shownotes_20070516

Opening
  Opening Music
    Music is Say Anything by Manda and the Marbles
    Mandaandthemarbles.com
  Intro stuff
    eMaccast response and comment that chapters help with the long (50+ minute) shows
    Switching to UberCaster for this episode to try and streamline the workflow.
Sponsor/Promo
  Audible.com
    Audible.com sponsors this podcast and has a great offer for you to get a free audiobook for new members willing to try their service. I just got Steven Levy's "The Perfect Thing" from Audible, which is all about the development and culture of the iPod. It has been a saviour on my commute after I exhaust my podcasts.
    Use this special link and get a 14-day trial of AudibleListener Gold Monthly and get a free audiobook.
      Audible has over 35,000 titles and the listening experience is just like a Podcast. Listen when and where you want and it adds bookmarks, so great for long commutes.
      Be sure to use the exclusive links in this podcast and in the shownotes on Maccast.com to get your free book and 14-day trial.
News
  MacBooks updated, barely
    The MacBooks received a very minor speed bump on Tuesday
    Models feature faster Intel Core 2 Duo processors (not Santa Rosa)
    1GB of memory standard
    Plus, larger hard drives across the board.
    Other spec remain the same. 13.3in LCD display, Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth, integrated iSight, etc.
    Models and pricing:
      2.0GHz Intel Core 2, 1GB of RAM,a 80GB drive, combo drive (CD-RW/DVD) for USD $1,099.00
      2.16GHz Intel Core 2, SuperDrive, 1GB of RAM, 120GB drive for USD $1,299.00.
      2.16GHz Intel Core 2, Black, SuperDrive, 1GB RAM, 160GB drive for USD $1,499.00.
    The UK also saw a MacBook price drop of 70 Euros down to 1,049, 1,249 and 1,449 Euros respectively
      Side note: iPod Shuffle price was also lowered from 55 Pounds to 49 Pounds.
  More info suggests LCD backlight displays
    A report from DigiTimes say that Taiwanese manufacturers AU Optronics (AUO), Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO) are reading 13.3" and 15.4 inch LCD backlight panels for testing
    Two other backlight unit (BLU) makers, Coretronic and Kenmos, are also said to be sending samples for use in panels
    Jobs recently said in an open letter that Apple plans to ship iMacs with LCD backlighting before the end of 2007.
    The 13.3 and 15.4 inch panel sizes however suggest that maybe the MacBooks might see the LCD backlight treatment as well. Larger LCD backlight panels could be cost prohibitive.
  New Intel Santa Rosa feeds rumor sites
    Intel unveiled their latest Core 2 Duo mobile chips, 'Santa Rosa". The chips are officially called Centrino Duo and Centrino Pro. In addition to improved performance the new chips offer better power management, longer battery life, faster boot times, and new computing chipsets.
    Apple insider has some theories about the new chips and LCD Backlight displays
      No Santa Rosa update or LCD update in the MacBook soon
      15.4" LCB backlight displays with 800MHz Backside bus 2nd gen core 2 Duo Santa Rosa chip in MacBook Pro
      So what about those 13.3" LCD displays. Apple Insider says, "ultra-portable"
        No optical disc drive
        On-board NAND flash for faster application launching and boot times
        Built-in iSight webcam
        Thinner and lighter than existing MacBook offerings
        AirPort Extreme 802.11n enabled
        MagSafe power adapter
        Target launch late '07, early '08
  New McCartney Album exclusive to iTunes
    From MacNN, Apple today announced that Paul McCartney's new album, "Memory Almost Full" is available for digital pre-order beginning Tuesday exclusively on the iTunes.
    Pre-order customers will get the single "Ever Present Past" immediately upon pre-order. When the full album is delivered they will also get the video "Dance Tonight" as a bonus.
    Later this month McCartney's entire solo catalog of 25 albums will be made available for digital download on iTunes and other services.
  Jobs entices labels to go DRM free
    Apple enters talks with the labels this month
    Jobs is offering to sell tracks at higher prices if the labels agree to make those tracks available DRM free.
    According to an AP report two labels are expected to ask Apple to sell more digital bundles of music, videos, and other multimedia.
    Amazon announced it's own plans to sell DRM free tracks thorgh deals with EMI and other labels.
  New Apple Get a Mac Ads
    "Choose a Vista", "Genius", and "Party is Over".
    Another un-aired one, "Knocking" was posted to YouTube
    I liked Genius and Knocking
    There are also some exclusive ads done just for PC Mag.com
  Apple shareholders re-elect Board
    Share holders vote unanimously to re-elect the entire current board, including Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Al Gore, and Jobs himself.
    In light of the recent stock options investigation, Amalgamated Bank LongView Collective Investment Fund out of NY and the Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds, of Hartford, Connecticut sponsored a measure to change the way Apple set grant dates. The new proposal would set future grant dates at the beginning of the fiscal year which would avoid the possibility of backdating.
    The proposal was voted down.
    In a subtle, but possible bigger story Apple eluded to the possibility of Movie rentals on iTunes. Maybe to compete with Amazon's Unbox TiVo service?
    iPhone is on track to sip iPhone in June and revel a feature complete Leopard at WWDC
      Ads in Sacramento "Bee" for iPhone team in Elk Grove.
  New Apple stores
    San Francisco, Los Gatos and NY in the Meatpacking District.
  Back-side touch iPods?
    Recent Apple patent shows iPods, iPhones and other devices with touch controls on back of the device.
    Overlay interface controls on the front screen. On screen cursor so you can see your position
Feedback, Comments and Commentary
  Review of XtremeMac XtremeHD Cables
    I got a set of these from Apple with my AppleTV and they are great
      Low price for good quality cables. USD $15-$20.00
      I liked the tapered backs near where the cable enters the connector tip. Makes it easy to grab when next to other connectors.
      The gold plated connecter fit snugly, but are not too tight like my Monster cables.
      Good feel with rubberized moldings
    All kinds of cable options
      HDMI to HDMI
      HDMI to DVI
      Component, TOSLink and Audio
    Also have the XtremeHD HDMI switcher (USD $99.00)
      4-HDMI devices to one HDI port. Connect your AppleTV, game console, HD DVD Player, and HD DVR box all at once. Cool little remote to switch between inputs.
    Cables are available at the AppleStore, but if you plan to order online consider...
  Sponsor: GadgetLocker
    The GadgetLocker offers the complete line of XtremeMac cables and sponsors this podcast.
    TheGadetLocker.com the first iPod retail store, offers cool Mac and iPod accessories, offers iPod parts and repair service, and has a rewards program so you can earn points on every purchase.
    Check them out at "THE" GadgetLocker.com
    PLUS use the coupon code 'maccast' to receive $5.00 at checkout.
  Tip: NAS backup with AirDisk and SuperDuper
    Play tip from Eduardo
    SuperDuper
      Mount the network volume, and then choose Disk Image... from the destination pop-up. Then, select the network volume and folder where you want to store the image, and name it appropriately.
      SuperDuper! will automatically mount the network volume, mount the image, back up to it and unmount it when done.
      It’s very important that the network drive support files larger than 4GB. FAT32-based servers or NAS devices will not work, and fail pretty spectacularly when this limit is reached.
    To create a sparse image with Apple Disk Utility
      Choose File-->New Blank Disk Image...
      Select a size, up to the largest size you think you'll need
      Encryption, if you want to.
      Format-->Sparse Disk Image
  Save to more places
    Listener Grant was wondering how to save to places beyond your favorites, default locations, etc.
    OS X's built in save "sheet" is not that obvious.
      Click the little aqua triangle next to the text entry area for the filename. A standard column or list view dialog will expand out. Use the built-in spotlight search to quickly find a specific folder.
  Syncing based on events
    Listener Adam wanted to know if there was a way to sync the same directory to PDA and an external USB drive automatically.
    Use ChronoSync from Econ Technologies
      Can schedule syncs to happen on the mounting of a volume
    Write an AppleScript application using the rsync shell command. Then trigger this running of the script with a Folder Action set on the Volumes directory
      Use the Applications/AppleScript/Script Editor to write an AppleScript using the "do shell script" command to run 'rsync' on the volumes and directories you want to sync. To trigger the sync use the 'on adding folder items to this_folder after receiving added_items' handler.
        See AppleScipt page on Apple.com for more details on building Folder Action scripts
      Save the script to the /Library/Scripts/Folder Action Scripts directory
      In the Finder menu choose 'Go'-->'Go to Folder...' and type '/Volumes' to go to the hidden Volumes directory.
      Control+Click (Right+Click) the Volumes folder and choose 'Attach a Folder Action...'. Select the script you just made.
      Now when you mount your volume the script should run automatically.
  Playing QT movies Full Screen
    Play question from Allen
    One way is to use the Movie Properties, Window-->Show Movie Properties, in the 'Presentation' tab check the 'Enter Fullscreen Mode when opened' option.
      Requires you have QuickTime Pro and that you re-save the file.
    Full Screen Movie Player from MonkeyBread Software
      Place in Dock and just drop movies on it to play in fullscreen
      I had some playback issues with file son an external drive connected via USB2
    Use VLC instead of QuickTime for video playback of all types of video files and it offers a fullscreen mode. To make it default:
      Open VLC and go to VLC-->Preferences, select the video section and check the 'Fullscreen video output' option.
      Now when you launch videos with VLC (put in Dock and drop video on it). they will open and play in fullscreen mode.
    Can hack QuickTime standard to play in fullscreen using an AppleScript I found on Chris Breen's great Macworld Mac 911 column
      1. Launch Apple Script Editor

      2. Enter this exactly as follows…

      tell application “QuickTime Player”
      present front movie scale screen
      end tell

      3. Save the script as an application (Save on desktop or in dock for easy access).
      4. Open the movie you want to view in full screen in Quicktime and then double-click on the apple script application you created.
Closing
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  New music, "Unfold" by Arorah
    All girl band who rock was recommended by Jack, their booking agent. Ok, he has bais, but they still rock.
    Artists web site
  Bonus: To Buy or Not to Buy
    Play piece from Delmar