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Oct 21
Apple patent emphasis is on solid-state memory

Could future Apple TVs have DVD functions? A new Apple patent at the US Patent & Trademark Office hints that this could be the case, noting that "this technology could be aimed at a digital video recorder." At the very least the patent shows that the long term future for all of Apple's devices involves solid-state memory.

Patent number 20100268866 is for systems and methods for operating a disk drive. System and methods for storing data to a storage device are provided. In embodiments, the storage device may include a disk drive with a solid-state memory for storing certain frequently updated information. In some embodiments, the solid-state memory may be used to store journaling information. The inventor is Thomas R. Colligan.

Here's Apple's background and summary of the invention: "Hard disk drives continue to be one of the most widely used electronic storage mediums. Typically, a hard drive stores electronic data by storing a series of magnetic polarity...

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Oct 21
Apple patent is for improved tethering system

Apple apparently plans on improving tethering in upcoming iOS devices -- and perhaps Macs, based on a new patent at the US Patent & Trademark Office. Tethering is using a cell phone as a modem for your laptop or other device.

Creating a connection either with cables or wirelessly "tethers" your cell phone to your other mobile device. This can usually be done through Bluetooth wireless technology or cables (such as USB), allowing the device without built-in access to connect to the Internet, using the other device as a modem.

Patent number 20100267368 -- with Cahya Masputra as the inventor -- is for a handheld device capable or providing data tethering services while maintaining a suite of handheld service functions. An improved tethering system is described in which a handheld device can be used by a user to reach the same network that the handheld device also provides access to for a tethering machine.

Specifically, a handheld device provides a tethering...

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Oct 21
Greg's bite: what wasn't announced yesterday...

By Greg Mills

The combination of the recent conference call regarding the financial quarter and the "Back to the Mac" event on Thursday leaves a number of unsettled issues. I still insist a Hobby App for iOS must be on the way, and I was disappointed iWeb 4 wasn't part of iLife.  

Notice the price dropped to US$49 for iLife due to the lack of an updated iDVD and updated iWeb. They included the old version of both programs on the iLife disk but you have to look deep in the information to find that information. While I use iPhoto, I will wait to buy iLife for a while. It is possible the Hobby App iOS creator program will come out with the next iWork release. I doubt the $49 price point will hold for full releases of future iWork and iLife.

The other thing on my mind is the giant bank balance at Apple. Over $50,000,000 in the bank is unusual even for the second biggest company in the world. CEO Steve Jobs mentioned they might be buying a strategic...

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Oct 21
It's back to the Mac indeed ...

Mac users were surely comforted by yesterday's "Back to the Mac" event in which a new Mac OS X (Lion), a new iLife, a new MacBook Air and lots of professed love for our favorite computing platform was served up.

One of the most interesting factoids unveiled by Apple CEO Steve Jobs and Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook was that the Mac segment of Apple were a standalone company -- which they said Apple had no intention of doing -- would be number 110 on the Fortune 500 list. And the Mac accounts for a third of Apple's revenue.

"The Mac is a $22 billion business for us and we continue to heavily invest in it," Cook said.

So for those who have said Apple's future was in iOS devices, think again. Some other interesting tidbits from yesterday's special event.

° Don't hold your breath for a touchscreen Mac. Apple will be bringing more touch gestures to its computer line, but they'll be implemented by the Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad as touch commands on a...

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Oct 20
So what will happen at today's 'Back to the...

Today Apple will host the much anticipated “Back to the Mac” media event, in which Jobs & Company will tell us what’s new for the Mac will preview the next version of Mac OS X. Let's look at the speculation and see what's likely.

We'll definitely get some info on the next version of Mac OS X and, based on the logo on the invitation to the event, it will be dubbed Mac OS X 10.7 ("Lion"). Although some folks are skeptical, I think we'll see the beginning of a merge of Mac OS X and the iOS that will bring touch commands to future Macs.


Now I don't think Apple will make touch the main way for us to interact with Macs. But it will be an option along with keyboards, mice and trackpads. I also think Lion will sport an iOS emulator environment that lets Mac users run iOS apps. I also suspect we'll see AirPlay implementation and ways of integrating the Mac OS file system into mobile devices. But don't hold your breath; Lion isn't likely to prowl until summer or fall of...

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Oct 19
Apple wins patents for MacBook Air, iChat, more

Apple has won two design patents (D625,716 and D625,717) by the US Patent & Trademark Office for the MacBook Air. The inventors are Bartley Andre, Bartley Daniele De Iuliis, Evans Hankey, Richard Howarth, Jonathan Ive, Steve Jobs, Duncan Kerr, Shin Nishibori, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Peter Russell-Clarke, Douglas Satzger, Christopher Stringer, Eugene Whang and Rico Zorkendorfer

Apple was also granted a patent design (number D625,733) for its iPhone compass icon, invented by Fredy Anzures. Other patents won by Apple are as follows.

Patent number 7,817,180 involves iChat as it involves video procesing in a multi-participant video conference. Some embodiments provide an architecture for establishing multi-participant video conferences. This architecture has a central distributor that receives video images from two or more participants. From the received images, the central distributor generates composite images that the central distributor transmits...

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Oct 19
My Apple financial predictions -- so how'd I do?

Apple announced its latest financial results today. The Sellers Research Firm (that's me) made its forecasts and didn't do too badly. Let's have a look.

I predicted sales of 4.02 million Macs. Apple sold 3.89 million (the most ever).

I forecast sales of 9.76 million iPods. Apple sold 9.05.

I predicted sales of 12.37 million iPhones. Apple sold 14.1 million (the most ever).

I forecast sales of 6.1 million iPads. Apple sold 4.19 million.


I forecast earnings per share of US$4.75. Apple posted $4.64 per diluted share.

Things to note about the financial announcements. Apple, as usual, trounced Wall Street’s forecasts for its fourth-fiscal quarter. The company also followed its typical approach of issuing a highly conservative forecast for the December quarter. Apple shares were halted for after-hours trades on Monday after closing up 1% at $318 in the regular session; that was a new high.

-- Dennis Sellers

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Oct 19
Greg's bite: what's new pussycat? Mac OS X...

By Greg Mills

Dollars to donuts, the name for Mac OS 10.7 will be Lion.  The invitation to the October Apple product announcement clearly shows a lion peeking out of the Apple logo.  This follows with the big cat name protocol we have seen in the past.

Mac OS X 10.0, released in March 2001, was Cheetah. Mac OS X 10.1, released in September 2001, was Puma. Mac OS X 10.2, released in August 2002, was Jaguar. Mac OS X 10.3, released in October 2003, was Panther. Mac OS X 10.4, released in April 2005, was Tiger. Mac OS X 10.5, released in October 2007, was Leopard. And Mac OS X 10.6, released in August 2009, was Snow Leopard.

When Apple launches things they generally are actual products that are "available today at the Apple Store" or by such and such a date right around the corner. Occasionally, for good reasons that are compelling, Apple CEO Steve Jobs letd us know what is coming a bit further head of time.

The well known secrecy at Apple...

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Oct 18
Greg's Bite: iPad eats into the PC market

By Greg Mills

The PC world has strangely stopped worrying -- at least publicly -- so much about the iPad and the tablet market in general. At least for now.  

Frankly, the underlying problem for PC tablets is that in addition to being caught completely flatfooted in the smart phone software market, Microsoft has also hopelessly bungled the tablet revolution as well. It appears Microsoft is doomed to ride the PC into the ground while the smartphone and tablet markets take over the consumer computer market.

While the numbers won't come out until next week on the first quarter of Apple iPad sales, the biggest PC microprocessor suppliers Intel and ADM have more or less put tablet support on the back burner. While a number of major players are hoping to get into the tablet market right away, the lack of a viable off the shelf software operating system from Microsoft has left a major hole in tablet development.  

The companies who plan to...

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Oct 18
My predictions for today's Apple financial...

Apple will announce its latest financial results today. Here's what the Sellers Research Firm (that's me) is forecasting:

Sales of 4.02 million Macs.

Sales of 9.76 million iPods.

Sales of 12.37 million iPhones.

Sales of 6.1 million iPads.

Earnings per share of US$4.75.

We'll be covering the financial announcements. Join us to see how accurate I am.

-- Dennis Sellers

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Oct 15
I think the Verizon iPhone rumors are on target at...

The rumors are flying again that Verizon will start carrying the iPhone in 2011. My gut feeling tells me that those rumors are, at long last, right.

If this happens AT&T will lose its exclusive hold on the smartphone. Some industry researchers estimate that Verizon’s release of the iPhone would drive Apple’s U.S. sales higher by at least five million units in 2011.

The deal would also give Apple a stronger advantage in its battle with Research In Motion, whose BlackBerrys are currently promoted by Verzion Wireless. The availability of Apple’s iPhone through Verizon may drive down market share of Research In Motion, says Zachs Equity Research (http://at.zacks.com/?id=5514). The firm also thinks that the end of AT&T’s exclusive hold on the iPhone will provide Verizon a boost in its competition against other smartphones and drive Verizon's earnings in the near term.

-- Dennis...

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Oct 14
Another reason not to overlook the Mac's...

Mac unit sales, which stalled in the second quarter as customers waited for the new MacBooks that arrived in April and May, took off in the third quarter, coming in just shy of 3.5 million, reports "Fortune." Or, according to some industry watchers, that figure might even top four million (I think it will).

So while Apple's big love seems to be bestowed upon its iOS devices, the Mac is one of the main contributors to the company's bottom line. It's time Apple lavished some promotional love, ad money and innovation to its computer line. And perhaps with the "Back to the Mac" media event slated for Oct. 20, that's exactly what will happen.

Ten years ago, Apple could barely move 300,000 Macs a quarter. Now it's moving 3.5 to four million per quarter without breaking a sweat. Hopefully, in 2011 we'll see Jobs & Company release Macs with innovative new features -- and spend some money telling the world about them.

-- Dennis Sellers

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Oct 13
Apple patent involves stopping 'inappropriate...

The US Patent and Trademark Office has awarded Apple a patent (number 7814163) first filed in 2008 that prevents users from sending or receiving “inappropriate” text messages. The patent is for "text-based communication control for a personal communications device."

According to Apple, systems, devices, and methods are provided for enabling a user to control the content of text-based messages sent to or received from an administered device. In some embodiments, a message will be blocked (incoming or outgoing) if the message includes forbidden content. In other embodiments, the objectionable content is removed from the message prior to transmission or as part of the receiving process. The content of such a message is controlled by filtering the message based on defined criteria. The criteria may be defined according to a parental control application. These techniques also may be used, in accordance with instructional embodiments, to require the administered devices to include...

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Oct 13
Greg's bite: It's an app world out there

By Greg Mills

My daughter loaded We Rule, the iOS game in which you manage a small kingdom including houses for the people, stores of all kinds, collect taxes, rents and grow crops to buy more infrastructure. The iPad was soon also loaded and I set up my own "kingdom" and have enjoyed planning my own community, as well.

The games are free but they try to sell you mojo to speed up the development and crops of your kingdom for those without patience. They sell mojo for real dollars on the iTune store. They also give you five mojo units if you download and open apps.

We Rule is cute and engaging, but little did I expect the NGMOCO company, that has my little kingdom on its servers, would be sold for US$400,000,000. Yep, I counted the zeros right twice. They sold out for $300 million cash boom and get another $100 million if the cash flow is according to expectations. Not bad for a company formed just a few years ago.

Apps are a growth...

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Oct 13
The next iLife app: FaceTime iChat?

The online scuttlebutt says iLife 2011 is coming very soon, dropping iDVD and adding a new app. I think that's about right, and I think that new app may be a hybrid of FaceTime and iChat. (FaceChat? iTime? Naw, Apple will probably just call it FaceTime.)

In case you're not familiar with it, FaceTime is video calling that uses Wi-Fi. Apple says that using FaceTime is as easy as making a regular voice call, with no set-up required. On the iPhone 4 and fourth gen iPod touch, you can instantly switch to the rear camera to show others what you are seeing with just a tap.

FaceTime works right out of the box. You don't have to up a special account or screen name.If you want to start a video call with your best friend, find her entry in your Contacts and tap the FaceTime button. Or maybe you’re already on a voice call with her and you want to switch to video. Just tap the FaceTime button on the Phone screen. Either way, an invitation pops up on her iPhone 4 screen asking if...

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Oct 12
Apple patents involve touch screens, iOS devices, more

Apple has been granted several patents by the US Patent & Trademark Office. Four involve touch screens and iOS devices, while three others are design wins.

Patent number 7,812,826 is for a portable electronic device with multi-touch input. Per the patent a portable communication device with multi-touch input detects one or more multi-touch contacts and motions and performs one or more operations on an object based on the one or more multi-touch contacts and/or motions. The object has a resolution that is less than a pre-determined threshold when the operation is performed on the object, and the object has a resolution that is greater than the pre-determined threshold at other times. The inventors are Bas Ording, Scott Forstall, Greg Christie, Stephen O. Lemay and Imran Chaudhri.

Patent number 7,812,827 is for a simultaneous sensing arrangement. Multi-touch touch-sensing devices and methods are described. The touch sensing devices...

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Oct 12
Greg's Bite: Microsoft's greatest dud?

By Greg Mills

When one considers the potential for Microsoft to elbow their way into the smartphone market with their "late to the party" Mobile Vista 7, there are distinct categories of customers that have to buy it in significant numbers for the product to succeed. If we examine the smartphone market that exists today from the basis of a customer category analysis, the prospects are quite grim for Microsoft. Who is going to buy it?

While throwing half a billion dollars at advertising can sell Miss, Piggy as a ravishing beauty queen -- and that will work for a while -- but there is no amount of lipstick that can make her not a pig. She still stinks and oinks. and I think Mobile Vista 7 will oink like the Microsoft pig that it is. Developers and hardware companies alike might bank on the tons of short term money Microsoft is willing to risk to buy their way into the smartphone market they advocated to Apple and Google, but it might well be a major...

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Oct 12
Mobile malware exploits or Android/Symbian/Windows...

Two mobile security experts say that smartphone exploits are coming, as cybercriminals start to figure out how to make money by hacking mobile devices. But I think they're a bit off track.

Tim Armstrong, a malware analyst at Kaspersky Lab, a Moscow-based cyber security vendor, says security vendors have seen a huge increase in mobile attacks since late last year. Kaspersky Lab identified more than 1,550 mobile malware signatures in September, reports "InfoWorld" (http://www.infoworld.com/d/mobilize/mobile-malware-exploits-the-way-expe...).

Right now, Nokia's Symbian operating system, popular outside the United States, is the major target for mobile exploits, but Apple's iPhone and Android phones are likely to be growing targets,...

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Oct 11
Greg's bite: Vista Mobile 7, Microsoft dud

By Greg Mills

In the extremely high stakes competition in smart phone operating systems, Microsoft's new Mobile OS appears to be a stone loser. This is for a number of indisputable reasons.  

The expensive advertising program (rumored to be half a billion dollars) which will be launched soon, and the efforts of various hardware companies and cell phone carriers rallied to support Vista 7 are likely to be a doomed and completely wasted effort. This will certainly end Microsoft's presence in the mobile market, which includes both smart phones and slate computers.  

The future of computers is the smartphone and slate market, and everyone knows it. I think Microsoft is toast. Goldman Sachs already downgraded Microsoft stock to neutral, saying "the company needed to show some progress on mobile devices such as the smartphone and a device to compete with the iPad." Goldman analyst Sarah Friar wrote in her report, "The company needs an immediately...

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Oct 11
People unhappy with TV services; Apple, here's...

If Apple wants to pull out its big guns and make a serious move with the Apple TV for the living room, here's their chance. Residential television service customers are notably less satisfied with the cost of service, compared with 2009, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 U.S. Residential Television Service Satisfaction Study (http://www.JDPower.com).

Customer satisfaction with the cost of television service averages 541 on a 1,000-point scale in 2010, down 14 points from 555 in 2009. Customers of traditional cable providers are particularly dissatisfied with their cost of service. Satisfaction with fairness of prices paid among cable customers is 22% lower than among customers of telephone company providers (such as AT&T and Verizon) and 18% lower than among customers of satellite providers (such as DIRECTV and DISH).

"Despite this decline in satisfaction with cost of service, DVR...

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Oct 08
Greg's bite: iPad sales soar

By Greg Mills

Apple's iPad has seen faster acceptance in the main stream of electronic devices than anything else so to date, including regular DVD players made by a lot of companies. So much for the predictions iPad wouldn't sell -- as made by other well known tech company CEOs.  

The problem for the competition is that as far advanced as the iPad is, we are half way through the development cycle for the next version. If the iPad takes the same virtual yearly model cycle we have seen with other major Apple products, sometime in the spring Apple will announce the next iPad with a lot of the features most in demand, such as cameras. FaceTime is likely to be a feature, as well as a mini USB port. The iPad has the potential to be a phone with the FaceTime feature using an earphone with mic arrangement.

I am of the opinion the Hobby App creator program is coming very soon from Apple. We know Google is in beta on an Android App Inventor program soon...

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Oct 08
Might Intel develop a tool to let iOS run on Macs?

Intel is developing a tool that will make it easier for developers to port iPhone applications to Intel-based smartphones, tablets and other devices, a company executive said Tuesday, reports the IDG News Service (http://www.macworld.com/article/154632/2010/10/intel_mobile_apps.html). Which makes me wonder: if Intel is doing this, could it and Apple also team up to run the iOS apps on the Intel chips used in Macs?

Most smartphones and tablets today run on Arm-based processors. The new Intel tool will identify changes that need to be made in an iPhone application, making it easier to convert the application to run on Intel-based hardware, says Doug Fisher, vice president of Intel’s Software and Services group and general manager of its Systems Software division, in an interview with IDG.

If Intel could do this...

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Oct 07
Apple patents range from offline storage to...

Five new patents have appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office. Here's a summary of each.

Patent number 20100257215 is for configurable offline storage. A method and apparatus for a configurable offline data store are described. In one embodiment, the method includes receiving a request for a first set of one or more records from a client application, wherein the first set is remotely stored. The method further includes determining a second set of one or more records that is associated with the first set, wherein the second set is remotely stored. The method further includes fetching over a network the first set and the second set from a server data store unit; storing the first set and the second set in a client data store unit and providing access to the first set and the second set when the network is not operational. Bruce Gaya is the inventor.

Patent number 20100257179 involves methods and systems for managing data....

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Oct 07
Another Apple patent hints at upcoming touchscreen...

An Apple patent (number 20100253638) -- which first appeared in 2009 -- underscores the fact that the company is working on touchscreen Macs. The patent, "Integrated Touch Sensitive Display Gate Driver," describes a circuit that would switch between display and touch modes, enabling and disabling an integrated touch sensitive display when necessary.

A gate driver circuit for switching gate line voltage supplies between display and touch modes is disclosed. The circuit can include one or more switches configured to switch one or more gate lines of an integrated touch sensitive display between a display mode and a touch mode. During touch mode, the circuit can be configured to switch the gate lines to connect to a more stable voltage supply. The circuit can also be configured to reduce or eliminate interference from the display circuitry to the touch circuitry that could affect touch sensing. During display mode, the circuit can be configured to switch the gate lines to...

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Oct 07
Greg's bite: assorted Apple news

By Greg Mills

Apple generally, has excellent customer service. I went to the local Apple store Wednesday morning and pulled out my 3GS iPhone that had been dropping a lot of calls. It is easy to blame AT&T, but I noticed my iPad regularly gets more bars than my iPhone in the same location.

The Genius I saw hooked up my iPhone to a MacBook Pro and ran a diagnostic program that had access to a log showing the dropped calls on a calendar. He offered to replace my iPhone, so I agreed gratefully. He synced it up with iTunes on his laptop and assigned it my phone number and faster than you can say "Windows sucks," I was up and running.  

I took the new iPhone home and used iTunes to load my photos, music and contacts to the new phone. I had two minor problems with the phone part of the device transfer as all my favorite phone numbers were lost so I had to redo that by  going through my entire contact list and reselect phone numbers to be on the...

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Oct 07
Should Apple buy FLO TV?


Qualcomm (http://www.qualcomm.com) has stopped sales of all FLO TV (http://www.flotv.com) products with service to the devices being halted in spring of next year. Why? The company is reportedly holding talks with various other parties for use of the technology and services. So maybe Apple should buy FLO TV for use with its iOS devices and perhaps even the Mac.

The FLO TV service allows users to tune into mobile broadcasts while on the go. The service touts many of the largest networks including ABC, Fox, MTV, ESPN, NBC, TLC, CBS, CNBC, CNN, and many others. And that's a lot of channels not currently included on the Apple TV's offerings.

The MediaFLO services platform in the FLO TV enables the broadcast delivery of mobile entertainment and information to the mass market. In addition to live mobile TV, the MediaFLO platform supports...

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Oct 06
Greg's bite: Apple tech, new or not

By Greg Mills

The press is reporting a monstrous patent case in Federal Court in the state of Texas that went against Apple for the "Cover Flow" way of rolling images across the display, as seem in the album art display in iTunes and elsewhere in the Mac OS.  

While the judgement likely means at the end of it all, Apple may well have to pay some amount of money, the current US$600,000,000 judgement will not likely stand. Frankly, so many patents on computer graphical interfaces have been written it staggers the mind to thing much could really be novel anymore.  

As an inventor with about 10 issued patents to my name, I am very familiar with the flawed US Patent system. You love it and hate it at the same time. Ironically, yesterday the patent office issued a new patent to Apple for some aspects of Cover Flow. I have not read the patents involved so this article is more related  to the issues of tech innovation in general that that case in...

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Oct 06
Apple files patent for ambidextrous mouse

An Apple patent (number 7,808,479) for an ambidextrous mouse has appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office. The ambidextrous mouse is configured for both left and right handed use.

The mouse may include right handed buttons on the front side of the mouse and left handed buttons on the back side of the mouse. The user may change the handedness of the mouse by rotating the mouse about a vertical axis of the mouse such that the left hand can use the left hand buttons and the right hand can use the right hand buttons.

The mouse may include a handedness selection system for configuring the mouse for right handed or left handed use even though the mouse has the capability for both right and left hands. The inventors are Steve Hotelling and Brian Huppi.

Here's Apple's background and summary of the invention: "Most computer systems, as for example general purpose computers such as portable computers and desktop computers, receive input from a user via an input...

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Oct 06
Don't count out the Mac as part of Apple's...

This week Brian White of Ticonderoga Securities issued an in-depth 85-page note on Apple, saying the company will continue to grow, grow, grow -- and don't count out the Mac as part of that growth.

"We believe Apple is still in the early stages of capitalizing on the trend toward a digital lifestyle, while transforming itself to seize large opportunities in the enterprise market, advertising (i.e. mobile, TV, etc.), "cloud computing and social networking," White wrote.

He mainly talks about the iPad, which is taking the world by storm. But the iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, etc., are actually offshoots of the personal computer and even run a variant of Mac OS X. But they still need a computer to anchor them -- and the best choice is the Mac, which will remain the center of Apple's digital lifestyle focus.

In 2008, Forrester Research predicted that Apple would become the hub of the digital home by 2013. The research firm said that Apple had completely remade itself...

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Oct 05
Apple wins patents for Time Machine, Cover Flow,...

Apple has won patents from the US Patent & Trademark Office for Time Machine, Cover Flow and the Mighty Mouse.

Patent number 7,809,688 is for managing backup of content (Time Machine). Systems and methods for generating incremental backups are provided. In one implementation a method is provided. The method includes receiving, while a current view is displayed in a user interface, a first user input requesting that a history view associated with the current view be displayed. The history view is displayed in response to the first user input, the history view including at least a first visual representation of an earlier version of the current view, the earlier version including a first element. A second user input is received while the history view is displayed. The second user input requests that the current view be modified according to the earlier version, at least with regard to the first element. The inventors are Pavel Cisler, Steve Ko, Kevin Tiene...

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Oct 05
Greg's bite: Windows 7 Mobile, LOL

By Greg Mills

Microsoft is at it again, breathlessly planning to underwhelm us with "me too" tooo late to be relevant software. They are planning to spend millions advertising their new smartphone software.  

If Windows Mobile was so darn good why did Microsoft "miss a generation" in the smartphone market as Ballmer put it? I can well remember three of four years ago turning down a nearly new "smartphone" my cousin offered me at a cut rate price, because he reluctantly admitted it was running Microsoft Mobile OS.  He is on his second or third generation of the iPhone now and never looked back. His old Microsoft infested smart phones are gathering dust, since he couldn't even give them away. 

Now the Redmond gang that can't shoot straight, the folks who launched Windows Vista, Ken, Zune and a slew of other much less than stellar products, wants another shot at "killing" the iPhone. Yeah, right. If I remember correctly, Microsoft killed their own...

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Oct 05
Rumors say we'll be bidding goodbye to iDVD...

A new book listing on Amazon’s German web site appeared yesterday and offered some details off the next version of Apple’s iLife suite, which will reportedly arrive this month or next. And apparently iLife '11 will continue to show Apple's disdain of physical media by dropping iDVD.

Could it be that the giant server site that Apple is building in Maiden, North Carolina, will be the replacement for iDVD? Rather than burning DVDs Apple may want us to send movies to the cloud from which they can be accessed almost anywhere.

I still maintain that there's lots of us folks who would rather have physical media than our stuff stored in the cloud. Or at least in addition to cloud storage.

Also, per various reports, iLife ’11 will be 64-bit and will integrate iPhoto more closely with social networks. iWeb, Apple’s web site building app, will be “completely rewritten” and a new unnamed application will make its debut with the new version, according to reports.

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Oct 04
Digital games continue to grow in popularity

In what has to be great news for Apple's iDevices (and, yes, also the Mac), PlayFirst, a publisher of interactive entertainment, and Frank N. Magid Associates, a market research and consulting firm, has released the results of the first comprehensive study of digital game play behavior across the three major platforms for casual gamers: social networks, mobile, and computer games.

The proprietary national study reveals that two thirds of American adults play some type of digital game, and one out of three regularly play casual games on social networks, smartphones, or computer platforms. Additionally, among game players, nearly 80% of those 18-34 play casual games regularly and fully 80% say they enjoy playing games more than watching movies, listening to music, and reading books, newspapers, or magazines.

The research group says that gaming is a cross-generational, cross-platform activity that’s ubiquitous, yet requires unique and targeted experiences to be...

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Oct 04
Greg's bite: hands on with the Apple TV

By Greg Mills

FedEx delivered my Apple TV device Friday. It was such a small package it sort of surprised me.  When when the packaging came off it was even smaller than I had even first thought. Slickly packaged in the typical Apple retail box, the cord, remote controller and instructions were artfully packed.  

Note that this is the 187th remote control in this house. Due to controller command conflicts with my great but discontinued Apple HiFi sound system, I had to put some black electrical tape over the window air conditioner's RF eye. Remote controllers reproduce like rabbits around here.  Turning the sound system on and off with the remote used to also turn the window air conditioner on and off as well. Reminds me of a time in my youth when I installed a radio in my cousin's car and turning the radio on also opened the passenger window. Oops, I guess I drilled a hole into a hidden wiring harness.   

It was a snap to hook the Apple TV up...

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Oct 01
Greg's bite: Building a house upon the sand

By Greg Mills

The Stuxnet worm news continues to resonate around the world regarding the malware that hides in Microsoft Windows operating systems and is still infecting industrial control systems. As civilians, this seems a bit out of our area of concern, until we really understand the implications and solutions.  

Most of us can agree that the nuclear reactor and uranium enrichment facilities in Iran that is being targeted represents a serious threat to the free world. However, the "blowback" from this attack may be unexpected catastrophic manmade industrial disasters down the line. Most experts think the target of Stuxnet has already been hit, and we are now seeing the collateral damage. We do know there was some sort of "accident" that hit the uranium enrichment facility that the Iranians are not talking about.

We live in a world infrastructure operated by countless computer systems. These control systems operate the valves and switches...

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Oct 01
Maybe next iMac will see updated speakers, tweaked...

While we're waiting for the next rev of the iMac -- which should be next spring or summer if Apple maintains its usual update schedule -- I'm happy to speculate about what features I'd like. And, no, I'm not going to reiterate my plea for Blu-ray playback (well, okay, just briefly -- please, Steve). Instead I'd like to call for improved speakers and an even better display.

The downward firing speakers in the all-in-one iMac are decent 2.1 speakers. However, Apple could do better. I don't really like comparing a Mac to a PC, but I think Acer may be onto something with the audio system in its new Aspire AZ3100-U3072 -- is that a boring moniker or what? -- which sports high-def 5.1 channel audio and a display with true 1080p resolution.

The Acer system is only US$599. Surely, those are features that Apple can add to a machine that costs more (but is certainly worth the moolah).

Or consider the The Wind Top AE2420 3D from MSi, which delivers 2.1 channel surround sound...

| Read more »
Sep 30
Apple patents involve camera flashes, backlights, more

Several Apple patents have appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office. Following is a summary of each.

Patent number 20100238344 is for an electronic device having a camera flash redirector. An electronic camera device has an imaging sensor to capture an image of a scene, a flash to illuminate the scene for capture by the sensor, and an evaluator to detect a condition in the scene. A redirector shifts the peak of a spatial energy profile of light from the flash. The peak is shifted from being aimed at one region in the scene to being aimed at another region in the scene, in response to the evaluator having detected the condition in the scene. Other embodiments are also described and claimed. The inventor is Richard Tsai.

Patent number 20100244701 involves temperature based, white point control in backlights. Systems, methods, and devices are provided for maintaining a target white point on a light emitting diode based backlight...

| Read more »
Sep 30
Apple wants to beef up audio system for the iPhone

An Apple patent (20100246855) for a dynamic audio parameter adjustment using touch sensing has appeared at the US Patent and Trademark Office for . It describes a new audio sensory system for iOS devices -- or at least the iPhone.

An audio communications device has a handset in which a touch sensing ear piece region is coupled to an acoustic leakage analyzer. The acoustic leakage analyzer is to analyze signals from the touch sensing ear piece region and on that basis adjust an audio processing parameter. The latter configures an audio processor which generates an audio receiver input signal for the device. Other embodiments are also described and claimed. The inventor is Shaohai Chen.

Here's Apple's background and summary of the invention: "People have long been accustomed to making telephone calls using a handset whose earpiece portion the user typically presses up against her ear (in order to better hear the voice of the other party.) As mobile phones became...

| Read more »
Sep 30
Future versions of Mac OS X could include virtual...

An Apple patent (number 20100245250) for virtual input tools hint at some potentially fascinating developments in upcoming versions of the Mac OS X.

A virtual input device, e.g., a virtual representation of a physical input device, is disclosed. In one aspect, virtual coordinates of the virtual input device correlate to real coordinates on the physical input device. Dimensions of the physical input device are proportional to dimensions of the virtual input device, and interactive objects are presented in the virtual input device. The inventor is John O. Louch.

Here's Apple's background and summary of the invention: "Traditional user interfaces allow a user to navigate between one or more interface elements (e.g., application windows) through the use of physical input devices (e.g., a keyboard, mouse, trackpad or touchpad). For example, a user can press a combination of keys (e.g., Command+Tab) on a keyboard to cycle between the one or more interface elements. As...

| Read more »
Sep 30
Greg's bite: Apple TV, iOS developers, the...

By Greg Mills

Today there are a number of interesting issues in Apple news. The Apple TV is being sliced, diced and analyzed.  

"iFixIt" and others quickly took their new Apple TV device apart and posted pictures of the internal parts. I have not found a list of parts norApple's part costs and assembly estimate, but as with the original AppleTV there may not be much profit in them. It is very common for companies selling video content delivery devices to sell them at a loss to get their "box" in our living rooms. They bet on the long-term profit of selling content and are willing to take a hit on the device up front. My Apple TV device is on the way from China and as of this morning is at the FedEx facility in Anchorage, Alaska.  

A classic example of this marketing approach is the Sony Playstation 3. It was estimated Sony took up to an US$200 loss on each early version of that game console they sold. They were betting the fees...

| Read more »
Sep 30
What should Apple do with Final Cut Pro?

In February it was announced that Apple had cut some staff working on its Final Cut video editing software suite. Some folks took it as a bad sign, that Apple was ignoring the software -- indeed, all its pro level software - to focus on consumer products (specifically, iOS devices). So what should Apple do with Final Cut Pro?

February's cuts could represent the end of an upgrade development cycle, as the next version upgrade of Final Cut could already be in preparation. Or it could be a bad sign for Final Cut Pro.

Philip Hodgetts, president of Intelligent Assistance, feels that Apple isn't abandoning the software, and I think he's right. Hodgetts feels Apple is planning an update that will "see Apple at least catching up to its competitors with 64-bit nativity, 4K and larger timeline support; native support for media that currently has to be transcoded or rewrapped into a QuickTime container, the ability to use all the processor cores to their fullest and better media...

| Read more »
Sep 29
Greg's bite: Apple hogs the news/Stuxnet update

By Greg Mills

The Pew Research people have confirmed what everyone in the tech news industry already knew: Apple hogs the tech news space. Mainstream news commonly has stories about Apple products or goings on. As Apple has risen in the last few months to be the second most highly valued company in the world, every peep out of Steve Jobs' mouth has been tech head lines.

According to the research on the amount of press different companies get, Apple leads the pack by a wide margin. Google comes in second, with Microsoft getting only one-fifth the press space as Apple. Further, most of the Apple news has been positive. Even when "Antennagate" blew up, the press was still pretty forgiving and covered the news on the issue with breathless anticipation.  The entire time, Apple was selling the iPhone 4 as faster than they could make them.

The reasons why Apple is so interesting are many. First of all, the secrecy at Cupertino is legendary. It is...

| Read more »
Sep 29
Could regime change make NBC more receptive to Apple...

NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker says (ttp://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2010/09/24/nbc-universal-president-jeff-zucker-step/#content) he'll step down after cable provider Comcast takes control of the company later this year. The news came as Jonathan Klein, president of CNN, was fired and replaced by Ken Jautz, the head of the network's sister channel HLN.

This is, of course, the same NBC that repeatedly refuses to place content on iTunes. While I'm sure this isn't the only -- or even the main issue -- it is certainly indicative of bad decision making. Kind of makes you wonder, doesn't it?

It also makes me wonder if the regime change will mean that NBC might be more receptive to Apple's overtures? On the other hand, based on the way Comcast has ben jacking up their cable rates, the change might not be a good thing.

| Read more »
Sep 28
Apple granted patent for antennas for wireless devices

Apple has been granted a patent (number 7,804,453) for antennas for wireless devices. The invention relates to antennas, and more particularly, to dielectric antenna windows that allow antennas to operate from within electronic devices such as laptop computers.

Antenna window structures and antennas are provided for electronic devices. The electronic devices may be laptop computers or other devices that have conductive housings. Antenna windows can be formed from dielectric members. The dielectric members can have elastomeric properties. An antenna may be mounted inside a conductive housing beneath a dielectric member. The antenna can be formed from a parallel plate waveguide structure. The parallel plate waveguide structure may have a ground plate and a radiator plate and may have dielectric material between the ground and radiator plates.

The ground plate can have a primary ground plate portion and a ground strip. The ground strip may reflect radio-frequency...

| Read more »
Sep 28
Apple patents involve encoding, interfaces, media...

Apple has been granted three patents by the US Trademark and Patent Office. Patent number 7,804,897 is for a method for implementing an improved quantizer in a multimedia compression and encoding system.

Some embodiments limit the changes to a buffer occupancy accumulator with respect to a target number of bits of the current frame. Limiting the change of the buffer occupancy accumulator will prevent one odd significantly different frame from significantly changing the quantization. Some embodiments improve upon the quantizer adjustment by making more accurate estimates of the amount of information needed to encode each macroblock. Specifically, some embodiments estimate the bits per macroblock in a manner that varies from frame type to frame type.

Specifically, for frame types with motion compensation, some embodiments exploit the correlation between the complexity of the macroblock and the number of bits needed. In the case of frame types without...

| Read more »
Sep 28
Greg's bite: more on the Iranian worm

By Greg Mills

The Stuxnet Windows worm I wrote about recently has begun to spread uncontrollably through personal PCs in Iran, as well as being found in completely isolated industrial servers not even hooked up to the Internet.  

It's believed that there are now five previously unknown Windows vulnerabilities that have been used instead of four. Reports from Iran indicate that "the worm is mutating and wrecking further havoc on computerized industrial equipment. The attack is still ongoing and new versions of this virus are spreading." Talk about the Windows tax penalty ...

From what I have read, the worm hides in blocks of the Windows operating system code used to do utilitarian functions of a PC. The worm is hard to find and has a lot of tricks that it uses to hijack systems for industrial control devices. It misdirects operators with wrong information, reverses the instructions at the controlled device, as in "close the valve" instead of "...

| Read more »
Sep 28
Big Brother is watching -- and wants to watch more

I want to see terrorism fought as much as anyone, but where do we draw the line when it comes to our personal privacy. In yet another example of the federal government wanting more power, the Obama administration is developing plans that would require all Internet-based communication services -- such as encrypted BlackBerry e-mail, Facebook, and Skype -- to be capable of complying with federal wiretap orders, reports "Fox News" (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/09/27/seeking-expand-internet-wiret...).

According to a report published Monday by "The New York Times," national security officials and federal law enforcement argue their ability to eavesdrop on terror suspects is increasingly "going dark" as more communication takes place via Internet services, rather than by traditional telephone. The...

| Read more »
Sep 27
The coming of Internet TV

The revamped Apple TV is due within the next few weeks. If Apple will finally take the device seriously, it has incredible potential as TV viewing is poised for some major changes in the years ahead.

A new report from Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/bb5c9e/internet_televisio) says the television industry is at the beginning of a generational change which will eventually see a new type of television service -- Internet Television -- being delivered directly to TV sets in broadband-enabled households around the globe. In the end, practically all new TV sets will incorporate Internet television functionality as a standard feature that viewers will be able to use alongside their existing television services.

With the Apple TV Apple could beat everyone to the punch.

By 2014...

| Read more »
Sep 27

Greg's bite: Viacom's CEO doesn't get...

By Greg Mills

The newer "go-to-market" models for digital video content that took Blockbuster down, (NetFlix and on-demand cable TV) is also threatening over-the-air broadcasting.  Rabbit ears don't hack it anymore.  

Broadcast TV is becoming a class-defining technology.  People who have the money to spend on entertainment are going to alternative ways to obtain video content. The numbers are disturbing to the broadcast industry, which relies on heavy advertising to survive. Even in the deepest recession in the living memory of the American public, the share of viewers watching "free" broadcast TV (over-the-air) are declining. Frankly, when almost half of over-the-air programing is advertising, it is no wonder those who can afford to get TV other ways do so. 

The content providers are getting used to a steady stream of money from cable and satellite TV systems. There is a small amount paid per customer to each channel provided. This amounts to...

| Read more »
Sep 24
Greg's bite: the Stuxnet virus attack on Iran

By Greg Mills

Apple computer became the second most valuable company in the world. The valuation has a long ways to go as the market share of Apple products are still small compared to the overall market. Buy Apple stock folks ...

Departing from my normal focus on things Apple, there are stories around the web on an interesting virus or worm attack that some very well funded hackers have unleashed upon Iran's nuclear weapons program. The Stuxnet virus was able to concentrate on infecting and spreading on control servers, not connected to the Internet, by way of hiding on USB thumb drives used to transfer other data from server to server. The virus is of course a Windows bit of malware, so Macs are unaffected.

I was somewhat surprised that Israel and the Untied States allowed the Iranian nuclear reactor, built by our good friends the Russians, to go on line a few weeks ago. The threat of an Islamic bomb under the control of radicals is a...

| Read more »
 

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