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Apple’s new operating system, Snow Leopard, hit stores last Friday. To encourage upgrading, Apple has slapped a super low $30 price tag on the upgrade.

But hold on Apple Fanboys. Snow Leopard isn't a major OS upgrade. Snow Leopard is mainly just a performance boost for Macs equipped with 64-bit Intel processors.

So what should you expect to find in Snow Leopard? Here are the 5 most important things you need to know about Mac OS X 10.6:

1. Performance Boost
2. Lighter - Less OS Bloat
   
3. Third-Party Software Compatibility Issues
   
4. Minor Interface Improvements
   
5. No PowerPC Support
   

Performance Boost
Snow Leopard was coded to take full advantage of the hardware in 64-bit Intel Macs. So all applications coded for 64-bit processors will be much faster.

Lighter
As operating systems add new features, they get bigger and bigger and take up more of your hard drive. But Snow Leopard is unlike most bloated OS upgrades. Snow Leopard will actually free up some space on year hard drive. We're read reports of users seeing anywhere from 2-7GBs of extra space after installing Snow Leopard.

Third-Party Software Compatibility Issues
One of the biggest drawbacks to Snow Leopard is the incompatibility of some third-party applications. If your livelihood depends on a third-party application, for example a cash register app, then you will want to wait to upgrade until the developer gives Snow Leopard the green light. Snow Leopard is still compatible with 32-bit applications, but Apple admits that some third party software will have issues.

Minor Interface Improvements
Apple made a few minor user interface and software improvements to SNow Leopard. For example, Expose was moved into the Dock, time stamps added to screenshots and QuickTime Player now has the playback controls from iTunes' full screen mode.

No PowerPC Mac Support
Still rocking an older Mac these days? If you own an older PowerPC Mac and have yet to upgrade sine Apple's switched to Intel, then Snow Leopard is not for you. Snow Leopard will only run on an Intel Mac equipped with at least 1GB of memory. You also need 5GB of free hard drive space and a DVD drive.

Final Thoughts
Snow Leopard isn't enough of an OS upgrade to knock your socks off, but the speed improvements alone are well worth the $30 price tag.

methodshop

Labels: apple, review, tech news

Unfortunately for us dog owners, our canine companions will probably get sprayed by a skunk at one point in their lives. Rural pets are much more likely to have a skunk encounter, but even city dogs who join you on weekend getaways or camping vacations might find themselves downwind from a skunk's anal scent glands. And dogs aren't alone in this stinky honor. Cats, pigs, horses and other domesticated pets have all been skunked before.

So what do you do after a pet gets sprayed by a skunk? Does tomato juice really work? Can over the counter products like Skunk Off save the day? Apparently I was about to find out.

Review: Skunk Off


methodshop

Labels: review

Do you feel like your iPhone or iPod needs more bass? Is your favorite Equalizer setting "Bass Boost?" Wish your headphones sounded as good as your home or car stereo system? Then maybe it's time you invested in an "atomic" pair of bass enhancing earphones.

Radius, a relatively new audio company based out of Nashville, Tennessee (USA), prides itself on using premium parts in their products to deliver premium performance.

Radius sent us over a pair of their Atomic Bass Earbuds to test out. Here's how it went...

Review: Radius Atomic Bass Earphones


methodshop

Labels: music, review

If you've ever played one of those photohunt video games in a bar before, then you'll love this picture. Here are two screen grabs from Microsoft's websites. The American version is on the left. Poland on the right. There's one major difference between the two photos. Do you see it yet?


larger view

Yep. The African American guy in the middle was swapped out for a Caucasian with a contorted neck. It's obviously a very sloppy Photoshop job. Not only are the shadows and light sources in the wrong places, but the guy's hand is still black. There are so many thing wrong with this picture. By the way the white laptop on the table isn't even a PC. It's a MacBook with the Apple logo airbrushed out.




UPDATE: Yesterday Microsoft issued a statement appolgizing for superimposing the image. "We apologize and are in the process of pulling down the image," Microsoft spokesperson Lou Gellos said in a statement. "We are looking into the details of this situation."


methodshop

Labels: pics, tech news

One of the top videos on YouTube today is a stop motion LEGO animation called 8-Bit Trip. The music video is a tribute to classic video games by the Swedish band Rymdreglage. According to the band, the video took LEGO artist Tomas Redigh 1500 hours to create. The song was written by Daniel Larsson.

Keep your eyes peeled for appearances by a plethora of 8-bit gaming icons like Pong, Mario, Tetris, Bubble Bobble and Pac-Man.


More LEGO related articles:

• World’s Tallest LEGO Tower [pic]
• 20 Classic Films Recreated in LEGO [pics]
• Man Quits Job to Make Lego Art
• Ultimate Collectors LEGO Millennium Falcon

methodshop

Labels: video

This Alabama (USA) mom was caught on video dragging her child through a Verizon Wireless store on a leash. Guess she didn't realize that most people in a cell phone store either A) already own a cell phone that can take pictures and video or B) just bought a cell phone that can take pictures and video.




Don't worry there's nothing wrong with your speakers. The clip doesn't have any audio.


methodshop

Labels: mobile, video

Look out below! It's raining babies... at least in some parts of India. It sounds crazy, but as you'll see in this CNN video, people actually throw babies off of rooftops because they believe it makes them stronger. Bystanders below then catch the baby with bedsheets.

Fly baby fly.

BTW - the baby in the photo on the right wasn't part of the rooftop tossing. It's just a picture we found on flickr.


methodshop

Labels: video

At one point in our lives, we've all had an angry girl/boyfriend experience. But chances are, you didn't immortalize that experience in a YouTube video. The video above chronologically takes you through all the emails sent by an angry girlfriend who forgot that her boyfriend was going to be in Europe for 2 weeks.

"During the Summer of 2007, I had the opportunity to backpack around Europe for 2 weeks. I talked about it often before I left. My girlfriend however, although great in many respects, was not the world's greatest listener. I left on Friday June 1st. Despite even calling her to say goodbye the night before, she never realized I left. When I arrived home 2 weeks later, I had several emails from her, waiting in my inbox..." - JD

The songs used in the video are (in order):

• Klint - "Diamond"
• Mirwais - "Disco Science"
• Wir Sind Helden - "Guten Tag"

"Angry Girlfriend" photo courtesy of Pixel Addict.


methodshop

Labels: video

After a recent 4-hour flight with 3 different types of earbuds jammed in, wrapped around and loosely falling out every time I shifted in my seat, it was time to invest in a good pair of nose canceling headphones.

I dropped $125 on a traditional pair of headphones 2 years ago and it was a big mistake. Lacking the portability and performance I wanted the head band finally broke a few weeks ago while I was struggling to get them wrapped up going through airport security. If you travel quite a bit, commute on the subway or train, and want the best sound quality to complement your iPod or iPhone it makes sense to spend a little extra and get a more complete package.

After researching several different brands and models I chose the JVC HA-NC250 for their style, performance, comfort, portability and value. According to CNET, "[they] make a great travel companion for those who demand quality sound. And they may not be cheap, but they seem that way next to the Bose QuietComfort 3."

Review: JVC HA-NC250 Noise Canceling Headphones


methodshop

Labels: gadgets, music, review

AppleJack is a user friendly troubleshooting assistant for Mac OS X. With AppleJack you can troubleshoot a computer even if you can't load the GUI, or don't have a startup CD handy. AppleJack runs in Single User Mode and is menu-based for ease of use.

Using AppleJack, you can repair your disk, repair permissions, validate the system's preference files, and get rid of possibly corrupted cache files. In most cases, these operations can help get your machine back on track. The important thing is that you don't need another startup disk with you. All you need to do is restart in Single User Mode (SUM), by holding down the command and s keys at startup, and then typing applejack, or applejack auto (which will run through all the tasks automatically), or applejack auto restart (which will also restart the computer automatically at the end of the process).

You can download AppleJack here: http://applejack.sourceforge.net/

methodshop

Labels: mac, software

Toshiba announced this week that they will begin producing Blu-ray DVD players. Toshiba had developed the HD-DVD high-definition DVD format and competed and conceded defeat in a format war with Sony's competing Blu-ray in 2008. Details will be made available later this year, but this move should give some much needed momentum to the Blu-ray format. Blu-ray is losing traction competing against online services like Netflix, which stream movies through the Internet directly to consumers.

You can read Toshiba's official news release here.


methodshop

Labels: tech news, video

MTV didn't renew the lease on its window studio overlooking Times Square in NYC.

MTV opened the space ~12 years ago for TRL, which helped launch the career of its host, Carson Daly.

MTV's lease runs through the end of 2009.

methodshop

Labels: music

What do the members of G.I. Joe and Cobra do for fun? Here's a 'music video' answer to that question from FunnyOrDie.com. Keep your eyes peeled for celebrities. The clip features an all-star cast including: Henry Rollins, Joey Kern, Alexis Bledel, Alan Tudyk, Billy Crudup, Chuck Liddell, Tony Hale, Laz Alonso, Julianne Moore, Olivia Wilde, Zach Galifianakis, Vinnie Jones and even Sgt Slaughter.

The new G.I. Joe movie, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, opened in theaters on August 7th (USA).


methodshop

Labels: movies, video

How NOT to wash your car. See spotless! Also, roofless thanks to the Liebherr R 9800 mining excavator. With a 42 m³ bucket capacity, the R 9800 is the perfect loader for mining trucks as well as roof removing car washes [video]!

methodshop

Labels: video

Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park hosted a few "Star Wars Weekends" this summer. The weekends consisted of presentations, memorabilia and apparently a "dance off" with Chewbacca, Storm Troopers, Darth Vader and even a chorus line of Sand People.

What's wilder than a Star Wars Dance Off? How about a Star Wars Dance Off freestyle finale? There's something so wrong watching Princess Amidala grind Darth Vader [video].

methodshop

Labels: movies, video

Ok, so you have a stereo mix of your music that that needs a little EQ, a good fade out, and some volume so it's louder on the web. Or, you have a bad recording of dialog for your film that you want to compress and remove some noise from. Maybe you have some drum loops you need to cut up and add underneath the dialog in your new podcast.

Whether you're a musician, composer, sound designer, audio editor, podcast/multimedia producer, or mastering engineer, you will find Peak Pro feature rich, yet flexible and friendly. It is industry-renowned for sonic quality and precision.

Designed specifically for recording, processing, editing and mastering audio on the Mac platform, Peak Pro 6 is a major update from Peak 5. The newest version builds upon its predecessor and includes many new developments that offer more creative potential than ever before.

Full Review: Bias Peak Pro 6


methodshop

Labels: music, review, software

Here we go again. The Internets are buzzing with Apple Tablet and MacBook Touch announcement rumors. Could the rumors finally be true?

According to an article in the Financial Times, Apple's long rumored tablet is reportedly going to be announced as early as September and in stores in time for Christmas.



The Financial Times is quoting people 'close' to the tablet project who say the device would have the same capabilities as an iPod Touch but with a bigger screen. A larger screen could make the rumored device a competitor with the popular Netbook market as well as Amazon's electronic book reader, the Kindle.

Analysts estimate that the gadget would sell between $600 and $1,000. Anything over $500 could make it difficult to compete with the Netbook market. Also, the Apple device must have a keyboard (unlike the iPhone) in order for it to be a viable alternative to similarly priced Netbooks, like the HP Mini.

Will we really see an Apple tablet in time for Christmas? Cross your fingers, but stay skeptical. MethodShop.com has been tracking the Apple tablet rumors since 2006. Here's a time line of our reports:

• iTunes Digital Album Covers and MacBook Tablet Rumors (July 2009)
  http://www.methodshop.com/2009/07/itunes-digital-album-covers.shtml
  
  
• Rumor: $800 Apple Tablet Due in October (July 2009)
  http://www.methodshop.com/2009/07/apple-tablet-rumor.shtml
  
  
• Apple Plans MacBook Event as $800 Laptop Rumors Clog the Blogosphere (Oct 2008)
  http://www.methodshop.com/2008/10/apple-notebook-event.shtml
  
  
• Rumor: MacBook Touch Coming in October (July 2008)
  http://www.methodshop.com/2008/07/macbook-touch.shtml
  
  
• What's Apple's Big Surprise? A Tablet? (Feb 2006)
  http://www.methodshop.com/2006/02/what-is-apples-big-surprise.shtml
  
  
• Touch Sensitive Apple Patent Pictures (Feb 2006)
  http://www.methodshop.com/2006/02/touch-sensitive-ipod-patent-pictures.shtml
  

methodshop

Labels: apple, gadgets, tech news

If you grew up in the 1980's, then you probably remember a movie called BMX Bandits. And because the film was Nicole Kidman's first major role, it continues to get a little more extra attention that other BMX movies like RAD.

Over 25 years later, the 1983 movie is still a cult favorite. BMX Bandits was recently re-released on DVD and continues to completely sell out on Amazon.com.

Movie Review: BMX Bandits


methodshop

Labels: review, video