Jai: SPECIAL REPORT Ares Rocket to launch later today (we hope)

GEEKS EVERYWHERE This is a rare post that NMG does but interesting never the less. NASA have been working on their new rocket for many years.

They have decided to create this rocket to replace the ageing space shuttle that has caused many problems for NASA scientists.

Ares I-X rocket will be the latest space mission for the USA. Hopefully launching within 24 hours, if they do not launch in that time window they have until the 29th October 2009 to do so.

The two minute flight will give technicians and scientists the chance to test the technology to assist in the future project of Ares space missions. With this said there has been a lot of reports and worries that the future of the Ares will be cut short.

The Augustine panel, which had been asked to review the US human spaceflight programme, published its report last Thursday just days before the scheduled launch.

Although the panel supported the Ares I-X test flight, it questioned the need to develop the Ares I rocket, part of the Constellation programme commissioned by the previous administration and intended to return the US to the Moon by 2020. Thats just americans for you!

The $450m (300m euros; £275m) Ares I-X is what Nasa describes as a "pathfinder" vehicle. "It is a chance for the agency to remind itself what it takes to build a vehicle," said one NASA spokes person.

Nasa has not designed a new launch vehicle for more than three decades and has lost much of the expertise in the area, according to some critics. But looking at the cost of the project would the US government want NASA to build new rockets every week? I think not!

The Ares I-X is the longest, thinnest vehicle ever designed and built by the US space agency. The I-X vehicle is 100m (320ft) tall and has been designed to be as close as possible to the eventual Ares I rocket. However, the top half of the launcher, like the fifth segment of the booster, is a dummy. What would be an upper-stage, with a crew capsule and its emergency escape mechanism, are mock-ups made to the correct shape and weight.

All this said I cannot wait to see and hear the good news of the success of the Ares I-X.

(This article has had information from BBC News)

Jai: Windows 7 Thoughts

I will never use anything windows! This is what I was saying about a week ago. I was so anti-windows that I even got rid of my xbox and got behind on work as I didn't want to use what I called 'Saten's Operating System'.

So last week were told we are starting our new assignment in IT; computer game design was the topic. I was looking forward to this as it gives me the opportunity to expand my knowledge of gaming. For me to do this I had to install a windows operating system to my computer, this allowed me to design and create games.

As I am a Mac user (And will be forever!) I thought that I will install the OS on a virtual machine. My chosen agent is VMware.

My chosen poison was the NEW Windows 7. At first I was a little apprehensive as I have not used a Windows machine for over a year and a half. The startup happened and finished so I was now running W7! I felt dirty…

After using it, I felt a warm sensation running through my body… "What is this!" I said to myself. Smooth running, fun little features, clear displaying, great gadgets and I could do what I wanted! This was a million miles away from the dreaded VISTA!

With that said, am a pleased to introduce people to W7 when they ask to see my computer. I would even allow it near my niece and nephew and have dinner with my grandma.

Remember to follow me on twitter.com/jaihill and youtube.com/jaihill

Jon: Orange iPhone date announced.

So I posted about this when it was first announced, Orange have now released a date for when they will start selling the iPhone 3G and 3Gs. That date is the 10th November, the day before is when O2 looses the exclusive deal for the iPhone.

I can't wait to see what the competition is going to be like between the two, I don't know whether Orange will do well with it, they may as they are new and people might not want to go with O2. On the other hand O2 have had the iPhone since it's release in the UK and have got that experience with it. All we can do is sit and wait. I'm sure there will be lots more coverage to come on this so check back to find out.

You can find me on youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/superjon92 and twitter here: http://www.twitter.com/johnfletcher

Ryan: The most simple way to jailbreak you iPhone, tried and tested.

Step 1: Go to http://www.blackra1n.com

Step 2: Download by clicking either Apple or Windows icon (depending on your OS)

Step 3: Plug in your iPod Touch or iPhone

Step 4: Click "Make it Rain"

Step 5: Enjoy!

Thats it!!! works on all models!

Ryan: New Apple iMacs out now

Today will become Apple massive update day! We have new iMac's...




Big LED-backlit displays.

iMac features a bright 21.5-inch or 27-inch LED-backlit display with a widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio — perfect for HD video.

Wireless keyboard and Magic Mouse standard.

iMac declutters your desktop with a wireless keyboard and new Magic Mouse: the world’s first Multi-Touch mouse.

The fastest iMac yet.

Now with dual-core Intel processors starting at 3.06GHz and available quad-core Intel processors that boost performance up to 2x.

Environmentally friendly.

The new iMac meets ENERGY STAR 5.0 and EPEAT Gold requirements, is free of many harmful toxins, and is made from highly recyclable materials.

See the video here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02Ii-khqinA

Ryan: New Apple MacBooks out now

Today will become Apple massive update day! We have new macbooks...

Durable unibody enclosure.

Just 1.08 inches thin and weighing only 4.7 pounds, MacBook features a sleek and durable unibody enclosure that slips easily into your bag or backpack.

Built-in 7-hour battery.

The built-in battery lasts up to 7 hours on a single charge. So you can take MacBook anywhere and work, play, or do both longer than ever before.

Brilliant LED-backlit display.

Your photos, videos, games, and websites come alive with luminous color on the 13-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display.

Glass Multi-Touch trackpad.

The spacious trackpad gives you plenty of room to navigate and supports two-finger scroll, right-click, and Multi-Touch gestures.

See the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02Ii-khqinA

Ryan: Get Spotify WITHOUT an invite with newmacgeek.com

For a limited time only, newmacgeek.com brings you FREE access to spotify without and invite!

Create your FREE account here: http://tinyurl.com/4sgryj

Without this link you have to be invited By a premium user, based on the fact they only get 2 invited to give away a year that might be a hard job!

newmacgeek.com working our magic for you ;)

Catch me on YoutTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/newmacgeek

Jon: Windows 7 are you ready? what do you think?

So I sit here with a copy of Windows 7 ready to install tomorrow. I've used Windows 7 already and liked it, although I will wait until I have it installed again and use it for a week before I give out my complete views on it.

Windows 7 is being released this week (22/10/09) and I can't help but wonder what you people are doing, whether you are buying, whether you already have it. Or do you not really care about Windows, I want you to tell me. You can contact me on twitter (twitter.com/johnfletcher) or if you aren't on twitter then you can PM me on youtube (link at the bottom).

Although I have Windows 7 installed on a machine already, and I will have it on my Mac in a VM it certainly won't replace OSX for me.

So like I said twitter me your thoughts and I'll do another post in a week about how I've found Windows 7.

Check out my youtube: http://youtube.com/superjon92/

Ryan: FREE LIVE TV for iPhone and iPod Touch

This is something i have wanted on my iPhone for a long time and finally i have found something to gives free live TV and does it well.

Check it out at: iphone.tvcatchup.com

It offers a small selection of good UK channels and best of all its FREE with no registration needed.

See the YouTube video to explain here - http://tinyurl.com/yjzwfkf

Ryan: CNET release OSX snow leopard VS Windows 7 test

See the full artical here - http://tinyurl.com/yzrkuss

Great Thanks to the CNET team.

Ryan: Germany welcomes the GSM version of Palm Pre, now on sale

After some good 8 months worth of waiting, the Palm Pre has finally landed in Europe. Welcome, it was about time. As of today you can purchase a shiny new Pre given that you live in Germany that is, and you're willing to go for O2.

Shortly after our German friends, Spain will also be having a ball, expecting the thing some time tomorrow (on O2 again). And, as we promised you last time, on 16 October the device is going to be launched in the UK.

Unfortunately, currently there are no other European launches planned but we guess it's only a matter of time for it to start spreading across Europe in a blitzkrieg.

In Germany you can have the Palm Pre GSM for 481 euro SIM-free. However if you go for a 24-month contract with O2 (Telefonica) it will cost you only 1 euro (now that's carrier subsidizing!) but you'll have to shell out 20 euro each a month during the next 2 years (which is exactly 480 euro).

The situation in the UK is a little bit different. The most affordable way to get a Pre will probably be the 18-month contract with O2. You pay 96.89 GBP for the smartphone itself and a monthly fee of 29.38 GBP. In the end of the contract you would have paid at least 625.73 GBP.

Well, it turns out that the Pre ain't gonna cost that less than an iPhone 3GS so the decision remains hard. Or maybe not? Give us your thoughts in the comments.

See me on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/newmacgeek

Ryan: Napster offers cut-price service

Napster has relaunched its service, offering unlimited music streaming plus five MP3 downloads for a £5 monthly fee.

A similar deal sprung up in the United States in May for $5 a month.

The move comes hot on the heels of the growing popularity of rival websites like Spotify and We7 which have recently built up a huge following.

Music streaming service Spotify offers users a mobile application and recently announced that it would allow users to download music to their computer.

The service is available to premium subscribers for £10 a month.

Rival We7 is a free streaming service supported by ads, which offers pay-for downloads, and claims to have more visitors than any other British music website.

Competitive market

Napster says users will have access to its eight million songs which include many that other competitors don't have.

Ten years ago Napster was the first site to offer free unauthorised downloads and kicked off the competitive download market that exists today.

Its popularity at the time caused a lot of concern in the music industry and the Recording Industry Association of America sued Napster within months of its launch.

It was eventually shut down following a campaign by record labels and major recording artists, including Madonna.

The website became legitimate in 2002 but since then a whole host of new competitors have sprung up.

Apart from Spotify and We7 there's also Nokia's Comes With Music, which offers customers unlimited downloads when you buy a special handset.

Also on the way are unlimited services from BSkyB and Virgin Media.

The Carphone Warehouse is offering a FREE trial on Napster's new service in all the store nationwide, pop to your local branch to pick up a free promo card today.

Catch me on youtube - http://www.youtube.com/user/newmacgeek

Ryan: One billion a day turn to YouTube

YouTube now gets over a billion hits a day, according to a new video blog post by the founder of the website.

Chad Hurley's blog marks the third anniversary of YouTube's controversial acquisition by Google.

The site was bought by Google in 2006 for $1.65bn - a price it later described as "a premium".

Earlier this year YouTube was at the centre of a content row over the amount of royalties it paid to musicians for hosting music videos.

Six months later the dispute was resolved when Google agreed to pay UK royalty collecting body PRS for Music an undisclosed lump sum.

Music videos reappeared for British YouTube visitors in September.

Mr Hurley co-founded the website in 2004 with Steve Chen and Jawed Karim.

They met while employees at online pay service PayPal.

"We wanted to create a place where anyone with a video camera, a computer, and an internet connection can share their life, art, and voice with the world, and in many cases they can make a living from doing so," Mr Hurley said, reflecting on YouTube's original aims.

See me on YOUTUBE! - http://www.youtube.com/user/newmacgeek

Ryan: Microsoft launches Windows phones (Windows Mobile 6.5)

Mobiles sporting the latest release of the Windows Mobile operating system are now available for sale worldwide.

Microsoft is also formally launching its application store, known as Windows Marketplace for Mobile.

While the service will launch with about 60 applications available in the UK, Microsoft's Alex Reeve said that number will soon rise sharply.

Windows-run phones can also make use of the My Phone service, a synchronisation service managed "in the cloud".

The new operating system and the application store were first announced in February, when a "beta" testing version of the My Phone service also launched.

Tuesday's announcement sees a full integration of handsets incorporating the new OS with access to the store and backup service.

Significant changes in the 6.5 release include a move away from the use of the stylus and toward more finger-friendly icons and buttons, and a push to see more "at a glance" from the lock screen and the main menus.

The operating system comes bundled with Internet Explorer Mobile 6.

It includes a significantly updated user interface and Flash Lite for viewing video and animation content.

The My Phone service is also updated compared to the beta version. Users can both backup and manage their applications and multimedia content via the My Phone service, accessible also on a PC. The service offers 200MB of storage for free.

Photos can be published from the My Phone site or directly from a Windows Phone to popular sites such as Facebook and Flickr.

Security features offered for free include the ability to map the last place a phone was synchronised to the My Phone service.

A further, paid "premium package" allows a suite of security features including the ability to locate a handset's current location, present an "if found" message to its screen, or lock it or erase its contents altogether. The premium service is at the time of launch only available in the US.

The Windows Marketplace will launch with applications including Facebook and MySpace and a raft of popular game titles.

It also offers a no-questions-asked return policy on the applications it sells. While the number of applications at the time of launch is just 60 in the UK (and about 250 worldwide), Mr Reeve said that there is a large backlog of applications that will soon be approved and become available.

The only thing that I think will be in the mind of alot of Tech fans is that a vast majority of these features of the OS have been on the iPhone for some time now, is this to little to late?

Check me out on: http://www.youtube.com/user/newmacgeek

Jon: Snow Leopard one month on, my review.

Right ok, so both Jai and Ryan have done this so who am I to let you go without my input in what I think about Snow Leopard after living with it for a month.

Well the first nice thing SL does for you is it gives you back some space (about 7GB). This is down to the OS being build from the ground up with new technology at its core. I have taken note of this technology as it does show its face every time I use my computer. It has certainly speeded my machine up which just making day to day tasks easy. SL was released to combat what Microsoft are coming out with at the end of this month, Windows 7.

Although it isn't a complete redesign of the OS certainly does show that Apple are keeping up with their tradition of releasing a new OS every year.

I've found SL to be worth the upgrade as it makes using your Mac that much easier. Apple did say we wouldn't be getting a complete new design but, the little changes that have been made are worth it. Only time will tell as to whether Apple made the right decision to not change the looks of SL too much, especially with Windows 7 coming out soon.

If you haven't upgraded to SL yet because you are still hesitant about it, don't be you'll just be missing out. And all the apps I've tried to use have worked without fuss, even apps that needed updating worked before I updated them.

Although this month has been great, going back to the look and feel of SL I do wish they had done more to the look of the OS as I get bored with things after a while. I would never stop using it even if I got really bored, nothing would make me go back to Windows full time. :)

Don't forget to check out my channel at: http://www.youtube.com/superjon92/

Ryan: Snow Leopard One Month On, My review.

So its here, we have it but do we like it? Snow leopard is Apples new baby and is designed to take on Windows 7, with a light design for optimum speed and performance.
I have been using Snow leopard for a month now and today i want to share my experience with you. I choose to get Snow Leopard for speed, i have a late 2008 macbook 2.4ghz (not unibody) To gain the most speed i have done 2 things, Installed Snow Leopard and upgraded from 2gb of RAM to 4gb. As you can imagine doing both of these upgrades have made a massive difference. Snow Leopard feels much less clunky as you use it, just an all round neater package. I am a huge fan of the new Quick-time with its more fluid design and increase in speed and compatibility. Im not sure if you can describe Snow Leopard as "inspirational" as that changes over Leopard are mainly back ground meaning you don't get to see a lot of it, but in my eyes this is due to great product in the first place. Microsoft would be making a huge mistake to over look Snow Leopard as they clearly have a viable rival to there new OS.

Check me out at: http://www.youtube.com/user/newmacgeek

Jai: Snow Leopard One Month On, My review.

One month ago you would have had trouble shutting me up about Snow Leopard this, Snow Leopard that... The thought of getting a minimum of 7GB of space and faster RAM processes! What more would a geek want?

So after the hype and the dust cleared what are my thoughts on Snow Kitteh? So with the initial update over what made me so pleased to upgrade? Well to begin the initial install was very swift and clean. I didn't need to back up (which was very good as I didn't).

I did notice a boost in power when I opened applications but apart from that no real change.

The one major difference that I saw and still see after a month of living with SL is the upload time from switching the power on to opening mail and a web browser, this all takes a quick average of 35 seconds. This is very quick indeed but it becomes a lot quicker when you close your machine down at speedy average of 6 seconds!

Apple promised better visual on iChat... I am still waiting to see this; instead it has gone to the other side and seems to be giving me problems. I hope that apple sort this out as I am a huge fan of iChat; this problem has made me use Skype.

All the little 'Tarty' bits like, little windows in exposé have not changed the way I use my mac which seems a little sad :-( This is because I only like change when it makes things a better. Why change something that is already great? Isn't that what apple said when naming snow leopard?

So to conclude living with Snow Leopard has not done much for me but has done enough, well I would say that for a free install :-) well worth it!

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Remember to go to: www.youtube.com/jaihill

Ryan: Apple to Ship Multitouch Mice With New iMacs Soon (Rumor)

Apple may soon introduce a mouse featuring multitouch technology, like that seen in its iPhones, iPods and MacBook trackpads.

Sporting a touch-sensitive housing, the new mouse will do away with the roller ball on the current Mighty Mouse (pictured above). The rumored multitouch mouse might apply the inertia feedback seen in iPods and iPhones, whereas scrolling speed accelerates or decelerates in response to how the user touches the surface.

Presumably an Apple multitouch mouse would function similarly to the unibody MacBook trackpads, which detect multitouch gestures. On new MacBooks, tapping the trackpad with two fingers triggers a right-click function, for example; this rumored multitouch mouse might copy this behavior. Also, for a mouse, we would expect a multitouch gesture to replace scrolling in different directions, and perhaps there will be special gestures that trigger Exposé commands as well.

Apple’s new mouse may be released with new iMacs, sources have said. The popular iMac desktops were last refreshed in March, and Apple typically upgrades them every seven months. That would suggest new iMacs — perhaps packaged with multitouch mice — will hit stores very soon.

http://www.youtube.com/user/newmacgeek

Ryan: T-Mobile PAYG Pulse Android launched

T-Mobile has launched the UK’s first Pay-As-You-Go Android handset, heralding the rise of cheaper smartphones.

The T-Mobile Pulse, manufactured by Chinese manufacturer Huawei, has the largest Android touchscreen yet, matching the iPhone in size at 3.5 inches. It has a 3.2 megapixel camera and comes supplied with a 2GB SD card. It also features GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.

The phone is available for £176.16, making it significantly cheaper than rival smartphones. Alternatively, the Pulse is free for customers who choose to sign up to a contract, starting at £20 a month over a 24 month period.

The Pulse follows the T-Mobile HTC G1, launched last year, which was the first Android phone to hit the UK market.

http://www.youtube.com/user/newmacgeek

Ryan: 3 rules out iPhone move

3 has today (29th) ruled out suggestions of it becoming the next operator to stock the Apple iPhone.

Speculation had grown that 3 would be the next mobile operator to announce it would be stocking the Apple iPhone, after Orange and Vodafone confirmed they would sell the 3G and 3G S handsets in the coming months.

However 3 today ruled out making any move to bring the device to its network and will instead concentrate on launching a number of other data centric devices in the near future.

A 3 spokesperson said: "We look to offer customers great value for money with fantastic handsets and very competitive tariffs. We will not currently be ranging the Apple iPhone.

"We've got several strong handsets coming soon that we know our customers will love."

http://www.youtube.com/user/newmacgeek

Jai: Spotify Allows you to download.

Spotify has announced that it will allow users to download tracks!

This service will only be available for those that are paying for a Premium account. An account will set you back £10 per month, but is it worth it?

We all know from Ryans post, how great Spotify is. Being able to listen to all your favourite music... FOR FREE! There have been many songs that I have been looking for that iTunes simply don't have, and it has been Spotify that has turned up trumps.

The one problem that I had was that I am a huge music lover that listens to music when commuting. So to say that my iTunes has become obsolete would be a lie. However could things be changing?

Recently, Spotify made an iPhone app available to temporarily download music to the device. This has proven to be a huge success and this may have sparked this new idea.

Users will be able to create playlists while online, but the difference is Premium payers will be given the choice to sync their playlists with their computer... GREAT! This will allow uses to listen to their library Offline... FANTASTIC! Spotify have not said whether the music will be protected by Digital Rights Management (DRM).

Although the music will be stored on the users Hard Drive it will not be able to be added to other music devices. This may include iPods, iPhones, Zune's etc. Spotify then go on to say that if the users stops paying the subscription then the music that has been synced with the computer will still show, but will be disabled.

You will be able to hold up to 3,333 tracks at any one time. This is set to be increased if the project picks up.

Spotify launched last year and has seen more than two million users sign up for what is a great service. It is also been said that it will be making an appearance in the US by the end of the year.

So my conclusion is keep with iTunes but anything free is good so having Spotify is great; as you will be able to listen to songs that you may have forgotten about, or it may stop you from downloading illegally ... as we all know thats really bad o_O

Remember to check me out on www.youtube.com/jaihill

Ryan: Windows 7 launch October 22nd.

Microsoft will put Windows 7 on store shelves and computer makers will have systems ready to sell with Vista's successor on Oct. 22nd.

Microsoft will also offer discounted or free upgrades to Windows 7 to users who buy PCs in the months leading up to the operating system's launch in a program dubbed "Windows Upgrade Option," a company spokeswoman has said. This isn't the first time that October has been named as the likely ship date for Microsoft's new OS. In an interview last month, an Acer executive based in the U.K. said "October 22nd is the date that Windows 7 will be available." The executive, Bobby Watkins, the managing director of Acer's U.K. operations, also confirmed that customers who bought a Vista-powered computer from the company in the 30 days leading up to Oct. 22 would receive a free upgrade to Windows 7.
Watch this space for more windows 7 news and reviews, brought to you by the newmacgeek team.

http://www.youtube.com/user/newmacgeek