Apple has settled the Federal lawsuit brought against it by the man claiming the company stole his design for the iTunes music player. According to the Burlington Free Press, attorneys for both parties negotiated for 15 hours before reaching the undisclosed settlement. David Contois, the owner of Contois Music & Technology, alleged that Apple employees…
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iPod Maker's Owner Sees 43% Jump in Profits
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., which owns iPod maker Foxconn Technology Group, saw its second quarter profits jump 43% compared to last year, according to a Bloomberg article. Hon Hai said that demand for iPods, as well as other MP3 players, and cell phones led the way. The company also supplies parts used in Sony’s…
The Slacker's Guide - A Classic Evolved: Excalibur: Morgana's Revenge
Sometimes a good thing can live forever, despite corporate decisions that may seem to doom it otherwise. For instance, when Bungie broke the hearts of the Mac world with its purchase by Microsoft, Marathon seemed doomed. And for a while it was. One of the finest and most original first person shooter titles to grace…
iPod Maker Foxconn Sues Journalists Over Article
iPod manufacturer Foxconn has sued a reporter and an editor at a Chinese newspaper, China Business News, after the publication ran an article about substandard working conditions. The issue of working conditions first came to light in June, prompting Apple to launch an investigation that concluded earlier this month with the determination that while there…
Podcast - Mac Geek Gab #67: Email Management with IMAP Plus Tips and Tricks to Share
Show notes for TMO To Go: Mac Geek Gab For August 28th, 2006 Direct Links: MP3 Version or AAC Enhanced Version (courtesy of Michael, aka Computernap!). The info just keeps flowing here, folks. Of course, last week’s discussion on e-mail management generated a lot of feedback, and Dave and John talk through that. Additionally, continuing…
Podcast - Weekly Roundup: A Creative Settlement
Direct Link: MP3 Version This week’s top story is the legal Judo coming out of Apple and Creative. Ricky Spero and Jeff Gamet send the companies’ recent settlement through the Context Machine, and find we’ve just seen one of the most clever business maneuvers in tech history. Also: AOL beats iTunes to market in digital…
Dr. Mac: Rants & Raves - Killer Software That’s Either Free or Inexpensive
There’s nothing I like better than great software that’s either free or inexpensive; here are a few of my current faves: Mouse Locator (Free; www.2point5fish.com) My office Mac has two huge displays; my desktop measures a whopping 2,880 x 1,024 pixels. Both of my screens are almost always covered with a plethora of windows, docks,…
New Class Action Suit Filed Over Stock Options
The first two lawsuits against Apple over the stock option backdating irregularities it has admitted to were filed in early July. Another suit was filed at the beginning of August. The firm explained in a press release: “The Complaint charges that Apple and certain of its officers and directors violated Sections 10(b), 14(a) and 20(a)…
Apple Pays Creative $100 Million to Use Patent; Creative Joins 'Made For iPod'
Apple and Creative Technology on Wednesday announced a settlement in their ongoing cross-litigation with the news that Apple will pay US$100 million for a paid-up license to use Creative’s patent for an MP3 player interface. However, Apple can recoup a portion of that money if Creative successfully licenses its patent to other companies. Creative also…
Analyst: Vista is 'Buggiest OS I've Seen'
“Testers and pundits alike say Vista Beta 2, released publicly in June, is plagued by bugs and blue screens,” the article said. Microsoft, however, isnit planning on releasing a third Beta, instead saying that Release Candidate 1 will come out by the end of September. The reporter also spoke with an ISV (independent software vendor)…
Hidden Dimensions -- Apple, The Cluetrain and The Money
Apple is in an interesting financial position right now, and they’re doing what most companies do when they reach a certain level of success — they roll the money upwards. Here’s how it works. Just about any company can manage to justify the diversion of roughly 0.5% of its revenues to some consensus cause, championed…
Podcast - Weekly Roundup: Sweatshops Part Deux, a Film Coming Soon to iTunes
Direct Link: MP3 Version This week’s Context Machine Fodder: Apple did a PR victory lap in round 2 of the iPod sweatshop story, while a Lions Gate Executive runs his mouth about iTunes movie downloads. The Weekly Roundup will be included in TMO’s main RSS feed, and also in its own feed if you’d like…
Apple: Foxconn Violated Overtime Rules
The audit showed that Foxconn factory employees are making at least the local minimum wage, and many are paid above that level. The pay structure, however, proved to be overly complex and difficult to explain to employees. Foxconn has already implemented a new way of calculating the pay structure that is easier for employees to…
Apple: No Evidence Provided to Back Up Wireless Security Threat
“Further, SecureWorks has not shared or demonstrated any code in relation to the Black Hat-demonstrated exploit that is relevant to the hardware and software that we ship.” As TMO reported on Aug. 3, SecureWorks researchers David Maynor and Jon “Johnny Cache” Ellch used the Black Hat 2006 conference in Las Vegas to release a video…
DEVONthink Professional, DEVONagent Updated
The DEVONthink Professional upgrade also includes support for QuickTime data types added by third-party components and comes with scripts for importing del.icio.us bookmarks as well as for creating “smart groups” that represent a phrase search or all items modified within the last seven days. Other performance improvements are also included. DEVONagent 2.0.2 supports bookmarklets in…
Adobe Photoshop CS 2 9.0.2 Update Available
Adobe released what appears to be a minor bug fix update for Photoshop CS2 on Wednesday. Currently, the update is available only through Photoshopis built-in Updater application. Information about the update is limited since Adobe describes the update like this: The Photoshop 9.0.2 update addresses a variety of issues discovered after Photoshop 9.0.1 was posted.…
Analyst Examines Stock Option Investigation Fallout
However, he offered a murkier look at the potential impact on Appleis executives, stating: “We believe there are not yet enough facts to form a conclusion on whether key executives might have been involved in creating options irregularities at Apple or Pixar, and our default assumption is that Jobs is not likely to have been…
iPod Part of the Move Away From Multiplexes?
Today’s teens and young adults are increasingly more interested in watching video content, even brand-new movies, on their computers, iPods, and cell phones, according to a recent Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll. According to the survey, 56% of those between the ages of 21 and 24 would rather watch new movies at home, if they could…
Analyst Tests Leopard, Offers Views on Intel Transition
“After a week of testing the Leopard preview, we are impressed with the next generation operating system,” Mr. Munster wrote. “We believe that the integration of Boot Camp will significantly change the impact that Boot Camp has on Appleis ability to capture market share by winning Windows users. As Boot Camp moves from beta to…
AOL Snatches Up Userplane
Ted Leonsis, AOLis vice chairman and president stated “Userplane will expand and extend the reach and relevance of the AOL instant messaging franchise, while continuing to provide social networking audiences and specialized communities with brandable clients tailored to meet their needs.” As AOL expands its messaging services, that may eventually translate into expanded iChat, .Mac,…
Analyst Explains Apple SEC Filing
Mr. Reitzes believes that there will not be any changes to the third quarter 2006 earnings that Apple just reported. The announcement will, however, likely lead to a “tug-of-war” for shares as investors balance the news with potential gains from products Apple is expected to release later this year. Mr. Reitzes said, “We still expect…
PC Columnist Weighs in on Leopard vs. Vista
Calling Leopard “almost by definition a minor upgrade compared to Vista,” the columnist noted: “Apple has a lots-of-incremental-upgrades philosophy versus Microsoftis big-upgrade-once-in-a-blue-moon approach.” In addition, he said, “Leopard looks to be idiosyncratic and entertaining in a way itis hard to imagine a Microsoft product being … Time Machineis UI, which involves windows flying through space,…
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Options Backdating: Ex-Apple Exec Hires Attorney; Pixar Execs Also Scrutinized
The article also noted that the scandal has forced some companies to fire their top executives, an action prosecutors have viewed favorably when deciding whether or not companies should be charged criminally in the matter. In Appleis case, however, thereis little information about which executives have received problematic options, other than CEO Steve Jobsi backdated…