Mac|Life - News

Tuesday Recap: Path Privacy Flaw, Chrome for Android, Corel Hearts Roxio

J.R. Bookwalter — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:48:44 +0000

Another day, another iOS developer in hot water for playing fast and loose with user data. This time it’s Path, a favorite of the MacLife.com team -- but fear not, the sky isn’t falling, as you’ll discover from reading onward. It’s otherwise been a moderately quiet day on the Apple home front, so we’ve collected a few related tidbits from competitors like Google Android and Research in Motion to keep you entertained for this Tuesday, February 7, 2012.

Privacy Gaffe Exposed in Path for iOS App

We’re big fans of Path here at MacLife.com, which is why it’s disheartening to find out that the iOS app quietly uploads your address book to its servers -- including names, emails and phone numbers. The privacy gaffe was first discovered by Arun Thampi and detailed on his Mclov.in blog, which explains how the Path app pushes your address book data as a plist file, without your express permission to do so. “I don’t remember having given permission to Path to access my address book and send its contents to its servers, so I created a completely new ‘Path’ and repeated the experiment and I got the same result -- my address book was in Path’s hands,” Thampi explains. Now, before you rush to delete the otherwise excellent Path app from your iOS device, the developer isn’t using this information for anything nefarious -- in fact, Path co-founder and CEO Dave Morin rushed to explain the company’s decision “in order to help the user find and connect to their friends and family on Path quickly and efficiently as well as to notify them when friends and family join Path. Nothing more.” That said, Path is changing the behavior with a forthcoming 2.0.6 update pending App Store approval, which allows users to opt-in (the Android client has already been updated for this).

Google Introduces Chrome for Android

Rocking an Android device with Ice Cream Sandwich (otherwise known as 4.0)? If so, the Google mothership has a bonus treat for you today: Chrome for Android, the search giant’s latest effort to beef up the web browser on its mobile platform. According to the Google Chrome Blog, a beta of Chrome for Android brings a number of desktop browser features to the palm of your hand, with lightning fast speed, a slick new user interface for tabs and the ability to easily sign into your Google account for syncing open tabs, autocomplete suggestions and bookmarks from the desktop version. The only bad news -- aside from the absence of Adobe Flash Player -- is that you’ll need an Android 4.0 device in order to grab it from the Android Market, which narrows it down to maybe one percent of the folks running the mobile OS (such as owners of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus). But hey, that will change in time… right?

iTunes Connect Now Requires Retina Display Images from Developers

MacRumors is reporting that Apple has notified iOS developers of a new requirement for submitting iPhone and iPod touch apps. Effective immediately, developers will be required to submit screenshots in Retina Display resolution, which are 960x640. The change also affects existing apps, whose screenshots must be upgraded before updates will be approved. “The requirements for high-resolution images are 960 x 640, 960 x 600, 640 x 960, or 640 x 920 pixels,” Apple’s email to developers notes. “Images must be at least 72 dpi, in the RGB color space, and the file must be .jpeg, .jpg, .tif, .tiff, or .png. You can update your screenshot files at any time in iTunes Connect.” Considering that Retina Display was introduced a year and a half ago with the iPhone 4, the new requirement should come as a surprise to no one -- especially considering that the iPad 3 is widely expected to arrive with its own form of Retina Display which effectively doubles the current display resolution.

Roxio Weds Corel, Makes Easy VHS to DVD 3 Plus Baby

Ottawa, Canada-based Corel today announced the completion of its acquisition of Mac and PC software maker Roxio, which includes the popular Toast disc-burning solution. Roxio has been acquired from former owner Rovi Corporation, and the deal includes its entire portfolio of Mac and PC software. Best of all, the newlyweds already have an offspring to call their very own in the form of Roxio VHS to DVD 3 Plus, a new hardware and software product that makes it easy to transfer existing VHS, Hi8 and Video 8 tapes to digital formats, save them to DVD or share via YouTube, Facebook and mobile devices like the iPhone. The new product carries a $69.99 price tag and upgrades are available for owners of previous versions.

BlackBerry App World Claims 60k Apps, More Profitable Than Android

Research in Motion is having a tough time of it these days, but the BlackBerry maker is fighting back with some facts and figures intended to make their platform more appealing to developers -- especially those who currently hone their craft on the Android platform. According to PaidContent.org, RIM is kicking off their developer’s conference in Amsterdam with the bold exclamation that its BlackBerry App World is now home to 60,000 apps -- up from only 17,000 this time last year -- with six million downloads per day and two billion last month alone. While those numbers pale in comparison to Apple’s own App Store -- let alone Google’s Android Market -- RIM is also claiming that App World is more profitable than Android, with more paid downloads than Android Market. According to RIM VP of developer relations Alec Saunders, 13 percent of their developers have pocketed $100,000 or more, with carrier billing now active in 34 countries. Wake us when RIM releases that new BlackBerry 10 operating system, won’t you?

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Monday Recap: Best Buy TV Survey, Siri Hardware, AT&T Throttling Unlimited Data

J.R. Bookwalter — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:45:53 +0000

Hey, how about that Super Bowl, am I right? Okay, you got us -- we didn’t watch the darned thing because we were working hard all weekend while the rest of you planted your backsides on the couch to indulge in cheap beer, stale nachos and the high blood pressure that surely comes from such testosterone-driven forms of entertainment. Most of you are probably having a hard time adjusting to a bad case of the post-Bowl Mondays, but we’re here to help with a heaping helping of tech news for this manic Monday, February 6, 2012.

There May Be a Valid Reason Why Siri Isn’t on Older iPhones

No one likes to be left behind when cool features like Siri are introduced and touted as only available on newer hardware. Despite the valiant efforts of hackers to port the intelligent assistant technology to older iOS handsets, Ars Technica is reporting that Apple may have had a valid reason for limiting it to the iPhone 4S. “According to recent SEC filings from technology start-up Audience, Apple incorporated an improved version of its background noise filtering technology directly into the A5 processor used in the iPhone 4S -- technology that improves Siri's speech recognition capabilities.” Of course, the basic functionality of Siri has already been available in software-only form as a free app, since discontinued after Apple’s release of the iPhone 4S in October -- but coupling it with Audience’s “earSmart” IP would certainly make a more convincing case for keeping Siri tied to newer hardware.

Best Buy Dreaming of an Apple Television, Too

Yeah, yeah, we know: You want an Apple television, and so do the analysts. But what about major electronics retailers? According to The Verge, apparently Best Buy also wants one, and wants one badly enough to query its customers with a survey exclusively dedicated to a theoretical 42-inch “AppleHDTV” which may retail for $1499. Now, before you get all excited and start clearing space on your credit cards, this is in no way an indication that said HDTV will ever arrive in stores -- Best Buy or otherwise. It sounds more like the retailer is getting a feel for what customers might like to see from such an offering, especially when features like a “built in iSight camera and microphone for Skype,” neither of which sound too Apple-like in this day and age. (FaceTime HD, anyone?)

Samsung Galaxy Note: The Stylus Makes a Comeback?

With an audience of millions watching the Super Bowl on Sunday night, Samsung introduced the latest of their attack ads against Apple in the form of a whopping 90 seconds of pure delusion. The spot opens with the usual bored-looking hipsters, presumably in line for the next iPhone, in what can only be described as sheer make-believe -- hey, we stood in line for the first two iPhones and nobody looked as bored and tortured as these folks. Of course, the dark cloud parts when one of them spots a dude with his new Android-packing Samsung Galaxy Note, which reintroduces the stylus to a world that has pretty much forgotten about it. The hipsters get so excited they take to dancing in the streets for the majority of the commercial time before the spot ends with Samsung’s slogan “The next big thing is already here”… followed a moment later by a “Coming Soon” notice. Confused? Yeah, us too…

Report: AT&T Begins Throttling Unlimited Users at 2GB

Still rocking one of those awesome unlimited data packages from the original iPhone back in 2007? If so, AT&T apparently hates you and wants you to die -- okay, so they don’t want you to die, but they do want you to surrender your unlimited data and get with the times. According to iLounge, customers are starting to receive text messages warning that they’re in the top five percent of data users -- a penalty that comes with reduced data speeds for the remainder of the billing cycle. So what is the top five percent, you may ask? If you guessed five or even 10GB, guess again: This particular user got whacked at only 2.1GB, which is ironically under the new 3GB for $30 data plan the carrier recently began offering. What gives? “Data consumption by all smartphone customers, including the top 5 percent of smartphone data customers, varies by month and by market,” explains Emily Edmonds, Director, AT&T Corporate Communications. “As of August 2011, the average data use across the country by the top 5 percent of AT&T smartphone customers was 2 GB per month.” Sounds more like a way to strong arm users grandfathered with undesirable unlimited plans into getting with data caps, if you ask us.

Redbox Partners with Verizon for Streaming, Consumes Blockbuster Express

Hey, Redbox… slow down! You’re making our heads spin here! If you weren’t paying attention earlier today, you might have missed the big news that the DVD rental kiosk giant is indeed preparing to take on Netflix with a new subscription-based streaming service in an unlikely partnership with Verizon. Concerned that the company might be abandoning those giant red kiosks? Don’t be, because Fast Company is reporting that Redbox had yet another huge announcement this afternoon, dropping $100 million for competitor NCR -- the folks behind their sole competition, Blockbuster Express. The deal will now bless Redbox parent Coinstar with “more locations than McDonald’s and Starbucks combined” -- and they predict those DVDs will keep slinging for upwards of another decade, to boot.

Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter

The Week's 10 Hottest Apple News Stories, February 3rd

J Keirn-Swanson — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:30:00 +0000

Price Drop: Childlike Wonder Games

J Keirn-Swanson — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:30:00 +0000

This week's games are addictive and packed with cute animals, making them too fun by half. You'll be fighting your kids to get back your phone just so you can have a crack at these adorable discounted apps. Got a long car trip coming up for the weekend? Well, then, you're set.

Rocket Rush - Tappi Bear

Time for another space journey as you pilot Tappi Bear through the cosmos. Navigate your way through meteors as you fire you donut canon but watch out that the aliens don't get you! How far can you go? This fast loading universal game is a buck off, making it free for you. Enjoy and good luck!

Kiwi Brown

Oh noooes! The evil space bubbles are set to invade and only you, Kiwi Brown, can save the day. Pop those bubbles through cycles of days and nights (bubbles don't rest -- what can you do?). Power-up for mega burst action in this charming free iPhone only app down from one dollar to just one tap in the App Store.

Little Bricks

The classic brick breaking style game gets a few twists in this update on an old favorite. It's not just you, your ball, and some bricks. Oh no, you'll be working in the rain, in the snow, against high winds. You'll be finding portals and all kinds of other hidden gems in this now free iPhone favorite.

Derby & the Jellybean Adventure

Derby's on an adventure to eat as many jellybeans as he can. You'll fling him from peg to peg in this free iPhone physics style game. Watch out for thieving enemies who will try to steal your sweet treats. With the right aiming, you can toss this adorable little guy for hours without stop. Down from a dollar, but not forever, so what are you waiting for?

Friday Recap: Snow Leopard Rosetta Bug, Readdle’s Remarks, iBooks Author Update

J.R. Bookwalter — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:19:34 +0000

Ah, Friday: Time to kick up the feet and relax, assuming you don’t have to work the weekend. (Sadly, we do -- feeling sorry for us yet?) Despite the weekend being upon us, today was a rather busy day in the tech world, with Apple briefly removing 3G-equipped iOS devices from its online store thanks to a Motorola injunction, RIM baiting Android developers with free BlackBerry PlayBooks and a whole lot more. Read on to find out what’s making news for this Friday, February 3, 2012.

German Motorola Victory Briefly Removes 3G Devices from Apple Online

If you live in Germany and have been trying to buy a 3G-equipped iOS device aside from the iPhone 4S in the last day or so, you might have been out of luck. According to AllThingsD, Apple removed all 3G-equipped iOS devices from their online store in that country with the exception of the iPhone 4S in compliance with an injunction granted to Motorola Mobility last December, part of the ongoing patent dispute between the two companies. Even as Apple was moving to comply, they were hard at work on an appeal, and this morning it came through -- although it’s only a temporary measure until the matter is resolved, which patent expert Florian Mueller says could take upwards of a year. “Apple appealed this ruling because Motorola repeatedly refuses to license this patent to Apple on reasonable terms, despite having declared it an industry standard patent seven years ago,” an Apple spokeswoman explained to AllThingsD.

Free BlackBerry Tablet for Android Developers

iOS developers must surely be getting a good chuckle out of this: BlackBerry PlayBook maker Research in Motion is trying to woo Android developers to their tablet by giving them the necessary hardware for free. According to The New York Times, “all an Android programmer has to do to get one is make a PlayBook app and submit it to RIM’s app store, BlackBerry App World, by Feb. 13.” We’re not even talking about native BlackBerry QNX apps here -- RIM wants that Android goodness, presumably in the hopes of expanding its user base the way Amazon has with the Kindle Fire and its own Appstore. However, the report notes that RIM has an ulterior motive here: “Oddly, the PlayBook giveaway could have less to do with the tablet than it does with future BlackBerry smartphones.” Perhaps the idea is to lure Android developers and turn them to the Dark Side, writing QNX apps for the forthcoming BlackBerry 10 (and, presumably, the next PlayBook tablet as well).

Oops, Apple Did It Again: Snow Leopard Security Update Breaks Rosetta

While OS X Lion users had to content with a cryptic CUI error after installing Mac OS X 10.7.3 this week (assuming they could successfully open apps at all!), it turns out the seemingly harmless Security Update 2012-001 for Mac OS X 10.6.8 Snow Leopard that Apple pushed out at the same time is also causing some ticks in that big cat’s fur. According to Macworld, Snow Leopard users who install the update are finding they can no longer run PowerPC apps, which require Rosetta to run. “People have reported cursor glitches, printing errors, and crashes when quitting an application,” the report reveals. “The popular financial package Quicken 2007, which requires Rosetta to work on Intel Macs, appears to be a frequent victim.” Thankfully, an enterprising group of system administrators at a Nebraska high school have already come to the rescue with the aptly named RosettaFix, which swaps out the afflicted files for the ones installed prior to applying the Security Update. The only caveat is that the fix may not work for all apps, but it’s worth a try if you find yourself stuck with no other choice.

Readdle Introduces Innovative New Remarks App for iPad

The creators of the popular Readdle Docs and PDF Expert apps are back, fresh from the recent Macworld/iWorld expo, with their latest work: Remarks, a $4.99 digital notebook app for the iPad. “Write down your thoughts, capture ideas and information, annotate documents and outline notes anywhere from university class to sofa at home,” the app description reads. “To let you write anything you have in mind we included all the tools you might need: pens and highlighters of different colors, floating text boxes, shapes and of course an eraser.” But this isn’t just a simple note-taking app: iPad users can also extensively annotate their notes, which are saved in PDF format and can be easily shared with others, imported to other iPad apps or even saved to the Mac or PC. Judging from early user reviews on the App Store, Ukraine-based Readdle has another winner on its hands with this 17.8MB app, which is now available and ready to purchase.

Apple’s iBooks Author License Not Quite as Evil

You may recall that the launch of iBooks 2 and the free iBooks Author was somewhat marred by a firestorm of controversy surrounding exactly what users could do with their finished work. According to MacRumors, many took the EULA quite literally, “believing that Apple was claiming rights to all content used in the production of the iBooks Textbooks, perhaps attempting to exclude books from being published in any other form.” Thanks to today’s iBooks Author 1.0.1 update, the licensing terms have now been clarified: Apple is claiming rights only to the .ibooks document format, while authors are free to sell their content in other formats as they please. A subtle change, but one that should send content creators back to the village to snuff out those torches and hang up the pitchforks -- at least for now.

Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter

Thursday Recap: Mac OS X 10.7.3 Update Problems, Avid Studio, iMessage “Bug”

J.R. Bookwalter — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:37:10 +0000

Some people are more fortunate than others -- for example, yesterday’s Mac OS X 10.7.3 update is causing grief for many who used Software Update to install it, while our 27-inch iMac was smooth sailing all the way with this method. If you’re one of those affected, read on for the fix -- and while you’re at it, stick around for a little bit and take in the rest of the day’s news for this fine Thursday, February 2, 2012.

Mac OS X 10.7.3 Update Woes? There’s A Fix for That

Hey, nobody’s perfect, and that includes the engineers at Apple. As noted by Macworld, yesterday’s Mac OS X 10.7.3 update appears to be hiding a little bugaboo that has caused some grief for a number of users. Thankfully, there’s an easy solution, which is to download the larger Combo updater and simply install it over the system having the problem. So what’s the problem? It appears that a number of users who updated via Software Update “discovered upon rebooting that every app they launched would crash, and the ensuing error dialog box sported bizarre overlays: gradient boxes reading ‘CUI CUI,’ along with bright red question marks.” While the fix is easy, if your particular system is crashing every app, you may need to resort to using FireWire Target Disk mode from another Mac to install, or if worse comes to worse, use Lion Recovery mode to get things going again. No word yet from Apple on what the problem might be or how they intend to fix it -- most likely they’ll pull the update and replace it with a patched version in the near future.

Avid Studio Brings Powerful Editing to iPad

It’s been quite a week for video editors, with Apple releasing an update for Final Cut Pro X that finally restores missing features from the legacy version and now their rival Avid landing on the iPad with a $4.99 prosumer offering called Avid Studio. Avid is a familiar name in the pro video world, having pioneered much of the non-linear digital editing used by Hollywood. The company’s latest offering isn’t quite as ambitious, but aims to take on Apple’s own iMovie solution instead. Avid Studio promises “big-screen moviemaking” on the iPad. “Swiftly arrange your clips in the Storyboard, make precision edits using the Timeline, and add high-quality transitions, effects, and a soundtrack,” the app description reads. “Then share your movie directly to YouTube, Facebook, and more -- or export your project to Avid Studio for the PC and continue editing with even more advanced tools.” Avid Studio is a 30.7MB download from the App Store and available now for $4.99.

Apple Leapfrogs LG to Become Third Largest Mobile Phone Maker

MacRumors is reporting that Apple’s recent success with the iPhone 4S is paying off in many ways, including a new report out from research firm IDC today that positions Cupertino as the third largest manufacturer of mobile phones worldwide -- and that’s not strictly smartphones, but rather mobile phones of all types. With a 128.4 percent year-over-year-change, Apple handily breezed from fifth place to third place, bumping rival LG down a notch. The iPhone maker is now perched behind Nokia in first place and Samsung in second place, although that pair will be much harder to dethrone: Nokia and Samsung sold 113.5 million and 97.6 million handsets respectively in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared with Apple’s relatively modest 37 million.

Skype for Mac Update Brings Video Call Stability, UI Improvements

The folks at Microsoft-owned Skype are back for another heapin’ helpin’ of update fun for the Mac edition, with a new version out today that promises “improved video call stability and improvements to the calling interface.” Of course, that all comes on top of the VoIP giant’s recent bear hug with Facebook, which allows users to check news feeds, instant messages and even video call their friends with or without the client software, thanks to the wonders of modern browser technology. But enough of our yakking, it’s time to click the link and get your update on...

iMessage “Bug”? Not So Fast

There’s been plenty of chatter this week about what everyone assumes is a bug with iOS 5’s iMessage service, which allows text messages to continue to be received even on stolen or lost devices. As it turns out, the “bug” only rears its ugly head when proper protocol is not followed. According to The Loop, one such incident recently documented by Gizmodo found a customer’s text messages inadvertently going to an iPhone owned by the Apple Genius who assisted her with an unrelated problem. Since the customer’s device had no SIM card, the Genius popped out his own and placed it inside the customer’s, causing a shift in the time-space continuum. Okay, not really, but it did cause the iPhone to start routing the customer’s iMessages to the Genius’ device. As it turns out, toggling iMessage on and off or having the customer put their own SIM card back into their device would have eliminated the problem, as explained by an Apple representative. Problem… solution.

Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter

Wednesday Recap: iPad 3 Going LTE?, Mac OS X 10.7.3 Released, Path Adds Depth

J.R. Bookwalter — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:58:01 +0000

That surge of Twitter activity this evening was the internet going ape for Facebook’s new IPO filing today in an effort to raise $5 billion. Hey, good luck with that, guys… we’re just hoping all that cash will bring some much-needed fixes to the website, but Zuck probably has some other cool stuff in mind. Oh, and don’t forget to download Mac OS X 10.7.3 which finally hit Software Update today -- and while you’re downloading, maybe catch up on the rest of the news for Wednesday, February 1, 2012.

Leaked iPad 3 Photos Reveal Quad-Core Processor, Global LTE

It’s the beginning of February, and that means the iPad 3 rumors are going to start coming in hotter and heavier than they have over the last few months. Like clockwork, the first one is already here, with BGR reporting that leaked photos from “a source claiming to be in possession of an iPad 3 prototype” reveal some key details of the much-anticipated third chapter in the iPad saga. Using a development tool called iBoot, the tipster reveals there could be only two iPad 3 models this time around: One with Wi-Fi only and another with combined GSM, CDMA and LTE that will work with all carriers, both here and abroad. The photos also allegedly reveal an A6 quad-core processor with the model number S5L8945X, which is right in line with numbering scheme for the original iPad’s A4 and iPad 2’s A5 processors. That said, the photos do nothing to stem the long wait for CEO Tim Cook and company to actually reveal the device, let alone a date as to when we can storm the castle -- er, Apple Stores -- to actually buy one.

Apple Releases Mac OS X 10.7.3

After a lengthy period in beta with developers, Apple finally pulled the trigger on the Mac OS X 10.7.3 update, which is now available via Software Update or directly from its servers as a standalone 997.01MB download (a Client Combo is also available, which weighs in at 1.2GB). Among the improvements offered with the new update are language support for Catalan, Croatian, Greek, Hebrew, Romanian, Slovak, Thai, and Ukrainian, fixing issues when using smart cards to log into OS X, resolving issues authenticating with directory services and compatibility issues with Windows file sharing. Apple has posted full release notes which detail every nook and cranny updated with the latest version, and a Security Update 2012-001 is available separately for both Snow Leopard and Snow Leopard server.

Rumor: Next-Gen iPod nano May Bring Back Camera

It’s been relatively quiet on the iPod front since the media player got bumped from its annual product refresh last year, but TechCrunch is reporting that there may be something worth waiting for. According to Chinese blog Apple.pro, a sixth-generation iPod nano has been spotted with a camera on its square little back, which falls in line with rumors we reported about last year. You’ll recall the fifth-generation iPod nano introduced a rear camera, which was summarily axed the following year when the nano got smaller and more square. Of course, the tiny camera will likely be of the 1.3 megapixel variety -- more akin to the front-facing camera of the iPhone 4S than that slick dude capturing images around back, but we’ll take what we can get.

Path Introduces Depth with Version 2.0.5

Social networking app Path really made a comeback in 2011, increasing the number of friends to 150 and allowing users to finally share directly to Facebook and Twitter. Today, the company announced a new version 2.0.5 release which adds Depth, billed as “the best way to tilt shift your photos and the only way to tilt shift your videos on the iPhone.” Depth creates a miniaturizing effect for photos and videos by creating a point or plane of clarity and blurring the surroundings, and works in both Spot and Landscape modes as well as before or after an image is taken. The update also introduces pinch, tap, rotate and zoom for photos, tap and rotate for videos, clickable links, friend requests sorted by time and the usual bug fixes. Path 2.0.5 is available for download now from the App Store.

Facebook Launches Initial Public Offering, Tech World Goes Nuts

Though it was widely expected, the tech world went a little bananas this evening as social networking giant Facebook officially filed its Initial Public Offering (IPO), revealing that it “earned $3.7 billion in revenues last year and made $1 billion in profits,” according to AppleInsider. The House That Zuckerberg Built is aiming to raise $5 billion with its public offering, making it the highest amount ever for a tech company. The filing also notes that game maker Zynga makes up 12 percent of Facebook’s revenue with its virtual currency and advertising, but cautions that “our financial results may be adversely affected” should that relationship sour. In December, Facebook revealed that it had 845 million monthly active users, with 483 million active users on a daily basis.

Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter

Law & Apple: Pyrrhic Victory in Germany, Storm Clouds in California

Adrian Hoppel — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:14:30 +0000

Sometimes when you win, you really lose, as Apple may have discovered in a German court this week. Other times, you really wish that whole email thing wasn’t so permanent, as it appears Apple and a gang of other tech giants are going to discover in what may be an incredibly expensive class-action lawsuit.

It’s another tough week for Cupertino in the courtroom. Cue the dun-dun and lets review those gavel bangs.

Apple vs. Samsung

FOSS Patents reports that an appeals court in Germany has upheld a preliminary injunction against the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, which was originally granted to Apple last fall. In additional, the court found that the Galaxy Tab 8.9 also falls under the injunction.

The original ruling, ordered last August and upheld in September, was based on a violation of one of Apple’s Community designs -- a European version of a design patent. Samsung appealed to the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court, and while that court did uphold the injunction, they did so based on a violation of German unfair competition law, not a design violation.

Sorry about that "unfair" thing... we'll work on that as we keep selling these.

The distinction is somewhat of a win for Samsung; although the injunction continues to block the sale of the Galaxy 10.1 and 8.9 in Germany, Apple really needed the injunction to be upheld based on design, so that Cupertino could attempt to replicate the decision globally. According to Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents, the "German unfair competition law is pretty unique," and won’t help Apple in courtrooms in any other country.

So, even though Samsung technically lost the appeal, it succeeded in defeating Apple's design right, denying Cupertino significant leverage other lawsuits still pending around the world.

High Tech Workers vs. Apple

That potential class-action lawsuit we covered last week; the one where all the high tech workers in Silicon Valley accused Apple and a number of other tech companies of conspiring to fix their wages and prevent them from changing jobs? You know, the one with all the nasty sounding emails form C-level employees at those companies describing back-room deals with each to control employees? That one is going to trial.

U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh ruled a few days ago that the companies listed in the complaint -- including Apple, Google, Adobe, Intel, Pixar, and Lucasfilm -- must face a private class-action lawsuit claiming the violated antitrust laws. Koh’s ruling requires the companies to produce documents detailing the agreements, and allow lawyers for the plaintiffs to take depositions.

This could work out really, really well for us.

According to Bloomberg, Koh did not have a problem with the companies potentially making individual agreements with each other, but was concerned with "how it ties together" into a possible conspiracy between all of the companies. The case, which could produce damages that total hundreds of millions of dollars, is filed as In Re High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation, 11-2509, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Jose).

Adrian writes the weekly Law & Apple column for MacLife.com. Follow him on Twitter, subscribe to him on Facebook.

Tuesday Recap: FCPX Related Updates, Firefox 10, New Apple Retail VP

J.R. Bookwalter — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:28:42 +0000

Professional video editors who have been patiently waiting for substantial improvements to Final Cut Pro X had that patience rewarded on Tuesday, with a point update that brings back features such as multicam and broadcast monitoring. But that isn’t all of the news, as a third-party developer releases a pair of tools for allowing FCPX to play nice with its legacy version as well. There’s even more on deck for this fine Tuesday, January 31, 2012 as well...

Assisted Editing Apps Move Projects Between FCP7, FCPX

With the release this morning of Final Cut Pro X 10.0.3, Apple has finally lived up to the promises it made seven months ago after its controversial introduction to the Mac App Store. But one thing still lacking is the ability to import projects from the legacy Final Cut Pro 7, which Apple has left to third party developers. Thankfully, that wait is now over, as Assisted Editing is now offering 7toX for Final Cut Pro, a $9.99 Mac App Store purchase that allows metadata from a Final Cut Pro 7 project to be imported to Final Cut Pro X using XML, with full support for most every feature you can imagine. Better yet, the same developer is now selling the $49.99 Xto7 for Final Cut Pro, which does the same thing in reverse: It translates XML exported from Final Cut Pro X and allows it to be imported into Final Cut Pro 7. Coupled with the pro features offered by today’s update of the host software, it will be interesting to see what the critics will be left to complain about now.

Apple Updates Motion 5, Compressor 4

This morning’s Final Cut Pro X 10.0.3 update may have grabbed all the headlines, but Apple didn’t stop there, pushing out minor updates to Motion 5 and Compressor 4 as well. Motion 5.0.2 now features improved speed and responsiveness for text editing, the ability to automatically add animation keyframes when recording is disabled, a keyboard shortcut for repositioning animation curves or paths, the ability to adjust the pan and scale of an image in a drop zone and an enhanced look for the Keyframe editor. Compressor 4.0.2 finally allows markers to be set as chapter markers by default, adding Uncompressed 8-bit and 10-bit 4:2:2 to the export settings list along with improved transcoding speed from Uncompressed 10-bit 4:2:2 to ProRes. Both updates are free in the Mac App Store for existing users.

Apple Nabs Dixons Vet for New Senior Vice President of Retail

With its former senior vice president of retail now working his mojo at JCPenney (and God help them, they need it!), Apple today announced that John Browett will step into those very large shoes, where he’ll report directly to CEO Tim Cook. Browett’s last gig was with Dixons Retail, billed as “a European technology retailer,” where the new veep has been CEO since 2007. Browett won’t report to work until April, where he’ll oversee “Apple’s retail strategy and the continued expansion of Apple retail stores around the world.”

Steam Mobile Now Available to All

Valve Software released Steam as a mobile app for iOS and Android devices last week, but it was unfortunately a closed beta. Thankfully, that barrier has now been shattered and today the company announced the app was open to everyone, allowing gamers to chat with Steam friends, browse community groups and user profiles, view screenshots and user-generated content for their favorite games, read the latest gaming news and stay up to date on unbeatable Steam sales -- so, basically everything except actually play the games. But hey, what do you want for free, folks?

Firefox 10 Arrives with Bug Fixes, Add-On Compatibility

Firefox 9, your number is up! Mozilla today pushed out Firefox 10 to its release channel for both desktop and mobile. So what’s new? On the desktop, the forward button is now hidden until you navigate back and most add-ons are now compatible with new versions of the browser by default. WebGL now gains anti-aliasing and CSS3 3D-Transforms are now supported, along with a new HTML5 tag for <bdi> as well as full-screen APIs. Last but not least, Mac OS X users get a bug fix which caused Firefox to crash when closing a tab with a Java applet installed. Sure, nothing earth-shattering, but look at the bright side: At the pace they’re going, Firefox 11 (which is already in beta) will be here before you know it, right around the time that new browser smells starts to wear off of Firefox 10.

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Multicam Editing, Broadcast Monitoring Return to Final Cut Pro X

J.R. Bookwalter — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:06:17 +0000

Despite hyperbolic headlines claiming video editors are abandoning Apple’s Final Cut Pro in droves for competitors Avid and Adobe, Apple is still very much hard at work on improving Final Cut Pro X -- including a considerable update released on Tuesday which restores a number of features missing since its release last summer.

Apple Inc. has announced the availability of Final Cut Pro X 10.0.3, a new update to the company’s $299.99 video editing solution which is available now from the Mac App Store. A free update for existing users, the update is significant for veteran FCP editors, since it brings back a variety of popular features that didn’t make it into the first three versions of FCPX.

Despite the modest version 10.0.3 number, the new FCPX reintroduces multicam editing, allowing editors to automatically sync up to 64 angles of video and photos using audio waveforms, time and date or timecode. Multicam Clips can include mixed formats, frame sizes and frame rates, making it a huge leap from the same functionality on Final Cut Pro 7. A powerful Angle Editor allows users to dive into a Multicam Clip for precise adjustments, while the Angle Viewer plays back multiple angles at the same time and seamlessly cuts between them.

Broadcast monitoring also returns to Final Cut Pro X with this update, although Apple cautions the feature is still in beta for now. Waveform displays, vectorscopes and calibrated, high-quality monitors can now be used with FCPX through Thunderbolt or third-party PCIe cards.

Video editors will also be jumping for joy now that media relinking has returned to FCPX, as well as the ability to import and edit layered Photoshop PSD files. On the improvements front, chroma keying is now a one-step affair, with the addition of advanced controls including color sampling, edge adjustment and light wrap. Apple boasts, “you can tackle complex keying challenges right in Final Cut Pro X, without having to export to a motion graphics application, and view your results instantly with realtime playback.”

A 30-day free trial of Final Cut Pro X continues to be available from Apple’s website, while the 10.0.3 update is available for purchase or update directly from the Mac App Store.

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