macworld

iFrogz Audiowrapz: protection and sound in one

Why buy a protective skin and a set of speakers for your iPod Nano when the iFrogz Audiowrapz lets you kill two birds with one stone? Well, for one, a separate set of speakers would probably sound much better, but that's beside the point: The Audiowrapz protects your player while offering the added bonus of three external speakers in one very compact package. No denying it's a little gimmicky, but also kinda cool. The case itself adds some length to the third-gen Nano, but isn't bad looking. In fact, I think the overall look is randomly stylish, … Read more

Will Apple's rental service succeed?

Steve Jobs' keynote at this year's MacWorld included the announcement of four new products: the new MacBook Air, Time Capsule, an update to the iPhone and iPod Touch, and a revised Apple TV with movie rentals through both the Apple TV and the iTunes store. It's clear that Jobs is excited about the new offering and the studios are also quite pleased with the terms of the new service, but what about John and Jane Consumer?

At the new iTunes rental store, visitors can check out movies from all of the major Hollywood studios. For new releases, users are charged $3.99 and catalog rentals are $2.99. HD rentals were also introduced this week at $4.99, but are only available through Apple TV. Once downloaded the movies will remain accessible for 30 days, but will only stay active for a 24 hour period after pressing play.

In 1987, the Dead Kennedy's released an album titled " Give Me Convenience, or Give Me Death," and for those who live by that credo, the new iTunes service delivers hands down.… Read more

Macally FlexTune rocks dual iPod docks

In the ever-saturated market of iPod speaker docks, distinguishing oneself from the crowd is important for the bottom line. Macally attempts this with its new FlexTune stereo speakers by including dual iPod connections: one in the standard position in the bottom of the central docking area, and one sticking out of the right wall of the cradle. This second option allows for an iPhone or iPod Touch to be docked sideways for wide-screen video viewing. It's actually a great idea for sharing since the FlexTune outputs sound to the speakers and the iPhone and Touch already offer large-enough screens … Read more

Macworld: Blinged out iPhone Cases

Much like CES, the vast majority of iPhone accessories were limited to carrying cases or skins, which is surprising given that this was the event where the iPhone was introduced. While entries from iSkin and CaseLogic were there, these entries from Gilty Couture caught my eye. A gold-plated case ($99) and a diamond-encrusted (not real diamonds, right?) case ($135). However, not sure what the taste factor would be here. When we rolled up to the booth it looked as if a deal was going down, so you may see these soon.

Top 5 download updates from Macworld

With Macworld in full swing, throngs of people are flooding the streets of San Francisco to check out the latest offerings from Apple and all the other vendors exhibiting their wares at the expo. But some Mac-related stuff is only indirectly related to what's happening on the showroom floor or how thin the new MacBook Air is.

One thing I've noticed as a Mac software editor is how, when Apple has its biggest show of the year, the majority of Mac software developers figure it is the best time to release an update for their apps. I've … Read more

Seeing 'Spore' on the Mac for the first time

Earlier this week, I ran a story about how video game giant Electronic Arts plans to release its much-anticipated evolution game, Spore, on Macs at the same time as the PC version.

Unfortunately, at the time of the story, I didn't have any screenshots of the game being played on a Mac, and in fact, we had to rely on out-of-date images of Spore taken from game conferences in 2006.

Well, today, I finally was able to make onto the show floor at Macworld here in San Francisco, and while I was certainly interested in much of what was … Read more

CNET Live - Episode 36 - Show Notes

Tom Krazit from News.com's One More Thing blog joined us to review the Macworld announcements. I like that Krazit guy. He's smart.

Watch the show soon on CNET TV.

Things we Crave

Spore coming to the Mac

DroboShare

First Look

MacBook Air

Guest Tom Krazit from News.com's One More Thing blog.

Download of the Week

Audacity 1.3.3.

Detroit Auto Show

Maserati Quattroporte Cento.

Best of the Web

Nominate your favorite website for the Webware 100. Overstream.net.

Your calls

Time machine running will erase your operating system along with your other files.

Eraser … Read more

ezGear XL90 Sound Bar is long...really long

Um...I'm pretty sure this thing is as long as I am tall. Wow. The press release for the ezGear XL90 Sound Bar doesn't include any information on the unit's measurements (nor does the product page, for that matter), but comparing it to the iPod that's docked into it in the picture, I think it's safe to say that this speaker is at least nine iPods wide. OK, so that's only about 22 inches--shorter than me, to be sure--but it's still really long compared to any other iPod speaker dock that I've … Read more

Jobs' keynote inspires manila envelope MacBook Air case

In the "why didn't I think of that" category, an enterprising couple of media types (Web designer Jona Bechtolt and freelance science writer Claire L. Evans) were so knocked out by the Steve Jobs Macworld keynote that they decided to create and market a laptop case for the new MacBook Air--based on the simple manila office envelope Jobs pulled his new laptop out of on stage.

The AirMail is little more than a simple Web site and a prototype photo right now, but the designers promise to start shipping the handmade bags in about two weeks--when … Read more