Briefly: AT&T drops iPhone data, Sonnet certification...

iPhone users will no longer require a data connection from AT&T, while Sonnet has updated many of its products to work with Leopard, and Yorktown University is releasing over thirty courses and seminars through iTunes U. AT&T recently dropped the EDGE network requirement for iPhone users, allowing users to save $20 per month. TUAW reports that AT&T customers can call AT&T and have the data portion of their account rendered inactive. While this will save money per month, customers will lose access to their visual voice mail and will not be able to access the internet if they are not bound to a wireless router.

Refurbished aluminum iMac: $1,299

Apple is offering its newest black glass and aluminum iMac as a refurbished item at a discounted price. The company's reconditioned iMac 20-inch 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo includes 1GB of memory, a 320GB hard drive, an 8x DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW SuperDrive, an ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro graphics card with 256MB of video memory, and a built-in iSight camera for $1,299 -- a 14 percent savings off the original price. All of Apple's refurbished offerings are guaranteed good-as-new and come with the same standard one-year warranty as any brand new product. Apple is also offering a refurbished previous-generation iMac 24-inch 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 1GB of memory, a 250GB hard drive, an 8x DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW SuperDrive, an NVIDIA GeForce 7300GT graphics card with 128MB of video memory, and a built-in iSight camera for $1,449.

Vista woes lead IT pros to Macs, Linux...

Many IT professionals are turning to Mac and Linux systems to avoid installing Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system as an upgrade, according to a survey conducted by King Research. Of 961 IT professionals polled, a whopping 90 percent expressed concerns about migrating to Vista. What's more, over half of those surveyed said they had no plans to use Microsoft's latest operating system at this time. Macs are currently the most favored alternative to Windows with 28 percent of respondents saying they would most likely to turn to Macs, rather than upgrade to Vista.

Roxio Toast Titanium 8.0.3 for Leopard...

Following last week's update for Popcorn, Roxio has issued Toast 8.0.3, bringing a number of Leopard-specific fixes, and some other bug fixes as well. The update resolves a few cosmetic issues that resulted from using Toast under Leopard, and a problem where the OS would produce poor quality music DVDs. A few errors have been fixed: Error 9011 will no longer occur when burning a DVD with MPEG-2 video and PCM audio, and -2009 will cease to happen when using PCM pass-through audio, while the "Optimize on-the-fly" setting will no longer result in error -35 in Custom Hybrid and Mac Volume projects. Toast will now use the correct video quality settings when they are selected, and a hanging issue has been fixed from when the app was trying to process video footage from TiVo after it had been updated with the Fall 2007 patch.

Zune trumps iPod as Amazon.com's top seller...

Microsoft's Zune portable media player is currently Amazon.com's top-selling digital music device, usurping Apple's iPod for the highest rank in the "Electronics" category. The 30GB Zune -- which Microsoft has heavily discounted to a purchase price of $134 -- dethroned Apple's 4GB iPod nano this morning in Amazon.com's list of top-selling MP3 players. Apple's 4GB iPod nano took second place, while the Cupertino-based company's 80GB iPod classic holds the no. 3 spot.

ECNokia markets iPod nano clone...

Taking advantage of China's loose intellectual property restrictions, a company called ECNokia is marketing a generic MP4 player which directly imitates the clickwheel, rounded edges and menu design of the third-generation iPod nano. Like many copies however, it does not have the exact same functionality; it plays MP3, WAV, WMA and MIDI audio, while video must be in the ASF format. Storage meanwhile comes in the form of an SD slot, which supports cards up to 2GB in size.

Vancouver BC Apple Store construction begins...

Apple has begun construction on a new retail store on the west coast of Canada, and has already painted covers over the job site to mask the workers' progress. The Cupertino-based company has listed job openings for the future store, which will reside in the Pacific Center Mall in the old Holt Renfrew location. The retail space rests in one of the busiest spots in the city, according to one MacNN reader, and may open in time for the forthcoming iPhone launch in Canada.

FuzzMeasure Pro 3 designed for Leopard...

SuperMega-UltraGroovy today released FuzzMeasure Pro 3, an update to the audio and acoustical signal-analysis software package for Mac OS X Leopard. The latest release adds an array of frequently requested professional tools -- like a live Sound Pressure Level meter that users can calibrate in the field. The calibration is usable to produce accurate SPL vs. frequency graphs, while the SPL meter aims to help live sound engineers in monitoring sound levels at multiple positions in a large venue. The software is re-engineered to take full advantage of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, is priced at $150, and requires Leopard to run.

Gefen debuts 1000' VGA extension over CAT-5...

Gefen today debuted a new extension system that splits one VGA video, distributing it up to 1,000 feet over CAT-5 cabling. The sender/receiver system provides a clean split, according to the company, and allows users to extend two displays up to 1,000 feet. The extension is designed to consolidate the delivery of VGA video signals, and offers resolutions up to 1080p or 1920x1200 for computer displays. Gefen's 2X VGA Extender ($400) is available for pre-order via the company's website as well as resellers.

Report: 3G iPhones coming to Spain in May...

Apple could ship a faster 3G-enabled iPhone in Spain as soon as May of next year, greatly increasing internet speeds for users who are not within range of an open or trusted Wi-Fi network. A mobile technology blog called SevenClick says that Telefonica, Spain's wireless carrier, is expecting a 3G-capable iPhone in May.

Wolf King intros Warrior Xxtreme game keyboard...

Appealing to its dedicated gamer user base, Wolf King today shipped out the Warrior Xxtreme keyboard. First spotted in an FCC leak, the controller includes both a specialized circular keyboard designed for first-person shooters and other action games and a second, similar pad with a QWERTY layout for typing out chat messages or other commands that are missing in the game portion. This makes the Xxtreme useful as the only keyboard for a game session without having to swap keyboards or else include a bulky, full-size traditional keyboard. A blue backlight for late-night sessions is also new, Wolf King says.

Axiom ships Audiobyte 'luxury' computer speakers...

Home theater company Axiom has announced that it is shipping the Audiobyte, what the company describes as the "first" luxury speaker system designed for computers. At the core of the setup are two satellites, encased either in synthetic materials or real wood; each is capable of producing a massive 55W of power, and can handle frequencies between 100Hz and 20kHz. Unlike most computer setups, the Audiobyte's amplifier is kept separate, and includes a USB port for playing and charging iPods.

Google interested in acquiring Skype?...

Google may be looking into acquiring Skype, creators of the famous VoIP network and software, rumors suggest. Anonymous individuals within the London web industry hint that Google is already in negotiations for Skype, which Google would have to buy from the current owner, auction site company eBay. The latter is said to be unhappy with how much it paid, which amounted to $1.3 billion plus 32.8 million shares; in the third quarter of 2007, Skype produced only $98 million in net revenue. Aiding the rumor is the fact that Google's mobile projects are based in London, which may mean that it plans to incorporate Skype technology into Android.

FxFactory 2.0 gains Leopard, FCE4 support...

Noise Industries has released the second edition of FxFactory, its supplement for Final Cut Studio and Express. The program manages plug-ins in Apple's FxPlug format, and in its latest incarnation, supports Mac OS X Leopard as well as the recently-released Final Cut Express 4. A new interface improves the browser, displaying relevant plug-in status information; also provided is an option to search for all transitions within a plug-in's package.

Pioneer debuts SyncTV channel video service...

Electronics maker Pioneer today took the wraps from SyncTV, a new video service it hopes will offer the best of both downloads and subscriptions without limiting users to a particular platform. Rather than charge per episode or for a flat universal subscription, SyncTV charges between $2 and $4 per month for channels such as an anime-themed station or individual TV shows like Dexter; users can then download as many episodes or titles as they like from that channel, Pioneer notes. Content will also be available in HD when possible and even includes Dolby 5.1 surround support for home theaters.

Briefly: Magazines on iPhone; SpaceNavigator...

In brief: iPhone versions of popular magazines appear online, the SpaceNavigator controller gains Leopard support, and Fastmac iPod repairs extend to cover Classics and 3G Nanos. Zinio, a company specializing in online publishing, is now offering free online editions of popular magazines for users of the iPhone or the iPod touch. Titles include the likes of American Photo, Car & Driver, NME, Popular Mechanics and Playboy. Site visitors select a magazine by scrolling through thumbnails, and then tap on links in a table of contents to jump to pages. Alternately, users can browse all the pages at once and zoom in to the ones they want to read. Each page is a replica of the print copy.

Synchrotech ships 13-port USB 2.0 hub...

Synchrotech has begun shipping a 13-port USB 2.0 hub designed to replace multiple hubs with one simple device. The hub provides the host computer with 13 additional USB 2.0 ports and allows flexible tiered configurations, according to the company. The hub -- priced at $45 -- includes a power supply with a 4-amp capacity as well as a USB 2.0 cable to connect to a host computer and a 1-year warranty.

Apple shares highlighted on holidays, MWSF...

Apple's holiday track record and historical stock gains from Macworld Expo (MWSF) anticipation have spurred Piper Jaffray senior analyst Gene Munster to highlight the Cupertino-based company above and beyond the norm. "We are adding Apple to the Alpha list, expecting material upside in the next 90 days," the analyst said. Piper Jaffray's Alpha List serves as a spotlight on the potentially fast-growing stock prices of companies which are likely to experience major gains in the near term, usually as a result of catalyst events. The analyst reiterated his "Buy" rating on Apple shares with a price target of $250.

AT&T considering joining Google phone alliance...

AT&T is considering joining Google's new Open Handset Alliance, the company's wireless chief Ralph de la Vega has revealed on Sunday. The executive notes that his firm is "analyzing the situation" and may well ship phones incorporating the Linux-based Android operating system for its network. No mention was made of when this membership would be likely or which devices were candidates, though Android phones are expected to ship in the second half of 2008.

Apple secretly tracking iPhone IMEI numbers? [U]...

(Updated with link to debunking claims)

Apple is keeping abnormal watch on the identity of iPhones making use of online services, some hackers suggest. Buried within the binaries for the Stocks and Weather widgets is code that hands over a user's IMEI number -- the unique identifier for each phone. While IMEI numbers are common to all GSM cellphones, and are regularly used to authorize presence on a network, they are normally unneeded for accessing individual web services. Furthermore, it is impossible to modify the binaries' URLs to omit IMEI data and still retrieve any data from the widgets.

WiebeTech: SATA drive enclosure, DriveDock...

Storage specialist WiebeTech on Monday announced its newest RTX Single SATA drive enclosure with TrayFree Technology as well as its most economical DriveDock for accessing data on (bare) hard drives. WiebeTech's RTX100-SJ features an eSATA and USB2 connection for maximum compatibility. The drive enclosure (pictured at right) features a specially designed SATA drive interface that is built to withstand thousands of drive insertions, according to the company. In addition the sturdy aluminum case provides heat dissipation and durability, while a built-in lock keeps drives secure. A fanless design also enables virtually silent operation, while the TrayFree Technology allows users to simply plugin a floppy or bare SATA hard drive without any drive accessories. It is available for $100.

Apple: 3rd store in SF, goes to Portugal...

Apple on Monday announced that it would open its third retail store in San Francisco. Touting its product line, the company on Monday announced that Apple would open Apple Store, Chestnut Street on Friday, November 23 at 9 a.m. -- just in time to kick off the holiday shopping season. The store is located at 2125 Chestnut Street and is scheduled to be open from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. (M-F) and 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. (Sun). Recently, ifoapplestore noted that the largest chunk of the company's retail revenue comes from Apple's California revenue with New York and Florida second; however, with the largest number of stores, the average revenue per California store is only No. 12 among all states and with New York (~$9 million), Illinois (~$7 million), and New Hampshire (~$6.5 million) filling in the top three spots.