SFist Tech Roundup: Zeptointerest

The Mystifying Mac Mini Mystery
Centinterest (10^-2)

Mac enthusiast site ThinkSecret revealed this week that Apple is releasing some of its Mac minis with an unannounced upgrade. The new units have faster processors, more video memory (although they're still unable to support all of the new graphics functionality of Tiger), and other enhancements. As news.com's take on the story points out, Apple already made a formal upgrade to the mini line this year, and the newer even more double-dog upgraded machines are being released with no indication of their improved capabilities.

We in the labs were disappointed with the initial version of the Mac mini. The mini had only been out a short time before the release of the Tiger OS upgrade, and like many other Apple devotees, we bought a machine expecting it to be able to run the new OS effectively. But performance was horrible until we added a gigabyte of memory to the thing, voiding our warranty and making us wonder why Apple would release a machine that wasn't powerful enough to run its new OS. So we look on Apple's changes to the mini not as genuine upgrades, but simply as necessary revisions to get the line up to speed.

Taking that into account, plus the fact that a lot of users are wary of buying a Mac at this point, knowing about the imminent switch to Intel, it's not all that surprising that Apple wouldn't make a big deal about its latest revisions. When you've got a lot of stock that people are already assuming is going to be obsolete next year, you don't want to draw attention to the fact that some of that stock is already obsolete. And for the record, we in the labs don't feel that the latest revision is enough of a big deal for users to be upset at buying one of the "lesser" configurations.

Google's New Offices
Attointerest (10^-18)

As part of their commitment to running a story about Google every day, news.com are predicting dire consequences from the company's plans to build a new campus near Mountain View. Being scientists, not occultists, we can't comment on the validity of the Silicon Valley New-Office Curse. We can only say that until recently, we worked at one of those big campuses in the South Bay, and it was really very nice overall, although we were sometimes troubled by the sight of the giant flaming eye hanging over the nearby Oracle buildings.

CTIA: Electronic Arts Pledges Xtreme Mobility
Femtointerest (10^-15)

There haven't been any bombshells released from the CTIA conference as of yet, just already-leaked news about the new Treo, dimly-lit photos of other phones that we've already heard about, and the reminder that this year is "all about content."

Part of that content is going to be coming from Electronic Arts, who announced seven new releases for mobile phones. That's a standard press release from EA, a company that already ports its titles to every platform imaginable, so the announcement itself isn't a bombshell. But it is another sign that the large game publishers are pledging commitment to mobile as a platform. We're sure it'll be a while before these "ports" are anything more than casual games that share nothing with the original except their titles, but until then, you can always play Squelchies.

NOOOO...buffering...OOOOOOO!
Microinterest (10^-6)

SFGate is reporting that local filmmaker George Lucas can once again rest at ease now that the people who (allegedly) put Revenge of the Sith on the internets before its release are being brought to justice. The bastards responsible for this heinous crime will soon discover that prison beds aren't soft and comfortable, but coarse, rough, and irritating. Like sand.

The case is relatively straightforward, but is high-profile enough to draw the attention of anyone interested in uploading stuff they don't own to the internet.

iPod nano Defects
Nanointerest (10^-9)

Apple's replacing the defective units, for free this time. We suspect that most of those complaining about the screens are just cranky because they've been sleeping with the nano under their mattress and it's kept them awake at night. See, because it's really small. Like a pea.