Will the Archos tempt me away from my beloved iPod? I must admit, to say it was interesting is an understatement, with some very nice experiences along the way. On test was the 160Gb version of the Archos 504, yes, you read that right, 160Gb of storage.

The unit sports a 4.3 inch widescreen, capable of displaying 16 million colours. The screen is nice and bright, evenly lit and offers adjustable brightness levels. My only minor complaint was that there were not enough levels to choose from. Staying with the screen, it is very glossy, so you do get some reflections, but adjusting the angle is not a problem. The size of the actual unit is a little bulky feeling, not as pocketable as a 5th generation iPod, mainly because the size that the hard drive adds to the unit, but also due to the weight. Build quality was spot on, with a very nice brushed metal finish.
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iSlayer‘s donation-supported “iStat” is a bit like Mr. Scott’s console on the Starship Enterprise: it shows at a glance where you have–and don’t have–the power. iStat can be run as both a widget and as a standalone applet, and provides robust reporting on CPU, memory, disk, network and wireless bandwidth, OS/X uptime, and battery life. It sports an attractive console presentation—indeed the elegant design of the widgets is really the important feature here–and each application can be customized to suit your specific tastes in obsessive-compulsive system monitoring.

iSlayer has just issued a minor update to the iStat applets, but has also introduced new dashboard-style gauges for each individual statistical category (they call them “mini-widgets”) for those who wish to drop a quick speedometer-like gauge on their desktop. Each widget can look like a speedometer or be tamed to look more like a breakout of the overall iStat text-on-an-attractive-box look and feel. You can mix and match with the mini widgets to find a suitable layout and choose only the stats that you find meaningful.
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You have all probably heard about the new iPod Nanos from Apple. Well Steve jobs claimed in the Showtime Special Event that they were suppose to get an astonishing 24 hours of battery life.
Well any company out there claims that their batteries last forever. Consumers just take an educated guess on how long the battery will really last.

I recently purchased a new 8GB iPod Nano. I was very impressed with the battery life on it. I listened to if for a few hours and the battery bar continued to stay full! Well I was ready a post on a forum somewhere talking about the battery life of a new Nano, and it got me thinking… “How long does the battery actually last?”
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Having an iPod is something I have been lucky enough to be party to from the second generation release onwards, so I have enjoyed the simplicity in design, the superb interface, the usefulness and the power for many years. I use my iPod every day for music and podcasts mainly, but the odd video crops up every now and again.

About a year ago I invested in two separate speaker systems for my iPod in quick succession, the first I will not name, the second by Logitech was good and I still have it now. So it was with much excitement that I had the opportunity to review the ‘i-deck compact’, not only because it promised to be a step up from what I had been used to, but also because it is manufactured by Monitor Audio, who just happen to also make the home cinema speakers that I have now enjoyed in my lounge for the last two years.
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The My Dream App semi-finals have begun. Nine finalists remain in the competition. Users are asked to vote for their favorite idea. In this round of voting, three competitors will be eliminated. Those eliminated will receive Mac Mini computers.

Voting has already started and will end on Saturday, October 14 at 11:59 p.m. EDT. My Dream App has been giving free software to voters in the past three weeks. In this round, all voters will receive Voice Candy, a voice recorder for OS X.

Several guest judges are on the panel to assist with the voting: Kevin Rose co-founder of Digg.com, David Pogue the New York Times tech columnist, and Leo Laporte from This Week in Tech.

My Dream App launched a month ago and has received over 2,700 ideas.

My Dream App was created by Phill Ryu. If you want more information on the contest visit My Dream App.

NYC Apple photo courtesy of iProng.

Listner Paul just sent me an email to let me know that it looks like Apple is in the process of replacing the silver Apple logo over the elevator and stairs at the 5th Avenue NYC store with a red Apple logo. My first thought was maybe they are getting ready for the holidays, but then I saw this post on Think Secret. Apparently Bono will be on the Oprah Winfrey Show tomorrow and will show off a special edition red iPod Nano. The unit will be a 4GB model wrapped in a special red case and will sell for the standard USD$199.00 price. USD$10.00 of each unit sold will go to Bono’s AIDS-awareness charity, (RED). RED then passes the money they raise to The Global Fund who helps women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa. Until this launch (RED) products have oinly been available for purchase within the UK where they have special (RED) American Express cards and Motrola SLVR phones.

Update: Friday (10/13) Apple did release a special edition red iPod Nano. Also, the 5th Avenue Apple store in New York did have it’s logo changed to a red version. Thanks to Bill at iProng for the photo.

Mungai Mirrors, a UK company, has just announced a cool little device to turn your MacBook or MacBook Pros iSight into a quick and dirty DV cam. The device is called the Huckleberry and it’s genius is in it’s simplicity. It consists of a set of brackets and a small mirror that attach to the top lid of your Mac notebook. It fits just above the built-in iSight and effectively turns the iSight around allowing you to shoot video directly while monitoring what you are capturing on your Mac’s screen. Now one slight problem with the technique might be the “mirrored” image effect but, as the companies site points out, that is easily solved by using iMovie’s “Mirror” Video FX filter or by picking up a copy of eCamm’s iGlasses. Unfortunately the company’s site doesn’t seem to offer any images of video captured via the device so I can’t say what the quality is, but assuming there is no image loss this could prove to be a fun little gadget. The Huckleberry available for pre-sale now and is just £15.00 plus post & packing (shipping and handling to us Yanks). It will be launching at Mac Expo in London, October 26-28 2006, in partnership with Computer Warehouse and will be shipping in mid-October.

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MC20061011.mp3 [20.3mb 00:44:12 64kbps]

A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Show 161. Apple seeking a Mobile Marketing Manager. Former Apple CFO Andersen resigns from Apple board. Target gets in on movie studio “persuasion”. Apple posts new “Get a Mac” ads. Starbucks most recent expansion… iTunes. Is Santa Steve bringing us a real video iPod for Christmas this year? iPod Screensaver trick. Comment about iTV and HDMI connector. Rumors of Core 2 Duo MacBooks (Pros?), but are they worth it? Is Apple’s .Mac customer service sub-par? How I create an enhanced podcast. How to display the full date in the menu bar. Can we get a non-Apple BT mouse and keyboard recommendation? Geekanoids Mac Expo London Coverage.

New music, Open Mind by Daniel Bjornmo.

In the fortress you will need more than men and swords. You will need the power of the glave. — Krull (1983)

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Belkin announced the TuneStage II on Wednesday. TuneStage II allows you to play your iPod wirelessly through your home stereo using Bluetooth. In order to use TuneStage 2, you would connect the transmitter to your iPod and wire the receiver to your stereo. You can use your iPod to control the music playing through your stereo from over 30 feet away. If you own the iPod Nano 1G/2G (aluminum) or iPod 5G, you will also be able to remotely control the volume.

Available separately, is the TuneStage II Transmitter. With the TuneStage II Transmitter, your iPod can be connected to stereo headphones and car stereos that come with stereo Bluetooth technology.

TuneStage II is compatible with the following iPod models: iPod nano 1G/2G, iPod mini, and the 4G/5G iPod.

You can purchase TuneStage II starting in late November for USD$149.99.

On October 11th, Belkin announced a universal FM transmitter that can be used with MP3s, portable DVD players and other devices using the 3.5mm headphone jacks. TuneCast 3 is reported to be an improved version of TuneCast II, offering greater ease of use and a status indicator.

You can use TuneCast 3 to listen to music and movies through your FM stereo. With a battery life of 20 hours it is great for long drives. If you don’t want to use the battery, a power code is also included.

You can purchase TuneCast 3 in North America beginning in November. Sales in other regions will follow. If your car doesn’t come factory equipped to connect your iPod or you use a portable DVD player, TuneCast 3 is a great solution at an affordable price, just USD$49.99.