apple

Silicon Valley: The true tech mecca?

Every so often, I wonder if Silicon Valley is all it's cracked up to be. Sure, the confluence of venture capital, universities, and lawyers make it a veritable petri dish for the formation of technology companies, but there are a lot of other great places for innovation, right?

Well, if you go strictly by market capitalization, and look at the top 10 information technology companies, 6 of them are based in Silicon Valley: Cisco Systems, Google, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, Apple, and Oracle. In fact, if you map these company's headquarters, they'd all be inside a circle with a … Read more

Apple releases security update for Mac OS X and OS X Server v. 10.4.11

Apple released a hefty security update for the Mac OS X and OS X Server on Wednesday that fixes more than 40 vulnerabilities, a number of which could be exploited to enable someone to run programs on the machine remotely or lead to the disclosure of sensitive data.

Security Update 2008-003 is for Mac OS X v 10.4.11 and Mac OS X Server v 10.4.11. The fixes are included in the latest Leopard edition, Mac OS X v 10.5.3, which also was released on Wednesday.

The software fixes vulnerabilities that could have led to … Read more

The Digital Home 17: Analyzing the Apple Fanboy

Don Reisinger invites three listeners on the show in the first segment to discuss whatever is on their mind. This show: Twitter, Privacy and PC gaming. After that, he sits down with Joe Tassone, our resident wireless expert to check in on the cell phone industry and ends the show with a rant about Apple fanboys. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 17 … Read more

Orange rolling out iPhone 2.0 upgrade path?

French iPhone carrier Orange might have an upgrade plan in the works when Apple ships the next generation of the iPhone.

Anyone with a pulse and even a passing interest in consumer electronics knows that the 3G iPhone is perhaps weeks away from making its debut, probably at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 9. Those with longer memories will recall the outcry over Apple's decision to cut the price of the iPhone by $200 in September, forcing the company to issue $100 credits to iPhone early adopters to stem the criticism.

Perhaps this time around, Apple and … Read more

What you want in the 3G iPhone

Last week I posted a list of the features that I'd like to see in the new 3G iPhone. I also asked you what you'd like to see in the new version, and I got quite a few responses. Voice dialing was one of the most popular suggestions, and I'm embarrassed that I left that off my original list. Indeed, that feature is sorely needed, particularly as more states and localities mandate hands-free cell phone use while driving. Also, another feature that I should have included is a landscape keyboard for composing text messages. On the current … Read more

Apple releases Mac OS X 10.5.3

Apple has released the latest version of Mac OS X Leopard, just weeks before its annual developers' conference.

Mac OS X 10.5.3 is now available for downloading from Apple's site or through the Software Update process. Dozens of bugs are fixed with the new release for products like iCal, Mail, Time Machine, and others.

Apple is getting set to host its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco the week of June 9, where we might learn more about the yet-unnamed Mac OS X 10.6, assuming they aren't skipping ahead to Mac OS XI, or … Read more

Why I support an iTunes dynamic pricing model

A recent article from Reuters reports that Apple may be changing its tune and could start offering a variable pricing option on iTunes.

After HBO formed a deal with the company that saw The Sopranos go for $2.99 instead of the $1.99 fee being charged for other shows, Apple has gone back to the table with other companies in an attempt to start a variable pricing scheme that could see shows being priced anywhere from 33 cents on up.

Of course, the very fact that Apple wants to institute variable pricing doesn't mean that it will happen. "When you get into that conversation, it's a slippery slope," one studio executive said. "Because we'll differ with them on what content is worth what."

And therein lies the rub. Should The Sopranos really be worth more than Lost? Should a show like Dexter go for something cheaper because it has less viewers than network shows? Sadly, there's truly no answer to the question of how much each show is worth.

And it's for that reason that I support the somewhat controversial, dynamic pricing model.… Read more

Buzz Out Loud 732: Make family, not phone

An amusement park in the U.K. thinks you'll have more fun if they confiscate your smartphone. I think I would not go to that amusement park. I don't care if they say I'll have more fun-- I don't trust them with my iPhone. Also YouTube and Viacom are spatting again, and Brazilian beetles might lead to photonic computing! Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 732

Why Friday audio sucked

What we just learned about Windows 7 http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-9952067-56.html http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-9951638-56.html

First pictures from Mars Phoenix lander … Read more

Solar-powered iPhone on the way?

Apple has taken a shine to using solar cells in its mobile devices.

A patent application, unearthered by MacRumors.com, describes technology to integrate solar cells into portable devices. The named inventors of the patent application are Apple employees, some of whom are iPod engineers.

Using small solar panels to charge portable devices is nothing new; there are several such products already available. Apple appears to be trying to innovate in the integration of the solar cells into a portable device.

Rather than make a separate charger, Apple engineers have sought to package solar cells right into the device in … Read more

InfoTech 100 best performing tech companies (BusinessWeek)

BusinessWeek sorted through the financial results of 30,500 publicly traded companies to rank the tech players on four criteria: shareholder return, return on equity, total revenue. It's worth a look to see how well consumer technology companies are doing and how important telecom remains in the global technology economy.

Here are the top five:

Amazon Apple Research in Motion Nintendo Western Digital

InfoTech 100