Steve Jobs makes Time 100 for fifth time

So far this year he's championed organ donation, launched the iPad, and taken Flash to task--and now, Steve Jobs has once again made Time 100's list of most influential people.

This isn't Jobs's first appearance--the Apple CEO has been mentioned repeatedly on the list throughout the past decade, in 2004, 2005, 2007, and 2008. As of 2010, Jobs has been listed five times--tied with Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama--and is only three behind Oprah Winfrey, who's been on the list a whopping eight times.

Categorized under "Thinkers," Jobs is written about reverently by sculpture artist Jeff Koons:

"As a young man, Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, decided to be the Beatles of computing. I once said that I make what the Beatles would have made if they made sculpture, and I can appreciate how Steve, 55, applies their ethos of optimism to his work... It's great to see Steve stay true to his vision."

Jobs is featured in Time this month alongside politicians, doctors, bankers, figure skaters, and artists. Check out the full list online.

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Lawyer confirms identity of 'lost' iPhone seller

A 21-year-old California man was identified by his lawyer Thursday as the person who sold a prototype iPhone to the Gizmodo technology site, which published photos and other information about the unreleased device.

Brian Hogan, a college student who lives in Redwood City, Calif., was at a local bar with friends when another patron handed him the phone, said Jeff Bornstein, an attorney with San Francisco law firm K&L Gates, in an e-mailed statement. "Brian asked others near him if the phone belonged to them," said Bornstein. "When they disclaimed ownership, Brian and his friends left the bar with the phone."

Hogan was later paid $5,000 by Gizmodo for the phone, but he was under the impression that the payment was strictly for access to the device so that the site could review it, Bornstein maintained. "Brian believed -- and Gizmodo emphasized to him -- that there was nothing wrong in sharing the phone with the tech press," his lawyer wrote. "Brian has been and is willing to cooperate [with authorities]."

Wired.com first identified Hogan as the person who found and sold the iPhone by uncovering clues found on social networking sites. Bornstein confirmed his identity to Computerworld .

Charges have not been filed against Hogan, said Stephen Wagstaffe, chief deputy district attorney for San Mateo County, in a telephone interview. "The investigation is ongoing," said Wagstaffe, "and investigators are still determining whether a crime has been committed."

If authorities classify the incident as a theft, Hogan could be charged, Wagstaffe said. "Anyone who was in possession of the phone would be a suspect in a theft case, assuming it's determined that a crime has been committed," Wagstaffe added.

That also means that Jason Chen, the Gizmodo editor who purchased the prototype from Hogan, then photographed , disassembled and analyzed the iPhone, could face similar charges.

Last Friday, California police with the REACT (Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team), a multi-county task force that investigates high-tech crimes in the Silicon Valley area, served Chen with a search warrant and removed several personal computers, hard drives and digital cameras from his home.

The status of those computers is still being debated, said Wagstaffe. "We continue to discuss the matter with Mr. Chen's attorney and the attorneys for Gawker," he said, referring to Gawker Media, the New York-based firm that publishes Gizmodo. Gaby Darbyshire, Gawker's chief operating officer and the company's counsel, has argued that the search warrant was invalid because it violated California and federal shield laws that prohibit .

According to Gizmodo's account of the "lost" iPhone, an Apple software engineer left the disguised prototype behind when he departed a Redwood City bar in mid-March. The site later said that the person who sold the iPhone -- identified yesterday as Hogan -- tried to contact Apple several times to return the prototype.

However, Bornstein only noted that a friend of Hogan's has promised to call AppleCare, Apple's support line, on his behalf. "[Brian] regrets his mistake in not doing more to return the phone," said Bornstein.

Apple reported the iPhone stolen last week, BusinessWeek said yesterday. Quoting Wagstaffe, BusinessWeek said an outside attorney for Apple and the engineer who lost the prototype sparked the investigation by contacting authorities. Wagstaffe was not immediately available late Thursday to confirm BusinessWeek's report.

Brian Lam, Gizmodo's editorial director, has acknowledged that the prototype had been stolen, not simply lost. "Just so you know, we didn't know this was stolen when we bought it," Lam said in a blog post that described Apple's request for the iPhone's return. Gizmodo later said it had returned the iPhone to Apple.

Although Apple has previewed its iPhone 4 operating system, it has not revealed details of the next-generation smartphone, or even confirmed that it will launch one this year. Most analysts, however, expect the company to debut a new model this summer, most likely at its Worldwide Developers Conference , which runs June 7-11 in San Francisco.

Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld . Follow Gregg on Twitter at @gkeizer or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed . His e-mail address is gkeizer@ix.netcom.com .

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Apple iTunes 9.1.1 software update released

Apple has issued an update to iTunes. The iTunes 9.1.1 update weighs in at 102.1MB and is available now via Software Update.

The update promises various bug fixes and usability fixes. According to Software Update the iTunes 9.1.1 software provides the following features:

• Addresses several stability issues with VoiceOver
• Addresses a usability issue with VoiceOver and Genius Mixes
• Addresses issues with converting songs to 128 kbps AAC while syncing
• Addresses other issues that improve stability and performance
iTunes 9.1 comes with several new features and improvements, including:

• Sync with iPad to enjoy your favorite music, movies, TV shows, books and more on the go

• Organize and sync books you've downloaded from iBooks on iPad or added to your iTunes library

• Rename, rearrange, or remove Genius Mixes

The update can be sourced directly within Mac OS X using the Software Update function. Alternatively, users can download a copy directly from the Apple Support website.

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Steve Jobs pens open letter: 'Thoughts on Flash'

Steve Jobs has written a letter titled 'Thoughts On Flash' and placed it on the Apple web site. The letter appears to be an attempt by Steve Jobs and Apple to clarify its position with relation to Adobe Flash. Those looking for reconcilliation, however, may need to carry on looking: the letter elaborates on why Apple does not, and will not, include Flash in its mobile devices.

Apple and Adobe's relationship has been rumoured to be strained after Apple refused to allow Adobe's Flash player technology to be integrated into its Safari web application provided in the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad devices. In February it was reported that Steve Jobs told Apple employees "Adobe is lazy."

Later it was reported that Steve Jobs told representatives from the Wall Street Journal that Adobe Flash was "a CPU hog".

Apple's stance has prevented owners of Apple mobile devices from viewing content created in Adobe Flash, including Flash-based video and from playing Flash-based applications (mostly games). Recently Apple went as far as to ban apps that were originally created using Adobe Flash, and re-coded into iPhone apps using technology found in Adobe Flash CS5.

The letter starts by recognising the "long relationship" between Adobe and Apple. Steve Jobs says: "we met Adobe’s founders when they were in their proverbial garage. Apple was their first big customer, adopting their Postscript language for our new Laserwriter printer. Apple invested in Adobe and owned around 20% of the company for many years." He then cools somewhat: "Today the two companies still work together to serve their joint creative customers – Mac users buy around half of Adobe’s Creative Suite products – but beyond that there are few joint interests."

Steve continues: "I wanted to jot down some of our thoughts on Adobe’s Flash products so that customers and critics may better understand why we do not allow Flash on iPhones, iPods and iPads. Adobe has characterized our decision as being primarily business driven – they say we want to protect our App Store – but in reality it is based on technology issues. Adobe claims that we are a closed system, and that Flash is open, but in fact the opposite is true. Let me explain."

Jobs then outlines six reasons why the company has taken the decision to oppose the presence of Flash on its mobile devices. They are:

1. Open
Steve Jobs states: "Adobe’s Flash products are 100% proprietary. They are only available from Adobe, and Adobe has sole authority as to their future enhancement, pricing, etc…" He does note that Apple has "many propriety products too" but these are not web-related. "we strongly believe that all standards pertaining to the web should be open. Rather than use Flash, Apple has adopted HTML5, CSS and JavaScript – all open standards."

2. Full web
"Adobe has repeatedly said that Apple mobile devices cannot access 'the full web' because 75% of video on the web is in Flash," says Steve Jobs (we have to admit, this is a claim by Adobe that is somewhat borne out in our own experience).

"What they don’t say is that almost all this video is also available in a more modern format, H.264, and is viewable on iPhones, iPods and iPads. YouTube, with an estimated 40% of the web’s video" continues Steve Jobs. At this point he seems to lose us. What he appears to be saying is that Adobe Flash powers a lot, but not all, of web video content and that this is changing to the more modern format H.264. Our take on this is that, yes, a lot of video is moving over to H.264 content but this is because of Apple's opposition to it - rather than a reason for Apple not to include Flash in the first place.

The letter then states: "another Adobe claim is that Apple devices cannot play Flash games. This is true. Fortunately, there are over 50,000 games and entertainment titles on the App Store". While we're hardly enamoured by the thought of playing thousands of Flash games on the iPhone it seems rather beside the point. Unless the point is "we're limiting choice by provide an alternative that we control". We can't help but note that the App Store isn't one of Apple's "open" products that Steve Jobs outlines in point 1.

3. Third, there’s reliability, security and performance.
'Symantec recently highlighted Flash for having one of the worst security records in 2009. We also know first hand that Flash is the number one reason Macs crash" says Steve Jobs. A point that is hard to argue with, after all, Flash is probably the number one reason our Web browsers crash as well. Although we're not completely sure about the security aspect, our Mac's seem pretty secure with or without Flash, at least from virus and malware. It's hard to imagine Flash running in anything other than a closed environment on Apple's mobile devices.

4. Battery life
"To achieve long battery life when playing video, mobile devices must decode the video in hardware; decoding it in software uses too much power." note Steve Jobs. "Although Flash has recently added support for H.264, the video on almost all Flash websites currently requires an older generation decoder that is not implemented in mobile chips and must be run in software. The difference is striking:on an iPhone, for example,H.264 videos play for up to 10 hours, while videos decoded in software play for less than 5 hours before the battery is fully drained." As we've never run Flash on an iPhone we'll have to take his word for it. But we know Flash is a power hungry format and it's not hard to imagine it draining battery life. Mind you, there are lots of things we do on an iPhone that drain battery life - playing Real Racing, for example, surfing the Web all day with 3G enabled; capturing video on the iPhone 3G S. Battery life is an issue for the iPhone, but so is consumer choice.

5. Touch
Steve does make an interesting point about touch-screen displays. "Flash was designed for PCs using mice, not for touch screens using fingers. For example, many Flash websites rely on “rollovers”, which pop up menus or other elements when the mouse arrow hovers over a specific spot. Apple’s revolutionary multi-touch interface doesn’t use a mouse, and there is no concept of a rollover. Most Flash websites will need to be rewritten to support touch-based devices. If developers need to rewrite their Flash websites, why not use modern technologies like HTML5,CSSand JavaScript?"

Our take here is that some will, some won't. Why not enable a device to take advantage of those. Again this seems more like Apple trying to force the market down its preferred route than offering a key benefit to the end user.

6. "The most important reason"
Steve states that "We have discussed the downsides of using Flash to play video and interactive content from websites, but Adobealso wants developers to adopt Flash to create apps that run on our mobile devices."

This gets to the heart of the matter, and perhaps expands on the e-mail Steve Jobs sent to a Apple customer that briefly said "We’ve been there before, and intermediate layers between the platform and the developer ultimately produces sub-standardappsand hinders the progress of the platform."Here Steve Jobs states: "We know from painful experience that letting a third party layer of software come between the platform and the developer ultimately results in sub-standard apps and hinders the enhancement and progress of the platform."

Steve Jobs writes up a conclusion that we've reprinted here. It's worth a read:

"Conclusions.

Flash was created during the PC era – for PCs and mice. Flash is a successful business for Adobe, and we can understand why they want to push it beyond PCs. But the mobile era is about low power devices, touch interfaces and open web standards – all areas where Flash falls short.

The avalanche of media outlets offering their content for Apple’s mobile devices demonstrates that Flash is no longer necessary to watch video or consume any kind of web content. And the 200,000 apps on Apple’s App Store proves that Flash isn’t necessary for tens of thousands of developers to create graphically rich applications, including games.

New open standards created in the mobile era, such as HTML5, will win on mobile devices (and PCs too). Perhaps Adobe should focus more on creating great HTML5 tools for the future, and less on criticizing Apple for leaving the past behind."

Click here to read the full text of Steve Jobs' letter.

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Apple releases iTunes 9.1.1

If you've been dealing with some iTunes glitchiness, then it's time to launch Software Update and rejoice. Apple on Tuesday released iTunes 9.1.1, a fix-filled update to the company's media software.

Don't look for much in the way of new functionality in this version. According to Apple, the update addresses several stability issues with the VoiceOver accessibility system, a usability issue with VoiceOver and Genius Mixes, problems converting songs to 128kbps AAC files while syncing, and other sundry stability and performance niggles. There's also a version for the 64-bit flavors of Windows Vista and Windows 7 that deals with a third-party software conflict that could cause iTunes to unexpectedly quit.

The 93MB update requires Mac OS X 10.4.11 or later, Windows XP SP2, Windows Vista (32-bit or 64-bit), or Windows 7 (32-bit or 64-bit). You can snag it from Apple's download page, the iTunes download page, or Software Update.

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Android smartphones gaining ground on iPhones

Apple continues to dominate the worldwide and U.S. mobile handset markets with its iPhone and iPod Touch devices, but makers of Android phones are gaining ground.

This is according to the latest research out of AdMob, a mobile advertising network in the process of being acquired by chief Android proponent Google. AdMob bases its stats on requests for access to the 18,000-plus Websites and applications in its network.

Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch accounted for 37% of worldwide device share in March based on traffic, and that's down from 40% in both January and February, back to about the same level as in December. The share dropped from 43% to 38% in the United States.

Meanwhile, Motorola inched up in the U.S. on the strength of its Android-powered Droid smartphone and Nokia showed growth worldwide, based on use of such devices as the N70.

AdMob also took a look at which versions of Apple's iPhone OS are most used and found that most customers don't just sit on their old software since Apple makes most of its software backward compatible. The two newest versions of the OS, 3.1.2 and 3.1.3 added up to 86% of traffic (Apple recently previewed Version 4.0, which surprised with its supply of enterprise-friendly features).

iPhone 3GS device traffic share jumped 30% from September to March, whereas the first generation devices accounted for just 2% of the traffic. The 4G device hasn't yet hit the market, though it has generated plenty of buzz because of the wild Gizmodo situation involving a lost prototype.

The second generation iPod Touch generated more than twice as much traffic as the third-generation product, released in September.

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Top tech professionals eye the US for jobs

Nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of technology professionals would like to work in the States, according to new research.

This was followed by 16 per cent who would like to go to Australia and 12 per cent who would prefer to work in the UK.

The statistics were revealed in the inaugural 2010 Hydrogen Global Professionals on the Move Report, which was conducted for recruitment firm Hydrogen Group by a consultancy project team from ESCP Europe business school. Through an online poll, it surveyed 3,155 mid- to senior-level professionals from all over the world, earning an average salary of $125,000 (80,800), all holding a professional qualification or above.

Other countries in the top 10 favoured by technology professionals were France, Canada, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, New Zealand and Germany.

According to Rory Ferguson, Hydrogen Group's director for technology in the UK, the appearance of Singapore in the list (eight place, with 6.69 per cent) reflects companies' recent investment in developing their presence in the country.

"In terms of language and infrastructure, Singapore is quite a comfortable move. The expat community is strong, and as a result business is very relationship-driven."

Abigail Waudby, director of Hydrogen's Singapore office, added: "With the Asian markets returning to growth, we are seeing a high volume of project-led roles within technology and finance, and scarcity within the local candidate population is forcing employers to cast their net wider.

"Technology is playing an increasingly integral role in the process of change and growth for our clients. This key change process requires highly skilled, experienced professionals, particularly in Asia where regional offices are often involved."

Ferguson also believes that IT professionals are more open to working abroad because they are moving increasingly from a career focus to a project focus.

"I think we'll see greater mobility for this sector continue," he said.

The top reason for respondents moving abroad was for 'new experiences' (22.4 percent). This was followed by a fifth (20.3 percent) who said it would be for better opportunities, while 16.4 percent cited better living conditions. Nearly 15 percent (14.3 percent) said they would work overseas if an opportunity came up with their current employer. Just 6.4 percent said they would work abroad because of higher pay, which Hydrogen Group said is indicative of the senior-level sample in all sectors.

Tim Smeaton, CEO of Hydrogen Group, said: "The research indicates that greater earning potential is not in itself a top priority for professionals when looking to work abroad. For high fliers already on high salaries, a post overseas has to have the right fit with their overall career and life plan to be worth the move."

Across all sectors, the survey found that most of the respondents (60 percent) did not feel that the recession had had an impact on their willingness to move overseas. The survey also found that respondents only want to move temporarily, not on a permanent basis, with 64 percent saying they would work abroad for up to five years.

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Vodafone to bring Nexus One to UK

Vodafone has made the Google Nexus One available for pre-order. The Nexus One, which is manufactured by HTC, is powered by a Qualcomm 1GHz Snapdragon processor and features a 3.7in 480x800-pixel AMOLED screen.

The mobile network said Google's 'superphone', which was launched in January this year, will be released on April 30.

The handset is free on a 24-month contract, which costs 35 per month and comes with 600 minutes of calls and unlimited text messages. The mobile phone will also be available on a number of other contracts, which start from 25 per month.

Vodafone said the contracts include 1GB of mobile data as well as an additional 1GB of data for those using the handset's Wi-Fi connection at premium BT Openzone hotspots throughout the UK. The Google Nexus One will also come with Google Maps Navigation beta pre-installed. The free app, which was launched last week, gives Android-based mobile phones turn-by-turn voice and visual navigation.

The Google Nexus One can pre-ordered from Vodafone's website.

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eBay: Apple iPod touch with camera briefly for sale

In a week when Apple's next generation iPhone was allegedly left in a US bar, and then leaked online for all to see, a pair of unusual iPod touches have appeared on eBay.

Seth Weintraub at 9to5 Mac reports the iPods, marked with 'DVT-1' and 'DVT-2', 'Apple Development Team,' come with cameras, running a 'SwitchbBoard' OS. The iPods include a small selection of applications including AT Command, Burnin, CameraFA, GrapeCal and SkankPhone.

The iPods have since been removed from eBay. Rumours circulated last September prior to Apple's annual music themed event, that the company would add cameras to its range of iPod touches. That, along with other rumours, failed to materialise, with reports at the time claiming production difficulties had delayed the camera update.

[Images via 9to5 Mac]

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Bing loses more money as Microsoft chases Google

Microsoft posted strong results for the third quarter of its 2010 fiscal year, largely thanks to sales of Windows 7. But the company continues to suffer heavy losses in its Online Services Division as it tries to match rival Google in the online search and advertising market.

During Microsoft's fiscal third quarter, which ended March 31, the Online Services Division, or OSD, reported a 12 percent increase in revenue, which rose to $566 million on the back of higher advertising revenue. That wasn't enough to offset a surge in operating expenses during the period. The division's quarterly loss grew by 73 percent to $713 million, compared to a loss of $411 million during the same period last year.

OSD includes Microsoft's online advertising business, the Bing search engine, and its various MSN websites.

In a discussion of OSD's results, Microsoft blamed the increase in operating expenses on several factors. It said sales and general administration expenses increased by $145 million, largely due to "transition expenses" from the search deal struck with Yahoo, which handles some advertising sales for Microsoft while Microsoft provides for Yahoo's Web sites.

Another source of Microsoft's higher costs was research and development, which increased 33 percent during the fiscal third quarter to $77 million due to higher headcount and payments to Yahoo for expenses incurred before it moved to Microsoft's search platform. Sales and marketing expenses were also higher, up 30 percent to $69 million due to increased promotional activities.

Despite the surge in quarterly expenses and rising losses, Microsoft noted two areas where OSD made progress: online ad revenue rose 19 percent during the quarter and Bing's share of U.S. search queries rose to 11.7 percent during March, according to Comscore.

Yet, for all that Bing accomplished during the quarter, Microsoft's search engine has yet to slow Google's growth, let alone put a dent in its market share.

Following Bing's launch in May 2009, Microsoft's share of the U.S. search market rose from 8 percent to 11.7 percent, according to Comscore. But Google's market share remained relatively constant during the period, rising from 65 percent in May 2009 to 65.1 percent in March 2010.

Rather than drawing traffic away from Google, Bing's gains in the search market appear to largely come at the expense of Yahoo, which saw its share of the U.S. search market drop from 20.1 percent to 16.9 percent between May 2009 and March 2010.

Google also remains highly profitable, although an apples-to-apples comparison between its overall financial results and those of Microsoft's OSD are difficult to make based on the information available. For example, Microsoft doesn't count revenue and expenses for Windows Live - which includes Hotmail and Messenger - as part of OSD's financial results, instead accounting for them under a different business segment, the Windows and Windows Live Division.

Nevertheless, Google's profitability marks a sharp contrast with OSD's ongoing losses. The company's revenue rose 23 percent during the first quarter of 2010 to $6.77 billion, while its operating profit - the company's revenue minus operating expenses, which excludes interest and taxes - rose 32 percent to $2.49 billion.

Whether OSD will turn a profit remains to be seen. Microsoft believes Bing is on the right track. Speaking at a Morgan Stanley conference last month, Microsoft CFO Peter Klein said the Yahoo deal gives Microsoft's search business the economies of scale it needs to be profitable over the long term.

"We love the direction we're heading there," Klein said at that time.

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Dreamtek offers free London Adobe Communication and e-Learning Event

Dreamtek has announced a free London event to see the latest Adobe software solutions including all that is new in Creative Suite 5.

The Adobe Communication and eLearning event will be held on 12 May 2010 at Adobe Systems, 12 Park Crescent, London, W1B 1BH. "In just one afternoon, you will view the entire creative process, beginning with the creation of original video and web content, its transformation into interactive and eLearning content, and finally its publication using the Adobe platform for sharing," Dreamtek insists. "If you know what you want to deliver, but aren’t sure of how to convert this vision to reality, this event is for you."

The Adobe Communication and eLearning event runs from 1 pm till 4 pm, with registration from 12.30 pm. Seats are limited at this free event and those interested can sign up at www.dreamtek.tv. Adobe Creative Suite 5 will be available in May. Full pricing details can be found here.

Dreamtek is billed as a comprehensive solution provider for developing customer communication requirements including video production and post production, video distribution, web and audio conferencing as well as AV support and staffing.

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Reminder: Dreamtek announces free London Adobe CS5 for video event

Dreamtek, in association with Adobe UK, has announced plans to host a free event for video professionals at the Mermaid Conference and Events Centre, Blackfriars, London on Thursday 29 April 2010 showcasing new features found in Adobe Creative Suite 5. Al Mooney, Video Business Manager at Adobe UK will be explaining new features for video pros, including the creative tools in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5, After Effects CS5 and more.

He will be joined by industry expert Angie Taylor who will show the Adobe CS5 and GridIron Flow Integrated Workflow. Attendees will be able to see how GridIron Flow helps to manage your assets by automatically versioning, packaging essential files and tracking time spent on projects. Richard Payne from Distributor Holdan, who theb talk about the latest news and releases from Panasonic and Blackmagic Design, and how these will work with Adobe CS5.

Seats are limited. Registration is from 12.30 pm and presentations are from 1 pm till 4 pm. Those interested can register free at www.dreamtek.tv.Adobe Creative Suite 5 will be available in May. Full pricing details can be found here.

(Visit our sister site MacVideo for more pro video related news and features.)

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iFixit unveils “Wikipedia” for tech repairs that go beyond Apple devices

iFixit, which has made a name for itself by tearing apart hot new devices like the Apple iPad and Google Nexus One smartphone to show what really makes them tick, on Thursday unveiled a publicly accessible and editable wiki designed for people to share their expertise at fixing things.

"We're opening up our guides to the world. Think Wikipedia, but for repair," writes Kyle Wiens, co-founder of iFixit, which sells parts and service tools to fund its mission.

The company estimates its repair manuals have been used to fix more than 1 million Apple devices.

Initial repair guides on the expanded site target Apple products such as Macs, iPods and iPhones, but also iRobot Roomba cleaners, LED Christmas lights, car brakes, game consoles and cameras. The public can edit text and images in the guides.

iFixit serves consumers, but also IT shops and equipment refurbishers, according to Wiens. "They need this information far more than consumers do. We're currently used by every IT shop that has to work on Macs but isn't Apple authorized," he says.

We asked Wiens whether we might expect to see repair guides on the site for enterprise IT gear, such as Cisco routers and switches.

"We have to find people who have access to that hardware and are interested in sharing," he says. "Large IT shops that need to document internal procedures are a great use case. Sharing this information with different groups throughout the company over multiple locations can be a huge hassle, and it's not generally proprietary to the company. Much better to open source it and collaborate with other IT workers who need the same information. Working together, we should be able to create a very valuable resource."

It’s no coincidence that iFixit is introducing its repair wiki on Earth Day, as the company says part of its mission is to prevent people from tossing broken devices into an ever-expanding e-waste pile.

"Our society is manufacturing new products at an unsustainable rate, completely ignoring the waste stream it's generating," Wiens writes. "We must reduce our rapid consumption of devices and move past our throw-away culture. Repairing devices and extending their life spans can go a long way toward fixing the problem."

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First 3D TV hit UK shelves today

The first 3D TV hit British shelves today, available in selected John Lewis stores.

The 47in Samsung UE40 C700, which is priced at 1,800 and comes bundled with a copy of Dreamworks film Monsters vs Aliens in 3D, will also be available through Comet and Currys next week.

Consumers also have to pay a further 200 for a special pair of glasses and a cable to connect the TV to a set-top box.

The Samsung UE40 C700

However, with Sky's 3D offering, which will be the first dedicated 3D channel to broadcast in the UK, not expected to start showing content until June there's still some time before Brits will be able to enjoy 3D programmes on their TVs.

The 3D TV service will offer a range of movies, sport, documentaries, entertainment and arts content and will be available to consumers with a Sky HD box that subscribe to the broadcaster's top channels.

Media consultancy Screen Digest expects 185,000 3D TVs to be sold in the UK this year and by 2015, there will be seven million 3DTVs in the Britain.

"If you are a person who would buy a high-end TV then definitely a 3D TV would be a good option, but if you are someone who spends a few hundred pounds on a TV then you are probably going to have to wait a couple of years until prices come down," Dan Simmons from Screen Digest told The Independent.

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Business mentors offered for Bristol-based creatives

A new website dedicated to helping creative businesses in the city grow has been launched today by Bristol Media, which helps support, develop and grow the sector in the West of England.

Called Bristol Media Mentors, the new initiative has brought together a group of the city’s leading creative entrepreneurs and business people who work across the digital, design, animation, TV and film production and publishing sectors to offer virtual mentoring support to creative businesses in the South West region.

To access the free service, members log on and post a sector specific or general business question. The question is then automatically sent to all mentors and the response then shared by being posted on the site, allowing any Bristol Media member to contribute and share their experiences too. A running archive of all the answers will also be available for members to refer to at any time, giving them access to a whole host of business support that they can refer to as and when they need it.

Bristol Media will also be running face to face mentoring sessions and organising roundtable sessions to talk about specific business challenges over the next few months.

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Inside the numbers: Apple's great quarter

Another Apple quarterly financial report, another set of broken records. For a non-holiday quarter, this one was as good as it gets. But beyond the $13.5 billion in sales and the $3.07 billion in profit, there are a bunch of smaller numbers that are worth calling out.

Staggering revenues. But wait--before I get to the smaller numbers, let me revisit that big one. $13.5 billion in revenue is Apple's second-biggest quarter ever. The biggest, of course, was the previous quarter, which covered the 2009 holiday season. This was not just a good quarter for Apple, it was huge.

iPhone success beyond expectations. When Apple sold 8.7 million iPhones during the quarter encompassing the 2009 holiday season, I don't think people were entirely surprised. Apple traditionally sells well during the holidays. But how many people expected that this quarter, the company would sell more iPhones than it did in the previous quarter? Yet that's what happened--a staggering 8.75 million iPhones, at an average selling price of $622. (You read that right -- Apple's figures include the money that carriers such as AT&T pay them for the phones, which they then sell at a discount to users in exchange for signing a two-year contract.)

iPod touch on the rise. Because Apple rolls the iPod touch into the overall iPod numbers, it's sometimes hard to gauge just how well the iPhone's little phoneless cousin is doing. Fortunately, it's doing so well that Apple wanted to brag a bit, so the company announced that iPod touch sales were up 63 percent year over year. That's compared to the iPod line as a whole, which was down 1.2 percent.

So in other words: traditional iPod sales continue to fall off, but the iPod touch is gaining in popularity so rapidly that it's actually offsetting the erosion. (That 1.2 percent drop is actually impressive--the three previous quarters saw year-over-year drops between seven and eight percent.) You can even see it in the average selling price of iPod models, which keeps rising after a year and a half of erosion. The fact that the average selling price of an iPod last quarter was $171 (compared to $151 in the year-ago quarter), and that total iPod revenue increased year over year, has everything to do with the higher ticket price of the iPod touch.

Strong Mac sales in a weak quarter. Apple's fiscal second quarter, from January to March, is traditionally the weakest one for Mac sales. And this quarter there were no new Mac models at all to speak of. Yet Mac sales were the highest ever in the second quarter, and higher than the Mac sales in last year's third quarter. Desktop sales were especially strong, with more than a million Mac desktops sold for the second consecutive quarter--showing that the latest batch of iMacs are presumably a big hit.

The average selling price of Mac models was down, however, reversing a trend of rising prices in the three previous quarters. Generally that means that lower-priced models were selling as a bigger part of the mix than in previous quarters. With the average Mac laptop selling at $1240 last quarter, you've got to wonder just how much of Apple's laptop mix is the $999 MacBook. Presumably the third quarter, in which we currently reside, will see a reversal here thanks to the introduction of a whole new line of MacBook Pro models.

The revenue mix. The amount of revenue Apple gets from its three major product lines hasn't actually changed much in the past three quarters. This quarter 28 percent of Apple's revenues came from the Mac, with 14 percent from the iPod and 40 percent from the iPhone. (Other stuff--such as software, services, and music--accounts for the remaining 18 percent.)

If you look at the overall revenue picture for the three lines, it's clear that the Mac continues on an upward swing, while the iPod slowly trends down. The iPhone, meanwhile, is launching into the stratosphere.

And Apple officials once again pointed out that the company basically breaks even when it comes to app sales and music sales. Despite pundits who claim that Apple retains a tight control over the App Store in order to guarantee profits, it's clear that the company sees all the various iTunes-related stores as a means to an end--namely selling their own products.

Nothing new on iPad. Apple continued to use superlatives to describe the iPad launch, almost giddily admitting that they underestimated demand for the product. (Hence the delays in international availability.) Of course, all those iPad sales will be counted in the company's third quarter results--which we'll learn about in three months' time. Company officials did say today that they will be breaking out iPad units and revenue separately on their financial statements, as they do currently with the Mac, iPod, and iPhone lines. So we'll have a bead on just how the iPad is doing, quarter by quarter.

Conservative Apple, blue skies ahead. Apple is notorious for providing conservative guidance--in other words, when it comes to future forecasts the company tends to under-promise and over-deliver. Keep that in mind when you consider that the company expects next quarter to deliver between $13 billion and $13.4 billion in revenue. In other words, even conservative Apple expects next quarter to be its third-best of all time--and at least 34 percent better year-over-year.

If history is any indication, that means the company probably has a good chance of blowing past this quarter's results when everything's tallied in July.

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Paul Hardcastle talks Macs at Apple Store, Regent Street tonight

Legendary 80s producer/artist Paul Hardcastle will be appearing at the flagship Apple Store, Regent Street tonight to talk about his work, including the iconic track '19', which highlighted the average age of US soldiers during the Vietnam war. The 25th Anniversary release of 19 was released yesterday and was produced entirely on a Mac.

The free event, which starts at 7 pm, will see Paul talk about his 25th Anniversary release of '19', and how Apple technology has enabled him to renew the track, which became a worldwide hit, selling over 3 million copies in the mid 1980s.

"I'm having great fun promoting my stuff in my native country for the first time in a long time," Paul tells Macworld. "I'm really looking forward to the Apple Store event, for me that will be brilliant, and I'm looking forward to answering questions from those people coming along."

"I will be showing how we made '19' and how we did the video. It should be a really great night, and I've been told I can have as much time as I want. Bring your questions and come down and have some fun!" A full Macworld Q&A with Paul can be found here.

The Apple Store is located at 235 Regent Street, London, W1B 2EL, 020 7153 9000. The nearest tube station is Oxford Circus.

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VeriSign warning over Apple iPad security

VeriSign, a Internet infrastructure service provider, has warned of the security dangers complacent iPad users might face, when Apple's device finally goes on sale in the UK late next month, particularly business users.

Phil D'Angio, director of business development at VeriSign said: "Companies need to be aware that while they might be computing on the go and not using traditional devices they're still connecting to the web and the usual rules apply: use a password to protect your device and the online accounts you access from it."

Click here for more Apple iPad coverage

Earlier this month, Apple's Steve Jobs revealed a number of new features due with the iPhone 4.0 Software Update, that should appeal to business users including multiple Exchange accounts on one phone, along with the ability wirelessly distribute applications anywhere in the world from businesses own servers.

VeriSign facilitates as many as 50 billion authoritative Domain Name System (DNS) queries a day, the company insists, enabling transactions and protecting valuable data. A release date and UK pricing for Apple's iPad will be announced on Monday 10 May.

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Sony introduce high quality 7.4 inch professional OLED monitor

The PVM-740 is a new type of 7.4-inch high-resolution (960 x 540 pixel) portable monitor which incorporates an Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) display panel with Sony's unique Super Top EmissionTM technology.

Thanks to the nature of the OLED display panel and Sony's Super Top EmissionTM technology, the PVM-740 offers outstanding high-contrast images. Incorporating a 10-bit panel driver, Sony's Super Top EmissionTM OLED display panel creates lifelike and smoother-than-ever gradation from dark to bright portions of a scene. Also, an excellent blur-free quick response to fast motion benefits a variety of applications and scenes, e.g., sports broadcasting, monitoring of camera panning, and text scrolling.

In addition to the high-purity deep colour reproduction characteristics inherent in Sony's Super Top EmissionTM OLED display panel, two other elements - Sony's 10-bit panel driver and ChromaTRU technologies - work effectively to emulate the colours and gammas of CRT monitors, and to support broadcast standards (SMPTE-C, EBU, and ITU-R BT.709).

Incorporating a compact, lightweight, and robust aluminium die-cast body, the PVM-740 suits many different indoor and outdoor applications. The PVM-740 is equipped with standard interface connectors - a composite video, 3G/HD/SD-SDI, and HDMI - which accept a variety of video signal formats from PAL/NTSC up to 1080/50p and 60p.

This PVM-740 is ideal for a wide range of professional monitoring applications including use in an editing studio, outside broadcast, acquisition, field production, engineering and even research and development.

Apple Rejects Pulitzer Prize Winner’s AppSebastian Dangerfield to headline Music-News night in Edinburgh

Ronald Wayne: No regrets over £13.6 billion Apple share sale

Often referred to as the 'third founder' of Apple Computers, Ronald Wayne has revealed he has no regrets over selling his share in the company.

Working alongside Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Wayne was given a 10 per cent share in Apple but quickly sold them for just $800 in 1976.

A report in the News Of The World

this morning claims those shares would now likely be worth 13.6 billion. Under the headline 'If Only iPad Known,' Wayne tells the tabloid newspaper he has no regrets over the decision.

"If I had stayed I would be incredibly wealthy but I would have wound up the richest man in the cemetery - dying of a heart attack."

"The thing that made me pull out was that Jobs had borrowed $15,000 to buy the materials to make computers."

"I was in debt for $1,500 - my ten per cent of that - and I had no idea where I would get that money.

"I had enough stress in my life and I couldn't take any more. I was looking for a quiet life."

The tabloid reports Wayne, 75, who now lives on a small state pension, in a modest home in the retiree town of Pahrump, Nevada, US, had no idea Apple would become such a big company.

"I made my decision on the information I had at the time and it was the correct one. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I have no regrets."

"I could be wealthy. People are always asking me, 'What if ?' But life is too short. I've got my health, my family and integrity - and that is the best fortune you could ask for."

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Apple Rejects Pulitzer Prize Winner's App

Cartoonist and recent Pulitzer Prize winner Mark Fiore reportedly had his iPhone application rejected by Apple several months ago, because his app's satirical content made fun of public figures. Fiore made history earlier this week becoming the first exclusively Web-based cartoonist to win the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning. Fiore received the honor for his "biting wit, extensive research and ability to distill complex issues," which was apparently too controversial for Cupertino's App Store gatekeepers.

In an interview with the Nieman Journalism Lab, Fiore explained that Apple in December rejected his application, called NewsToons, because it violated section 3.3.14 of the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement. "Applications may be rejected if they contain content or materials of any kind (text, graphics, images, photographs, sounds, etc.) that in Apple's reasonable judgement may be found objectionable, for example, materials that may be considered obscene, pornographic, or defamatory," the iPhone Dev agreement reads.

Apple has become famous for removing or prohibiting applications from entering the iTunes App Store--which sells applications for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch -- based on what Apple deems "objectionable content." The company in February purged many sexually suggestive applications after receiving customer complaints, Apple temporarily rejected an application from industrial-rock band Nine Inch Nails, and the company also rejected outright an app from Comedy Central's popular animated show South Park that included episode clips from the show.

In September 2008, Cupertino also gave thumbs down to a politically-themed app called Freedom Time, which counted down the days until President George W. Bush's last day in office. Apple CEO Steve Jobs reportedly sent an e-mail to Freedom Time's developers explaining the application "would be offensive to roughly half [of Apple's] users."

The problem with rejecting applications like Freedom Time and Fiore's NewsToons application is it appears to reinforce one of the biggest concerns about Apple's strict control over iPhone and iPad downloadable content. Namely, as Wired's Brian X. Chen pointed out in February, that Apple may end up having too much control over the distribution and publication of controversial digital content as the popularity of Apple's iDevice lineup increases.

You may think that's an unfair analysis of Apple's policies, but bear in mind that the United States, not to mention most other democratic nations, has a long tradition of lampooning its public figures and political leaders with satirical writing, drawings and radio and television shows.

Take a look at this example below of Fiore's work, a clip that Apple reportedly used as an example of NewsToon's objectionable content, and let us know if you think Apple was right in its decision to reject Fiore's content from the iTunes App Store.

Connect with Ian on Twitter (@ianpaul).

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App builders to gather for US iPad-specific developer event

Developers will gather this weekend in Silicon Valley to conduct what an organiser is calling the world's first-ever Apple iPad-specific developer event.

To be held at eBay's PayPal facility in San Jose, California, US, beginning Friday evening, the event is billed as iPadDevCamp and is being run by the same people that conduct iPhoneDevCamp gatherings. The iPad began shipping earlier this month, but in the US only.

We're billing it as the world's largest gathering of iPad developers," as well as the first-ever event of this sort, said organizer Dom Sagolla, CEO of Dollar App, which creates applications for the iPad and iPhone.

"The event is about producing applications in teams that you find there onsite," Sagolla said.

Click here for more Apple iPad coverage

Both open and closed source applications can be built, including enterprise systems and games. Prizes will be given for categories, including best game, most useful game, best use of open source, and best first-time programmer.

"We're sold out at 350 people," Sagolla said. The event is for both developers and designers; it will be rebroadcast on the Web. Concurrent live companion events are happening in different spots around the world, Sagolla said.

Apple has been controversial in preventing deployment of Java and Adobe Flash applications on iPhone OS-based systems, including the iPad. But Sagolla said, "No one I know cares whatsoever about either of those two things."

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Google Optimises Search App for Apple's iPad

Google has tweaked its iPhone Google Mobile App for the iPad, optimising it for the device's larger screen.

The revamped app, at its core, is the same as the existing iPhone Google Mobile App that offers mobile search tools such as search by voice and search by My Location, which uses your device's location for local business searches. The big iPad optimization takes place with Web apps like Gmail, Google Reader, Maps, and Buzz.

Google says its Web-based apps are now much easier to navigate on the iPad, such as Gmail, which was recently optimised for iPad as well.

Google says it is also working on improving its application to take advantage of iPad-specific features. However, Google did not specify which iPad features it wanted to exploit or when the next version of its iPad-optimised search application would be coming out. But earlier this month, a post on the Google Mobile Blog said the company was "excited about the promise of tablet computers " like the iPad because of the form factor's "larger touchscreens, increased portability and rich sensors." The blog post then highlighted Google's new HTML 5 iPad-optimised Gmail Web app that uses a double-pane layout similar to some native iPad applications like Contacts and Mail.

Given Google's preference for Web apps and cloud-based services, it's likely that any further tweaks to Google's iPad services will be focused on better Web applications as opposed to improving its downloadable program for iPad and iPhone.

So far Google is the only major search provider to place an iPad-optimised search application in the iTunes Store. Bing has an iPhone application that is usable on the iPad, but Microsoft has yet to produce anything that is specifically for the iPad. If a Bing for iPad application ever does show up, it would be nice to see Microsoft unify some of the company's other Web-based services into one application including Hotmail, Windows Live Calendar and SkyDrive.

Connect with Ian on Twitter (@ianpaul ).

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Apple updates MobileMe Backup to 3.2

Apple has updated Backup, one of the overlooked perks of MobileMe, to version 3.2. The update is about par for the course, including reliability improvements, but it introduces one interesting new feature apparently borrowed from Time Machine: automatically recycling old backups to conserve space.

Detailed in this Apple support document, Backup 3.2 for MobileMe users will now “recycle” backups (read: delete them to recover space) after a certain time period, depending on the original schedule used to back up that data, as well as the destination.

For example, if you use a “Daily” schedule to back up your Documents folder or Address Book to iDisk, backups older than 30 days will be deleted to prevent your iDisk from filling up and becoming unusable for anything else. “Weekly” iDisk backup schedules will be purged every twelve weeks. If you use Backup to store your files on hard drives, CDs, or DVDs, then you’ll be able to choose your own interval: four weeks, 12 weeks, six months, or “only if full”.

Backup’s new recycling abilities are nothing mind-blowing, though any improvement to a backup application is a plus in my book. As of this writing, Backup 3.1.2 (which still contains references to .Mac in some menus) remains the latest version waiting in MobileMe users’ iDisk/Software folder. Until Apple updates that version, you must have some version of Backup already installed and run Software Update to get Backup 3.2.

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Reminder: Arctic Adventures Apple Store, Regent Street tonight

Award-winning photographer Uzair Kharawala shares his incredible images from a trip above the Arctic Circle at the flagship Apple Store, Regent Street tonight, 12 April.

The free event, which starts at 7 pm, will show how Uzair photographed the Northern Lights in temperatures as low as -29 as well as a wedding at the Ice Hotel.

He’ll also show you how to easily create slideshows or movies using stills, video and music in Apple's iMovie and Aperture 3.

Uzair, a professional photographer, is also the man behind Foto SF, a productivity tool for photographers, built on Apple’s FileMaker.

Billed as a one-stop solution for photographers to organise their business, Foto SF aims to make users more profitable, maximising their financial potential especially in difficult economic times.

Uzair is a regular speaker at the flagship Apple Store, often explaining how to set up a photography business.

The Apple Store is located at 235 Regent Street, London, W1B 2EL, 020 7153 9000. The nearest tube station is Oxford Circus.

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Apple: Using Adobe Flash to build iPhone apps banned?

Apple has revised its iPhone Developer Program License Agreement changing the terms and conditions to insist iPhone applications are written in native code.

An "intermediary translation or compatibility layer or tool" is now prohibited, which means iPhone developers will no longer be able to use Adobe's iPhone compiler software to help build applications.

Section 3.3.1 of the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement now reads as follows:

"3.3.1 - Applications may only use Documented APIs in the manner prescribed by Apple and must not use or call any private APIs. Applications must be originally written in Objective-C, C, C++, or JavaScript as executed by the iPhone OS WebKit engine, and only code written in C, C++, and Objective-C may compile and directly link against the Documented APIs (e.g., Applications that link to Documented APIs through an intermediary translation or compatibility layer or tool are prohibited)."

Apple, and particularly CEO Steve Jobs, has not been a fan of Adobe in recent months calling Flash "buggy," and claiming the company was "lazy".

In response, an Adobe spokeswoman said: "We are aware of the new SDK language and are looking into it. We continue to develop our Packager for iPhone OS technology, which we plan to debut in Flash CS5."

Adobe will launch Creative Suite 5 on 12 April, including new versions of flagship software titles Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign.

Adobe is offering the creative community the chance to register for an online launch event that will take place on Adobe TV next Monday, 12 April at 4pm.

You can register for the Adobe event at http://cs5launch.adobe.com.

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Aardman tops this year's British Animation Awards

Aardman Animations has scooped up a brace of awards at the eighth British Animation Awards held last night at the BFI Southbank. The world-renowned studio, home of megastars Wallace and Gromit, picked up the Children’s Choice Award for A Matter of Loaf and Death, and the Best Children’s Series for Shaun the Sheep.

Hosted by animator-turned-comedienne Caroline Mabey, the bi-annual British Animation Awards honour the finest in British and European animation. Major winners this year include the Oscar nominated The Secret of Kells which landed the Best European Feature Award, Astley Baker Davies who took the Best Preschool Award for Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom and Studio A.K.A who won the Best Animated Special for Lost and Found.

British animator Stephen Irwin was also a double winner, receiving BAAs for his film The Black Dog’s Progress (below), which snapped up Best Short and Best Sound.



Passion Pictures took three awards for New Media Best Commissioned Animation for Harmonix: The Beatles Rock Band - Intro and the Audi Q5:Unboxed ad picked up two gongs taking Best Commercial: Direction and Best Commercial: Craft.

The Public Choice Awards are a vital part of the ceremony and are the only awards to be voted for by members of the public. Screenings were held in 27 different venues across the country with the audience voting for their favourites.

The public nominated two films from Partizan as their favourites and the production company waltzed away with two of the three Public Choice awards: Best Music Video for Rex the Dog: Bubbilicious and Best Commercial category for Cadbury Creme Egg Mousetrap.

The final Public Choice category Favourite Short Film was awarded to This Way Up, an amusing film which followed the work of two undertakers.

Other winners on the night included Flogging Molly’s Float, which landed the Best Music Video prize; Philip Bacon who took the Best Student Film for his National Film & Television School graduation film Yellow Belly End; The Robin title sequence for the Holland Animation Film Festival which hopped away with the BAA for Best Film/TV Graphics: and The Violent Highway which won Best Applied Animation.

In place of a statuette, all the winners of this year’s BAAs took home a unique artwork created specially for the occasion by a range of leading international and UK animation artists. In recognition of the awards’ acronym, the artworks had to feature one or more sheep, with the option for a visual reference to the UK and/or animation.

A DVD the Best of the British Animation Awards Vol VIII is available on sale from the British Animation Awards website.

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Ikea gift card scam takes in nearly 40,000 Facebook users

A scam Facebook page offering the site's users a $1,000 Ikea gift card took in nearly 40,000 victims Friday.

It's the latest example of a new and pernicious trend on the social-networking site as scammers -- usually disreputable online marketers trying to earn review by generating Web traffic -- have flooded Facebook with these fake gift card pages over the past months.

In late March, a similar $1,000 Ikea gift card scam took in more than 70,000 victims, and just last week another scam Facebook page offering a $500 Whole Foods gift certificate was widely reported.

Friday's scam page had taken in more than 37,000 users by 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time, offering them a $1,000 gift certificate in exchange for promoting Ikea to their friends. At that time, the page was gaining new fans at the rate of about 5,000 per hour. The promotion, the page said, was only available for one day.

To participate, users must become a fan of the fake Ikea page, hosted on Facebook, and then invite all their friends to become fans. They are then directed to an affiliate marketing page hosted by GiftDepotDirect.com, where they are asked personal information such as name, address, date of birth and home telephone number.

After that step, the victim is told to sign up for two online marketing offers -- these ones with legitimate Web sites such as Netflix and CreditReport.com -- in order to claim the gift card.

The promised cards in these scams never show up, according to Audri Lanford, a co-founder of the Scambusters Web site, in an interview Tuesday before the latest scam page surfaced. In fact, the victim's personal information could be used for identity theft, or worse, her computer could be hacked. "Why people would give this [information] is beyond me, but they do," she said.

Earlier this week, Facebook spokesman Simon Axten said that fake gift cards are a small problem on Facebook, but he couldn't say how many people had become fans of these scam pages. Facebook is, however, developing an automated system to remove the pages, Axten said via e-mail. "We're quickly removing the groups and pages in many cases before they go viral."

Neither Facebook nor Ikea could be reached immediately for comment on Friday.

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What iPhone OS 4.0 means for the iPad

A mere five days after the iPad’s release in the US, Apple rolled out the next version of the iPhone OS on Thursday after having given the media only three days of advance warning. The reason for this quick change of gears was undoubtedly a desire to keep the launch of the iPad clear of any confusion about what features it would offer, since it’s based on the same operating system as the iPhone.

And while the iPhone OS also powers the iPad, Apple made some clear distinctions between the two devices Thursday. The new iPhone OS 4.0 will be available this summer for iPhone and iPod touch, but in the fall for the iPad. So if you’ve bought an iPad and are excited about multitasking features and fast app switching, cool your jets.

Still, while Thursday’s event was focused on the iPhone and iPod touch, there were a few items of note that related to the iPad.

There were several features of iPhone OS 4.0 that are, in fact, already on the iPad. That’s because the iPad runs iPhone OS 3.2, while other iPhone OS devices are currently back on version 3.1.3. So iPad users are actually ahead of the other iPhone OS devices, at least until summer.

Among the iPhone OS 4.0 features already on the iPad: Support for Bluetooth keyboards, the iBooks app and support for Apple’s iBookstore, the ability to create playlists in iTunes, spell check, Places support in the Photos app, and Home screen wallpaper.

Now, iPad users are going to have to wait until fall to get the remaining features. But that gap in release dates suggests that it’s possible that iPad users will get a version of the iPhone OS that’s slightly more advanced that the one iPhone and iPod touch users will get this summer.

The glimmer of possibilities emerged during the Q&A session Apple staged with journalists right after Thursday’s presentation. Joshua Topolsky of Engadget asked a great question about why Apple hadn’t done more with simple, viewable information, like a weather forecast—items that could be placed on a Lock screen or Home screen without much trouble. Topolsky pointed out that the iPad, with its large screen, could especially benefit from such additions.

“We just shipped it on Saturday,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs countered immediately. “And rested on Sunday.”

But by Thursday, Apple’s engineers were undoubtedly back at work. And the iPad will eventually see the benefit of that work. Just not this summer.

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Apple iPad imports on sale in UK, prices start at £545

Brits can now get their hands on Apple's highly anticipated iPad, even though the device hasn't been officially launched in the UK.

The Apple iPad was went onsale in the US last weekend and sold more 300,000 devices on the first day.

However, Apple has yet to announce when the iPad will go onsale in the UK. The company's website simply states the device is "coming late April."

Interest in the latest hot Apple product, which has hadlargely positive reviews, plus uncertainty over when it will go onsale in the UK, has led to two UK online retailers importing iPads and offering them for sale to customers happy to pay a premium in order to be among the first to own one.

Purelygadgets and Simply Electronics, are both listing the device on their websites and claiming stock is currently available. Purelygadgets claims it has iPads available to send out immediately. When we enquired this morning about an order for a 16GB Wi-Fi model we were told we could receive our device as early as tomorrow.

Purelygadgets is offering the three versions of the Wi-Fi iPad; 16GB, 32GB or 64GB capacities priced at 689.99, 785.99 and 869.99 respectively. Delivery charges are listed at 5.

Apple is not actively promoting iPad apps on the UK App Store, and Apple's own Apps including iBooks, Pages, Keynote, and Numbers are only available on the US iTunes Store US. However, third-party iPad applications can be found on the UK iTunes Store by using the search functionality.

Click here for more Apple iPad coverage

Meanwhile, at Simply Electronics web users can snap up the 16GB Wi-Fi iPad for 545.95, while the 32GB version costs 649.95 and the 64GB model costs 749.95. All three are offered with free delivery.

Apple hasn't revealed the UK pricing for the iPad and says it won't do so until immediately before the iPad goes onsale here. Last month Play.com listed the device on its website with a starting price of 499.99. However, the listing was quickly removed.

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Entries now open: Entrepreneur Of The Year - Macworld Awards 2010

Entries are now open for Entrepreneur Of The Year, part of the prestigious annual Macworld Awards held this year on 24 June 2010.

Macworld and FileMaker are looking for people who've set up a business in the last 18 months, created innovative new products or services, and made a success of it.

The award is sponsored by Bento, the personal database by FileMaker that's as easy to use as a Mac. Bento allows you to organise contacts, track projects, plan events and more - all in one place.

To celebrate the success of Bento, and the entrepreneurial spirit of the age, FileMaker and Macworld teamed up to recognise the best with this special award at this year's Macworld Awards ceremony.

The award is open to anyone who has set up a business - any type of business - in the last 18 months. You don't have to use Bento, a Mac, or even an iPhone; you just have to prove that you've made a success of your endeavour.

Full details on how to enter can be found at http://www.macworld.co.uk/awards/entrepreneur/.

Closing date for Entrepreneur Of The Year is 12 noon, Thursday 13 May 2010.

The Macworld Awards 2010 will be held on Thursday 24 June at The Northumberland, a beautiful new venue in Trafalgar Square, right in the heart of London.

The awards are attended by a ‘who's who' of the Mac industry, and this esteemed venue is the perfect setting for the UK's biggest Mac awards ceremony.

Winning a Macworld Award is a seal of quality for any product. The winners are chosen by the Macworld editorial team and Macworld's army of enthusiastic readers. A Macworld Award is considered a benchmark of excellence throughout the industry.

Full details of the Macworld Awards 2010 can be found at http://www.macworld.co.uk/awards/.

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Infinite Skills offers new Mac OS X Server 10.6 training DVD

Educational content provider Infinite Skills has announced a new training DVD highlighting Mac OS X Server 10.6 Snow Leopard.

With a special emphasis on systems administrators and power users, the OS X Server 10.6 Snow Leopard Training DVD explains how to configure the server operating system for a variety of computing environments.

The course places special emphasis on workgroup and client management, network protocol services, mail and communications servers and other key considerations admins must take into account.

Everything from DNS and DHCP to Mail Servers, Web Hosting, Remote Access and more are explained in detail, with onscreen examples to guide users through menus and configuration screens. All teaching is done in a practical, hands-on style the makers insist to help more easily understand Apple's OS.

According to Infinite Skills, Apple OS X Server 10.6 Training addresses the new improvements of the operating system by covering each subject individually.

By dividing the course into smaller, subject-focused lessons, the tutorial simplifies more comprehensive topics such as Open Directory, Services and Administration Access, Web Hosting and File Sharing into smaller sections that demonstrate specific aspects of the technology involved.

Consultant and trainer Chris Tarnowieckyi leads students through tasks point by point, complementing the examples he presents onscreen with helpful advice that allow common tasks and challenges to be approached from a practical perspective.

The course features short, hands-on lessons on Creating and Editing Users, Configuring Limited and Full Administrators, Configuring Time Machine On A Server, Configuring Mailing Lists, Securing Hosted Web sites and more. Free demo videos are included with a full list of contents on the product Web site.

The Mac/PC compatible Infinite Skills Apple OS X Server 10.6 Training DVD costs 65.47/$99.95/€73.36 and includes 5.5 hours - 92 lessons of training. A selection of the DVD is available to view free online.

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Nokia plans to unveil tablet by this fall, analyst says

Nokia is working with suppliers and designers in an effort to bring a new touchscreen tablet device into market by this fall, an analyst at Rodman Renshaw told TheStreet.com yesterday.

The mobile phone giant, based in Espoo, Finland, apparently hopes the new tablet can compete the new, well-hyped Apple iPad and similar products like the HP Slate from Hewlett-Packard , the Dell Streak from Dell or Lenovo Group Ltd.'s IdeaPad S10-3.

Nokia could not be reached to comment on the report.

The analyst, Ashok Kumar, told TheStreet.com that the tablet computer could be a key product for Nokia , which already has a long line of portable Internet devices, including the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet and the Booklet 3G netbook.

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"Nokia hasn't fielded any breakaway products in years," Kumar said. "This is a new window, and Nokia had better be at the starting gate if and when the product category takes off."

Matt Hamblen covers mobile and wireless, smartphones and other handhelds, and wireless networking for Computerworld . Follow Matt on Twitter at @matthamblen , or subscribe to Matt's RSS feed . His e-mail address is mhamblen@computerworld.com .

From the labs - iPad battery tests and application performance

Apple’s iPad is impressive in many ways; having seen its responsiveness in demos and its touted long-life battery claims, I was anxious to get my hands on one for some real-world testing. And my results show battery life that exceeds Apple's claim and quick application performance.

Battery tests

Apple claims up to 10 hours of battery life when “surfing the web, watching videos, or listening to music.” I connected the iPad to my home’s wireless network and transferred a movie rented from the iTunes store from my MacBook Pro to the iPad. Once the movie was loaded and playing, I unplugged the fully charged iPad and took note of the time.

Four hours and 15 minutes later, I checked the battery level and saw that it had gone down by 30 percent. I checked back every couple of hours to restart the movie, and finally, after a full 11 hours and 25 minutes, the iPad stopped the movie, briefly showed the home screen and then shut down.

Usually, when a company makes a claim of battery life, you expect that claim to be a best-case scenario based on a hard-to-recreate situation that’s nearly impossible to recreate. In this case, it appears that Apple’s claims were conservative, as I was able to exceed the claim by 85 minutes in a power-hungry scenario.

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For comparison’s sake, I ran the same test on the second generation iPod touch (late 2009), which Apple claims is capable of up to 6 hours of video playback. The iPod touch, didn’t fare as well, playing the movie for just 4 hours and 53 minutes before shutting down.

I also timed how long it took to recharge the iPad. It took just shy of 4 hours to fully recharge the iPad under the optimal conditions - sleeping and plugged into its 10W power charger.

Macworld (US) senior editor Christopher Breen, in his article that looks at the iPad as a iPod, tested the iPad battery life when playing audio only. When he wrote his article, the iPad had run for over 43 hours and still had 71 per cent of battery life left.

Sybase updates mobile app for iPad, Android

Enterprise software vendor Sybase plans to update its mobile device enterprise management software, called Afaria, so it can work with iPads as well as with devices running Google's Android OS, the company announced Tuesday.

Administrators use the Afaria Web console to centrally manage mobile phones in an enterprise, allowing them to perform such tasks as resetting passwords, managing applications, configuring a device and remotely killing a device lost by an employee.

A feature pack due out in May for the current version of Afaria will "extend that control to the iPad," said Mark Jordan, senior product manager for Afaria.

Jordan said it did not take a great deal of effort on Sybase's part to extend support the iPad, given that Afaria already supports the iPhone. "Apple is pretty consistent in how it manages devices right now," he said.

While primarily designed for consumer use, the iPad has been eyed by enterprise software vendors as a potential work device.

Jordan said that the device, for instance, could work really well in medical centers, where doctors and nurses roam about the facilities. The iPad could be a light, easy-to-use, relatively inexpensive device used to collect and access information.

As with the iPhone, Apple will allow enterprise applications to be installed on the iPad. An organization would need to register with Apple, which will provide a certificate to digitally sign the application so that it could be run on the devices. The enterprise app would then have to be installed through a non-wireless connection, Jordan said.

Sybase is not alone in modifying products for the iPad. Citrix released versions of its Receiver client and GoToMeeting software programs for the iPad.

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In addition to iPad support, this feature pack for Afaria will also include some basic management for Android-based devices. The initial capability will offer centralized password setting and remote device killing.

Jordan admitted that Google's control of Android is looser than Apple's control of the iPad, so Afaria can work only those devices that fully comply with Google's specification for enabling enterprise management features.

"Handset makers may or may not support some of functionality to certain degrees, but we're using standards-based approach," so if manufacturers support the standards, Afaria will support their devices, Jordan said.

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Video: iPad stress test (look away if you're nervous)

If you get an iPad, make sure to buy a protective case for it. Compared to the iPhone, Apple's latest tech toy is more prone to easy damage.

In our iPad stress tests - a supersize version of the iPhone stress tests that we performed with Apple's smartphone - the tablet computer started showing damage after a few drops onto a carpeted floor.

Though the touchscreen itself held up well and still responded to touches and gestures, a strip of garbled pixels appeared at the top of the display after we dropped the iPad from a seated position three or four times.

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Water isn't very iPad-friendly, either. Our stress-test unit started malfunctioning immediately after being doused with coffee and water, even though the iPad connector port was somewhat covered. Water entered the iPad's innards via the headphone jack on the top, and within a minute or two, the touchscreen display became unresponsive and splotchy.

Apple's tablet is extremely resilient in a few ways, however. Surprisingly, all that glass on the front is practically invulnerable when it comes to everyday wear-and-tear.

Its well-coated screen is literally scratch-proof: We couldn't produce any scratches on the display even when we tried to etch it with a nail; you definitely won't need to buy one of those stick-on screen protectors.

The glass did start showing signs of physical damage after a couple of drops onto concrete. But even in those extreme circumstances, the screen cracked only after we dropped the iPad face-down onto the pavement.

The back of the iPad, on the other hand, is a scratch magnet. Keys and the aforementioned nail dinged it up significantly, so a protective case is still a good idea if you plan on toting it around alongside other objects in a bag.

After our iPad became fully inoperable from the combination of water damage and drops onto concrete, we went ahead and threw a baseball at it. The iPad was no match for a Little League-caliber fastball, so if you're sitting in foul-ball territory with it, bring a glove.

You'll also be happy to know that an average-weight adult can sit on the iPad without inflicting any damage. It just isn't very comfortable.

All in all, the iPad is a solidly built machine, but the pixel problems after only a few drops onto a carpeted floor surprised us a bit. This gadget has a lot of potential to be used by kids, so you'll definitely want to buy a protective case if you have a youngster at home.

Editor’s Note: This article is reprinted from the Today @ PC World blog at PCWorld.com.

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Google Buys Episodic

Google has made its fifth acquisition of the year: video service Episodic, which is presumably being drafted to help out with the Google-owned Youtube video service.

Episodic, a San Francisco-based start-up founded by Noam Lovinsky and Matias Cudich, describes itself as a "comprehensive platform for broadcasting live and on-demand video to the web or any web-enabled device." Episodic announced the acquisition in a blog post on Friday.

Episodic is an online video hosting service and publishing suite, and features the capability to publish live streams and on-demand content. Users also have control over advertisements and ad breaks in their videos, as well as an in-depth analytics tool that gives them real-time information on viewers' experiences.

Episodic also allows users to make money off of their video channels by inserting advertisements or charging viewers for content (via credit card). These options are available for both live streams and on-demand video. Episodic is also optimized for viewing on mobile devices, including the iPhone.

For the time being, new account sign-up has been put on hold, though users can register to be contacted once the acquisition has been sorted out.

According to Tech Crunch, the service will, in fact, be "folded into Youtube" and the Episodic staff will join the Youtube offices next week.

This either means that Google plans on taking over and redoing online video, or that Google is just looking to keep to its promise to buy one small company each month. Since January 2010, Google has bought Microsoft Word online component DocVerse, photo-editing site Picnik, email app maker reMail, and social search company Aardvark.

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