Contour unveils rubberized hard case for iPhone...

Contour Design today unveiled the HardSkin for iPhone, a case based off of its iSee iPhone v3 model that adds a rubberized finish to the outside shell. The hard shell offers protection to the iPhone's features, while the silicone adds to impact resistance, and allows the iPhone to remain safely on a flat surface. The HardSkin case allows for full access to the device's functions, while still offering complete protection. HardSkin for iPhone costs $35.

3G BlackBerry delayed to avoid iPhone?...

Research in Motion's 3G-capable BlackBerry won't launch at the same time as its 3G iPhone counterpart and may have been intentionally delayed, claim sources speaking to Fortune. The handset, now said to be named the BlackBerry 8900 and nicknamed the Meteor, has allegedly had its AT&T release pushed back from June to as far as August. The official explanation is said to revolve around call quality concerns for the smartphone, which is likely to replace the top-end 8800.

Psystar offers video proof of operations...

Amidst a sea of controversy, newly announced Mac clone maker Psystar has released a video on YouTube illustrating that it does indeed have the capacity to run the Mac OS X on its Open Computer. While this does not clear Psystar of the questions surrounding the legality of the process, it proves that the company has the capacity to deliver on its promise. A note at the end of the video claims that the presentation was edited and finalized on Final Cut Studio, running on a Leopard-enabled Open Computer

URL spoofing flaw affects Safari 3.1.1 ...

A little over a week after Apple offered a security update to Safari 3.1.1, security research site Secunia warned users about another, but "less critical," vulnerability that could allows malicious sites to "spoof" other websites. Reported by Juan Pablo Lopez Yacubian, the security advisory notes that Safari 3.11 has a flaw that can be exploited by malicious people to display a fake URL in the address bar. "The problem is that it is possible to hide the actual location of a page in the address bar via a specially crafted URL containing a number of certain special characters in the 'user' field before the '@' character," the report noted. It affects both Mac OS X and Windows Vista of the browser and may also affect older versions. Secunia, however, rates the flaw as "less critical," but warns that users should avoid untrusted websites and untrusted links.

Boot Camp updates, Common Criteria security tools ...

Apple today released a variety of updates for Boot Camp users, as well as a Common Criteria Tools security verification utility. The Boot Camp updates are required to install Service Pack 3 in Windows XP, Windows Vista 32-bit, and Windows Vista 64-bit versions on an Intel Mac. Little is mentioned regarding the updates themselves, but they are presumably designed to ensure compatibility with the updated versions of Windows.

Three new iPhone input patents...

The US Patent and Trademark Office today published several of Apple's patent approvals, all of which relate to different aspects of the iPhone's functionality. The first deals with organization of the iPhone's interface as to reduce the clutter of adding too many visual elements to a document. The patent seems to indicate the use of nested interface elements, such as clicking a button to summon a menu detailing operations that the user can perform.

Rumor floats new iMac next week...

An upgrade to the iMac desktop line could be available as early as next week, according to an apparent tip sent to Geeksugar. The woman-oriented technology site claims the refresh will keep similar price points but upgrade the processors and potentially hard drive space as well. The change would be the first since the aluminum design was first introduced in August of last year.

Microsoft earns $14.5B with Xbox 360 help...

Microsoft today announced that its latest fiscal quarter earned the company approximately $14.5 billion, or 47 cents per share. The revenue is not a record for the company but is credited in part to the surprising success of the company's Entertainment and Devices Division. Strong sales of the Xbox 360 console helped jump the division's revenue by 68 percent versus the same period a year ago, according to the company. About 19 million examples game system and media hub have now shipped since it launched in November 2005, or about 74 percent more than in early 2007.

Circuit City questions Blockbuster takeover finances...

Last week saw video and game rental chain Blockbuster make a public $1 billion bid for electronics retailer Circuit City. At that time, Blockbuster accused Circuit City of not providing information the suitor requested to make a definitive proposal. Yesterday, investor group Wattles Capital Management, representing Blockbuster, sent a letter outlining the reasons for such disclosure to Blockbuster's board members. Circuit City's same-day response questioned Blockbuster's ability to finance such a deal in light of the rough economy.

RepTools 2008 adds document management...

318 has released RepTools 2008, the latest version of its signature software. The program is a CRM (customer relationship management) tool geared towards the entertainment industry, and as such focuses on the production process, tracking aspects such as bids and talent. The major addition for 2008 is a document management system, which organizes not only bids but elements such as callsheets, storyboards, location photos and treatments.

Extend debuts new Effects, Show Dreamweaver plug-ins...

Extend Studio has released two new plug-ins for Dreamweaver, DW Image Effects and DW Image Show. Image Effects lets users apply "Photoshop-like" touches to objects, such as glow effects or soft borders. 3D art can be produced from simple shapes, and the plug-in applies to static, rollover and button items in a page. The plug-in is priced at $50.

First Look: iH12 Dual Alarm Cube Clock Radio...

An iPod can store your entire music collection, and keep it with you wherever you want to go. While the iPod is great for listening to music through ear buds by yourself, it’s not so handy when you want to play your music so others can hear it too. If you want to broadcast your music throughout a room, consider plugging your iPod into a device such as the iH12 alarm clock.

AT&T to sell femtocells, aid indoor calls...

AT&T will be the next in the US to offer femtocells as its solution to customers who want indoor calling, says a report from financial analysts at ThinkPanmure. The US carrier is believed to have tapped Britain-based ip.access for a five-year contract purchase of the portable routers worth a total of $500 million. As with other femtocells, the AT&T models would fill in coverage in homes and other areas where cellular signals often encounter interference, creating a small wireless base station for a home that in turn connects to the larger cellular network.

Jobs, other Apple officials summoned in lawsuit...

CEO Steve Jobs is among a number of Apple officials that have been ordered to appear in court regarding a new lawsuit, reports say. The summons were issued by the Superior Court of California in Santa Clara, and are connected to a suit from the Boston Retirement Board, alleging that over $105 million was lost on backdated stock options granted to Jobs. Backdating involves picking a favorable stock value from a time before options are actually granted; though this is technically legal, it can harm other shareholders and the rest of a company, and must be declared with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Apple leadership is accused of failing its duty in this regard.

VMware Fusion gets new MacBook Air support...

VMWare Fusion 1.1.2 has been released, adding enhanced support for the MacBook Air. The new release also enables Time Machine backup of virtual machines, adds support for Windows XP SP3 Boot Camp partitions, and is now available in Simplified Chinese. In addition, VMWare can now properly disconnect USB devices connected to the virtual machine when shut down, making the USB devices available again to the Mac. It also addresses problem with wireless bridged networking in some cases not being able to obtain an IP address from the DHCP server.

DLO updates TransDock FM transmitters...

DLO has updated its TransDock line of FM transmitters, which stream iPod audio through a car's stereo deck while keeping the player's battery charged. The focus of the lineup is on the standard TransDock, which cradles iPods while allowing repositioning through a flexible neck. Although the dock has been redesigned to match the aesthetics of newer iPods such as the Touch, the major new feature is "IntelliTune" technology, which automatically seeks the clearest frequency and prompts the listener to tune into it. Owners can additionally output video to an in-car display, or connect various other audio players via an auxiliary input jack. The TransDock costs $100, and is compatible with any iPod featuring a color screen.

Piper: Mac growth highest in years, margins hurt...

The performance of Mac sales in Apple's second quarter was the best the company has seen in years, write analysts with Piper Jaffray. The research firm notes that with a year-over-year unit growth of 51 percent, and an accompanying revenue growth of 54 percent, Macs did better in the last quarter relative to any other period in the last 17 years. Growth estimates for the second half of CY08 are expected to decline to 12 percent year-over-year, but this should not be a major problem; Mac growth is continuing to accelerate as a whole, even though it has already been strong for several quarters.

US govt. looking at Google/Yahoo, MS may walk...

Yahoo's Google AdSense trial has drawn an early investigation by the US Justice Department, a source reportedly tells Reuters. The government agency has allegedly begun determining whether or not the two-week-old web ad experiment will violate US antitrust laws by providing too much of a monopoly to Google for web ads. An unconfirmed call from Google's chief executive Eric Schmidt prompted the investigation, according to the insider.

Needham: Apple stock a 'strong buy' because of Macs...

Apple's second-quarter performance warrants a "strong buy" rating for its stock, according to analyst Charlie Wolf of Needham & Company. Wolf claims that there is only "one story" in the company's results, which is a 51 percent growth in Mac sales, distributed evenly across regions and different price segments; by comparison, the surrounding computer market only rose 16 percent. This is said to have been fueled by factors such as the spread of Apple Stores, the dual-OS abilities of Mac OS X Leopard, and the iPod's "halo effect," which leads some Windows buyers to switch over to Macs entirely.

AmTech: Outlook for Apple stock is 'mixed'...

Apple's second-quarter financial results -- announced yesterday in a conference call -- may have been strong in many regards, but the company's outlook in terms of stock value is "mixed," writes Shaw Wu of American Technology Research. Wu notes that Apple is providing guidance of $7.2 billion for the next quarter, an improvement over consensus views of $7.16 billion; EPS predictions remain conservative at $1 instead of the consensus $1.10, however, and gross margin for the last quarter was only 0.9 percent higher than a guidance of 32 percent -- well below the consensus expectations of 34 percent.

Microsoft: no demand to keep XP past June...

Microsoft would be willing to keep Windows XP available for everyday computers past its June 30th cutoff date but doesn't see a demand for it, company CEO Steve Ballmer said at a Belgian media conference today. The executive acknowledges that enough feedback would have his company extend XP's on-sale period, but argues that "most consumers" are choosing to buy PCs with the newer Windows Vista operating system installed and that few retailers stock computers preloaded with its 2001 ancestor.

New iPhone SDK beta upgrades Simulator...

Apple has released the fourth beta of its iPhone development kit, used to produce native programs for the iPhone 2.0 firmware in advance of the June opening of the App Store. Beta 4 upgrades the iPhone Simulator application with support for OpenGL ES, an embedded version of the popular 3D rendering API that will be crucial for running games. A variety of 3D games are already in development for the iPhone, including a port of Sega's Super Monkey Ball.

Motorola takes $194m loss on poor cell results...

Motorola today reported a $194 million loss for the first quarter of 2008. The drop primarily echoed late 2007 results and is chiefly attributed to the company's declining Mobile Devices business, which includes the company's cellphone designs. The group has seen its sales drop by about 39 percent versus the same quarter a year ago and was the only of three major divisions to post a significant operating loss, losing $418 million. The Home and Networks Mobility and Enterprise Mobility divisions turned slight losses and significant profits respectively.

Bulk Export Tool for HOBOware data logger...

Onset Computer Corporation today unveiled Bulk Export Tool, a free plug-in utility for the company's HOBOware Pro data logger software. The Bulk Export Tool allows users to automatically convert data log files into standard text files that can be used in other data analysis programs. Ordinarily, users must manually convert files one at a time, which can be quite time consuming for longer projects.