Two intrepid users have found a simple way to mod their old iPhone docks to work with iPhone 3G: a rotary tool.

All it takes, apparently, is grinding away about a millimeter of the plastic where the back of the iPhone 3G rests against the dock. A rotary tool with a tapered grinding bit appears to work the best, as it avoids touching the dock connector.

It might not have exactly the fit and finish of a new dock, but hey, the price is right if you already have the tools.

iPhone 3G docks are $29 at the Apple Store. Dremel grinding bits are about $10 for a five-pack.

[Via Digg.]

Fellow propeller-head and all-around nice guy Joel Evans over at Geek.com let me know that they had published a short post about a couple of iPhone 3G extended battery options. Since the 3G has a tendency to suck battery power like a vacuum powered by a Pratt & Whitney PW-4000 jet engine, several vendors have come out with plug-in battery extenders to make sure your App Store browsing isn't cut short by a lack of juice.

I've got one more to add to the list -- the RichardSolo Backup Battery for iPhone / iPod (pictured at right). If you are using your iPhone 3G as much as I am, you either need one of these extended batteries or have a really long extension cord.

Apple just released an update for HP Printer support in Mac OS X. The update weighs in at a whopping 405.1 MBs and includes "latest drivers for printers you have used on your system."

In order to download the update via Software Update (Apple menu > Software Update), you must have the affected printer connected to your computer, or have a print queue already setup. You can also download the installer package from the Apple Support downloads site. This software works on Macs running OS X 10.5.3 or higher.


Thanks, Ed!

Macally is promising a new product for your iPhone or iPod (coming soon!) that combines an emergency battery pack, data cable, and flash drive all in one.

Called PowerLink, the device will power your iPhone or iPod if the built-in battery dies, though Macally doesn't specify for how long. You can also connect one end to your iPhone/iPod, and the other to your computer, and the device will work like a short, rigid data cable. Thirdly, PowerLink contains a 2GB everyday flash drive.

While not the most attractive thing in the world, it is functional, and could get you out of a jam on a back-country road with a dead iPhone battery. Sure, there are plenty of other battery pack options for iPhone and iPod, but none with with all the extras.

Macally hasn't announced a release date yet, but the product will be available for $50.

[Via Productdose.]

For those of you who were waiting to buy a Data Robotics Drobo, wait no longer!

Data Robotics announced the release of the second iteration of their 4-bay expandable storage solution, Drobo. Many potential buyers were aghast at the original version's lack of FireWire, so the company added FireWire 800 (FireWire 400 compatible) ports to the original USB 2.0 connection. Transfer speeds with FireWire 800 are expected to be about double those of the USB connection.

The new Drobo also has improved software. The old model would see a drop in performance after the array reached about 50% of capacity. With the new software, performance remains steady regardless of how much data you've packed into your Drobo. Data Robotics says Mac users can expect a performance increase of 10 - 200%.

When new, higher-capacity drives become available, you'll be able to expand the capacity of your Drobo to up to 16 TB. That should be enough to handle all of my TUAW comment email! The second-generation Drobo becomes available in about three weeks, and the original $499 price tag is still in effect for an unpopulated box (no drives included).

Updated to note that no FireWire 400 ports are included. Thanks to Neg and See3Pio for the heads-up!

Macessity, makers of the LowKey stand we covered a while back, has released version 2 of their SlimKey keyboard stand adding a USB hub on the right side. Basically the SlimKey is a steel shelf designed to hide Apple's slim keyboards under your iMac or LCD monitor so as to conserve desk space when you're not typing. The newest version incorporates a 4-port powered USB 2.0 hub on the right rear for a mouse and other USB peripherals. Personally, I find this design rather more aesthetically pleasing than the LowKey which puts the USB hub in front.

The SlimKey V2 is available for pre-order $64.99 and will be shipping on July 21. They also still have the SlimKey version 1 without the USB hub for $39.99.

Is it time to finally put your HD mountain biking documentary on Blu-ray? Apple upgrade vendor MCE Technologies announced availability of a totally Mac-compatible Blu-ray recordable drive for Mac Pro and Power Mac.

The $499 (internal) drive is compatible with Mac OS X 10.5.2 and later, requiring no special drivers for burning -- just install it in your Mac Pro or Power Mac bay, pop in blank Blu-ray media, and you're ready to roll. The drive does both single-layer (6X BD-R or 2X BD-RE) and dual-layer (4X BD-R, 2X BD-RE) burning for capacities of 25GB or 50GB respectively. That's up to 50,000 photos, 12,500 music tracks, or 4 hours of HD video.

There's a $599 version bundled with Roxio Toast 9 and the Toast BD//HD Plugin, as well as an external drive with FireWire and USB 2.0 ports for $749.

To write professional Blu-ray discs that can play on set-top Blu-ray players or Sony PS3, you'll need Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 Encore along with Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 or Final Cut Pro. Basic Blu-ray movies can be burned with Roxio Toast 9 and the BD/HD Plugin.

[via The Mac Observer]

I have a mountain of CDs and DVDs in my office. Some of them are in sleeves, others are stacked on spindles. For the most part, my disc labeling consists of grabbing a Sharpie ultra-fine-point marker and scrawling something right on the top of the disc. I've tried sticky labels before, but stopped after I had a few CDs that wouldn't come out of my iMac's SuperDrive slot.

Dymo, the labeling company, is now shipping the DiscPainter. It's a single-duty printer designed for one thing; printing directly onto inkjet-printable CD and DVD media.

Size, Installation, and Setup

The first thing that hit me when I opened the DiscPainter box was how big it is. Given that it is a single-tasker, it takes up a lot of room on a desktop (roughly 5.75" x 10"). For those with limited space available, this may be a reason not to buy the DiscPainter.

Following the included Quick Start Guide (yes, I RTFM), I removed the usual tape and plastic cruft encasing the DiscPainter, popped in the single ink cartridge, and connected the power cable. The initial user experience is excellent.

Read on for the full review

Size, Installation, and Setup (continued)

The DiscPainter comes with a Mac OS X / Windows installation CD that installs drivers and Discus for Dymo, an application that helps you to the design the disc image. After plugging in the USB cable and restarting your Mac, the instructions take you through making your first disc.

Software

I was underwhelmed by the Discus for Dymo software, which despite a 2007 copyright date appears to have been written while Mac OS X 10.2 was still all the rage. It has a cheesy, Aqua-like interface (see below) that looks very unprofessional and is obviously a port done by Windows programmers. My first thought was that I needed to update the software. No, version 1.1.1 IS the latest version.


Discus for Dymo does its job, but is uses many Mac OS X features incorrectly. For example, I wanted to use a picture from my iPhoto Library as a backdrop on a CD so I clicked on the Photo button expecting the standard Apple media browser to appear immediately. Instead, I had to navigate to my Photos folder before the media browser appeared.

Software (continued)

Likewise, trying to pick the "TUAW Green" for the text on the label, I thoroughly expected to see the standard Apple color picker so I could use the little magnifier tool to go for the green. No such luck. I finally figured out that I could option-click one of the custom colors to make the color picker appear (see below).

Conclusion

Reviewer Rating: 3 out of 5 possible

Should you buy one? If you need to do a lot of CD/DVD labeling and money isn't an object, yes. However, if you need a new printer anyway, the HP Photosmart C5280 all-in-one gives you a disc and paper printer, copier, scanner, and more, all in one box that costs less than half the price of the DiscPainter. You can also buy HP LightScribe external drives for much less, but the media is quite expensive.

If you DO buy one, remember to include the cost of BeLight Disc Cover to replace the Discus for Dymo software.

Pros

• Fast high-resolution printing
• Very quiet
• Does the job it is designed for, despite software shortcomings
• Does excellent job of printing directly on CD/DVD media

Cons

• Software isn't very Mac-like
  
• Printer footprint larger than it needs to be
• No power switch, can't turn it fully off without unplugging
• Very Expensive ($279.95 MSRP, about $250 online)

Be sure to check out the Gallery below for more pictures of the Dymo DiscPainter.

For those of you who want more than a leather case for your iPhone, how about a Mercedes-Benz luxury car?

Mercedes-Benz is now shipping its new Apple iPhone Cradle in Germany. The cradle fits in the center console and connects to the the audio system of the car through an optionally available Media Interface or the iPod Interface Kit. You, the driver, then use the multi-function steering wheel controls in your sweet ride to control the phone and audio features of your iPhone. The vehicle's display shows you the iPhone's phone book or phone status, as well as the currently playing music track and artist. Your iPhone is charged up as you drive, and the antenna of your car boosts your phone reception.

The Apple iPhone Cradle is compatible with C, E, CLK, CLS, S, CL, SL, M and R-Class vehicles, and costs €249. Check with your dealer for availability of this accessory outside of Germany.

[via iLounge]

Sheeeesh. Nobody can even get their hands on an iPhone 3G for another three weeks, and already the list of cases and skins for it are as long as the line at the Apple Store 5th Avenue will be on July 11th.

One of the better-known case manufacturers, Marware, has announced a complete suite of iPhone 3G cases to meet your every need:

• Sportsuit Convertible for iPhone 3G, $34.99 -- sport armband case (far left in screenshot)
• C.E.O. Premiere for iPhone 3G, $34.99 -- leather hip case, now shipping (second from left)
• C.E.O. Sleeve for iPhone 3G, $24.99 -- leather sleeve, now shipping (middle)
• Sport Grip for iPhone 3G, $19.99 -- slip-free silicone sleeve (second from right)
• C.E.O. Glide for iPhone 3G, $24.99 -- leather slip case (far right)
• C.E.O. Flip Vue for iPhone 3G, $29.99 -- Nappa leather flip-top holster case (not shown)
  

There you have it. I don't want to hear about you buying an iPhone 3G case in advance just to spoof your buds into believing you already have an iPhone 3G. 'K?

I occasionally work with clients who need to have Macs set up as kiosks. That means that anyone can walk up and use the Mac to watch a video or access information, but they usually can't update anything on the Mac. Kiosks are especially useful when the user interface consists of a finger touching the screen. In my experience, touch screens are generally expensive and require that you send a Mac off to a vendor for installation.

Troll Touch now has user-installable touch screens for the 20" and 24" aluminum iMacs called SlipCOVERs. Priced at $699 (20") and $899 (24"), the SlipCOVERs come with touch screen drivers and calibration software. The video above shows a touch-enabled iMac in action -- I especially liked watching the demo dude playing Bejeweled using his finger instead of a mouse. Pull off the aluminum stand, lay that SlipCOVER iMac down on its back, and you've got a 24" iPod touch!

We have a winner in our NEAT Receipts Advance Release giveaway!

Grant B. (full name withheld on request) from Colorado was the lucky TUAW reader chosen by NEAT Receipts to get his very own NEAT Receipts Advance Release package. Here is Grant's winning comment:

"This is a fantastic idea for me. I'm a self-employed sole-proprietor, so I often have to take extra measures to ensure I keep my business and personal life separate. Neat Receipts would make that so much easier."

Grant also told us that "I recently switched back to Mac after an 8 year PC phase, and I'm so happy I'm back in the Apple fold -- and able to enjoy TUAW everyday. It's my first iPhone visit every morning."

Congratulations to Grant on all counts -- coming back to Mac, being a faithful TUAW reader, and winning the NEAT Receipts Advance Release giveaway.

UPDATE - We actually have two winners as NEAT Receipts has graciously provided another unit. Daniel D. (full name withheld on request) is also going to be scanning his way into organizational nerdvana. Daniel's comment was short and to the point -- "I need it to scan receipts. YAY!"

Congratulations, Daniel, and here's to a receipt-free life with your new scanner.

Many thanks to NEAT Receipts for contributing to this special TUAW giveaway.