Apple on Tuesday released firmware updates for several of its Macintosh hardware products. Separate updates are available for five Apple products including the MacBook Air, MacBook, MacBook Pro, iMac and Aluminum Keyboard Firmware. Apple also released a downloadable Firmware Restoration CD.
There’s a week to go before Apple’s commitment to release the iPhone Software Developers Kit in February runs out of room. I’m hearing from one source that its going to be late. I’m not yet hearing any reasons why, and it’s sounding like the official release date could slide by anywhere from one to three weeks.Apple had no comment, and as yet there’s no word on any events related to an SDK release next week. However I’m also hearing that the situation is fluid, and a lot of last-minute decisions are close to being made about what precisely will or will not be disclosed next week, if anything. There are, apparently, a lot of moving parts to something this complex.
Remember if you will that BusinessWeek broke the story of Apple’s plans to release an iPhone SDK in October, a day before CEO Steve Jobs announced the company’s intentions himself via a statement on the “Hot News” section of Apple’s Web site.
So will they make it to the finish line in time or will they have to fudge it a little? We’ll all be watching next week.
iTunes download prices fall, next a hook up with BBC
Around a month ago there was a hue and cry about how iTunes was using anti-competitive practices and that the price of music downloaded in Britain was higher than in the rest of the European Union. This time it seems that iTunes is slashing the price of downloads from the usual 79p to 73p. Customers have claimed that though the price on the iTunes store still says 79p they have been charged 73p instead. Read the rest of this entry »
While the Apple brand is on the rise, Microsoft on the decline.
A recent survey of nearly 2000 professionals and students have named Apple has the most inspiring brand and one that respondents could not live without.
The results come in the wake of another poll of about 12,000 U.S. business decision-makers which indicate that Microsoft has dropped from the number 12 ranking of most powerful U.S. company brands in 2004, way down to number 59 this past year. Further underscoring the trend, Microsoft previously ranked #1 in a similar brand survey in 1996. The fall in rank reflects a drop in the following ratings: overall reputation, perception of management, and investment potential.
Though the survey gives no specifics about the nature of the decline, CEO of CoreBrand speculates that Vista’s poor reception as well as Apple’s “Get a Mac” television ads may have both contributed to the decline.
Checks with stores across the US show Apple to have been virtually devoid of iPhone stock for days, even at its online store — and with signs that the company is aware of its widespread nature.
When AppleInsider contacted stores across the country, the answer was always the same: all stock of 8GB and 16GB iPhone models was completely sold out, and clerks were unsure of when their stores were receive more. Read the rest of this entry »
Many iPhone fans are awaiting Apple’s upcoming 3G iPhone, and unfortunately for them, Apple isn’t planning on commenting until everything is ready! All people can do is speculate, and most rumors that have been floating around seem to point at a summer date (specifically June due to the public release of iPhone Software Version 2.0 and the iPhone SDK) for the release of the 3G iPhone.
Apple on Thursday released a new version of its iPhone software developers kit (SDK) that allows third parties to develop applications for the iPhone and iPod touch digital media player.
Just days after settling a lawsuit in which it was charged with misrepresenting the quality of its notebook screens, Apple Inc. has been hit with a second class-action suit rife with similar allegations over one of its iMac displays. Read the rest of this entry »
This is another way to have fun with your iPhone.
I just got myself an iPhone and it can do magic things. Secret Fun iPone applications discovered? I recorded this at the Apple Store in Soho just 30 minutes after the introduction of the iPhone.
Everybody knows that the iPhone can make phone calls, play movies & music, surf the web, and a lot more. But, Will It Blend? That is the question.
Very useful to know when you’re getting tired of it.