It's the end of August, which means that Labor Day is drawing near, the kiddies are getting ready to head back to school (if they haven't already), and the Apple world is getting ready for a plethora of expected product refreshes. Read on in case you missed what has been going on this week.
Rumor: Apple Event for September 9th: Silicon Valley entrepreneur and sometimes Apple rumormonger Kevin Rose sets the date for an upcoming Apple Event for iPods. This comes just days after Rose first talked about revamped iPod nanos, iTunes 8, and iPod touch price drops. One thing we do know: Apple is apparently telling retailers not to order more inventory, lending further evidence to the anticipated product bumps.
The question remains as to whether there will be Mac-related announcements at this event on the 9th. However, even more recent buzz from the grapevine says that MacBook, MacBook Pro, and iMac updates are slated for later in the year and unlikely to appear alongside iPods.
Anyone want to buy Mac clone company Open Tech for $50k? Open Tech wasn't the first on the Mac clone scene this millennium, but it's certainly the one with the least amount of moxie. After only a month, the company is now up for sale for only $50,000, which will net you the company's name, press contacts, and those oh-so-valuable trade secrets on how to violate Mac OS X's EULA.
Disagreements lead to trouble in iPhone dev paradise: iPhone dev house Tapulous isn't even three months old, and already one of its founders has been asked to resign thanks to "irreconcilable differences" between the engineering/design teams and other partners. Things are looking a little bit shaky for some talented devs and their popular iPhone software.
Passcode exploit (and fix) found for locked iPhones: Think your iPhone is safe if it's locked? Think again. An exploit has made the rounds today, allowing anyone to gain access to your personal info on a locked iPhone very easily. Luckily, there's also an easy way to prevent it, although Apple should patch the hole ASAP.
.Mac's iCards are dead. Long live iCards! iCards may have disappeared with the .Mac brand, but that doesn't mean you can't send fancy greetings to friends, family, and coworkers anymore. Apple says that a feature built into Leopard may let the iCard spirit live on, although some of us at the Ars Orbiting HQ aren't buying it.
Orange owns up to download speed limit for all 3G devices: After iPhone users began comparing their 3G speeds on various networks, France's Orange was quickly found to be among the slowest carriers. Some further digging revealed that the carrier appeared to be capping speeds, which it later confessed to.
Apple's new iPhone ads highlight importance of App Store: The new ads feature third-party apps like Lonely Planet and Cro Mag Rally, a popular game. They also underline how important the iPhone and App Store are to Apple's bottom line.
Bloomberg: Steve Jobs is dead! Wait, no he's not. Remember that blood-curdling sound you thought you heard in the distance yesterday afternoon? Turns out you weren't crazy, as it was the howling of a million Apple fanboys upon reading a prematurely published obituary for Steve Jobs. The mishap naturally spooked investors and rejuvenated the discussion about Jobs' health. Fortunately for us (and Apple), the obituary has since been retracted.
Here are some other highlights from the week that you may have missed:
- Survey suggests networks to blame for some iPhone 3G issues
- Google offers Gears for Safari beta
- China restores access to iTunes Store, sans Tibet album
- "Misleading" Internet claims lead to ban of iPhone ad in UK
- Psystar finally answers to Apple's suit by suing right back
Have a great weekend, and enjoy your Labor Day! Don't forget to check Infinite Loop for your constant stream of Apple news.
Credit : http://arstechnica.com/ Thank A lot
