Free Republic

Security expert expresses discontentSophos’ Graham Cluley has updated his blog with news that the author of the Ikee worm, emerged earlier this month, has gotten himself places, thanks to his malicious feat. Cluley doesn’t care much for the hacker and would rather see him pay for his actions, rather than get rewarded. “The author of the world's first iPhone worm must be feeling pretty chirpy today, because he's managed to get himself a job as an iPhone application developer,” Cluley writes. “21-year-old Australian Ashley Towns, revealed that he was going to join mogeneration [...] on his Twitter feed earlier today,”...

Windows 7 passes Mac OS X in market share race Weekend numbers for new OS bigger than for all versions of Mac OS X, says Net Applications Windows 7 passed the 5% market share milestone last weekend, which put it, if only temporarily, above the total market share of all versions of Apple's Mac OS X, a Web measurement firm said today.Last Saturday and Sunday, Windows 7 powered an estimated 5% and 5.14% of all computers that were online those days, according to Internet metrics vendor Net Applications. The two-day average of 5.07% was higher than the 5% of the...

A number of complaints are swirling around the Internet today about issues with Apple's new Core i7-based iMacs -- among them, reports of units showing up dead on arrival or even with cracked screens. New iMac users are reporting that their unit chimes as it should when the power button is pressed, but the display is blank and nothing else happens. Adding insult to injury, these customers are discovering that after returning their dead units, they face a lengthy wait of up to two weeks for a replacement. Apple's discussion support forum is filling up with such complaints according to...

Apple is set to files its brief on Monday detailing the damages and injunction details it wants to see imposed on Psystar for building and selling unauthorized Mac clones. Apple filed a lawsuit against Psystar in Northern California several months ago claiming the small PC maker was violating the Mac OS X end user license agreement, and that it was violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act with the steps it used to install the Mac operating system on PCs. Psystar claimed that it should be allowed to build and sell PCs with Mac OS X pre-installed and that Apple is...

HP's 3rd quarter results hurt by budget PCs updated 05:30 pm EST, Mon November 23, 2009 HP Q3 2009 shipments up, revenue down HP this afternoon revealed mixed results for its quarter ended in October. The company's net earnings climbed 14 percent year-over-year to $2.4 billion, but its revenue dropped by 8 percent to $30.8 billion in the same time frame. It credits the profit boost to cost-cutting measures but saw its revenue drop across the board in every category, including the Personal Systems Group that handles its common PC business. The division shipped 8 percent more PCs than a...

Apple is apparently telling at least some customers that the amount of cigarette smoke residue inside their computers makes it unsafe for the company to perform warranty service on them, despite the lack of such a clause in the company's warranty agreement. The Consumerist says the complaint as been raised as far as Steve Jobs' office, with no relief for the customers involved. The story was reported on Friday, though the Consumerist said it had sought, but failed to receive, any explanation from Apple HQ over a period of months. (The site is part of the Consumers Union/Consumer Reports organization,...

Mr2001 writes "Consumerist reports that Apple is refusing to work on computers that have been used in smoking households. 'The Apple store called and informed me that due to the computer having been used in a house where there was smoking, [the warranty has been voided] and they refuse to work on the machine "due to health risks of second hand smoke,"' wrote one customer. Another said, 'When I asked for an explanation, she said [the owner of the iMac is] a smoker and it's contaminated with cigarette smoke, which they consider a bio-hazard! I checked my Applecare warranty and...

Jobs’ Personal, Terse Reply to Developer Written on November 20, 2009 by Liam Cassidy Gotta love that Steve Jobs. He never was one to hold back, and even now, when he’s the CEO of the Universe (or something like that), he won’t be found spouting corporate speak. CrunchGear tells the story of a small software development company called The Little App Factory. It made an app for the Mac called iPodRip, one of those tools for transferring music from an iPod to a computer. A law firm representing Apple sent The Little App Factory a letter, informing the company it had...

Has Palm finally given up on the great cat/mouse/iTunes chase of ‘09? November 17th, 2009 Posted in Technology The number of times Apple and Palm went back and forth trading clever coding tactics was beginning to wear thin. At first I found myself saying “yay for the little guy”. But after Apple made it very clear from the get go that they weren’t feeling the cross platform love, Palm decided to kick it up a notch. And so began the cat and mouse game that went on for weeks. The latest Palm OS update, 1.3.1, that was released recently failed...

An in-depth look at Psystar’s legal defeat at the hands of Apple Wed, Nov 18, 2009 Last Friday, Judge Alsup dealt Psystar a death blow when it granted Apple’s motion for Summary Judgment while at the same time denying Psystar’s own motion for Summary Judgment.  Summary Judgment is essentially when a Judge dismisses an entire case, or specific issues in a case, because it lacks any evidentiary support. Now that we’ve had time to fully pour over Judge Alsup’s 16-page decision, we’re going to break down much the reasoning behind Alsup’s ruling and pinpoint exactly why Psystar’s legal arguments failed...

I am in the same boat as the developer whose app was rejected (and later approved under pressure) by Apple. So far, our app has been rejected three times by Apple because "... it contains content that ridicules public figures". Our app is a countdown timer to the 2010 midterm elections, 2012 presidential election, and 2013 inauguration. The images are included below. Can you help a fellow Freeper get his iPhone app published by Apple?    

An iPhone application that Apple had rejected as "objectionable" for its caricatures of members of Congress now is available to users, the application's developer told FoxNews.com Saturday. The developer, Ray Griggs, said Apple reversed its initial decision after a FoxNews.com story this week about claims that the caricatures, in particular a drawing of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, were "offensive." The app, now for sale at the iTunes App Store, provides access to a telephone directory that lists the number of every U.S. senator and congressman and features caricatures of the legislators drawn by an artist.

An iPhone application that Apple had rejected as "objectionable" for its caricatures of members of congress now is available to users, the application's developer told FoxNews.com Saturday. The developer, Ray Griggs, said Apple reversed it's initial decision after a FoxNews.com story this week about claims that the caricatures, in particular a drawing of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, were "offensive." The app, now for sale at the iTunes App Store, provides access to a telephone directory that lists the number of every U.S. senator and congressman and features caricatures of the legislators drawn by an artist. Griggs, who thanked the nearly...

A conservative filmmaker in Hollywood thought he had developed a worthwhile iPhone app: a telephone directory listing every U.S. senator and congressman, with caricatures of the legislators drawn by an artist. But Apple apparently didn't see the value, and the computer behemoth said a cartoon drawing of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was part of the reason why. The filmmaker, Ray Griggs, told FoxNews.com that his small firm, RG Entertainment, received a rejection letter from Apple this week calling the caricatures "objectionable." He added that he has received several e-mails suggesting that Apple stock owned by Pelosi's husband may have played...

I've got some sour news for you, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) shareholders. It doesn't matter how many iPods you buy, iPhone apps you download, or black mock turtlenecks you wear: Steve Jobs couldn't care less about you. And that's why -- despite great products, a killer brand, and mouth-watering growth potential -- I would advise against owning shares of his company. Hey Steve, the Jerk Store called There's plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest that Jobs is a jerk. Stories of Apple's CEO throwing temper tantrums, berating his employees, taking credit for others' ideas, and even parking his Mercedes in handicapped...

The second half of 2010 could finally bring a much-anticipated Verizon Wireless iPhone. A new hybrid chip developed by Qualcomm makes it possible to communicate with several different network technologies using only one component. This means Apple can manufacture one device, the "world mode" iPhone that will work on all of the networks it's currently compatible with as well as Verizon's CDMA network. Previous reports speculated that Apple would wait until at least 2011 for Verizon's launch of LTE technology.

When you buy an Apple device, you're often locked in to buying other Apple products that are compatible with it. Here are five examples, and some advice on what to do. Oh, wait--there's nothing you can do.Once you enter the Big Tent of Apple, it's exceedingly hard to find the exit. Over its 33-year history, Apple has consistently elected to limit consumer choice, creating a situation known as "lock in." As soon as you start buying stuff from Apple, you'll find it difficult to move to products made by someone else without losing everything you've already paid for. Of course,...

The brand new 27" iMac is suffering from major problems with video graphics while Windows 7 operating on the same machines is working fine. According to Apple bulletin boards, users started to notice that their Macs' pretty screens were running movies in browsers that were choppier than the North Sea in winter. With no help from Apple, Mac Fans have been trying to piece together what could be causing such a kerfuffle. Initially the thought was that it was probably some cheap Chinese component which was failing or overheating. However when Windows 7 appeared on the scene and users started...

My daughter a HS Junior is doing really well in school. I am planning to buy her a new laptop for school. She currently has a Dell 13" XPS that has been ok, but the battery has been replaced twice, the CD/DVD will currently only play CDs and it is getting slower to start up. So I start looking and I know she wants a Mac because they are cool, I however am not a Mac fan. Not that there is anything wrong with Mac, I have a slowly dying PowerMac G5 Dual that has a nice monitor I use...

Long recognized as one of America's savviest -- and most splashy -- advertisers, Apple Inc. is looking to seal another flashy pact with the CTA. A CTA spokeswoman confirmed that the transit authority is in talks with the computer and iPhone behemoth about a deal that could net the cash-strapped CTA as much as $4 million in funding from Apple to pay for an upgrade of the run-down subway station at North and Clybourn, which is adjacent to an Apple retail store now under construction and expected to open next year.

I think the saying goes that those that don’t learn from history are destined to repeat it. This is likely to point with Apple this month as they sit stunned that Windows 7 is doing so well and they are left looking foolish with products priced out of the segment. Their big news this week was a couple of PCs, a new keyboard and a multi-touch mouse. This last will likely go down in history as one of the lamest devices yet as they should know, given the iPhone, that touch is connected to the screen and not anything else....

Everybody failed to predict Cupertino's blowout quarter, but some failed worse than others "Well, that was quite embarrassing!" writes "deagol," a widely read amateur analyst whose estimate of Apple's fourth quarter earnings fell 16% short of the record profits the company reported Monday.... Once again, the amateurs and independents out-performed the professionals in our quarterly Apple analyst bake-off. The color-coded spreadsheet is pasted below the fold.But first, some general comments about why everybody failed to predict that Apple's profits would grow 46% or that the company would sell a record 3 million Macs — up 17% in a quarter in...

Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2009 fourth quarter ended September 26, 2009. The Company posted revenue of $9.87 billion and a net quarterly profit of $1.67 billion, or $1.82 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $7.9 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.14 billion, or $1.26 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 36.6 percent, up from 34.7 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 46 percent of the quarter’s revenue. Analysts consensus' expectations called for EPS of $1.42 on $9.2 billion revenue. In accordance with the subscription accounting...

Read from bottom up for proper sequential presentation.—Swordmaker MacDailyNews presents live notes from Apple’s conference call discussing Q409 financial results. Live notes will begin today at 2pm PDT/5pm EDT in reverse-chronological order: Conference call ends. Apple again refuses to talk about the anticipated Q110 air freight cost increases in terms of specific products The State of Maine buy helped immensely Student Mac buys significantly helped Apple's online sales. Apple still worried about state education spending. iPhone sell-through up 38% YOY which is a significant multiple vs. the smartphone market growth overall Apple continues to be pleased with the number of...

Today is the 22nd anniversary of Black Monday in 1987 when the Dow lost 22%. While we've had a lot of volatility in the markets recently, I think everyone would be stunned if we had that kind of a day. All three indices were down on Friday and that followed a bad day on Thursday as well. Futures are pointing up modestly this morning. A lot of companies including Hasbro, Texas Instruments, Apple and Boston Scientific will announce earnings before, during, and after the market hours today. Also, Ben Bernanke will give a speech on the economy this morning and...

Book seller Barnes & Noble is expected to announce its own e-reader next week, and a new report states the device will sport both black-and-white e-ink and a multi-touch, iPhone-like color display. New information and photos of the device were provided to Gizmodo, which revealed that a majority of the device will have a traditional e-ink display, much like the Amazon Kindle, which provides superior battery life. It will be a 6-inch screen with an 800x600 pixel resolution. But the bottom portion of the device will have an LCD color display sporting multi-touch technology. It will be used to browse...

Public Discourse: Our energy secretary applauds and encourages companies to leave the U.S. Chamber of Commerce over its position on climate change. Should any Cabinet secretary, with the powers of government behind him, be threatening U.S. companies? Part of the climate-change mantra is that the debate is over and the science is settled. Just to make sure, environmental groups have sought to pressure businesses to go green or at least keep silent. Now it would appear the whole weight of the federal government is being thrown behind this campaign to coerce and silence real and potential opposition. On Thursday, Steven...

In a not-entirely-surprising move, Apple today announced the renaming of its key products, formerly the iMac computer, the iPhone smartphone, and the iPod portable music player, will henceforth be called the "OMac" the "OPhone" and the "OPod". Apple Board of Director Albert Gore, Jr., released a statement on recycled post-consumer paper, using organic soy ink, pointing out that a the name "GorePod" tested much better with key demographic groups than "OPod", and that he is worried about the amount of paper and electricity that will be consumed in rebranding these already successful products. When Apple pointed out the amount of...

A massive energy bill that has already passed the House, and is currently before the Senate, would create new government programs that would not only encourage the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by utilities and energy companies, but set limits over time as to the quantity of that reduction over the next several years. The US Chamber of Commerce (USCC), a private business federation that is not affiliated with the federal government, went on record last August as being skeptical of any legislative or regulatory effort that assumes greenhouse gasses truly endanger human health. Late last month, the Chamber voiced...

Apple has left the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the fourth company to end its membership over the business group’s climate change stance. A fifth company, Nike, quit the Chamber’s board of directors but remains members of the group. In a letter sent to Chamber CEO Tom Donohue on Monday, an Apple executive said the company “strongly” objects to the Chamber’s comments opposing the Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to limit greenhouse gases. “We would prefer that the Chamber take a more progressive stance on this critical issue and play a constructive role in addressing the climate crisis,” Apple Vice President for...

Windows works for me. But I'd never recommend it to anybody else, ever.I admit it: I'm a bigot. A hopeless bigot at that: I know my particular prejudice is absurd, but I just can't control it. It's Apple. I don't like Apple products. And the better-designed and more ubiquitous they become, the more I dislike them. I blame the customers. Awful people. Awful. Stop showing me your iPhone. Stop stroking your Macbook. Stop telling me to get one. Seriously, stop it. I don't care if Mac stuff is better. I don't care if Mac stuff is cool. I don't care...

Fruit grower Ken Morrish was left stunned when he found a golden delicious apple on his tree split exactly half green, half red down the middle.Ken Morrish, 72, of Colaton Raleigh, Devon, did a double take when he grew a Golden Delicious apple split down the middle - one half was green and the other red Photo: ARCHANT The fruit's striking colouring is thought to be caused by a random genetic mutation at odds of more than a million to one. The apple has caused such a stir in the village of Colaton Raleigh, Devon, that Mr Morrish is inundated...

fruit grower Ken Morrish was left stunned when he found a golden delicious apple on his tree split exactly half green, half red down the middle. The fruit's striking colouring is thought to be caused by a random genetic mutation at odds

Apple as early as this month will begin to fill out its 2009 Mac product line with a new family of iMacs sporting classier enclosures and a few added bells and whistles, AppleInsider has learned. The new all-in-one, dual-core desktops were finalized earlier in September and have been rolling off the Mac maker's Taiwanese product lines for roughly two weeks, according to two people familiar with the matter. In addition to more affordable pricing, the systems are expected to come clad in a thinner industrial design, one of those people added. Though details are admittedly limited, it's likely these new...

Hackers just like the PC more. Regardless of which side you're on (though as a true computing enthusiast, you shouldn't be taking sides), you've heard the arguments back and forth on the which operating system is truly safer – Mac OS X or Windows. It is of the opinion of Charlie Miller, a well known Mac security guru, that even Snow Leopard, the latest version of Mac OS X, isn't as safe as Windows. One key point is that Snow Leopard still doesn't have ASLR, or address space layout randomization, which randomly arranges the position of key data making it...

I don't know would you buy/wear a tie that holds your iPod? Its called the 'Commuter Tie' - its by Thomas Pink. Said Thomas Pink: "Keeping up with technology miniaturisation, the popular Commuter Tie has been updated to ..

Apple has won every category it participated in as part of a new study of service and reliablity. The reader-driven PCMag rankings saw it lead the cellphone, desktop, notebook and portable media categories, in some cases with particularly wide margins compared to rivals. Apple's best success was in the notebook category, where MacBooks earned an overall score of 9.2 out of 10 and a very high 9.4 out of 10 "would recommend" score. The win was a narrow one as Taiwan's ASUS made a relatively large gain to claim second place with 8.8 overall and 9.0 in recommendations. Its general...

Apple has followed the judge's direction and filed a motion to dismiss or enjoin prosecution [PDF] of Psystar's Florida action. There is no reason, it argues, to have the same issues litigated in two courtrooms 3,000 miles away from each other simultaneously. It also asks to reopen limited discovery for 45-60 days, just about the issue of the technical method Psystar uses to install Snow Leopard on its non-Apple hardware. Apple asked for this at the recent hearing, and the judge said to officially file a motion, so this is it. Apple doesn't mind if that means putting off the...

Apple's September quarter Mac sales are ahead of consensus after July and August, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster says in a note today, based on analysis of NPD Group stats. Meanwhile, iPod sales are trending below estimates, but international growth and new iPod models will help. Munster says NPD data from July and August show Mac sales up 7% year-over-year through August, while the Street is expecting 5% year-over-year growth for the quarter. Back-to-school sales in the first two months of the quarter probably helped, but at least Apple could handle some deceleration this month and still meet expectations. (And...

One of the main new features in Apple's new Snow Leopard operating system has been released as open source. Apple has released the code of the userland portion of its Grand Central Dispatch technology under the Apache License, version 2. Mac OS X also has kernel support for Grand Central Dispatch, which is also released as open source via the XNU project. While we're at it, let's take this opportunity to look into exactly what Grand Central Dispatch is.

The free iPhone OS 3.1 Software Update includes some great new features, as well as all the features from previous updates. iPhone OS 3.1 gives you Genius recommendations for apps, lets you download ringtones wirelessly, offers a new way to organize apps on your iPhone, and more.

Apple today made the source code of Grand Central Dispatch available under an Apache open source license. One of the new technologies for concurrency added to Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, Grand Central is Apple’s attempt to help developers deal with the rise of multi-core. The open sourcing of Grand Central comes as something of a surprise, because it is a core technology in Snow Leopard, and could be seen to give Apple a competitive edge in the new world of multi-core. So why did they do it? Only Apple knows for sure, but there are compelling arguments for...

Apple Inc. is expected to unveil an updated line of iPods at an event next week as it aims to boost slowing demand for the music players. The Cupertino, Calif., company issued invitations Monday to media and analysts for a "special event" in San Francisco on Sept. 9 that Apple indicated would be related to its iPod music players. The email invitation showed the dancing silhouette of a person with an iPod and the words: "It's only rock and roll, but we like it". --snip--

Mac Freepers I need your help! Every time I load hotair.com, Safari loads 3/4 of the way, then crashes. These are the plug-ins I have now: -MoveNetworks Quantum Media Player -iPhotoPhotocast -Java Plug-in for Cocoa -Shockwave for Director -QuickTime Plug-in 7.6 -PhotoCenterPlugin1.1.2.2 -Quartz Composer Plug-In -Flip4Mac Windows Media Plugin 2.2.1 -Flip4Mac Windows Media Web Plugin 2.2.1 -Verified Download Plugin -Shockwave Flash -Microsoft Office Live Plug-in -QuickTime Plug-In 7.6 -DivX Web Player I already tried "resetting" Safari in the menu. Please help! Safari works so well, but I always forget and go to hotair and then it crashes all my windows....

Yelp iPhone Application Adds Augmented Reality Easter Egg Thursday August 27, 2009 04:42 PM EST; Category: iPhoneWritten by Eric Slivka Mashable reports on a discovery that the latest update to the iPhone application from popular business establishment review site Yelp [App Store, Free] contains an augmented reality easter egg called "Monocle" that allows users to view business ratings overlayed on a video stream from their iPhone's camera. The feature is only compatible with the iPhone 3GS, which contains the necessary digital compass for properly assessing the device's orientation. Download the new Yelp app (came out yesterday). So you shake your...

The iPhone & Steve Ballmer: It’s Time For Him To Eat Some Serious CrowWednesday, August 26, 2009 There are very few people in the tech world who annoy me quite like Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft. It’s not just that he’s loud, dismissive and arrogant. It’s that he manages to be all these things while usually being spectacularly wrong, especially when it comes to Apple. Take for example his thoughts on the iPhone from a USAToday article in 2007: “There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance,” said Ballmer. “It’s a $500...

Parallels to make switching to the Mac easier, safe and painless August 24, 2009 by Dean Takahashi In the Windows vs. Mac war, we are at a crossroads. Apple is launching its Snow Leopard version of the Mac operating system on Friday at the low price of $29. Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system will launch in October with the primary aim of fixing the problems created by Windows Vista. There has never been a better time to switch to the Mac. Parallels, which makes software so you can run Windows or Mac software on the same machine and use them...

Intego Spots Malware Blocker in Snow Leopard August 25th, 2009 at 5:40 PM by Bryan Chaffin Snow Leopard contains a malware blocker, according to Mac antivirus software developer Intego. The company posted a screenshot of a warning dialog box on its blog that it said was from Snow Leopard, the Mac OS X 10.6 upgrade Apple is shipping on Friday. "We're not sure yet exactly how this works," the firm wrote, "but the above screen shot shows this feature working with a download made via Safari, detecting a version of the RSPlug Trojan horse in a downloaded disk image." If...

Psystar Hit with $5K Fine for Discovery Abuse August 25th, 2009 at 11:03 AM by Jeff Gamet Unauthorized Mac clone maker Psystar was slapped with a US$5,000 fine for discovery abuse, indicating the company's "guns blazin'" legal strategy may have misfired. The ruling came as part of Apple's case against the company for selling PCs with Mac OS X pre-installed. "The $5,000.00 penalty means that judge Alsup has found that Psystar has violated the rules of discovery," an attorney familiar with this type of case told The Mac Observer. "That indicates that Psystar is in trouble with the court. However,...

GROKLAW’S EXCELLENT TAKE ON THE RECENT PSYSTAR SHENANIGANS Monday, 24 August 2009 A great article on Groklaw about the Apple/Psystar case taking a “darker turn”. Even if you just read up to Psystar’s two reproduced letters, it’s a somehwat long post, but it’s excellent. The following quote struck me the most: I am starting to wonder, are weirdo lawsuits involving companies with nothing much to lose and claims and defenses that seem doomed from the start going to happen to *all* of Microsoft’s competitors?… Every tech site on the planet is writing about Apple and Psystar, but in my view...