News

I like the idea for several reasons. First, people who work in the Apple retail stores likely have always wanted to work for Apple. While it’s a somewhat different experience than being a software engineer on Apple’s campus at 1 Infinite Loop, playing volleyball in the quadrangle lawn, and eating lunch at Cafe Macs, it’ll…

Indeed, they might even be a good thing for Microsoft in their efforts to blunt Apple’s successful efforts to brand the Mac as less troublesome than a Windows box. Make no mistake that the odds are stacked against Big Redmond – and I frankly still expect the Guru Bar to be a joke – but…

The new fifth generation iPod nano was introduced on 09-09-09; I got my hands on one the very next day and have been using and abusing it ever since. Let me just start this review by telling you that I think it’s the best iPod nano Apple has ever made and arguably the best $149…

Yes, this one has been out for a while, but it’s worth revisiting simply because it was one of the first games that offered a glimpse into the true potential of the iPhone and iPod touch as gaming devices. The opening cinematic is beautiful, and the gameplay is engaging — I have to admit I’ve…

These sources said that those managers who were hired away were tasked with poaching top retail staff, again with the offer of raises over what Apple is paying. Together, this team of former Apple employees will have the great honor of peddling Windows and possibly managing the Guru Bar. In some cases, they may get…

Geez! I don’t know about you, but I need a vacation already. Luckily there are a few extended holidays coming up that are ideal for a road trip, and I’m a big fan of road trips. I really enjoy packing everyone into the car then taking off for points known or unknown. Of course, nowadays…

Admittedly, I have never used the iTunes Store ringtone feature much, as I prefer to create my own ringtones with other software. And now that you get DRM-free songs from the iTunes Store, the ability to independently create your own ringtones is practically unlimited. Still, as I am updating my iPhone book, I wanted to be…

A study at the University of California, Berkeley, released on August 10, 2009, entitled, “Flash Cookies and Privacy” revealed that many popular websites are using “Flash Cookies” to circumvent privacy practices by users with conventional cookies. The abstract said: “We find that more than 50% of the sites in our sample are using flash cookies…

The company’s current software lineup includes the code and text editing applications BBEdit 9 and TextWrangler 3, the data organizing application Yojimbo 2, and WeatherCal. Missing from that lineup are Super Get Info and MailSmith — the company’s venerable email client. Bare Bones discontinued Super Get Info because Mac OS X now offers similar file…

In Dream Day Wedding, players search New York City as they solve puzzles and find hidden wedding items. As they travel through the game’s 29 levels spread across nine locations, they arrange Rachel and Nate’s wedding. Bonus mini-games and other surprises are unlocked along the way, and players can use the game’s Facebook Connect feature…

iTunes has grown from a simple re-write of Sound Jam as a CD importer in 2001 to a full-blown Internet portal and money machine for Apple. The new iTunes 9 combines a visual clean-up with some new features to keep it the premiere entertainment tool for PC and Mac users. During the September 9th “Rock…

The new iPod touch model sports Broadcom’s BCM4329 chip, which is capable of supporting 802.11n Wi-Fi, although Apple is limiting the chip to 802.11g speeds. Apple is likely imposing the limitation to avoid reducing battery life.iFixit’s iPod touch tear downThe updated iPod model also includes the Samsung 339S0073ARM processor instead of the 339S0048ARM processor, and…

Aug 31: For those also interested in a nice recap of how Grand Central Dispatch (GCD) will help developers, here’s a good summary article. It’s not that there weren’t APIs for multi-threading before, it’s just that they were awkward to use. GCD overlays those APIs with a higher level set that takes a lot of…

In the earlier news item today, Drew McCormack pointed out that making Grand Central open source promotes the acceptance of the technology as a C language standard. Recapping, he said that “Having your operating system based on a non-standard language is not a good position to be in, and Apple would surely like to see…

The storyline involves protecting KrabbitWorld from the Necrotechs, who endanger the Celestial Shard and threaten to bring Chaos back to the land. Combat is of the hack-and-slash variety, with combos available that deal ever-increasing amounts of damage. Characters can advance to level 99, while their unique powers can increase to level 999, and they can…

 The WildCharger Bundle is a product unlike anything I’d ever seen. In a nutshell it offers wire-free charging for the iPhone and iPod touch.  The bundle consists of two parts — the WildCharger Pad and a WildCharge Skin for your iPhone or iPod touch. The WildCharger Pad, shown below, is a thin 6 x 8-inch…

Once again, we’re reminded, because we’d forgotten, that these events are not all about astounding new products. New products are announced from time to time, but what’s also exciting is the evolution of things like iTunes. We see growth driven by revenues, Apple listening to its customers and Apple engineers being creative While Mr. Jobs…

Apple’s updated iPod touch Apple’s Phil Schiller called the iPod touch “The most affordable gateway into the App Store.” Apple also called the iPod touch “a great pocket computer.” The iPod touch includes a 3.5-inch multi-touch display, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a built-in speaker. The touch’s iPod features include Cover Flow, Shake to Shuffle, and support…

iTunes LP at the iTunes StoreThe iTunes LP page at the iTunes Store lists several albums already including Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited, Norah Jones’s Come Away with Me, and The Doors: 40 Anniversary Mixes from The Doors.Album pricing looks to range from US$9.99 to $19.99.Apple will be hosting a music-related media event later this…

The Cygnett company blog stated “Apple is about to go live at its annual September press event in San Francisco, where they are set to launch a variety of new products to the public… The biggest news out of the event is that Apple are to release an updated range of iPod models — most…