The Nest Learning Thermostat is making the round of tech blogs today. This pricey $249 thermostat – currently available for pre-order – replaces the ones in your house and helps you conserve energy by learning your schedule. What’s more, it’s … Continued
∞ Siri-compatible remote voice control module looks like 2001's HAL
Siri, the voice response system built into the iPhone 4S, has inevitably drawn comparisons to HAL, the artificial intelligence on board the spaceship in 2001: A Space Odyssey. ThinkGeek is blurring that line by introducing the Iris 9000, a remote … Continued
∞ New World of Warcraft expansion to feature Pandaren as playable characters
Over the weekend, Blizzard Entertainment revealed details about the next major installment of its long-running World of Warcraft game – Mists of Pandaria. No release date was offered (standard operating procedure for Blizzard, which won’t ship a product before it’s … Continued
∞ Siri's female voice raises questions
CNN: People describe the app using female pronouns. Her gender has even prompted some users to flood blogs and online forums with sexually suggestive questions for Siri such as “What are you wearing?” (Siri’s baffled response: “Why do people keep … Continued
∞ AT&T: 'tremendous, tremendous demand' for iPhone 3GS
With the iPhone 3GS now available for free with new cell phone contracts, are people still interested in the aging device? After all, the 3GS has been on the market for more than two years, eclipsed by the iPhone 4 … Continued
∞ Ten year old buys iPod at Apple Store during Jobs memorial
Consumerist: Reader Matt tells the story of how an Apple store manager broke a little rule so as not to dash the hopes of his 10-year-old daughter, and, in the process, made a little bit of retail magic happen. A … Continued
∞ Samsung chief: Galaxy Nexus designed to avoid Apple patents
Samsung’s mobile president says their newest Android device has been developed to avoid potential patent pitfalls with Apple.
∞ Blame analysts for Apple's 'miss' yesterday
Andy M. Zaky weights in on why analysts missed the boat on yesterday’s earnings, not Apple.
∞ Generation X is sick of your B.S.
Mat Honan: But Generation X is tired of your sense of entitlement. Generation X also graduated during a recession. It had even shittier jobs, and actually had to pay for its own music. (At least, when music mattered most to … Continued
∞ All Things D's Swisher hospitalized with 'mini stroke'
Kara Swisher, co-executive editor of the All Things D blog owned by Dow Jones, suffered a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) traveling to All Things D’s AsiaD event in Hong Kong earlier this week. AsiaD is the organization’s first international conference, … Continued
∞ Comparing analysts on Apple earnings
Philip Elmer-DeWitt, for CNN Money: The cluster of green at the bottom of the chart at right tells the story: This quarter, for the first time since we’ve been monitoring them, the bloggers got clobbered. And not just by a … Continued
∞ Apple posts fan-driven 'Remembering Steve' tribute
Apple on Wednesday posted a Remembering Steve tribute on its Web site, comprising comments well-wishers have sent following Steve Jobs’ passing. After Steve Jobs passed away earlier this month, Apple directed people interested in sharing their thoughts to send e-mail … Continued
∞ Study: 1 in 6 cell phones contaminated with poo
Time.com: Researchers analyzed 780 swab samples — 390 from mobile phones and 390 from the hands that used them — in 12 U.K. cities. They found that 16% of both hands and phones were contaminated with E. coli, potentially illness-causing … Continued
∞ Doxie Go scanner gets rid of the computer altogether
Apparent has billed its small Doxie scanner as cloud-friendly from the start. Now they’ve taken it to the next logical step with the Doxie Go, a new iteration of their scanner that removes the computer from the process altogether. Doxie … Continued
∞ The argument for an Android Game Center
Inside Mobile Apps: Without a platform-wide offering from Google, the individual providers will have to continue to battle it out for domination. Hopefully, eventually one (or possibly two) will win and everyone will use that service for social connectivity. But … Continued
∞ HTC loses patent complaint against Apple
Reuters: Taiwan’s HTC Corp lost a patent infringement complaint filed against Apple Inc in a preliminary decision at the U.S. International Trade Commission on Monday. An ITC administrative law judge found “no violation” by Apple of four HTC patents that … Continued
∞ Amazon cutting publishers out of book deals altogether
New York Times: Amazon will publish 122 books this fall in an array of genres, in both physical and e-book form. It is a striking acceleration of the retailer’s fledging publishing program that will place Amazon squarely in competition with … Continued
∞ Sprint reports best launch day sales ever with iPhone 4
Dan Hesse, Sprint’s CEO, went on record this summer citing the absence of the iPhone from its list of offered devices as being the number one reason why Sprint was losing customers. Fast forward to October 14th, launch day for … Continued
∞ EVE Online gives disgruntled gamers a discount
Massively: Today CCP continued show its commitment to this new development direction with a special reactivation offer for returning players. Most account-holders whose subscriptions lapsed during or before the Summer drama have been sent an email offering a special rate … Continued
∞ iPhone case makers roll the dice on risky iPhone rumors
BusinessWeek: In the weeks leading up to Apple’s (AAPL) Oct. 4 announcement about the new iPhone 4S, Tim Hickman lived and breathed rumors about the device. His company, Hard Candy Cases, makes protective covers for mobile phones, and he was … Continued
∞ Dutch court turns down Samsung's injunction request against Apple
Reuters: A Dutch court on Friday turned down Samsung Electronics’ request for an injunction against all of Apple’s mobile products that use 3G telecommunications technology, including iPhones and iPads. Hopefully Samsung will realize it’s barking up the wrong tree pretty … Continued
∞ iRig MIDI and SampleTank
You can buy SampleTank on the App Store or get more information from IK Multimedia’s Web site.
∞ 'S' is for signal
Neil Hughes for AppleInsider: The new iPhone 4S features a redesigned antenna design that allows for better reception and faster wireless data speeds. A good look at the antenna issues over the past year. I love the new dual antenna … Continued
∞ NeXT logo design
Logo Design Love: The only thing Rand knew was that the mysterious NeXT computer was a black cube. With this scant yet meaningful intelligence, Rand developed a unique proposal book for the mark that walked the reader — Mr Jobs … Continued
∞ Dennis Ritchie, father of C and Unix, dead at 70
Rupert Goodwins, for ZDNet UK: While the introduction of Intel’s 4004 microprocessor in 1971 is widely regarded as a key moment in modern computing, the contemporaneous birth of the C programming language is less well known. Yet the creation of … Continued
∞ Apple stops Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia
Sydney Morning Herald: The Federal Court has granted Apple an injunction to block tech rival Samsung from selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia. Apple is suing Samsung for patent infringement, arguing the firm “slavishly” copied its market-leading iPad tablet. … Continued
∞ Text message/Alert tones for the iPhone
Apple launched a new tone store that can be accessed from the iPhone.
∞ Video: RIM apologizes for outages
At least PlayBook users aren’t affected.
∞ Apple offers AirPort Utility for iOS
Apple on Wednesday surprised many with the release of AirPort Utility for iOS. The software runs on iPhones, iPods and iPads, but requires iOS 5.0. It’s free. AirPort Utility makes it possible for the first time to manage your 802.11n-equipped … Continued
∞ Aperture 3.2, iPhoto 9.2 add iCloud, iOS 5 support
Apple on Wednesday released iPhoto 9.2 and Aperture 3.2, updates to its consumer and professional photo organizing software, respectively. Both updates supports compatibility with iCloud and iOS 5, according to Apple. iPhoto 9.2 also addresses minor stability, performance and compatibility issues, … Continued