Journals week in review: Apple news from Infinite Loop

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

Apple iTablet Confirmed Expected In Early 2009

Following my exclusive story last week about a new Apple tablet that operates similar to the touch technology found in the new Apple iPhone (See story here) comes news that Apple has filed a 52 page application for a new multi touch MAC OSX based tablet PC that can be used for common PC applications or as a controller for home automation.

The80 page patent application lodged by Apple with the US patents office is not dissimilar to the device that my sources in Asia say Apple is very close to going into full production mode with. 

There is even speculation among Asian manufacturers that Apple could roll the new device out in the firest quarter of 2009 which coincides with MacWorld San Francisco.

See original story here:

Download Red Alert for free now

EA is promoting the impending release of Red Alert 3 by giving out the first Red Alert for free.

We aren't allowed to mirror the files (the Soviet disc and the Allied disc, rarred ISO-images) but rest assured that the official mirrors on the EA downloadpage are reasonably fast.

Also, be wary that the game might not work on Vista, although there are workarounds for some cases provided by the community (and not by EA...).

Today, August 31st, 2008 marks the 13th anniversary of the storied Command & Conquer franchise, which has sold over 25 million copies to date. And to celebrate this milestone and this October's highly anticipated return to the world of Red Alert with Red Alert 3, we are giving away one of the original games that started it all, Command & Conquer Red Alert, for FREE.

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING BEFORE DOWNLOADING:

-This software contains support for Windows XP/98/Me/95 with installation instructions. This software is not supported by Windows Vista, however there are community driven strategies and tips available for making the software function on Vista which you can find on our various fan-sites.

-To install the software, you will need Winzip or Winrar to unrar the files. These files have also been compiled in to an ISO image. You will need to burn the ISO to a CD for the software to function or use a Virtual CD program to run the installation on your computer.

-Please do not mirror the files on your site. Please only use the download links available here.

-Please have fun

If you haven't played this classic, you really should.

Very Thank you : http://www.fragland.net/

Sony to charge for PSN?

Sony launched a questionnaire in Asia where gamers were asked whether they would be willing to pay for Playstation Network. In return, subscribers would for instance get unlimited PSP and PSOne game downloads.

Seeing that Sony has always stated that PSN is exactly the same as Xbox Live, but for free, it would be a huge loss of credibility for the company.

On the other hand: if Sony would give subscribers access to all downloads while non-subscribers would have to pay "a la carte" (like with Xbox Live) I think it might in fact be a great idea.

From : http://www.fragland.net/

It’s a joke: In a Linux world without walls who needs Windows?

Microsoft are poised to launch a new $USD 300 million advertising campaign this week, starring comedian Jerry Seinfeld among others. The marketing types responsible are intending to counter Apple’s successful "I’m a Mac" line, but the slogan picked out is simply on the wrong foot from the start and is thwarted by Linux immediately.
This isn’t the first time Microsoft have enlisted the help of popular comedy stars. I3 years ago I received a promotional VHS video cassette spruiking the virtues of Windows ’95 starring Jennifer Anniston and Matthew Perry, aka Rachel and Chandler from “Friends.” Sadly, my friends and family still to this day have to put up with me repeating a segment of dialogue that occurred when the duo approach Bill Gates desktop computer.

“Click on My Computer,” says one.
“But your computer isn’t here.”
“No, Bills’ My Computer.”
“You call your computer Bill?”

The other 29 minutes and 57 seconds of the video have escaped my mind, but “Bills’ My Computer” has forever etched itself into the finite storage space of my mind, squeezing out such things as how to perform basic vehicle maintenance.

Fast forward to the present day and neither Friends nor VHS are with us. Come to think of it, neither is the Seinfeld show. However, the war between operating systems is definitely hotting up again.

In my schooldays we debated the virtues of the highly-inspired Commodore 64 over the rubber keys of the Sinclair Spectrum, the lack of software for the Microbee, the price of the Apple II and the wide range of other personal computers of the mid to late ‘80’s. The more business-oriented computer mags hinted at the existence of such things as CP/M and UNIX. Some kids even had IBM clones in their households but in the gaming environment of youth they were the unlucky ones; it was uncommon for these to come standard with sound cards or game controllers.

Time marched on and with the death of 8-bit computing, the fading away of CP/M and the obscurity of PC-based UNIX systems, the battlefield levelled to Microsoft Windows vs Apple Macintosh. The revolutionary Amiga was gone, and so too the Atari ST.

The Macintosh always had its legions of fans but suffered from a hefty pricetag and a lack of a clone market. By contrast Microsoft enjoyed massive success by selling licenses to every single PC manufacturer. It really was the popularity of IBM, and the desire of manufacturers to get a piece of their pie, that made Microsoft what it is today.

A decade ago Linux had made its debut but was considered firstly a hobbyist system, then later a system for experts. It hadn’t reached the heights of usability that distros like Ubuntu are becoming famed for.

Apple turned their fortunes around with the release of the iPod. This elegant, massively hyped mp3 player became a hot item for geeks and fashionistas alike. It raised the public consciousness of Apple. It introduced the Apple flare for design and usability and seeded many a thought that Apple computers were worth a try.

So, what about these ads then?

From : http://www.itwire.com/

Richard Learned: Autumn brings fond memories of apples galore

School is starting next Tuesday. The leaves are turning already. The end of the old year is signaled by the beginning of Autumn.

The trees begin to drop a leaf or two here and there. They look like leftovers that escaped the rake. The black-eyed Susans are turning to dark buttons on their stems They look like the licorice gumdrops. I loved a long time ago. But if many things are going we can take heart that the apples are coming.

Today I'm remembering apples. Green apples when I was nine. Green apples that conveniently grew in Mrs. Carother's back yard. We stole them, of course. Stealing apples was part of playtime in the 1930's.

You found a yard. You saw the apples. You climbed the trees. Gender was not a factor for girls were equally adept at tree climbing. Sometimes, if we could not find a lower limb to begin our climb we would shake the tree. We were told that green apples would make us sick.

They did.

Mrs. Carothers was concerned about that so she would chase us out of her small orchard. Actually, all we had to hear was the squeak of her screen door and we would jump down and run. I don't ever remember a hand reaching out to catch a child or anything that was shouted at us. All I remember is the squeak of that screen door.

A year later, it was almost impossible to believe that we lived on a farm where apples were in great supply. The farm we rented had its own orchard of apples we would rather not eat. They weren't green. They were russet. The peel was rough to the tongue.

In the main yard was an apple tree t hat yielded sweet yellow apples my father called "Pippins."

But the bees loved them as much as we did. We learned that the bees meant us no harm as long as we picked an apple they had not already chosen. A bee-less apple was ours for the taking. We never got stung.

Right next door to us, just over the stone wall, was Schmaling's farm and not one, two or even three apple orchards but even more. There were cows and horses and vegetables but mostly there were apples. They didn't mind if we picked up a fallen Macintosh apple and we often did. The sin was in not finishing the apple. But what was the most fascinating was the cider mill.

I would stand and watch the apples go up a conveyor belt and drop into a hopper. Hidden from my view was the juice itself as it was collected. Then the crushed apples would come out of the hopper in rectangles that looked like doormats.

The mats were sometimes fed to the cows. I can't say always because I don't know that. My father told me that when he was a boy they fed apples to cows and made them drunk. But he told me a lot of stories.

We moved again and went back to stealing apples. I don't know whether country kids still do that.

As this Autumn tells me, another year is passing, no apples will be tucked inside my shirt but the sights and sounds of long ago Autumns will be tucked inside my heart.

Keep in touch.

From : http://www.citizen.com/

Doubt cast on Seinfeld as Windows TV ads near

For the past two-plus years, Microsoft has stood by while Apple's "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" TV commercials treated Windows Vista like a punching bag.

But starting next week, Microsoft will fighting back with its own ad, starring funny-man Jerry Seinfeld. And not a moment too soon.

"Microsoft let Apple have the podium and dominate the communication space," said David Graves, an analyst with Forrester Research Inc. "It's not how you would do things in politics, where it's tit for tat. So it was time for Microsoft to strike back."

The reported $300-million "Windows, not Walls" campaign will kick off next Thursday, Sept. 4, with the airing of the first Seinfeld commercial, the Wall Street Journal reported last week. No coincidence, the NFL season kicks off that night on NBC.

Little else is known, but it has been reported that French director Michel Gondry, the man behind Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, may have directed the commercial.

That didn't keep the blogosphere from weighing in. And the reaction wasn't positive, reported Brandweek .

"Microsoft doesn't like being 'cast as a stodgy oldster' by Apple's advertising and has turned to Jerry Seinfeld. Oh, so they want to be cast as late-middle-age almost stodgy oldster," one blog quoted by Brandweek said.

Advertising industry experts say that whether choosing Seinfeld, 54, is on- or off-target depends on Microsoft's ambitions.

"Who is Microsoft really trying to target? If it is the thirty- and fortysomething business community, I think he's a great choice," said Marc Ippolito, president of Burns Entertainment and Sports Marketing.

But if the goal "is to woo the college-age and younger crowd to convince them not to switch to a Mac or to switch back," said Ippolito, 38, isn't so sure. "If you're 20 years old now and the show ended [in 1998] when you were 10, that's going to seem a long time ago."

Though the sitcom is widely seen in reruns, Ippolito says the "college kids in our office talk about Gossip Girl or The Office , not Seinfeld."

Steve Hall, publisher of AdRants.com, is more blunt. "If you want to make Vista a cool operating system, give it some cool. I don't think Jerry Seinfeld does anything that's cool."

Hall, 46, says it's more than just Seinfeld's recent lack of hits. "Advertising is cool. And cool, by default, is supposed to be young."

Continues : http://www.networkworld.com

Awards up for grabs

HEWLETT-Packard (HP) and AMD have joined hands in offering the HP and AMD Scholarship 2008 Programme.

About RM75,000, inclusive of cash and three HP Pavilion tx2520au entertainment notebook PCs powered by AMD, are up for grabs by eligible undergraduate and Masters students pursuing their studies locally.

Aimed at making a contribution to the development of human capital in Malaysia, the awards are open to all Malaysian citizens aged 30 and below.

The closing date for application is Sept 30.

Three lucky candidates will be selected.

Those who are interested in applying should log on to www.hp.com.my/scholarship.

Just complete the submission form and answer a question creatively, in less than 150 words.

“This is the first time HP is working with AMD in such a meaningful programme.

“HP has always been committed to contributing to the education sector and this is one of several programmes we have in the pipeline,” said HP country general manager (Personal Systems Group) Danny Lee.

The scholarship is bond-free.

“There are many talented individuals out there seeking higher education to strengthen their knowledge base and enhance skill sets,” said AMD Malaysia’s country manager Kevin Ho.

“We are proud to work with HP to provide the opportunity for students seeking to reach greater heights but lacking the means to do so.

“Hopefully, this programme will alleviate their financial burdens and produce leaders in the respective fields,” he added.

To promote the scholarship programme, HP will be holding roadshows at various universities and colleges, including INTI College Subang Jaya and Universiti Putra Malaysia (Sept 3), HELP University College (Sept 10), and SEGi University College, Kota Damansara campus (Sept 17).

For more information, visit www.hp.com.my/scholarship.

From : http://thestar.com.my/

Nintendo raises forecast on higher Wii, DS sales

Nintendo Co. on Fri. raised its full-year profit forecast 26 percent on increased sales projections for the Wii home console and Nintendo DS handheld.

The company expects net income to increase 59 percent to 410 billion yen ($3.8 billion) in the fiscal year ending Mar. 31.

Nintendo expects Wii sales to reach 26.5 million this year, an increase from a 25 million-unit projection in July.

Additionally, the Nintendo DS handheld is expected to sell 30.5 million units from a July projection of 28 million units.

Nintendo in July recorded a Q1 profit of 107.27 billion yen ($996 million) on strong sales for Wii.

Total Wii sales have reached 29.6 million, ahead of Sony Corp.'s Playstation 3 at 14.4 million and Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 at more than 19 million.

This winter it will retail a new music offering called Wii Music.

Credit : http://news.punchjump.com/

Super Nintendo controller table signals a trend

Remember that fad where everyone had dining room tables of their favorite Disney character? Or the age in the 70s where tables were shaped like lava lamps? No? At any rate, the modders over at SCAD Inc. have spent all summer crafting a fully-functional Super Nintendo controller-table, which reminds us an awful lot of the fully-functional NES controller-table we saw in May of this year. So, which geek is gonna take on the N64 controller table? Or better yet, the Virtual Boy?

Credit : http://www.engadget.com/