Another product annouced today from Apple is the new Mac mini with Intel Core, offering up to 2GB of memory. This white PC is so quiet, Apple says that there's no reason to hide it under your desk. The new 2.9-lb Mini packs a lot of fun too: Watch movies via Front Row, create a mix CD, sure the Web with built-in AirPort wireless, and even connect your iPod, digital camera, printer or DV camcorder via FireWire or USB ports. And with the built-in wireless, your room will be free of cable clutter, which clean freaks everywhere will appreciate.
There's no need to go out and buy another keyboard for your Mac Mini either. You can use any keyboard, display, and mouse around your house.
Finally we know what Apple has up its sleeves. Today, Apple announced the iPod Hi-Fi: a home stereo system with an iPod dock (for every iPod) on the top. It comes with a Universal Dock connector and integrated handles for easy portability at a weight of 14.5 pounds. The dock connector also acts a way to charge your iPod. It features three speaker cones custom designed to provide balanced sound with a 130 mm woofer. All I know is, it's about time!!
The Tone Control option is a nice feature. It lets you choose settings like “Normal,” “Treble Boost,” or “Bass Boost” to produce the kinds of tones you want to hear.
With it, you'll get:
-iPod Hi-Fi and removable grille -Apple Remote -10 iPod Universal Dock Adapters -AC power cord -Product documentation and user guide
The Geneva Auto Show is taking place March 2 to 12, and the news is starting to roll in.
You thought your Prius or Civic was efficient: Check out the Loremo (stands for "low resistance mobile") concept car, to be announced at the show this week. It won't be available till 2009, according to the Loremo Web site. The Loremo LS will be powered by a two-cylinder Turbo Diesel engine, with 20 hp, weigh only around 992 pounds, and reportedly, will get 157 miles per gallon. A more powerful version, the Loremo GT, will weigh in at 1,036 lbs and get 87 miles per gallon.
Bill Howard opines: "157Mpg may be pushing the laws of thermal efficiency. Only so many BTUs in a gallon of gasoline. The 200mpg carburetor simply wasn't possible on a 4,000 pound car at 100-percent efficiency for burning gasoline."
Is the software giant really going to try to break Apple's lock on the handheld-media-player market? Google "Origami" and "Microsoft" if you want to get a sense of the rumors floating around the Web. I'll toss out another question: Is there any market Microsoft doesn't try to dominate? Sometimes it works (Xbox) and sometimes, it just doesn't (PC gaming peripherals).
Mary Jo Foley of Microsoft Watch points to a site with a teaser video; you don't get a lot of information on Origami, but it's somehow intriguing. Which is the plan, naturally. More info is promised on March 2. Mary Jo is skeptical about MS's ability to take on Apple in the design arena; I'd echo that concern, looking at these pictures I scooped off the Web. I can't verify that these are actually the device; if so, there's aesthetic work to be done.
Still, the thought that Origami might be more than a media player, but a powerful new convergence gadget, is alluring. Mary Jo goes so far as to speculate that "Microsoft will convince its chums in the market-research business to create a whole new category of all-in-one mobile communicators (better than Sidekicks; more comprehensive than Treos; able to leap even BlackBerries in a single bound!) which Microsoft's units will dominate from the outset." If so, I'm going to be forced to start saving my pennies.
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