A few days ago Apple updated their iPod range as follows (reviews to follow in a couple of days):

iPod touch (8GB £199 / 16Gb £269)
A completly new iPod based upon the iPhone but without mobile phone connectivity (data or voice) but with WiFi built in. The iPhone touch brings Apple’s multitouch display to masses in Europe. Fitted with either 8GB or 16GB of Flash storage the iPod touch is the new top of the line iPod. Apple has a video walking through the various feature of the iPod touch available here.

Apple updated its iMac range with three new models. All three models have aluminium cases and feature Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, AirPort Extreme wireless 802.11n, slot-load disc drives, a built-in video camera and a much-anticipated new thinner Apple keyboard.
The 2.0GHz CPU model includes a 250GB hard drive, while the 2.4GHz 20in and 24in models carry 320GB capacity drives.
The three iMacs have widescreen TFT LCD displays, although the 24in model offers a 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution and 178° horizontal or vertical viewing angle. Apple’s two 20in models have a 1680 x 1050 resolution and a 160° viewing angle.

IBM launched its first ThinkPad in July 1992, 15 years ago this month. The IBM ThinkPad 2521, know simply as “The ThinkPad”, was actually a tablet PC (no keyboard, instead you wrote directly onto the screen with a digital pen, like a Wacom Tablets).

In October 1992, IBM released some more ThinkPads (Series 700) and these would set the standard look (blank) and feel (solid) for the next 15 years. The IBM become the notebook of choice for businesses, with excellent support contracts (same day, onsite) and a well earned reputation for been the most reliable, hardworking notebooks available.

Apologies for a VERY geeky news story but it is very cool at the same time!

In brief, truly random numbers are very hard to generate, as most things (Computer CPU) etc always start from the same point (called finite state I believe), you will see numbers repeated.

Random numbers are a key part of cryptography (for instance when you buy a book online via a secure web site).

I am not going to go waste anybodies time by going into too much depth, as it is not really my field and there are many, many better articles out there. However I will provide some links at the bottom of the page.

Well it seems that there is a fierce bidding battle for the exclusive rights to be the UK provider for the iPhone. If the Financial Times is correct (and it usually is) then apparently O2 has been selected. More information at FT.com

With the Apple selling 700,000 iPhones in the first two days, you can imagine how keen the UK operators are to become the exclusive iPhone operator!

Also hinted at within the article, is that the European iPhone will not support 3g but Edge (just like the US version). I hope this is wrong but we will see.

I just saw an article about thousands (29,000!) of bright yellow rubber ducks (mixed in with blue turtles & green frogs) that have been travelling the high seas for the last 15 years, after escaping from a Chinese Cargo ship one stormy night in the Pacific Ocean.

Since their break for freedom in 1992 they travelled 17,000 miles and have visited Hawaii and even been frozen the Arctic ice pack for a couple of years.

Apparently scientist have been using them to track ocean currents.

The first reviews of the Apple iPhone from the Wall Street Journal and from the New York Times Journal are now available.

Their reporters have had the Apple iPhone for 2 weeks now and while initial impressions are pretty good, especially for a first generation product

However while it is not yet clear that the huge amount of hype over the iPhone has been completely justified it is looking like the iPhone will enjoy at the very least a limited success, and after a few software updates could possible become THE phone to own!

A group of British people are trying to break the Word Land Speed Record for a Steam Car. Currently the record is held by a Stanley Steamer set in 1906 with a top speed of 127 miles per hour. They are looking for sponsorship to finish funding the building / testing /racing of car at the Bonneville Salt Flats in the US and are allowing people to buy space (pixels) on their web site

We at DigitalBuzz.co.uk have kicked in £20 to start and may well add more over the coming month. We of course wish them the best of luck!

I have just seen the news that Eclipse have become on of the first UK ISP’s to become carbon neutral.

They already have a great reputation as one of the best smaller ISP’s in the UK with great customer service and innovative service. It just shows small companies can be better choice!

Full information is available at the Eclipse web site here.

Apple has just released a new patch for OS X, version 10.4.10.

Weighing in at 49MB the update is available via Apple Software Update (Apple icon > Software Update).

It appears mainly to maintain bug-fixes for Bluetooth and USB as well as incorporating recent security fixes. More information below:

Bluetooth
Addresses an issue in which a Bluetooth headset may show up as an available device for sound output in the Sound preference pane after it had been removed from Bluetooth preferences.