The Federal Court has granted Apple an injunction to block tech rival Samsung from selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia. Apple is suing Samsung for patent infringement, arguing the firm “slavishly” copied its market-leading iPad tablet. Justice Annabelle Bennett today said Apple had a prima facie case that Samsung had infringed two of its patents relating to touch screens and the gestures that control them.
Samsung has previously told the court it would likely cancel plans to release the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia altogether should the injunction favor Apple. Missing the Christmas season would effectively kill its sales. Apple, for its part, offered a statement saying it “was no coincidence” Samsung’s products looked so much like Apple’s, and that Apple needed to protect its intellectual property when other companies stole its ideas.
Apple on Wednesday surprised many with the release of AirPort Utility for iOS. The software runs on iPhones, iPods and iPads, but requires iOS 5.0. It’s free.
AirPort Utility makes it possible for the first time to manage your 802.11n-equipped AirPort Express, AirPort Extreme Base Station or Time Capsule using an iOS device.
The software offers a graphical overview of the Wi-Fi network, with information about the status of connected devices. You can change network and Wi-Fi settings, restart and restore base stations, update their firmware, update or view passworks for networks, base stations or disk, access network information including IP address, DNS servers and router addresses and more.
Apple on Wednesday released iPhoto 9.2 and Aperture 3.2, updates to its consumer and professional photo organizing software, respectively. Both updates supports compatibility with iCloud and iOS 5, according to Apple.
iPhoto 9.2 also addresses minor stability, performance and compatibility issues, including:
Left and right swipe gestures can now be used to navigate between photos in Magnify (1-up) view
Previously imported photos are now displayed in a separate section of the Import window
Book/calendar themes and card categories can now be selected using a pop-up menu in the carousel view
Resolves an issue that could cause some pages of books to print incorrectly
Rebuilding a library now correctly preserves saved slideshows and books
Changes in Aperture 3.2 include:
Resolves an issue that could cause the “Loading” indicator to reappear in the Viewer when cropping a photo
Aperture now automatically relaunches into Full Screen mode if the application was in Full Screen mode when last quit
Pinch-to-zoom gesture now automatically activates Zoom mode in the Viewer
Left and right swipe gestures can now be used to navigate between photos in the Viewer
Microsoft Outlook can now be chosen in Preferences as the application used by Aperture for emailing photos
Fixes a problem that could cause Aperture, running on OS X Lion, to quit unexpectedly when using brushes to apply adjustments
Loupe now correctly displays magnification levels between 50-100%.
Fixes an issue that could cause Aperture, running on OS X Lion, to display the incorrect color profile on externally edited images
The Lift & Stamp tool now displays the correct cursor icons when being used in Split View and Viewer only modes
Apple released on Wednesday Lion Recovery Update 1.0, software that helps you restore your Lion-based Mac in the event of a catastrophic failure without requiring a physical disk to boot from. The software is available for download through the Software Update system preference.
“The Lion Recovery Update includes improvements to Lion Recovery, and addresses an issue with Find My Mac or Lion Server Profile manager when using a firmware password.”
Apple updated the software that powers its second-generation Apple TV peripheral on Wednesday. Among the changes are new features exposed with the introduction of Apple’s new iCloud service.
The second-gen (black) Apple TV is now capable of supporting Photo Stream, an iCloud feature that lets you push images to the cloud from your iOS device. It also supports AirPlay mirroring, found on iPad 2 and iPhone 4S – wireless streaming of what’s on the iOS device screen. A new Trailers function gives you easier access to theatrical trailers.
Apple has also added two new special content options to the Apple TV: Users can now access National Hockey League (NHL) GameCenter Live content and get access to the Wall Street Journal Live, a service that provides financial information, business news and analysis.
Apple on Wednesday released iOS 5, a major (and free) update for the operating system used by its iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices.
The new update contains over 200 new features, according to Apple – major changes to notifications, the introduction of a new messaging system called iMessage, Newsstand (for tracking periodicals), reminders for managing to-do lists, built-in Twitter support, camera and photo improvements, enhancements to mail, changes to the calendar, Game Center enhancements, AirPlay mirroring, multitasking gestures for iPad, support for iTunes in the Cloud and Apple’s new iCloud services, and a multitude of other enhancements.
Many iOS device users are all downloading the update, so be prepared to buckle in and wait a while for it to download. You can get the update by plugging your iOS device into your Mac or PC, opening iTunes, then clicking on the Update button.
Security changes have been made in the new release as well. To find out more, visit Apple’s Web site.
The update is compatible with the following devices:
Apple has released an update to Lion, bringing it to OS X 10.7.2. Apple recommends the update for all users and says it fixes stability, compatibility and security. It also adds support for iCloud, Apple’s new cloud-based storage and data synchronization system.
ICloud stores email, calendars, contacts, Safari bookmarks, and Safari Reading List and automatically pushes them to all your devices. It also works with Back to My Mac, which provides remote access to your Mac from another Mac anywhere on the Internet. The new Find My Mac tool helps you find a missing Mac by locating it on a map and allows you to remotely lock the Mac or wipe all its data.
“It was obvious that they were angry with the company about not being invited to some press conference or some big Apple event. We expected to see a certain amount of professionalism–this is like 15-year-old children talking,” [San Mateo County District Attorney Steven] Wagstaffe said. “There was so much animosity, and they were very critical of Apple. They talked about having Apple right where they wanted them and they were really going to show them.”
The San Mateo DA’s office declined to go after Gizmodo following the theft of an iPhone 4 prototype last year, but it’s plain to see that they were unimpressed with Gizmodo’s professional demeanor, as well.
In related news, the two men accused of selling the stolen iPhone 4 were sentenced to one year of probation, 40 hours of public service and $250 in restitution to Apple.
[Gabe] Newell expects Apple to disrupt the living room platform with a new product that will challenge consoles, although he doesn’t have any particular knowledge of that new product.“I suspect Apple will launch a living room product that redefines people’s expectations really strongly and the notion of a separate console platform will disappear,” he said.
Newell is the head of Valve Software, makers of Half-Life 2, Portal and creators of the popular Steam game service, which finally came to Mac OS X last year.
Newell also called the iOS App Store a closed platform, and called closed platforms “the wrong philosophical approach.” He defended Valve’s own Steam product, noting that developers can use its tools and services and sell their games elsewhere without having to pay Valve.
Pangea Software has announced the release of updates to six of its iOS games to support AirPlay features in iOS 5. Bugdom 2, Cro Mag Rally, Nanosaur 2, Otto Matic, Quarters and Enigmo 2 now support the new capability.
AirPlay enables you to stream content wirelessly from an iOS device to an HDTV using an Apple TV as the intermediary. What’s more, a couple of Pangea’s games have been upgraded with a new mode called “Spectator-Cam.” Cro-Mag Rally, a kart racing game, and the flying combat game Nanosaur 2, now enable viewers to watch a unique perspective on the game from a TV. Players continue to play the game normally, while everyone else watches the TV to see the game from what Pangea calls a “hyper-dynamic camera view.”
In addition to requiring iOS 5, which debuts on Wednesday, the AirPlay capability is limited to the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S. Both these devices use an A5 dual-core microprocessor which has the horsepower to compress video more effectively than other iOS devices.
Other enhancements include new higher resolution artwork designed to look better on HDTVs.
Pangea has put their iOS games on sale for $0.99 to celebrate the launch of iOS 5. The games are typically $2.99 or $3.99.
Firemint has announced the release of a significant update to Real Racing 2 and Real Racing 2 HD, its auto racing game for iOS. The new 1.12 version is ready for download from the App Store.
The update has been released in advance of iOS 5, with features designed to support new capabilities exposed in the new iOS release. Full AirPlay support has been added, for example, enabling Real Racing 2 to be displayed wirelessly on a television connected to the iPad or iPhone using an Apple TV. Firemint has also introduced “Party Play” mode, which enables a split screen local multiplayer mode for up to four players on an HDTV, streamed either via AirPlay or HDMI.
Here’s a video of Party Play at work:
The game also gets significant graphics overhauls in this release, with real-time dynamic shadows and specular lighting, normal mapping on various interior and exterior surfaces, and enhanced lighting and mapping developed to highlight details you couldn’t see before.
Firemint has also made memory optimizations and other improvements and fixes.
Samsung has ambushed the launch of the iPhone 4S by offering $2 smartphones in a temporary shop just metres away from the official Sydney Apple store. A queue – longer than that outside Apple’s store – was seen outside the Samsung “pop up” store at 8am today, with those in line hoping to get their hands on a new Samsung Galaxy S II smartphone for the nominal price of $2.
“Ambush” is a dramatic overstatement. After all, Apple’s already sold out pre-orders of the new iPhone 4S. The line may be longer now, but we’ll see what the Sydney Apple Store looks like on Friday, when the iPhone 4S actually goes on sale. But it goes to show how desperate Samsung is to stay relevant when it essentially has to give away its premium smartphone to get people interested. It’s hard to imagine Apple resorting to similar tactics.
Millions of BlackBerry users around the world were left without text communication services for a third day on Wednesday as Research in Motion struggled to fix what it said was a switching failure in its private network.
The text service outage continues to affect users in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India. It’s the worst outage RIM has experienced since a similar failure afflicted North American customers two years ago.
Sony has been the target of another hacker attack. This time about 93,000 PlayStation Network (PSN) and Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) accounts were compromised, but no one’s credit card information is in danger. That’s according to a report posted to the PlayStation blog by Philip Reitinger, Sony Group senior vice president and chief information security officer.
Reitinger says that the login attempts appear to include data obtained “from one or more compromised lists from other companies, sites or other sources.” He underscored that it’s unlikely the data came from inside its own network. He also noted that the 93,000 accounts represent a fairly small fraction of the company’s overall user base – one tenth of one percent.
Reitinger said that Sony’s already shut down the affected accounts and sent e-mails to let the targeted subscribers know what happened. He also told customers to make sure to have a strong password and username combination not associated with other online services.
The open communication is a welcome change of pace for Sony, which saw a public relations and legal nightmare in April when more than 100 million PSN and SOE accounts were hijacked along with credit card information. Sony failed to disclose the extent and nature of the attack for days, and kept the PSN service offline for weeks as Sony sought to understand the extent and nature of the security breakdown.
Sony tapped Reitinger for the CISO position in September. His background include stints at Microsoft and the US Department of Homeland Security.
Siri: I hope you don’t say that to those other mobile phones, Jim
Jim: No way, I only love you Siri
Siri: You are the wind beneath my wings
Jim: That’s nice. I’m glad you know I love you
Siri: All you need is love. And your iPhone
Apple’s voice assistant, Siri, is the most talked about new feature of the iPhone 4S, but there are many other compelling reasons to like the new iPhone.
With its A5 chip, the iPhone 4S is noticeably faster in everything you do. From launching apps to switching between apps using multitasking, you can’t help but notice the speed increase.
One thing I particularly noticed was the animations when launching and switching apps. When an app is launched or closed, it is supposed to zoom in or out — this wasn’t always evident in previous versions of the iPhone.
The iPhone 4 would sometimes show animations, but a lot of the time, an app would just appear.
The increased performance of the iPhone 4S is great news for developers. They have been pushing the envelope of Apple’s hardware, releasing more complex, graphics intensive apps that require this power.
With the A5 chip, developers have the headroom to continue their innovations without worrying about how apps will perform for the end user.
Personally, I think developers push Apple’s improvements more than competition from other handset makers.
Dual antennas
The iPhone 4S has two antennas — one on the bottom and one at the top of the handset.
Apple has given the iPhone the ability to intelligently switch between the antennas to ensure better call quality. The technology also allows this switching to go on during a phone call, so you won’t even notice that the switch has taken place.
To be perfectly clear — this is an Apple-only technology. While other companies can receive on dual antennas, no other company can transmit and receive on dual GSM or CDMA antennas.
The dual antennas are at work when you’re not on a call too. I have noticed that my signal is stronger in places where it was weak before.
For many people, having this antenna technology will be well worth the upgrade, even without all the other features.
Camera
The iPhone has not only been my communications device for the past few years, it has also been my only camera.
I have taken my iPhone to Europe, all over the US, and countless other places, never worrying about how it would perform for me. The camera has always managed to capture whatever shot I was going for.
Of course, you can take a DSLR or other massive camera with you, but I like to walk and enjoy the scenery without lugging around a camera bag with the necessary accessories.
The iPhone 4S makes that even better. Not only did Apple include an 8-megapixel camera, they also improved many of the other elements needed to take a great picture.
From a larger aperture, an improved backside illumination sensor, auto white balance, color accuracy, face detection, and reduced motion blur, to a custom lens, everything to make your pictures look the best, has been put into the iPhone 4S.
The same image that I zoomed in on.
Chinese Lanterns in our garden.
Of course, the ability to take great still pictures isn’t the only improvement in the iPhone 4S. Apple also included 1080p HD video recording.
Like my use of the iPhone as a still camera, the device has also been my video camera. The ability to record in 1080p just makes a great camera even better.
I took this video of my dogs playing in the yard over the weekend. I put it on my Mac and made the movie with iMovie.
Siri
Much of the talk surrounding the introduction of the iPhone 4S is about Siri, Apple’s voice assistant technology.
After using Siri for a week, I can tell you it works just as good in real life situations as it did in Scott Forstall’s demo at the launch event.
The important thing to remember about Siri is that it’s not just another voice technology. Siri understands the context of what you are asking it and responds appropriately.
Like the conversation I had with Siri (noted at the beginning of this review), Siri understood the words and responded. But it can do a lot more that just entertain my silly conversations.
For instance, if you receive a text message, you can ask Siri to read your last text. It will tell you who it is from, read the text and then ask you if you would like to respond.
You say yes, and then give it your response. Siri will acknowledge the response and ask you if you’re ready to send the message. You say yes and it’s sent.
I did this today in the car. The iPhone 4S was sitting in the console and I just spoke like I normally would in a conversation. Siri got every word right and sent the text back.
Siri can do other things too. I asked it to play specific songs in my iTunes library, schedule appointments in iCal, and asked what Apple’s current stock price is. Every time, Siri carried out the task.
You can even use Siri in conjunction with Apple’s Reminders app. By using the “Remind me” prefix, Siri can setup reminders based on location, so you can be reminded to make a phone call when you leave work or other task.
Siri is not your typical voice recognition technology. You don’t dictate to Siri, you interact and have a conversation with Siri. It’s difficult to explain how good Siri is, but you’ll find out soon enough.
iCloud
The integration of iCloud into the iPhone and Mac is one of my favorite features. iCloud gives you access to everything you need, no matter where you are.
You can choose to have new apps, music, and books automatically download to all of your devices. That means if you buy something on your Mac, it will be downloaded at the same time to your other devices.
Of course, you can turn this feature off on each device separately, but I have it on everywhere.
Documents in the Cloud is another aspect of iCloud that users will soon be able to use. Basically, it gives you access to your Pages, Numbers, and Keynote documents from your iOS devices and your Mac. Documents can be edited and will automatically be saved back to iCloud without any intervention from the user.
I’ve used this with my iOS devices quite a bit, but currently iWork for the Mac doesn’t have iCloud integration. You can download the document and then upload it again when you’re finished working on it.
iCloud gives you access to previously purchased apps too. This means you can launch the App Store from your iOS device and find any app that isn’t currently installed and download it again.
Since I don’t usually have many apps installed, this is particularly handy when I travel and want to show someone a cool app. It’s also nice when I forget to install a travel app and I’ve already arrived at the airport.
Of course, iCloud includes syncing your calendars, mail and contacts. This replaces the MobileMe syncing that Apple currently has in place.
Syncing with iCloud is done in an instant. For instance, if I make a change to a contact on my Mac, it is done within a few seconds on my iOS devices. No more waiting minutes for changes to happen. The reverse is also true — changes made to an iOS device are on the Mac within seconds, not minutes.
iCloud also includes Photo Stream, which automatically adds photos you take on your iOS device to your Mac and other devices. This is something else I’ve been using a lot.
With iCloud, my information and media is everywhere I need it to be without even asking for it.
iOS 5
The last aspect to the iPhone 4S release is iOS 5. With over 200 new features, iOS 5 packs a lot of changes.
iOS 5 will come with Twitter integration, iMessage, Newsstand, and many more features, but two have stood out for me: Notification Center and PC Free.
Not needing a computer to setup your iOS device is huge. It was a pain to connect all the time to sync or even setup your iOS device.
Setting up the iPhone 4S was a breeze and with future backups in iCloud, it will only get easier from here. I just turned it on, answered a few questions and I was done.
In my everyday use, Notification Center is my most used new feature. It’s so nice to just look over at the screen and know whether or not the last message was something I need to act on or not.
If I’m away from my iPhone for a while, I just swipe down the screen and all of my notifications show up. Tweets, emails, stocks, and everything else that I have set up is there for me at a glance.
Bottom Line
You can look at each of the items that Apple will release in conjunction with the iPhone and be amazed with how innovative all of them are.
When you put them all together in one product like the iPhone 4S, you have an incredibly successful product that other companies just can’t compete with.
According to Isaacson’s book Steve Jobs, due out in two weeks, Apple employees jeered their boss’s scheme for a corporate outfit. So he had to settle for a personal uniform, modeled on shirts he saw noted designer Issey Miyake wearing.
Apple on Tuesday released iTunes 10.5, an update widely expected prior to Wednesday’s introduction of iOS 5. iTunes 10.5 is available for download from Apple’s Web site and through the Software Update system preference.
According to Apple, changes to iTunes 10.5 include:
iTunes in the Cloud. iTunes now stores your music and TV purchases in iCloud and makes them available on your devices anywhere, any time, at no additional cost.
Automatic Downloads. Purchase music from any device or computer and automatically download a copy to your Mac and iOS devices.
Download Previous Purchases. Download your past music, TV, app, and book purchases again, at no additional cost. Previous purchases may be unavailable if they are no longer on the iTunes Store.
Sync with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 5.
Wi-Fi Syncing. Automatically sync your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iTunes any time they’re both on the same Wi-Fi network.
If you’re a Mac gamer and you’d like to play some new titles for free, get yourself over to uDevGames and check out this year’s contest.
uDevGames is an annual event in which Mac developers compete for fun and prizes, developing new games in a three month period. You get to download and play them. Past events have resulted in more than 150 games produced by independent Mac game developers around the world. The source code for each entry is released back into the community, to help inspire other developers to do great work.
This year’s crop of entrants include Convergence, a retro game that plays (and looks) a lot like the Adventure cartridge for the Atari 2600; Flying Sweden, an offbeat strategy game in which you must defend your flying Sweden from a terrific onslaught using an Ikea with a giant cannon; the kicky-punchy action game Kung Fu Killforce, a Gyruss homage called Z1, and more.
If playing the games for free wasn’t incentive enough for you to download, uDevGames is also giving away $100 worth of iTunes gift cards to random voters.
There are 16 entries in all, but you only have two days to vote for your favorite, so hurry up!
A computer virus has infected the cockpits of America’s Predator and Reaper drones, logging pilots’ every keystroke as they remotely fly missions over Afghanistan and other warzones.
Military security specialists are unsure if the virus was introduced intentionally or by accident, don’t know how far the virus has spread, and haven’t been able to keep the virus off of drones even though they’ve been trying. Too bad the drones don’t run OS X.
The iPad accounts for a whopping 97.2% of tablet traffic in the US and 46.8% of all mobile web traffic.
iPhone accounts for 42.6% of mobile web traffic.
Overall, though, mobile devices still account for less than 7 percent of US Web traffic. So don’t act too surprised when your favorite restaurant deploys a new site chock full of Flash. Mobile browsers, whatever the stripe, are still a minority.
A few hours after Blackberry maker RIM said all services were “operating normally” users have complained of a new crash.Twitter is full of angry users reporting renewed issues with their handsets and an inability to send messages and email.
Discovery has ordered a documentary on the life of the late Steve Jobs, with the Mythbusters duo on board to host. The network is teaming with NBC’s Peacock Productions for iGenius: How Steve Jobs Changed the World, a one-hour special. Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, who celebrate the spirit of innovation on Discovery’s hit Mythbusters, will host the show.
Interviews for the special include a founding member of the Homebrew Computer Club, one of Jobs’ fellow India travelers, Stevie Wonder and more. It airs this coming Sunday, October 16, 2011, at 8 P.M. International viewers can look for it in their local markets as well.
Square’s Keith Rabois also revealed a number of growth statistics for the company, including that the payments service is now processing $2 billion in payments volume per year. To date, Square has been activated by 800,000 merchants which is up from 500,000 card readers shipped in May. Rabois says that Square’s merchants are now 10% of the reach of the Visa/MasterCard world.
Square is the credit card processing service that works using a tiny card reader which plugs into your iPhone or iPad’s headphone jack. It’s a remarkable success story for the scrappy young company.
What’s unclear from Rabois’ comments is how much of that 10 percent of the reach is additive – in other words, vendors who wouldn’t otherwise process credit card payments because of the expense and hassle of “traditional” processing services. Square is quite popular with non-traditional merchants who, prior to Square, had cash-only businesses.
MacGeneration reporting a memo from Apple CEO Tim Cook to employees:
Although many of our hearts are still heavy, we are planning a celebration of his life for Apple employees to take time to remember the incredible things Steve achieved in his life and the many ways he made our world a better place.
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