Facebook 3.0 for iPhone adds new features but no push notifications yet

Facebook 3.0, the latest version of the iPhone application from the popular social networking site, is now available from the Apple iTunes App Store.

Facebook 3.0 adds a range of new features and enhancements including landscape mode, the ability to see upcoming events and RSVP, upcoming friends' birthdays, see pages and post updates and photos to pages you administer, write notes and read friends' notes.

Additional new features in the 3.0 update include the opportunity to upload video direct from the iPhone 3GS, upload and manage photo albums, including creating and deleting albums and photos along with tags and changing your profile picture.

iPhone and iPod users can now zoom in on photos, like photos and posts, see the same news feed as the Facebook website and visit links in a built-in browser.

Push notification, introduced in the iPhone 3.0 Software Update, isn't yet working in the latest Facebook application update.

Push notification, allows an application to listen for messages being 'pushed' to it from the server, even when the applications aren't running.

Writing on Facebook last month the company said the option was still a little way from being ready. "The one feature everyone is asking for, push notifications, is in development but it won't make it into 3.0. You can expect it in a 3.1 update later this summer," Facebook's Joe wrote.

Available from the Apple iTunes App Store Facebook for iPhone and iPod touch is free and requires the iPhone 3.0 Software Update.

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Calvin Harris seeks Robbie collaborationYum for iPhone, iPod touch adds Shopping List

China Telecom in talks to offer Palm Pre

China Telecom is in talks with Palm about offering the Pre smartphone in China, intensifying the race between Chinese carriers to win 3G users by offering attractive handsets.

China Telecom is also talking with Palm about offering other handsets and is still in talks with Research In Motion (RIM) about offering a version of the BlackBerry, an investor relations representative said Friday.

The move adds to efforts by China Telecom and its rivals to offer fashionable 3G handsets from Western companies. Local carrier China Unicom said Friday it had reached a 3-year deal with Apple to offer the iPhone in China, and China Mobile, the world's largest carrier by subscribers, appears set to launch a Dell smartphone.

A device called the Dell mini3i is listed beside handsets supported by China Mobile's new application download store.

China Telecom knows it needs good handsets to attract more 3G users, the representative said. Nokia also plans to launch a 3G handset with China Telecom this year, and Motorola may launch two, she said.

China's carriers are also moving toward offering low-priced handsets to attract 3G subscribers. China Telecom and its distributors have ordered 4 million 3G phones from handset makers to sell in China, and most will be priced between 500 yuan ($73) and 1,000 yuan, the company representative said.

The phones will have low prices because 3G services are popular among college students and other young people with low income, she said.

The chairman of China Mobile said this week that smartphone sales would greatly increase if their prices can fall below 1,000 yuan.

The China Telecom representative declined to give further details on the company's talks with Palm and RIM.

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Palm brings iTunes synching back to the PreSergeant set to release new single, album

Apple posts list of software incompatible with Snow Leopard

Snow Leopard day is finally here, and forecasts call for the deluge of application compatibility updates to continue throughout the day. However, there are some specific programs that are currently incompatible with Snow Leopard - so incompatible, in fact, that 10.6’s installer will move them into a folder called Incompatible Software on your hardware.

Apple’s provided a list of the software in question, which it says could cause cause issues in Snow Leopard. Among them are such prominent applications as Parallels Desktop 2.5 and earlier, McAfee VirusScan 8.6, Norton AntiVirus 11.0, Unsanity’s Application Enhancer 2.0.1 and earlier, and several versions of AT&T Laptop Connect Card. Check the full list for more apps and links to vendors site where upgrades will hopefully be available.

The knowledge base document also contains a second category of applications that Apple restricts from opening - if you try to launch one of these programs after ugparding to Snow Leopard, the OS will pop up a dialog box telling you the software in question is incompatible. This includes Parallels Desktop 3.0, Intego VirusBarrier X4 10.4.4 and earlier, SPSS 17.1, Adobe Director MX 2004, Elgato EyeTV 3.0.0 to 3.1.0, THQ’s Ratatouille 1.1, Aperture 2.1.1 and earlier, Keynote 2.0.2 and earlier, and the AirPort Admin Utility for Graphite and Snow Base Stations 4.2.5.

Apple recommmends you check with vendors to see if Snow Leopard-compatible updates are available for those applications, and, as with the above list, provides a links to their respective vendor sites. There are some interesting patterns in evidence, though: for example, three major antivirus packages appear on the list. It's a little surprising that no less than three Apple applications appear on the list as well, but none are current versions.

Fortunately, this is a relatively small list of software, and most will likely be updated before too long. Still, if you rely on one of these programs and the vendor doesn't have an update yet, you might want to hold off on jumping to 10.6 for now.

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Official: £25 Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard released Friday 28 AugustSnow Patrol announce special UK tour

Scrivener novel, screenwriting tool now Snow Leopard compatible

Literature & Latte has released Scrivener 1.52, the latest update to its award-winning Mac software dedicated to the structuring and composition of long texts such as novels, screenplays, theses and research documents.

The updates adds support for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard released today, along with several minor bugs fixes.

Scrivener 1.52 also introduces the ability to download documents directly from writeroom.ws, Hog Bay Software’s synchronisation service for the WriteRoom for the iPhone.

This means that you can now jot down notes in WriteRoom on the iPhone and bring them straight into your Scrivener project explains Literature & Latte.

Scrivener is particularly suited to writers who don't always think in a linear fashion - who don't always start at the beginning and end at the end.

Scrivener provides access to the full power of the OS X text system with the ability to add tables, bullet points and images and format your text however you want says Literature & Latte.

Scrivener costs $39.95, 25.99, a free 30-non-consecutive-day trial is also available for download. The software requires Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger or above, and runs on both Intel and PowerPC Macs.

Scrivener received a five star Editors' Choice review from Macworld, which you read here.

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Official: £25 Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard released Friday 28 August

Apple's Aperture updated, 2.1.4 released

Apple on Thursday released Aperture 2.1.4, a maintenance update to the company’s pro photo editing and organisation software.

The update is free and is available for download through Software Update or via the Apple Web site.

Aperture 2.1.4 “addresses general compatibility, improves overall stability, and fixes a number of issues involving import, web publishing, and the creation and ordering of books,” according to Apple. Apple recommends that Aperture 2 users should apply this update.

Specific issues addressed in this release include a fix for a problem that prevented the “Do not import duplicates” option in the import window from working properly.

A problem has been corrected that caused JPEG images to be compressed when uploading photos to MobileMe, even when the “Actual Size Images” option was selected.

And a problem has been fixed that could cause book dust jackets to render incorrectly (when switching between soft and hardcover options).

More details about what's changed in this release have been posted to Apple's support pages.

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iMovie 8.0.4 update fixes problem with iPhone 3GS videoSergeant set to release new single, album

Apple approves Spotify’s streaming music iPhone App

According to paidContent.org, a website providing global coverage on the economics of digital content, Apple has approved the the Spotify music streaming application for iPhone and iPod touch.

paidContent.org quotes an Apple spokesperson.

"The current status as of right now is it’s been approved and we hope to add the app to the more than 65,000 apps on the app store very soon. We’ve been in constant communication working with the developer and have already notified Spotify that the app will be in the app store very soon."

The Apple spokesperson also referred paidContent.org to Apple’s recent FCC letter, in which it says "95 percent of applications are approved within 14 days of being submitted|, with each app reviewed by at least two reviewers in a team of over 40, though about 20 percent of new apps are "not approved as originally submitted."

On Friday last week, Apple sent out a long press release responding to questions raised by the Federal Communications Commission over Apple’s App Store and its application approval process, particularly the rejected Google Voice application for iPhone.

Many observers expected the Spotify application to suffer a similar fate, being a potential threat to iTunes music sales.

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Ricky Martin posts kids pic on TwitterWhile iPhone users wait, Spotify unofficial app hits Google Android app store

UK betting shop offers odds on Microsoft's next marketing gaffe

A UK betting shop, called Paddy Power, has responded to Microsoft’s crude photoshoping of the head of a white man on a Afro-American man's body, in its Polish advertisments, by offering odds of the racial diversity of those who will feature in its Office 2010 marketing material.

Paddy Power says a racially diverse mix of white, Afro-American and Asian actors/models is favourite at odds of 11/10 favourite.

A white person paired with an Afro-American 9/4 second favourite with white only at 4/1 and Afro-American only at 6/1

Paddy Power said “This gaffe must have resulted in plenty of red faces in Microsoft but I’m sure that when it comes to the launch Office 2010 they will be ultra careful not be offend anyone.”

The starting prices are:

11/10 White, Afro-American and Asian9/4 White and Afro-American4/1 White only6/1 Afro-American only8/1 Asian only10/1 Afro-American & Asian12/1 White and Asian

Click here to view the betting advert on the Paddy Power Web site.

The original Microsoft advert (above) and how the advert appeared following a crude image manipulation

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Yum for iPhone, iPod touch adds Shopping List

Dare to be Creative has released Yum for iPhone 1.2, an update to the free companion iPhone application for its Mac recipe manager.

Yum 1.2 for iPhone and iPod touch allows users to create and manage shopping lists, and lets them quickly find recipes through a search bar.

Yum is a recipe and cook book manager that allows users to organise recipes into categories, assign ratings, print with custom layouts and create shopping lists from a recipe's ingredients.

The new version also offers an iTunes-like tab interface to accommodate the new features says the makers.

Available from the Apple iTunes App Store Yum is free and requires the iPhone 3.0 Software Update later.

Yum 3.2 for Mac meanwhile costs around 18 while a 15-day trial version is available from the Dare to be Creative Web site.

Minimum requirements are Mac OS X version 10.5 or higher.

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Apple’s App submissions process important, necessary says developer

While the Apple iTunes App Store approval process may be long and hard on many would be developers, the hair-pulling and tears is worth it according to one iPhone developer.

Bottle Rocket's Calvin Carter told Macworld the process is important and necessary and not simply Apple needlessly nitpicking.

"The review process has changed dramatically over the last year. We have a good track record of approvals, but that's only because we learned the hard way what will get your app rejected," Carter told Macworld.

"Apple really focuses on user experience. Make something difficult to understand, mislead the user or don't take care of the zillions of use-cases dealing with internet connectivity and you're sure to get rejected. And, frankly you should get rejected."

Carter believes Apple is keen to ensure iPhone applications are fit for purpose and do not reflect badly on Apple if they are revealed to be buggy or overly complex.

"The app review process is long and hard on all developers. And it's certainly not perfect. But it's important and very necessary. Most issues are black and white. You'll get a pleasant email from Apple kindly informing you of a bug. You'll say to yourself "no way, that's not possible!". So, you open the zipped screen shot and, DOH!"

"There it is... Your bug in lights. You stop denying, fix that one line of code and resubmit. But the second review takes as long as the first. No cutting in line... The real pain felt by developers is the time lost when having to resubmit. We have felt that pain. It hurts... "

Bottle Rocket has produced a range of well-received applications including games Wings, Wings Galaxy, Santa Wings, Voxie voice recorder, GasBuddy, ProxyPal and Overnight utilities, Spin Decision and the recently released NPR News.

You can read the full in-depth Bottle Rocket interview here.

You can read Macworld’s review of NPR News here.

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Apple iTunes App Store downloads top 1.5 billion in first yearSmashing Pumpkins get a new drummer

BookArc aims to turn Apple MacBook into desktop Mac

Twelve South has introduced the BookArc, a metal stand designed to hold any Apple MacBook, from the MacBook Air to the 17-inch MacBook Pro.

The makers of a range of accessories designed exclusively for Apple computers Twelve South insist the stand is designed to free up desk space and create a cleaner, less cluttered workspace for Mac users.

When a MacBook is placed into the heavy gauge steel stand, it is held in place by a soft scratch-free silicone cushion, while three different sizes of cushions are included in the box for different sized laptop Macs.

The design allows the MacBook to operate while in a closed vertical position significantly reducing clutter when working with an external display.

BookArc can actually boost the performance of your laptop claim the makers.

When your MacBook is running closed in the BookArc, your machine will automatically dedicate 100 per cent of its video memory to the external display - instead of splitting it with the internal display.

Users will benefit from a noticeable speed increase when working in Photoshop, Aperture, iPhoto and other graphics-intensive applications insists Twelve South.

The BookArc costs $49.99, around 30, a BookArc 6-Pack $249.99, around 152, shipping is currently offered free in the US only.

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Apple updates Remote Desktop admin, client softwareSharon Osbourne will always have bulimia

Check Off 4.0 adds Snow Leopard compatibility, refined interface

Quick of the mark, software company Second Gear has released an update of Check Off, it's quick to-do list application with support for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard due for release this Friday.

Check Off is a quick, minimal to-do list that sits in your Mac's menu bar. Simply click the check mark and your personal to-do list will drop down says the makers. Users can create lists, track work or simply plan day to day activities.

Check Off 4.0 comes with a new cleaned up and tweaked user interface and adds 64 bit compatibility and resolves all issues with Mac OS X Snow Leopard.

Check Off 4.0 also adds support for purging checked items, added keyboard support for creating tasks and folders, added unchecked item count along bottom of window and improved international printing and exporting support.

Check Off 4.0 costs $12.95, around 8 for a personal license and $19.95, around 12, for a family license.

A '10 item' trial is also available for download.

Founded in 2006 by Crew Chief Justin Williams, Second Gear focuses on building Mac OS X and iPhone applications.

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Official: £25 Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard released Friday 28 AugustRicky Martin posts kids pic on Twitter

Official: £25 Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard released Friday 28 August

As reported by Macworld last week, Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, Apple's next operating system, will ship earlier than expected on Friday 28 August 2009.

The Apple Store was down late this morning, when it reopened for business Snow Leopard took centre stage.

Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard costs 25.00, while the Family Pack costs 39.00. On the Apple US Store Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard costs $29.00, the Family Pack $49.00.

A new Mac Box Set - featuring Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, iLife ’09, featuring iPhoto ’09, iMovie ’09, GarageBand ’09, iWeb ’09, and iDVD and iWork ’09, Apple’s productivity suite for home and office including Pages ’09, Numbers ’09, and Keynote ’09, costs 129.00 and 179.00 for the Family Pack.

Those running Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger will need to upgrade by purchasing the Mac Box Set.

The Mac Box Set in the US meanwhile is $169.00 and $229.00 for the Family Pack.

Mac OS X Server 10.6 Snow Leopard - Unlimited Client License costs 399.00, or $499.00 in the US.

The Mac OS X Snow Leopard Up-to-Date Programme scheme, which started on 8 June 2009 runs until 26 December 2009 and offers customers the option to upgrade to Snow Leopard at a discounted price costs 7.95, $9.95 in the US, for Snow Leopard.

Users must request their Up-to-Date upgrade within 90 days of purchase or by December 26, 2009, whichever comes first. For more information please visit www.apple.com/uk/macosx/uptodate.

Snow Leopard will be available from Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorised Resellers on Friday, while Apple's online store is now accepting pre-orders.

Snow Leopard promises to refine, further simplify and speed up the Mac OS X experience.

Snow Leopard requires a Mac computer with an Intel processor. Full system requirements can be found at www.apple.com/uk/macosx/specs.html.

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Deadline approaching: South West Screen offers £3,000 bursaries

Regional film, TV and digital organization South West Screen is offering awards of up to 3,000 to three students or recent graduates based in the South West. Applicants have until this Friday to submit their forms.

South West Screen is particularly looking for students looking to study script writing and screen writing, film and television production, and CGI and animation.

The bursaries are intended to allow students or new graduates the chance to further their careers in film, TV or digital media by attending a relevant postgraduate course in the UK.

The course can be anywhere in the UK but applicants must have been based in the South West for at least the past two years.

Applicants have until August 28, 2009 to fill in the online application form, which can be found on the southwestscreen.co.uk website.

A panel of industry experts will then select the recipients of the awards.

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Cygnett intros stylish JellyBean Translucent Hard Case for iPhoneRicky Martin posts kids pic on Twitter

Free Logic Studio event in London tomorrow - Sunday 23 August

One of the leading Apple Authorised Training Centres in London, the SAE Institute, are hosting an Open Day for the general public tomorrow - Sunday 23 August - showcasing Apple's newly refreshed Logic Studio software.

The SAE Institute Open Day is a unique opportunity to tour the studio facilities and get hands-on with the latest media production technology says Apple.

The event is free and runs between 11am and 5pm. The day includes:

First look at the new Logic Studio featuring Logic Pro 9 and MainStage 2. On behalf of KMR Audio, Apple Certified Trainer John Moores demonstrates the new Logic Studio including amazing new guitar gear, production features including Flex Time and tools for live performance.Drum Recording DemonstrationHolophone Surround Microphone WorkshopGreen Screen DemonstrationsDigital Cinematography

SAE Institute is at SAE House, 297 Kingsland Road, E8 4DD, London, 0207 923 9159.

Please visit the SAE Web site for details.

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Cheryl Cole will not work with Chris BrownApple releases new Logic Studio with 200 plus new features

UK government looks to smart ticketing for transport

The UK aims to have a plan by the end of this year that lets people use their mobile phones or smart cards to pay for travel across England's public transport system.

The government calculates such a system could save 2.6 billion ($4.3 billion) per year in cash, convenience and the reduced use of motor vehicles. The Department for Transport started a consultation on Thursday to solicit input from the public, which will run through 28 October.

The smart cards and mobile phones would use near-field communication (NFC) technology, with embedded microchips storing transport credit.

The system would be centered around a technical platform called ITSO, which was created by a nonprofit organization. ITSO is a set of technical standards for integrated smart ticketing, which would allow passengers to use smart cards or their mobile phones for tickets sold by different transport entities.

It is an open specification, and any manufacturer can build products that use it.

The best-known smart card technology used in the UK is the Oyster card, which is compatible with most transport systems in greater London. But the Oyster card, launched in 2003 and used on 78 per cent of bus and subway trips in London, won't be in the running for use across England.

"Oyster is a proprietary system with only one supplier and was designed specifically for London, so it is not flexible enough to deal with a wide range of tickets that might be required for a national standard," according to a Department for Transport consultation document.

The system offers many benefits for passengers. Tickets don't have to be purchased in stations, which reduces queues at stations, passengers can board buses and pass through turnstiles faster, and passengers don't have to deal with loose change.

But while smart card and mobile phone payment technology is mature, use of the systems is not widespread due to cost and technology issues, according to the consultation.

The up-front infrastructure costs to implement the system could be as much as 1.1 billion, with running costs around 260 million annually. However, the 10-year projection is that for every 1 spent on the system, 7 in benefits would be derived, the document said.

Many European payment cards allow for contactless payments under a certain amount. In the UK, the maximum purchase allow is 10 without the cardholder entering their four-digit PIN (Personal Identification Number).

NFC-enabled mobile phones are not common yet. The Department of Transport, however, said there are indications the mobile phone industry will release those kinds of mobiles in larger numbers soon, with one unnamed manufacturer planning to release a model later this year.

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Sharon Osbourne will always have bulimiaApple iTunes App Store downloads top 1.5 billion in first year

Apple updates Remote Desktop admin, client software

Apple released two updates to its Apple Remote Desktop desktop management software.

The Apple Remote Desktop 3.3 Admin and Apple Remote Desktop 3.3.1 Client updates combine to offer a slew of improvements.

They include better support for computers behind NAT (Network Address Translation) routers; added support for finding and adding client computers via wide-area Bonjour; improved performance of encrypted file copies, encrypted screen sharing connections, and screen sharing with RealVNC; sending function keys and key combinations for actions such as Force Quit, Log Out, and the Application Switcher to the remote computer; and much more.

Apple details all of the improvements in a new support document.

Apple Remote Desktop 3.3 requires OS X 10.4.11 or 10.5.7 or later, or OS X Server 10.4.11 or 10.5.7 or later. The software costs 195 for a 10 Managed Systems edition, or 342 for an Unlimited Managed Systems version, and is a free update to Remote Desktop 3 users.

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Nimbuzz intros new Mac desktop client, updates iPhone, iPod touch apps

Cygnett intros stylish JellyBean Translucent Hard Case for iPhone

iPhone, iPod and MP3 accessories maker Cygnett introduces the JellyBean Translucent Hard Case for iPhone in a choice of five colours.

The see-through shell design case comes in a choice of five candy inspired colours along with a screen protector, promising a stylish but secure way to protect your iPhone from daily wear and tear.

The slim and secure clip-together design with rounded edges envelop and protect the surface of the iPhone while giving full access to screen, buttons, camera, charging and syncing functions insists Cygnett.

The Cygnett JellyBean Translucent Hard Case has a SRP of 12.99 and is available from stores including Amazon, KRCS and Micro Anvika.

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Jessica Simpson gets lingerie moodsNimbuzz intros new Mac desktop client, updates iPhone, iPod touch apps

Song Sergeant 1.0 brings order to iTunes

LairWare Software has introduced Song Sergeant 1.0, dedicated to bringing order to your iTunes Library.

According to the makers, Song Sergeant intelligently resolves duplicates, fixes inconsistently named artists and albums, and copes with missing and orphaned song files.

Song Sergeant is capable of merging song files together instead of just deleting extras, letting you keep the best song information and best audio quality even if they're from different song files or downloads.

A detailed "related songs" drawer promises to help you make decisions on what to keep and what to delete.

Song Sergeant costs $20, currently 12.82 at the LairWare store, while a demo version is available for download.

Song Sergeant requires Mac OS X 10.5 or later and works on both Intel and PowerPC based Macs. The application requires an Internet connection.

LairWare, is probably best know for MPFreaker, an application for finding additional song information in your iTunes collection.

MPFreaker searches the Internet to find out which album your song belongs to, the year your song was released, the genre, track numbers, lyrics, and cover artwork.

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Ricky Martin posts kids pic on TwitterPalm brings iTunes synching back to the Pre

While iPhone users wait, Spotify unofficial app hits Google Android app store

The Spotify app for the iPhone may still be waiting approval from Apple, but that hasn't stopped an app for handsets running the Google Android platform being made available in the Android app store.

The unofficial Droidify has been created by a third-party developer using the Spotify open API and allows users to listen to songs on the move as well as manage their own playlists from the music streaming service, using both 3G and Wi-Fi.

However, unlike Spotify's own Android app, which it demoed earlier in the year, Droidify doesn't allow offline playback.

Droidify can only be used by Spotify Premium account holders. The music streaming service is peppered with adverts, just like commercial radio, but premium account holders pay a monthly subscription of 10 to enjoy ad-free listening.

On Monday, Spotify responded to Twitter chat which suggested the iPhone version of the app had been rejected by Apple.

"Twitter, right? We've also been reading Tweets claiming the exact opposite. Absolutely nothing in it - we've still to hear back from Apple. We ran over some technical questions with them the other week but that's as far as it's gone. We're as eager to hear back as you are!" Spotify said.

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iPhone developer slams Apple over App Store yankJamie T Chaka Demus video

Sony cuts price of PlayStation 3, intros thinner, lighter model

Sony on Tuesday announced a slimmed down, cheaper version of its PlayStation 3 (PS3) games console, while the price of the existing PS3 has been cut to try and stimulate sales.

The PlayStation 3 launched in 2006 to great fanfare, but has been less than the stellar success that Sony hoped for, hemmed in by the popularity of Microsoft's HD-gaming rival the Xbox 360, and the lower-spec Nintendo Wii. This week's move attempts to address that situation.

The cut-down PlayStation 3 will launch worldwide on September 1 and will cost 249 in the UK. It's expected that the price of the standard-sized models will drop at the same time. Sony yesterday announced that the 80GB model will drop to $299. Sony's heftier 160GB model will also see a drop in price, now costing $399. We don't have UK pricing at this point, but a cut will almost certainly follow.

Sony says the slim PS3 is roughly a third smaller and 36 percent lighter than the standard model. It has a 120GB hard disk, is a Blu-ray player and works as a media centre.

Speaking at the Gamescom conference in Cologne, Sony Computer Entertainment president Kazuo Hirai said: "In 2004 we launched a slim version of PlayStation 2, a defining moment for that console, helping us to expand the user base of PlayStation further. Today is that day for PlayStation 3."

After the slimmed-down PS2 launch and price cut, Sony added that more than 80 percent of PS2 sales. Around 23.7 million PlayStation 3s have been sold since launch.

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Olympus intros £139 FE-4000 digital camera

Apple Premium Reseller Store opens in Wimbledon Saturday

Apple Premium Reseller, Stormfront will open its latest, flagship store on Saturday 22 August from 10 am.

The new Apple Premium Reseller store in the heart of Wimbledon in the Centre Court shopping Centre in the latest in a long line of recent shop openings for the company.

The new Wimbledon store boasts a huge range of Mac, iPod and Apple accessories on display and ready for you to test drive.

Apple experts, including Stormfront’s In Store Technical Bar, will be on hand to guide customers and offer friendly jargon-free advice.

On what's billed as 'Super Apple Saturday,' the first 50 people to come into the Wimbledon store and buy an item over 30 will get a Golden Ticket, guaranteeing them a prize ranging from accessories to iPods and a Apple TV.

Stormfront says an iPod will be given away every hour the store is open on Saturday.

The first ten customers who buy a Mac will receive a free iPod nano 8GB model, while throughout the weekend purchase any iMac or MacBook and get 50.00 off, with up to 10.00 off iPods excluding shuffles promise Stormfront.

More details can be found here.

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George Michael arrestedApple iTunes App Store downloads top 1.5 billion in first year

Early Google phones running out of space for updates

Users of the first Android phone, the G1, may be unable to get significant future operating-system updates because the phone's internal flash is nearly full.

A Google developer who works on Android said recently that he's unsure if the G1 will be able to handle further updates.

"As much as I'm hoping that it'll be possible to somehow continue updating the G1, I can't promise anything," Jean-Baptiste Queru, a software engineer at Google, wrote on Twitter. "We knew that internal flash space was going to be very tight on the G1 and we kept the system partition tight on purpose," he also wrote.

G1 users got the so-called Cupcake update to the operating system earlier this year. Google is reportedly working on further updates to the software, including a version known as Donut. It has not published information beyond the first-quarter update on the Android road map page.

T-Mobile denies that the G1 will be unable to accept future updates. "We plan to continue working with Google to introduce future software updates to the T-Mobile G1. Reports to the contrary are inaccurate," it said in a statement.

But some observers wonder if T-Mobile will continue offering certain updates, like security patches and bug fixes, but not more substantial updates.

The issue raises questions about application compatibility in the future. If developers build applications to the latest software version but the G1 doesn't have that software, the applications may not work for G1 users.

Queru declined to comment further for this story, and Google did not respond to a request for comment.

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Hackers using Twitter used to manage botnet insists security expertGeorge Michael arrested

Lord Mandelson demands tougher penalties for online pirates

Labour peer and Business Secretary Lord Mandelson is calling for tougher penalties for illegal downloaders, including fining the parents of children caught illegally file sharing.

Mandelson heads the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, which has taken over responsibility for implementing the schemes documented in the Digital Britain report earlier this year.

Mandelson is thought to have been instrumental in proposals set out in a consultation document that will form the basis of the Digital Economy Bill and run alongside the Digital Britain schemes.

The document calls for Ofcom to track and warn the owners of computers being used in illegal downloading activities. Those that continue to offend would have their internet access slowed or blocked, while some could face fines of up to 50,000.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills admitted the paper had been published in a bid to address concerns that the Digital Britain proposals would not help eradicate online piracy.

However, Mandelson may face competition from Pirate Party - a political party that hopes to legalise non-commercial file sharing. The party has already won a seat in Sweden, and hopes to gain supporters in the UK.

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Next version of Microsoft Office for Mac details revealed (Updated)

Microsoft has announced details about the next version of Microsoft Office for Mac.

Microsoft Macintosh Business Unit (MacBU) has said Outlook for Mac will replace Entourage for Mac as the company introduced Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Business Edition.

"Outlook for Mac will bring features our customers have long requested - such as Rights Management - that make working across platforms even easier," said said Eric Wilfrid, general manager for the MacBU at Microsoft.

"I think people will see that this move to Outlook for Mac is more than just a name change."

According to MacBU, Outlook for Mac will be built from the ground up using Cocoa providing users with improved integration with the Mac OS.

"We’re building on the most modern OS X frameworks to make Outlook beautiful, to make it high performance, and to make it well integrated with the OS," Wilfrid said.

A high-speed file-based database with support for backing up files with Time Machine and Spotlight searching will also be included in Outlook for Mac.

New Information Rights Management will help prevent sensitive information from being distributed to or read by people who do not have permission to access the content said MacBU.

Outlook for Mac will be included in the next version of Office for Mac, which Wilfrid said is "on track" for the holiday season in late 2010.

Microsoft previously announced that Visual Basic will return in that edition, after being removed from Office 2008, which was released in Janaury 2008.

The company also announced that for current Entourage users Microsoft Entourage 2008 for Mac, Web Services Edition, is available now to download, promising performance and reliability improvements and enabling users to sync Tasks, Notes and Categories.

"Today’s release of the Web Services Edition strengthens Exchange connectivity for Entourage customers and sets the stage for the move to the new application - Outlook for Mac," added Takeshi Numoto, corporate vice president of the Office product management group at Microsoft.

Office 2008 for Mac Business Edition will be available from 16 September, 2009 with a estimated retail price of 439.99 and 269.99 for those eligible for an upgrade.

Office 2008 for Mac Home and Student Edition is still available and can be purchased for around 119.99.

The free Entourage 2008 for Mac, Web Services Edition can be downloaded here.

MacBU also announced a simplified SKU line-up to help make product selection more intuitive for customers.

(Additional reporting Jason Snell at Macworld US)

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Microsoft ships Entourage Web Services Edition

Microsoft may be looking ahead to next year with Thursday’s announcement of the next version of Microsoft Office for the Mac. But the software giant has plenty to focus on in the near-term with its existing productivity applications.

To that end, Microsoft launched the full version of its Entourage 2008, Web Services Edition that it had first announced back at this January’s Macworld Expo. The company notified Web Services Edition beta participants via email on Thursday that Entourage 2008, Web Services Edition is now available for download at Microsoft’s Web site.

As detailed by Microsoft in January, Entourage 2008, Web Services Edition means the Mac e-mail client will stop using the WebDAV protocol in favor of Exchange Web Services.

The switch means the Entourage 2008 client will connect to servers running Exchange 2007 SP1 with Update 4 or later faster and more reliably, according to Microsoft. That’s because tasks required up to six separate communications when using WebDAV; Exchange Web Services handles the same task with one command.

In addition to performance improvements, the updated Entourage offers an enhanced Autodiscover service for easily configuring accounts and keeping settings up to date. The update also allows notes, tasks, and categories to be synced between Entourage 2008 and Exchange Server.

An Enable Logging preference for logging all events that can be used as diagnostic information has been added, as has built-in logging with extensive reporting of diagnostic information. The update allows attachments in Entourage for Exchange calendar events.

Entourage for Exchange Web Services had been available as a public beta since January.

In June, Microsoft released an Office 2008 update that paved the way for the installation of the newly released Web Services Edition of Entourage.

Entourage 2008, Web Services Edition requires Mac OS X 10.4.9 or later.

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Hackers using Twitter used to manage botnet insists security expert

A security researcher has found that hackers are using Twitter as a means to distribute instructions to a network of compromised computers, known as a botnet.

The traditional way of managing botnets is using IRC, but botnet owners are continuously working on finding new ways of keeping their networks up and running, and Twitter seems to be the latest trick.

A now-suspended Twitter account was being used to post tweets that had links new commands or executables to download and run, which would then be used by the botnet code on infected machines, wrote Jose Nazario, manager of security research at Arbor Networks, on in a blog posting on Thursday.

"I spotted it because a bot uses the RSS feed to get the status updates," Nazario wrote.

The account, called "Upd4t3", is under investigation by Twitter's security team, according to Nazario. But the account is just one of what appear to be a handful of Twitter command and control accounts, Nazario wrote.

Botnets can, for example, be used to send spam or carry out distributed denial-of-service attacks, which Twitter itself became the victim of last week. The botnet Nazario found is "an infostealer operation," a type that can be used to steal sensitive information such as login credentials from infected computers.

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Building an Apple-1 replica from scratch

At KansasFest 2009, held July 21 to 26 in Kansas City, Mo., retrocomputing fans from around the world gathered to celebrate the Apple II, the computer that launched Apple Computer Inc. to fame.

But going back even further than that is the Apple-1 (a.k.a. the Apple I or the Apple 1), the machine Steve Wozniak invented and first demonstrated at the Palo Alto Homebrew Computer Club in 1976.

In attendance at KansasFest was Vince Briel, who has created an authorized reproduction of this classic machine. Briel's Replica 1 sells for $149 and comes as an unassembled kit. He held a workshop at KansasFest to help new owners put together their own working Apple-1 machines.

As a regular KansasFest attendee (and the conference's marketing director), I was one of his students. Follow along as I assemble a fully functional Apple-1 clone, as documented in these photos by Emily Kahm.

NEXT: 88 component parts

Continued... 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | NEXT >

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'Pointless Babble' makes up 40% of Twitter updates claims research

According to a new report that studied 2,000 tweets over a period of two weeks, 40 per cent of Twitter updates are "pointless babble."

Twitter recently redesigned its homepage - shifting from "What are you doing now?" to "Share and discover what's happening right now, anywhere in the world, indicating an attempt to become a real time news source.

Pear Analytics captured 200 English-language US tweets each half-hour from 11am - 5pm CST (6am -12pm GMT) daily.

It then categorized tweets into six different types: news, spam, self-promotion, pointless babble, conversation, and pass-along value.

Mashable reports that the winner was "pointless babble" tweets - with 40.55 per cent fitting into the "I'm eating a sandwich now" category.

Conversational tweets came in a close second with 37.55 per cent. Pass-along value - retweets or RTs - were in third-place with only 8.7 per cent. Spam accounted for just 3.75 per cent of all tweets studied.

Other key results of the study included:

News tweets are heaviest at 2:00pm CST (9pm GMT) on TuesdaysPass-along value tweets are most frequently seen at 11:30am CST (7.30am GMT) on MondaysSpam tweets flow consistently all day, everydayConversational tweets are heaviest on TuesdaysPear will be conducting this same study every quarter to identify other trends in usage.

Read the full whitepaper here.

According to Quantcast.com these are Twitter's demographics as of June 2009:

Twitter reaches 27 million people per month in the US55 per cent are female43 per cent are between 18 and 3478 per cent Caucasian, but African American users are 35 per cent above InternetaverageAverage household income is between $30 and $60k1 per cent of the addicts contribute 35% of the visits72 per cent are passers by, while only 27 per cent are regular users

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Apple’s retro themed ad could reveal next-gen Mac tablet

According to local newspaper the Sierra Sun Apple shot footage for an advertisement at the Jax on the Tracks restaurant in Truckee, California on Tuesday afternoon.

The filming was reportedly hush hush as the product being promoted is yet to be released with many speculating it could be a first sighting of Apple’s long rumoured giant iPod touch or Apple tablet.

Taiwanese paper Apple Daily recently claimed a September release date for the device.

According to the far east report, Wintek has been commissioned to supply the screens and Foxconn has been commissioned to put together the chipset.

Jax on the Tracks owner Bud Haley said a location scout found his restaurant for the project. “Apple found us, they're trying to show us as a hip and cool spot for the 20-something crowd,” Haley said.

The restaurant is housed in an original 1940s diner next to Truckee's downtown railroad tracks, and promises honest food with a twist.

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Apple’s tablet could be worth $1.2 billion claims analyst

Apple's long rumoured tablet computer could be worth $1.2 billion to the company according to a leading analyst.

Piper Jaffray senior analyst Gene Munster issued a report to clients on Friday offering some speculative facts and figures suggesting the tablet has real revenue potential and not simply niche appeal.

Munster predicts the Apple tablet device will sell 2 million units in its first year, retailing for around $600 each, generating $1.2 billion in revenue.

The analyst also believes the tablet will be available early next year and not earlier as some rumours suggest.

"Last week we spoke with an Asian component supplier that has received orders from Apple for a touch-screen device to be fulfilled by late (calendar year) 09. This data point underscores our thesis that a tablet will likely launch in early (2010)," Munster writes.

This would contradict reports from last week, which claimed a September release date for the device. Apple traditionally announces new iPod ranges in September and the Apple tablet could be revealed at the same time.

Munster also believes the Apple tablet computer will be similar to an iPod touch, only obviously larger, with the ability to run most of the 70,000 plus applications on the Apple iPhone App Store, along with a new category of applications designed for the tablet's bigger screen.

"Apple could choose to simply run the current App Store apps on the larger device, with enough usable space for multiple apps to run (multi-tasking)," Piper Jaffray's report states.

"Key apps, like Safari and Mail, could be made larger to make use of the larger screen resolution, making Apple's tablet appealing for more extended use, and the company could continue to leverage its primary asset in mobile computing, the App Store, in this scenario. We believe this is the most likely scenario given the success of the multi-touch platform and the App Store ecosystem, which could be accelerated with a tablet device."

[Via AppleInsider]

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Swindon's Museum of Computing reopens Saturday 8 August

Eighteen months after it was forced to close by the withdrawal of the University of Bath from Swindon, the long-awaited re-opening of the UK’s first dedicated Museum of Computing takes place this Saturday 8 August.

The Museum of Computing is committed to the preservation and display of examples of early computers and is twice the size of its previous venue.

The Museum’s latest exhibition, with hundreds of exhibits traces the evolution of computing beyond the mainframe, through desktop PCs at work and at home, portables, arcade games, games consoles, handhelds and mobile devices.

The 'Computers at Work' exhibition includes the IBM PC and the Next Cube developed by Steve Jobs after he left Apple. This model was used by Sir Tim Berners-Lee to develop the World Wide Web.

'Computers on the Move' meanwhile highlights the miniaturisation of computer hardware with ‘luggables’ such as the 12kg Osborne, right down to a 1984 Psion Organiser 1 billed as the World’s first practical pocket computer.

Rare exhibits include a Science of Cambridge Mark 14 with a calculator style LED display, the first computer designed by Sir Clive Sinclair.

The museum loaned it to the BBC for filming 'The Syntax Era; The Story of Early British Home Computing' due to be screened in October. The programme covers the golden era of the 1980’s fight for the UK home computer market between Commodore, Atari, Amstrad, Sinclair and Acorn.

It especially features rivalry between Sir Clive Sinclair - ZX and Spectrum - and Chris Curry, his protg and former employee who headed up Acorn - BBC Micro. The Museum also has on show the Amstrad 464, Lord Alan Sugar’s computer of the same era.

The Museum of Computing is a not for profit company limited by guarantee and receives no government funding.

Admission fees are 7.00 for a family ticket for two adults and two children, 3.50 for adults, 3 for students and concessions, 2.50 for children 6-15, while children under 5 go free.

The Museum of Computing is in Swindon town centre at 6-7 Theatre Square, Swindon SN1 1QN, at the top of Regent Street opposite the new Central Library.

Full details can be found at www.museumofcomputing.org.uk.

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