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(Reuters) - A Beijing court has ruled against Apple Inc by upholding the validity of a patent held by a Chinese company, clearing the way for the Chinese company to continue its own case against Apple for infringing intellectual property rights. Apple had taken Shanghai-based Zhizhen Internet Technology and China's State Intellectual Property Office to court to seek a ruling that Zhizhen's patent rights to a speech recognition technology were invalid. But the Beijing First Intermediate Court on Tuesday decided in Zhizhen's favour, the People's Daily state newspaper reported on Wednesday.

It's been clear for some time that the iPad has taken the enterprise by storm as employees tote it to work and companies buy fleets of them. But Apple's PC, the Mac, has never been as dominant in the workplace, until now, according to new research from long-time Microsoft rival, VMware. VMware queried 376 IT professionals and found that they are increasingly being asked to buy and/or support Macs in the enterprise by employees who want Macs, not Windows machines. "Microsoft Windows has dominated enterprise desktops for close to three decades but it appears its reign is coming to an...

The TV reporter was caught up in a discussion about the rarity of openly gay CEOs when he said, ‘I think Tim Cook is open about the fact he’s gay.’ Simon Hobbs is likely wishing he could press rewind. The CNBC co-anchor spoke too soon during a live segment of "Squawk on the Street" Friday when he accidentally outed Apple CEO Tim Cook. New York Times columnist and CNBC contributor James B. Stewart spoke about his recent column dealing with the "tortured life" former BP chief John Browne led as a closeted gay CEO. "I just found it very, very...

Taiwan's Quanta Computer Inc will start mass production of Apple Inc's first smartwatch in July, according to a source familiar with the matter, as the tech giant tries to prove it can still innovate against rival Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. The watch, which remains unnamed but which company followers have dubbed the iWatch, will be Apple's first foray into a niche product category that many remain skeptical about, especially as to whether it can drive profits amid cooling growth in tech gadgets. Apple will introduce a smartwatch with a display that likely measures 2.5 inches diagonally and is slightly rectangular,...

Fasting for as little as three days can regenerate the entire immune system, even in the elderly, scientists have found in a breakthrough described as "remarkable". Although fasting diets have been criticised by nutritionists for being unhealthy, new research suggests starving the body kick-starts stem cells into producing new white blood cells, which fight off infection. Scientists at the University of Southern California say the discovery could be particularly beneficial for people suffering from damaged immune systems, such as cancer patients on chemotherapy. It could also help the elderly whose immune system becomes less effective as they age, making it...

iOS Malware Does Exist With our FortiGuard Labs reporting that 96.5% of all mobile malware is Android based it would be easy to see why someone might opt for an iPhone. But, users beware. Don’t write off iOS as the secure alternative to Android just yet! Despite, Android malware being nearly an epidemic, or as Tim Cook referenced, “a toxic hellstew”, iOS is not immune. Before somebody asks me (again) whether there are any iOS malware or not, I decided to consolidate the information for you. Hope this helps you, and keeps your (i-) phones secure :) (I have marked...

Can the NSA really listen to your iPhone’s microphone even when it is turned OFF? Experts say it is possible - but reveal the trick to beat it Technique known as an 'implant' (requires physical access—Swordmaker) Allows phone to appear switched off - but still operate some communications The NSA could technically listen in to the microphone of an iPhone even if it switched off, experts have revealed. The claim was first made by Edward Snowden during an interview with Brian Williams of NBC Nightly News. Today, experts confirmed the technique was technically possibly - and revealed a way to...

After releasing a lackluster Maps app to compete with Google Maps, Apple found that its wasn't so easy to eclipse Google's long-used app. In fact, Apple Maps was a failure. It would seem that after such a failure Apple would try to update and improve the Maps app, but the Worldwide Developers Conference showed that the app was far from perfected. Instead, it seemed ignored. “There were multiple improvements that didn’t make it into iOS 8,” an unnamed source told TechCrunch. Unfortunately, Apple still hasn't made a good Map app. Previous reports said that app would be more reliable, have...

Apple will unveil and release its highly anticipated smartwatch, which many presume to be called iWatch, in October, according to a report from Re/code.Re/code has a stellar track record when it comes to Apple news, so we believe this report to be legitimate.According to the report, Apple says it is confident enough in its product that it will produce 3 to 5 million for the initial shipment.The New York Times was one of the first outlets to report on the iWatch, after a February 2013 report from Nick Bilton illuminated Apple's nascent smartwatch efforts, likening its possible "next big thing" to something...

It looks like Apple has updated its app developer guidelines today to allow for Bitcoin apps. The new clause under section 11.17, which was flagged by folks on Twitter like investor Bill Lee today, reads: Apps may facilitate transmission of approved virtual currencies provided that they do so in compliance with all state and federal laws for the territories in which the app functions. That sounds like Bitcoin!

Here at the SF Globe, we are huge fans of life hacks. Here's one super creative and easy trick by Simon from Handimania. We do admit...you will need to take caution before trying this one. The good news? You never need to peel apples the traditional way again.

A new video that shows kids reacting to old technology is stirring up memories of clunky monitors and large floppy disks. The Apple II, which was released in 1977, was the pioneer of desktop computers. The 8-bit Apple computer featured a green and black screen and a floppy disk drive for 3.5-by-5-inch media. Relative to today's technology, describing the Apple II as simply obsolete or primitive does not do the situation justice. When the computers first hit the marketplace, Apple sold them for about $1,300. Adjusted for inflation, that translates to $5,000 in today's world, and that amount of money...

Owners of iPhones and iPads have been targeted by a hacker who is freezing iOS devices and demanding a ransom of up to £55 to unlock them. ... "I went to check my phone and there was a message on the screen (it's still there) saying that my device(s) had been hacked by 'Oleg Pliss' and he/she/they demanded $100 USD/EUR (sent by paypal to lock404(at)hotmail.com) to return them to me. ... "Such scams have been around for years. By using the credentials to access an Apple iCloud account, the attackers can enable the 'Find My iPhone' service - this is...

“Owners of Apple devices across Australia are having them digitally held for ransom by hackers demanding payment before they will relinquish control,” Ben Grubb reports for Fairfax Media. “iPad, iPhone and Mac owners in Queensland, NSW, Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria have reported having their devices held hostage.” “One iPhone user, a Fairfax Media employee in Sydney, said she was awoken at 4am on Tuesday to a loud ‘lost phone’ message that said ‘Oleg Pliss’ had hacked her phone. She was instructed to send $50 to a PayPal account to have it unlocked,” Grubb reports. “It is likely hackers...

Three months ago Microsoft announced that long-time Microsoftie Satya Nadella would become the company's third-ever CEO.That has turned out to be a very smart choice.In a few short weeks, the company has a fresh outlook and a more respectful attitude toward all of its constituents, its customers, developers and, most especially, its competitors.The sunny outlook is infectious. Microsoft's stock is trading at a 14-year high, hovering around $40 share.A quick tour of what's been going on at Microsoft shows the company making changes at a feverish pace.Within the past few days ...Nadella proved that Microsoft's war with Apple is over....

A suspect smashed a car into an Apple store in Berkeley early Friday morning and made off with merchandise, police said. Berkeley police responded around 2:52 a.m. to a report of an alarm from the Apple store at 1823 Fourth St. and discovered a car inside the store surrounded by glass debris. Officers checked the vehicle and found it was empty, but noticed “signs of prowl” inside the business. Officers conducted a search of the business but did not find any suspects. An investigation revealed that several Apple products were stolen, including several laptops and iPhone. McDonald's Tests Seasoned French...

“On August 4, 2010, amid the bustle of downtown Seoul, a small group of executives from Apple Inc. pushed through the revolving door into a blue-tinted, 44-story glass tower, ready to fire the first shot in what would become one of the bloodiest corporate wars in history,” Kurt Eichenwald writes for Vanity Fair. “The showdown had been brewing since spring, when Samsung launched the Galaxy S, a new entry into the smartphone market. Apple had snagged one early overseas and gave it to the iPhone team at its Cupertino, California, headquarters. The designers studied it with growing disbelief. The Galaxy...

Asking for opinions on the best budget tablet. Something big enough for me to work on -- i.e., be able to type easily and see the display without holding it six inches from my face. Not worried about communications -- as long as it's got WiFi built in (which I'm sure they all do), I can use my cellphone as a mobile hotspot to transfer/send files. This is intended to be a replacement for a working laptop/notebook. And again -- "budget" is the keyword. Thanks all!.

Apple will raise $12 billion in debt, paying a 0.77 percent premium over Treasuries on the component 10-year notes. The offering will contain seven parts, with maturities ranging from three years to 30. Apple’s recently enlarged shareholder return program is not cheap. By raising a fresh $12 billion via bond issuance, Apple is not forced to bring home foreign cash reserves, a process that the company previously stated would “incur significant tax consequences.”

Apple has determined that the sleep/wake button mechanism on a small percentage of iPhone 5 models may stop working or work intermittently. iPhone 5 models manufactured through March 2013 may be affected by this issue. Apple will replace the sleep/wake button mechanism, free of charge, on iPhone 5 models that exhibit this issue and have a qualifying serial number. The sleep/wake button is located on the top of your iPhone 5: