April 05, 2006, 5:46 PM PDT
No Intelligent Parking Assistant for the U.S. Prius
Posted by: Wayne Cunningham

Toyota confirmed that it will not offer the Intelligent Parking Assistant as an option on the U.S. Prius, contrary to reports on the Internet that it would. However, my contact at Toyota said the automatic parallel-parking feature would be offered on the 2008 Lexus LS 600h. This car is Lexus's flagship sedan, offered for the first time as a hybrid. I expect to see the Lexus LS 600h at the New York Auto Show next week and will give a full report once I get all the details on it.

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April 05, 2006, 4:27 PM PDT
Windows iMac runs Photoshop faster than on OS X
Posted by: Rich Brown

One of the biggest hang-ups with the Intel Macs is that there's still software, notably Adobe Photoshop, whose Apple-specific code has not yet been converted to run on Intel-based hardware. Apple's answer was emulation, but the performance in intense content-creation apps such as Photoshop and Sorensen Squeeze for video editing is ugly. But here in the post-Boot Camp world, Intel-based Apple owners can now have it both ways.

With Windows XP Pro running on a 2.0GHz iMac Core Duo, we ran our Photoshop test in less than half the time it took with the same system running OS X 10.4.5: 2 minutes, 49 seconds vs. 6 minutes, 30 seconds to be exact, or a difference of 57 percent. It's also worth noting that the iMac Core Duo with Windows beat Pentium D 830-based PCs from Dell and Gateway on Photoshop as well. Come back tomorrow, when we'll have Windows-based iMac Core Duo results for the rest of our benchmark tests.

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April 05, 2006, 3:14 PM PDT
New eMachines have cheap charm
Posted by: Dan Ackerman

While it's hard to get enthused about budget PCs most of the time, we have a long-standing appreciation for eMachines, the retail-only sibling of computer giant Gateway. The highest-priced PC in its ever-changing lineup is usually less than $599 and offers enough firepower (1GB of RAM, open PCIe slot, and so on) to make it our budget system of choice.

On the other hand, the company seems to run through model numbers like crazy, and we'll never understand the up-and-down naming system--the T6524 was followed by the T6420, which was followed by the T6532.

Today, Gateway has announced four new eMachines systems, replacing the four current ones. The only one worth looking at is the top-of-the-line T6532, which redefines top-of-the-line by clocking in at $529 after a $50 rebate. For $500 and change, you get an AMD Athlon 64 3500+, 1GB of RAM, a DVD burner, and a generous 200GB hard drive.

Sure the onboard graphics are lame, but with an empty x16 PCIe slot, you can save up and throw a decent video card in later on. Not too shabby for less than dinner for two at Per Se.

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April 05, 2006, 2:24 PM PDT
The United States to get parking assistance?
Posted by: Wayne Cunningham

A story by Florida's WKMG-TV Local 6 news says that Toyota's Intelligent Parking Assistant option for the Prius will be offered in the United States. We looked at this technology at the Geneva Auto Show, at which time Toyota said the option would be available only in Japan and the United Kingdom. I'm a bit skeptical as to whether it will be offered here, given the liability, so I've called Toyota's press relations team for confirmation. Once they get back to me with an answer, I'll report it in this space.

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April 05, 2006, 1:57 PM PDT
Cell phone users admit to unsafe driving
Posted by: Wayne Cunningham

A survey of cell phone users, reported on ZDNet's IT Facts blog, found that 28 percent admitted to unsafe driving. That number probably sounds a bit low to most of us, but keep in mind that the survey involved voluntary responses. Next time you're on the road, keep count of how many people are driving erratically while talking, as well as how many are just driving, and come up with your own percentage.

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April 05, 2006, 1:37 PM PDT
Dive into these maps
Posted by: Rafe Needleman

I popped in to the Location Intelligence conference for mapping professionals the other day and saw a few very interesting new tools, such as DataPlace, a service set up by the Fannie Mae Foundation (and free to access) that takes publicly available demographic information, such as census data, and lets you display it in a variety of useful formats, including maps.

It is very easy to get absorbed in browsing this system, surfing for average mortgage prices in your community, tax return information, the proportion of single-parent families, and so on. There are also nonmap ways to slice and compare the data. It's a treasure trove of information for anybody who's interested in marketing their products or services. It's also great fun to play with.

While the base maps the system uses look just like Google's maps, they are not. Instead, they are built by the mapping tools company Placebase, which, if you're looking to build out a commercial mapping system, offers better options. For example, you don't have to run the Google logo on Placebase maps, you won't suffer from the bandwidth limitations Google puts on maps used in mashups, and the company layers data in a way that makes zone maps (like DataPlace) possible. Yet the end user controls are exactly the same as Google Maps, so users don't have to learn a new way of moving around their maps. The downside: Unlike Google Maps, Placebase tools and services are not free.

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April 05, 2006, 11:51 AM PDT
Really small wikis
Posted by: Rafe Needleman

Wikis are great tools for collaboration, but even though most of them are fairly simple to navigate, their user interfaces are designed for full computer screens, which means, if you're a businessperson who relies on a wiki, you can't get much done on it when you are out of the office, working on your BlackBerry or Treo.

Wiki pioneer SocialText today released a version that's smart-phone friendly. I tried it on my Treo and found reading wikis much easier on the small screen than it was when I used the Treo to access the full PC-size SocialText interface. Unfortunately, the editing window was about four lines high by 20 characters wide, far too small to use--it's like looking through a soda straw while painting a landscape on a full-size canvas. CEO Ross Mayfield (video link) showed me the same site on his BlackBerry, where it looked and worked much better. And as he says, most of SocialText's corporate customers are "crackberry heads."

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April 05, 2006, 11:42 AM PDT
Bluetooth iPod on the horizon?
Posted by: Jasmine France

Apparently, iPod accessory manufacturers are creating a slew of Bluetooth-enabled wireless gear designed for the reigning king of MP3 players. The iPod Observer has the story (via Gizmodo).

More resources: Bluetooth iPod around the corner, maybe?

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April 05, 2006, 10:37 AM PDT
Hands-on with the Pioneer Inno XM2go portable
Posted by: John P. Falcone

I just got back from an XM press event here in Manhattan at which the satellite company was showing off its next big product, the Pioneer Inno. The Inno debuted at January's Consumer Electronics Show, where it, along with its doppelgänger, the nearly identical Samsung Helix, garnered considerable acclaim--including the CNET Peoples' Voice award as the best of show--as the first truly portable satellite radio receiver that doubles as an MP3 player.

The $400 player sports a color screen, pulls in all of XM's more than 170 channels, and lets you record as much as 50 hours of live programming. And while we'll reserve judgment for the full review, the Inno made a great first impression--its slick compact design is much more reminiscent of the iPod than of the previous generation of XM2go devices, which were much bulkier and lacked the ability to play back MP3 and WMA files.

As far as what's lacking on the Inno/Helix, its biggest sticking points are the 1GB of unexpandable memory (an SD slot would've been great) and its somewhat anemic rated battery life of 15 hours. And while the bundled XM+Napster software lets you transfer your own digital music to the Inno and buy new tracks on Napster for 99 cents a pop, those with an all-you-can-eat Napster To Go subscription won't be able to transfer their rented music to the Inno.

Those initial issues notwithstanding, the Pioneer Inno and the Samsung Helix are two of the coolest satellite radio products we've seen yet. Sirius, on the other hand, continues to lag on the portable front, with merely the S50--which can receive live satellite programming only when it's docked in a car or home cradle.

The Inno and the Helix should begin shipping by May 1, according to XM. Look for CNET's full review of the Pioneer Inno within the next few days.

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April 05, 2006, 8:46 AM PDT
Windows on Macs, no hacks required (update)
Posted by: Molly Wood

Well, that was unexpected. Apple has released beta software that lets you run Windows XP natively on an Intel-based Mac. Here's the First Look video, and let me tell you, it looks pretty ... well, pretty awesome, really. If a tiny bit on the unholy side of things.

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