Some iMac users have been complaining about problems on their new 24' iMacs, including the system locking up/freezing due to the ATI hardware installed on the systems and the appearance of condensation on the inside glass panel of the monitor.

The freezing issues due to the ATI hardware were explained on the mac4ever forums. One of the posters placed a call to Apple regarding his broken iMac, the technician dispatched to his house said that two kinds of graphic cards are being used inside the iMac assembly and that one of them has an inherent problem with the version 1.1 update.

Apple, already aware of the ATI hardware issue, has given an official statement on Macworld.com saying that they will be releasing a software update for this problem. Here's the exact statement from the Apple Spokesperson:

A small number of iMac users have made us aware that a recent software update issued by Apple can sometimes cause their iMacs to freeze, requiring them to restart their iMac. We are tracking down the root cause of this bug, and will issue a software update which corrects it as soon as we can Â? most likely later this month. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Unlike the previous problem, Apple has yet to release an official statement regarding the reported formation of condensation on the lower right side of the iMacs' monitor. Multiple users have complained about this and many theories have come up regarding what is causing the problem. One poster on the Apple forums said that the problem could probably stem from an inherent design flaw in the unit which has the fan for the optical drive directly behind that area of the iMac's monitor.

Hopefully, Apple comes out with a fix for both of these issues as many of those who bought the new iMacs are getting increasingly disgruntled.

A lot of QJ staff are in love with their dual monitors. Heck, even a certain Crazy Jon is addicted to multiple monitors! I guess some people really find ease at doing computer jobs when faced with multiple monitors; we can't therefore blame Richard Troxel for wanting to use an extra monitor with his 17" MacBook Pro.

Troxel asks, "Is it possible to use both a 30Â? and 23Â? Apple Cinema Display monitors with a 17Â? MacBook Pro?" Macworld's Christopher Breen clues us in on the answer.

Unfortunately for Troxel - and other MacBook Pro users who also want to work with multiple monitors - the answer is no, not for now. Breen explains, "Although you can connect AppleÂ?s 30Â? display to your MacBook you need another video card to drive an additional monitor."

Because Apple replaced the PC Card slot with the faster ExpressCard/34 slot on their new laptops, the task of adding other monitors on a MacBook Pro has becomes impossible as there are a few ExpressCards available and nil ExpressCard video cards.

If you're a PowerBook user though, multiple monitors are a go for you via the PC Card slot - you'd just need a device like VillageTronic's VTBook and Digital Tigers' SideCar, which will soon release an ExpressCard version of such device this fall...so all is not lost to MacBook Pro users.

MenuMeters is a set of CPU, memory disk and network monitoring tools for the Mac OS X from Raging Menace. It is under the GNU General Public License, making it free for all.

What sets it apart from other monitors that uses the menubar is that most of those monitors use the NSStatusItem API while MenuMeters uses SystemUIServer plugins (Menu Extras), meaning they can be re-ordered using command-drag and remember their positions in the menubar across log-ins and restarts.

Other notable features of the MenuMeter is that the CPU meter can display system load, either as a total percentage or broken out as user and system time. It is hotplug aware, and will show activity on FireWire and USB disks as they are mounted. The Memory Meter can display current memory usage as either a pie chart, thermometer, history graph, or as used/free totals. You can even optionally display a paging indicator light. While the Net Meter can display network throughput as arrows, bytes per second, and/or as a graph.

You will need MacOS X 10.2 (Jaguar), MacOS X 10.3 (Panther), or MacOS X 10.4 (Tiger) or PowerPC or Intel based Macintosh (Universal Binary) to install this monitor. And if you are installing over an older version of MenuMeters make sure to logout and login after installation in order to load the new version.

Download: [MenuMeters]

You and Tom Kim both. And apparently, dozens more of Mac users. Some of the problems that Tom cited on his machine were some sort of static-looking borders around the popup menu, a weird color band that runs across the top of the desktop picture and degradation on the Dock bar.

There are a lot of theories circulating on why this could be happening for the Mac's screen. Rumors range from rendering of shadows to a problem with the video card to using secure virtual memory. But one point that they all agree on is that this happens when you're really taxing your system. The solutions are just as varied as the possible causes. Some suggest to disable the virtual memory or to install the latest firmware upgrade, claiming that this has done the job for them. Rumor has it that Apple is well aware of the problem and is working on a remedy that will be included in 10.4.8.

Apple has taken out a patent on a new type monitor that combines display functions with those of a camera.

Thousands of microscopic sensors are placed between liquid crystal display cells in the screen. Like an insect's eye, each sensor receives its own small, individual image. Essentially, there will be one sensor for each LCC. By giving individual cells different focal lengths, the device could have a zoom function as well. These images would be combined into a single large image with software code.

This invention has great implications for videoconferencing. By adding PDA and cell phone functions, the need for several different devices will be eliminated.

While this is off topic, we have an article up on our new Gadgets blog that is really stinkin' cool. A friend of QJ.NET invited us to help him mount twelve 30-inch Dell flatscreen monitors to his wall, and it was a blast. Above you can see an image of the finished product, and man is it sweet! Powered by 6 top-of-the-line video cards, and three 1000 watt power supplies, this thing is a beast. Click on the Read link below for the full article and step-by-step.

EDIT: Here is a link to an update that we made to the article, where we answer many of the users' questions and have a video. Check it out!

Jeremy Horwitz down at iLounge has had the fortunate task of reviewing a pair of eMagin's newest wearable display, the EyeBud 800. A pair of these costs in the region of $500, and according to the writer there are many adjustments to be made, so the display they reviewed was more a final production prototype. Essentually what these are, are a display that you can wear close to your eyes so you can view your iPod's video out source without the use of a big TV or having to look at the iPod's small screen.

The concept behind these are simple, yet very effective. It incorporates the use of an 'eyeshade', a pair of earphones, a battery/video circuitry box and final a single small display that is screened to one eye. While screening to one eye might sound a bit weird, because of the eyeshade your other eye cannot see anything, so therefore you assume one whole image. The screen is an OLED display that is affective up to 800x600 pixels and offers a wide array of 24 million colours. The screen is specifically designed for the iPod's video quality and therefore should look pretty good, however if any of the video's have been poorly compressed or offer less than average quality then the display will make them look artifacted. When coming to how the user wears the display, the design isn't by placing the unit on the nose like glasses, instead it uses a headband of elastic which according to the reviewer, felt pretty good.

The power is through a box the size of a 4G iPod which can either supply 4 to 6 hours of continuous playback, or you can run off a USB 2.0 connection or a standard plug in the wall. By using the iPod, its own battery isn't affected. The control is simple, via a single button on the box which controls the brightness and the on/off state.

According to the writers, the unit is one of the best that they have encountered, and as of yet there are still adjustments and improvements to be made on the current to future models. The use of the screen is very good for those who dont have a large display or want to use it on long travels without having to hold the iPod continuously.

Keep from scratching your MacBook with iProtect, a Micro Screen Protector that protects your Apple Mac from dust, scratches, grease, dirt that builds up on your laptop. The Protector is made up of ultrafine microfibers that effectively protect and remove all of those dust particles and build up that gets on your laptop screen and keyboard. iProtect protects the laptop when it's open and closed, it has two different surfaces that clean and protect, a soft side for the front surface to clean dust and a rough or reverse side to clean grease and fingerprints.

Apple has upped the stats of their 30 inch Cinema Display to match Dell's 3007WFP. The display now comes in with a 400 cd/m2 brightness and a 700:1 contrast ration, an improvement over its previous specs of 270 cd/m2 and 400:1. This change however only affects the US market at this time. The display still remains at an even $2500 and out of reach of many consumers.

Whether it's nothing more than a change to the specs of the 30" Apple Display, or an actual upgrade in hardware is unknown.  But Apple's website now reflects new specs on their largest LCD.  There was no fanfare regarding this change, it was caught by some very observant Apple fanatics.

Previously, the brightness was 270 cd/m2, but now boasts 400 cd/m2.  The contrast ratio has also changed from 400:1 to 700:1.  The price remains the same at $2499. 

Interestingly enough, the new specs are right in line with those of Dell's recent 30" Display (3007WFP).  We talked about the review of these two large LCDs recently, speculating that the LCD hardware was one in the same.