Apple fourth best among build quality study for portables
SquareTrade, Inc., a company that offers extended warranties on all sorts of consumer electronics, has published a study on laptop longevity based on 30,000 costumer experiences. The numbers show that Apple is fourth in terms of reliability, as machines from the Cupertino company suffered a smidgen over 10 percent failure rate over a two-year period and an estimated 17.4 percent rate over three years. Asus, Toshiba, and Sony all had lower two-year and estimated three-year failure rates, with Asus taking the top spot at just under 10 percent over two years and an estimated 15.6 percent over three.
The statistics relevant to our interests are based on laptops that failed due to “natural causes”—not machines that were accidentally damaged. These numbers are broken up among nine different manufactures, all of which had a sample size of at least 1,000 units. Although Apple isn’t on top, it can at least look at Dell, Lenovo, Acer, Gateway, and HP as companies that provide inferior quality laptops. While Dell was less than one percentage point above Apple on the three-year estimated statistics, Hewlett Packard had an estimated failure rate over of over 25 percent over three years.
Google Earth for iPhone updated to 2.0 with map compatibility
Google announced Wednesday that Google Earth for iPhone has been updated to version 2.0. Though the major version number has incremented, the update is rather minor except for a new ability to connect to your saved Google Maps and view them overlaid on its virtual globe.
The main reason to grab this update is in integrated ability to view maps that you have saved to “My Maps” using Google Maps or the desktop version of Google Earth. Google offered the examples of checking maps for Lonely Planet co-founder Tony Wheeler likes to travel or where chef Ferran Adrià likes to eat. However, it could also be used for viewing things like tracking a recent road trip, hike, or even a bike ride. Just enter your Google account login credentials, and you can select from any of your saved maps to overlay on the Earth.
News Flash: Apple already working on Mac OS X 10.7
The blogosphere is buzzing with the news that Apple is already hard at work on Mac OS X 10.7, the logical successor to the recently released Snow Leopard. The “news” should really come as a surprise to no one, though, as Apple was likely already working on 10.7 even before 10.6 entered the developer beta stage.
MacRumors discovered that a bug had been filed for the open source component launchd, which manages running processes on Mac OS X. The bug report referenced build number 11A47 of Mac OS X. As MacRumors explains, the numbering scheme for builds of Mac OS X follows a predictable pattern—for example, Mac OS X 10.6 is build 10A432, while 10.6.2 is build 10B504. The first number refers to major versions, so build 11Axx would refer to the next major version: 10.7.
MacGraPhoto app bundle targets graphically oriented users
If you work with graphics and are looking for some new tools to add to your collection, you might want to check out the bundle of seven indie Mac apps in MacGraPhoto. The collection of graphics apps is available for a limited time for just $40—a savings of 84 percent off the normal price of buying them individually. Refer friends to buy the bundle, and you could even end up getting all seven apps for free.
We spoke to developer Jacob Gorban, of Israel-based Apparent Software, about the bundle. “We thought the idea of organizing a ‘theme’ bundle will make it appealing to users who usually only need one or two apps from a generic bundle, such as all the others out there,” Gorban told Ars. “We’ve participated in a couple smaller bundles ourselves, but most other bundles are made by marketers.”
Running Windows 7 under OS X: Ars reviews VMware Fusion 3
VMware Fusion 3 was released last week into the anxiously trembling hands of desktop virtualization junkies, and we’ve run the release through a gamut of heavy tests to see if it’s able to meet the hype.
At first glance, 3.0 doesn’t look to be teeming with new features, but the changes that are there are significant:
Apple pitching TV subscription option for iTunes to networks
While iTunes allows users to buy individual TV episodes for $1.99, or even buy a whole season—sometimes for a discount—users may in the future pay a $30 monthly fee and watch whatever TV they like. Industry insiders say this service will be an extension of iTunes Store itself instead of being limited to streaming via Apple TV.
According to multiple industry insiders that spoke to All Things Digital, Apple hopes to launch the service early next year. Apple’s VP of Internet Services, Eddy Cue, has been charged with drumming up interest among TV networks, though so far none have made a commitment to providing content available for the service. The sources so far are laying odds that Disney is likely to be the first to bite; it was the first studio to offer its movies via iTunes when Apple launched to feature in 2006. It also doesn’t hurt that Steve Jobs sits on Disney’s board and is one of its largest shareholders.
iPhone App Store doing well in China despite several hurdles
Sales of iPhones through the official Chinese carrier—China Unicom—might not be breaking any records, but app sales seem to be doing quite well. Developers so far estimate that nearly $1 million worth of apps have been sold in just a few weeks, even though there are numerous hurdles that impede the pushing of apps through the Chinese App Store.
One of the roadblocks is that most apps available so far have English descriptions and are priced in US dollars. The App Store also requires a credit card issued from a Chinese bank, which are still relatively rare in China. Furthermore, many of the estimated 2 million iPhones already in country are jailbroken to run apps available outside the App Store, which includes pirated software.
Star Trek comes with iTunes-exclusive extras, but bilks fans
The JJ Abrams re-imagined Star Trek has finally been released in HD on iTunes, much to the excitement of Star Trek fans and non-fans everywhere. Both Paramount and Apple are touting exclusive content that is available only via iTunes Extras, the new collection of additional content that movie studios can now include with movies sold on the iTunes Store. However, most of the content isn’t all that “exclusive,” and it seems the physical disc releases offer a much better value.
To give you an idea of the value proposition of buying Star Trek via the iTunes Store, the SD download costs $14.99 and the HD download (at 720p) will run you an additional $5. Both come with the iTunes Extras content, which includes two featurettes—A New Vision, which details JJ Abrams attempt to look at the original crew of the USS Enterprise through a new lens, as well as Score, which shows how composer Michael Giacchino adapted the original themes to create an updated score for the new film.
In addition, there is a collection of the international trailers for the film from Germany, Spain, France, Russia, Hungary, and Thailand, as well as trailers for the US and Canada. There are also two photo galleries of poster art and production stills, links to Web content, three prominent links pimping the soundtrack, and two iPhone apps also available from the iTunes Store.
Verizon and AT&T continue slap fight over “Map for That” ads
Verizon and AT&T are playing out their 3G coverage spat in court, with Verizon asserting that “the truth hurts” when it comes to AT&T’s 3G coverage. Verizon’s statement is just the latest in the legal battle that started earlier this month when AT&T filed a lawsuit over Verizon’s “There’s a Map for That” ad campaign—the gloves are off, and it’s clear that both companies are willing to go to great lengths to push their own marketing agendas.
If these two companies were five-year-olds, AT&T would be screaming “VERIZON STARTED IT!” The network began running ads in October—meant to directly target Apple’s and AT&T’s “There’s an App for That” ads—that showed a Verizon coverage map next to AT&T’s. Verizon’s map showed significantly more 3G coverage, and the ad stated “There’s a Map for That” with the implication that AT&T’s devices are no good if you can’t get any coverage out in the middle of Podunk City, Iowa. The ads even stated flat out that AT&T’s customers were “out of touch” where 3G coverage wasn’t available. Oh snap, Verizon!
Apple may be building more first-party games for iPhone
Apple has big on a big gaming push lately, specifically when it comes to the iPhone and iPod touch. Even Nintendo is at least acknowledging that the iPhone is a market force, even if the company doesn’t believe they are direct competitors. However, a recent job posting for a “Game/Media Software Engineer” suggests Apple may be taking gaming seriously enough to create new first-party titles—a strategy that Nintendo and other companies use to provide an advantage for their respective platforms.
While the job listing doesn’t specifically mention programming games—”interactive multimedia experiences” is what a prospective applicant will be working on—it does suggest that the company is looking for an engineer with three to four years of video game development experience. It seems that having shipped at least one “AAA” game would be another prerequisite. “The position also requires a creative thinker who can contribute and comment on the design process as well as being flexible enough to aid in all aspects of production such as asset management,” according to the listing.
