Dream Pinball 3D Ships for Mac

Runesoft is now shipping the Mac version of Dream Pinball 3D, featuring acoustics, state of the art particle technology, HDRI and multilayer 3D sound, as the makers say. Adding realistic tilt function and motion blur effects, Dream Pinball 3D requires Mac OS X 10.4.11 or higher and costs around US$44, according to InsideMacGames.

“A great pinball game should not only be amazing from the start, but should continue to be entertaining every time you play it,” says Runesoft. “This was the thinking behind the development of the newest pinball sensation  Dream Pinball 3D  with its six cutting edge tables that are beckoning you to try your luck.” Read More »

Apple to Seed OS X 10.5.5

Sources are reporting that Apple is close to issuing the first pre-release build of the next maintenance update to Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard). Mac OS X 10.5.5 is said to include support for new Mac notebooks due out later this year (autumn).

“People familiar with the matter say Apple Developer Connection members and other high-profile software makers could receive the first test builds of the software prior to the start of the weekend,” AppleInsider reveals. “The first seedings will almost certainly arrive by the middle of next week,” the site notes, citing the same sources.

Apple’s latest maintenance update for Leopard, Mac OS X 10.5.4 was released on June 30, just a month after the first beta build had been seeded to the Apple developer community. Read More »

The Dell Studio Hybrid’s been released!

This is so cool it’s sick:
Introducing the Dell Studio Hybrid.

* IT’S SMALL
Same footprint as a Mac Mini Combo.
* IT’S MORE AFFORDABLE
Cheaper than a Mac Mini Combo. ($499)
* IT’S MORE POWERFUL
1.86Ghz Dual Core Pentium, 2GB memory (twice that of Mac Mini Combo), 250GB hard drive. (3x that of Mac Mini Combo) And it comes with Windows Vista Home Premium. Read More »

$75 Laptop in the Pipeline?

We have spoken before about the laudable One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project, which aims to supply laptops costing $100 to children in poor countries and which indirectly spawned the recent influx of cheap mini laptops, like the Asus Eee PC, Elonex one et al. Well. OLPC has now unveiled a mock-up of a future model, which could sell for as little as $75.

There’s no need to get too excited, the $100 target for the OLPC XO1 still hasn’t been achieved (it’s closer to $200…), but like its predecessor the XO-2, has some interesting features. These include dual touch and haptic (pressure) sensitive screens, both daylight (and indoor) viewable. Read More »

Flippin Good Camcorder?

Here’s a quick heads-up on the next craze, probably… It’s called Flip Video, from Pure Digital and on the other side of the pond they’ve sold a million of them in the past few weeks. It’s a tiny pocket camcorder, around the size of a cellphone, so far so ordinary, but it has a couple of tricks up its sleeve. First it’s cheap, prices in the US start at around $99 or roughly £50. It has a built-in USB connector, so there’s no faffing around with cables, when you want to watch and download your videos to your Windows or Mac PC. Flip Video stores around an hour’s worth of video at quite reasonable quality, and you can upload directly to You Tube or edit the movie. Power comes from a couple of AA batteries and it has a built-in 1.5-inch display screen. Read More »

Dell Goes Green

Like car manufacturers PC maker’s boastings used to be all about price and performance but the times they are a-changing and market leader Dell is now talking up the future energy efficiency of its products. Dell is aiming for a 25 percent reduction in power consumption on its desktop and laptop machines by 2010 – compared with today’s models – and leading the way will be a new range of ultra small machines, previewed recently at a Los Angeles environmental conference. According to CNET News the tiny PC uses a new mini ITX form factor motherboard, codenamed Eklo, which results in a system unit box that is around 80 percent smaller than current desktops and uses 70 percent less energy.

Top Ten Notebooks You Couldn’t Do Without

Mobile computing has conquered both the high-end and the mainstream markets and analysts claim that the number of sold notebooks will outpace desktop systems by 2010. Mobile gaming is still a niche market, dominated by bulky notebooks with significant price tags, but most of the general-purpose laptops deliver optimal performance at a reasonable price tag.

The first entry in the mainstream notebook line-up is the Acer Aspire 5920 model, that comes rigged with an Intel Core 2 Duo T5450 chip running at 1.6 GHz. The system also packs 2 GB of DDR2 memory and runs Windows Vista Home Premium. The 15.4-inch LCD display sports anti-glare technology that boosts the video output and offers a comfortable computer experience. The system sells for about $910 via the company’s retail outlets. Read More »

The Right Mixxx

I have to say straight away that the last time I did any DJ-ing, record players still had a 78rpm speed setting. I freely admit to being a bit out of touch with current trends, but I’m reliably informed that this free Open Source program, called Mixxx is just the job for all of you hep cats out there who enjoy mixing your tunes and generally fiddling around with musical tracks. Key features, so I’m told, include the ability to read new fangled music formats, like MP3, Ogg Vorbis and Wave (something to do with turntable speed, I suppose…), it can import M3U and PLS playlists, whatever they are, and it has Beat Estimation and Pitch Independent Time Stretch features, which is probably a good thing. Read More »

Lock Your Windows, With a Cellphone

If your PC or laptop has a Bluetooth adaptor, and your cellphone is similarly equipped, then here’s something that might interest you. It’s a free utility called BtProx, and the idea is you can lock your PC, so no-one else can use it, unless you, and your cellphone are in the immediate vicinity. As I’m sure Apple Mac fans will remind me, it’s not exactly a new idea, but no matter, its a simple and effective way to protect your computer, though, just make sure your phone battery doesn’t run out, or you will be in trouble…

Assault on Batteries

This kindly looking old gentleman could be your next best friend, if you are thinking about buying an electric car, laptop, or indeed anything powered by lithium ion batteries. His name is Peter Roth and he’s the lead researcher at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque. His team is part of a government funded research project called FreedomCAR and it is focusing on Lithium Ion batteries, which have a bit of a reputation for popping and bursting into flames. So far it’s only been a bit of a nuisance for laptop owners, with a handful of fried machines and no serious injuries or damage, but imagine what could happen when you get hundreds of them packed tightly together in an electric car. Read More »