Lala says goodbye Apple purchased Lala at the end of 2009, and at the time analysts speculated that the deal was part of a bigger plan to host iTunes music through a cloud-based service instead of only on user’s hard drives. The Lala Web site isn’t offering any hints about what’s in store. The Web…
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
Steve Jobs Weighs in on Flash
Mr. Jobs’s comments echo many of the ideas that have been floating around the Internet and tech circles for several months. He starts off by weighing in on Adobe’s claims that Flash is an open system.“Adobe’s Flash products are 100 percent proprietary. They are only available from Adobe, and Adobe has sole authority as to…
HP Buying Palm for $1.2 Billion
Palm is known for helping kick start the PDA industry with its Palm Pilot electronic organizer, its Treo smartphones, and most recently for its webOS and Pre smartphone. The Pre and the followup phone, the Pixi, however, haven’t been selling as well as the company had hoped.Palm has been suffering from poor sales of its…
Hacking Researcher Details iPhone Wi-Fi Hotspot Vulnerability
“The iPhone joins the network by name with no other form of authentication,” Mr. Kamkar said.Mr. Kamkar followed up his discovery by writing an application that displays custom messages in the iPhone’s Maps application. He plans to release the code on the Internet, too.The discovery means anyone with a laptop can set up their own…
New Malware Threat Targets iPad Owners
The email link directs users to a Web site that looks just like Apple’s iTunes download page where victims can download what appears to be an updated version of the iTunes application for Windows, but instead is an installer for the malware BitDefender is calling Backdoor.Bitfrose.AADY. Once installed, attackers can potentially gain access to the…
Steve Jobs Confirmed to Speak at D: All Things Digital Conference
The event, which was founded by WSJ tech writers Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher, offers attendees a unique insight into the featured guests because they are interviewed in unscripted and unrehearsed sessions in front of live audiences.Other guests scheduled to appear at the event include Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, movie director James Cameron, HTC CEO…
ITC to Investigate Elan’s Complaint into Apple’s Multi-touch Technology
According to Elan, the multi-touch technology Apple uses in the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, MacBook Track Pad and Magic Mouse all infringe on patents it owns and controls. “Our goal is to protect our technology and to stop sales of those products in the U.S.,” commented Elan spokesperson Dennis Liu.Elan previously filed a lawsuit against Apple in April 2009…
FaceBook Video Moves to HTML5 from Flash
It appears that HTML5 support is available for most new videos, and that many older uploads still rely on Flash.Facebook’s decision to support HTML5 looks to be only the latest in a growing list of companies that are either adding the open standard to their streaming options, or are dropping Flash support completely. Adobe has…
iWork for iPad Review Roundup
Keynote The Keynote app for the iPad is a necessary addition to the suite of apps for most users. Even if one is not often preparing formal presentations, it’s a great way to collect and manage information from the photo library — or view already created content in, say, PowerPoint (.PPT, .PPTX, .PPS, .PPSX) It…
Israel Approves iPad Imports
Israel’s Communications Ministry stated “Following the completion of intensive technical scrutiny, Israel Minister of Communications Moshe Kakhlon approved the import of iPad to Israel,” according to Reuters.After the iPad was released, Israel officials were stopping the device at their borders and 20 tablets were confiscated from travelers. iPad owners trying to bring their tablets into…
The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena Hits Deliver2Mac
The game includes the voice talent of Vin Diesel, Lance Henricksen, Wade Williams and Michelle Forbes, and puts players in the role of Riddick. It includes improved artificial intelligence, six online multi-player game modes, the on-ship game, and an HD remastering of The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay game.The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault…
Israel Blocks iPad Imports
Ministry officials commented, “The iPad device sold exclusively today in the United States operates at broadcast power levels [over its WiFi modem] compatible with American standards. As the Israeli regulations in the area of WiFi are similar to European standards, which are different from American standards, which permit broadcasting at lower power, therefore the broadcast…
Adobe Considering Lawsuit Over iPhone Lockout
Adobe’s alleged plan to sue Apple stems from changes to the iPhone OS software developer license that says apps must be written in the Objective-C, C or C++ programming languages, and that using compatibility layers to convert code from other languages to run on the iPhone is prohibited. That wording blocks the use of Adobe’s…
iPad Sales Top 500K, Apple Delays International Launch
Apple also said that iPad 3G pre-orders in the U.S. will ship by the end of April.News that iPad 3G shipments are still on schedule in the U.S. probably isn’t much consolation for hopeful buyers in other countries, nor is the news that the iPad is a “runaway success.” At least shoppers outside the U.S.…
Adobe vs Apple: Flash of the Titans
The notion that Apple wouldn’t add Flash support to the iPhone, iPod touch, and now the iPad, isn’t exactly new. When the first iPhone model shipped, it didn’t offer Flash support and that hasn’t changed with each new model release or iPhone OS software update. Adobe eventually got the message and developed its own cross-compiler…
iPhone OS 4 Doesn’t Support Original iPhone
“Is Apple supporting/updating the iPhone 2G in the future?” asked someone going by the name Niko. Mr. Jobs replied, “Sorry, no.”Apple introduced iPhone OS 4 during a special media event on April 8 where the company showed off new features such as multi-tasking support and nested folders for apps. The company also let users and…
iPhone OS 4 beta Demo Shows Up on YouTube
The narration in the video isn’t English, but notes in English have been added to help make it clear how each feature works.iPhone OS 4 was previewed at a special media event on April 9 at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino. CEO Steve Jobs said the new OS would be ship in the summer for the…
Apple Posts iPhone OS 4 Preview Video
Steve Jobs shows off iPhone OS 4Apple used the event to show off features in iPhone OS 4.0, due out this summer for the iPhone and iPod touch, and this fall for the iPad. The new version of the operating system will add a long list of new features such as multi-tasking support for third…
Apple Announces iAd Mobile Ad Delivery Service
Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, showed off examples of iAds in action with a sample from big box retailer Target that included an interactive dorm room design app that lets users pick out their room gear before heading off to college, then reserved their purchase for pickup at their local store. He also demonstrated a Pixar…
Apple Announces iPhone OS 4 with Multi-task Support [Updated]
According to Mr. Jobs, Apple’s multi-tasking support will be superior to what’s offered on other mobile devices, and will keep your iPhone from “bogging down.” “We weren’t the first one to this,” Mr. Jobs said, “but I think we’ll be the best.”Several different multi-tasking APIs will be available for developers, for features such as background…
Wi-LAN Hits Apple, Others with Bluetooth Patent Lawsuit
According to Wi-LAN, the companies named in its suit have been infringing on patent number 5,515,369 by making and selling mobile phones and laptop computers with Bluetooth technology.Along with Apple, the suit named Acer, Atheros Communications Belkin, Broadcom Corporation, Dell, D-Link, Gateway, HP, Intel, Lenovo, LG, Marvell Semiconductor, Motorola, Personal Communications Devices, Sony, Texas Instruments, Toshiba,…
iTunes: iPhone and iPad Quick App Management
Bulk Selecting and Deselecting Apps If you already own an iPhone or iPod touch and just purchased an iPad, there’s a good chance you already own a long list of apps. Unfortunately, all of your apps are automatically selected and are ready to load first time you connect your iPad to your computer — and…
First Day iPad Sales Top 300,000
According to Apple, iPad owners averaged about three app downloads and one ebook download within the first few hours of unwrapping their iPad boxes.Apple unveiled the iPad at a special media event in January, and began taking pre-orders and reservations on March 12. The company began selling the iPad on April 3rd.The iPad is a…
Jailbroken iPad Surfaces Hours After Launch
Twitter user MuscleNerd sprung the news that an iPad had been jailbroken by Twitter user comex on Sunday. Since the iPad runs a version of the iPhone OS, hackers assumed they would be able to jailbreak the iPad to install and run apps that aren’t available at Apple’s App Store. Since the hack isn’t publicly available…