The smartphone market grew in the September quarter, despite the world-wide recession, with global unit shipments up 4.2% year-over-year to 43.3 million, according to research firm IDC. The company said that Apple saw its highest iPhone unit sales yet, though Research In Motion's BlackBerry also gained share in the global market. The research firm also said that Google's Android platform was reaching "critical mass" with the release of several new Android models and the release of Android OS 2.0.
EA’s studio Maxis on Thursday announced the release of Spore Islands, a new Facebook game based on the Spore franchise originally created by Will Wright, of Sim City and The Sims fame. The free 2D game puts player on their own island, where they can create and evolve their own creatures, as well as invite Facebook friends to live on their island.
Research In Motion (RIM) announced a stock buyback program following the loss of one-third of the company's value in the past six weeks. The company's board of directors approved a plan that will take up to US$1.2 billion in company resources to repurchase as much as 21 million common shares at today's price.
Apple has been buying ad space on Google for people looking for help with downloading Windows 7. Google searches for "Download Windows 7" often result in an ad from Apple titled, "Upgrading to Windows 7?" The ad then advises users that, "There's never been a better time to switch to a Mac. Find out why." It links directly to Apple's site.
With BBEdit 9.3, a new terminal command has been added: bbfind. That's in addition to the previous commands: bbedit and bbdiff. Here's a brief introduction on how to use these commands.
Psystar is asking a Florida Court to say that its unauthorized Mac clone making business is legit and to force Apple to keep quiet about the whole deal. Apple and Psystar have been fighting in court in California, and now in Florida, over whether or not the little PC maker can hack Mac OS X and install it on PCs without Apple's permission.
Kensington's iPhone car mount kit lets you keep your combination iPod and smartphone in view when you are driving. It includes vent and windshield mount attachments, and based on Nancy Gravely's tests it does its job well.
Today TMO readers are talking about applications that can help them protect their kids from online threats and what they can do to monitor their computer activities.
It's OK to call Apple's iPhone the best phone ever, but not in the CNET UK offices. Instead, they dubbed the iPhone the worst phone ever, but also said it's the best mobile Web device and media player.
There's no doubt that Apple CEO Steve Jobs has been instrumental in the success of the company known for the iMac and iPhone, and according to Fortune, he's the CEO of the decade, too.
Quapps Interactive announced the immediate availability of MagiCam 1.0 for the iPhone on Thursday. MagiCam is an app that lets users add effects and other objects to photos they take with their iPhone.
Matrix Knowledge Management introduced V Phone for the iPhone on Thursday. The application lets iPhone users make VoIP phone calls and send SMS messages over IP, too.
Developer Pierre-Alain Dorange on Wednesday released the arcade game MicroWar 2, which begins in the year 1984, when the original Macintosh shipped, and moves through computer history, pitting the player’s Mac against swarms of attacking PCs. The gameplay is akin to such arcade game classics as Space Invaders and Galaga.
Bare Bones Software announced Wednesday the release of BBEdit 9.3. This update includes improvements to the Projects feature, ctag data files, FTP/SFTP browsing, and the clipping system. Bare Bones has also introduced a new command-line utility called bbfind.
PlayFirst on Wednesday released Valerie Porter and the Scarlet Scandal, a new hidden object game for Mac OS X. Set during the 1920s, the game puts players in the role of up-and-coming reporter Valerie Porter, who soon finds herself covering a major story: the death of starlet Scarlet Velour.
Digital Chocolate and Legacy Interactive released a quartet of new iPhone games between them on Wednesday, with the former publishing three – Carnival Games Live, Nightclub Fever, and Absolute Minesweeper – and the latter offering up one: the trivia game Bird Brain.
Equinux announced Wednesday the release of Seasons Greetings Vol. 2, a collection of Mail Stationery templates for sending holiday messages via Mail.app. The collection includes 22 different templates for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, and are available in English, French, and German.
Our tendency, based on other technologies, is to believe that our Apple accessories just keep getting better and better. However, Apple has had its share of hit and miss affairs with computer mice, and the Magic Mouse is no exception.
Microsoft is laying off another 800 workers starting today (Wednesday). Microsoft characterized the layoffs as being part of an earlier plan to reduce its work force by 5,000 people, but the newest round will surpass that original goal.
The Deal Brothers found a deal on the Western Digital Elements WDE1UBK10000N 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive for $99.99, including free delivery.
Out of the box, the Apple Magic Mouse has a smooth surface that hides its two button nature. On top of that, the default in System Preferences is a one button mouse. For those who prefer a classic two button mouse, here's how to fix that.
O'Reilly announced the immediate availability of Photoshop Elements 8 for Mac: The Missing Manual on Wednesday. The 584 page book by Barbara Brundage explains how to use Photoshop Elements 8's features as well as how to get the most out of Adobe Bridge.
Apple added a new section to its iTunes Store on Wednesday geared at highlighting movies with a musical theme. The section includes musicals, music-focused movies, concert movies and documentaries.
Macware announced the immediate availability of MacTuneUp 3.6 on Wednesday. The update for the disk utility application added Mac OS X 10.6, or Snow Leopard, support and improved performance on Intel-based Macs.
Adobe is saying it's Apple's fault that Flash isn't available on the iPhone. Today TMO readers are talking about whether or not the iPhone even needs Flash support.
Apple Corps, the company that manages The Beatles works, announced on Wednesday that it is releasing a limited edition USB drive with the bands complete album collection in MP3 and FLAC formats. The announcement marks the first time the Fab Four's songs have been legitimately available in electronic format, but they aren't available through Apple's iTunes Store.
Apple's iPhone and iPod touch App Store topped 100,000 available applications on Wednesday. The App Store is Apple's online service for third party iPhone and iPod touch applications, and has hosted over two billion app downloads so far.
SmileOnMyMac announced the immediate availability of DiscLabel 6.1 on Wednesday. The update for the CD and DVD label design application added the ability to import images from Flickr accounts.
SigFx Energy in Lewisville, TX sells a full line of cases for the iPhone 3G/3GS (and iPod touch) that have built-in batteries. I have been testing the X-type design which has a 1,200 mAh (milliamp-hour) smart battery. No power is drawn from the iPhone battery until the external battery is depleted. It's a keeper.
Behind all of Snow Leopard's glamor and the "under the hood" changes, someone has paid attention to some of the little things as well -- such as simpler directions and basic terminology. Nancy Carroll Gravley shares some of the features she's found in Snow Leopard that are easier to use and understand.
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.
Symantec is alerting Mac users to new Mac game called Lose/Lose that deletes files in the user's home directory every time the player shoots an alien ship. Destroy a ship, lose a file. What's more, the game's creator tells users exactly what will happen when they play, making the game something less than a trojan horse, but much worse than the art project he labels it.
Consumer electronics buying advice site Retrevo has released the results of a study the company commissioned that found that iPhone owners find "cool gadgets" make a person three times more attractive than a college degree. The data is part of the larger study, which looked to find differences between iPhone and BlackBerry owners.
AT&T is suing Verizon, alleging the latter's "There A Map For That" commercial misleads customers into thinking that AT&T doesn't offer coverage across large portions of the U.S. As part of the suit, AT&T is asking for a temporary restraining order against Verizon asking that the ads be pulled.
As the App Store approaches 100,000 available apps, Tuesday saw a flood of new releases that will help get Apple closer to that milestone, including Glu Mobile’s Taxi Fight! ($0.99) and World Series of Poker Hold ‘Em Legend ($6.99), Orb Games’ Kamikaze Race (US$0.99), Manayunk Productions’ Speed Bag: Urban Gym ($0.99), ngmoco's Eliminate (free), Classic Media’s Casper’s Scare School ($4.99), VFSoftware’s Beat the Swine ’09 ($0.99), and Plum Amazing Software’s Galactic Pool (free through Nov. 6).
MixMatchMusic announced Tuesday the launch of MobBase, an iPhone app platform that allows bands to easily have their own branded iPhone app. MobBase allows bands to completely customize their own iPhone app through a browser-based content management system (CMS) - the resulting iPhone app is then submitted to Apple by MobBase, which handles the entire approval process for the bands.
For those Macs that can boot into the 64-bit kernel, there are several ways to force that to happen. Here are some pointers, and a gotcha, on how to make it permanent.
I don't really believe that Apple and Verizon have severed ties for good. There's too much money at stake on both sides. The current activities are just a pillow fight. Maybe plate throwing.
Imagine sending a Twitter message from wherever you happen to be, containing a command such as "open Safari," and having the requested command carried out on your Mac back home. That's the way TweetMyMac works. After playing with TweetMyMac over the past few weeks, I find myself vacillating among three different reactions: "Wow, this is truly amazing," "Technologically impressive but, really, who needs it?" and "Gak, the implications are a bit scary."
Karelia Software announced the immediate availability of iMedia Browser 1.2.1 on Tuesday. The update for the media browser application added Mac OS X 10.6, or Snow Leopard, compatibility.
Other World Computing announced the immediate availability of its new 12X Quad Interface Mercury Pro Blu-ray drive on Tuesday. The new Mercury Pro external Blu-ray drive includes FireWire 800 and 400, USB and eSATA interfaces.
Even though Apple's iPhone 3GS was released only a few months ago one company in China is already claiming to have parts in stock for its successor. China Ontrade is offering what it claims is the fourth generation iPhone midboard and SIM card tray for sale on its Web site.
Adobe Flash isn't supported on the iPhone and now it seems the company wants to make sure everyone knows it's all Apple's fault. iPhone users have begun reporting that they're seeing a new message from Adobe when they visit Web sites with Flash-based content, and that message tells them to look to Apple for answers.
Apple's iPhone may not be selling as fast in China as it has in other countries, but China Unicom did manage to push some 5,000 units out the door during its first week of availability. Currently, China Unicom is up against grey market iPhone sales that in some cases cost less than legit iPhones.
RemObjects Software announced the immediate availability of Data Abstract for Mac OS X on Tuesday. Data Abstract is a developer framework for handling in-app databases.
The mailbags were full this week, folks, and John and Dave do their best to tackle everything that came in. Voicemail, email, and Twitter messages lead your favorite geeks through fixing Mail.app sounds, opening files with different apps, sleep and battery advice, what locum is, and more Mac and iPhone Tips than you can shake a stick at! Subscribe today, it's free!
In this week's episode of The Apple Context Machine, Jeff and Bryan discuss Microsoft's retail store opening in Scottsdale, AZ, the turf war between Apple and Palm Pre over third-party iTunes support, and the iTablet as an Ebook reader.
Apple is planning on a 70% increase in its capital expenditures spending (CapEx) for 2010, according to the company's 10-K filing. Caris & Company analyst Robert Cihra told clients in a research note obtained by The Mac Observer that this could suggest that Apple is working on, "strategic new infrastructure."
Apple has been shopping iTunes as a TV service to network executives, according to a report from AllThingsD.com. Writing for the MediaMemo blog within AllThingsD, Peter Kafka said Apple is looking for networks to sign on to provide content to a monthly subscription service through iTunes that would effectively put the company in competition with cable and satellite TV companies.
Zacks Investment Research upgraded Apple's stock to "Outperform" from "Neutral" on Monday, based on the company's "earnings momentum and accelerated revenue growth." The investment firm largely attributed both factors in Apple's performance in part to the growing Mac platform and in particular to the success of the iPhone.
The album grid view in iTunes is a popular way for many people to browse their music library, but the white background that iTunes 9 introduced hasn't been going over so well. Apple listened, and iTunes 9.0.2 added an option to reenable the dark grey grid background.
Monday saw the release of three more games to the App Store: Adult Swim’s Five Minutes to Kill (Yourself), Hydrix’s puzzle game Roto, and Highlights Hidden Pictures.
EA Mobile on Monday brought the venerable Command & Conquer series of strategy games to the App Store with Command & Conquer Red Alert. Set in an alternate timeline in which World War II never happened, the Command & Conquer series pits the Soviets against the Allies during the 1950s, when the Cold War spills over into worldwide conflict.
The latest pre-release builds of Mac OS X 10.6.2 apparently break support for Intel's Atom processor, essentially killing the ability to run Snow Leopard on "hackintosh" PC netbook computers.
Today TMO readers are talking about the Apple TV 3.0 update and the new features it brings to the home entertainment box, but are wondering what it will take to move the product beyond Apple's "hobby."
Despite Verizon's interest carrying the iPhone, don't expect Apple to strike a deal with the cell carrier any time soon. Motorola's Droid smartphone and Verizon's anti-iPhone commercials are two indicators that an iPhone deal isn't on the way, according to the Gerson Lehrman Group.
Andy Rubin, Google's head of Android development, insists the company isn't planning to build its own smartphones despite rumors to the contrary. His comment comes in response to new rumors that Google is getting ready to make its own Android-based handsets, according to CNET News.
Regular Rate and Rhythm Software announced the immediate availability of Rowmote Pro 2.2 on Monday. The update for the iPhone and iPod touch remote control app added the ability to control Movst, PandoraBoy and OpenOffice Impress on the Mac.
Microsoft opened up its second Microsoft Store retail location in Mission Viejo, CA Thursday. With the help of a free concert ticket giveaway for Canadian pop star Justin Bieber, the company saw a line of some one thousand people waiting for the doors to open, according to The OCRegister.
In this week's installment of Free on iTunes, Vern Seward takes a second look at some freebies; The Weather Channel app, T.E.D. app and the Dr. Tran podcast.
Apple has increased iPhone production for the holiday quarter, according to a report from the print edition of Taiwan-based newspaper DigiTimes (via ITProPortal). The trade paper said that orders from component supplier Primax and manufacturer Foxconn Electronics have been increased between 17 and 20 per cent in expectation of increased holiday business for the device.
In this week's hoard of technical news debris, John looks at a video of Steve Ballmer pimping Windows 1.0, the best Apple tablet concepts, the U.S. DOD pushing Open Source, details of Nokia's lawsuit against Apple, and Apple's clever meeting with RBC analyst Mike Abramsky.
The Writer's Block Buster app for iPhone (and iPod touch) is designed to get those creative juices flowing for a writer who may be experiencing writer's block -- inability to come up with an inspirational idea that carries the script. It has some interesting elements, but, given the limitations of an iPhone app, it can't do the complete job.
Anawiki Games on Friday released Spooky Runes, a Halloween-themed version of the publisher’s Runes of Avalon action puzzle games. Players gather runes and match them to eliminate them from the game board. Four spells and six power-ups help them along the way.
Namco on Friday announced the release of Garters & Ghouls (US$4.99), a new App Store game in which players control the not-too-dead Marie Dupois as she makes her way through 25 levels full of undead adversaries. Other new App Store games include Big Buck Hunter Pro ($2.99), Hamster Hunt ($0.99), and Halloween Mayhem ($0.99).
Apple may be working on a tablet computer device, but it won't be targeted at ebook reading. Based on hints from Apple executives, RBC analyst Mike Abramsky thinks Apple is focusing on movies and video instead.
ICANN approved a change to the URL domain name scheme on Friday that allows for the use of non-Latin characters. The change goes into effect on November 16, and domain names using characters from other alphabets are expected to be online shortly after.
LifeFocus Apps announced the immediate availability of LifeFocus 1.2 for the iPhone and iPod touch on Friday. The update for the task management app added support for repeating tasks.
The iPhone finally went on sale in China, but the lines weren't as long as they typically are in the U.S. Today TMO readers are talking about the impact China's iPhone sales will have on the smartphone market.
Apple's iPhone has been available on the grey market in China for some time, but that didn't stop shoppers from lining up to be among the first to buy the combination iPod and smartphone from China Unicom despite higher prices.
The release of the Apple TV 3.0 update added the ability to play iTunes LP and iTunes Extras content on your Apple TV. Any LP and Extras content you've already downloaded, however, isn't compatible with your Apple TV, but updates are on the way.
TBWA/Media Arts Lab Chief Creative Officer Lee Clow is handing over the keys and stepping down from his creative lead position handling Apple's ad campaign.
Apple released Remote 1.3.2 on Thursday for the iPhone and iPod touch. The update for the iTunes and Apple TV remote control application added support for Apple TV 3.0.
Comixology's Comics for the iPhone and iPod touch expanded its list of available comic book titles on Thursday with the addition of Marvel to its lineup. Comics users can now buy and download issues from X-Men, Captain America, and more.
Gendai Games on Thursday announced that its GameSalad, its iPhone game development software, now offers the ability to publish titles on the App Store under two levels of membership: the casual-oriented Express, for US$99 a year, and Pro, for $1,999 annually
Apple has approved some 102,700 iPhone apps for the App Store, with 93,850 of those apps being available for purchase or download as of October 28th, 2009. The figures come courtesy of AppShopper.com (first noted by PCWorld), which tracks and lists iPhone apps as they become available.
iTunes 9.0.2 disables Palm Pre synching yet again, according to a report from pre|central.net. Apple and Palm have been involved in a back and forth tussle for months, with Palm using spoofing techniques to trick iTunes into recognizing the device for syncing, and Apple releasing iTunes updates that break each of Palm's latest efforts.
MacUpdate announced the immediate availability of MacUpdate 5.0 on Thursday. The new version of the application update tracker is completely rewritten and offers beefed up Leopard and Snow Leopard support.
Apple updated iTunes to version 9.0.2 Thursday, up update that, "adds support for Apple TV software version 3.0, adds an option for a dark background for Grid View, and improves support for accessibility."
Apple continues to post updates to Apple TV that disappoint a segment of the customer base and TV industry experts. This time around, the update 3.0 merely adds a new top level shell for navigating and some minor enhancements such as iTunes LP and Internet radio stations. The big question is: should we really feel disappointed?
Apple announced Thursday the release of Apple TV 3.0, an update to the software that runs the company's TV settop interface. The new software adds support for iTunes LP, internet radio stations, iTunes Extras, Genius Mixes, and a new interface through which to access iTunes content and local media.
Google has posted a video (below) demonstrating Google Maps Navigation for Android GPS-enabled phones -- notice the lack of "iPhone" in that clause. With this feature, users can use their Android phone for turn-by-turn GPS navigation, including voice-based requests and the ability to receive voice directions.
Apple Inc. intends to defend itself vigorously against a patent infringement lawsuit brought by Nokia according to the company's annual 10-K filing for fiscal 2009. Nokia filed suit against Apple in October alleging the iPhone infringed upon some ten separate patents Nokia owns.
The Canon MP990 is a great AIO printer-scanner-copier. However, if you have Snow Leopard installed on your Mac or if you want to use the device over a network, you may run into some unexpected trouble. This article provides the solutions, which may apply to other recent Canon printers as well.
Take Control and TidBITS announced the immediate availability of "Take Control of VMware Fusion 3" on Thursday. The 142 page ebook by Joe Kissell is sponsored by VMware and is available for free.
A software update for the Apple TV looks to be just around the corner based on updated iTunes Store terms of service. The changes make reference to Apple TV software version 3.0, which isn't yet available.
St Clair Intellectual Property Consultants is suing Apple over claims that the Mac and iPhone maker is infringing on patents it owns relating to digital still cameras. The company has a history of patent litigation, according to TG Daily, and Apple looks to be just the next target on the list.
Apple is looking to patent a system for publishing, subscribing to and managing podcasts. Some of the patent filing components sound like features that are already available in iTunes, but it's a fairly safe bet that Apple has even more in mind.
Apple is ramping up its retail stores for the holiday buying season, and one of the biggest changes will be retiring its Windows CE-based handheld sales system for the iPod touch
Stone Design announced the immediate availability of Twittelator Pro 3.3.1 on Thursday. The update for the iPhone and iPod touch Twitter client added support for Twitter's upcoming geocoding feature along with the ability to report spam Twitter accounts.
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