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Rumor Has It: Apple Could Field $800 Tablet as Early as October

Written on July 13, 2009 by Darrell Etherington and 34 people have commented

Do I have $800 to spend on yet another Apple device that bridges the (relatively small) gap between my iPhone and my 13-inch MacBook Pro? Not really. But if rumors prove true and this October does indeed see the launch of a small tablet device priced in that area coming out of Cupertino, I will [...]

iPhone for Life

Written on July 09, 2009 by Nick Santilli and 17 people have commented

I’ll posture that not many of us know the anniversary of the date we purchased most of our cellular phones — at least not before the iPhone hit the streets. (And if you do remember, hopefully you remember other, important anniversaries, too!) But things changed on June 29, 2007. Lines formed, and tons of iPhones [...]

30″ LCD Showdown: Apple vs. Dell

Written on July 06, 2009 by James Dempsey and 34 people have commented

In my quest to upgrade an aging dual-monitor setup, a 20” main screen with a 17” screen off to the side to house application palettes, iTunes, etc., the only question in my mind was choosing between an Apple 30” Cinema Display and a Dell 30” UltraSharp Widescreen. In this article, I’m covering both monitors from an average user’s perspective – and you may be surprised what this Apple-fanatic found.

Windows 7 Pricing vs. Mac OS X: Why Even Go There?

Written on July 03, 2009 by Tom Reestman and 49 people have commented

Windows 7 pricing was made official not long ago, and the general consensus is that, despite a slight drop in Home Premium pricing compared to Vista, it’s too expensive.
Still, there are some in the Microsoft community that try to justify it by comparing it to Apple’s pricing for Mac OS X. Microsoft can never win [...]

Greenpeace Demands Apple Come Clean

Written on July 02, 2009 by Charles Jade and 20 people have commented

Greenpeace released the 12th edition of its Guide to Greener Electronics today (PDF), with Apple falling somewhere between tangerine and burnt orange. For those who take the rating seriously, Apple scored 4.7 out of 10, unchanged from last time, though the company slipped from 10th to 11th place in the ranking of 18 companies.
The guide [...]

MacBook Air is the Apple Netbook, End of Story

Written on July 01, 2009 by James Dempsey and 65 people have commented

Apple Announces Netbook! That’s the headline you wanted to see, right? That’s the headline that industry analysts and so-called experts believe Apple must have to remain relevant in today’s economic climate. That’s also the headline you’re not likely to come across unless it happens to be April 1st.

The truth is, Apple already has a netbook on the market, which they’ve been selling for over a year now. It’s called the MacBook Air.

AdMob Report: Apple Gains in Mobile Usage

Written on June 25, 2009 by Charles Jade and 1 person has commented

AdMob, the ad serving firm, has released its Mobile Metrics (PDF) report for May, and once again the iPhone and iPod touch are seeing increases, both in the U.S. and worldwide.
Measuring “mobile Web and application usage from our network of more than 7,000 publishers and 2,500 applications worldwide,” the report calculates market share “by the [...]

The Forbidden Apple: NY Times Reports on Company Secrecy

Written on June 24, 2009 by Charles Jade and 7 people have commented

The New York Times has a feature article on Apple corporate culture and secrecy that is both fascinating and a little disturbing. It also may raise questions about how Apple handled the disclosure of Steve Jobs’ illness.
Regarding corporate culture, the New York Times illustrates just how secretive Apple can be, describing multiple checkpoints for those [...]

Quick Tips: iWork ‘09

Written on June 23, 2009 by James Dempsey and 16 people have commented

Having used Microsoft Office for many years, despite my utter distain for them, nobody was happier than me when Apple launched the iWork applications. For my light office application needs, Pages, Keynote and Numbers are just perfect. Here are a few tips I use to make my time in the iWork apps a little easier.

Steve Jobs Back On the Job

Written on June 23, 2009 by Darrell Etherington and 15 people have commented

It remains to be seen whether he’s just testing the waters, or if he’s actually returned full-time to heading Apple, but Steve Jobs sightings at the company’s Cupertino campus in California have been confirmed. This comes after news from The Wall Street Journal earlier in the week that Jobs’ medical leave actually involved a liver [...]

What Will Apple Borrow Next?

Written on June 23, 2009 by James Dempsey and 39 people have commented

Apple has a history of either buying apps or boldly copying features from developers and including them in OSX. So what borrowed features could we see in OSX next?

Apple Retail Store Success: It Ain’t Rocket Science

Written on June 22, 2009 by James Dempsey and 18 people have commented

In May of 2001, Apple opened its first retail outlet store in Tysons Corner, Virginia – it was immediately met by critics and the typical roster of Apple-haters with predictions of doom and massive financial losses. Eight years later, Apple has over 255 retail stores worldwide, and are the darling of the retail computer industry. So what makes them so successful?

While the Mac, iPod and iPhone are what makes Apple successful, the formula for their retail store’s success isn’t so obvious until you actually visit an Apple store. Sure, great products sell themselves, but Apple has made sure that their products have the best opportunity to do so by creating an environment that offers virtually no reason for a buyer to go elsewhere.

Steve Jobs Had a Liver Transplant

Written on June 21, 2009 by Charles Jade and 14 people have commented

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple CEO Steve Jobs recently underwent a liver transplant. Jobs, who has been on a leave of absence from the company since January, reportedly had the transplant about two months ago in an undisclosed hospital in Tennessee.
As the Journal notes, Tennessee has a more liberal policy regarding waiting [...]

AT&T iPhone 3G S Preorders Exceed Expectations

Written on June 19, 2009 by Charles Jade and 9 people have commented

Despite shorter lines in fewer countries than last year’s launch of the iPhone 3G, the iPhone 3G S may yet perform nearly as well, at least during the first weekend of sales. Via AppleInsider, AT&T spokesperson Michael Coe has been quoted as saying AT&T “sold hundreds of thousands through our preorder process prior to the [...]

New Template Exchange for FileMaker’s Bento

Written on June 19, 2009 by Charles Jade and 2 people have commented

Bento, the personal database from FileMaker, has launched a service that allows users to share templates they have created. The Template Exchange currently has around 100 ready-made templates covering a number of topics, with more being added daily.
Less well-known than the professional and cross-platform FileMaker, the personal database Bento is more integrated into OS X, [...]

Third-party iTunes Syncing: It’s Not Just About Palm

Written on June 18, 2009 by Tom Reestman and 50 people have commented

Apple’s recent tech note regarding third parties using iTunes’ syncing has caused plenty of discussion. Should Apple “break” the Pre’s ability to sync as an iPod? Why would Cupertino do this? The comments across the web vary in their opinions, so I’ll throw mine in here as well.
First, it’s no secret what I think of [...]

Apple Obliquely Warns Palm Over “Unsupported” Media Players

Written on June 17, 2009 by Charles Jade and 9 people have commented

As the handheld world waits on iPhone OS 3.0, Apple may be planning a pre-emptive strike on “unsupported third-party digital media players.” A new technical note in the support knowledgebase certainly seems to imply that.
Without mentioning any names, Apple warns that, regarding iTunes integration, the company “does not provide support for” other hardware, and that [...]

How-To: Selling Your iPhone for Instant Gratification

Written on June 16, 2009 by Charles Jade and 23 people have commented

With the iPhone 3G S on sale in a matter of days, a rush of 3G and original iPhone owners will be selling their phones and upgrading to the new model. If you are planning on selling your current iPhone, there are a few simple steps that can help maximize your resale value.
Before beginning the [...]

Java Update for OS X Addresses Security Flaw

Written on June 16, 2009 by Charles Jade and 3 people have commented

Apple has finally issued a patch for a security flaw related to Java that was first reported in August 2008. Java for Mac OS X update “delivers improved reliability, security, and compatibility for Java” in both 10.5 and 10.4.
The update also addresses a critical vulnerability in which a malware applet might gain access to the [...]

Apple’s Latest Retail Store Features Interesting Changes

Written on June 15, 2009 by Chris Ryan and 13 people have commented

This weekend featured the grand opening of Apple’s latest retail store, Scottsdale Quarter, in beautiful Scottsdale, Ariz. As evidenced by looking at the front of the building, this particular store quickly stands out among the rest of Apple’s retail lineup.
Hello, New Architecture
A few weeks ago, Ron Johnson was featured in USA Today discussing new changes [...]