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Archive for the ‘News’ Category

App Store Devs Flaunt Copyright Troll With Name Changes

Written on November 13, 2009 by Darrell Etherington and 8 people have commented

iPhone devs are a rebellious bunch, and they don’t like to be bullied by anyone other than their Apple, which both frustrates and affirms their existence. Now, in light of what some might call a campaign being waged against the App Store by a well-known trademark troll, many iPhone devs are protesting what they see [...]

Apple Launches iTunes Preview

Written on November 13, 2009 by Liam Cassidy and 5 people have commented

This is one of those items I find so hard to get behind, rather like the infrequent (boring) updates to MobileMe. But here goes; Apple has ever-so-quietly launched a new web-based front-end to their iTunes music library titled “iTunes Preview.” It allows a visitor to view lists of music available on the iTunes Store via [...]

Microsoft Admits, Then Denies, Copying Mac OS X

Written on November 13, 2009 by Liam Cassidy and 17 people have commented

It boggles the mind, it really does. Microsoft tries so hard but for each step forward, it seems to take three steps back. Windows 7, Redmond’s answer to the train-wreck that was Vista (subscription required), has been out for just a matter of weeks and has managed to garner mostly positive reviews. But Microsoft can’t help [...]

iPhone Increases Marketshare Again

Written on November 12, 2009 by Charles Jade and 9 people have commented

For Q3 2009, Apple’s iPhone accounted for 17.1 percent of worldwide smartphone marketshare, a new high for the company. That’s the good news from Gartner, and there’s more where that came from.

While overall mobile phone sales were flat for the quarter, smartphone sales were up 12.8 percent, some 41 million units. Carolina Milanesi, research director [...]

Facebook Developer Turns Back on iPhone

Written on November 12, 2009 by Alfredo Padilla and 14 people have commented

Facebook for the iPhone is one of my most used applications, and I’m not alone as it’s amongst the most popular iPhone applications ever. This success is due to the size of Facebook itself, that the application is free, and that it is very well done. That last is due mainly to Joe Hewitt, who [...]

“ikee” iPhone Worm Progeny Not So Harmless

Written on November 12, 2009 by Darrell Etherington and 3 people have commented

Earlier this week, we reported that the first iPhone worm had been created. It was called “ikee,” and all it did was change the default wallpaper on devices to an image of Rick Astley with “ikee is never going to give you up” printed across the top. It was relatively harmless, if annoying, and the [...]

New Patent Application Suggests Apple Tablet Could Have Pen Input

Written on November 12, 2009 by Darrell Etherington and 4 people have commented

Apple apparently isn’t exclusively devoted to the idea of finger-based multi-touch input on all its devices, a recent patent applications shows. The patent application, found by Apple Insider, describes the use of a pen-like stylus to operate an “ink information” input system, and references tablet computing applications for the new tech by name.
“Ink information” refers [...]

Safari 4.0.4 Update Released

Written on November 12, 2009 by Charles Jade and 4 people have commented

Safari version 4.0.4 is now available, the 30MB update promising improvements to “performance, stability, and security.”
Regarding security, the update addresses several potential “maliciously crafted” attacks–are there such things as benevolently crafted attacks? One uses a color profile, which is inventive, if evil. Others use XML, shortcut menus, or the user’s desire to visit web pages [...]

Blu-Ray App for iPhone Arrives Courtesy of Universal

Written on November 11, 2009 by Darrell Etherington and 8 people have commented

Universal Media announced awhile ago that it would be introducing iPhone control into some of its Blu-ray titles, starting with “Fast & Furious,” the Vin Diesel/Paul Walker romp that saw the lucrative car racing series return to its humble origins. Now, Universal is extending the iPhone/Blu-ray connection to a much wider swath of its library [...]

Mac Office Update: Stability, Stability, Stability

Written on November 11, 2009 by Charles Jade and 4 people have commented

Microsoft issued updates for Office 2004 and 2008 covering security issues for both versions, as well as an XML conversion tool. The Office 2008 update also includes a number of minor fixes to enhance stability.
Regarding security, both updates address vulnerabilities “that an attacker can use to overwrite the contents of your computer’s memory with malicious [...]

Apple Surpasses Nokia as Most Profitable Cell Phone Maker

Written on November 11, 2009 by Darrell Etherington and 7 people have commented

Despite controlling a much smaller share of the market, Apple is now much more profitable than Nokia, overtaking the handset maker as the most lucrative company in the business of selling cell phones. Apple also overtook Samsung during the last financial quarter, so it actually jumped from third to first place overall among global cell [...]

Opening Weekend: iPhone vs. Pre vs. Droid

Written on November 10, 2009 by Charles Jade and 57 people have commented

After heavy promotion, including a little negative advertising, Verizon launched the Droid over the weekend, and two days later the first sales estimates are in: 100,000.

Speaking with Bloomberg, Analyst Mark McKechnie of Broadpoint AmTech thinks that’s pretty good. Noting that Verizon had 200,000 Droids on the shelves for launch, he said most stores sold [...]

VESA Issues Mini DisplayPort Standard

Written on November 10, 2009 by Darrell Etherington and 3 people have commented

Earlier this year (right at the beginning, in fact), we brought news that the Video Electronics Standard Association (VESA) might potentially make the Mini DisplayPort standard, meaning that manufacturers outside of Apple can now use it in their products without Apple’s approval, including rival computer makers, among others.
The Mini DisplayPort (mDP) standard is described as [...]

Orange Launch Day iPhone Sales Set a Record

Written on November 10, 2009 by Darrell Etherington and 2 people have commented

Today is the day the iPhone stopped being an exclusive in the UK. Officially, as of 7 a.m., the device went on sale at Orange retailers across the UK, and the carrier is already claiming that the iPhone has gone over exceedingly well with consumers, despite already having been available to O2 customers since its [...]

Apple Releases OS X 10.6.2 Update

Written on November 09, 2009 by Darrell Etherington and 10 people have commented

The second minor incremental update for OS X Snow Leopard was released today, and it contains the usual expected bug fixes. It is also is said to contain built-in support for Apple’s new Magic Mouse, and may or may not remove support for Intel Atom processors. If you happen to be using a hackintosh and [...]

O2 UK to Officially Unlock iPhones Following Competitor Launch

Written on November 09, 2009 by Darrell Etherington and 7 people have commented

O2 just announced what seems like a fairly magnanimous gesture on its part today, in preparation for the launch of the iPhone on other UK carriers and the end of iPhone exclusivity in that country. That should mean that O2 customers who want to take their business elsewhere can have their phones unlocked as early [...]

Jailbreakers: First iPhone Worm Discovered, Features Rick Astley

Written on November 09, 2009 by Darrell Etherington and 2 people have commented

The first iPhone worm has been discovered. It comes to us via Australia, and appears to be limited to that country for now, although it has the potential to spread. It also stars Rick Astley, so to speak. The work changes the iPhone’s wallpaper to an image of the 1980s pop singer, who’s enjoyed a [...]

Some iPhone Coders Padding Resumés With Lies

Written on November 09, 2009 by Darrell Etherington and 3 people have commented

According to a report by the Silicon Alley Insider, if you’re looking to hire an iPhone dev, it’s probably best to make sure you do a thorough background check before you do. Some coders have been claiming credit for work they didn’t do, and are using the false accolades to try and wrestle more work [...]

Rumor Has It: Verizon iPhone in Q3 2010

Written on November 08, 2009 by Charles Jade and 10 people have commented

Even as Verizon continues attacking AT&T’s comparatively poor network with new ads, and by proxy the iPhone, the latest rumor has Apple developing a “worldmode” iPhone capable of running on any network.

The three holiday-themed ads, “Blue Christmas,” “Elves,” and “Misfit Toys,” each highlight the weakness of AT&T’s 3G wireless coverage, but the latter most directly and [...]

Critical Update Issued for Apple TV

Written on November 08, 2009 by Charles Jade and 4 people have commented

Ten days after updating the Apple TV’s software to version 3.0, Apple has released version 3.0.1 along with an alarming warning about users’ content “temporarily” disappearing.

From the uninformative and unintentionally hilarious support document, if you are running Apple TV 3.0 and “all of your movies, TV shows, and songs appear to be missing” or “all [...]