Apple has just released the iMac Graphics Firmware Update 1.0. This patch updates the graphics firmware on the ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO cards and fixes the problems which causes iMacs to lock up/freeze. This update is only intended for 20 and 24-inch aluminum iMacs running Mac OS X 10.4.10 (Tiger) with software update 1.2.1 or the Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)with software update 1.3.

Read full article for more details on this.

Reports of new iMac lockups have been streaming within the Apple tech community lately, and speculations that the issue was software-based soon bloomed after Apple attempted to resolve the issues with a driver update. A recent report identified graphical artifacts as another symptom of the lockups and were reminiscent of defective or failing video graphics adapters.

This new find now mounts against collective speculations and points fingers at a totally different culprit - away from gripes at badly written drivers or Apple's Mac OS X Leopard. More at the full article.

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.

  

The Apple Summer Mac product conference is already rolling hot with Steve Jobs manning the show. As expected, his keynote address is filled with surprising unveiling of new Apple projects and the "everybody saw this coming" types. Tab this one under the second category - as predicted and whispered around various boards the past few weeks, Apple is giving us brand new iMacs.

Sporting a retroish look, the sleek new iMacs are made of aluminum and glass. It comes in 20- and 24-inched versions, each equipped with the usual but impressive specs such as up to  2.4GHz Core 2 Extreme processor, up to 4GB of memory, ATI Radeon HD graphics card, up to 1TB of hard drive storage. 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.0 built-in. There's also the usual compliment of ports like USB 2.0, Firewire 400/800, a slot loading SuperDrive, iSight camera etc.

What's also worth noting is that the oft-rumored new keyboard for the iMacs turns out to be true, with Steve Jobs himself confirming it. Boasting of large spacing and flat keys, Apple seems to be aiming to give the iMac users the laptop feel while typing. iMac purists seem to be a bit skeptic with the move, but let's all wait and see what happens. The 20-inch iMac goes for US$ 1,199 each (add three hundred bucks more for a processor and graphics enhancements), while the 24-inch monster demands US$ 1,799 per unit.

Mac News World reports that Aspyr Media has released a demo of Star Wars: Empire at War for the Mac. The demo, which weighs in at 892MB, is free and can be downloaded at Macgamefiles.com. PowerPC users are out of luck, though, as the demo is only for Intel-based Macs.

Set a few years before Star Wars: A New Hope, the game lets gamers experience the creation of the Rebel Alliance and the Empire's struggle to keep its iron grip on the universe. Players can choose to play as one of the two aforementioned factions. As in all RTS games, they must collect resources, build bases, recruit units, and research new technology.

If you're thinking of getting a copy of the demo, here are the system requirements for the game, courtesy of Mac News World and the Mac Game Store: Intel processor, Mac OS 10.4.8 or later, a CPU speed of 1.83 GHz or greater, 512 MB of RAM, and one of the following video cards: ATI Latest News about ATI Radeon X1600, Nvidia Geforce 7300 or Intel GMA 7300 with at least 64 MB of VRAM.

Star Wars: Empire at War is slated for a North American release this week for a price of US$ 49.95.

iTunes v7.0.0 hasn't been out for a long time and some people have been moaning about bugs in the popular music program. Whether you have or haven't experienced a bug in it just yet, this one is probably the most interesting bug you've seen - it actually looks good. Instead of displaying album art, this bug shows the contents of the screen in quite a few windows, giving it the 'Hall of Mirrors' effect.

You could try this bug out on your Mac if you have an Apple iBook G3/500Mhz with ATI Rage M3 8MB graphics, which is where the problem seems to be at. It could be either an iTunes v7.0.0 bug or a bug with the ancient graphics card drivers, which simply can't handle the might of iTunes 7. Whatever it is, it looks good, so go ahead and try to create this bug yourself! A new version of iTunes 7 is expected to be released soon to address problems found with freezing, crashing and other bugs which users have identified in the latest version of iTunes.

This is - for lack of a better word - nice.

The 512MB, 2x dual-link ATI X1900XT graphics card (fine, let's just call it the "graphics card") Apple offers with its Mac Pro desktops is now $100 cheaper than it used to be. The announcement was made via an email to Apple Store online customers. It mentioned that the Mac Pros they ordered are now cheaper, though it failed to mention the graphics card specifically.

However, checks with the Store found that, when purchased alone, the graphics card - originally priced at $499 - is now being sold for $399.

No explanation was given by Apple for the price drop. (Maybe the answer could be found with the manufacturer of the graphics card, ATI?).

  

EyeTV 2.2.2, which is bundled with the new EyeTV for DTT stick, will feature a new Full Screen Menu. The Full Screen Menu allows users to watch and record television shows on a Mac as well as browse Front Row. EyeTV works with the Apple remote (although it comes with its own clicker). It is also compatible with other remotes like the ATI Remote Wonder after simple programming using keyboard navigation. This Full Screen Menu, now a standard feature of EyeTV software, will work with all EyeTV 2 and higher software. EyeTV 2.2.2 is designed to work with EyeTV for DTT.

EyeTV for DTT features include:

• Watch, pause and rewind live television on the Mac.
• Record hours of TV shows directly on the HD and edit unwanted content using EyeTV 2Â?s powerful yet easy-to-use interface.
• Find TV shows and schedule recordings using EyeTV 2Â?s built-in Electronic Program Guide (EPG) from tvtv in Europe. Includes a free one-year subscription to tvtv.
• Create playlists to manage recordings and TV channels.
• Export clips and entire episodes to video-capable iPod.
• Store collection on an external storage drive, or burn it to DVD.

Meanwhile the EyeTV 2.3 with the Full Screen Menu will be released later this month. EyeTV 2.3 features a Full Screen Program Guide and scheduling recording not available in the EyeTV 2.2.2. EyeTV 2.3 compatible EyeTV compatible hardware device and will available as a free update for existing EyeTV 2 users.

Skyrocket 1.1.1 is a free screensaver developed by Nick Zitzmann. It not only features explosive firework displays in 3D but also comes bundled with sound effects. Available in English and French, Skyrocket 1.1.1  changelog  includes:

• Audio now works on PPC Macs.
• The new minimum OS version is 10.3.9, because the PPC version of Skyrocket is now compiled against a static version of OpenAL.

Skyrocket 1.1.1 requirements:

• Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later
• ATI Rage 128 video card or later
• ATI Radeon 9000 video card or later, or nVidia GeForce 4 video card or later

Download: [Skyrocket 1.1.1]

Call of Duty 2 is a worthy follow up to 2003's critically acclaimed Call of Duty. Developed by Infinity Ward along with Pi Studios and published by Activision, this game received a near-perfect review from the media and gamers alike.

You can play the game in Single Player mode and become either Private Vasili Ivanovich Koslov of the Red Army, Sergeant John Davis of the British Army, Tank Commander David Welsh also from the British Army or Corporal Bill Taylor of the US Army. Playing the game in Multiplayer mode, you can choose to be part of the American, Soviet, British or German forces.

A single-player demo has now been released by macgamefiles that features the mission entitled, The End of the Beginning, that takes place in November 6, 1942 in El Daba, Egypt. You are ordered to eliminate the German artillery crews at the docks as a member of the British infantry.

System Requirements:

• Mac OS X 10.3.9
• 1.8 GHz PowerPC G5/Intel chipset
• 512 MB RAM
• NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 or ATI Radeon 9600 or higher
• 64 MB VRam
• Supported Video cards: NVIDIA GeForce 5200, 6600, 6800, 7800 ATI Radeon 9600, 9650, 9700, 9800, X600, X800, X850, X

Download: [Call of Duty 2 Demo 1.0]