Manufacturer: Belkin
Price: $79.99US
iPod Compatibility: 1G/2G nano, iPod mini, 4G and 5G iPod
More Information: Wirelessly Control Your iPod with the Belkin SportCommand™ for iPod®

On Monday, Belkin announced a rugged wireless remote for the iPod. The target market is for outdoor sports enthusiasts, regardless of the weather. The idea is that you expose the remote to the elements, while keeping your iPod safe in a bag or in your jacket.

The controls themselves are made out of a durable fabric that attaches with Velcro™ to a flexible armband that you wear on the outside of your winter jacket or outer gear. The basic buttons are there—PLAY/PAUSE, FF/REW, and Volume UP/DOWN. They look chunky and tactile, so you can easily skip to the next track with your gloves on.

Just below the controls is a screw-tight piece where the battery resides. I read from a large image of the SportCommand that there’s an indicator light for battery level, but it wasn’t readily apparent where that indicator is on the front of the device. The remotes wireless bits are probably stored inside that same compartment.

The SportCommand remote velcros to the armband, which looks rugged as well.

The press release doesn’t show the other side of the equation, that is, the part that connects to your iPod. Also, the SportCommand is simply a remote, you’ll still have to run your headphones from wherever you’ve stashed your iPod to your ears.

If you play hard in in-climate weather, and you don’t want to pay to have your iPod built into your jacket, the $79.99US Belkin SportCommand for iPod looks like a great solution.

You can find more information about the SportCommand here.

How many times have you launched something like Illustrator and been frustrated by the hundreds of tools thrown in front of you, when all you need is a simple application for creating a quick logo, map or other drawing? Or perhaps you are new to the world of design and you need to create something, but do not have the budget to spend on every single app on your shopping list. Until now, there has not really been a viable alternative, so Freeverse steps up to the mark with their ‘Lineform’ application.

Many of my comments in this review may seem to sound negative, but I need to put you straight on this right away. When I say that Lineform offers a simplistic interface, or takes the easy route to giving me the tools to do the job in hand, this is really a positive. For many years now I have used Freehand instead of Illustrator because the interface makes it a lot simpler to find your way around. Lineform is very similar to this, the interface is very clean and allows you to get on with what you are trying to achieve. When you need more powerful tools, they are on tap too, but without being over-complicated (unlike some very expensive apps).
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The idea behind a new program ScreenRecycler is that most Mac users have some old computer sitting right next to their main computer on their desk that is gathering dust. ScreenRecycler is intended to let you use that machine as a second monitor for your main computer.
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I often ask myself, just how many items can someone review and still give a fresh and interesting evaluation that readers will be willing to read. This was more difficult to answer than I first thought, but I came to two conclusions. Firstly, it helps if the product is useful and well thought out and secondly, it pays dividends to actually use the product.

The Danger Mouse from MacMice fits nicely into both of my realizations and I am sitting here right now writing this review whilst actually using the product. I feel instantly at home with it for many reasons and all of these reasons fit into the ‘well thought out’ category.
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While those in the professional Mac community often enjoy industry-standard content creation tools provided by powerful programs like Final Cut Pro, Soundtrack Pro, Motion, and Logic Pro— there are also many Mac users in the educational arena who have long reaped the benefits of easy to use, intuitive and powerful educational software made by Apple.

Apple has long prided itself in the educational community, offering solutions for both educators and students alike for over 25 years. Because of their continued effort to produce fun yet powerful software like the iLife suite of applications, it’s no surprise that recently a group of 10 year-olds from schools in New South Wales, Australia have been producing some extraordinary material.

Recently The MacCast received a letter by Paul Meldrum, Senior Education Officer of the Catholic Schools Office, in Broken Bay. Paul wanted to write and let us in on the incredible work of the students of New South Wales.
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A little bit of information can go a long way—this is especially the case in Mac OS X. As you may have read in my previous two posts in this series (1 | 2), taking some time with your Mac’s built-in Address Book app can pay off in spades in functionality in other applications. Last time we looked at Mail app, this time, we’ll take a quick look at a few native and 3rd-party OS X apps.

Browsers

Didn’t think that your web browser would bother looking up information from your contacts? Think again. There are at least two web browsers made for OS X that will allow you to look up a contact’s website, without even launching Address Book.

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Recently, we let you know about the availability of a new armband for your iPod nano. I received a set of the Sweats in the mail and wanted to let the MacCast community know how they worked out.
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Registration for the annual MacWorld conference has opened and it is not too soon to make your plans to attend. Adam is planning on being there. Why register now?

Register by December 11, 2006 with Priority Code: E-SFVA for the Platinum Pass and receive $3,995 worth of training, for only $1,495.

Important Deadlines:
Before October 30, 2006 – Register for your complimentary Exhibit Hall registration. Use Priority Code: E-SFVA

Before December 11, 2006 – Register for your Conference of choice at Early Bird pricing. Use Priority Code: E-SFVA

click here to register

Many people nowadays are turning to laptops for their main systems, not only due to the power that is now available in these mobile machines, but also because it offers a very versatile set-up. Not having to look after two systems is very nice and the ability to connect your laptop up to an external display, gives you the best of both worlds.

Storage whilst on the move is very handy, but when your laptop comes with maybe only 60Gb of internal storage you may not have enough. When your mobile storage needs expand your only option is to either get a larger hard drive installed (often an expensive option) or invest in an external device. This is where the Lacie MobileDrive comes into play. It offers you 80Gb or 100Gb (as reviewed here) of external storage in a very neat package. This unit is very nicely styled, sleek curves to the front and no protruding feet to catch on things. It is small enough to easily fit into a large coat pocket or a normal bag pocket alongside your laptop. It does not feel cheap either, despite its’ very competitive price tag.
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If you haven’t been notified by software update already, Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.8 Update is now available for download, and offers a variety of enhancements, fixes and features for both PPC and Intel Mac users.

According to Apple, the update is recommended for all users and includes general operating system fixes, as well as specific fixes for the following applications and technologies:

– Connecting to wireless networks using the EAP-FAST protocol
– Apple USB modem reliability
– Using OpenType fonts in Microsoft Word
– Compatibility with 3rd party USB hubs
– Scanner performance
– RAW camera support
– Printing documents with Asian language names
– Performance of the Translation widget
– Broadband network performance
– Security updates

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