Leander Kahney's Blog, page 2244

Analyst: iPad Hurt Netbook Growth — iPod touch Next Victim?

The iPad has always been seen as Apple's answer to the growing demand for low-cost netbooks. Now comes more evidence that the iPad is hurting sales of netbooks. Since the iPad's introduction in January, demand for the low-cost notebook computers has steadily fallen, one analyst said Thursday.
It's hard to envision the "magical" tablet (as Apple [...:]

Pay What You Want For Five Great Mac Games And Help Child's Play and the EFF

www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7Aw5C7WQ6g
Macs do bundles better than anyone, but if you're a Mac gamer, the Humble Indie Bundle might be the best one yet. Not only do you get to name your price for five amazing Mac indie games worth $80 — World of Goo, Gish, Lugaru HD, Penumbra Overture and Aquaria — but you get too [...:]

Apple Patents Embedded Heart Rate Monitor For iPhone Shells

Apple's always experimenting with new ways to interact with their devices, and their latest patent takes that experiment one step further into turning your iPhone into a programmable heart rate monitor.
The patent describes a design in which a series of electrodes are seamlessly embedded into the iPhone's shell in such a way that they are [...:]

Report: Verizon Subscribers Express 'Unprecedented' Demand for iPhone

More than half of Verizon Wireless customers surveyed are interested in buying the iPhone when it becomes available, a new report indicates. There is "an unprecedented demand for the iPhone among Verizon subscribers," one analyst firm says.
Changewave surveyed 4,000 Verizon subscribers and found 19 percent are "very likely" to buy the Apple handset with another [...:]

iAd Will Allow Developers To Check Conversion Rates By Tying Directly Into App Store

With the FTC trying to decide whether or not it will pursue Apple for antitrust violations in relation to its newly announced iAd network, this leak from Apple-owned Quattro Wireless detailing iAd's competitive advantage over other mobile advertising networks has some interesting timing.
The leak describes iAd's VIP, or Verification of iTunes Purchase, program. Essentially, the [...:]

Apple Ranked No. 4 in E-Tailing

The Apple Store topped consumer satisfaction for online retailers in the computer/electronics category, ranking No. 4 overall, behind Netflix, Amazon and Avon. The survey of more than 23,000 consumers also found the Cupertino, Calif. company's online flagship also garnered the most-improved ranking, reaching a score of 83 out of 100 points, or an 8 percent [...:]

The Clamcase Turns Your iPad Into A Netbook

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sl5QWmhRYSw
This promotional video for the Clamcase may seem like it was helmed by a directorial alum from the CSi: Miami school of film making, but don't let the swooping camera angles and the blaring AC/DC fool you: the Clamcase looks like a must have accessory for the iPad. It's a laptop-like shell for the iPad [...:]

iPhone OS 4.0 Hints Upcoming Devices To Record Video At 720p HD

Over the past few days, the latest beta of the iPhone OS has afforded a treasure trove of revelations about upcoming software improvements, but few previously unknown details about the hardware of the upcoming 4G iPhone and iPod Touch.
This is news, though: two new presets in the underlying architecture of iPhone OS 4.0 tease [...:]

Imagine Apple's Website Circa 1983

RetroMacCast listener newtonpoetry imagines what Apple's website might have been circa 1983 and circa 1993.  Love that beige menubar and those blazing system speeds!
RetroMacCast is a (mostly) weekly podcast about Apple's Olde Beige Stuffe (and newer shiny items), always some topics of interest for classic Mac geeks.

Steve's NeXT Big Thing [Recollections]

In this highly-entertaining final installment of his series about Steve Jobs, Macworld founder David Bunnell is taken by Jobs to his favorite lunch spot (you'll never guess where it is). And for once, Jobs changes his parking habits.

I talked to Mike Murray in September, 1985, shortly after Steve Jobs had turned in his resignation as [...:]