Samsung gave hints on Friday that its Galaxy Tab slate could be launched within two weeks. The company confirmed in a public statement only that the seven-inch Android tablet should ship before the end of the summer, but it has also sent out an invite for a special event on August 11 that could include the Galaxy Tab. The notice to CrunchGear and other members of the press didn't give clues of its own, but it emphasized that there would be "new products and announcements" and not just existing products....

Android - Samsung Group - GalaxyTab -...

#knockoff

What did Picasso say again? Oh right. Good artists copy, great artists steal. By that logic, QingTing must be the greatest artist ever. [QingTing via giz-china]...

Bryce 7 is launched as standard, Pro and PLE editions. Bryce 7 PLE is free and gives you all the features of the standard version for non-commercial work.

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British Airways has launched an updated version of its iPhone app that lets Executive Club members check-in with a boarding pass displayed on their smartphone screen.

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Filed under: iPhoneThere are plenty of iPhone apps that shoot panorama photos. You take a picture. Move to the left or right, and after you have 3 or 4 images the panorama software stitches the images together.

Now, Occipital is offering 360 Panorama, a different approach to getting wide, or even 360 degree images. The app is dead simple. Click on a button to start the process, then slowly turn left or right. You appear to be taking one continuous image, and as you move you can see the image filling in on a grid. You don't do any stitching, the software does it in nearly real time. You can go wide, or even shoot vertical images. Or you can do both, panning up and down, and moving left or right. The image will fill in. It's pretty cool to watch. When you...

Filed under: iPadAt the Royal School of Artillery in Wiltshire, UK, troops have been learning how to manage a fire mission (firing artillery at the enemy from several miles away) with the help of iPads. Early reports indicate that the technique has accelerated their learning.

BBC Radio's Newsbeat had an exclusive look at new training being given to these soldiers. One trainee described the app as a nice alternative to classwork. "This has been designed to let us practice," said Lance Bombardier Jason Markham, "that when we get out there into theatre we're a lot slicker. It makes it more fun instead of being sat in a classroom looking at a presentation being given information."

Training officer Major Rich Gill, who assisted with the app's deployment, sees additional benefits, calling it a way to reduce training time and...

A tool for attacking devices running Google's Android operating system was released by security researchers today at the Defcon hackers conference in Las Vegas.

360Works has introduced ScriptMaster 4, an update to the FileMaker plug-in. The utility is designed to handle web services and file manipulation, while providing modules for URL or network utilities and event/script triggering. The latest version of ScriptMaster now provides 81 different functions, in addition to major speed and stability improvements, enhanced documentation, and multiple bug fixes. It also adds the ability to load and share modules on the network, or send push notifications to iOS devices....

FileMaker - Web service - Uniform...

#apps

In this week's multitouch empire-expanding app round-up: images, kaleidoscope'd on the iPad; news, given the Pulse treatment on Android; iPhone cameras, Photo Booth'd; alarm clocks, beautified; Scrabble, made hexagonal; and helicopters, steered into battle on the iPhone, and much more! More »

Filed under: iPadWe've mentioned GTD app Nozbe a few times before, but not since the release of their iPad app. If you're looking for a complete, easy-to-use task management app for your iPad and haven't checked it out, here's your kick in the pants to take a look.
Nozbe was originally a web-based application (still is), and creator Michael Sliwinski (also editor of Productive! magazine) has continued to develop amazing features into the web version. One of the more recent developments was Evernote integration, where you could tag projects in Nozbe with tags used on notes in Evernote, and have your Evernote notes show up when viewing projects in Nozbe. The latest...

US iPad users don't have the worst deal for 3G data pricing—in France it's especially egregious. Still, AT&T's certainly isn't the greatest compared to other areas of the world.

Read More:
Tableau Software

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Apple's got a new product, again, but this time it's not a computer, digital music device, or tablet, it's... a battery charger.

Filed under: iPad
I guess when you're the big guy in town, everybody paints a target on your back. First, Apple and AT&T were sued for the data plan change on the iPad, and now another class action lawsuit about the iPad is underway in California, claiming that the tablet overheats way too quickly when held or placed in warm sunlight. The lawsuit alleges that the iPad "does not live up to the reasonable consumer's expectations created by Apple," and that it "turns off, sometimes after just a few minutes of use," when used in bright sunlight.

The suit, filed in Oakland, seeks...

If you haven’t yet entered our V-Moda Crossfade LP Giveaway, today and tomorrow are your last chances to do so. In our Giveaway of the Month for July, iLounge and V-Moda are giving away five Crossfade LP Headphones. In addition, V-Moda is offering the first 100 people who use…

The School of Medicine at Stanford University has adopted Apple's iPad, providing the device to all incoming first year medical students and Master of Medicine students.

The BBC reports that soldiers at the Royal School of Artillery in Wiltshire, England are using an iPad application to practice firing artillery at an enemy who is several miles away.

“If we can use this sort of technology, we can probably shorten the amount of training and that is pretty key nowadays when people are so committed to operations in Afghanistan,” said Major Rich Gill, an army training officer involved with introducing the application.

“...if we can use this to reduce the amount of training it’ll be fantastic.”
The BBC reports:

“Major Gill insists the move is good value for money as it saves on other costs like printing reference guides and manuals.”

Apple has filed a lawsuit against a number of companies accused of producing unauthorized accessories for iPods and iPads. The company claims the knockoff products are violating its trademarks and infringing on a number of patents....

IPod - Apple - IPad - Shopping - Digital Portable Players

Mobile app developer Jackeey Wu defended himself against claims of producing Android spyware apps today while also underscoring some of the risks of Google's mobile OS. He noted that some of the permissions his Wallpapers allegedly requested, such as for the web browser history and SMS message records, aren't in the actual app. As requesting private information automatically flags the app in Android Market before the install, it's virtually impossible to collect such information in secret, Wu said....

Android Market - Google - SMS -...

You can now remove any unwanted applications from your view in iTunes Connect using App Delete. There are important factors to consider when using App Delete --; for example, if you want to re-use your SKU or App Name --so be sure to read the App Delete section of the iTunes Connect Developer Guide for more information.

Filed under: iPhoneHere's a great resource for any iPhone user who frequently travels. The Pay As You Go SIM with Data Wiki provides an ever-growing list of disposable SIMs that will work with the iPhone all over the world.

The project's goal is to collect a list of iPhone (and Android) compatible pay-as-you-go (PAYG) SIMs from around the world. Since the card is pre-paid, they're useful for someone who will be traveling for a brief time. To make the list, a card must be capable of handling data as well as voice.

For example, in France you can get an Orange card called "Mobicarte," which provides 30 days of unlimited data for 12 euros, or a subscription from LFR called "La carte"...

#ipadaccessories

Sure, you could try affixing some magnets to the back of your iPad, and get the same iPad-as-fridge-magnet effect for far less, but then what'd happen if the iPad dropped and shattered? You wouldn't have anyone to sue but yourself. More »

Filed under: Safari

With the addition of the Safari Extensions Gallery to Apple's website over the last few days, TUAW will be highlighting extensions that we think are special, useful, or just plain fun.

I'm a baseball fan, but other than my beloved Colorado Rockies and the rest of the NL West, I don't follow a lot of other teams. While it would be nice to have a browser window open to MLB.com all the time, my screen is just too cluttered with work for me to be able to keep an eye on what's going on in Major League Baseball and get work done. So what's a Mac-lovin' baseball fan to do?

One of the first Safari Extensions I downloaded was the MLB.com Toolbar. Written by the staff at MLB Advanced Media, it adds a tiny...

PCalc 2.2 adds several new features and improves upon older ones, but the highlight is clearly a new "low-light" theme.

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FutureTap has updated its points-of-interest app, Where To?, to embrace the features of iOS 4 and the iPhone 4.

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The Omni Group on Friday released OmniFocus for iPad, a version of its task management software specifically coded for Apple's tablet.

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A social engineering contest run at Defcon has caught the attention of the FBI and the FS-ISAC.

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The new Mac Pro will go on sale Monday, August 9th, according to Apple.

The updated machine features up to twelve cores and was announced Tuesday.

The new Mac Pro with a stock configuration will retail for $2,499.

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion plans to enter the touchscreen tablet market and compete with Apple's iPad this November, when it will release the "Blackpad."

Filed under: Apple

Calling fellow Londoners! The London Evening Standard is reporting that Apple is finally set to open the Covent Garden store on August 7th. The store will be housed in a building that was built in 1877 and feature a glass roof over a courtyard that was originally for delivery by horses. The new location is comprised of four floors, the top two for offices and exhibitions and the bottom two comprising the store itself.

Apple's store on Regent Street is currently the most profitable store in London based on sales per square foot, and if you've ever stepped foot in it, it shows. The Regent Street store is packed from open to close. Sometimes it's so busy, it takes you half an hour just to check...

ForkLift 2.0 Beta 3ForkLift is a powerful file manager and ferociously fast FTP client clothed in a clean and versatile UI that offers the combination of absolute simplicity and raw power expected from a well-executed Mac software.

ForkLift will connect to any remote server FTP, SFTP, Amazon S3, WebDAV, the SMB, NIS and AFP shares on your local network, or your Bluetooth mobile phone- pretty much anything you can plug into or hook up to a Mac. ForkLift also carries a complete toolbox for managing your files, including Folder Synchronization, Batch Renaming, Archive handling, Application deleter, editing files over remote connections and many more. All these power features are packaged into a Finder-like, dual-pane interface that delivers superior workflow while remaining absolutely familiar to use, along with QuickLook, Spotlight search and all.

Key features:

• Dual-pane view...

Apple is set to open its fifth retail store in London, with a new establishment located in the city's busy Covent Garden district. Customers can begin flooding the store beginning Saturday, August 7 for the grand opening....

London - CoventGarden - AppleStore - retail - Apple

Spotify was quick to respond today to rumors that it had completely restarted negotiations to bring its music streaming to the US. A representative claimed that talk of serious problems was "without substance." Without providing details, the spokesman told the Telegraph Spotify was "in fact in a very good place" and was still on track to launch an American service by the end of the year....

Spotify - United States - Music - Radio -...

Filed under: iPhoneWe featured HexaLex as our daily app a little while back. It's an excellent Scrabble alternative, and it mixes up the tried and true formula just enough that, if you and your friends are looking for something different to play, it's worth checking out. And we're here to make that easy for you. TUAW's got 10 promo codes to give away to 10 lucky readers, so you can download a copy of HexaLex for free!

To enter the giveaway, leave us a comment telling us the highest word score you've ever earned in a word game (or make one up if you've never played before). Here are the official rules:

• Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.
• To enter, leave a comment...

Woodford Design has debuted its new FridgePad accessory for the Apple iPad. FridgePad is a magnetized holder for the iPad, allowing the user to mount the tablet on a refrigerator or other flat, convenient, magnet-friendly surface. Initial renderings on Woodford’s website show the iPad un-encased and held by four…

New York City's soon-to-start extension of cellular and Wi-Fi access into subway tunnels will sometimes provide a connection through the entire tunnel, contractors said on Friday. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's plan to give access to stations will by its nature propagate the signal through the tunnels. In Manhattan and other areas with both frequent stops and wide tunnels, the signals would have enough room that they could make an almost end-to-end link....

New York City - Metropolitan Transportation Authority - ...

The most recent announcements from Apple have been rather lacking in news and information about the next version of OS X. It seems, however, that the focus may soon start shifting toward OS 10.7.

The Federal Communications Commission has finally approved the first 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) phone for sale in the US. Though the first LTE handset will be available through MetroPCS, the FCC has now opened the door for other LTE devices, including those for Verizon's in-testing LTE network.

The Samsung SCH-r900 will be the first LTE phone to market in the US, which MetroPCS hopes to launch "this summer" according to InformationWeek. We're still mostly in the dark as to where MetroPCS plans to build out its LTE network (the company said earlier this year that it was targeting a number of metro markets, but only named Las Vegas), but regardless...

Filed under: App Review, iPadMedici [$5.99] is the latest in a growing, impressive line of heavy-ish board games to make the jump from the table to the iPad, and it's amazing to see this game - so carefully crafted and respected by the designer board game community - on a touch screen with an animated background. With Medici being a game of perfect information in real life, it works amazingly well as an iPad app, and if you've ever wanted to practice your Medici bidding skills for your next board game night, this digital version provides a lot of AI opponents of varying ability to challenge. The app isn't perfect (more on this later), but it does a fine job of bringing a 15-year-old board game to life for a new generation of...

TLA Systems has announced the simultaneous release of new versions of their veteran scientific calculator PCalc (http://www.pcalc.com/) for both iOS and Mac OS X.
This release adds y improvements to the unit conversions, including dozens of new units and the ability to sort them. It also has a volume control for the key clicks, and various power user options and improvements on iOS 4.0.

Apple has officially announced the grand opening of its new retail store in the Covent Garden district of London, with the store set to open to the public on Saturday, August 7th at 10:00 AM. The store appears to be Apple's largest by total ...

Blizzard this week launched StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, the long-in-development sequel to its popular 1998 real-time strategy game. The new title follows Jim Raynor, who has become a rebel leader trying to bring down the Dominion for crimes of genocide. While the original StarCraft had Terran, Protoss and Zerg campaigns, the sequel revolves mostly around the Terrans in a 29-mission single-player mode. A few side missions give players a taste for Protoss units....

Jim Raynor - StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty - Species of...

WhatRoute 1.9.0WhatRoute is designed to find the names of all the routers an IP packet passes through on its way from your Macintosh to a destination host. It also measures the round-trip time from your Mac to the router, thus enabling you to determine slow links--or hops--in the Internet. WhatRoute can also find dead links, such as routers that don't respond.WHAT'S NEWVersion 1.9.0:

• Universal Binary - MacOS X 10.4.0 or later is required
• Visualise route maps with Google Earth
• Register your own IP address and location at the geolocation service www.hostip.info
• Removed Open Transport interfaces and use unix native services
• Removed code for Classic MacOS and M68K
• Removed the WASTE text engine and replaced with
• TextServices
• Remove the Telnet server
• Moved location databases from Library/Preferences to Library/Caches
• New dynamic memory...

Apple settled a patent infringement lawsuit several days ago with Minerva Industries over claims the Mac and iPhone maker was using unlicensed technology in its iPhone products.

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The Pragmatic Studio (http://pragmaticstudio.com/) is offering their "iPhone/iPad Programming" course in Santa Clara, California, on Aug. 17-20, and in Chicago, Illinois, on Oct. 25-28.
In this four-day, hands-on training course you'll learn how to create iPhone/iPad apps with guided instruction from two renowned developers and authors: Matt Drance and Daniel Steinberg. You can reserve your seat soon and save US$300 on early registration.

Omni Group has launched OmniFocus for iPad via the App Store. The title is a task manager, with distinguishing features such as map and contextual views, location-aware task lists and support for image attachments and voice memos. The iPad app is separate from the iPhone version, but syncs data between the two, and also to the OmniFocus Mac client....

Omni Group - iPhone - appstore - OmniFocus -...

Barence writes "Microsoft's Steve Ballmer has vented his frustration at the success of the iPad and said developing a Windows alternative is 'job one urgency.' 'Apple has done an interesting job of putting together a synthesis and putting a product out, and in which they've... they sold certainly more than I'd like them to sell, let me just be clear about that,' Ballmer told analysts. The Microsoft boss said the company plans to deliver a range of tablet formats in the next year, some based on Intel's next-gen Oak Trail processor. 'It is job one urgency around here. Nobody is sleeping at the switch. And so we are working with those partners, not just to deliver something, but to deliver products that people really want to go buy.'" In Microsoft's vision, slates will run a derivative of Windows 7....

The popularity of Apple's iPad has prompted media giant News Corp. to consider starting a news organization that would provide content specifically for a new subscription service for tablet devices.

TMO’s Mac Geek Gab Squad Support forum is a great place to go for help with your tech-related Mac, iPhone and iPad problems, including issues like sorting out the difference between hardware and software-related Mac stability headaches.

...

Another day, another lawsuit. Apple has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by patent-holding company Minerva Industries that accused the iPhone maker of infringing its patent for mobile media technology, reports "Law 360" (http://macosg.me/2/mh).

TechCrunch reports on an overlooked detail from Apple's response to federal legislators earlier this month regarding privacy concerns, noting that the company disclosed that it moved its location services...

iPhoto stores the photo files in bundles. This makes it difficult and time-consuming to access your saved photos manually in Finder, and makes it impossible to open your iPhotos via an Open dialog. It's also impossible to use Time Machine for individual iPhoto pictures (unless you choose File » Browse Backups from iPhoto). You can very easily give all programs easy access to your iPhotos, using aliases.
In the Finder, go to ~/Pictures/iPhoto Library. This is the one whose icon is a stack of photos, the one on top being the standard orange palm tree. Yours may be named something other than the default name iPhoto Library.

Right-click (Ctrl-click) on this file and choose Show Package Contents. You get a new window with a bunch of files and folders. You're just interested in two: Modified and Originals (as you can guess, Originals contains your original, unedited photos; and Modified contains your edited photos).

Open a Finder window...

Filed under: iPhone, iPad
Good news, everyone! The long-awaited Parrot AR.Drone (as seen being crashed into one of Parrot's PR reps by yours truly) is finally available for pre-order over at Brookstone. And as promised back at E3, the iPhone-controlled quadricopter will be available for US $299.

It's available in a couple of different color schemes, comes with a free "flight bag" (if you're within the first 300 orders), and requires a shipping fee of $10. Unfortunately, there's no shipping outside of the United States, and of course, the iPhone or iPod...

Apple launched the iPhone 4 in several more countries on Friday, although many customers in New Zealand were left wondering if they had been left off the list. Shoppers lined up outside Vodafone stores were initially told the new version of Apple’s combination iPod and smartphone wasn’t available and there wasn’t any word on when units would arrive.

...

iPhone 4 purchasers in Canada are facing long lines and potential sellouts on launch day. iLounge’s Canadian editor Jesse David Hollington was in line at the Apple Store Fairview in Toronto from early in the morning until opening, and indicated that the persons he was waiting with were Apple Store…

Last week, Apple COO Tim Cook announced that 50 percent of Fortune 100 companies are now using the iPad. But how exactly how are people putting it to work? Joel Mathis asked small businesses and entrepreneurs.

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Samsung unveiled two new products for its fall camera and camcorder lineup: a Wi-Fi-enabled point-and-shoot camera, and a new HD pocket camcorder that boasts a swiveling lens.

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Apple will open a new retail store in London on Aug. 7. It will be Apple's 28th retail store opening in the UK.
Apple Store Covent Garden (http://www.apple.com/uk/retail/coventgarden) is located at No. 1-7 The Piazza, London, WC2E 8HA. The grand opening will start at 10 am
Regular store hours will be Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6 pm.
Apple Store Haywood Mall will be the company's 296th retail store. Apple plans to open another 187 or so during this fiscal year, with about half of those outside the U.S.

Apple - IPhone - IPad - Shopping - Operating Systems

Jon Peddie Research (http://www.jonpeddie.com) -- a research and consulting firm for graphics and multimedia, computer graphics -- has announced its estimated graphics chip shipments and supplier’s market share for the second quarter of 2010 (Q2’10).
Overall graphics chip shipments were up 4% from Q1’10, while desktop discrete GPUs fell 21.4% reflecting the tremendous growth in notebooks. For the first half of the year, 2010 shipments are 38.6% above the same period last year.

Yazsoft (http://www.yazsoft.com) has released Speed Download 5.2.19, the latest version of its Mac OS X download manager that combines four products: a download manager with auto-resuming downloads, a secure FTP client, a file sharing utility with full encryption, and .Mac/iDisk/WEBDAV connectivity.
The upgrade is revved for tighter compatibility with Safari 5. Speed Download requires Mac OS X 10.5.8 or higher. It costs US$25 for a single-user license. Speed Download is available in US English, French and Polish localizations.

KeynoteUser (http://www.keynoteuser.com) has released Elemental, a Keynote theme based on the four elements in nature. Keynote is the presentation component of Apple's US$79 iWorks bundle.
Elemental sports brightly colored, gradient backed themes (plus a fifth, alternate bonus color) in all the standard presentation sizes (including HD). It costs US$29.95.

The Omni Group announced the immediate availability of Omni Focus for iPad on Friday. The iPad version of the task management app includes an interface designed just for Apple’s multimedia tablet device and supports syncing with the Mac and iPhone versions of OmniFocus, too.

...

Amazon has released an update to its Kindle app for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad adding an in-app dictionary, book searching, and iOS 4 improvements. Kindle 2.2 now provides the ability to instantly lookup selected words in a 250,000-entry built-in dictionary as well as searching for words on Google…

Spotify has been all but pushed into restarting its US plans from scratch due to label negotiations, more than one tipster claimed today. The company has reportedly been frustrated with a lack of progress and has decided to approach the music labels as though new to see what they would accept. A 2010 launch is still hoped for, Billboard notes, but it's unclear how labels would be taking to the new proposals....

Spotify - United States - Record label - ...

Apple will be opening its Covent Garden store in London on Saturday, August 7 at 10AM. The Covent garden Apple Store will sport the usual amenities including a Genius Bar and One to One sessions, and marks Apple’s 28th retail store opening in the UK.

...

Apple is looking into reports that its iOS 4 does not run well on older devices such as the iPhone 3G and 3GS. To be sure, Apple has warned from the beginning that not all of the features -- in particular, the multitasking in iOS 4 -- could be supported on older devices. However, owners of those phones have found that upgrading resulted in problems more extreme than the lack of new features. Most of the complaints center on devices that slow down to the point where they are barely functional.

This MacNews Category Review is the third of our multi-part look at interdisciplinary apps for the Mac. Products covered include Graphing Calculator, GraphPad Prism, Gridgen, Gridirion XLR8, gridMathematica, Hipparchus, HyperRESEARCH, IDL, Igor Filter Design Lab, Image Processing Toolbox, Industrial Optimization, InforSense BioSense Guide, InStat Mac, Intel Math Kernel Library, IsingCocoa, iTeXMac, iThink, iUnitX, JANFEA, jBEAM, JMP, jPlot, KaleidaGraph, kSpectra Toolkit, LabAssistant, LandSerf, Luxus Software LX-Proscope, MacHREM, MacOSXLinPro, MacVector, Maple, Mapping Toolbox, Mathematica, mathStatica, MathTensor, MATLAB, Mechanical Systems, MeshViz, Metes and Bounds, MLAB, Moab Utility/Hosting Suite and Model Predictive Control Toolbox.

I'm one of the biggest Apple supporters around -- and have been even during its "beleaguered" years (when I actually did some freelance PR work for the local Apple education branch) -- but I certainly don't consider Apple my religion. Or a religion, at all.
I'm a Christian, and proud of it. On the other hand, I'm a fervent (well, usually) supporter of Apple products, but certainly don't worship them or the company that makes them. The same can be said of other Christians -- and Jews, Hindus, Muslims, etc. -- worldwide.

Speed Download 5.2.19Speed Download 5 combines four amazing products into one small and easy to use application:

• A turbo-charged download manager with auto-resuming downloads
• A fully featured secure FTP client
• A file sharing utility with full encryption
• And complete .Mac/iDisk/WEBDAV connectivity.

Speed Download 5 also introduces a stunning new user interface option that feels right at home in Mac OS X and is designed to help you be even more productive with fewer mouse clicks hence, completely redefining what you can do with your time online. Introducing SD Minimized mode; a serious upgrade to the Speed Download floater. Fully supports drag n drop, completely resizable, customizable, and a whole lot more. In minimized mode, SD is even more discrete on your Mac. Save screen space, but not power!

Key features:

• Turbo Charged Downloads...

Microsoft held its annual financial analysts meeting on Thursday and while it must have been difficult to admit, Apple is getting the better of them. Microsoft has been helping its partners with Tablet PCs for almost a decade and they still haven’t caught on. On the other hand, Apple’s iPad caused an incredible amount of [...]

Amazon has released an update to its Kindle app for the iPhone and iPad. Version 2.2 adds a variety of new features, such as instant word lookup that quickly finds definitions for highlighted words. The included dictionary provides over 250,000 entries and definitions, however users can also choose to look up content on Google or Wikipedia....

Amazon Kindle - Google - iPhone - IPad -...

Several readers have informed us and we have confirmed that Apple Store representatives are telling potential buyers of the company's new Mac Pro announced earlier this week that the updated models are set to become available for ordering on ...

#ipadapps

Sure, there's a FarmVille iPhone app, but iPad users haven't gotten a really good way of satisfying their virtual agriculture needs. Thankfully, there's now the free We Farm app from Ngmoco—a decent FarmVille alternative for your iPad....

Steve Ballmer demoing Windows-based HP slate at CES in January 2010
CNET reports on comments from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer today at the company's conference for financial analysts revealing that Apple's longtime rival is continuing ...

Filed under: iPhone, iPod touch
I was first introduced to the wonders of the mobile Wi-Fi hotspot at Macworld earlier this year -- our own Mike Rose was carrying one around, and it was like magic. A Wi-Fi connection for up to five people anywhere you go? Yes please. I don't think the charges make it necessarily feasible for someone on a budget (say, a humble blogger like yours truly) to carry around every day, but it's certainly handy to have around, especially if you're traveling.

And now Sprint is apparently looking to piggyback one of these devices on Apple's iPod touch. Macrumors reports on new filings to the FCC that show a device that's almost a case; it's designed to be attached to the back of Apple's handheld, providing local Wi-Fi service...

Apple is seeking a senior software engineer to help build “a revolutionary new feature in the very foundations of Mac OS X.”

“We have something truly revolutionary and really exciting in progress and it is going to require your most creative and focused efforts ever,” reads the job description.

“An ideal candidate will have a degree in Computer Science (or equivalent), five years of professional experience developing C / C++ / Objective-C libraries or frameworks for use on end user systems, experience with developing for Internet technologies and services, and a passion for doing ‘really hard’ things that have never been done before.”

Apple’s job description reads:

An exceptional candidate will also have up close and personal experience with the HTTP protocol as well as other protocols layered atop it, have participated in or lead the architecture of large web scale systems, have shipped multiple “platforms” for use by millions of users.

...

The iPhone 4 works just as well and just as bad as competing smartphones, at least in Norway, according to Oslo-based newspaper Verdens Gang, which tested the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS,  HTC Wildfire, and Nokia E71 on the outskirts of Norwegian carrier Telenor’s network. The newspaper’s conclusion is that all of the smartphones suffered the same possibility for signal attenuation, and pointed to AT&T’s network as the possible source of problems in the U.S.

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Microsoft's CEO told analysts that the company is aggressively pursuing slates, although he gave few details.

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These utilities allow some Windows apps and games to run on a Mac without Windows itself. Major updates bring support for more apps and games, as well as a core software update that includes more than 23,000 changes.

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Amuse has released a new scene store for My Living Desktop (http://www.mylivingdesktop.com) for Mac OS X, a video desktop and screen saver utility. The app replaces the standard still desktop with a video desktop that plays high-definition movies of the user's choice.
The My Living Desktop Scene Store showcases such categories as Fine Art, Art and Animation, Landmarks, Animals and Insects, and more. For a limited time, all orders over US$20 receive a 20% discount.

Apple is promising that Mac OS X 10.7 will contain a new feature the company calls “revolutionary” in a job posting on the Apple Web site. According to the posting, this unspecified feature, “has never been done before and will truly amaze everyone,” and the company used the word “revolutionary” to describe the feature three times.

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PC Magazine reviews the new 21.5-inch iMac and makes it the Editors’ Choice (4/5 stars) for mid-priced all-in-one desktops, citing its “classic” design, excellent display, powerful multimedia performance, and reasonable price. The review adds: “The $1,199 iMac is the system that can convert your friend/relative/significant other into one of the Mac faithful.”

SlashGear reviewer Vincent Nguyen judges the Magic Trackpad a “pretty tempting proposition” because it brings the “useful” Multi-Touch “gestures Apple’s mobile users have been enjoying to their desktop compatriots.” Adds Nguyen: “I wholeheartedly recommend the Magic Trackpad.”

Reviewer Jonathan Rougeot (computershopper.com) calls the new 21.5-inch iMac the “king of the all-in-one” category for its beautiful design, innovative peripherals, faster performance, and stellar display. He concludes: “With its more muscular interior and consistently stylish exterior, the iMac continues to be the cool, smart all-in-one that all the other models envy.”

Apple is aware of complaints from customers who have upgraded their iPhone 3G to iOS 4. Responding to a request for comment from The Wall Street Journal’s Digits column, an Apple spokesperson told the paper that the company knows about the complaints and is investigating the issue.

...

Bell this evening became the second Canadian carrier to detail its iPhone 4 pricing and confirmed many of the details leaked out a day earlier. The provider is matching Rogers' efforts and will have its own 6GB smartphone data plan for $30, again only available until September 30. Device pricing on a new contract or a full upgrade is similar, at $160 for a 16GB iPhone 4 and $270 for a 32GB model....

IPhone - Smartphone - Canada - Rogers -...

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told analysts and investors that working with hardware partners to develop a tablet that is competitive with the iPad has “job one urgency” Thursday. The comments came at Microsoft’s annual Financial Analysts Meeting as he briefed analysts on hand for the event on his company’s overall business.

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The latest update to Synium Software's Mac Family Tree brings an overhauled interface and a handful of new features.

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Just Mobile has expanded its line of accessories for Apple gadgets with a new stand designed for iPads. The UpStand is a desktop stand machined from aluminum, with rubber grips that help hold the iPad in landscape orientation....

Apple - IPad - Aluminium - IPhone - IMac

Apple Server Admin Tools 10.6.4About Server Admin Tools contains remote administration tools, documentation, and utilities that you can install on a computer other than your server.
WHAT'S NEWVersion 10.6.4:

• The Server Admin Tools update is recommended for remote administration of Snow Leopard Server. This update includes the latest releases of:

Recently released FCC documents reveal that Sprint is set to launch what appears to be a new case for the iPod touch that would enable 3G networking on the WiFi-only device. Manufactured by ZTE and called the "Peel," the case is essentially a MiFi-like mobile hotspot that snaps on to an iPod touch, giving it a network connection wherever you can get a Sprint 3G signal.

The Peel has its own 3.4Whr lithium ion battery, which is good for about 40hrs of standby time—there's no mention of how long it would last in active use, but our...

Developing a Windows-based alternative to the iPad is a "job one urgency" at Microsoft, company chief Steve Ballmer said today during the annual Financial Analysts Meeting. He admitted that Microsoft was uncomfortable with how well iPads were selling and was tuning both its software and hardware partnerships to provide a competitive option. Besides altering Windows 7, it's counting on Intel's Oak Trail Atom platform and plans to push hardware makers "as soon as they are ready."...

Microsoft - Steve Ballmer - IPad -...

An FCC filing brought to light Wednesday reveals a device Sprint hopes will penetrate some of the Apple iPod touch market.

The Peel, a ZTE-made 3G-to-WiFi hotspot device that functions as an iPod touch case, would give the iPod and adjacent machines a constant 3G connection without the need for MiFi.

The Peel has a separate battery and would likely be charged with a mini-USB port, according to MacNN.

ActiveTrak announced Thursday the release of GadgetTrak 3, a new version of the company’s tracking software that allows users to track multiple devices from one Web-based interface. Aimed at families and small businesses who want to be able to find their laptop, desktop, or netbook computing device if it’s stolen, GadgetTrak can remotely track the location of the tracked devices.

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Freshcode on Thursday announced a new promotion called “Experience Bodega” that will give users the opportunity to get a deal on Mac software. Bodega is a Mac software storefront application that provides users with a one-stop shop for many Mac apps. Bodega is free to download and use to browse for software in a variety [...]

Server Admin Tools 10.6.4 contain remote administration tools, documentation, and utilities that you can install on a Mac other than your server. This version requires Mac OS X v10.6.4 and is required to administer Mac OS X Server v10.6.4 remotely. The Server Admin Tools 10.6.4 are available as an automatic Software Update for Macs running Mac OS X v10.6.4 with version 10.6 or later of the Server Admin Tools already installed, and as a manual download from Apple Support Downloads.
Important: If you have moved any of the Server Admin Tools out of their original locations (inside /Applications/Server/), the update may continue to appear in Software Update even after you have installed it. Return the Server Admin Tools to their original location before using Software Update, or remove any duplicate copies of the Server Admin Tools.

Filed under: iPhone, iPadMany developers and users of Apple's iOS devices bemoan the "walled garden" of the App Store approval process, but it appears that the company's measures have prevented mass data theft from iPhones, and iPads.

At the Black Hat security conference being held in Las Vegas this week, mobile security firm Lookout announced that an app distributed in Google's Android Market had collected private information from millions of users, then forwarded it to servers in China. Worse than that, the...

The new low-end iMac -- one of several models released this week -- displays some significant performance boosts over its predecessor, tests show. The latest version switches from a 3.06GHz Core 2 Duo CPU to a Core i3 processor of the same clock speed. Graphics are now handled by a dedicated ATI Radeon HD 4670 chipset with 256MB of onboard memory, instead of NVIDIA's integrated GeForce 9400M; system RAM has been upgraded in speed from 1,066MHz to 1,333MHz....

IMac - NVIDIA - Intel Core 2 -...