Week in Apple: The Great Sexy App Purge of 2010
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pNews about the iPhone OS was all over the place this week, from Apple’s plans to expand to more devices to hints in the latest SDK beta. We also discussed why NVIDIA’s Optimus is ready to be dumped into some new MacBooks and why a paid version of Hulu on the iPad would make sense. What, you thought this week was emall/em about the sexy app purge? Read on to get the low-down:/p
pstronga href=”http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/02/apple-vp-attempts-to-explain-double-standard-for-risque-apps.ars”Apple VP attempts to explain double standard for risqué apps/a/strong: Apple’s Phil Schiller has addressed the issue of the recent purge of sexually themed apps from the App Store. However, it seems an arbitrary double standard still remains./p
pstronga href=”http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/02/apple-releases-pulls-ipad-sdk-beta-camera-hints-inside.ars”Apple releases, pulls iPad SDK beta, camera hints inside/a/strong: Several tidbits were uncovered in the latest iPad SDK beta before it was pulled by Apple, ostensibly to address a “major bug.”/p
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Week in Apple: post-Macworld hangover edition
Our top Apple news this week was dominated by news out of the 2010 Macworld Expo. It turns out that Apple’s absence didn’t really hold back a great conference and, in fact, might have helped it. In addition to the Expo, Steve Jobs kept railing on Flash, the App Store got a little cleaner, and we polled users on their 3G data usage. Read on for the roundup:
USB power outlet, iPhone Universal Remote impress at Macworld: Fastmac isn’t just a third-party battery company anymore. The accessory maker is about to come out with a USB wall outlet solution that we want to put all over our own houses, plus an improvement on its old iPhone battery extender that lets you control anything via a built-in infrared blaster. We checked out both during this year’s Macworld Expo.
Upcoming Outlook for Mac remains shrouded in mystery: Office 2011 will mark the first appearance of Outlook on Mac OS X. Ars spent some time with Microsoft’s Mac BU in an attempt to learn more about Mac Outlook’s feature parity with the Windows version.
Early MacBooks eligible for free hard drive replacement
In response to complaints lodged of failing hard drives lodged two years ago, Apple has launched a “MacBook Repair Extension Program for Hard Drive Issues” that will allow some MacBook owners to receive free hard drive repairs for their computers, or compensation for repairs they undertook themselves. Though the move suggests that the failure rate of the drives is reasonably high, Apple states that they’ve determined only “a very small percentage” of the drives need replacing.
The MacBooks eligible for replacement were sold between May 2006 and December 2007, and display the dreaded folder with a question mark in lieu of a desktop or login screen when the hard drive kicks the bucket. When this happens, customers are instructed to get their computer to a Genius or other authorized service provider, who will swap out the hard drive for free. No data recovery services are being offered, as Apple expects you to back up your data, but if the failures are due to the read/write head problem discovered in November 2007 that causes the head to gouge the disk itself, you’ll have limited returns there anyway.
As far as diagnosis, it appears Apple won’t authorize a swap until the drive actually dies. The company says it’s reaching out to customers for whom it has information on record about the faulty drives and replacement program, in case the customers have had to replace the drive themselves in the intervening time. The coverage extends to three years from the date of purchase or until August 15, 2010, whichever is longer.
etc: Windows 7 appears to be fueling increased IT spending on …
Windows 7 appears to be fueling increased IT spending on new computers, but it’s not affecting corporate buying of Apple computers. A record high of 1 in 10 companies plans to buy MacBooks or MacBook Pros in 1Q 10.
Read More:
ChangeWave Research
Smoking could be hazardous to your Apple warranty
If you’re a Mac user and smoking is your crutch, you may want to leave the room the next time you light up. According to multiple users, as reported by the Consumerist, smoking in the vicinity of your Apple hardware is enough for Apple to deny you service, even if you are under warranty. In at least one instance, a customer challenged the decision by bringing it to the office of Steve Jobs, but without any success.
In the first case, a black MacBook was taken into the Jordan Creek Apple Store with overheating issues. After some time at the store, the customer received a call from an employee saying that the warranty had ben voided due to “health risks of second hand smoke.” In another instance, an iMac brought to an Authorized Apple Service Center met a similar fate when it was labeled a “bio-hazard” by the technician. Apple responded to the customer’s complaints by saying that nicotine was on OSHA’s hazardous substance list; as a result, the company would not make an employee work on the machine. A third account, which also ended without service, also cited OSHA in the explanation.
Week in Apple: New… everything!
What an exciting week for Apple fans! Not only were tons of new products updated—Including desktops, accessories, and other gadgety items—the company also reported another record quarter in sales and revenue. The good news was sprinkled in with autopsies and lawsuits, so read on to catch up with the week’s top news:
Magic Mouse, iMacs, Mac minis lead Tuesday Apple update bomb: 27-inch iMacs! Mac minis as servers! New cheap MacBooks! A magical new mouse! Apple opened the floodgates this morning with a bushel of new hardware updates—which should set the company up for a blingin’ holiday season.
Apple Q4 2009 conference call liveblog and fiscal results: Apple’s fourth quarter fiscal results are out and we covered the call live. You can play back the transcript and review the company’s record results for the quarter: 100 percent iPod touch growth, a record number of Macs sold, and more!
Week in Apple: New… everything!
What an exciting week for Apple fans! Not only were tons of new products updated—Including desktops, accessories, and other gadgety items—the company also reported another record quarter in sales and revenue. The good news was sprinkled in with autopsies and lawsuits, so read on to catch up with the week’s top news:
Magic Mouse, iMacs, Mac minis lead Tuesday Apple update bomb: 27-inch iMacs! Mac minis as servers! New cheap MacBooks! A magical new mouse! Apple opened the floodgates this morning with a bushel of new hardware updates—which should set the company up for a blingin’ holiday season.
Apple Q4 2009 conference call liveblog and fiscal results: Apple’s fourth quarter fiscal results are out and we covered the call live. You can play back the transcript and review the company’s record results for the quarter: 100 percent iPod touch growth, a record number of Macs sold, and more!
Updated MacBook gets dismembered
Rest assured that the world is still in harmony: Apple has released a new machine and iFixit has torn it apart. While it may not be the new iMac, the polycarbonate MacBook is getting a lot of attention and has a few changes to its internals that aren’t specification related. (If you are interested in the portable’s specs, make sure you read our coverage of yesterday’s Apple updates.)
The first (and perhaps our favorite) change isn’t on the inside of the machine at all. Apple has finally done away with those little rubber feet that have been on its portables for as long as we can remember. No longer will you have to go to an Apple Store and beg a Genius for a replacement—the whole bottom side is covered in non-slip rubber. While the coating does add some weight when compared to the unibody MacBook Pro line, the machine is still lighter than last generation. Underneath the rubber is a sheet of aluminum, which vaguely reminds us of the lids of the PowerBook G3 series.
Magic Mouse, iMacs, Mac minis lead Tuesday Apple update bomb
Apple dropped a hardware update bomb Tuesday morning with a brand-new desktop mouse, new iMacs, new low-end MacBooks, and a new Mac mini. All of the above had been rumored for some time, but a new mouse was the first to captivate Apple fans’ attention due to its multitouch makeover.
Named the “Apple Magic Mouse” (please, reserve your snickers for the comments), the Mighty Mouse replacement has no buttons at all and sports a “seamless multi-touch surface.” According to Apple, the multitouch surface covers the entire surface of the device, enabling users to scroll in any direction or swipe through webpages just by moving their fingers across the top. It’s only available in Bluetooth form; if you want a wired mouse, Apple has rebranded the Mighty Mouse as the “Apple Mouse” and is continuing to sell it.
Week in Apple: Snow Leopard discoveries, MacBook rumors, and Steve Jobs
Is it any surprise that this week’s top Apple news revolved around Snow Leopard? It turns out that the updated OS has built-in malware protection, Adobe CS3 will work on it (but it won’t be supported), and the $29 upgrade disk will work for everyone—even though the EULA forbids using it unless you have Leopard. There are also new Mac ads and some legal drama, so read on to catch the highlights. Be sure to look for our Snow Leopard review on Monday.
Critics call shenanigans after Apple, AT&T letters to FCC: Everyone is puzzling over Apple and AT&T’s letters to the FCC about the apparent rejection of a Google Voice iPhone app. Ars peers through the holes in their version of the mess.
Adobe Creative Suite and Snow Leopard: what you should know: Adobe has drawn the line in the sand between Intel and PPC for upcoming versions of its Creative Suite, and now it’s doing so again between CS3 and CS4 when it comes to Snow Leopard support. It might not please everyone, but that’s the price some of us pay for staying on the cutting edge.
