New and Noteworthy: Replace Battery, Not iPod; Verizon tests super-fast DSL as it also rolls out FiOS; more

A Novel Repair Concept: Replace Battery, Not iPod The New York Times reports on Sonnet's replacement iPod battery: "Apple's wildly popular iPod has a well-known Achilles' heel: over time, its rechargeable battery tends to lose its capacity to hold a charge. Apple's begrudging solution has been a cumbersome mail-in program that replaces the entire iPod with a reconditioned one for $60. This fall, Sonnet Technologies released a line of high-capacity 3.2-volt batteries for all iPods except the new ultra-small iPod Shuffle and Nano. Sonnet executives say their products will play up to 78 percent longer than the original iPod batteries." More.

Verizon tests super-fast DSL as it also rolls out fiber optics The Boston Globe reports that Verizon is taking a dual-pronged approach in delivering high-speed Internet access, offering both an upgraded DSL service while rolling out the new FiOS service. "Verizon is testing DSL with download speeds double their current limits in some of its employees' homes in Texas. If the service proves popular among its workers, Verizon could crank up its high-speed residential connections from their current download speed limit of 3 megabits per second to as much as 7.1 megabits per second. [...] FiOS offers download speeds 10 times faster than DSL's current quickest speed. It can also deliver cable television and even home phone service over the same line at the same time. The fiber service would eliminate the need for the copper wires that currently carry Verizon's phone and Internet service." More.

Mac OS X excels over Windows in user rights eWeek talks about Mac OS X's superiority over Windows when it comes to user privileges: "When talking about the various functions of their beloved operating system, Mac stalwarts are fond of remarking, perhaps a bit smugly, that the Mac 'just works.' But when it comes to appropriately managing user permissions, Apple's OS X definitely merits that phrase. In fact, the Mac boasts the best user rights management of any operating system we've tested. Mac OS X offers separate user and administrator privilege levels and, more importantly, includes effective facilities for prompting users when rights elevation is required." More.

Getting iDVD to work with third-party burners The San Diego Tribune reports on methods for getting Apple's iDVD to work with DVD recording devices other than built-in units. "I recently bought a Plextor PX-716UF external DVD burner, thinking it was compatible with my PowerBook G4. After using iDVD to create a movie, my Plextor drive isn't recognized when I want to burn the finished DVD. I'm running Mac OS X Tiger and iDVD 4.0.1. Any suggestions? -- Officially, Apple only supports iDVD with the SuperDrives that ship with Mac hardware. But all hope is not lost." More.

Previously on MacFixIt

• Fifth-generation iPod (with video) [#11]: Cell phone interference causing problems with add-on devices
• iTunes 6.0.1 (#10): More on podcast downloads stopping before their end -- ISPs implicated

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