Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Skype Outage Lesson: Don't Rely On Consumer Services For Business Functions



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Then click here to check out the IRIS 5000!

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Here's The Amazing "Word Lens" iPhone App Everyone Is Talking About



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Here's The Real Reason Facebook Crashed Last Night

Apple's Cleverest -- And Most Annoying -- Marketing Gimmick

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Norway High Schools get ArchiCAD in Curriculum

Norway embraces ArchiCAD for its high-schools, bringing cutting edge BIM technology to over 200,000 students.

Graphisoft has recently agreed with the Norwegian Building Industry Association (BNL) to provide all secondary schools in Norway with free ArchiCAD licenses. The BNL is encouraging schools to use the money saved on licenses to pay for courses for teachers.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Mark Zuckerberg And An Army Of Insurgent Entrepreneurs Just Declared War On The TV, Music, News, And Movie Industries



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Happily Ever After?

Wedded bliss doesn't have to be hard to achieve... and other surprises about marriage

We’re stressed. We’re overworked or looking for work. We’re worried about paying the bills, the mortgage, the kids’ college tuitions. We’re trying to do the best for our families, and in some cases, looking out for aging parents, too. All this takes a toll on the very thing that should provide strength and comfort: our marriages.

Intimacy? Who has time? Who has energy? Communication? Sure, we talk. You pick up the kids and I’ll stop for groceries.

Marriages are straining under the pressure. But the last thing we have time for is working on our relationships. Or is it?

Continue Reading: Happily Ever After? | SUCCESS Magazine | What Achievers Read

Friday, November 12, 2010

Supercomputers 'will fit in a sugar cube', said IBM

"We currently have built this Aquasar system that's one rack full of processors. We plan that 10 to 15 years from now, we can collapse such a system in to one sugar cube - we're going to have a supercomputer in a sugar cube."

Read the full story by the Science and technology reporter for the BBC Jason Palmer

Apple smashes patch record with gigantic update

Computerworld - Apple on Wednesday patched more than 130 vulnerabilities in Mac OS X, smashing a record the company set last March when it fixed over 90 flaws.

The update for OS X 10.6, a.k.a. Snow Leopard, and OS X 10.5, better known as Leopard, was Apple's first since September and the seventh for the year.

Calling the update "huge," Mac vulnerability expert Charlie Miller pointed out that even with a staggering 134 patches, there were plenty of flaws still around.

"Apple releases huge patch, still miss all my bugs," said Miller in a tweet late Wednesday. "Makes you realize how many bugs are in their code, or they're very unlucky."

Continue reading the story by Gregg Keizer

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Microsoft Kinect in the news

Microsoft Kinect review

Microsoft Kinect makes your Xbox 360 into something else entirely. No longer is it the clumpy, whirring console exclusively for gamers willing to put up with endless red rings of death. Instead, it becomes the essential console for family gaming, making everything the Wii offers look, well, four years old. And it’s a software update’s throw from making the Xbox 360 the essential set top box, full stop.



Read the full Electricpig.co.uk review of the Microsoft Kinect to find out why we think it’s the gadget of the year.


Microsoft Uses Kinect to Combat Nintendo Wii, Lure Gamer Moms

Microsoft Corp. today starts selling Kinect, a device that lets consumers play video games with their bodies, to help it lure casual gamers and add years to the life of its Xbox 360 gaming console.

Kinect, shaped like a flat, black box, tracks a player’s movement and voice and costs $149.99 by itself or starting at $299.99 when purchased with an Xbox 360 console. Microsoft yesterday boosted its forecast for Kinect sales this year to 5 million units from 3 million after the device sold out in pre- sales at retailers such as Amazon.com Inc. and Best Buy Co.

Read the full Bloomberg article


Microsoft Launches Kinect in the Battle With Google, Apple for the Living Room

Having faced multiple hardware debacles ranging from Zune to Kin, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is out to prove naysayers false with Xbox add-on Kinect, a motion sensor and voice recognition technology-based device that allows users to control games and movies with gestures and voice.

The controller-free gaming device Kinect will be available at stores from Thursday at $149.99 with a pack-in game "Kinect Adventures," and if purchased with a 4GB Xbox console, will cost $299.99.

Kinect uses four microphones and a depth camera, color motion camera and a distance sensor to track a user's presence in the room.

Read the full Motley Fool article

Friday, November 5, 2010

iPad Owners FURIOUS That Apple Is Turning The Screen-Lock Switch Into A Mute Button



Hybrid efficiency, gasoline power

Hybrid efficiency, gasoline power

"NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Mazda recently unveiled a prototype Mazda2 subcompact that uses an all-new gasoline engine (SKYACTIV-G engine) designed to get an estimated 70 mpg in Japanese fuel economy tests .That's about the same fuel economy as a hybrid car but this car's not a hybrid.

Because hybrid technology, with its big batteries and electric motors, is expensive, selling hybrids in large numbers can be a tough proposition. If cost limits the number of hybrids on the road, it also limits the impact on overall fuel use.

So Mazda wanted to figure out just how fuel efficient its gasoline engines could possibly be.

More efficient gas engines cost less to make and sell than hybrids or plug-ins. If they're priced correctly and deliver the power and performance American drivers demand they could not only significantly cut gasoline consumption, they could be big money makers too.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Mac OS X Boonana Trojan Horse trojan.osx.boonana.a

"SecureMac has discovered a new trojan horse in the wild that affects Mac OS X, including Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6), the latest version of OS X. The trojan horse, trojan.osx.boonana.a, is spreading through social networking sites, including Facebook, disguised as a video. The trojan is currently appearing as a link in messages on social networking sites with the subject "Is this you in this video?"

When a user clicks the infected link, the trojan initially runs as a Java applet, which downloads other files to the computer, including an installer, which launches automatically. When run, the installer modifies system files to bypass the need for passwords, allowing outside access to all files on the system. Additionally, the trojan sets itself to run invisibly in the background at startup, and periodically checks in with command and control servers to report information on the infected system. While running, the trojan horse hijacks user accounts to spread itself further via spam messages. Users have reported the trojan is spreading through e-mail as well as social media sites."

Continue reading the SecureMac Security Bulletin



FYI: Sophos has announced the world's first free business-strength anti-virus program for Macs. The Mac anti-virus product (used by big companies around the world) available for free download to home consumers.

Instagram, The Photo App For The Cool Kids, Is Taking Off

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Flash coming to iPhone and iPad - really

Flash coming to iPhone and iPad - really

"Skyfire, which will be available for download at 9 a.m. ET on Thursday for $2.99, is the first such application to receive Apple's approval for distribution in its App Store.

To get around Apple's restriction, Skyfire came up with an innovative solution: When users click on a page that contains Flash video, Skyfire's servers download, render and translate the video into HTML5, which is a Web standard that iOS devices support. Skyfire then displays a thumbnail that users can click on to stream the video from its servers."



Updated: "Skyfire for iPhone - It came, it didn't work, it evaporated" ZDNet

Yes, you need anti-virus on your Mac.. and now it’s free | Naked Security

Yes, you need anti-virus on your Mac.. and now it’s free | Naked Security

Sophos has today announced the world's first free business-strength anti-virus program for home Macs. As Apple computers grow more popular than ever, they're an increasingly-enticing target for hackers (Windows users are still the number one target). And these hackers aren't just mischief-makers—by targeting your computer or applications you use, these criminals are out to steal and profit from your valuable personal information. Don't let them. Get Sophos Anti-Virus Home Edition for the Mac free today.



Friday, October 15, 2010

John Sculley On Steve Jobs, The Full Interview Transcript

"The thing that separated Steve Jobs from other people like Bill Gates — Bill was brilliant too — but Bill was never interested in great taste. He was always interested in being able to dominate a market. He would put out whatever he had to put out there to own that space. Steve would never do that. Steve believed in perfection. Steve was willing to take extraordinary chances in trying new product areas but it was always from the vantage point of being a designer. So when I think about different kinds of CEOs — CEOs who are great leaders, CEOs who are great turnaround artists, great deal negotiators, great people motivators — but the great skill that Steve has is he’s a great designer. Everything at Apple can be best understood through the lens of designing."

Continue reading the full story at Cult of Mac by Leander Kahney

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Verizon To Start Selling iPads Starting October 28



Apple's Mac Event Is A "Non-Event" For Investors, Says Gene Munster

Facebook offers temporary log-ins for public computers

Facebook is launching one-time passwords in an effort to make it safer to log on to the social network from public computers.

It also claims the system will help prevent cyber-criminals accessing users' accounts.

Users need to text the words 'otp' to 32665 and they will be sent a temporary password that will expire after 20 minutes.

But security experts questioned whether the system was safe.

Continue reading the full at the BBC

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Mac Users Are Getting New Outlook From Rival

"A new, faster, better version of Microsoft Office is coming out Oct. 26. But it isn’t for Microsoft’s own Windows operating system. It is for the Macintosh computers made by the software giant’s archrival, Apple. And, among other things, it will bestow upon the Mac a benefit heretofore available only on Windows: Outlook. The popular email, calendar and contacts program is finally arriving on the Mac in a version that looks and works very much like the Windows version."

Mac Users Are Getting New Outlook From Rival

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Apple Bull Gene Munster Says Apple TV Will NOT Be A Hit



No, GM Didn't 'Lie' About The Volt, The Press Got It Wrong

Dear "Middle Class" Americans: Most Of You Are Debt Serfs With Zero Assets

Apple shares near milestone of $300

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Shares of Apple Inc. are drawing near the $300 mark, though most Wall Street analysts covering the company expect the stock to move even higher.

On Tuesday, Apple (AAPL 298.50, -0.24, -0.08%) shares rose another $1.70 to $297.04, driving the company’s market capitalization to about $271 billion. Even considering Apple’s strong performance in previous periods, the shares have had a good year, with investors continuing to show their faith in the company’s focus on mobile devices such as the iPhone 4 and iPad.

The stock now sits at an all-time high, and is expected to continue to push ahead, especially after Apple releases its September quarter results next Monday.

Read the full story by Rex Crum at MarketWatch

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Free Travel: Still Doable, With the Right Loyalty Program

Free Travel: Still Doable, With the Right Loyalty Program

For those with attention deficit disorder here is a condensed version of the above article:
• If your traveling in the USA transfer airline miles to AmTrack Guest Rewards

• Click here to view a printable version of the Amtrak Travel redemption opportunities.

• Consider transferring airline miles to hotel rewards programs such as Starwood Preferred Guest (Westin, Sheraton, W, and others) and Hilton HHonors.

• Check out FrequentFlier.com for other deals

Friday, September 24, 2010

A Blind User's Profound Review of the iPhone - Austin Seraphin - Technology - The Atlantic

A Blind User's Profound Review of the iPhone - Austin Seraphin - Technology - The Atlantic

"When I got an iPhone, my life changed forever. I consider it the greatest thing to happen to the blind for a very long time, possibly ever. It offers unparalleled access to properly made applications, and changed my life in twenty-four hours.

When I first heard that Apple would release a touchpad cell phone with VoiceOver, the screen reading software used by Macs, I scoffed. The blind have gotten so used to lofty promises of a dream platform, only to receive some slapped together set of software with a minimally functional screen reader running on overpriced hardware which can't take a beating. I figured that Apple just wanted to get some good PR -- after all, how could a blind person even use a touchpad?

I laughed at the trendies, both sighted and blind, buying iPhones and enthusing about them. That changed when another blind friend with similar opinions also founded in long years of experience bought one, and just went nuts about how much she loved it, especially the touchpad interface. I could hardly believe it, and figured that I should reevaluate things."

FACEBOOK IS DOWN: Can Life Go On?





CNN Tech: Facebook up after second outage in two days

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Beleaguered Windows users take heart Microsoft just tossed you a bone!

Free Microsoft Security Essentials formerly only free for home users is now free for small business users!

Microsoft Security Essentials has won a lot of praise since its introduction last year. The anti-malware software is unobtrusive and reasonably effective, and its price—free—can't be beat. One fly in the ointment has been the software's licensing terms; MSE is only licensed for home users. Businesses have to look elsewhere for their anti-malware needs.

That's set to change, at least a little, next month. From early October, small businesses—defined here as those with ten PCs or fewer—can use MSE, too. Microsoft claims that enterprise security software is too expensive, complicated, and hard to use for these organizations, hence its decision to expand the reach of MSE.

Read the full story by Peter Bright

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Buggy iPhone? iOS 4.1 to the rescue!

On Wednesday, Apple released iOS 4.1, an eagerly anticipated update to the software that powers its iPhones and iPod Touches. While the original 4.0 release brought all kinds of goodies, including long-awaited multitasking and app folders, it also brought a world of hurt for some users.

Read the full story at the Houston Chronicle

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

California testing iPads as algebra textbooks - The Hill's Hillicon Valley

"A pilot project in four California school districts will replace 400 students' eighth-grade algebra textbooks with Apple iPads in an attempt to prove the advantages of interactive digital technologies over traditional teaching methods.

Education firm Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has teamed up with California Secretary of Education Bonnie Reiss for the pilot, which will take place at Long Beach Unified School District, Riverside Unified School District, Fresno Unified School District and San Francisco Unified School District."

California testing iPads as algebra textbooks - The Hill's Hillicon Valley


Will Apple's iPad invade Kindergartens?

Let's Imagine For A Moment That Microsoft Invented The iPhone...

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

So what has been going on with iTunes and PayPal?

"Users' experience suggests that there is some account cracking going on at the iTunes Store. But why, who and how?"

So what has been going on with iTunes and PayPal?


How to choose a secure password for your accounts
GRC Ultra High Security Password Generator

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Test Drive: Nissan Leaf

Devin Coldewey just had the opportunity to test-drive the new Nissan Leaf here in sunny Seattle, and had enough time with the car to garner some first impressions, take some pictures, and shoot a little video.

The Leaf, as you are probably aware, is Nissan’s new plug-in electric vehicle, and the first of the new generation of consumer EVs to be released here in the States. Sure, you’ve got the Tesla, and even the more family-oriented Model S, but they’re beyond the reach of the average city-dweller. Priced at just under $33K ($25K including the government rebate), the car is really competing with Accords and Legacys and the like. While it’s easy to suggest that it also competes with the Volt, the pricing and technology really set the two apart; all they’ve got in common is an electric motor.

Continue Reading Test Drive: Nissan Leaf

Monday, August 2, 2010

Microsoft quashed & diluted IE8's privacy features to appease advertisers inside and outside the company

The online habits of most people who use the world's dominant Web browser are an open book to advertisers. That wasn't the plan at first.

In early 2008, Microsoft Corp.'s product planners for the Internet Explorer 8.0 browser intended to give users a simple, effective way to avoid being tracked online (InPrivate Filtering). They wanted to design the software to automatically thwart common tracking tools, unless a user deliberately switched to settings affording less privacy.

That triggered heated debate inside Microsoft. As the leading maker of Web browsers, the gateway software to the Internet, Microsoft must balance conflicting interests: helping people surf the Web with its browser to keep their mouse clicks private, and helping advertisers who want to see those clicks.

In the end, the product planners lost a key part of the debate. The winners: executives who argued that giving automatic privacy to consumers would make it tougher for Microsoft to profit from selling online ads. Microsoft built its browser so that users must deliberately turn on privacy settings every time they start up the software.

Read the full story at the Wall Street Journal by NICK WINGFIELD

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Family Tracker | iPhone applications

"Family Tracker allows you to track your wife, husband, children and fiancée.

Your husband tells you he’s going to be late tonight due to a business meeting. Is he really at the office, or is he having dinner somewhere else? Your wife told you she is going out shopping with her girlfriends at the mall. Is she really there or is she with her gym teacher? Your kids tell you that they are staying late with friends to study for their test. Are they really there, or did they go out partying?

No more lies or excuses! You can now find out where they are, at anytime, as long as they have their iPhones or iPads with them. "

Family Tracker | iPhone applications

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

iMacs with i7, SSD, and Magic Trackpad make their debut

As anticipated, Apple released an update to the iMac line Tuesday morning. It also unleashed the rumored Magic Trackpad, a wireless "intuitive multi-touch" trackpad that brings gestures to the desktop. The iMacs still sport the same cosmetic design as the previous model, but are packed with more power and can even come equipped with an SSD drive.

iMacs with i7, SSD, and Magic Trackpad make their debut

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Flipboard -- The Social iPad App Everyone Is Going Crazy Over -- Explained In 80 Seconds!





Helping Children With Learning Disabilities

Steven has difficulty reading. Every time he knows that he will be asked to read aloud in class, he develops a stomachache.

Despite her teacher's urgings, Maria has problems writing legibly. It takes her hours to complete her homework.

Noah reads the same school assignments repeatedly. Still, he forgets the material and struggles with his grades.


STEVEN, Maria, and Noah suffer from learning disabilities, the most common of which involve reading disabilities. Dyslexics, for example, often confuse letters that have a similar appearance. Other learning disabilities are dysgraphia (a disorder that affects handwriting) and dyscalculia (difficulty with math skills). Yet, most of those with learning disabilities have average or above-average intelligence.

Symptoms of learning disabilities include delayed language skills, trouble rhyming words, habitual mispronunciation, persistent baby talk, difficulty in learning letters and numbers, inability to sound out letters in simple words, confusion involving words that sound alike, and difficulty following instructions.*

Continue reading the article with Helping Your Child to Cope

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Teen Trades up on Craigslist from Phone to Porsche in 2 Years

"In a world where many teens seem to lack both patience and common sense, one teen in Glendora, CA, demonstrated both masterfully.

Steven Ortiz, 17, used Craigslist to trade his way up from an old cell phone to a Porsche. It took him 2 years of bartering like mad, but it appears that the effort was worth it. He’s the only student at Charter Oak High School who drives a Porsche to school."

Read the full story by JD RUCKER






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Google Energy Inks Wind Farm Deal, Now Officially a Utility | Earth and Industry

"When Google was first given the go ahead by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to buy and sell electricity in February, we knew they were planning something big in the clean energy space, we just didn't know what it would look like. Today, we're beginning to see the plan unfold.

Google announced today that it will begin a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement to buy 114 megawatts of wind energy generated at NextEra Energy Resources' Story County II facility in Iowa. The agreement, set to begin on July 30, is the first by Google Energy LLC and it allows Google to buy the renewable energy directly from its source, rather from a retailer in the form of renewable energy credits (RECs). Because Google cannot use the energy directly, it is reselling it back to the grid in the regional spot market and retiring RECs associated with the power."

Google Energy Inks Wind Farm Deal, Now Officially a Utility | Earth and Industry

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Here's How Apple Can Recover From The Snowballing iPhone 4 Disaster

Consumer Reports' Brilliant PR Move: Trash The iPhone

Consumer Reports Electronics Blog: Why Appleand not its customersshould fix the iPhone 4

"In our reporting and a video yesterday, we made the point that the signal drop that iPhone 4 customers have observed when they hold their phones the "wrong" way is real—and we've called on Apple to do something about it. In an earlier statement, the company noted that attenuated performance is a "fact of life" for every wireless phone. Apple suggested owners mitigate the problem by holding the phone differently or purchasing a case. But those solutions put the onus on consumers and skirt Apple's obligation to offer a product that works consistently and reliably out of the box.

We think it's the company's responsibility to provide the fix—at no extra cost to consumers."

Consumer Reports Electronics Blog: Why Appleand not its customersshould fix the iPhone 4

iTunes users should strengthen iTunes passwords following second hack

"It's been a second bad weekend for Apple, following another alleged app-driven hack of its iTunes store. iTunes users should now change the password on their iTunes account as well as switching to a prepaid debit card for the service.

Over the weekend, reports have been coming in that a second developer has been using a similar approach to the Vietnamese group, which appears to have ramped a range of apps with similar names to the top of a section on the App store, said Barmak Meftah, Fortify's chief products officer.

"Over the 4th of July weekend, a Vietnamese group used the same strategy to ramp its apps to the top of the book charts on the App Store. This time around it seems it's the travel section that's been hit," he said.

"The clever aspect of this hacking strategy is that iTunes members will see an app at the top of the charts and download it, if only to see what all the fuss is about, and then open themselves up to a obfuscated malware infection or, more likely, see their iTunes account details being lifted and misused," he added."

iTunes users should strengthen iTunes passwords following second hack

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Did Apple make your iPhone 3G slow with iOS4?

You may have noticed that after you installed the recent iOS 4 updated from Apple on your iPhone 3G that its slower. Also that applications seem to stutter when you launch them and that in general it feels like your slogging though quicksand.

I have the solution to your problem:
1) Go into settings, general, home button, spotlight search, uncheck all check marks..
2) Select the App store icon and then select the Updates button and run all updates.

After completing the above you will notice that your iPhone is almost back to normal iOS 3 speeds.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Apple's New Shanghai Store Looks Amazing

A Professional Fashion Shoot With an iPhone 3GS

Don't let people fool you into buying an expensive camera because you can take amazing photos with the current camera you own. Lee Morris of fstoppers did a photo shoot on an iPhone 3GS (not the iPhone 4G mind you) and his photos turned out amazing! Check out the video to see just how he did it.

The iPhone Fashion Shoot - Lee Morris Shoots With The 3GS Fstoppers from FStoppers on Vimeo.

First music video shot on iPhone 4 released - iPod/iPhone - Macworld UK

Flajakt has released what they claim is the first music video made on Apple's new iPhone 4.

First music video shot on iPhone 4 released - iPod/iPhone - Macworld UK

Trend Micro offers free secure surfing tool - V3.co.uk - formerly vnunet.com

"Security vendor Trend Micro has added to its growing range of free security offerings with a tool designed to improve the safety of web browsing.

The product has been designed to protect against sophisticated threats such as the Hydraq family which was used to such effective ends in the Operation Aurora attacks by Chinese hackers on Google and other firms at the beginning of the year."

Trend Micro offers free secure surfing tool - V3.co.uk - formerly vnunet.com

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Apple's New Store In Paris Is Absolutely Gorgeous

iTunes accounts plundered, Apple's App store needs better control mechanisms

"iTunes accounts have been compromised by money-loving criminals. It all started on Sunday, when The Next Web noticed that the list of the top 50 best selling application in the "Books" category contained 40 applications from the same application developer - one Thuat Nguyen."

iTunes accounts plundered, Apple's App store needs better control mechanisms

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Introducing HD Video Calling, Recording, and Sharing – for Anyone!

Logitech just announced a new line of webcams including the C910 ($100) with two mics for noise cancellation and 720p video calls. The C510 is portable and folds up on itself for travel – it’s $60. Finally, you have the C310 and C270 ($50 and $40) that stream at 720p and little else. These cameras use Logitech’s new VidHD platform that you can download for free!



Introducing HD Video Calling, Recording, and Sharing – for Anyone!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Check Out The Ridiculous Buildings Under Construction In The New Dubai -- Astana Kazakhstan

iPhone overload: Dutch T-Mobile issues refund after 3G issues

"Of the three mobile network operators in the Netherlands, only T-Mobile sells the iPhone. And only T-Mobile has a large part of its customer base irate from lack of 3G data access, dropped calls, and calls going directly to voicemail even with full 3G coverage.

So no, such problems aren't limited just to AT&T. And as with AT&T, the problems are worst in the largest and most tech-savvy cities. Those problems are now so bad that T-Mobile is offering a little cashback for affected users."

iPhone overload: Dutch T-Mobile issues refund after 3G issues

Monday, June 7, 2010

Apple Intros iPhone 4



THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON GADGETS: The iPhone Is Giving You A.D.D



An Ugly Toll of Technology: Impatience and Forgetfulness



iPhone 4 With Video Calling: On Sale June 24 For $199



Debrahlee Lorenzana Says She'll Be Fired From Her New Job At Chase For Talking About Her Old Job



Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy


Apple Safari 5 Launch Announcement Spotted in the Wild

Apple Releases Safari 5

SAN FRANCISCO, June 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple® today released Safari® 5, the latest version of the world’s fastest and most innovative web browser, featuring the new Safari Reader for reading articles on the web without distraction, a 30 percent performance increase over Safari 4,* and the ability to choose Google, Yahoo! or Bing as the search service powering Safari’s search field. Available for both Mac® and Windows, Safari 5 includes improved developer tools and supports more than a dozen new HTML5 technologies that allow web developers to create rich, dynamic websites. With Safari 5, developers can now create secure Safari Extensions to customize and enhance the browsing experience.

“Safari continues to lead the pack in performance, innovation and standards support,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Safari now runs on over 200 million devices worldwide and its open source WebKit engine runs on over 500 million devices.”

Safari Reader makes it easy to read single and multipage articles on the web by presenting them in a new, scrollable view without any additional content or clutter. When Safari 5 detects an article, users can click on the Reader icon in the Smart Address Field to display the entire article for clear, uninterrupted reading with options to enlarge, print or send via email.

Powered by the Nitro JavaScript engine, Safari 5 on the Mac runs JavaScript 30 percent faster than Safari 4, three percent faster than Chrome 5.0, and over twice as fast as Firefox 3.6.* Safari 5 loads new webpages faster using Domain Name System (DNS) prefetching, and improves the caching of previously viewed pages to return to them more quickly.

Safari 5 adds more than a dozen powerful HTML5 features that allow web developers to create media-rich experiences, including full screen playback and closed captions for HTML5 video. Other new HTML5 features in Safari 5 include HTML5 Geolocation, HTML5 sectioning elements, HTML5 draggable attribute, HTML5 forms validation, HTML5 Ruby, HTML5 AJAX History, EventSource and WebSocket.

The new, free Safari Developer Program allows developers to customize and enhance Safari 5 with extensions based on standard web technologies like HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript. The Extension Builder, new in Safari 5, simplifies the development, installation and packaging of extensions. For enhanced security and stability, Safari Extensions are sandboxed, signed with a digital certificate from Apple and run solely in the browser.

Pricing & Availability

Safari 5 is available for both Mac OS® X and Windows as a free download at www.apple.com/safari. Safari 5 for Mac OS X requires Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.8 or Mac OS X Snow Leopard® 10.6.2 or later. Safari 5 for Windows requires Windows XP SP2, Windows Vista or Windows 7, a minimum 256MB of memory and a system with at least a 500 MHz Intel Pentium processor. Full system requirements and more information on Safari 5 can be found at www.apple.com/safari. The Safari Developer Program is free to join at developer.apple.com/programs/safari.

*Performance will vary based on system configuration, network connection and other factors. All testing conducted by Apple in May 2010 on an iMac® 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo system running Mac OS X 10.6.3, with 4GB of RAM. JavaScript benchmark based on the SunSpider 0.9.1 JavaScript Performance test.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution with the Apple II, then reinvented the personal computer with the Macintosh. Apple continues to lead the industry with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system, and iLife, iWork and professional applications. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store, has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

Apple Safari 5 Launch Announcement Spotted in the Wild

Thursday, June 3, 2010

No, Seriously, Google, This Gmail Thing Is Really Pissing Me Off

An Oil-Eating Microbe That's Been Around Since 1989 Could Single-Handedly Clean Up BP's Entire Oil Spil Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/an-


D8: Apple CEO Steve Jobs Talks

In his fifth appearance at D: All Things Digital, Jobs speaks with Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher about his well-known issues with Flash.


D8: Steve Jobs on Apple's Relationship With Google Onstage at D8, Jobs talks about Apple's relationship with Google.


D8: Steve Jobs on iAds Restrictions Jobs responds to a question about data collection and retention with a story about Flurry Analytics.


D8: Steve Jobs on the Gizmodo Story Jobs talks candidly about Apple's situation with Gizmodo, the site that bought an iPhone prototype found in a bar.


D8: Steve Jobs on Television Jobs talks about the problem with getting involved in television technology.


Jobs answers a question from the audience about whether AT&T's service for the iPhone will get better anytime soon.


D8: Steve Jobs on FoxConn Jobs answers questions from Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher about FoxConn, the Chinese manufacturer that has recently been the site of a number of suicides.


KatieCam: AOL Nightcap Gathering Katherine Boehret brings KatieCam to the D8 nightcap gathering, sponsored by AOL. Singer Natasha Bedingfield provided the musical tunes for the exciting event. Along with many interviews of peoples thoughts on what they just heard from Steve Jobs.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

$100,000 in student loan debt from her four years in college

"Like many middle-class families, Cortney Munna and her mother began the college selection process with a grim determination. They would do whatever they could to get Cortney into the best possible college, and they maintained a blind faith that the investment would be worth it.

Today, however, Ms. Munna, a 26-year-old graduate of New York University, has nearly $100,000 in student loan debt from her four years in college, and affording the full monthly payments would be a struggle. For much of the time since her 2005 graduation, she's been enrolled in night school, which allows her to defer loan payments.

She recently received a raise and now makes $22 an hour working for a photographer. It's the highest salary she's earned since graduating with an interdisciplinary degree in religious and women's studies. After taxes, she takes home about $2,300 a month. Rent runs $750, and the full monthly payments on her student loans would be about $700 if they weren't being deferred, which would not leave a lot left over.

She may finally be earning enough to barely scrape by while still making the payments for the first time since she graduated, at least until interest rates rise and the payments on her loans with variable rates spiral up. And while her job requires her to work nights and weekends sometimes, she probably should find a flexible second job to try to bring in a few extra hundred dollars a month.

Ms. Munna understands this tough love, buck up, buckle-down advice. But she also badly wants to call a do-over on the last decade. "I don't want to spend the rest of my life slaving away to pay for an education I got for four years and would happily give back," she said. "It feels wrong to me."

Read the full story in the New York Times by Ron Lieber

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

OSX/OpinionSpy Spyware Installed by Freely Distributed Mac Applications

Intego has discovered a spyware application that is installed by a number of freely distributed Mac applications and screen savers found on a variety of websites. This spyware, OSX/OpinionSpy, performs a number of malicious actions, from scanning files to recording user activity, as well as sending information about this activity to remote servers and opening a backdoor on infected Macs.

OSX/OpinionSpy is installed by a number of applications and screen savers that are distributed on sites such as MacUpdate, VersionTracker and Softpedia. The spyware itself is not contained in these applications, but is downloaded during the installation process. This shows the need for an up-to-date anti-malware program with a real-time scanner that can detect this malware when it is downloaded by the original application’s installer.

The information provided with some of these applications contains a misleading text that users must accept explaining that a “market research” program is installed with them, but not all of these specify this. Some of these programs are also distributed directly from developers’ web sites with no such warning.

The malware, a version of which has existed for Windows since 2008, claims to collect browsing and purchasing information that is used in market reports. However, this program goes much further, performing a number of insidious actions, which have led Intego to classify it as spyware.

For full technical details about OSX/OpinionSpy please visit the Intergo web site.

Monday, May 31, 2010

Google Dumps Microsoft Windows Company-Wide!


"Employees wanting to stay on Windows required clearance from “quite senior levels”, one employee said. “Getting a new Windows machine now requires CIO approval,” said another employee."

DailyTech - Report: Apple Cuts 0.7 Percent of iPad Profit to Give Factory Workers Big Raise

"It took a string of suicides to spur it to action, but Apple is finally taking a big step towards trying to ensure that the workers who build its bestselling iPads, iPods, and iPhones enjoy a decent standard of living.

According to a report by Chinese news organization Sina, Apple has now quietly committed a dramatic gesture, offering to finance the majority of the 20 percent raise in pay to the Shenzhen workers. The raise was long promised to workers, but had remained undelivered for some time now.

The 20 percent raise will cost Apple a little, but not very much. It is estimated to raise the costs of labor for the iPad from 2.3 percent of the cost to 3.0 percent of the cost. Apple still looks to make hundreds in profit off of each unit sold (breakdowns estimated Apple makes at least $200 per iPad sold)."

DailyTech - Report: Apple Cuts 0.7 Percent of iPad Profit to Give Factory Workers Big Raise

Friday, May 28, 2010

Don't count on a Verizon iPhone any time soon

Rumors about the iPhone coming to Verizon are sprouting up. Don't believe it, Verizon fans.

There are some fundamental reasons why a deal isn't imminent.

• Verizon's network runs on a wireless standard called CDMA, which is incompatible with AT&T's GSM network. It's not impossible to offer phones on both networks -- Research in Motion (RIMM) sells BlackBerry phones on every major U.S. network. But it wouldn't necessarily make economic sense for Apple.

• Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) has proudly advertised that consumers can make calls and surf the Web simultaneously on the iPhone, but Verizon's CDMA network can't support that feature.

• Verizon is set to roll out its 4G network later this year, and AT&T will unveil its 4G network in 2011. Those networks will be on a new universal, global standard called LTE, making a 4G/LTE iPhone much more cost-effective for Apple and easier to sell around the world. That would make next year or even 2012 a more likely timeframe for debuting a Verizon iPhone.

• suppliers haven't given any indication that Apple is building a CDMA phone, according to Jagdish Rebello, principal analyst of communication systems at iSuppli.

• Apple has a five-year exclusivity deal with AT&T (T, Fortune 500), according to court documents, making it unlikely that the iPhone could come to Verizon before 2012.

• AT&T offers unlimited 3G access for the iPad on a contract-free basis for an average of about $22 a month. Because those sales only account for 15% of AT&T's data revenue, according to data tracker Trefis, it may be part of a bigger strategy.

"There is speculation that AT&T is offering attractively priced 3G data plans ... as part of a broader deal with Apple to maintain iPhone exclusivity for longer than the original agreement," Trefis said in a recent analyst note.

Read the full story at CNN Money By David Goldman, staff writer

iPad lands big in Japan, other foreign markets

The appeal of the Apple iPad is being tested overseas as it launches in nine countries Friday. Japan is one market where it is expected to have a special allure.

Two months after the start of U.S sales, Apple kicked off iPad sales in Japan, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Canada early Friday morning.

And in Japan, the world's second largest economy, it was launched with the kind of fanfare typically reserved for a new game machine from Nintendo.

Read the full story at Cnet News by Brooke Crothers



In Tokyo thousands of excited and sleep deprived gadget fans mobbed shops in Japan as Apple's iPad launches. Video courtesy of AFP.


Once again Apple fans lined up from the early hours, this time in Sydney to get their hands on the first iPads to be released Down Under. Video courtesy of The Daily Telegraph.


Early adopters like to show off and share their glossy new iPads, but one thing is rubbing people the wrong way: The 9.7" touchscreen is smudge-prone -- and no one likes a greasy gadget. WSJ's Nick Burns reports.