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Apple’s Black Friday Announced

J.R. Bookwalter — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:46:11 -0600

In keeping with tradition for the past several years, Apple has announced today that they’ll be holding their traditional Black Friday shopping event yet again.

The day after Thanksgiving has been christened “Black Friday” in the U.S., cited as one of the busiest shopping days of the year and one that retailers count on to get their bottom line out of the red. While Apple certainly doesn’t have to worry about that based on their most recent quarterly results, they’ll be joining in the fun at the Apple Online Store.

A teaser posted this morning on Apple’s website announces “the special one-day Apple shopping event” coming this Friday, November 27. “Come back to the Apple Online Store the day after Thanksgiving for a special one-day-only holiday shopping event,” the announcement proclaims. “You’ll find dozens of great iPod, iPhone, and Mac gift ideas — all with free shipping.”

Rumors were swirling last week that Apple would offer the steepest discounts yet on iPods and Macs this year, although in previous years the discounts have been modest at best.

But it beats getting up in the middle of the night to chase down deals at your local retailers, right?

Another Worm Infecting Jailbroken iPhones

Andrew Villa — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:44:01 -0600

A new worm is out hitting jailbroken iPhones, one that crawls its way into your device if you haven't changed your root password. If you haven't changed your root password you can learn all about it here.

According to Macworld, after the worm compromises your phone, it goes on to replace the phone's copy of the SSH remote login software and changes the root password, skims your SMS database, talks to the creators, and then launches a piece of software that searches for other phones that are vulnerable on both local networks and known IP address ranges of specific Internet Service Providers.

Users are finding the most noticeable symptom is the increased battery drain, as a result of the SSH process that the worm starts. Some have seen such a bad reduction in battery life that they are just wiping and restoring their handsets, without noticing that the worm was installed.

If you have a jailbroken iPhone, or are considering it, make sure to changethe root password.

iPhone Lands In South Korea This Month

J.R. Bookwalter — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:27:20 -0600

South Korean wireless carrier KT announced today that they’ll begin selling the iPhone this month, as Apple continues to advance on Asian turf.

KT’s launch date is November 28, when they will offer both the 16GB and 32GB versions of the iPhone 3GS, as well as last year’s 8GB iPhone 3G, according to a statement on their website.

South Koreans will apparently get a better deal than Americans, too. KT’s 32GB iPhone 3GS can be had for as little as 132,000 won (roughly $114 USD) with a service contract. But it won’t be an exclusive for long, as another carrier, SK Telecom, is already reportedly in talks with Apple as well.

KT’s announcement comes right on the heels of regulators granting Apple a license to sell the iPhone in South Korea last week. Such “location-based services” require government clearance due to privacy concerns.

According to Apple’s website, the iPhone is now available in over 80 countries. China Unicom launched the device last month in China, although it was a crippled version without Wi-Fi to comply with local regulations, which led to muted initial sales.

Apple is also likely to face an uphill battle for dominance in South Korea, a market mostly ruled by local handset makers such as LG Electronics and Samsung.

Video: Wired’s iTablet App In Action

J.R. Bookwalter — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:00:45 -0600

Publisher Condé Nast is taking the rumors of an Apple tablet seriously.

How serious? Enough to show a mockup of such a tablet running a digital version of Wired and allowing a video of it to be posted on YouTube.

All Things Digital’s Peter Kafka was the first to report on Condé’s bold move, and he then pushed the publisher to demonstrate what they were actually working on. Thankfully for him (and us), they relented.

The YouTube video shows an interactive concept video of Wired magazine running on a mockup tablet, shot at a Wired Store promotional event in New York City.

The video even impressed Wired.com Gadget Lab’s Brian X. Chen, who remarked, “To me, the most interesting part appears around the 30-second mark, where we can see an animated, interactive graphic.”

“Exciting to think about the potential for this hypothetical new format, isn’t it?” Chen concludes.

iPod touch Camera Rumors Live Again

J.R. Bookwalter — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:11:58 -0600

They won’t stay dead! Despite all of the anecdotal evidence prior to September’s event announcing new iPods, the iPod touch still doesn’t have a camera. But that may be changing soon enough, if a new rumor is to be believed.

The Examiner is quoting an “inside source” who claims that a new iPod touch model will arrive next spring with the same video-only camera capability as the fifth-generation iPod nano, which landed at the same event in September.

Popular belief in the rumor mill holds that the iPod touch released in September was originally intended to include the camera, but the feature was scrubbed just before the announcement due to bad parts. Rather than delay the release, the decision was supposedly made to release the unit sans camera.

After the release, a teardown of the 2009 iPod touch disclosed that the unit indeed featured the space necessary for such a video camera, as seen in early prototype models that circulated around the Internet in advance of the release. A number of third-party manufacturers also had new case designs showing a hole for the camera as well.

If the iPod touch does get a spring refresh, it will be the first since February, 2008 when it received a mid-cycle bump with double the memory. Historically, Apple has otherwise only added news features to the touch once a year, at the September events.

Despite Scrutiny, Apple's Schiller Defends The App Store Process

Matthew Tilmann — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:02:17 -0600

Apple has recently come under fire from developers in how it handles what applications can be sold on the App Store. Apple's Senior VP Phil Schiller shone some light on the process and explained why some apps get rejected in an interview with BusinessWeek.

App Store developers have become increasingly frustrated including Facebook developer Joe Hewitt who says that he is "philosophically opposed" to the notion of a company using "gatekeepers" to decide what can and can't be used on it's hardware.

Schiller compared the App Store to a regular brick and mortar retailer. "Whatever your favorite retailer is, of course they care about the quality of the products they offer," he says. "We review the applications to make sure they work as the customers expect them to work when they download them."

On the flip side, Schiller noted that about 10% of the App Store rejects are deemed inappropriate and sent back to the developer. "There have been applications submitted for approval that will steal personal data, or which are intended to help the user break the law, or which contain inappropriate content," Schiller says.

Some apps even fall into areas that Apple has not anticipated - such as helping people to cheat at gambling in casinos. "We had to go study state and international laws about what's legal and what isn't, and what legal exposure that creates for Apple or the customer," Schiller says. Many apps also bend trademark rules, which Schiller said that Apple has heard a lot about from other companies.

Schiller noted that Apple has even received inquiries from various government officials making sure content remains appropriate for children and that they remain protected. In the long run, most app developers do remain happy with Apple's process because more often than not it helps developers to find bugs that needing fixing anyway.

Magic Mouse Acquires Windows Drivers, Extra Mac Capabilities

J.R. Bookwalter — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:50:41 -0600

Apple’s swanky new Magic Mouse was the talk of the tech world when it was introduced last month, but when it started arriving in users’ hands, the dialogue turned more to what it couldn’t do. But thanks to some ingenious hackers and shareware authors, your mouse is about to acquire a lot more in the way of magical skills.

The first spell is cast for Windows users, who have thus far been left out in the cold if they want to use a Magic Mouse. But it seems that extracting the Magic Mouse driver from Apple’s recent Bluetooth Update 1.0 for Boot Camp (using the shareware WinRar) will get you the necessary 32-bit and 64-bit versions necessary to enable the mouse’s magic and be on par with your Mac brothers.

If you’re a Mac user who isn’t finding their Magic Mouse so magical, shareware developer Samuco has released MouseWizard, a utility to enhance the use of your Magic Mouse. According to their website, you can easily customize your Magic Mouse to increase your productivity.

Among the new functions available to Magic Mouse users with MouseWizard are two extra buttons, pinch and bloat trackpad gestures and special features such as “coverup,” to make your Mac go to sleep.

MouseWizard is available as a fully-functional 10-day trial download which can be unlocked for a mere $2.50. A small price to pay after investing nearly $70 in a Magic Mouse, don’t you think?

Apple Denying Support to Smokers

Cory Bohon — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:58:50 -0600

Apple is snuffing out smokers and their computers when it comes to repairs.

According to the Consumerist, Apple has denied computer repair to at least two known Mac users after they took in their computers for repair. The reason? They're smokers and according to the Apple repair technicians, the problems may have been a result of second-hand smoke.

Both users took their complaints to the office of Steve Jobs where they explained the reason why they were denied service. Apple said that OSHA lists nicotine on a list of hazardous substances and Apple cannot require an employee to work on a device that has been intoxicated.

One of the affected users sent an email to the Consumerist detailing their response from Dena at Steve Jobs' office: "Dena set up an appointment at the same Apple store. They told me that they would take pictures of the computer - both inside and out before determining whether to proceed and that if the only problem was the optical drive, they'd probably just replace it. Dena called me earlier this week to deliver the 'bad news.' She said that the computer is beyond economical repair due to tar from cigarette smoke!"

If this is, in fact, Apple's new policy and you are a smoker, then you might want to reconsider getting an AppleCare warranty. Both of the affected users couldn't find any reference to the smoking problem in the AppleCare terms. If this is the case, then Apple needs to make this point clear before charging consumers for an extended warranty that might be voided in a situation like this.

via Gizmodo