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∞ Canabalt ripoff passes App Store approval process

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Kelly Hodgkins at TUAW has alerted readers of what appears to be a straightforward ripoff of the popular iOS game Canabalt, now available on the App Store under the moniker “Free Running.” Canabalt’s source code was released to encourage other … Continued

∞ Target Display Mode and the new iMacs

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On Tuesday Apple refreshed its iMac product line with new 21.5-inch and 27-inch models, adding quad-core i5 processors and faster graphics across the board, and introducing Thunderbolt, the new Apple and Intel-branded high-speed I/O interface. Some Loop readers have asked … Continued

∞ A look at iPhone location data gathering

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This past week’s “LocationGate” imbroglio has left many iPhone users wondering how, exactly, the iPhone gathers the information it does about cell phone tower locations, Wi-Fi networks and other data. While Steve Jobs and others at Apple have explained it … Continued

∞ Continued PSN outage raises questions

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Sony’s PlayStation Network (PSN) serves as the intercommunications backbone for multiplayer games on the PlayStation 3, as well as an e-commerce system for downloadable content for PS3 and the PlayStation Portable (PSP) handheld console. So a protracted PSN outage of … Continued

∞ Ottawa hospital deploying 1,800 iPads

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We know from Apple’s earnings conference call last week that businesses and organizations are deploying iPads in great numbers. You can now add hospitals to that list. A hospital in Ottawa, Canada ordered 1,800 iPads for its staff and developed a special application that will be used in the hospital.

The application’s primary objective is to get as much patient info into the clients hands while at the bedside. Doctors will have access to lab results, patient histories, and medication information in front of them.

Ottawa hospital jumps into the future with 1,800 iPads [Macgasm]

∞ Microsoft's Datacenter GM goes to Apple

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Any doubts that Apple is getting serious about its datacenters can be put to rest. The company has apparently lured Microsoft’s General Manager of Datacenter Services away from his job in Redmond. His position at Apple hasn’t been announced, but AllThingsD’s John Paczkowski has it on good authority that it’s a done deal.

Timmons left Microsoft this week and the company has confirmed his departure, though it declined to say why he left or where he was headed. But sources in position to know confirm he’s hired on with Apple.

Apple Poaches Microsoft’s Datacenter GM [AllThingsD]

∞ The iPhone platform cycle

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John Paczkowski has an interesting article at AllThingsD today that says that Apple’s iPhone product cycle may be turning into a platform cycle. He also notes that a fall launch of the iPhone would fit in nicely with AT&T’s launch of its LTE network.

And, more importantly, it gives Apple a few more months to align the device with some significant upgrades to the iOS platform, which, as Caris analyst Robert Cihra observes, is increasingly becoming the real “what’s next?” for Apple.

iPhone Product Cycle Now More of a Platform Cycle [AllThingsD]

∞ Best Buy confirms 'upcoming promotion' for iPad 2

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Employees at Best Buy stores were told by managers that they were only to sell iPad 2s to customers that pre-ordered the devices. They were also told to misinform customers about holding the iPad 2 until further notice. In an email to BGR.com today, Best Buy said they were holding the iPad 2 inventory for an upcoming promotion.

Pre-announcing an upcoming Apple promotion is not such a good idea for Best Buy.

Read the rest of this story on The Loop

∞ BGR: BlackBerry Bold Touch hands-on

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Jonathan Geller had a look at the BlackBerry Bold Touch today over at BGR.com. I used the BlackBerry for a couple of years before the iPhone came out — once I made the switch, I never looked back. This one looks a lot like the phone I had years ago, except with a touchscreen.

The BlackBerry Bold Touch also uses a new battery from RIM, so hopefully the addition of a touchscreen to this famous BlackBerry form factor won’t have too much of a negative impact on battery life.

BlackBerry Bold Touch hands-on [BGR]

∞ Zapd lets you create Web sites on your iPhone

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It’s not very often that you hear good customer service stories, so a friend told me how good he was treated by PressPlane, I decided to give them a shout out. The company makes an app called Zapd that allows you to make Web sites or “Zaps” directly from your iPhone. It’s a free app and they say that you can create as many sites as you like.

Zapd has over a dozen “themes” to choose from that change the website’s colors, fonts, layout and overall look and feel. New themes are released all the time. The results are gorgeous and are optimized for use on a phone, tablet, and of course, a computer.

Zapd on the App Store

∞ Report: Apple ordered 12 petabytes of storage

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Storagenewsletter.com reports that Apple has ordered 12 petabytes of storage from Isilon Systems. Isilon, recently acquired by EMC, manufactures “scale-out storage” designed to be used by large enterprises, and has a client list that includes NBC, ABC, Paramount and many other companies.

“It’s probably the largest of its 1,500 customers recorded at the end of December, including 20% in Europe.”
The blog cites “an inside source at EMC” who indicates that Apple has ordered the storage to manage video downloads for customers using iTunes.

Apple Ordered 12PB (!) of Storage on Isilon’s Systems [Storagenewsletter.com]

∞ The Macalope lists the 'Fools of the Year'

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Macworld’s mythical horned creature, the Macalope, listed its “Fools of the Year” on Friday and it’s quite a list. There are many lists that you don’t mind being a part of, but this isn’t one of them. I am mentioned, but thankfully it’s in a good way. Much respect to the Macalope.

Let the Macalope start off by saying that he’s sure most if not all of the individuals on this list are probably very nice people. (Except for Rob Enderle—he’s actually a kind of fish.) So, don’t confuse calling them fools with thinking that they’re somehow bad in general. It’s just that, when it comes to Apple, their opinions seem, well, foolish.

∞ Apple marketing VP leaves company

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Apple’s Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Communications, Allison Johnson, is leaving the company. She is apparently leaving to start a marketing firm — seems kind of odd to me, but everyone has different priorities. John Paczkowski has the scoop on … Continued

∞ BGR reviews the HTC ThunderBolt

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I used to buy a new phone every couple of months. As soon as the newest cool thing came out, I had to have it. For the past four years, I haven’t found anything that could outdo my iPhone, but … Continued

∞ Kissing Steve Ballmer's feet

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Joe Wilcox says he’ll kiss Steve Ballmer’s feet if Windows Phone is No. 2 in the market by 2015. Wilcox is referring to a report by IDC earlier today that Windows Phone 7 will overtake iOS, thanks to Nokia. Joe … Continued

∞ Hilarious first-timer's guide to WWDC

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It’s nice when the old guard passes along some tips for the upcoming developers. Sometimes. Mark Dalrymple (no relation that I know of), a long time developer and author, put together 10 things for first-time developers to make sure they … Continued

∞ Sofa giving 100% of sales to Japan

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Sofa has joined the impressive crowd of Mac developers that will donate 100 percent of its sales to relief efforts in Japan. Sofa’s Dirk Stoop has three great apps Versions, Kaleidoscope, and Checkout. Starting now and ending at 4:00 am … Continued

∞ Using Apple's Backup software

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I use MobileMe to sync my contacts, calendars, and other information, but I also use Apple’s Backup application to quickly make a backup of the same information in case I need it. This morning, my friend Dave Caolo posted the … Continued

∞ Real Racing 2 budget hits multimillions

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While the original Real Racing was produced on a more modest scale, indie iOS game developer Firemint went into seven digits to make the iPhone version of its new game, Real Racing 2 HD – one of the first games … Continued

∞ A look back at the Atari Lynx

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Boy Genius Report has a weekly feature called Throwback Thursday and this week’s was just too good to pass up — the Atari Lynx. For the time, it was pretty advanced, but unfortunately for Atari, it was released the same … Continued

∞ Podcasting on an iPad 2

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I had an interesting Twitter chat yesterday with a fellow that wanted to do Podcast recording on his iPad 2, but couldn’t find the right software to do it. He said he was excited about the thought of GarageBand for … Continued

∞ The Daily faces 'moment of truth next week'

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News Corp. chief digital officer Jon Miller told the audience at the Abu Dhabi Media Summit that The Daily faces a “moment of truth next week” when free digital subscriptions to the digital paper run out. The Daily has been … Continued

∞ iPad 2 profiteers

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iPad 2 shortages mean one thing — some people are going to make a lot of money selling their iPads to you. If you consider yourself an entrepreneur, you may have purchased several iPads for the sole purpose of selling … Continued