Just as Apple appears to be readying its music streaming service and Google just announced its subscription music service, Pandora Radio has released a sturdy update to its iPhone app.
Users can now publish Now Playing activity to Facebook as it updates, similar to Spotify or Rdio, allowing friends to interact with the music you enjoy. Sharing individual tracks and stations to Facebook, Twitter, and email is built right in now as well.
Pandora 4....

In its ongoing litigation against Samsung, Apple has added five new patents to its claims, targeting both the company's new flagship Galaxy S4 smartphone, as well as the Google Now service for Android.  ...

Las Vegas! is a popular dice game that Ravensburger put together last year. It's not exactly the most complicated board game on the block (you roll dice, and then can place them into certain numbered slots that represent stakes in money-making casinos), but it's fun for families especially, and provides a nice relatively casual mix of luck and skill.

Perhaps because the game is so approachable, the German company Ravensburger has elected to bring an iOS version out to iPhone and iPad, and you can now pick it up on the App Store for $2.99. Just like the real world game, the iOS version is fun but simple -- you select your players (or you can play online via Game Center), you roll the dice, and then you try to lay them out in casinos wherever you think they'll earn you the most money. Play goes on like this for four rounds, at which point...

Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate Sony could drop one of those divisions in the near future, as the company's board will soon discuss spinning off its entertainment division in order to help its electronics arm better compete against Apple and Samsung.   ...

iLoveHandles, a company that makes unique iOS device accessories (Facet and Pinhead come to mind), today announced...

Autodesk ha announced Autodesk Smoke 2013 Extension 1 professional video editing software, which is due to ship May 29. The upgrade will feature enhancements to help improve functionality, add flexibility and increase speed.
The Smoke 2013 Extension 1 release will introduce support for Blackmagic video IO devices: DeckLink (PCIe video boards); UltraStudio (Thunderbolt boxes) and the Intensity product line. Other new features and improvements include:
Trim View and new dynamic trimming tools for faster editing
° Support for SonyRAW footage from Sony F5 and F55 cameras;
read more

I must admit, I missed this part of the Senate hearings yesterday, but I think Cook brought up some good points.
∞ Read this on The Loop

Audio accessory maker Ultimate Ears has announced a new wireless Bluetooth portable speaker, the UE Boom. Available in six colors, the mini-speaker is intended to be portable and offers 360-degree sound from all sides of the easy-grip device. The device features an acoustic skin to be water and stain resistant, a long and rechargeable battery life (up to 15 hours) and is easily paired with other UE Boom units....  ...

During its Google I/O keynote earlier this month, Google announced that it would be bringing conversational, Google-Now like voice search to the desktop. Using a UI similar to voice search and Google Now in its mobile apps, Google would soon allow Chrome users to search and drill down further into results using only their voice.
Today, Google appears to have finally started rolling out the feature for Chrome users on the stable and beta channels of Chrome....

Though they weren't grilled before a U.S. Senate subcommittee on Tuesday like Apple, Google and Yahoo rely on Irish subsidiaries to avoid taxes on billions of dollars in income, and they go one step further than Apple by utilizing offshore accounts.  ...

The Apple Store was briefly down as Apple updated the homepage with a special Father’s Day gift promotion and updated the page to a new squarer & cleaner look – more possible evidence of Jony Ive’s growing design influence …

//

The page leads with the iPad and iPad Mini, highlighting the free engraving option, as well as suggesting a range of alternative gift suggestions ranging from the $79.95 iGrill cooking thermometer to $399.95 GoPro HD Hero 3 Black. The homepage has a link to shipping deadlines for a range of products to reach buyers in time for Father’s Day on June 16th.
The redesign has replaced rounded corners with square ones, more of a...

Intel has tapped former Apple VP Mike Bell to head up the company's new Smart Devices Unit, according to AllThingsD. Bell last worked at Apple in 2007, and then Palm after that and has a long experience in mobile device development. Recently he has been co-leading Intel's mobile chip business. His new position as the head of Intel's new Smart Devices Unit signals a shift in strategy for the chipmaker.

As AllThingsD notes, Intel's competitors Qualcomm, Nvidia, MediaTek, Broadcom and other ARM-based manufactures have a strong foothold in the mobile device market -- a place Intel knows it needs to be to stay competitive in the future. While Intel did not explicitly state what the Smart Device Unit would produce, it did say "The group...

I've been wrestling with the right way to put this for weeks. There was something about Samsung that's been bugging me since the bizarro world GS4 media event, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Yesterday's news about the  Samsung Smart App Challenge 2013 helped crystallize it for me—Samsung has delusions of relevance.

Apple is reportedly planning an “increased presence of third-party social networks” in iOS 7, and more specifically, a deeper integration of photo and video sharing services Flickr and Vimeo. According to a 9to5Mac report, users will be able to sign into Flickr or Vimeo using iOS 7’s Settings application.…

Native Instruments (NI) announced the release of Abbey Road 50s Drummer, a collection of samples of two classic drum kits popular in the 1950s and recorded inside the famous Abbey Road studios. Built for NI's Kontakt engine, the samples also include templates that allow them to be used as MIDI instruments, with electronic drum kits, and with various software packages. This collection was sampled using a combination of current state-of-the-art equipment and vintage gear. All of the Abbey Road collections have been amazing, and the 50s Drummer collection joins 60s Drummer, 70s Drummer, 80s Drummer, Modern Drummer, and more. It's priced at US$99/€99 and is available now.

Google’s new music subscription service Google Play Music All Access doesn’t yet have its own iOS app, but an existing app may add support for the service in the near future. An update for gMusic, a $2 Google music player app, has been submitted to the App Store to…

This article lists the Fibre Channel storage hardware compatible with Xsan and OS X.

AT&T has reversed its stance blocking FaceTime video chats over cell signals and will begin supporting that, along with all pre-loaded video chat apps, over LTE without any service plan restrictions before the end of the year. Currently, AT&T allows FaceTime video chats on its data network only for subscribers on shared family data plans.
The Mac Observer Spin:
Better late than never, but AT&T should've had this policy in place from the beginning.

Google is still axing services, and this time it's Google Checkout that's on the execution block. The Internet search giant warned retailers they have until November to find a replacement for the feature, although some users can move to Google Wallet.
The Mac Observer Spin:
This time Google already has an alternative in place for the service it's killing, but considering the number of services the company has killed off over the past few months, that probably isn't instilling much confidence in users.

Apple's chain of retail stores continue to be the most profitable retail outlets in the world on a square-foot basis. According to Asymco, Apple hit yet another record in the March quarter for dollars-per-visitor, getting US$57.60 on average from the hordes of ravenous Apple fans that frequent Apple Stores.
The Mac Observer Spin:
Looking at these charts, it's hard to fit the Apple-hater narrative that the company is on some kind of downhill trajectory. Maybe we just need more time, and then surely it will come to pass?

TMO cofounder and copublisher Bryan Chaffin will be speaking Monday evening at the monthly meeting of the Silicon Valley Macintosh User Group. Bryan will be talking about Apple, the high noise-to-signal ratio in coverage of the company, and what we might expect at June's World Wide Developer Conference.

AT&T has made a statement suggesting the carrier will allow all mobile video chat apps over cellular on its network by the end of the year. In a statement made to The Verge, AT&T said that pre-loaded Apple, Samsung and BlackBerry’s video chat apps will be enabled by mid-June…

If you are unable to sign in or purchase content from the iTunes Store, you may see the following alert:
"iTunes could not connect to the iTunes Store. A secure network connection could not be established.
Make sure SSL 3.0 or TLS 1.0 is enabled in the Internet Options control panel, then try again."

Learn how to install Windows 7 drivers on your MacBook Air (11-inch, Late 2010) or MacBook Air (13-inch, Late 2010) computer.

Learn which versions of StorNext can be used in the same SAN with Xsan controllers, and which versions of Xsan can be used in the same SAN with StorNext controllers.

The team behind the social networking service App.net has a new app out called App.net Passport that gives users an easy all-in-one tool for managing their account on their iPhone. The app lets users create and edit accounts, find and follow other App.net users, and search for client apps. You can also use the app to sign up for a free-level App.net account. What it doesn't do is let you post to or read your App.net feed -- but that's on purpose, since App.net Passport is all about account management, not posting and reading. App.net Passport for iPhone is free and is available at Apple's iTunes-based App Store.

Rumors out of Taiwan claim Apple is currently testing 1.5-inch OLED displays from RITEK for its smartwatch device. That display will apparently be linked to RitFast sensors to make it touch-sensitive.
The Mac Observer Spin:
If the iWatch is just an accessory to the iPhone or iPad, it doesn't make sense for Apple to release the product. Apple's primary product line is all about stand-alone devices that also happen to interact really well with other Apple gear.

Apple's Knox Street store in Dallas, Texas, was targeted by a thief over the weekend that made off with about US$2,000 in iPhones. The suspect walked into the store in the evening, grabbed several display iPhones, and ran out before anyone caught him.
The Mac Observer Spin:
It seems the criminals are always on the hunt for iPhones, but never Samsung, HTC, or Motorola smartphones. How about that?

Warner Music Group and Universal Music are both excited about Apple's planned streaming service, but Sony Music is apparently hung up on how much it gets paid for songs that are skipped. Bryan Chaffin is mystified by this kind of myopia and thinks that Sony needs to pull its corporate head out of its corporate behind.

Apple and Google are engaged in a fight for our technological souls. With a temporary lull in activity from Apple, it looks as if Google is winning the war. But really? What will determine the winner in the long run not simply new product announcements. It's something else. John Martellaro takes the 30,000 ft view.

BlackBerry’s recently announced iOS app for its BBM messaging service is expected to launch this summer, but it apparently won’t be coming to iPad right away. According to a report, Vivek Bhardwaj, head of software portfolio at BlackBerry, said BBM will be coming to “iOS phones running iOS 6…

Apple’s continuing negotiations with record labels could prevent the company from debuting its streaming music service by its Worldwide Developers Conference next month, according to a new report. Sony still hasn’t agreed to royalty terms with Apple, and BMG Rights Management, the fourth-largest music publisher, is also said to…

The Fair Labor Association has released a report acknowledging that Foxconn and Apple are making progress on improving work conditions, but the companies are still exceeding working-hour laws. Apple and Foxconn have agreed to comply with Chinese working-hour law by July — under the law, workers may work 40…

CW announced its TV Now app will be coming to Apple TV. Much like the Xbox and mobile TV Now apps, the Apple TV app will offer full episodes of ad-supported CW shows the day after airing. No cable authentication will…

Apple CEO Tim Cook has spoken out on the company’s tax practices prior to his scheduled testimony at a Senate hearing next Tuesday. Under pressure over Apple keeping more than $100 Billion in money overseas, Cook told Politico that the company has acted legally. “I can tell you unequivocally Apple…

Following an announcement earlier this year, iLuv has released Aud 5 ($150), a Lightning speaker dock for iPhone 5. Aud 5 features both full-range speakers and a passive radiator for bass. An iPhone 5 can be charged while docked in the center of the speaker on a pivoting Lightning…

When defragmenting a file with snfsdefrag, an invisible "__defragtmp" file may be created which cannot be deleted.
This issue may occur when the following are true:

The defragmented file's name contains precomposed Unicode characters, such as letters with diacritical marks (an accent, grave, or umlaut).
snfsdefrag is run by root.
snfsdefrag is run when the current working directory is on an Xsan volume, or snfsdefrag's recursive option (-r) is used.

iLuv announced Thursday that it is shipping the Aud 5, the company's first Lightning speaker dock for iPhone 5. The device allows you to charge your iPhone 5 through a built-in Lightning dock, and you can play music through the dock, too. The Aud 5 also has a 3.5mm auxiliary input for playing music from other devices. It features four speakers and a passive radiator, and it's priced at U$149.

Apple has released iTunes 11.0.3, adding a new MiniPlayer, improved Songs view, and support for multi-disc albums. A greater emphasis has been put on allowing users to showcase album artwork in the redesigned MiniPlayer and Songs view, and the MiniPlayer now includes a built-in progress bar. In addition, users with…

Learn about the security content of iTunes 11.0.3.

Apple is on the move, or at least its San Francisco flagship store is. The company is moving the retail store from its current Market Street location about two blocks away to Union Square.
The Mac Observer Spin:
Apple's San Francisco flagship store is already nine years old and is so popular it feels cramped. The move to Union Square means more square footage and most likely a boost for traffic in surrounding stores, too. This looks like a win for everyone.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has apparently been scheduled to testify before the United States Senate next Tuesday in an investigation into corporations moving funds into offshore accounts to reduce their tax liability. Mr. Cook will be speaking before the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and while Apple has an estimated US$100 billion outside the United States, the hearing isn't being used to charge the company with any wrongdoing.
The Mac Observer Spin:
It's a safe bet that Apple made sure it isn't violating any tax laws before it started moving money outside of the United States, so the Senate subcommittee is most likely looking for information it can use to push for changes that make it easier for the government to take a cut of that cash.

Apple’s App Store today reached 50 billion downloads, as noted by the end of the official countdown. As the site says, “The grand prize winner will be announced soon. Stay tuned.” The person who downloaded the 50 billionth app will win…

Google announced several new features to the company's products and services at Google I/O 2013, its annual developer conference. In addition to music streaming All Access service, Google announced enhancements to Google+ for sharing photos, Maps features, and a FaceTime competitor being rolled into Google Hangouts.

Google announced on Wednesday that it would be offering customers a version of Samsung's new Galaxy S4 (GS4) that has been stripped of Samsung's layered-on-top interface and other added software. At Google I/O 2013, the company's annual developer conference, Google said that it was "Google's take on Android"*, and that it would sell the device for US$649 direct to consumers.

You can easily recover your iTunes Store account name if you have forgotten it.

Although the Federal Communications Commission has asked the Federal Aviation Administration to allow more in-flight device use, a new report suggests that pilot reports and scientific studies suspect that passenger electronics are interfering with aviation equipment. More than a decade of reports show “dozens” of cases where electronics were…

Square's new stand does more than simply hold your iPad: Thanks to its built-in credit card reader the Square Stand turns your iPad into a complete payment station without the look of a clunky cash register or bland card reader. It works with Square's Register app so that's customizable for what you sell, and it works with the Square cash drawer, receipt printer and barcode scanner to make a complete POS terminal that looks sleek on your shop counter. Square Stand is priced at US$299 and should be on store shelves in July, but you can pre-oder from the company now.

I've long been a fan of the concept of a Network-attached Storage (NAS) drive, that being a device which attaches to your network and provides both storage and network-centric services beyond just simple file sharing. I've tried nearly everything out there, and it wasn't until I used the Synology DiskStation units that I finally felt someone got it right. Yes, they're "network attached storage" units, but they also easily provide additional services like an iTunes server, the ability to stream audio/video to dedicated iOS apps (even across the Internet), their own private cloud called Cloud Station (i.e. your own Dropbox), and more. In fact, third parties have created (unsupported) packages you can install to let your DiskStation become a Minecraft Server, a CrashPlan client and server, and much, much more. It's too cool, and I highly recommend these to everyone looking to add functionality to their existing network.

Yesterday Synology added the DS1513+ to their line-up of...

Mac Geek Gab cohost Dave Hamilton joined the Mac Roundtable crew to talk about the the lull in Apple news, and what type of leadership the company needs.

Mac Geek Gab listener Stephen is trying to update an app on his Mac, but the app's installer won't work because the app, or its processes, are still running. We show him how to quit those pesky apps and kill their hidden processes so that he can safely update or remove the app from his system.

In response to a U.S. Justice Department court filing alleging that Apple engaged in a price-fixing scheme with book publishers, Apple claims that it acted legally, and negotiated different agreements with the publishing companies. A filing from Apple says that the publishers decided on their own to eliminate wholesale e-book…

Jeff Gamet, The Mac Observer's Managing Editor, joined the team at The Mac Show to talk about more about Adobe's licensing changes and Creative Cloud, as well as what may be in store for Apple's World Wide Developer Conference this year.

Apple released iMovie 9.0.9 for Mac on Tuesday. The update improves support for importing projects from iMovie for iOS. It also includes a bug fix and unspecified stability improvements.

Absolute Software has introduced Computrace Mobile Theft Management (MTM) an iOS loss management and theft recovery solution. Currently, the service is limited to iPad and iPad mini in K-12 education. Computrace MTM goes beyond the built-in iOS features to initiate rapid response service and start the investigation process to obtain evidence for police, all leading to physical recovery.

A Florida woman has launched a class action lawsuit against Apple, accusing the company of knowingly and willingly selling the iPhone 4 with a faulty power button. Debra Hilton filed the suit in the U.S. District Court of Northern California in San Jose, and she's seeking US$5 million on behalf of iPhone owners.
The Mac Observer Spin:
It's easy to be cynical about class actions launched at Apple, but there do seem to be a lot of people concerned about this issue.

It's crazy. The watch pocket in a pair of jeans is an anachronism dating back to 1902 when it first appeared. Although, famously, Steve Jobs did once pull an iPod nano out of the watch pocket of his jeans. (Here's the YouTube video where he does that at about 1m56s.)

Anyway, nothing much has changed with jeans in over a hundred years. And because many guys prefer to carry their smartphone in a jeans pocket, getting that smartphone out, quickly and easily, when needed can be a problem. I/O Denim, a Kickstarter project, has the solution, Their new jeans, 100 percent cotton from North Carolina, premium denim (hence the price), feature a special pocket on the left-hand side, in between the knee and the hip along the seam. The pocket is big enough to handle any of the iPhones with a slim case and also most Android devices. For now, men's cut only and limited sizes.

Problem solved. Very cool indeed.
...

In a quiet server-side update, Apple has given Siri the ability to respond to requests with quotes, notably to suggest that the user is being too long-winded. When asking the assistant a question — presumably one that Apple’s servers find too long or difficult to parse — Siri responds with…

BlackBerry will be extending its BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) to the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch this summer, finally bringing its popular messaging service to Apple's mobile platform. When BBM for iOS ships it will mark the first time BlackBerry will have offered its messaging service outside of its own devices.
The Mac Observer Spin:
This is a smart move for BlackBerry that should've happened long ago.

Apple rumours have become almost beyond parody, an industry in themselves with websites, twitterfeeds and columns inches dedicated to digging them up and dishing them out. Charlotte Henry thinks that may be behind some of Apple's rushed products, and Apple fans, media and bloggers are to blame.

Samsung announced on Monday that it has tested a technology the company is calling "5G" that can transmit data at up to 1Gbps, a speed that is up to ten times faster than today's LTE networks. The company said that it could weaponize commercialize the technology by 2020.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sent a letter today to Apple CEO Tim Cook — as well as the CEOs of Microsoft, Google, and Samsung — regarding the growing theft of electronic devices such as iPhones. Citing an increase in the theft of Apple products in New York City,…

Computers and devices (Wi-Fi clients) that are connected to a Guest network may be able to communicate with each other, but cannot connect to the Internet.
This can happen if the AirPort base station providing the Guest network is configured to use a DNS server on the local network.

When Adobe announced that it will be dropping its traditional perpetual license model for Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, and the rest of its professional creative apps in favor of the Creative Cloud software subscription model, the public response was less than enthusiastic. The reaction from at least some Adobe app users was so negative, in fact, that an online petition quickly popped up urging Adobe to keep the Creative Suite perpetual license model alive. But that petition may not matter.

Your iPhone or iPod touch makes for a handy camera, and both can take nice images. That doesn't, however, mean you won't need to make some quick adjustments on the go. You can turn to a long list of apps designed to help with that, including Apple's own iPhoto, but if you only need to make some minor adjustments, the Photos app has a nearly-hidden editor just waiting to help out.

The Mac Observer's Managing Editor Jeff Gamet joined The BIG Show from the British Tech Network to talk about Adobe's switch to Creative Cloud subscriptions for its professional design applications, along with Bill Gates bagging on the iPad.

Mac Geek Gab listener Josh noticed that his Mac's menu bar clock started freezing when the Mac was asleep. We explain that this is a known issue with early versions of the popular iStat Menus utility and show how to fix it with a simple update.

If you're like Michael, you probably have lots of apps running on your Mac at any given time. Using the Application Switcher is a great way to jump between open apps, but there's a lot more than meets the eye. There are four other keys that, when combined with Command and Tab, will help you deal with running multiple apps better than ever.

I don't have an interactive R2-D2 in my life. Welcome to my first world problems, but there is at least a first world solution: the Star Wars R2-D2 Interactive Astromech Droid. This is a roughly foot-tall robotic replica of R2-D2 that not only moves, it responds to (a limited range of) vocal commands. It will activate a light, alert you to movement, and play Princess Leia's recorded message. Oh, and it makes all those awesome R2-D2 noises that continue to delight us almost 40 years after Star Wars was released. This has been around for a while, but if you haven't seen it check it out (there are a lot of videos on YouTube). It's priced at $199, but Amazon is offering it for $175.85 to Prime members right now.

Apple has created a waiting list to decrypt iPhones seized by police, due to high demand. A new report notes a case in which the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) had to wait for Apple to assist in unlocking the device of a man accused of distributing…

Windows 8 “Metro” users shouldn’t get their hopes up regarding an iTunes app on their operating system, according to a new report. “You shouldn’t expect an iTunes app on Windows 8 any time soon,” said Tami Reller of Microsoft’s Windows division. “ITunes (sic) is in high demand. The welcome mat…

Apple has apparently signed up Universal Music for its rumored online music streaming service, and is close to wrapping up negotiations with Warner Music, but can't move forward because it hasn't been able to reach an agreement with Sony Music over royalty payments.

The developers of Hike, an instant message app, have launched a brilliant promotion, offering US$100,000 in additional prizes to the winner of Apple's 50 billionth app download contest if the winning app is Hike.

Apple released Thunderbolt Firmware Update v1.2, an update that, "provides stability fixes for Thunderbolt and Target Disk Mode." The update is for Macs equipped with Thunderbolt, Apple's next generation I/O interface.

Peapod Labs’ just-released Bugsy’s Math Quest ($3) stars the company’s long-time mascot, Bugsy the hamster, who walks through 2-D side-scrolling levels, facing animals and monsters every few seconds. To get past most opponents, you need to tap once or twice on the bottom-of-screen keypad to enter digits that solve…

Newer Technology has announced the NuGuard GripStand and GripBase for iPad mini ($35-$60), a smaller version of the GripStand and GripBase we reviewed for full-sized iPads. Fitting seamlessly with Apple’s Smart Cover, NuGuard’s GripStand mini lets users swivel the integrated circular stand 360 degrees to position at any…

AT&T has announced the launch of Aio Wireless, a new prepaid cellular brand. Aio Wireless offers a number of devices under no-contract plans, including the iPhone 5, iPhone 4S and iPhone 4. The iPhone 5 is being sold for $650. It is available with the Aio Smart plan,…

Working with Open Directory can be a great experience…until it isn’t.  When your database goes up in flames (or perhaps if), it can be frustrating and maddening.  Charles Edge has an article posted on what to do when your OD database decides to spontaneously corrupt itself.About Nate WalckNate is a Macintosh Systems Engineer at Tamman Technologies, Inc in Philadelphia, PA. He is runs afp548.com along with Sam Keeley and is one of the founding members of the ##osx-server IRC channel on freenode.net. He loves being involved in the Mac Admin community and using Open Source projects whenever possible, especially Munki, The Luggage and Puppet.Mail |...

If you use a device which can receive audio via AirPlay, or even just switch your Mac's audio output device, you can do that without any extra software. It's easy, and most anyone that's keeping OS X up to date can do it.

Apple-and-sundry news site The Loop is expanding beyond your Web browser into a digital magazine available through Apple's Newsstand for the iPhone and iPad. The Loop Magazine expands on what's available through the website with longer form articles and will include content that's unique just to the magazine. Jim Dalrymple, the man behind The Loop and life support system for The Beard, said The Loop Magazine will publish twice a month and cost US$1.99 a month. You can check it out for free for seven days, so head on over to Newsstand and download a copy.

Multiple reports have noted a surge in mobile traffic from devices using iOS 7 recently, as Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference is now about a month away. Notably, there’s been a reported rise in usage from iOS 7 iPhones and iPads in the Cupertino and San Francisco areas. Increased testing…

You may notice that sound from an LED Cinema Display (27-inch) connected to a Mac intermittently becomes inaudible. In some circumstances, you may need to unplug the display and reconnect it or restart the Mac before the sound becomes audible again.  

Apple wants to see Google's code for its Android operating system as part of its second patent infringment case against Samsung in the United States. Apple says the code ties directly to its infringement claims against Samsung, but Google thinks it's a move to get at proprietary information without targeting it directly in court.

During its patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung, Apple is attempting to force Google to turn over documents related to the Android operating system. In a court filing, Apple argued that Android is used in all of the allegedly infringing products from Samsung, and the operating system “provides much of the…

Google, along with several other companies, filed "friends of the court" brief on behalf of Samsung earlier this week and Apple is now saying Google's involvement isn't impartial. The brief was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals in response to Apple's efforts to get a ruling denying a permanent injunction blocking the sale of some Android-based Samsung mobile devices overturned.
The Mac Observer Spin:
This appeal started off as a move on Apple's part to impose a sales ban on some Samsung smartphones and tablets as part of its plan to stay in control of their patent fight. What it seems to have suddenly turned into is a feeble attempt on Google's part to keep Apple from hobbling Android without stepping into the courtroom.

When Adobe announced earlier this week that it is moving to a subscription-only model for the next major update to its application suite in June, it also showed off a couple intriguing projects code named Mighty and Napoleon. Mighty is a stylus for the iPhone and iPad, and Napoleon is a digital ruler, and together they offer what could be a new way for artists and designers to use their iOS devices.

T-Mobile's first fiscal quarter results are out and show the company's iPhone 5 sales hit 500,000 during the one month Apple's smartphone was available. The carrier began officially offering the iPhone on April 12, making it the last of the big cell service providers to get in on Apple's smartphone game.
The Mac Observer Spin:
T-Mobile is clearly still trailing AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint, but 500,000 new iPhones in just a month looks like a positive sign for the carrier.

A German court has invalidated eight clauses in Apple's user privacy agreement, highlighting the importance of privacy in that country. While Apple goes further than most tech ompanies to protect our data, the German ruling shows there is even more room for improvement.