Macworld Expo: Apple iPhone has Arm inside Apple is looking for engineers with Arm processor experience to work on the iPhone Robert McMillan What processor will the iPhone use? That's one of the great unanswered questions left in the wake of Apple Inc's launch of the iPhone this week, but a job ad on Apple's website may hint at the answer. The open position is a networking engineer to work on the iPhone and as the ad makes clear, Apple is looking for someone who knows the Mac OS and embedded platforms, and Arm processors in particular. An Arm chip would be the logical component for a device like the iPhone. Arm is already the dominant provider of smartphone application processors, because its chips are powerful enough to meet the computing needs of these products, while at the same time requiring little power — a critical component to keeping the phones running between charges. If the iPhone's brain is Arm-based it will represent a new direction for Mac OS X operating system, which will power the device. To date Mac OS has been ported to Intel's x86 processors and IBM's PowerPC, but Arm would represent a third platform for Apple's operating system. On the other hand, it is possible that Intel or IBM could develop new processors that would meet the iPhone's requirements, saving Apple from doing the porting work to make the OS run on the new platform, said Peter Glaskowsky, technical analyst with the Envisioneering Group. "To me the number-one unresolved question about the iPhone is: does it use an Arm with a port, or does it use some new PowerPC or x86 chip?" he said. Glaskowsky said that even if Apple is looking for Arm skills, that doesn't necessarily mean that Arm will be powering the iPhone's operating system. "I wouldn't read too much into that," he said of the ad. "If you think about most modern smart phones, it's very common for them to have four processors in the device. Apple could be using an Arm chip to do something like voice compression or to simply process wireless networking signals (Apple's ad is for a "Bluetooth/WiFi" software engineer). "It may have nothing to do with what's running Mac OS on there," Glaskowsky said.

				The ARM design was started in 1983 as a development project at Acorn Computers Ltd.

				Macworld Expo: iPhone sends RIM, Palm, handset maker shares into decline Apple and its partners make gain on trade, while Palm, RIM and others see decline. Jonny Evans Apple's stock is trading up 8.31 per cent this morning, up $7.10 to trade at $92.57 per share. The stock took instant momentum on the company's launch of the iPhone during Apple CEO Steve Jobs' keynote speech last night. Traders are excited at the potential of the sophisticated, powerful new device, though some concerns remain, chiefly battery life, durability, and with which operators Apple plans to work when it introduces the device outside the US. Despite Apple's good news, others on Wall Street saw their stock take a dive: Research In Motion (makers of the Blackberry), Palm, Nokia and other handset manufacturers all felt their stock take a hit. Investors are concerned if these firms can compete with Apple's new device. Palm shares hit a nose dive immediately following the keynote, falling from $14.75 at midday yesterday to $13.92 at time of writing. Research In Motion (RIM) shares took a harder hit: shares stood at $131 at market close, down 7.8 per cent. Nokia, Samsung, LG Electronics and other handset makers also saw shares impacted by news that Apple plans a foray into their markets. Investors are concerned if these firms have the technoogical ability to respond in kind to the latest Apple product. "It's certainly going to put pressure on people like Nokia and RIM to innovate and try to create a similar product,” said Brian Sharwood, a Toronto-based analyst at the SeaBoard Group. However, handset component makers, flash memory manufacturers and Apple's own product partners all felt an uptick as a result of Apple's iPhone call. Chief Far East beneficiaries will most likely include: Hon Hai, Catcher, Largan, TXC, Foxconn Tech, Unimicron, and Nanya, according to Goldman Sachs. In the UK, Scottish firm Wolfson Microelectronics, which makes some components for Apple, saw its shares climb 3.4 per cent on trades this morning. Intel also climbed, following Apple's confirmation that the iPhone uses an Intel processor. Apple and its partners are seeing share gains this morning against a general business background of losses on trade.

				Mac Tablet! MacWorld San Francisco, CA - Following Steve Jobs’ announcement of the AppleTV and iPhone from the Macworld Conference and Expo in San Francisco January 9, Other World Computing and strategic-partner Axiotron™ drew a record-setting crowd at the OWC booth for the public unveiling of the ModBook™, the first ever Mac OS® X tablet computer solution. “Macworld is known for being the stage for the very best Mac technology advances. Other World Computing is excited by the response to our Axiotron ModBook announcement and unveiling at the show,” said Larry O’Connor, CEO of Other World Computing. “The long awaited Tablet Mac solution is here – and exclusively from Other World Computing.” The Axiotron ModBook is an after-market hardware modification solution of the Apple® MacBook™ notebook computer, adding true pen input, a new 13.3" wide screen LCD and an optional Global Positioning System in a tough, satin-finish, chrome-plated magnesium top shell, while keeping all the powerful features of the MacBook base system. With the award winning Mac OS™ X and its built-in Inkwell handwriting recognition, up to 2GHz fast Intel Core 2 Duo processors, the integrated iSight™ camera and the CD/DVD combo drive, the slate-style Axiotron ModBook is the ultimate companion for applications and situations where a keyboard only gets in the way.

				Where's iLife and iWork 07? Sources also reported in the days leading up to Macworld Expo that development of iLife '07 and iWork '07 had fallen behind schedule on account of the extensive new features planned for both software suites, and that a release of date around March seems likely

				Mac Office out June! Microsoft plans to make a new version of Microsoft Office for Mac available in the second half of this year. Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac will be available in Universal binaries — optimised to work on both Power PC- and Intel-powered Macs. Mac-only features include a publishing layout view in Word, Excel-based ledger sheets for common financial management tasks, and My Day – a separate stand-alone application that offers a task list manager for at-a-glance schedule and task viewing. “For more than two decades, Microsoft has been committed to delivering quality and innovation on the Macintosh platform while retaining unparalleled compatibility with PCs,” said Roz Ho, general manager of the Mac BU at Microsoft. “Office 2008 is, by far, the most comprehensive, Mac-complementary productivity suite we’ve developed to date. I’ve witnessed firsthand the progression of this product, and am excited to think about the possibilities that soon will be available to our customers when Office 2008 launches later this year.” Office 2008 for Mac utilises the new graphics engine in Office for Windows, taking Clip Art to new levels with Office Art 2.0. The update will also offer an improved user interface with an Elements Gallery offering quick access to tools. One new tool is Document Parts, which automates some of the most common tasks such as adding a table, or headers and footers. Like the 2007 Office for Windows release, Office 2008 for Mac will use the recently approved Office Open XML Formats. Currently Mac users cannot read and write Office 2007 documents because currently Office for Mac doesn’t support the format. Microsoft has promised that in spring 2007, it will release a public beta of the file format converters for Office 2004 for Mac, so users can read and write the new Office Open XML Formats.

				Airport Extreme with 802.11n. UK £119.00 out in February What does this mean? Over the Air Estimates b is 11mbps g is 54mbps n is 200mpbs Media Access Control Layer, Service Access Point (MAC SAP) Estimates b is 5mbps g is 25mbps n is 100mbps Compatible systems are: - iMac with Intel Core 2 Duo processors (excluding the 17-inch, 1.83GHz iMac) - MacBook with Intel Core 2 Duo - MacBook Pro with Intel Core 2 Duo - Mac Pro with AirPort Extreme card option

				Apple TV is £199 - our in February     •    Mac + PC     •    Wi-Fi 802.11 wireless*     •    40GB hard drive for up to 50 hours video     •    Apple Remote *Based on an IEEE 802.11n draft specification.

				Some trick widgets from Joseph Hiya will! Three more brilliant widgets for you! They're all available from this site (along with two not so useful widgets unless you're american!) - http://www.interdimensionmedia.com/widgets/ The festive lights, despite the fact that I'm a bit of a scrooge, are very nice, as is  the mini itunes (so much nicer than apple's default itunes widget. The best of them however is Abracadabra - a brilliant idea, and done so well (I keep trying to think of things I don't want found though - that's the only problem with it! Have a great week! I get to go home this Friday when uni breaks - yey! Joseph

				Abracadabra Version: 1.1 Release Date: October 9, 2006 Minimum Requirements: Mac OSX 10.4 Tiger Package Type: Universal Magic Mac - keep a few tricks up your sleeve. Files and folders dropped into the magic hat instantly disappear from the Finder. More amazing, these files escape even the powerful search technology of Spotlight, preventing someone from seeing or searching for those files you just don't want found. Not to worry though, say the magic (pass)word and you can pull any file you've hidden from the hat simply by selecting it from the popup menu on the back. You may password protect this menu, so that not even the names of these files are visible to those who desire to learn your secrets. To use Abracadabra, click and drag a file or folder from the Finder. Then, before releasing the mouse, activate Dashboard using either the hotkey (F12, by default) or a hot-corner. The files will remain in your hands once in Dashboard so you can drop them into the hat. Please note that this widget merely hides your files from all but the most savvy computer users. However, it does not intend nor guarantee to prevent compromise of your files from other security concerns. For true protection of sensetive data, please look into the File Vault software supplied by Apple and builtin to Mac OSX Tiger. This widget is provided "as is", and Interdimension Media assumes no responsibility for permanent loss of files or folders resulting from its use.*

				To quote  Naguib Mahfouz "“You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.”, the question you ask is "how can I make my Mac talk?" Open terminal and type "say", anything typed after that will be spoken by your Mac after you press the enter key. Wonderful!

				Mike Bradbrook's Charity Appeal I will be joining the BT Charity Trek 2007 to Lesotho in April next year, and I hope you can help me raise funds to support this cause. This is a major part of BT’s Corporate Social Responsibility plans, and supporting BT’s nominated Charity, Childline. I have teamed up with www.easyfundraising.org.uk who provide a service where you can help raise funds for the Lesotho Charity Trek and Childline and also save money when you shop online.  This site offers access to over 150 of the UK's biggest and best-known retailers - but with a difference. Simply use the links provided on their website when you shop online and up to 15% of your purchase price will be donated back to Childline, FREE of charge. It doesn't cost you anything extra to shop and sponsor me in this way and there are lots of popular retailers participating including; DELL, Amazon, HMV, Virgin, Dixons, Comet, PLAY.COM, Choices Direct, Esure, The AA, Direct Line, M&S, and Churchill amongst many others.  There are even some Free offers, which will lead to donations, just for registering with websites such as e-bay, Blockbuster and Photobox. As well as raising funds you can also make personal savings. Many retailers give special offers and "not-available-in-store" discounts when you shop online - some of which are exclusive to easyfundraising members. All you need to do is visit and register, http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/using_this_site/ selecting Lesotho Charity Trek as the organisation you wish to support (registration is FREE). Thanks for your help and support on this. Tony Greenwood

				Ben's Website Hi Will, Ben here again. Don't know if you're interested or not, but over on my new website I've just posted something of a review for British Mac in my Podcast of the Week feature. You can check it out here: http://www.benjaminwillcock.com/home.html and heading into the Week in Review section. Cheers, Ben

				Zac's Mac Madness Hi, I am the owner and main admin of Mac Madness (http://www.macmadness.co.uk) and I have been listening tto your podcasts for the last couple of hours (They are really good). I would greatly appreciate it if you had a look at my site, maybe even join my forum, and tell me what you think of my site. I am quite jealous of you and your site, as I am hoping to do a podcast on my site aswell, maybe we could even do one together. Looking forward to hearing from you Zac http://www.macmadness.co.uk

				Oliver - Hit Counter HI all I have just created a website using iWeb but don't want to use the standard hit counter within iWeb as I am not using .mac (Im uploading it to another host etc) So what I want is another hit counter - Does anyone know when I can get one???? Thanks Oliver Essex

				Hey Will, Hope you had a fab and groovy Christmas. Got a question for you fella and I'm hoping either your good self or one of your helpers can offer me some advice.... I've been hearing about the next generation of WI-FI routers, 802.11n, that should be in the shops early 2007, and I'm looking for advice on whether I should up-grade to one of them or stick with what I've got. I'm running a 'Linksys WAG354-G wireless -G' which is connected to my iMac (Intel 2 GHz) via ethernet. I've also a Dell desktop which as a Linksys wireless card fitted, a Nintendo DS Lite and a Apple Power Book which all connect to the router wirelessly.. sometimes all at the same time! My broadband supplier is 'Orange' which is free and I'm on their 2 Meg. I know there will be a point where the broadband speed will be the bottle neck eventually, and I will up-grade to a higher speed at some point, but until then i want to be sure I'm able to transfer files between my hardware at the fastest possible speed and be 'future-safe' with a new router (o.k., future safe for the next few years at least maybe). On another sort of related subject... I've been using iChat to video chat with a mate. the picture I see of him on my Mac is sweet.. clear and sharp. But, the picture he sees of me he says is a little degraded. Is this to do with my 'up-load' speed? And will a new router help out here to, or is it a case of my broadband supplier being a bit crap?! Anyways, hope you can sort me out, and keep up the totally ace work on the podcast. All the best, Rob Tomlin (manchester)

				Dave in Oz 18

				The British Mac Annual out now priced £4.95 Send Paypal payment to britishmac@mac.com

				Richard Gilbert Emery (Bloomsbury February 19, 1917 – Denmark Hill January 2, 1983) was an English comedian and actor, particularly popular during the 1960s and 1970s. He began his career as a sidekick to comedians such as Tony Hancock, and had a regular role in the sitcom, The Army Game on ITV. Emery's weekly BBC show, which ran irregularly from 1963 to 1979, consisted of sketches which mostly involved his dressing up as various characters. His characters included a vicar with large teeth, spinster Hettie, Clarence and a bovver boy (Roy Kinnear played his father but is 19 years younger than Dick Emery). The best-known were hapless pensioner "James Maynard Kitchener Lampwick" and "Mandy", a voracious blonde whose catchphrase was "Ooh, you are awful ... but I like you!" - which became the title of Emery's own British Lion theatrical release (in which Emery displayed the same penchant for characterisation, both male and female). Emery also appeared in several films, such as The Fast Lady (1962), Ooh… You Are Awful (1972), and was a voice actor on the animated Beatles movie Yellow Submarine.