Xara Acquired by MAGIX AG

Xara has announced that it has been acquired by German company, MAGIX AG who hold the leading market position for the distribution of consumer photo, music and video software in Germany and various other European countries, as well as being one of the leading market players in the USA.

This acquisition should be both interesting and good news for Xara and its customers. The financial resources that the acquistion will make available to Xara alongside the distribution network that MAGIX has, will add to Xara's market presence.

Xara will trade as a subsidiary of MAGIX under the existing management. It will continue to develop the Xara products such as the highly successful Xara Xtreme, to be marketed under both Xara and MAGIX brands.

Apple Announce iPhone & More

It's been a busy day for many bloggers at CES ... I guess there are a lot of excited tech heads in Vegas, however in San Francisco, Steve Jobs finally released details about the new iPhone and a whole bunch of other kit. I have to admit, the new iPhone is a sexy looking piece of kit. It appears that they have done their usual job of creating a product which will create a great deal of interest. The new device uses a technology called multi-touch, which allows users to work the interface without a stylus, using finger gestures for enhanced functionality.


The iPhone is also a Widescreen iPod, with touch controls that let the user browse and use their music and media by easily scrolling through entire lists of songs, artists, albums and playlists with the flick of a finger. The included Cover Flow app looks great, on the demos I've seen on their website and in the Footnote Speech.



It also features a version of OS X, designed by Apple for the iPhone and can sync data from a PC or Mac, enabling users to call contacts in their address books by simply touching their names.

Other features include:
Edge transfer technology.
Bluetooth 2.0 (I wonder if this has A2DP support).
802.11b/g Wi-Fi.
A 2 megapixel camera.
Proximity sensor for using the phone near your ear.
Ambient light sensor which adjusts the illumination for use under different lighting conditions.
An Accellerometer which detects and adapts the display based upon the units orientation.
Safari based web browser.
A rich email client, Google Maps Support and Widgets.

I must congratulate Apple on what they're achieved in the iPhone, it does indeed look great. However, Apple have erred in providing no support for 3G and again the ridiculous oversight of not facilitating the use of interchangeable batteries. So what happens if my battery fails ... do I really have to send the iPhone to a service centre? Come on guys get your act together and follow the lead of other manufacturers with this one capability at least. Even so, I will probably get one...

Pricing & Availability
iPhone will be available in the US in June 2007, Europe in late 2007, and Asia in 2008, in a 4GB model for US$499 and an 8GB model for US$599, and will work with either a PC or Mac.


Other Apple News
iTunes hits 2 billion song Mark, 50 million TV shows, Paramount adds its movies to iTunes. AppleTV explained in depth. Apple Computer, Inc. becomes Apple Inc. Visit Apple to watch the Keynote Address.

Microsoft Announce Vista UK Pricing

Microsoft has confirmed the estimated retail prices for the UK consumer versions of Windows Vista. The UK prices for Windows Vista, which goes on general sale at the end of January 2007, are substantially higher than those in the US. Home PC users in the UK are going to pay anything between 50 per cent and 80 per cent more for the new operating system than those living in the US. I can see most people waiting till they have to get a new PC in light of this.

Vista has been available for the business market since November 2006, but there has been a slow uptake by the business market thus far, however I'm not surprised given the price.

Full Versions
Windows Vista Home Basic US$199 $259CDN £179.99
Windows Vista Home Premium US$239 $299CDN £219.99
Windows Vista Business US$299 $379CDN £289.99
Windows Vista Ultimate US$399 $499CDN £369.99

Upgrade Versions
Windows Vista Home Basic Upgrade US$99 $129CDN £99.99
Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade US$159 $199CDN £149.99
Windows Vista Business Upgrade US$199 $249CDN £189.99
Windows Vista Ultimate Upgrade US$259 $299CDN £249.99

Microsoft are overpricing their products for the UK, and to be honest I can't see many people accepting the excuse that pricing is based on any market or real world expenses. I, for one, am waiting to see just exactly how well received the new version is, before I begin to make any decisions.

Lifeboat Data Rescue is now Selkie Data Rescue?

We only promote the stuff we really like. The Lifeboat Data Rescue software from Tugboat Enterprises has just been renamed Selkie Data Rescue. When we reviewed the program in 2006 we found it to be a unique data recovery and file recovery solution in situations where Windows had failed or refused to boot but the computer was actually working just fine. Being able to rescue or recover your files and data in such a situation is often the solution to a genuine emergency. We found that creating the Selkie Data Rescue boot disk was simple and the file recovery process was even easier using Selkie's built in secure file copy tool. As we said in our original Lifeboat/Selkie Data Rescue review, if you don't have this excellent data and file recovery software sitting on a CD next to your home or business PC, then you probably aren't fully equipped to deal with Windows problems. Visit the product web site for the latest information about Selkie Data Rescue. You'll also find lots of information about how file recovery and data recovery software works.