best phone."

He also made similar comments regarding a low-end netbook:

"We're watching that space, but right now from our point of view, the products in there are principally based on hardware that's much less powerful than we think customers want, software technology that is not good, cramped keyboards, small displays."Cook added, "We don't think people will be pleased with those products. It's a category we watch, we've got some ideas here, but right now we think the products are inferior and will not provide an experience to customers they're happy with."

Both comments echo what Steve Jobs said in October’s quarterly conference call so we tend to believe them. It’s not unheard of for Apple to reverse course on something they’ve discounted in the past but both are unlikely given Apple’s market and product placement strategy: higher end and high margin devices.

Read the entire AppleInsider story. MacRumors is also running a similar article.

Tags:tim cook, announcement

Here they are:

New iLife:

iPhoto: new ways of organizing and finding photos: face recognition, geo tagging, new slideshow themes and Facebook and Flickr integration.

iMovie: dynamic themes, animated 2D and 3D travel maps, precision editing, better audio options, image stabilization.

GarageBand: Artist lessons that you can buy through iTunes.

New iWeb as well.

New iWork:

Keynote: slick new transitions, Magic Move, theme chooser, 3D chart animations, Keynote iPhone remote.

Pages: more templates via new theme chooser, full screen option, mail merge with Numbers, dynamic outlines.

Numbers: 250 new functions, easier formulas, theme chooser, better charting, links to Pages to update data on the fly.

iWork.com: share documents and add notes.

New 17 inch MacBook Pro with new battery: up to 8 hours per charge, up to 1000 charges, non-replaceable.

DRM Free iTunes! 8 million tracks DRM free now and the rest will be DRM free by the end of the quarter. Higher quality encoding as well. Three prices for songs: $0.69, $0.99 & $1.29. Available on your iPhone via 3G.

All in all a pretty decent MacWorld. Too bad it’ll be the last one.

Tags:announcement, rumor, update, macworld, ilife, iwork

Realmac Software released it's new screen snapping utility, LittleSnapper 1.0 on Thursday. LittleSnapper is a screen snapping utility that incorporates an cataloging and organizing mechanism reminiscent of iPhoto. It solves a problem encountered by anyone who takes a lot of screen shots: keeping screen snaps findable and organized. If you use OS X's built in screen snapping feature (⌘+⇧+4) you'll soon end up with tons of screen snaps named "Picture 1.png", "Picture 2.png" etc., scattered about your desktop and hard drive. Even if you're diligent about keeping your screen snaps named and organized you still have to physically go through the motions of dragging and dropping them into your organizational system. LittleSnapper solves this problem by automatically importing screen shots into it's library.

Once in the library you can name, rate, describe and tag the screen snap for easy searching and finding later. You can further organize your library into folders, Collections and Smart Collections. Folders can contain anything you like: more folders, Collections or Smart Collections. Collections can only contain screen snaps and Smart Collections contain screen snaps based on rules you set when creating the collection. If you've ever used iPhoto or similar cataloging software you'll be comfortable with LittleSnapper's features and modes of operation.

So far, what I described above could be achieved with Skitch, SnapzPro, OS X's built in screen shot taking feature or any other screen capture program and your own organizational folder scheme (folders for libraries and collections) and although it wouldn't be automated, it is certainly doable. What sets LittleSnapper apart from these apps, however, is that the whole process is mostly automated. After taking the screen snap, LittleSnapper imports it and you just drag and drop it to the appropriate Library and collection. If you set up Smart Collections LittleSnapper can do this for you as well.

Another killer LittleSnapper feature is it's ability to take screen shots of full web pages. No longer do you have to take multiple screen snaps of really long webpages only to have to stitch them back together in an image editing app. Just navigate in Safari, Firefox, Camino, Omniweb or other supported browser to the page you want and tell LittleSnapper to snap the page. This type of functionality won't be of use to everyone but it's a boon to web developers and designers.

Of course, LittleSnapper comes with all the "normal" annotation tools you'd expect: Square, Circle, Text, Lines and Arrows. It also comes with a really slick Blur tool that allows you to obscure parts of your snap, like a username that was taken as part of the snap for example, or you can emphasize parts of your snap by blurring everything else. Slick!

All Capture commands are readily accessible in LittleSnapper's menu bar control: Snap Web Address From Safari, Open Current Website In LittleSnapper, Snap Full Screen, Snap Area, Snap Window. You can also open LittleSnapper's Preferences from the menu bar as well as quit the program.

By now you're probably thinking that LittleSnapper just might be the best thing since sliced bread and we'd probably agree but it gets even better. LittleSnapper allows you to take screen shots of individual elements on a page. Just load the webpage into LittleSnapper and then using it's DOM Element snapping feature move your cursor around and different page elements will highlight. When you find the one that you want, click it and then click Snap. You now have a screen snap of just that element. The real beauty of the webpage and element snapping features is that LittleSnapper also saves the associated HTML for you to look at later!

The last and possibly most important feature (ok they're all important but this is the one that'll allow us to move away from Skitch) is Realmac's QuickSnapper screen snap sharing service. Like Skitch, the QuickSnapper service is free and comes integrated with LittleSnapper: you just have to create an account which you can do right from within the app. With QuickSnapper you have the ability to upload snaps directly from the Share button in the LittleSnapper toolbar. Once shared, others can view and comment on your snap. QuickSnapper also automatically generates code for inserting into forum posts, code for an HTML link and the URL to the full image. Best of all QuickSnapper will generate a tiny URL for using with Twitter! You can also search other users images and import them into your own library with a click of a button.

LittleSnapper isn't perfect yet and is missing a few key features. We here at AYAAW need to be able to tale snaps of application menus as well as menu bar menus. As of version 1.0 there is no way to do this and we had to dust off Skitch to take the snap of LittleSnapper's menu bar menu. SnapzPro can take snaps of menus via a hot key combo and Skitch's timed snap allows for this as well. It would also be nice to be able to name, rate and tag snaps as they're imported. As it is now, you take the snap, LittleSnapper imports it and you then enter this info in the Inspector. This isn't a huge issue but if naming, rating and tagging the image were part of the importing workflow, it would just be a lot quicker process. Also, as the world's worst speller's we need LittleSnapper to be able to tap into OS X's spelling and grammar checker for Text annotating. No doubt Realmac is already busy on the next version of LittleSnapper and maybe these features will make it into a future release. Keep your fingers crossed.

LittleSnapper is an incredible tool for those of us who have to take and organize screen shots on a daily basis. Even for the casual snapper, LittleSnapper is a compelling application. Realmac Software has priced LittleSnapper at $39 which is a steal if you ask us. Check it out and download the demo over at Realmac's LittleSnapper website.

Tags:announcement, new, screensnap

Netflix has opened it's Microsoft Silverlight based "Watch Instantly" option to most Intel Mac users. If you're interested in participating in the program your system needs to meet the following:

• Intel Base Mac
• Tiger 10.4.8 or later
• 1GB of RAM
• Safari 3 or Firefox 2

Netflix notes that this is a beta player and if you opt in, you may experience problems watching movies on your computer. They also point out that some movies aren't available to watch instantly (we're willing to bet most aren't available) and that if you join the beta program you will no longer be able to watch instantly using Windows Media Player. Ok that last was directed at Windows user but we figured we should probably include it anyways just in case someone out there is using Boot Camp or virtualization software to Watch Instantly on their Mac.
So, if you're into watching movies on your Mac, your options for watching streaming content legally just got a boost. Check out Netfix's blog for more details and if you want to jump in here's the opt in link.

Tags:video, beta, announcement

Yesterday, Griffin Technology announced the availability of iTrip Auto for iPhone.

The iTrip Auto simply plugs into the dock connector of the iPhone and offers high-quality audio, intuitive controls and Griffin's trademark station-scanning feature, SmartScan. SmartScan makes setup and operation nearly automatic -- it seeks out the best FM frequencies available, then selects the best of the best for use in transmitting the music to the car's FM stereo.

iTrip Auto automatically optimizes output volume, and the user can select stereo or mono modes for best-quality audio. Listeners can control speaker volume from the car stereo controls, eliminating the need to look at the touchscreen to adjust volume level, and features a large, easy-to-read backlit LCD screen for quick, easy reference on the road.

Simple, one cable design combines easy-to-use FM transmitter and auto charger for iPhone

Plugs into the 12V auto power outlet and charges the iPhone as it plays

Power switch with 3-color charge indicator

Save frequencies to four presets; uses any FM frequency from 88.1 to 107.9

Compatible with: iPhone 3G, iPhone, iPod touch (2G), iPod touch, iPod nano (4G), iPod nano (3G), iPod classic, iPod nano (2G), iPod with video (5G), iPod nano (1G)

For more info see the full press release at Griffins website (although we pretty much copied and pasted the full text) or visit the iTrip Auto's web page. We've never used this type of auto audio adapter before so if you have any experience with these kind of set ups let us know. Either post a comment or fire off an email to AYAAW.

Tags:accessories, announcement

Jon Brown Designs announced today the launch of a free banner and textual ad network for Mac users only: Mac Advertising Network. The service provides a way for Mac related websites to only display Mac related ads. The service is free and allows users to exchange ads with other Mac Advertising Network users.

Mac enthusiasts may advertise their blog, podcast, application and more. Anyone may sign up to the service to place their banner or textual ads. The minimal trade off is adding a banner (or textual ad) to their site. Websites that are on the network will in turn display their ad on rotational basis. The service is free to all comers, and all ads are closely monitored. Only high quality ads related to the Mac community are approved.

"Mac Advertising Network was created out of a barrage of questions from others who were seeking alternative means to advertise their Mac related service or product", cites Brown. "I myself have purchased several apps from ads found on other websites. Hopefully Mac users will join together and help spread the news about all the great websites, apps and more for the Mac community." This is an amazing opportunity for all of Mac Fans.

For more info see the full press release over at prMac. AYAAW signed up immediately. Hey, free is free and you can't buy that at any price! Hopefully you'll soon be seeing the AYAAW moniker on all your favorite Mac sites. Well maybe you won't be all that thrilled about it but we sure will be!

Tags:announcement

Unless you've been living under a rock the past few weeks you know that Apple was planning to refresh its laptop line and today they did just that. All new MacBook 13" configurations feature new case designs (unibody aluminum "brick"), glossy glass displays, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics processor and a new multi-touch glass trackpad/mouse.

New MacBook Pro's come with the new unibody case design, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics processor. glossy displays and the new multi-touch glass trackpad/mouse. They also come with an extra graphics processor, the NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT, which can be turned on by the user to increase performance.

Apple also updated the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro 17", mostly just with better specs.

Apple also stated that they'll continue to sell an updated version of the white MacBook, that includes an 8X Superdrive, for $999.

New MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air specs:

The 2.0 GHz, 13-inch aluminum MacBook, for a suggested retail price of $1,299 (US), includes:

13.3-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1280 x 800 glossy display;
2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3MB shared L2 cache;
1066 MHz front-side bus;
2GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB;
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
160GB serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
a slot-load 8X SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
built-in AirPort Extreme® 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
Gigabit Ethernet port;
built-in iSight video camera;
two USB 2.0 ports;
one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;
glass Multi-Touch trackpad; and
60 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.
The 2.4 GHz aluminum MacBook, for a suggested retail price of $1,599 (US), includes:

13.3-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1280 x 800 glossy display;
2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3MB shared L2 cache;
1066 MHz front-side bus;
2GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB;
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
250GB serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
a slot-load 8X SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
Gigabit Ethernet port;
built-in iSight video camera;
two USB 2.0 ports;
one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;
glass Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard; and
60 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.
Build-to-order options for the MacBook include the ability to upgrade to 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, a 250GB 5400 rpm, 320GB 5400 rpm hard drive, a 128GB solid state drive, Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (for 30-inch DVI display), Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter, Apple USB Modem, Apple Remote, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter and the AppleCare® Protection Plan.

The 2.4 GHz, 15-inch aluminum MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $1,999 (US), includes:

15.4-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1440 x 900 glossy display;
2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3MB shared L2 cache;
1066 MHz front-side bus;
2GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB;
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT discrete graphics with 256MB GDDR3 video memory;
250GB serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
a slot-load 8X SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
Gigabit Ethernet port;
built-in iSight video camera;
two USB 2.0 ports;
one FireWire® 800 port;
ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;
one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;
glass Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard; and
85 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.
The 2.53 GHz aluminum MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $2,499 (US), includes:

15.4-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1440 x 900 glossy display;
2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 6MB shared L2 cache;
1066 MHz front-side bus;
4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM;
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT discrete graphics with 512MB GDDR3 video memory;
320GB serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
a slot-load 8X SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
Gigabit Ethernet port;
built-in iSight video camera;
two USB 2.0 ports;
one FireWire 800 port;
ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;
one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;
glass Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard; and
85 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.
Build-to-order options for the MacBook Pro include a 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, the ability to upgrade to 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, 250GB 7200 rpm, 320GB 5400 rpm or a 320GB 7200 rpm hard drive, a 128GB solid state drive, Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (for 30-inch DVI display), Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter, Apple USB Modem, Apple Remote, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter and the AppleCare Protection Plan.

The 1.6 GHz MacBook Air, for a suggested retail price of $1,799 (US), includes:

13.3-inch widescreen LED-backlit high resolution 1280 x 800 glossy display;
1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 6MB shared L2 cache;
1066 MHz front-side bus;
2GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM;
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
120GB serial ATA hard drive running at 4200 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
built-in iSight video camera;
one USB 2.0 port;
one headphone port;
Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard; and
45 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.
The 1.86 GHz MacBook Air, for a suggested retail price of $2,499 (US), includes:

13.3-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1280 x 800 glossy display;
1.86 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 6MB shared L2 cache;
1066 MHz front-side bus;
2GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM;
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
128GB solid state drive;
Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
built-in iSight video camera;
one USB 2.0 port;
one headphone port;
Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard; and
45 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.
Build-to-order options and accessories for the MacBook Air include the MacBook Air SuperDrive, Apple USB Ethernet Adapter, Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (for 30-inch DVI display), Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter, Apple USB Modem, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter, Apple Remote and the AppleCare Protection Plan.

The 2.5GHz 17-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $2,799 (US), includes:

17-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1920 x 1200 glossy display;
2.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 6MB shared L2 cache;
800 MHz front-side bus;
4GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM;
NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics with 512MB with GDDR3 video memory;
320GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
a slot-load 8X SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
DVI output port for video output (VGA adapter included);
built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
Gigabit Ethernet port;
built-in iSight video camera;
three USB 2.0 ports;
one FireWire 800 port and one FireWire 400 port;
ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;
one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;
Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard; and
85 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.
Build-to-order options for the 17-inch MacBook Pro include a 2.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, a 320GB 7200 rpm hard drive, a 128GB solid state drive, anti-glare display, Apple USB Modem, Apple Remote, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter and the AppleCare Protection Plan.

Tags:new, announcement

Yesterday, BeLight Software announced the immediate availability of version 2 of it's Art Text graphics application. Art Text 2 can be used for creating headings, web graphics, buttons and logos with an ease not found in other software. According to BeLight, the new version features a new Template Gallery with over 200 ready made buttons, headings, icons. Multiple layers support and redesigned interface turn Art Text 2 into flexible tool to create complex graphics. 120 new vector icons and over 190 supplied textures were added. Pricing starts at $39.95, upgrade is free for people who purchased version 1 starting July 1st, 2008 and costs only $19.95 for those who purchased earlier:

"We are thankful to all Art Text users who found version 1 useful and wrote us feedbacks and suggestions about improving the program. When working on version 2 we tried to account on most of those wishes and nevertheless keep the software easy to use, so that two clicks are enough to bring joy to any user!"- says Pavel Skurtul, Art Text Product Manager.

Other Art Text version 2 changes:
- 120 new vector icons added;
- Redesigned program interface;
- Merge layers using one of the 11 blend modes;
- Texture library with over 190 supplied textures added;
- Multi layers support added, each layer has its own properties;
- Library of Shading materials grew to 245 surface materials in total;
- Template Gallery with 200+ editable button, heading, icon and logo templates becomes available.

Art Text 1 is a fantastic app that put the power of higher end graphics programs into a smaller, lighter-weight package that's easy to use and create fantastic looking graphics. We here at AYAAW can't wait to put version 2 though it's paces. Check back for a complete review in the next couple of weeks.

Tags:update, graphics, announcement

Realmac Software, makers of the amazing RapidWeaver, announced their latest creation LittleSnapper at last weeks Paris Apple Expo. LittleSnapper appears to be a screenshot application that can also take snapshots of entire web pages, even those that extend past the bottom of your screen. Beyond that LittleSnapper will also store your screenshots with a workflow that seems to be similar to the now familiar iTunes or iPhoto system of cataloging. According to Realmac, LittleSnapper's cataloging ability features tools to add comments to screenshots, annotate with shapes and text, add ratings and tags, group into collections via drag and drop and build Smart Collections based on information from your library.

LittleSnapper also features the ability to share screenshots via a one-click publishing tool, take shots of individual webpage elements and according to the Realmac blog it will integrate with your favorite image editing application. The one-click publishing thing really appeals to me. I love and use Skitch daily so I'm hoping it works similarly.

RealMac hasn't posted a downloadable demo yet nor have they announced a release date or pricing, although they do state it will be available late this year. This is very intriguing to me on a number of levels. Firstly, I seem to really like and collect screenshot taking apps. I do use them when building websites but have absolutely no need for as many as I have. Secondly, it's being developed by Realmac so you know it's going to be good. Lastly, I really like and collect screenshot taking apps. Whoops! I listed that that twice. I must only have two levels.

I can't wait and am giddy with anticipation at being able to take screenshots. Er, wait a second. I can already do that with any number of apps. I'm still giddy anyway because one can never have too many screen shooting apps, can they?

Joe Henry

Tags:announcement

Kevin Rose was spot on with his predictions as Apple announced immediate availability of new Nanos and iTunes 8.

The new Nano is as Rose described and actually looks like a pretty decent upgrade. The screen is larger and they come in a lot more colors. The new iPod is also sporting an enhanced user interface and includes an accelerometer (like the iPhone and iPod Touch) that detects tilt. Shake the new Nano and your music gets shuffled. The 8GB model will set you back $149 and is available today at the Apple store. The 16GB model will list at $199 and should be available next week.

The iPod Touch also saw a refresh today and according to Jobs and Apple is "the funnest iPod ever". It sports external volume controls, Nike support, a built in speaker and the same curved back as the iPhone 3G. Battery life for the new touch is said to be 36 hours for music, 6 hours for video. The new Touch will set you back $229 for the 8GB model, $299 for the 16GB and $399 for the 32GB model.

iTunes (press release, download) is also pretty much as Rose described and includes the new grid view for browsing your music collection. You can view the grid by album, artist, genres or composer. iTunes 8 also includes the rumored "Genius" playlist. If you want to watch your TV shows in HD iTunes 8 has you covered there as well. HD TV shows will cost $2.99. The download weighs in at 55.9 MB's and requires Quicktime 7.5.5 which is available via Software Update.

Jobs also announced iPhone Firmware 2.1 but alas it won't be available until Friday sometime. Apple says the new firmware will significantly increase battery life, address dropped calls, make backups faster (Yeah!) and supposedly fix app crashes. Other bug fixes are included as well.

Lastly, Apple announced new in-ear headphones that sport a remote in the cord as well as a mic. The new earbuds list for $79 and are supposed to offer superior sound.

So there you have it kiddies. iTunes has uploaded my music info to Apple and I now have a Genius pane opened on the right side of iTunes. I'll post back with thoughts on this latter.

Joe Henry

Tags:announcement, new, accessories

So there! I stuck to my guns and perhaps I'll be vindicated. To get the full details of what they are now predicting, check out the full article here.

The best news for me, however, is they are now predicting iPhone Firmware 2.1. I just spent another grueling day restoring my iPhone from the dreaded Gray Apple Screen Freeze (see our 3G Survival Guide for more info). Although my phone is now functional iTunes doesn't recognize it other than to offer restore it to factory settings or to restore from a backup. I ALREADY DID THAT! Man oh man I'm hoping version 2.1 brings an end to this very unstable and bug infested iPhone OS.

Those are strong words, I know, but I've never had to deal with anything like this from an Apple product. Sure most OS updates bring a random bug or instability but none that I can remember have ever been as bad as iPhone Firmware 2.0. The Gray Apple Screen Freezes, random reboots, corrupt backups, and the list goes on. Yes I still love my iPhone but I could certainly do without the crapware that is iPhone Firmware 2.0.

I'm keeping all of my appropriate appendages crossed for Tuesday.

Joe Henry

Tags:announcement, rumor

Robbie White announced the release of a new RapidWeaver theme yesterday: Spectrum. The new theme continues to push the envelope in terms of features and beautiful design that RapidWeaver users can incorporate into their own websites.

Spectrum’s fading/glowing navigation system is probably it’s most noticeable feature but not the only one. Spectrum features fading/glowing navigation in the sidebar as well, where your second and third tier page navigation controls reside. The theme comes with a variety of header artwork, Google and RapidSearch JavaScript search snippets and of course, validates XHTML and CSS valid.

If you own RapidWeaver you owe it to yourself to check out Robbie White’s Spectrum live demo.

Joe Henry
AYAAW

Tags:theme, announcement

Griffin Technology, creators of iPod and iPhone accessories like the iTrip AutoPilot and EarJams, today announced the availability of it’s newest iPod Touch/iPhone app Double Bonus Slots.

The slot machine simulation game features a large view in landscape mode, fast animation and graphics and will keep track of your winnings.

Check out Double Bonus Slots at the iTunes app store.

Joe Henry
AYAAW

Tags:app, announcement