Microsoft ultra-thins to ‘out cool’ netbooks, Apple
FAM Microsoft is betting ultra-thin laptops can steal business from netbooks and Apple this Christmas while providing the opportunity to sell more expensive copies of Windows.
Speaking at Microsoft’s annual Financial Analyst Meeting in Redmond, Washington, chief executive Steve Ballmer told investors that Microsoft, Intel, and PC makers "screwed up" by not delivering "cool" low-price, lightweight, high-performance laptops.
iPhone helps keep Softbank competitive, profitable in Japan
Despite double-digit sales declines at rival NT DOCOMO and KDDI, Japan’s Softbank, the exclusive carrier of the iPhone and third largest carrier in the country, continues to maintain the number one position in Japan for net new subscribers.
Apple unceremoniously discontinues Shake pro VFX app
After stating that active development on Shake was being halted in 2006, Apple has thrown all references to the visual effects application—part of previous versions of Final Cut Studio—down the memory hole.
SMS hack could leave "every" iPhone vulnerable
Talking at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas, experts Charlie Miller and Collin Mulliner say they've discovered a bug in the iPhone’s approach to SMS that exposes it completely to remote control through a subsequent hack, including the camera, dialer, messaging and Safari. It occurs regardless of hardware revision or which version of the iPhone OS is running.
Apple releases MobileMe iDisk app for iPhone, iPod touch
Apple’s free MobileMe iDisk application is now available on the App Store, allowing users to remotely access files saved online via the MobileMe service.
Creative looks to take on iPod touch in handheld computing realm
The newly announced, Android-powered Creative Zii Egg aims to be to the G1 smartphone what the iPod touch is to the iPhone -- a powerful mobile computing platform without the monthly cell phone contract.
Unix turns 40: The past, present and future of the OS
Forty years ago this summer, a programmer sat down and knocked out in one month what would become one of the most important pieces of software ever created.
Apple pulling Google Voice-enabled iPhone apps
Apple is systematically pulling iPhone apps that use Google Voice to simplify and reduce the costs of making phone calls, though it’s suspected Apple isn’t the one making the actual judgment call.
Firefox 4.0 redesign mockups released
Earlier last week, Mozilla updated the Firefox 3.7 wiki to show potential design changes for Firefox 3.7, and today, updated their wiki to show new mock ups for Firefox 4.0 Windows designs.
Apple’s "Cocktail" may spur whole album sales in iTunes
Worried that their iTunes music sales are being reduced to nothing but single-song purchases, major music labels are now reported as working with Apple to bundle special apps with albums and rekindle whole album sales.
Book sales mark shift toward Mac, iPhone development
Retail book sales indicate the market for computer books has experienced a steady decline since the middle of 2008, with subjects related to Mac and iPhone development showing solid growth amid an otherwise morose outlook.
AVG update breaks iTunes
A recent AVG signature file update is incorrectly identifying iTunes/iPod files as viruses, as reported by forum users on the Apple website.
Microsoft stores to mimic Apple’s with "Guru Bars"
A leaked presentation has exposed Microsoft’s tentative plans for its retail stores — and the high degree to which they’ll imitate Apple stores, down to their layouts and even the presence of a dedicated "Guru Bar" for help.
New iPhone hardware encryption not even close to hack proof
The new iPhone 3GS includes hardware-based encryption, giving the impression that your data is more secure than on previous models. A well-known iPhone security expert shows, however, that the data is just as easy to grab using simple hacking tools.
10 iPhone Apps That Need a Push to Use the Accelerometer
There’s no denying that the iPhone owes a large part of its success to the swift, rabid adoption of the accelerometer by the vast majority of the App Store’s 65,000+ apps. With an array of uses far beyond anything Apple ever dreamed possible, iPhone’s tilt controls have sparked a revolution of their own and raised the bar for mobile apps across all platforms.
Google navigates Latitude for iPhone around background limits
Google has released a web app version of Latitude for the iPhone, enabling users to both share their location with friends and view a live map showing their friends’ location.
Palm fires back at Apple, fixes Pre sync with iTunes
Just after Apple killed the Pre's ability to sync with desktop music management client iTunes, Palm has responded with webOS 1.1 — a software update that again enables Palm's phone to access media from the current version of iTunes.
Apple updates Final Cut Studio with 100 new features
A "significant" upgrade to Final Cut Studio was announced by Apple, with more than 100 new features and new versions of Final Cut Pro, Motion, Soundtrack Pro, Color and Compressor.
Apple's new Logic Studio sports Logic Pro and MainStage updates
Calling it "a huge leap forward," Apple unveiled the new Logic Studio, featuring major upgrades for Logic Pro and Mainstage, with new features that simplify complex tasks within the software suite.
New attacks exploit vulnerable in Adobe Flash
Online criminals are targeting a previously unknown vulnerability in the latest versions of Adobe's ubiquitous Flash Player that allows them to take complete control of end users' computers, security researchers warn.
Flaming iPod complaints released after Apple stonewalling
We've all heard the stories about iPods sparking and catching on fire, but would you have guessed that there are some 800 pages of documents from the Consumer Product Safety Commission detailing all the different cases? The documents have been released after attempts by Apple's lawyers to keep them on the downlow.
Mini DisplayPort no longer a hassle with cables and adapters
When Apple first adopted Mini DisplayPort with its unibody MacBook Pros, the only display option was a 24" LED Cinema Display. Though Apple offers a few adapters for VGA or DVI, several third parties have you covered when it comes to connecting other displays.
Hack can open up iPhone to push messaging exploit
While a variety of sources have published a story accusing the iPhone 3.0 software of broadcasting instant messages to random iPhones, in reality this exploit affects only users who have hacked their phone and made it vulnerable.