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What you need to know about the Conficker worm

Tue, 31 Mar 2009

If you’ve been paying attention to general computer news, you may have read about the Conficker worm, and what may (or may not) happen to Windows PCs that are infected with Conficker on April 1. The worm has received a lot of attention, leading more than a few Mac users to ask about the worm’s impact on OS X. Mac security maker Intego received so many inquiries that the company added a Conficker entry to its blog.

So, as a Mac user, how worried should you be about Conficker? The short answer to the question is that, unless you’re running Windows inside a virtual machine or via Boot Camp, you really don’t have much to fear from Conficker.

Rob Griffiths | Read more...


Mac mini fan, iSight and the power of Augmented Reality technology

Sat, 28 Mar 2009

The next generation of technology journalists are starting early. One canny eight year old from Belfast has recorded his first video cast using the power of the built in Apple iSight camera. The tech savy junior recorded a demonstration of Augmented Reality in the form of a step-by-step tutorial for the Mac. It’s brief but impressive, a potential ‘Macworld Masterclass’ host in the making.

The proud video podcaster told Macworld: "Making my first ever technology video was great fun, my sister was the director, we had to record it nine times before we got it right. We hope to make more soon"

Nick Spence | Read more...


Twits ain’t so stupid any more

Fri, 27 Mar 2009

One of the least surprising pieces of news this month reported that the amount of time UK children spend online is actually double their parents’ estimates. Symantec’s Norton Online Living report revealed that kids are spending an average of 43.5 hours per month surfing the web, compared to the 18.8 hours their parents think they are. One in five parents said they had caught their kids looking at inappropriate content online – presumably the other four just didn’t catch them.

However, a third of kids admit to being friends with their parents on social-networking site Facebook. Are these kids mad, or are they actually smart enough to have a nice, clean pretend Facebook account linked to mummy and daddy detailing how they’ve finished their homework and enjoyed David Attenborough’s Darwin documentary, and another full of lists of drunken escapades and pictures of their bottoms?

Simon Jary | Read more...


Report: Tiered iTunes pricing coming 7 April

Fri, 27 Mar 2009

Buckle up, folks - the end is nigh. No, I’m not talking about the imminent financial collapse of Western society as we know it - though that, too, would be bad. I’m referring, of course, to the fact that tiered pricing is coming to the iTunes Store in the next few weeks.

And with it, apparently, the downfall of civilization.

Dan Moren | Read more...


Publishers might see revenue boost from iPhone 3.0

Wed, 25 Mar 2009

Could the recently announced iPhone 3.0 operating system bring a new revenue source to the much-beleaguered publishing industry? Gartner’s Mike McGuire thinks it could. In fact, in a blog post last week, he predicted that Apple’s announcement “will put pressure on a few folks in the media industry.”

Addressing newspaper and magazine publishers, he warns that “if you aren’t already developing or at least understanding, in detail, what the iPhone means to your sector, you will be feeling the pressure soon.”

Lincoln Spector | Read more...


Why even IT pros are demanding Macs

Mon, 23 Mar 2009

The rise of the Mac in the enterprise is increasing because users are finding ever more ingenious ways to work with Apple's accommodating platform. A mid-2008 Yankee Group survey of 750 senior IT executives found nearly 80 percent have Macs onboard, up from 47 per cent in 2006.

Nearly a quarter of these have 30 or more Mac boxes. Usability features such as Safari browsing, iChat videoconferencing, FileVault encryption, Back To My Mac remote control, Spotlight search, and Time Machine backup were cited as primary user attractants.

Mel Beckman | Read more...


Lights, Camera, Action – The making of Michael’s Resignation

Mon, 23 Mar 2009

Among the dozens, sometimes hundreds, of emails Macworld receives each day, one recently stood out as a novel way to generate interest and income in difficult economic times.

The bottom line - a community of young British filmmakers are offering the public the chance to invest in their feature film production to help them make themselves money during the recession. They, optimistically perhaps, hope to give back 10-20 times what is invested back to those who help them raise the £50k necessary to pay for the crew, camera equipment and special effects.

Nick Spence | Read more...


Apple premium pricing buys more than a logo

Mon, 23 Mar 2009

I did not plan to take time out of my weekend to defend Apple, but Jeff Bertolucci's missive "Ballmer Is Right: Mac Users Do Pay Dearly for Apple Logo" is just wrong. Not in the facts, mind you, just the analysis.

Jeff compares a low-end MacBook portable to a similar Dell laptop. He concludes that the MacBook, at $999, costs $359 more than the Dell. Jeff never actually states an opinion on the relative value of the two machines - the headline does that work--but it seems clear enough where he's coming from: The Mac isn't worth the extra coin.

David Coursey | Read more...


iTunes HD: The price is what?

Fri, 20 Mar 2009

In one of those stealth announcements that we’re sure will have critics up in arms about its lackluster nature, Apple’s now allowing customers to buy and rent HD movies from the iTunes Store (so far in the US only) on their computers.

If you thought that was already the case, I won’t blame you for the confusion - the progression of HD content on the store has been a long and winding road.

Dan Moren | Read more...


iPhone 3.0 starts Apple's 2009 off right

Thu, 19 Mar 2009

Let's stop treating Apple as a tabloid rock star, evaluating its performance only on its last gig.

My fellow PC World blogger David Coursey thinks that given the first few months, Apple might as well pack up and hope for a better 2010. I disagree on two points: Apple's early announcements have given enough punch, and we still have nine-and-a-half more months in 2009.

Zack Stern | Read more...


Think before you Tweet

Thu, 19 Mar 2009

I love Twitter, as my 7,121 updates will attest. But let's get this straight: while it might be okay to tweet about waffles and Watchmen, there are times when you might want to think twice.

Just this week I've noticed three examples of tweeting in questionable contexts, which suggest both that Twitter is growing by leaps and bounds and that etiquette hasn't caught up with technology yet.

Jason Snell | Read more...


Five iPhone accessories I want to see now

Wed, 18 Mar 2009

Apple’s iPhone 3.0 media event concluded yesterday, and I’m still rejoicing at the possibilities of iPhone 3.0, as enabled by peripherals.

One of the big pieces of news from Tuesday morning’s event, in case you haven’t been following, is that iPhone 3.0 will support accessories that attach to the iPhone’s dock connector.

Melissa J. Perenson | Read more...


Our Apple iPhone 3.0 Scorecard

Wed, 18 Mar 2009

On Monday, we published a list of 15 iPhone 3.0 features we’d like to see. Now that Tuesday’s iPhone 3.0 event has come and gone, how did Apple do?

Here’s a look at each item and how iPhone 3.0 fares compared to our wish list.

Dan Frakes | Read more...


Can an Apple Netbook Ride iPhone Success?

Wed, 18 Mar 2009

Will Apple's rumoured 10-inch touchscreen netbook make a splash in the enterprise? With sales of pricey Macs sputtering, Apple may be looking at the emerging netbook market to kick-start business. Rumours of an Apple netbook-like product in the works gained steamed last week after leaks surfaced that Apple bought 10-inch touchscreens from a Taiwanese manufacturer.

"A product like this can appeal to the markets that Apple has never been good at," such as countries where Apple computers have little presence, says Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney. "A big, clamshell version of the iPhone can get Apple into lower-cost markets."

Tom Kaneshige | Read more...


Maine to put a MacBook on every student's desk

Tue, 17 Mar 2009

When my high-school teacher told us to "get out our notebooks", I pulled out a college-ruled spiral-bound Mead - just like everybody else in the Dark Ages. These days, though, kids are just as likely to pull out a MacBook, especially if they live in Maine.

The state has long struck deals with Apple to provide laptops for many of its students, and according to a report by the Associated Press, it's in negotiations with Apple to expand the deal this year, putting a MacBook on the desk of every public school student from grades 7 to 12.

Dan Moren | Read more...


The iPod headphone shuffle

Mon, 16 Mar 2009

Apple’s announcement of the third-generation iPod shuffle brought something many of us never thought we’d see (other than in a Saturday Night Live skit): an iPod with no buttons. There’s a switch for turning the shuffle on and off, but the familiar - and easy to use, I might add - five-button control pad has vanished.

So how do you control the new iPod shuffle? The bundled Apple earbuds - similar to the Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic the company has been selling since last fall for use with other iPod models - include a small, inline controller with just three buttons: volume up, volume down, and, well, let’s just call it Button.

Dan Frakes | Read more...


Apple iTunes Autofill opens up

Mon, 16 Mar 2009

Back in February 2006, over three years ago, I wrote an editorial asking - in fact, nearly begging - Apple to make the iPod shuffle’s Autofill feature available to all iPods. If you’ve never owned a shuffle, Autofill is a feature of iTunes that automatically picks an assortment of songs, from either your iTunes Library as a whole or a playlist of your choosing, to fill up the iPod. (Depending on your setting, the tracks are chosen randomly or with preference given to those with higher ratings. You can even set iTunes to pick a completely new set of tracks each time you use the Autofill feature.)

It’s a great feature, but one that’s been available only for the shuffle, despite the fact that Apple has long sold various other iPod models - nd a couple phones you may have heard of - with capacities too small to hold an entire music collection.

Dan Frakes | Read more...


Loving Dancing Woz

Fri, 13 Mar 2009

If you didn't get to see the other Apple Steve on US prime time show "Dancing with the Stars" last weekend then take a look at this Dancing Woz You Tube clip.

Read more...


California legislator wants to censor Google Earth

Fri, 13 Mar 2009

Joel Anderson, a Republican California state assemblyman from San Diego County, wants to make sure that the terrorists can't win. Because obviously, the only thing that's allowing them to commit heinous acts is having access to the Internet. Specifically, to services like Google Earth.

About a month ago, Anderson introduced Assembly Bill 255, which would fine Web sites and other online services up to $250,000 per day for not blurring out schools, places of worship, medical facilities, or government sites on satellite or aerial imagery.

Cyrus Farivar | Read more...


What rumoured layoffs mean for the Mac in enterprise

Fri, 13 Mar 2009

Last week, Apple laid off about 50 salespeople, sources told CNET, Valleywag, and 9to5Mac.com. While the number of layoffs is a drop in the bucket for Apple, CIOs will be interested in where they happened: the enterprise group.

Apple, of course, has never been keen on the enterprise market. Whether it’s Apple ads poking fun of corporate IT or departures of enterprise execs like Al Shipp, it’s no surprise that Apple’s enterprise strategy is really to court consumers who, in turn, will bring Apple products to work.

Tom Kaneshige | Read more...


Another take on Apple’s new iPod shuffle

Thu, 12 Mar 2009

After Apple released a redesigned iPod shuffle on Wednesday, my colleague Dan Moren posted an entry in this blog criticizing some of the design aspects of this 4GB, $79 (£59) shuffle. I have a slightly different take. Here’s a reprint of what I said at the start of the latest Macworld podcast about the shuffle’s new look.

The noteworthy features of the new iPod shuffle are lack of physical controls and a new Voice Over feature that, like the latest iPod nano, narrates where you are in the interface using your computer’s speech voices.

Christopher Breen | Read more...


The new iPod shuffle: Button, button, who's got the button?

Thu, 12 Mar 2009

That shouldn’t come as a surprise to you: the Apple CEO has been on a crusade to wipe moving parts from the face of Apple’s products as early as the replacement of PowerBook trackballs with trackpads or the removal of the physical scroll wheel from the original iPod. The iPhone and iPod touch were further steps towards a button-free world, relegating as many controls as possible on the touchscreen.

And now we have the buttonless iPod shuffle. With the exception of a single switch that controls the unit's power and lets you change between shuffle and ordered play, the iPod shuffle itself contains no buttons. Instead, the playback controls are integrated into the headphone cord: you can squeeze either the top, bottom, or center of the remote to execute different functions.

Dan Moren | Read more...


Is the Mac mini overpriced?

Wed, 11 Mar 2009

Since Apple updated its Mac mini line a week ago, I've found myself getting into some pretty heated discussions with friends, colleagues, and others, about the mini's price tag.

As you know, Apple's latest mini models feature a 2GHz Core 2 Duo chip with 3MB of shared L2 cache. They also feature Nvidia GeForce 9400 integrated graphics, replacing the meager Intel GMA 950 graphics of the previous models.

Jim Dalrymple | Read more...


iPhone developer takes measures to combat piracy

Wed, 11 Mar 2009

As good as the App Store is in many respects, here's a serious drawback you may not have considered: since all the applications on the store protected by the same copy-protection scheme, if just one person figures out how to get past it, anyone on the Internet can get thousands of applications for free.

Unfortunately for both iPhone third-party developers and Apple, the FairPlay DRM that protects apps was compromised a few months ago and pirates have been using cracked versions of paid applications for a while now.

Aayush Arya | Read more...


Palm, Elevation pull back on McNamee comments

Tue, 10 Mar 2009

It may be all fun and games for you and me when executives start talking crazy, but it can trigger plenty of sweaty collars in the boardroom. Last week, Elevation Partners co-founder Roger McNamee - whose company is one of Palm’s premiere investors - told Bloomberg that early adopters would flock to Palm’s forthcoming Pre smartphone like pretentious hipsters to a Vampire Weekend concert.

On Monday, Palm and Elevation issued a “Free Writing Prospectus” - read: press release - to correct and clarify (a close cousin to “dodge and deflect”) McNamee’s statements.

Dan Moren | Read more...


Rumoured Apple device probably won't be a netbook

Tue, 10 Mar 2009

There has been much speculation about a supposed new Apple netbook computer, and the rumours have once again re-emerged. Forgive me for pointing out the obvious, but the current MacBook Air would seem to fit most definitions of netbook, except for one. Why does Apple need another?

Apple may be--probably is--working on something, but it probably won't be a real netbook anymore than my iPhone is a full-fledged computer.

David Coursey | Read more...


How do you people get through the day?

Mon, 09 Mar 2009

The little Inspector panel here in my word processor reports that this question is only 63 per cent rhetorical (is there anything that Scrivener can’t do?). I have half a dozen working computers in my office and there are times when bringing you a column is like getting the Pony Express from Plum Creek, Nebraska to Sacramento, California. I ride one until it’s lame, then I jump off, grab the mochilla and jump onto the computer that’ll carry me the next ten miles or so.

Generally I keep this up until my work is done, or I run out of computers. Some days, I get to go to the movies at 1pm.

Andy Ihnatko | Read more...


Palm investor McNamee says early adopters will flock to Pre

Mon, 09 Mar 2009

There are utterances in life that are so mind-bogglingly stupendous that we just have to let them sit, occasionally poking at them fearfully, because we just can’t figure out if they're real. For example, here’s what Roger McNamee, founding partner of venture capital firm Elevation Partners, had to say to Bloomberg about the iPhone:

"You know the beautiful thing: 29 June, 2009, is the two- year anniversary of the first shipment of the iPhone,” McNamee said today in an interview in San Francisco. “Not one of those people will still be using an iPhone a month later."

Dan Moren | Read more...


Apple misses mobile mardi gras

Fri, 06 Mar 2009

Forget Macworld Expo, CES or CeBit, the must-attend technology show of 2009 was the grandly named Mobile World Congress – held in Barcelona in mid February. With laptops getting smaller and mobile phones getting larger it’s obvious that some form of convergence is taking place – and Apple is right at the head of this movement with its iPhone, App Store and myriad software partners.

Surely such a show without Apple would be like a wedding without the happy couple, a circus without clowns, Glastonbury without the mud. But it’s not that surprising that Apple was nowhere to be seen at Mobile World Congress. Apple is exhibition averse. It will no longer appear at Macworld Expo or the giant NAB video/broadcast expo, despite its obvious interests. Apple likes to do things its own way and not have to show off its wares next to others – unless you count the Gap outlet next to a downtown Apple Store.

Simon Jary | Read more...


SXSW festival offers free legal music downloads from cool bands

Fri, 06 Mar 2009

The South-by-Southwest (SXSW) festivals and conferences kick off at the end of next week and that means it’s free-music time. Every year, artists appearing at SXSW offer a track for free public consumption and this year brings the largest collection of music so far - over 5GB of MP3s (1,045 tracks at last count and more are reportedly on the way).

If you’d like to sample some of this music while sitting at your computer, check out the SXSW ’09 Music Player found on this web page. If you’d like it all, visit the (Unofficial) SXSW 2009 Torrent page.

Christopher Breen | Read more...


Bill Clinton-signed iPod up for grabs

Thu, 05 Mar 2009

The Gibson Foundation for Music Rising is holding an auction of a number of celebrity-signed iPods.

In addition to iPods signed by Donna Karan, Marc Jacobs, and Alice Temperley - there's still a week to go on Bill Clinton's red iPod Nano. (Presumably, Hilary is still rockin' out on her own iPod.)

Cyrus Farivar | Read more...


Once you go Mac, you never go back?

Wed, 04 Mar 2009

I don’t have the stats and figures to hand but I suspect yesterday’s announcement of refreshed Mac Pros, iMacs and Mac Minis amongst a number of Apple updates, drove plenty of traffic to Macworld.

Reading the comments below, the news items were an eye opener for anyone who has a fairly blinkered, and possibly rosy view of all things Apple. I for one have evangelised the pros of switching in enough Mac vs. PC debates over recent years to hope that I might have helped shift a few Apple sales.

Nick Spence | Read more...


FireWire 400 reaches the end of the line

Wed, 04 Mar 2009

Awaking from a winter’s slumber, Apple released a slew of new products Tuesday, covering everything from Time Capsule and AirPort Extreme to the Mac mini, iMac, and Mac Pro lines. The updates also include a silent MacBook Pro speed boost and a new wired keyboard.

In the past, such a flurry of activity may have been saved for Macworld Expo, or at least a special Apple event. This time, however, the release was marked by a couple of Apple press releases, and the usual We’ll be back soon! status at the Apple Store. The times, they are a-changing indeed.

Rob Griffiths | Read more...


Did an iPod help Man Utd win the Carling Cup?

Tue, 03 Mar 2009

It’s something that might appear on urban myth busting site Snopes.com, but did a humble Apple iPod really help the mighty Manchester United overcome a resolute Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend?

For suffering Spurs fan, myself included, the Carling Cup, commonly known as the League Cup, was the only chance for a lowly Tottenham to rescue anything from a season fighting relegation while at the mercy of club management firings and hirings. For 120 minutes, in front of 88,217 Wembley fans, Spurs more than held their own in what was considered a generally poor final.

Nick Spence | Read more...


Fortune bestows 'most admired company' honour on Apple

Tue, 03 Mar 2009

As is its habit at this time of year, Fortune has released its annual ranking of the world’s “most admired” companies and the folks in Cupertino have topped the list for the second year in a row.

But what does it truly mean to be “admired?” Do other companies send you flowers? Gaze fondly at you across the Internet? Offer to walk you home, while carrying your books for you?

Dan Moren | Read more...


Apple iPhone rules - thanks to the apps

Tue, 03 Mar 2009

Apple’s iPhone is king of the mobile world, according to reports from two different metrics firms.

The Global Intelligence Alliance Group (GIA) released a report recently that says the iPhone has the leading app store for mobile devices, while Net Applications says Apple’s Safari is the most popular Web browser among mobile device users.

Ian Paul | Read more...


Old iMac reincarnated as Dreamcast game console

Tue, 03 Mar 2009

If old iMacs that lived immoral lives of sin are reincarnated into garbage disposals and Zunes, then the ones that lived noble and righteous lives are clearly reborn as Sega Dreamcasts.

And so it makes sense that after modder Logicdustbin's saintly first-generation iMac passed on, he stripped it of its bulky CRT display and replaced it with an LCD.

David Dahlquist | Read more...


$2.5 million bedazzled iPhone coming to a palace near you

Tue, 03 Mar 2009

In these tough economic times we're in, it's wise to save what money you earn, stowing it away to help you through the ever-worsening recession.

Or you could drop $2.5 mil on a diamond encrusted iPhone. Different strokes, I suppose.

David Dahlquist | Read more...


iPods and iPhones forbidden at Gates home

Tue, 03 Mar 2009

While we knew that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer had forbidden his offspring from using competitors’ products like iPods and, yes, even Google, we always thought his predecessor, Bill Gates, hovered above the fray, unconcerned with such earthly matters. Alas, it seems our otherworldly faith in Mr. Microsoft might have been misplaced.

Geeksugar reports that in an interview in this month’s issue of Vogue, Bill’s wife Melinda says that Apple products are among the persona non grata (objecta non grata?) in the heavily fortified Gates compound.

Dan Moren | Read more...


Apple MacBook Air hinge problem

Mon, 02 Mar 2009

Having heard nothing but praise and too-good-to-be-true replacement stories about AppleCare, I was surprised to read recently that Apple is flat out denying fixes MacBook Airs with broken hinges (that clearly seem to be the result of a manufacturing defect), even if the notebooks are under warranty.

When the hinge of Alex’s MacBook Air (which was under warranty) broke, apparently of its own accord, Apple stipulated that he had two options - either he could shell out $800 to get it fixed or, better yet, $1,799 would fetch him a brand new MacBook Air.

Aayush Arya | Read more...


Apple does the right thing with App Store reviews

Mon, 02 Mar 2009

In September, 2008 I advocated that Apple should clear App Store reviews produced by non-customers. It’s taken the company much longer than it should have, but it appears that Apple has finally done it.

I, for one, am delighted to see this change occur.

Peter Cohen | Read more...


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