After Google announced that they were entering the Browser Wars we discussed the lack of capability to run their new Chrome Browser in OS X despite the fact that Chrome was build on Webkit, the same engine used in Apple’s Safari.

A few days later we found that Google was allowing individuals the capability to try and compile the latest Mac and Linux builds of Chrome. Unfortunately it was a more difficult process and few people were successful in actually getting the build to launch.

Now, Codeweavers is giving all Mac users the ability to play with Google’s new Chrome browser through their Wine technologies. Crossover Chromium takes the Google Chrome browser for windows and combines it with wine libraries to give Mac users the ability to launch and browse the web with Google Chrome.

The most interesting aspect of this is that Crossover does not need to be previously installed on oyur Mac to run the browser. Download Crossover Chromium from the Codeweavers website and launch the installer. It will take some time on the initial setup configuring the wine libraries for Google Chrome but will launch the browser to give Mac users the Google Chrome experience.

Although it won’t display as Google’s Chrome in the menu bar, the Crossover Chromium will look, act, and perform in OS X almost identically the way that the browser does on windows systems.

While the visual effects mimic that of Windows, we expect the official Google Chrome release to look more like Safari.

Apple updated Leopard to version 10.5.5 today which includes a number of General updates, updates to Address Book, Disk Utility, iCal, Mail, MobileMe, and Time Machine. The updates also should improve security on your Apple Computers.

Some of the highlighted improvements include:

1. Improved Spotlight Indexing Performance
2. iPhone and iCal Address Book Sync Capabilities
3. Extensive Graphics Enhancements
4. Mail sending robustness
5. Time Machine incorrect “not enough space” messages

For additional details and a complete list of updates view the Apple release notes.

Check for system updates to get the 10.5.5 version.

It appears that a number of users, myself included, were surprised to find that upgraded to iTunes 8.0 and then their iPod Touch to version 2.1 resulted in an unknown error (13213) and the delightful information that your ipod cannot be synced.

This message seems to continue to pop up randomly while your iPod Touch is connected even when no syncing of data was being conducted.

Luckily enough on the Apple Forums, a kind individual seems to provide the unique combination of steps to get iPod Touch 2.1 and iTunes 8.0 to play nicely together.

To restore syncing capabilities to your iPod Touch after a 2.1 upgrade:

1. Unplug your iPod Touch and turn it off. Hold the power button at the top until the red slider appears and power it down completely.
2. Quit iTunes 8
3. Relaunch iTunes 8
4. Plug in Touch - DO NOT TURN IT ON FIRST. Make sure it’s still off completely from step 1.
5. Should sync normally

Following this steps worked for me, although I must admit that I tried the “Restore iPod” approach first and that failed to work on its own.

I imagine Apple will release a fix shortly, but in the mean time, follow the steps above to restore syncing capabilities to your iPod Touch and be done with the annoying 13213 error.

If you haven’t purchased an iPhone 3G yet, you can now do so at your local Best Buy.  Best Buy became the 3rd retail location (Apple Store, At&t Locations, and  now Best Buy) to be an authorized reseller of Apple’s iPhone.

Best Buy has received its initial stock and the iPhone is available for sale.  Again, like all other retail locations, individual buyers will need to sign a 2 year contract with At&t to purchase the phone.  

The electronic retail giant has all three models of the iPhone (8gb Black, 16gb White, 16gb Black) but purchases must be made in store.  

Picking up your iPhone from Best Buy makes sense for you Best Buy Reward Zone members as you’ll get points for your purchase.

Earlier this week, Apple sent out invitations for a Special event they’ll hold on September 9th. The event has been titled “Let’s Rock” and seems to be focused around updates to the iPod line and iTunes software. Rumors started even before the event was officially announced about what Apple may announce at the media event.

iPod Model Updates

It seems now clear that Apple is going to once again make a change to the physical model of the iPod nano. The boxy square model seems to be cut and will be replaced by a taller “wider screen” model. Initial pictures of the device everyone expects to see was displayed on the webiste of Kevin Rose, found of digg.com.

Shortly following the announcement by Kevin Rose, other sites began to come forward with information that makes the modification claims to the iPod nano model seem valid. Ilounge.com claims to have the dimensional blueprint of the new iPod nano and modified iPod Touch that many expect to be announced on Sept 9th.

While holding a media event to just announce modifications in dimension and size of the the iPod lineup seems a bit over board, it does appear that iTunes will also be upgraded to version 8.0

iTunes 8.0

Many of the Apple Rumor enthusiasts, Kevin Rose included, also claim that iTunes will receive a major upgrade to an 8.0 version. Many expect to see a new feature that will select music from your iTunes library that goes best together, and of course, make recommendations of songs you don’t own that fit perfectly with those you do own. It seems like they’ve found a way to capitalize on the Music you may like ideas of internet radio last.fm.

Other iTunes 8.0 new features may include new User Interfaces such as grid view, HD quality TV shows, and a new music visualizer. It would be great if iTunes 8.0 included a way to sync over a Wifi network or through bluetooth so we didn’t need to plug our iPod Touches and new iPod Nanos into our machines to get updates.

Lets hope that the iTunes updates includes more DRM free music from the Apple Store. Others are hoping for a subscription service, but I still don’t see the benefit of paying to use something I really want to “own”.

One More Thing?

It has been a while since we’ve heard the phrase “One more thing” from an Apple product presentation, and now may be the perfect time. While I imagine that the iPod announcement will include major price reductions, I really hope for a new product from Apple. They mentioned in previous earning calls that they had a number of new unique products to offer this year and announcing a relase of such a product in time for distribution during the Holiday season makes sense.

Patent followers have reported on a number of Tablet based technologies patented by Apple recently, as well as desktop and laptop ideas that include camera views of your hand gestures on a computer.

It would be very interesting and exciting news if apple had a product ready to take advantage of some of these patents.  What do you think Apple will announce next week?