When you’re the CEO of a company and something happens to your competitor, you should show some class or at the very least keep you mouth shut. Of course, Michael Dell is not known for his class — remember the … Continued
Monthly Archives: August 2011
∞ Cool things to expect from RIM: Native email on PlayBook
BlackBerry Cool: With summer ending, we’re expecting a few announcements from RIM just around the corner. End of summer also means we’re closer to the holiday season where RIM and all the major tech companies scramble to get a killer … Continued
∞ RIM's music service: $5 per month for 50 songs
AppleInsider: BBM Music will arrive as a beta in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. in early September, before launching in the three regions later this fall. Subscribers won’t be able to export the music to PCs, but they will … Continued
∞ WordPress: 22 percent of new active domains in US are ours
WordPress, the popular Web publishing software, now powers 14.7 percent of the top million Web sites in the world and is used in 22 percent of new active domains in the United States. That’s the word from WordPress co-creator Matt … Continued
∞ The beard honored by the American Mustache Institute
American Mustache Institute: But there are exceptions to every rule, and we have found one, courtesy of our friends at Build-A-Beard. The owner and operator of said goatee — a goatee that is certainly worthy of praise — is one … Continued
∞ RIM starting a new streaming music service
Reuters: BlackBerry maker Research In Motion is close to rolling out its own music streaming service that will work across its mobile devices, according to four people familiar with the plans. RIM is in late-stage negotiations with major labels, including … Continued
∞ AT&T confirms iPhone 5 launch in early October
BGR: One of our high-level AT&T sources just informed us that an AT&T Vice President has confirmed to several employees that the iPhone 5 is slated to launch in early October. Yep.
∞ Wait… RIM's PlayBook sucks ass, but it's HP that cancels its tablet
What kind of perverse, unforgiving parallel universe did I wake up in that allowed the PlayBook to still be on the market, and HP’s TouchPad has been discontinued.
∞ It's not just China – Apple knockoffs in New York, too
Reuters: Court records reveal that Apple has already seized unauthorized iPod, iPhone and iPad accessories sold by two stores in the Flushing neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens, and is now demanding the names of its customers … Continued
∞ HP discontinues TouchPad after less than two months
If you were thinking about an HP TouchPad instead of the iPad, don’t bother. HP announced Thursday that it is discontinuing operations for webOS devices, including the TouchPad and webOS phones.
∞ AT&T to drop limited messaging plan for new subscribers
AT&T has indicated that it is doing away with its 1000 message a month plan, offering new subscribers a more expensive unlimited plan (or pay-by-message fees) instead. The change phases in on August 21, 2011.
∞ Shareholder sues Motorola over Google sale
BGR: “The offered consideration does not compensate shareholders for the company’s intrinsic value and stand-alone alternatives going forward, nor does it compensate shareholders for the company’s value as a strategic asset for Google,” investor John W. Keating said in the … Continued
∞ Pro Tools beta adds support for OS X Lion
Avid released an update for Pro Tools 9, adding support for Apple’s recently released OS X Lion.
∞ Stupid analyst says Mac sales down after surveying four book stores
AppleInsider: Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry sent an investor note out on Wednesday warning that a weak back-to-school season caused last weekend’s Mac sales to slump between 35% and 40% from the weekend of July 23rd. It was “probably … Continued
∞ Study: Fanboys confuse brands with self-image
Ars Technica: You may think you’re defending your favorite platform because it’s just that good. But, according to a recently published study out of the University of Illinois, you may instead be defending yourself because you view criticisms of your favorite … Continued
∞ RC helicopter from Griffin uses iOS device as controller
Here’s something I’m sure is going to be on the gift lists of a lot of iOS users: the Helo TC, from Griffin Technology, that long-time maker of peripherals and accessories for Apple devices. It costs $49.99 and is now … Continued
∞ Apple's newest target in patent war: InterDigital
The Next Web: Apple and Nokia, along with Qualcomm and several other companies, are weighing bids for InterDigital Inc in order to scoop up its trove of patents for wireless tech, reports Reuters. The company is up for sale and is … Continued
∞ Logitech offers solar-powered wireless Mac keyboard
Logitech has introduced the Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 for Mac, a computer keyboard that recharges its internal batteries using solar power and indoor light. It costs $59.99 and will ship later this month.
∞ Finding Apple's secret sauce for the iPad
ZDNet: This consistent marketing experience from Apple is something that competitors simply cannot reproduce. These companies are coming from a computer background for the most part, and they are set up to market new products to the audience that buys … Continued
∞ Black Sabbath reunion not a done deal, says Iommi
Tony Iommi on a Rolling Stone story published yesterday: I’m saddened that a Birmingham journalist whom I trusted has chosen this point in time to take a conversation we had back in June and make it sound like we spoke … Continued
∞ Modern tablet concept is Apple’s; everything else is just a feature
Tablets have been around for years, and while there was a lot of interest in what the platform could do, they never really caught on. It wasn’t until Apple released the iPad that tablets became a popular device.
∞ Best Buy only sells 25,000 HP TouchPads
Arik Hesseldahl: According to one source who’s seen internal HP reports, Best Buy has taken delivery of 270,000 TouchPads and has so far managed to sell only 25,000, or less than 10 percent of the units in its inventory. A … Continued
∞ Apple releases OS X 10.7.1 update
Apple on Tuesday released an update to OS X Lion to version 10.7.1 – the update is available through the Software Update system preference, and is recommended for all Lion users.
∞ Samsung overturns EU injunction against Galaxy Tab 10.1
MacUser (UK): A court in Düsseldorf has lifted the injunction it granted Apple last week, which prevented Samsung from selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in all European Union countries except the Netherlands. The initial injunction banned Samsung’s Korean-based parent company … Continued
∞ Questions, controversy surround VisualHub update
Macworld: Kagi, a popular payment processor for independent software developers, recently began selling a $5 Lion-compatibility patch for the discontinued-in-2008 VisualHub video converter that the original software’s developer says he didn’t authorize—and isn’t getting paid for. Kagi defends the move, arguing … Continued
∞ New Apple HQ could swallow Pentagon
The Mac Observer: Given that comforting sanity check, I measured the diameter of the Apple spaceship as 1615 ft, plus or minus a few ft., depending on where one places the ruler. That’s a radius of 807.5 ft. So, if … Continued
∞ Balls
John Gruber on Dan Lyons’ crap story: Another way to look at this story, then, is that maybe Google really did want those Nortel patents, and when they didn’t get them, they knew they were in a worse position than … Continued
∞ Crysis developer: handheld game systems 'losing ground' to tablets
GamesIndustry.biz: [Crytek managing director Avni] Yerli agreed that tablets offer more, stating: “I can see that the multifunctions that devices like tablets offer is a big advantage of them. And I think people want one mobile device that can do multiple … Continued
∞ HTC sues Apple for patent infringement
Reuters: Smartphone maker HTC Corp sued Apple Inc, claiming infringement of three patents through Apple’s sale of Macintosh computers, iPads, iPods, iPhones and other devices. Back and forth, back and forth. Repeat.
∞ Lion USB Thumb Drive available from Apple
Apple on Tuesday made the OS X Lion USB Thumb Drive available from its online store.