Jonathan Ive says companies must find raison d’être...

Jonathan Ive, the often quiet and reserved head of Apple's design team, discussed the company's drive for success with a group of about 700 Londoners including a BusinessWeek writer. He suggested other companies should not attempt to copy Apple's success, and instead believes companies should define their own "raison d’être" -- the French saying, which means "reason for being". He went on to say the reason for Apple's strong following is a testament to the company's belief that a business should focus on the quality of its products.

Fanurio 2.1 brings in printing, e-mail, imports...

Fanurio has released v2.1 of its self-named application, which handles invoicing and time tracking for small or self-owned businesses. Taxes, expenses and discounts are recorded, and factors like partial payments or multiple currencies can be accounted for. The v2.1 patch introduces several critical features, most notably the ability to import time data, print out documents, or deliver content using e-mail.

Messless charger allows clean, multi-device charging...

A new multi-device charger has recently been launched in the UK. Designed by Italian design house Italdesign Giugiaro, whose resume includes numerous exotic and concept cars, the Messless charger allows users to charge multiple portable electronic devices simultaneously. The universal charging station allows up to four gadgets to be charged on its docking stations, which also forego the use of wires, with just one main power wire required.

Chinese iPhone coming in within months, say analysts...

A Chinese iPhone is due by the end of the year, and possibly sooner, according to Wedge Partners. The research firm says it has performed a series of checks, which reveal that China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has receive an iPhone for testing. Apple should thus be in position to receive a network license in 2009, possibly within three to four months.

Plugin Galaxy 2 adds layers and blend tools...

The Plugin Site has released Plugin Galaxy 2, the latest version of its plug-in suite for Photoshop, Fireworks, Photoline, GraphicConverter and Illustrator. The update has been reprogrammed from the ground up, with all effects available from a customizable dialog. A variety of new effects have been added, with a total of 400 presets.

RAID Monitor 3 adopts AppleRAID, new interface...

Squashed Software, formerly Maza Digital, says it has released RAID Monitor 3, a major update to its RAID status utility. The app performs background tracking of drive errors, which are then passed on to administrators through alert messages. Version 3 has been entirely rewritten, and redesigned with a new interface.

Crucial prepping fast notebook SSD line...

Crucial this afternoon said it should have a major update to its solid-state drive line later this month. The 2.5-inch M225 series will use more up to date multi-level cell (MLC) storage and a new memory controller that significantly improves speed. Estimates put the peak performance of the fastest, 256GB drive at 250MB per second for data reads and 200MB per second for writes.

Palm Pre sales still strong?...

Pacific Crest analyst James Faucette today said that Palm Pre sales are still healthy over a month after the phone launched. Referring to his own checks, he estimates that about 40,000 of the multi-touch phones are now shipping each week and that the numbers could hold through at least August. He also expects that sales could improve if Palm can improve its shipments to Best Buy and Radio Shack, which have had short supply ever since launch.

Apps: Geotagalog, myDocuments, Language Alchemist X...

Geotagalog 1.4 ($20) is a utility for geotagging photos with a GPS tracklog. The software combines digital photos with location data that has been recorded into a GPS tracklog and shows a live location preview with mouseover thumbnails allowing a user to visually verify that tags are matched correctly. Version 1.4 adds the ability to select individual files instead of just folders and the option to import non-geotaggable items. The photo loading, adjustment and previewing performance has also been improved in this release. [Download - 13.3MB]

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Patent application suggests iPod SIM card add-on...

Apple has been contemplating a number of different iPod accessories, ones which could dramatically enhance the usefulness of a player if put into production, a recent patent application suggests. While some of the proposed concepts already exist -- including speakers and microphones -- others are purely theoretical, such an external storage add-on. A user could thus increase available space via a flash or hard drive.

Family Software intros iNet SafetyBubble for iPhone...

Family Software has released its latest parent control and web filtering application for the iPhone and iPod touch, iNet SafetyBubble. The program offers mobile phone users an alternate web browser that can be customized to block out websites, while monitoring Internet activity. Parents have the ability to block websites individually or by category, and are given over 50 different categories to choose from. Parents can also go online and view real-time activity reports or change the current protection level.

Credit Suisse raises Apple performance forecast...

Apple should do better than forecast in its June quarter results, slated to be revealed July 21st, says Credit Suisse analyst Bill Shope. The company is expected to post $8.14 billion in revenue, producing $1.13 in earnings per share. The figures are below consensus estimates of $8.16 billion and $1.16, but may still mark Apple as the top computer vendor in the period, given an anticipated 3 percent decline in the industry quarter-over-quarter.

Google's Schmidt intially resisted Chrome OS...

Google CEO Eric Schmidt as part of his presentation at the Allen & Co. conference later on Thursday revealed that he had initially resisted both Chrome the web browser and eventually Chrome OS. In addition to discussing the possible conflict of interest with Apple after the unveiling of the full operating system, Schmidt told those gathered that he had originally wanted to avoid Chrome, and the OS as a result, after being soured by the early browser competition that eventually gave Microsoft's Internet Explorer the lead. It wasn't until company founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page showed a promising demo of Chrome that the chief executive eventually agreed to move ahead.

New Snow Leopard build tweaks speed, interface...

Apple is seeding a new beta build of Mac OS X Snow Leopard, developers say. Titled 10A402a, the build measures 1.3GB, and is the second to have arrive in a span of two weeks. Although Apple describes the software as having "general operating system fixes for stability, compatibility, and security," the most noticeable changes are said to include responsiveness, which is faster throughout the OS.

Sprint, Verizon to demand Wi-Fi on phones ...

Both Sprint and Verizon have said late Thursday that they're working to add Wi-Fi to their smartphones to address a significant gap in their networks. Talking to FierceWireless, Sprint business product marketing head Jeff Clemow says his carrier decided months ago to require that all its smartphones use Wi-Fi and will soon put the requirement into effect. As a consequence, a 2010 version of the BlackBerry Tour will add Wi-Fi to the existing EVDO Rev A-based 3G it depends on so far; it only ships without due to a need to get the Tour to stores.

Apple details HTTP streaming in proposed IETF spec...

Apple has submitted a specification to the Internet Engineering Task Force, hoping to have HTTP Live Streaming adopted as a universal protocol, reports say. The format already exists in Safari 4 and iPhone 3.0, and should eventually be integrated into Mac OS X Snow Leopard, but does not currently have backing outside of Apple. Should the technology become standard it could potentially replace various audio/video plug-ins, such as Flash and Silverlight.

Google CEO will talk to Apple over Chrome OS conflict...

Google chief Eric Schmidt last evening said he would talk to Apple to determine whether or not he should recuse himself from the Mac maker's board of directors following the unveiling of Chrome OS. The executive told those at Allen & Co's technology conference that there is currently "no issue" with his remaining on the board but that he will ask Apple if it sees a conflict of interest to have another desktop operating system developer involved in its decisions. Apple itself hasn't commented on any possible change in relationship.

Spiderweb Software announces Avernum 6 ...

Spiderweb Software has announced Avernum 6, the final game in its role-playing series. Set in the world of Avernum, the game takes players to an underground world where a nation of people live inside large tunnels and caverns far below the planets surface. The final chapter has the world of Avernum in chaos, where the mushrooms have withered and died and the people are suffering from hunger. In the midst of the problem the reptilian Slithzerikai have emerged from the low tunnels to battle the weakened people.

MS Silverlight 3 touts GPU use, smooth HD...

Microsoft tonight launched the public version of Silverlight 3, its animation and video plugin for the web. The rival to Flash is the company's first to use hardware graphics acceleration both for 3D and for offloading the work of decoding video from the main processor. Regardless of graphics power, the update is also the first to promise a near-seamless HD video experience: a "smooth streaming" technique that automatically lowers the bitrate to start playback immediately and quickly brings it back up to provide the maximum quality the connection allows.

GenArts announces Sapphire plug-in rental option...

GenArts has announced a monthly rental option for its flagship plugin effects, Sapphire. The plugins can be rented for $170 per month; far less than the $1699 purchase cost of the plug-in for After Effects or Final Cut Pro. This option is designed to allow artists who work on a project basis to avoid purchasing the costly full license of the Adobe After Effects plug-in or an Apple Final Cut Pro FxPlug. GenArts allows rental users to apply up to two months of rental fees as credit towards purchasing a permanent license of Sapphire.

New iXBrowser for Web to offer full HTML 4 support...

Newmium has announced yet another internet browser, the Newmium iXBrowser. The browser boasts compatibility with all versions of HTML 4 defined by the World Wide Web Consortium. Offering platform-independent compatibility with all versions of HTML 4 allows website developers to create more consistent cross-platform designs. The Newmium iXBrowser offers compatibility with various operating systems including Mac OS X, Linux, Windows, WinCE, and FreeBSD in 32-bit and 64-bit versions. Newmium claims that the browser not only maintains the same interface throughout each system, but will also display sites the same regardless of operating system.

iPhone speech recognition SDK offered to developers...

Creaceed has released the CeedVocal SDK, which allows developers to build speech recognition into their iPhone applications. The CeedVocal SDK is based on acoustic models developed in English, French and German, providing voice activity detection for each of those languages. The software development kit includes a "phonetizer" that recognizes many common words and up to 5000 developer-defined words.

MacFamilyTree 5.6 updates family charting software...

Synium has released its newest version of MacFamilyTree. The application enables users to research their lineage and create family trees that can be displayed in a variety of styles. Version 5.6 improves performance by using multiple processors or cores to complete tasks faster. MacFamilyTree 5.6 also includes a new subtree viewing feature, which shows partial subtrees within a database.

Accelerometers becoming mainstream, driven by iPhone...

Over one-third of mobile phones are expected to integrate accelerometers by 2010, according to the research firm iSuppli. Widespread adoption of the Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) sensors is being driven by popular devices such as Apple's iPhone and the recently-launched Palm Pre. Although the trend continues to develop in the smartphone segment, the technology is also being used in simpler devices.

iPhone apps: Zensify, Pocket Fish, Pocket First Aid...

Zensify (free) collects information from all of a users social networks into a single feed. The application features options for posting and viewing information from popular social networking sites, including, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, Digg, Delicious, Photobucket and 12seconds. Zensify also includes a built-in search function which allows users to keep track of conversations and topics across multiple networks.

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Amazon may shrink publisher margins on e-books...

Amazon's price cut of its Kindle 2 e-book reader have prompted some in the publishing industry to worry that the online retailer, which is far and away the leading provider of e-books, may put pressure on them to drop the prices for electronic versions of their books for the device, according to a Bloomberg report. Amazon reportedly pays between $12 and $13 to publishers for Kindle editions of books that are on the New York Times bestseller list and sells them for about $10 to customers. Many publishing houses are concerned the giant online vendor will put price pressure on them in order to bump its own profit margins.

Intuit delays Quicken for Mac until 2010...

A long-delayed update for the Mac version of Quicken has been delayed yet again, says Quicken PR manager Scott Gulbransen. The software is now expected in February 2010, having originally been announced for sometime in 2008. As recently as the last Macworld Expo, the company was forecasting a 2009 launch.

Liquid Image intros snorkel mask camcorder...

US-based Liquid Image is now selling its latest product, the UDCM310 underwater diving mask with a built-in photo and video camera, in Japan via retailer Hanwha. The device sports an integrated 5-megapixel camera module that can capture can capture both video and still images at 720x480 up to 33 feet deep. Power and shutter buttons are integrated into the frame of the camera, which turns off automatically if not recording after two minutes to conserve battery life.

Analyst report indicates resilient Apple, HP sales...

A semiconductor and IT hardware report, produced by Kaufman Bros., is said to indicate that major companies -- including Apple and HP -- will continue solid sales into July despite lower sales than anticipated, following the second quarter ending with growth of 5 to 10 percent quarter-over-quarter. The research group also suggests that notebook and PC sales will maintain strength despite declining stock prices, and continued concerns over unemployment and the economy. Semiconductor companies such as Skyworks, Cypress and Atmel are expected to ride out momentum built on smartphone sales throughout July.

Microsoft to launch Office web apps Monday?...

Microsoft's Monday event should mark a more formal debut for the company's Office Web suite, tipsters said on Thursday. Although announced nine months ago, the suite is now said by Neowin to be getting a demonstration. It's not known if Microsoft will commit to a public release at the gathering.

AmpliTube Fender 1.1 adds stompboxes...

IK Multimedia has released v1.1 of AmpliTube Fender, a bass and guitar effects suite. The software simulates a number of the audio components produced by Fender, including amps, pedals and rack units. Found in the v1.1 patch are three new stompbox add-ons, beginning with a stomp compressor based on the Cyber-Twin SE. The gear produces higher input signal at the amp input stage, and can be controlled with four settings for gain and compression.

Pre owners complain of lack of onscreen keys...

Palm Pre owners are ironically complaining that their smartphones don't have onscreen keyboards, a study by Strategy Analytics found today. Despite Palm having added the QWERTY keyboard in response to gripes about touch-only devices like the iPhone, many users want a software keyboard like Apple's, as Palm's design gives them no choice but to use the hardware solution. The opinion holds even for those who chose the Pre for the physical input, senior analyst Paul Brown says.

Apps: Fanurio, Pluto Menubar, myRecipes...

Fanurio 2.1 ($60) is a time tracking and billing application designed for freelancers. The software allows users to organize work, track time and create invoices which can be generated into a text or html file using an invoice template. Users can also choose to export data as a CSV file which can then be imported into other applications such as Excel and Numbers. Version 2.1 allows users to change the time format used and includes support for printing documents from the Invoices table. Additionally, a new menu bar item has been added which displays the status of the timer and includes options for controlling the timer. The update has also been localized to German, Romanian, and Spanish, with several more translations in the works. [Download - 12.2MB]

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Apple files for patents on face recognition, more...

The US Patent and Trademark Office has published another batch of Apple patent applications, relating to a variety of technologies. Among these is face recognition, which in Apple's description could be used to detect one or more users of a device without requiring active input. The technology could further be used to authorize control, or initiate commands.

CheckUp 2.5 updates interface, adds data export, more...

app4mac has announced CheckUp 2.5 for Leopard-based Macs, adding an updated user interface, Snow Leopard compatibility and other options. Along with a better system view, there are now options for exporting graph data, for choosing the default application for a document and for using any folder in the duplicates checking tool. app4mac has added an integrated uninstaller as well.

New hard disk sleds for Mac Pro...

Trans International has launched 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch Mac Pro hard disk sleds, allowing Mac Pro owners to swap out hard disks and solid state drives. The sleds allow for keeping numerous drives on hand for swapping out -- backing up RAIDs or databases or keeping client projects on separate drives. The SATA-based sleds are available in two configurations, one for 2006/2007/2008- model year Mac Pros and the other for 2009 Mac Pros.

Nikon roadmap leak claims D700x, more...

A roadmap of Nikon's plans for 2009 and 2010 has reportedly surfaced through a Czech forum and appears to provide detailed information for all of the company's DSLRs this year. New to the mix is a D700x; the full-frame pro camera would reportedly get the 24.5-megapixel sensor from the D3x but also HD video shooting at 24FPS as well as improvements to autofocusing, self-timed shots and the mirror-up mode. If true, the camera would be launched on October 15th with a host of new lenses, including an all-purpose 24-135mm f3.5-5.6 lens and a 70-200mm f2.8G example.

Economy stifling market for SSD notebooks...

The economic crunch is making a major impact on the viability of solid-state drives in notebooks, according to new research from iSuppli. As prices for the NAND flash memory that form the heart of these drives have in some cases more than doubled -- 128 percent for a 2GB chip -- the costs for the SSDs themselves have gone up proportionately, making it difficult or occasionally impossible to offer an SSD option in a given notebook. The jump is the result of a known shortage triggered by the economy, as companies producing memory deliberately cut production to raise prices and save money.

Apple Korea to recall first-gen iPod nanos...

Apple has agreed to a recall of first-generation iPod nanos in South Korea, according to the Wall Street Journal. The company was asked to perform the recall in a June 25th motion by the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards, as a result of a number of complaints about batteries overheating or even exploding. "Although the overheating problem doesn't affect the batteries that are being used now in iPod nanos," Apple says in a KATS statement, "concerned customers can get a replacement battery."

Rogers debuts 50Mbps service, 802.11n modem [U]...

(Update with more info) Rogers today became the first cable provider in Canada to offer a full-spec DOCSIS 3.0 Internet service and rolled out a special new cable modem to match. The 50Mbps tier more than doubles the fastest service Rogers has had before and matches both the maximum speed of Comcast's service in the US as well as the pre-3.0 service offered by Videotron in Quebec. The company intends to charge $150 per month but with only a modest increase to the bandwidth cap, which climbs to 125GB. An initial rollout is due for mid-August in the greater Toronto area with other areas to come later.

Google Chrome OS already spotted? [U]...

(Update: proven fake) Google's just-announced Chrome OS may have already been spotted courtesy of a leak from a staffer for a part supplier for Acer, which is already confirmed as one of those producing netbooks using the new platform. Installed on an older notebook to prove it doesn't require a new PC, the private beta is extremely minimal and has a Windows 7-like taskbar with a program launch menu and running apps showing on the bar as icons. A search field can be added to the bar.

Samsung ships 250GB 1.8-inch drive with USB...

Samsung on Thursday expanded what's possible with very small hard drives with an upgrade to the Spinpoint N line. The N3U first achieves a storage record with up to 250GB of space in a 1.8-inch disk, spreading the data across two platters. The capacity would give portable media players and netbooks the same capacity as a typical 2.5-inch notebook drive but in both a smaller form (smaller than a credit card) and while using 40 percent less power.

MacBook Pro owners report problems w/7200RPM drives...

(Updated with OWC commentary) Some owners of Apple's latest MacBook Pros with faster 7200RPM hard drives are reporting strange clicking and beeping noises along with performance issues. Though the cause of the problem is unclear, an Apple Support forum has many users suggesting that it is caused by an incompatibility between the Seagate's G-Force protection system and MacBook hardware. Some users have called Apple Support or taken their computers to an Apple Genius Bar both of which have tried fixing the problem by running a "capture" or resetting the computer's PRAM during start up -- neither of these solutions seem to have resolved the issue fully according to users in Apple's support forum.