Macworld: Core i7 iMacs beat even 8 core Mac Pros

Fri, 11/20/2009 - 2:53pm — Seth Weintraub
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Woops.  It looks like Apple might have made those new iMacs a little too fast! 

According to Macworld's tests, The Core i7 iMac beat the Octo-core Mac Pro 2.2GHz in a number of Speedmark tests and overall it was 1.5% faster than the fastest base model computer Apple sells.  Sure, you can update that Mac Pro Beast to 2.93GHz Octo, but that is $2600 more, $500 more than the entire Core i7 iMac!

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Plaintiffs ask federal judge to force Apple to hand over the iPhone 1.1.1 source code in Jailbreaking case

Fri, 11/20/2009 - 2:38pm — Seth Weintraub
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Computerworld has the story.  A lawsuit that has been dragging on since the iPhone 1.1.1 update that bricked a lot of jailbroken iPhones got an interesting twist this week.  The plaintiffs in the case are requesting that Apple reveal the source code of the iPhone 1.1.1 software so they can ascertain whether or not Apple maliciously bricked jailbroken iPhones or whether is was just a by-product of the new software code.

Good luck with that. 

I can't think of anything that Apple would want to give up less than that source code, even if it is two years and iterations old.

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Gameloft Exec: On Android nobody is making significant revenue

Fri, 11/20/2009 - 1:34pm — Seth Weintraub
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Bad news for those Android users who were hoping to get the same level of game access as exists on the iPhone.  It doesn't look like it is happening.  Gameloft and companies like them have started to scale back their Android investments, according to someone who should know, Gameloft finance director Alexandre de Rochefor (Bolds are ours):

"We have significantly cut our investment in Android platform, just like ... many others," Gameloft finance director Alexandre de Rochefort said at an investor conference. Rochefort said the company has cut back on investment mostly due to weaknesses of Android's application store. "It is not as neatly done as on the iPhone. Google has not been very good to entice customers to actually buy products. On Android nobody is making significant revenue," Rochefort said. Games for iPhone generated 13 percent of Gameloft's revenue in the last quarter. "We are selling 400 times more games on iPhone than on Android," Rochefort said.

400 to one isn't a good ratio for Android no matter how big a lead the iPhone has had.

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Verizon Droids already dropping in price. Dell sells for $120

Fri, 11/20/2009 - 1:15pm — Seth Weintraub
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You might be able to find a refurbished iPhone for $49 off...but only if if it is refurbished.  Even chain discounter Walmart only takes $2 off the price of the iPhone and there are never sales.  Apple simply doesn't discount it, ever (we'll see about Black Friday). 

Verizon/Motorola have taken a different approach with their top handset.  Merely a week after launch, the Droid has already lost $80 in value over at Dell who are selling it for $120 with plan.  This follows news that the Palm Pre is selling for $79.99 at Amazon (Pixie is $24.99 - not even enough to qualify for free shipping - zoikes).

Why are Verizon and Motorola so quick to discount the Droid when apparently it has been flying off of shelves?

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Sony plans its very own socially-connected iTunes

Fri, 11/20/2009 - 7:29am — Jonny Evans
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Sony plans to launch its own music, movies and gaming service, based on its existing PlayStation Network (PSN), which already has 33 million users.

The new store, which enhances Sony’s competitiveness with Apple’s iTunes service and associated digital media products, is also expected to sell eBooks and mobile apps. The store may be called Sony Online Service (SOS?), but the company isn’t yet prepared to commit to a name or launch date.

In addition to selling digital content, the store will allow consumers to use their online accounts to save, upload and share digital content. “Sony will have a one-to-one relationship with customers to offer subscription services, cloud storage of personal content, as well as unique entertainment,” said Howard Stringer, chairman, CEO and president at an investor meeting in Tokyo.

The company plans to have consumers register for the service the moment they pull a TV or music player out of the box, Sony’s Kazuo Hirai told BusinessWeek.

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Microsoft's Ballmer concedes Apple's gains; Dell income dwindles

Fri, 11/20/2009 - 4:15am — Jonny Evans
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Microsoft executives faced a barrage of Apple-related questions during that company’s annual shareholder’s meeting last night, while disappointed Dell revealed net income decline of 54 percent, year-on-year.

Dell announced $12.9 billion in revenue (down 15 percent y-on-y) for net income of $337 million. The company blamed its results on poor public sector sales and a consumer move to favour cheaper Dell PCs. All told, disappointing results for Dell.

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Pro apps: Autodesk Smoke 2010 comes to the Mac

Fri, 11/20/2009 - 4:14am — Jonny Evans
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Always nice to welcome a new high-end application to Apple's computing platforms, and this one’s going to be highly useful to video and broadcast pros - Autodesk is bringing its high-end finishing product, Smoke 2010, to the Mac for the first time.

Autodesk is this week previewed the Mac OS X version its Smoke finishing and editing system (c.$15,000) to professionals in film and video attending Japan’s InterBEE exhibition this week. It is understood that beta testers had been aware of the newly-revealed Mac support for some time, but had been sworn to secrecy under non-disclosure agreements.

Smoke finishing effects software is a comprehensive creative editorial system. It delivers the visual effects capabilities and high performance.

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SEGA makes iPhone promise as analysts predict Apple to drive mobile gaming

Fri, 11/20/2009 - 3:53am — Jonny Evans
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SEGA has announced Super Monkey Ball 2 for the iPhone (video above), with the games development company stressing it has many more games in development for the Apple mobile platform, a platform expected to account for 24 percent of portable game sales by 2014. Read on...

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Amazon offering good discounts on MobileMe packs

Fri, 11/20/2009 - 2:38am — 9to5toys

MobileMe keeps your mail, contacts, and calendar information in the "cloud" and uses push technology to keep everything in sync across your iPhone, Mac, PC, and the web automatically.

Amazon is offering family and individual MobileMe subscriptions at less than you’ll pay at Apple - you can pick up an individual sub now for $72.99, rather than the $99.99 normal price.

The discount on family memberships is $45.05 - you can pick one of these up for $103.95 from the giant retailer. A Family Pack subscription includes one Individual account with 20GB of combined email and file storage, plus four Family Member accounts, each with its own email address and 5GB of storage.

Apple updates Boot Camp, no Windows 7 support just yet

Fri, 11/20/2009 - 2:37am — Jonny Evans
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Apple has updated its Boot Camp drivers, software which enables Intel Macs to boot up into Windows XP and Vista.

Boot Camp users must source their own copy of Microsoft Windows to employ within Boot Camp.

The 23.87MB update doesn’t introduce support for Windows 7, which Apple has promised will be made available to users in a future release. Instead, according to tech notes accompanying the release:

“This update addresses issues with the Apple trackpad and turns off the red digital audio port LED on laptop computers when it is not being used. It also includes support for the Apple Magic mouse and wireless keyboard. It is intended only for use with Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft Windows Vista running on a Mac computer using Boot Camp.”

Requirements

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