SimpleAir scores patent infringement win against Google's Android OS The patent that earned Google a bill for $85 million in damages, 7,035,914, covers the delivery and processing of notifications and other content. The money was awarded as part of a damages trial following a jury trial that ended in January. Google argued it shouldn't have…
Jeff Gamet
Jeff Gamet is the Mac Observer’s Managing Editor, and co-host of the Apple Context Machine podcast. He is the author of “The Designer’s Guide to Mac OS X” from Peachpit Press, and writes for several design-related publications. Jeff has presented at events such as Macworld Expo, the RSA Conference, and the Mac Computer Expo. In all his spare time, he also hosts TMO’s Daily Observations podcast, co-hosts The iOS Show podcast, and makes guest appearances on several other shows, too. Jeff dreams in HD.
Articles by Jeff Gamet
Fitbit Hit with Class Action Lawsuit Over Force Band Rashes
Fitbit faces lawsuit over fitness tracker-related rashes The skin rash issue has impacted less 1.7 percent of Fitbit Force users, but that was enough for the company to stop sales and issue a voluntary recall on the devices. Ironically, Mr. Spivey isn't one of the Fitbit Force owners that developed a rash. He filed the…
Analyst: Q2 iPhone Sales to Hit 42M, Blow by Wall Street Estimates
42 million iPhones instead of 32? That's what Katy Huberty thinks is happening in Apple's Q2 Based on supply chain data, iPhone sales will be flat quarter over quarter, according to Business Insider. That's a misinterpretation, according to Ms. Huberty, because suppliers most likely ramped up parts production during the holiday quarter to push out…
Apple Drops iPad 2, Brings Back iPad 4
Apple's new entery level tablet: The fourth gen iPad For $399, you can now get a 9.7-inch iPad with Retina Display, 16GB RAM, Apple's A6X processor, faster graphics, a 5 megapixel front-facing FaceTime HD camera, a rear-facing camera that can capture 1080p video, and a Lightning connector instead of the older 30-pin Dock Connector. The…
Apple Adds More Market Competition with 8GB iPhone 5C [Updated]
Apple adds 8GB model to iPhone 5C lineup The 8GB iPhone 5C will cost UK customers £429, which is £40 less than the 16GB model. Since the 8GB model is £40 less than the 16GB version, or US$66.40, it's likely pricing in the United States will come in $60 less for the new model. The…
Microsoft Steps into Evernote Territory with OneNote for the Mac
Microsoft OneNote for the Mac. Finally. Microsoft OneNote for the Mac lets user create and manage notes, photos, and other pieces of information. It can synchronize that data with OneNote on other platforms such as iOS on the iPhone and iPad, Windows, and Android. The Mac version brings with it a couple firsts, according to…
Steve Jobs Killed Apple Television Idea in Secret Meeting
When asked during the meeting whether or not Apple was working on a television, Mr. Jobs said, “No.” He added, “TV is a terrible business. They don't turn over and the margins suck.” His comments from the secret staff meeting were detailed in Yukaro Iwatani Kane's book, “Haunted Empire: Apple After Steve Jobs,” according to…
iPhone, iPad Apple Store Apps Beef Up iBeacon Support
Apple improves iBeacon support in its Apple Store apps for the iPhone and iPad Apple improved system-wide iBeacons support with iOS 7.1, and the Apple Store 2.9.2 update for the iPhone and 1.1 update for the iPad add the same level of support in-app. iBeacons is Apple's new system for wirelessly pushing information to shoppers…
Cloud Storage Price Comparison
Pricing, as well as storage capacities, are across the board so we chose to compare the services we looked at based on cost per gigabyte. The companies we compared include Apple, Google, Dropbox, Amazon, Box, SugarSync, and Microsoft. Spoiler alert: Apple doesn't fare too well in this market. Free Online Storage Options Every company we…
iOS 7.1: The Keyboard and Shift Key Apple Should've Given Us
The problem is that the symbols Apple chose to differentiate between lower case and uppercase letters — meaning whether or not the Shift key is active — don't give any indication as to what you'll actually see when you tap a letter. The keyboard Apple gave us with iOS 7.1 Since a picture speaks a…
ZiiLabs Hits Apple, Samsung with Graphics Chip Patent Lawsuit
ZiiLabs says Apple and Samsung are infringing on its patents ZiiLabs listed ten of the 100 graphics, processor and 3D-related patents it owns in the lawsuit, according to Patently Apple. The lawsuit states, in part, Samsung has directly infringed and continues to directly infringe one or more of the claims of the '637 Patent by…
iOS 7.1: Deciphering the New Caps Lock
Here's what each caps button state means: Grey button with a white arrow: Caps off White button with a black arrow: Caps shift for a single character White button with a black arrow and black underline: Caps lock on Caps off (left), Shift on (center), Caps lock on (right) Apple may be a leader in…
iTunes Radio Hits Top 3 in Online Music Streaming
iTunes Radio is the third largest music streaming service in the U.S. Pandora currently holds 31 percent of the streaming music market, followed by iHeartRadio with 9 percent, and iTunes Radio with 8 percent. Trailing behind the top three are Spotify, Google Play All Access, Rhapsody, Slacker, and TuneInRadio. Edison tracked active online music service…
iOS 7.1: Killing the Cartoon Button Colors
iOS 7 in-app controls seem too bright? You can darken them in iOS 7.1 To darken the colors for in-app controls, like buttons, do this: Tap Settings Tap General Choose Accessibility Tap Increase Contrast Tap the toggle for Darken Colors You can make iOS 7's normal button colors (left) darker in iOS 7.1 (right) Some…
iOS 7.1: Enabling In-app Button Shapes
iOS 7.1 lets you add shapes to buttons so they're easier to find To enable shapes for in-app buttons, do this: Tap Settings Tap General Choose Accessibility Tap the toggle next to Button Shapes Buttons without shapes (top) are harder to find than buttons with shapes (bottom) Now, instead of seeing just words, or words with…
Spotify Buys Music Discovery Company Echo Nest in $100M Deal
Spotify buys music discovery company Echo Nest Spotify isn't commenting on exactly how much money it spent to buy Echo Nest, but sources speaking with TechCrunch said it was about $100 million. Part of the deal included multimillion dollar payouts to company founders Brian Whitman and Tristan Jehan, as well as CEO Jim Lucchese. Echo…
Password Reset Time: ComiXology Loses User Data in Security Breach
ComiXology users need to reset their passwords following a security breach The company alerted users to the security breach in an email saying, “Even though we store our passwords in protected form, as a precautionary measure we are requiring all users to change their passwords on the ComiXology platform and recommend that you promptly change…
Discrimination Lawsuit Targets Apple In-store POS System
Class action lawsuit says Apple's in-store POS system discriminates against the visually impaired The lawsuit stated that Apple “does not provide any auxiliary aids or services calculated to make its POS Devices fully accessible to, and independently usable by, blind people,” according to TUAW. It goes on to say that the plaintiff, David New, wants…
Samsung Accuses Apple of Leaking Nokia Licensing Documents
Samsung says Apple leaked confidential licensing documents, too The Court was notified of the leak at the end of February, according to Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents. “Apple actually filed the terms of its Nokia license (as well as the terms of a license agreement with NEC) on a publicly-accessible court docket last October, where…
Analyst on Oppenheimer's Retirement: No Surprise, No Problem
Apple CFO retiring, but it's all good. Mr. Um told investors, The transition doesn't come as too much of a surprise to us as Mr. Maestri left his position as Xerox's CFO to become Apple's corporate controller, which we felt was an indication that there must be an eventual path to CFO. While we view…
10 Great Alternative "Lorem Ipsum" Filler Text Generators
Fill text doesn't have to be limited to old-school lore ipsum Fillerama Fry, Leela and Bender quotes make for great filler copy, so Fillerama is a great find. Even better: You can set the number of paragraphs for you copy, include headers, and even choose from other Ipsum styles like Arrested Development, Dexter, The Simpsons,…
AAPL Earnings Reports May Hint at CFO Oppenheimer Retiring
Forbes thinks Luca Maestri will be Apple's new CFO after Peter Oppenheimer retires Chuck Jones writing at Forbes said the signs are there for Mr. Oppenheimer's retirement, and it wouldn't be a surprise if the announcement did come today. He expects Apple's Corporate Controller Luca Maestri will be named as his replacement. “Prior to the…
House Passes Cellphone Unlocking Bill Packed with Disappointment
Smartphone unlocking bill does little to help consumers Unlocking frees cellphones from use with a single carrier so customers can take their current phone with them when they move from, say, AT&T to T-Mobile. The Digital Millenium Copyright Act prohibits unlocking because it works around DRM, or digital rights management. Because of the DMCA's wording,…
Yes, You can Jailbreak iOS 7.0.6
iOS 7.0.6 jailbreak works, but you have to do some hex editing Jailbreaking is the term for hacking your iOS device so you can install apps that aren't available through Apple's own App Store. Apple doesn't support the process, it can introduce stability issues, and in some cases the Genius Bar in Apple's retail stores…