Apple makes a strong holiday showing at Amazon in the US

The holiday shopping season hasn't been kind to brick and mortar stores, but on the electronic front, Amazon seems to have been doing just fine for themselves.

In fact, they've reported that this has been their best season yet. You know who else doesn't seem to be affected by a poor economy? Apple. Put the two together, and you get Christmas magic.

The Apple iPod touch was a best seller in the Amazon (US) electronics category and, unsurprisingly, Apple featured prominently in the best-selling notebook computers category (updated hourly), taking 7 of the 25 best-selling spots.

Few laptops on the list were anywhere near the price of the MacBook and MacBook Pro, with the majority of consumers preferring laptops in the $500 and below range, as well as the increasingly popular netbook market.

But Apple's presence just goes to show that superb quality can triumph over discount prices. Either that, or Amazon shoppers have more money than most folks.

Apple also claimed 3 of the top 5 spots for desktop computer sales. Not too shoddy, considering the vast price differences between an iMac and a Dell.

So what does this all mean? Nothing decisive, of course, but it's a good indicator that Apple may be weathering the recession nicely for the moment.

When Apple releases holiday benchmarks for their retail and online store in January we'll get a more comprehensive look, and if the past is any indication, it may be one for the books.

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Macworld Expo responds to Apple exiting Expo
In-the-works video games cater to music fans
(Reuters)
Apple releases Multi-Touch Trackpad Update for Windows

Sony cuts PlayStation 3 component costs by 35 per cent

Sony Computer Entertainment has cut the cost of materials used to make its PlayStation 3 game console by 35 per cent, according to market research firm iSuppli.

The components used to produce the second-generation of the PS3 console cost $448.73, based on October component prices, iSuppli said, citing a recent teardown of the system it conducted to see what components are used inside.

The market research firm then assembled a bill of materials based on that list of components and estimated prices to arrive at a system cost.

By comparison, the components used inside the first generation of the PS3 cost $690.23, based on mid-2007 prices, iSuppli statement.

Sony makes a loss on the sale of each PlayStation 3 console, which sells for $400 on Amazon.com. But the loss Sony records for each console is narrowing, and the company may soon reach the break-even point, including other costs associated with manufacturing and sales.

"The PS3 may be able to break even in 2009 with further hardware revisions," iSuppli said in a statement.

Sony managed to cut the material cost of the second-generation PlayStation 3 by using more advanced components. In particular, the consoles use a more advanced version of the Cell processor and other chips made using a 65-nanometer manufacturing process, instead of the older 90-nanometer process.

This shift reduces unit manufacturing costs for each chip and lowers power consumption, which means Sony can use a less expensive power supply.

The number of components inside the PS3 has also been reduced, as functions previously handled by different chips have been combined in a single part, iSuppli said.

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Britney Spears “Circus” is back — new album, tour
(Reuters)
Next-gen iPhone to sport MEMS gyroscope?

ITV and Channel 4 face £30 million bill for Project Kangaroo

ITV and Channel4 have been advised to reconsider their part in Project Kangaroo, says Enders Analysis.

According to the analyst firm, the project could cost the broadcasters in the region of 30m next year, but they should be using the cash to stabilise themselves during the economic downturn.

First announced in November 2007, Project Kangaroo is an on-demand TV service that was billed as a 'one-stop shop' for video content online. It was expected to offer users more than 10,000 hours of TV from the BBC, Channel 4 and ITV, with around 90 per cent available for free and the rest available for rent or purchase.

The Competition Commission began investigating the project after rival broadcasters Sky and Virgin Media raised concerns. It is estimated that Project Kangaroo has already cost the three broadcasters more than 25m in costs so far.

"The market for internet video advertising, on which the commercial revenues from Kangaroo would chiefly depend, is tiny and developing slowly," said a report by Enders Analysis.

"Revenues may not exceed the cost of Kangaroo for some time. In summary, the potential advertising rewards from online video are far lower than Kangaroo's backers imagine. Therefore it can certainly wait for a year or two whilst the commercial PSBs (Public Service Broadcasters) focus on their survival."

The report argues that Channel 4 and ITV should focus on the BBC's offer of the free and open use of its iPlayer.

"Their interests may be better served by collaborating with the BBC over the iPlayer, although the Competition Commission's findings [into Project Kangaroo] indicate strongly that and video on demand venture from the UK's leading content providers will be subject to intense scrutiny."

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LG Display cuts Q4 outlook on sharp decline in LCD demand
Duffy tops Britain’s 2008 albums, sales decline
(Reuters)
ITV rebrands online TV service as ITV Player, following BBC iPlayer success

Manga Studio 4 improves text input, adds more screen tones

Smith Micro on Tuesday announced the release of Manga Studio 4 for the Mac, a new version of its manga and comic art creation software. It's priced starting at $49.99.

Manga Studio 4 is aimed at professional artists who create manga - Japanese comics - and Western-style comics. It incorporates the ability to sketch original art using a mouse or tablet, scan in existing art, add screen tones, color and fill, add word balloons and special effects, then output to a variety of file formats.

New to the 4.0 release - already available for Windows - is a "Beginner's Assistant" interface that helps artists new to the software get started. A new color palette lets you choose preset colors or create your own.

More than 100 preset, editable word balloons are now included, which let you adjust the font, size, style and spacing of text and add a curved or straight "tail."

Other features include advanced text input, with support for Katakana and Hiragana characters, more screen tones and patterns, and additional preset page templates.

System requirements call for Mac OS X 10.4.11 or later, G4/867MHz or faster CPU (including Intel), 1GB RAM, 2.6GB hard disk space, DVD-ROM drive. Pen tablet recommended, TWAIN-compliant scanner optional.

Manga Studio comes in Debut and EX versions for $49.99 and $299.99 respectively; the EX version adds colour correction tools, enhanced filtering and special effects, new vector-based illustration tools, 3D objects and other enhancements. Upgrades from previous releases are available.

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T-Pain and Tim McGraw: More Hip-Hoppin’ Country
(E! Online)
MacProVideo releases iWeb and Keynote tutorials
Last.fm founder’s ‘reactive music’ album a hit on Apple iPhone App Store
New album from U2 is on the horizon
(AP)

Last.fm founder's 'reactive music' album a hit on Apple iPhone App Store

Last.fm founder's 'reactive music' album is proving a hit with Apple iPhone and iPod touch users with 150,000 downloads from the App Store in two months.

RjDj, an innovative new concept in music, was created by Last.fm founder Michael Breidenbruecker and offers an interactive musical experience.

Last.fm is a popular online radio station for sharing and streaming music and creating playlists.

The iPhone application, which makes music out of the world around us, is being dubbed 'reactive music'.

RjDj enables anyone with an iPhone to incorporate the sounds around them into the music they are listening to.

"In the digital music age, people have so much choice that they quickly grow bored of the same old tracks," says Michael Breidenbruecker, founder at RjDj.

"RjDj enables artists to create reactive music that their listeners can integrate into their world as it changes through their day. We are effectively building a bridge between the music an artist creates in a studio and the environment that their listeners are in so they can create a soundtrack for their life and expand the amount of time their fans spend with their music."

The RjDj album is available from the Apple App Store and costs 1.79. A RjDj single is available as a free download.

A YouTube RjDj video is available here.

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Music biz braces for disappointing holiday sales
(Reuters)
Apple: 300 million iPhone apps downloaded

Feral releases Lego Indy demo, updates game for MacBooks

Feral Interactive has announced the release of a playable demo version of Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures, a game based on Lego building toys and the popular movie character.

Based on the original trilogy of Indiana Jones movies, the game lets you play as Indy and other characters from the films as you visit the Lost Temple of the Chipuayan Warriors, go on a search for the Lost Ark of the Covenant, visit the Temple of Doom, and go out in search of the Holy Grail, as depicted in The Last Crusade.

The game features gameplay similar to Lego Star Wars II, which Feral also brought to the Mac - you play with characters and scenes that look like they're constructed from Lego building block toys.

The demo of the game lets you play as Indy and his guide Satipo as the recover the Golden Idol from the Lost Temple of the Chipuayan Warriors.

Feral has also announced that the game has been updated to run better on first-generation MacBooks and Mac minis equipped with Intel GMA 950 graphics chips.

"While we are not officially supporting these cards, we have improved the experience and we feel 90 per cent of those who play LEGO Indy on GMA950-supported Macs will be happy with the performance gain," said Feral spokesman Brad Gibson.

The game is supported on all Intel Macs with GMA X3100 graphics cards or better.

System requirements call for a 1.8GHz Intel-based Mac, 512MB RAM, Mac OS X 10.4.10 or later, 5GB free hard drive space, DVD-ROM and mouse.

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Music Review: Scott Weiland is ‘Happy in Galoshes’
(AP)
In-the-works video games cater to music fans
(Reuters)
Google Earth releases browser plug-in for OS X

Psystar: No conspiracy against Apple

Mac clone maker Psystar denied it is at the center of a cabal whose purpose is to steal Apple’s intellectual property, documents recently filed with a federal court show.

"Psystar denies that said activities are unlawful and improper," the company said in its 16 December response to allegations made earlier by Apple.

"Psystar likewise denies the suggestion that there exists a concerted effort to commit infringement of Apple's intellectual property rights, to breach or induce the breach of Apple's otherwise unenforceable license agreements, and to violate state and common law unfair competition laws."

The Florida-based computer seller, which is embroiled in a lawsuit with Apple over its installation of Mac OS X on Intel-based machines, was reacting to charges made last month by Apple, when the California computer and consumer electronics maker alleged that Psystar was not acting alone.

Then, Apple accused 10 additional individuals or companies of colluding with Psystar, but did not name names. "Persons other than Psystar are involved in Psystar's unlawful and improper activities described in this amended complaint,"

Apple charged in a late November filing with US District Court Judge William Alsup. "The true names or capacities, whether individual, corporate or otherwise, of these persons are unknown to Apple. Consequently they are referred to herein as John Does 1 through 10."

Apple said at the time that it would reveal the John Does' names when it uncovered them.

Reports in the general media as well as on Apple-centric sites, seized on Apple's claims, with some speculating that Psystar was just the front man for bigger and better-funded rivals of Apple.

NEXT: Psystar admitted that it has come up with a way to circumvent code

Continued... 1 | 2 | NEXT >

Apple releases Multi-Touch Trackpad Update for Windows
Coldplay denies plagiarism accusation
(Reuters)
Apple code crashes, locks up Mac clones, Psystar claims

iMacworld iPhone app offers detailed Macworld Expo info

iPhone and iPod touch users planning on attending Macworld Conference & Expo should take note of iMacworld, a new application that lets you get information about the show.

iMacworld provides exhibitor information and product information, and also integrates a messaging service. It lets you browse exhibitor lists, looking at vendors by name, hall and aisle number.

You can also check exhibited products by name, category and exhibitor.

The software checks the Web for new information about Macworld Expo exhibitors and events and saves the data locally, so you don't need network or cell phone access to check.

IDG World Expo vice president Paul Kent recently posted to his Twitter account that a major upgrade will be offered this afternoon which will enable users to navigate using a show floor map. A conference guide will also be included.

iMacworld requires an iPhone or iPod touch running iPhone 2.0 software or later.

Macworld Expo takes place from 5 – 9 January, 2009 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, Calif.

It's available for free download from the App Store.

IDG World Expo and Macworld are both owned by International Data Group (IDG).

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Apple releases fix for crashing Mail app under OS X 10.5.6

Apple on Monday released an update to its Mail email client, designed to fix crashing problems experienced after updating to OS X 10.5.6.

Mail Update 1.0 addresses a problem where a copy of Mail that wasn't properly updated while installing the 10.5.6 update unexpectedly quits.

For those who have installed 10.5.6 and whose copy of Mail doesn't show a version number of 3.5 (930.3), the update should show up in OS X's Software Update mechanism.

If you have the proper version number and still are experiencing crashes, Apple suggests updating or removing third-party plug-ins, which may be causing the crashing problems.

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Abdul chides Fox, `Idol’ producers over stalker
(AP)
Britney Spears “Circus” is back — new album, tour
(Reuters)
Apple releases Multi-Touch Trackpad Update for Windows

The Simpsons come to iTunes but only in US

More than 20 years after they first appeared on television Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie are finally available on iTunes but only in the US.

The Simpsons, Season 20 is available now on iTunes for $37.99 although not in high definition.

Previous seasons, including many considered to be The Simpsons at their creative peak, have yet to be released on iTunes.

The Simpsons' Season 20 began airing on Fox in the US on 28 September this year and includes an Apple parody in ‘Mypods and Boomsticks.’

The Simpsons visit Springfield’s new Mapple store full of MyPods, MyPhones and MyCubes, while Steve Mobs, evidently modelled on Apple CEO Steve Jobs makes an appearance.

The Simpsons is now tied with Gunsmoke as the longest running American primetime television series.

As yet there is no sign if, and when, The Simpsons will make an appearance on the UK iTunes store.

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Apple Expo Paris cancelled
Free festive giveaway as The Smiths soundtrack iTunes Christmas
Guns N’ Roses out of ammo?
(Reuters)
Michael Jackson camp denies health problems
(Reuters)

Mobile Web use hits an upward curve at last say Opera

Data traffic to mobile phones jumped 463 per cent in November compared to the same month last year, according to the latest State of the Mobile Web report from Opera Software.

Page views were up by 303 per cent over the year, the company said. The statistics measure web usage via Opera Mini, a widely-installed browser which uses Internet-hosted servers to pre-process web data before it is downloaded to the phone.

Opera's records of page-views and data consumed suggest that mobile Web use turned the corner around the end of 2007 and is now on an exponential curve upwards.

In particular, it has jumped in North America, with the US now in the top three of Opera Mini-using countries.

However, while in every European country - and in Mexico - it is Nokia and Sony Ericsson handsets that dominate, the US and Canadian lists are topped by BlackBerrys. Nowhere in Europe does a BlackBerry even get into Opera's top ten.

People are using more data in more locations and now expect a broadband experience on their phone, said Jon von Tetzchner, Opera's CEO. "More people viewing more pages on mobile phones is the clear trend," he said.

"The mobile Web is growing around the world, even in countries where broadband penetration is high. In fact, it is growing because consumers are used to having ubiquitous access to the Web and expect to have it wherever they are."

He added: "But the real promise of the mobile Web is in connecting those who do not have broadband. The next billion people will use the Web first on their mobile phones. Once that happens we will finally both unleash the vast potential and realize the greatest benefit of the mobile Web."

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Laptops outsell desktops for the first time ever

The third quarter of 2008 marked a first for the computer industry. According to iSuppli, more notebook PCs were sold globally than desktop PCs - just for the quarter, however.

Compared to the third-quarter of 2007, notebook PC sales spiked 40 per cent to 38.6 million computers sold. The desktop PC market didn't fare quite as well. Compared to the same time frame last year, sales shrank 1.3 per cent to 38.5 million units sold.

"Momentum has been building in the notebook market for some time, so it's not a complete surprise that shipments have surpassed those of desktops," said Matthew Wilkins, principal analyst for compute platforms at iSuppli.

"However, this marks a major event in the PC market because it marks the start of the age of the notebook."

Even given the crazy economic woes as of late, worldwide PC shipments grew 15.4 per cent over Q3 2007, settling at 79 million computers shipped.

Of this number, Hewlett-Packard took top billing with its 18.8 market share. This translates to roughly 14.9 million computers shipped, 3.9 million more than second-place rival Dell.

The biggest momentum came from Acer, who managed to sell three million more notebooks in the third quarter than second -- mostly from its new netbook line of products.

The upswing represents a growth rate of 45 per cent over second-quarter sales, and 79 per cent compared to the third quarter of 2007.

It's certainly no coincidence that the company's aggressively marketing its netbooks for the holiday season - that could help the company see dramatic returns for the fourth quarter as well.

Since third-quarter PC returns came in a little higher than expected, iSuppli is modifying its 2008 forecasted growth rate from 12.5 to 13 per cent. Similarly, the company expects PC sales to grow 4.3 per cent in 2009.

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Synium Software offers up to 50 per cent Christmas discount

Synium Software has announced a special 50 per cent gift discount for Christmas 2008.

On 24 and 25 December, Synium will offer up to 50 per cent Christmas discount on products like CleanApp, MacFamilyTree, iFinance, Screenium for Mac or StuffRadar for Apple iPhone and iPod touch.

The following discounts are only valid on 24 and 25 December.

Coupon Code MFTXMAS08: MacFamilyTree 5.3: Save 25 per cent

Coupon Code XMAS08: CleanApp 3: Save 50 per cent Screenium: Save 50 per cent iFinance 3: Save 50 per cent NoteMind: Save 50 per cent

On Sale in the Apple AppStore for iPhone/iPod touch: MobileFamilyTree: Save 40 per cent StuffRadar: Save 45 per cent

Synium Software in a press release say they would like to say thanks for continued support of quality Mac software development and wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and an exciting New Year of 2009.

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ImageTouch 2 for iPhone now sports Christmas themes
Usher to Take Direction From Teenagers
(E! Online)

IE's European share falls under 60 per cent, Firefox's growth stalls

Fewer than 60 per cent of European Web users run Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, a French-based metrics company reported Monday, while more than 31 per cent have switched to Mozilla's Firefox.

Microsoft's browser dipped under 60 per cent for the first time in August, rallied slightly in September, but then dipped below that bar again during October and November, said XiTi Monitor, a Web measurement site operated by Applied Technologies Internet of Merignac, France.

For November, IE's share of Europe's browser market was 59.5 per cent, down a percentage point since June and off five points since April.

Firefox's share, meanwhile, has slipped nearly two percentage points since August, when it accounted for 33 per cent of the European market. After falling to 31.2 per cent the following month, Firefox ended November with a 31.1 per cent share, the lowest number since May 2008.

Another Internet metrics firm, US based Net Applications had also noted a drop in Firefox's share during September, and attributed the decline to desertions to Chrome, the browser that Google introduced that month. Net Applications' numbers for Firefox, however, decreased much less dramatically, down just 0.2 per cent from the month before.

But while Net Applications' data showed that Firefox quickly regained losses it had suffered to Chrome, and then added more users, XiTi's measurements indicate that Firefox's growth has essentially stalled.

Net Applications has also tracked the slow, steady decline of IE. Last month, said Net Applications, which monitors visitors to more than 40,000 sites, the majority of them US.

URLs, Microsoft's browser fell under a 70 per cent share for the first time since the California company began monitoring browser market share.

According to XiTi, both Chrome and Opera Software ASA 's flagship Opera browser control larger shares in Europe than they do in the U.S. Chrome, for instance, ended November with a 1.1 per cent share - Net Applications pegged it at 0.8per cent - while Opera owned a 5.1 per cent share, more than seven times higher than the 0.7 per cent measured by Net Applications.

Opera, which is headquartered in Norway, is Europe's only native browser maker. Since August, said XiTi, Opera has boosted its market share by 0.6 percentage point, all at the apparent expense of Firefox.

Traditionally, Europeans are much more likely than Americans to ditch IE and turn to an alternative. Earlier in the year, for example, XiTi said Firefox's market share in some countries, including Finland, Poland and Slovenia, was approaching 50per cent.

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Google Earth releases browser plug-in for OS X
New Kelly Clarkson single due next month
(Reuters)
Firefox users targeted by rare piece of malware

Audioengine W2 wireless adapter debuts for iPod

Audioengine has introduced its W2 Premium Wireless Adapter for the iPod.

It costs $169 and is available now.

The Audioengine W2 (AW2) includes a digital "Sender" that connects to the iPod's 30-pin dock connector.

A receiver attaches to your stereo or home entertainment system and streams audio from the iPod.

This way, you use the iPod as a wireless remote, selecting songs, albums, artists and playlists using the iPod's interface.

The device uses 2.4MHz radio waves to communicate, sending audio information in an all-digital PCM-encoded stream over a closed network.

The AW2 features error correction and low latency, to make sure the music gets to your entertainment system without dropping out and without any lag. It is also protected from interference with other wireless products and microwave ovens, cordless phones and other devices.

The Sender - the part that plugs into the iPod - draws its power from the iPod, so no additional batteries or charging source is necessary.

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iPod touch most popular MP3 player this Christmas
In-the-works video games cater to music fans
(Reuters)
Abdul chides Fox, `Idol’ producers over stalker
(AP)

iPhone trounces BlackBerry Storm in satisfaction rating

First reactions from buyers of Research in Motion newest BlackBerry Storm smart phone have been "lukewarm," and nowhere near the satisfaction ratings of Apple’s iPhone , a market research analyst said on Tuesday.

"It's not that the BlackBerry Storm is a bad phone," said Paul Carton , research director at ChangeWave Research Research. "It's just that the initial launch has glitches which have resulted in a mediocre satisfaction rating, while consumers are already trained to expect the very highest standards from their BlackBerries."

In its most recent consumer smart-phone survey, ChangeWave found that the Storm's satisfaction rating was more akin to a mid-tier handset and significantly below that of people who own Apple's iPhone.

Just 33 per cent of new Storm owners, for example, said they were "very satisfied" with the touch screen smart phone, compared to 77 per cent of iPhone owners who answered with that phrase in a July 2008 survey ChangeWave conducted less than a month after Apple launched the iPhone 3G.

Likewise, 14 per cent of Storm owners said they were "unsatisfied" with their new BlackBerry , compared with 5 per cent of iPhone buyers who gave that response in July.

But the Storm is not all RIM has to offer, Carton said, as he argued that the Waterloo, Ontario, company is in a strong position leading into 2009.

"For the first time in a year, RIM's next 90 days are looking very, very strong," said Carton, "even in relation to Apple. Overall, BlackBerry represents the top of the line.

And although Storm started off looking like a mid-tier smart phone in terms of its initial consumer reaction, that's not the end of the story."

According to the survey ChangeWave conducted earlier this month to measure future purchasing plans, 39 per cent of the consumers who said they would buy a smart phone in the next 90 days pegged a BlackBerry as their chosen handset.

That number was up from 30 per cent in September, which in turn was an increase over June's 23 per cent.

Apple's iPhone, meanwhile, captured just 30 per cent of the planned smart phone purchases in the most recent survey, down from 34 per cent in September and off dramatically from the whopping 56 per cent in June, more than a month before Apple actually launched the iPhone 3G but after it had disclosed many of its details.

The downturn in stated plans to buy an iPhone is understandable, said Carton, who characterized it as a "settling down" of consumer interest in Apple's device.

"Yes, the industry is driven by new product releases, but the place that Apple is in now, that's a wonderful place to be," he said. "They'll have a great quarter [in iPhone sales], even in the midst of an unbelievably bad economy."

NEXT: The ball has shifted back into BlackBerry's court

Continued... 1 | 2 | NEXT >

Apple: 300 million iPhone apps downloaded
Court agrees to pay Spears’ father $75/hour
(AP)
Usher to Take Direction From Teenagers
(E! Online)
Apple ‘disappointed’ by French ruling on iPhone

iPod touch most popular MP3 player this Christmas

The "funnest Apple iPod ever" has been voted the most popular MP3 player this Christmas according to the leading shopping comparison website.

PriceGrabber.co.uk found the iPod touch, specifically the 8GB model, leading the way ahead of the iPod classic and iPod nano.

The most popular MP3 players on PriceGrabber.co.uk from 15 November to 15 December, based on referrals to merchants, were:

Apple iPod touch 2nd Generation 8GB Apple iPod touch 2nd Generation 16GB Apple iPod classic 120GB MP3 Player - Black Apple iPod nano 4th Generation 8GB MP3 Player - Blue Apple iPod nano 4th Generation 8GB MP3 Player – Black

Currently iPod’s can be found in the PriceGrabber.co.uk ‘hot products’ section, a daily list of the Top 200 products, which includes games consoles, digital cameras and widescreen LCD and Plasma TV’s.

Recently a poll of 5,000 people for Cashback, a site that promises savings on a range of goods and services, found the iPod to be "best Christmas present ever."

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Norway consumer body challenges Apple over iTunes
(Reuters)
Apple updates iPod nano, classic firmware
iPod touch is ‘Gadget of the Year’ - T3

Sony launches teaser campaign for new Vaio laptop

Sony has launched a teaser ad campaign for a new "revolutionary" Vaio laptop that appears destined to debut at January's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Promising to "change the way you think about laptops," the company's New Zealand subsidiary has launched a countdown teaser campaign on its Web site entitled "The wait is over."

The site is offering no details on the new Vaio laptop until January 9 - which due to the time difference between New Zealand and Las Vegas means the unveiling will come a few hours after Sony CEO Howard Stringer delivers a keynote address at CES.

Gadget blogs were recently set buzzing after an upcoming Sony laptop appeared in a regulatory filing on the Federal Communications Commission's Web site. The machine, identified as the PCG-1P1L, is a Windows-based machine that offers several connectivity options including 3G wireless.

Most details of the machine were temporarily withheld from the FCC site at the request of Sony however a picture of the base of the machine and the product ID label indicate the computer is approximately 22 centimeters long by 11 centimeters deep.

That would make it smaller and more compact than most netbooks but whether it's a netbook or a more powerful computer is impossible to tell.

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Google launches Cross-Language Enterprise Search
Madonna, Ritchie won’t detail divorce deal
(AP)
Bruce Springsteen sings for Obama in Michigan
(Reuters)

BBC introduces child friendly CBBC iPlayer

The BBC has launched a child friendly version of its popular online catch-up TV service BBC iPlayer.

“Welcome to iPlayer for CBBC,” runs the blurb. “Watch CBBC your way.”

The Web site comes with a simpler interface using large colourful images to entice children into watching online.

“Check out the most popular shows or pick out your favourites via the CBBC Shows A-Z button at the top of the page. iPlayer for CBBC will even remember the last 5 shows that you have watched. Brilliant!”

Currently popular shows available to view include MI High, The Story of Tracy Beaker, Bear Behaving Badly and the Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures.

As well as watching archived shows the channel is also streamlined on the Web site between 7am and 7pm each day.

A range of CBBC games including Gastronuts and Pinky & Perky: Power Pig are available to play for free.

Shows are also available for streaming that include sign language including The Crust and Extreme Animals.

The new dedicated Web site comes as the BBC announced that a version of its iPlayer download applications now compatible with Mac and Linux operating systems.

The BBC’s director of future media and technology, Erik Huggers noted that teen drama MI High had a higher proportion of viewers watching on the iPlayer than Eastenders - 20.7 per cent compared to 2.4 per cent - though he said viewer research showed iPlayer viewing to be supplementary rather than 'cannibalising' traditional TV viewing.

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Janet Jackson delays 3 more shows due to illness
(AP)
ITV rebrands online TV service as ITV Player, following BBC iPlayer success
Is Miley Cyrus Really Divorcing Her Parents?
(E! Online)

Take A Note app brings improved note taking to Apple iPhone

Readdle.com has released its new Take A Note iPhone application. Take A Note overcomes two major limitations of the built in iPhone Notes by providing the access to individuals notes from any Mac or Windows computer while supporting voice, drawing and photo memos in addition to text notes.

Take A Note offers four types of notes, custom categories, search, send by email functions and a user friendly interface.

What makes Take A Note unique say Readdle is the ability to connect to the iPhone as shared network drive and browse the notes as text, sound and image files, copy these files to the computer and even add existing text documents as new notes.

“The major limitation of the iPhone Notes is that all notes are locked to the iPhone. With our new Take A Note application, users have access to all their notes as files that they can freely backup, delete and edit," explains Alexander Tyagulsky, Readdle.com CMO.

Users can copy whole folders with text, sound or image files to their devices and they will be instantly transformed into new notes.

Take A Note for iPhone and iPod touch costs 4.99 and is available from the Apple App Store.

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Janet Jackson delays 3 more shows due to illness
(AP)
Apple ‘disappointed’ by French ruling on iPhone
Apple spells “Catagories” wrong in iPhone update

Free festive giveaway as The Smiths soundtrack iTunes Christmas

Legendary Manchester 1980’s band The Smiths are among free festive downloads offered by iTunes in a 12 Days Of Christmas promotion.

Although the artists involved are yet to be revealed, NME.COM understands the likes of The Smiths, along with The Ting Tings and The Script, are all set to feature.

The free iTunes downloads are set to include "rare singles, live tracks and free music videos."

The iTunes offer also includes classic TV episodes you won’t want to miss say Apple.

The iTunes promotion will run throughout the 12 Days Of Christmas between 26 December and 6 January.

More details will be revealed at www.itunes12daysofchristmas.co.uk.

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Nicole Richie Is Not Joel Madden’s Diamond Girl
(E! Online)
Apple iTunes faces battle of Britain
Norway consumer body challenges Apple over iTunes
(Reuters)
Apple response on Norwegian iTunes case fails to impress

Google launches Cross-Language Enterprise Search

Google launched on Thursday an innovative cross-language search feature that is sure to be welcomed by any global organisation.

Cross-Language Enterprise Search works only with the Google Enterprise Search Appliance and will find internal documents written in any language, no matter what language was used to create the query.

With more and more companies linking their global systems, by simply pointing the search engine to each system the cross-language feature will find the documents in any one of 34 languages.

"Google Search Appliance is meant to mix 30 million documents, since the search appliance can do that all you have to do is point to all the servers," said Cyrus Mystry, product manager, Google Enterprise Labs.

The cross-language tool also uses Google's machine translation technology to automatically translate the document if that feature is activated by the administrator through a dropdown menu.

Otherwise, it can bring back the search results in the language they were written in.

While machine translation is notoriously inaccurate, Mystry noted that the Web has a vast amount of documents that are in multiple languages, and Google uses that along with statistical analysis to create a more accurate rendering of one language into another.

Recently, Google also created a translation feature that allows users to enter text or a Web URL and have it automatically translated.

Mystry said the goal of the Enterprise Labs is to develop and launch a new feature every six to eight weeks by posting innovations from over 10,000 Google engineers, and then making it available to about 55,000 visitors who can test the feature.

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Is Apple building a search engine?
Placido Domingo sings at Mexico pyramid
(AP)

Apple ‘disappointed’ by French ruling on iPhone

On Thursday Macworld reported that the iPhone will no longer be available just for Orange subscribers in France following a decision by the national competition council.

The iPhone will no longer be available for just Orange subscribers in France after a decision by the national competition council announced on Wednesday.

At the time we published that article, Apple hadn’t yet responded to the news. However, in an email, company spokesman Alan Hely said that Apple is deeply disappointed by the council’s decision.

The iPhone, he said, has created “vigorous competition among handset makers and carriers that benefits all consumers. Our partnership with Orange has enabled us to deliver unprecedented value to French consumers.”

Orange will appeal before the Court of Appeal in Paris.

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Norway consumer body challenges Apple over iTunes
(Reuters)
Apple spells “Catagories” wrong in iPhone update
Canada, Japan see ‘very good’ demand for iPhone in Q3
Usher to Take Direction From Teenagers
(E! Online)

Apple releases Multi-Touch Trackpad Update for Windows

Apple released an update for users of Boot Camp and one its new MacBook or MacBook Pro computers.

Multi-Touch Trackpad Update for Windows XP and Windows Vista improves the performance of the Apple Multi-Touch trackpad when running Windows on a Mac computer using Boot Camp, according to Apple.

Boot Camp is Apple’s implementation of virtualization, or the ability to run Windows on your Mac.

The 3.7MB update is available for download from Apple's Web site.

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Brit’s Back: “Womanizer” Tops Charts, Record Books
(E! Online)
Speck offers ’satin’ case for new Apple MacBook
Norway consumer body challenges Apple over iTunes
(Reuters)

Adobe Air now runs on Linux

Adobe Systems is extending its AIR (Adobe Integrated Runtime) technology to Linux desktops.

Previously available for Mac and Windows, AIR is Adobe's free technology that enables delivery of Web applications that also can run outside the browser; it lets Flash programs run on the desktop.

The Linux version of the software can be accessed here.

The company is making available version 1.5 of AIR for users of the OpenSuse 10.3, Fedora Core and Ubuntu 7.10 or higher open-source Linux distributions. AIR 1.5 also has worked on Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop, but the company has not tested it on this implementation of Linux.

"We're experiencing nearly 100 million installations of Adobe AIR on Mac and Windows by the end of this year," said Adrian Ludwig, group product manager for the platform business unit at Adobe.

"That strength of platform across Mac and Windows is going to make it very easy for developers to build applications that will end up running on Linux as well."

AIR 1.5 for Linux is arriving a month after it became available for Mac and Windows. Future versions of AIR will arrive simultaneously for all three platforms, Adobe said.

AIR applications can access local data and receive activity notifications from the Internet in the background. For example, the Fox News AIR application offers a popup window to inform users of a new show. "It changes from having to have [the Fox News] Web site front and center," Ludwig said.

"There's an element to being able to work offline because you don't need to be connected the way a browser requires," he said.

Linux penetration on the desktop was estimated at less than 5 percent overall by Forrester's Jeffrey Hammond, senior analyst for application development.

But by putting AIR on Linux, Adobe believes it is addressing a situation in which it has been difficult to build applications for the Linux client, Ludwig said.

NEXT: High percentage of developers use Linux

Continued... 1 | 2 | NEXT >

Q&A: MySpace CEO aims to build music site’s community
(Reuters)
Dell expands music tie-ins on festival circuit
(Reuters)
FileWave 3.6 ships for Mac, Windows, Linux
Opera to redesign its user interface, wants feedback

Apple Expo Paris cancelled

Reed Exhibitions will not hold Apple Expo Paris in 2009. The show organisers confirmed its plans for Macworld on Wednesday.

Apple has slowly been moving away from the Paris expo for the last several years. In 2005 Apple cancelled Steve Jobs' keynote in Paris, although Apple, and Jobs, still atended the show.

That was Jobs' first appearance in Paris since undergoing pancreatic cancer in August 2004.

In 2008, Apple said it would not participate in the Paris expo at all, saying they were participating in fewer trade shows.

Of course, on Tuesday Apple announced that 2009 would be its last year at the largest Mac gathering, Macworld Conference & Expo, held in San Francisco, Calif. Steve Jobs will also not be giving the keynote address at the company's last appearance at the show.

In addition to Apple Expo Paris and Macworld Expo San Francisco, Apple has also pulled out of Macworld Expo Boston and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) trade shows in recent years.

Macworld Expo organisers, IDG World Expo, vows to keep the San Francisco show going in the future.

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Janet Jackson delays 3 more shows due to illness
(AP)
Macworld Expo responds to Apple exiting Expo
iPod father to advise Steve Jobs

MacUpdate's Holiday Bundle, time is running out to grab a festive bargain

MacUpdate's Holiday Bundle, a collection of awarding-winning Mac applications available at nearly 90 per cent off, has added a bonus app to the mix with a few hours left in the promotion.

Pangea Arcade, a collection of three updated classic arcade games, is available to the first 20,000 buyers of the bundle.

Pangea Arcade brings the value of the MacUpdate bundle up to more than $465, but is being offered for $49.99 until Thursday 18 December (US EST time), early Friday in the UK.

More than 17,000 bundles have already been purchased by Mac users around the world, making this MacUpdate's most popular bundle to date, the makers say.

A gifting option, newly launched for this bundle, also means that numerous Mac users will be receiving the gift of the bundle from friends or family in the coming days.

The other 10 apps included in the bundle include:

Drive Genius 2 ($99): Currently the highest-rated disk utility on the market and used by Mac Geniuses at Apple Stores, Drive Genius diagnoses and repairs problems with your hard drive, optimises your system, and much more.

Buyers will receive a link to download a bootable DVD image of the software to burn, which can be used to boot and fix any Mac that can run Mac OS X 10.5, including Apple's newest laptops.

RapidWeaver 4 ($79): Create powerful, professional-looking Web sites quickly and easily.

DefaultFolder X 4 ($34.95): Fly through Open & Save dialog boxes at lightning speed.

VirusBarrier X 10.5 ($69.95): Fast, simple, and non-intrusive anti-virus software for your Mac.

MacGourmet Deluxe ($44.95): Like iTunes for food, track recipes, plan meals, manage wines, and more.

Little Snitch 2 ($29.95): Monitors your network connection to make sure your Mac only sends out what you want it to.

KeyCue 4 ($27): Displays full keyboard shortcuts for all your applications; learn them and work faster.

MacPilot 3 ($19.95): Access hundreds of hidden features to customize and improve your Mac OS X experience.

WhatSize 4 ($12.99): Effortlessly identify files that are hogging disk space and that you don't need anymore.

iVolume 3 ($29.95): Ensures all your iTunes tracks play back at the same level, so you never have to adjust the volume individually.

The MacUpdate Holiday Bundle is available for $49.99.

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John Sculley calls Steve Jobs a ‘culture-changing’ genius
Miley Cyrus Hired for Law Firm’s Holiday Party
(E! Online)

Macworld Expo responds to Apple exiting Expo

I just got off the phone with Paul Kent, IDG World Expo vice president and general manager, in the aftermath of Apple's announcement that Steve Jobs won't keynote the show and that Apple will pull out of the show after 2009.

Here's Kent's complete statement:

"We are on track for a terrific show this year, with strong attendance and nearly 500 exhibitors showcasing their products at this January's event."

"Macworld Conference & Expo has thrived for 25 years due to the strong support of tens of thousands of people in the Mac community worldwide who use Macworld as a way to find great products, partake in professional development training and cultivate their personal and professional networks."

"We are committed to serve their interests at the Moscone Center, January 4-8, 2010. Future events will continue to provide quality education, dynamic product viewing and will additionally focus on the amazing ways people are putting Apple products to work across all endeavors from desktops to iPhones to games to music."

"We look forward to many successful years of Macworld to come."

IDG World Expo, like Macworld.com and Macworld.co.uk, is owned by IDG.

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Usher to Take Direction From Teenagers
(E! Online)
Norway consumer body challenges Apple over iTunes
(Reuters)
Speck offers ’satin’ case for new Apple MacBook
Apple spells “Catagories” wrong in iPhone update

Adobe Lightroom 2.2 now available

Adobe has updated Lightroom, its photo management software solution and part of the Photoshop family of creative applications.

Adobe Lightroom 2.2 includes additional camera raw support for a range of camera makes and models and numerous bug fixes.

The Lightroom 2.2 update includes new camera support for the following models:

Canon EOS 5D Mark II Canon PowerShot G10 Panasonic DMC-G1 Panasonic DMC-FX150 Panasonic DMC-FZ28 Panasonic DMC-LX3 Leica D-LUX 4

Lightroom 2.2 bug fixes include:

Images rendered from the Slideshow export process produced a jagged effect on hard edges relative to the quality of normal JPEG export.

Increased the number of characters allowed in web gallery labels beyond 150 characters.

Catalogues with hundreds of root (top level) folders caused very slow launch times.

Drag and drop to move a subfolder to a different folder showed the incorrect photos in the grid.

Print Sharpening produced edge artifacts in certain conditions.

Density defaulted to 100 per cent for initial stroke regardless of position of slider.

The Adjustment brush created blocky, straight edges to brush strokes under certain conditions.

Lightroom could become unresponsive when using the graduated filter under certain conditions.

It was possible to lose the ability to edit an adjustment brush setting after applying a graduated filter with hidden pins.

Turning auto-mask on produced a lag in Lightroom performance in when applying the adjustment brush.

Print to JPEG functionality produced a low resolution image when printing photos with panorama aspect ratios.

Extended characters in a folder name caused Edit in Photoshop functionality to fail.

Smart collection did not respond to changes in custom metadata.

Enabling auto-mask produced a lag in performance in when applying the local adjustment brush.

Additionally camera profiles are now available in the Calibration panel in the Develop module. These profiles are designed to provide different interpretations of raw capture.

The Adobe Lightroom 2.2 update can be downloaded here.

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R&B trio Labelle back in spotlight with new album
(Reuters)
Adobe Configurator for Photoshop adds comprehensive user guide

Zannel releases CityWatch for iPhone

Zannel on Monday released a new application for the iPhone called CityWatch that allows users to post pictures, video and text about what’s going on in their towns and cities.

Adam Zbar, CEO of Zannel, told Macworld that Zannel isn’t about meeting people in your local area, “this is really about what’s happening in your city,” he said.

When a picture or other media is posted on CityWatch, you can also post a short blurb on what’s happening in that location. Other users can then post to the comment, effectively creating a threaded discussion.

CityWatch also connects with FaceBook and Flickr to push updates to both services.

You can look at activities in your own city or go to any other city on the map. Zbar said the company will add keyword and topic searching in a future version.

Zannel is a free application that can be downloaded from the App Store.

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Britney Spears “Circus” is back — new album, tour
(Reuters)
Swedish provider hints at Multimedia Messaging service on iPhone
Music biz braces for disappointing holiday sales
(Reuters)
Apple spells “Catagories” wrong in iPhone update

ImageTouch 2 for iPhone now sports Christmas themes

IntelliCore has announced a Christmas themed update of ImageTouch, an app that enables users to create and send themed photo collages to friends and relatives.

ImageTouch 2.1, compatible with iPhone and iPod touch, now comes with a range of Christmas stamps to customise your collages and produce good quality 640 x 960 pixel images say IntelliCore.

You can add pictures from your iPhone or iPod touch photo library, resize, move, rotate one picture or more at a time, add a frame or a shadow to any picture with a long tap on the picture and change background colour with a long tap on the background.

The results can be exported to your iPhone or iPod touch photo library and you can add and filter with tags, dates and locations to easily find your compositions.

ImageTouch 2.1 is available from the Apple App Store and costs 1.79, the Christmas themed update is available free to existing customers.

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Music biz braces for disappointing holiday sales
(Reuters)
Poker dice with Pokarus for iPhone
Nicole Richie Is Not Joel Madden’s Diamond Girl
(E! Online)
iPod touch is ‘Gadget of the Year’ - T3

Pull My Finger gets iPhone App store reprieve

An Apple iPhone app that includes ‘18 high quality sounds’ and ‘18 unique, well-designed cartoon characters,’ devoted to lewd noises has won a reprieve from Apple after originally being rejected from the App store.

The developer of the Pull My Finger App, Sam from Air-O-Matic (he prefers his last name to be withheld for personal reasons) told Information Week in an email:.

“I'm the developer of the infamously rejected iPhone app, 'Pull My Finger.' I just got a call from Apple with some interesting news that I thought I'd pass along to you."

"They told me that they are going to start approving a whole new "genre" of apps, and that Pull My Finger will be the first to be accepted in this genre. As of now, Pull My Finger is available in the app store:"

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=289327939&mt=8

"The very kind Apple Team Member told me that they didn't want to reject it originally, but that they were sorting out how this "genre" of apps were going to be handled. She told me they'd be lifting the restriction on them, and more apps will follow that may have been previously not allowed."

So it looks like Apple is working out a way to loosen its restrictions to allow a wider range of applications on the App Store, and this only means great things for a development community that has been wondering if things were going to get better or worse.

Pull My Finger has gained a great deal of press coverage with reports in the LA Times, Miami Herald, MacLife’s Top 10 Apple Influencers of 2008, Wired Magazine, The Guardian, and CNET.com says Air-O-Matic.

The iPhone app also offers random mode for when you want a "nice" surprise, chorus mode to play a continuous loop and even vibrates for extra realism.

Pull My Finger costs 59p from the Apple App store.

A video demo is available on the makers website.

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Norway consumer body challenges Apple over iTunes
(Reuters)
Apple: 300 million iPhone apps downloaded
Apple denies CastCatcher update entry into App Store
Vallenato duo bring Colombian genre to U.S. fans
(Reuters)

Japanese billboards are watching back

Don't look now, but the advertisements are watching you.

No, it's not a scene from the movie "Minority Report" where digital signboards served up personalised ads depending on who was passing by, but a real-life example at a Tokyo railway station. Above a flat-panel display hawking DVDs and books sits a small camera hooked up to some image processing software.

When trials begin in January the camera will scan travellers to see how many of them are taking note of the panel. It's part of a technology test being run by NTT Communications.

"On many street corners and railway stations there are many digital signs," said Tetsuya Kinebuchi, a senior research engineer at NTT's Cyber Space Laboratories and developer of the system.

"To automatically measure the effectiveness of the advertisements we can put a camera and PC nearby, and by using the image from the camera we can estimate how many people are looking at the monitor."

Japanese cities are plastered with advertisements. From building-topping billboards to smaller ads around town, it seems like you're never far away from a commercial message, and increasingly these are digital signboards.

The effectiveness of delivering a message digitally is still not well understood but that could change with this technology.

The system has its limits. It doesn't seek to identify individuals - NTT is worried about the negative implications of such a system - but it will attempt to figure out how many of the people standing in front of an advertisement are actually looking at it.

"It uses image detection software," said Kinebuchi. "We gathered together many faces and came up with an average Japanese face, and by using pattern matching the system recognizes faces from the image."

A second camera, which wasn't fitted at the station but will be when tests begin in January, will take care of estimating how many people are in front of the ad, whether they are looking at it or not.

NTT is Japan's largest telecommunications company and its interest in the system goes beyond the technology.

The company has a content distribution system for digital signs and the work will help gather data that it could use to sell such a service and promote digital advertising in general.

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Next-gen iPhone to sport MEMS gyroscope?
Dell expands music tie-ins on festival circuit
(Reuters)
Adobe Configurator for Photoshop adds comprehensive user guide

MacProVideo releases iWeb and Keynote tutorials

If you're wondering how to get the most out of Apple's Website building application, iWeb, or its presentation package, Keynote, MacProVideo may have the answer.

Video tutorial specialist, MacProVideo, released a new series of tutorials on both of those applications. The iWeb tutorial gives you a basic rundown of HMTL and then teaches you how to add graphics, text, and hyperlinks to your web page.

You will also learn how to create different for your page, and how to publish your completed web page to a server.

The Keynote tutorial focuses on teaching you how to create your own presentation from the ground-up.

The tutorials cost $19.50 each and are available as downloads.

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Swedish provider hints at Multimedia Messaging service on iPhone
Country star Tim McGraw rips label over hits CD
(Reuters)
Google Earth releases browser plug-in for OS X

Adobe After Effects CS4 gets updated

Adobe has updated its visual effects and motion graphics application, After Effects, bringing the current version to 9.0.1.

After Effects CS4 9.0.1 provides updates to Mocha, allowing it to read QuickTime files correctly, and improvements to Dynamic Link workflows.

Also fixed is on some systems, the application may suspend rendering when the display turns off due to power management or screen saver settings.

A problem where After Effects may appear to hang for several minutes "Reading XMP markers from footage" (status message) with files that contain deeply nested metadata, has been addressed.

An issue when the "Write XMP IDs to Files on Import" option is selected, MediaCore playback can make some files appear out of sync, has also been fixed.

Adobe says that an issue when importing a still sequence via Recent Footage imports only a single still instead of a sequence, has also been fixed.

Adobe After Effects 9.0.1 can be downloaded from the company's Web site.

Ricky Martin calls fatherhood a `spiritual moment’
(AP)
Adobe fixes 6 flaws in Flash
Apple posts Security Update 2008-007
Country star Tim McGraw rips label over hits CD
(Reuters)

Apple code crashes, locks up Mac clones, Psystar claims

Mac clone maker Psystar accused Apple this week of abusing copyright laws and locking Mac OS X to its hardware with code that prevents non-Apple machines from booting properly, court documents show.

In a change of tactics, Psystar revamped its countersuit, first filed in August, to drop the antitrust charges that a federal judge dismissed last month and replace them with allegations of Apple's "brazen misuse" of federal copyright laws, including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

US District Court Judge William Alsup, who last month tossed out Psystar's antitrust charges, at the time left the door open to an amended complaint. Psystar took advantage of the opportunity, and filed a revised lawsuit on Monday.

"Apple is attempting to use its copyrights in the Mac OS, not to prevent unauthorised production of any copyrightable elements, but to prevent competitors from developing competing hardware systems interoperable with the Mac OS," said Psystar.

"Through the use of anti-circumvention and the DMCA, Apple is attempting to leverage its copyright limited monopoly in reproduction of the Mac OS into a broader monopoly in a separate hardware market," the lawsuit continued.

"This is the exact behavior that is prohibited by the copyright misuse doctrine."

Late last month, Apple amended its original complaint to include a new charge that Psystar violated the DMCA by dodging copy-protection technologies Apple uses to protect Mac OS X.

This week, Psystar essentially said that Apple's claim is bogus. "Psystar is further informed and believes and thereon alleges that Apple does not actually employ a technological copyright protection measure that controls access to the Mac OS," the company said in its revised suit.

NEXT: Apple includes code that checks the hardware at boot time

Continued... 1 | 2 | NEXT >

Antitrust case against Apple still on, says Mac clone maker
Norway consumer body challenges Apple over iTunes
(Reuters)

Next-gen iPhone to sport MEMS gyroscope?

Taiwanese manufacturing news sources claim that Nintendo's Wii-style advanced motion-sensing abilities and functionality is coming to the iPhone in 2009.

Next-generation smartphones from the like of Apple, Nokia, Samsung Electronics, Motorola, LG Electronics, Sony Ericsson will all make use of MEMS gyroscopes reports DigiTimes, a daily news source about Asia's IT industry.

Nintendo's Wii MotionPlus accessory currently uses a form of MEMS gyroscope that can determine rotational motion; the technology is also used in image stabilising systems in digital photography plus a form of the technology is used in Segway transporters.

What is less clear is how the technology would be put to effective use in mobile phones, although the iPhone's accelerometer is being used in increasingly complex ways by applications and games. It is possible that the gyroscopic sensor will be used to help stabalize image shots taken with the cameras found on mobile phones.

DigiTimes, cites unnamed market sources, who claim Apple and others will add MEMS gyroscopes next year to their products to make mobile devices appeal to more consumers.

With continuing efforts to reduce their production costs, makers will be able to turn out MEMS gyroscopes that will account for approximately only 3 per cent of the entire production costs of smartphone manufacturing, the sources indicated.

Handset vendors, which have already incorporated MEMS G-sensors into smartphones, will be more willing to add MEMS gyroscopes into their mobile devices reports DigiTimes unnamed sources , especially once prices drop to more affordable levels.

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Norway consumer body challenges Apple over iTunes
(Reuters)
iPhone is biggest-selling US smartphone
Apple blocks Opera from the iPhone

UK councils 'not sure' if they have encrypted laptop data

9 in 10 local councils in the UK are unable to guarantee they have encrypted all sensitive data on mobile devices.

That is the finding of a new survey across 40 city councils, conducted by IT services firm Telindus.

Nearly half of the councils have responded to recent data leakage incidents by reviewing security systems or introducing new technology to ensure sensitive data held on laptops is protected.

But 43 per cent have no immediate plans to upgrade their data protection.

Alarmingly, those councils that are not upgrading their data protection rely only on passwords, and on staff not transferring sensitive data to laptops.

But with 92 per cent of the councils enabling their staff to connect to the council network from remote locations, these councils were taking a large risk, Telindus said.

Mark Hutchinson, managing director at Telindus, said the private sector "still needs to play catch-up" when it came to preventing data leakage on mobile devices.

Encryption was a sensible step, he said. But he added "there is no way of telling whether the encryption method has been compromised", so councils "must think beyond encryption when reviewing their security measures and consider installing a 'track and kill' device on all laptops".

Telindus sells its own Laptop Custodian software, which enables IT departments to track laptops and destroy data on them remotely if needed.

In November, Socitm, the public sector IT directors' organisation and the Local Government Association have jointly produced new guidelines for data handling in local councils.

The Local Government Data Handling Guidelines provide a checklist of actions and highlight best practice in secure data handling.

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Norway consumer body challenges Apple over iTunes
(Reuters)
Apple preparing to throw a ‘brick’?

Apple planning 3D Mac OS X user interface?

An Apple patent filing revealed this week seems to suggest the company could be planning to add a 3D user interface or ‘multi-dimensional desktop’ to the Mac experience.

Apple Insider reveals a number of patent images showing that Apple has spent a considerable amount of time outlining a new multi-dimensional interface for Mac OS X.

The Apple patent was submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office back in June 2007 but only revealed this week.

The 54-page filing is credited to Apple employees, Imran Chaudhri, John Louch, Christopher Hynes, Timothy Bumgarner, and Eric Peyton.

The most detailed of those filings is one labelled ‘Multi-Dimensional Desktop’ which depicts a 3D interface by which side walls, a top, and a floor all protrude from a back surface that resembles today's two-dimensional Mac OS X desktop.

Apple Insider speculates at length how the 3D environment including 3D icon stacks and multi-dimensional Finder could work in practice.

Windows in a 3D Mac OS X interface can also be dragged or displaced across one or more surfaces suggests the website.

Apple Insider adds that none of the latest interface enhancements described in the June 2007 patent are present in current pre-release builds of Apple OSX Snow Leopard.

Apple's latest patent shows OS X with a 3D style desktop

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Buffalo LinkStation NAS sports iPhone access
Norway consumer body challenges Apple over iTunes
(Reuters)

Pantone offer six free colour management seminars

Pantone, the leading colour specialists, are offering 6 free colour management seminars in January in Manchester, Birmingham and London.

The half-day courses are targeted at professional designers, publishers advertising agencies and print specifiers.

Each training session will take you through the full colour management workflow.

Pantone’s Paul Graham said, "Everyday we see designers failing to get the colour they want. Pantone plays a central role in colour communication for all graphic designers and it is in our interest that the processes they use result in accurate results."

Areas covered by Pantones during the sessions include.

Setting up your applications for accurate colour Pantone PMS and Goe Libraries Converting Pantone colours to CMYK Setting up and testing the monitor to ISO standards Proofing with and without a RIP to international ISO standards ISO 12647-2 printing standards, what to expect from the press Digital printing standards

The six free colour management seminars are on the following dates.

Manchester - Apollo Centre, Argyle St, Manchester M2 4RZ - 20th January 2009 9.30 - 12.30 Manchester - Apollo Centre, Argyle St, Manchester M2 4RZ - 20th January 2009 1.30 - 16.30

Birmingham - Apollo Centre, Argyle St, Birmingham B2 4RZ - 27th January 2009 9.30 - 12.30 Birmingham - Apollo Centre, Argyle St, Birmingham B2 4RZ - 27th January 2009 1.30 - 16.30

London - Apollo Centre, Argyle St, London WC2 4RZ - 29th January 2009 9.30 - 12.30 London - Apollo Centre, Argyle St, London WC22 4RZ - 29th January 2009 1.30 - 16.30

Booking details can be found on the Pantone website here.

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LG Display cuts Q4 outlook on sharp decline in LCD demand

LG Display has cut its outlook for the current quarter after seeing a sharp decline in demand for LCD (liquid crystal display) panels and a bigger than expected drop in their price.

The company still expects demand to increase from the third quarter but growth is now expected to be in the single low-digit percentage range. It had been forecasting a percentage jump in the low to mid-teens.

Prices are down by the low twenties percentage from the third quarter, it said in a statement.

Production has already been scaled back in light of the lower-than-anticipated demand, it said.

LG Display is a major manufacturer of LCD panels, which it supplies to manufacturers of products such as laptop PCs, televisions and cell phones.

Lower global demand for electronics products and computers as a result of the poor economy is causing device makers to scale back their production and that in turn is hitting LG Display.

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Uncomplex releases Mailplane 2.0 for Google's Gmail

Uncomplex has released Mailplane 2.0 for Google's Gmail, after many months of development and beta testing.

The application brings Gmail to your desktop, a fully fledged Mail client within a web browser, which Uncomplex say offers users the best of both worlds.

Mailplane supports multiple Gmail and Google Apps accounts; the app lets the user easily switch between accounts without the need to sign in/sign out from the Gmail accounts.

With full iLife integration, users can browse and attach files from their iPhoto and iTunes libraries. Downloads can be directly imported into iPhoto as well. The integrated screenshot tool lets the user take and attach a window, screen or region.

Users can Drag and Drop files and images on the dock application icon, or any Mailplane window to create and upload attachments. And with automatic photo optimisation, image attachments can be converted and resized to make the message even smaller.

Mailplane can play a user defined sound, as well as show the number of unread messages in the application icon, account drawer and status menu item.

As Mailplane monitors all Gmail accounts, unread message counters and message subjects are displayed for each account.

For more appealing notifications, Mailplane fully integrates with Growl. Mail can be sent directly from the Mac address book, Safari or any application showing "mailto" URLs.

Mailplane 2.0 includes 41 new features and improvements including:

New Gmail 2 add-ons and keyboard shortcuts like Apply/Remove label, navigate to label, and hide spam counter.

Much improved account notifications including a "Do not disturb" mode.

More ways to create email attachments (clipboard, better drag/drop support).

Mailplane URL to access searches and conversations from any application.

OmniFocus clipping plug-in to create task with a Mailplane URL.

Mailplane 2.0 is available in English, Brazilian Portuguese, Catalan, French, German, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian (Bokmal), Portuguese (Portugal/Europe), Polish, Romanian and Russian.

A single user license is priced at $24.95, while a full 30-day demo is also available.

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