Apr 2, 2008 Apr 4, 2008 Thursday April 3, 2008
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Evernote = Ubiquitous Personal Memory
Evernote, which was once a Windows-only, highly-complex clippings database, has re-invented itself with a new 3.0 beta release that combines a feature-smart client for OS X (& Windows) with creative and handy web & mobile functionality to ensure you never forget anything. I managed to wait in the beta line long enough to get an invite and wanted to share the first impressions of the program. The developers of Evernote seemed to have a single principle in mind when developing their new software/service: make it as easy and painless as possible to capture any bit of visual or textual information anywhere you happen to be at any time. From screen captures, to to-do lists, to quick notes via text or e-mail to impromptu captures from your cell phone camera, Evernote removes all barriers to memory. At its core, Evernote is just a simple, tagged database of images or text/HTML presented via the web and web service (unpublished and used only by Evernote). While you can perform many tasks in-browser, lets focus on some of the more interesting features of the Mac client. The Evernote Application As you can see from the screen capture, the Evernote main window provides a Mail-like interface to stored notes with collections (you store notes in “notebooks”) and smart-tags on the left (with an activity window in lieu of a status bar), note list on the top left with a “reading pane” on the bottom left. Single-clicking a note (or clicking on “New Note”) lets you edit or create a new note in the reading pane while a double-click opens a note in a new window. The editor is sparse, but provides enough functionality to enter basic information with minimal formatting. The entry above was generated by the Evernote bookmarklet which I placed in the bookmarks bar in Safari. After navigating to a web site, just click on the bookmark to have Evernote store a full HTML copy of that page. You can add tags to notes for searching or sorting and Evernote will generate metadata for your entries and will even attempt to OCR text it finds in pictures. Upon installation, you can customize three shortcut key-sequences that will then be available anywhere you happen to be in OS X. With them, you can take a partial or full screen capture and send it straight to the Evernote application, quick-paste any copied image or text right into Evernote or execute a search over your notes databases. The thumbnail view of the app would be much cooler if there were a “quick look”-type of feature, but the sorting options give it the “event”-like feel from iPhoto. Evernote will sync your local notebooks on startup and can be configured to sync every 5, 15, 30 & 60 minutes thereafter. Plus, there is the option to only enable manual synchronization, which is especially handy when you are in an area with limited Internet access/availability. Evernote Everywhere For Evernote to be successful, it must work well from any mobile platform. The Safari bookmarklet, Safari browser itself and Mobile Safari interfaces all put note taking & viewing right at your fingertips. Their e-mail feature works just like sending photos to Flickr or .Mac, and Evernote gives you the ability to generate a new “TO:” address with little effort (one button) in the event you accidentally disclosed it or the evil spammers finally iterate to it. Evernote Impressions The developers at Evernote did a great job making the application feel extremely Mac-like. The interface is well-designed, application preferences make sense and the integration with the system is narrowed to a small, targeted subset of specific and useful actions. I mailed a copy of a photo I took of a good bottle of wine my wife and I tried at Pair – a tasty (but $) local Seattle restaurant – in order to remember to try to find that particular vintage sometime in the future. I could have performed a similar task by syncing to iPhoto or e-mailing to Flickr or publishing to a .Mac gallery, but Evernote will allow me to easily store the information I find out about the winery, locations, price, etc right with the picture and will allow me to retrieve it anytime, anywhere or include it in search results when digging for wine options in the future. The bookmarklet is handy and is more of an augmentation to a service like Del.icio.us, but I made great use of it to note some collectables I wish to pre-order and can see many opportunities to use it to capture articles and information from interesting sites. Google Notebook provides some similar functionality, but lacks the feature-rich local client/sync (give them time, though, especially with Google Gears constantly adding functionality). It would be great if Evernote as a service published an API so you could do what you wanted (programmatically) with your data. They could also use a bit of social networking features and provide the ability to share notes with other Evernote users, allow for group notes collections/notebooks, send notes via Twitter or IM/SMS or provide RSS feeds of your stored information. While it doesn't pander to such mashupable “must have's”, there is no indication they are not planning support for such items in the future, and other sites seem to have some inside scoop that support for these enhancements are right around the corner. Giveaway Time! To share the joy of my newfound ubiquitous memory, I'm giving away 10 Evernote invitations to TAB readers. Just submit a comment before 2359 PST Saturday (April 5, 2008) and include your name/valid e-mail or @Twitter handle, if you have one (I'll DM you for a contact e-mail if you win). Winners will be chosen at random from valid entries and notified on Sunday (April 6, 2008). If you're also an Evernote beta user, don't let the entry-deluge sway you from tossing your opine in the comments. Your views and usage advice will be reaching more folks than ever!
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Griffin's ugly-ass ClearBoost iPhone antenna booster hits the scene
Filed under: Cellphones Griffin's antenna-stub sporting ClearBoost case for the iPhone just hit the streets, and opinions are already pouring in. The case involves the antenna, a bumper and a screen protector, and while the resulting combination is not much for loooks, iLounge found it to improve performance in certain situations. Apparently in very low coverage areas the ClearBoost isn't much help, but in wonky two or three bar situations ClearBoost added one or two bars. Sounds like a win to us, but you're going to have to have some serious need of signal to sacrifice iPhone aesthetics this totally.[Via iLounge] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Invisible People Photoshop tutorial from The Lab with Leo Laporte
While the show has, sadly, been cancelled, hours of new "The Lab with Leo Laporte" episodes are scheduled for broadcast and a few of my favorite segments have yet to be seen. One such segment is the Invisible People Photoshop tutorial. There are several tutorials out there that will show you how to totally remove an unwanted person from a photograph; that's not what this one does. The... [read more at MacMerc.com]
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Does the iPhone Shortage Herald an Impending 3G Release? Probably Not
Daniel Eran Dilger Apple Stores across the US are running out of iPhones, resulting in the rumor that Apple is allowing inventory levels to dry up in advance of the release of a new 3G model. While this commonly does happen prior to the release of a new model, the current iPhone shortage appears to be a artifact of unpredictably high demand from foreign markets rather than an artificial supply shortage, here's why. (more…)
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Screen grabs: Matt Saracen has iPhone trouble, is still really cute
Filed under: CellphonesScreen grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dt com. Poor Matt, this guy has it so hard. If he isn't having relational trouble with Julie Taylor, he's disappointing his dad, his coach (Julie's dad, conveniently enough), his team, or the entire town of Dillon, Texas. Last thing the guy needs is an iPhone telling him he's wrong, so we're going to pin this Friday Night Lights upside-down incident on Zach Gilford, the man behind the cute-shy quarterback legend that is Matt Saracen. You disappoint us, Zach. [Thanks, EJ] Permalink | Email this | Comments
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ARTIS Software and the Iconfactory update xScope to 2.1
The insanely useful xScope was updated today to version 2.1 with many interface enhancements that are sure to please designers and developers. Created for designers by ARTIS Software and The Iconfactory, xScope is a powerful set of tools that are ideal for measuring, aligning and inspecting on-screen graphics and layouts. Quickly available via the Mac OS X menu bar, xScope's flexible tools... [read more at MacMerc.com]
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Apple posts Keynote 4.0.3 Update
The description for the Keynote 4.0.3 Update posted today is simple: This update addresses performance and stability issues when working with large documents. Even if you don't work with large Keynote documents, you may as well download the update. [read more at MacMerc.com]
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AirPort Admin Utility for older Base Stations now Leopard-ready
AirPort Admin Utility for Graphite and Snow 4.2.5 The AirPort Admin Utility for Graphite and Snow for Mac OS X 10.4 or later software supports the original Apple AirPort Graphite and Snow (Dual Ethernet) Base Stations. This update provides compatibility for Mac OS X v10.5 or later. The newer AirPort Utility (v5.3.1 or later) should be used for Time Capsule, and AirPort Extreme or AirPort... [read more at MacMerc.com]
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AirPort Admin Utility for Graphite and Snow 4.2.5
Filed under: Airport, Software UpdateAlong with the Keynote update, today Apple posted an update for the Graphite and Snow AirPort Admin utility. You can read more information about this Admin Utility update on the Apple support website; in a nutshell, it adds Leopard compatibility -- a good thing.If you want to download the update, you can either open Software Update (Apple menu > Software Update) or download the installer package from the Apple support downloads site. Note that he newer AirPort Utility (v5.3.1 or later) should be used for Time Capsule, and for AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express Base Stations. The update here is for the older base stations' admin tool.Thanks to everyone who sent this in!Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Keynote 4.0.3 update
Filed under: iWork, Software UpdateToday, Apple posted an update to the Keynote presentation app (part of iWork '08). This update, version 4.0.3, says that it "addresses performance and stability issues when working with large documents."You can download this update by opening Software Update (Apple menu > Software update) or by downloading the installer package from the Apple support downloads site.Please note: Users must have Keynote 4.0.2 installed on their computer to install this update.Thanks to everyone who sent this in!Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Poll time
People constantly ask me this question. Now it's time to ask you! Will Apple survive once Steve Jobs steps down? ( polls)
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Wayback Machine: QuickTime, NAB 1998 and the fight over video playback
Ten years ago, give a week or so, Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced QuickTime 3.0 to the National Association of Broadcasters' convention. Behind the scenes in the months before the introduction, Microsoft was playing hardball with hardware and software vendors over its new A/V APIs along with demands to kill the QuickTime competition.
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iTunes passes Wal-Mart as top U.S. music retailer
Online music purchasing marked a symbolic milestone when Apple Inc announced Thursday that its iTunes music store had surpassed ...
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Apple Goes on the Record as #1
iTunes is top music retailer
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For Those About to Rock, We Be-Mac You
Whether you’re a teen rocker jump-starting a career, or a filmmaker producing a documentary about teen rockers, the Mac is your key tool of trade.
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MySpace Music: Here comes the latest iTunes killer
We've seen iTunes challengers come and go but none has had an audience the size or music credentials of MySpace.
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MySpace Music: Here comes the latest iTunes killer
Imagine digital-music without Apple as the marquee act. That's what the music labels want. For years, they have wished for a legitimate challenger to wrest away some of the bargaining power Apple has wielded as the No. 1 online music seller. So, here we go again: it's another ...
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Nicholas Carr on Dell Three Years Ago
Prescient essay by Nicholas Carr three years ago, predicting the problems that have plagued Dell since: [Then-CEO Kevin] Rollins dismissed Apple’s mega-selling iPod as a “fad,” calling it a “one-product wonder,” and he pooh-poohed the eye-catching Mac mini as inconsequential. Rollins’s comments are more than uncharacteristic. They’re troubling — and not just for their snippiness. They raise real questions about how well Dell understands the home market. Via Jim Kerstetter. ★
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Check out a pair of ultra-affordable ultraportables
Few laptops have received as much attention as Apple's MacBook Air. This 3-pound beauty measures just three-quarters-of-an-inch ...
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Article: Ask iLounge 4-3-08
This week's Ask iLounge topics: Using several iPods on one computer, Renaming imported CD tracks, iM7 and iPod nano, Burning different CD types, Purchasing from iTunes while travelling, Importing CDs on MacBook Air, Sending photos from iPhone
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iPhone Price Drop in Germany
T-Mobile, the German iPhone carrier, has dropped the price on new 8 GB models to as low as €99 (about US$155, including taxes). Interesting, especially when combined with the reports that iPhones are in short supply at many Apple Stores. (Thanks to DF reader Sebastian Niesen.) ★
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iPhone DevTeam finally releases PwnageTool
Jailbreaking is sooo last month. The PwnageTool opens up the iPhone for unsigned apps built with the official iPhone SDK, or even an entirely different OS. It's available for Mac now, with a Windows version coming soon.Read More...
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iGlasses 2.1: improved stability and more application compatibility
Filed under: Software, VideoIt's always seemed to me that the image that comes from the built-in camera on my MacBook Pro should be more adjustable. We've previously mentioned iGlasses, a webcam utility (from the makers of the handy Call Recorder for Skype) which provides all of those missing controls. The utility recently updated to version 2.1, and adds a zoom button, stability improvements and compatibility with more applications. iGlasses 2.1 lets you control color, exposure, zooming and cropping of your iSight (or one of several other webcams). It also provides several color adjustment "effects", if you're into that, and it's AppleScript-able so you can automate settings. Personally, I'm mostly interested in zooming and controlling lighting/color settings, which it handles quite well. Once the free, 7-day demo is installed, the adjustment palette shows up in most applications that use the iSight: iChat, Skype, Skitch, Pixelmator, Photo Booth and about 60 others. iGlasses will set you back $9.95 and a free demo is available. The demo can be easily uninstalled by running the installer and clicking the "Uninstall" button.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Article: iDesign: Belkin, On Recorders + Having the Inside Track
For an iPod accessory maker, it's great to have superb industrial designers, on-site engineers, and a savvy marketing department, but there's one advantage that really can't be beat: support from Apple. We're not talking about generic support, like being included on a huge, anonymous list of official iPod accessory companies, or having one of a thousand tiny spots in an Apple Retail Store; rather, this is the sort of support…
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Apple displaces Wal-Mart as top U.S. music seller
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Apple Inc. claims the title of the No. 1 music retailer in the United States, citing new industry research figures that moved the iTunes Music Store ahead of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
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Apple is #1 (in music)
Ars Technica is reporting that the NPD Group's numbers are out! Apple is the number one distributor of music. They sell more music than anyone else, well, besides those “others” who are always throwing a wrench in the plan. Credit: Ars Technica Apple was in third place in just June of 2007. They have been steadily climbing upward since then. Amazon.com is in 4th place, even with their cheaper, higher quality, DRM-free music. It seems that now would be a dangerous time for Apple to make many changes to their business model. Doing anything that is not “fair” to competition could land them in hot water. Being number one is a dangerous, yet good place to be. I would say that if Apple does pursue the subscription music model now that they are number one, eMusic is likely to sue them for anti-competitive practices. Being number one will hurt Apple more than anything else right now. When they were number two, they could always claim they were just trying to carve out their share. Now, any increase or change in practices could easily be seen as squeezing more out of everyone else.
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Apple Gazette Daily 240 - MySpace Music, Apple vs. NYC and more
podcast sponsor link:http://www.audiblepodcast.com/applegazette Click the link above to get your free audio book from Audible, and help support Apple Gazette at the same time! Today's Show: MySpace Music, Apple vs. NYC and more You can subscribe via iTunes, or by RSS feed, or… you can listen to the episode right here: In addition to that, you can also download the Apple Gazette Daily Widget and listen to every episode of the show right on your Dashboard. Click Here to download.
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Get a Room (for Your Text Messages)
Saving the texts that bind.
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Apple officially says it's the #1 music retailer in the US
Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable VideoBased on today's earlier leak of some weekly NPD marketshare data, we had our doubts that Apple had actually overtaken Wal-Mart as the number one music retailer in the US, but it looks like that January surge of iTunes gift cards and new iPod owners pushed it over the top for good -- and now we've got the PR to prove it. Apple's giving out the same "4 billion songs to 50 million customers" numbers as it has for a while now, but it says iTunes was the biggest game in town in January and February. Of course, there's a lot of 2008 left to go, so Wally might make a comeback -- it was the overall champ last year -- but Apple's achievement is still a major milestone for digitally distributed content, and we hope to see a lot more iTunes-like services on that list soon. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Apple confirms iTunes' spot as the top music retailer
Apple has now confirmed our report from last night that the iTunes Store has become the number one music retailer in the US, ahead of Wal0Mart and Best Buy.Read More...
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Zimbra Web e-mail goes mobile
Yahoo subsidiary releases e-mail client that can get mail and calendar information from Java-enabled phones, including those from Nokia, RIM's BlackBerry, and the iPhone.
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Zimbra Web e-mail goes mobile
Zimbra Thursday released a version of its Web e-mail client that works on Java-enabled mobile phones and Apple's iPhone. Zimbra e-mail client on BlackBerry, iPhone, and Nokia handset(Credit: Zimbra) With the release, the company, a division of Yahoo, released the source code for the product, called ZimbraME (Java ...
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Apple: iTunes Store Top Music Retailer in the U.S.
So does anyone still think the iTunes Store is just a loss leader for selling iPods? ★
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Apple confirms leaked data: iTunes tops the charts
The iTunes Music Store generated more sales in January and February than any other music retailer in the U.S., digital or not, according to NPD.
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An Atom-powered Intel? Not a chance
Featured links from the CNET Blog Network An Atom-powered Intel? Not a chance--Is Intel's new Atom processor a new power source for the company, or just a flash in the pan? MacBook Air major annoyance--when sleep doesn't mean sleep--No matter what I do, it seems that this machine never goes fully to sleep. Intel tempts with pre-production solid-state drives--Intel discussed a solid state drive that will ship later this year. Is an unsecured FTP server publicly accessible?--A recent Federal Circuit case discusses the accessibility of FTP servers.
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An Atom-powered Intel? Not a chance
Featured links from the CNET Blog Network An Atom-powered Intel? Not a chance--Is Intel's new Atom processor a new power source for the company, or just a flash in the pan? MacBook Air major annoyance--when sleep doesn't mean sleep--No matter what I do, it seems that this machine never goes fully to sleep. Intel tempts with pre-production solid-state drives--Intel discussed a solid state drive that will ship later this year. Is an unsecured FTP server publicly accessible?--A recent Federal Circuit case discusses the accessibility of FTP servers.
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MySpace Launches Music Service
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- MySpace, a site that has always been closely associated with music, is launching an ad-friendly iTunes competitor. MySpace Music is getting off the ground with a completely separate staff for the site and hopes to capitalize on the estimated 5 million bands and 30 million unique monthly visitors to MySpace music pages.
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Liveblog with the iPhone Dev Team: iPwnage
Yep, iPwnage was released today by the iPhone Dev Team, allowing the installation and loading of arbitrary firmware onto the iPhone and iPod touch. Great, but what does that buy you? Let's take a few minutes to chat with iPwnage developer Pytey to get a sense of the possibilities and promise of iPwnage.Permalink | Email this | Comments
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German iPhone buyers get discounted 8GB handsets
Filed under: iPhoneWas is los in Deutschland heute? First the iTunes video store finally makes a German-language debut this week, and today we receive word via a T-Mobile press release that the first tiered-discount plan for iPhone purchases is now in effect. German buyers can take advantage of a limited-time offer (April 7 to June 30) to purchase an 8GB iPhone for as little as 99 euros, if they sign up for the top 2-year contract on a service plan (the Complete XL, 1000 minutes and 300 SMS for 89 euro a month) at buy time. Translated offer pages here and here. Lower-priced plans offer a comparatively lower discount, with the top price for an 8GB iPhone at 249 euros. Note that the 16 GB iPhone remains full freight at 499 euro.Is this another example of the iPhone shortage phenomenon, or just some clever promotion by T-Mobile to enhance sales of the lower-end handset? Ach du meine Gute, ich bin völlig verwirrt.Thanks Thorsten & c0caineRead | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Firefox 3b5 fastest browser on Mac OS X? Depends on the test
Firefox's latest beta has been reported to be the fastest web browser on Mac OS X. But is he right? We don't think so, and some of our tests agree.Read More...
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Many developers working on Aperture 2.1 plugins
Filed under: Software, DeveloperWhen Apple released Aperture 2.1 last week the big news was that the editing API will allow selection based editing in Apple's flagship image management application. But what good is an API without developers? So it's heartening to see how many are jumping on board. Rob Galbraith has a good post on what the editing API plugin means and also reveals that a number of well-known image plugin developers are hard at work on Aperture. Perhaps most exciting, to me at least, PictureCode is working on Noise Ninja, but Galbraith lists many more including Nik Software, dvGarage, Digital Film Tools and others.One interesting thing about these developments is that most of these third-party developers offer these tools as Photoshop plugins. It's possible that getting some of these more advanced tools into Aperture will allow some users to get free of Photoshop. Given the recent developments with the next version of Photoshop CS4 being 32-bit only, this may mean that Apple will be more willing to step on Adobe's toes (or allow others to do so).[via Daring Fireball]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Tip: You will ♡ Apple's Character Palette
Did you know you can type a snowman ☃, and a phone â˜?? How about musical symbols liks í ´í´ž, í ´í´¢, í ´í´¡, í ´í´?, and í ´í´«? Apple's Character Palette lets you type interesting characters like these without straining your memory. Here's how to open the Character Palette: 1. Open System Preferences and click on the International icon. 2. Click on the Input Menu panel (the one on the right) and make sure Character Palette is checked, then close System Preferences. 3. Notice a new flag icon up in your menu bar, near Spotlight in the upper-right corner. 4. Choose Show Character Palette from the menu. The Character Palette groups characters into various categories like Geometrical â—•, Arrows âž , Mathematical ∛, and Currency ₤. When you see character you're looking for, just double-click it to insert it into your document. There's a lot more to the Character Palette, including a powerful search feature, detail panels for character info and variations. You can designate favorites, too. Once you give it a try, you'll appreciate not having to remember how to type those characters—just open the Character Palette!
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OPINION/SPECULATION: 3G iPhone at WWDC 2008
I've gotten quite a few emails about the recent iPhone shortages and what that may or may not mean for for the upcoming 3G iPhone. There is a lot of speculation about the date that the 3G version of the iPhone will be released, and I guess it's time to talk about it - so here goes. It seems fairly clear to me that the 3G iPhone will be released at WWDC 2008. The Developer's Conference this year is going to be all about the iPhone, in my opinion, and I actually think the teaser image that Apple released confirms that. I think we're looking at adding this second bridge of development in the iPhone applications. This year's WWDC will be all about pushing development on the iPhone, and the things that it can do. I don't think OSX will be completely left out in the cold, but I think its clear that iPhone Development is going to steal the show. With that said, I think its safe to say that we're going to be looking at an iPhone focused keynote, and I fully expect Steve Jobs to announce that 3G iPhone at that time. The current iPhone shortages all but confirm a release in the very near future, in fact some are speculating that we'll see the 3G iPhone even before WWDC…but I don't agree. My guess is that the 3G model will not be replacing the current models, but will be in addition to, and at an additional cost - perhaps even with an additional feature or two. We'll just have to wait and see. For now, though, 3G iPhone at WWDC 2008 is my official predictions - what do you guys think?
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TAB Weekly: April 3, 2008
Today marks the very first episode of TAB Weekly. Each week we'll be posting a podcast covering TAB articles and general Apple news. The podcast is great for those of you looking to hear a bit more commentary behind our posts and more news related to Apple in general. You can listen to the podcast here in the player below and in the next few days we'll have our iTunes Podcast feed setup where you'll be able to subscribe directly to that. We'd love to get your feedback on what you'd like to hear and if you have anything you'd like us to talk about or questions you'd like answered, we'll be glad to put them in the show. Download audio file (tabweekly-04032008.mp3)
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News: iTunes Store now top music retailer in US
Apple today announced that the iTunes Store has passed Wal-Mart to become the number one music retailer in the US, based on the latest data from the NPD Group. The NPD Group’s MusicWatch survey captures consumer reported past week unit purchases and counts one CD as representing 12 tracks; the iTunes Store became the largest music retailer in the US based on the amount of music sold during January and February 2008. “We launched iTunes less…
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Apple vs. NYC: What's really going on
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets So you might have heard that Apple and New York City are currently in a little scuffle over the city's apple-shaped GreeNYC logo -- NYC wants to trademark the logo, and Apple would prefer that didn't happen. The story's gotten pretty wild out there, and while it's not worth a full-blown Know Your Rights, we thought we'd try and clear up what's happening, since, you know, +10 lawyer.Unlike all those previous Apple trademark disputes, this isn't a true lawsuit, and Apple hasn't sued anyone -- the city of New York has filed a trademark application for the GreeNYC apple-shaped logo with the Patent and Trademark Office, and Apple has filed its opposition to that application. That's an important part of the trademark registration process, actually: every single trademark application has to go through a 30-day opposition period during which interested third parties can raise their objections. We'd say it's pretty obvious that Apple's got an interest in other apple-shaped trademarks, so it's not particularly surprising that it's taking the first available opportunity to speak up about this one.After the trademark applicant responds to the objection in writing (what some people have been wrongly calling NYC's "counterclaim"), the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board gathers evidence and makes a decision. We'd almost be willing to bet that that never happens, though -- after all the lawyers are done strutting around and promising victory, it's likely that Apple and NYC simply come to an amicable licensing agreement. Bottom line? This is exactly how the system is supposed to work, and Apple is just protecting its billion-dollar brand as best it can -- thousands of these oppositions are filed by all sorts of companies each year. We know, not very fun at all -- anyone care to start a Jobs vs. Bloomberg slapboxing petition?Disclaimer: Nilay's a lawyer and a formidable slapboxer, but he's not your lawyer, and none of this is legal advice or analysis. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Apple, Adobe, and 64-bit Photoshop
Filed under: OS, Software, DeveloperAdobe's announcement that Photoshop CS4 will be 32-bit only on OS X has the Mac web buzzing today. Accusations of blame are being shot at both Adobe and Apple by various pundits (though notably not by the companies themselves). Fortunately, some of the better Mac pundits are also weighing in with interesting opinions on this development.Over at Ars, John Siracusa has penned an interesting historical account of the relationship of Adobe and Apple, and the Carbon API which is at the center of the controversy. He somewhat grimly sees this Photoshop development as the furthering of bad blood between the two companies and suggests that "the real storm may be yet to come" as Adobe and Apple clash over Flash and Air, etc. (witness the Flash on iPhone kerfuffle).Over at Daring Fireball, John Gruber takes up the question of CS5 -- i.e. the next version of Photoshop -- which will be biggest Cocoa port ever attempted. He points out the interesting difference between Photoshop and Microsoft Office in that the former shares a codebase between Windows and OS X, while the latter represents two completely separate projects on the two platforms. The big question is whether Adobe will even be able to pull off the Cocoa port in time and maintain its cross-platform nature (though as both Johns have pointed out, Lightroom bodes well in this regard).In any case, this drama is just beginning to play itself out and depending on how you look at it we're in for a good many years of entertainment or frustration as the Cocoa transition of Photoshop progresses (never mind the next version of Office).Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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RIM Scoffs at 'R' Word With Doubled Profit, Revenue
Research In Motion posted strong earnings and sales growth in its fourth quarter. The positive news signals that it has not seen the Apple iPhone cut into the market share for its BlackBerry device and that adoption may continue to grow even amid a weakening economy. RIM beat Wall Street targets for the quarter ending in March, shipped a record number of BlackBerry handsets and issued an outlook that was also more robust than expected. The result was a surge in RIM shares, which were up 6 percent in midday trading Thursday to $122.64.
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Apple Beats Wal-Mart, iPhone PwnageTool Released and No 64-bit Photoshop for Mac
Quicktime patched, Apple takes on Big Apple and MySpace readies music service.
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Big deal.
The Macalope is in general agreement with Jupiter Research's David Card that today's announcement of hot four-way action between MySpace, Sony BMG, Universal and Warner could be huge. The reason, of course, is because the kids love the MySpace. There are also a lot of details missing and there's plenty of room for them to screw this up. But the horny one had to chuckle at the press release on Warner's web site: "MySpace Music" Empowers Artists and Consumers Globally With Unprecedented Digital Music Service and E-Commerce Platform New Company to Leverage 30 Million Unique MySpace Music Traffic to Activate Monetization Around Music Content Boy, they really know how to talk to their customers, don't they? The Macalope doesn't know about MySpace users, but when he hears that there's a new service that "empowers" "content" "monetization" through "e-commerce", he just wants to rush right out and cut himself off a slice of that! The Macalope realizes press releases are not really directed at customers, but they do get put into news reports that customers read. You'd never see a press release from Apple like that. Maybe that's one of the reasons why Apple's the number one music retailer in the U.S.
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Apple passes Walmart, number 1 in US music sales
Filed under: iTS, AppleArs Technica managed to get access to unreleased data from NPD MusicWatch that shows that Apple is now the leading music retailer in the US, passing Walmart. Apparently the news was sent in an internal Apple email and Cupertino now controls 19% of retail music sales, against Walmart's 15% and number three Best Buy's 13%.Needless to say, this is the first time a download retailer has taken the number one spot and represents a notable market share gain for Apple even since February. It will now be interesting to see if Apple can hold on to the top spot in the long run. In any case, this is a watershed moment and brings the mainstream death of the CD that much closer into view.Thanks Nate!Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Apple passes Wal-Mart in music sales?
A leaked internal Apple memo shows Apple surpassing Wal-Mart in global music sales.
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Apple passes Wal-Mart in music sales?
Tech blog Ars Technica says they've got their hands on an internal Apple memo that shows iTunes has topped Wal-Mart Stores in total global music sales. The data in the memo cites a report from the month of January conducted by The NPD Group, a market research firm. NPD'...
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T-Mobile may offer iPhone for discount, with contract
While everyone else has to pay full price to get an iPhone, German iPhone buyers may be able to get a (substantial) discount when signing up for new service plans for T-Mobile, starting next week. Read More...
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Building Game Lets Would-Be Real Estate Tycoons Play Without Risk
Maybe bad news sells. A dormant market for real estate hasn't stopped a new homebuilding game from being a hot download in the computer world. "Build-a-lot" takes a player through a series of homebuilding challenges, juggling everything from cash flow to supplies to the ever-present demands of the local mayor. Now, if they could only throw in a presidential campaign meddling with the home market to boot. The game, created for the Windows world by HipSoft, came out late last year.
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Can Blogger-Bashers Predict the Success of a Product? Unlikely.
This writeup of the MacBook Air might seem kind of peculiar, considering that my official review appeared in The Times back in January. But I’ve got to get something off my chest. I get tons and tons of e-mail feedback — hundreds of messages a week. Most of it’s instructive, constructive, interesting, funny, friendly. But every now [...]
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iHome lamps illuminate and charge your iPod
Posted by Dennis SellersCheckolite International— a worldwide designer, developer and manufacturer of interior and exterior residential lighting and home audio products—has launched a full line of iHome-branded iPod connectable lamps that play and charge your iPod while illuminating your workspace.
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64-bit Photoshop to be Windows only, at first
Photoshop Senior Project Manager John Nack posted a piece on his blog called Photoshop, Lightroom, and Adobe’s 64-bit roadmap where he divulges that Photoshop (CS4) will be available in 64-bit versions for Windows, but only a 32-bit version for OS X. It doesn’t mean that the Windows version of Photoshop will be twice as fast as [...]
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Apple: We're trying to get iPhones in stores ASAP
Apple finally comments on the iPhone shortage, and AT&T puts more fuel on the 3G fire.Read More...
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Photoshop CS4 64-bit version…for Windows only
The Apple/Adobe relationship has been a tad strained lately. Apple has been less than helpful with providing Adobe necessary information for their development process, and Adobe has taken the stance of ignorance in regards to porting their apps from Carbon to Cocoa. Yesterday, Adobe's John Nack wrote that the next version of Photoshop (CS4) would support 64-bit computing, but only on Windows. CS4 on OS X would stay 32-bit. So why is this a big deal? For a majority of Photoshop users, this just plain will not matter or affect them. But for the Photoshop power-users (who are largely on the Mac platform), 64-bit computing would make a difference to them. 64-bit computing basically allows the application to process huge amounts of memory faster. Ultimately reducing processing time and creating a faster workflow. Nack gives an example. For example, opening a 3.75 gigapixel image on a 4-core machine with 32GB RAM is about 10× faster. I can't say I know many people with a 4-core machine and 32GB of RAM…but the example still stands. On the other hand, Gruber makes another great point. Keep in mind that a Canon 1Ds Mark III — which sells at Amazon for $8,000 — generates 21 megapixel images. 3.75 gigapixels is 3,750 megapixels. You probably don’t have images like that. I feel like a lot of the hoopla surrounding this is more of a principle issue than a real business or technology issue for a lot of people. I can't imagine the backlash that has come from this is really felt by so many people. The idea that Photoshop CS4 will run faster on a 64-bit version of Windows Vista makes people more upset than the reality of it. You have to remember that the average copy of Windows Vista is only 32-bit capable. You have to purchase a separate version of Vista to have 64-bit capabilities. Ultimately I think Photoshop CS4's 64-bit capabilities just won't be a big deal. Such a small, concentrated number of Vista users will be using it that I think it will just be forgotten until CS5 with Photoshop supports 64-bit editing on both OSX and Windows.
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Apple is the #1 music retailer in the US…no wait…nevermind
In January Apple was the #1 music seller in the US. In Feb, however, Wal-Mart reclaimed their spot at the top according to Ars Technica. The reason for the spike in Jan. can most likely be attributed to customers redeeming iTunes gift cards that they received at Christmas. What's extremely interesting about this, though, is not that Apple beat Wal-Mart for one month. Apple had 19% of the market, Wal-Mart had 15%, Best Buy had 13%, and Amazon only had 6%. Those numbers are very compelling because they show us the difference in percentage of the top 4 music retailers. Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Apple are all neck and neck. In January, at least, Apple had a commanding lead. Amazon, on the other hand, has a lot of catching up to do, even with its large DRM-free library. If things continue at the pace they are now, don't be surprised to see Apple overtake Wal-Mart permanently sometime in 2008.
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News: Griffin unveils ClearBoost antenna-boosting iPhone case
Griffin Technology has introduced its new ClearBoost case for iPhone, a unique polycarbonate case that aims to help boost the device's antenna reception. The black and grey case features an internal booster antenna that runs along the inside of the case from the base of the iPhone (where its antennas are located) up and out the top, providing slightly improved signal reception. Other features include open access to all ports and controls, a…
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Apple patent involves episodic games and how users interact with them
Posted by Dennis SellersAn Apple patent (number 20080082406) for the treatment of episodic games responsive to user game playing activity has appeared at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. The invention relates to digital game assets and, more particularly, to treatment (such as marketing) of episodic digital game assets from an on-line media...
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No Starch Press releases 'The Cult of Mac' and 'The Cult of iPod' in electronic form
Posted by Dave MertenRecognizing that the book business is changing and that books end up on file-sharing sites within days of being released in electronic form, No Starch Press thought they'd take matters into their own hands. The result? No Starch released their own “official pirate version” of two best-selling backlist titles, Leander...
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Weekly Widget:Â MadLibs
I remember in Jr. High and High School wasting hours of class time doing madlibs with my classmates. I'm quite positive I learned more reading madlibs than reading Edgar Allen Poe. Fortunately you now can waste your day away doing madlibs right on your Mac thanks to the MadLibs widget! It includes 23 different madlib stories to do, many of which are Apple or computer related. Download the widget, do some madlibs, and post them in the comments.
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As expected, MySpace unveils new music service
Executives from MySpace officially announced the creation of MySpace Music, a service that will be jointly operated by News Corp.'s MySpace and, at least initially, three out of the four top record labels. The Thursday morning teleconference MySpace held with the press was anticlimactic since details about the service have been leaking ...
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Apple patent is for soft keyboard display for portable multifunction device
Posted by Dennis SellersAn Apple patent (number 20080082934) for a soft keyboard display for a portable multifunction device has appeared at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. It relates generally to the soft keyboard on the iPhone (and perhaps upcoming Apple devices). 

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Sony unveils 'world's smallest full HD camcorder'
Posted by Dennis SellersSony has announced the HDR-TG1 Handycam camcorder, which it says is the world's smallest full HD camcorder. The graphic is the actual size—no, I'm just kidding.
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The Big Apple bites off Apple logo
The city of New York has announced that they’ve got a new logo (pictured at right) for their GreeNYC campaign. Apple has announced that they’re suing The Big Apple because the logo will “seriously injure the reputation which [Apple] has established for its goods and services” reports Wired. The city has filed for a trademark on the [...]
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8GB Nano on Woot for $140
If you were looking for an excuse to buy a new iPod Nano, I think I just found it. Woot.com is selling a blue or black 3rd Generation 8 GB Nano for only $134.99 with only $5 shipping. That makes it one penny shy of $140 for a shiny refurbished 8 GB nano. You can also go to Apple's refurbished iPod store and get a 4 GB 3rd Generation iPod with a $15 iTunes Gift Card for $129. Apple is selling the 8GB refurbed Nano for 169 Washingtons and it also comes with a $15 iTunes Gift card. The Woot deal is about $15 less than the Apple deal. A quick Google search and Pricegrabber.com search show the next cheapest price for a 3rd Gen Nano at $179 and $177 respectively. If you don't know about Woot.com, they sell refurbished items daily. They start with an unknown limited supply, and sell it on a first come, first served basis. Also, they are excellent writers whose product descriptions always bring a smile. It is a great place to find good deals, and they rarely have Apple produces there. Hurry on over before they sell out!
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Apple Posts Quicktime 7.6.2 Security Fix + iTunes Front Row Updates
Apple has posted Quicktime 7.4.5 to Software Update that includes 11 security fixes, three of which only impact Windows systems. Some of the vulnerabilities can lead to arbitrary code execution (i.e. bad people can run programs on your system) by just tricking you into viewing specially crafted content. While that may seem unlikely to you – “I never click on bad things!” – you can become compromised just by visiting a site that displays ads from a source that has had their image/media server usurped. iTunes 7.6.2 “provides bug fixes to improve stability and performance.” One of Apple's least-helpful (and, these days, all-too-frequent) software update explanations. Similarly, Front Row 2.1.3 “provides for bug fixes and improved iTunes compatibility.” Reboot required, so plan ahead. If you experience any issues post-update, drop a note in the comments.
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iSuppli: iPhone used more for web and music than talk
Posted by Dennis SellersUS iPhone owners spend more time using the communications device for voice, data communications and multimedia entertainment rather than for traditional voice calls, according to a latest consumer survey by research firm iSuppli (as reported by DigiTimes).
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Apple patent involves iPhone, iPod touch widgets
Posted by Dennis SellersAn Apple patent (number 20080082930) for a portable multifunction device, method and graphical user interface for configuring and displaying widgets has appeared at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. It involves portable electronic devices, and more particularly, to portable devices that include multiple widgets—in other words, the widgets on the...
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Sprint, Sierra Wireless announce new mobile broadband USB modem
Posted by Dennis SellersSprint and Sierra Wireless have announced the upcoming launch of the Sierra Wireless Compass 597, which they say is the smallest USB modem for mobile broadband networks.
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iTunes, Quicktime and Front Row all receive updates
iTunes, Quicktime, and Front Row updates have been released by Apple. The iTunes update, which weighs in at 46 mbs, features “bug fixes to improve stability and performance.” While the Front Row update, 20.5 mbs, increases compatibility with the latest version of iTunes. Compelling stuff. The Quicktime update gives us security fixes for Leopard, Tiger, Panther, and Windows XP and Vista. You can actually read about what those are here. I know this is all very exciting and compelling news, but guys, please, try to contain yourselves.
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View Spotlight indexing task's percentage completion
This hint is perhaps obvious, but I didn't see it anywhere and it can be useful to know. If you click on the Spotlight menu bar icon, it will tell you what it estimates the remaining time to create the index will be (i.e., "About 5 hours remaining"). If you hover your mouse over the Spotlight menu bar icon, however, it will tell you a percentage completion figure instead ("Indexing volumes. (6% done)"). A percentage can be nice because OS X's estimate isn't always that good.
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Restore a missing Address Book preferences window
This recent hint about a missing Parallels' Snapshot Manager window made me think I could cure my missing Address Book Preferences window. Somehow it had become lost, and pressing Command-, wouldn't show anything. So after a bit digging in Adress Book's preferences, I ran this Terminal command (after quitting Address Book): defaults write com.apple.AdressBook "NSWindow Frame Preferences" 0 This solved the problem; on next launch, the Preferences window had returned. [robg adds: Trashing Address Book's preferences file (com.apple.AddressBook.plist) would also solve this problem, but would require much more rework to reestablish your settings. This general technique could also be used to restore any window that's gone missing due to an improper location. First find the program's preferences file in your user's Library » Preferences folder, then either open it...
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Import Sogudi's Safari shortcuts to Firefox
If you are a Safari user and use Sogudi, you'll know how easy it is to use its shortcuts. When I moved to Linux, I needed a way to import my shortcuts to Mozilla Firefox, which has the same feature (known as Quick Searches). So, I wrote sogudi2qs.py, a Python script that exports all shortcuts into a file that can then be imported into Firefox's bookmarks. To use it, download the script [view source], then type this in Terminal: $ cd /path/to/download/location $ unzip sogudi2qs.py_.zip $ python sogudi2qs.py >quicksearches.html That will create a file named quicksearches.html in the current directory. Then just import that file into Firefox's Bookmarks, and you've transferred all your Sogudi shortcuts. [robg adds: ...
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10.5: Fix Transparent Dock and invisible Stack problems
If your Dock sometimes becomes transparent, and Stacks only show as label backgrounds -- often iTunes' Cover Flow mode stops working, too -- as illustrated here, you can use this Terminal command to recover: sudo killall -HUP WindowServer Warning:The above command will log you out and quit all open programs without warning -- so ideally, you should close any open programs before running the command. It does, however, prevent you from having to reboot, which is the only way I'd found to otherwise solve this problem. You can read more about this command in this hint; it's basically a way to restart the GUI without restarting the entire machine. [robg adds: There are a few threads ...
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10.5: Change the Apple Mail To Do mailbox name
Mail.app in Leopard creates an IMAP folder for its To Do list and by default calls it "Apple Mail To Do." It's hidden when looking at the IMAP box in Mail, but it's not hidden on the iPhone. I would rather not have it at the top of the list on the iPhone, so changed its name. To change the default name, quit Mail. Open com.apple.mail.plist in your favorite editor. Look for the Mail Accounts section; each account has its own list within that section. Find the ToDosMailboxName entry, and change the associated value to your preferred title and save. Important: Before you launch Mail.app, you need to log into your IMAP account with a web interface (or command line if you know how), and change the Apple Mail To Do folder to its new name. [robg adds: Apple's Mail prefs are stored in binary form, so you'll need to use a binary-capable...
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iPhone overheats while docked, fight for replacement begins
Filed under: Cellphones Not even a month after three iPods got all hot and bothered on separate occasions, along comes images showing that even Apple's iPhone isn't immune to melting itself. Purportedly, the handset was purchased from Carphone Warehouse in December, but was never activated for one reason or another. Just this week, the owner's son slapped it in a dock with intentions of activating, walked downstairs to catch the last few minutes of Magnum, P.I. and returned to his room to find a "stupidly hot" iPhone which had already melted in some parts and had its screen cracked from the reaction. Not surprisingly, he's currently in the middle of a runaround trying to get someone to remedy the issue, but thankfully no Earthlings, carpets or IKEA desks were harmed.Update: Thanks to Logan5's quick eyes, it appears we've discovered a scammer in our midst. Essentially, this bloke posted the real story here noting that the crack (more on that here) actually appeared after it was mishandled and dropped. Haven't we learned this approach doesn't work by now? Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Under The Radar News - Thursday
AT&T likes Android. AT&T (T) says Google's (GOOG) upcoming handset OS, Android, is "something we are going to want in our portfolio." AT&T would be the largest U.S. carrier to say they will offer Android-based phones; T-Mobile (DT) and Sprint (S) have already said they plan to carry them. Yahoo (YHOO), AT&T's official mobile search and display ad partner, wouldn't say whether the unexpected endorsement would jeopardize their relationship.
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Big Apple vs. Apple Inc. in logo brouhaha
Posted by Dennis SellersThere's a brouhaha involving an emblem (shown) for New York City's GreenNYC campaign that shows a hows a stylized apple with a stalk and a leaf. It bears a resemblance to Apple's logo—“a resemblance Apple says infringes on its trademark,” reports Wired.
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Speck releases new MacBook Air, 20-inch iMac shells
Posted by Dennis SellersSpeck has released the SeeThru Hard Shell for MacBook Air and See Thru Hard Shell for the iMac. They're US$49.95 each.
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Three Apple patents relate to Apple store
Posted by Dennis SellersApple has filed three patents at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office relating to its online store.
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MacService announces MacBook Air 24-hour screen replacement program
Posted by Dennis SellersMacService has announced a MacBook Air 24-hour screen replacement program. You can now replace your cracked MacBook Air screen via their nationwide mail-in repair program for US$445.
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Buzz on the Second Coming of the iPhone
Speculation about Apple (