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Apple Now Accepting iPad Apps, Planning “Grand Opening” of iPad App Store

Apple is now accepting iPad apps for a “grand opening” of the iPad App Store, according to an email just sent to registered developers.
“iPad will begin shipping soon and your opportunity to be part of the grand opening of the iPad App Store starts today,” the email says.
There’s no details about when the store’s grand [...]

Security Expert: “Mac OS X Is Safer, But Less Secure”

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Tech site H-Online has an interesting story today, quoting security expert Charlie Miller about his forthcoming talk at the CanSecWest conference next week.
He says OS X is full of security holes. There are lots more than in Windows, he claims.
And yet: OS X is a safer system to use. Why? Because, in the words [...]

Apple Devotes Entire Home Page To Jerome York Obituary

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If ever you needed a sign that Apple was a different kind of technology company, this is it.
What other computer manufacturer would remove its top-selling, hype-inducing, industry-altering new product from the prime spot on its website home page, and replace it with an obituary to an investor?
This is one of those “Here’s to the [...]

Coming Soon: Steve Jobs, the Sitcom

Fake Steve creator Dan Lyons just signed a deal to bring Steve Jobs to another small screen near you.
The half-hour series called “iCon” is billed by the presser as “a savage satire centering on a fictional Silicon Valley CEO whose ego is a study in power and greed.”
Making sure the barbs prick will be the [...]

iPhone Pricing Explained

One of the most-asked questions leading up to the July 11 launch of iPhone 3G has been “How much will current iPhone users pay to upgrade to a new phone?” We asked media representatives from AT&T to clarify the upgrade policy yesterday, and were told by Wes Warnock, “Eligibility for the upgrade discount typically involves a number of factors, including how long you have been in your current service agreement, your payment history (for example, prompt payment of bills), and more.”

Asked how that would relate to current iPhone users who can only have activated their phones at most a few days more than one year ago, Warnock would only allow, “In general, you are more likely to qualify [for the discount phone pricing] if you are at or near the end of your current service agreement and pay your wireless bills promptly.”

Because the iPhone 3G is being subsidized by AT&T, their standard upgrade pricing plan is in effect. This allows them to recover the cost of the subsidy over the two year life of the service plan you commit to when you buy the phone. Blogger M. Jackson Wilkinson at Jounce explains, “If you currently use a phone subsidized by AT&T, and you aren’t currently eligible for an upgrade (you aren’t nearing your contact’s two-year anniversary), you will need to pay the full, un-subsidized price for the iPhone 3G. In this case, that works out to either $199+200 or $299+200, hence the $399 and $499 prices.”

So, how does that affect first-gen iPhone users, whose phones weren’t subsidized by AT&T? Under the terms of AT&T’s upgrade policy, current iPhone users should be able to make a good case for being able to purchase the iPhone 3G at the fully subsidized price as long as they are willing to sign on for a new two year service contract.

Blogger Glenn Fleishman has additional details about iPhone pricing arcana at TidBITS

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About the author

Lonnie Lazar

Lonnie Lazar is a writer, musician, web designer attorney. He writes about Apple for Cult of Mac and Mac|Life, and about VoIP and telecommunications for Voxilla. Follow Lonnie on Twitter @LonnieLazar, join the Cult of Mac on Facebook, and find Lonnie's photos on Flickr.

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