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Macworld

Apple TV update adds several new features: The Apple TV Software Update 2.3 released by Apple on Wednesday night brings some added features to the set top box.

Rumors suggest Wal-Mart to sell iPhone 3G: Alleged internal correspondence from Wal-Mart suggests that the retail giant may begin selling the iPhone after the holidays.

Frenzic games comes to iPhone: Frenzic, a fast-paced action puzzle game, is now available for the iPhone.

Apple shines spotlight on third-party iPhone apps: Apple on Wednesday hosted a press briefing, in which it let six iPhone app developers show off their current and forthcoming software products for the holiday season.

Snow Leopard: Ahead of schedule?: A slide presented by an Apple employee at a conference last week shows Apple may be ahead of schedule with its Mac OS X Snow Leopard release.

Ballmer: Yahoo acquisition won't happen: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said a Yahoo acquisition is still off the table, despite Yahoo CEO Jerry Yangs decision to step down.

Mobile phone chargers: energy vampires: Mobile chargers keep wasting energy when left plugged into the wall, something many consumers are not aware of.

MacNN

BlackBerry Storm to face launch shortage?: The launch of Verizons BlackBerry Storm on Friday may fall short of expectations due to a last-minute flaw, according to tips given to BGR. A security issue discovered at the last moment by RIM has reportedly forced both it and

Zune Pass adds 10 permanent monthly tracks: Microsoft on Thursday gave its Zune Pass feature an upgrade by letting owners keep ten of the songs they download each month as part of the unlimited subscription service. The plan includes music from all four major labels as well

Cycore releases new effect package for After Effects: Cycore has released two effects packages for Adobe After Effects, CFX Path Tools and CFX Sphere Utilities. CFX Path Tools contains two plug-ins that utilize After Effects mask path functions. Wiggle Stroke allows for basic frame wiggling or even geometric

AKVIS unveils ArtWork photo to oil painting converter: AKVIS has unveiled ArtWork 1.0, a program that applies oil painting techniques to digital images. The program allows pictures to be transformed into oil portraits, landscape paintings, or still life creations. Users can work in an assisted mode, or let

Sonic to buy CinemaNow, integrate Qflix biz group: Sonic Solutions on Wednesday announced it would acquire CinemaNow, a digital video distribution service with over 6000 Hollywood Movies, moving one step further in growing its Qflix service. The move will reportedly blend CinemaNow into the Qflix business group, and

Omni Group announces OmniGraffle 5.1, OmniFocus 1.5: Omni Group has announced updated versions of two products, OmniGraffle 5.1 and OmniFocus 1.5. The diagramming and layout program, OmniGraffle, features improved Visio compatibility with support for the Enhanced MetaFile format. The company also enhanced the interface with changes to

Samsung mass-produces fast 256GB SSD: Samsung on Wednesday night said it has started manufacturing the 256GB Flash SSD. The 2.5-inch solid-state drive stands both as the companys largest-capacity drive and also its fastest. Its sequential read speed is slightly lower than for its Intel rival

Apple TV software update 2.3 adds AirTunes streaming: Apple has released the latest software update for its Apple TV devices, version 2.3. Users can now stream music to other Apple TVs or Airport Express speakers via AirTunes. Third-party remote control support has been added, allowing the system to

OpenCL for Snow Leopard nearly complete in 6 mos.: Khronos Group and its alliance of associated companies have managed to build the OpenCL programming standard in just six months, according to Macworld. OpenCL (Open Computing Language) is a standard for parallel programming, which could serve as the foundation for

DeFi Global Access VoIP for iPhone coming: DeFi Mobile has announced the expansion of its Global Access VoIP service to include the iPhone platform. For a monthly subscription fee, users will have access to unlimited global calling, roaming, and long distance. The calls require a WiFi connection,

IOGEAR releases 16-port USB PS/2 Combo KVM Switch: IOGEAR has released the GCS1716, a 16-port USB or PS/2 KVM switch designed for small-to-medium size businesses. The device allows peripherals, such as monitors, keyboards, or mice, to be shared across 16 computers. The switches can be chained, linking up

Maxell intros dockable, noise-cancelling iPod earbuds: Maxell on Wednesday announced it will soon release noise-cancelling earbud headphones that are compatible with 4th or newer generation iPods and the first and second-gen iPod touch. (however, the iPhone 3G is not supported). The headphones plug in via the

Opacity 1.2 update targets iPhone graphics: Like Thought has published a v1.2 update to Opacity, its graphics creation utility. The software is specifically intended to design art for program development, and combines pixel and vector editors with Photoshop-like tools such as filters, layers and transforms. Users

Ultimate Ears launches top-firing earphones: Headphone manufacturer Ultimate Ears on Wednesday announced it has added the Super.Fi 5 and Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5vi earphones to its range of universal-fit earphones. The new products are the first to feature a top-fire armature speaker design that, the

Mitsubishi launches two wide-format projectors: Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America on Wednesday announced the release of two new 500-series projectors with the wide-format WD510U and WD500U-ST. Both have 1280x800 native resolution and 16:10 aspect ratios and are meant for use in education and business industries. The

Kingston bumps DataTraveler 150 capacity to 64GB: Kingston Technology on Wednesday unveiled its DataTraveler 150 USB Flash drive with a new, higher 64GB capacity, or double that of the previous highest capacity of 32GB. The DataTraveler 150 is now the highest-capacity USB flash drive of its size

Vocito desktop dialer released for GrandCentral beta: Google has released Vocito, a desktop quick-dialer for its GrandCentral beta. The app simultaneously dials a remote phone and a local phone, connecting them together. Vocito also integrates with Address Book, QuickSilver, Automator and system services, and supports tel URLs

Zenoss Core 2.3 ported to Mac: Zenoss has released a Mac installer for Zenoss Core 2.3, the latest iteration of its IT monitoring software. Core is an open-source program used to handle the configuration of networks, servers and software, and then monitor overall performance and stability.

iTunes Plus coming to 3 remaining majors?: Apple is discussing deals with the three major music labels yet to sign on to iTunes Plus to remove the locks on their music as well, alleged sources tell CNET. Two reported contacts describe preliminary negotiations that would expand Apples

VoodooPad 4 builds in multi-machine sync: Flying Meat has posted VoodooPad 4, a major revision of its personal wiki software. After writing down various comments, users of the program can drag links, images, folders and applications into a wiki for future reference. The new version introduces

Apple - Hot News

App Store Pick of the Week: Google Mobile: Available only on iPhone, Google Mobile features Voice Search. Simply speak your query and let Google do what it does best. The free application also offers My Location searches (finding businesses based on your current location), performs contact and history

Striking it rich with iPhone: When Trism hit the App Store, life changed for 29-year-old Steve Demeter, relates Brandon Griggs (cnn.com). In just two months, Trism netted the former ATM software designer a cool $250,000, encouraging him to found his own iPhone game development company,

Quick Tip of the Week: Help Pointers: Need help with an application? In Mac OS X Leopard, you’ll find Help in the menu bar of every application. Help points the way to tutorials, user guides, keyboard shortcuts, and other valuable resources. Specific to the application you’re using,

iMac delivers MRI analysis in less than 10 minutes: By comparing the hippocampus of a patient suffering from episodic memory to that of a healthy person of the same age, Professor James Brewer can determine whether the patient is suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease. Trouble is, to manually assemble the

Stanford Laptop Orchestra (SLOrk): Musical Macs: An ensemble of student computer scientists and musicians, the Stanford Laptop Orchestra uses 20 MacBook computers to compose and perform new music. “We tilt the notebook and use its built-in accelerometer to expressively control sound. We use the trackpad as

App Store Pick of the Week: Nine Inch Nails Revenge: Tapulous has brought a new rhythm section to its highly popular Tap Tap Revenge. The first special edition of the music game — Nine Inch Nails Revenge ($4.99)— lets you tap and shake to the beats of 13 Nine Inch

iPhone and iPod touch vying with game leaders: iPhone and iPod touch have become “serious competitors to Nintendo’s DS handheld and Sony’s PlayStation Portable,” report Nick Wingfield and Christopher Lawton (online.wsj.com). And for good reason. Says one gamer who “sold his PSP and may get rid of his

Get organized for the holidays: By downloading the Bento 2 Holiday Pack. In addition to a free, 30-day trial of Bento 2, the Holiday Pack comes with pre-designed templates you can use to organize contacts and keep track of the cards you send and the

iPhone now top handset in the U.S.: “Move over, Motorola,” says Alana Semuels (latimes.com) iPhone has become the top selling handset in the U.S. “Consumers are buying more iPhones than RAZRs because there is a ‘watershed shift in handset design from fashion to fashionable functionality,’ said Ross

iPhone passes RAZR in sales: NPD announced today that iPhone 3G “surpassed Motorola’s RAZR as the leading handset purchased by adult consumers” last quarter, reports Jim Goldman (cnbc.com). “That’d be a big deal no matter when it happened, but it ends RAZR’s 12-quarter winning streak

Logic slays The Killers: Interviewing guitarist Dave Keuning prior to the release of The Killers’ new album, Ben Rogerson (musicradar.com) learned that “ the band’s hotly-anticipated third album Day & Age was demoed in Apple’s Logic.” In fact, each member of the band “recorded

Quick Tip of the Week: Granting guests access: When friends or relatives come to visit this holiday season, you can easily grant them guest access on your Mac. With a guest account, they can get email, surf the web, or download a file. You can even set parental

iPhone second among smartphones worldwide: “Apple’s blowout quarter for iPhone 3G sales lifted it into second place among all smartphone vendors worldwide,” says cnet.com’s Tom Krazit. Trailing only market leader Nokia, iPhone vaulted “over Research In Motion to take second place, with 6.9 million shipments,

iPhone earns highest satisfaction score among businesspeople: In its survey of business customers, J.D. Power and Associates “asked respondents to rate the smartphones for ease of operation, operating system, physical design, handset features, and battery aspects,” reports Tom Krazit (cnet.com). And the iPhone, “which generated the highest

iPhone “performed well in exceeding customer expectations”: In leading the J.D. Power survey, “iPhone did particularly well in ease of operation, physical design and handset feature factors,” explains Shawn Brown (slashgear.com). Brown quotes Kirk Parsons, Senior Director of for J.D. Power, who said that ‘by making basic

“iPhone ranks first — for business customers”: “This is a stunner for Apple and its iPhone,” declares Jim Goldman (cnbc.com). “JD Power and Associates,” he explains, “ranked the iPhone highest in customer satisfaction, not for everyday consumers as you might expect. But for ‘business wireless smartphone users.’”

iPhone tops all other smartphones in J.D. Power customer sat survey: Although the lack of a physical keyboard “was supposed to be a deal breaker for hardcore smartphone users in the business world,” suggests Philip Elmer-DeWitt (fortune.cnn.com), iPhone “ranks highest in customer satisfaction among business types, according to J.D. Power and

Stream music wirelessly with AirTunes: Thanks to AirPort Express with AirTunes, you can easily stream music wirelessly from your Mac or PC to a stereo or other powered speakers in your house. AirTunes lets you stream music to multiple speakers. And you can even choose

Coming Attractions: Quantum of Solace: James Bond returns to theaters next week with the Quantum of Solace. Starring Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, and Olga Kurylenko (as Camille), the 22nd James Bond film continues the story begun in Casino Royale with Bond relentlessly pursuing the man

Celebrating the legacy of Louis Armstrong on iTunes U: At the centennial of his birth, the Artistry of “Pops”: Louis Armstrong at 100 celebrates the legacy of “the man whose name is synonymous with jazz music.” The program, courtesy of Columbia University’s Center for Jazz Studies offers historic clips

AppleInsider

Apple releases Apple TV 2.3 with AirTunes, third-party remotes: Apple on Wednesday night released version 2.3 of its Apple TV firmware to add AirTunes streaming as well as support for third-party remotes.

Apple's OpenCL standard near complete in just six months: Apple has reportedly set an industry record by moving its OpenCL parallel computing standard from its beginnings to imminent approval in half a year, paving the way for its inclusion in Mac OS X Snow Leopard.

Apple in talks to offer DRM-free MP3 tracks via iTunes: Apple is in talks with three of the "big four" record labels about offering music tracks through iTunes that would be made available in MP3 format without copy protection measures, a move that could further distance the digital download service

Microsoft saw Apple's anti-Vista campaign coming: Microsoft officials were concerned about the performance of Windows Vista and the way it would be compared to Mac OS X long before Apple zeroed in on the problematic software with its humorous "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" advertising

Wal-Mart to begin selling iPhone post holidays - reports: Mega-discount chain Wal-Mart, along with subsidiary Sams Clubs, will join Best Buy in offering Apple's iPhone 3G to their customers just days after Christmas, according to new reports.

Apple waiting on quad-core desktop chips from Intel: Apple is among a handful of PC manufacturers who're waiting on a new family of quad-core chips from Intel that are designed for small form-factor PCs like the Mac mini and all-in-one systems like the iMac.

Apple may release Snow Leopard early next year: An Apple director has inadvertently broken word that his company may be planning to release Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard three months earlier than expected.

Reseller sells early MacBook Air prototype on eBay: A California computer repair shop is likely to receive a call from Apple asking it to explain where it obtained an internal MacBook Air prototype that it later turned around and sold on eBay for $730.

Judge grants Apple's motion to dismiss Psystar's counterclaims: A California judge on Tuesday granted Apple's motion to dismiss counterclaims on the part of unauthorized Mac clone maker Psystar, who charged the Mac maker with violating antitrust laws through its vigorous attempts to block third parties from selling rival

Apple's new MacBooks have built-in copy protection measures: Apple's new MacBook lines include a form of digital copy protection that will prevent protected media, such as DRM-infused iTunes movies, from playing back on devices that aren't complaint with the new priority protection measures.

Apple sees Mac sales rise 28% amid latest notebook launch: A slowing global economy had little impact on Apple's computer business last month, as consumers willingly plunked down their cash for the company's new MacBook offerings, helping to drive Mac sales up more than 25 percent year-over-year.

Apple now taking orders for 24-inch LED Cinema Display: Following a month-long wait, Apple on Tuesday finally began taking orders for its new 24-inch LED-backlit Cinema Display through its online store, saying shipments will begin sometime later this month.

Google Mobile iPhone app with voice search now available: The new version of Google's Mobile iPhone application that includes voice search recognition was made available as a free download on the App Store last night.

Adobe shows ARM-ready Flash 10; Spansion names Apple in suit: Adobe has pledged to optimize a version of Flash 10 for smartphones using ARM processors like those of the iPhone -- but iPhone itself isn't getting that upgrade. Also, flash memory maker Spansion has implicated Apple in lawsuits against Samsung

Apple releases fix for quirky MacBook glass trackpads: Apple has released a software update to address an issue where trackpad clicks would randomly go unrecognized on its latest notebook offerings: the MacBook (Late 2008) and MacBook Pro (Late 2008).

Apple flirting with another record quarter for Mac sales: After spending 25 hours counting sales of iPhones and Macs at Apple's US-based retail chain, investment bank Piper Jaffray said it believes the company this quarter could meet or beat last quarter's record 2.6 million Mac sales total while again

Apple to launch iPhone in Taiwan next month: Chunghwa Telecom said Friday it has won the exclusive right to begin selling Apple's iPhone 3G in Taiwan ahead of the December holiday season.

New seed shows Apple near wrap-up of Mac OS X 10.5.6: A quickly released follow-up test build of Mac OS X 10.5.6 comes with no known problems and points to Apple getting much closer to a finished patch.

New Apple hire fights back in countersuit against IBM: The tug of war over the future of Mark Papermaster, an executive hired away from his post at IBM to head up Apple's handheld efforts, got a bit nastier on Thursday when the microprocessor expert countered a lawsuit from his

Apple sued over hairline cracks in iPhone 3G casings: Apple is facing yet another lawsuit over the performance of its iPhone 3G on AT&T's network but with added allegations that the company is ignoring the occurrence of hairline cracks in the handset's enclosure.

Mac Rumors

Apple Releases Apple TV 2.3 Software Update: Apple has released a new update for the Apple TV tonight. Apple TV owners can download the new updates by accessing the Update Software menu option in their Apple TVs settings. Apple has not released any documents about the change...

Apple Negotiating More DRM-Free Music for iPhones: CNet confirms some earlier rumors that Apple is in ongoing negotiations with the major music studios to offer more DRM (copy protection) free music in iTunes. Earlier rumors had suggested that Sony BMG had already agreed but CNet was unable

OpenCL Specification Completed in Record Time for Snow Leopard: Macworld reports from the SuperComputing 08 conference which is taking place in Austin, Texas this week. The Khronos group was present to celebrate the launch of the upcoming OpenCL specification which Apple is planning to implement in Mac OS X

Apple Waiting on Quad-Core Desktop CPUs for January?: DigiTimes reports that Apple is amongst the vendors who are awaiting the release of three new low-power desktop CPUs due in January from Intel.Intel will launch the Core 2 Quad Q8200s (2.33GHz/4MB L2), Core 2 Quad Q9400s (2.66GHz/6MB...

Mac OS X Snow Leopard (10.6) Due in Q1 2009?: Apples Director of Engineering of Unix Technologies Jordan Hubbard spoke at LISA 08 last week. LISA (or Large Installation System Administration Conference) is a technical conference targeted at engineers and system administrators. This years c...

Judge Dismisses Psystar's Anti-Trust Counterclaim Against Apple: A California judge has dismissed a counterclaim from Psystar which asserted that Apple was violating federal and state anti-trust laws in limiting the sale and use of Mac OS X on Apple branded computers.. But in a 19-page order pass...

Mid-2007 Prototype MacBook Air Found on eBay: MacRumors forum member Brett33 bought an as is MacBook Air on eBay for a selling price of $730. As it turns out, it appears the machine is actually a prototype model of Apples MacBook Air.After receiving the unit, Brett33 noticed

Apple Incorporates HDCP (Copy Protection) in New Laptops: Apples new unibody notebooks appear to incorporate a version of copy protection known as HDCP. HDCP is most well known for preventing unauthorized copying across HDMI but is also used for the DisplayPort which is found in Apples new MacBoo...

Apple 24'' LED Cinema Display Available for Order: Apple is now taking orders for their new 24 LED Cinema Display that was announced in October. While early versions of the new Cinema Display have been shown at Apple retail stores, orders had not been accepted until now. Apple

Google's Voice-Enabled Search for iPhone Now Available: Lifehacker reports that Googles new Voice-Enabled Search application is now live in the App Store (sort of). The new application is actually an update to Googles existing Google Mobile Application that is already available in the A...

Apple Issues Fix for Unrecognized Clicks on Glass Trackpads: As promised by Steve Jobs, Apple has issued a Trackpad Firmware Update to owners of the new MacBook and MacBook Pros:This firmware update addresses an issue where trackpad clicks may not be recognized on MacBook (Late 2008) a...

Intel Not Taking Any Chances with Core i7: NY Times reports on Intels extensive testing of the Core i7 (Nehalem) processors which officially launched today. The company has invested over $500 million annually to test these chips in an effort to avoid any show-stopping bugs. ...

Adobe and ARM Partner to Bring Flash to ARM-based Mobiles (Like the iPhone?): Adobe and ARM have jointly announced that they are collaborating to optimize and enable Adobe Flash Player 10 and Adobe AIR for ARM Powered devices. The collaboration is expected to accelerate mobile graphics and video capabilities o...

iPod Nano 1.0.3 Update Adds In-Ear Headphone Support: One item we missed reporting on last week was the release of the 1.0.3 iPod Nano update for the 4th generation iPod Nanos. The list of fixes and changes include (via TUAW):- Support for Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and

Mac OS X 10.5.6 Development Wrapping Up?: According to the most recent seed notes at HMBT.org, Apple may be trying to wrap up development of Mac OS X 10.5.6. The latest Mac OS X 10.5.6 seed (9G38) provided to developers today lists no remaining issues. Its always

Original MacBook Air Capable of 4 Finger Gestures Through Software Update: Hardmac points back to a post made in our own forums which details the experience of one user enabling four finger gestures on his 1st generation MacBook Air.I can confirm the four finger gesture is possible on pre-October 2008 lapto...

Apple Releases Safari 3.2 with Improved Security, Anti-Phishing: Apple has released a new version of Safari 3.2 through the Mac OS X Software Update. The latest version of Safari provides improved security as well as protection from phishing websites:This update is recommended for all Safari user...

Mac Pro Suitable Nehalem (Core i7) Processors Due in 1st Quarter 2009: Digitimes reports that Intel is planning on launching the Xeon 5500 and Xeon 3500 series of server CPUs in the first quarter of 2009. These new processors are based on the Nehalem architecture which has been officially branded as Core

IBM's Lawsuit Against Papermaster Over 'Racetrack' Memory?: According to Electronista, recent court filings suggest that IBM may be concerned that Mark Papermaster could transmit knowledge about an upcoming IBM memory technology to Apple. Papermaster is the former IBM chip designer that recently accepted a j...

Apple Positioning iPhone and iPod Touch as Mobile Gaming Devices: In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, Steve Jobs acknowledged that the iPhone and iPod touch may emerge as really viable devices in the mobile games market this holiday season.The sentiment also echoes comments made by...

Macworld

Review: Adobe Soundbooth CS4: Adobe’s audio editing application, Soundbooth CS4, is a compromise. Although it includes more advanced features than the previous version, it’s still not willing to take on the role of a full-blown professional audio editor. Rather, it eschews features commonly found

Review: Fieldrunners for iPhone: With Fieldrunners, Subatomic Studio has redefined the “tower defense” game genre, thanks to top-notch graphics and ongoing updates.

Review: Fireworks CS4: Adobe Fireworks CS4 includes new features and enhancements that make this a significant upgrade. The new interface is makes it easier to use most tools and controls as well as switch among various Creative Suite products.

Review: Google Mobile App, revisited: Google’s search supremacy has never been in doubt but the addition of voice search to Google Mobile App makes this iPhone search tool much better than its predecessor.

Review: Flip MinoHD mini camcorder: The latest Flip Mino shoots in 720p HD. Its a sleek and easy to operate camcorder, but it doesnt measure up to Kodaks Zi6.

Review: Marple for iPhone: If you’re a fan of Sudoku-like games of logic, but you’re tired of looking at 9-by-9 grids, Marple is an addictive alternative.

ExpanDrive 1.3.1: Do you frequently access FTP or SFTP servers? ExpanDrive integrates FTP/SFTP access into the Finder.

Review: MacWireless 200 Mbps Powerline Network Adapter: The Powerline Network Adapter may not be the most price-effective way to extend a home network, but in homes where there’s a lot of Wi-Fi interference, or where there’s a long distance between your router and a desired area for

Review: FreeMind 0.8.1: Looking for a mind mapping application that packs a powerful punch, takes it easy on your wallet, and is a dream to use, even for a novice? FreeMind 0.8.1 will get you two-thirds of the way there.

Review: Timekeeping applications for the iPhone: The App Store offers a bewildering array of options for tracking the amount of time you spend on projects. We put five to the test.

Review: ConceptDraw MindMap Pro 5.5: For $200, MindMap is worth the price because it helps you brainstorm ideas simply while avoiding the feature war with other brainstorming tools.

Review: Vegas Pool Sharks: Vegas Pool Sharks takes advantage of the touch screen, tilting, and gesture features of the iPod touch and iPhone. But flaws in the game’s artificial intelligence and gameplay detract from the experience.

Booq Mamba Pack: Booqs Mamba Pack offers lots of capacity and extra padding.

Review: XMind 2008 Pro: Mind mapping aims to prevent those cranial logjams through a process that gets the ideas out quickly, without needless organizational burdens. XMind 2008 Pro (version 2.3) stays true to the mind mapping ideals, though Macintosh standards are the occasional victim.

Review: Penny Arcade Adventures, Episode Two: This game combines weird characters, dark comedy, and a thoroughly deranged plot to create a unique world.

Path Finder 5.0.2: If youre not satisfied with the Finder, Path Finder 5 is a powerful and feature-laden alternative for file and system management.

Review: Cooliris for iPhone: The pictorial browser Cooliris believe there’s still benefit to the image as a means for relaying information. That benefit comes in the form of Cooliris’ 3D Wall—a three-high, ever-expanding string of related images and videos that link to locations around

Review: MacBook Air 1.86GHz: The new MacBook Air is definitely faster than its predecessor. The big question is, can it compete with the new, lighter MacBook? Jason Snell has the details.

Review: QuickBooks Accounting 2009: QuickBooks Accounting 2009 has been beautifully redesigned in a way that makes it much easier to manage and track your business’ money. But the redesign is incomplete: Some features are missing, others have yet to be updated, and still others

Review: Loopt for iPhone: Despite a flawed way of inviting friends to join the social network, this location-aware way of showing where your friends are and what they’re up to can be quite useful.

Digg Apple

Apple in talks to offer DRM-free MP3 tracks via iTunes: Apple is in talks with three of the big four record labels about offering music tracks through iTunes that would be made available in MP3 format without copy protection measures, a move that could further distance the digital download service

Apple's OpenCL standard near complete in just six months: Apple has reportedly set an industry record by moving its OpenCL parallel computing standard from its beginnings to imminent approval in 6 months, paving the way for inclusion in Mac OS X Snow Leopard.The operating system will use technology to

MacBook: an X-Ray View: If you’ve ever wondered what your MacBook looks like through an X-ray.

Apple's Customer Service Kick Dell's Ass, Evidence Shows: Are you a PC or a Mac? If youre enjoying great customer service, chances are youre a Mac, based on some new data released

Mac OS X Snow Leopard (10.6) Due in Q1 2009: Apples Director of Engineering of Unix Technologies Jordan Hubbard spoke at LISA 08 last week. LISA (or Large Installation System Administration Conference) is a technical conference targeted at engineers and system administrators. This years conference invited Apples Jordan Hubbard to

iPhone sex: Google application baffled by British accents: A new voice-recognition search tool for the iPhone has problems understanding British accents, leading to some bizarre answers to spoken queries, a newspaper report and users said Wednesday.

iPhone Glitch Excuse for Email Affair Falls Flat: A womans husband told her that a raunchy photo which had been sent via email from his iPhone was the result of a glitch. Not the photo itself; he admitted to that. No, the pic was automatically attached, addressed and

New MacBooks Have HDCP, Gives iTunes Purchases Less Freedom: High Definition Content Protection—the annoying DRM-y thing thats supposed to stop people from copying hi-def stuff as it travels over a card-display connector— has apparently, and unfortunately, come to Apples MacBooks.

Developer Gets Rich With iPhone game: Earns $250K in 2 Mths!: A former ATM software designer for a large bank, Demeter created Trism in his spare time and pitched it to Apple last spring. Priced at $5, Trism earned Demeter $250,000 in profits the first two months. I did the game

5 Apple rumors that never came true: Some Apple rumors are plain ridiculous, and here’s a list of 5 highly publicized Apple rumors that never came true.

Reseller sells early MacBook Air prototype on eBay: A California computer repair shop is likely to receive a call from Apple asking it to explain where it obtained an internal MacBook Air prototype that it later turned around and sold on eBay

ARM-Optimized Flash: Adobe Serious About iPhone: The ongoing back-and-forth between Apple and Adobe over Flash on the iPhone is well-documented. First it was, then wasn’t, then was, then probably wasn’t again a possibility. If we take Apple CEO Steve Jobs at his word, then the problem

IPod Speakers Made From Paper Cups and Sticks: Next time youre down at the diner you might try out the CupSpeakers from Dmitry Zagga. His minimalist speaker design consists four paper cups, a couple of toothpicks and an iPod.

iPhone Rideshare App To Cut 73.6 M Tons of CO2 Annually: The company hopes to have a user base of 20 million by 2020. They claim one of that size could cut greenhouse gas emissions by 73.6 M tons. That is equivalent to 146 billion less miles driven a year, and

Why Apple Will Never Permit Adobe Flash on the iPhone: Although Adobe says it is working on a version of its popular Flash player for the iPhone, Apple is unlikely ever to permit it to appear in the handsets App Store, no matter how much customers want it.

Google's iPhone Voice Search Mobile App Now Available: That Google Mobile for iPhone with talky talky search action is now up!

Young Steve Jobs flicks off IBM: Given the recent litigation involving I.B.M. and new Apple-hire Mark Papermaster, Steve Jobs probably feels the same way about Big Blue.

Five essential Xmas gifts for Apple iPhone lovers: Stuck for Christmas presents? Your iPhone-loving friends will love these

Open Radar: using social networking to squash Apple bugs: This weekend Open Radar introduced open source bug tracking for Apple software. Ars looks at this new site.

New Seed Shows Apple Near Wrap-up of Mac OS X 10.5.6: A quickly released follow-up test build of Mac OS X 10.5.6 comes with no known problems and points to Apple getting much closer to a finished patch.

TUAW

Apple TV update 2.3 released: Filed under: Software Update, Apple TVApple has just released software update 2.3 for the Apple TV. Right now, we dont have the change log, but well update the post as soon as

MacBook Pro users getting bitten by HDCP: Filed under: Video, iTunes, Bad Apple, Macbook Pro, MacBookYesterday, our buddy David Chartier at Ars and Sam Oliver at AppleInsider both publicized an issue thats been burning up the support

Give Good Food to your Mac, now with international cuisine: Filed under: Software, DealsLast year, the Give Good Food to Your Mac promo offered discounts on apps exclusively from Indie developers in Europe. This year the promo is back, and theyve opened the

BusinessWeek: HP "out-touches" Apple: Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, Portables, Apple, Macbook Pro, MacBook, MacBook Air Talk about being slightly touched. Arik Hesseldahls BusinessWeek article, published today, says ...as of Nov. 19, Hewlett-Packard has beaten Apple to the punch, announcing the first multi-touch-enabled

Rumor: Quad-core iMacs: Filed under: Apple Corporate, Rumors, iMac, AppleIts not even December, yet Macworld rumors are starting to fly. Digital Times is reporting that Apple is among the vendors ready to use Intels new

Walmart will sell iPhones starting Dec. 28: Filed under: iPhoneWalmart will be taking a pass for most of the holiday shopping season with one particular item: the iPhone. It will begin selling the handset December 28, according to Jamie

MacNN: Snow Leopard could ship 1Q 2009: Filed under: Macworld, Rumors, Snow LeopardSnow Leopard could ship as early as January, according to comments made by the director of Apples Unix Technology Group.Jordan Hubbard said at the Large Installation System

First Look: FrontPocket for iPhone and iPod touch: Filed under: Software, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, First LookAs a gadget hound and productivity freak, Ive tried just about everything over the past 10+ years, both hardware and software. My gadgets have

New MacBook Pro benchmarked within Boot Camp: Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Hardware, Software, Odds and ends, AppleFinally, someone with more money that I have (I want a new MacBook Pro, but havent yet convinced myself to shell out

Adventure released for the iPhone: Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Odds and ends, Freeware, iPhonePart of me just wants to post this screenshot, link this app, and say go get it, but I have a feeling that

Mac 101: Shorten text using the Summarize Service: Filed under: Mac 101Have you ever been reading a long article and wished you could somehow magically make it shorter? With a Mac OS X service called Summarize, you can do

Prototype MacBook Air found on eBay: Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, MacBook AirThis is probably old news for most classic Mac collectors, but its the first Ive heard of it: a member of the forums at MacRumors.com bought

Psystar gets countersuit dismissed, case heats up: Filed under: Apple Corporate, Hardware, Apple FinancialYesterday brought about a bit of disappointing news for Mac-clone maker Psystar. Ars Technica is reporting that Psystars countersuit, which alleged that Apple violated an anti-trust

Mac 101: Tabbed windows in iChat: Filed under: Software, Mac 101New to the Mac? Welcome back to our Mac 101 series, which explores the basics of Mac OS X, provides tips and tricks, and dives into key features of

VoodooPad 4.0 provides WebDAV sync: Filed under: Software, ProductivityVoodooPad got a major upgrade today; after an intense beta period, version 4.0 is live. For those of you not familiar, VoodooPad is a personal wiki, a brainstorming and

TUAW Review: MacTrak Theft Recovery Software: Filed under: Software, Macbook Pro, MacBook, MacBook AirThere are several applications available that will help find a lost or stolen Mac. Here at TUAW, weve talked about LoJack for Laptops, Orbicules Undercover, MacPhoneHome,

Apple redesigns Support Downloads pages: Filed under: Software Update, AppleIf youre a regular visitor to the Apple support downloads website, then you might have noticed a change last night. In addition to releasing two updates, Apple

China Mobile making things complicated?: Filed under: iPhoneChina Mobile, the service provider in talks with Apple to distribute the iPhone in the worlds most populous country, is still expressing interest in selling the handset, but has plans

First Look: Fastlane Street Racing: Filed under: Gaming, iPhone, iPod touchWhen I showed this to my brother he remarked that it looked almost as good as any PSP

New variant of RSPlug trojan making the rounds: Filed under: SecurityOur friends at Intego sent out an alert this morning, warning users about a new variant of the RSPlug trojan horse, found on several adult websites. The risk to users is

Mac Geekery

Auto-adding Files to a Repository: Since I use Mercurial and it doesn’t have Xcode integration, I find that I’ll have added classes or whatnot and they will not have been added to the repository and I’ll forget about them come checkin time. That’s bad.So I

Adding Keyboard Shortcuts for Folders: No description.

First Look: MacBook Pro (Late 2008): The new MacBook Pros are a substantial change from the previous generation of MacBook Pros, but it’s hard to call them an upgrade, in my opinion. I’ve been using Macs for a couple of decades now and when I think

Cleaning Out the Queue: Can i install my Leopard OS onto my PC?Yes. The current solution is to use a piece of software called simply “PC-EFI” that emulates a Mac firmware environment. There’s some instructions out there already for how to get this done.Hello,

Apple Removes iPhone SDK NDA: Well, it’s about damned time.I’ve been wanting to write up some iPhone dev pieces for a while but pushed the idea aside because of the SDK NDA issue. Well, Apple’s finally come to their senses and removed the NDA so

Connect an iGo Power Supply to a MagSafe Connector: BackgroundThe introduction of the MagSafe connector for MacBooks and MacBook Pros was NOT good news for users of iGo or Kensington airline/car/boat power supplies. Neither manufacturer has yet come out with a MagSafe tip, for reasons probably related to Apple’s

Dealing with Overlapped Extents: Ever get that lovely “overlapped extent allocation” or “missing extent” error when checking your drive in Disk Utility? Notice how it never gets repaired when you repair the disk? There’s a reason: it’s technically irreparable.The extents that the error is

Disabling Data Detectors in Mail: No description.

Oh, hi there.: Would you believe I forgot my password? Yeah, didn’t think so.MacGeekery isn’t dead, it’s just, sadly, not a priority of mine at the moment. The day job is taking up increasingly more of my time and my wife and I

Use CUPS Classes to Elegantly Handle Different Locations: CUPS is the name of the service that handles printing in Mac OS X 10.3 to 10.5. It has a lot of features that aren’t really pushed in the GUI in Mac OS X, but users are able to get

Changing Airport Settings En Masse: I needed to change many iBooks from having a Preferred Network (and wanting to keep looking for that network) to automatically joining any open network and not giving a preference to that certain network.I found that the two preference files

Breaking the Glass in the Dock: If you move the Leopard dock to the side of the screen you get a dock with a gray background rather than the glassy surface. If you want that dock on the bottom of the screen as well, simply run

Getting Rid of the Translucent Menu Bar: There are a plethora of hacks to change the translucent menu bar in 10.5. While I doubt the sanity of the UI designers at Apple with this release of the operating system, it is relatively easy to change this behavior

For the Tooltip Guy: I went to the GUI feedback session at WWDC last year and in the midst of all the yelling and screaming over the new dock and menu bar there was one guy with a wholly different mission: be able to

DTrace Scripts has Launched: I was at WWDC this last year and went to a lot of sessions that were interesting, but didn’t really grab me and tell me that I absolutely had to learn the technology and use it. It was all interesting,

Auto-adding Files to a Repository: Since I use Mercurial and it doesn’t have Xcode integration, I find that I’ll have added classes or whatnot and they will not have been added to the repository and I’ll forget about them come checkin time. That’s bad.So I

Adding Keyboard Shortcuts for Folders

First Look: MacBook Pro (Late 2008): The new MacBook Pros are a substantial change from the previous generation of MacBook Pros, but it’s hard to call them an upgrade, in my opinion. I’ve been using Macs for a couple of decades now and when I think

Cleaning Out the Queue: Can i install my Leopard OS onto my PC?Yes. The current solution is to use a piece of software called simply “PC-EFI” that emulates a Mac firmware environment. There’s some instructions out there already for how to get this done.Hello,

Apple Removes iPhone SDK NDA: Well, it’s about damned time.I’ve been wanting to write up some iPhone dev pieces for a while but pushed the idea aside because of the SDK NDA issue. Well, Apple’s finally come to their senses and removed the NDA so

Daring Fireball

★ Google Mobile Uses Private iPhone APIs: Google’s just-released and much-publicized update to their Google Mobile iPhone app features some very clever interaction design for the voice search feature. There is an on-screen button you can tap to initiate a voice search manually, but, as illustrated in

Frenzic for iPhone: I’ve played a bunch of iPhone games that, while fun on the computer, just don’t translate well to the iPhone. Games that are best suited to control using a keyboard, joystick, or mouse often just aren’t fun when using the

A Two-Year-Old Smoking: Some of these photographs in Google’s new Life archive make me insatiably curious about the articles that accompanied them in the magazine. Like, say, this series from 1959 featuring a two-year-old cigarette smoker. ★

Chuck Klosterman Reviews ‘Chinese Democracy’: Chuck Klosterman: Reviewing Chinese Democracy is not like reviewing music. It’s more like reviewing a unicorn. Should I primarily be blown away that it exists at all? Am I supposed to compare it to conventional horses? To a rhinoceros? Does

The Penguin Blog: Designing Classics: Exquisite book cover designs by Coralie Bickford-Smith for Penguin’s new range of hardback classics. See more images in Penguin’s Flickr account. (And how cool is it that Penguin has a Flickr account?) (Via The Book Design Review.) ★

NumberKey: $2 app turns your iPhone or iPod Touch into a numeric keypad for your MacBook. I have no need for this personally, but I can’t help but link to it given that one of the themes matches the Apple IIgs

Jason Fried: ‘Why the Drudge Report Is One of the Best Designed Sites on the Web’: Jason Fried: To clarify, my definition of design goes beyond aesthetic qualities and into areas of maintenance, cost, profitability, speed, and purpose. However, I still think that the Drudge Report is an aesthetic masterpiece even though I also consider it

PC Magazine Ceases Print: I have a feeling that print publications turning into online-only publications is going to be a recurring theme during this recession. ★

PC Magazine Goes Out of Print: I have a feeling that print publications turning into online-only publications is going to be a recurring theme during this recession. ★

‘The Definition of a Slow News Day’: Mena Trott skewers Valleywag’s Owen Thomas. The perfect response to a jackass post. ★

Jesper: ‘Translation From P… Uh, Swedish to English of Selected Portions of Swedish MacWorl(...): Definitely suggests that it’s Telia that will be providing the app, but no word as to how they plan to distribute it. The only way would be through the App Store, and the App Store requires Apple’s blessing. Are there

VoodooPad 4.0: New from Flying Meat: VoodooPad 4.0. Lots of new stuff, but the big new feature is syncing via WebDAV (including to MobileMe). ★

Swedish MacWorld Reports MMS Coming Soon to iPhone: Google translation of Mikael Markander’s report in the Swedish MacWorld: One of the most common complaints of iPhone is that you have to hack it to send and receive multimedia messages. But soon, those who dislike Apple’s mobile need to

Life Magazine Photo Archive Hosted by Google: Google: Search millions of photographs from the LIFE photo archive, stretching from the 1750s to today. Most were never published and are now available for the first time through the joint work of LIFE and Google.This is Google at its

Deconstructing Google Mobile’s Voice Search: Andy Baio is trying to reverse-engineer how the Google Mobile app’s voice search works. (That the audio files being sent from the iPhone to Google’s servers are only 100-300 bytes helps explain why it’s so much faster than I expected

Voice Search in Google Mobile App for iPhone: The update to the Google Mobile iPhone app with voice-driven search is now available, and while I think it’s more gimmicky than useful overall, it’s certainly interesting. If you don’t have an iPhone, at least watch the demo video —

Jerry Yang Steps Down as Yahoo CEO: Seemed inevitable given Yahoo’s recent stock-price plunge. ★

★ iPhone-Optimized Google Search Results: On the desktop version of Safari, when you use the built-in Google search field, you get pretty much the exact same results page as when you go to google.com and enter your query the old-fashioned way. The toolbar search field

Versions 1.0: €39 Subversion client from Pico and Sofa, featuring a slick UI that is intended to make version control usable for developers and non-developers alike. Has been in public beta since June. ★

‘Adventure’ for iPhone: The classic Atari 2600 game “Adventure”, as a free iPhone game by Peter Hirschberg. (Via Andy Baio.) ★

Cult of Mac

Why Does Anyone Think the Recession is Bad for Apple?: The big tech news of the last few days is that Hewlett-Packard’s 2008 earnings are better than analyst estimates — and this most recent quarter should be their strongest. It was a major bright spot

iBreviary: Prayers for iPhone, iPod Touch: Italian priest Father Paolo Padrini came up with the idea of a prayer app for iPhone and iPod Touch users. This virtual breviary, or book of hours, gives the morning prayer, evening prayer and night

Cool iPhone Icon Coaster Set for the Holidays: “Meninos is a creative team with experience from a wide range of clients, specialized in illustration, graphics and motion design,” according to the website copy. the iPhone icon coaster set pictured above is but one

AppStore - Apple’s Best Idea Yet?: The AppStore “is causing a sea change in both the mobile phone industry and the gaming industry that threatens the viability of all competitors,” according to technology stock analyst Jason Schwarz at Seeking Alpha.Calling the

Mac Pad Mock Up: On a day when HP beat Apple to the punch with the idea of a multi-touch notebook, Apple fan and Flickr user nthnschrdr’s design for a multi-touch Mac Pad is something worth dreaming about…Be sure

French Site Delivers Mac News in Sign Language: MacSign is a French website where you can get your Mac and Apple news delivered in sign language. The “newscasters” in the Welcome segment all wear long-sleeve black t-shirts for that authentic Apple feel, and

Incase PowerSlider Raises the Ante for iPhone Protection: Coming November 28 from my favoite iPhone case-maker, Incase, is the PowerSlider for iPhone3G, a combination hardshell case and power solution.For about $100, the PowerSlider promises to protect your iPhone investment in a cool-looking “soft-touch”

Opinion: The Astonishing Accomplishment Of Ocarina: (I know we’ve covered Ocarina here before, but I’m a latecomer to it and I’m so blown away, I had to have a rant about it. Forgive the indulgence.)It took me a few days to

Reports: Wal-Mart To Sell iPhone Starting Dec. 28: New reports suggest discount retail giant Wal-Mart will begin selling the iPhone Dec. 28, a move raising some eyebrows while also expanding Apple’s retail strategy, according to other experts.An AT&T memo obtained by the Boy

Consumer Reports App for iPhone, iPod Touch: A free app from magazine Consumer Reports available on iTunes may help harried shoppers decide in a hurry which model is worth it in the coming holiday season.Categories include: cars, electronics, home and garden, babies

MacBook: an X-Ray View: If you’ve ever wondered what your MacBook looks like through an X-ray, here it is, courtesy Jason. Looks pretty amazing. Via The After Mac

Snow Leopard To Appear In Early 2009: Snow Leopard, Apple’s code name for its upcoming Mac OS X 10.6, is slated for release early next year, according to Cupertino inside data accidently made public last week.In a slide presentation before the Large

Johnny Cupcakes iPhone Case: The quirky brand born from a Toyota Camry trunk in 1989 (known for T-shirts and, no, they don’t make cupcakes) has just added its crossbone-cupcake logo to these cases for the iPhone and iPhone 3g.

Court Rejects Psystar Countersuit Against Apple: A California judge Tuesday preliminarily dismissed Psystar’s antitrust lawsuit against Apple. Judge William Alsup rejected the Mac clone-maker’s counterclaim, writing Apple’s computers and Mac OS X software “are not wholly lacking in competition.”Alsup gave Psystar

Apple To Unveil Quad-Core iMac In January?: Apple reportedly is readying the January launch of new quad-core iMacs powered by upcoming Intel chips, reports said Wednesday. The upgrade would allow Apple to offer lower-cost iMacs while increasing the performance of current dual-core

Google Voice Search Works Better For American Accents: When you switch on Voice Search in Google’s Mobile App for iPhone, you see a little bit of warning text underneath which reads:“Voice Search only works in English, and works best for North American English

Orb Live: Get It While It Lasts: There’s been a lot of hoo-hah about Apple’s video DRM restrictions that make it impossible for some content you own to be displayed on some display screens you also own. OrbLive is an iPhone app

Where Has Apple Users’ DIY Creativity Gone?: For at least two weeks running now, the most popular free app on the iTunes AppStore is Stylem Media’s Backgrounds app.Offering thousands of wallpapers in expected categories such as Nature, Beaches, City, Cars, Stars, Sunsets,

Orb Live: Get It While It Lasts: There’s been a lot of hoo-hah about Apple’s video DRM restrictions that make it impossible for some content you own to be displayed on some display screens you also own. OrbLive is an iPhone app

Where Has Apple Users’ DIY Creativity Gone?: For at least two weeks running now, the most popular free app on the iTunes AppStore is Stylem Media’s Backgrounds app.Offering thousands of wallpapers in expected categories such as Nature, Beaches, City, Cars, Stars, Sunsets,

All credits go to the authors of these sites. Without their hard work Original Signal would not exist. Last updated on November 20th 2008 14:30 | Contact