Technology News: Software

Familiar Desktop Features Make Up For Full Browser's Quirks
November 19, 2009

If you search for "browser" in the App Store, you'll get dozens of applications, each purporting to be an alternative to the iPhone and iPod touch's built-in Safari browser. In a sense, they are alternatives, since they look different and might have a few unique features. But they're really all Safari underneath.

What's Apple's Game Plan?
November 17, 2009

Last year, Apple began marketing its iPod touch as the "funnest iPod ever," a nod to the significant popularity of the game applications available on the iPhone/iPod touch App Store. Games designed by third-party developers have been big sellers for the platform, and now Apple itself looks like it wants in on more of the fun -- it's advertising for an in-house game developer.

Ruling Snuffs Psystar's Mac Dreams
November 16, 2009

Apple has won a summary judgment in its copyright infringement case against Psystar. The Miami-based startup turned heads last year with its offer of a $400 Mac clone -- that is, non-Apple hardware running the Mac OS X Leopard operating system. Several claims in the case remain to be briefed and tried if it doesn't settle first, but it likely will.

VMware Fuses Performance With Convenience
November 16, 2009

There's more than 50 new features in the latest version of VMware Fusion -- an application that allows Windows and OS X to run together in a virtual environment on a Mac -- but the one that has users raving is the big boost in performance. "I installed VMWare Fusion 3.0 just a few days ago," Leon Kotovich, president and CEO of AgileSequent told MacNewsWorld.

Safe Mac Computing on an Unsafe Web
November 14, 2009

We first saw the Apple Macintosh at the 1984 Super Bowl. At the time, IBM and Microsoft gave us only text-based computing. The Mac appeared looking like nothing we had ever seen. Its screen was all graphics, all the time. It had a mouse, the first one seen by most people. It was smaller than a PC, lighter and more portable.

Intel Escapes Its Legal Morass, One Settlement at a Time
November 13, 2009

Intel and AMD have finally put a long and bitter disagreement to bed, and in the end, all it took was a little open communication and understanding, along with one and a quarter billion dollars. The two have been at it for years -- accusations, threats, lawsuits. AMD said Intel engaged in anticompetitive behavior; Intel said AMD broke its licensing agreements.

Apple's House Rules Won't Be the Death of App Development
November 13, 2009

So Facebook developer Joe Hewitt tweets that he's ditching the super-popular Facebook iPhone app, and TechCrunch, clearly sensing there's more to the story here, reaches out to learn why. "My decision to stop iPhone development has had everything to do with Apple's policies," Hewitt told TechCrunch.

The Netbook OS Enigma
November 12, 2009

On Monday, Apple rolled out the 10.6.2 update to its Snow Leopard operating system, which concentrated mostly on general bug fixes and stability issues as well as some issues in Mail, MobileMe and Safari. In all, there are more than 100 improvements, and more than 40 security-related fixes. However, the big talk today is that this update officially terminates support for Intel's Atom processor family.

RedLaser for iPhone: There's a Bargain for That
November 12, 2009

It's easy to see why the retail industry has been in love with the bar code for the past several decades. It makes checkout faster, and it probably makes inventory a lot easier when you've got a computer system to keep track of everything that passes over the counter. But some retailers abuse the technology by using it as an excuse to not put an actual price tag anywhere on or near the products on their shelves.

Snow Leopard Smashes Atom
November 10, 2009

Apple on Monday issued its latest update to its Snow Leopard operating system. Mac OS X 10.6.2 fixes a slew of bugs and glitches that users had been complaining about. It also froze out Intel's Atom chip, leaving "hackintosh" users -- people who use do-it-yourself methods to run Mac OS X on Intel-powered netbooks -- out in the cold.

New Worm Gives Jailbroken iPhones the Ol' Rickroll
November 10, 2009

Although it apparently causes no actual harm besides a trivial annoyance, a worm that hits jailbroken iPhones has security researches worried. The so-called Ikee worm was discovered by security researchers recently. It installs a picture of pop singer Rick Astley and displays the message "Ikee is never going to give you up" on victims' iPhones.

Droid Lurches to Life
November 06, 2009

Today is the day of the Droid. The Motorola smartphone touches down today in what's shaping up to be one of the biggest handset launches in recent memory. Of course Verizon is going all-in as far as advertising is concerned, but there's more to the Droid's story than a marketing campaign.

Chorus Should Sound Great Once More Singers Join In
November 05, 2009

The iTunes App Store became 100,000 applications strong this week, and it took less than a year and a half to get there. Would it surprise you to know that not every last one of those apps is a perfect work of art? Yes, believe it or not, many of the apps that compete for your attention in the App Store are pretty worthless.

The iPhone's China Syndrome
November 04, 2009

The iPhone went on sale last week in China, and it landed more or less with a thud. Cupertino's carrier partner in that country, China Unicom, announced on Tuesday that only 5,000 customers had purchased the phone thus far. At this rate, the handset may have trouble meeting sales expectations. China Unicom had pledged to sell 1 million iPhones per year.

Mac OS X May Split With Atom
November 03, 2009

An update from Apple for its OS X 10.6 operating system could cause a lot of grief for tinkerers who have installed Snow Leopard on low-cost netbook computers. The update may cause Snow Leopard to no longer run on Intel's Atom processors. Withdrawing Atom support would prevent device hackers from creating so-called hackintosh netbooks.

Windows 7 Takes Back Mac Switchers and Other Reasons for Hope
November 02, 2009

Last month was fascinating for me. Not only was Windows 7 launched, but it appeared last week that because so many Mac users were installing Windows 7, some huge enterprise servers crashed. In addition, I got a chance to see Yahoo's new CEO Carol Bartz in action, and was both impressed with her and a little disappointed in the event.