2 new conflicting iPhone reports support “multiple iPhone models” rumor

What are your thoughts? Will Apple create multiple iPhones tailored for different users, just as they have for the iPod and MacBook lines?

more and info via Maceinstein

Tips: How to “forward delete” on a MacBook

by Dr. Macenstein

OK, those of you who have had Mac portables forever can just shut up right now. In fact, I am considering disabling comments to keep you’re smug asses from typing “duh”, and “why not tell us where the ‘power’ key is?” – so be kind.

As someone who has been raised solely on desktop Macs, my move last November to the MacBook was a bold step I knew would be full of compromises. One of the first and most notable of which was the reduced function of the MacBook’s keyboard. Obviously due to size constraints, certain keys I was used to using in my full-sized keyboard days understandably did not make the transition to the MacBook, and the most annoying of which (to me at least) was the “forward delete” key. Well, at the great risk of admitting I did not know something fairly basic, and in the hopes that one day a new Mac user may Google the words “Forward Delete MacBook”, I am offering this tip, which I only just now discovered while reviewing the fairly excellent Mac Pilot.

Hold down the “function” key (fn) and while pressing the “backspace” key, and you will have regained the “missing” forward delete functionality that has been the bane of my journalistic existence for nearly 6 months now. I hope you find this tip useful enough to warrant the huge loss of Mac street cred I have opened myself up to.

via Maceinstein

“Transport” moves your Time Capsule backup off-site

Time Capsule combined with Time Machine is a great way to backup your files, but a horrible way to protect them in cases of fire or theft. Odds are, any natural disaster that takes down your computer will likely destroy a Time Capsule sitting a couple feet from it, and odds are if someone breaks into your house to steal your expensive computer, they’ll grab the Time Capsule as well.

Macminicolo, the company that currently offers off-site Mac mini and Xserve hosting, has come up with the solution to this backup problem with their new Transport service. Basically, you buy a Time Capsule from them (or send in your own Time Capsule), and they store your Time Machine backup securely off-site in Sin City, Las Vegas. And as we all know, data that is sent to Vegas STAYS in Vegas, right?

The service sounds pretty cool, actually, as the hosted Time Capsule appears and functions as if it were connected to your machine locally. All Time Capsule’s features remain intact, so you can set up multiple users, password protect the data, etc, and you use the AirPort admin to set it up.

So, how much does all this peace of mind cost? Prices start at $29/month for 50 GB of bandwidth per month, and go up depending on options (that doesn’t include the $299 or $499 cost of the Time Capsule, of course). Of course, Macminicolo realizes your first Time Machine backup session alone might exceed 50 GB, so during the first month of service they give you 300 GB of bandwidth to do your initial Time Capsule backup/sync.

So, is it worth it? That all depends on what you are storing on your Mac. Personally the most important things on my computer are my digital photos, and I already have a “low tech” off-site storage plan in effect (I burn DVDs of all my photos and keep them at my office). While it would suck to loose everything else on my computer, the photos are the big thing that I would never forgive myself for losing, and more importantly, my WIFE would never forgive me for losing (or let me hear the end of). So for married men with kids, a wife, and a ton of digital photos, odds are it’s a small price to pay.

via Maceinstein

My MacBook Cable Replacement Tip at Kevin Kelly's Cool Tools

After years of wanting to, I finally submitted a Cool Tools entry, and my friend Steve Leckart edited it for me. It's about using a spare Playstation cable, which one of the smart readers at KK.org recognized as a IEC C7 cord, instead of the nub or grounded garden hose that comes with a Mac Laptop.
Why? My reasons for doing it are over at

[Cool Tools]

Apple to Sell Movies on DVD Release Day, Confirmed

It's confirmed. Apple will release all new movies from 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Lionsgate, Image Entertainment and First Look Studios on the same day as their DVD release, for $14.99. Full press release after the jump.

• More via Gizmodo »

AT&T WiFi hotspots free to iPhone owners, anyone with a brain

by Joshua TopolskNow that AT&T has full control of wireless hotspots like Starbucks and Barnes and Nobles, it looks like they're doling out freebies to their favorite customers: iPhone users. Apparently, if you've got one of Apple's devices, you can hop on the WiFi networks for exactly zero dollars provided you enter your phone number at a login screen. Great for iPhone owners, but a raw deal for everyone else, right? Not so fast, apparently a dumb hack gets you the service on the house too -- just switch your browser's user agent to Mobile Safari, and presto! Free internet. We can't imagine this is a hole that won't get plugged real fast, so get it while the gettin's good.

[Via TUAW]

• Read - AT&T Providing Free Wi-Fi Access to iPhone Users
• Read - Hotspot hack

iPhone on the farm

Yeah, we too are hoping that these overseas impostors will have to start changing up their game if they still want to ape the iPhone in just a few months, but as it stands, the Toggolino Phone actually does a fantastic job of shaming itself. Apparently this handset, er, device comes packaged with some form of German kit meant to teach kinder a few things about words, animals and the equitable distribution of wealth throughout social classes. Okay, so maybe that last bit isn't in there, but seriously, those animal apps look way more interesting than stocks, weather and company email.

Read

• via Engadget