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HANNSG announces low-cost 1080p monitor

Marc Chacksfield — 1210761780

HANNSG, the Taiwanese panel manufacturer, has just announced its latest 1080p monitor, the HG281DJ.

Boasting 1920 x 1200 WUXGA true 1080p resolution, the 28in monitor is ideal for all your HD viewing needs.

Predominately aimed at videomakers, designers and photographers – i.e. those looking for the utmost clarity in their images – the HG281DJ is both PC and Mac compatible. However, as the HG281DJ is kitted out with a 3ms response time, gamers may well want to give the panel a look as well.

Stay connected

Inputs on the monitor are as standard. You get the obligatory HDMI port (with HDCP support), VGA, audio and component.

The only thing that lets the monitor down is its contrast ratio. At just 800:1 we would have expected better. At least the panel is equipped with anti-glare technology and a clean viewing angle of 160 degrees.

The price is right

At £400, this latest HANNSG release is one of the cheapest 28in 1080p HD monitors around. In fact, if we were a filmmaker, at that price we would probably buy two and have a rather nice twin-monitor HD setup.

The HG281DJ is available now from www.misco.uk and comes with a three-year warranty.

Weekend round-up

Patrick Goss — 1210578480

It’s been a busy old weekend in the world of tech, but as usual we have scouted round to bring you the most vital (and quirky) stories from over the weekend.

Firstly, late on Friday Microsoft confirmed it would be appealing against the massive fine it has been hit with by the European Union for defying sanctions imposed after the anti-trust rulings.

The EU decided to hand Microsoft a whopping £680 million fine after deciding the Redmond company was guilty of not providing key code to rival software manufacturers.

Microsoft are seeking ‘clarity from the court’ in their appeal.

You’ve been iFramed

The most famous Mac thief was probably the Hamburgler, but running a close second is the fellow who got away with a lady’s MacBook only to be caught by the woman’s ingenuity.

Using her remote access to the Mac, the victim took a photo of the thief from her laptop and gave it to the police.

If it wasn’t for those pesky iKids…

Facebook ordered to out Fake Dean profile kids

Cyber-bullying of teachers is becoming an increasingly common problem, but in America, one educator who found himself on the wrong end of a fake Facebook profile has gone to court to get the social networking site to reveal the culprits.

The profile, which has since been removed, contained "pictures and messages inappropriate for a Dean of Students to send to a student."

Facebook have been ordered to retain the details of those that created the profile pending further investigation from the courts.

That's it for now, but stay tuned to TechRadar for the rest of the day's news as it breaks or grab a feed here - get it while it's hot.

Will Apple crush Psystar?

Patrick Goss — 1209656749

After all the hoo-hah, it appears that Psystar’s PCs running OSX actually DO exist and are now turning up at people’s houses – which begs the question will Apple finally crush them?

Apple has remained tight-lipped over the entire debacle, which has fuelled thousands of comments over Psystar’s wandering address, mysterious history and problems with payments.

However, the likes of the US Engadget site have got their hands on the Psystar PC and, aside from some slightly noisy fan related issues, it appears that the OSX PC is fit for purpose.

Hurdle

So one hurdle cleared, but Apple could still technically ask Psystar to desist from installing OSX onto its machines, as it breaks the terms of its EULA.

If Apple does choose to prevent companies selling their own machines with Apple’s OS it could raise concerns in US law.

It could also be portrayed as a big company crushing the little man for doing something that is obviously of great interest to many.

Apple updates iMac range

Adam Hartley — 1209387960

The Apple store has just been updated with the latest iMac range, featuring the newest Core 2 Duo Penryn processors and "the most powerful graphics ever available in an iMac".

The range starts from $1,200 in US (and a whopping £800 in the UK) for the 20-inch, 2.4GHz model with 128MB of ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT graphics, through to $2,199 for the top-end 24-inch screen model model with a 3.06GHz processor and 512MB of Nvidia GeForce 8800 GS graphics card.

According to Apple the new range "extends iMac's lead as the ultimate all-in-one desktop computer for both consumers and professionals".

Selling faster than PCs

"The iMac's gorgeous aluminium and glass all-in-one design has been an incredible hit with our customers and is just one of the reasons Mac sales are growing three and a half times faster than PC sales," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing.

"With the latest Intel processors, a faster new graphics option and more memory, customers now have even more reasons to love the iMac."

Chris Phin, deputy editor over on MacFormat magazine, told TechRadar: "The iMac has for some years now been the jewel in Apple's crown; fast, affordable and beautiful. The new models continue this tradition, and consolidate the iMac line as the best possible computer range for the consumer."

Costs more in UK

Apple UK has just sent through the pricing details which are, predictably, rather higher than the US prices – with the UK range starting from £799 upwards. Which is slightly annoying for Apple consumers in the UK, if you compare directly with the $1,200 price tag. Perhaps it's time to invest in that cheap weekend away to New York you've been thinking about?

For further details you can head over to the Apple Store right now.

Apple quarterly profits top $1 billion on Mac sales

J Mark Lytle — 1209025289

As expected, Apple’s first-quarter financial results announced yesterday showed just how well the company is doing, thanks largely to a huge uptick in Mac sales, but there was also a hint that the iPod boom may be near its end.

The bottom line is a quarterly profit of just over $1 billion (£503 million) on three-month revenues of $7.5 billion (£3.8 billion), powered by almost 2.3 million Mac sales and 10.6 million iPods.

Sluggish iPod growth

The Mac sales represent a whopping 51 per cent increase on the same period last year, but the iPod numbers are up just 1 per cent, suggesting that almost everyone who wants an iPod may already have one.

However, iPod profits that increased by 8 per cent due to the introduction of the more-expensive iPod touch cushioned the blow somewhat.

As usual, Steve Jobs hinted at coming attractions, “With over $17 billion in revenue for the first half of our fiscal year, we have strong momentum to launch some terrific new products in the coming quarters.”

No 3G news

Whether or not that means a new iPhone model wasn’t up for discussion at the press conference after the announcement, but with 1.7 million of the current model sold in the quarter, Apple was always going to be tight-lipped on that front.

If all those zeroes have whetted your appetite for more on the Apple cash cow, you’ll be glad to know the entire announcement and Q&A session is available to listen to online right here.

Do leaked photos show new aluminium MacBooks?

Don Reisinger — 1208484176

Apple may abandon its plastic MacBook design in favour of aluminium, a source close to the production of the notebook case claims.

An assembly worker at a Taiwanese case manufacturer said in a forum posting that his employer has received orders from Apple to produce aluminium enclosures for new versions of its MacBook and MacBook Pro.

More fuel for the fire

Soon after the worker violated his non-disclosure agreement and posted information about the aluminium MacBooks, a promotional picture surfaced on the web showing the possible redesigns.

First published by MacRumors, the image shows aluminium MacBook and MacBook Pros featuring what looks like a substantially altered design.

Since the site first published the pictures, it has denied any claim that they are real and said that the legitimacy of the designs can be put into question considering how similar they look to current versions.

Apple has yet to comment on the leak, but look for much more on this as we get closer to the Worldwide Developer’s Conference this summer, where Steve Jobs is expected to announce updates to the company’s current product line.

Psystar under fire from all sides over OS X deal

Don Reisinger — 1208483484

Online payment processing company Powerpay told reporters on Thursday that it has removed Psystar from its client list after learning that the company is selling Mac OS X on its own brand of desktops.

Powerpay dropped Psystar on Wednesday after it discovered that the company had been violating its own terms of service, but the spokeswoman declined to comment on what violations occurred.

Psystar’s site went down on Wednesday after losing Powerpay’s support, before re-emerging with PayPal payment options later that night.

Did Powerpay ‘drop the ball’?

"Midday yesterday our store was not receiving any orders," Psystar wrote in a statement posted on its site. "This was due to the fact that our merchant gateway, Powerpay, dropped the ball on us and refused to process any more transactions from our company."

Powerpay chose not to respond to Psystar’s statement, but did say that it was unhappy with the company's description of what happened. According to the spokeswoman, Powerpay has "reasons" for no longer working with Psystar, and the firm’s decision to sell Mac OS X on its own brand of desktops is a problem.

Not happy with Psystar

"There are plenty of reasons why we shut the account off," Louisa Deluca told reporters. "We did not know that's what [the company] was selling; we learned that yesterday."

Apple has yet to comment on Psystar’s operation, but as confidence in the smaller company continues to erode, it needs to act quickly.

Psystar legitimacy questioned

1208430988

Amid the furore at a company having the audacity to build a PC that runs OS X, the likes of the Guardian and Gizmodo have asked some pressing questions about who Psystar – the company reportedly making the product – actually is.

Psystar, which has been quoted as saying it would fight any legal action from Apple about breaking the OS X, seems to have something of a laissez faire attitude to its address. The company jumped from destination to destination on Wednesday as people tried to track down its headquarters.

Legitimacy

As people sent in photos of the supposed locations and tales of bemusement from the current occupants, the questions began to be raised over the legitimacy of the site and its wares.

Although the company is registered and continues to protest its legitimacy, Apple’s silence, the mystery of the moving warehouse and the cynicism of the web audience has left one overriding conclusion.

Don’t rush in and buy anything from the company until the enigma unravels.

IBM's own staff prefer Macs to ThinkPads

Don Reisinger — 1208404315

In what can only be seen as an example of the business world's growing affinity for Mac OS X, a leaked report suggests IBM is currently investigating the possibility of moving many of its employees from Microsoft's Windows platform to Apple's popular OS.

According to documents obtained by Roughly Drafted, IBM initiated the first phase of its plan last October and ordered 24 MacBook Pros to be evaluated by its research team.

After spending four months with the computers, the researchers found that Apple's notebook offers many benefits, including fewer security issues and greater popularity in the academic world where IBM has close ties.

They like it! They really, really like it!

The documents also revealed that of the 24 people asked to test the MacBook Pro, 22 said it offered a "better or best experience" in comparrison to the ThinkPad notebooks currently being used at the company. Ironically, IBM used to make ThinkPads before it sold its PC division in 2005.

Perhaps most importantly, the report also said that only three of those asked to test Apple's notebook would rather use the ThinkPad as their office computer.

Due to the success of the first phase, IBM now plans to initiate the second and third phases and acquire 50 to 100 more Apple notebooks to be evaluated by its employees.

Apple and Sony in settlement over battery fire

Audley Jarvis — 1208363359

Apple and Sony have agreed to a joint financial settlement with a Japanese couple after the man was left burned when a Sony-made battery in his Apple laptop caught fire.

According to Japan's news agency, Kyodo News, Apple and Sony reached the settlement with the man and his wife on 2 April at the Osaka District Court. The amount being touted as the final settlement figure is 1.3 million yen (£6,500).

The case was originally brought before the courts in July 2007 after the battery caught fire and left the man with burnt fingers and a damaged carpet. The female plaintiff claimed she had been left in shock by the incident.

While Apple has admitted liability for the man’s injuries, it also claimed that the couple’s initial claim for compensation was excessive, forcing them to contest the case in court.

Sony, meanwhile, has refused to admit that there was any link between the fire and the battery.

In 2006, however, Sony was forced to recall some 9.6 million lithium-ion batteries following numerous similar reports of overheating and instability.