Sunday 29 November 2009

Ryan: BBC iPlayer for 360 indefinitely postponed due to disagreement with Microsoft


Though the BBC iPlayer is already available on the Wii and PS3 overseas, it seems a disagreement between the television corporation and Microsoft will keep the platform off of the Xbox 360 for the time being. According to a recent newspaper article, sources close to the BBC's Future Media and Technology department claim that Microsoft's desire to make the iPlayer a Gold Subscriber-exclusive feature is "incompatible with the BBC's public service remit."

An unnamed BBC representative reportedly explained, "this does not fit with the BBC's model and Microsoft will not budge at the moment. It is really frustrating for those involved on the BBC side who want to make sure iPlayer is rolled out on as many popular entertainment platforms as possible."

Saturday 28 November 2009

Ryan: "Tech Teaser" video series launches Tomorrow


Tomorrow newmacgeek.com is launching the "Tech Teaser" video series via YouTube. These will be a series of videos addressing the latest tech rumors from around the world and asking for your opinions and to give ours, we will also slot in a few "Giveaways"

Make sure you are subscribe to newmacgeek on YouTube -

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

Thursday 26 November 2009

Ryan: The Top 10 gifts for Mac users




1. New iMac 27'
2. Apple iPhone 3gs
3. iPod Touch
4. Metal Apple remote
5. Snow leopard
6. iPod nano (video)
7. Apple TV
8. Airport express
9. MobileMe
10. iTunes giftcard

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

Wednesday 25 November 2009

Ryan: Tesco Mobile Network customers to get the iPhone


Capture from Tesco website -

"25th November 2009


Tesco Mobile through its joint venture partnership with O2 is pleased to announce that it will shortly introduce iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS in Tesco Phone Shops and online through Tesco Direct in the UK.

For further information and for customers interested in pre-registration please visit www.tescomobileiphone.com.

For more information on iPhone, please visit www.apple.com/iphone.

More information can be found on Tesco Mobile at www.tescomobile.com"


Tuesday 24 November 2009

Ryan: Carphone Warehouse and Phones 4U suspend smartphone


Mobile phone retailers Carphone Warehouse and Phones 4U have temporarily withdrawn the Sony Ericsson Satio smartphone from their stores.

Both companies said the move followed complaints from customers about software problems.

Phones 4U announced its decision to stop selling the handset 24 hours after rival retailer Carphone Warehouse.

Sony Ericsson said it was "giving this matter its utmost priority and working toward solving it".

None of the companies involved gave details about the nature of the fault but Satio users online have been complaining about frozen screens and problems with ringtones.

"Now on my second Satio and it still has the same issues," wrote Iain H on a handset review site. "Screen freezing and no ringtone. Only way to solve the problem is to take the battery out."

He added: "I'm glad I'm not the only one with this problem."

Sony Ericsson recently announced a new smartphone model, the Xperia X10. It is the company's first Android handset but it is not due to go on sale until 2010.

Verity Burns, a technology journalist with gadget magazine Stuff thinks the problem lies with how the Sony Ericsson user interface interacts with the Symbian operating system on the phone.

"The phone seems to be turning itself off when people access certain applications but not everyone will be affected. Vodafone and Orange run their own interfaces and don't seem to have the issue."

Monday 23 November 2009

Ryan: New iPhone worm, are you glad you jailbroke?


A second worm to hit the iPhone has been unearthed by security company F-Secure.

It is specifically targeting people in the Netherlands who are using their iPhones for internet banking with Dutch online bank ING.

It redirects the bank's customers to a lookalike site with a log-in screen.

The worm attacks "jail-broken" phones - a modification which enables the user to run non-Apple approved software on their handset.

The handsets at risk also have SSH (secure shell) installed.

Many people use SSH so other programs can remotely connect to an iPhone and, among other things, transfer files. It comes with a default password, "alpine" which should be changed.

Users who have installed SSH and not changed the password are especially at risk.

The new worm is more serious than the first because it can behave like a botnet, warns F-Secure.

This enables the phone to be accessed or controlled remotely without the permission of its owner.

'Clearly malicious'

"It's the second iPhone worm ever and the first that's clearly malicious - there's a clear financial motive behind it," F-Secure research director Mikko Hypponen told the BBC.

"It's fairly isolated and specific to Netherlands but it is capable of spreading."

He added although the number of infected phones was thought to be in the hundreds rather than thousands, the worm could jump from phone to phone among owners using the same wi-fi hotspot.

A spokesperson for ING Bank said that a warning was going to be put on the bank's official website.

"We are also briefing call centre personnel," she added. "It's important to remember that the worm only affects jail-broken phones and it is only aimed at customers in the Netherlands."

The first iPhone worm, called ikee, was harmless. Users with infected phones found their wallpaper replaced with a picture of 1980s popstar Rick Astley.

It also targeted jail-broken phones which were SSH enabled.

Its creator Ashley Towns said he wrote the ikee program in order to raise the issue of iPhone security.

Its clear that jailbraking an iPhone and removing Apples security software is clearly a bad idea!

Saturday 21 November 2009

Ryan: Google previews Chrome open source operating system


Internet search giant Google has lifted the lid on its operating system, known as Chrome OS.

The free and open source system is initially aimed at low-cost netbooks and does away with many of the features of a traditional program.

All applications are designed to run in a web browser and all the user's data is stored on Google's servers.

Engineers from the firm said the first computers running the system would be available before the end of 2010.

Google Chrome OS demonstration

"We are trying to offer a choice for users," said Sundar Pichai, vice-president of product management, during an event at the firm's headquarters in California.

"This model of computing is fundamentally different."

The event follows the recent launch of Microsoft's Windows 7 and Apple's operating system upgrade, Snow Leopard.

Sunday 15 November 2009

Ryan: which network is best for the iPhone


With the iPhone beginning its journey as a multi-network device here is a video to help you make your choice easy.

Follow this link - http://tinyurl.com/yafus3l

Saturday 14 November 2009

Ryan: Windows 7 borrowed 'look' of Mac


A Microsoft executive was quoted in an interview as saying "what we've tried to do with Windows 7...is create a Mac look and feel in terms of graphics".

The comments, by partner group manager Simon Aldous, appeared in UK computing trade magazine PCR.

Microsoft countered that Mr Aldous was not involved with the development of Windows 7.

Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc said in a blog that Mr Aldous's comments were "inaccurate and uninformed".

Suggestions that Microsoft has borrowed technology ideas has been rife for as long as the Windows and Mac operating systems have been around.

The very idea of who invented the "windows" on a "desktop" in Windows 1.0 was the basis of a 1988 lawsuit and remains a point of contention.

'One of our own'

However, many of the significant graphical changes present in Windows 7 have analogues in Mac's OS X - although neither firm has made an official statement about the apparent similarities.

"One of the things that people say an awful lot about the Apple Mac is that the OS is fantastic, that it's very graphical and easy to use," Mr Aldous told PCR.

"What we've tried to do with Windows 7 - whether it's traditional format or in a touch format - is create a Mac look and feel in terms of graphics. We've significantly improved the graphical user interface, but it's built on that very stable core Vista technology, which is far more stable than the current Mac platform, for instance."

Mr LeBlanc countered the claims in a post on the official Windows blog.

"Unfortunately this came from a Microsoft employee who was not involved in any aspect of designing Windows 7," he wrote.

"I hate to say this about one of our own, but his comments were inaccurate and uninformed."

Friday 13 November 2009

Ryan: O2 to offer unlocking for the iPhone


Unlocking your iPhone. From 10 November, the iPhone can be unlocked for O2 customers in the UK.


Pay Monthly customers

Your iPhone can be unlocked at anytime free of charge. If you unlock your handset and place a non-O2 sim into it, you will still have to honor the remainder of the minimum term on your contract.

iPhone Pay & Go customers

For iPhone on Pay & Go, unlocking can take place 12 months after you've bought your iPhone for a one-off £14.69 fee which will be deducted from your airtime balance.

Follow this link to start the process - http://tinyurl.com/yheejjw

Wednesday 11 November 2009

Ryan: iPhone launch, did orange get it right?

The iPhone has been available in the UK from O2 for a year now. But 30,000 devices were sold by Orange on launch day - more than O2 ever shifted in a single day. Why are people flocking to buy the device from Orange instead?

1. The have played the cheeky tethering card, with low cost tethering packages orange is in a place they can claim better value.

2. The iPhone is now a proven property. People already know the iPhone is one of the best smart phones in the world and has a proven reliability.

BUT and its a big BUT

Orange UK have had some real stinky customer service ratings in the last few years and also there so called "unlimited" data is covered by a fair use of 750MB, here at newmacgeek.com we believe that unlimited should be unlimited!

So before you rush out to get your new 3Gs do your research and remember the costs between these 2 networks are so similar so customer service is key.

Ryan: Live UK football for iPhone users


Pay-TV provider BSkyB is to show live Premier League matches on Apple's iPhone.

Users can watch live sports on Sky Sports and ESPN as well as Sky News over a wi-fi connection for £6 a month.

Besides the Premier League, users can also watch Scottish football, cricket and golf via Sky's new application.

BSkyB, which is 39%-owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, has been launching applications for news and sports to try to expand its reach on mobile devices.

To watch sports on a normal television, Sky charges from £26.50 a month for Sky Sports 1 or 2, or £35 for its total sports package - excluding ESPN.

Sky Mobile TV, the latest application, is free to download.

"Our new Sky Mobile TV app combines the demand for great live TV on the move with the high quality viewing experience offered by iPhone and iPod touch," said David Gibbs, Sky's mobile general manager.

Sky says there have been 2 million downloads of Sky applications on the iPhone to date, including Sky Sports and Sky Sports Football Score Centre.

Other users have been able to watch Sky Mobile TV on other mobile phones over the 3G network from several mobile phone companies.

In September, both Orange and Vodafone announced that they would be offering the iPhone, expanding its reach as O2's exclusive contract expires.

Thursday 5 November 2009

Ryan: newmacgeek.com launches Hot Deals area

HOT NEWS!....

newmacgeek.com has launched a "deals" area, We have spent the time to create widgets with hot deals from around the world. Please click on the deals tab on the homepage of newacgeek.com to see it!

Tuesday 3 November 2009

Ryan: Get Spotify WITHOUT an invite with newmacgeek.com


For an extended 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

Ryan: Orange UK launch iPhone 3G/3GS on 10 Nov, same pricing as O2




Orange officially announced that the launch of the iPhone 3G and 3GS will be on 10 November. Their future iPhone plans are absolutely identical to those of O2 ones and you can have the 3GS free for 44 GBP on a 24-month contract.


Well, looking at the new Orange iPhone plans we noticed that they are absolutely identical to the O2 ones - both in bonuses and prices.








The only real difference is You can have the iPhone 3G free for 30 pounds on 24 months contract, as O2 dont offer this price plan.

The Orange iPhone will be available through 402 Orange shops in UK, the Orange online shop, Orange HMV concessions, 802 Carphone Warehouse, Phones4U and more, with suggestions that Tesco could be selling sim free versions around £800