Apple MacBook batteries hacked to burn or explode

We know that computers can be broken into by hackers for malicious purposes, but who would've thought that laptop batteries could be broken into as well? At the Black Hat security conference next month in Las Vegas, a security researcher named Charlie Miller will be giving a demonstration on how to hack into and control the microprocessor of a MacBook battery.

According to Miller, “These batteries just aren't designed with the idea that people will mess with them. What I'm showing is that it's possible to use them to do something really bad.” Apparently once the controller for the battery has been compromised, it can be manipulated to the point where it is dead or “bricked”, and there even is a possibility for a fire or an explosion to be caused by placing malware on the chip.

Similarly damaging cyber attacks have been proved possible on much larger systems like generators, or other parts of the power grid.

Normally people aren't worried when it comes to cyber criminals - the worse they can do is corrupt your data or use it without permission (which is bad enough). If what Miller says is true, then we might have to worry about our computers exploding on us in the near future (oh great). Hopefully new security measures will be taken to prevent such occurrences from happening.
source: Ubergizmo

Apple updates MacBook Airs, and Mac minis, brings big cat Lion from Safari

It wasn't exactly a secret, but now the proverbial big cat is out of the bag. Apple has just updated the company's best-selling computer product, the MacBook Air with a Core i5/i7 option, better storage, Thunderbolt port, and finally, a backlit keyboard (again). Mac minis are updated as well, at long last bringing them up to speed with current processors and features.

The other big story is obviously OS X Lion which is Apple's most iOS-like release yet, and it slowly starts to bridge PC and post-PC devices. Lion is a major OS update with more than 250 new features, and it's available for $29 through the Mac App Store starting now.
source: Boy Genius Report

2011 Apple MacBook Air

Apple today released the new 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air. Both models now feature the latest generation of Intel processors, the Core i5 and i7. With speeds up to 1.8GHz and faster memory, the new MacBook Air gains up to 2.5x the processing performance over its predecessor. The 2011 MacBook Air has the Intel HD Graphics 3000 processor that includes an on-chip engine for video encoding and decoding. The new model supports the Thunderbolt I/O port, which is capable of transferring data up to 12 times faster than FireWire 800 and up to 20 times faster than USB 2.0. The display even charges your MacBook Air, so there is no need to unpack and unravel your power adapter. Other specs include Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire 800, three USB ports, a FaceTime HD camera, 2.1 stereo sound, and a built-in microphone. The 11-inch MacBook Air starts at $999 (for the 2GB RAM model) and $1199 (for the 4GB RAM model), with the 13-inch model is priced at $1299 (for the 4GB RAM and 128GB storage model) and $1599 for the 4GB RAM and 256GB storage model.
source: TechFresh

Apple releases a slew of new products, Christmas in July in Cupertino

Unless you're living under a rock, you should have noticed that Apple was extremely busy yesterday. The company that you either hate or love had an army of hardware releases and refreshes, along with the launch of its new desktop operating system, OS X 10.7 Lion. In case you missed all the news, here's a round-up of everything. Also, all of the below computers come preloaded with Lion, so if you've been holding off for a new Mac, now's the time to take the plunge.

OS X Lion

The first announcement, which word spread Tuesday, was the release of OS X 10.7, a Mac App Store exclusive for $30. The new operating system will also be available next month on a USB flash drive for $69. If you recently purchased a new Mac, like I did, make sure you check if you're eligible for a free upgrade to Lion with the Up-To-Date Program.

MacBook Air

The MacBook Air finally got a refresh, as both sizes of Apple's ultra-slim laptop got updated with a Thunderbolt port, Sandy Bridge i5 and i7 processors, and backlit keyboards. The MacBook Air starts at $999. Also, while we're talking about MacBooks, the white MacBook, not the Pro versions, got officially discontinued as well.

Mac mini

The Mac mini got updated with Core i5 and Core i7 processors, a Thunderbolt port, AMD Radeon HD graphics, and the loss of an optical drive. Users requiring an optical driver will need to use either Remote Disc capabilities or purchase an external SuperDrive. Pricing does return though to starting at $599, which cheaper is always good.

Apple Thunderbolt Display

Last, but certainly not least, Apple announced its Thunderbolt display, the only new product not immediately shipping. This 27-inch display, being called ” the ultimate docking station,” uses a single Thunderbolt connection and packs a 2560 x 1440 res 16:9 IPS display, FaceTime HD camera and Mic, a Thunderbolt port, integrated 2.1 speaker system, Firewire 800 slot, Gigabit Ethernet, three USB 2.0 ports and MagSafe charging for your laptop. It will be shipping within the next 60 days at the steep price of $999.
source: Akihabara News

Apple refreshes MacBook Air with Sandy Bridge, Thunderbolt, and backlit keyboards

Finally, the highly anticipated update for the MacBook Air has arrived. No ARM processors, no new looks, just some speed bumps, Disney bolts, and trendy backlit keyboard. But that's good, because that's what we like about the MacBook Air. Oh yeah, Lion's tagging along this time!

Apple's gone and freshened up its 13-inch and 11-inch ultraportables — the second such update in nine months. Although the industrial design hasn't changed much since the last generation, both models step up to Sandy Bridge Core i5 and i7 processors, Thunderbolt ports, backlit keyboards, and, of course, OS X Lion.

The 11.6-inch flavor starts at MYR 3,099 with 64GB of solid-state storage, 2GB of memory and a 1.6GHz Core i5 processor. The higher-end of the two configurations costs MYR 3,699, with the extra six hundred ringgit doubling your RAM and storage. Yes, it is expensive to own an Apple, but I'm pretty sure you don't care when you're getting this.

The 13-inch Air, meanwhile, starts at MYR 3,999 with a 128GB SSD, 4GB of RAM, and a 1.7GHz Core i5 CPU. Step up to the MYR 4,999 model and you'll get a 256GB SSD instead. That's a grand's bump for doubling the size of your SSD. Your choice, of course.

Regardless, you're looking at Intel HD 3000 graphics across the board, along with FaceTime webcams, two USB ports (plus an SD slot on the 13-inch version), 802.11n WiFi, and Bluetooth 4.0. The two differ when it comes to resolution and battery life: the 11-incher has a 1366 x 768 panel and is rated for up to five hours of battery life, whereas the 13-inch model has a 1440 x 900 screen and promises up to seven hours of juice. And it's still bloody thin.

As for that 1.8GHz Core i7 CPU, it'll set you back an extra MYR 304 on the 13-inch version, and MYR 457 for the 11-inch version. Whichever size you choose, it's only an option for the higher-end configuration. Hit the source link to view the limited specs to choose from, and buy one to join the Mac gang.
source: 2DayBlog.com

Apple Mac Mini gets speed bumps, and slim down too, but no more mouth to eat your disc

The Mac mini is yet another Mac to be updated with Intel's Sandy Bridge CPUs and Thunderbolt. The Mini saw its last update on June 15th 2010 so a refresh was widely expected and also a bit overdue in Apple's traditional product lifespan cycle. There are no major chassis changes to the new Mac mini (sans the missing CD/DVD slot). Like the previous generation, there are three models: two consumer variants and a server. The Mac mini lineup has been like this since late 2009 when the server model was first introduced.

The most obvious change is a drop in price: the entry-level Mini is now MYR 1,899 and the high-end is MYR 2,499. The server model retains its MYR 3,099 price tag. This is definitely good news.

As for the hardware updates, the two most obvious ones are Core i5 and Core i7 Sandy Bridge CPUs and Thunderbolt. Those are dual-core Core i5 processors by the way. Every Mini now comes with one Thunderbolt port as well, which replaces the Mini DisplayPort, just like in the 2011 MBPs. A smaller update is that all models now come with 1333MHz DDR3, similar to the rest of the Mac lineup. The consumer models also come with 500GB HDDs instead of 320GB while the server model's storage remains unchanged (2x500GB 7200rpm).

Now let's see what the 'surprise' is this time. First, the high-end Mini now comes with a discrete AMD Radeon HD 6630M GPU. This is the first Intel Mac mini to adopt a discrete GPU. The old PPC Mac minis used discrete GPUs but since the transition to Intel CPUs in 2006, the Mac mini has been stuck with IGPs – first Intel GMAs and then NVIDIA since early 2009. It will be interesting to see how Apple has managed to find space for the discrete GPU and its cooling, especially because the Thunderbolt controller is a discrete chip as well. We applaud the move though. While Intel HD 3000 was great improvement from Arrandale graphics, it's still not all that great for gamers. Talk about a super tiny HTPC that lets you plays games at decent fps.

AMD 6630M is actually based on the same Whistler core as 6750M and 6770M found in MacBook Pros and iMacs. What you get are 480 shaders at 485MHz, which is 115-240MHz (19-33%) less than 6750M's and 6770M's. Thus the graphics performance won't be as good as in iMac and MBP but 6630M will still be a huge step up from Nvidia 320M and Intel HD 3000. There's no word on GPU clocks.

The second intriguing aspect of new Mac minis is the server model: It now comes with a quad core CPU. This appears to be the same i7-2635QM as found in $1799 15" MacBook Pro. The previous generation server model came with a 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo so this will be a huge upgrade in CPU performance. It will again be interesting to see how Apple has handled the extra heat as i7-2630QM has TDP of 45W compared to P8800's 25W.

Third, there is no more SuperDrive (ODD)! This would be the most drastic change around here. Apple is distributing nearly all of their software through Mac App Store now (including new OS versions), reducing the need for an optical drive. This move is logical and I wouldn't be surprised to see MBPs following Mac mini. There is always the option of an external ODD if you really, really need one. But hey, when is the last time you actually use your ODD?

Some of the BTO options are also new. The base model gets the option for a 750GB 7200rpm HDD but the high-end and server model can sport a 256GB SSD. That alone isn't a big deal but the high-end Mini has an option for a 750GB HDD + 256GB SSD. That's not a big surprise given that the ODD is gone now so there is space for a second 2.5" HDD. Whether there will be a second SATA port in one-drive configurations is still unknown but that would leave the option of a 3rd party SSD as a boot drive. The high-end Mini also offers an optional i7-2620M (2.7GHz dual core).

All in all, the 2011 Mac mini update is a good one. There are several welcome additions to the lineup, such as a discrete GPU. The prices are a lot more reasonable now too. Before, it made very little sense to buy Mini because a few hundred more got you an iMac with better specs and IPS panel. At MYR 1,899, the Mac mini makes sense and is a great option for a first time Mac buyer. You get great spec, a very nice package, and even authentic operating system, compared to those PCs.

The updated Mac mini comes with Lion pre-installed (Lion Server in server model) and is available from the Apple Online Store with estimated shipping time of 24 hours.
source: 2DayBlog.com

Samsung Galaxy vs. Apple iPad tab 10.1 2

Introduction:
With summer in full swing and many people take some much-needed vacation, tablets growing gadget choices to bring along their trips away from home. Of course, it is much more portable than more traditional laptops, but more important, they have developed incredibly in order to provide an experience that is tailored to our ever-growing needs. Even though they share many physical characteristics with their plans, so Apple iPad 2 and Samsung Galaxy record 10.1, apparently considered the cream of the crop in the Tablet market now. Surprising values evenly with the baseline cost of $ 500, the last question comes down to which one is better than two.

Design:
Now, we all know the story behind these two razor thin tablets, but it is worth noting that the record for the Samsung Galaxy 10.1 receives the Crown as the thinnest and lightest tablet. With an eye, seems almost two medium thick, but it is only by a capillary to Galaxy record 10.1 edges, iPad 2. Still, we prefer the more refined and polished iPad 2 building in relation to the nature of the Galaxy plasticy tab 10.1. TRUE, there is nothing very polarizing with simple projects, but iPad 2 premium nature undoubtedly makes it the most expensive of the two — especially when sport the same price point. Plastic tab helps is lighter but 10.1.

Again, we are still another similarity between two pills when they sport the best shows that we have seen so far pills grace. On the one hand, Galaxy 10.1 LCD monitors-PLS sizes up to 10.1 ' with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, whereas the iPad 2 comes with a screen 9.7 "IPS and 1024 x 768. Quite frankly, both are very detailed, brightness and vivid color output to wow all externally, but after looking at two thoroughly detailed, iPad 2 has a more natural color display production. There is in fact a small blue glow with screen Galaxy 10.1 with white – while at extreme angles, enables black to thin gray color.

Both the exclusive power and volume buttons accouterments rockers at the two tablets kept in touch, while maintaining a reasonable amount of feedback when pressed, but the buttons in the iPad 2 jut out just a little bit more. In other ports, both proprietary billing data/ypoteleia PIN and 3.5 mm headphone jack. IPad 2 is a speaker in the back corner of the Tablet, while the entry Galaxy 10.1 provides support for the left and right stereo speakers. It is worth noting that the battery is not user Removable and will require you to send it to the service if you want to replace. In addition, give no funds to supplement the skills of internal storage – meaning, you are stuck with what you have.

View the original article here

Apple iPad Rivals Curbing Tablet Production: Report

Apple's manufacturing rivals are putting the brakes on tablet production, in the absence of a viable iPad killer, according to a new research report.

Apple’s tablet rivals are apparently slamming on the brakes.

That’s according to JP Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz, who suggested in a recent research note that Samsung, Motorola and other manufacturers are reducing build plans for their respective tablet offerings, following a lukewarm reception by consumers and businesses.

“Non-Apple tablet hopefuls have adjusted to the weak showing so far,” he wrote, according to the International Business Times. “In our view, the technical and form factor improvements of the iPad 2 stand to make it tougher for the first generation of competitive offerings to play catch-up, meaning actual shipments could fall well short of plan.”

Apple sold 4.7 million iPads in its fiscal 2011 second quarter, which saw the release of the iPad 2. Overall, the company’s mobile devices helped buoy its overall revenues to $24.67 billion with a net profit of $5.99 billion.

The iPad’s popularity could be having a noticeable effect on PC sales, which research firm IHS iSuppli pegged as falling 0.3 percent during the first quarter of the year. “The increasing momentum of the media-tablet market, led by the iPad, is creating a difficult environment for the PC industry,” Matthew Wilkins, an analyst with the firm, wrote in a May 24 statement. “IHS believes that the jury is still out on exactly how much tablets are cannibalizing PC sales. However, the rising number of tablet models on the market, along with certain high-profile product launches during the first quarter, caused confusion among consumers as to exactly how to view the tablet platform relative to the PC platform.”

That confusion, he added, “contributed to the PC sales decline in the first quarter.”

Whether or not the iPad is having a negative impact on PCs, manufacturers certainly want a piece of the consumer tablet market that Apple helped create. The past several months have seen the release of everything from the Samsung Galaxy Tab to Resarch In Motion’s BlackBerry-branded Playbook to the Motorola Xoom, the first device to run the tablet-optimized Android 3.0.

As each of these devices readied for its market debut, media and pundits chattered about its potential as an “iPad Killer,” a tablet with the sales potential to challenge Apple’s lock on the nascent market. So far, however, actual sales of each new tablet haven’t come close to those of the iPad—although some, such as the 7-inch Galaxy Tab and RIM PlayBook, have reportedly posted respectable numbers.

Apple could face a substantial new rival in an Android-based tablet from Amazon.com, with Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster theorizing in a recent research note that the online retailer could sell as many as 2.4 million devices in 2012. Munster’s note came in the wake of one by Creative Strategies analyst Tim Bajarin, itself suggesting that Amazon is planning to release at least one Android tablet in time for the holiday 2011 season.

Munster also theorized that an Amazon tablet would barely affect sales of the Kindle e-reader. However, until Amazon actually announces a tablet, analyst conjecture necessarily remains in the land of the theoretical.

eweek

Apple iMac 27in (2011) review

The launch of the new Apple MacBook Pro range a few months ago may have spoiled the surprise for the rest of Apple’s updates, but there’s no doubt most of us at PC Pro were far more excited to see Sandy Bridge make its way into Apple’s beautiful 27in iMac than in its laptops.

Sure enough, it’s now a suitably powerful beast to complement its glorious screen. The shift to Sandy Bridge brings a choice of new processors: the 27in iMac comes with either a 2.7GHz Core i5-2500S or a 3.1GHz Core i5-2400, with the latter upgradeable to a 3.4GHz Core i7-2600 if you’re feeling really flush.

Apple sent us the cheapest model for this review and, aided by 4GB of 1,333MHz DDR3 RAM and a fast 7,200rpm hard disk, the low-power Core i5 coped admirably with our real-world benchmarks. An overall score of 0.83 can’t compete with the latest blisteringly quick desktop PCs, but it trounces the previous fastest all-in-one we’ve tested by a good 10%. It’s a quad-core CPU, so it also coasted through the Multitasking segment with a solid score of 0.76.

The AMD graphics chip has seen an upgrade to the latest generation, inching the iMac closer to being a genuine entertainment machine as well as a do-it-all professional solution. The Radeon HD 6770 powered through our Low and Medium Crysis tests with ease, and managed a creditable 26fps at 1,920 x 1,080 and High settings.

It’s not quite powerful enough for real high-resolution gaming, though: if you want to play at the screen’s native 2,560 x 1,440, you’ll have to lower those settings to Medium, at which point it averaged a playable 32fps. Crysis aside, less demanding games should run at 1080p with few problems, and you may even be able to bump more mainstream games up to native resolution at their highest settings.

There’s still no Blu-ray option – we can understand it not coming as standard but it seems petty to exclude it from the upgrade path completely – but the iMac handled all our HD video smoothly. The FaceTime HD webcam also supports chat with other capable devices, although you’ll be limited by the resolution of the camera at the other end – don’t expect an iPhone user to look as good on your screen as you do on theirs.

As for that non-surprise, the iMac now comes equipped with Thunderbolt ports – one on the 21in models, two on the larger versions – in time for the first compatible RAID arrays to hit the shelves in the coming month or two. You’ll also be able to use the iMac as a second display for your MacBook Pro. It’s a nod to the future for now, but Apple looks to be putting its weight behind Thunderbolt over USB 3, at least for now.

The 27in IPS panel is as glorious as ever, with its 2,560 x 1,440 resolution rendering high-resolution images pin-sharp and displaying 1080p video with a panache that makes us yearn for that Blu-ray drive. It’s very reflective and it has a tendency to crush dark greys into black in images and videos, but that’s how it produces its fabulous contrast and vibrancy.

The rest is pretty much unchanged, with the excellent 17W speakers producing easily enough oomph for movie watching. The familiar Wireless Keyboard now comes with a choice at purchase of either the Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad, and you get OS X Snow Leopard pre-installed. Boot Camp works pretty much flawlessly now too, for dual-booting into Windows.

We still have a few issues with the iMac, though. With such a large, obstructive screen in front of you, the positioning of the USB ports on the rear makes no sense other than to satisfy Apple’s insistence on clean lines. And the top of the chassis gets exceedingly hot: using an IR thermometer, we measured the metal at 59°C during intensive tasks, which is the price you pay for the near-silent running.

Then there’s the price, but you know how that works by now. It costs precisely the same as the bottom-end 27in model last year, which is to say a 2.7GHz Core i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM and a Radeon HD 6770 is £1,399 inc VAT. The faster model is £1,649, and for once we reckon £250 for the step up to 3.1GHz and an HD 6970 looks fairly close to the correct retail pricing.

It goes without saying that the latest round of upgrades only make the 27in Apple iMac even more attractive. We’d prefer at least the option of a Blu-ray drive to go with the marvellous screen and speakers, and some USB ports within reach would prevent the occasional frustrating bout of desk-rearranging. But if you can afford it, it’s still the finest piece of all-in-one engineering on the market.

Author: David Bayon
PCPro

Android, Apple iOS Chip Away at RIM's Smartphone Share

Google and Apple continued to chip away at Research in Motion's smartphone mobile OS share in the U.S., with Google's Android jumping past RIM's BlackBerry to nab the number-one spot, and Apple inching closer to land at number three.

According to data published by comScore, Google's Android OS smartphone share jumped 6 percent during the first three months of 2011 to reach 34.7 percent, while RIM dropped 4.5 percent to land at 27.1 percent. Apple was close behind to 27.1 percent, a 0.5 percent increase from December 2010.

Rounding out the top five were Microsoft and Palm with 7.5 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively, both a 0.9 percent drop.

Overall, 72.5 million people had smartphones in the U.S. by the end of March, up 15 percent from the last three months in 2010. About 234 million Americans, meanwhile, owned mobile devices. Samsung was the number one device manufacturer with 24.5 percent of the market, though that was down 0.3 percent since December. LG landed at number two and remained flat at 20.9 percent, followed by Motorola and RIM, which took a 0.9 percent and 0.1 percent dip, respectively, to land at 15.8 percent and 8.4 percent.

With the release of the Verizon iPhone, however, Apple continued to make gains and land at the number-five spot with 7.9 percent of the market, a 1.1 percent increase.

Despite Android's dominance, however, older iOS products are apparently more popular than new Android devices. According to data from Canaccord Genuity technology analyst Michael Walkley, there is still strong demand for the iPhone 3GS and first iPad. At AT&T stores, for example, the $49 iPhone 3GS outsold newer Android devices like the HTC Inspire and Motorola Atrix, AppleInsider reports.

Last month, comScore found that Apple's iOS platform has twice the reach of Google's Android in the United States. Apple's iOS, which includes the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, had an installed user base of 37.9 million, which was 59 percent higher than Android's installed user base of 23.8 million.

PCMag

T-Mobile G-slate vs. iPad vs. Blackberrys scenario vs 2 Apple Motorola SLASHY

Getting Started:
We have usuccessfulde away quickly with some new Shimizu tablets to hit the market of late for the better part of last month, and now that we have got a feel for all these reasons, it is better to sit to compare and contrast them all in one big revelation. With the Apple iPad, BlackBerry, Motorola's scenario, SLASHY and T-Mobile G-shale all decks waiting to turn attention should focus on them at once to appreciate all the how to distinguish with each other – and at the same time, what they excel at. Of course, it is rather difficult to say specifically what the best of the bunch, especially when it enters into force, user preferences, but nevertheless, we must look back and to find out which thoroughly rather agreed as the most balanced. So without further delay, let's get together on the correct thickness of the fight!

Design:
Visual Basic, all four tablets based on the same foundations when it comes to their plans, and none of them deviate from his usual slate form factor. But you are still in a gauze and have we really admire the design and construction of iPad 2, since it contains a combination of quality materials and attention to fine detail. Compared with other notable of cultivation, a razor thin impressive set outside, but it is only marginally thinner than the BlackBerry scenario. The Model's rim, we welcome, and because it is very strongly for a 7-incher – preserves a pocketable design. As for the two Android tablets Prefer we G-slate design of SLASHY slightly because it is more comfortable to hold and look cleaner, thanks to the rear cover soft touch.  IPad 2 is still clearly impressive percentage from the event which will attract more easily all prying eyes from far away.

Of course, want to size on the screen in a certain Tablet PC will probably dictate whether or not they are favourable to a person, but in all honesty, the quality of the monitor's scenario Rails over the package. Make sure that it is eyfyestero of flock to 7-inches, but combine the production of glossy color, amazing clarity and high pixel density, sound meet to offer an incredible experience. Add sheer bravery, Ipad's scenario 2 deliver higher brightness output, which contributes to make it visible to the eye of the Sun painted edges. Apple's pride and joy follows closely with screen 9.7 ", but you may notice a distinct jagged see text on the screen. In addition, boasting about G-shale of a fine display screen 8.9-inches, but there is a faint yellowish compromises with the output. And finally, SLASHY of 10.1 Show gives several buildings, but is recognizable, employ lower quality appearance due to its weak luminosity.

Not something I necessarily consider, taking into account in particular the larger tablets, also, you are presented with the ability to shoot photos and videos on the go, with four. With regard to sensors both iPad and employs's fixed scenario focused digital cameras without flash, but the iPad scenario manhandles 2, gives packages a 5-megapixel a contrast to the less than iPad 2 1-megapixel count. Both G-bearing Schiefer and SLASHY along 5-megaixel Auto focus camera with flash, which is useful for macro shots, but G-shale have instead, roman, the ability to download videos in 3D, with the dual cameras.

Activation of a Tablet PC should not be a disappointing experience with any sense, but the annoyingly small button script exclusive power is unfortunately a nightmare to tap. Fortunately, there is a big problem with the other three tablets, but you can override press the power button on the script because you can still perform a gesture after scanning of the facade under the authority of a power to – desværreDer is no movement to do the opposite.

View the original article here

Apple Has Removed 'Zero' Apps for Location-Related Violations

Apple has not removed any apps from its App Store for violations related to location-based services, Apple executive Guy Tribble told a Senate subcommittee Tuesday.

In most cases, Apple tries to identify potentially troublesome apps before they are admitted into the App Store or work with the developer to resolve any issues that arise, Tribble told the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law during a hearing on cell phone location services.

"Our first defense is to not put them there in the first place," Tribble, vice president of software technology at Apple, said when asked how many apps have been removed because they shared location information without permission. "All of the apps to date ... have fixed their apps rather than get yanked from the App Store."

As a result, Apple has removed "zero" apps for location violations, he said.

When asked more generally about how Apple polices apps that are in its App Store, Tribble said that it "curates" submitted apps and rejects those that don't adhere to its terms.

"Once they're in the App Store, we do random audits on apps," Tribble said. "We have 350,000 [apps, so] we don't audit every single one, just like the federal government doesn't audit every single tax return."

Apple does, however, audit a select few apps and monitors the network traffic produced by those apps to make sure they are properly respecting the privacy of Apple's users, Tribble said. The company will also investigate if it receives a complaint or a particular app is receiving attention in the press or blogosphere.

Apple developers, however, are "highly incented to stay in the App Store," so they typically make the necessary corrections to remain there, Tribble said. Usually that involves adding a pop-up notice telling users how location information is used.

Google was also at today's hearing and said it takes a "slightly different approach" when it comes to monitoring apps. In the interest of openness, Google does not monitor apps once they are added to the Android Marketplace, said Alan Davidson, director of public policy at Google.

"We've chosen not to be the gatekeeper," he said. "We don't generally go back and try to make sure that every app does what it says it's going to do. [Google is] really trying to maximize the ability of small app developers to get online."

If it receives complaints, however, Google will remove apps that are unlawful, violate it terms, or do things like spread malware.

When asked if requiring apps to have a clear, understandable privacy policy would help the location problem, Apple was skeptical.

A privacy policy is probably "not enough," Tribble said. "People may not read a privacy policy," so it's better to put things in the user interface that make it clear when location services are active, like the pop-up notices and the purple arrow in the top right-hand corner that tells users when their iPhone is collecting location data.

Davidson said Google has relied on a permissions-based system, but will take the privacy policy suggestions "back to our leadership."

PCmag

IDC: Apple close to passing Nokia in smartphone share

Apple is now a large enough smartphone maker that it could soon overtake Nokia for the top spot, IDC said Wednesday. The 18.65 million iPhones it shipped in the winter were enough to give it 18.7 percent of the smartphone sphere just as Nokia's relatively stale growth, to 24.2 million, saw its share drop down to 24.3 percent from a much higher 38.8 percent just a year ago. RIM's quarters don't overlap with most of the industry, but IDC believed that RIM shipped 13.9 million BlackBerrys, leading to a drop from 19.1 percent of the field in early 2010 to just 14 percent.

Almost all of Android's gains were concentrated in Samsung, whose Galaxy S line kicked up from 4.3 percent to 10.8 percent, and in HTC, which moved from 4.9 percent to 5.9 percent.

Senior researcher Kevin Restivo was confident that the market would be relatively splintered given that several phone makers were succeeding based on Android. He warned that Nokia's transition to Windows Phone could cost it valuable share in the interim. RIM was also at risk since its phone mix was increasingly moving towards budget phones like the Curve and might get worse in the spring.

At the current pace, the shift could fulfill predictions of Apple overtaking Nokia as the world's largest phone designer before the end of 2011. Such a swap could be unprecedented in the phone world as Apple only entered the category about four years ago, at a time when Nokia regularly shipped more than half of all smartphones in the world.

Electronista

Apple Releases iOS 4.3.3 With Location Fixes

Apple on Wednesday released iOS 4.3.3, which solves what Apple called a "bug" with its location-based services.

"This update contains changes to the iOS crowd-sourced location database cache," according to the update. Specifically, it reduces the size of the cache, no longer backs up the cache to iTunes, and deletes the cache entirely when location services is turned off.

At issue is the location-based data collected by devices running iOS 4. Last month, researchers said that that information was stored in an insecure manner and accessible to anyone who stumbled upon your iPhone, iPad, or the computer with which you synced your iOS device. That prompted concerns that Apple, and anyone who looked at that data, could track your whereabouts.

In an April 27 Q&A posted on its Web site, Apple denied tracking its users. "Apple is not tracking the location of your iPhone. Apple has never done so and has no plans to ever do so," the company said.

The researchers, however, said that since the release of iOS 4, all location data has been stored on a file known as "consolidated.db," which is backed up to your computer whenever you sync your iPhone. In that Q&A, Apple said "the reason the iPhone stores so much data is a bug we uncovered and plan to fix shortly." That fix is the iOS 4.3.3 update. Going forward, the iPhone will not store more than seven days of this data, according to Apple, and it will not sync with iTunes.

There was also concern that location services still collected data even when that option was turned off. "It shouldn't. This is a bug, which we plan to fix shortly," Apple said last month. According to iOS 4.3.3, this problem should no longer be an issue.

The issue over iPhone tracking has prompted a class-action lawsuit as well as inquiries from Congress. Apple is scheduled to appear at a hearing on May 10 before the Senate Judiciary Committee to further discuss the issue. Google will also be in attendance, and PCMag will be covering.

PCmag

Apple IPhone vs HTC Thunder 4

Getting Started:

Two of the newest smartphones to hit Verizon Wireless this year HTC Thunder and Apple iPhone 4. Both have a lot to offer its customers, such as Thunder is the first 4 G LTE smartphone, which also benefit from Android user definable nature and iPhone 4 contains a world quality apps and a deep grained software experience. We have used two units for a long time now, so we would like to show you how they are performing next to each other in certain key areas. So let us include it in!

Design:

On the overall design and appearance, HTC and Apple iPhone compare 4 lyn literally apples with pears. Lightning looks like a "big boy phone as it is to a large extent, as it is weight of 6.23 oz, even though it is made of plastic, it feels solid and stable overall. IPhone 4 is in the meantime, more compact and easier to maintain, and not feel so heavy, also. It also has a more sophisticated look, with solid piece back and forth and metal Trim on both sides. But what we want on Lightning use soft-touch coating on the back, which does not show fingerprints as glass behind the iPhone 4 – as this is a trade off. Between two non iPhone appearance better overall, but Thunder still good, as it is too large to fit in your hands.

Lightning is the main reason for a large part, because the beefier than I originally 4.3 480 x 800 pixel resolution touchscreen display, while the iPhone 4 uses a smaller display 3.5 ", but the pixel density is much higher due to 640 x 960 pixels. We love both … really. Larger screen on Thunder is quite good, images and text look sharp and great video also appear. When we show the same content for the iPhone 4 to be able to see a little clearer (due to higher number of pixels) and the colors seem more natural, but you are limited to a much smaller screen. One thing that we noticed when use telephones outside of a sunny day was there on the screen about Lightning appears almost blacked-out (even if we turned the brightness lighting all the way up), while the screen on the iPhone 4 can be seen more.
You probably already have the iPhone 4 only isolate one physical button on the front page, you return to the home screen while the Thunder has 4 touch-sensitive buttons at the bottom of the home, menu, back, and search. It is convenient, as you could in your e-mail Inbox, just click the Browse button and type in a search to run. However, the Lightning could buttons on the page have planned better, because the power button/Lock is rather small and is flush with the surrounding plastic and volume rocker is a track and you are sure, where you can press. For comparison, the iPhone has 4 separate volume buttons are nice and feels "click" when the button is pressed, as the supreme power/lock. Both devices come with a standard headphone jack 3,5 mm top, but for charging and PC connectivity, iPhone 4 uses Apple's proprietary 30-pin connector while the Thunder uses the most common microUSB connection, which is a plus.

Apple unveils new iMacs: all quad-core, Thunderbolt

Apple as expected today unveiled its 2011 iMac. The new models are all based on the Sandy Bridge architecture and are the first to go entirely quad-core, starting with the 2.5GHz Core i5 and scaling up to the 3.4GHz Core i7. Each now uses the same 10Gbps Thunderbolt technology from the MacBook Pro that also doubles as a mini DisplayPort output; two are on the back.

FaceTime HD cameras are also new and give conversations between newer Macs a true widescreen conversation. AMD's Radeon HD 6000M series graphics define the line and give them more efficient graphics than before.

A 21.5-inch model starts the line and comes with the 2.5GHz Core i5, a Radeon HD 6750M, and a 500GB hard drive for $1,199; a 2.7GHz Core i5, a Radeon HD 6770M, and a 1TB drive raise the price to $1,499. Buyers of 27-inch models can start off with a 2.7GHz Core i5, a Radeon HD 6770M, and a 1TB disk for $1,699, while the 3.1GHz Core i5, a Radeon HD 6970M, and a 1TB drive cost $1,999.

Build-to-order options include the 3.4GHz Core i7, up to 2TB of disk space, a 256GB SSD (separate from main storage), up to 16GB of RAM, and AppleCare.

Electronista