Leander Kahney's Blog, page 1478

Steve Jobs Would Probably Have Hated This E-Book Republishing His Mails To Customers

[image error]

Over the years, Steve wrote hundreds of mostly terse, often funny, irritable or persnickety emails to Apple customers who wrote him at (sorry, you need Javascript to see this e-mail address)

A Thinner iPad 3 With Retina Display Is Coming Next Year, Here's The Proof

[image error]

More Reports That The iPad 3 Is Getting a Retina Display (Photo by MDrX - http://flic.kr/p/93DjRY)

For months now, we've all read reports Apple's iPad 3 will feature a Retina Display. Now we're seeing proof pop up that an iPad 3 with a 2048×1536 display is already being tested and manufactured. But is a higher resolution screen really likely in with a device touted as slimmer than the iPad 2?

"It's happening," DisplaySearch hardware analyst Richard Shim tells CNET. Samsung, Sharp and LGD are already at work companies producing high resolution Retina Display panels for the iPad 3.

The confirmation comes

ITC Dismisses S3 Graphics Complaint Against Apple

[image error]

The U.S. International Trade Commission has dismissed a complaint from S3 Graphics against Apple, ruling the Cupertino company has shown no violation of the patents held by S3, and terminating the investigation.

The official notice, which was first discovered by FOSS Patents, reads:

Notice is hereby given that the U.S. International Trade Commission has determined that no violation of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. § 1337) has been shown in the above-captioned investigation and that the investigation is terminated.

It's unclear why the ITC overruled the Administrative Law Judge, but according to FOSS Patents, it's possible S3′s patent claims were invalid, or that Apple already has the relevant licenses.

The ruling will be a big blow to HTC, which is in the process of acquiring S3 Graphics, and would have hoped the case would provide leverage against Apple in its other cases. The Taiwanese smartphone giant has already filed its first ITC complaint against Apple, however, an Administrative Law Judge has already made the initial determination that there is no violation. Again.

Apple's first complaint against HTC is a different story, however. The ALJ has made the initial determination that HTC has infringed two of Apple's patents, and the ITC is set to make its ruling on December 6 this year.

In other words, in the outcome of the first battle in the smartphone patent wars, Apple's already winning. If that precedent keeps up, things are looking bleak for Android makers.

Similar Posts:ITC to Apple: Your Case Against Kodak Is Only Partially Developed International Trade Commission Says Apple's Patent Infringement Claims Against Nokia Are "Unfounded" HTC Finds S3 Patent Silver Bullet Bounces Off iPhone, iPad Threats More Bad News for HTC: ITC to Take Up New Apple Complaint ITC Investigates Apple's Case Against Motorola

In 2012, Apple Will Blur The Line Between Your iPhone And Mac Using NFC And iCloud

[image error]

Photo by Feuillu - http://flic.kr/p/9iW8ey

In 2012, Apple will roll out Near Field Communications technology (NFC) to their devices, allowing the iPhone 5 to finally function as an e-wallet. Big whup. Everyone's already had that idea, even Google.

Here's what will turn the mind-numbing technology into something that will blow your mind: NFC in the iPhone 5 will finally allow Apple to go live with their ambitious NFC-backed remote computing strategy which will totally blur the line between iOS devices and Macs.

Taiwan-based industry publication DigiTimes is reporting this morning that Apple plans to support NFC next year, probably as part of a new iPhone and updated iOS. While this could boost the number of handsets offering the technology from 10 percent to more than 50 percent over the next two or three years, what's potentially more exciting is the potential for swapping data between your iOS device and your Mac with just the wave of your hand.

As we exclusively reported a year ago, e-wallets on the iPhone would only be the start for the short-range wireless connection technique. Apple is also laying the groundwork for an ambitious remote computing strategy started under Steve Jobs before his death.

Here's how it would work, thanks to the enormous storage now available through iCloud. You're getting ready to leave work. Wave your iPhone in front of your cubicle's Mac, and your desktop's applications, settings and data are transferred to the phone. As you walk out the door, the work computer's settings return to normal. Arrive at home, wave your iPhone in front of your MacBook, and you have an instant copy of your work PC to finish that project.

In essence, you can carry your PC in your pocket and the line between devices blurs to the point of vanishing. Yep. E-wallets are coming to your iPhone next year  – but that's just the start. Pretty soon, the iPhone in your pocket won't be just a smartphone, it'll be your Mac and your credit card, too.

Similar Posts:New Apple Patent Confirms Apple Wants You To Be Able To Take Your Mac With You… On Your iPhone Apple Patent Gives Glimpse At iPhone NFC Ambitions Apple Awarded Patent For Digital Safety Deposit Box How Streaming iPhone and Mobile Computing Rumors Tie Together Don't Expect To Use The iPhone 5 As A Credit Card, Says New Report

This Is The Software That Chinese Scalpers Use To Buy iPhone 4Ses Right Out From Under Your Nose

[image error]There's a huge demand for the iPhone in China, a demand so big that Apple is continually struggling to meet it. That means there's plenty of business for scalpers who obtain the device any way they can, just to sell it off for a huge profit in the grey and black markets.

And these scalpers are smart and tech-minded. To make the whole process of buying iPhones a lot easier, scalpers have built a special application that purchases the smartphones in bulk from the Apple online store. Even worse, it runs on Windows. Oh, the irony.

Here's how it works. The software is first preloaded with all the customer information required to order products from the Apple online store, including credit card details. It then monitors the store for stock availability, and alerts scalpers once the iPhone is available to purchase.

Because the necessary details are already stored in the software, all a scalper has to do is enter a verification code and the purchase is automatically made — long before a legitimate customer has chance to make place order. As you can see from the image above, there's also an application for iPad purchasing.

iPhones are big business for scalpers in China, so much so that M.I.C. Gadget reports one scalper is looking to take on employees who will use this software to make iPhone purchases, making around 60 Chinese yuan (or about $9.45) for each order.

There's clearly a lot of money to be made from iPhones in China, but it certainly doesn't seem like the most legitimate business. Until Apple can meet that demand, though, it shows no signs of stopping.

Similar Posts:China: iPhone 4 Sales Hit 100K in Four Days iPad 2 Sells Out In China In Less Than Four Hours Apple Launches Online Store in China Scalpers Control Up To 95% Of China's White iPhone 4 Supply Analyst: 400,000 iPhones in Use on China Mobile Network

Why Does iTunes Keep Restarting When I Quit the Program? [Ask MacRx]

[image error]

Software can be a cantankerous thing. Sometimes programs won't launch when you need them, and other times they won't go away when you're done! One reader is having a problem with iTunes refusing to quit when asked:

I have some questions related to 10.5 iTunes. When I quit iTunes it goes about the process normally and then starts back up. iTunes is using 80-100% CPU usage when running. Could this be related to a third-party plug-in? Very frustrating and have to force restart my mini as iTunes cancels the shutdown process.

Thanks, Tim

Hi Tim,

Yes, these problems could be related to an incompatible iTunes plugin. There are two places these are located: in the top level /Library/iTunes/iTunes Plug-ins folder and in your user ~/Library/iTunes/iTunes Plug-ins folder. Take a peek in both and see what you have. Make a copy of what's there before deleting anything, in case you need to revert back.

If that's not the cause then you may have a corrupt copy of the iTunes preferences file or iTunes itself. For the preferences, delete the com.apple.itunes.plist preference file in your user library ~/Library/Preferences folder, then relaunch iTunes. If still not fixed, delete the iTunes applicaton itself, reboot, then download the latest iTunes installer from Apple and run this again.

I did try those suggestions previously (except re-installing iTunes) after doing an online search, and still the same issues. I then looked to see what had been installed recently and at the Activity Monitor.

My son uses a BlackBerry and the software for it – their sync program. It appears that the newest version installed a 'RimAlbumArt' daemon that uses iTunes. After finding that I did a search for it and found discussion on the BB forum and issues with the latest 2.20 program. There doesn't appear a way to get rid of that daemon; I quit it in the Activity Monitor and it starts back up again. So I am going to pull a previous version of the BB program from Time Machine and try that.

If a problem still I will re-install iTunes. Or maybe BlackBerry will have a update too.

I think you're on the right track with the BlackBerry daemon. Quitting this in Activity Monitor doesn't delete the software; it's probably set to restart automatically upon termination. That may be exactly what it's doing with iTunes.

Check to see if you have anything from BlackBerry in your main /Library/StartupItems folder. If so, remove this, reboot and see if that helps. If not, contact BlackBerry tech support and ask them how to completely uninstall this software. Replacing the current program with an older version may not remove the offending component.

In my experience, BlackBerrys and Macs do not play well together, either using their own software or third party solutions like Missing Sync for BlackBerry. My general suggestion to my clients experiencing similiar problems is get an iPhone! The way RIM's fortunes are going these days that may soon be a necessity for everyone…

• • •

Readers, have any additional suggestions on this topic, or corrections/clarifications on the advice above? If so, please leave your thoughts in the comments.

Got a question about your Mac or iOS device? Email (sorry, you need Javascript to see this e-mail address)

Get The Most Out Of The Favorites Bar In Mail [OS X Tips]

[image error]

[image error]

Like all of its predecessors, Mac OS X Lion ships with a Mail application. It is probably one of the most important applications you'll find on your Mac, and although it isn't perfect, it is at least free. You can buy more expensive alternatives, which I won't list here, but I suggest you spend more time with Mail before giving up on it.

Mail has a lot of not-quite-obvious features that you might have missed and I've talked about a few of them in earlier tip posts. Today I'll take a look at another one that will let you quickly access your favorite mailboxes or folders.

If you haven't already, launch Mail. It is in the /Applications folder on your startup disk or you can launch it using the Mail icon on the Finder Dock.

The Favorites bar appears across the Mail applications window above the sidebar and viewer area. You can use it to quickly access your favorite or most-used mailboxes or folders. If you want, you can drag messages from the current mailbox to any one of the favorite mailboxes in the Favorites bar; the message will be moved to that mailbox.

[image error]

There are five default favorites in Mail: Inbox, Drafts, Sent, Notes and Flagged. Drag a mailbox or folder to the Favorites bar to add more. A really handy thing to know is that the first nine of the favorites are accessible using a combination of the Command key plus a number one through nine (i.e. Command+1 accesses the default Inbox.). You can have more than nine Favorites, but you won't be able to find them with shortcut keys.

If you want to remove a Favorite just click on it, drag it off the Favorite bar, and let go. It will disappear in a puff of smoke.

You can get fairly creative with your Favorites. One way would be to create an mailbox called Archive and add it to the Favorites bar. You can drag and drop email you want to archive to that mailbox. Later you can select that mailbox and use the search options in Mail to find an old message or two.

 

Similar Posts:Create App Aliases Or Move Apps In Lion [OS X Tips] iPhone OS 4.0 First Look: It's Slick, Fast and Multitasking Is Great MobileMe Web Mail Now Available To All Members Quickly Add Items To The Dock Or Finder Sidebar [OS X Tip] Archive Button Gives Mail Some Of That Gmail Magic [50 Mac Essentials #33]

The iPhone 4S Is Already The Second Most Popular Camera Phone On Flickr

[image error]

It hasn't even been a month since Apple's iPhone 4S first hit the market, and already its 8-megapixel camera is proving to be a huge hit amongst Flickr users. The device has quickly rocketed up the Flickr charts to become the second most popular camera phone on the photo sharing service, overtaking the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and the HTC EVO 4G.Based on the graphs that feature on Flickr's Camera Finder page, Apple's fifth-generation iPhone is already one of the most popular camera phones amongst photographers. In fact, the only device that sits above the iPhone 4S is its predecessor, the iPhone 4.

The iPhone 4 made news earlier this year when it followed a similar pattern, quickly becoming the most popular camera on Flickr, beating even dedicated point-and-shoot cameras. The iPhone 4S still has a long way to go before it takes the top spot, but it's certainly not out of reach — especially if we're kept waiting until late next year for the iPhone 5.

[via MacRumors]

Similar Posts:iPhone 4 Will Soon Be Most Popular Camera on Flickr Pretty Much No One's Using The iPad 2′s "Much Anticipated" Camera [Flickr] iPhone Popularity Rockets Up Flickr Charts: UPDATED iPhone 4 Is Flickr's Most Popular Digital Camera… And It Might Just Be The World's Too Cult of Mac Favorite: Flickr's iPhone App is Beauty in Motion

Apple Announces Special One-Day Sale For Black Friday On Friday, Nov. 25

[image error]Right on cue, Apple has begun teasing this Friday's "special one-day" Black Friday sale. The company has introduced fancy new banners to its online stores, which encourage you to "mark your calendar" for November 25.

The special one-day Apple shopping event. This Friday, November 25.

Mark your calendar now, and come back to the Apple Online Store for the special one-day event. You'll discover amazing iPad, iPod and Mac gifts for everyone on your list.

If you're buying Apple products for loved ones this Christmas, then Apple's Black Friday sale is the best time to shop if you're hoping to save cash. The company typically slashes around $100 off its Macs, and around $40 off its iPad.

While you're waiting for Apple's sale to go live, why not check out our predictions for its Black Friday sale this year?

[via MacRumors]

Similar Posts:Apple Teases "One-Day Shopping Event" On Black Friday Apple Store Announces Black Friday Event Apple.com Launches 2011 Holiday Gift Guide Here Are The Holiday Discounts You Can Expect From Apple This Black Friday [Apple Store Shopping Guide] Apple Pans for Black Friday Gold

Apple's New Ad Showcases Our Love For The iPad 2 [Video]

Apple has begun airing a new commercial for the iPad 2 called 'Love', which showcases our love for the company's incredibly popular tablet. In the thirty-second clip, we see people of all ages using the device while they go about their daily lives, doing things like movie editing, music recording, painting, learning, and more.

"Getting lost in the things we love has never felt quite like this."

Similar Posts:Review: Pocket Is Cute For Twitter Addicts Apple Plugs Lion in New iPad 2 TV Ad Called 'We'll Always' Don Lee's Nomad Brushes Let You Use A Real Brush With Your iPad Hands on with the Coolest App at Macworld: Algoriddim's Djay for iPad ReelDirector Brings iMovie To The iPhone 3GS