Foxconn Plant Catches Fire in China

A photo of the fire sent to MacCast by a listener in China Foxconn is one of Apple’s primary manufacturing partners, but this plant reportedly makes, “PCs, Sony laptops, computer components and printers.” The plant employs a mind-boggling 80,000 people.  China-based M.I.C. Gadget wrote that, “So far as we know, there is no Apple product…

RIM on the Decline, iPhone 5 Rumors & Microsoft’s Flash Dance

RIM Shot Research in Motion announced some pretty dismal numbers late last week, and one analyst says the next iPhone is only gonna make things worse for the Canadian phone and kind-of-sort-of tablet-maker. I say “kind-of-sort-of tablet-maker” because, last quarter they were only able to ship 200,000 of their PlayBook tablets. Well, they were probably…

Our Superhero CEOs: Richly Rewarded for Failure

We live in a superhero culture. Authority is rolled upwards in corporations and the government until there’s only one person at the top who can make definitive decisions. And then, in a fit of irrational idealism, we reward them for total failure. Except, of course, Apple. One of the best run companies in America is…

V-moda’s Vibrato Earphones Feature Strong Bass

The V-moda Vibrato earphones have a lot going for them, and listeners who demand a strong, vibrant bass when listening to music should check them out, particularly since the company offers a 60 day in-home audition that guarantees complete satisfaction. V-modo Vibrato earphonesThe Vibrato is made from Zinc Alloy and features hybrid silicone ear-tips. The…

Apple Joins Digital Due Process Coalition

The group is working to change the Electronic Communications Privacy Act to offer better privacy protection for tech gear that wasn’t addressed when the law was written.Apple joins electronic privacy rights organization“ECPA was passed by Congress in 1986, before the World Wide Web was even invented and when cell phones were still a rarity,” said…

Netflix’s Troubles Are a Self-Made PR Disaster

The first shoe Last July, Netflix sent an email to all of its customers, announcing that it was splitting its DVD and unlimited streaming services into two separate plans “to better reflect the costs of each…(thereby giving) our members a choice.” [A longer version of the email message was posted to Netflix’s blog.]  The announcement…

Boingo: iPhone Tromps Android for Airport Wi-Fi Use

iOS more popular on Boingo Wi-Fi networks than Android“iOS has a commanding market share of mobile devices actively using Wi-Fi in those same venues, representing more than 83 percent of mobile total,” the Boingo report stated. “Android more than tripled its market share from 2010, but is still a distant fourth place to iPhone, iPad…

Al Gore Spills the Beans: New iPhones in October

Al Gore, who is on the Apple Board of Directors, is quoted by the editor of Stuff Magazine, Toby Shapshak, as follows. “Not to mention the new iPhones coming out next month. That was a plug.” Why would Mr. Gore say such a thing when we know that ordinary Apple employees can get fired for…

StreetSpace Sues Apple, Others Over In-app Ad Patent

StreetSpace says Apple’s iAd steps on its patentThe patent in question, 6,847,969, is titled “Method and System for Providing Personalized Online Services and Advertisement in Public Spaces.” The filing stated that by offering targeted ads to potential customers, and by offering a service to sell that ad space, Apple and the other companies listed in…

Goldman Sachs Bumps AAPL Target to $520 on Strong Sales

“Apple’s momentum appears even more resistant to macroeconomic pressures than we previously realized,” Mr. Shope said, according to Barrons. “Wwe believe the stock has significant upside from current levels — even after recent outperformance.”Apple has managed to continually grow its iPhone and iPad user base, and Mac sales continue to rise even as the over…

For The Multitasker: Griffin’s Stylus + Pen + Laser Pointer

It leaps tall buildings in a single bound! Oh wait, that’s Superman. But the Griffin Technology Stylus + Pen + Laser, in the right hands, may make the user feel like Superman. It clips to the pocket, functions as a refillable pen, includes a rubber-tipped stylus, and sports a laser pointer. Griffin Technology Stylus + Pen…

Sculley: Only Steve Jobs Could Have Saved Apple

“There is no question that nobody but Steve Jobs could have brought the company back to life,” Mr. Sculley said at the event, according to The Puget Sound Business Journal. “It shows there is a thin line between success and failure in technology.” John Sculley (right) at 30th Anniversary of IBM PC Celebration Source: Puget…

On Fat Phones, Lame Phones & a Little LeVar Burton

Apple and Web apps: Old New School If things go the way Apple originally intended them to go, Apple could get hurt. That’s one possible read of a bit of analysis from Sanford Bernstein research analyst Toni Sacconaghi. Computerworld has the Sack-Man saying that the widespread adoption of HTML5 for Web apps could cut Apple’s…

AAPL Closes Above $400 (Again), Up 7.2% Since Jobs Resigned

Near-record closings aside, Friday’s closing high represents a $26.78 gain since August 25th, the first day of trading after Steve Jobs announced he had stepped down as CEO from his company. That represents a 7.2% gain in approximately three weeks, an impressive feat for any stock, but even more so considering the angst that had…

Energizer Introduces Two USB Dual Charge Products

Energizer has introduced the Dual Universal USB Charger for autos and the Dual Universal USB Charger for wall outlets. Both let the user charge two small USB powered devices at the same time. The new Dual Universal USB Charger plugs into any auto cigarette lighter outlet and offers two USB ports, so that you can…

RIM Smartphones & Tablets Miss Estimates, Stock Drops 18%

In the after hours-session, the stock was trading at US$24.08, down $5.46 (-18.48%). In the chart below, you can see that the stock traded in a narrow band throughout the day, and then dove off a cliff in the after hours session. After hours trading historically represents a more exaggerated reaction to both good news…

Microsoft Outlaws Flash on Touch-Interface IE 10

The Flash Tally so FarWindows 8 is the next major version of Windows, and it’s scheduled to be released in 2012. Part of the point of Windows 8 is to deliver a more or less unified operating system and experience to tablets and PCs, all in one fell swoop. Unified or not, however, the company…

Sharp Axes Galapagos Tablet Models, Focuses on Japan

Sharp’s Galapagos: Almost extinctSharp plans to discontinue its 5.5-inch and 10.8-inch Galapagos tablets on September 30, but will continue to sell the 7-inch model in Japan, according to the Wall Street Journal.The company had hoped its tablets would pose a threat to Apple’s market dominance with the iPad, but consumers failed to find the devices…

Energizer Offers a Dual USB Wall Charger

The new Dual Universal USB Charger for wall outlets plugs into any live wall outlet and offers two USB ports so that you can recharge two of your USB powered devices at the same time. It works with most devices, meaning it will not recharge an iPad. The charges measures 2 x 2 x 2-in…

Another Analyst Predicting Apple Dividend Within 18 Months

Abhey Lamba Interviewed on Bloomberg The central premise of Mr. Lamba’s research note was to compare the Walt Disney Corporation of the 1960s when Walt Disney lost its founder to the Apple of today, whose cofounder Steve Jobs stepped down as CEO in August. Mr. Lambda noted that Disney’s stock continued to perform very well…

Energizer Presents A Dual USB Auto Charger

The new Dual Universal USB Charger from Energizer, plugs into any auto cigarette lighter outlet and offers two USB ports, so that you can recharge two of your USB powered devices at the same time. It works with most devices, meaning it will not recharge an iPad. The charger is three inches long and two…

Microsoft Disables Lion Mail Import in Office Update

Office 2008 12.3.1 updated Entourage’s timezones feature to match Outlook 2011, and fixed language display issues for Word Help.Office 2011 14.1.3 also addressed display issues in Outlook, fixed stability issues in Excel and PowerPoint, and corrected a display issue with citations in Dutch.The Office 2008 12.3.1 and Office 2011 14.1.3 updates are available through in-app…

Intel Chip Promises 24 Hour Use, 10-Day Connected Standby

In addition to extended battery life, the company showed off a prototype of a computer running off of a solar cell the size of a postage stamp. The figure below shows both the prototype and the intense interest in that prototype. Intel Prototype Computer Running on a Solar CellSource: Intel(Click the image for a larger…