Ed Sutherland - page 93

Safari users are being advised to avoid the Apple-made browser’s built-in RSS reader, according to reports Tuesday. A security vulnerability in both Mac and Windows versions of Safari could allow hackers to snoop through the contents of computer hard-drives.

Although Apple reportedly knows about the software problem, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company has remained silent on when or if it will release a fix.

For Mac users, the security flaw targets Mac OS X Leopard, according to Brian Mastenbrook, a developer who first spotted the glitch. An alternate Mac RSS reader can be selected via Safari’s Preferences menu.

Windows users can switch to Firefox or another alternative to Safari, reports suggested.

Citi has lowered its target price of Apple shares to $132 from $153, citing the need to “reflect a more conservative view of consumer spending.”

Richard Gardner told clients Apple may have sold fewer than 4 million iPhones for the last quarter of 2008, slipping from the record 6.9 million handsets Cupertino sold during the third quarter of 2008. Gardner based his estimate on a check of iPhone shipments.

The lower expectation is because Apple reduced iPhone inventory heading into the first quarter, a generally weaker period, the analyst suggests. However, the reduced inventory could signal Apple is readying an iPhone “refresh” in April or May, according to Gardner.

The analyst also cut his earnings expectations for Apple during fiscal 2009, 2010 and 2011. Gardner retained a “Buy” recommendation for Apple stock, however.

French cell phone carrier Orange is reportedly “satisfied” with December iPhone sales that hit 210,000 – triple the 70,000 handsets the France Telecom-owned company sold during the same period in 2007.

The news comes from French newspaper La Tribune, which quoted unnamed sources within Orange and SFR. If true, the iPhone sales would appear to counter worries that a recent French competition decision would dilute the cell phone market.

France’s competition body recently temporarily ruled against Orange’s exclusive iPhone deal, permitting rival Bouygues to also offer the Apple handset.

Apple’s move to CES from Macworld Expo “is a done deal,” AppleInsider reported Monday, confirming last week’s Cult of Mac story breaking the news.

AI cited unnamed “sources close to” Apple.

The move is designed to provide a greater contrast between Apple and its rivals, including Microsoft and Palm. Leaving Macworld also marks Apple’s departure as only a computer company and positioning itself as a larger consumer electronics player involved in cell phones, gaming and software.

New numbers out Friday suggest Apple’s iPod Touch may become a threat to sales of the pricier iPhone. The Touch is gaining fans while the iPhone may reportedly be suffering during tight economic times.

Ads sent to the iPod Touch nearly tripled in December, compared to November, mobile ad firm AdMod announced Thursday. The Touch was served 292 million ads last month, up from 86 million in November. The Touch is now the No. 2 mobile device in the ad company’s network.

At $399, the iPod Touch is more expensive than the $299 iPhone, but the device actually costs less by avoiding monthly contract fees required by AT&T in the United States. AT&T charges between $69 and $130 per month for a required two-year iPhone contract.

Your iPhone could be displaying high-definition and three-dimensional graphics by as soon as 2010, according to a company partly owned by the maker of the popular touchscreen handset.

Imagination Technologies used CES to introduce its PowerVR SGX543 chipset, said to produce 33 megapixel frames at 30 frames per second. The speed could “produce reasonable 3D at HD resolutions,” according to one report.

The chip is also compatible with the Apple-backed OpenCL standard, expected to be used in the upcoming Mac OS X Snow Leopard.

Attempting to survive a post-Apple environment, Macworld Expo may pull up stakes and move after 2010, general manager of the tradeshow indicated in an interview published online Thursday.

“IDG is absolutely open to considering other venues and pricing structures after the 2010 Expo,” according to an Ars Technica interview with Paul Kent, Macworld Expo vice president and general manager.

Kent suggested the show will likely remain in the San Francisco Bay Area due to the dense number of tech companies. However, the Expo leader left open the possibility of moving from San Francisco’s Moscone Center after next year.

Apple is ditching MacWorld to instead exhibit at CES next year instead, according to one source.

The source, citing “friends who work at Apple,” insisted the company is ditching MacWorld because it will “go large” at CES, which typically runs concurrently with MacWorld in early January.

The International Consumer Electronics Show, or CES, is the big annual gathering ot the consumer electronics industry. Held in Las Vegas over several days, it attracts more than 2,700 companies from all over the world, including technology giants like Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo.

Apple has never had a presence at the show, exhibiting at MacWorld instead. In 2007, Steve Jobs managed to eclipse CES by unveiling the iPhone at MacWorld, but typically the technology press prefers CES, which has more companies and therefore more news.

If Apple were to be a presence at CES — with Steve Jobs possibly giving a keynote speech — it would no longer have to compete with CES for press attention.

In addition, Apple is now more of a consumer electronics company now than a computer company, making CES a much better fit than MacWorld, the source said.

The source insisted his information was solid, not just speculation.

“It’s a done deal,” he said.

Apple chief operating officer Tim Cook, finance head Peter Oppenheimer, and Mac hardware senior vice president Bob Mansfield had their paychecks boosted, as well as their stock portfolios.

Cook, often mentioned as a possible replacement for Jobs, will earn $800,00 per year. Oppenheimer, Apple’s Chief financial officer, will make $700,000 per year, while hardware chief Mansfield will make $600,000.

Lost in the verbiage over Apple’s decision to expand the number of DRM-free songs on iTunes was a fee some are calling Apple’s ‘music tax’ potentially worth $1.8 billion to Cupertino.

iTunes users will need to pay $0.30 per track ($0.60 per video and 30 percent of the price of an album) to use Apple’s one-click conversion to DRM-free listening pleasure. While offering copy-protection free iTunes songs is viewed as a ‘win’ for consumers, it may also further enrich Apple’s coffers.

Erick Schonfeld of TechCrunch estimates Apple would earn $1.8 billion if each of the 9 billion iTunes sales were converted to non-DRM.

Hackers Tuesday forced MacRumors to halt its live-blogging coverage of Apple marketing exec Phil Schiller’s keynote speech at Macworld Expo. The hack hit MacRumorsLive.com, a domain created for commenting on the annual San Francisco, Calif. Mac-focused tradeshow.

Interspersed with live updates about news of iPhoto upgrades were offensive messages, including one declaring Apple CEO “Steve Jobs just died.”

In a statement posted about an hour after Macworld Expo opening, the site’s founder Arnold Kim apologized to readers for the attack.

Although Apple marketing head Phil Schiller announced a 17-inch MacBook Pro and more DRM-free music from iTunes, one analyst believes what wasn’t said is what counts most.

Gene Munster, the Piper Jaffray analyst and Mac-watcher, wrote Tuesday that the lack of many fireworks during Schiller’s talk signaled “Steve Jobs remains primary spokesman and active leader” for Apple.

The question of how active Jobs will be as CEO while he undergoes therapy for a “hormone imbalance” was raised Tuesday when brokerage firm Oppenheimer & Co. wondered if Jobs could fully perform as head of Apple.

Google has entered the Mac side of free photo manipulation with the Monday release of Picasa for Mac. Although officially a beta version, the application previously limited to PC users is drawing positive comments from Apple iPhoto fans.

“Even though this early build of Picasa is missing some features, I’m going to use it and not iPhoto,” writes CNET‘s Rafe Needleman. The reviewer said Picasa’s features makes it the best option for day-to-day use.

Along with the usual ability to remove red-eye and basic photo editing, Picasa for the Mac integrates with Google’s free Web Albums, allowing photos to be easily shared. Apple requires the $99 annual Mobile Me online service, according to CNET.

Some features, such as geotagging and photos from your Webcam aren’t included in this beta version.

Google’s Picasa for Mac requires Mac OS 10.4 and an Intel-based system.

“The ‘Apple Community’ is now due an update in late spring, but until then the recovery will presumably be allowed to run its course without undue prying,” Oppenheimer told investors.

Monday, in an open letter, Jobs explained he suffered from a ‘hormone imbalance’ which caused his weight loss. Since September, when the Apple leader appeared frail and gaunt, fans and investors have speculated about his health and status as CEO.

Itunes fans may soon be able to purchase more songs free of copy-protections, the result of a reported break-through in negotiations with music publishers.

According to CNET, the changes could be announced as soon as Tuesday at Macworld Expo 2009 in San Francisco, Calif.

Apple reportedly has agreed to adopt a three-tier pricing plan, shifting from its previous demand for all songs to be sold for a single price. The change will allow Sony BMG, Universal and Warner Music to charge more for popular titles, according to sources sited by the report.

Responding to economic reality, Best Buy has begun selling refurbished iPhone 3Gs with a $50 discount, the electronics giant announced Tuesday.

A refurbished 8GB iPhone 3G returned a month after purchase will cost Apple fans $149, rather than $199 when bought new. A refurbished 16 GB Apple handset is priced at $249, rather than the original $299.

Owners of first-generation iPhones can also use the offer to upgrade to faster 3G versions, Best Buy told Reuters.

An exhibitor at the upcoming Macworld Expo 2009 may have inadvertently lent credence to widespread rumors of an updated Apple Mac mini.

A press release from SeeFile software seems to say its digital media asset server will support “new Apple Mac Mini hardware,” according to Ars Technica.

The bit of PR may indicate the updated Mac mini will offer two optional internal hard drives. Previous minis sported only 160GB internal storage.

A week after one survey found the Mac OS share nearing 10 percent, the gains appear to be increasing as Apple continues to make headway against Windows, an analyst said Monday.

Shaw Wu, analyst with Kaufman Bros., told clients he sees only accelerating advances by Apple. December’s 9.6 percent marketshare for Mac OS X was 0.75 percent ahead of November, which also saw a 0.65 percent jump, Wu said.

Last week, Web tracking firm Net Applications announced the percentage of visits by Mac OS-based browsers in December rose to 9.6 from 8.9 percent. The latest figure is more than two points above a year ago, when Apple share reached a historic high: 7.3 percent.

Windows again lost ground in December, dropping to 88.7 percent of the market in December, the second percentage loss since November, when Redmond fell below the magic 90 percent of the OS market.

Palm will reportedly use the first day of CES to unveil a handset based on the long-awaited Nova operating system. The phone is seen as Palm’s best chance to recover from a disastrous 2008.

Citing a “trusted source,” CrunchGear says the handset to be released Thursday is described as “iPhone-like” with a potrait display and a slide-down QWERTY keyboard.

In December, Palm executive chairman Jon Rubinstein told BusinessWeek the device would bridge the gap between the BlackBerry and iPhone. Rubinstein, credited with helping develop the iMac and iPod, joined Palm in 2007 when private equity firm Elevation Partners provided $325 million for a stake in the company. Last month, Elevation gave Palm another $100 million.

More than half of consumers say they plan to spend less on gadgets in 2009, according to a survey released Monday by a research firm.

Forrester Research announced 51 percent of consumers say they plan to spend less on gadgets this year with just five percent intending to spend more this year. The findings are part of an online survey of around 5,000 U.S. residents over the age of 18.

The news could interest exhibitors at Macworld Expo 2009 and CES hoping to lure buyers with the latest gadgets.

In an open letter addressed to the Apple Community, Steve Jobs said Monday that he has an easily treated hormonal imbalance. The statement, designed to quiet rumors spurred by the Apple CEO’s increasingly gaunt public appearances, came a day before a high-profile keynote at Macworld Expo that Jobs handed off to a colleague.

“A hormone imbalance … has been ‘robbing’ me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy,” Jobs wrote. “Sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis.”

As many toasted 2009 with a bit of bubbly, a Florida man celebrated by launching a class-action lawsuit against Apple. The lawsuit claims Cupertino remained mum about vertical lines appearing in iMac displays.

“Apple remained silent knowing its iMac display screens would malfunction while consumers purchased iMacs, made warranty claims arising from the vertical lines on display screens, and made out of warranty repairs related to vertical lines,” alleges the lawsuit filed New Year’s Eve by Aram Hovsepian, who bought an iMac in October, 2006 and began noticing the display problem March of 2008.

The lawsuit alleges Apple violated California’s Unfair Business Practices Act and the state’s Consumers Legal Remedy Act.

With expectations lowered for the upcoming Macworld Expo in San Francisco, talk has drifted from a new iPhone to sprucing up the little Mac mini. The mini is said to include support for dual displays, according to a Friday report.

The updated mini will sport both a Mini DVI connector and a Mini DisplayPort, which was recently introduced with new unibody MacBooks, according to unnamed sources “familiar with the company’s plans” quoted by Apple Insider.

The mini, introduced in 2005, has lacked dual display capability, something available in other Macs. The reason for the graphic refresh: the reported use of the more powerful GeForce 9400 chipset to replace the Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics.

IDG, promoter of the Macworld Expo 2009 in San Francisco, Calif. next week, is asking Mac fans to help shape a future without Apple. A Town Hall event is set for Jan. 7.

The Town Hall is designed to help IDG “shape Macworld in 2010 and beyond,” according to a statement.

Acknowledging 2009 will be without Apple CEO Steve Jobs and the last year the Cupertino, Calif.-based company will participate, future Macworld’s will increase the focus on the “Mac community,” including users and product developers, IDC said.

Soon after Apple announced its plans to drop Macworld appearances, the event’s organizers vowed to continue. Analysts have scaled back their expectations for Macworld Expo.

The Town Hall will be held at 5 p.m. Pacific Time in Moscone Center’s Gateway Ballroom.

“Expectations are low given Steve Jobs will not speak at the conference,” Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster told investors Tuesday. Earlier this month, Jobs announced he was handing the speaking reigns to Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller. The 2009 event will also be the last for Apple.

The introduction of Schiller at the key Apple gathering “suggests there will not be any revolutionary products this year,” Munster wrote. As a result, chances for a new iPhone being launched at Macworld are not as likely as once thought by the bullish Apple watcher.