A new version of iTunes has been made available (7.2) to the public. The new iTunes support the new iTunes Music Store with DRM free music files.
Some sites found out that the DRM-free music does contain your iTunes account info (username and full name). Probably to make sure that you won't share you purchased music on P2P networks...
More good news from Apple is the upcoming update on the Apple TV. The Apple TV will be made available with a bigger hard drive (160GB instead of 40GB). And a upcoming software updates allows the user to watch YouTube videos om the Apple TV.
Now we only need native DivX/XviD support on the Apple TV.....
AppleInsider found a filed
patent by Apple that reveiles a possible future new iPod design.
And again, I can't wait
Recently, the dutch
Tweakers website started with dissecting USB flashdrives. Their goal is to see if the so-called secure USB flashdrives are as secure as the manufacturer says they are.
They reviewed the SecuStick, and a BioStick. The first protects the data with a password. The latter (two different versions were tested) uses biometrics (fingerprints) to secure your precious data (in combination with AES encryption).
The full reports can be read
here, (SecuStick) and
here (BioStick). The dutch review can be read on the tweakers.net website (
here, and
here) along with interessting comments on the article.
Conclusion of the articles: Some of these so-called secure USB flashdrives are not as secure as you might think. Oke, the data is 'secure' for the casual user. If real secrets (your private pron collection :-) ) are being stored on those USB flashdrives, you might want to consider using TrueCrypt (with a strong password, and keyfiles) to store your 'valuable' data.
The Apple TV box is available at this moment. This devices allows you to stream music, and movies from iTunes on your TV. Downside is that you also need iTunes to host these files, since the Apple TV can only sync with iTunes. This also introduces a limitation. It's not possible to watch videos in a format like DivX, or XviD. iTunes doesn't support those (and therefor, the Apple TV won't support them either.
It is possible to hack the Apple TV and add DivX/XviD support (and lot's of other nifty features like installing a hacked version of OSX). To achieve this, you need to open the Apple TV (byebye warranty).
The other possibility is to get a Mac Mini, and strip it down mainly for media center purposes. Downside with the Mac Mini is that it's a bit more expensive.
Currently I use my MacBook Pro as a media center (whenever I need it). But this is kind of a hassle with power, audio and DVI connectors. So I need a (relatively cheap non Windows based) dedicated setup for watching content on my TV. *SIGH*
100Mbps is soooooo
1993, and fully insufficient in copying lot's of Linux images :wink: over my internal network. So, today I upgraded to Gigabit. Even with the purchased el-cheapo hardware (Intel Pro NIC's, and a 3COM 10/100/1000 switch) the speed increase is noticeable (70-80Mbps versus 300-350Mbps).
Too bad that my DSL connection doesn't go that fast :-(
It's been a couple of days since the release of the
Apple TV. Directly after its release it became clear that the device runs on a minimal version of OSX. It didn't take long for enthusiasts to open the Apple TV box, and add extra functionality (like
SSH, DivX, XviD, etc). Even adding a much
bigger harddrive is quite possible.
These 'hacks' can be found on
AppleTVHacks.net.
Today, a new hack surfaced. It seems that Apple implemented some sort of limitation on running a full blown version of OSX... Well, that limitation didn't last very long. There's a
short tutorial about running OSX on the Apple TV (including support for keyboard and mouse). This makes the Apple TV the cheapest Apple PC available (299 euros).
You do need additional hardware to make this work (like special screwdrivers, an Intel Mac, some extra peripherals, etc.)
It's been a couple of days since I got my new home cinema set, and there are several annoyances with remote controls.
My old home cinema components were also from Pioneer, so I guessed that the new remotes would be similar, but boy I was wrong. The new remote for the AV receiver has about 10 times as many buttons, with every at least 2 functions per button. The remote for the Pioneer DVR-545 lacks several key buttons on the remote;
- numeric keys for zapping
- buttons for going fast forward and reverse
- Audio and subtitle selection
If you need those controls (and I need them a lot), you have to slide the remote open, and use a SHIFT button to alter in movie settings (like the subtitles). Why not place these buttons on the surface? So newer doesn't mean better IMO
My latest DVD Harddisk recorder is a
Pioneer DVR-545H. Since these things are still region locked I needed to do some searching on how to get the thing region free. In my early DVD years (when a simple DVD player costed about 700 euro), I bought lots of DVD's from Amazon in the USA. The reason for buying them at Amazon was that the prices were much lower, and they had a bigger collection to choose from.
Every DVD player I bought afterwards had the possibility of making it region free. Mostly by a hardware modification, or with a hacked firmware. My latest acquisition had the possibility to make it region free by sending an infrared (IR) signal to the player/recorder
All you need is a PC/Laptop with an IR out. On
this page, you can get a '
kit' which makes your DVR-545H region free without hacking the firmware or making hardware modifications. Just one click on your laptop, and your Pioneer DVR reboots, and is region free.
Note that the page is about another DVR from Pioneer. The nice part is that Pioneer standardizes their recorders, so it works on most of them.
So again, no need to 'backup' my DVD collection to remove the region coding.
And before I forget to mention it....
Use it at your own risk!!.
My new home cinema set arrived today. Earlier I mentioned that I'd probably get me the
Philips 42 inch TFT, but after seeing lot's of those screens work, I decided to get a
Sony Bravia KDL-40W2000 (1080p). With a new screen, I also needed a new Home Cinema Receiver. This became the
Pioneer VSX-2016AV-S. Together with a nice
KEF iQ7 speakerset, and an active Klipsch subwoofer.
Oh my god, this setup rocks....
The great thing about the current game consoles is that people who have (owned) an older version still can play their games. most XBox games run on the XBox 360. Nintendo also offers great backwards compatibility on their Wii.
Sony has to be the one company who differs. The current PS3 (sold in the US and Japan) offer backwards compatibility with PS2 games (to some extend). The PS3 which will be available in Europe will have a different 'engine'. This means that
backwards compatibility is much less.
Way to go Sony. This means that the current PS2 owners have to keep their PS2 as well....
I'm stil in the orientation phase in deciding which console (Xbox360, Nintendo Wii or the PS3) I should buy, when I get my new HD-TV. I guess that PS3 is dropping a few places with this strategy, cause older games come cheap and can still offer lot's of fun.
