apple

Turning the TV into a 'social-media center'

LOS ANGELES--Boxee wants to give Steve Ballmer what he wants.

The Microsoft CEO complained recently how unsocial the television set is compared to the Web.

"My son will stay up all night basically playing Xbox Live with friends that are in various parts of the world," Ballmer told The Washington Post. "And yet I can't sit there in front of the TV and have the same kind of a social interaction around my favorite basketball game or golf match."

Boxee, a start-up that will launch a test version of the service on Monday, has … Read more

Apple's Jobs: PA Semi to design iPhone chips

Apple may have taken a look at the future of mobile chip development and decided to forge its own path.

The New York Times scored an interview with Apple CEO Steve Jobs following Monday's Worldwide Developers Conference keynote, and buried inside a rambling exchange about parallel processing and Mac OS X Snow Leopard was this little nugget about PA Semi, the chip company Apple acquired in April. "PA Semi is going to do system-on-chips for iPhones and iPods," Jobs told the Times.

System-on-chips, or SOCs, are pretty much what they sound like: complete computer systems on a … Read more

Apple's MobileMe vs. Funambol's myFUNAMBOL: An open sync?

Apple introduced a successor to its .Mac product which looks interesting, though not revolutionary: MobileMe. Dubbed "Exchange for the rest of us," MobileMe offers "push e-mail, calendars, and contacts for users, keeping that information up-to-date whether they're viewing it at a computer or an iPhone."

In other words, exactly what Funambol already offers for free (as in cost and as in source code), except Apple is charging $99 per year. What a bargain!

Even worse, Apple inexplicably opted to use closed standards to offer the MobileMe service, as Fabrizio laments:… Read more

MP3 Insider 100: iPhone madness

Jasmine and Donald tear the iPhone a new one. Plus, Jasmine's cat gets a hold of the Sony Rolly, SanDisk gobbles MusicGremlin, and Donald rounds-up some non-iPod MP3 players for Mac users. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 100

iPhone music stuff: http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9963889-1.htmlBest non-iPod MP3 players for Mac: http://reviews.cnet.com/4321-6490_7-6545983.html?tag=feat.2iMainGo 2: http://reviews.cnet.com/portable-speakers/imaingo-2-silver/4505-11313_7-33060592.html?tag=links;reviewRadius TruTune: http://reviews.cnet.com/mp3-players/sony-rolly-2gb-white/4505-6490_7-33059749.html?tag=prod.txt.2Sony Rolly: http://reviews.cnet.com/mp3-players/sony-rolly-2gb-white/4505-6490_7-33059749.html?tag=prod.txt.2… Read more

News.com Daily Podcast: The iPhone news you didn't hear Monday

HP unleashes huge new product lineup; why restaurants may want to hang onto their leftover fry grease; and iRobot heads for the high seas. Listen now: Download today's podcast

We all heard plenty about the new iPhone 3G on Monday. But one of the stories that didn't get quite as many headlines is a change in the relationship between AT&T and Apple.

CNET News.com reporters Tom Krazit and Marguerite Reardon talk to podcast host Jennifer Guevin about what the changes mean for the two companies--and for consumers thinking about taking the iPhone plunge.

Hewlett-Packard took … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 742: iPhone hangover day

In the great cycle of technology, today is the day-after-Jobs-keynote when we are bummed about the morsels that were dished out the day before. Witness: iPhone activation, lockdown, and data plan woes. Also, ISPs take one big step down the slippery slope, the SUV takes a nosedive, and Stewart and Colbert hit Hulu. Rejoice!

Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 742

Apple may soon be free from AT&T http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-9964695-17.html

iPhone 3G: AT&T memo to retail managers shows iPhone 3G policy http://gizmodo.com/5014909/att-memo-to-retail-managers-shows-iphone-3g-policy http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/06/09/3g_iphone_to_be_in_store_activated_free_upgrade_for_recent_buyers.html … Read more

A world of iPhones

I have to admit that during the past year I've been gloating to my CNET Asia colleagues over the iPhone. I just had to savor the fact that at long last the United States got a hot tech gadget before they did. At least with high-end cell phones, that almost never happens.

But in just a few weeks my bragging days will be over. On July 11, the new iPhone 3G lands not only in the United States with AT&T, but also in 21 19 other countries. In his WWDC keynote address, Apple CEO Steve Jobs included … Read more

Apple fixes security issues with QuickTime 7.5

Apple released QuickTime 7.5 late on Monday, fixing a handful of security issues, including holes that would have allowed someone to run malicious code on a computer and remotely control it.

One of the issues, which would have allowed a maliciously crafted PICT image file to run code, affected computers running Windows Vista and XP SP2.

Four other issues affected Vista and XP SP2, as well as Mac OS X 10.3.9, Mac OS X 10.4.9 through 10.4.11, and Mac OS X 10.5 or later. QuickTime 7.5 fixes a memory corruption issue … Read more

O2 offers U.K. iPhone users upgrade path to 3G

iPhone users in the U.K. will have an option to upgrade to the new iPhone 3G without paying full price for a new model.

O2, the exclusive carrier of the iPhone in the U.K., will offer a free iPhone 3G to customers who opt for one of its high-end rate plans, and a reduced-price iPhone for those who take the midrange plans. Interested customers will have three months following the July 11 introduction of the new iPhone to sign up for the program, which will require a new 18-month contract.

Specifically, the 8GB iPhone 3G will be available … Read more

Give the Jobs cancer story a rest

Maybe it's our particular infatuation with Apple and its mercurial co-founder, or maybe it's simply a by-product of the times we live in, where seemingly nothing is out of bounds for public discussion. Whatever the reason, I surely can't be the only person reacting to the "Is Steve having a cancer relapse" rumor with a fix of frustration and disgust.

Truth be told, I did wonder whether Jobs had suffered a relapse when I saw his interview with CNBC yesterday. He looked thin, even gaunt. But last time I checked, neither Apple nor its CEO … Read more