The Week in Review: 12th September
It's been a busy seven days in tech-circles, so if you've been busy avoiding RSS feeds - fearing an Apple overload - we figured you might enjoy a shakedown of the week's news from Download Squad, along with a few links we simply didn't get a chance to cover.
Microsoft starts up the Windows 7 hype machine
Forget Jerry Seinfeld, Microsoft's charm offensive for Windows 7 is a mashup of quotes about the latest Redmond release combined with cats, ponies, unicorns and Kylie - a four-and-a-half year-old girl who seems to be putting together slideshows with a musical taste beyond her age.
iTunes 9 - The Download Squad Review
This week's big Apple event saw the arrival of iTunes 9. With plenty of new features, some interesting UI choices and more we decided to take a look at the update with this in-depth review.
Google's Search Box sees 'sizeable' update
For some reason, the bigger search box on the Google homepage seems to have sent the blogosphere into overdrive. Frankly, we're not sure what the fuss is all about. It's not as though the update came polished in unicorn tears - though if it had, I'm sure we'd have found something equally snarky to post.
The Engadget Show is a go!
Our comrades at Engadget have announced their inaugural video show, ostensibly called "The Engadget Show". The monthly filming starts tomorrow at 5pm - tickets from 2pm - at the Tishman Auditorium (Parsons The New School for Design) in New York. The lineup includes an interview with Palm CEO Jon 'Father of the iPod' Rubenstein and music from Bit Shifter.
Keep your Mac's third-party software up-to-date with AppFresh
With Mac OS X Snow Leopard now out, AppFresh is a great (and free!) way to ensure that your third-party applications are kept up to date with any relevant Snow Leopard updates.
iPhone App Bonanza - Spotify and Flickr
After much waiting, the Spotify iPhone application for Premium account holders launched in Europe. The launch was so successful in the UK that the service has returned to invite-only status for the time being, but anyone who chooses to go Premium is able to immediately access the service. Flickr also surprised us with an all-new (and slick) Flickr app for the iPhone and iPod touch.
In Other News....
Apple's MobileMe service also saw an update this week - including an all-new Remote Lock feature that allows you to PIN-lock your iPhone directly from the MobileMe website. There's also updates for Mac and Windows customers. [Macworld.com]
The proposed purchase of the Pirate Bay has hit choppy water, after the company purchasing it was delisted from the Swedish Stock Exchange for apparently duping investors and regulators. [Wired Threat Level]
Facebook decided to have a little fun this week, coaxing the folks over at TechCrunch to post about a feature (albeit non-existent) that allowed you to 'Fax This Photo'. At the end of the day, the folks at Facebook admitted the feature was only visible on the TechCrunch network, and designed to see if the TechCrunch folks would post it without confirming first with Facebook. Well played Facebook, well played. [TechCrunch]
Microsoft starts up the Windows 7 hype machine
Forget Jerry Seinfeld, Microsoft's charm offensive for Windows 7 is a mashup of quotes about the latest Redmond release combined with cats, ponies, unicorns and Kylie - a four-and-a-half year-old girl who seems to be putting together slideshows with a musical taste beyond her age.
iTunes 9 - The Download Squad Review
This week's big Apple event saw the arrival of iTunes 9. With plenty of new features, some interesting UI choices and more we decided to take a look at the update with this in-depth review.
Google's Search Box sees 'sizeable' update
For some reason, the bigger search box on the Google homepage seems to have sent the blogosphere into overdrive. Frankly, we're not sure what the fuss is all about. It's not as though the update came polished in unicorn tears - though if it had, I'm sure we'd have found something equally snarky to post.
The Engadget Show is a go!
Our comrades at Engadget have announced their inaugural video show, ostensibly called "The Engadget Show". The monthly filming starts tomorrow at 5pm - tickets from 2pm - at the Tishman Auditorium (Parsons The New School for Design) in New York. The lineup includes an interview with Palm CEO Jon 'Father of the iPod' Rubenstein and music from Bit Shifter.
Keep your Mac's third-party software up-to-date with AppFresh
With Mac OS X Snow Leopard now out, AppFresh is a great (and free!) way to ensure that your third-party applications are kept up to date with any relevant Snow Leopard updates.
iPhone App Bonanza - Spotify and Flickr
After much waiting, the Spotify iPhone application for Premium account holders launched in Europe. The launch was so successful in the UK that the service has returned to invite-only status for the time being, but anyone who chooses to go Premium is able to immediately access the service. Flickr also surprised us with an all-new (and slick) Flickr app for the iPhone and iPod touch.
In Other News....
Apple's MobileMe service also saw an update this week - including an all-new Remote Lock feature that allows you to PIN-lock your iPhone directly from the MobileMe website. There's also updates for Mac and Windows customers. [Macworld.com]
The proposed purchase of the Pirate Bay has hit choppy water, after the company purchasing it was delisted from the Swedish Stock Exchange for apparently duping investors and regulators. [Wired Threat Level]
Facebook decided to have a little fun this week, coaxing the folks over at TechCrunch to post about a feature (albeit non-existent) that allowed you to 'Fax This Photo'. At the end of the day, the folks at Facebook admitted the feature was only visible on the TechCrunch network, and designed to see if the TechCrunch folks would post it without confirming first with Facebook. Well played Facebook, well played. [TechCrunch]
