WWDC is a conference for Apple developers that gives the company a chance to show them some love while disseminating important information about the next-gen hardware on Apple's launch horizon. There is no live stream coming from the event floor, so minute to minute coverage (complete with pictures) is all there is until Apple makes the footage available after the event.

Mannymix03, a member of our forums, has been kind enough to make up to the minute posts about the event to keep us all informed about the latest happenings at WWDC 2006. So far, so much information has come out of the event that it would be impossible to detail it all here. I will do my best to give you a brief rundown of the important finds that have been discovered thus far.
 
In his usual style, Steve Jobs kicks off the conference with his enthusiastic rundown of what Apple has in store for us in the near future. He began with his usual optimism by quoting record sales figures and mentioning the unprecedented level of penetration that the company is experiencing in the OS market.

After stroking the developers egos by detailing how much of their work Apple sold the previous year, Jobs goes on to discuss the move to utilize Intel chips and the upcoming move into the next generation of Intel chips known as Core 2 Duo. While all the information about new chips and the smart architecture of the new Mac Pro kept folks interested, the news that kept many on the edge of their seats was about Apple's upcoming OS.

After giving Microsoft some of the spotlight by highlighting the ways the Redmond-based giant has appropriated technology from Apple in the past, the details about the OS (Leopard) were released. Along with 64 bit compatibility at the UNIX layer, meaning you can run both 32 and 64 bit applications smoothly and without the aid of emulation, there was mention of a built in backup feature for the OS called Time machine that backs up "everything" in real time. This new feature is not as cut and dry as it seems however. Apparently, with Time machine you get a robust backup system that is capable of full system restores as well as an ala carte system that allows you to bring back just the files that you need.

When integrated with the Finder disk searcher, we are one step closer to having all of our information stored in a searchable database that is backed up in real time. So now you can search for, and find, a file even if you have already erased it! Wonderful! Even I couldn't lose data if I had a set up like this! One of the things that I found a bit surprising was the fact that every copy of the new OS will ship with Time Machine, Bootcamp, Photobooth and Front Row and Spaces. Each one of these modules provides functionality, like a virtual desktop (Spaces), photo editing and sharing (Photobooth), music, video and other media (Front Row), that is not included with other operating systems like Vista.

Spotlight, Core Animation and Universal Access are additional applications in the works at Apple. Spotlight allows you to search the drives of all of the Macs in your home from any one of them. Core Animation is a powerful program that allows you to deconstruct media into its various parts (video, music,ect) and manipulate it into a new creation. Universal Access is designed to allow all people, whether blind, or otherwise disabled, to use their new Mac with ease. With all the new software being developed and hardware changes galore happening at Apple, you'd think that they would be the ones with all the delays and shoddy releases instead of Microsoft!

Mail, Dashboard and iCal have also been updated and changed! Stationary, Notes and To Do's to mail have been integrated into the new email system that will come with the new OS. Dashboard has over 2500 widgets and with Dashcode users can easily create their own customized widgets. With Web Clip and Dashcode you can turn any part of a website into a widget that will update every day keeping you in the know with your favorites on the web. Then there's iChat and iPhoto, which are integrated and will offer multiple logins, invisibility, animated buddy icons, video recording and tabbed chats.

This is near information overload here so I suggest that you digest this as quickly as you can then can come back and get some more! The conference is more than three days long so you can be certain that Jobs and Co. will continue to hit us with surprises well into this week!

Finally, for those with short attention spans, here is a brief list of the key innovations that were revealed this morning:

• 64-bit
• Core animation
• Universal access
• Enhanced parental controls (who cares about that?)
• iCal
• The complete package
• mail
• Spotlight
• Dashboard
• Web Clip and Dashcode
• Announcing Xcode 3 at the afternoon session
• Spaces
• Time Machine
  

Keep an eye out for updates to follow. For those who got their appetites whet and are looking for ways to satisfy their "Apple" craving, check out the video of the conference's Keynote Address delivered by Apple top honcho, Steve Jobs.

This program is billed on its website as being, "made by Mac users for Mac users." Considering the fact that at one time there was no easy method, other than emulation maybe, that would allow a Mac user to sync and transfer files between his machine and his Windows Mobile device, any Mac user who finds him or herself in the unfortunate situation of being stuck using a Windows Mobile portable device will find this piece of software indispensable.

Given high ratings by critics, The Missing Sync will make your Mac and Pocket PC play nice together. Along with the basic functions like transferring files between your Mac and your mobile, The Missing Sync lets you use a variety of different software from desktop productivity to mirrored tasks and events in iCal and Entourage. Whenever manufacturers (like Microsoft and Apple) neglect to provide solutions that bridge the final gap and fill a consumer want or need, someone else inevitably will do so, and usually rather quickly too.

Mark Space, the company that is selling The Missing Sync, is a company that specializes in Mac synchronization products. Specifically, Mark Space provides Mac synchronization software for the Sony PSP, Windows Mobile devices and Palm Operating System devices, along with a variety of small hip top smartphones as well.

No, you won't be able to run Xbox 360 games on your Mac - yet. However, this little hack may be handy if your XBox and your cable modem are in separate rooms,  and you don't want to shell out $100 for a wireless adapter.

Step 1:  turn off your Xbox 360 and connect a standard ethernet crossover cable from the network port of the 360 to the ethernet port on your Mac. On the Mac, go to System Preferences>Sharing.  Click the "Internet" tab.  On the "Share your connection from..." drop-down, select AirPort. Check Built-in Ethernet on the box underneath, then press 'Start'. You will get a cautionary dialogue box; accept it. Your window should look like this:

Step 2:  Turn on your 360, go to the dahboard and navigate to the System pane. Select "Network Settings" and then "Edit Settings". Change IP settings to Manual. Back in OS X, enter Terminal and type, without quotes: "ifconfig en0". The first IP address, which is probably 192.168.2.1, is your Gateway address.  Enter this on your Xbox. For IP address, enter 192.168.2.2, and 255.255.255.0 for the Subnet Mask.

Step 3: Save your settings on your Xbox 360. It  may automatically test the new connection; ignore this, because it will fail. Go back into the settings menu and this time choose DNS Settings, making this manual as well. Next, you'll need to go back into Terminal and type in "dig" (again, without quotes) and press enter. At the bottom of the results you will find a line saying "SERVER:" (see below). The IP address following (underlined below) is your Primary DNS server, so enter that into your Xbox. Don't enter anything under Secondary DNS server.

In Network Settings on the Dashboard, select "Test Xbox Live Connection". You should now be able to connect to Xbox Live.

A plug and play internal Bluetooth upgrade is now available for PowerMac G5,  PowerMac G4 and iMac G4 systems. The chip adds Bluetooth connectivity between Macs and a wide range of Bluetooth-enabled devices such as PDAs, cellphones, cameras, headsets, printers, keyboards and mice.     

It's very easy to install as the Bluetooth module fits directly into the Mac's main logic board, attaching to the built-in Apple antenna.

It's now available for $25.95 and comes with 1-year warranty.

Compatibility:

PowerMac G4 (FW 800)
PowerMac G5
PowerMac G5 (June 2004)
PowerMac G5 (Late 2004)
iMac G4 (17-inch Flat Panel, 1 GHz)
iMac G4 (USB 2.0)

California hardware company FirmTek, LLC, has announced the release of their highly-anticipated SeriTek/2SM2-E ExpressCard Adapter for the MacBook Pro. This device will allow MacBook users to stream live video directly to their disks, and make the lives of videographers much easier, enabling them to perform most of their work in the field. The ExpressCard Adapter also features "hot-swap" compatibility, simplifying the chore of moving drives and arrays from the MacBook to any FirmTek equipped desktop system. While designed for the Apple, the new device is also compatible with ExpressCard equipped Windows machines.

The SeriTek eliminates the data "bottleneck" caused by the inherent limitations of the stock machine, such as the internal drive and USB ports. While this is wonderful for those who need to work with video files, they can be useful for almost anyone whose work requires them to deal with huge amounts of data.

The SeriTek/2SM2-E ExpressCard will retail for around $120. Additional drive trays will be available for about $23.00 each.

Previously Apple charged 1.5% of the wholesale price per unit for use of their proprietary iPod dock connector, but as of yesterday (May 10th) the dock connector license is a flat fee of $4 USD.

Apple has refused to comment on the fee. The move is set to favor the manufacturers of high end iPod accessories such as Bose, Jamo, Altec Lansing and Hi Fi manufacturers who are selling iPod connector or docking stations. It's also set to please who late last year were angry with Apple over the move to increase license fees.

The move makes managing the program for Apple easier and also  makes it more affordable for manufacturers to produce accessories compatible with the dock connector.

Ever wish that your iPod could use Bluetooth technology? While the inclusion of Bluetooth into your iPod may remain on every Apple fan's wish list, Anycom Technologies has an item that should tide you over - Anycom's BluNa new Bluetooth adapter for the iPod Nano.

According to iLounge, this device sends music from the Nano to any Bluetooth receiver. So, imagine using BluNa to send your music to Bluetooth speakers, headphones, computers, or stereo systems.

Will BluNu work with your Bluetooth device? Well, BluNa is compatible with Bluetooth products from Anycom and companies such as Logitech, Motorola, Plantronics, and others using the automatic device pairing feature.

You can buy the BluNa adapter for $120 later this month. Or, if you want multiple items from Anycom, you can get your BluNa in a bundle with the Anycom BIWAS-20 Bluetooth speakers for $350 or with the Anycom BSH-100 headphones for $230.

The public has gone crazy over the website MySpace.com and Apple has definitely noticed the huge influx of traffic. MySpace.com is a do-all type of site where you can set up email accounts, surf stores, music, set up a profile and meet people, etc. Apparently computers that are on display in flagship stores have been taken over by people who are just interested in getting their e-mails, checking their appointments, and are logging into a ton of online stores.

The solution that Apple has come up with is to re-direct users to Apple's main website when traffic at a certain store becomes too much. They hope this will help with the backlog and security as well. The connection speeds in some stores are at least 1.5+ Mbps up and downstream, and other store networks have 2.5 Mbps.

Early last year rumors surfaced about Apple possibly expanding the iPod family further by adding a model that incorporated Bluetooth technology.

Now, these same rumors have now came back into focus. This is because of a UK retailer who was recently quoted as saying, 'Over the weekend, Apple has been adding the finishing touches'.

Is Apple merely days away from officially revealing a Bluetooth iPod?


A Bluetooth-capable iPod could take advantage of existing wireless headphone products, broadcasting your music very easily through car stereos or even potentially, streaming video. This could be Apple's first stab at a product that uses the new ultrawideband Bluetooth standard we talked about here.

You can find a link to the full article just below.

If you're swapping back and forth between Windows and OS X on a regular basis (as I am between work and home) you may be interested in MacDrive version 6.  It allows Windows to read and write to HFS formatted drives.  The benefit being, that you don't have to change native formats between operating systems' drive formats.  Works on anything from hard drives to CDs to whatever you can come up with.  You can even burn discs natively from Windows, in a Mac OS format.  Nice! 

In my [limited] experience, there's not too much trouble moving files between the two file system formats, but I don't have that need very often.  I'm guessing those with a larger need would argue differently.  If you've got any experience with MacDrive let us know in the comments.