Archives for July 2012

July, 20th July 2012

• John Martellaro Ponders Purrs & Patent Portfolios

  John Martellaro, Senior Editor, Analysis & Reviews for The Mac Observer will chat with Gene Steinberg of the Tech Night…

• The Mac No Longer Competes Against the PC

  For more than two decades, the Mac fought tooth and nail against the classic PC. And lost. Nowadays, it’s not…

• Google Buys iOS & Mac Developer Sparrow to Improve Gmail

  Sparrow announced on Friday that the company has been purchased by search engine giant Google. Sparrow’s titular product is a…

• Dbest’s Duo Mini Speakers: Exceptional Sound in a Small Package

  The Duo Mini Speakers from Dbest are quite small, but provide exceptional clarity of sound and volume. 

• China Sees Quiet Third Gen iPad Launch

  Apple’s third generation iPad hit store shelves in China on Friday, but instead of the usual launch day frenzy previous…

• Reader Discussion: Dealing with Swelling Laptop Batteries

  What to do when the battery in your MacBook or MacBook Pro swells? That’s clearly a problem, and today TMO…

• Samsung Loses Fight to Stop Galaxy Tab Injunction, Again

  Samsung lost two more motions to stay the preliminary injunction blocking U.S. sales of its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet on…

• OS X Mail: Tips on Sending to Groups

  There are plenty of methods for sending emails to Address Book groups and a few things to think about as…

July, 19th July 2012

• Apple Nabs AMD Trinity System Engineer

  Apple has hired a former AMD systems engineer credited with developing that company’s Trinity APU, a highly regarded system-on-a-chip (SOC).…

• Bitdefender’s Clueful iOS App Pulled From App Store

  The Clueful app  is no longer available on the App Store. Bitdefender’s app that scanned other installed iOS apps for…

• Microsoft Posts First Ever Loss, But Don’t Get Excited

  Harness up your Schadenfreude, and let it run wild and free, because Microsoft has posted its first ever loss! Isn’t…

• Infinite Flight Simulator for iOS: a Rough Ride

  Infinite Flight for the iPad is a flight simulator/game for iOS that offers several different kinds of aircraft and airport…

• Apple 2002 iPad Prototype Surfaces in Court Docs

  Prototype images for Apple’s early efforts to develop an iPad dating back to 2002 surfaced in court documents Thursday. The…

• Sprint Commits to Free 3G FaceTime, AT&T & Verizon Stall

  One feature iPhone and iPad users can expect when iOS 6 ships this fall is support for FaceTime video chats…

• Reader Discussion: Deciphering Hard Drive Hibernate Modes

  The hard drive in your Mac can be set to sleep, or hibernate, to save power — and it turns…

• Judge Bars Steve Jobs Comments in Apple, Samsung Trial

  Judge Lucy Koh sided with Apple by agreeing that quotes from former CEO Steve Jobs aren’t admissible in the company’s…

• New In-app Purchase Receipt Code May Block Theft

  Following reports of a hack that lets users bypass payments when making in-app purchases on their iPhone or iPad, developers…

• HTC Uses Newly Acquired HP Patents to Countersue Apple

  HTC responded to a lawsuit by Apple by countersuing and adding in a couple of new patents of its own.…

• Apple Facing Another EU AppleCare Kerfuffle, this Time Portugal

  Apple is under fire again for its AppleCare warranty practices in the EU. The Portuguese Association for Consumer Protection (DECO)…

July, 18th July 2012

• Apple Update Improves Power Consumption for MacBook Air & Pro

  Apple released “MacBook Air and MacBook Pro Update 1.0” on Wednesday, a software update for those two devices that improves…

• EPEAT Reassessing Ultrathins In Wake of Apple Flip-Flop

  The folks at EPEAT said on Wednesday that the organization will be reassessing how it rates ultrathin laptops like Apple’s…

• RichText Edit for the iPad - At Last!

  At last! The wait is over. There has never been an iOS app that can create or edit .rtf (rich text…

• Senator Criticizes DOJ’s Apple Publishing Antitrust Suit

  Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) has penned an editorial for The Wall Street Journal criticizing the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust…

• Judge Orders Apple to Tell UK that Samsung Didn’t Copy iPad

  A judge in England has ordered Apple to proclaim to all the land that Samsung did not copy the iPad.…

• The iPad, Magazines, SciFi & Our Preconceptions

  Science fiction writers, unlike competing technology companies, are blessed with the ability to delight the reader with a coherent vision…

• Judge Opens Documents in Apple, Samsung Patent Lawsuit

  Judge Lucy Koh shot down requests from Apple and Samsung to keep documents in their patent infringement lawsuit blocked from…

• Reader Discussion: Cloud Storage, Dropbox & Security

  With Apple’s iDisk gone forever, many former MobileMe users have moved to alternative online data storage services like Dropbox. Today…

• Land Buy gets Apple Closer to Austin Expansion

  Apple closed a land purchase deal in Austin as part of its plan to expand its presence in the city.…

• AT&T Announces Shared Mobile Data Plans

  AT&T followed through on its plans to introduce family data options with its Wednesday announcement that Mobile Share plans will…

• iOS: Bring Back an Email Draft—Quickly

  Here’s a really helpful tip on how to recall your last saved e-mail draft on your iOS device. For those…

July, 17th July 2012

• Apple Granted Patent for Disappearing Scrollbar

  Apple has been granted what could be a significant patent covering a disappearing scrollbar on a touch screen. Filed in…

• Nielsen Shows Android & iOS Running Away in Q2

  Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS are running away with the smartphone market, according to new data from research firm Nielsen.…

• 1Password Update Adds Mac Retina Display Support

  AgileBits display support for the Mac. 1Password is a secure password management and creation application that can also store sensitive…

• UX Write: A First Class Word Processor for iPad

  For those who’ve been aching for a classic word processor for the iPad, something familiar and Mac-intuitive, UX Write is…

• Former Apple iAd Exec Leaps to 3D Motion Control

  Former Apple exec Andy Miller has made the leap to a new technology, 3D motion control, to be specific. Mr.…

• German Court Rules Xoom Doesn’t Violate iPad Design Patents

  A German court ruled on Tuesday that Motorola’s Xoom tablet doesn’t infringe on Apple’s iPad patents. The companies have been…

• iOS 6 Beta Adds iCloud Email Addresses

  iOS 6 beta 3, which was released to developers on Monday, added support for iCloud email addresses. The change means…

• Reader Discussion: Amazon, Retail King

  Amazon is already a big name player in online retail sales, and now the company wants to offer same day…

• Julie Kuehl Discusses Cloud Apps, Tweetbot on The Tech Lounge

  The Mac Observer’s Julie Kuehl joined in on The Tech Lounge to talk about the trend towards Cloud-based apps and…

• Qantas Dumps BlackBerry for iPhone

  Australian airline Qantas os dumping RIM’s BlackBerry smartphones in favor of Apple’s iPhone. The transition to the iPhone will see…

• Next iPhone to Use In-Cell Tech for Thinner, Superior Display

  The next generation iPhone will employ “in-cell” technology, allowing the device’s screen, and thus the device itself, to be up…

• Former Apple VP Bertrand Serlet Joins Parallels Board

  Former Apple Senior VP and head of Apple’s Mac OS X development team Bertrand Serlet is joining the board of…

• Apple Releases iOS 6 Beta 3 to Developers

  Apple released the third beta of iOS 6 to developers Monday. In addition to the expected bug fixes, notable features…

July, 16th July 2012

• Apple Trying, But Not Yet Succeeding, to Take Down In-App Hacker

  Apple has tried several methods to block both a hacker that last week announced a scheme that allows users to…

• Nokia Halves Price on Lumia 900 Windows Phone

  Nokia announced over the weekend that it was cutting the price of its flagship device, the Lumia 900, a move…

• Noisy Typer for Mac: Typewriter Sounds While You Type

  We know what you’ve been thinking. You’ve been working on your Mac and loving how awesome it is, but it’s…

• Yahoo! Scores Coup by Tapping Google Exec for CEO

  Yahoo! announced on Monday that it has hired a top Google executive to be the company’s next CEO. Yahoo! has…

• Samsung Expected to Widen Smartphone Lead Over Apple in Q2

  Samsung is expected to take a big lead over Apple in the smartphone market in terms of units sold in…

• Apple Store Schedule Hints at July 25 Mountain Lion Launch

  Apple has apparently scheduled staff for overnight shifts on Tuesday, July 24, hinting at a July 25 launch for OS…

• Jeff Gamet Digs into Doctor Who on SciFi Teck Talk

  The Mac Observer’s Jeff Gamet switched out his Managing Editor cap over the weekend for his sci-fi fan hat and…