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There’s always plenty of news we miss throughout the work day, which is where our overnight recap comes in, mopping up the smaller stories and tidbits and putting them on display for all to enjoy. On this fine Tuesday morning, let’s kick back and enjoy a handful of these stories before the craziness of Apple’s media event tomorrow!
HP Unveils Spectre One, Windows 8 iMac Copycat
No doubt providing Apple with some ammunition for its next copycat courtroom battle, The Next Web is reporting that HP has unveiled a new line of Windows 8-ready desktops called the Spectre One. Unfortunately, the only “spectre” on display with the company’s latest model is the shadow of Apple, given the close resemblance to Cupertino’s own iMac, right down to the keyboard and trackpad. (See above for the company’s official product shot.) For shame, folks…
Skitch Sharing Gets Folded Into Evernote Accounts
Skitch has notified users via email that the service will be ditching sharing via Skitch.com in favor of taking advantage of Evernote’s syncing, searching and sharing features. Like Skitch.com, an Evernote account is free, and all public or secret image links will remain the same. When the Skitch.com website is archived on October 10, 2012, private images will no longer be accessible, so the service recommends downloading them as soon as possible and moving them to your Evernote account.
OS X 10.8.2 Beta Brings MacBook Battery Life Back to Normal
The Mac Observer is reporting that Apple’s latest developer beta for OS X Mountain Lion, 10.8.2, appears to correct the battery life reduction problems that have been plaguing notebook users since its release. The website performed a volley of tests and found that battery life using an SSD running OS X 10.8.2 lasted 379 minutes — a far cry from the 259 and 287 minutes, respectively that 10.8.0 and 10.8.1 allowed, and even eclipsing OS X Lion 10.7.4 at 363 minutes. The good news is that hard drive-based notebooks will gain even a little more juice under OS X 10.8.2, which should be arriving sometime this month, presumably just before or alongside iOS 6.
T-Mobile Makes “Bring Your Own iPhone” Campaign Official
As rumored, T-Mobile has announced a new “bring your own iPhone” campaign, which kicks off — ironically — on Wednesday, September 12, 2012, just as Apple is presumably going to introduce a new handset. The magenta network is stepping up efforts to attract unlocked iPhones formerly used on AT&T’s network (Verizon and Sprint models are not compatible) and is even developing free myAccount, Visual Voicemail and TV apps for iOS to support those users. The main attraction, of course, is the company’s $69.99 Unlimited Talk, Text and Data plan, but that competitive advantage won’t do much good for data users until T-Mo rolls out its 4G HSPA+ upgrades, which are already live in Seattle, Las Vegas, Washington D.C. and New York.
Samsung to Apple: Go LTE and We’ll Sue
AppleInsider is reporting that Samsung appears ready to use its 4G LTE patents as a club against Apple, should they announce an iPhone 5 on Wednesday that uses the super-fast data connection. According to The Korea Times, “ranking officials” within Samsung are readying for an all-out assault on Apple, presumably after feeling stung by Cupertino’s recent courtroom victory. “It’s true that Samsung Electronics has decided to take immediate legal action against the Cupertino-based Apple,” one unnamed official claims. “Countries in Europe and even the United States — Apple’s home-turf — are our primary targets.”
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