Aug 27, 2009 Aug 29, 2009 Friday August 28, 2009
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A bit of [Big] Apple history: visiting Tekserve
Filed under: Retail, Cult of Mac, Retro Mac It may have lost a bit of luster compared to the chrome, glass and steel of Apple's nearby retail stores (one within easy walking distance, in fact), but there's no denying the draw of New York City's original Apple emporium, the delightfully idiosyncratic Tekserve. Featured on an episode of Sex and the City, the venerable Mac repair and retail shop maintains its own clientele and distinctive look as the possibility of yet a 4th NYC Apple store looms large. Not to take anything away from the city's other indie Mac shops; we love them dearly, but they often find themselves overshadowed by the Big T. Since my office is roughly equidistant from both the W. 14th Street Apple Store and Tekserve (although, now that I've checked, I realize I'm slightly closer to Mike Volchok's Mike's Tech Shop -- noted for next time!), I decided to go old school today when I picked up my copy of Snow Leopard, and I snapped a few iPhone pics of the store while I was there. Enjoy! Gallery: Tekserve: Apple's original home in the Big AppleTUAWA bit of [Big] Apple history: visiting Tekserve originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 29 Aug 2009 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Sponsored Topics: Apple - Snow Leopard - IPhone - Unofficial Apple Weblog - TUAW
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IOScope brings 2-channel transfer function analysis to the iPhone
Posted by Dennis Sellers Faber Acoustica has announced IOScope 1.0, a system analysis tool for the iPhone and iPod touch. It's available at the Apple App Store for US$199.99.
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The Daily Roundup: here's what you might've missed
iPhone coming to China Unicom in Q4 -- it's officialThe carrier will offer two different "3G iPhones" to its 141 million subscribers and it will buy the phones wholesale from Apple -- no revenue sharing deal here kids. Creative Zii EGG orders shipped, hands-on videos posted"The screen," he says, compares "very favorably" with the S Series Walkman, with colors described as bright and vibrant, even if the blacks leave something to be desired. PS3 Slim already sold out at many a retail storeWe know plenty of folks who've had no trouble scoring one online, but who knows how long that supply will last. Other news of import Nikon D300s spotted and tested at Best Buy with its little brother, still does that jelly video thing Video: Pleo gets new dance moves, alpha dev kit Overheating iPhone reports 'exploding' all over France, Apple responds Clear QAM HD isn't going anywhere!The bottom line is that local broadcast channels are available in HD to any cable subscriber with a clear QAM tuner, whether you have a set-top-box or not. Vodafone kicks off 14.4Mbps HSDPA upgrade in UKBefore Vodafone UK gets to HSPA+, it wants to take plain ol' HSPA just as far as it'll go by pushing downlink speeds all the way to 14.4Mbps. 1080p Android demo'd, set-top boxes prepare for a new master Blockbuster DVD kiosks creeping into New England supermarkets Ask Engadget HD: Best way to feed HD to two TVs? Nokia N900 now giving Germany and Italy a way to pre-order HTC posts firmware update for Rogers' Magic and Dream Motorola takes environmentally-conscious MOTOCUBO A45 to Brazil The Daily Roundup: here's what you might've missed originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 Aug 2009 00:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Snow Leopard: Another upgrader's experience
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, OS, Software, Snow Leopard I got to the Walt Whitman Mall on Long Island yesterday and they were doing land-office business, according to the blue (not orange) shirt I was speaking with. He told me that he lost count, but they must have moved over 150 copies of Snow Leopard per hour. Two minutes later (they really do have their system down), I left the store in a foreshadowing downpour. After looking at the startup, shutdown and disk capacity notes I've been collecting for a few days, I removed the shrink wrap and got down to business with the hopes of upgrading four computers today. Yes, I did buy the family pack. Five hours later, I'd only upgraded two machines. This is not because the upgrades didn't move along speedily, it was because I had some real head scratching problems to deal with. The first: my 8GB 17" Unibody Macbook Pro running at 2.93 Ghz, took about 34 minutes to upgrade. As I thought, Apple hadn't gotten any better about realistic install times with the last 'under a minute' taking 7 minutes. No news there. Additionally, I gained only 2 GB of usable storage; I did do a Rosetta install. Damn you Quicken! If you haven't installed Rosetta, and find that you need it, a very helpful box is displayed asking if you want to. It really didn't take a lot of storage at all. I'd suspected that much of the reclamation of storage is due to clearing out caches and other garbage. What led me to believe this was that I ran Onyx beforehand, and that gave me back about about 8GB of storage right there from maintenance and cleanup. The truth about SL's space savings, however, according to David Pogue: most of the excess storage given back is saved in compressed code and not installing gigabytes of printer drivers that most users will never need. What follows are a few initial notes from an installation that didn't go quite as smoothly as I had hoped.Continue reading Snow Leopard: Another upgrader's experienceTUAWSnow Leopard: Another upgrader's experience originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 29 Aug 2009 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Sponsored Topics: Snow Leopard - Apple - David Pogue - Rosetta - TUAW
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Konami releases Power Pros Touch for the iPhone, iPod touch
Posted by Dennis Sellers
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Apple lists Snow Leopard incompatibilities
Filed under: OS, Software, Apple, Snow LeopardWith Snow Leopard in users' hands for less than 24 hours, reports of software incompatibilities are coming in (as well as what's been updated). Apple has posted a list of its own to the knowledge base. The article notes that, when Snow Leopard is installed, known-incompatible software is moved to a folder aptly named Incompatible Software. Additionally, known-incompatible software is prevented from opening (you'll see an "Incompatible software" message). As of this writing, there are 21 pieces of software on Apple's official list, including Parallels Desktop v. 2.5 (and earlier) and AirPort Admin Utility for Graphite and Snow v. 4.2.5. A few of our readers shared their experiences in our liveblog earlier tonight, including installation troubles. We're sure that all vendors are working to update their products. If something continues to give you trouble, hold tight. Help is (probably) on the way.TUAWApple lists Snow Leopard incompatibilities originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Sponsored Topics: Snow Leopard - Apple - Operating system - Unofficial Apple Weblog - TUAW
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Seedonk lets you manage cameras from an iPhone, IM, Facebook
Posted by Dennis SellersSeedonk—a platform for viewing, managing and sharing camera feed over the Internet—has released a beta version of its consumer network camera management service. With features such as the Seedonk iPhone app (available at the Apple App Store), Seedonk IM, and Seedonk Facebook app, Seedonk enables users to view and share...
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Battlefield game designer working on new iPhone games
Posted by Dennis SellersA trailer for the game, Dark Nebula, has been released on Youtube, showing in-game footage of the title in action. The designer behind the game is game industry veteran Anders Hejdenberg, the lead designer of Battlefield 2: Modern Combat.
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LanSchool updates teacher console with Leopard support
Posted by Dennis SellersLanSchool Technologies, a provider of classroom management software, has updated the software for it teacher console for its classroom management software, to version 7.4. The upgrade adds Mac 10.5 (“Leopard”) support.
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Video: Rumors!!! Show
The Rumors!!! Show is our weekly showcase of whats going on in the world of Apple rumors. We share this weeks rumors with you and wonder aloud what they mean to us. read more
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Join us at 9PM EDT for a TUAW liveblog -- Snow Leopard's first day
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Liveblog, Snow LeopardBy now, if you've been lucky enough to have picked up a copy of Snow Leopard, you've installed it and are beginning to see what the buzz was all about. TUAW would like to invite you to join us a 9 PM EDT for a liveblog about Snow Leopard's first day of life. Did you run into issues? Were all of your installs flawless? We'd like to hear, and so would many other TUAW readers. We'll talk to you soon! <a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=23e45f52d3" >TUAW - Snow Leopard Live!</a>TUAWJoin us at 9PM EDT for a TUAW liveblog -- Snow Leopard's first day originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments Sponsored Topics: Snow Leopard - TUAW - Apple - Eastern Time Zone - Unofficial Apple Weblog
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Article: Ask iLounge 8-28-09
This week's Ask iLounge topics: Consolidating Multiple iTunes Libraries, iPod touch Bluetooth headset compatibility, iPod holds less than advertised number of songs, Transferring media between iTunes Store accounts
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Zune HD pamphlet discloses HD movies coming to Zune marketplace
With TV shows, music video, and video podcasts already proliferating the Zune marketplace, it was really only a matter of time before Microsoft dipped its toes into HD movies -- not to mention kind of a logical step since Xbox Live was getting its movie section Zune-branded. BostonPocketPC writer Steven Hughes has uploaded pictures of an alleged pamphlet handed out at Best Buy's Zune HD showings that, among other things, make reference to finding Zune Marketplace content including HD movies. Ban on HDTV Media Center recordings notwithstanding, things are looking up for Zune 4.0 software. And here we thought Apple was late to the party with its movie service. [Via Zunited] Read - Pamphlet pics Read - BostonPocketPCFiled under: Handhelds, Portable VideoZune HD pamphlet discloses HD movies coming to Zune marketplace originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Power Manager ready for Snow Leopard
Posted by Dennis SellersDssW has updated Power Manager, a Mac OS X utility designed to help users save energy by automating Macs, to version 3.7.3. The upgrade includes improved Login Window notifications and support for Mac OS X 10.6 (“Snow Leopard”).
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Stupid and unjustified App Store rejection letter of the day
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, Bad Apple, Developer, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch TUAW has covered the fine iPhone apps from Tapbots more than once. ConvertBot is a beautifully-designed and functional app to do a myriad of unit conversion calculations, while WeightBot is my personal favorite app for keeping track of my incredible ballooning body.Tapbots posted an entry on their blog today stating that the most recent version of ConvertBot (1.4) had been rejected by Apple. What was Apple's reason for the rejection? As you can see in the graphic at the top of the page, the ConvertBot icon for time conversions looks very similar to the Phone app icon for recent calls. This is the same icon that has passed Apple's scrutiny in previous versions, so it is ridiculous for the company's eagle-eyed app inspectors to suddenly decide that the icon is unfit for iPhone consumption.Mark Jardine of Tapbots noted "So what's the plan? I need to redo the icon, I suppose. But Convertbot icons were meant to use as little lines/shapes as possible to identify the category. I feel that our current icon represents time as simply as possible. So how can we make Time different? What if it's set at 9 o'clock instead of 3? Is that acceptable? The big problem here is the only way I can get that answer is by making the change, resubmitting the app, and waiting another week or 2 for Apple's verdict."What gives, Apple? You release a couple of amazing apps to the world this week (Facebook, Spotify, TUAW, and Yelp), but you hold up the next release of an established app over an icon. I'm giving the App Store approval people the "idiots" tag on this post.TUAWStupid and unjustified App Store rejection letter of the day originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Sponsored Topics: iPhone - AppStore - Apple - Facebook - Unofficial Apple Weblog
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E2D introduces songvoo 1.0 for the iPhone, iPod touch
Posted by Dennis SellersE2D introduces songvoo 1.0 for the iPhone, iPod touch Elements2Dance has introduced songvoo 1.0, a new music companion app for the iPhone and iPod touch. It's available for US$1.99 at the Apple App Store.
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TUAW's iPhone app: it's alive
If you love TUAW, iPhones, and apps (and let's be honest... you do), then today should be filled with wonderment and excitement. Why you ask? Because our homeboys and girls over at The Unofficial Apple Weblog have released their very own iPhone app -- and it's pretty darn slick. If you know what's good for you, you'll get to downloading it right now. It's what Steve Jobs would want you to do. Read - TUAW's post on the app Read - iTunes linkFiled under: Cellphones, SoftwareTUAW's iPhone app: it's alive originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 18:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
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DTerm, now free, ready for Snow Leopard
Posted by Dennis SellersDecimus Software has released DTerm 1.2 and is now offering it as freeware. The release adds support for Mac OS X 10.6 “Snow Leopard,” and contains a number of other improvements and bug fixes. DTerm provides a pop-up, context-sensitive command line interface.
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Mel Martin's Friday with Snow Leopard: few glitches, much joy
Filed under: Macbook Pro, Mac Pro, Leopard, MobileMeIt was pretty quiet at the ole' Apple Store here in Tucson. I got there just at ten, and while there were stanchions to organize the crowd, they weren't needed and just sat off to the side looking lonely. There were plenty of people in the store, and about half were buying Snow Leopard. Supplies were plentiful, but I was there early.Installing on both a MacBook Pro and a Mac Pro were two different stories. On the laptop, things were ducky. Everything worked, mail accounts were there, bookmarks, the usual.On my desktop it was not so pretty. I kept getting messages that I needed to add a password for my MobileMe account, which I dutifully did. Problem was it kept asking. Then I saw some messages about the keychain. Whoops. Not a good message to see. Well, the short version is that somehow my keychain was hosed. I tried to repair, but that didn't stop the problems. I finally threw away my keychain data and started again, re-entering my email passwords and a few other things. All is back to normal. I also saw a strange message about my iDisk, but I followed the directions and threw a rather large file away. It appeared to be a copy of my idisk for local use.Other things pretty much work. My Sonos audio system is fine, Photoshop CS3 seems OK, and while it didn't get a heavy duty run through, it opens images, applies filters, runs actions, and saves properly. Shut down is almost instantaneous, and I noticed I'd saved 14GB after the upgrade.I'm seeing lots of little niceties. When I take a screen shot, it has a name that includes the date and time instead of 'picture 1'. All in all, not too painful, but not completely trouble free. With keychain passwords gone I may wind up doing some extra typing for awhile on web sites where I have an account, but that's not too horrible. Snow Leopard is clearly faster, trimmer, and a bit more fun to use. A good use of $30.00 and just a little bit more time than I planned in getting over a couple of glitches. TUAWMel Martin's Friday with Snow Leopard: few glitches, much joy originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Sponsored Topics: Snow Leopard - Apple - MobileMe - TUAW - Mac Pro
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Thanks to TheAppleBlog Sponsors!
We'd like to say thanks to this week's TheAppleBlog sponsors: Mozy: Back up your photos, music, and files with Mozy for as low as $4.34 per month. BackBlaze: Online backup for only $5/month per computer for unlimited storage. FREE Trial for Intel Mac users. Fuze Meeting: Share everything you see with everyone in high definition, anywhere on any device. Akamai: Join us on September 2nd for a LIVE WEBINAR on iPhone video distribution strategies and solutions
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Xslimmer revved for Snow Leopard
Posted by Dennis SellersLateNiteSoft has updated Xslimmer, an anti-bloat utility application, to version 1.7. This new version is Mac OS X 10.6 (“Snow Leopard”) ready, supporting 64-bit binaries, honoring code signing rules, and being able to handle and create native HFS-compressed files.
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Snow Leopard's 'restricted' applications
In a technical note, Apple lists third-party programs that are restricted during installation (what Cupertino calls "migration") and others that it knows will crash on opening. Ironically, some are Apple apps.
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Sync'Em adds support for Google recurring/detached calendar events, more
Posted by Dennis SellersDerman Enterprises has released Sync'Em 1.4.0, an update of the sync hub for Macs. The upgrade adds support for Google recurring/detached calendar events and Mac OS X 10.6 (“Snow Leopard”).
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RipIt
My thanks to The Little App Factory for sponsoring this week’s DF RSS feed to promote RipIt, their excellent simple DVD ripping app for Mac OS X. RipIt makes it easy and obvious to get your DVDs onto your computer, with a simple one-click interface. Check out the screencasts on their web site to see just how easy it is. They’ve got a special offer for DF readers: save 25 percent off the regular $20 price through 31 August 2009, using the coupon code “DARINGFIRE2009”. â
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Pilates for Pregnancy released for the iPhone
Posted by Dennis SellersDramatic Applications has released Pilates for Pregnancy, a new iPhone app, based on the video, Prenatal Pilates and Sarah Picot's Pilates and Pregnancy Workbook. It's available for US$5.99 at the Apple App Store.
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Hell freezes over; Now X Client for Mac now shipping
Filed under: Software, Odds and ends, Blast From the Past, iPhoneIn a surprise move after years of breathless anticipation by users of Now Up-To-Date and Contact, Now Software released Now X Client for Mac on Thursday, August 27, 2009. In case you're wondering, yes, this was the calendar and contact app formerly known as Nighthawk.Why the snarky tone? Well, Nighthawk Now X has been one of the biggest examples of vaporware in the Mac community for at least two or three years. Many users of Now Up-To-Date and Contact, which was a relatively powerful set of applications for managing calendars and contacts, have waited patiently for the promised app, only to have their hopes dashed year after year. All of my clients who used NUDC have moved on to other Mac / iPhone or cloud apps. Even this announcement is somewhat tainted. There's no Windows version of Now X for people in multi-platform offices, the much-touted server module isn't done, and the FAQ page states that "Now X runs on both Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger and Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard." Uh, guys, while you were developing this application, Apple came out with something called Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.Now Software also states that Now X syncs to iPhone, but there's no iPhone client -- it simply syncs Up-To-Date info to Calendar and Contact to Contacts. Most other apps of this type, including Marketcircle Daylite, have an accompanying iPhone app. The company says that the app "is being designed." From past experience, Now X users looking for an iPhone version may have a very long wait ahead of them.A TUAW First Look of the Now X Client for Mac will be posted soon.TUAWHell freezes over; Now X Client for Mac now shipping originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Sponsored Topics: Mac OS X - Apple - IPhone - Mac OS X v10.5 - Now Software
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App Review: Keymote Makes Shortcuts Even Easier
There are no shortage of iPhone apps that function as remotes for your Mac, Apple TV, or just about anything else. Keymote (iTunes link), by Iced Cocoa, takes the concept to a new level by allowing custom âkeysetsâ for all of your favorite applications. So why would anybody need an app to do this when most apps have keyboard shortcuts already? Well the answer is simple if you consider the power of leveraging the large screen on the iPhone. When it launched sans a physical keyboard, Steve Jobs commented that it was a great idea to do away with it, because there are times when you donât need a full size keyboard. If you are typing in numbers, it would be great to see large numbers instead of individual keys. The same holds true for shortcuts. Why should I have to press “Shift+Command+Delete” to empty my trash when I could just use one button for that same purpose? Keymote addresses this usability blemish. Keymoteâs setup process is very simple and only requires that your iPhone and Mac share a Wi-Fi connection. Download the remote software on your Mac and it resides on the menu bar. Once youâve paired the iPhone to your Mac from the app, you're ready to roll. Keymote comes with several keysets out of the box but also includes an in-app store that provides a larger wealth of free downloadable keysets for other popular apps, all contributed by users. Instantly download keysets for Aperture, Adobe Illustrator, Pages or any other app you use frequently. My favorite is the Numerical Keypad keyset which will help your stylish Apple keyboard feel a little more powerful. If thereâs not a keyset for an application you like to use, feel free to create your own and share it with others. If a particular keyset is not quite up to your standards, tap a key or spacer and hold. Then you can just drag it to a better location. If a shortcut is missing, just tap the plus and add it right alongside the rest. The only thing to keep in mind is that you might find yourself using your phone more often than before. In case, my iPhone has become more of an auxiliary keypad and so I needed to adjust my sleep settings to keep my phone awake. Additionally, Keymote requires the software youâre using be the active application. This means if I call up Photoshop key commands and create a new document, it invokes âCommand+N.â If Photoshop isn't the active application, âCommand+Nâ will apply to whichever app is active. The developers are aware of this limitation, and it's something they are working to address. With a stylish user interface that looks great not just on my iPhone, but as a âkeypadâ next to my Mac, Keymote is a great application for those whose regularly harness the power of shortcuts. Keymote is $3.99 and available for download on the App Store. If youâve had the chance to try it out, please share your thoughts. Hurry! GigaOM's Mobilize conference is on Sept 10th in SF. See our final speaker lineup and topics. Mobile web is booming. Join us!
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Plants vs. Zombies
Who knew zombies were omnivores? Plants vs. Zombies presents a cuddlier take on these murderous undead. They really want to eat your brains, but they shamble in a straight path to your house, snacking on landscaping that gets directly in their way. Thankfully, your garden fights back, with pea-shooting plants, exploding peppers, giant flytraps, and dozens more. Youâll plant these defenses to stop the zombies in a sly, simple game with compelling strategy.read more
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Parallels Starts Its Own Apple Switch Campaign
Parallels released new software that makes it easier for people to switch from Windows PCs to Macs. Maybe chief executive Serguei Beloussov will finally make the money he thinks he deserves.
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Movie Gadget Friday: Weird Science
Ariel Waldman contributes Movie Gadget Friday, where she highlights the lovable and lame gadgets from the world of cinema. We last left off on the cyberpunk streets of LA in Strange Days. This week, in honor of the loss of the man behind so many 1980's icons, Movie Gadget Friday is paying homage to filmmaker John Hughes with a look into the 1985 cult-classic Weird Science. Tapping into the geek-fiction fantasies of most tinkering teenagers, real-life gadget specs are stretched to surreal capabilities to create the ultimate female bombshell. It's without surprise that the character's name, Lisa, was inspired by the Apple Lisa, Apple's first GUI computer.Continue reading Movie Gadget Friday: Weird ScienceFiled under: Misc. GadgetsMovie Gadget Friday: Weird Science originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Hydra for Mac OS X updated for Snow Leopard
Posted by Dennis SellersCreaceed has updated Hydra, a Mac OS X 10.5 (“Leopard”) tool for HDR image creation, to version 2.1.2. The new version is ready for Mac OS X 10.6 (“Snow Leopard”).âš
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News: Apple resellers claim iPod discontinuations
Citing sources from Apple Authorized Resellers, Ars Technica reports that the entire current lineup of iPods has been discontinued. Stock of the current screened iPods, announced and released last September, is dwindling, with no more expected to come in; the fate of the third-generation iPod shuffle, released earlier this year, is unclear. Apple is reportedly planning a special event for early September—possibly as soon as Sept. 9—to…
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News: App Mix: Facebook, DSLR Remote, Gluten-free, PlaySafe
Facebook has released version 3.0 of its application for the iPhone and iPod touch. The updated app sports a redesigned interface and several new capabilities, including the ability to write notes and read friends' notes, upload photos to any album and manage a photo collection, zoom photos, see mutual friends, change profile pictures, and more. Facebook 3.0 for iPhone and iPod touch is available now as a free download from the App Store. OnOne…
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Office 2008 A Go On Snow Leopard
In stark contrast to the news that Adobe gave us yesterday, Microsoft announced that Office 2008 for Mac will work seamlessly with the Snow read more
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'Macsimum Recommended Reading' for Aug. 28
Posted by Dennis Sellers“Rumor: Apple May Be Working on XL Tablets Running Full Mac OS X” [“Not only Apple may be working on a 10-inch tablet, but also in 13' and 15' models, one running Mac OS X.”]—Gizmodo
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Win a copy of Snow Leopard from TUAW
Filed under: Snow Leopard Hey, we couldn't very well cover Snow Leopard and not spring for the $29 to give one of you good people a copy, right? As usual, the deal is, you leave a comment, make sure it appears, you are entered. In a few days we'll run the random selection and boom! One of you will get a shiny new copy of OS X version 10.6 to call your own. While you wait, may I suggest our page of comprehensive Snow Leopard coverage? Just tell us the first version of OS X you started using in the comments. It'll be fun. If you started using Apple computers before OS X, that's cool too, but did you use the 10.0 beta? Chime in and (maybe) win! Full rules below. Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia. To enter leave a comment below telling us what version of OS X you first used. The comment must be left before August 31, 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time. You may enter only once. One winner will be selected in a random drawing. Prize: One copy of Mac OS X Snow Leopard Upgrade (Value: US$29.00) Click Here for complete Official Rules TUAWWin a copy of Snow Leopard from TUAW originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Sponsored Topics: Snow Leopard - Mac OS X - Apple - TUAW - Operating system
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Apple, AT&T sued (again) over lack of MMS messaging on the iPhone
Posted by Dennis Sellers Another day, another lawsuit. Apple and AT&T are facing another class-action lawsuit claiming the two companies falsely represented the iPhone's ability to support MMS messaging. This follows a similar lawsuit filed on Aug. 12.
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Wireless Industry Under FCC Scrutiny: Worrisome, or Waste of Time?
The wireless industry is about to find out what it's like to be under Washington's microscope. The FCC this week announced efforts to further study competitive landscape of the mobile wireless market and determine whether consumers have the necessary information they need to make informed decisions about mobile phones and mobile phone service. The notices of inquiry announced by the FCC comes on the heels of replies from Google (GOOG), AT&T (T) and Apple (AAPL) over the government's inquiry surrounding the controversial Google Voice app for the iPhone. Earlier this month, word spread that Apple had rejected the Google Voice app - though Apple says it's still “pondering” it. It was believed that the reason for a rejection of the app was because it cut into the voice service revenue stream offered by Apple partner AT&T. That's not exactly the case, as I keep explaining in blog posts, but it was enough to spark some interest in Washington.
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Peachpit announces Snow Leopard books
Posted by Dennis SellersPeachpit has announced four books that will be shipping on the same day as Apple's new Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6) operating system. Snow Leopard introduces and upgrades many new features and technologies, with hidden power that new and experienced users can learn to take advantage of to maximize their...
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360Works releases Snow Leopard-compatible FileMaker plug-in versions
Posted by Dennis Sellers360Works, a FileMaker product developer, has released updated versions of their entire product line for compatibility with Mac OS X 10.6 (“Snow Leopard”).
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Ambrosia updates its utilities for Snow Leopard
Posted by Dennis SellersAmbrosia Software has announced the simultaneous release of WireTap Studio 1.0.12, WireTap Anywhere 1.0.5, and Snapz Pro X 2.2.0. They all bring Mac OS X 10.6 (“Snow Leopard”) compatibility, as well as other improvements.
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Snow Leopard compatible Infovox iVox voices in public beta
Posted by Dennis SellersAcapela Group and AssistiveWare have announced a public beta of Infovox iVox 2.0. Infovox iVox 2.0 brings Mac OS X 10.6 (“Snow Leopard”) compatibility, and improves performance and responsiveness.
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The Macsimum Podcast for August 28th
Posted by Frank PetrieOn today's Macsimum Podcast: “Compatibility,” “Talk to Me,” “New from Iomega” and “Story 4.”
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A roundup of Snow Leopard-related software announcements
Filed under: OS, Odds and ends, Snow LeopardAs our readers and staff are out buying copies of Mac OS X Snow Leopard today, we thought we'd also start rounding up news about software updates related to the OS update.We're getting a lot of emails today with news about Snow Leopard compatibility updates for applications, so we'll be listing the updates in this post. Be sure to check back from time to time today, as we'll be changing this post frequently. If you're using the new and free TUAW iPhone App [App Store link] to read this, be sure to tap the icon in the upper right corner of the screen to view the entire post.Continue reading A roundup of Snow Leopard-related software announcementsTUAWA roundup of Snow Leopard-related software announcements originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Sponsored Topics: Apple - Snow Leopard - Operating system - Mac OS X - App Store
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Snow Leopard: A Brief Introduction to the New Big Cat
I'm now running OS X 10.5.6 on two of my three eligible Macs (the fourth is a 12-inch PowerBook G4), and so far, I couldn't be happier. I haven't run into any nasty compatibility issues or really disastrous bugs (although Finder once auto-quit and restarted when I was fiddling with the menu bar), and general system performance seems noticeably improved. All that said, if you're looking for big flashy changes, look elsewhere. Snow Leopard is exactly what Apple said it was all along: a nice collection of system refinements and improvements, with a few experience-enhancing features thrown in for good measure. Installation OS X users will find the installation process very much simplified. For advanced users, probably too much so, in fact. Running the installer from the Snow Leopard disc off of your desktop gives you only one install option: a simple upgrade. In the interest of time, and because I was curious to see how well it would work, that's the option I used on my MacBook Pro, though I generally prefer doing a clean install with any major point OS change. To run a clean install, users can boot from the Snow Leopard disc by holding down “C” during startup. From there, you can use Disk Utility to format your target drive and perform a fresh install. Installation time was surprisingly fast, taking less than an hour start to finish. Apple has streamlined the installation process by removing a lot of drivers that used to be packaged with the OS, since Snow Leopard is programmed to go to the web to find those later if and when they're required. System Performance The best comparison I can make in order to describe the general system performance enhancements Snow Leopard brings to the table is my experience of moving from the iPhone 3G to the iPhone 3GS. Everything felt faster, tighter and more responsive. My Macs running 10.6 feel the same. Initial boot-up times are improved on both my MacBook Pro and my Mac mini, albeit by only nominal amounts, but once you're actually up and running, the response times in Finder, ExposĂ©, Stacks and all bundled system applications is markedly improved. Launch times for non-Apple apps doesn't seem to be much better, nor does in-app performance, but it may take time for developers to incorporate code to take advantage of Grand Central Dispatch and OpenCL technology. Quicktime X Aside from a cool icon update, Quicktime X also gets a completely overhauled UI, which puts much more focus on the content. Videos are framed in a minimalist, borderless window that has only a dark control bar at the top, and a playback overlay. Like iMovie '09 and iPhoto '09 before it, Quicktime X is now more social thanks to a new “Share” menu that allows you to upload your movie directly to your MobileMe gallery or YouTube, or to export to an iTunes-friendly format. Selecting the iTunes option brings up a dialog with three conversion options, allowing you to format the movie for use on an iPhone/iPod, an Apple TV or just for general computer use. Export and trim functions are also available from the playback control overlay. ExposĂ© and Stacks Two features that have become inseparable from my daily Mac experience are ExposĂ© and Stacks. ExposĂ© gets a major usability boost thanks to the inclusion of Dock access. Under both “All Windows” and “Application Windows” views, you'll be able to click on open apps in the dock as well as open windows — helpful if you've hidden a program, or for changing the active application without leaving ExposĂ©. Stacks are now much more functional, since you can scroll in Grid view and navigate through subfolders instead of having to click through to Finder. Fan view still does things the old-fashioned way, though I'm not sure why anyone would voluntarily use Fan mode with Stacks anyway. Finder and Preview A few little things really up Finder's game in Snow Leopard. There's an icon size slider in the bottom right-hand corner of every finder window, which is great news for universal access, and for people like me who often have to take application icon screenshots. There's also advanced icon viewing in Finder which allows you to preview movies and scroll through PDFs without even activating live preview. Preview itself gets some great usability enhancements, such as better, more accessible screenshot and import options and soft preview using any available system color profiles. You can also preview a wider range of documents, even if you don't have the software that created it on your system. That includes Word and Excel files. Exchange Support For you business-types out there, one of the big features of Snow Leopard is built-in Exchange support. This wasn't one I could test out personally, but Exchange support in 10.6 extends to Mail, Address Book, and iCal, so you no longer have to depend on Entourage to get by. iCal even does fancy things like detecting scheduling conflicts and suggesting alternate times depending on availability. The best part? You're doing it all without using Windows or Outlook. Lots of Little Things Snow Leopard brings so many little changes that it's impossible to list them all here, or to uncover them all after spending such a short amount of time with the OS. Among my favorite early discoveries is the new naming scheme for screenshots. Gone are the “Photo 1,” “Photo 2,” etc. that tell you absolutely nothing. Instead, images are now labeled “Screen Shot,” complete with the date and time they were taken underneath. Another nice touch is always having System Preferences accessible from the dock, even when the SysPref app itself isn't actually open. In Leopard, you could set your System Preferences to open and auto-hide at startup, and then with a right click on the icon in your dock, access all the preference sub-menus quickly and easily. Snow Leopard takes away the first step, so that right-clicking on the Preferences icon always brings up that sub-menu. Finally, Core Location tech will automatically update your time zone based on nearby Wi-Fi hotspots it detects, so if you travel a lot, you won't have to worry about constantly switching your computer clock. Right now, Snow Leopard is like a treasure box with lots of little prizes to uncover. If you're spending your Friday poking around and you've found anything I've missed above, please share with the rest of the class. Join our first live online event, âAnalyzing Googleâs Mobile Strategy: A GigaOM Pro Research Roundtableâ on Thursday, Aug. 27, at 10 a.m. (PST). Sign up for our free webinar.
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REAL Software Announces REAL World Regional Events
Posted by Dennis SellersREAL Software—the creator of REALbasic, a cross-platform development tool for creating software for Mac, Windows and Linux—has announced the REAL World Regional Events, two one-day events that will take place in Nov. 3 in Atlanta, Georgia, and Nov. 5 in Chicago, Illinois. REAL Software is also looking for speakers to...
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Peek-a-Boo ready for Snow Leopard
Posted by Dennis SellersClark Software has updated Peek-a-Boo, a utility to monitor and manipulate all running processes, to version 2.8. “Snow Leopard” (Mac OS X 10.6) was the catalyst for a number of enhancements in Peek-a-Boo 2.8.
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iPhone's Slow Boat to China Finally Arrives
After at least two years of trying, Apple has finally cracked the China market. China Unicom, the second largest wireless carrier in China, announced on Friday that it will begin carrying iPhones in the third quarter. The terms of the deal seem to be more favorable to the carrier than those of other carrier deals Apple has managed to strike in the past. The news that it had signed a deal with Apple was buried in the depths of a press announcement China Unicom released on Friday.
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The impact of installing Rosetta on Snow Leopard (Spoiler: none)
As I tweeted on August 17, installing Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac requires the installation of Rosetta, which is now an optional install in Snow Leopard. If you already have Office 2008 installed on your Mac, no extra installation is required. Rosetta is only required to install Office, not run it. The Microsoft Office installer is [...]
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Puppet Walt on Snow Leopard -- Shut Up!!!
Oh puppet Walt, how we love your cranky old ways. You could check out Walt Mossberg's actual review of Snow Leopard, or you can just watch the video below of Puppet Walt. The choice is obviously clear in this matter. Enjoy the video and its possible NSFW language.read more
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Apple, China Unicom strike 3-year deal
Filed under: Apple Corporate, iPhoneIt looks like Daily Finance guessed correctly. Early on Friday, Apple and China Unicom Ltd (CHU) announced a 3-year partnership to officially bring the iPhone to China. CHU will buy the handsets from Apple on a wholesale basis and will not participate in revenue sharing. CHU is the 2nd largest carrier in China, while China Mobile is first with 498 million users. In fact, China Mobile is the largest carrier in the world and China is the largest market. CHU hopes to get a competitive boost with the iPhone.As we noted in July, the iPhone will be sold with Wi-Fi disabled in China, in accordance with Chinese regulations (the so-called "Great Firewall of China). If you're in China or plan to travel there, let us know if and when you begin seeing iPhones for sale.[Via AppleInsider]TUAWApple, China Unicom strike 3-year deal originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Sponsored Topics: iPhone - ChinaUnicom - China - China Mobile - Apple
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Speed Download turbo-charged for Snow Leopard
Posted by Dennis Sellers Yazsoft has released Speed Download 5.2.3, the latest version of its Mac OS X download manager that combines four products: a download manager with auto-resuming downloads, a secure FTP client, a file sharing utility with full encryption, and .Mac/iDisk/WEBDAV connectivity. The upgrade has been tweaked for Mac OS X 10.6...
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Week in review: Apple unleashes Snow Leopard
Apple releases its latest operating system, as Microsoft looks ahead to the big day for Windows 7. Also: Is Pirate Bay going to stay afloat?
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Overheating iPhone reports 'exploding' all over France, Apple responds
Reports of iPhones exploding, starting fires and killing people in cold blood have been around since the inception of the handset. They've also been relatively sporadic, seemingly short on evidence, and Apple hasn't given complaints much credence or response. So when we heard a story from France the other day about a security guard's iPhone "exploding" and sending a shard of glass into his eye (though apparently not serious enough to warrant a hospital visit), it was a little hard to believe, but with a few other stories of cracking screens due to overheating cropping up in Europe over the past couple weeks, French authorities have taken an interest in the story. Anecdotally, a teen says his phone "imploded" in Belgium and gave him a headache, a woman's phone cracked without warning, and ten or so victims in France have come forward to complain of similar problems, picking up the interest of a French consumer watchdog group. Apple is naturally not new to the concept of overheating in its battery-powered devices -- in fact, it's just entered into its first full-on iPod nano recall in Korea of the 1st-gen players after numerous reports of battery faultiness worldwide -- but with 26 million iPhones out and about, and the iPhone 3GS tending to run a bit hotter than its siblings, a systemic problem with one or all models of the handsets isn't something consumers or Apple would take lightly. Herve Novelli, France's top trade official, met with Apple France's Michel Coulomb today to discuss the problem, and so far Apple is sticking to its guns: it claims that reported incidents are in the single digits, and that all cases it's investigated fully so far have turned out to be blamed on "external force" to the screen. Herve and Michel seem to have parted on friendly terms, promising to keep in touch over the issue, and the EU's alert system for dangerous consumer products (inexplicably dubbed RAPEX) is staying in the loop as well, asking the 27 member nations to keep tabs on the situation. Novelli says it's "too early to blame anyone," and we'd have to agree, but we hope Apple keeps up the (freshly) open communication about this issue going forward. Read - French minister meets Apple exec over iPhone problems Read - Apple denies 'exploding' iPhones Read - Apple denies battery problem with exploding iPhones Read - Belgian teenager latest victim of exploding iPhone phenomenonFiled under: CellphonesOverheating iPhone reports 'exploding' all over France, Apple responds originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
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SuperDuper! ready for Snow Leopard
Posted by Dennis SellersShirt Pocket has updated SuperDuper!, the disk copying utility for Mac OS X, to version 2.6, which adds compatibility support with Mac OS X 10.6 (“Snow Leopard”).
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Strange symbiosis among Apple, Microsoft, and open source
For all the fighting that goes on among rival technology camps, the reality is that competitors like Apple and Microsoft need each other.
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TomTom's Car Kit for iPhone hits the FCC
Still not convinced of the benefits of TomTom's upcoming Car Kit for iPhone? Then perhaps a little FCC approval will change your mind. In addition to offering a bit more reassurance that the thing is actually coming, the new listing also reveals a few more details than TomTom's been willing to dish out, including the fact that the mount / dock / charger packs some Bluetooth of its own for hands-free calling, and its very own SiRFstar GPS chipset to give you some better accuracy compared to the standalone TomTom iPhone app. Still looking for more? You can get a glimpse of the device's manual, some internal and external shots, and slew of test reports to keep you busy by hitting up the read link below.Filed under: Cellphones, GPSTomTom's Car Kit for iPhone hits the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 12:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Tablet Computers Are Coming Soon, Nvidia Says
Nvidia says several customers are developing tablet computers that use its Tegra chip. The devices, which are being tested now, should be on sale by early next year and may be subsidized by cellphone carriers packaging them with long-term data contracts.
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Apple Store Regent Street most profitable store for its size in London
Posted by Dennis SellersApple's flagship Apple Store, Regent Street is the most profitable for its size in London, taking Ł60 million a year or Ł2,000 per square foot.
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Apple Warns of Programs Snow Leopard Wonât Play Nice With
In order to prepare for the arrival of Snow Leopard, and hopefully deflect some frustrated tech support calls, Apple overnight updated oodles of support documents and knowledge base articles. One of said documents could be vital to people looking to upgrade today, as it contains the blacklist of really incompatible software for 10.6. The list is split into two parts. The first, which features software that will be automatically moved to an “Incompatible Software” folder, contains some familiar faces, like Unsanity's Application Enhancer 2.0.1 and earlier, versions of which caused a fair amount of BSOD (including one of my own) when users upgraded from Tiger to Leopard. At least your system won't just seize up and die this time around. Other programs on this list include: Parallels Desktop 2.5 and below AT&T's Laptop Connect Card (1.0.4, 1.0.5, and 1.10.0) Norton AntiVirus 11.0 launch2net 2.13.0 (for some 3G USB dongles) The second part contains programs that Snow Leopard will prevent from opening, though they will remain in their usual location on your drive. Oddly enough, two of Apple's own software offerings appear on this list. Here are the most popular offenders: Aperture 2.1.1 and below Keynote 2.0.2 and below Parallels Desktop 3.0 EyeTV 3.0.0 to 3.1.0 Ratatouille 1.1 I've only posted some of the programs on the list, which will probably be updated by Apple as new incompatibilities are discovered. Note that Apple's not saying these programs will break or prevent a Snow Leopard install, just that they most definitely will not work with 10.6. If I happened to have any of these currently installed on my system, I'd probably do my best to get rid of any trace of them using AppZapper or something similar before upgrading, just in case. Hurry! GigaOM's Mobilize conference is on Sept 10th in SF. See our final speaker lineup and topics. Mobile web is booming. Join us!
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ATTO announces support for Snow Leopard
Posted by Dennis SellersATTO Technology—a storage connectivity and infrastructure solutions provider for data-intensive computing environments—has announced support for Mac OS X 10.6 (“Snow Leopard”) for its full line of SCSI, Fibre Channel, SAS/SATA Host and RAID adapters, and iSCSI software.
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Presented By:
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OpenCL: Parallel programmers' new best friend
OpenCL, created to support parallel programming in Apple's Snow Leopard operating system, may become the new world standard for parallel programming on all platforms.
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Facebook 3.0 for iPhone released and reviewed
As expected, Apple last night approved the highly anticipated Facebook 3 app for the iPhone and iPod touch â 11 days after it was submitted for approval. If you have a previous version installed you’ll get an update notification when you tap the Updates button. The newest version of the popular app adds several new [...]
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'The Tech Night Owl' looks at Snow Leopard, Opera 10
Posted by Dennis SellersOn the new Tech Night Owl broadcast, Gene “Mac Night Owl” Gene Steinberg and guests look at Mac OS X 10.6 (“Snow Leopard”) and the latest version of the Opera web browser.
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The iPhone Is Going to China
China Unicom: China Unicom and Apple have reached a multiyear agreement for China Unicom to sell iPhone in China. The initial launch is expected to be in the fourth calendar quarter of 2009. We will share more details at that time. â
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Backstage: Augmented Reality, or, An Ultra-Cool iPhone 3GS Feature, Yelping For Your Help
To say that we're excited about Augmented Reality would be an understatement. The concept—overlaying computer-generated graphics and data on top of live video feeds—quite literally has the potential to change the way we travel, shop, and acquire information on all sorts of things. Imagine being able to hold your iPhone up in a store and see prices for all the items inside at a distance, or walk down the street and see menus for all…
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Happy Snow Leopard Day!
Is Snow Leopard the best thing you've ever put on your Mac, or is it filling your life with woe. We want to know. Drop your thoughts in the comments below. Also, check out our Snow Leopard coverage.
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Snow Leopard's RTF, Rosetta handling: Beware of changed behaviors
Snow Leopard makes some important changes in the way that Mac OS X handles RTF (rich text format) documents and the application that will launch them. This could come as a surprise in your workflow, but it's easily fixed with a tweak to your file prefs.
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Chronos announces upcoming NoteLife for the iPhone
Posted by Dennis Sellers Chronos has announced the forthcoming release of NoteLife, a media-rich note manager for iPhone. It will be released on or around Sept. 29, pending approval by Apple. Its feature set includes:
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Patent Proposes Location-Based iPhone Home Screens
According the the newest patent application filed from Apple, your iPhone may be able to atuomaticalled update your home screens local weather, time, maps , and contacts all based on it location. The patent was filed in Feb. of 2008 for "Transitional Data Sets." The description states current user interface is clunky and cluttered, and this new interface would dramatically streamline the users experience. read more
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News: Our weekly iPodweek newsletter is coming soon
iPodweek, iLounge's weekly newsletter recapping the last seven days in iPod, iPhone, iTunes and Apple TV news, articles, reviews, and more, will be sent out later today. In addition to rounding up the week's top stories, iPodweek also features giveaways and accessory discount offers from various companies. If you haven't yet signed up to receive iPodweek, there's still time to register and receive this week's edition…
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Apple Posts List of Incompatible Software
If you're still on the fence about Snow Leopard because you're not sure if it'll play well with your favorite app, Apple has a nice list for you. We reported earlier about a Wiki that has a pretty substantial list of apps and their compatibility with Snow Leopard. Now Apple is throwing in its expertise with a list of incompatible software. This is what Apple states on the page:read more
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Leander Kahney Disputes $2.4B iPhone App Store Estimate
He quotes iPhone developers Layton Duncan and David Barnard, who present compelling numbers suggesting it’s about a $500 million business right now. â
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At Long Last, An iPhone Deal with China Unicom
Finally. After months of speculation, China Unicom (CHU) has finally announced a deal to sell the Apple (AAPL) iPhone in China. The wireless carrier said it reached a three-year deal to sell the phone, starting in the fourth quarter. The company will sell both 2G and 3G versiosns of the iPhone; pricing was not announced. As the Wall Street Journal notes, China Unicom said it will subsidize the phone, but it gave no details. The China version of the iPhone will have WiFi disabled, to comply with local law.
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DisplayLink updates drivers for Mac OS X 10.6
Posted by Dennis SellersDisplayLink has posted new Mac OS X beta drivers for the software that lets you add up to four additional monitors to any Intel Mac through USB. The new beta (version 1.5) is compatible with Mac OS X 10.6 (“Snow Leopard”).
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KavaServices transforms the Services menu in Snow Leopard
Posted by Dennis SellersKavaSoft has released KavaServices 4.0, a collection of commands that transforms the Services menu in Mac OS X 10.6 (“Snow Leopard”). KavaServices can translate, search the web, encode for HTML, calculate, convert units, sort, change case, execute commands, and more.
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Snow Leopard application compatibility list
Posted by Dave MertenAre you wondering what apps will work with Mac OS X 10.6? Check the list linked below. Also, Apple is silently abandoning their older style Tioga printer drivers, and is moving towards open source CUPS drivers. This means some printer drivers will not work in Snow Leopard or have bugs,...
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Does Intuitive + Easy = Dumb and Dumber?
There is a problem with making technology â particularly computers â easy to use. The simpler and more foolproof they become, the less technically-proficient users tend to be. Thereâs that line from Rick Cook's 1989 book The Wizardy Compiled; “Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning.” Apple has made usability and user-experience a core part of the design philosophy in everything they produce (Well, almost everything. That's right, Iâm looking at you, MobileMe web apps). Mac OS X and, more obviously, the iPhone OS are shining beacons of the right way to design user-friendly, accessible, easy-to-use software. What's a Manual? Did you need to read a manual when you got your first iPhone? Or how about your first iPod? Even the least technically proficient people I know own such devices and they never once cracked-open the âGetting Startedâ booklet. These are the same people, it should be noted, who bought copies of âWindows XP For Dummiesâ because they considered that OS too difficult to learn and use without a printed guide to-hand. The iPhone is probably the ultimate user-friendly computer (though not the most accessible, but thatâs a different matter). My neighborâs six-year old son once took my iPhone from my hands and brandished it proudly to his friends, announcing âIâve seen these on TVâ. He then demonstrated to his impressed buddies, with absolute confidence, âThis is how you take photos… this is how you play music…â For a six year old with no previous experience of an iPhone other than what he had seen on television commercials, he was surprisingly adept with the thing. I doubt he could have been quite so confident (or impressed) with a Windows Mobile phone or, even worse, a Motorola. By the Numbers A recent article on MacRumors reported analystsâ predictions that Apple is expected to sell more than 80 million iPhones in 2012. Of course thatâs not the same as 80 million iPhone users, but itâs still a mammoth user-base. If weâre to assume an OS convergence across iPhones and iPods (and maybe tablets, too?) in the next three years, we can easily assume a few hundred million people all over the world owning Mac OS X-powered devices that are super-easy to use despite their many and varied forms and functions. A Nightmarish Tale The end result? Well, in the world of desktop computers the drive toward user-friendliness has today produced legions of end-users who know how to send an email but donât know the difference between POP3 and IMAP; users that practically live on Facebook but canât tell you if theyâre using Firefox or Internet Explorer to get there. Users that â and I have personally experienced this during years of providing technical support to friends and family â canât even tell you what Operating System theyâre using; Liam: What Operating System are you using? Friend: Whatâs that? Is it the Internet? I use Google. Liam: No, I mean… [thinks]… The thing you see when you turn your computer on. Friend: I donât see anything. Liam: Well, you ought to see something. Itâll probably say 'Microsoft' or 'Windows something-or-other'… Friend: Where should it say that? Do I have to click on something? …and so on. Iâve had these conversations (yes, exactly these sorts of conversations, Iâm not exaggerating) with otherwise very smart, very well-informed individuals. University lecturers, engineers, lawyers and doctors are all categories of end-user I have helped and who have all responded precisely in that stumbling, bewildered manner. A telling point; Iâve never had to provide tech support to fellow Mac users. Sure, Iâve shared hints and tips and recommended cool software. But no Mac owner I know has yet asked me how to find their trash folder, email a photo or connect to their wireless router. (All examples of common issues my Windows-using friends have shared.) The Death of Technical Proficiency? These people are not dumb, theyâre simply computer illiterate. When I was in high school in the early 90âs, there was a lot of talk about the importance of computer literacy. Becoming computer literate at that time meant learning how to build your own network, how to ping servers, how to patch, bridge, daisy-chain and hack until everything kinda-sorta-worked. But this wasnât the Reserved Domain of the Geek. These were skills required of anyone who wanted to use computers. Today, the standard by which someone is considered (generally) computer literate has almost nothing to do with technical proficiency, and everything to do with throwing sheep at friends on Facebook. More than any other software or hardware company, Apple has removed the barriers to entry that, when I was growing up, were simply accepted landmarks in the computer technology landscape. The soon-to-be-released Snow Leopard is the latest in a long evolutionary line of carefully researched and engineered efforts at democratizing computer technology â and all the potential it unlocks for end-users. For thirty years, in fact, Apple has lead the way in creating intuitive, user-friendly computer technology. Theyâve most assuredly made the âdent in the universeâ Steve Jobs spoke of. But the more foolproof the products become, as Rick Cook warns, the greater the idiocy of those who use them. I guess that means there will always be a job for a geek like me. But, really… how much easier can it all get? Hurry! GigaOM's Mobilize conference is on Sept 10th in SF. See our final speaker lineup and topics. Mobile web is booming. Join us!
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Omni Group adds Snow Leopard support to all apps
Posted by Dennis SellersThe Omni Group has released new versions of all of their shipping software—including OmniFocus, OmniGraffle, OmniOutliner, OmniPlan, OmniWeb, OmniGraphSketcher, OmniDiskSweeper, and OmniDazzle. All applications have been updated to include Mac OS X 10.6 (“Snow Leopard”) support, with new features in both OmniFocus and OmniGraffle.
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Apple: overheating batteries not causing iPhone explosions
Posted by Dennis SellersApple is denying reports that overheating batteries had caused some of its iPhone devices to explode in users' hands, blaming incidents in France on “external pressure,” reports AFP.
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Free live 'Intro to Snow Leopard' O'reilly webcast September 7th
Posted by Dave MertenIn this webcast, Mac OS X Snow Leopard Pocket Guide author Chris Seibold, will introduce you to Snow Leopard, beginning with installation options. You have options when you install Snow Leopard but they aren't all completely obvious. He'll also cover the new features and enhancements of Snow Leopard. QuickTIme X,...
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64-bit Snow Leopard defaults to 32-bit kernel
Apple's updated OS ships with a number of 64-bit native applications, but Apple's kernel itself defaults to 32-bit, unless the user holds down the "6" and "4" keys during boot time.
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China Unicom signs an iPhone deal with Apple
Posted by Dennis SellersChina Unicom and Apple have made a deal to bring the iPhone to China, the world's largest cellphone market. China Unicom is the country's number two carrier with over 140 million subscribers.
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10.6: Kerberos Utility is missing in action
Not sure if this is a hint or a warning, but if you use the old Kerberos utility in Leopard and prior to get/set tickets manually, you're seemingly out of luck in Snow Leopard. Apple just removed the utility completely -- even on an upgrade, it's just deleted.If you have 10.5 still available, though, the Leopard Kerberos utility works just fine on Snow Leopard. I really don't know why Apple leaves ancient Bluetooth firmware updaters cluttering my Utilities folder until the end of time, but removes a perfectly usable app, even if it has a small audience.[robg adds: According to an associate at Macworld, the Kerberos utility has been renamed Ticket Viewer, and can be found in /System » Library » CoreServices. I haven't used either app, so I'm not sure if they're identical or not.]
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10.6: Save Cisco IPSec password in the Keychain
Mac OS X Snow Leopard adds support for Cisco IPSec VPN connections -- that is, plain IPSec with XAuth authentication and mode_cfg.That makes it two layers of authentication: first, Machine Authentication with a password (Shared Secret) or an X509 certificate. Then a traditional username-password pair for XAuth, both of which you can enter and save in the Account Name and Password fields respectively when you set up the connection. Trouble is, even though you entered your password and it is apparently saved in the keychain properly, Mac OS X keeps nagging you to manually enter the password every time you connect. Turns out this is a just bug with a simple fix.Open the Keychain Access Application, select the System keychain and find your saved XAuth password entry in the list. Its Kind field will say IPSec XAuth Password. Open it, then on the Access Control tab cli...
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10.6: A caution on changing brightness during install
Just a short tip for those about to install Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. When you insert the DVD to install 10.6, the installer does something a little different than previous installers -- it pre-installs a bunch of stuff onto the 10.4/10.5 machine before it reboots with the DVD to finish the installation. I guess this is done to speed up the installation.Anyhow, during this process, do not be tempted to turn down the brightness of your screen while this is happening. I did that, and when the machine rebooted from the DVD, the brightness of the screen was turned down to zero and I couldn't see anything.So, do not turn down the brightness, even one above zero (which is what I did), or you will be faced with a black screen because the brightness keys do not work in the installer boot. Fortunately, I had another drive with an installation that was able to boot my Mac, and I ...
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10.6: Install Canon printer drivers in Snow Leopard
Because the Canon printer driver installation program will not recognize Mac OS X 10.6, you can't install your printer drivers even though Snow Leopard is a minor update.To install your Canon printer drivers...Download the driver disk image.Mount the disk image and copy the installer package to your desktop.Control-click on the package and choose Show Package Contents from the pop-up menu.Navigate to Contents » Resources and delete the file InstallationCheck.Now double-click the package and install the drivers normally.[robg adds: I'm not sure if future Canon updates in 10.6 will be included in Software Update or not -- that is one of the supposed features of Snow Leopard, but I'm not sure exactly how it will all work.]
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Vinotekasoft uncorks Vinoteka 1.2.2 for Mac OS X
Posted by Dennis Sellers Vinotekasoft has released Vinoteka 1.2.2, an update of their wine cellar management software for Mac OS X. The upgrade is ready for Mac OS X 10.6 (“Snow Leopard”).
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Apple lands deal to sell iPhone in China
China Unicom plans to start selling two versions of the iPhone into the massive market in the fourth quarter--but with Wi-Fi disabled.
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GreenMeter eco-driving app for the iPhone, iPod touch updated to version 2.0
Posted by Dennis SellersHunter Research and Technology has updated greenMeterfor the iPhone and iPod touch to version 2.0. It's available for US$5.99 at the Apple App Store.
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iPhones coming to China after Apple, Unicom deal
China Unicom Ltd. said Friday it will sell Apple Inc.'s iPhone in China this year, ending months of rumor about when the hit ...
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Options Trader Friday Outlook: China Falls Down
The Shanghai Composite fell 3% this morning. That drops them to 328, down from 398 on August first (-17.5%), which is almost a perfect 20% retrace off the run from the last consolidation at 250 in March. As you can see from the chart, we are about midway between the high for the year and a 50% retrace of the entire run from the bottom at about 280, which happens to be the 40-week moving average. This is significant in many ways, as the Chinese market has been the driver of the global recovery and our global markets (and our local stocks and indexes) are all flying high above their 200 dmas, just about where China was 30 days ago.
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Yoshihiko Satoh's Wooden iPod speaker bags are definitely re-usable, possibly biodegradeable, totally chic
You can spend a lot of money on a handbag, so why not get one that's functional? These co-Mobile Speakers designed by Japanese artist Yoshihiko Satoh are not just styled to look like a bag, they are a bag, sporting room for your iPod to serve tunes and maybe a bento box to serve lunch -- but admittedly not much else. They're available in dark wood or maple and will set you back „31,500; about $335. Sure, that's not cheap for a 30 watt speaker dock, but we've seen far more expensive purses that are far less tastefully designed. [Via Engadget Germany]Gallery: iPod co-Mobile SpeakersFiled under: Home Entertainment, Portable AudioYoshihiko Satoh's Wooden iPod speaker bags are definitely re-usable, possibly biodegradeable, totally chic originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 08:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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News: French minister meets Apple exec over iPhone problems
French consumer affairs minister Herve Novelli met (Translated Link) with Michel Coulomb, commercial director of Apple France, earlier today to discuss the proliferation of “exploding” iPhone reports in the country. Following the meeting, Novelli corroborated a statement from Apple claiming that none of the affected phones tested thus far exhibited battery problems, and instead show that the cracked screens were related to external pressure…
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Apple vs. Microsoft: Apple's OS Wins Hands Down
Currently being absolutely devastated that a friend spilled his orange juice a week ago on my MacBookPro, blogging will remain rather light until I get a replacement which may take up to 6 weeks for the new matt screens on the 15-inch Mac laptop. As I only have a HP (HPQ) 9000 with next no software on it, earlier downgraded from Vista (a complete disaster from my view) to XP, after days of playing around with system software - which doestn`make handling a SoftMicro system exactly easier - I take the freedom to reduce my web presence as a watcher, not blogger. Ironically Bill Gates praised Apple (AAPL) as the best machine he had ever seen and this is the year I was initiated to become an Apple devotee. But first listen to Microsoft Founder Bill Gates before you read on.
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Info needed on library management software for the Mac
Posted by Dennis SellersOur next Macsimum Migration Kit will look at library management products for the Mac. If you use or know of such goodies, drop us a line (dsellers@macsimumnews.com) by Wednesday, Sept. 2.
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News: China Unicom announces 3-year iPhone deal
China Unicom has announced that it has signed a three-year deal with Apple to sell the iPhone in China. The agreement will see the carrier purchase the phones in bulk, eschewing the traditional revenue sharing model Apple has favored with other carriers. As previously reported, the phones will be sold with their Wi-Fi disabled in order to conform with Chinese regulations. Unicom said it plans to offer two versions of 3G-capable iPhones beginning in…
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OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Officially Available Today
Itâs the moment weâve all been waiting for. Today, Apple officially launches the latest milestone update to its Mac OS X operating system. âSnow Leopardâ is the fifth major update to the operating system since it was launched in 2001. Apple has spent the last year tweaking and refining just about every line of code in the entire operating system and the result is a far leaner, meaner animal. Weâve been covering the rumors, news and leaks on Snow Leopard for what feels like forever. For a whistle-stop tour of how 10.6 has developed over the year and what new features and functionality it brings, follow these links to learn about; How much weight Snow Leopard has lost â system apps are much smaller than ever before now all that old PPC code is a thing of the past. How the Finder and Dock have been tweaked to make navigating your files faster and easier than ever before. Under-the-hood additions, tweaks and tune-ups that make Snow Leopard the most powerful and sophisticated Mac OS X yet. Changes to Appleâs venerable QuickTime media software. The introduction of native support for Microsoft Exchange. The revolutionary new multi-core management technology Grand Central Dispatch. Finally, just in case youâre not sure where to get started when you upgrade, check out Jon Buyâs Upgrade Strategy: Getting Ready for Snow Leopard and Chris Ryan's Snow Leopard: The Installation Process. Of course, in the interests of fair and balanced reporting, you could always read Dave Greenbaumâs Why Iâll Wait on Snow Leopard, and Why Maybe You Should Too. But of course, you wonât be doing a Greenbaum. Youâll be rushing out to buy your copy. And why not â itâs cheap. If you are upgrading from Leopard (and maybe even if not), a single-installation license will cost only $29. For a five-license Family Pack, itâs just $49. Bottom line: It runs faster than Leopard. It gives you back a lot of hard drive space. Itâs packed full of next-generation technology and itâs a lot cheaper than the competition. Snow Leopard is available now. GigaOM's Mobilize 09 conference is only a few days away! Register for Mobilize and get a free copy of the Mobile App Store report from GigaOM Pro.
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Macsimum Migration Kit: automotive management software for the Mac
Posted by Dennis Sellers For those new to the column, Macsimum Migration is our term for companies moving from Wintel machines to Macs—or at least adding or increasing the number of Macs they use. A Macsimum Migration Kit is an overview of Mac OS products for a particular occupation, such as dentistry, accounting, etc.)...
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Altec Lansing Mix iMT800 really wants to be a boombox, isn't
Gaze upon Altec Lansing's history of iPod / iPhone docks, and you shall see no hint, not even the subtle off-white coloring of an implication, that the company would go this boombastic with its latest offering. The Mix iMT800 might not quite have the necessary panache to compete with the Lasonic i931, but it still talks a good fight. With a 5.25-inch side-firing subwoofer, it should live up to its boast of "towering volume," while a pair of useful 3.5mm line inputs will allow you to jack in non-Apple players too. We've got a couple more images after the break, including the totally rad remote and mean-looking woofer, and if you like what you see, they're available now for $299. [Via CNET]Continue reading Altec Lansing Mix iMT800 really wants to be a boombox, isn'tFiled under: Portable AudioAltec Lansing Mix iMT800 really wants to be a boombox, isn't originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 07:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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SendStation's latest PocketDock is slightly larger than a penny, has much better audio quality than a dime
SendStation has impressed us before with its PocketDock line, back in 2007 releasing an impressively small version to suck audio, video, and even get a USB out from an iPod. The company's latest, the PocketDock Line Out Mini USB, is a fraction of the size -- no bigger than Apple's own charging plug -- yet sports a Mini-USB port for charging and a non-powered 3.5mm line out that enables better quality tunes from your pod when connected to an amplified device. The kit even includes a set of tiny stereo RCA jacks that would like nothing better than to mount the front of your receiver. This latest PocketDock is available right now for $29.95 on the other end of that read link, and we're told they'll be showing up in Apple Stores, too.[Via SlashGear]Continue reading SendStation's latest PocketDock is slightly larger than a penny, has much better audio quality than a dimeFiled under: Home Entertainment, Portable AudioSendStation's latest PocketDock is slightly larger than a penny, has much better audio quality than a dime originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 07:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Don't defrag your hard drive with Drive Genius while running Snow Leopard
Posted by Dennis SellersProsoft Engineering is reporting a problem with Drive Genius 2.2 and Mac OS X 10.6, while running Defrag. Don't defrag your drive with Drive Genius 2.2 while running Snow Leopard.
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Unicom reaches deal with Apple to sell iPhones in China
China Unicom Ltd. said Friday it will sell Apple Inc.'s iPhone in China this year, ending months of rumor about when the hit ...
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Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News
Towering list of troubled banks. The FDIC's watchlist of potentially problematic banks grew by more than a third to 416 in Q2, the highest level in fifteen years and equivalent to around 5% of the country's banks. The deposit insurance fund, which protects more than $4.5T, fell to $10.4B from $13B in the previous quarter (though that news should perhaps be less troubling to investors than some headlines suggested). Bank loan loss provisions rose to $66.9B from $60.8B, while the U.S. banking industry posted a net loss of $3.7B after a profit of $7.6B in Q1. FDIC's Sheila Bair acknowledged the heavy costs of rising bad loans and falling asset values, but noted "banking industry performance is, as always, a lagging indicator." (Read the FDIC's press release) Fed may trim planned MBS purchase. The Federal Reserve may not need to buy back the full $1.25T in mortgage-backed securities the bank is authorized to purchase by the end of the year. Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker said the bank will evaluate “whether we need or want the additional stimulus” from buying the full amount, while St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said "it might not be necessary." However, even if the Fed chooses to stop short of the full $1.25T of purchases, Bullard said total spending would still be close to that target. (Read Lacker's speech) GDP shrinks less than expected. GDP fell an annualized 1% in the second quarter, in-line with an estimate released last month but better than the 1.5% contraction economists expected. Business inventories fell a record $159.2B, worse than the $141.B estimated earlier. However, analysts believe the fall in inventories has likely reached its bottom and, excluding inventories, GDP rose 0.4%, its first gain in a year. Personal consumption was down 1%, better than the -1.2% prior estimate and consensus of -1.3%. (Read the BEA's GDP report) Sweden goes negative. Swedish Riksbank became the first central bank in the world to introduce negative interest rates on bank deposits. Riksbank is hoping the move will encourage banks to lend more. The move will be closely watched by other central banks, and Bank of England's Mervyn King has already hinted he may follow Sweden's lead to avoid a liquidity-trap in the U.K. Benmosche helps AIG rally. Shares of AIG (AIG) continued to rally yesterday, gaining nearly 27% after new CEO Robert Benmosche said he's been in contact with former chief Hank Greenberg, hoping to draw on his advice about problems at the bailed-out insurer. Benmosche also reiterated his intent to take a slower approach to asset sales, giving the market a chance to recover first because "if we sell too soon, everyone loses." Separately, a recently obtained draft of a Treasury document called the government's investment in AIG 'highly speculative,' a phrase later omitted from a final version of the document. Google News faces antitrust probe. Italian antitrust regulators have opened an investigation into Google News (GOOG), concerned the service may be an abuse of the company's dominant position on the internet. The investigation marks the first time Google News has faced a complaint on competition rather than copyright grounds. China iPhone in Q4. China Unicom (CHU) said Apple's (AAPL) iPhone will go on sale in China in Q4, and both the original iPhone and a 3-G model will be available. Apple will face competition for Chinese marketshare from Research in Motion's (RIMM) Blackberry and smartphones powered by Google's (GOOG) Android software. Dell doesn't disappoint. Dell (DELL) posted better-than-expected Q2 results yesterday (see details below) after cutting costs by contracting out more production. Dell, which is trying to save $4B annually, managed to raise gross margins to 18.7% by farming out as much as 40% of the company's manufacturing. The company said it's seeing "seasonal demand improvements" in both its consumer and government businesses. U.S. jobless claims dip down. Initial Jobless Claims registered 570K, down 10K from a week ago (revised) but worse than the 565K consensus. Continuing claims fell 119K to 6.133M. Japan's joblessness rises. Japan's jobless rate rose to a record 5.7% in July, threatening to undermine the country's recovery efforts and a punishing blow to Prime Minister Taro Aso ahead of elections his ruling Liberal Democratic Party will likely lose. Consumer prices dropped a record 2.2% compared to the previous year. U.K. GDP contracts. U.K. GDP contracted 0.7% in the second quarter, slightly better than the previous estimate of 0.8%. The economy shrank 5.5% from a year ago, the most since records began in 1955. Earnings: Friday Before Open Tiffany (TIF): Q2 EPS of $0.46 beats by $0.13. Revenue of $612M (-16%) vs. $602M. Sees full-year EPS of $1.65-1.75 vs. $1.58 consensus. (PR) Earnings: Thursday After Close Aruba Networks (ARUN): FQ4 EPS of $0.03 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $53M (+11%) vs. $49M. (PR) Bebe Stores (BEBE): FQ4 EPS of $0.00 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $130M (-24%) vs. $129M. Sees Q1 EPS of -$0.05 to $0.00 vs. $0.04. (PR) Cost Plus (CPWM): Q2 EPS of -$0.90 misses by $0.06. Revenue of $183M (-13%) vs. $186M. Same-store sales down 10.9%. Sees Q3 revenue of $177M-186M vs. $190M. Sees Q3 same-store sales down 6-11%. (PR) Dell (DELL): Q2 EPS of $0.24 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $12.8B (-22%) vs. $12.6B. "We have been reducing complexity in our organization and significantly lowering operating costs," said CEO Michael Dell. If demand trends continue, expects 2H revenue stronger than 1H. "We are expanding our capabilities in enterprise technology and services and investing in our core business." (PR) J Crew Group (JCG): Q2 EPS of $0.29 beats by $0.14. Revenue of $358M (+6%) vs. $347M. Same-store sales down 5%. (PR) Novell (NOVL): FQ3 EPS of $0.07 in-line. Revenue of $216M (-12%) vs. $217M. (PR) Marvell Technology Group (MRVL): Q2 EPS of $0.18 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $641M (-24%) vs. $620M. (PR) MICROS Systems (MCRS): FQ4 EPS of $0.36 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $224M (-13%) vs. $215M. (PR) Solera Holdings (SLH): FQ4 EPS of $0.17 misses by $0.21. Revenue of $144M (-1%) vs. $139M. (PR) Today's MarketsAsia markets were mixed Friday, with moderate gains in Japan offset by hefty losses in Shanghai. Europe markets are up about 1%, and U.S. futures are trading near overnight lows.
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Things I don't expect: an Apple game console and an Apple-branded television
Posted by Dennis SellersThere's all kinds of speculation about what future products Apple will release. However, I don't think a game console and Apple-branded TV will be among them, as the company isn't going to diversify its product line beyond a level it can sustain with its current level of quality.
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Will Windows 7 Be the Supervillain Apple Needs?
As I begin to salivate over the arrival of Mac OS X Leopard some time later today, I can't help but wonder if I should bother making a partition for running Windows 7 via VMware's Fusion on my MacBook. The problem is, I don't really need the OS or the clutter on my hard drive. I ran Windows XP for about year or so, but I quit in 2008 as I found fewer and fewer reasons to mess with it. I'm not trying to run PC games on my black MacBook, and all the core apps I tend to need and use are either native to Mac OS X or have decent equivalents.
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Measuring Windows 7 appeal to businesses
There are a whole bunch of reasons why Windows 7 should appeal to businesses, but one threat--the still-sluggish economy--could overshadow all of those reasons to move to the new operating system. "I think they have a really good product at a really bad time," Directions on Microsoft analyst Michael Cherry ...
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Mac OS Ken: 08.28.2009
Trend Micro Says Pirated Copies of Snow Leopard Showing Up with Malware / Ars Technica Says Snow Leopard Has No Code to Stop Tiger to Snow Leopard 29-Dollar Upgrade / Apple Confirms Some Malware Protection for Snow Leopard / Adobe Says CS3 Will Probably Work with Snow Leopard / China Unicom Announces 3 Year Deal for iPhone in China / Sanford Bernstein Analyst Praises Possibility of iPhone in China / Apple Exec to Meet With French Official Over Exploding iPhone Reports / DigiTimes Says iPods with Cameras (Even the iPod Classic) Coming in September / FCC Launches Official Investigation Into the State of the US Wireless Market / Apple Releases Minor Update for Aperture / Music App Spotify Approved for Parts of Europe and the UK / Psystar Rolls Out a New Line of Mac Clones / Sony Makes Its eBooks Mac Compatible / Apple Tops Which Survey of Places to Buy Computers
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DisplaySearch: e-paper display revenues forecast to reach $9.6 billion by 2018
Posted by Dennis SellersThe DisplaySearch research group forecasts that the total e-paper display market will grow to 1.8 billion units and $9.6 billion in revenues in 2018, from 22 million units and $431 million in revenues in 2009, for a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 41 percent for revenues and 64 percent...
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China Unicom first-half net income falls 42%
China Unicom announces a three-year deal to sell iPhone third-generation handsets in China and says its first-half profit fell 42% on year.
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iPhone coming to China Unicom in Q4 -- it's official (updated)
And now it's official: China Unicom has struck a 3-year exclusive deal to finally bring the iPhone to China's massive subscriber-base potential. The carrier will offer two different "3G iPhones" to its 141 million subscribers and it will buy the phones wholesale from Apple -- no revenue sharing deal here kids. Neither Apple nor China Unicom will reveal specs on the phones (WiFi?) or pricing. So that's it, short and sweet after what feels like years of rumors. But really, unless you live in China and subscribe to China Unicom what else is there to know?Read -- China Unicom announcementRead -- More detailFiled under: CellphonesiPhone coming to China Unicom in Q4 -- it's official (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 04:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Apple signs three year iPhone deal with China Unicom
Daniel Eran Dilger China Unicom has signed a three year agreement with Apple to become the exclusive provider of the iPhone in China, according to a report citing the company’s chief executive and a representative from Apple. At a news briefing covered by the Wall Street Journal, China Unicom’s Chairman and CEO, Chang Xiaobing, stated that the [...]
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Tech Sector: Invest in the Eco-System Owners
In my previous article, I had looked at the revenue and operating profits, by size of the company, for the Jun09 quarter. In this article, I look at the revenue and operating profit numbers by grouping companies (337 technology sector tickers which have reported through Aug 26, 2009) into three broad industry groups: Hardware - All computer systems, storage/peripherals, electronic instruments, distributors and electronic manufacturing service companies. Software & Services - All packaged software vendors, IT services, data processing services companies. Semiconductors - Semi equipment, design, manufacture and assembly/testing companies. Also includes solar. YOY Revenue And Profit Change
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Laptop Battery Express' external battery works with 10,000 laptop models, just not yours
If you're toting a new laptop with non-removable battery then you've got an obvious problem: it will run out of juice, likely at the moment you need it most. That's Murphy's law. Fortunately, a number of vendor have started to introduce these external battery packs designed exclusively for laptops. The practically named Universal External Laptop Battery from Laptop Battery Express ships with enough interchangeable tips to provide an extra 4 hours (rated at 66Wh) of power to thousands of laptops from just about any of the big-boy brands you can think of. There's even a USB port for topping-off your cellphone or portable media player. Unfortunately, the most notorious fixed-battery laptop, the MacBook Pro, is not supported. Ah well, that's just more business for Hypermac, eh? One more glamor-shot after the break.[Via SlashGear]Continue reading Laptop Battery Express' external battery works with 10,000 laptop models, just not yoursFiled under: LaptopsLaptop Battery Express' external battery works with 10,000 laptop models, just not yours originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 04:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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QNAP enhances TS-809 Pro Turbo NAS Server performance
Posted by Dennis SellersQNAP Systems has announced a hardware specification change to the eight-bay TS-809 Pro Turbo NAS server. QNAP has adopted the Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8GHz CPU, which will significantly improve the performance of the TS-809 Pro for data intensive corporate and entry-level enterprise and data center customers.
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Iomega introduces StorCenter ix4-200d NAS
Iomega just expanded its StorCenter NAS line with the new-four bay StorCenter ix4-200d. Just like the smaller ix2, the ix4 can handle pretty much whatever you throw at it: filesharing over a laundry list of protocols, streaming to iTunes, an Xbox 360, handling your Time Machine backups -- it can even take video directly off Axis-brand IP surveillance cameras. On the hardware side, you're looking at dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, three USB ports for printer sharing and additional storage, and a "QuikTransfer" button that'll let yo copy files directly from a flash drive to the NAS without a computer. The downside? You'll have to pay for all that power: the 2TB version costs $700, and the top-of-the-line 8TB model will set you back a whopping $1,900. Yes, you can just get a dedicated server for that kind of money, but then you wouldn't be able to say you were rolling with NAS, now would you?[Via Yahoo]Filed under: StorageIomega introduces StorCenter ix4-200d NAS originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Reviewing Our January 2009 Market Predictions
In the ongoing debate about the market, investors often have a fixation about recent performance. What is the right question to ask? Asking "How are you doing this year?" or "How did you do last year?" seems intelligent, logical, and safe, but it is quite unhelpful.The right questions -- those exploring the actual method and longer-term results -- are more difficult to frame and to ask.
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ABI Research: Wi-Fi enabled phone shipments continue to double every two years
Posted by Dennis Sellersn February 2009, ABI Research found that dual-mode cellular/Wi-Fi handset shipments were set to double between 2008 and 2010. With the latter date fast approaching, ABI Research analysts have confirmed that a similar pattern will hold true – or even accelerate – for the period 2009-2011. This year is on...
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China Telecom talking to Palm for the Pre?
Nabbing a contract with a carrier pushing into nine-figure subscriber count territory would go a long way toward helping any manufacturer's woes, so it's reasonable to believe that Palm would be shopping its latest wares around the streets of Hong Kong and Beijng where China's big three carriers are headquartered. Intriguingly, the Financial Times has just casually mentioned in a somewhat-unrelated piece that "China Telecom is planning to offer the Palm to its subscribers," a perfect fit considering that rival Unicom is poised to launch the iPhone and Telecom runs CDMA with nascent EV-DO coverage in the works. The Pre already knows a thing or two about CDMA networks from its Sprint and Bell launches, of course, so they've already got that base covered -- beyond that brief FT mention, though, we've got nothing, so it's hard to say when this might be hitting retail.Filed under: Cellphones, HandheldsChina Telecom talking to Palm for the Pre? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 02:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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TriviaBurst comes to the iPhone, iPod touch
Posted by Dennis SellersE5 Interactive and Bit33 have launched their first iPhone application, TriviaBurst. It's available for US$2.99 at the Apple App Store.