NAB: new 4TB G-RAID Pro, RAID-1 mobile storage, more...

G-Technology on Monday added a new G-RAID Pro drive to its product line, increased the performance and quiet operation of its G-RAID drive, and added RAID 1 protection and eSATA connectivity to its G-RAID mini portable drive. The company's triple interface G-RAID Pro solution features FireWire 800, FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 connectivity and storage capacities up to 4TB to handle both the bandwidth and storage-intensive requirements of compressed HD formats. The on-board hardware RAID controller supports both RAID 0 and fail-safe RAID 5 operation with auto-rebuild functionality, and utilizes four hot-swappable 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s disk drive modules.

iTunes HD Movie goal not quite met...

Apple has reached one of its goals announced at the Macworld Expo in January while missing another, with 100 high-definition Dolby Digital-enabled movies available in the iTunes store of a total library of 604 movie rental titles. iLounge writes that Apple had set a goal of 1000 rental titles by the end of February, but has since fallen short. Apple's main competition in the digital rental marketplace comes from Amazon's Unbox service, and Netflix, who offer thousands of titles.

Analyst on the myths of Apple and Business...

Michael Gartenberg of Jupiter Research has published an article addressing the suitability of Apple products -- the Mac and iPhone in particular -- for business purposes. Noting that Most IT departments are not deploying Macintosh systems in large numbers and those that are are deploying are usually in niche spaces such as graphic arts, Gartenberg says that the Mac OS has changed significantly in the last few years and says that Apple's systems now offer a reasonable alternative for Windows systems used in businesses.

iPhone v2.0 allows saving images to Photo Album...

iPhone developers testing the latest v1.2.0 beta firmware have found that future implementations of the iPhone OS allows users to press and hold their finger over an image in Safari to save it to their Photo Album. According to Gizmodo, the method works with all new versions of the v1.2.0 beta, and is ideal for saving friends photos from Facebook or a similar service, allowing the photo to serve as a background or other interface element.

Stan Flack, MacCentral founder, passes...

Stan Flack, a pioneer of the Mac journalism industry and the founder of MacCentral, has passd away at his home in Prince Edward Island, Canada, reports Macworld. Flack founded MacCentral in the mid-90s, and his site was later acquired by Mac Publishing LLC. Jim Dalrymple, who worked with Flack in the early day of MacCentral wrote: "Stan has been in the Mac industry since 1994 when MacCentral first went online as a weekly publication. Things were a lot different back then—the Internet as we know it was in its infancy—but Stan saw a way to make a successful business. We both worked at a local newspaper back then and often chatted about having our own business, being our own boss and ruling the world. To a large degree a lot of those goals were accomplished."

Psystar claims to offer $400 Mac clone [U]...

A company called Psystar claims it will soon deliver a $400 Mac clone, based around a 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with integrated Intel GMA 950 graphics. Stating that the machine will be compatible with Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5), the company says it will pre-install the OS and include a special restoration disc, alongside the genuine installation disc. The legality of Psystar's operation is dubious, as Apple's Mac OS X license explicitly states that the software can only be installed and used on an Apple-labeled computer, specifically stating "You agree not to install, use or run the Apple Software on any non-Apple-labeled computer, or to enable others to do so."

First Look: Sprint Connection Manager...

The most common way to access the Internet with a laptop computer is through a Wi-Fi network. Unfortunately, Wi-Fi access isn’t always available. If you can’t find a free hotspot, the next best option is to use a wireless modem for accessing the Internet through a cellular network. Not only are cellular networks more readily accessible than Wi-Fi networks (especially when you’re riding in a car, bus, or train), but cellular networks are still often fast enough for basic web browsing and e-mail access. With a cellular wireless modem (also called a mobile broadband device), a laptop, and a program like Sprint’s Connection Manager software, you can access the Internet wherever you have cellular coverage.

Researchers fool WiFi positioning on iPhone, Touch...

The iPhone's WiFi positioning system can be fooled into providing false results, a report claims from researchers at ETH Zurich. According to TG Daily, researchers were able to circumvent the Skyhook-owned service in a "fairly simple manner". The technology traditionally relies on detected MAC addresses that relay information to the central server, and by spoofing a real access point, users can generate any number of false points, as well as jam up real ones.

Typinator 3.0 slinks into background...

Ergonis has released v3.0 of Typinator, its typing aid for Mac OS X. The software works within all Mac applications, and is used to quickly insert phrases or pictures into a document based on abbreviations, and/or correct spelling mistakes in English, French or German. The latest version marks a fundamental shift in how the software operates; it is now a "dockless" program, running only in the background, which means it does not take up space in the Dock or force users to skip it under the app switcher.

Forbes: Software makes Apple, not hardware...

Despite popular perceptions, Apple's primary strengths are not in hardware but in software, according to Forbes. The business magazine notes that while the iPhone is an increasingly popular smartphone, and sales of Mac desktops and notebooks are eating further into PC marketshare, it is actually software which makes Apple products distinct. The company is unusual in that it designs both hardware and software, something that was most commonly done in the 1980s and prior; it has not, however, actually produced its own hardware for years, a strategy it abandoned in part because it sometimes had trouble matching production to demand.

NAB: GridIron demos Flow, public beta due in Spring...

GridIron Software on Monday announced that GridIron Flow software is now undergoing beta testing with a select group of creative professionals and is being demonstrated this week on both Mac OS X and Windows at the NAB (booth SL6220). According to the company, Flow is billed as "a revolutionary new approach to workflow management for creative pros that dramatically simplifies the design process for print, web, film, and video projects." The software transparently tracks work from idea to end result and manages all assets and applications with any modifications to existing workflows. Expected to ship later this summer starting at $350, Flow automatically tracks projects allowing users to instantly see the relationships between all assets without changing the way you work.

Apple acknowledges MacBook graphics glitches...

The latest Apple MacBooks are suffering from serious graphical issues, according to widespread reports. Both the basic MacBook and the MacBook Pro are said to be suffering from instances of visual corruption, in which text duplicates, documents fail to scroll completely, or animations and videos flicker; the last problem seems to primarily affect Flash or Quicktime clips viewed in a web browser. Critically, the issue appears to be independent of graphics hardware, given that basic MacBooks use integrated Intel chips while Pros use GeForce 8600M GT cards by NVIDIA.

USPS to discontinue postage-free Mac shipping...

Mac owners may soon find themselves inconvenienced when trying to ship packages online, a note from the US Postal Service indicates. For some time the USPS has let people pay for shipping online through its web-based Click-N-Ship service, which eliminates the need to buy physical postage. The pay-without-postage service is being discontinued after May 12th however, which will force customers to use the USPS Shipping Assistant software if they want to avoid buying postage separately.

Sans Digital launches MobileSTOR Plus storage...

Sans Digital has introduced its newly designed MobileSTOR Plus direct-attached compact hard drive storage series, which includes the MS2U+ and MS2T+ two-bay subsystems. Designed for home and small office environments, the MobileSTOR Series MS2U+ / MS2T+ is an economical yet feature-rich two-bay external JBOD solution that provides the access to two hard drives instantly via USB 2.0 (MS2U+) or eSATA (MS2T+) interfaces; it is also equipped with two swappable 3.5-inch lockable hard drive trays that are also compatible with other Mobile series products.

iTunes Store coming to Russia this month?...

The iTunes Store may finally open to Russians later this month, a local publication claims. Billboard ads have been posted in multiple locations across Moscow, proclaiming "iSkoro 21.04.2008;" iSkoro translates to "iSoon," and the style of the ads are said to resemble Apple's iPhone packaging. In recent days similar websites are said to have been posted online as well, each proclaiming "iTunes Store Russia 21.04.2008." Crucially, imacintosh.ru lists its support e-mail as "rusupport@apple.com," and itunes-store.ru lists its contact as "support@apple.ru." The apple.ru domain actually belongs to Apple IMC, Russia's largest distributor of Apple products.

Apple, China Mobile not yet in formal iPhone talks...

Apple and China's largest cellular company, China Mobile, have yet to begin formal negotiations over the iPhone in spite of mutual interests, say reports. The latter company's chairman, Wang Jianzhou, revealed the information at this weekend's Boao Forum conference, explaining that there is no current timeframe for a Chinese iPhone. He further states that while the companies may have had informal conversations in the past, disputes over business models have kept the two corporations from making progress.

NAB: Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 supports Sony XDCAM EX...

At NAB Adobe also announced native support for the Sony XDCAM EX camera format in its Premiere Pro CS3 video editing and production software. Premiere Pro delivers a file-based workflow without transcoding or rewrapping, providing a software-only, tapeless High Definition (HD) workflow—from capture to output. Adobe will demonstrating the Sony XDCAM EX editing workflow during The 2008 NAB conference at booth SL3220.