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AppleTV is getting out to the eager consumers and reviewers alike - so I thouhgt it might be useful with a small summary of some usefull sources.

I have not received my own AppleTV yet - but I am looking forward to it and will probably be talking a bit more about it once I get my hands on it.

About AppleTV

• Official site for AppleTV
• Interactive Tour of the AppleTV
• Technical specifications
• AppleTV content on iTunes
• Inside AppleTV (literally)
• Setting up an AppleTV
• Unboxing AppleTV
• Official Manuals for AppleTV

Reviews

• David Poque, The New York Times | Video | Audio
• Walter S. Mossberg, The Wall Stret Journal | Video
• Robert Scoble, Scobleizer

Converting to AppleTV format

• VisualHub
• QuickTime Pro

Apple has documented a new “feature” in the latest 10.4.9 release as follows:

After installing Mac OS X 10.4.9, pressing the Media Eject key on the Apple keyboard does not always eject media from the optical disk drive nor display the eject symbol on the screen.

Products affected

Mac OS X 10.4.9

Solution

To prevent accidentally ejecting media, Mac OS X 10.4.9 adds a slight delay to the Media Eject key before it takes effect. To eject a disc, press and hold the Media Eject key. The disc will eject normally and the screen will display the eject symbol.

Apple has once again updated iTunes - this time addressing a stability issue and minor compatibility problems in iTunes 7.1 without going into further details. I wonder if the compatibility problem they fixed is the LimeWire issues that was reported a few days back?

As for stability I had noticed that sometimes I was unable to get iTunes in focus when I clicked on the app - it did not frezze or stop responding - I was just unable to click on anything in iTunes. I had to close it and sometimes even quit iTunes completely to get focus on it - I hope that has been fixed too and perhaps it is the “stability” issue mentioned by Apple.

I have installed the updated with no problems - the update did not require a restart of the machine. Make sure you repair permissions after the update - for the sake of good order.

Get it from Apple Support Downloads or via your Software Update.

This is a 28 MB file

Despite being very political, it is a funny video and really well done.

- the iFrame is not such a bad idea though - I am sure Apple could make something really pretty with Airport Extreme and iPhoto.

A month and a half has past since the Month of Apple Bugs (MOAB) ended so in view of the latest update from Apple I thought it would be appropriate with a status on where we are. Below is the complete list of the bugs revealed and the status of each one of them - do let me know if I have missed anything.

Those marked CVE-ID are all official fixed published by Apple and they are available from www.apple.com

• MOAB-01-01-2007 | CVE-ID: CVE-2007-0015 (2007-001)
• MOAB-02-01-2007 | VLC official fix
• MOAB-03-01-2007 | CVE-ID: CVE-2006-6061 (2007-003)
• MOAB-04-01-2007 | CVE-ID: CVE-2007-0051 (2007-003)
• MOAB-05-01-2007 | Unofficial fix / work-around
• MOAB-06-01-2007 | CVE-ID: CVE-2007-0719 (2007-003)
• MOAB-07-01-2007 | OmniWeb official fix
• MOAB-08-01-2007 | Unofficial fix / work-around
• MOAB-09-01-2007 | CVE-ID: CVE-2007-0197 (2007-002)
• MOAB-10-01-2007 | CVE-ID: CVE-2007-0229 (2007-003)
• MOAB-11-01-2007 | CVE-ID: CVE-2007-0267 (2007-003)
• MOAB-12-01-2007 | CVE-ID: CVE-2007-0299 (2007-003)
• MOAB-13-11-2007 | CVE-ID: CVE-2007-0318 (2007-003)
• MOAB-14-01-2007 | CVE-ID: CVE-2007-0236 (2007-003)
• MOAB-15-01-2007 | Discussion / fix / work-around
• MOAB-16-01-2007 | Colloquy official fix
• MOAB-17-01-2007 | Unofficial fix / work-around
• MOAB-18-01-2007 | Maxum official fix
• MOAB-19-01-2007 | Panic Software official fix
• MOAB-20-01-2007 | CVE-ID: CVE-2006-6062 (2007-003)
• MOAB-21-01-2007 | CVE-ID: CVE-2006-5679 (2007-003)
• MOAB-22-01-2007 | CVE-ID: CVE-2007-0023 (2007-002)
• MOAB-23-01-2007 | CVE-ID: CVE-2007-0588 (2007-003)
• MOAB-24-01-2007 | CVE-ID: CVE-2007-0463 (2007-003)
• MOAB-25-01-2007 | Discussion / fix / work-around
• MOAB-26-01-2007 | CVE-ID: CVE-2007-0465 (2007-004)
• MOAB-27-01-2007 | Unofficial fix / work-around
• MOAB-28-01-2007 | CVE-ID: CVE-2007-0467 (2007-003)
• MOAB-29-01-2007 | CVE-ID: CVE-2007-0614 (2007-002)
• MOAB-30-01-2007 | CVE-ID: CVE-2007-0646 (2007-004)
• MOAB-31-01-2007 | There was no MOAB-31-01-2007

Apple has released an update for iPhoto which addresses issues associated with EXIF data compatibility and Photocasting.

CVE-ID: CVE-2007-0051

Available for:

Mac OS X version 10.3.9, and Mac OS X version 10.4.3 or later

Impact:

Subscribing to a maliciously-crafted photocast may lead to arbitrary code execution

Description:

A format string vulnerability exists in iPhoto. By enticing a user to subscribe to a maliciously-crafted photocast, a remote attacker can trigger the vulnerability which may lead to arbitrary code execution. This has been described on the Month of Apple Bugs web site (MOAB-04-01-2007). This update addresses the issue by performing additional validation while handling photocast subscriptions. Credit to Kevin Finisterre of DigitalMunition for reporting this issue.

I have installed the updated with no problems - the update required a restart of the machine.

Get it from Apple Support Downloads or via your Software Update.

This is a 6.5 MB download

Apple has released its long awaited an final version of Tiger - Mac OS X version 10.4.9 which lots of great fixes and improvements. This also paves the way for Leopard.

The 10.4.9 Update is recommended for PowerPC and Intel-based Mac computers currently running Mac OS X Tiger version 10.4.8 and includes general operating system fixes, as well as specific fixes or compatibility updates for the following applications and technologies:

• RAW camera support
• Handling of large or malformed images that could cause crashes
• Image capture performance
• Mouse scrolling and keyboard shortcuts
• Font handling
• Playback quality, and bookmarks in DVD Player
• USB video conferencing cameras for use with iChat
• Bluetooth devices
• Browsing AFP servers
• Apple USB Modem
• Windows-created digital certificates
• Open and Print dialogs in applications that use Rosetta on Intel-based Macs
• Time zone and daylight saving for 2006 and 2007
• Security updates

For detailed information on this Update, please visit this website:
http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n304821.

For detailed information on Security Updates, please visit this website:
http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n61798.

I have installed the updated with no problems - the update required a restart of the machine.

Get it from Apple Support Downloads or via your Software Update.

This is a 163 MB download

Spanning Sync 1.0 has been released and is hence no longer in beta. I have downloaded the demo and so far I am really impressed - now I manage to sync my Entourage with iCal and iCal with Google Calendar.

Synchronize Google Calendar and Apple iCal. Share calendars between multiple Macs. Share calendars with your coworkers, family, and friends. And while you’re at it, connect Google Calendar to your iPod, mobile phone, and other devices.

Installation is straight forward and sits in your System Preference pane. Once you have entered your Google account username and password you can select which iCal calendars you want to sync and how often - and that is all there is to it.

The free trial is valid for 15 days - if you want it after that $25 gets you a one-year subscription to the service and $65 gets you a permanent license.

Update
Microsoft Entourage is not currently supported. Microsoft Entourage users who sync with iCal should not use Spanning Sync at this time. So I have removed the app for now as it indeed caused a problem on my Entourage installation.

I just came across a new export format in Quick Time Pro following the latest update:

Movie to Apple TV

The file extention is m4v and it takes some time to convert* so if the rumors are true that h.264 hardware compression is being built into all new Mac’s is true - that might speed things up a bit and make it workable to convert all your video to Apple TV format.

* a 67 minute long video in .mov format (512×288 ~249MB) took ~67 minutes to convert to Apple TV format on a Macbook Pro 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 2GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM with no other apps running and connected to power outlet. The converted file was 574mb - so almost double the size

Over at LaptopMag they have gotten their hands on the first projector with a built-in iPod dock.

Among the hordes of new iPod accessories on the market, perhaps the most intriguing is the $999 ViewSonic PJ258D projector-and it’s a pretty powerful one at that. Under its slick, glossy black exterior beats the heart of a business projector that might outshine much of its competition. Although it weighs less than four pounds, the manufacturer claims it can beam out 2000 ANSI lumens, and on our lab test, we saw no fewer than 2265 lumens.

But the PJ258D is focused more on Pirates of the Caribbean than on PowerPoint. Just insert a video iPod into the oversized dock on the projector’s top panel and you can start watching your video in a size limited only by the dimensions of your walls. The projector’s remote has control buttons that relay directly to the iPod. The process works extremely well, considering there was no laptop or DVD player involved. The only problems we saw were some slight motion artifacts caused no doubt by the iPod.

Sure looks pretty cool to me - but now with Apple TV around the corner it might be out a bit late.