apple

Apple, Safari, iPhones and the reek of Microsoft

Last week Apple decided to try its hand at bundling. Tying is just around the corner.

Apple already has a place on the desktops of many Windows users through iTunes. Like Microsoft before it, Apple figured this was a great Trojan Horse to start pushing its other software. Like Microsoft before it, Apple stepped over the line, as John Lilly, CEO of Mozilla, suggested:

What Apple is doing now with their Apple Software Update on Windows is wrong. It undermines the trust relationship great companies have with their customers, and that's bad -- not just for Apple, but for the security of the whole Web.

John then goes on to say he's not against Apple's use of iTunes to push the Safari browser. He's wrong. Larry Dignan suggests John's complaint stems from Mozilla trying to protect its lucrative search relationship with Google. He's wrong, too.

If a browser had anything to do with iTunes, this wouldn't be so egregiously bad. But it doesn't. No, Apple's move bears the imprint of a would-be monopolist that cares more about its market position than its customers. I'm guessing it has little to do with Safari and much to do with...the iPhone.… Read more

Mozilla CEO says Apple's Safari auto-update 'wrong'

A lot of people appear to be bent out of shape about Apple using its auto-update service to distribute the Safari Web browser on Windows. The CEO of Mozilla, which makes the rival Firefox browser, calls it bad business.

In a blog on Friday, Mozilla CEO John Lilly criticized Apple's practice, uncovered this week, of offering iTunes and QuickTime users Safari 3.1 on Windows through the Apple Software Update pop-up.

Lilly says that automatic updates are a good way to ensure people have the most recent and secure versions of software. It's a practice that Mozilla uses … Read more

Think before you install

Look, people, it's 2008: You're responsible for what you install on your PC.

The outrage is spewing forth over Apple's move to include Safari 3.1 as part of its Software Update program. The new twist is that Windows users who never had installed Safari are now seeing it pop up in Software Update, where they are accustomed to seeing updates for iTunes and Quicktime, and that's not sitting well with many who inadvertently installed the browser.

Short attention span syndrome strikes again. This practice, of trying to get people to install your software through coy … Read more

Apple playing hard to get with iPhone

Your perception of Apple's iPhone probably has a lot to do with your personal philosophy of computing.

Do you want unfettered freedom to run anything, whenever and however you want it? Or do you only need a few vital applications to make you happy, and really just want the damn thing to work reliably?

In these, the early days of the iPhone, it's very clear that Apple has taken a very cautious approach to independent iPhone developers and software development. Contrast that approach with Microsoft, which built a PC empire catering to developers' needs, and would like to … Read more

Why is Universal Music cozying up to Apple?

Doug Morris is supposed to be the music industry's hard-liner.

The chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group, Morris yanked music videos off Yahoo and sued MySpace for copyright infringement. He threatened to pull songs from Microsoft's online music store unless Bill Gates forked over a $1 for every Zune music player sold. He seethed over Apple CEO Steve Job's refusal to let him and the other label execs set song prices on iTunes.

So why is he now offering Jobs a plum of a deal?

Morris has approached Apple with an idea to offer a device … Read more

Is Wall Street still smoking dope when it comes to Apple?

Is Apple really recession-proof?

American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu upgraded Apple today, roughly two weeks' shy of the end of the company's first quarter. Nothing unusual there. But checking in with his supply chain, Wu came away so impressed that he wrote the following:

"So far, our sense is that the Mac business appears to be recession proof. We were already looking for robust Mac unit growth of 38 percent Y/Y, but now we think it may be closer to 42 percent."

Wu's as good a stock analyst as any in his segment but … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 685: Do Androids Dream?

HTC has subtly referenced Phil Dick by naming their forthcoming Android phone Dream. But is it a replicate? We'll never know. And of course Google is crumbling because their search traffic grew. You heard that right. We'll explain that theory and attempt to debunk it on the show. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 685

comScore releases February 2008 U.S. search engine rankings http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=2119

Google queries decelerated in February–comScore--Silicon Alley Insider http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/3/ google_comscore_says_queries_decelerated_in_february

Google data watch: Enough with the overanalysis http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=8272… Read more

Apple software update brings wireless Time Machine backups

The wireless backup feature that disappeared from Apple's promotional copy for its Leopard operating system has snuck in through the back door.

Macworld did a little poking around with the recently released Mac OS X software update for "Time Machine and Airport" and realized that Time Machine now recognizes a generic USB hard drive plugged into an Airport Extreme base station, allowing Airport Extreme users to wirelessly back up their notebooks with Leopard's Time Machine. You need to mount the external hard drive using Finder to make sure Time Machine can see it, according to Macworld.… Read more

Security fix released for Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station

Apple released on Wednesday a security update for the AirPort Extreme Base Station with 802.11n.

The Firmware 7.3.1 update addresses the Apple Filing Protocol (AFP) vulnerability detailed in CVE-2008-1012.

Apple said there is an input validation issue in the way AirPort Extreme Base Station validates AFP requests. A maliciously crafted AFP request may cause file sharing to become unresponsive. This issue does not affect Time Capsule or AirPort Express.

The update for the Fast Ethernet version of Airport Extreme and the Gigabit Ethernet editions is available on from Apple support. Earlier this week Apple released an update … Read more

Are Apple ads hurting Microsoft's brand?

A new ranking of global brands shows Microsoft's reputation sinking in recent years. Among the possible factors: Apple's "I'm a Mac" ads.

Microsoft lands at No. 59 in the rankings for 2007, down from No. 11 in 2004, according to the survey from CoreBrand released Wednesday.

"The effect of Apple's 'Hi, I'm a Mac' advertising campaign may have taken its toll on Microsoft," CoreBrand CEO James Gregory said in a statement. "The launch of a series of new products, following a long, relatively dormant period, will be closely watched to … Read more