scary halloween sounds

Pipes Output

Pipes Output

Top Five If you’re considering buying an Apple machine this Christmas but you’re not sure which, Register Hardware’s got you covered. We’ve spoken to Apple expert Warren D’Souza, retail manager with independent Mac specialist the Square Group, to help unwrap what’s hot and what’s not in Apple’s current line-up.Warren’s been in working with Macs for about ten years and uses a MacBook Pro on a daily basis as his lifeline to the IT world. His laptop is used not only for internet access and email, but also for editing videos and keeping his vast music collection up to date. Of course, running a Mac shop also helps keep him up to date on the latest hardware, software and accessories.Despite there only being five types of Mac in the range, each is offered in a number of variations, and Warren’s lined them up so you can decide which model meets your needs.2.0GHz MacBook“The MacBook is very popular because it’s cheap, small and fast. Most customers buying from this range only want something for accessing the Internet, checking their emails and word processing. However, it’s capable of a little more, such as photo editing. The 2.0GHz and 2.2GHZ white models are very popular while the black 2.2GHz model’s the least popular - most people buying a MacBook buy on their preference to colour. Each model’s technical features are very similar, but not identical.”More Info Apple’s MacBook websitePrice: ?699Best online prices: From ?649.00 - 7 sellers2.4GHz 24in iMac“You get more for your money here, such as a larger screen size and bigger hard drive - up to 500GB. The iMac’s more of a family PC, but it’s also popular with movie fans because of the screens options: 20in and 24in. The 24in model with the 2.4GHz CPU is probably the most popular overall, though. Customers realise that an iMac doesn’t take up a lot of desk space, but some still ask where the actual computer is because they don’t always realise it’s built into the display.”More Info Apple’s iMac websitePrice: ?1149Best online prices: From ?1145.63 - 3 sellers2.2GHz 15in MacBook Pro“A lot of professional users and those wanting to do a bit more than simply surf and send emails opt for the MacBook Pro. The choice of faster processors and more memory mean it’s better at supporting the likes of Quark, Photoshop and video editing software. We sell more of both 2.2GHz and 2.4GHz 15in models than the single, 2.4GHz 17in model, possibly because people want something a bit more portable and are put off by the latter’s size and weight. All three models have graphics chips that’ll be suitable for users needs as their requirements grow.”More Info Apple’s MacBook Pro websitePrice: ?1299Best online prices: From ?1256.08 - 6 sellers1.83GHz Mac Mini“Windows users often buy these as a way of cheaply learning about Macs, or to use them in a sitting room as a media server/DVD storage unit. Both models in the Mac Mini range are popular. Some opt for the 2.0GHz model because it has a DVD burning option, but most go for the cheaper 1.83GHz version. Customers do have to buy a display, mouse and keyboard if they don’t have spare ones already though.”More Info Apple’s Mac mini websitePrice: ?399Best online prices: From ?430.12 - 1 seller2.66GHz dual-processor Mac Pro“The Mac Pro is for high-end use - it’s for film editors and small businesses. Although it doesn’t ship with a screen, customers love the sheer power of the Pro and the 2.66GHz model tends to be the most popular, though it’ll go up to 3GHz. The unit can take almost anything you throw at it, although it’s not for first time Mac users.”More Info Apple’s Mac Pro websitePrice: ?1699Best online prices: From ?1690.83 - 2 sellersWarren’s Top Tips for buying a Mac”When you’re thinking of buying a Mac, the best question to ask yourself is ‘what do I want to use it for?’ and then ‘do I need it to be portable?’ Macs do crash less than Windows-based PCs and are less prone to viruses, while some find the OS more intuitive than Windows. However, remember that all five of these models are capable of running Windows, if you can’t face the swap.”Thanks to Warren at the Square Group in New Oxford Street, LondonMore Reg Hardware Top Five…• MP3 players• HD TVs• Digital Compact Cameras• Digital SLRs• Sat navs

Taiwanese manufacturer Bluetake has announced a Bluetooth stereo audio adaptor for Sony’s PlayStation Portable. The gizmo’s neatly contoured to fit along the base of the handheld console and clip into the PSP’s earphone socket.The iPhono Mini - aka the BT450Px - uses the A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) extension to the Bluetooth 1.2 spec to send audio to a pair of wireless headphones, which can pair with the transmitter at the push of a button, Bluetake claimed.No word yet on availability - it’s “coming soon”, said Bluetake - or pricing. RRelated reviewLogitech Wireless Headphones for iPodLogitech Wireless Music System for iPod

Creative announced its X-Fi ExpressCard laptop sound module in Japan more than a month ago, but it’s now confirmed the add-on is coming to the UK.Creative’s SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio…Dubbed the SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio Notebook, the add-in has analogue and digital optical 3.5mm input and output ports, and a proprietary connector that hook up to a bundled 7.1-channel output dongle.The card incorporates sound tweaking technology that can reconstruct audio detail lost when music is compressed using ‘lossy’ sound formats like MP3. In April, Creative was smacked on the wrist by the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority for claiming the system produces better sound quality than you get off a CD. These days, the company says its technology delivers “crystal clarity”….and its 7.1-channel output dongleThe SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio Notebook also provides a 3D sound enhancement, capable of generating a more spacey sound even from two speakers or a pair of earphones, Creative claimed. And it’ll output 7.1 sound, of course - Creative will pitch the product at punters who want to play music and movies on their living room laptop.The Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio Notebook is due to hit shop shelves at the and of the month. It’ll be priced at around ?60.

Nokia is taking on Microsoft in many of its key markets, and is apparently also adopting the Microsoft approach that, if a product is sub-standard the first time, it will succeed on the third reworking.Under the auspices of the Finnish giant’s increasingly successful and focused multimedia devices unit - making ‘multimedia computers’, not ‘cellphones’ - the unlamented N-Gage mobile gaming brand is set to be reincarnated again.On this occasion, though, it will be part of a broad strategy called Next Generation gaming, a platform for release early next year, which will run across various Nokia devices and could conceivably be licensed to third parties as part of the company’s increasing focus on influencing the whole sector through de facto software standards.Perhaps the main reason to take the platform seriously is that it seems that Sony will publish games on it, despite competing with Nokia in various fields. The original N-Gage was launched in 2003 and was discontinued in 2004 when the redesigned N-Gage QD model replaced it. The QD was itself discontinued this year, and there are no first generation N-Gage games in development any more, as Nokia prepares for Next Gen.While this will create a common delivery platform and set of interfaces for various devices, mirroring Nokia’s strategy in content downloads and other areas, it will also include specific gaming-oriented devices based on an evolved version of the N-Gage architecture, and probably carrying the same brand, despite its poor associations for many games developers.The N-Gage and QD were not actually games consoles but standard Nokia Symbian Series 60 smartphones with horizontal casings, but with no specialist gaming hardware. The Next Gen platform, according to insiders, will consist of Series 60 3rd Edition smartphones, and will include the new games-specific software as well as optimized hardware.Their processors will run three or four times faster than those in the N-Gage, and many will have 3D graphics chips. Old games will not be compatible, because new smartphones use smaller miniSD and microSD memory cards rather than MMC gamecards, plus the new products will have the latest Symbian operating system, which is not backwards compatible. Although Nokia will continue to support the N-Gage Arena - the world’s first mobile online gaming community and a rival to Microsoft Xbox Live.The Next Gen software platform will come pre-installed on various Symbian S60 3rd Edition smartphones, with varying degrees of specific focus on gaming. The software will allow people to buy Next Gen games as downloads to their smartphone through 3G or Wi-Fi, or as downloads to the PC which can then be transferred to the phone.This mirrors Nokia’s ambitions to create mobile/PC download services in other areas of content. In August it acquired music store partner Loudeye, which offers services in 60 countries, and complements Nokia’s position as the largest maker of mobile music devices. It has also put increasing momentum behind its Content Discoverer client, embedded in many of its higher end devices, which makes downloads such as films and games available. Content Discoverer is embedded as an on-device portal in more than 20 Nokia handset models, and has content partnerships with companies like Time Warner and Electronic Arts.Moving away from the downloads, the Next Gen application also has extensive community facilities, allowing users to send messages to friends, view message boards, leave and read reviews of games, challenge people to online game matches, and see which games other people have, so they know who to challenge. While Nokia is most famous for its gaming failures, because of NGage, it has some powerful building blocks to strengthen Next Gen.One of these is Arena, which is based on the online gaming network SNAP, which Nokia purchased from Sega in 2003. Although Nokia has dropped no hints about which devices will support Next Gen -and whether that and N-Gage will be used as primary or just secondary brands, but the most likely early candidates are the N93 and N95.The N93 already comes pre-loaded with a demonstration of one of the Next Gen games, a sci-fi racer called System Rush, and has a 3D chip. The N93 and N95 also contain TV Out sockets which can be used to play games (or surf the web) on television sets, with the phone acting as the joypad and games system rolled into one.Copyright c 2006, FaultlineFaultline is published by Rethink Research, a London-based publishing and consulting firm. This weekly newsletter is an assessment of the impact of the week’s events in the world of digital media. Faultline is where media meets technology. Subscription details here.

A new application from Forum Nokia allows developers, and anyone else, to see just how much power their phone is using, and compare consumption when running different applications.The app is free to download from Forum Nokia, the Nokia developer’s portal, and runs on S60 3rd-Edition handsets. Our N95 averages out at around half a watt, though we managed to get it up to around three by playing loud music through it. We wanted to see how much would be consumed when playing video, but the N95 didn’t have the memory for both applications to be running at the same time.For anyone developing mobile software, power consumption comes right up there with user’s sock colour in their order of priorities. Once you’ve squeezed your interface onto the tiny screen, worked out how to achieve the impossible using the underpowered processor, and handled all the user interaction though only two soft keys, the last thing you want to be told is that your application is consuming too much power.Not only does your management not care one jot about how much power your application consumes, but when was the last time an application buyer checked out the juice rating of an app before buying it?Part of this is down to the lack of tools to enable developers, and users, to work out how much power their applications are consuming, and Nokia’s application should address that. Having some idea how much power is consumed by leaving Wi-Fi switched on, or gained by dropping to a 2G connection, is useful to everyone - not to mention handy for filling a long Friday afternoon with what looks like useful analysis. ®