Guide to Mac, iPod, iPad and iPhone news and reviews
This past weekend, San Diego played host to tens of thousands of comic book collectors and celebrity chasers alike. We are big fans of comics around here and even have a list of apps that will help get you through Comic Con. This week, Apple also celebrated San Diego Comic Con by making Madefire Motion […]
Earlier this month, Apple’s settlement agreement in its antitrust case was made public. Although nearly half the price the prosecuting judge was originally seeking, the settlement appeared to be reasonable as the Department of Justice agreed to it. Last week, the ruling judge in the case, Denise Cote, publicly noted in a teleconference on the […]
When Apple announced plans to acquire Beats Music and Beats Electronics for $3 billion, the only real hurdle was whether the world would consider the merger to be a monopoly of sorts. If federal or international regulators found that the Apple-Beats union would create an unfair leg up against market competitors, the acquisition would not […]
Most people have at least two different email accounts these days. Typically, the average person has a personal email account and a work-related email account. However, some have many more. There is the throwaway spam catcher, the eBay or Craigslist responder, and the secret one that no one else knows about. You get the idea. […]
[This is an advertorial. Maclife gets a portion of each unit sold.]Most tech makes our lives easier by providing an extra bit of convenience, but it doesn’t always look nice or fit in with the rest of our decor. Imagine if the handiness of tech tools c…
[This is an advertorial. Maclife gets a portion of each unit sold.]PDF files are a great way to spread your visual creations and presentations, but they leave a little bit to be desired. Sometimes your work needs to truly come to life for people to get…
As Apple gets ready to launch its Health app in iOS 8, news is coming in from a variety of places how iOS devices are being used to help doctors and patients better communicate. Today, British news site Gazette Live is reporting that James Cook University Hospital and the Friarage have rolled out iPad and […]
Are you a grandfathered unlimited data user on Verizon Wireless? If so, you may soon find your favorite carrier slowing your roll on data consumption. GigaOM reported Friday that Verizon plans to throttle LTE speeds for heavy data users effective October 1, an effort to target the top five percent of users consuming 4.7GB or more each month. The new policy will only affect customers who haven’t renewed their contract within the last two years, with customers being notified of the change next week. Speaking of changes, read on to find out how Verizon customers will be able to use their early upgrade program at an Apple store later this year…
Cupertino’s in an acquisition mood again, with TechCrunch reporting Friday that Apple has confirmed a buyout of BookLamp, an Idaho-based analytics service billed as the “Pandora of books.” A source claims the deal was “higher than $10 million, and lower than $15 million,” although the new owner wouldn’t say more than the obligatory “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.”
The buying spree continued over the weekend, with Re/code reporting Sunday that Apple is also apparently close to purchasing Swell, a news and podcast app with a simplistic user interface aimed at commuters. Coincidentally billed as “Pandora for talk radio,” the deal is said to be worth about $30 million, and will see the Swell app shut down later this week and presumably close up shop on the planned Android version.
MacRumors today reported that Apple may be poised to release a minor spec bump for the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display models on Tuesday, July 29. Over the weekend, in-store signage from an Apple retail store in China revealed at least the 15-inch model will be updated across the board with Haswell processors clocked at 200 MHz faster than the current models, with the low-end base model bumped from 8GB to 16GB RAM. Tuesday is historically when Apple chooses to release new Mac products, so keep your eyes peeled tomorrow morning if you’re in the market for a new MacBook Pro.
9to5Mac reported Sunday that Apple retail stores will soon allow customers to purchase iPhones using the early upgrade plans of U.S. carriers. AT&T Next, Verizon Edge, and T-Mobile Jump are all expected to kick off as part of a pilot program in late August, presumably ahead of the iPhone 6 coming this fall. Employee training for the program is expected to take place between August 10 and August 28, but is not yet expected to support Sprint’s own variation, known as OneUp.
Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter
[This is an advertorial. Maclife gets a portion of each unit sold.]There’s only one thing we love more than adding new pieces of tech to our arsenal of awesome, and that is saving money while doing it. We love a good deal, which is why we bring you the…
There’s a cup with a monocle in this week’s roundup of new iPad cases, alongside a few cats and some amazing plastic bubbles. And did we mention the monocle-wearing cup?
The Pink Fairy (all iPad models; $25) envelops your child’s tablet in a fully padded case with a water-resistant exterior that helps your little ones keep their electronics safe.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Headphone maker Bose has launched a patent-infringement lawsuit against rival Beats Electronics, which Apple recently agreed to acquire in a $3 billion dollar deal. In its complaint, Bose alleges that the “active noise cancellation” system in Beats Studio and Studio Wireless headphones infringes on five of its patents that relate to digital audio processing, compression and noise cancellation technology. They are U.S. patents 6,717,537; 8,073,150; 8,073,151; 8,054,992; and 8,345,888.
In addition to the suit, which was filed in Delaware, the company also lodged a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission asking the trade court to ban Beats from importing the headphones into the Unoted states. Companies are increasingly filing lawsuits with the ITC in addition to the domestic court system in the hopes an import injunction will provide extra leverage when it comes to negotiations over alleged infringement.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
This week’s roundup of new iPhone cases features lots of gemstone—both real and printed—and a pouch that lies flat whenever you need to fix a flat.
The Lens (iPhone 5 and 5s; $30) features a hard shell finished with a high-gloss protective coating.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
This article was originally published on Computerworld.com.
For the first time since the OS X beta test of 2000, Apple is allowing Mac users to test and provide feedback on a prerelease version of OS X. The first 1 million people to sign up for the beta program through Apple’s Web page—which crashed under heavy traffic on Thursday after the public beta became available—get a redemption code to download the Yosemite beta via the Mac App Store.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Earlier this week, forensic scientist and iPhone jailbreak expert Jonathan Zdziarski had raised concerns over the so-called backdoor services included in iOS that could make data collection easier for both the iPhone maker and government agencies.
Continue reading →
While Apple wasn’t specific about dates when it comes to the public debut of iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, many believed that with all the features so closely tied together, that Apple would release the pair of software updates at the same time. Turns out, that may not be the case.