News - page 2196

Research in Motion reportedly is shopping for a mobile ad platform to help the BlackBerry maker better compete with Apple’s iAds and Google’s AdMob. The only hitch: the company that tops RIM’s list of candidates — Millennial Media — just isn’t that interested in being acquired.

Millennial Media CEO Paul Palmieri told the Wall Street Journal the company wants to launch an initial public offering and remain independent. If snatched-up by RIM, Palmieri’s company would lose all the opportunity to serve ads to the lucrative iPhone, iPad and other iOS devices protected by Apple’s iOS developer agreement. The agreement, initially aimed at Google, denies ad network access, unless approved by Cupertino. Since Apple has its own ad network – iAd – its unlikely Millennial would get another bite of the Apple.

Ok, here at CoM we know Apple makes must-have technology. We really do get it. But c’mon people: don’t get yourself thrown in jail to prove Apple makes coveted gadgets that people will sometimes maim other people to get.

Case in point: Tyanthony Devon Dunbar, 28, now sits in jail slapped on an attempted murder charge after allegedly shooting his 26-year-old cousin Antonio Maurice Harley following a morning scuffle (no, not shuffle) involving an iPod. The incident took place in Colleton, South Carolina; the report doesn’t mention what kind of iPod it was.

Does anyone ever get into this much trouble over a Zune or a Blackberry?

Via Post and News

Facebook just dropped version 3.2 of their iOS app onto iTunes, bringing an interesting new feature to the mix that seems like a direct challenge to the likes of foursquare’s location-based dominance: Places, a feature which lets you “check-in” to your current location and share it with friends.

Other new features in the update include the ability to set privacy of individual status updates, see all the recipients on any inbox messages, and even upload photos and videos in the background taking advantage of iOS4’s nifty multitasking abilities.

Facebook for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad is available free for download, and the 3.2 update should have rolled out to App Store users internationally. Just hit refresh.

If you’re a true Star Wars fan interested in supporting the franchise, on one hand, you could get yourself a Motorola Droid 2, which passes on a small sliver of a royalty to LucasFilm with every handset sold thanks to George Lucas’ trademark on “droid.”

On the other hand, that would stick you with using Android, and luminous beings are we. So fly your geeky colors proud and true by instead purchasing this official $30 R2-D2 iPhone case. It won’t snuggle your iPhone 4, but it’ll shell your iPhone 3G or 3GS like an astromech, making it very much the droid you’ve been looking for.

It’s becoming a trend with iPhone 4 pre-sales: huge demand equals overwhelmed sites. It was no different in Korea, where consumers deluged carrier KT’s website. Before the site went down ,the carrier (and its 2900 retail locations) Wednesday pre-sold 130,000 iPhone 4s in 13 hours – or 10,000 Apple handsets per hour.

The 130,000 figure pales in comparison to the 600,000 first-day U.S. pre-orders, but is a dramatic increase over initial demand of Apple’s previous handset, the iPhone 3GS. When the 3GS launched in 2009, KT accepted 14,500 pre-orders on that first day.

If you’ve ever hit Craigslist or eBay looking for an iPhone, you’re probably used to seeing ads for new, unlocked iPhones from mystery dealers. You might see less of them for the time being, though: London detectives have arrested nine members of an international iPhone resale ring.

The suspects in question are alleged to have taken advantage of the UK’s extremely subsidized iPhone rates to purchase thousands of new handsets through a middleman boasting a fraudulent credit card or identity. They would then sell those iPhones internationally for a healthy profit, sticking local British iPhone carriers with the tab.

That’s not all: the same criminals stole over £1.2 million in July from wireless carrier O2 by hooking up SIM cards to automated dialers to call premium phone lines in their control which charged ten pounds a minute. They then simply abandoned the contracts by disappearing without a trace.

It was that latter crime that actually prompted the City of London detectives’ month-long investigation, which ultimately netted them nine collars. At one home, they also confiscated over £15,000-worth of iPhones still in their boxes.

[via Apple Insider]

Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires is being rocked by a crime wave according to recent reports, including a shootout at an Apple reseller where one alleged thief was killed by police.

The story comes to us from CoM reader Stefano Cavallaro in Argentina who tells us that after a pair of thieves attempted to raid Apple reseller Mac Station, in the city’s chic Palermo neighborhood where expensive iGadgets must have seemed an easy target, a  police officer opened fire to stop them.

“There was a police officer outside the Apple store (when two armed robbers attempted to steal from the store)…The thieves and police started to shoot and one thief was gunned down while the other got away on a motorcycle…The police officer was not shot and did not sustain any injuries.”

A local internet news source confirms the story, saying that the police are still searching for the accomplice. This isn’t the first time an Apple store robbery gone wrong has lead to gunshots — in 2009 an Apple employee was shot during an armed robbery in Virginia — but it may be the first time a person has been killed attempting to steal Apple’s must-have electronic devices.

It was a busy day for police in Argentina’s capital who also had to deal with the shooting of a policeman, a hostage situation and a kidnapping.

Recall last week’s reports of hard-to-find iPhone 4s? Well, both Apple’s handset and tablet may soon be seen in a store near you as production begins to ramp up to meet demand, analysts said Wednesday.

It’s likely Apple will sell 14 million iPhone 4 handsets during the current September quarter, with 15 million more by the end of 2010, according to Rodman and Renshaw analyst Ashok Kumar. While its unclear what has allowed production to increase, in the case of the iPad, it appears one of Apple’s suppliers gets the credit.

It just farts. According to Wired, Phillip Shoemaker — the director of applications technology at Apple, and the honcho responsible for maintaining a puritanical standard of quality in the App Store library — has a side job: selling a series of flatulence, evacuation and micturating simulators on the App Store through his company, Gray Noodle.

One such app is called iWiz. “Simulate the experience of urinating for a long time,” the app description reads. “Convince your friends that you’ll never stop.”

OPlayer, from olimsoft, is an iOS application for both iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad, that claims to boost your device’s media capabilities by allowing playback of a huge list of audio and video file formats.

The list of supported formats is pretty impressive, and will save you a great deal of effort if you often find yourself having to convert movies to watch on your device while you’re on the move. A fairly big video file can take a while to convert and it’s not the most exciting of tasks. But with OPlayer conversion isn’t needed – simply transfer your media to your device.

The full list of supported formats includes MP3, WMA, RM, AAC, WMV, AVI, MKV, RMVB, XVID, MP4, MOV, 3GP and MPG.

You can transfer files to your device using the File Sharing feature within iTunes or you can download them using the built-in browser from your computer, from the internet or from an FTP server. It’s also possible to stream media to your device over Wi-Fi and 3G.

The release of OPlayer, and of CineXPlayer last week, in to the App Store certainly suggests that Apple is relaxing some of its restrictions on app approvals, most likely in a bid to discourage users from jailbreaking their devices. Will this open the doors for other third-party media players?

Get OPlayer for your iPhone & iPod Touch from the App Store here, or get the HD version for your iPad here.

According a recent study of US national health data,  your average teen today doesn’t hear as well as their Gen-X counterparts.

Teenagers with hearing loss (and we mean not just ignoring your parents) grew by a third between between 1988-1994 and 2005-2006. Back when Guns n’ Roses were in heavy rotation on teen Walkmans, 15% of 12-19 year-olds suffered some kind of hearing impairment, now that percentage is 19.5%.

But for once, iPods are not found to blame. A team who studied data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and published findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that music may not be the only thing that can be damaging kids ears.

Other salient factors include diet and nutrition and environmental factors such as exposure to toxins. Poverty also plays a role, researchers found that kids in lower-income families without adequate nutrition may have problems in auditory system development.

The iPod has been accused of hearing loss off and on since its 2001 debut. This probably won’t be the first or last time it is implicated in hearing loss or impairment.

Rock on?

Via Time

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bulLBD18uI8&feature=player_embedded

Recently vacated Mac avatar and sloe-eyed hipster hunk Justin Long popped up on Jimmy Kimmel Live the other night, and let’s just say he’s probably glad his “Get A Mac” gig has ended, because otherwise he might have gotten into some serious trouble pulling out that jailbroken iPhone.

But that’s not really the most interesting thing about his appearance. I got to tell you, I love this clip: I’ve always despised Justin Long, but this anecdote is funny enough that I’m seriously starting to think I just hated him because he was beautiful. And a lackluster thespianr, but whatever. Who knew he was so funny?

[via 9to5Mac]

Psst. Wanna cheap iPad without going to Hong Kong? Well, have I got a deal for you — just don’t look too closely. That line probably wouldn’t sell too many fake iPads in China, but knockoffs of Apple’s tablet device have been spotted in that country for as low as $110.

According to the Wall Street Journal, a Beijing market known for selling tourists fakes of well-known brands has turned its attention to the iPad. Labelled “iPads” and carrying the Apple logo, the knock-offs are a Frankenstein Monster-like mix of Cupertino, Calif. design and Google innards.

Not only does the iPhone Spy Stick seem to serve a particularly shady raison d’etre, but it seems ready to kick you squarely between your wallet’s thighs while it does so.

Basically, the iPhone Spy Stick is a dongle that can be plugged into the bottom of any iPhone running iOS 3.x. Once connected, it will begin slurping up all of the private data you not only thought was secure, but might have even deleted, including internet history, contacts, text messages, photos and more.

That functionality isn’t necessarily evil, of course: data recovery can be totally benign. The name of the product, though, hints at more insidious motives, and the price is certainly extortionate: $199. As a commenter over at Gizmodo notes, that’s a lot of money for a “SQLite front-end and a fake iTunes data layer server.” You’ve got to be really suspicious of your spouse’s infidelities to drop bank on this.

Read more at Brickhouse Security

Valve’s Source engine games run fantastically on the Mac already, but the performance hasn’t quite been up to the level of what they’ve come to expect under Windows, mostly due to issues inherent to Snow Leopard’s graphic drivers. We posted last month that Valve was working closely with Apple to remedy that issue, and now the fruits of their labors have been released, courtesy of a new Snow Leopard Graphics Update.

Here’s what the 69MB update fixes:

Addresses frame rate issues occurring in Portal and Team Fortress 2 by Valve, on iMac (Late 2009 and Mid 2010), Mac mini (Early 2009 and Mid 2010), Mac Pro (Early 2009), MacBook (Early 2009 and Mid 2010) and MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2010) or MacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid 2010) models.

Resolves an issue that could cause Aperture 3, or StarCraft II by Blizzard, to unexpectedly quit or become unresponsive.

Resolves an image corruption issue that may occur when disconnecting and reconnecting external displays while the system is running.

It’s really good to see Apple taking Mac gaming seriously enough to specifically call out new games in their patch notes. Cupertino’s long sent the message that it doesn’t really care about gaming under OS X, but perhaps all that was missing was a passionate advocate like Valve.

Factory workers at Foxconn stepped off the assembly line today and crammed into a stadium for a pep rally to boost morale following 12 worker suicides this year.

AP reports that some 20,000 of these workers at the factory complex where Apple, Dell, Hewlett Packard and Sony produce must-have electronic gadgets for the international market sported fanciful costumes, waved pompoms and shouted pro-company slogans.

The stadium is part of the complex in Shenzen where sleeping quarters, restaurants, hospitals, supermarkets and swimming pools are packed into 2.3 square kilometers (about 0.9 square  miles) and roughly 300,000 workers live.

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nupVEJCC97k&feature=player_embedded

As an Apple blogger, I should be utterly aghast at this advertisement from Free Tax USA of an iPad meeting the pointy end of a sniper bullet, but my real gut reaction is just how viscerally satisfying it looks to shoot an iPad in the face. Someone should make a first person shooter of this for the App Store.

[via Crunchgear]

While the iPod is busy powering bar taps, the iPad gets in on the fun at Yelp powering an iPad controlled keg for the office.  During the 2nd annual Hackathon these serious beer-reseachers knew they had to do something equally productive with Apple’s latest iWonder:

At Yelp, we don’t mess around with our beer. To make sure we never run dry or get a bad pint, the geniuses on this team — John B., Gabe H., Alex D., Julien R., and Jeff M. — built the Kegbot. Controlled by an iPad app, you can tell how much beer is being emptied (and at what rate: cough, John), as well as leave a 5 star review for your brew.

Authorization for pouring your favorite brew comes from a swipe of one’s RFID employee ID badge (after hours, we assume).  Of course there’s also a webpage you can check from your desk to see the status of the KegMate.  I wonder if  Yelp paychecks now include a deduction for beer expenses?

Thanks for Geeky Gadgets for the tip.

Might Google do to television what the Internet giant has already done for publishing – linking to video content and bypassing the content creators? That seems to be the fear of some television executives who are voicing objections to an Android-based set-top box.

Although Google wants to combine web data with TV episodes and online video, content owners are “skeptical that Google can provide a business model that would compensate for potentially cannibalizing TV owners’ existing broadcast business,” reports the Wall Street Journal.

HBO’s CEO says it will begin streaming its premium TV content to iPads within a few months. The service, HBO Go, will be extended to mobile devices in a bid to outmaneuver Netflix, which already offers an iPad app.

In a Bloomberg interview, HBO CEO Reed Hastings said within six months, it will extend its current HBO Go service to mobile devices. Currently, subscribers to the premium TV channel can view original programming on their computers. In July, video rental service Netflix began offering a similar iPad app.

This cool iPhone 4 wallpaper — fully optimized for Apple’s groundbreaking Retina Display — gives you a look at the inner circuitry of the iPhone every time you use it.

Mac developer Casey Fleser made it available onflickr for your iPhone decorating endeavors. The circuit wallpaper comes in two flavors: lite, with just the CPU over a circuit board, and rococo with the resistors, caps, traces and stuff.

The plainer version is probably easier on the eyes in the long run, but it’s hard to resist the siren call of all that complex circuitry. Which do you prefer?

Via Redmond Pie

One of those alternatives is a new browser called iLunascape from Lunascape, Inc. and it is available for free (iTunes link) in the iTunes App Store.

This browser takes a new approach to browser user interfaces (UI) on the iPad and I’m wondering why no one else has thought of this yet. The developer’s new specialized UI called the “In Reach Interface” has clustered most common movements and tabs down near the bottom of the iPad display where the user generally holds the device. In addition to this the iPad user experience is the center of attention, but now includes desktop-class tab browsing, easy screen capture and storage, fast and smooth scrolling, simple bookmarking, and iPad rotation controls.

iLunascape may not be for everyone, since not everyone holds their iPad the same way. However, if you are looking to replace Safari this app is a good start with its unique interface and useful desktop like features. Its free and if you care about your browsing experience on the iPad — go get it.

The robber who ripped off a man’s pinky to steal an iPad is now accused of trying to organize a hit on the victim from jail.

Bill Jordan, 59, had part of his finger amputated after Brandon Smith wrested a just-purchased iPad from him in the parking lot outside Denver’s Cherry Creek Mall store in April.  The Apple bag was looped around Jordan’s hand and the thief jerked hard several times to get it off — so hard that flesh came of Jordan’s left pinky. A surgeon later had to amputate part of the damaged little finger on his dominant hand.

Fox 31 reports that the Denver District attorney plans to file new charges against Smith today for trying to arrange the murder of his victim.

Smith reportedly thought his theft case would go away if the victim was ‘eliminated.’ Smith has been in jail for a few months after being charged with theft and assault.

Monday morning’s court appointment was like something out of a movie: Smith’s lawyers showed up ready to discuss a plea agreement only to discover that prosecutors had new charges to file against him.

Details about the alleged plot are scarce but Jordan and his family are reportedly fine.
More as the story develops.

Via KWGN

ThinkMac has just released iKana 2, a tutorial app covering the Japanese Hiragana and Katakana characters.

The reworked app can teach over 740 common words using a repetition learning system. It has a new user interface, combining elements of OS X and iOS in a hybrid that I’m starting to notice elsewhere too.

Cloud Engines is taking pre-orders for a Wireless Extender that adds Wi-Fi connectivity to the Pogoplug. The wireless adapter costs $29 but current Pogoplug users can get it for free.

The Pogoplug is a net-connected device that allows users to roll their own cloud services, like adding terabytes of storage to an iPad.

The Pogoplug Wireless Extender is compatible with all versions of the Pogoplug, including the recently announced Pogoplug Biz. (Pogoplug is also dropping the price of the current Pogoplug from $129 to $99).

Current owners can get a promo code for a free Wireless Adapter by visiting Pogoplug’s Facebook page or its website support page.