New Xbox 360 Elite 120GB + HDMI Edition

After Microsoft introduced their new HD Movie content delivery service for Live, many people questioned the benefits of such a service on a device that only had a 20GB hard drive. Well, Microsoft has addressed that issue now, although that's not neccessarily the reason for the upgrade. The new Elite configuration will eventually take the place of the Premium SKU (and switch back to white plastic). Here's some information:

• Black Elite SKU will have a limited production run
  
• It will have new packaging, and the included peripherals will be black
  
• The Elite models will have cooler operating temperatures than current versions
  
• It won't come with an internal or bundled HD DVD drive
  

Xbox 360 Elite - Engadget

Um, Dehp

So apparently the same pair in charge of The Nativity Story will now be producing the Gears of War movie.

New Line Lands Gears Movie Rights - Next Generation

More WWDC details

Apple has started releasing details about what sort of seminars and presentations are going to be available for their WWDC '07.  I'm particularly intrigued with some of the Leopard presentations.  It looks like Leopard is going to be pretty sweet from a development standpoint.  I have a feeling mac users are going to start seeing even more aesthetic programs in the near future with the new Core Animation engine.

Leaked WIndows Seven Presentation

AeroXperience has another exclusive, this time it's a leaked presentation of what are most likely selling points of Windows Seven. The presentation targets two main groups, IT Professionals and End Users. The document covers a variety of selling points and features, although it is an internal document that is labeled "subject to change".

Some of the points being emphasized for end users are better connectivity and ease of use, and more comprehensive mobile functions. The IT side of things focuses on stronger and wider security and permissions coverage, lower cost, and seamless upgrades.



Windows "Seven" Investement Areas - AeroXP

The New York Times is reporting that John W. Backus, the leader of the team that developed the Fortran programming language, died at age 82 in his home in Oregon on Saturday. Fortran is widely considered a giant leap forward on the software side of modern computing. It enabled computers and humans to communicate more easliy than ever before. Mr. Backus is survived by his daughters Karen and Paula Backus, and by his brother Cecil Backus.


Image credit - IBM

John W. Backus, 82, Fortran Developer, Dies via CNET News.com

Microsoft more concerned about Linux?

Well, maybe not by a lot, but they certainly have been paying Linux more attention since their partnership with Novell. This latest find from RJ2770 over at Slashdot is a pretty interesting find. Microsoft has created a new site for its partners, a tool to identify the different types of Linux users that may be their customers. They're hoping this tool will help businesses convert those Linux users to Microsoft products. While I'm sure this won't help very much, it still is amusing to watch.

Winning Against Linux the Smart Way via Slashdot

My Turn!

Dave and I have known each other since we were kids.  We've always got along great, but among us, the most common argument is the constant debate between PCs and Macs.  Dave and I both work in Mass Communications, but his discipline lies in writing, whereas mine deals more with graphics.  All this aside, Dave and I are in constant debate over the capabilities of these two rival machines.  So in response to Dave's recent article about Windows 'Fiji,' here's a short writeup about Apple's iPhone.


Image Credit - ZDNet



I must admit that when I heard about the iPhone, I had some mixed feelings.  As a long-time mac user, I'm familiar with Apple's ability to make your new toy obsolete in the manner of about one year after it's purchase (In fact, I was an Early 'Power Macintosh G3' adopter... imagine my disgust when I discovered that even though I kept my hardware upgraded, I would be unable to run OSX after version 10.2 because my Logicboard had Apple's 'Old World ROM.').  But after a little bit of research, I feel a little more confident about its capabilities.

Anyone whose ever owned an iPod (especially the 4th Generation model and earlier), can tell you that the iPod has had quite the track record for having a low battery life.  Battery benchmarks are never that accurate, but Apple has promised a 16 hour battery life on the iPhone when listening to music, or 5 hours of video watching or web surfing on the system's 8GB internal flash storage.  It seems reasonable to assume then that with the promised power-saving functions built in, the idle battery life should be reasonably long.

According to Apple's website, they intend to release the iPhone with support for EDGE wireless services.  This comes as a bit of a shock, because EDGE has become outdated with the newer 3G protocols.  Apple has made this decision, because of their choice to authorize use of the iPhone exclusively to the Cingular network for two years, where EDGE has remained the primary protocol for content delivery.  The Rumor mill has churned out a tale that later models of the iPhone will be released with 3G technology when the iPhone's deal with Cingular has expired.

So, is the iPhone a good buy?  That depends.
If you are a fan of Mac technology who happens to be on the Cingular network, it might be worth it.  The iPhone's ability to synchronize natively with Mac hardware makes it a nice way to keep all of your calendars in one program.  But if you already own a smartphone, it might be better to wait for the next model to come out before you adopt this hardware.

New Windows Media Center Edition before Vienna?

According to Mary Jo Foley's blog, Windows "Fiji" is set for release prior to the already announced Windows Seven, or "Vienna". Windows Fiji will apparently be the newest addition to the Windows Media Center line. Originally some bloggers believed Fiji to be the codename for Vista's Service Pack 1, but that has since been cleared up by Microsoft. It will be interesting to see what features Microsoft will include in this release, and how well they will continue to support the version of Media Center that shipped with versions of Vista.


Image Credit - National Geographic

"Fiji" to precede "Vienna" via AeroXperience

How much caffeine are you getting?

Energy Fiend has a neat little tool here.  Just click the green plus for whichever items you've consumed to calculate your caffeine intake.



This site has a lot of information, there's plenty of interersting reading to be had.  Check it out!

The Caffeine Database via Lifehacker

Copy protection? Try consumer exasperation

One of the major topics I like to talk about is copy protection in the form of Digital Rights Managnment schemes and other software. It's important to alert consumers to the ongoing sesiure of control from them, of the products that they have purchased. Technically they may have only purchased the rights to use a product, and not an actual copy, but I believe that's a practice that needs to stop, at least in most cases.

When someone purchases a product, they should have the ability, and also the permission, to do absolutely anything they care to with it, as long as it is for personal use. People should be able to use software whether the disc is in the drive or not, listen to music or watch a video on any device they care to, read and edit an ebook to their own liking.

I will not buy any product that comes with crippling and sometimes harmful malware such as Starforce. If I purchase a game for the PC, the first thing I look for is a patched executable so I can use it without the cd in the drive. I have no intention of making copies and distributing them to other people, I just want to be able to use the software that I paid for, for my own personal use.

Until the executives in control of digital industry realize that DRM and other "protections" are crippling their products and thereby harming their sales, a vast amount of people will continue to crack executables, strip DRM from music, and share the modified products with the consumer base that desires control over their personal use of those products.