Apple Computer today took the wraps off revised versions of its popular iBook portables and the super-tiny, super-affordable Mac mini.
Apple’s iBooks see the most improvement, with the Power PC G4 processor speeds bumping up to 1.33 GHz in the model with the 12-inch screen, and 1.42 GHz in the model with the 14-inch screen. The new iBooks also pick up the ATI Mobility Radeon graphics controller with 32 MB of video RAM and both built-in Airport Extreme (802.11g) and Bluetooth wireless connectivity. Most interestingly, however, the revised iBooks have inherited two cool Apple-only technologies from the higher-end PowerBook line: the scrolling trackpad and Sudden Motion Sensor. The scrolling trackpad offers a customizable way to scroll through any active window just by touching two fingers to the trackpad instead of one; the Sudden Motion Sensor senses rapid changes in the computer’s axis and/or acceleration and instantly parks the hard drive’s heads, reducing the risk of damage or data loss from a fall or sudden shock while the computer is running. Prices for the new iBooks start at $999 for the 12-inch model and $1,299 for the 14-inch model; several built-to-order options are available, including a slot-loading version of the DVD-burning SuperDrives for the 14-inch model. All iBooks ship with Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger and Apple’s iLife ’05 application suite pre-installed.
Apple also revised its tiny Mac minis today, doubling the default amount of RAM from the previously-paltry 256 MB to a barely-adequate 512 MB across the line, and adding Airport Extreme (802.11g) and Bluetooth connectivity as defaults on the top two configurations in the Mac mini product line. Pricing remains unchanged, with the base Mac mini starting at a mere $499—bring your own keyboard and monitor—up to $699 for a tricked-out version with the DVD-burning SuperDrive. Mac minis also ship with Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger and iLife ’05 pre-installed.
In 1950, Alan Turing asked whether machines can think. Rather than argue over definitions, he turned the question into a party game, where an interrogator trades typed messages with hidden players and tries to work out who is who. Since then, chatbots have gotten so good that they have already fooled humans in modern versions of the test.
So, four researchers from Paris Cité University asked the obvious follow-up question in a new study published in Computers in Human Behavior Reports: can AI at least catch its own kind?
Mozilla is giving Firefox’s Smart Window two new tricks. If you haven’t tried it yet, Smart Window is an optional AI mode in Firefox with a built-in chat that helps you get things done while you browse. With this update, it can fill out online forms using details from your tabs and keep an eye on websites for you.
Tired of typing the same details into every form?
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.