February 27, 2009, Woodstock, IL — Other World Computing (OWC), a leading Mac and PC technology company, today announced two instant rebates, on the purchase of an Axiotron Modbook, the world’s only Mac-based tablet computer that lets users draw and write directly on the screen, and Modservice, a service that converts an existing Intel Core Duo based MacBook computer into a Modbook. With the $100 instant rebate applied, the Modbook 13.3″ model is priced at $2,139.00 and the Modservice $150 instant rebate reduces the conversion service cost to $1,149.00.

OWC – The Single Source For Buy New or “Bring Your Own “Book” (BYOB) Options

OWC is the exclusive US-based distributor of the Axiotron Modbook, as well as being an Axiotron Authorized System Manufacturer (AASM), and fully certified to convert existing MacBooks into full-featured Modbooks with all of the same functionality that has earned Modbook numerous awards and accolades.

Custom Configure With Upgrades, Extended Warranty

The Axiotron Modbook solution, starting from $2139 (including instant rebate), is available equipped with up to a Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz processor, Intel X3100 or Nvidia 9400M video chipset, up to 6GB of memory, up to 750GB of internal hard drive capacity, and a 8X Dual-Layer SuperDrive.

For those who already own an Apple MacBook “White” or “Black” Core Duo or Core 2 Duo Model, for $1149 (including instant rebate), OWC provides Modservice which converts the existing MacBook into a full-fledged Modbook solution. Included in the Modservice price from OWC is a protective shipping box for the MacBook and both pickup and return delivery services via Federal Express. In addition to the tablet conversion, OWC customers can further choose to upgrade their solution with options of up to 6GB of memory starting from $39, faster and higher capacity hard drives up to 500GB from $65, and faster DVD and CD burning with an 8X Dual-Layer SuperDrive. Data transfer options are also offered so customer data can be backed-up and reloaded after the Modbook conversion is completed.

Both the new Modbook and Modservice offerings are backed by a One Year Warranty, which can be optionally extended to a full Three-Year Warranty for an additional $349.00. The Extended Warranty covers the original MacBook components; any customer-selected upgrades installed by OWC at the time of modification, and the tablet components.

“Declassified” Video Shows Entire Modservice Assembly Process

Because of the unique status of the Modbook being the only Mac-based tablet computer available and the proprietary process of Modservice, detailed production information wasn’t available to the general public until OWC recently declassified assembly video footage taken in its engineering labs. To learn the previously closely guarded process on how the conversion process is performed, visit:
http://eshop.macsales.com/Modbook/Video/Declassified_Modservice

To order a Modbook or the Modservice to convert an existing MacBook into Modbook, visit: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/Modbook

About Other World Computing (OWC)

Other World Computing (OWC) has been providing quality hardware products and support to the computer industry since 1988. The Illinois based company operates the popular e-commerce portal www.MacSales.com, which features one of the largest online catalogs of computer and iPod enhancement products, including Mercury, Neptune, and NewerTech(r) acceleration, storage, and FireWire(r) product lines.

OWC is a Premiere Level Apple Developer Connection member and provides extensive US-based technical support for Macintosh users around the world. OWC is also a strategic partner with Axiotron and exclusive US distributor of the award winning Axiotron Modbook.

OWC is the winner of numerous awards, including Computerworld Magazine’s Top Green-IT Companies for 2008, BizRate’s Gold Circle of Excellence for 2008, and the 2008 “Business Champion Award” from McHenry County Economic Development Corporation. The company’s management umbrella includes leading Internet Service Providers www.fastermac.net and www.owc.net and is the leading technology employer as ranked by the McHenry County Business Journal. For more information, visit www.macsales.com.

written by Daniel Brusilovsky \\ tags: Axiotron, MacSales, ModBook, OWC, Tablet Mac

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Ustream today announces the first-ever Ustream Studio “Live from The Belmont” at South by Southwest, Austin’s largest interactive music festival. The Ustream Studio will combine the ideas and music at the heart of SXSW with the interactive power of live streaming. A free high-profile event open to the public and produced by nicefishfilms, no wristband is required for entry.

The Ustream Studio will showcase musicians, journalists, futurists, artists and thought leaders at The Belmont, 305 W. Sixth St., Austin, Texas. Whether enjoying the events locally or from across the world, Ustream will power all events live on Ustream.TV, the leading internet broadcasting platform that allows anyone with a camera and an internet connection to live stream.

Participants of the Ustream Studio from March 13 to 21 include Grammy® Best New Artist of the Year Adele, Peter Himmelman, Indigo Girls, Manchester Orchestra, The Von Bondies and Glasvegas.

With Ustream’s easy embed tools, users can share any of the live streams, allowing any website to host these compelling concerts and panels. For more information, visit www.ustream.tv/sxsw or the live stream at www.ustream.tv/channel/ustream-studio, or follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/UstreamSXSW.

“Our intent is to create a space for big ideas to grow,” said Michael Sean Wright, founder of nicefishfilms and director of the Ustream Studio. “Ustream Studio is a phenomenal space to experience the excitement and collaboration that defines SXSW. An event on this scale -available to viewers across the globe, for free- is revolutionary to me.”

“The Ustream Studio underscores our vision to help people share moments and experiences with each other,” said Brad Hunstable, co-founder and president of Ustream. “We’re thrilled to be a partner in this event that integrates the power of live video with top-notch entertainment and talent.”

Offering a full range of food and drinks, the Belmont features a retro atmosphere with period furnishings, vintage fixtures, dark woods and design touches that evoke the glamorized 1960s era of Kennedy, Sinatra and Monroe.

About Ustream TV

Ustream.TV is the live interactive video broadcast platform that enables anyone with a camera and an Internet connection to quickly and easily broadcast to a global audience of unlimited size. In less than two minutes, anyone can become a broadcaster by creating their own channel on Ustream or by broadcasting through their own site, empowering them to engage with their audience and further build their brand. Click here to start a broadcast now or learn more about broadcasting. Ustream’s Shiba Inu Puppy Cam, seen by more than 10 million viewers worldwide, was listed as one of 2008’s top 10 Web videos (Source: AP). Ustream powered more than 3.8 million streams during the 2009 Presidential Inauguration.

Follow Ustream on Twitter: http://twitter.com/UstreamTV

Read the blog: http://www.ustream.tv/blog

written by Daniel Brusilovsky \\ tags: Live video, South by Southwest, streaming video, SxSW, UStream

USA — February 24, 2009 — Universal Electronic Accessories (“Uniea”), a leading designer and manufacturer of innovative electronic accessories, announced today that Barnes & Noble, one of the largest online retailers of consumer products of all kinds, is now offering Uniea’s full product line to customers through its far-reaching website. Uniea’s cases and accessories are available through the Barnes & Noble website at books.com, and are featured in both the home and gift sections under the “electronics” categories. To date, this strategic partnership between the two companies has been highly successful, netting impressive U.S. sales results for Uniea in the first quarter of 2009.

The addition of Barnes & Noble as a key sales partner for Uniea follows the company’s steady and impressive efforts in recent months to significantly expand its exposure to various markets globally and forge new distribution alliances with key vendors. Earlier in the year, Uniea announced new ties with both Navarre and Tech Data, two of the largest distributors of consumer electronic products, as well as with the Japanese distributor Focal Point (site in Japanese).

Given the fact that Barnes & Noble remains one of the most popular and successful online retail stores, sales in the U.S. are expected to climb throughout the fiscal year 2009, according to a Uniea spokesperson.

written by Daniel Brusilovsky \\ tags: Barnes & Noble, iPhone, iPod, Sales, Uniea, US

CUPERTINO, Calif., Feb. 24 — Apple today announced the public beta of Safari(R) 4, the world’s fastest and most innovative web browser for Mac and Windows PCs. The Nitro engine in Safari 4 runs JavaScript 4.2 times faster than Safari 3.* Innovative new features that make browsing more intuitive and enjoyable include Top Sites, for a stunning visual preview of frequently visited pages; Full History Search, to search through titles, web addresses and the complete text of recently viewed pages; Cover Flow(R), to easily flip through web history or bookmarks; and Tabs on Top, to make tabbed browsing easier and more intuitive.

“Apple created Safari to bring innovation, speed and open standards back into web browsers, and today it takes another big step forward,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Safari 4 is the fastest and most efficient browser for Mac and Windows, with great integration of HTML 5 and CSS 3 web standards that enables the next generation of interactive web applications.”

Safari 4 is built on the world’s most advanced browser technologies including the new Nitro JavaScript engine that executes JavaScript up to 30 times faster than IE 7 and more than three times faster than Firefox 3. Safari quickly loads HTML web pages three times faster than IE 7 and almost three times faster than Firefox 3.*

Apple is leading the industry in defining and implementing innovative web standards such as HTML 5 and CSS 3 for an entirely new class of web applications that feature rich media, graphics and fonts. Safari 4 includes HTML 5 support for offline technologies so web-based applications can store information locally without an Internet connection, and is the first browser to support advanced CSS Effects that enable highly polished web graphics using reflections, gradients and precision masks. Safari 4 is the first browser to pass the Web Standards Project’s Acid3 test, which examines how well a browser adheres to CSS, JavaScript, XML and SVG web standards that are specifically designed for dynamic web applications.

Safari for Mac, Windows, iPhone(TM) and iPod(R) touch are all built on Apple’s WebKit, the world’s fastest and most advanced browser engine. Apple developed WebKit as an open source project to create the world’s best browser engine and to advance the adoption of modern web standards. Most recently, WebKit led the introduction of HTML 5 and CSS 3 web standards and is known for its fast, modern code-base. The industry’s newest browsers are based on WebKit including Google Chrome, the Google Android browser, the Nokia Series 60 browser and Palm webOS.

Innovative new features in Safari 4 include:
— Top Sites, a display of frequently visited pages in a stunning wall of
previews so users can jump to their favorite sites with a single click;
— Full History Search, where users search through titles, web addresses
and the complete text of recently viewed pages to easily return to
sites they’ve seen before;
— Cover Flow, to make searching web history or bookmarks as fun and easy
as paging through album art in iTunes(R);
— Tabs on Top, for better tabbed browsing with easy drag-and-drop tab
management tools and an intuitive button for opening new ones;
— Smart Address Field, that automatically completes web addresses by
displaying an easy-to-read list of suggestions from Top Sites,
bookmarks and browsing history;
— Smart Search Field, where users fine-tune searches with recommendations
from Google Suggest or a list of recent searches;
— Full Page Zoom, for a closer look at any website without degrading the
quality of the site’s layout and text;
— built-in web developer tools to debug, tweak and optimize a website for
peak performance and compatibility; and
— a new Windows-native look in Safari for Windows, that uses standard
Windows font rendering and native title bar, borders and toolbars so
Safari fits the look and feel of other Windows XP and Windows Vista
applications.

Pricing & Availability
Safari 4 is a public beta for both Mac OS(R) X and Windows and is available immediately as a free download at http://www.apple.com/safari.

Safari 4 for Mac OS X requires Mac OS X Leopard(R) version 10.5.6 and Security Update 2009-001 or Mac OS X Tiger(R) version 10.4.11, a minimum 256MB of memory, and is designed to run on any Intel-based Mac or a Mac with a PowerPC G5, G4 or G3 processor and built-in FireWire(R). Safari 4 for Windows requires Windows XP SP2 or Windows Vista, a minimum 256MB of memory and a system with at least a 500 MHz Intel Pentium processor. Full system requirements and more information on Safari 4 can be found at http://www.apple.com/safari.

* Performance will vary based on system configuration, network connection
and other factors. All testing conducted on an iMac(R) 2.8 GHz Intel
Core 2 Duo system running Windows Vista, with 2GB of RAM. JavaScript
benchmark based on the SunSpider JavaScript Performance test. HTML
benchmark based on VeriTest’s iBench Version 5.0 using default settings.

written by Daniel Brusilovsky \\ tags: Apple, Apple Computer, Browser, Firefox, Internet, Safari

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Feb. 23, 2009 – Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST) today announced that it has agreed to acquire Fabrik, Inc., a privately-held supplier of personal and professional storage solutions. Fabrik, whose leading storage brands include G-Technology and SimpleTech, strategically positions Hitachi in the fast-growing external storage business.

Industry analyst firm IDC expects worldwide personal storage device shipments to grow from approximately 52 million in 2008 to 123 million in 20121. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Closing of the acquisition, which is subject to customary conditions, is expected to occur early in the second quarter of 2009.

Fabrik’s business will continue intact and form the core of Hitachi GST’s newly-formed external storage business. Hitachi GST will fully support the G-Technology and SimpleTech product lines, building upon their success and differentiation in the market. The combined company will also leverage operational, technical and product development resources, distribution channels and global reach to accelerate delivery of a full portfolio of traditional hard drives, solid state drives and branded personal and professional storage products.

“The Fabrik acquisition becomes the cornerstone for the next phase of our business transformation. It strategically expands our market presence, strengthens our product portfolio, and increases our customer base,” said Steve Milligan, President of Hitachi GST. “Fabrik is a key component of our growth and profit strategy going forward and will enable us to deliver a differentiated set of products across a broad range of end-user market segments.”

As a 20 year storage veteran, Mike Cordano, Fabrik CEO and co-founder, will join Hitachi GST as a key member of the executive management team. Mr. Cordano has an extensive background in the data storage industry, having previously served as executive vice president of Worldwide Sales and Marketing for Maxtor Corporation. While there, he was instrumental in building the Branded Products Group, which successfully launched the industry’s first “OneTouch” external storage and backup solution, which ultimately defined the category and broke the technology barrier for mass consumer adoption.

“Hitachi GST provides Fabrik and its customers all the benefits of a vertically integrated company. We gain economies of scale, financial stability, association with a strong brand and a worldwide footprint to accelerate our business growth,” said Mike Cordano, Fabrik CEO and co-founder. “We are pleased that Hitachi is building upon our vision and enabling end-users everywhere to enjoy powerful storage solutions that are unequalled when it comes to performance, style, reliability and innovation.”

Fabrik’s leading storage brands include G-Technology, offering premium external storage solutions for the Mac, content creation and professional A/V markets; and SimpleTech, an innovative leader in PC-based external storage and backup solutions. Both brands have clearly differentiated product lines that complement and build upon the existing Hitachi GST hard drive portfolio.

About Hitachi Global Storage Technologies

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST) develops advanced hard disk drives, enterprise-class solid state drives, and innovative external storage solutions and services used to store, preserve and manage the world’s most valued data. Founded by the pioneers of hard drives, Hitachi GST provides high-value storage for a broad range of market segments, including Enterprise, Desktop, Mobile Computing, Consumer Electronics, and Personal Storage. Hitachi GST was established in 2003 and is headquartered in San Jose, California. For more information, please visit the company’s website at http://www.hitachigst.com.

About Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 390,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2007 (ended March 31, 2008) consolidated revenues totaled 11,226 billion yen ($112.3 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors, including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, logistics, materials and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company’s website at http://www.hitachi.com.

written by Daniel Brusilovsky \\ tags: Acquire, Fabrik, G-Technology, Hard Drives, Hitachi GST

The Apple Universe Podcast goes to Macworld 2009 in San Francisco, and to start things off, we talk to Rick Kalman, Sr. Product Manager, Desktop Products at FileMaker, Inc. FileMaker at Macworld announced it is shipping the new FileMaker Pro 10, a breakthrough version of the award-winning database software, which features a sleek new interface and intuitive new design. With a fresh new interface, FileMaker Pro 10 delivers the most dramatic design changes in over a decade. The redesigned and customizable Status Toolbar – similar to browser toolbars – puts commonly used FileMaker Pro features, previously only accessible from the main menu, right at users’ fingertips for streamlined navigation, better workflow and time-saving shortcuts.

Host/Executive Producer: Daniel Brusilovsky
Associate Producer: Sean Blake
Length: 13:54

Sponsors:

• Drop.io – Simple Private Sharing
• iCultur – iCultur.com is a new and exciting environment on the Internet for everyone out there who loves to “think different”
• shinywhitebox – Great software for Mac. The makers of iShowU, Stomp and now Chatter!
• Skitch – The best screen capture program for the Mac!

If you would like to sponsor Apple Universe, contact the Sales team at sales@appleuniversepodcast.com.

Theme Music is provided by Daphna Kalfon. Apple Universe is a proud member of the Tech Podcast Network and the Teen Podcasters Network.

 

 Apple Universe Podcast #159 - FileMaker 10 [13:54m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

written by Daniel Brusilovsky \\ tags: Announcment, Apple, Apple Podcast, Keynote, MacBook Pro, Macworld, Macworld 2009, Macworld San Francisco, News, Twitter

Ustream has received approval from Apple for its live video viewing application on the iPhone just in time to watch the Obama inauguration live from wherever you are. The application requires an open WiFi connection to show video. Audio is pretty good, picture quality is good but with a low frame rate. Of course, there is a lot of buffering, even over WiFi, and users can both read and leave comments in the chat stream. Get it here.

I have taken some screen shots, and posted on my Flickr stream.

Update: The application is only running on iPhone’s, and not iPod Touch’s like the App Store mentions.

written by Daniel Brusilovsky \\ tags: Apple, LIVE, UStream, Video, Video on iPhone

Tonight out at the ShowStoppers event at Macworld in San Francisco, Skype announced the new 2.8 Beta for Mac OS X. The new version will apparently be available for download tomorrow, January 6, 2009, from Skype’s website.

Here’s the quick list of what Skype notes is in this release:

• Skype Access
• Screen Sharing
• Improved chat management: ability to sort chats in the drawer and set priorities to chats
• Quick Add: much easier to add people to chats
• Mood message chat: mood message updates from your friends as chat messages
• Large avatars: 256×256 pixels
• Hidden avatars in incoming contact requests
• Ability to add your own notes to contacts

Skype Access is a worldwide, pay-per-minute WiFi hotspot access service provided by Boingo Wireless and enabled by Skype. Skype Access allows Skype users to connect to any of the more than 100,000 Boingo WiFi hotspots worldwide – including airports, hotels, cafes and metropolitan hot zones – with a single click, and to pay per minute only for what they use with Skype Credit.

The price to use Skype Access to connect to a Boingo WiFi hotspot is based on a flat, global rate of $0.19/€0.14 per minute (€0.16/$0.22 incl. VAT), which will vary based on currency. There are no connection fees or monthly charges for Skype Access.

The new screen sharing function in Skype 2.8 Beta for Mac enables you to show others something you are working on or to explain how to do something. Similar to a Skype video call, it works by capturing, encrypting and transferring the content of your screen in real-time to the person you are sharing your screen with. Once there, the content is decrypted and shown to the other person on their screen. If you are using Skype 2.8 Beta for Mac, you are also able to share your screen with Skype for Windows and Skype for Linux users, but cannot see theirs (yet).

Tomorrow, I will download the test out Skype 2.8 Beta for Mac, if all goes according to plan at Skype.

written by Daniel Brusilovsky

In this episode of the Apple Universe Podcast, more pre-Macworld 2009 predictions run, along with some news! Be sure to tune into the Apple Universe Podcast Macworld Coverage page for updates!

News:

• Macworld San Francisco 2009 Rumor Roundup
• BusyMac announces BusyCal – desktop calendar sharing and syncing
• Open Door Networks and Project A Ship 12 Apps and A Christmas Card
• Twittelator Pro 1.6 for iPhone/Touch Ships from Stone Design

Host/Executive Producer: Daniel Brusilovsky
Associate Producer: Sean Blake
Length: 9:47

Sponsors:

• Drop.io – Simple Private Sharing
• iCultur – iCultur.com is a new and exciting environment on the Internet for everyone out there who loves to “think different”
• shinywhitebox – Great software for Mac. The makers of iShowU, Stomp and now Chatter!
• Skitch – The best screen capture program for the Mac!

If you would like to sponsor Apple Universe, contact the Sales team at sales@appleuniversepodcast.com.

Theme Music is provided by Daphna Kalfon. Apple Universe is a proud member of the Tech Podcast Network and the Teen Podcasters Network.

 

 Apple Universe Podcast #158 - MacBook Pro Rumors [9:47m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

written by Daniel Brusilovsky \\ tags: Announcment, Apple, Apple Podcast, Keynote, MacBook Pro, Macworld, Macworld 2009, Macworld San Francisco, News, Twitter

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – January 5, 2008 – Apple Universe Media Group today announced that the Apple Universe Podcast will provide live coverage of the Macworld Conference & Expo 2009 keynote presentation, by Phil Schiller, Apple senior vice president of worldwide marketing. Live coverage of the keynote begins at 8 a.m. PST/11 a.m EST. Coverage of the keynote will be streamed simultaneously from a mQik and Ustream.TV.

The popular podcast, hosted and produced by teen entrepreneur, Daniel Brusilovsky, will provide ongoing coverage of the expo and conference events throughout the week. This will include video and audio interviews with exhibitors, sponsors, and show officials.

“Macworld is one of those events that deserves to be covered from every angle,” said host and executive producer, Daniel Brusilovsky. “That’s why we are doing more than writing articles. We’re blogging about the expo, providing audio and video coverage, and involving our community.”

In addition to video and audio interviews, viewers of the podcast will be able to chat with each other, as well as with the show hosts. A fullscreen viewing option is also available in the Qik and Ustream.TV flash players on the Apple Universe Podcast site (www.appleuniversepodcast.com).

The Apple Universe Podcast is part of the Apple Universe Media Group. Founded in March,2007 by host and executive producer, Daniel Brusilovsky, the Apple Universe Podcast has covered such shows as Macworld Expo 2008, WordCamp 2007 and 2008, Office 2.0 2008, O’Reilly’s Velocity and ETech conferences. The show is one of the most viewed Apple and Technology-themed podcasts on the internet.

Website
Macworld 2009 Coverage

The Apple Universe Podcast is part of the Apple Universe Media Group which was founded in March of 2007 by Host/Executive Producer, Daniel Brusilovsky. The Apple Universe Podcast has covered such shows as Macworld 2008, WordCamp 2007 and 2008, Office 2.0 2008, O’Reilly’s Velocity and ETech conference, and many others. The show is one of the largest Apple and Technology-themed podcasts on the internet.

###

Daniel Brusilovsky
Host/Executive Producer
daniel@appleuniversepodcast.com

written by Daniel Brusilovsky \\ tags: Apple Universe Podcast, Audio, Blogging, Coverage, IDG, Interviews, Macworld, Macworld Conferene and Expo, Qik, UStream, Video