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I’m sure you all remember the ‘millions of colors’ lawsuit that was settled out of court not so long ago. The suit claimed that MacBook and MacBook Pros were ‘fooling’ Apple users into thinking the displays output millions of colors… When in reality a dithering technology was being used to simulate the promoted color depth. The suit never took off due to the plaintiffs having a tough time finding support for their views… And now it looks like we have another ‘copy cat’ case.

This latest lawsuit was filed in San Jose and is arguing basically the same thing, except this time it’s all about the 20-inch iMac. The issue remains that Apple claims the 20-inch iMac can display ‘millions of colors at all resolutions’ when in reality the plaintiffs are arguing that the dithering technology ‘tricks’ us into believing we have that color-depth.

The 24-inch model of the iMac has an 8-bit display and does indeed display millions of colors. Over 16 million in fact. However the 20-inch model is a 6-bit display and will only display slightly over 260,000 colors BD (before dithering)

We’ll have to see if this suit can drum up the support the previous ‘millions of colors’ case lacked. Time will tell what happens… If nothing else this is keeping Apple’s legal team on their toes.

[via arstechnica]

As you might already know, I’m a huge fan of the ZiPhone iPhone Unlocking/Jailbreaking utility. It’s so easy to use and only takes seconds to run. There’s more good news about ZiPhone today as version 3.0 has been released.

It is able to hack any version of firmware from 1.0.0 through 1.1.4, and as mentioned previously, the process is so darn simple. Among the changes in 3.0 are a new embedded application installer, and support for customized plugins. It should also solve out any ‘grayed-out’ Wi-Fi issues.

The software is a free download, and weighs in at a measly 19MB for Mac and 18MB for Windows.

Download ZiPhone 3.0:

• For Mac (19MB)
• For PC (18MB)

[via iPhoneWorld]

How bad? Well, recently 2 Canadian websites teamed up to put together The Great Canadian iPhone Petition.

From the source:

‘PhoneWorld.ca and our friends from iPhoneInCanada.ca, the two largest Canadian iPhone news and information portals … bring you The Great Canadian iPhone Petition.’

We certainly wish them well in their efforts… At the moment I write this the petition only has just over 300 signatures. So, if you’d like to ‘join the cause’, click here and sign it!

When Apple released the Airport Express with 802.11n I decided that it was now the time to get one.

Because the Express can be used in so many network variations, setup can be a bit confusing. Apple has tried to help by giving the user an assistant that asks questions the answers to which determine the Express’ settings.

Some of the options you get include using the Express to create a new network (if you connect the Express to a modem via ethernet), join a current network or extend a current wireless network. You can also select manual setup if you are more confident in using the device or want to change specific settings.

The main use I have for the Express is connecting one of my Windows laptops to the internet without using Wi-Fi. That particular laptop doesn’t accept WPA encryption but I do not want to jeopardize my whole network by using WEP. Using the Express, I can now work on my Windows laptop, simply plug my Express into a power socket and plug an ethernet cable from the Express into my laptop. Voila, I’m online.

The Express is also great for music - I can plug a set of powered speakers into the Express and stream music to them via the AirTunes feature of the Express.

If I wanted to, I could also connect the Express to a printer via a USB cable and create a network printer.

Overall, I am really impressed with the unit - it is portable and gives the user lots of networking options. My only concern is build quality - I’ve read a number of comments on the Apple Discussions website that claim the the older 802.11g device has worked for a year without issue but failed soon after. Have any readers had a problem with their Airport Express units?

More on the Airport Express can be found at http://www.apple.com/airportexpress

Apple has had handwriting recognition in place for years and years now. The first Apple device to feature it as part of the OS would have been the ‘Newton’. Oh the good ol’ Newton. The device never took off, but it still holds a fond place in my heart. Apple took the handwriting recognition capabilities and built it into OS X as something called ‘inkwell’. You can still use inkwell to this day on your Mac, but you’ll need a tablet to take advantage.

Only reason I bring this up is Apple is currently looking for a ‘Handwriting Recognition Engineer’. Check out a snap of the job posting below, or click here to view it.

Could Apple be looking to integrate handwriting into the iPhone? Or perhaps into another tablet type computer? Who knows for sure… All we know is they ARE looking for help in this area!

On a side note, if anyone out there have an old Newton they’d like to donate to Mactropolis we’d welcome it with open arms. I’ve been jonesing for one for a little while now. eBay here I come…

[via enGadget]

All you hardcore Apple TV goers can now install an update. Apple TV 2.0.1 update has been released!

I haven’t been able to find any details on the update on the Apple site or elsewhere, so I’m assuming this update is jam-packed full of small, minor tweaks. A few things that have been noticed however… The interface seems to be cleaner and ’spiffed up’ a bit, which is a good thing… Also after updating you should notice the addition of ‘Genres’ under ‘My Movies’ which should prove helpful for most in organizing and finding the movies you are looking for.

To install the Apple TV 2.0.1 update, go to Apple TV Settings > General > Update Software. From there you will see a ’software updating’ message. After a few minutes you should be presented with the choice of updating now or later. If you update now, it will lead to a restart,4 or so Apple logo flashes, a logo with progress bar and then roughly 5 more logo flashes followed by a short Apple TV intro movie. Got that!?

If you have an Apple TV, I highly recommend you keep your device up-to-date. But if you were to miss this update I promise I won’t complain… it’s not a major one… Still though, seriously… update your Apple TV ok?

[via MacDailyNews]

A Mexican newspaper has reported that the iPhone could be headed to Mexico as soon as June. Apple is apparently in talks with the Mexican telecom giant Telcel. A number of calls have been made to Apple US customer support, and they were told that while iPhones cannot be currently shipped to Mexico, the phone should become available in Mexico for June.

On the Canadian front, member mpancha recently commented in the forums about a talkitive Rogers employee. It’s all heresay and rumor of course, but the employee basically told mat that he should be patient because the iPhone would be in Canada come June. Check out the thread here.

I certainly hope both rumors are true. Would be nice to have the iPhone up and running across all of North America!

What do you think?

Talk about this in the Forums >

[via MacNN]

‘My Touch Keys‘ is a new, simple overlay you can use you your iPhone. It’s function is twofold… One, to protect your iPhone from scratches and damage… and two, to give you a more tactile feel when typing on the iPhone QWERTY keyboard.

The cutouts are located where the keys appear in portrait orientation.

One obvious question for me is what happens if you are using the device in landscape?… Or if you are in some other app that requires keystrokes or gestures… Does the cover get in the way and inhibit you from entering commands? The manufacturer claims that the cover is so thin it does NOT effect any touch commands. The cover is also completely transparent, so much so that it is almost un-noticable. Really?

For those that type away all the time on the iPhone, this might help you improve your accuracy and speed. I could see it coming in handy…

However for the price, it’s pretty much worth a shot. My Touch Keys is selling for only $7.99 and is available here. If it helps improve your speed and efficiency… good on ya! If it doesn’t help you all that much, at least you’ve only invested a measly $7.99

[via iPhoneBuzz]

All signs are pointing to YES. An announcement of the iPhone in the Netherlands may come as early as this Saturday, March 29th. Apple reseller ‘The Innovators’ have scheduled an announcement for 11AM Dutch time on the 29th.

Apple has apparently been working hard to deploy the iPhone in more and more countries worldwide… But I still do not see the iPhone coming to Canada…C’mon Steve, bring er on up to Canada! I know Canadian carriers are itching to deploy the handsets across the country.

Negotiations are underway in Thailand, China and Singapore as well. I would suspect we’ll hear launch announcements in those countries at some point this year. Apple is pushing to meet its goal of 10 million unit sales for 2008.

[via MacNN]

Microsoft is planning to offer up software for the iPhone. A recent interview noted that Microsoft developers are looking into a variety of possibilities including Office functionality on the iPhone.

Tom Gibbons, corporate VP of Microsoft’s Specialized Devices and Applications Group (wow, that’s a mouthful) recently told Fortune magazine:

“It’s really important for us to understand what we can bring to the iPhone…To the extent that Mac Office customers have functionality that they need in that environment, we’re actually in the process of trying to understand that now. We do have experience with that environment, and that gives us confidence to be able to do something. The key question is, what is the value that we need to bring? We’re still getting comfortable with the SDK, right? It’s just come out. So we had a guess as to what feasibility would be like, now we’ll really get our head wrapped around that…”

It should prove interesting to see what Microsoft develops for the iPhone. With Apple’s support for Microsoft’s Exchange e-mail server and ActiveSync protocol, there are a lot of possibilities here. Seems as though Microsoft would be smart to take a piece of the iPhone App ‘Pie’ so-to-speak.

[via InformationWeek]