BindApple

Since Apple's iMac appeared, back in 1998, this all-in-one computer changed its design drastically only once, and this was done especially because they moved from the CRT display to an LCD display, but the rest of it, like the iSight camera, or the material used to build the computer, are only details. For now, the iMacs have a design that starts showing its age, and while Apple doesn't say anything about a new look, others have been playing with an interesting iMac design concept...


In the image above, you can see the iMac of the future, as imagined by Nuno Teixeira. Taking things beyond a design exercise, it seems he prepared his iMac to host everything one could desire from Apple's all-in-one computer at this time - touch screen, "panoramic" view and, of course, looks that won't ever make you feel embarassed by some friend going "Wow!This looks ancient!".

The most interesting part of this design is that you get two screens, as well as two iSight cameras, so - probably - two people should be able to use it at the same time. Anyway, just remember we're talking about a design exercise here, and no matter how interesting may seem, I don't think we'll get to see the iMac turning into a curved computer with two LCD screens and iSight cameras anytime soon...

Today's question is pretty simple, especially for those that got a Windows Vista laptop in the last months, and their satisfaction level isn't quite high - if you would be offered the chance to replace your Windows laptop with an Apple MacBook, for a small fee, would you do that? Unfortunately, it isn't just that simple, but if you happen to be a student at the Oklahoma Christian University, you could trade in your old Windows laptop for an Apple one!


Back in 2001, the Oklahoma Christian University launched a mobile computing initiative, this program helping ensure that students have the technology required to combine digital fluency and the strengths of a liberal arts education, and now they are taking it one step further, by moving into Apple's terrain. How?

Well, this summer, all faculty and all new students attending New Student Orientations will be issued a new Apple MacBook, while those currently enlisted will be given the opportunity to trade in their Windows laptop for an Apple MacBook.

Even more, the Unviersity gives its students the chance to choose between an additional item - an iPod touch or an iPhone! Not bad at all, but if you're going to graduate in 2008 or 2009, the fee required to trade in your current laptop for a MacBook may not be quite small...

For more details, feel free to check the OCU page, here. Good luck!

While Apple's movie rentals seems to go well, and its iTunes Store pushed Apple as second music retailer in the US, it seems there are still areas waiting to be explored by Steve Jobs' company, such as game rentals. After movie rentals and online music sales, game rentals seems a natural step to me, but is this really going to happen, or do we have just another rumor here?


For now, it's just a pantent filling from Apple, but game rentals and advanced games management may be introduced in the iTunes Store in the not-so-distant future. At this time, on iTunes, there are about 20 games available for the latest line of iPods, together with a dozen others for the older 5th generation iPod classics, but this is only a drop in an ocean, if we look ahead...

Christopher Wysocki, an Apple employee based in Los Gatos, wrote "One aspect of the invention pertains to acquiring compatible game software for a portable electronic device by way of an electronic download from a server device to a client device. Subsequently, the game software is provided from the client device to the portable electronic device".

The documentation also has information about the payment methods - "The acquisition of the game software can be through on-line purchase or rental from the server device, which can host an on-line media store. Another aspect of the invention pertains to acquiring updates to game software that has previously been acquired and provided to a portable electronic device. Game software updates for a plurality of different hardware platforms are available from a server device."

While the above isn't that hard to understand, I was simply stunned by the following part "A client device associated with the portable electronic device can interact with the server device to obtain any game software updates that correspond to the hardware platform utilized by the portable electronic device associated with the client device."

I am glad I don't have to read patent documentation all day, really! Let's hope Apple's game rentals service, when and if it's going to appear, will be as easy to use as possible...

Safari is "the Web browser" for Mac, first released as a public beta version back in early January, 2003. Since Mac OS X 10.3, Safari was the default browser included by Apple in their operating system. More than 4 years later, in June, 2007, Safari arrived on the Windows platform, where it's still in beta stage. Unoficially, it was also run on Linux using the Wine emulator, but it didn't work quite well... Regarding the security part, Safari is not weak at all, but PayPal just decided Apple's browser is not secure enough for them!


As wel all know, PayPal is an extremely popular system that allows money transfers over the Internet, serving as an alternative to traditional cheques and money orders. Now a subsidiary of eBay, PayPal had its own share of security problems, especially with phishing. Since these problems can happen to anyone, anytime, knowing how to protect yourself is the best thing to do, so PayPal published its own guide to "Safer Browsers", which can be read here.

To make a longer story short, they are talking about IE7's phishing filter most of the time, and have simply pushed aside Safari, without writing down a single word about it. Well, it may be that Safari still lacks some advanced security features found in IE7, Firefox or Opera, but some voices also claim that PayPal's heavy use of Extended Validation certificates may also be a problem, so Safari it's not that bad, after all.

In the end, it gets down to user's attention, because every time, before being detected, phishing sites grab a few victims for sure, and that's not because their browsers, or because PayPal's own problems, so no matter what browser you are using, feel free to look twice, think 3 times, and only then submit your valuable personal information!

After a few delays, Apple's Time Capsule is finally here! It took a while, but let's hope all previous problems that caused the delay have been solved, and everyone will have a smooth ride backing up their data on this handy wireless network-attached storage device. Just think about the fact that the Time Capsule was introduced in Steve Jobs' keynote speech on the 15th of January, so it's good to see it shipping, after almost one month and a half, don't you think?


If you don't remember about the Time Capsule, then let me refresh your memory a little... Basically, we're talking about a 802.11n AirPort Extreme router that has a built in server-grade hard drive. This device works with Apple's Time Machine software to help you perform automatic wireless backups of one or multiple Macs running Mac OS X Leopard.

Currently, on Apple's site you can find the 500GB Time Capsule, priced at $299, as well as a 1TB setup, sold for $499. To find out more about the device and, maybe, order your own, feel free to visit the official product page, here.