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For his role in turning Apple into a groundbreaking technology leader and the most valuable company in Silicon Valley, Fortune Magazine has named Steve Jobs its "CEO of the Decade."
New Apple patents at the US Patent & Trademark Office range from touch sensing devices to battery assembly. Here's a summary of each. Patent number 20090273573 is for a mutual capacitive touch sensing device. Patent number 20090273573 is for multi-touch sensor patterns and stack-ups. Capacitive multi-touch sensor panels in which both row and column traces may be formed on a single conducting surface are disclosed. Patent number 20090273912 is for an interlocking EMI shied. An electromagnetic interference shield system is provided. Patent number 20090274393 involves automatic image cropping. Upon enabling an automatic cropping feature, a computer-implemented method for cropping a plurality of images retrieves a number of images to process among the plurality of images, and selects an image from the plurality of images to determine a set of crop values for the image until the set of crop values for each image have been determined. Patent number 20090273697 is for an apparatus and method for calibrating image capture devices. Patent number 20090276069 involves echo avoidance in audio time stretching. Patent number 20090276547 is for a system and method for simplified data transfer. Patent number 20090276560 involves copyback optimization for a memory system. Patent number 20090273320 involves controlling battery charging based on current, voltage and temperature. Patent number 200902735243 is for a mechanism for constraining the movement of an audio jack. Patent number 20090273573 is for a display having a transistor-degradation circuit. Patent number 20090276719 involves an user interface method and apparatus for online interactive gift registry. Patent number 20090273577 is for a Moire-free touch screen with tilted or curved ITO pattern. Patent number 20090274953 is for a battery assembly for use in an electronic device. -- Macsimum News.
Newton users may wonder, with the release of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, whether their MessagePads and eMates would still play nice with the new operating system. -- Newton Poetry.
As one of the most publicized gadgets in recent history, it's no surprise that Apple's iPhone has won over the hearts & minds of many a smart-phone owner. But who are the iPhone users really? What makes them tick? In a recent Gadgetology study Retrevo set out to learn the answer to these and other questions. The result; a snapshot profile of a typical iPhone owner.
Apple, Google, RIM and the other major vendors might be enjoying the fruits of the touch-screen business, but there are some aspects of those products that they don't like to talk about. Here are 10 reasons why there is still plenty of room for improvement in mobile phone design, service and performance. -- eWeek.
Electrical engineers recently pitted Genius -- the music recommendation system in Apple's iTunes -- against two experimental music recommender systems. Genius appears to capture acoustic similarities among songs within the same playlist, the researchers found. The University of California, San Diego electrical engineers also discovered that the music recommender they built from scratch can generate song playlists that human subjects thought were as good as those that Genius generates. The UC San Diego system works for songs that Genius knows nothing about. -- University of California San Diego.
Waveburner 1.6.1 Update improves stability and provides numerous fixes.
Apple has released a new beta of the Mac OS X 10.6.2 update with fixes for various performance issues dealing with AirPort, graphics drivers, and Apple TV, among others. -- AppleInsider.
In the high-stakes game of iPhone application development, your portfolio can mean the difference between landing a client or being overlooked. What happens when your peers decide they need to steal from your app portfolio in order to get ahead? Ars explores a dark side of App Store development. -- Ars Technica.
Best known for its awesome teardowns, the Mac-oriented repair company iFixit is launching a online community devoted to fixing high-tech products, rather than tossing them away. -- Cult of Mac.
Learn how to back up and restore your files in Mac OS X v10.5 or later. You should perform regular backups of your system and keep multiple backups of important, irreplaceable files. Without multiple backup copies of your files, your files do not exist anywhere except on your Mac. -- AppleCare Knowledge Base.
The three most common virtualization packages for the Mac are Parallels Desktop (being the first on the scene) and VMWare Fusion (which also was a long-time player in the virtualization game), as well as Sun Microsystems' "Virtual Box", which is a free and robust alternative. -- MacFixIt.
Parallels on Wednesday released Parallels Desktop 5 for Mac, a new version of its virtualization software that allows Intel-based Macs to run Windows and Linux alongside Mac OS X. According to Parallels, the new version of its software is up to 300 percent faster than the previous version, Parallels Desktop 4 -- c|net.
I'm convinced that the biggest threat to Mac security comes from all the security software vendor Chicken Littles who run around screaming that the Mac's sky is falling. As for the security blanket the pundits say I need, I say I already have one. It's called Mac OS X Snow Leopard. -- PixoBebo.
The Mac OS is, fundamentally, as trouble-free as operating systems get. But nothing's perfect. Here's what to do when you hit a snag. -- Mac|Life.
The Apple iPod clinched an early success over the MP3 player market by making it dead-simple to load and manage music onto a portable device. Ease of use still defines Apple's products, but when you're talking about a do-it-all device like the iPod Touch, there's only so much you can do to keep things simple.
As Apple's hottest-selling iPod, there are a lot of newcomers to the iPod Touch who may be a little surprised at its complexity. Compared with the iPods of yesteryear, the Touch is practically a handheld computer.
Last week I gave you an overview of setting up an iPod Nano. This week, we're giving the third-generation iPod Touch the same video and slideshow treatment. -- c|net.
Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come for TUAW to introduce our illustrated guide to installing Windows 7 with Boot Camp. Windows? On a Mac? Blasphemy! Yes, yes... we hear you, but we could argue the pros and cons to having Windows on a Mac all day. So, let's just get to the installation process. Be warned, it's a lot of pictures and step-by-step information. -- TUAW.
I am a future Windows PC user and that is that. After a 15-year relationship with all things Apple, I've finally had it with the Steve Jobs "you'll use your computer they way we tell you to use your computer" method of customer relations. -- Chicago Carless.
The new Touch and the Nano have many new features and this book introduces new owners to each one so they don't miss out on any of the fun," says Biersdorfer. "There's also a new version of iTunes and the iTunes Store, and this book explains all the cool new stuff you can do with your iTunes library as well as how to find your way around the newly overhauled iTunes Store. -- O'Reilly Answers.
Jailbreakers rejoice! If you've been holding off on updating to iPhone OS 3.1.2 to keep your jailbreaks or carrier unlocks intact, blackra1n and blacksn0w are here to rescue you. However, don't expect the jailbreaking fun to last forever--Apple is looking to hire a manager to lead a team to boost the iPhone platform's security. -- Ars Technica.
An Estonian website claimed Tuesday to have broken news of a major bug in iPhone's Safari app that could put unsuspecting iPhone users at risk of running up huge bills with their cellular service providers in certain cases. -- Cult of Mac.
The iPhone App Store's arbitrary and inconsistent approval process continues to baffle and annoy on every level, as Macworld Editor-in-Chief Jason Snell just had his iPhone book rejected... for using the word "iPhone" in the title. -- Engadget.
UHD will come in two resolution levels: 7680 x 4320 pixels (8K) and 3840 x 2160 pixels (4K) and provide four to 16 times the resolution of Blu-ray or 1080p high-def, along with "22.2 multichannel three-dimensional sound." What next, a real holodeck? -- HotHardware.
Brett Glass runs Lariat, a small wired and wireless Internet Service Provider (ISP) on the prairie in Laramie, Wyoming. Bob Frankston programmed VisiCalc, the first personal computer spreadsheet and for several years worked on home networking issues for Microsoft, somehow without having to move from his beloved Newton, Massachusetts. Two nerds, a decade apart in age yet both vastly experienced, they have completely different views on Net Neutrality. Bob loves it. Brett hates it. Yet coming to understand each man's position helps us better understand the whole Net Neutrality issue and what really matters. -- I, Cringely.
If you authorize your computer to play your iTunes Store purchases, but you can't play them and iTunes keeps prompting you to authorize, try these suggestions. -- AppleCare Knowledge Base.
Subscription Wi-Fi networks are public Wi-Fi networks requiring a subscription or payment to use. Subscription Wi-Fi networks are often found at coffee shops, Internet cafes, airports, and other public locations that don't offer free Wi-Fi networks. In some countries, they are sponsored and maintained by wireless carriers. (For example, AT&T wireless hotspots in Starbucks locations). When using iPhone OS 3.0 or later, your iPhone or iPod touch can remember the Wi-Fi networks to which you subscribe. It will automatically connect and log in to the Wi-Fi network when you are in range. -- AppleCare Knowledge Base.
This article gives an overview of Location Services on iPhone and iPod touch. -- AppleCare Knowledge Base.
Remote is a software application for iPhone and iPod touch that allows you to control audio and video playback in your iTunes library and on Apple TV. This article provides resources that explain how to setup Remote and troubleshooting issues that may arise. Remote can be downloaded from the iTunes Store using the App Store on iPhone or iPod touch as well as with iTunes on your Mac or PC. -- AppleCare Knowledge Base.
With Mac OS X you can share your music, printers, files, and even your screen with other computers on your network. Previously, in order for items shared by your Mac to always be available, you had to configure your Mac to never go to sleep. With the new Wake on Demand feature in Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard and an AirPort Base Station or Time Capsule, you can see and access shared items even if that Mac is asleep. This helps you save energy and reduce costs while still ensuring full access to all your shared files and devices, even remotely across the Internet. -- AppleCare Knowledge Base.
Parallels announced the immediate availability of Parallels Desktop 5 for the Mac on Wednesday. The new version of the OS virtualization application offers up to a three times performance improvement, and video performance that's up to seven times better compared to previous versions of the application. -- The Mac Observer.
There are lot of seemingly simple things in Snow Leopard that allows the beginner or untrained user to do more for themselves. The language is more generic, the directions are easier to follow and anyone can figure out how to do more for themselves. Here are just a few examples of Snow Leopard's easy to use features. -- The Mac Observer.
By default all Macs boot into 32-bit mode by default except the Xserve. For those Macs that can boot into the 64-bit kernel, there are several ways to force that to happen but why would you want to?
The default setting is 32-bits for the kernel boot because many users still have 32-bit kernel extensions installed. Developers have needed extra time to re-write and publish these extensions as 64-bit. The possibility of having the system crash in 64-bit kernel boot mode with a 32-bit kernel extensions remaining is a worse prospect than the loss in system security. It would mystify and annoy the users. -- The Mac Observer.
Reasons for 64-bit?
The popular system maintenance utility OnyX has been in beta testing for version 2.1 in past month or two, and while it supported Snow Leopard, many incompatibilities still needed to be addressed by the developer. Yesterday the full 2.1 version was released, which addressed a number of issues in the previous beta versions, particularly those that pertain to Snow Leopard. -- MacFixIt.
Following the 9.9.09 debut of the digitally re-mastered catalogue on CD, Apple Corps Ltd. and EMI Music are pleased to announce the worldwide release of a limited edition Beatles Stereo USB on December 8th.
Apple has been granted a patent (number 7614008) for the operation of a computer with a touch screen interface--a la the iPhone and iPod touch. -- Macsimum News.
Several Apple patents have appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office. Here's a summary of each. Patent number 7615041 is for a system for reducing the number of programs necessary to render an image. Patent number 7612725 involves antennas for handheld electronic devices with conductive bezels. Patent number 7613051 involves interleaving charge pumps for programmable memories. Patent number 7613684 is for a portable browsing interface for information retrieval. Patent number 7613689 involves methods and systems for managing data. Patent number 76136804 is for methods and systems for image processing. Patent number 7613743 is for methods and apparatuses for data protection. Patent number 7613845 is for a centralized queue in network printing systems. Patent number 7613043 is for shifting reference values to account for voltage sag. -- Macsimum News.
It seems Apple is rethinking its TV strategy, in a way that might--if the company can pull it off--give consumers the option to pay Apple less than half as much as they currently pay their cable or satellite provider for a monthly TV subscription. -- BusinessWeek.
A handful of recent threads on Apple's Support Discussion forums - backed up by our own testing - indicate that Snow Leopard suffers from a bug that prevents users from opening multiple recently downloaded files simultaneously. Upon attempting to open a group of downloaded files (that have not been previously opened) only a portion of them open in whatever application owns them; no error message is displayed. If all opened files are then closed, and opened as a group again, one more file will open than on the previous attempt. Each successive attempt to open the same group of files will result in one additional file being opened, until they are all opened successfully. -- TidBITS.
That's right, we said it -- and we're not taking it back. The iPhone may be the greatest handheld surfing device ever to rock the mobile Web, and a fabulous media player to boot. It may be the highest-rated mobile phone on CNET UK, rocking the pockets of half of our crack editorial team. It's certainly the touchscreen face that launched a thousand apps. But as an actual call-making phone, it's rubbish, and we aim to prove it. -- c|net UK.
Apple Store wannabes take note: Apparently you'll need more than minimalist design and enthusiastic clerks wearing brightly-colored shirts if you want to run a successful brick-and-mortar store. In a recent Consumer Reports survey, Apple Stores finished in a tie for the top spot among walk-in electronics retailers. -- Macworld.
It never ceases to amaze me how many real and prospective Apple iPhone users don't know they can get service for half the price, and in some ways improve the functionality. -- TheStreet.
These days, everyone wants to build their own iPhone applications, but not everyone knows how write the code necessary in order to create them. Fortunately, there are now a number of tools that allow non-developers the ability to create their own iPhone apps without knowing programming or scripting. -- ReadWriteWeb.
Though jailbreaking an iPhone certainly opens up opportunities to add functionality that Apple doesn't approve of, it can also make an iPhone less secure. Several Dutch iPhone users found that out the hard way after a hacker attacked a number of vulnerable phones on T-mobile Netherlands and tried to extort €5 from them. -- Ars Technica.
Apple attempts to reinvent the mouse with its new Magic Mouse. It offers multitouch gestures and brings a new dimension to scrolling, while dropping some useful features from its predecessor. -- Ars Technica.
A 70 percent increase in capital spending could signal Apple is preparing to chart a new course with some products. The Cupertino, Calif. company told federal regulators it will spend $1.9 billion in capital expenditures during fiscal 2010 -- a jump from the $1.1 billion spend in 2009. -- Cult of Mac.
This article explains how to replace an original iPhone with an iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS using the same carrier, or how to replace an iPhone 3G with an iPhone 3GS. If you follow these steps to back up your previous iPhone first, and then restore the backup to your iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS, your saved SMS messages, email accounts, photos, notes, and other personal settings will be present on your iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS. -- AppleCare Knowledge Base.
In a press conference that may have been a slip on the part of the New York Times, they reveal they are developing content for a forthcoming Apple Slate. -- MacFixIt.
Virtualization on the Mac has had to move forward rapidly in the past several months: where it was once enough to run basic tasks in Windows XP, users increasingly expect an experience much like what they would have in Boot Camp. That's all the more true with the launch of Windows 7, where the visual effects are not only useful but often essential. Between this and the changes in the background brought about by Mac OS X Snow Leopard, VMware's Fusion 3 has much ground to cover. We hope to find out in our review whether it's an essential upgrade or simply nice to have. -- MacNN.
IT departments are finally starting to buy Apple's smartphone, says a Deutsche Bank report. -- Fortune.
Macs and their power adapters are--and have been for as long as I can remember--built to support 110 -- 240 Volts. So, out of the box, you can jack your Mac mini or MacBook into just about any outlet you come across without fear of melting the thing. Where the country-of-purchase makes a difference is in the kind of plug that appears at the end of that power adapter. And that's what you need to change. -- Macworld.
Big Web companies and start-ups alike are scrambling to create the best applications to allow users to search for surrounding businesses and events from a mobile phone. Loopt, a service that lets people find their friends on the go, is now entering the crowded field. -- New York Times.
Recent advances in computer technology have given the disabled more options in the devices they use to communicate. -- New York Times.
Imagine how different the tech industry might have been had Gary Kildall accepted IBM's offer, back in 1980, to license his computer operating system for a top-secret project. CP/M would have been the OS that shipped with the original IBM PC, and the world might never have heard the name of Kildall's competitor, who eventually accepted the contract: a Mr. Bill Gates.
For all the amazing advances that the computing industry has brought us over the years, some of its most pivotal moments are memorable for all the wrong reasons. Not every idea can be a winner, and not even Microsoft can avoid every misstep. But as they say, those who forget history are doomed to repeat it -- and then again, others just keep screwing up. In the interest of schadenfreude, then, here is a look back at the last 20 years' worth of blunders, fumbles, also-rans, and downright disasters that you may have forgotten about -- or wish you could. -- Infoworld.
From magical demos to deceptive pricing and fictional charges, here are the six most devious tricks vendors use to get their hands in your pocket. -- Infoworld.
Apple has revamped the iMac with a huge, cinematic 16:9 27" screen, fast CPU options, standard wireless keyboard and Magic Mouse, a staggering 16GB RAM capacity, and a new video input feature. -- AppleInsider.
Apple has broken its decade-long chain of terrible mouse designs with the new multitouch, wireless Magic Mouse, although its multitouch features are somewhat limited in functionality. -- AppleInsider.
Researchers show that the eye of the Stomatopod crustacean is sensitive to light's polarization because nature evolved a quarter waveplate that, in some ways, outperforms the ones we put in our optical equipment. -- Ars Technica.
To use the new 27-inch iMac as an external monitor requires a very specific cable to work: a Mini DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort cable, to be exact. It does not work with a HDMI cable or a DVI cable, even when they are strung between a pair of Apple-branded Mini DisplayPort adapters. There seems to be a lot of confusion about the issue on the web and even at Apple's retail stores. -- Cult of Mac.
Learn how to troubleshoot printing issues in Mac OS X. -- AppleCare Knowledge Base.
Resources to help you get the most out of your new computer or iPod. -- AppleCare Knowledge Base.
Microsoft has not halted Apple's momentum, according to Net Applications' October report. -- Fortune.
Apple TV 3.0 (or Apple TV 3, or Apple TV Take 3) is the just-released third version of Apple's and Steve Jobs' "hobby". And, for good or for ill, its latest feature-set seems designed to keep iTunes' living room gateway as niche as ever. That's not to say it isn't good, because it is (though it does have problems we'll get into below), but it's certainly not great. Not yet. And we're beginning to wonder if Apple (now or ever) even wants it to be? -- he iPhone Blog.
A number of pundits and other wags keep insisting that Apple desperately needs to sell the iPhone through Verizon, and will likely do so sometime really soon now, providing AT&T haters and Verizon family plan users with empty hope. They're still wrong, here's why. -- RoughlyDrafted Magazine.
It was a topic for discussion multiple times at the Morro Bay Photo Expo. It's a continuing topic online in various blogs. It's a continuing problem where the solutions seem simple in theory, but in practice. So while I've written about it before, I realized while I was at the expo that my own backups weren't in great shape (in theory vs. in practice), so when I got back, I fixed that, and so here's a snapshot of what I do and why I do it. -- Chuqui 3.0.
Doctor Who fans will notice something chillingly familiar with a new patent that has come out from Apple. Patent number 20090268921 is for a wireless headset that sends music straight into your ear. -- The Inquirer.
As we learned yesterday, not everyone loves the update to Apple TV. For me, however, the upgrade was an improvement to an adequate piece of hardware -- when it chose to work. -- The Unofficial Apple Weblog.
Apple recently released an update to its Mac mini line of desktop computers. The changes include faster processors, more RAM, and Apple's Snow Leopard operating system pre-installed. Macworld Lab has the two desktop Mac minis, and we put them through our benchmark tests. Our result show that the new Mac minis are impressively faster than the models they replace. -- Macworld.
Last week, Apple released the first batch of new hardware since the company released Snow Leopard last August. Among these new Macs is a newly designed unibody MacBook. Macworld Lab has received these new Macs and has been hard at work, putting all of them to the test. And while we don't have Speedmark 6 finalized just yet, we do have some MacBook benchmark results we'd like to share. -- Macworld.
A new report by ChangeWave Research provides yet more evidence of the surge in consumer interest in smartphones; and of Apple's iPhone in particular. Last week we reported statistics from AdMob stating that smartphones are now edging out feature phones as the device of choice for consumers. In the race for the highly lucrative consumer smartphone market, blackberry devices still hold the lead over iPhone - but ChangeWave's data shows that the gap is rapidly closing. -- New York Times.
While the iPhone doesn't ship nearly as much as its humbler brethren - the iPhone opened up many minds about the potential of phones to do a whole lot more than talk. In that regard it is a peek into the future. This concept of "humans as sensors" was the subject of the Web 2.0 Summit panel led by Radar's Brady Forrest last week. I caught up with panelist Deborah Estrin before to discuss her UCLA group's work on participatory sensing. Deborah is building multiple applications to express the value of the phone as a sensing device; from large group projects to collect data on an area (such as www.whatsinvasive.com) to personal applications that blend GPS and accelerometer to constantly map your location in time and space then overlay valuable information upon it such as air quality and so on. In the case of air quality - this data might help inform your decisions about where you go jogging or take your baby for that morning stroll. -- O'Reilly Radar.
Psystar and Apple continue to battle it out, and things are coming to a head next month. They are fighting on two major fronts, and both will be the subject of oral argument on November 12. It looks like we will see an end, one way or another, of much of the first Apple-Psystar litigation. -- Groklaw.
