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Microsoft’s disclosure of its Surface RT tablet pricing and availability has once again ignited the discussion about the role of a tablet’s keyboard. It also raises the issue of how Microsoft has set the product’s keyboard pricing. Was it all planned? Has Microsoft misjudged the market? Or is this supreme cleverness by Microsoft? When Microsoft…

We still live in an age where time travel eludes us. Although, you would never know it with the iPhone video app known simply as Vintagio. With several authentic filters and soundtracks to suit, you will be instantaneously taken back decades. That is, unless you want to use the iPad in native mode. ____________________ Vintagio…

Nicholas Allegra, who earned fame as the iOS jailbreak wizard Comex, no longer has his internship with Apple after he failed to reply to an email offering him another year on the job. “So… no point in delaying. As of last week, after about a year, I'm no longer associated with Apple,” he said on…

Microsoft's decision to price its new Surface Windows 8 tablet at $499 without a keyboard, and $599 with a keyboard, could end up being a “fatal mistake,” according to Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu. The analyst said that Microsoft should have priced its device starting at $299 with a keyboard if it wanted the device…

Fear of an Apple-Android planet* will cause carriers to embrace and push Windows Phone devices, according to Nokia CEO Stephen Elop. The Canadian tech exec said that carriers want a third ecosystem to reduce the power of the two heavyweights in the industry, and that their support will finally make Windows Phone 8 a thing.…

Apple is apparently in the process of buying the failed social networking company Color Labs. The company was co-founded by Bill Nguyen, who also happened to launch LaLa — the online music service Apple purchased in 2009 and later shut down. The Color team had hoped to make a name for themselves as a dynamic…

“Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent than the one derived from fear of punishment.” — Mahatma Gandhi Steve Jobs had a strong personality, one that wasn't amenable to second…

Apple apparently purchased the Web app development company Particle in September, although so far neither company has confirmed the deal. Particle is known for its HTML5 skills and includes companies like Apple, Amazon, Google, Sony and Yahoo among its clients. Word of the deal came through CNET talking with unnamed sources, and several of the…

Shares of Apple Inc. jumped 2.37 percent on Tuesday as investors reacted positively to the news that the company will hold a media event on October 23rd. Everyone and their brother expects the company to announce a 7.x-inch iPad that the tech world has dubbed the iPad mini. AAPL ended the day at US$649.793 per…

Underaged interns were found working in a Foxconn manufacturing facility, the company admitted after conducting an internal audit. An undisclosed number of workers, aged 14 to 16, worked on site for about three weeks before management took action, according to statements made by Foxconn to Bloomberg News. Labor rights organization China Labor Watch initially reported…

iFixit loves to look inside Apple's latest products, and that's exactly what they did with the brand new seventh generation iPod nano. What they found were several Apple-designed chips and a media player that isn't all that easy to repair. The seventh generation nano is bigger than the model it replaces and does away with…

Patent lawsuits are filling court dockets, big name companies like Apple and Samsung are catching headlines with their cases, and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos thinks it's time for governments to step in and put an end to the patent wars. The current patent system, he said, is choking innovation instead of promoting it. “Patents are…

Amazon sent out emails to customers over the weekend effectively pre-announcing how a settlement between three publishers and the DOJ. Though that settlement won't be approved by the courts until February of 2013, Amazon told Kindle customers that they'll be getting credits of either $0.30 or $1.32 per book for purchases may between April 2010…

Recently, the iTunes app on our family server got out of whack and cast me into an infinite loop, requesting endless authentication before my iDevices could sync. It was turned out to be an interesting problem that not even Apple tech support could solve. __________________ A few weeks ago, I wrote about how my boot…

Apple uses a particular kind of software design in iOS that helps users become accustomed to a new environment. It's born of the Steve Jobs philosophy that computers should be at the intersection of technology and the humanities. Already, however, there are some who would propose abandoning that valuable concept in favor of… well, nothing…

With the fifth generation iPod touch just now making it into customer's hands, iFixit has already stripped one down to its frame to see what's inside. What they found was an Apple-designed A5 processor and an assembly that's extremely difficult to repair. Simply opening the iPod touch to see what's inside involves a heat gun…

In Samsung’s latest anti-iPhone video commercial, a suggestion is made that the iPhone appeals to older people and, by implication, the Galaxy S3 appeals to hipper, younger people. Research data shows that not to be true. One technique in advertising is to take a kernel of truth, magnify and embellish, and drive a point home.…

This is a technical article aimed at people who own Apple stock. If you own Apple stock, and live in the USA, you need to know something about capital gains which must be paid on the sale of any stock. This information might save you some money, possibly a lot of money, but you have…

Taiwan reminded Apple on Tuesday that there is a political aspect of running a global mapping service. The island nation asked Apple to blur images of a new early warning radar station from Apple Maps, the company's iOS mobile mapping service that launched with iOS 6. According to the Associated Press, Taiwan Defence Ministry spokesman…

Now that the fifth generation iPod touch is reaching the hands of customers, some users have begun to post benchmarks. These benchmarks reveal that, while the iPod touch may share many physical characteristics with its iPhone 5 cousin, it falls far behind the iPhone in terms of performance. Japanese tech site Macotakara used the System…

Shares in Apple Inc. slid more than 2 percent on Monday, pushed down by broader economic concerns in Europe and worries over the effects of a Foxconn strike in China. AAPL ended the Monday session down, at US$638.17 per share, a loss of $14.42 (-2.21 percent), on strong volume of 22.7 million shares trading hands.…

One of the most popular mobile games is about to meet one of the most popular film franchises of all time. Angry Birds Star Wars, first hinted at last week, will launch November 8 on iOS, Android, OS X, and Windows, the game’s trailer, released Monday, revealed. Created in 2009 by Finnish game studio Rovio…

A small Web development company called Inventika Solutions has paid tribute to Steve Jobs by recreating the original iPod on the Web using HTML 5, CSS3, and jQuery. The firm, which is located in Mumbai, India, has made the virtual iPod (shown below) to work as the original device worked, down to the rotating scroll…

It is a rare event when a humble alarm clock can invoke intrigue and excitement. The Philips DC390 will have you waking up, to the crystal clear music you love, with two completely charged iOS devices every day. That is unless you have upgraded to the iPhone 5 or listen to heavy metal music. ____________________…