And there it comes. The time for those iPod fans to get out of their caves and check what”s coming new from Apple.

The annual Apple iPod event is to happen in San Francisco on September 9th. The event will have the theme “It”s only rock and roll, but we like it”. It”s  a bit weird, it reminds me of Guitar Hero. This means it will probably have new iPod versions to show off which we always enjoy, including the new ones with a 3.2MP camera.

Read a bit more about this on Apple sets iPod launch day for September 9 | News | TechRadar UK

Apple just released Mac OS X 10.5.4. This new version brings only bug fixes and minor changes. No awesomeness here but a good update for Mac users. 

10.5.4 Fix List:

General

• Includes recent Apple security updates.
• Resolves an issue with saving and reopening Adobe Creative Suite 3 files on a remote server.
• Includes additional RAW image support for several cameras.
• Addresses an issue that may result in a partially installed X11 application.
• Improves L2TP VPN client reliability.

AirPort

• Addresses AirPort reliability issues with 5GHz networks.
• Addresses AirPort issues that may result in slower performance in Logic Studio or MainStage.

iCal

• Improves overall iCal reliability for meeting requests, cancellation notices, delegation, and syncing with iPhone.
• Resolves an issue that prevents deleting an iCal event without notifying the creator.
• Addresses an issue in which events in all calendars affect availability. A checkbox now enables information-only calendars to be transparent from free/busy lookups.
• Resolves a UI issue preventing delegated calendars from showing up as a separate window.
• Addresses an issue with copying and pasting attendees from one event to another.
• Resolves an issue in which iCal may not delete events after a specified time interval, even when set to do so in iCal preferences.
• Addresses an issue in which To Dos cannot be marked private.

Safari

• Addresses a potential performance issue when loading secure web pages.
• Resolves issues that may be encountered when accessing secure web pages with client certificates that reside on a smart card.

Spaces and Exposé

• Addresses an issue in which switching from a space with a Finder window keeps the Finder as the active application instead of the application residing in the destination space.
• Fixes an issue in which dragging an application from the list of application assignments in Spaces System Preferences does not assign the application to the desired space.
• Resolves an Exposé issue that may result in only a subset of windows being shown.

Source: Trusted Reviews

The new iPhone with 16GB of storage space in now available together with a new iPod Touch with 32GB. Both will cost $499. It seems that the only new thing these gadgets have is the storage space increased. Still no 3G and no other added features.

Via Engadget.

It’s Geekie.net time to make a review of the new iPod Classic. You have lots of information out there regarding the iPod Classic. Bugs, annoying issues, good things, bad things. Loads of feedback from happy and less happy owners of the iPod Classic. So, I guess it is a good time to provide my review for the iPod Classic. I don’t really need to introduce it to you since you know what I am talking about. It is another opinion from someone that is using one.

And yes, I bought one. Apple didn’t send one to geekie.net. Shocking, I know

The one I have is the iPod Classic 80GB black version. It took me a few days to decide between the 80GB or the 160GB. What made me choose the 80GB? Simply two things. The looks and the difference in sterling. It’s around 70 pounds difference. The looks? you ask. Yes, the looks. The 160GB looks a bit more bulky than the 80GB one and I don’t really need the extra space to be honest. It would be nice, specially because of the extra battery time (10 more hours of music play and 2 more hours of video), but for £70 no thanks.

First impressions:

When I opened the little and stylish box and took the iPod out I just thought that it was a bit big and also heavy. I have to say that this iPod is my first MP3 player. I usually use my mobile to listen to music (SE W810i). Some hours before buying the Classic I was playing with an iPod Nano first generation which is quite small and light. That is why I thought the Classic was a bit big and heavy. Although after a few hours of playing with it I got used to the size and weight, which for the amount of space you have is quite acceptable. It is also quite comfortable to use. Both the touch ring and buttons work very well.

Using it:

The first thing I did after turning it on was going through the menus to discover what cool things were there. To my disappointment, no demo music or podcasts to test it right away. I was able to try out the 3 games coming by default. They are ok, but nothing really exciting. I specially enjoyed Vortex. It is a fun arcadish game (a kind of 3d Arkanoid). Also worth to mention was the brightness of the screen. It’s amazing. Really, I mean it. My current setting is 50% and it is more than enough. At least for indoors. If you raise it to the maximum you will have to wear some “shades” to be able to look at the screen. It is really good. The one thing I found to be annoying was the hard drive “noise”. If you are holding the iPod and playing with it you are able to actually feel the hard drive working, which some times can become annoying. Of course you will probably get used to it. Note: I am already used to it

After experimenting with the equalizer and all the music functionalities I have to say that it is very pleasant to listen to music in the iPod. The supplied headphones could be a lot better. They hurt my ears after around half an hour of using them. Regarding the sound I think the headphones are ok although you don’t have the kind of bass that some in-ear headphones offer, even some cheap ones. Also they just don’t isolate the outside noise at all. If you want some external noise isolation than you need to buy some new headphones. They are good if you use the iPod on the street, where you are better without sound isolation. It could be dangerous.

After playing with it for a while I started to become frustrated with the iTunes software. Syncing stuff is a headache if iTunes is new to you. I was trying to sync some podcasts and it was deleting all of my music. This is because I am also using other software to copy music and podcasts to the iPod. I had to restore it two times already. iTunes does not like third party software to be used with the iPod. In the end I guess it is alright if you only use iTunes.

Video:

Well, the iPod is a music player, right? Well, yes but you can also play video on it. It is more a multimedia player than just a music player. I have been downloading some movie trailers from the Apple website to watch on the iPod. The cool thing is that you can download trailers from the Apple site directly to iTunes with no conversion needed (there is now an rss feed on this site displaying the new trailers on the Apple website ). I was a bit curious about this. I didn’t think that watching video on such a small screen would be any good. I was wrong, it is alright. You can actually watch these podcasts or trailers with no problems whatsoever. Of course, if you usually use subtitles to watch any films then forget about it on the iPod. The screen is too small to use subtitles. Even if you are able to read them it would become a strain to your eyes.

Games:

The iPod Classic comes with three games; Vortex, Klondike and iQuiz. Klondike is the same old and nice game but doesn’t bring anything new or exciting. iQuiz is quite cool, but I became bored after a short time. I found Vortex to be quite nice, but it lacks something. It’s not addictive. I like addictive games There are a couple of nice games I bought from the iTunes store to try out and I have to say they are quite good. But that will be part of another post .

Conclusion:

Lots of storage space, nice screen, nice looks, good music quality, good games, ability to watch video and all the other features not covered in here (such as outlook sync, notes, etc) make this iPod the way to go. My objective was to buy a good MP3 player. In the end I got that plus a nice gaming gadget and also a small movie player. Great