SlingPlayer for Mac OS X Public Beta2 1.0.1.145 is Available

Previously, I downloaded SlingPlayer for Mac OS X Public Beta2 1.0.1.144 on January 1st 2007 and had a few trouble using it. It required SlingBox firmware upgrade but whenever I launched Slingbox Setup Assistant it always said that it was expired. After a little bit of fiddling around, the SlingPlayer worked without upgrading Slingbox firmware. The Slingbox Setup Assistant still unusable because it’s still expired.

Today I downloaded SlingPlayer for Mac OS X Public Beta2 and the version turned out to be 1.0.1.145. I have yet tried upgrading the Slingbox firmware.

This time I ran the SlingPlayer Uninstaller before installing the latest SlingPlayer. I then launched Slingbox Setup Assistant and it didn’t come up with expiration message. So far, so good. The next thing I need to do next is to upgrade the Slingbox firmware from within the local network.

http://www.slingmedia.com/
http://us.slingmedia.com/object/KB-005161.html
SlingBox Pro @ Amazon
SlingBox AV @ Amazon
SlingBox Tuner @ Amazon

Post CES and MacWorld Blues

Now that CES and MacWorld are over, it’s time to look back.

CES is still a much larger event and yet it was eclipsed by Steve Jobs’ MacWorld Keynote. Once again, Apple stole CES’ thunder. I am still processing and formulating the information overloads from CES and MacWorld.

Let’s see.

MacWorld

  • Apple iPhone, AppleTV, and the new Airport Extreme base station. No real news about Mac OS X, Macs, and other softwares from Apple.
  • ModBook – A tablet Mac.
  • No GPS support on Mac OS X from Garmin
  • …to becontinued

CES

  • XBox 360 HD video and larger hard drive.
  • Something about Windows Vista and its variants.
  • Sling Media’s SlingCatcher.
  • Tons of other products, to be added later.

This will take a while for me to write something interesting regarding CES and MacWorld.

Parallels Desktop for Mac build 3120 RC1 is Released

Parallels Desktop for Mac build 3120 RC1 is available for download
http://forums.parallels.com/thread7585.html

Additional details and download information is available on this page:
http://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/beta_testing/

I will update this post after I actually use it.

Related News:
VMwareFusion Beta is Available for download.
http://www.vmware.com/products/beta/fusion/
Related Product:
Parallels Desktop for Mac

Parallels Desktop for Mac @Amazon.com

Look! It’s a Phone, It’s an iPod, It’s a MacPhone!

A short editorial

On January 9, 2006 Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, introduced the much rumored Apple iPhone during his annual keynote at MacWorld San Francisco. As written on Apple website: “Introducing iPhone. Apple reinvents the phone.”

For the last 3 years Apple has been rumored to have been working on a phone-like device. Apple and Motorola introduced Motorola ROKR, an iTunes-enabled phone on September 7, 2005 and somewhat closed a chapter on the rumor. Motorola has since then released other iTunes-enabled phones such as RAZR V3 and KRZR.

Apple iPhone is a different breed compared to any iTunes-enabled phones. Its appearance resembles more like an iPod than a phone. There are other smart phones with touch screen, but Apple strives to make its iPhone to be a class of its own. Underneath its shell, Apple iPhone runs a variant of Mac OS X. Its capabilities make Apple iPhone more like a Mac than a phone.

Steve Jobs on his keynote said that Apple would like to capture 1% of Mobile Phone market, or about 10 million units. Should Apple be able to reach that goal, they would be shipping an additional 10 million of Mac OS X. It is a surprise that Apple didn’t call it “MacPhone”.

Apple iPhone is tentatively scheduled for release in June 1007.

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2007/01/09iphone.html

Apple TV, Apple iPhone, and New Airport Extreme 802.11n

Thanks to bad WiFi receptions, bandwidth hog and some other factor, I didn’t get to connect to the internet at MacWorld.

Ayway, two new products from Apple announced by Steve Jobs.

  1. Apple TV
    http://www.apple.com/appletv/
    Priced $299 (U.S.) and will ship in February.
    As expected, it has 40GB hard drive for local caching and storage.
    “It is a cool product, but not necessarily a must have product at this point. I will find out more before making any purchasing decision.”
  2. Apple iPhone
    http://www.apple.com/iphone/
    Tentatively scheduled for released in June 2006 (U.S.)
    GSM Quad Band (no 3G) and EDGE
    Cingular exclusive (for U.S.)
    $499 (4GB) and $599 (8GB) with 2 year contract.
    3.5 inch screen at 3:2 ratio (landscape)
    Operating System: OS X
    iPod capability
    Built-in 2.0 megapixels camera
    802.11b/g and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
    “Yikes! It is basically a Mac. I’m surprised that it’s not called MacPhone. One thing that might stop me from getting this so called phone is the price with 2 year contract. Now I have to wait till June to spend my hard earned money.”

Apple also shows off the newly redesigned and updated Airport Extreme Base Station.
http://www.apple.com/airportextreme/
It now officially supports 802.11n protocol, offering up to five times the speed and twice the range compares to 802.11g protocol. It has one WAN port and three LAN port. It also has one USB 2.0 port that can be used for printer sharing or USB mass storage sharing.

Microsoft Releases Updates for Mac Office (01.09.2006)

Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac 11.3.3 Update

This update contains several improvements to enhance security and stability, including fixes for vulnerabilities that an attacker can use to overwrite the contents of your computer’s memory with malicious code. In addition, this update includes all of the improvements released in all previous Office 2004 updates.

Microsoft Office v. X for Mac 10.1.9 Update

This update contains several improvements to enhance security and stability, including fixes for vulnerabilities that an attacker can use to overwrite the contents of your computer’s memory with malicious code. In addition, this update includes all of the improvements released in all previous Office v. X updates.

Links for MacWorld Live Coverage

UPDATE:
Thanks to slower-than-modem Wi-Fi connection I had been unable to add the links on time.
I have added more links after Steve Jobs’ Keynote ends. The coverage provided great insight on the Keynote.

Watch the Keynote webcast
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/keynote/
or
http://www.apple.com/iphone/keynote/

Many Mac-sites will be providing live coverage on Steve Jobs’ Keynote on Macworld San Francisco. More links will be added as they post their links to MacWorld Live Coverage.

MacScoophttp://keynote.macscoop.com/

LoopRumors – http://www.looprumors.com/keynote.php

Mac Rumorshttp://www.macrumors.com/events/mwsf2007.html

Mac OS Rumorshttp://specialevent.macosrumors.com:17530/

Think Secrethttp://www.thinksecret.com/news/0701mwsflive.html

The Mac Observerhttp://live.macobserver.com/article/2007/01/mwsfkeynote.shtml

Macsimum Newshttp://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/todays_the_day_steve_jobs_mwsf_keynote/

MacDailyNewshttp://www.macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/12203/

I will be posting updates from MacWorld.