Crave

Raw photo files from Canon's new 1D Mark IV now can be seen in Mac OS X.

(Credit: Canon USA)

Apple released one of its routine Mac OS X updates on Wednesday to let its computers handle raw images from a handful of new Nikon and Canon SLRs as well as from Canon's newer high-end PowerShot G11 compact camera.

The update lets Mac OS X 10.6 as well as Apple's iPhoto and Aperture software handle the raw image files taken directly from the camera's sensors without in-camera processing. Raw photo formats offer more quality and flexibility at the cost of convenience and file size.

The update supports Canon's new professional EOS-1D Mark IV and high-end EOS 7D SLRs. Among Nikons, the support ranges from the entry-level D3000, the higher-end D300S, and the professional D3S.

Windows relies on camera makers to supply software to decode the raw images. Adobe Systems and Apple write their own modules to decode the proprietary raw formats.

Updated 7:31 a.m. PST December 18 to clarify that the update expanded existing raw support.

A look at Apple's new patent idea

(Credit: Apple)

I'm not one to get excited about patent filings, but this one was enough to make me think twice about what the future might hold.

Apple filed a patent this week with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It describes an "electronic device for providing a display that changes based on the user's perspective." The patent says that the product would include "a sensing mechanism" that's capable of detecting the user's position relative to the display. MacRumors originally reported on the patent.

The filing said that the device would include "a camera operative to detect the position of the user's head." Using that detected position, the device would then "transform" objects displayed on a monitor so the perspective the user sees "reflects the detected position of the user."

The overarching goal behind Apple's patent is to provide a realistic 3D experience. But it gets better. The technology would also be able to detect the user's environment and affect objects on the display based on the data it collects. For example, if the technology finds different areas within the user's environment that reflect or refract light, the objects on the display will do the same.

Apple even said that it could add depth and 3D-like characteristics to 2D objects on the display.

I, for one, am excited about the possibility this technology affords. By using a video camera, it can literally change objects on a monitor to react to the user's environment. Gone would be the days of viewing simple content on a display. If Apple's technology becomes a reality, it could totally transform the way people interact with their monitors. It could also have a major impact on the Web.

For now, Apple's technology is years away. But it's still fun to wait. And dream.

With Psystar barred permanently by a judge from selling anymore Open Computers, the Mac clone maker became just one in a string of companies that have tried selling Mac OS X on non-Apple hardware.

During Apple's three decades in business, it has at some points licensed its operating system for use on third-party computers. But since CEO Steve Jobs' return in 1997, the policy has been clear: Apple will be the only company allowed to sell Mac OS preinstalled.

Though Psystar tried and failed, there are still two companies out there--safely outside the U.S. and the reach of American copyright law--continuing to defy Apple's legally upheld EULA.

Here's a look back.

A short history of Mac clones (photos)

This woman is clearly thrilled with her decision to use a kiosk instead of a tiny photo printer.

(Credit: Kodak)

If you look at our 2009 holiday gift guide, neither the camera nor the printers sections have recommendations for little, standalone photo printers. This probably wasn't intentional, but the fact is, they've become sort of niche products that I'd be hard-pressed to recommend these days. With so many other ways to get prints and enjoy and consume digital photos, it seems like these single-function printers, regardless of size, are just more tech clutter. I say this because I own two that have done nothing but collect dust this year.

This doesn't mean I don't make individual prints (though lately I've been making more photo books) or regularly view my pictures, because I do. There's just much better ways of freeing the photos trapped online or on a hard drive.

1. Online printing
   The Web has roughly a gazillion ways to view and share digital photos as well as order prints or various other products. So, the first step is to find one you like and will use, and sign up. It's been, um, awhile since CNET examined the topic of online printing services, but DigitalPhotos101 and TopTenReviews have current reviews on the subject. According to both sites, HP-owned Snapfish comes out on top. Snapfish does mail-order, but its retail partnerships allow you to do in-store pickup. It, too, is where you can get my favorite photo gift, the giant $50 wall clock (there's a smaller $20 version as well). Also, while it's going to seem like I'm a rep for Kodak by the end of this post, I've been a longtime user of its printing services. Its new professional print options yield particularly nice results.
... Read more

Apple's delay in shipping the 27-inch iMac may have more to do with the sheer volume of sales than any problems with the graphics chips, according to numbers from market research firm NPD.

(Credit: Apple)

Stephen Baker, NPD's vice president of industry analysis, told CNET on Monday that for October and November, Mac desktop sales were up 74 percent over the same period last year. While NPD did not break the numbers down by desktop model, it's clear the iMac is a top seller.

In fact, the 27-inch iMac appears to be selling so well, it could account for the shipping delay that Apple apologized for on Sunday.

"It's not surprising Apple would be having problems supplying them [iMacs]," said Baker. "I can't imagine in their wildest dreams they would have thought they would sell like this."

Reports over the weekend suggested Apple was delaying shipments of the 27-inch iMac due to reported problems with the graphics card. While those issues remain, it may not be the root cause of the delay.

The surge in Mac sales was not limited to the 27-inch model. Baker said that the 21.5-inch iMac and the Mac mini are also doing very well.

Piper Jaffray financial analyst Gene Munster estimated in a research note to clients on Monday that Apple could sell 2.9 million to 3 million Macs for the current quarter, according to a report on AppleInsider. Munster cautioned that approximately 50 percent of all Mac sales for the quarter happen in December, so that number could change.

Mac notebooks saw a 5 percent increase for October and November, while iPod sales were down 11 percent year-over-year for the same time period.

On this week's Digital City, we discuss Google's rumored new phone; get to the bottom of the current iMac shipping delays, and go over the best games you can play on a Netbook (all after Dan had to get up at 5am to shoot a local news TV segment on his favorite holiday games).

Then, things take a turn for the weird with a solid gold PlayStation 3, rumored to be under Jay-Z's Xmas tree; and a surprising NYC find -- a Mario-themed pizza place that is calling out for a visit from the ghost of intellectual property lawyers past (see below).

Related links:
>>Is Google making a phone?
>>Top 20 Netbook games
>>Top 5 Holiday Game Picks (CW11 morning News)

>>Watch the Digital City live every Monday at 3pm EST on CNET Live!
>>Subscribe to Digital City on iTunes
>>Join the Digital City Facebook fan page
>>Need more? Follow Dan on Twitter! And Scott!

Spotted on Houston street in NYC.

(Credit: Dan Ackerman)

(Credit: Apple)

A new patent application from Apple dug up by AppleInsider reveals ways in which the company's products could be fitted with a simple label or tag that provides evidence of tampering. If the strip is compromised, it gives Apple leverage to void your warranty.

Apple's patent application notes that it is in the best interest of an electronics manufacturer to be able to know when a device has been "compromised" and opened, thus voiding its warranty. Unauthorized tampering with an electronic device can destroy it, and without evidence of such tampering, a manufacturer may be obligated to support its warranty. Apple's technology, the company said, could save manufacturers "substantial" costs.

In another patent filing, Apple is looking to broaden the role of the accelerometer in its portable devices, noting that motion could be used to navigate and control the device itself. For example, users could shake the device to play a song or flick it to scroll through menus. That idea has been tossed around before, as I recall, so it's not really all that surprising. Perhaps it's just a ploy to get us to buy more iPods as more movement will likely result in more drops, tosses and smashes.

(Credit: Apple)

This story originally appeared on Gizmodo.

(Credit: Skype)

Today's episode of CNET's The 404 Podcast starts off on a personal note, with Jeff detailing last night's tour of Justin's tiny Manhattan apartment. I'll concede that the space is indeed very small relative to the cripplingly expensive rent, but like any self-respecting human, I'll pay almost anything stay out of New Jersey.

Although, if I ever get tired of New York, I can always make like Rob Cavazos, aka the Wilderness Man, and embark on a 10-day camping trip to the most remote phone box in the world. It's a 10-day experiment put on by Skype and The Viral Factory to raise awareness of Skype's cheaper international calls to landlines and mobile phones. Cavazos speaks English, Spanish, and French, and is inviting everyone to call the payphone using Skype for a quick chat. Check out the Phone Box Experiment Web site for more details.

Back in January, we made a spelling error trying to use the idiom, "Good juju, bad juju." As it turns out, the expired CrunchPad is now resurrected as the "JooJoo," but CNET's Rafe Needleman doesn't think consumers are willing to pay $499 for a device that does less than a Netbook. Check out Rafe's hands-on with the JooJoo and let us know YOUR opinion in the comments below.

Thanks Austin!

Big thanks to Austin for the Nook motivation poster you see up there. And, as promised, we've got more 404 theme song remixes today, including more 8-bit awesomeness and two piano covers of Jonathan Coulton's "Mother Effers" track! Very cool stuff here, and please keep them coming! This has been the most. successful. unofficial. contest...ever!

Apple will ramp up production on its long-rumored tablet in February with an eye toward a spring launch.

That's the word from Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner who says his checks into Apple's supply chain indicate that "the manufacturing cogs for the [device] are creaking into action." According to Reiner, the tablet will have a 10.1-inch multitouch LCD display and a price point of $1,000.

Apple plans to produce as many as 1 million units per month. So assuming it needs five to six weeks of inventory before launch, we can expect it to arrive at market sometime in March or April. In preparation for that day, the company has evidently been evangelizing the device to the publishing industry.

"Contacts in the U.S. tell us Apple is approaching book publishers with a very attractive proposal for distributing their content," Reiner wrote in a note to clients today. "Apple will split revenue 30/70 (Apple/publisher); give the same deal to all comers; and not request exclusivity. We believe the typical Kindle/publisher split is 50/50, rising to 30/70 if Kindle is given ebook exclusivity."

Noting dissension in the ranks, Reiner adds, "As innovative as it is, we believe the Kindle has disgruntled the publishing industry (book, newspaper, and magazine) by demanding exclusivity, disallowing advertising, and demanding a wolfish cut of revenue. The tablet is set to change that. It should also make e-books more relevant for education by simplifying functions such as scribbling marginalia."

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