The financial newsletter Bloomberg was recently updating its 17-page Steve Jobs obituary, and in the process accidentally published it. With all of the recent scare around Steve’s health, this caused a bit of a “gasp” moment. Some investors were downright shaken up and confused when they saw the Apple CEO’s obituary cross the Bloomberg wire and then disappear. Steve’s health has been a major concern this year, and only recently have we been reassured that he is fine. Highly publicized debates about whether shareholders have a right to know about Steve’s health have dominated headlines. But nothing drew more fear or gloomy interest as this mistakenly run obituary by Bloomberg.
The story had been quickly retracted with the following statement:
In the latest episode of This Week in Tech (the episode has been up and down), Digg founder Kevin Rose claims to know more specific information regarding Apple’s upcoming product launch. Rose reveals details that were left out of his previous blog entry, which originally shed light on Apple’s upcoming product launch. Rose claims that a specific iTunes feature called the “Recommendation Jukebox” will be available with iTunes 8 and the new iPods on September 9th.
Apple is widely believed to be holding a special event in September, where the release of new iPods, iTunes 8, or quite possibly an overhauled notebook line would be warmly welcomed.
Google has unveiled what is being referred to as the “Android Market.” A software store that bares not-so-shocking resemblance to the iPhone App Store. The Android Market, of course, is only directed towards phones running the Android operating system.
Apple has been under harsh criticism for pulling various apps from the app store. Which some say are making it turn out to be a software “boutique” hand chosen by Apple. Google, on the other hand, is taking a different approach. They are planning an “open and unobstructed” environment where apps are not banned for legal content, functions, or stupidity. The store itself will still be hosted by Google (like Apple’s App Store), and the overall concept is the same… To give third-party developers neutral ground to share, distribute and sell their applications easily, and securely.
The Android Market will be available as a beta first, and will come preloaded on to new devices that will only allow for free applications to be downloaded. “A system to handle paid apps and with streamlined upgrades, support for different device profiles, and other details should be available shortly after the first device is available this fall.”
A major security flaw has recently been uncovered inside Apple’s iPhone OS. The flaw would allow unauthorized access to data on the device, even when the passcode was set to “on.” Macworld has received an email from Apple confirming an iPhone update in September that would directly address this flaw.
In an email to MacWorld, Apple representative, Jennifer Bowcock, confirmed the following: “The minor iPhone security issue which surfaced this week is fixed in a software update which will be released in September.”
Until the security fix is released in a future software update, Bowcock (yes, Bow-Cock) offered some advice to protect the data on your iPhone from prying eyes. In your iPhone settings, make sure that “double-clicking the home button” takes the user directly to the home screen. Which will be the unlock screen if password protection will be on.
AppleInsider claims to have discovered a new company filing, where Apple Inc. showcases a slew of techniques that would enable a revolutionary tablet Mac to run a full version of Mac OS X, as well as be controlled by a full-sized multi-touch keyboard.
Several examples from the filing, which lists Apple industrial design chief Jonathan Ive among its inventors, are provided below. Some examples not listed, but included in the filing, include cycling through pages by vertical and horizontal finger swipes, and simultaneous zoom and rotate maneuvers.
Psystar to Countersue Apple
“Miami-based Psystar, owned by Rudy Pedraza, will sue Apple under two federal laws designed to discourage monopolies and cartels, the Sherman Antitrust Act and the Clayton Antitrust Act, saying Apple’s tying of the Mac OS to Apple-labeled hardware is “an anticompetitive restrain of trade,” according to attorney Colby Springer of antitrust specialists Carr & Ferrell. Psystar is requesting that the court find Apple’s EULA void, and is asking for unspecified damages,” Cnet reports.
Psystar: Apple Illegally Destroys Competition in the Marketplace
Psystar claims in court documents filed in U.S. District Court for San Francisco that Apple “has engaged in certain anticompetitive behavior and/or other actions that are in violation of the public policy underlying the federal copyright laws…The Mac OS and Windows operating system are not merely different operating systems with no interchangeability but cultural icons representative of different lifestyles, markets, and that the computing devices of each environment are used for wholly different audiences,” Psystar argues in court papers.
“Apple is free to control and charge customers supra-competitive prices” and places “unreasonable restraints on trade,” Psystar claims.
MacBlogz previously spoke with an Intellectual Properties Attorney and had him analyze a few statements from the fine print in Apple’s Software License Agreement for OS X, which ships with every single copy of Mac OS X that Apple sells. Check it out here (Attorney Analysis at the end).
