Aug 20, 2008 Aug 22, 2008 Thursday August 21, 2008
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Apple Gazette acquires MacTips.org!
I'm very happy to announce that Apple Gazette has purchased MacTips.org - and starting today, I will be updating the site daily with Tips, Tweeks, and Tutorials about every single aspect of your Mac. Both sites will remain as separate entities, and Apple Gazette will still be the home of daily news updates and the Apple Gazette Daily podcast. AGTV, however, will be making a transition into a new show featuring weekly tips, tricks, and software spotlights on MacTips.org. You'll still be able to watch the show here as well, but it will be a part of the MacTips brand. We're all very excited here about welcoming in the MacTips audience, and we hope you'll stop by our new sister site daily. You can click here to find a variety of ways you can subscribe to MacTips. MacTips has been online since 2005, and has a very rich library of tips and tricks already posted on the site. You can search through the archives there and find all kinds of useful tips. This is really great news for Apple Gazette. It allows us to expand our audience while building a great sister site that provides a different kind of Apple blog experience….and we're just getting started.
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Macs To Continue Apple's Boom - RBC
Apple's (AAPL) business boom continues. The company's Mac business, which covers several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by the Cupertino-based company, is showing no sign of slowing down.RBC analyst Mike Abramsky, according to AppleInsider, in a report to his firm's clients, projects “massive back-to-school Mac sales” that could result in Apple shipping 3.04 million Macs. If projection proves accurate, this would represent a 44% year-over-year growth for the three month period ending September and a 22% quarter-over-quarter growth - up from the analyst's previous estimate of 2.8 million for Mac unit sales, AppleInsider reports.
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Is Apple's MobileMe Secure?
Daniel Eran Dilger A recent article presenting how MobileMe works was been roundly criticized by at least three different bloggers. While the original article did not primarily address MobileMe security, the statements made about MobileMe's security do warrant some additional detail and clarification. In contrast, much of the criticism was wildly overstated to the point of actually misinforming users about the actual state of MobileMe and email security. Here's a look at what's involved. Inside MobileMe: Web 3 and Web Client-Server apps MobileMe's Web App Data Transactions are not SSL Encrypted. I enjoy reading John Gruber's excellent Mac resource, the Daring Fireball. It initially stated, “AppleInsider reports that the MobileMe web apps supposedly do use SSL, even though you don’t see 'https:' URLs or the 'secure' lock icon in your web browser.” However, the referenced article did not ever state or even suggest that MobileMe's web apps use SSL or other forms of encryption when accessing the web apps for email and other services, outside of login and account settings. Gruber corrected the misstatement after being notified of this. For the record: Apple's MobileMe desktop email can be secured via encrypted SMTP and IMAP; Apple presents details on how to ensure this is set up, as users may not have this enabled by default. Address Book and iCal sync on Mac OS X is secured automatically when it transacts with Apple's server cloud. Windows apps use the same security when syncing their data via Outlook through iTunes for Windows. The iPhone and iPod touch also support encrypted email and all push messages are also secured via encryption. However, the MobileMe web apps are only secured by SSL through the initial login authentication session and again only when users access their account information to do things such as change their password, update their billing information, or order additional services. Outside of that, all email, calendar, and contact data that is exchanged between the web client and the cloud is not encrypted, and can be sniffed by anyone with access to the network (below, click to enlarge). What Unencrypted Web Apps Mean for Users. This means that as you send email, read emails, create new calendar items, view calendar events, and view contacts, that data is being sent in the clear across the Internet between the web browser and the cloud. This does not mean that if you access your email, anyone who might be sniffing traffic could intercept your account information, your login, your credit card information, or change your password. They also could not access anything you did not access yourself, so creating an email does not automatically allow them to read through your contacts, for example. MobileMe's limited SSL protection on its web apps presents a real (albeit unlikely to be widely exploited) security hole. However, it is important to note that Microsoft and Yahoo provide the same, limited level of SSL protection for their web services as Apple does; both Yahoo Mail and Microsoft's Live Hotmail send data in the clear after the initial login. Google has just started offering SSL protection by default for Gmail (below, click to enlarge). A followup article recommended that Apple should use the same IPSec-type of security for its MobileMe web services as it does for desktop sync. Other critics have noted that because Apple charges $8.25 per month for MobileMe, it should provide a better level of security than Microsoft or Yahoo and at least match Google. At the same time, it is important to recognize that adding SSL encryption does not automatically or even fully secure email. Apple’s secret “Back to My Mac” push behind IPv6 SSL is Not a Panacea. Blogger Jens Alfke, who works for Google, also took the MobileMe article to task. Alfke wrote that Apple's MobileMe apps not only do not perform data encryption, but also leave open the potential for rogue hackers to perform DNS forgery or phishing attacks that SSL could help prevent, or at least flag as a problem for the user when they occur. For example, a user trying to access webmail at me.com could hypothetically be redirected to a fake me.com by a bad DNS server, Alfke wrote. With SSL in place through the entire transaction, the user should at least be warned that the impostor me.com site did not match its known certificate. Without SSL, MobileMe web apps could therefore theoretically fall prey to a man in the middle attack, where all transactions were passed through a malicious user's third party control for tampering or viewing. Additionally, Alfke theorized that the web apps themselves could be replaced entirely by a fake site that pretended to be MobileMe in an Invasion of the Body Snatchers scenario. There are two problems with these scenarios. Alfke's assumption that MobileMe's “unauthenticated JSON exchange” could be easy to exploit, allowing redirect via bad DNS, is based in conjecture not fact. In response to his posting, Andrew Jaquith of the Yankee Group pointed out “there are lots of ways for two parties keep rotating secrets on both sides of the wire without disclosing them. See, for example, RFC 1938. I don’t know exactly what Apple is doing with JSON, but dismissing it just because it isn’t encrypted doesn’t prove anything.” Jaquith also described why SSL is not good for “verifying that software is 'genuine' or that a website is what you expect,” as Alfke claimed in dismissing Apple's security architecture for its MobileMe web services. Jaquith presented a scenario that would result in “a supposedly sniff-resistant [SSL] session that is still nonetheless 100% hosed.” Re: MobileMe Webmail Security — There Is None — Thought Palace Security through False Assurity. On top of that, even in cases where SSL could identify that something bad was happening, the only protection SSL really provides is to throw up a warning about security certificates that most non-technical users browsing at Starbucks would likely just click through to dismiss before happily giving away their credit card info, thinking they are safe because they are interacting with the “SSL” icon on for a website. When Apple transitioned from .Mac to MobileMe, users were presented with a SSL warning related to mac.com being redirected to me.com, and nobody seemed to even notice. SSL warnings are similarly not going to secure users who do not understand the security issues involved when they are sent to me.info or me.192168.com, or redirected by a malicious DNS to a server pretending to be me.com but failing the SSL check. Therefore, the benefits of adding SSL were greatly overstated by some critics, who also failed to even consider its drawbacks and limitations. If Apple simply added SSL, it certainly would, as stated in the original article, provide a “false sense of security that distracts from real security threats.” At the same time, the original article also understated the value SSL would provide web browser users. Adding SSL security throughout MobileMe's web apps, particularly those that deal with private data, would likely provide benefits that overshadow the added overhead. Despite that, it would not “secure” email for users, as described below. Never Cry Poppycock. While the original article was not purporting to be a tome on security, another response to it claimed special expertise in security. However, the author not only greatly overstated his case, but also resorted to unprofessional language in demeaning and dismissing the whole of an article just because he took issues with a minor portion of it. Rich Mogull's “MobileMe Web Interface Insecure, But Other Apps Get It Right,” published by Tidbits, provided some interesting comments on the subject, but began with an unnecessarily arrogantly overstatement of criticism that misstated the point and the context of the article in order to attack it as “patently false” “technobabble” “poppycock” and so on. Mogull didn't contact the author of the original article prior to writing about what he claimed was so wildly inaccurate. In addition, his own presentation is flawed and overstated in ways that are far more misinforming than any disputed details in the original article. TidBITS Safe Computing: MobileMe Web Interface Insecure, But Other Apps Get It Right Consider the Context. Mogull jumped upon a quote taken out of context, which was actually talking about how MobileMe and other JavaScript apps manage security related to JSON transactions. The context of the quote was the potential threat posed by sending self-executable JSON as opposed to simple XML data: “Being able to inject executable code into a system from malicious sources is a primary security problem. For that reason, web apps that transmit data using JSON have to authenticate with the server and regularly perform security handshakes to ensure that the data being sent back and forth is indeed coming from and going to a trusted source.” Mogull not only ignored that context, but only linked to the second page of the article, where the quote appeared without its immediate context. This enabled him to present that the comments on how JSON is secured were entirely about “why SSL was unnecessary,” which was not the point of the text at all. Quibble vs Patently False. The article presented that there was “unnecessary panic among web users who have equated their browser's SSL lock icon with web security;” that is accurate. While SSL encryption provides an additional layer of security, is not infallible. SSL security requires faith in fallible architectures that have regularly published vulnerabilities. Suggesting that SSL would be a panacea for webmail is false for a number of reasons: SSL can be spoofed; the browser only presents a cryptic warning when that happens, which many users would not know how to handle if it were being spoofed; and the larger fact that even SSL-secured web email is not really secure. The original article also correctly pointed out that SSL could provide a “false sense of security that distracts from real security threats.” Users who think that SSL web-based email is secure and therefore appropriate for sending confidential information are in for a rude awakening. Email is not secure, and carefully securing part of the email transmission is like only locking three doors of your car. It's better to understand that thieves can take anything in your car rather than to lock three doors and assume that you can leave valuables on your seat that cannot be taken. Mogull is arguing that Apple hasn't provided a functional lock on the driver side door of its webmail service, ignoring the fact that Internet email has no locks on the tailgate or the rear doors at all. This is penny wise and pound foolish security, and can be judged as the “patently false technobabble poppycock” that he quickly used to dismiss an article that was only touching on one aspect of security in a larger piece that was really addressing how MobileMe works as a service and the future potential it holds out. Mogull's reply was entirely about security, but it delivers the wrong message. It's not just easy to quibble about some of Mogull's details; his primary argument that the original piece was ridiculously wrong is just false, primarily because he overstates it in such an over the top, arrogant way. SSL is Not Evil. Having said that, the original article did understate the value SSL can add in securing webmail. SSL is useful in protecting users at the point where they will be most vulnerable when checking webmail, as they are more likely to be at a public terminal or perhaps using unsecured public WiFi when using the web rather than desktop clients (which are secure using encrypted transmissions) or an iPhone (similarly secured). SSL web apps would provide MobileMe users a similar level of security; Apple currently does not present this throughout the entire webmail session, only when the user authenticates and if they enter account details to change their password or order new services, as noted previously. With SSL, webmail addressed to other MobileMe users, as well as access to one's own contacts and calendar would be very secure. Email to other domains would continue to be exposed to Sending email is like sending a postcard: anyone intercepting the postcard on its way to the post box, from there through the mail system, or on the way to the recipients mailbox will be able to read what's written on it. Encrypted email is more like a letter written in code inside of a security envelope: it would be far more difficult to view its contents. However, SSL email only provides security for part of the trip; it's like carefully guarding your postcard until you drop it in the mailbox. This will prevent casual eavesdroppers from seeing what you've written, but won't protect you from having your postcard read from that point on, because it is wide open throughout the rest of the trip. In addition, when using a public computer or improperly secured WiFi network, the SSL security provided to a webmail user can't be trusted. A public PC is just as likely to have a spyware keylogger installed (if not more so) than a malicious hacker listening in on the transmission remotely. Your emails could therefore be spied upon before they were sent through the secure SSL pipe to the cloud. Similarly, using an unsecured WiFi connection opens a user to security issues that far outweigh having your email transactions possibly sniffed. Additionally, across the industry there are few webmail providers who deliver greater security that Apple's MobileMe. Google just recently added SSL, while Microsoft and Yahoo provide similar security to Apple's web interface in MobileMe: SSL encrypted authentication and account protection (you can't change your password in the clear on MobileMe, only in an SSL session). Doth Protest Too Much, Methinks. So while SSL isn't worthless, it does not present the bulletproof panacea that Mogull suggests it would in his over the top, excessively arrogant, one-sided attack piece. While the original article's understatement of the benefit that SSL could bring to Apple's MobileMe webmail could rightly be criticized, it did not say that the existing webmail service was secure. Instead, it said email was not secure and shouldn't be trusted, and that SSL could provide webmail users with a false sense of security. Mogull presented this in a mocking, simplified paraphrase as, “we think SSL would bog down performance without providing security.” He then concedes that he has overstated his own arguement by agreeing that SSL would have a limited impact on securing users, saying, “While there's a reasonable, if small, risk someone might sniff your connection when you are out in public, the odds of a redirection attack are extremely low.” Mogull could have presented his last paragraph, essentially warning users that MobileMe's web interface exposes them to unlikely but theoretically possible dangers, and explain that Apple's expanded use of SSL could help secure its webmail service from some of these kinds of attacks. Instead, the solution he demand would only provide limited benefits to users, while providing that suggestion that webmail is more secure that it really is in practice. This would suggest to user a greater level of security than would actually suggest, a far worse problem than acknowledging that email is simply not secure and should not be treated as such. Ridiculing the original article for presenting the fact that SSL is not a panacea, explaining unrelated facts about JSON, and describing that email shouldn't be trusted was all entirely unnecessary, and really just presented in a unprofessional fashion. 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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Sony expands Muteki family with DJ-style LBT-DJ2i XROSS FADE music system
Filed under: Home Entertainment Man, we didn't even know the Muteki moniker was still in existence. Nevertheless, Sony has just added a big, bad member to said congregation with the LBT-DJ2i XROSS FADE. This rather beastly music system packs 450 total watts of power, a CD player, AM / FM tuners, a line-in jack, a pair of 2-way shelf speakers, a dual 7-inch subwoofer enclosure and the ability to convert CDs / radio to MP3 files. And that's just the beginning. Aspiring DJs will also find a bundled cross-fader with monitor cue and a built-in two-channel mixer, and the iPod-lovin' interface ensures that you'll never have to touch your PMPs once they're mounted. There's also a USB recording function to save mix sessions to a USB device in ATRAC MP3 format. Too bad this setup will cost you half a grand when it ships next month. Check the full release after the cut.Continue reading Sony expands Muteki family with DJ-style LBT-DJ2i XROSS FADE music systemPermalink|Email this|Comments
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Sony intros iPod-friendly S-AIRPLAY multi-room audio system
Filed under: Home Entertainment You know how it goes with Sony -- proprietary just seems to rule the roost. Thankfully, the outfit is at least recognizing a trend in the market by trotting out an iPod-friendly version of its S-AIR wireless audio technology. The new S-AIRPLAY system (formally known as AIR-SA20PK) comes with one iPod docking station and a pair of S-AIR wireless speakers, though there is an AM / FM tuner built in should your stored jams get stale. Sony suggests that music can be beamed some 164-feet away from the dock sans cabling, and so long as your S-AIR speaker is plugged into a power outlet (and within the aforementioned range), it'll pick up the signal and start talkin'. Look for the kit to land next month for around $400, while additional S-AIR wireless speakers will set you back $130 apiece. Full release after the break.Continue reading Sony intros iPod-friendly S-AIRPLAY multi-room audio systemPermalink|Email this|Comments
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Ask Engadget: Best portable internet device?
Filed under: Ask Engadget, HandheldsFace it, folks -- internet browsing shouldn't be confined to your desktop / laptop. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of options out there when looking to get the intarwebz (and we mean the whole intarwebz) in your pocket. For those out there who've found the perfect one from the smattering of choices, throw Adam (and countless others) a bone here. "I have a BlackBerry Pearl and the web browsing on it sucks like a tornado. What I want is a web browsing device that rocks me like a hurricane. I'd rather not have something large, even as large as a netbook like the Eee PC. There are the Nokia tablets. There's the Archos 605 / 705 WiFi. There are UMPCs like the Q1 Ultra. Then there's the iPhone / iPod touch. I'm looking for something that I can access the internet on from the couch or the john with a full HTML browser. And I need something that won't break the bank." So, whatcha got? After you're done posting your answer from the lavatory, send over a question of your own to ask at engadget dawt com.Permalink|Email this|Comments
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★ Raining on the OpenClip Parade
The OpenClip project, which debuted this week, describes itself as “a non-profit, open-source, community-effort project, which promotes a framework for the iPhone that allows users to copy / paste between participating applications.” The obvious shortcoming, compared to a hypothetical system-wide clipboard from Apple, is that apps which don’t explicitly support the OpenClip scheme don’t work with it — including all of Apple’s apps, like Mail and Safari. That’s to be expected. But it’s worse than that. The OpenClip framework, by Zac White, is a very clever implementation of a fundamentally unwise idea. White’s description of the project on his own weblog is fairly open regarding its inherent problems. The OpenClip.org web site, however, is hosted and written not by White but by Proximi, the developers behind MagicPad. Their developer FAQ states: How does it work? OpenClip utilizes a shared space on the iPhone. Applications that use the OpenClip framework can access this common area to write to and read from, allowing copy / paste between participating apps. That struck me as curious, as I wasn’t aware of any inter-application “shared space” on the iPhone. White’s own description of how it works and the OpenClip source code itself show that such a description is disingenuous. The “How does it work?” section of their regular (i.e. non-developer) FAQ is more technically accurate: OpenClip utilizes an application’s ability to read into other application’s Documents directory. Applications that use the OpenClip framework can access this read only area to read pastes from other applications and then OpenClip can offer the newest data to the current application. The fundamental problem the OpenClip project faces is that of data interchange. If you copy something in app A, and wish to paste it in app B, the clipboard data needs to exist somewhere where app A can write (when you copy), and where B can read (when you paste). On Mac OS X, the system provides this to Cocoa apps via the NSPasteboard class and associated APIs. Individual applications don’t have to worry about the details of how and where clipboard data is stored; it’s an implementation detail completely managed by the system. But even ignoring Mac OS X’s standard system-wise clipboard, apps on the Mac face no challenges when it comes to exchanging data with other apps via the file system. On the Mac, all apps can read and write wherever they want within your entire home folder. So if Mac apps A and B wish to share data with each other via a custom file format, they can both agree to do so via a shared file, in, say, the user’s Documents folder. iPhone apps can’t do that. Or, more specifically, third-party iPhone apps written with the official iPhone SDK can’t do that; Apple’s own iPhone apps can do whatever they want. iPhone Sandboxing The idea with sandboxing is that each app executes in its own space, with limited resources and with no ability to alter or modify anything outside its own sandbox. The downside is that some of the things Mac apps can do but which iPhone apps cannot are potentially very useful (and/or very cool). The upside is that those same things are potentially dangerous (both in terms of security and in terms of stability). It’s a trade-off. Here’s how sandboxing works in iPhone OS 2.0. Given its shared roots with Mac OS X, the iPhone OS unsurprisingly has a very familiar file system layout. The system’s standard apps reside in a top-level folder named /Applications/, just like on Mac OS X. Apps that you install via the App Store don’t go there, however. Instead, there is a separate Applications folder for these applications. In iPhone OS 2.0, that folder is at /private/var/mobile/Applications/, but it doesn’t really matter exactly where it is. (/private/var/mobile/ is more or less the iPhone equivalent of your home folder.) Every time you install an application, a new sandbox is created within that Applications folder. The sandbox is a folder named with a UUID, for example, “68813987-A628-493F-90E2-A6ABCD922A89”. The application itself is installed inside the sandbox folder, along with its own directories for writing data. So, if you install two iPhone apps from the App Store, named, say, “Foo” and “Bar”, they’ll be installed in two separate sandboxes that look something like this at the file system level: /private/var/mobile/Applications/04A74595-4DE8-4026-8459-63B2D153D13C/ Documents/ Foo.app/ Library/ tmp/ /private/var/mobile/Applications/77C9A482-F5F8-4284-9E16-C629763B9162/ Bar.app/ Documents/ Library/ tmp/ Each app gets its own Documents folder, its own Library folder, and even its own temporary scratch space (“tmp”). Each application can only write to the file system within its own sandbox directory. This isn’t just a guideline from Apple — it is enforced by the OS. Any attempt by an app to write to the file system outside its sandbox will fail.1 However, in iPhone OS 2.0, an app can read from anywhere in the file system. This serves as the basis for how OpenClip works. How OpenClip Works As an API, White’s OCPasteboard class is a clone of Cocoa’s NSPasteboard. For every NSwhatever call in the standard Cocoa NSPasteboard class hiearchy, OpenClip offers a corresponding OCwhatever. The advantage to this design is twofold: first, it’s exactly what Cocoa developers are accustomed to on the Mac; second, if Apple eventually ports NSPasteboard to the iPhone OS, it’s likely to have a very similar API. When an app using OpenClip copies data,2 it writes the data into two files within its own Documents folder: Documents/ OpenClip/ OCGeneralPboard.data OCGeneralPboard.metadata Foo.app/ Library/ tmp/ When an app using OpenClip pastes, the OpenClip framework peeks into the Documents folder of every other app sandbox in the file system, looking for the most recently-modified OpenClip data files. So if you have three apps, A, B, and C, and you copy something in A, then copy something else in B, then do a paste in C, C will paste the data copied from app B, because it was created more recently. The Problems On his weblog, White writes: How it works is relatively simple and doesn’t break the SDK agreement. OpenClip works by looking into the Documents folder of other applications to get their pastes. Applications are allowed to write all they want to their own Documents directory (for copy), so no foul there. Applications are also allowed to read outside their sandbox into the Documents directories for other apps (for paste), so no foul there. This is not accurate. It’s more like “slipping through a temporary loophole” than “no foul”. In the Security section of chapter 4 of Apple’s iPhone OS Programming Guide, the sandbox is described by Apple as follows (boldface emphasis added): For security reasons, iPhone OS restricts an application and its preferences and data to a unique location in the file system. This location is part of the security feature known as the application’s “sandbox.” The sandbox is a set of fine-grained controls limiting access to files, preferences, network resources, hardware, and so on. In iPhone OS, an application and its data reside in a secure location that no other application can access. Not simply that no other application can write to, but which no other application can access. That this restriction is not yet enforced at a technical level (such as is the case with an app attempting to write outside its own sandbox) does not mean it’s permitted. And, indeed, in the 2.1b4 release of the iPhone OS, it is enforced. The OpenClip demo apps, which work as advertised on iPhone OS 2.0.2, do not work in the current 2.1 beta, because apps are no longer able to read or even see other apps’ sandboxes.3 To be clear, this change is clearly not in response to OpenClip; Apple began seeding the 2.1 betas with these tightened sandbox restrictions before OpenClip debuted, and the iPhone OS Programming Guide has stated all along that apps can’t “access” the contents of other sandboxes. There is no “shared space” for iPhone apps to exchange data. (One workaround I’ve seen bandied about is to use the system-wide Address Book database as a storage location for shared clipboard data. Needless to say, such an implementation would not qualify as an intended use of the AddressBook framework.) Wishing it were otherwise doesn’t make it so. The intent of OpenClip is fine. That there’s been so much coverage regarding OpenClip in the past 24 hours shows just how much demand there is for inter-application copy-and-paste. But developers would be foolish to adopt a framework that only works today because of a loophole in iPhone OS 2.0 that is already closed in iPhone OS 2.1. This structure has another benefit in addition to security — it makes it easy for the system to remove all of an app’s data along with the app itself when you delete the app. No preference files or application support detritus can be left behind, because the entire sandbox folder is deleted when you delete the app.↩ And I do mean “data”, not just text. OpenClip supports both text and images.↩ In iPhone OS 2.1, an application using OpenClip would still work for copying and pasting within itself, because that only requires reading and writing to the app’s own sandbox. But you don’t OpenClip for that.↩
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BlackJack Run
I'll stick that Ace in the top row for an even 21, of course. read more
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iPhone 3G rolling worldwide, Russia coming soon
Filed under: iPhone Thanks to the magic of time zones, the iPhone 3G is already on its worldwide march across 21 countries. Tipster Lawrz let us know that the handset is on sale in the Philippines from Globe Telecom, after a sold-out party that started at 10 p.m. local time counting down to midnight August 22. It's already Friday in India, and midnight is just now crossing Europe, as of this writing. Also, tipster Efthymios tells us that Vodafone Hellas is distributing unlocked iPhone 3Gs, as is the law there. 8GB models are €499 and 16GB models are €569. Contracts plans for the handsets have not been announced, but should be available in the next few hours. However, Efthymios notes that Greek character input is not yet available for the iPhone, with many people having to resort using "Greeklish" instead: Greek words typed with English characters. Reuters notes today that Russia will also be getting the iPhone 3G in October. Apple struck a deal with the country's largest mobile provider, MTS, which has nearly 84 million subscribers Thanks, Lawrz and Efthymios! [MTS details via Macworld] Read|Permalink|Email this|Comments
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Contracts even with unlocked phones: Or, why I bought an iPhone
Having moved back to the United States, I found it so hard to get a reasonable deal for service with this unlocked GSM smart phone that I decided there was little reason not to get an iPhone.
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Orange paying actors to line up for the iPhone 3G in Poland
Filed under: Cellphones The iPhone 3G hits 20 more countries tomorrow, and while we doubt the hype will match the craziness of launch day, that's not stopping Orange from trying to re-create the madness in Poland -- it's hiring "dozens" of actors to line up at 20 stores around the country to "drum up interest." Yeah, that's just sad -- especially since there aren't any real customers in line at Polish T-Mobile stores, which is also carrying the phone. Good luck selling phones to your own actors, fools -- when will these companies ever learn?PS.- That's a pic from launch day in Chicago -- any Polish readers have a shot of the actors for us? Send 'em in!Read|Permalink|Email this|Comments
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No Starch Press releases 'The IDA Pro Book'
Posted by Dave MertenThe purpose of IDA and other disassembly tools is to facilitate the understanding of programs when source code is unavailable. The IDA Pro Book explains every aspect of IDA—the most popular disassembly tool out there—and is every hacker's guide to realizing the full potential of this potent reverse engineering tool.
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Mini-review: Rooms brings IRC to the iPhone
Why do jailbroken iPhones get to have all the IRC fun? Now, you can chat away on IRC servers all you want with a native iPhone application called Rooms. We took a look and are happy with the results, even if there were some burps.Read More...
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Apple software updates for Aug. 21
Posted by Dennis SellersAquafadas has updated BannerZest, a flash presentation tool for professional and amateur web designers, to version 1.2.2. Scale mode has been fixed in the Hanging theme and some bugs have been fixed.
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Aug. 21 'Macsimum Podcast' now available
Posted by Dennis SellersThe Macsimum Podcast for Aug. 21 is now available here and the RSS feed is here.
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'Macsimum Recommended Reading' for Aug. 21
Posted by Dennis Sellers“Will Windows Mobile Play DOS to Apple's iPhone?: Today's broad array of smartphone operating system contenders are offering lots of potential answers to a problem that only requires one. It appears the market has two options ahead: either pool generic hardware makers behind a single operating system and deliver a...
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Apple taps MTS to bring iPhone 3G to Russia
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds Reuters reports that a "market source" has confirmed that Apple has finally sealed a deal to bring the iPhone 3G to Russia in an official capacity, launching on Mobile TeleSystems "likely" in Октябрь (October, that is). Neither MTS nor Apple would agree to comment on the situation -- no surprise there -- but seeing how Russia is one of the remaining gargantuan markets where the iPhone has yet to materialize, it seems like a no-brainer deal for all parties involved.[Via mocoNews]Read|Permalink|Email this|Comments
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Poland: fake queues promote iPhone launch
Posted by Dennis SellersIn Poland, people are getting paid to line up in front of mobile operator Orange stores as if they're in line to buy an iPhone, reports Reuters. The fake queues have been implemented in front of 20 stores around the country to drum up interest in the iPhone, the article...
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Apple Gazette Daily 331 - China bans iTunes, Apple offers to replace iPod Nano batteries and more!
podcast sponsor link:Click Here to check out Blogflux Groups! Today's Show: China bans iTunes, Apple offers to replace iPod Nano batteries 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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Axamblis releases Imprint Studio 1.0 for Leopard
Posted by Dennis SellersAxamblis has released of Imprint Studio 1.0 for Mac OS X 10.5 (“Leopard”). It allows you to print posters using a standard format printer by splitting up an image into several smaller tiles, which can then be printed and assembled to form the final poster.
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Bose SoundDock Series II heading to a den near you this September
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio Say what you will about Bose's price to performance ratio, that company knows how to move iPod docks. The Bose SoundDock and SoundDock Portable have an astounding hold on the premium end of the iPod accessory market, and the SoundDock Series II followup likely won't be breaking that streak. The new Series II dock has a slightly refined look, more akin to the SoundDock Portable than the original, includes an aux-in jack (at last), and can charge the iPhone 3G -- a sore point for folks who've been charging their iPods and iPhones just fine on the original SoundDock for years, only to have the legacy-free iPhone 3G do them in. The Series II dock also includes the Portable's more advance remote for browsing playlists and such. Price is $299, it should ship starting in September.Read|Permalink|Email this|Comments
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Miffed iPhone User Sues Apple for Feeble 3G Performance
In the wake of continuing reports of 3G connectivity problems from an unknown percentage of iPhone 3G users, one Alabama woman has had enough: Jessica Alena Smith has reportedly filed a complaint against Apple and is seeking class action lawsuit status. The suit alleges that the iPhone 3G did not provide twice the speed as promised by Apple in the company's "Twice as fast. Half the price" marketing messages. The complaint reportedly covers breach of express warranty, breach of the implied warranty of merchantability, and unjust enrichment.
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Rumor: iTunes Unlimited
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Mission TUAWpossible: Back up your iPhone with Time Machine
Filed under: iPod Family, Leopard, iPhone Good morning, Mr. Phelps. The man you are looking at is Justin T. iPhoneuser, one of our loyal TUAW readers. Recently, Justin's iPhone went kablooey and when he tried to restore, he found that his backups were corrupted. He lost a great deal of data and time, all because Time Machine hadn't backed up his iPhone's data. Your mission, Jim, should you choose to accept it, is to help Justin back up his data with Time Machine so he never has to face this kind of data loss again. As usual, should any of your team members be caught by Apple, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This post will self-destruct in five seconds... [This is the part where the Theme Music usually plays.] Read on for your TUAWpossible Mission Briefing.Continue reading Mission TUAWpossible: Back up your iPhone with Time MachineRead|Permalink|Email this|Comments
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Review: Case-Mate Naked Case for iPhone 3G
Based heavily on last year's Naked Case, which was in turn based on Artwizz's widely licensed SeeJacket Crystal, the Naked Case for iPhone 3G is a clear hard plastic shell with integrated thin plastic touchscreen protection. The hook here is that the case requires no separate screen film in order to cover the touchscreen; you just snap the two-piece case together, and most of the iPhone is covered. Case-Mate's major advantage over…
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Analyst: 3 million Mac quarter, 10 million Mac year
Christmas may come a quarter early for Apple this year, as one analyst estimates the company may sell three million Macs in the quarter ending in September.Read More...
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CompanionLink releases iClink for iPhones
Posted by Dennis SellersCompanionLink Software has released iPhone software for Lotus Notes users. The software, called iClink, wirelessly synchronizes contacts, calendar events, and to-do items between the iPhone and Lotus Notes.
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Woz urges engineers to follow their hearts
Steve Wozniak, Apple's co-founder, recalls his early days fulfilling his engineering dream by working for Hewlett-Packard while designing Apple computers.
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Get a Mac, get a job
Filed under: Productivity, Tips and tricks, Developer, Graphic DesignAs the economy makes with the poop, we can all use a little bit of extra help finding work. Whether it's side projects, or full-time employment, there are plenty of jobs available for system administrators, programmers, and creative people -- all who use a Mac. I've assembled a collection of sites and job boards that cater to those with a technical and creative skill set -- people who probably use a Mac. This is by no means a complete list, but should help anyone starting to look for work. Comments consisting of "how could you dare possibly omit [insert name of board here]" will be met with resigned sighs from me, but cheers from our readers. So feel free to point people in the direction of boards that you've used or trusted before in comments. Follow me across the jump for the list. Continue reading Get a Mac, get a jobRead|Permalink|Email this|Comments
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Power Support introduces Air Jacket for iPhone 3G
Posted by Dennis SellersPower Support has introduced the US$34.95 Air Jacket for the iPhone 3G. It sports a hard backing that fits snugly to the back of the communications device. The Air Jacket is only 1mm thick and is designed to protect the iPhone 3G from scratches, dust, and impact.
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Apple Sued Over Lousy 3G Performance
Go wake up the lawyers—Apple is facing a lawsuit over the "defective iPhone 3G," brought by an Alabama resident named Jessica Alena Smith. read more
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Debunk: BlackBerry Bold's browser on WiFi actually not that slow
Filed under: Cellphones Now that the BlackBerry Bold's made its official North American debut, there's a lot of talk about a video Mobile Computer did of the Bold getting blown away browsing head to head with an iPhone 3G over WiFi -- but there's a slight problem there: the Bold was actually using 3G and EDGE. Yeah, that's not a fair fight -- and given how flaky the iPhone 3G's data speeds can be, it actually reflects quite well on the Bold. Head to head on WiFi, the Bold does seem a tick slower, but we'll let you judge that for yourselves -- videos after the break.Read - BGR browser vidRead - Mobile Computer browser vidContinue reading Debunk: BlackBerry Bold's browser on WiFi actually not that slowRead|Permalink|Email this|Comments
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Apple's Been iSued
Talk about bad reception. Apple (AAPL) has been slapped with a lawsuit over service issues plaguing its new iPhone 3G.
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SplashID for iPhone / iPod touch
Filed under: Software, iPhone, App StoreAnother venerable title from the world of Palm OS and Windows Mobile has made it to the iPhone and iPod touch.SplashID for iPhone / iPod touch is now shipping. With over 500,000 copies of SplashID sold, it's by far the most popular secure personal information manager for handheld devices. Developer SplashData has provided features that make this application very attractive. For example, there are Mac and Windows desktop apps that sync wirelessly with the iPhone version, so you can do a lot of your editing and data entry from the desktop instead of using the iPhone's keyboard. Data is protected by 256-bit Blowfish encryption, and there's a built-in generator for creating unguessable passwords.SplashID is available now from the App Store (click opens iTunes) for $9.95 and the desktop version is available at the SplashData website for $19.99. There's also a 30-day free trial available.Two of SplashData's other mobile titles, SplashMoney and SplashShopper, are also now available for iPhone and iPod touch.Read|Permalink|Email this|Comments
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Iterasi bookmarking tool now available for the Mac
Posted by Dennis SellersThe Iterasi bookmarking tool is now available on the Mac. It supports Firefox 2 and 3 on Intel and PowerPC Macs running Mac OS X 10.5 (“Leopard”).
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Horizon intros Bio Energy Discovery Kit for some fuel cell education
Filed under: Misc. GadgetsHorizon Fuel Cell Technologies certainly has plenty more ambitious fuel cell products in the works, but it looks like it's not leaving any potential opportunity to make itself known untapped, with it now introducing the education-minded Bio Energy Discovery Kit to spread the fuel cell word to students and educators alike. According to the company, the kit is actually the "fuel cell industry's first direct ethanol product," which means it's able to take plain water and any household alcohol (like diluted vodka) and, in this case, provide enough power to run a fan non-stop for days on end. That wonder of science doesn't exactly come cheap, however, with the kit running a full $100.[Via Blast]Read|Permalink|Email this|Comments
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Analysts predicting boffo 'back-to-school' season for Mac sales
Posted by Dennis Sellers The investment banking division of the Royal Bank of Canada said Thursday that Apple's back-to-school promotion is showing signs that it will drive the company to a “record-smashing quarter” in which sales of Macs could exceed three million, reports AppleInsider. Writing to clients, analyst Mike Abramsky cited proprietary data from...
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MTS to sell iPhones in Russia
Posted by Dennis SellersApple has agreed to Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) sell the iPhone in Russia starting in October, reports Reuters. MTS isthe largest mobile phone operator inRussia and the CIS. Together with its subsidiaries, the Company services over 83.88million subscribers.
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Apple slips out one more Get a Mac ad, new iPhone spot
You thought you had seen all the new Get a Mac commercials? We have one more new ad to talk about, plus a new iPhone App Store commercial.Read More...
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Apple's next-gen iPods just around the corner, full of rainbows?
Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video Sure, you could dismiss this round of iPod rumors -- so carefully culled by the fine folks at 9 to 5 Mac and AppleInsider -- as baseless speculation, but we'll have none of your dowdy skepticism. We're talking about rainbows here, people. AppleInsider claims that retailers are seeing current iPod models being switched to "discontinued" in inventory systems, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster says to expect iPod refreshes across the board, including a slightly redesigned $200 iPod touch, and meanwhile 9 to 5 Mac has it from an unnamed source that the new iPod nanos will have enhanced features, double the storage and rainbow color schemes. It's almost like somebody in Curpentino is reading our mind! We'll know for sure when new iPods arrive mid-September filled to the brim with "Run's House" episodes and bedecked in rainbow-hued gummy bears. It's going to rock.[Thanks, Kiwi616]Read - AppleInsiderRead - 9 to 5 MacPermalink|Email this|Comments
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Intel CEO: Gap between humans, machines will close by 2050
Posted by Dennis SellersIntel's chief technology officer has offered a look at how technology will bring man and machine much closer together by 2050. Justin Rattner, during his keynote today at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, predicted big changes are ahead in social interactions, robotics and improvements in computer's ability to...
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AirMe creates live iPhone to Facebook link
Posted by Dennis SellersAirMe, a free, mobile photo sharing application that premiered last month alongside the opening of Apple's App Store, now enables all iPhone users to automatically and instantly send their photos live to Facebook. All photos are auto-tagged with location, time, weather and any user customized information.
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News: i-mode creator Natsuno praises iPhone
Takeshi Natsuno, developer of Japan's first Internet cell phone service, i-mode, has praised the iPhone in an interview with the AP, saying that his country's cellular manufacturers could “never” produce such a device. “This is a great device,” Natsuno said while holding his iPhone 3G. “This kind of device cannot be produced by Japanese manufacturers. Never.” Natsuno, who left Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo…
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What's the deal with Seinfeld doing ads for Microsoft?
Filed under: Humor, Odds and endsMicrosoft has set aside $300 million for an ad campaign featuring once-funny comedian Jerry Seinfeld in a series of advertisements targeting Apple. [Insert "master of his domain" joke here. -Ed.] According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft will pay Seinfeld $10 million to appear in a series of ads for its "Windows, Not Walls" campaign that will feature Seinfeld and Bill Gates, Microsoft's chairman. According to AdWeek, other highly-relevant comics like Chris Rock and Will Ferrell may also appear in the ads. Wired notes that Microsoft's "choice of Seinfeld was an effort to avoid pandering to the kids with 'a celebrity that was too hip.'" Mission accomplished. It's unclear why the titan even has to advertise; it's highly successful Windows Vista and Zune media player products have dominated the landscape for ... I'm sorry. I just can't type anymore. I'm laughing too hard. The campaign is due to launch September 4, and will be produced by MDC Partners' Crispin Porter + Bogusky. The agency is responsible for such memorable hits as Burger King's "Subservient Chicken" and Miller Lite's "Man Laws," the latter with Burt Reynolds. Will his star ever stop rising? [via Macworld]Read|Permalink|Email this|Comments
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Apple Surge Expected - RBC
"Massive" back-to-school Mac computers sales for Apple Inc. (AAPL) might not mean much to the market on the surface, but when each 25 basis point increase in market share produces an extra US$1-billion in revenue, things start to come into focus pretty quickly.The strong forecasted sales could drive upside in the company's fourth quarter, according to Mike Abramsky at RBC Capital Markets. The analyst told clients that data from 4,400 corporate IT buyers and adopters suggest “unprecedented intentions” in the quarter. In the next 90 days, 34% plan to buy a Mac laptop and 30% expect to purchase a desktop.
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iPhone + Car + Heads Up Display = Idiot
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Rumored iTunes subscription would be a bargain
According to a tip received by MacDailyNews, Apple's considering an iTunes all-you-can-eat subscription for $129.99 a year--that's cheaper than all other subscription services, and would cement iTunes' absolute dominance.
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Article: iPhone Gems: War! Military-Themed Games + More
Hollywood learned long ago that “cool explosions” were easy tricks to excite audiences, and the perennial popularity of military-themed video games has been due in equal parts to impressive visual effects and compelling gameplay. Today, some of the most popular console games are Call of Duty, Gears of War and Halo—first- and third-person war-based shooters that are far from being available on the iPhone, no matter how much we might…
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China blocks iTunes due to Tibet protest songs
The Chinese government has decided to block access to iTunes after discovering that Olympic Athletes have been downloading and album called “Songs for Tibet”. The album features tracks by artists like Moby, Sting, and Suzanne Vega, and serves as a form of protest against China's 1950 invasion of Tibet, and its continuing rule there. The album was released 3 days before the Olympics began, and was offered to Olympic Athletes for free. After the company responsible for the album, The Art and Peace Foundation, announced that “Over 40 Olympic athletes in North America, Europe, and even Beijing” had downloaded the music, the Chinese government decided to pull the plug on iTunes.
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Hedge Fund Tracking: Lone Pine Capital (Steven Mandel)
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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Mobile Computer Compares Web Browsing Speed Between BlackBerry Bold and iPhone
Julian Prokaza: Unfortunately, as excellent as it is in delivering a desktop-like web browsing experience on a small screen, the BlackBerry Bold’s web browser is just far too slow to be a serious alternative to the iPhone. The Bold is the first BlackBerry with 3G support, but even over a more reliable Wi-Fi connection, our iPhone 2G repeatedly finished downloading a web page several seconds before the Bold had even got past a blank screen and a “Requesting…” message. Even with just its 3G connection active, the Bold still lagged behind the iPhone 2G with its EDGE connection. Either Apple is doing something right or RIM is doing something wrong with their respective web browsers, but whatever the case, it’s a pretty poor show for the Bold. Scroll down and watch the side-by-side video shootout. It’s painful. ★
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Apple stock about to jump by 40%?
Jim Goldman at cnbc.com points out that “Apple is typically up 40 percent between now and the end of the year”. Year Aug Dec Gain 2004 $17 $32 90% 2005 $45 $72 60% 2006 $68 $84 40% 2007 $138 $180 30% 2008 $173 ? If AAPL were to rise 40% from present levels, it would be at $241 by the end of the year. Hard to believe, but wow.
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Terminal Tips: Disable Dashboard
Filed under: OS, Hacks, Terminal Tips If you are the type of person that sees Dashboard as an application that just wastes space in your Dock (and an icon on your keyboard), then why not disable it? It is very easy to disable Dashboard; just type in the following command in Terminal.app (Applications > Utilities): defaults write com.apple.dashboard mcx-disabled -boolean YESYou must restart the Dock in order for this hack to work, so type "killall Dock" into Terminal and press enter -- the Dock should restart. To enable Dashboard again, just type in the above command, replacing "YES" at the end with a "NO." Now when you try to launch Dashboard, nothing will happen; this will save you some system resources. If you found this tip useful, take a look at TUAW's Mac 101 and Terminal Tips sections.Read|Permalink|Email this|Comments
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Mailplane 2 Beta is Available
For those of you who don't know, Mailplane is an application that combines the best of two worlds: Gmail and your Mac. Mailplane is essentially Mail.app for your Gmail account. It allows all of the functionality of regular Gmail, but adds a lot to make life easier. You can compose, save and send email like in a regular browser, but application buttons allow you to compose, send, browse, reply, forward, and Mailplane even includes all of Gmail's shortcuts. Sending pictures is way faster with drag-and-drop functionality and a media browser. Mailplane also incorporates your contacts from Address Book, which makes sending group emails a piece of cake. The difference between Mailplane and a regular desktop mail client is that Mailplane doesn't download all your emails, it leaves them on Gmail's servers. If Gmail's settings aren't optimized for Mailplane, it will let you know, and then take you to the settings page that will enable the feature that you don't have turned on, in my case, it took me to the Gmail shortcuts settings page. Uncomplex gmbh added more than 30 improvements to the program. Here are the highlights: Auto-completion for adding and removing labels Hide the Spam count and invitation boxes in the sidebar (nice touch, removes an annoying bold spam folder and invites box) OmniFocus “clipping” integration (plugin links OmniFocus task to your conversation) Do Not Disturb mode keeps Mailplane from interrupting your intense GTD time (when you turn off this mode, you are notified with Growl, sounds, and message counts) Copy and paste images and files from Finder to Mailplane. Current users of Mailplane 1 will be upgraded to Mailplane 2 for free (very gentlemanly of them, don't you think?), otherwise it is only $24.95. Mailplane works on Tiger and Leopard.
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PlayFirst CTO, founder talks about Mac games
Posted by Dennis SellersBrad Edelman, CTO and founder of Playfirst, a publisher of casual games, has published his first “Making it Mac” blog. We're reprinted it here with PlayFirst's permission: I'm not entirely sure this is rational, but I believe in Macs.
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Apple patent involves making user accounts portable
Posted by Dennis SellersWill your Mac user account someday be transportable, as has long been hoped for (and hinted at)? Maybe. A new patent (number 20080201456) at the US Patent & Trademark Office involves a method and apparatus for rendering user accounts portable. The invention relates generally to multi-user computer systems and, more...
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Apple patent is for network connections for media processing devices
Posted by Dennis SellersA new Apple patent (number 20080198870) for network connections for media processing devices has appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office. Media devices and systems, such as digital video and audio players, can include multiple functions and capabilities, such as playing stored content, browsing and selecting from recorded content,...
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News: Audi launches iPhone game, website for new A4
Audi has announced the release of a new iPhone game and an iPhone-optimized website as a promotion for its upcoming 2009 model A4 car. Audi A4 Driving Challenge, available as a free download from the App Store, is an overhead-view racing title that uses accelerometer- and screen-based controls to let the user drive the new A4 through a series of five progressively more challenging courses. Alongside the game, Audi has also launched an iPhone-formatted…
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Transgaming to use SecuROM for Cider games
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Software, Apple, SecurityAs if Mac gaming needed more problems getting off the ground. Transgaming has proudly announced that in the future, their games will include Sony's SecuROM digital rights management software. They don't mention which games will be getting the extremely restrictive DRM (that some folks have compared to malware), but we're guessing all of them, which means the Mac version of Spore will be on that list, as well as those upcoming Ubisoft titles, and anything else produced with the Cider technology.Bummer. Why is it a bummer? Because all the evidence we can see actually shows that DRM hurts sales. While Transgaming is obviously proud of this decision, claiming that SecuROM will help them prevent piracy and unauthorized copying, most of the evidence shows that piracy will happen in spite of, and sometimes even because of restrictive DRM setups like Sony's. Transgaming is making a serious mistake here -- they want to protect their games, which is fine. But choosing DRM, especially SecuROM, as a way to do it is a mistake. It'll cause more problems for the company and their users before it prevents piracy in the way they think it will.[via IMG]Read|Permalink|Email this|Comments
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Vodafone India publishes steep iPhone 3G prices
With just a day remaining until the second major launch of the iPhone 3G, Vodafone India has published pricing and purchasing details. Unfortunately, the price is surprisingly steep.Read More...
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AT&T launches in-home service for computer, TV, home theater set-up/support
Posted by Dennis SellersAT&T has launched AT&T ConnecTech—a 50-state, all-encompassing home services care program. It provides a suite of in-home services for a variety of technical support needs. For residential customers nationwide—AT&T and non-AT&T customers alike—ConnecTech offers television and home theater installation and personal computer and home network setup, plus an extensive list...
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iTunes Unlimited: music subscription rumor returns
We’ve heard the rumors of an iTunes subscription service before, but they’ve never materialized. It doesn’t hurt that Steve Jobs has long been a vociferous opponent of rental music (paying one monthly fee for unlimited music downloads). When asked about it he recites his familiar mantra that “people want to own their music.” While I generally [...]
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Study: iPhone shakes up wireless world
Posted by Dennis SellersAccording to a new report from Research and Markets the iPhone and the gPhone are shaking up the wireless world. According to the research group, there has always been a communications gap between executives of phone companies, including wireless operators, and the executives of the Silicon Valley.
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Audi releases A4 Driving Challenge for the iPhone
Posted by Dennis SellersAudi has released Audi A4 Driving Challenge, a free iPhone game available for download at the Apple App Store. The A4 Driving Challenge has you hold the iPhone in landscape and uses the iPhone's accelerometer to steer the car through a series of five courses.
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Convergent adds iPhone interface
Posted by Dennis SellersConvergent Living, a provider of control systems, has announced the addition of Apple's iPhone as yet another optimal interface for its suite of control applications.
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MacOSG: iDisk not mounting in Finder
Posted by Dave MertenDo you ever get the following error when trying to mount your iDisk in the Finder? “Your iDIsk can not be accessed. Your member name or password may be invalid. An unexpected error occurred (error code -35)”
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IMSI/Design offers free version of IDX Renditioner Express for Google SketchUp
Posted by Dennis SellersIMSI/Design has released a free version of IDX Renditioner Express for Google SketchUp 6. The free version of IDX Renditioner Express—which can be used for unlimited commercial or personal use—plugs directly into the Google SketchUp interface and integrates one-click rendering with rendering capabilities. Right now it's Windows only, but a...
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Apple patent is for power management for battery-powered electronic device
Posted by Dennis SellersAn Apple patent (number 20080201587) for anticipatory power management for a battery-powered electronic device has appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office. The invention relates to battery-powered electronic devices and, more particularly, to managing battery consumption on a portable electronic device.
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Corsaire Publishes Security Mac OS X Leopard Whitepaper
The UK security consulting firm Corsaire has just published a new whitepaper on securing Mac OS X Leopard (you may remember them from their similar Tiger whitepaper). Written by Corsaire's head of training – Daniel Cuthbert (whom you may remember as being in a fairly public and silly court case a few years back and may also recognize as one of the founding members of OWASP) – the 54-page guide expands upon Apple's own Mac OS X Leopard Security and Common Criteria guides through practical “how-to's” and also includes references to additional, third-party tools (free, open source and commercial) which can aide your efforts to harden your systems. This is a good tool to keep in your OS X security arsenal, but I'm curious as to what other resources TAB readers are using to keep their systems secure? Let us know what you're reading and what you think of Corsaire's guide by dropping a note in the comments!
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News: Reuters: MTS and Apple bringing iPhone to Russia
Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) and Apple have reached an agreement on the sale of iPhones in Russia, according to a Reuters report. Citing an anonymous market source, the report states that retail sales of the phone will begin in October. “MTS has made an agreement with Apple on the sale of iPhones,” the source said. “Sales are likely to begin in October.” Apple CEO Steve Jobs has previously said that he expected a Russian carrier…
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Bose releases SoundDock Series II for iPod, iPhone
Posted by Dennis SellersBose has introduced the SoundDock Series II digital music system—a speaker system for the iPod and iPhone that combines the same small size and audio performance as the original SoundDock system, with an enhanced look and added functionality. It's the first “Works with iPhone” certified SoundDock system from Bose.
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Speck shipping ToughSkin case for iPhone 3G
Posted by Dennis SellersSpeck is shipping the ToughSkin for the iPhone 3G. The US$34.95 case sports a treaded texture for extra grip and comfort and features a tough, rubberized skin with slightly thicker corners for added protection from accidental bumps, according to Speck CEO Irene Baran.
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Watching video podcasts on the iPhone and iPod touch
In the past, video podcasts were also available in the Music section of your iPhone or iPod touch, and you could listen to their content content as audio only. Since version 2.0, you can access video podcasts from the Music menu, but you can view their video now. You can also view them in both portrait and landscape mode. [kirkmc adds: In this earlier hint, we mentioned that you would only get the audio of video