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Apple and the DOJ face off over e-book prices (FAQ)

Apple and the U.S. Department of Justice head to a Manhattan court Monday to begin a trial over whether the Cupertino, Calif., electronics giant colluded with several major publishers to fix pricing on e-books.

Things already have gotten complicated: the DOJ's lawsuit originally targeting Apple and five major e-book publishers. The publishers have since settled, leaving Apple the sole, staunch holdout.

The trial, which is expected to last three weeks, has brought out a trove of evidence consisting of e-mails between executives, including late Apple CEO Steve Jobs. They include details of negotiations and strategizing, and general insights … Read more

New MacBook Pro and MacBook Air may debut at WWDC

With Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) starting June 10, speculation is swirling as to what might be introduced beyond significant, Jony Ive-inspired updates to the company's mobile and desktop operating systems.

According to one of more accurate analysts tracking Apple, Mingchi Kuo of KGI Securities, a slimmer MacBook Pro based on Intel's new Haswell processors and a MacBook Air with improved microphones are expected to debut at WWDC.

In a recent report, Kuo wrote:

We expect the new MacBook, featuring an upgrade to Intel's (US) Haswell processor, will be in the spotlight for Apple at the … Read more

Android alters all: Now the PC?

The Android laptop is coming. Does that mean more market-share pain for Windows PCs?

Hewlett-Packard's upcoming notebook offerings speak for themselves. For $480, there's the SlateBook x2 Android "notebook". At $800, we have the Windows 8-based Split x2.

For me, the choice gets easier every time I pick up the Nexus 10 tablet that I've been using for the last month. In other words, if I'm spending about 50 percent of my time -- and doing limited-productivity stuff -- on the Nexus 10, it's not a giant leap to an Android laptop.

Nor … Read more

Q&A: MacFixIt Answers

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which I answer Mac-related questions e-mailed in by our readers.

This week, readers asked about using drives attached to a Time Capsule as separate shared backup destinations for Time Machine, how to deal with managing photos both in the Finder and in iPhoto, and managing a completely black MacBook screen.

I welcome contributions from readers, so if you have any suggestions or alternative approaches to these problems, please post them in the comments!

Question: Using multiple shares on a Time Capsule for Time Machine backups MacFixIt reader Gregg asks:

I was wondering if I … Read more

Graphics-related crashes resurface for mid-2010 MacBook Pro systems

A graphics related bug that affected MacBook Pro systems upgraded to OS X 10.7 Lion has resurfaced for a number of people who have upgraded and subsequently updated their systems to Mountain Lion.

When Apple released OS X 10.7 Lion in 2011, a number mid-2010 model MacBook Pro owners found their systems inundated with crashes and graphics-related errors in which the system would show a black screen and freeze, requiring a forced shutdown and restart of the system.

This issue affected a number of people, and because some users were able to overcome the issue with a logic … Read more

Amazon Kindle reportedly destined for China on June 7

Amazon may finally open up shop for its Kindle devices in China.

Citing information from "multiple sources," blog site Sina Tech said today that the Kindle Fire tablet and Kindle e-readers will officially launch in China on June 7. Amazon will reportedly sell the devices through Chinese online retailer Suning.

The Kindle Fire HD (either the 7-inch or 8.9-inch version) will sell for 1400 to 1500 yuan ($228 to $244), while the Kindle Paperwhite Wi-Fi e-reader will go for 849 yuan ($138), according to Sina Tech.

Amazon has slowly been moving into the Chinese market. Last December, … Read more

Apple CEO: We rejected DOJ settlement in e-book suit

As the chief of the last company standing in the upcoming lawsuit over e-book price fixing, Apple CEO Tim Cook said Tuesday that the company never had any plans to settle with the government.

"We're not going to sign something that says we did something that we didn't do, so we're going to fight," Cook said during an interview at the D11 conference on Tuesday.

He noted that Apple rejected a settlement because it was asked to sign a document that said it did something wrong. Cook said he didn't think Apple did anything … Read more

The ugly truth: Apple vs. PC design

Walk into any Best Buy and you're hit with an ugly truth: PCs aren't pretty.

A 15-inch HP Windows 8 laptop that sells for $270 (Best Buy's "Deal of the Day" on Saturday) isn't meant to be pretty. It's meant to be practical.

But a $330 iPad Mini is also very practical for a lot of people. And pretty too (consumers and reviewers seem to think so). Pretty and practical are two reasons Apple can sell tens of millions of Minis.

Why bring this up? I was struck by a statement from an … Read more

Q&A: MacFixIt Answers

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which I answer Mac-related questions e-mailed in by our readers.

This week, readers asked about how to batch-edit files to add missing file extensions so they can be read in an applicable program, the options for adding more space to a MacBook Pro system with fixed flash memory, and the possibilities for secure-erasing e-mail messages from within Apple's Mail program.

I welcome contributions from readers, so if you have any suggestions or alternative approaches to these problems, please post them in the comments!

Question: Batch-addition of file extensions to unreadable files. MacFixIt reader … Read more

Review: Comic Book Camera puts a twist on photo filtering

Comic Book Camera is an impressive photo filtering app, managing to go above and beyond most other free options. Some of the photo apps on the App Store are incredible in what they enable your camera to do. From active filters that layer over your lens to video editing software, developers have done some impressive things with the camera in these devices. Comic Book Camera does all of this and more with a unique twist.

The premise of Comic Book Camera is to convert your photos into black & white, comic-style images that you can edit and add text bubbles … Read more