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Macworld Team

>> Postings for August 2010

Jonny Evans - Poor Android. BBC stats show iPhone's Flash advantage

Tue, 31 Aug 2010

For all the hype surrounding Android and its support of Adobe Flash, the true facts show us that Google's OS is all about smoke and mirrors -- the leading smartphone remains the Apple iPhone, at least when it comes to actually being used.

A UK Freedom of Information request confirms the big difference between the two platforms.

Jonny Evans | Read more...


Jonny Evans - Is the iPhone evolving faster than Moore's Law?

Fri, 27 Aug 2010

So what exactly is so important about mobile computing and the evolution of the smartphone? Why is the war becoming so intense, innovation so frenetic, and the hype so loud? These are just mobile phones you can play games on, portable address books for texting and time-wasting, aren't they?

Not at all.

Jonny Evans | Read more...


Jared Newman: Dear Apple: Forget Social, Fix iTunes

Fri, 27 Aug 2010

As expected, the rumor mill is in full swing ahead of Apple's September 1 press conference, dreaming up endless possibilities for the iPad, iPad, iTunes and maybe even iTV. What better time to have a one-sided conversation with Apple in hopes little ‘ol me can sway Steve Jobs into seeing things my way.

Dear Apple,

Jared Newman | Read more...


Jonny Evans - Hope or hype: Will Apple star video on September 1?

Thu, 26 Aug 2010

For all the optimistic hype some are now warning that Apple's September 1 event next week may not deliver quite what we're expecting, and that the all-new iTunes won't be quite so focused on streaming, but might have a strong social focus.

Peter Kafka of Media Memo spoke with music industry sources who claim Apple hasn't yet reached deals to stream content to users. However, they did say they expected iTunes to get an overhaul, with social features added to the service, which will itself become a lightweight Web-based service.

Jonny Evans | Read more...


Jonny Evans - September 1: Apple reinvents television?

Thu, 26 Aug 2010

Apple-watchers will be filing September 1 into their diary as that's when Apple is now expected to host a special event to introduce its new products for music and television, including a 99-cent TV show rental service.

MacRumors sources claimed the September 7 date. Loop Insight later clarified the event will take place on September 1. These sources also point out that the date coincides with the end of Apple's 'Back to School' free iPod touch offer.

Jonny Evans | Read more...


Jonny Evans - Why 'open' Android may lose the Apple iOS wars

Tue, 24 Aug 2010

Everyone's sleeping with Android and Apple should watch out, at least that's the threat on news Acer has also thrown in its lot with Android, hinting at truth in earlier predictions the firm intends releasing an Android 3.0-powered iPod contender of its own as soon as it can (assuming it can source the components).

In an aggressive prediction uttered during an interview with China's Economic Daily News and reported by Digitimes, Acer chairman, JT Wang, said he expects to see the iPad market fall. Though he does think the tablet market will increase to 50 million units per year and Apple to hold a third of that market.

Jonny Evans | Read more...


John Siracusa: Apple's other operating system

Tue, 24 Aug 2010

Until a few months ago, I fully expected Apple to announce Mac OS X 10.7 at this year's Worldwide Developer Conference. But when I saw that there was no Mac-specific track on the conference schedule and that Mac apps would be excluded from the annual Apple Design Awards, I got the message loud and clear: iOS and the products it powers--the iPhone, iPod touch, and now the iPad--are now the stars of Apple's software show. Mac OS X, last updated a year ago, now plays second fiddle.

OS X's last major release, Snow Leopard, included internal changes, bug fixes, and performance improvements, but very few new features that were visible to users. Could it be that Apple thinks there's just nothing left to add to Mac OS X? I sure hope not, because I have plenty of ideas. Here are just two of them, one concrete and the other more fanciful.

John Siracusa | Read more...


Tony Bradley: 5 Ways Apple Patent Will Improve iPhone & iPad Security

Tue, 24 Aug 2010

A recently unveiled Apple patent application has raised concerns that Apple intends to remotely detect and disable jailbroken iPhones and iPads. The patent application does contain the word jailbroken, but the description of the patent reveals powerful new remote security features and doesn't really support the conspiracy theory.

A blog post from patentlyapple.com provides an overview of the Apple patent application. According to the post, the patent technology would enable a variety of security features including "the device taking a photo of the thief (smile now) or recording the thief's voice," adding, "Apple's iOS security is getting so smart, that it'll even know what kind of vehicle that the thief is using your device in - be it a plane, train or automobile and notify the proper authorities."

Tony Bradley | Read more...


Jonny Evans - Laptop Mag says Apple's really right on Flash

Mon, 23 Aug 2010

Recall a recent post in which I argued that Apple CEO Steve Jobs was completely right when he dismissed Flash as not being up to the demands of being installed on an iPhone? I was right to believe him. It isn't.

There's been so much hocus-pocus pertaining to Adobe's proprietary attempt at a multimedia standard, which was admittedly pretty important at the end of the last Century.

Jonny Evans | Read more...


Joab Jackson: HTML5 raises new security issues

Mon, 23 Aug 2010

When it comes to new security issues, the security team for the Firefox browser have the new version of the Web HyperText Markup Language, HTML5, foremost on the mind.

"Web apps are becoming incredibly rich with HTML5. The browser is starting to manage full-bore applications and not just Web pages," said Sid Stamm, who works on Firefox security issues for the Mozilla Foundation. Stamm was speaking at the Usenix Security Symposium, held last week in Washington D.C.

Joab Jackson | Read more...


Tony Bradley: Avoid Cameron Diaz, Breaking News, and Facebook

Mon, 23 Aug 2010

The fourth annual McAfee Most Dangerous Celebrities report declares Cameron Diaz to be the biggest risk of all celebrity athletes, musicians, politicians, comedians and Hollywood stars on the Web when it comes to your computer security. Taking the pop culture appeal out of the popular hit list, though, the McAfee report illustrates the broader issue of just how effectively malicious attacks prey on hot topics and social trends to exploit gullible users.

According to the McAfee report, Cameron Diaz bumped former "most dangerous celebrity" Jessica Biel off the top of the list, and beat out Julia Roberts to claim the crown. An online search for the star of Shrek Forever After and Knight and Day has a 10 percent chance of infecting your system in some insidious way.

Tony Bradley | Read more...


Robert X. Cringely: Can you trust Facebook Places?

Mon, 23 Aug 2010

Facebook, the company many people don't trust to protect their status updates and personal information, is now in the business of collecting location information, thanks to the introduction of its Foursquare/Gowalla killer, Facebook Places.

Like those other services, Facebook Places will let you "check in" to various spots in the real world via cell phone (mostly iPhones, at first), tell your friends where you are, and see if any of them are there too.

Robert X. Cringely | Read more...


Daniel Jalkut: Why I'm sticking with the Mac

Mon, 23 Aug 2010

Three years ago, I had never even held a touchscreen computer. Today I carry one everywhere I go. Apple changed the mobile phone industry with the launch of the iPhone, and appears to be creating a similar sensation with the iPad. Now it's doing everything it can to keep that momentum going, showering us with ads on television and elsewhere, singing the praises of their latest handheld, touch-driven devices.

Let's face it: The iPad, iPhone, and iPod really are pretty great. But as a long-time Mac developer, I have to admit that I'm disappointed that they've overshadowed my beloved desktop computer. For several years there, the Mac faithful were treated to a revival in Mac marketing. But lately, "Hello, I'm a Mac" has been replaced by "There's an app for that."

Daniel Jalkut | Read more...


Jonny Evans - Is it curtains for iTunes Music?

Sun, 22 Aug 2010

Apple has been engaged in meetings with record label execs in an attempt to work with them to develop an iTunes-based music streaming service, reports have claimed. But music industry chiefs have been hesitating at this, because they think Apple's music service has too much industry power.

[This story is from the new Apple Holic blog at Computerworld. Subscribe via RSS to make sure you don't miss a beat. Or link up via Twitter on the all-new feed.] 

Jonny Evans | Read more...


Jonny Evans - Six reasons iPad is a productivity tool

Thu, 19 Aug 2010

There's a lot of folks who say the iPad isn't proper competition for netbooks because it isn't a 'productivity tool'. They're all wrong. Take the visual arts, for example, and you'll find a growing army of examples of artists using the Apple device to create stunning pieces of art, here's six stories to illustrate this. Clearly this illustrates why netbook sales have cramped up and why Apple's iPad is such a success, because it unlocks imagination for users, developers, old and new media.

[This story is from the new Apple Holic blog at Computerworld. Subscribe via RSS to make sure you don't miss a beat. Or link up via Twitter on the all-new feed.] 

Jonny Evans | Read more...


Jonny Evans - Networks resist Google TV as Apple switches on

Thu, 19 Aug 2010

Google has problems getting the support it needs to progress its Google TV plan, even while competing firm, Apple is quietly plotting its own path. For example, one analyst this week once again predicted Apple-branded HDTV's will appear within two years.

[This story is from the new Apple Holic blog at Computerworld. Subscribe via RSS to make sure you don't miss a beat. Or link up via Twitter on the all-new feed.]

Jonny Evans | Read more...


Jonny Evans - Amazon, Google, Apple define the future of publishing

Tue, 17 Aug 2010

Apple is reinventing the electronic planet. This is the age of electronic publishing. These words you're reading right now only exist in the virtual world. There's no printed copy, and at my end the words only ever existed as ciphers, electronic imitations of calligraphy existing within a virtual document on my computer screen.

[This story is from the new Apple Holic blog at Computerworld. Subscribe via RSS to make sure you don't miss a beat. Or link up via Twitter on the all-new feed.]

Jonny Evans | Read more...


Simon Jary - iPad's netbook cannibal sector

Tue, 17 Aug 2010

According to most reports Apple’s had a terrible month, stuck in the eye of a storm of negative publicity. The company has been damned, derided and ridiculed in the consumer media for problems with its latest iPhone. After a series of hysterical reports about the iPhone 4’s antennae problems that led to fury from US senators and a crazed onscreen attack by Whoopi Goldberg – she released her death grip long enough to ‘murder’ her iPhone in a car door – Apple CEO Steve Jobs was forced to fly home from his holiday in Hawaii to issue a brusque response that was as weak as the signal of a phone held by a gorilla in a submarine. 

Steve announced a $175 million solution in the form of free Bumper cases for any iPhone customers who asked for one. But it wasn’t as bad a month for Apple as the media made it out to be. In fact, Steve probably went straight back to his Hanalei Bay Beach house and threw a large veggie steak on the barbie, knowing that a few days later Apple would report revenue of $15.7 billion for the third quarter of its financial year, up 61 per cent from the $9.7 billion in revenue for the third quarter last year – which itself was the company’s best ever period of business. Its net profit for the period was a cool $3.25 billion. Now that’s a bumper.

Simon Jary | Read more...


Jonny Evans - New Apple hire confirms iPhone 5 as 'iWallet'

Mon, 16 Aug 2010

If you've been wondering what to expect from iPhone 5, the next-generation, beyond an all-new and improved antenna, then let me share a few ideas with you -- your iPhone will be your wallet, your house keys, your identity, the centre of your mobile existence. At least, that's how it appears on news of Apple's hiring of near field communications (NFC) expert Benjamin Vigier.

[This story is from the new Apple Holic blog at Computerworld. Subscribe via RSS to make sure you don't miss a beat. Or link up via Twitter on the all-new feed.]

Jonny Evans | Read more...


Jonny Evans - Apple TV streaming for US first, more

Thu, 12 Aug 2010

I've been reeling at the way all today's Apple stories fit together: Apple has a plan for the Apple TV -- iTV; meanwhile broadcasters seem set to follow their own directions with Time Warner developing its own iOS app; an Apple patent makes your virtual life into a comic book while roll over Android, the sad fact is that iPhone users are more attractive (according to dating site, OK Cupid, so it must be true). Oh, and it looks like the US will get the new iTunes TV streaming service months before anyone else.

[This story is from the new Apple Holic blog at Computerworld. Subscribe via RSS to make sure you don't miss a beat. Or link up via Twitter on the all-new feed.]

Jonny Evans | Read more...


Jonny Evans - UK sees high street iPod discount as new models loom

Thu, 12 Aug 2010

Surprising no one but fanning expectation of new models all the same, a leading UK retailer is offering Apple's iPods at discount prices, with third generation iPod shuffles and fourth generation iPod nano models available at deep discounts.

Money Saving Expert newsletter reports that the sales reflect the new models of these products which it says it expects will ship next month.

Jonny Evans | Read more...


Andy Ihnatko - The Intelligent OS

Thu, 12 Aug 2010

A while back, I talked about how ripe the Finder was for a revolution…or even an outright replacement. It still seems like the stodgiest part of the Mac OS. In contrast, I’ve spent months using a sophisticated computer that couldn’t care less about the concept of ‘files’ and ‘folders’ namely, the iPad. And it got me thinking that maybe I didn’t go far enough. If I’m petitioning for a revolution in the Finder, why not do away with the whole file system?

I mean, it’s been 30 years since the first time I sat at an Apple II keyboard and typed “RUN HELLO.” At this point in my life, “Volumes filled with folders and files” seems like an antique concept. Shouldn’t we be ready to evolve into a world in which files, formats and locations are irrelevant, and we keep all of our information and creations inside libraries?

Andy Ihnatko | Read more...


Jonny Evans - Microsoft shows weakness with its anti-Apple campaign

Tue, 10 Aug 2010

Microsoft has emerged all guns blazing for PC sales in its latest anti-Apple advertising salvo. Apple's rivals are fearful because Cupertino has beaten all-comers in the digital music business, seized the throne of smartphone innovation, and stolen the tablet and netbook market -- and now it is coming for the enterprise.

[This story is from the new Apple Holic blog at Computerworld. Subscribe via RSS to make sure you don't miss a beat. Or link up via Twitter on the all-new feed.]

Jonny Evans | Read more...


Jonny Evans - A glance at Apple's next iPad, iPhone chip

Tue, 10 Aug 2010

Monday morning's hottest Apple rumor claims the company will introduce new iPads with a much faster processor early next year. Apple is also expected to deliver the much-discussed iOS-wielding Apple TV in January, when a new metal-backed CDMA-model iPhone 4 will reach Verizon in the US and also China Telecom abroad.

News that Apple will finally move to embrace the multicore ARM Cortex-A9 processor is hugely important. Apple had originally been expected to field this reference design in its first-generation iPad.

Jonny Evans | Read more...


Jonny Evans - Apple v. Google: One year on...

Sun, 08 Aug 2010

As we wait for Apple's next moves, among the furor over Android overtaking Apple in terms of smartphone OS marketshare in the US, it seemed a good moment to reflect that Google CEO, Eric Schmidt, only finally resigned his seat on Apple's board of directors this week one year ago.

We saw it coming at the time. First of all Apple rejected Google Voice from the App Store.

Jonny Evans | Read more...


Jonny Evans - Collected: What's coming next from Apple

Thu, 05 Aug 2010

Apple customarily hosts a special event in early Fall (frequently around September) where the company likes to introduce new music and consumer products. Here's a cut-out-and-keep guide to all the current speculation as to what the company could reveal in the weeks ahead.

New iPods

This season's new iPods are currently speculated to include a new iPod touch and nano and -- potentially -- a new iPod shuffle featuring a small touchscreen display.  iLounge notes these possibilities.

Jonny Evans | Read more...


Jonny Evans - Apple (stealthily) introduces music in the clouds

Thu, 05 Aug 2010

While we've waited for Apple to introduce the much-vaunted cloud-based iTunes streaming music service, Apple has already quietly introduced cloud-based music streaming via iDisk using its MobileMe iDisk App.

[This story is from the new Apple Holic blog at Computerworld. Subscribe via RSS to make sure you don't miss a beat. Or link up via Twitter on the all-new feed.]

Jonny Evans | Read more...


Jonny Evans - Apple v. Google: Why iPhone can beat Android

Tue, 03 Aug 2010

Ensuring a deep, deeply satisfying and deeply personal user experience will be critical to the huge battle between Apple and Google for the future of computing, and despite Google's huge Android market share increases, Apple's iOS continues to deliver what consumers want, while Android remains the budget-priced option. In this war, it may be quality, not quantity, which marks the difference between failure and success.

[This story is from the new Apple Holic blog at Computerworld. Subscribe via RSS to make sure you don't miss a beat.]

Jonny Evans | Read more...


Jonny Evans - Apple, Foxconn secret factory for Verizon iPhone?

Mon, 02 Aug 2010

Apple's plans to introduce a CDMA iPhone for Verizon may be further along than thought, as Apple's iPhone factory owner, Foxconn, opens a new iPhone manufacturing plant in China.

We heard of Foxconn's plan to open a new factory outside of its existing complex while the world was discussing the outbreak of suicides at the company's huge factories earlier this summer.

Jonny Evans | Read more...