News Archive for 09/12/18

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iTunes U surpasses 100 million downloads

12/18, 6:15pm

Content from over 175 colleges and universities

iTunes U has reportedly surpassed 100 million downloads, according to CNET. Apple claims the most popular content has been hosted by the UK-based Open University. The school provides education to approximately 180,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students enrolled in a wide variety of programs.

Sprint preps Mac-friendly 3G/WiMAX modem [U]

12/18, 6:10pm

Sprint U301 gives Snow Leopard 4G access

(Updated with pricing) Sprint in a quiet move today added a new hybrid 3G/4G modem for its WiMAX network. The U301 is a direct if minor update to the U300 and comes in a smaller black shell. Its most notable addition is Mac OS X support, which gives both Leopard and Snow Leopard users access to the high-speed mobile Internet service.

Mozilla sees Firefox Mobile 'killing' app stores

12/18, 5:45pm

Firefox Mobile to popularize web apps?

Mozilla mobile VP Jay Sullivan in an interview Thursday made the aggressive claim that Firefox Mobile will put an end to app stores like the iPhone's App Store or BlackBerry App World. As the smartphone web browser will share much of the desktop Firefox's engine and render both complex HTML and JavaScript, the senior employee anticipates many developers opting to write web apps instead of producing native code.

Verizon to FCC: cancel fees based on high phone costs

12/18, 5:05pm

Verizon says ETFs due to smartphone price

Verizon today provided its anticipated response (PDF) to the FCC's inquiry about its sudden hike in early termination fee (ETF) rates for smartphones. The carrier insists that the higher prices of phones like the Motorola Droid are too high to leave the cancellation fees at their regular $175, as it would take a significant loss if a customer with "advanced device" were to quit but only pay the previous one-size-fits-all rate.

RegExRX 1.0 edits regular expressions

12/18, 4:35pm

Results can be copied to Perl, PHP, Ruby

MacTechnologies has introduced RegExRX 1.0, a developer tool for producing regular expressions. The program is based on the PCRE library and is said to produce patterns which can be quickly copied into Perl, Ruby, PHP, AppleScript and REALbasic. Users can perform live matching and replacing, and view a match list that shows all results, including subexpressions.

Sony developing 3D DSLRs

12/18, 4:35pm

Sony to bring out 3D DSLRs in 2010

Sony is extending its recent focus on consumer 3D technology to its Alpha-branded DSLR cameras. Falling under the creative category, with distribution and display handled by 3D content and 3D TVs, PS3 game console and VAIO notebooks, respectively, the DSLRs will be capable of creating the 3D content. Sony envisions bringing 3D content to consumers via the web and its temporarily named Sony Online Service, as well as Blu-ray media in the form of movies and games as well.

Sony Readers get new newspapers, magazines

12/18, 4:30pm

Sony Reader Daily Edition, PC get periodicals

Sony in a second update this week provided the magazines and newspapers that will be available for a subscription through the Reader Store. Besides the New York Post and Wall Street Journal, both the 3G-capable Reader Daily Edition and Sony's Mac and Windows software will get daily downloads of major papers like the Boston Globe, the International Herald Tribune, the New York Times and 10 others. A handful of magazines such as Barron's and Reason will also arrive as they would in real life.

Sprint to update Hero, Moment with Android 2.1

12/18, 4:30pm

Android 2.1, not 2.0, due at Sprint Hero, Moment

Wireless provider Sprint has Wireless provider Sprint in a Twitter update has informed followers that its HTC Hero and Samsung Moment handsets will skip over Android 2.0 in favor of Android 2.1. The provider says the update will come during the first half of next year, and is in contrast to an earlier report that had Sprint updating the handsets with the Android 2.0 OS in the new year. Both handsets currently run on Android 1.5.

ArtRage Studio, Studio Pro get new tools, interface

12/18, 4:00pm

Studio Pro adds extra editing capabilities

Ambient Design has launched new illustration programs, ArtRage Studio and ArtRage Studio Pro. The releases expand on the original ArtRage, which features 12 painting tools in an interface set up for beginning artists. Studio adds an improved interface with customizable keyboard shortcuts. New painting tools include text, watercolor, a sticker spray and both gloop and inking pens, with auto-smoothing features. Unlimited layers and layer groups are supported, with blending options. The app also allows for placing pre-made objects called peel-off stickers.

Palm confirms update with app limit lift, speed boost

12/18, 3:55pm

Palm 1.3.5 coming soon according to CEO

Palm chief Jon Rubinstein during the company's latest quarterly results confirmed the existence of what's likely to be the 1.3.5 update for the Pixi and Pre. The upgrade will finally remove a 64MB cap on the space occupied by installed apps and should also improve performance, particularly for apps and the Pixi. Wi-Fi reception will also be stronger.

Students show off first Ford SYNC apps

12/18, 3:35pm

Six students create two apps for Ford's SYNC

Ford has employed the help of six students from the University of Michigan to help it develop the first ever apps for its SYNC in-car, voice-activated multimedia user interface. To this end, it has developed an application programming interface (API) and had the students build two mobile apps that are totally compatible with SYNC. The automaker will open up its API to the developer community sometime next year pending successful beta testing.

Fujitsu passes Core i7 tablet through FCC

12/18, 3:30pm

Fujitsu T900 gets 2.66GHz mobile Core i7

Fujitsu has inadvertently spoiled plans for itself and Intel through an FCC filing (PDF). Cosmetically similar to the LifeBook T5010 convertible tablet, the T900 will be a major performance upgrade with a 2.66GHz mobile Core i7 that will effectively behave like a quad-core processor. Its graphics are likely to remain integrated, but as the i7 will have a new generation of on-processor graphics, visual performance should be faster as well.

Kiwi 1.0 Twitter client sports multiple themes

12/18, 3:30pm

Client can match users' desktops

YourHead has released Kiwi 1.0, a new Mac Twitter client. Kiwi supports multiple accounts and groups, along with searches, rules and filters. It can change appearance to match a user's desktop, and includes nine built-in themes, with others available via the web. Users can build their own themes using an API, HTML and CSS.

Need for Speed: Shift reaches iPhone, iPod touch

12/18, 3:10pm

Game attempts to bridge action, simulation

EA has released an iPhone version of Need for Speed: Shift, a racing game originally released for consoles and Windows PCs. The title attempts to bridge arcade racing with simulation elements; players are for instance given a first-person perspective, and must also cope with semi-realistic physics. The game's 20 cars are based on real ones, such as the Pagani Zonda, the BMW M3 GT2 and the Subaru Imprexa WRX STI.

Kindle sets sales record, gets free two-day shipping

12/18, 2:45pm

Amazon Kindle has best ever month

Amazon today touted that the Kindle has already had its best-ever month for sales in December. Although the month isn't yet finished, the retailer claims that holiday sales have already pushed sales to an unspecified but all-time high. Unlike previous years, the Kindle remains in stock and should meet demand.

FTC says it has "no goal of breaking up Intel"

12/18, 1:50pm

FTC has no intentions to break up Intel

Despite its recent lawsuit against Intel on the grounds of anti-competitive practices, the Federal Trade Commission does not mean to break up the company, an agency spokesperson said in a Friday report. Director of the Bureau of Competition, Richard Feinstein says the FTC simply wants Intel to modify what it considers to be anti-competitive behavior. The lawsuit was launched as the FTC felt Intel attempts to unfairly control competition in the personal computer chip market.

Psystar to shut down [U]

12/18, 1:45pm

Mac cloner Psystar sees no reason to be

(Updated with countering statement) Mac clone builder Psystar on Friday said it was shutting down. The Florida-based company's president Rudy Pedraza said the shutdown would take effect "immediately." All eight employees of the small company have been dismissed, and the company's website is no longer functioning.

Nuance launches Dragon Search for iPhone

12/18, 1:15pm

Allows spoken search phrases

Shortly after the release of Dragon Dictation, Nuance has unveiled a second iPhone app, Dragon Search. The app offers search results from a variety of popular sources, including YouTube, Google, Twitter, iTunes and Wikipedia. One of its primary features is speech recognition, which lets users simply speak their search terms.

French court finds Google guilty over book rights

12/18, 1:05pm

Google ordered to pay $430k by French court

A court in Paris has ruled on Friday that Google is guilty of infringing copyrights by publishing French books online. The Internet search company is ordered to pay the equivalent of $430,000 in damages and interest to French publisher La Martiniere-Le Seuil, and a further daily fine until it removes the titles from its online database. Google's laywer, Alexandra Neri, says his client will appeal the court's decision.

Jumsoft, iPresentee debut new templates and themes

12/18, 12:50pm

100 new Mail templates, five iWeb themes

Jumsoft has released Mail Stationery 3.0, delivering over 100 new stationery templates for use in Apple’s Mail client. Within the collection are two new design sets, Ink Sense and Cardboard Gallery. There are seven different categories, such as greetings, invitations and newsletters; the greetings category includes a bonus holiday pack with 10 templates. Most of the templates throughout the bundle offer multiple color schemes or design variations.

ASUS' Pine Trail-based Eee PC 1005P spotted, imaged

12/18, 12:40pm

ASUS 1005P netbook has Pine Trail, 12h battery

A second set of Pine Trail Atom-based ASUS Eee PC netbooks has been spotted and promises a significant update to one of the company's cornerstone netbooks. Store listings and images of the 1005P and slightly upgraded 1005PE show a system with the familiar thick "seashell" shape but with improved chiclet-style keys and a textured lid. A larger upgrade should come inside with a 1.66GHz Atom N450 that will both speed up the design and extend the battery life to a very long 12 hours.

Helios launches ScriptAssistant for UB+ software

12/18, 12:10pm

Creates hot folder scripts

Germany's Helios says it has launched UB+ ScriptAssistant, a utility for Script Server and Tool Server, which in turn back the UB+ versions of EtherShare, PCShare, WebShare, ImageServer, PDF HandShake and PrintPreview. ScriptAssistant allows the creation of hot folder-based automation workflows for image repurposing, PDF preflighting, and printing and proofing. When paired with Tool Server, remote workstation apps can be integrated into processes.

IEEE revamps phone battery standard

12/18, 11:50am

IEEE, members to meet on new battery standards

The IEEE standards group will soon begin revising its 1725 standard for rechargeable batteries in cellphones. The undertaking aims to improve the quality and reliability of lithium-ion and lithium-ion polymer batteries as buyers demand more power and longer runtimes for their smartphones. The standard revision, called P1725, will set criteria for reliability, quality and the construction, cell level charge and discharge controls, along with overall system integration.

Verizon network braced for possible iPhone

12/18, 11:40am

VZW exec claims network could take Apple

Verizon has already built up its 3G network in the event it lands an iPhone deal, the company's CTO Anthony Melone said late Thursday. The executive stops short of saying that the network has been upgraded specifically for Apple but that the carrier is "prepared" for the level of data traffic the iPhone would bring. He argues that both the equipment and the company's quality checks should better prepare it than AT&T has in recent years.

Apple posts Xsan 2.2.1 updates

12/18, 11:10am

Leopard, Snow Leopard versions available

Beyond a Mail Services update, Apple is also targeting the enterprise this week with updates to Xsan, its storage area network software. The v2.2.1 FileSystem Update is said to include "general" filesystem fixes, as well as particular corrections for reliability and the cvfsck repair utility. Editions are available for both Leopard and Snow Leopard.

Google close to buying Yelp for $500 million?

12/18, 10:35am

Google would get local searching firm

Google is deep in talks to acquire Yelp, more than one source claimed late Thursday. The local business location and reviewing site is deemed "very likely" to sell itself for over $500 million based both on its valuation and its heavy Internet traffic.

Pro Tools 8.0.3 adds Snow Leopard support

12/18, 10:25am

Drops PowerPC compatibility

Avid has released Pro Tools 8.0.3, a major update to the company's audio production suite. The software handles most aspects of music production, from recording and mixing through to post-production and wholesale music composition. The v8.0.3 patch at last adds Snow Leopard support, for Macs running v10.6.1 or better.

Notion Ink intros Android smartbook with Pixel Qi display

12/18, 10:00am

Notion Ink to show Pixel Qi-equipped smartbook

Notion Ink is promising to bring a new, thus far unnamed smartbook that runs on Android and is the first to use a Pixel Qi transflective display. The 10.1-inch, touchscreen LCD has a 1024x600 resolution but should be noteworthy through its usability outdoors: the screen should be clearly visible outdoors as wlel as inside.

iPhone, Droid make large gains in online share

12/18, 9:40am

iPhone and Android win, Symbian loses in 2009

Apple's iPhone and Android-based phones have made some of the greatest strides in market share during the past month, AdMob says. In November, the iPhone pushed forward again to claim 54 percent of world smartphone Internet traffic and was joined by a similar gain from Android, whose total share jumped from 11 to 16 percent. Symbian suffered the most and fell steeply from a quarter of traffic to 19 percent.

Missing Sync for Android 1.1 beta supports Android 2.0

12/18, 9:30am

Allows Droid sync

Mark/Space has posted a v1.1 Mac beta of The Missing Sync for Android. Whereas the official v1.0 release only supports Android 1.5 and 1.6 devices, like the myTouch 3G, v1.1 adds tentative support for Android 2.0 phones, namely the Motorola Droid. Finished v1.1 software is expected soon.

Mail Services Update 1.0 fixes Snow Leopard Server issues

12/18, 8:55am

Performance, reliability problems addressed

Continuing a series of pre-Christmas updates, Apple has posted Mail Services Update 1.0, a release for Snow Leopard Server. The patch reduces memory consumption, and now allows Mail to recover from a disruption in Directory Services. The file is a 20.6MB download and requires Snow Leopard Server 10.6.2.

Palm Pre Plus on tap for CES?

12/18, 8:05am

Verizon to get upgraded Palm, Moto Devour

One of Verizon's first webOS phones will be a direct upgrade to the Pre if a leak is accurate. The company's internal systems reportedly show a "Palm Pre Plus" without supplying further details. What it would involve isn't clear, but the badge suggests a similar design and that upgrades are most likely to revolve around more storage or better performance.

Adobe posts Lightroom 2.6, Camera RAW/DNG Converter 5.6

12/18, 7:15am

Adds support for popular camera models

Adobe has announced three new software updates, Lightroom 2.6, Photoshop Camera Raw 5.6 and DNG Converter 5.6. Originally posted as trial updates for community testing, the final versions offer added RAW file support for 20 popular camera models including the Nikon D3s, Canon EOS 7D, and Leaf Aptus II 5, as well as DNG support for Leica M9 and Ricoh GXR camera models.