Aug 13, 2008 Aug 15, 2008 Thursday August 14, 2008
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Dual-display laptop design has wings
Filed under: Laptops Perhaps it's just that nostalgia for the ThinkPad 701 but there's something about this dual-display reference design that's causing optical interrupts all over Engadget editorial. It's certainly not as elegant as some other dual-display laptops we've seen, but what it gives up in looks, the Electronic Keyboards, Inc. design makes up for in practicality. They're currently pitching it to OEMs and will gladly sell you the related US patents if interested. Though given our choice, we'd be more interested in patents related to an elongated trackpad which doubles as a secondary glass display or e-Ink informational widget. Hey, a boy can dream can't he? [Via The Raw Feed]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Should Apple Be Worth More Than Google?
Apple is worth more than Google. Huh? This doesn't make sense to me. Let's start with the obvious: Google makes more money than Apple does. It had earnings of $10 billion over the past 12 months, compared to $8 billion for Apple. And while both companies' earnings are growing fast, Google's are growing faster.
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Microsoft's Mojave Experiment Exposes Serious Vista Problems
Daniel Eran Dilger In its enthusiastic efforts to sweep Vista's problems under the rug using theatrical demonstrations on trick props, the Microsoft's Mojave Experiment also unintentionally exposes some other embarrassments and technical deficiencies related to the ânewâ operating system now nearly halfway through its expected lifespan. Microsoftâs Mojave Attempts to Wet Vistaâs Desert Let Sleeping Dogs Lie! Microsoft bragged that 83% and 89% of Vista users in a separate study would recommend it to others or expressed satisfaction with it (respectively), but it then has to point out that nearly half of those were actually only âsomewhat likelyâ to recommend it and more than half were only âsomewhat satisfiedâ with their experience. In contrast, most consumer satisfaction ratings, such as ChangeWave's smartphone comparisons, only present âvery satisfiedâ users. In a competitive market, users who were only âsomewhat satisfiedâ would be very likely to move on to something else. The iPhone has âvery satisfiedâ 79% of its users in that independent study. But Vista has only âvery satisfiedâ 43% of users in Microsoft's own study, a ranking that compares to the feedback ChangeWave got back on the dreadful smartphones from LG and Sanyo. That's not saying much. On its âWindows Vista: Look how far we've comeâ page (I am not making this up), Microsoft notes that Vista runs 98 of the top 100 consumer applications. Assuming that Microsoft didn't figure in any Mac-only apps, that means two top sellers still can't run on Vista nearly two years after its launch. Maybe that isn't something to brag about either. Look, It Toots Its Own Horn. âWhen Windows Vista debuted in January 2007,â Microsoft notes, âwe declared it the best operating system we had ever made.â This reminds me of the toddler diapers commercial where the kids sing âI can pull them off an on! Mommy, wow, I'm a big kid now.â Good job patting yourself on the back, Microsoft. Well done. But what was everyone else saying? â'Windows Vista is beautiful,' The New York Times raved,â the site points out, omitting the fact that the Times' review was actually titled âVista Wins on Looks. As for Lacks …â and began by observing, âMicrosoftâs description, which youâll soon be seeing in millions of dollarsâ worth of advertising, is 'Clear, Confident, Connected.' But a more truthful motto would be 'Looks, Locks, Lacks.'â The supposedly âravingâ review also noted that the user interface in âVista has something of a multiple-personality disorder,â noted âsome jaw-dropping misfires,â âsome useful XP features have simply been removed,â and concluded âthatâs not to say, however, that Vista is worth standing in line for on Jan. 30,â before asking âIs it too little, too late?â Windows Vista: Look how far we've come And Shut Up About Security, You're Only Making Things Worse. Microsoft also works hard to advertise Vista's stronger security, a notable improvement. The company says, âWindows Vista has fewer than half the security vulnerabilities of Windows XP,â but that claim relates directly to the fact that Microsoft itself releases the majority of vulnerability reports for its products because the open source community doesn't have the same access to discover and publicize its weaknesses as Linux, Mac OS X, or other products making use of open source code. Microsoft's Vista vulnerability count is therefore about as useful as China's reports on its own human rights violations. However, it also notes that Vista is â60% less likely to be infected by spyware or malware than Windows XP SP2.â That's great, but Windows XP SP2 isn't exactly known to be bulletproof. It's hard to find a Windows PC that isn't dripping with spyware and malware, so only being a little better than half as infected is bad news for Vista, not something to advertise. âCome to Beijing, where you're now 60% less likely to be persecuted for your beliefs, run over by a tank, or die from pollution!â Of course, Microsoft also takes a disingenuous potshot at Apple by saying, âin early 2008, Windows Vista was shown to have 89% fewer vulnerabilities than MacOS X 10.5, making it the most secure Windows release to date.â That non sequitur also fails to point out that Vista was a year old at that point, while Leopard had just been released. But even more damning is that that factoid was sourced from a Microsoft employee's blog, who posted the vulnerability count figures without any context, and without disclosing the fact that âMac OS X vulnerabilities,â just like the cited âLinux vulnerabilities,â include every flaw found in their bundled open source libraries and servers, regardless of whether these are turned on by default or exposed to users at all. Microsoft does not bundle in counts for flaws found in its equivalent software libraries, and typically even excludes flaws discovered in Internet Explorer and Java. While pundits like to talk a lot about vulnerability counts, they never qualify what those numbers actually represent. For example, does it have any impact on security overall to find that throughout the last year: for Mac OS X: ⢠16% of the listed vulnerabilities threatened the potential for system access ⢠10% threatened to expose sensitive data or system info ⢠the largest amount, 29%, were only denial of service attacks while under Windows Vista: ⢠43% of the vulnerabilities threatened to provide to system access ⢠24% threatened to expose sensitive data or system info ⢠only 5% were limited to threatening a denial of service attack Microsoft has to lie through its teeth to suggest that Leopard has greater security issues that Vista, despite having just admitted that Vista is only 60% less likely to be infected than a Windows XP machine. How many Mac OS X machines have malware or adware infections? There are simply no credible threats of malware infection on the Mac, and no amount of countable vulnerabilities in Java, Perl, or OpenSSL have changed that this last year during which researchers on Microsoft's payroll were blogging about misleading vulnerability counts on the Mac. The last time we looked at vulnerability numerology for December 2007, it turned out that over third of the Mac OS X flaws that Secunia had tallied up were actually blank placeholders or duplicates. A quarter of the reminder were related to Sun's Java SDK or JRE, which few users touch, and which Microsoft does not include in its own counts for Vista. There were actually half as many flaws in Apple's own Leopard code as there were in Vista's, which really means that Microsoft hasn't delivered some breakthrough in security that has launched Vista to a lofty new position of safety, but only that it is significantly better than Windows XP, but not better enough to get users to spring for an expensive upgrade, accept the performance hit, and buy a bunch of new hardware and software. Conversely, the virus, malware, adware, and spyware plague on Windows has motivated many PC users to move to Macs. Microsoft is upset that Apple is advertising this fact, but before Microsoft complains about Apple telling the truth, Microsoft should really stop lying about Mac security and vulnerability counts, because that kind of blatantly dishonest hypocrisy doesn't help its case at all. Vista vs Mac OS X Security: Why George Ouâs ZDNet Vulnerability Numerology is Absurd Microsoft's Black Kettle. It is comical that Windows enthusiasts try to suggest that the runaway success of the iPod and iPhone is primarily due to Apple's marketing. Microsoft has blown out hundreds of millions of dollars to flog Vista, but it has flopped because it delivers too little advantages at a high price in terms of compatibility, performance, and of course that arrogantly high retail price tag. Microsoft has only backhandedly acknowledged Apple's success with the Mac, iPod, and iPhone in its statements to investors, warning them that it would have to give up profits in order to try to match Apple's business model. Microsoft's business teeters upon its ability to prevent competition in the markets it operates in. Now that the company is facing a credible competitor to the future of Windows from Apple's Macintosh, it must now start delivering upon its promises and actually ship products people want. However, Microsoft is still stuck with Vista until it can release Windows 7 in 2010, likely alongside Windows Mobile 7, its first attempt to copy the iPhone. Apple's current rampage across the PC, MP3 player, smartphone, and mobile Internet device markets demands a stronger response than just rolling out a plan to show up years late to the party. Windows Vista, 7, and Singularity: The New Copland, Gershwin, Taligent Microsoftâs Zune, Vista, and Windows Mobile 7 Strategy vs the iPhone Over the last decade, Microsoft has been content to collect licensing money for warmed up old code without regard for security or features. No amount of Mojave marketing tricks can disguise the problem that the company shipped an Edsel with Vista: a product it arrogantly assumed the market would buy simply because it was Microsoft pushing it out. Let's see how well the company does with some friendly competition. Did you like this article? Let me know. Comment here, in the Forum, or email me with your ideas. Like reading RoughlyDrafted? Share articles with your friends, link from your blog, and subscribe to my podcast (oh wait, I have to fix that first). It's also cool to submit my articles to Digg, Reddit, or Slashdot where more people will see them. Consider making a small donation supporting this site. Thanks!
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Problems Persist with the iPhone 3G
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iTunes pays tribute to Isaac Hayes
Filed under: iTSChef: "You've got to hold the [iPhone] like you would hold your lover. Gently, yet firmly." Legendary entertainer Isaac Hayes has passed on, but iTunes remembers him with this tribute page that highlights his amazing music career. Of course for many of us, it wasn't just his musical legacy but his beloved TV performances that endeared him to our memories. RIP, Isaac.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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X-Files iPods: misplaced merchandising, or desperate bid for profitability?
Filed under: Portable Audio We want to believe it's not the latter. Okay, this is (hopefully) the last one of these Fox-branded iPods we do, we just thought it would be funny, you know, because the movie did so badly and... stuff. Yeah, on second thought, not very funny.[Via TUAW]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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SEC, Apple's former lawyer settle stock-option charges
The former top lawyer for Apple agreed to settle federal charges against her that she helped to fraudulently backdate stock-option ...
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Back to School: Academic software
Filed under: Software, Education, DealsTUAW's going Back to School! We'll be bringing you tips and reviews for students, parents and teachers right up until the bell rings in September. Read on for tips on saving money on software. At the start of every school year, students, teachers and parents have a seemingly-endless list of "to-buy" items. It gets expensive, and software is often the last place people want to plunk down money. Fortunately, the world of academic software discounts can easily save students (and their parents) and teachers enormous sums of money. Academic software is exactly the same as the "regular" software, but the box says "Academic License" and the price can be significantly, noticeably less. How much less? Well, in the case of Adobe Creative Suite Design Premium 3.3, the academic version goes for $594.95 (you can save an additional $200 if you buy the package with a new Mac at the Apple Higher Education Store), and the full version clocks in at a whopping $1799US. $600 vs. $1800 is a pretty big difference, especially for students. Depending on the software title, you might have to be a college student or faculty member to take advantage of some of the best discounts, but more and more publishers are opening up the discounts to K-12 students and teachers. Please note: While academic discounts are available in other countries, this guide is primarily aimed at US and Canadian students. All prices are in USD. I've been buying academic software since I was in high school, and here are some of the tips/best practices I've picked up over the years ... Continue reading Back to School: Academic softwareRead | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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TUAW Tip: Setting up iChat Buddy Updates
Filed under: Tips and tricks, Odds and ends When using iChat, do you sometimes feel like you're stuck back in 2005? Away from all the glory and marvels of today's modern social networking? Bring your iChat client into the golden age and sign up for iChat Buddy Updates at AOL's site so you can share your status messages as social-network updates. Buddy updates transform iChat into a social network tool. You'll see a status feed from all your buddies including all the status changes you might have missed while you were out. You'll learn that your pal went to the gym 90 minutes ago and out to eat 75 minutes ago and into a meeting 4 minutes ago. (Great workout, huh?) What's more, you can add your Twitter, Flickr and other site feeds into the mix so it's not just a steady stream of "away", "available", "away", "available" notations. And of course, once you know you're building an audience with this new beta tool, you're sure to start using more interesting status messages than "Work only! Evil overlords on a case-by-case basis" all the time. Buddy updates are a free service of AIM. Sign in with your iChat user name and ID at the buddy update site. Full Disclosure: TUAW is an AOL property.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Wii Transfer updated for Mii capture
Filed under: Gaming, SoftwareMaking cartoon avatars of yourself is hard work, and nobody wants to redo all that tweaking when you've got a perfectly good doppelganger sitting right there on your Wii console... with no good way to get it off the TV and onto your Mac. What a drag! Good thing there's the new version 2.6 of Wii Transfer, the Swiss Army Knife of Mac-Wii connection tools, to the rescue.Aside from the headline feature of copying your Miis to your Mac as JPEG images (which requires a bit of fancy dancing with Bluetooth and the Wii controller, but it's doable), the new version adds support for most popular movie formats, improved movie playback with random timeline access, selection of specific iTunes playlists for streaming access, and more. For $19, you can get a long way towards turning your Wii into a low-budget Apple TV.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Second thoughts about iPhone 2.0?
Rob Griffiths is generally thrilled with the third-party programs that have come to the iPhone thanks to the iPhone 2.0 update. But the bugs he's been having to deal with since upgrading have soured him on the 2.0 experience.
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Second thoughts about iPhone 2.0?
Rob Griffiths is generally thrilled with the third-party programs that have come to the iPhone thanks to the iPhone 2.0 update. But the bugs he's been having to deal with since upgrading have soured him on the 2.0 experience.
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Second thoughts about iPhone 2.0?
Rob Griffiths is generally thrilled with the third-party programs that have come to the iPhone thanks to the iPhone 2.0 update. But the bugs he's been having to deal with since upgrading have soured him on the 2.0 experience.
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Yahoo Appoints 2 Icahn Allies to Its Board
Yahoo appointed Frank Biondi and John Chapple to its board as part of its settlement of its proxy fight with corporate raider Carl Icahn.
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Back to School: Canvastic v3.5
Filed under: Multimedia, Software, Education, Odds and ends, Graphic Design TUAW's going Back to School! We'll be bringing you tips and reviews for students, parents and teachers right up until the bell rings in September. Read on cool software for K-8 classrooms.Canvastic LLC has announced a new version of the Canvastic graphics, writing, and publishing tool. Canvastic is designed to be used in K-8 classrooms, and is fun and productive for students.Canvastic 3.5 is designed for use on both PPC and Intel Macs (which is great, as many American schools still use older Macs). The student publishing tool includes drawing, text and presentation tools, plus an Audio Tool for voice recording, insertion of sounds and integration with iTunes. Audio tracks can be played in documents or presentations. Other new features include: Transparency and color tones in graphics and text Teachers can enable or disable spell checking, and also keep students from "customizing" the dictionary New brush shapes The ability to import digital photographs Additional templates, backgrounds, and art As before, Canvastic presents a customized user interface depending on the grade level of the student. Canvastic 3.5 is a free upgrade for all registered users, and those with free site licenses can upgrade for 50% of the posted educational prices. Pricing ranges from US$39 for one user to US$949 for an unlimited school building license. Schools can do an unlimited pilot of Canvastic for up to 60 days, and many school districts qualify for a free site license for half of their schools.Click here to download the free trial.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Apple .Mac customers targeted for fraud
Phishers apparently take advantage of the difficulties that occurred when Apple transitioned users from .Mac to Mobile Me service last month.
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Dear Auntie TUAW: Did I overstep my data limits?
Filed under: iPhone Cara Tia TUAW, I need your help please. I am in Mexico and have an iPhone with a 150 MB data plan and 300 minutes. My carrier says that I have passed my data limit and owe them around $150 usd. According to the Cellular Network Data on my iPhone, I have used 35MB and 83 minutes (Settings > General > Usage). My question is, is this information technically good enough to fight back these charges? I think it must be, but I have to be sure. Can you help me, please? Love, Joe P p.s. Why I don't have an unlimited data plan? because it costs around $110 usd a month, that's why. My current data plan costs about $55 a month. Thank you! Dear Joe P, Auntie wishes she had better news for you, but the usage meter on the phone is notoriously unreliable. If you've restored or updated your iPhone in the last month (2.0.1 anyone?), you may have accidentally reset those values. Personally, we at TUAW can sneeze through 150 MB just by loading our own home page (or maybe it just seems that way). Of course, feel free to contact customer service -- but relying on the onboard usage stats isn't going to take you very far. Sorry for the bad news, caro. Love, Auntie TUAWRead | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Review: espressoSoft Star Smasher
We've been following Star Smasher for a little while, and perhaps with a little too much anticipation. We're huge fans of Nintendo's classic Star Fox, one of two arcade-style games that helped to introduce audiences to the idea of polygonal 3-D space shooters. Someone at Apple clearly liked the game too, as it used a Star Fox-like demo called Touch Fighter as an early demonstration of the iPhone's 3-D capabilities; we hoped…
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Ten ways OS X rocks
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, OS, Software, Cool toolsSmashing Magazine does a good old-fashioned "why OS X is so much better" piece -- ok, well they're not that blatant (it's actually focused on the "top ten usability highs"), but with all of the iPhone/App Store news going around, it's kind of refreshing to see some nice, traditional Mac praise.So why is OS X better than other (*cough*Windows*cough) operating systems? Metaphors play a huge part -- when you use a Mac, you're not just browsing through files or using plugins, you're flipping through what look like album covers, or pulling up a "Dashboard." And everything is extremely intuitive -- it's clear upon first look at the screen what does what or where to find certain features of the operating system.Every system has problems, and OS X is no exception. But using it day to day, OS X definitely gives out all kinds of "wait, it was that easy?" and "just works" moments. And that's why we're such big fans of it in the first place.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Review: Danielle Cassley/Jason Citron Aurora Feint
While we've assigned ratings to all of the other games we've reviewed for iPods and iPhones thus far, we've decided to hold off on doing so for Aurora Feint for the time being. This game, a clone of Nintendo's Panel de Pon, a.k.a. Tetris Attack—a “match three or more blocks” puzzle game like Bejeweled that differs in its use of a well that's not always full—is unlike so many of the demos we have…
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Leave a Comment, Win an iPod classic
Touch screen?!?! Come on, who wants their greasy fingers all over their iPod. Frankly, it can be downright disgusting. A swipe here, a tap there, next thing you know you got a slimy iPod mess. So lets go old skool with this week's comment contest, with an 80GB iPod classic. All you have to do is post a comment in this article to win your very own iPod classic. That's it! The comment can be as long or as short as you like â one word will do! read more
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Frotz brings text adventuring to the iPhone
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Freeware, Retro Mac, iPhone, App StoreWe've already seen text adventures on the jailbroken iPhone way back when, but now Craig Smith has brought the z-machine interpreter (the engine that runs classic text adventure games like Zork, Planetfall and all the Infocom titles) to the iPhone officially with Frotz, available right now in the App Store. It comes with a few games to begin with, and there's also built in access to the Interactive Fiction Database, so you can grab as many text-based adventures as you'd like -- hours and hours of text-based good times. Whether you're an old hand at GET LAMP or new to the surprisingly vast world of IF, Frotz seems like a perfect portal to all the adventuring there is to find out there.[via Joystiq]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Review: Griptonite Games Chimps Ahoy
Back when we originally covered Chimps Ahoy, Griptonite Games was selling it for $10—a bit too much to pay for a simple block-breaking Breakout clone. Our comment then was that we didn't know that it was worth the $10 asking price, which struck us as steep, but we were definitely struck by the title's art style. Those familiar with Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker title for the GameCube will instantly understand where…
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Hardware, Software or Network: What's Eating iPhone 3G?
While the iPhone 3G has been selling millions of units around the world, a small but vocal percentage of customers have been having irritating -- if not debilitating -- experiences with their shiny new phones. Their issues reportedly include dropped calls when using 3G networks and weak or flaky 3G reception. Reports of the cause are wide-ranging and rife with speculation, if not outright rumor. Apple, for its part, isn't talking to anyone, it seems.
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Simplify Media for iPhone
Filed under: iPhone, App StoreThe Simplify Media iPhone application (iTunes link) v1.1 has hit the App Store. As you can see from the video above, with Simplify Media installed on your Mac and on your iPhone or iPod touch, you can stream your home iTunes library to your mobile device wherever you may be. It will supposedly work over EDGE, 3G, or WiFi and promises what might be the holy grail for mobile audio devices -- practically unlimited storage.To get started you'll need to download the Simplify Media Mac client as well as register for a free account. Then install the iPhone client on your mobile device and your home Mac should show up as a streaming source. In addition to your home machine, you can connect to up to 30 friends also running the cross-platform software.Simplify Media for Mac is a free download. Only the first 100,000 copies of the iPhone version are free to download, after that it will be $3.99.[via Gizmodo]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Nancy Heinen Settles With SEC for $2.2 Million
She admits no guilt or wrongdoing. Are there any remaining loose ends regarding Apple’s options backdating? â
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Analyst predicts big iPhone sales, changes to entire Apple laptop line
Posted by Dennis SellersAn agreement for Best Buy to start selling iPhones will kick sales of the communications device into high gear, Lehman Brothers analyst Ben Reitzes said in a note to clients. In fact he thinks the firm's previous estimate of 3.8 million iPhones sold in Apple's September quarter is too conservative.
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Apple software updates for Aug. 14
Posted by Dennis SellersCynical Peak Software has released Rivet 1.2. Rivet enables users to stream video, music, and photos from Mac OS X to an Xbox 360 over your home network. Version 1.2 adds Aperture support and fixes stability issues.
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Aug. 14 'Macsimum Podcast' now available
Posted by Dennis SellersThe Macsimum Podcast for Aug. 14 is now available here and the RSS feed is here.
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Review: Pattern Making Co. Radius
When we previously reviewed the puzzle game Trism, we noted that it was very good, but missing a little something that could conceivably transform it into the next Tetris. Radius may be a hint or two short of Trism's addictiveness, but it's presented with a slick interface and style that makes you really want to see it do more and better. Here, you're controlling a rotating ball that is repeatedly being filled with dots that start…
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'Macsimum Recommended Reading' for Aug. 14
Posted by Dennis Sellers“MacBook Air Revision Imminent, Penryn, More Power: PhoneNews.com can confirm that Apple is preparing to release an new revision of the MacBook Air. While that in and of itself is not a surprise to many, we can confirm some of the specifications of the unit.”—PhoneNews.com
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Hedge Fund Tracking: Tremblant Capital
Four times a year, hedge funds & asset managers with > $100 million AUM (assets under management) are required to report to the SEC their holdings from the previous quarter. I check these 13F filings quarterly just to get a sense as to where these funds are putting their money sector wise. If you just sit down and do some simple number crunching between last quarter's 13F and this quarter's 13F, you can see exactly where these funds have been moving their money. Please note, these 13F's should be treated as a lagging indicator simply because the 13F's that were just released August 10-15th 2008 show the funds' holdings as of June 30th 2008. So, in the past month and a half, they could have completely changed their portfolio. But, at the same time, its easy to see which sectors they are flocking to. See more of my introduction to the current series here.
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Nvidia first to ship OpenGL 3.0 (now, where's the Mac love?)
Posted by Dennis SellersNvidiaYesterday, just two days after the Khronos Group announced the new OpenGL 3.0 standard, Nvidia has released beta drivers for the cross-platform, 3D graphics standard—but only on Windows.
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Former Apple general counsel settles with SEC on backdating
Apple's former general counsel Nancy Heinen has agreed to a settlement in SEC's lawsuit against her for her role in fraudulent backdating of stock option grants to Apple executives, though she admits no wrongdoing.Read More...
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AppleInsider: Mac OS X 10.5.5 hits 9F13
Filed under: OS, RumorsAppleInsider reports that the Mac OS X team is squashing ever more bugs, and has released version 10.5.5 build 9F13 to developers. Unlike prior builds, Apple released it without any known issues. The article notes that Apple has made 115 corrections to Mac OS X code as a part of the 10.5.5 update. Improvements to power management, mail sync, preferences sync, networking, firewall, kernel, file system, and the Mobile Me preferences pane are all expected to be included. AppleInsider expected that the update would be released to the public in "the coming weeks."Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Apple market capitalization tops Google
Apple (AAPL) eclipsed Dell’s market cap of US$71 billion in January 2006 and in intraday NASDAQ trading in June 2007 Appleâs market value doubled that of Dellâs (DELL), $127.81 billion vs. $63.65 billion. Take that Michael Dell! Today our favorite Cupertino company achieved another financial milestone, passing the market cap of tech darling Google (GOOG). According [...]
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iPhone 3G network problems may get firmware fix
Customers with complaints about reception and the iPhone 3G may get be getting a firmware answer, if that is actually the cause of the problem.Read More...
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iPhone 3G reception woes unfixable? Maybe, maybe not
Filed under: Cellphones, HandheldsSupport forum threads on Apple's site and a number of ramblings across these great interwebs are starting to complain at great length about the iPhone 3G's headlining new feature -- 3G reception, that is -- and pretty much every aspect of it: signal strength, call dropping, connecting to EDGE when 3G is present, the list goes on. Some smartypants analyst from financial firm Nomura thinks he has it all figured out, though, saying that the issues are "typical of an immature chipset and radio protocol stack" and suggesting that a firmware update pushed out to existing handsets is unlikely to ease the pain. We've been hearing that Cupertino could actually be working on just such an update at this very second, though, so this cat better get ready for the possibility that he could be eating his own words down the road. For what it's worth, intermittent issues have been reported the world over, so this doesn't seem to be anything to do with AT&T's (or anyone else's) infrastructure -- and needless to say, not everyone is having issues to start. And for anyone whose iPhone 3G we just jinxed by writing this post... well, our bad.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Apple Gazette Daily 326 - Predictions for 2008-2009
podcast sponsor link:Click Here to check out Blogflux Groups! Today's Show: Predictions for 2008-2009 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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More App Store sales figures
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPhone, App StoreLast week, iPhone app shop tap tap tap released preliminary sales data for its iPhone applications. The figures were interesting (and impressive), but at the time, only seven days of data was available. As Steve Jobs told the Wall Street Journal on Monday, the App Store's first month generated about $30 million US in sales, and I was interested in how that would translate on a micro level. Yesterday, tap tap tap's John Casasanta posted its full July sales totals (save a few territories, which will likely have little effect on the final tally), allowing us to do just that.As with the data released last week, the numbers are extremely impressive. Apple's reporting process calculated sales from June 29, 2008 through August 2, 2008. However, as John notes, because the App Store didn't launch until July 10, 2008, the sales data is actually for 24 days.For tap tap tap's two applications, this is the breakdown:Where to Go (App Store link) sold 24,094 copies at $2.99 a copy in 24 days.Tipulator (App Store link) sold 3,168 copies at $.99 a copy in 24 days.After Apple's 30% cut, tap tap tap's net revenue was $52,815 US for 24 days. Wow. That averages to just about $2200 US a day. Read on for more analysis.Continue reading More App Store sales figuresRead | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Study aims to nail down iPhone 3G network performance issues
If you have been experiencing spotty or slow 3G performance on your new iPhone, you're not the only one. While all the companies involved want to point fingers at each other, others are trying to nail down what's going on by asking everyone to test their speeds and report them directly to an interactive map. Read More...
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PocketMac for BlackBerry updated, supports Entourage 2008 and iTunes
Filed under: SoftwareAlthough the iPhone is the mobile platform of choice for many Mac users, some of us actually use something else. Shocking, I know. Whether it is by choice or dictated by work, tons of Mac users are also BlackBerry users. The problem is, native BlackBerry support is non-existent, leading crackberry/Mac addicts to choose between two software solutions: PocketMac and The Missing Sync. PocketMac is free for all BlackBerry users, thanks to a licensing agreement with RIM, and has just been updated to version 4.1.25.Here are some of the highlights: Support for Lotus Notes 7 and Entourage 2008 PIM sync. Entourage users have been waiting for this since Office 2008 was released earlier this year. Support for syncing non-protected iTunes playlists (Windows users don't get all the fun). Support for syncing iPhoto photos and albums to the BlackBerry, with options to keep albums intact and scale photos for the device. You can also import BlackBerry photos directly to iPhoto. Sync Notes from Leopard's Mail.app Support for all BlackBerry units released as of May 2008 Sadly, if you are one of the lucky BB users with a BlackBerry Bold (which is rolling out in the US in September), early web reports are saying that the Bold is NOT compatible with PocketMac at this time. I will say, in the past, the drivers for new BlackBerry devices have been released pretty quickly, so as soon as the Bold release become a little more widespread, I fully expect a driver update to surface.I'm not sure if PocketMac 4.1.25 works with devices running BlackBerry OS 4.5 (my carrier hasn't officially upgraded yet), but if you are running 4.5, let us know in the comments if you can use the latest version of PocketMac. Want to make your BlackBerry look more Mac-like? Try one of the free Leopard themes available here.PocketMac 4.1.25 requires OS X 10.3.9 or higher and is free for all BlackBerry users.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Jonas Brothers perform at Apple Store in Manhattan
Posted by Dennis SellersOn Tuesday night the Jonas Brothers gave a “secret” performance at the Apple Store in Manhattan—and shut the place down, according to Entertainment Weekly. The hour-long set wasn't announced publicly until Tuesday morning, yet fans had been lining up since Monday night.
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AT&T Premier selling iPhone 3G online
Posted by Dennis SellersIf you have access to AT&T Premier, you can now buy the iPhone 3G online, reports Gizmodo. Shipping time is 7-10 business days.
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More on the iPhone 3G woes (updated)
An article by Peter Burrows for BusinessWeek analyzes the recent problems with iPhone 3G reception, stating that “two well-placed sources tell BusinessWeek.com the glitches are related to a chip inside Apple’s music-playing cell phone.” This corroborates previous reports that the handset’s Infineon 3G chip is the culprit. BusinessWeek adds that Apple “plans to remedy the [...]
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Apple faces growing list of problems with 3G iPhone
While Apple Inc.'s 3G iPhone has been a hot seller, a rash of service problems and technical glitches has left the company with a black eye that industry analysts say could buy time for its competitors.
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Former Apple general counsel accepts sanctions in backdating brouhaha
Posted by Dennis SellersFormer Apple general counsel Nancy Heinen has accepted a series of sanctions and agreed to pay US$2.2 million to settle backdating charges filed against her, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday (as reported by AppleInsider). The article says she consented to settlement offered by the SEC without admitting or...
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iPhone 3G Available Online for Suits
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MacBook Air to get new Intel chips?
Apple's ultrathin laptop could be getting a performance boost with the addition of new chips from Intel already expected to appear in due time inside new MacBooks.
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Apple Market Share Eclipses Google
Google may rule the world of searches, but Apple has taken the giant down a few notches with market value. Currently Google's market cap is $157.56B, Apple has blown past the search giant with $159.37B. We're pretty sure some of this has to do with that iPhone thingy everyone seems to be talking about. Congrats Apple! They just grow up so fast (sniff).
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Review: Hassey Enterprises Galcon
In our original coverage of Galcon, we noted that the game felt like a demo—but a really cool demo. Our views have evolved somewhat over the past week as we've continued to play this novel sci-fi strategy game, and though we're still not completely thrilled by the price point, its lack of structure, or its lack of music, we have to say that this is otherwise one of the most interesting iPhone titles we've played. In its most…
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Psystar requires Acknowledgement of Sale letter to receive restore media (updated 3x)
Psystar sent an email late yesterday to all customers of their Mac-compatible Open Computer with a subject of “Open Computing Restore Delivery” or “Open Computing Restore Media.” The email says, in part: Thank you for purchasing one of our Open Computing products. We at Psystar are dedicated to offering our customers the best computing experience possible and [...]
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MacBook Air to get 'imminent' speed bump?
Filed under: Hardware, MacBook AirPhoneNews claims they can "confirm" that Apple will speed-bump the MacBook Air with a Penryn-class Intel Core 2 Duo processor, increasing the clock speed to 2 GHz and up. The story also notes that, since the processor requires more power, the Air will ship with a higher-capacity battery and 60-watt power adapter. Engadget goes further, noting that clock speeds could (theoretically) reach 3.06GHz. Also, they speculate that the Air could feature improved integrated graphics if it adopts the Intel Centrino 2 chipset. Alternatively, Engadget notes that Intel plans to release several flavors of low-voltage Penryn chips in September, which might indeed be slated for the MacBook Air. Using these chips, however, would decrease the power requirements noted by PhoneNews, not increase them. PhoneNews says national retailers have been alerted "to be prepared for the upgrade." This may be part of several laptop announcements rumored to be happening in September. [Via IGM.]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Ambrosia Software releases WireTap Anywhere for Mac OS X
Posted by Dennis SellersAmbrosia Software has released WireTap Anywhere, an US$129 low latency audio tool that lets you take the audio output from any Mac application or hardware input device and bring it into your favorite audio recording application.
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Review: Hudson Software Company Aqua Forest
Having played many iPhone games over the past month, we can say with confidence that Aqua Forest is amongst the most ambitious. Based on an extremely cool but slightly less than fully iPhone-optimized physics and graphics engine, Aqua Forest gives you one-screen puzzles that generally consist of fluids that need to be moved from one place to another—similar to a game we've previously reviewed called Enigmo. There are two major differences…
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PhotoCalc 1.0
New $3 iPhone app from Adair Systems: PhotoCalc offers handy calculations for professional or hobbyist photographers working in the studio or in the field. PhotoCalc provides exposure reciprocation, depth of field and hyper-focal distance calculations, and flash exposure calculations. (Via Charlie Sorrel.) â
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OWC announces new Mercury Elite-Al Pro Dual drive solution
Posted by Dennis SellersOther World Computing (OWC) has announced the new OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro USB 2.0 Dual-Drive Storage Solution new with a built-in USB 2.0 powered hub and new expanded storage capacity to 2TB.
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Former Apple lawyer settles options case with SEC
Nancy Heinen will pay $2.2 million in fines to settle charges, without admitting guilt, that she falsified corporate documents to cover up Apple's stock option backdating.
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Artificial Life introduces MobileBooster support for iPhone
Posted by Dennis SellersArtificial Life, a provider of mobile 3G broadband technology, participation TV, games and business applications, has announced that its mobile development tool MobileBooster now extends its support to the iPhone and iPod touch.
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Meeting Maker adds iPhone support
Posted by Dennis SellersPeopleCube and Notify have announced that NotifyLink for Meeting Maker now supports the iPhone 3G and all iPhones and iPod touch devices upgraded with the new iPhone 2.0.
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Psystar says it is "definitely still shipping" its Mac clones
Filed under: Desktops It looks like Psystar isn't about to let a little lawsuit stop it from selling its noise-ridden, OSX-running computers, with the company now saying that it is "definitely still shipping" its Mac clones, and that it also is making its restore utilities that "enhance the computing experience" available to its customers at no extra cost. As Information Week reports, the company also recently enlisted Palo Alto-based law firm Carr & Ferrell to help it out with its current predicament. As those that follow such things may recall, they've not only tussled with Apple before, but won. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Report: Software fix in the works for iPhone 3G
Business Week reports that a software fix could be the answer to reception problems that have been frustrating iPhone 3G owners, rather than a more drastic recall.
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Back to School: ProfCast half off today
Filed under: Software, Education, DealsTUAW's going Back to School! We'll be bringing you tips and reviews for students, parents and teachers right up until the bell rings in September. Read on for help for professors and instructors. Humble Daisy is offering 50 percent off its ProfCast software, which helps educators (or anyone else who presents via PowerPoint or Keynote) record slide-based lectures as podcasts, and share them via iTunes U and iWeb. The promotion is only available today, August 14. Academic users will receive an additional 25% off over the 50% discount. Purchasing today also allows you to upgrade to the next version for free. The software is $30 today only (normally $60). For Academic customers, ProfCast is $15. Volume discounts are also available. ProfCast is a universal binary, and requires Mac OS X 10.4 or higher. You can check out a 15-day demo, too. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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AT&T now hawking iPhone 3Gs online to biz customers
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds If you're fortunate enough to have access to a Premier (business, that is) account with AT&T, you're now able to forgo the charade of meandering down to your local store to buy -- or place an order for, more likely -- the iPhone 3G. All three varieties of the best cellphone Apple makes are now available directly through the carrier's B2B online store for the usual $199 / $299 pricing scale; if we had to guess, it's just a matter of time before they'll throw the doors open to the riff raff (read: us), too. We'll drink to that.[Thanks, Vasudev R.]Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Predictions for Apple's Sept. Special Event, Macworld 2009, and Summer 2009
Everyday I have to read some kind of report about a Wallstreet “analyst” who is making predictions about what the future holds for Apple. Half the time these guys are either just “predicting” stuff they read off of MacRumors or Apple Insider, and the other half they're spouting out stuff that is so blatantly obvious that you can't even call it a prediction. The latest is Piper Jaffary analyst Gene Munster who is making the bold prediction of a “surprise Apple Special Event” in Sept. I'm sorry - but when a company has done something for the last three years in a row…that's not a surprise anymore. What will be a surprise is if they DON'T have a “Special Event” in Sept. What gets even more frustrating is when someone like this doesn't even take the time to understand the company that he's analyzing. I find this kind of think frustrating because people actually make investment decisions based on these kinds of reports…and if they're THAT important the guy doing the research should actually RESEARCH THE COMPANY! His prediction calls for new iPods and new Macbooks at the same event. That's NEVER going to happen. Apple has simple special events that showcase a specific product line so that the media attention will be on THAT product. They don't confuse these things by launching a new line of iPods AND a new line of Macbooks at the same time. SO - if anyone can be an analyst and just throw their thoughts into the wind, I figure - why not me? I'll give it shot - then we can all discuss how and why I'm wrong and an idiot. Sound fun? I thought so. September 2008 - Apple will hold a special event focused on the holiday iPod line-up. Refreshes across the board in storage capacity, plus new colors for iPod Shuffles and iPod Nanos. The highlight and focus of the show will be on the new iPod Touch which will have a slight redesign and a new $199 price tag for the base model. Apple will also announce a software update to the iPhone/iPod Touch software, flipping on the switch for Developer push notification. Macworld 2009 - Macworld 2009 will be all about the long awaited Macbook line design refresh. New Macbook Pros will come with a glass touchpad, possibly with a screen underneath. Snow Leopard will be delayed until WWDC 2009. WWDC 2009 - Snow Leopard will be released and we'll get a preview of iPhone 3.0. Summer 2009 - A new iPhone will be released and many of us will stand in line AGAIN to buy it, even though all we'll mainly be getting is improved battery life, and a device we have to buy new accessories for…and the iPhone 3.0 software that we could already get on our old iPhones. So there you have it! Apple's next 12 months in one post! Let the flaming begin!
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BusinessWeek: âWhatâs Behind the iPhone 3G Glitches?â
Peter Burrows, reporting for BusinessWeek: Complaints over dropped calls and choppy Web connections on Apple’s iPhone 3G have sparked a wave of debate in the blogosphere over the root cause of the problems. Two well-placed sources tell BusinessWeek.com the glitches are related to a chip inside Apple’s music-playing cell phone. The sources add that Apple plans to remedy the problems through a software upgrade rather than through a more disruptive step, such as a product recall. The news reinforces analysis by Richard Windsor of Nomura Securities, who said in an Aug. 12 report that the problem involves a communications chip made by Munich-based Infineon Technologies. The 3G networking glitches may well be real, but it’s worth pointing out that Richard Windsor is the same jackass who issued a report a year ago about the supposedly faulty “film” on the iPhone touchscreen, when in fact there was no such film. â
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Logitech snaps up Ultimate Ears, chasing this "portable audio" market we've heard so much about
Filed under: Portable Audio Logitech is getting into the earbuds game, announcing today that it's buying privately-held Ultimate Ears. Historically focusing on spendy in-ear monitors for live musicians, Ultimate Ears has recently hit the earbud game with full force, and Logitech seems to want a piece of that action. Plus the acquisition price of $34 million is like, what, profits from your last seven minutes of iPod dock sales, Logitech? Logitech and Ultimate Ears expect the deal to close in August.Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Apple patent involves conserving processor power
Posted by Dennis SellersAn Apple patent (number 20080195877) for conserving power by reducing voltage supplied to an instruction-processing portion of a processors has appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office. The invention relates to techniques for conserving power usage in computer systems.
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Psystar says it will ship Leopard restore disks to customers
Posted by Dennis SellersApple may be suing Psystar for copyright infringement in its “Mac clones,” but the former is still pressing on. The company is making Mac OS X 10.5 9 (“Leopard”) restore disks available to its customers, reports InformationWeek.
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New SoundMeter app checks sound levels from your iPhone
Following the release of SignalSuite and SignalScope, FaberAcoustical has released SoundMeter, a $20 app that will turn your iPhone into a sound level meter.Read More...
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Apple now worth more than Google
Posted by Dennis Sellers At the close of the stock market on Wednesday, Apple's value as a company surpassed Google's. Apple's market capitalization reached $158.84 billion, while Google's settled at $157.23 billion.
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Movies now showing in NZ and Australian iTunes stores
Filed under: iTS, iTunesThey may be first to see the sun, but they've been waiting quite a while for movie rentals and purchases from the iTunes store -- now that patience has paid off, as movies have now arrived in a land down under. Aussie and Kiwi iTunes users can purchase and rent movies to their hearts' content. New releases on DVD will premiere day-and-date on the iTunes store at the same time as they're on sale in physical form in the two new countries of service.iTunes movie purchases in Australia will kick off the price tier at A$9.99 for catalog titles, A$17.99 for recent releases and A$24.99 for new releases; rentals will be A$3.99 for library title rentals and A$5.99 for new releases. iTunes movies in New Zealand start at NZ$9.99 for catalog title purchases, NZ$17.99 for recent releases and NZ$24.99 for new releases, rentals are NZ$4.99 for library titles / NZ$6.99 for new releases. As in the US store, getting the high-def version costs an additional dollar. Rentals can be held for 30 days before you start watching and then you have 48 hours to finish (a whole day longer than US customers? Must be the International Date Line).Thanks to everyone who sent this inRead | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Apple number 10 on Nielsen Online's rankings of web brands for July
Posted by Dennis SellersApple was number 10 among all US web brands in July, according to Nielsen Online. The research group's stats show that Apple had a unique audience of 50,694,000 visitors.
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Limited edition 'X-Files' iPods offered
Posted by Dave Merten20th Century Fox has released special X-Files branded iPods. The limited edition (available in an iPod classic model and an iPod nano version) costs (gulp) US$329.
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News: Speakal intros iPig speaker system
Speakal has introduced its iPig speaker system for iPod. iPig, as the name suggests, is designed to resemble a pig, and features an integrated iPod Dock, 5 speakers, including a 4-inch subwoofer, powered by a built-in 25-watt amplifier, adjustable bass control, indicator lights built into the system's “mouth,” and an RF remote control. Available now in white, yellow, or pink, the Speakal iPig sells for $140. ...
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Movies make their way to the iTunes Australia & New Zealand Stores
Apple issued a press release this morning announcing that movies from major film studios including 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Studios, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Entertainment, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM), Sony Pictures Television International and Lionsgate are now available on the iTunes Store in Australia and New Zealand. There are over 700 titles to rent in the stores and many films will be available day and date with their DVD releases. Some of these include âNational Treasure 2,â âJumper,â â27 Dresses,â âCloverfield,â âVantage Pointâ and âPirates of the Caribbean: At Worldâs End.â Pricing for each country is as follows: “iTunes movies in Australia start at A$9.99 for catalog title purchases, A$17.99 for recent releases and A$24.99 for new releases. iTunes Movie Rentals are A$3.99 for library title rentals and A$5.99 for new releases, and high definition versions are priced at just one dollar more. iTunes movies in New Zealand start at NZ$9.99 for catalog title purchases, NZ$17.99 for recent releases and NZ$24.99 for new releases. iTunes Movie Rentals are NZ$4.99 for library title rentals and NZ$6.99 for new releases, and high definition versions are priced at just one dollar more.”
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First Looks: Speck SeeThru for iPhone 3G
Sold in five colors, Speck's new SeeThru for iPhone 3G ($30) is a clear hard plastic case that separates into two pieces when you want to use the iPhone 3G for widescreen video or audio purposes. Form-fit to the device's curves, this version of SeeThru adds rubber grips to the left and right sides, and provides openings for everything from the camera to the side and top controls. The plastic is notably pretty easy to scuff -- some of our review samples…
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First Looks: Speck ToughSkin for iPhone 3G
As the latest iteration of its ToughSkin design, Speck's new ToughSkin for iPhone 3G ($35) includes a ruggedized rubber case, an internal plastic frame for added support, and a combination belt clip and holster. The camera, controls, and other iPhone 3G elements are under a few millimeters of rubber for anti-drop protection. Available only in black, the new ToughSkin doesn't include screen protection, but does have a bottom flap that can open to let…
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Use Fluke to add FLAC files to your iTunes library
If you've got a lot of FLAC files and are upset that iTunes doesn't support the format, try Fluke. This free utility will let you add FLAC files to your iTunes library with ease, and without having to convert tracks to another format.Read More...
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Canvastic 3.5 adds Audio tool, transparency support, more
Posted by Dennis SellersCanvastic LLC has updated Canvastic, the integrated writing, graphics and publishing tool for students in grades K-8 for the Mac and Windows platforms, to version 3.5. The program allows students to publish pages, books, presentations and more.
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First Looks: Noreve Tradition B Leather Case for iPhone 3G
Made from high-quality leather by France's Noreve, the Tradition B case ($43-53) varies in price based on the type of leather selected; the soft, suede-like version shown here is the more expensive one. Sold in 15 colors, Tradition B features an open face for use with the iPhone's touchscreen, but doesn't include screen protection or other pack-ins. A magnetic rear clasp -- apparently warned against for some reason on the iPhone 3G -- holds the top…
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First Looks: Noreve Tradition Leather Case for iPhone 3G
Retrofit from earlier Tradition-branded cases, Noreve's Tradition Leather Case for iPhone 3G ($50-60) is a plain flip-style case made with higher than typical quality leather. The suede-styled "Vintage" leather shown here is the more expensive version; 15 colors can be selected from. Each of the Tradition cases comes with a detachable rear belt clip, a metal nub, and a screwdriver for installation. When closed, Tradition precludes access to the iPhone…
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Wired.com needs your help testing the iPhone's network speeds
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, Internet ToolsSure, Apple claims the 3G is fast, but with all the problems with 3Gs connecting all over the world, just how fast is it really? The folks at Wired.com have decided to find out, and they need your help. They'd like you to test your iPhone at the TestmyiPhone.com network speed testing site, and then hit up their global ZeeMap to register your speed.Instructions are over on their website, and they're testing both Edge and 3G upload and download speeds, so you'll have to run three tests total. You'll also have to sign up for a ZeeMap account.The eventual payoff will be a relatively clear look at iPhone speeds around the world. Wired says that they'll eventually average global data, but there's a lot of things that could be done with data like this -- heatmaps? Speed per carrier? Once they get a good set of figures together, ther