If you've been holding off installing Apple's Front Row on your Mac because you simply don't know how, here's a user-friendly step-by-step guide from Andrew Escobar.  After you've gone through the process, you can enjoy music, photos and videos with Front Row and Apple Remote. On with the show!

First off, your Mac should be running on Mac OS X v10.4.5 or later. To enable sharing over Bonjour, make sure you have iTunes 6.0.4 and iPhoto 6.0.2 (or later) installed. If this is this your first time to install Front Row, then you'll just have to follow the step-by-step procedure. If you have previously installed Front Row using Enabler and are simply upgrading, Enabler has already patched to two system files needed. They do not need to be patched again. After completing step 2 (installing Front Row and restart) you should have an updated copy of Front Row with support for Bonjour.

Apple and Motorola's little joint project, which packages iTunes with Motorola ROKR, RAZR and SLVR phones, has worked out well for both companies, the flak over the hundred-song limit imposed by Apple notwithstanding. Even its detractors have to admit that this functional melding of an iPod and a cellphone is a great idea. Trouble is, not all SLVRs come with iTunes - especially those units sold in markets outside the US.

Now someone's done something about it. Posted on the Motomodders forum on the net (it's actually found elsewhere, but the directions on this particular forum are easier to read and clearly stated) are instructions on how to install iTunes in an unlocked and unbranded SLVR. What's more, this version of iTunes purportedly has a thousand-song limit - a far cry from the hundred-song ceiling the 'legally equipped' units are hobbled with.

Very interesting. Anyone want to give it a whirl?

Together with receiving news about Apple's new 17" MacBook Pro, its seems the UK's Sussex Ambulance service have given Apple another reason for product sales and are offering free audio downloads on how to correctly deliver First Aid in a variety of situations. All 7 situations are based on a series of accident types, for example there are burns, wounds, breathing and baby CPR. This is designed to help those who feel that if they come across a situation one day that they cannot deal with, they can follow instructions from their favorite media device. However the service does instruct all people to get some form of basic First Aid, as you never know when you might save someones life. The project was the idea of a paramedic, Stuart Rutland, who said that he hoped it might help in an emergency. "I like to go running and listen to music - but what if I turned the corner and somebody had collapsed? I have 11 years of paramedic training, but not everyone will. It's just about what to do in those moments before an ambulance arrives." The MP3's were designed with the iPod in mind, however they will work on any MP3 player you may have.

Download: [First Aid for your iPod]

Om Malik started another meme recently.  This time it's something I feel like jumping at - 10 Mac apps.  I feel like a great application is one that you forget is third party software - it just blends into the background.  Here are 10 apps I can't live without on my Mac - and they definitely feel like a part of the operating system.

(In no particular order)
Super Duper! - Backups are a necessary evil.  Super Duper! makes backing up your system simple and easy. 
Desktop Manager - Hands down, my favorite virtual desktop app.  The development support is virtually dead, but it remains better than the rest of the pack - at least in my opinion.
Quicksilver - If I were stranded on an island, Quicksilver would be the one thing I could bring with me.  Seriously.  It's that great.
Sidenote - Record quick notes for yourself in a simple, roll-away note window.
AdiumX - A multi chat account client.  Tons of customizable options.  Very solid.  A pleasure to use if you IM a lot.
Sidetrack - [This is a bonus thrown in for the iBook and PowerBook users.]  Setup vertical and side scrolling.  Assign trackpad tap as  "right click", assign tappable corners, etc.  It's the two finger  scroll that newer PowerBooks offer, on steroids.
Snapz Pro X - OS X has some great screen capture options built in, but if you want to take it to the next level, try Snapz Pro X.  You'll also get the ability to create movies of your desktop use.
Transmit - There are free ftp apps out there for the mac - I've used them all.  But Transmit is definitely the most polished and complete.  Gotta love any ftp program that sports tabs.
Audio Hijack Pro - Hijacks and records any audio that comes from your Mac.  Great for recording music, movie clips, or backing up old tape or vinyl too.
Forty-TwoDVD-VXPlus - Yeah, the name is a mouthful.  But the encoding capabilities, along with a nice itunes-like interface make this a powerhouse of an application.  Converts movies to iPod, PSP, and SD formats too.  Nice.
Textmate - This is the text editor to use.  If you're a coder, you'll heart Textmate.  If you just want a good text editor, the price may be a bit steep, but once you see some of the capabilities, you'll understand the magic.

 

Boynq has come out with another iCube speaker and docking station for the iPod and Nano. This time around the iCube has better audio quality and will charge your iPod at the same time. The finish of the iCube II come in a high black gloss as well as white. It comes with audio cables for compatibility with older iPods. The iCube is compatible with iPod 3G, 4G/color/photo, 5G, mini, nano, 1G/2G, and shuffle. They run between $59 to $69 USD.

We've come across this unusual method of advertising that Apple is now using. In order to highlight their HiFi system, they are using a sort of cracked glass effect to bring on the illusion of power within the speakers. This type of advertising is unusual yet it has been effective for Apple, consistently drawing the bypasser's attention to the product. This form of marketing is called Guerrilla Advertising, which was developed by Jay Conrad Levinson. This is basically a marketing strategy that is cheap yet effective, and by doing this apple have possibly succeeded on local advertising. It just shows what a bit of plastic film and correctly positioned products can do.

CNET tells us of a terrific way to transfer songs from iPods to Macs - without installing any sort of extra software or anything like that. It's completely free to boot (great, huh?).

There are, of course, caveats (you didn't honestly think something like this came without conditions, did you?)  Take it away, CNET:  First, this works only for Mac iPods (or iPods that normally sync with an OS X Mac)... Second, if you use this to transfer songs purchased from the iTunes Music Store, the computer you're copying to will need to have the same account on it in order to play those protected songs. Third, when using the information below, you should probably keep in mind the warning that Apple affixed to the iPod ("Don't steal music").

And oh, Windows users aren't left out in the cold: in the article CNET also provides a link to another tutorial on how to do the same for PCs and iPods that normally sync with them.

Okay with all that? Click on the link for a look at the detailed instructions.

Screensavers have always been kinda interesting too look at....for about 2 seconds and then the novelty wears off. But there is a new breed of screen saver that will actually interact with the music that you are playing. If you are playing soft and mellow music the image will enhance that mood, but if you are playing some heavy metal expect to see some pretty crazy images on your screen. So if you are a fan of art, this is a cool addition.

You can download some of these iTune visual plugins free. You can also download some more advanced plugins from Sonique (they have stopped development but you can still get them). Here are a few of  the screensaver shots from the Sonique visualisation collection.

Logitech has unveiled its new speaker set to upgrade from the old mm22 speakers. These speakers will run off of four AA batteries and will allow up to 10 hours playback. The set also includes an AC adapter if you don't feel like spending your weeks gasoline allowance on batteries.

The mm32 set will not be as spiffy as the mm50 and the price reflects that. It will retail in the US for around $80 later this month.

Next time you want to travel to another country and you don't speak the language not to worry because CyraKnow is selling Rambler Audio Language Phrase Books just for your iPod.

Rambler has over 900 words and phrases and there are four language to choose from French, German, Italian and Spanish. Each language is organized into categories such as: Travel, Food, Lodging and fun so in 2 easy clicks you can be asking directions.

Included in the Language pack is a printable PDF of popular sites and place to see plus you can add your own must see's. Each language costs $19.95 USD or you can get the Euro-Pack which includes all four languages for $49.95 USD.

Unfortunately you can't use the Language pack on your iPod shuffle or any iPod purchased before May 2003 including any iPod that has a moving scroll wheel or firewire connection on top.