• apple,  google,  microsoft,  rumors

    Apple Continues to Offer Support to Employees in Japan

    March 18, 2011 /

    Following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan and with the seemingly imminent threat of an unimaginable nuclear disaster, only one technology company is brave enough to stand up an offer the kind of help their employee need.

    Today, a reported email from Apple CEO Steve Jobs was sent to the company’s employees in Japan offering to help them in their time of national crisis.

    “To Our Team in Japan,

    We have all been following the unfolding disaster in Japan. Our hearts go out to you and your families, as well as all of your countrymen who have been touched by this tragedy.

    If you need time or resources to visit or care for your families, please see HR and we will help you. If you are aware of any supplies that are needed, please also tell HR and we will do what we can to arrange delivery.

    Again, our hearts go out to you during this unimaginable crisis.

    Please stay safe.

    Steve and the entire Executive Team”

    While still unauthenticated, this really seems like the kind of thing that Apple would do for their employees and their families in Japan.

    I’ll be the first one to admit that I’m an Apple fanboy, but I have to ask, where are Microsoft and Google?  Surely they can offer to do the same for their employees?

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  • android,  droid,  facebook,  google

    Facebook for Android Get Updated to 1.5.2

    March 16, 2011 /

    The Facebook client for smartphones running Google’s Android operating system got pushed up to version 1.5.2 today.

    New photo features have been included in the latest build allowing you to upload photos to your friend’s walls and groups.  Improvements to landscape mode and security are always welcome.

    Ready to update your Droid?  Tap the Android Market icon on your device to get the update, which is available now.

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  • hp,  pre,  sprint,  web os

    HP: Still No webOS 2 Update for Sprint Pre Customers

    March 13, 2011 /

    It has been almost four months since HP/Palm introduced the world to webOS 2, and there is still no love for Sprint Pre customers.

    Anyone who has purchased a Sprint Pre, either on launch day or afterword, was told by HP, then still Palm, that webOS 2 would be coming to all current webOS devices; the Pre 2 and earlier, which, we believed to also include the Pixi line of smartphones.

    After HP’s acquision of Palm was completed, things changed a bit, and HP told Sprint Pre customers that a webOS 2 update was not coming as an OTA update and that in the coming weeks “alternate plans” would be made.  No details have been shared yet.  No updates have been released yet.  No new webOS phones have been announced with availability on Sprint.

    Winning!

    To check your eligibility for a webOS 2 update or for details on HP’s “alternate plans” for you, check out the HP webOS info page.

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  • apple,  att,  ipad,  verizon

    Apple Sees Strong Sales of iPad 2 During Launch Weekend

    March 13, 2011 /

    Apple enjoyed long lines and strong sales of their new table device, iPad 2 this weekend.

    The iPad 2, which went on sale this past Friday at 5pm, generated the kinds of lines that the previous iPad and iPhone 4 created.  According to a post this weekend on AppleInsider.com, Piper Jaffray researcher said that there where over 1,000 people in line at Apple’s 5th Ave retail store in Manhattan, New York City. Friday afternoon hoping to get their hands on the new device.

    Throughout the weekend, “supply checks” at various Apple retail locations and other authorized resellers indicated that the iPad 2 had been selling well and that some models had already sold out.

    Orders placed online for any of the Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi + 3G models of iPad 2 are listed as shipping in 3-4 weeks.

    In the days leading up to the iPad 2 launch, Apple was not taking online reservations or pre-orders as they had done with the original iPad and the Verizon iPhone 4.  As a result, the launch of the iPad 2 generated the kind of customer lines that have become almost common place for an Apple mobile device product launch.

    For competitors hoping to finally get product out on the market this year who had been chasing after the original iPad, the bar has just been raised that much higher.

    [Via AppleInsider.com…]

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  • appletv,  att,  ios,  ipad,  iphone,  ipod,  itunes,  mac,  touch,  verizon,  windows

    Apple Releases iOS 4.3 Update Ahead of iPad 2 Launch (Updated)

    March 9, 2011 /

    Earlier today, Apple has released the iOS 4.3 update for current model iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch mobile devices.  iPad 2, which will go on sale at 5pm on Friday (3/11/11) will come pre-loaded with iOS 4.3 from the factory.

    Interestinly absent from the iOS 4.3 part is the new CDMA Verizon iPhone 4.  The Verizon iPhone 4 will not receive an update along side it’s GMS counterpart on rival wireless carrier, AT&T.

    iOS 4.3 provides some new features, including iTunes Home Sharing (streaming between your Mac or PC and your iOS device), iPhone 4 Personal HotSpot (Mi-Fi like cellular Internet connection sharing), and a new preference to allow iPad owners to chose the function of the slider switch (screen rotation lock or mute switch).

    In addtion to the new features, iOS 4.3 also enhances the Safari browser and the AirPlay feature, which requires a second generation AppleTV, first introduced in iOS 4.2.  ComputerWorld.com also reports that iOS 4.3 patches some 59 iOS bugs.

    iOS 4.3 supports all current model iDevices, include: iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 GMS, iPad, and iPad 2, iPod touch (2009), and iPod touch (2010).  There is no world on when iOS 4.3 will be coming to the Verizon iPhone 4 or the second generation AppleTV.

    To install iOS on your device, first upgrade iTunes to the latest release, and then connect your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your computer and follow the on screen upgrade prompts.

    Update

    Apple has released a software update for the second generation AppleTV to bring it to version 4.2.  Click the Read More link for details.

    AppleInsider.com reports that Apple has updated the second generation AppleTV software version 4.2.

    New features of the update, as highlighted by Apple, include:

    • MLB.TV: Watch live and on-demand Major League Baseball games, access stats, scores and standings.
    • NBA: See scores and more, plus League Pass Broadband subscribers get live and archived games.
    • AirPlay for apps: Use AirPlay to wirelessly stream video from apps and Safari on your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
    • Netflix Dolby Digital 5.1: Enjoy Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound when watching Netflix movies and TV shows
    • New slideshow themes: View photos with the new Scrapbook, Photo Mobile, and Holiday Mobile slideshow themes.
    • Improved on-screen keyboard: Search and enter names and passwords more easily with the redesigned on-screen keyboard.

    To update the software on your second generation AppleTV, use the software update feature in the settings menu.

    [Via AppleInsider.com…]

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  • android,  android market,  app store,  apple,  google,  ios

    Google Uses Remote Kill Switch, Secures Compromised Handsets [Updated]

    March 7, 2011 /

    According to a new report from Boy Genius Report, Google has used the remote kill switch feature in the Android operating system to kill and remove malware installed on Android phones.

    “To try and fix the problem, Google has started using a remote kill switch feature in Android to wirelessly nuke those installed apps on user’s handsets. That’s not the entire story, though, as Google is actually installing new code in the process. The new code undoes the exploit and prevents your data from being shared, and it’s kind of creepy to plainly see how much control Google has over your Android phone from afar. “

    I’m glad to see that Google is using their powers for good.  Earlier uses of the kill switch angered users, if not make them a bit paranoid that Google has a back door into their devices.  But I have to wonder, shouldn’t Google have done a better job of curating their Android Market and have prevented these apps from becoming available for download in the first place.

    Regardless of whether or not you believe the Android platform and the Android Market is any more or less “open” and the Apple iOS platform and the App Store, it is up to us, the consumer, to make sure we know and understand what software we are installing on our devices.

    Update

    ComputerWorld has posted an article covering this issue online, stating:

    “Last Wednesday, Google removed more than 50 infected apps published by three different developers from its marketplace, but didn’t trigger automatic uninstalls until several days later.”

    You can read the full article on the ComputerWorld website.
    [Via BGR.com…]

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  • android,  blogger,  google,  motorola

    Blogging From Your Droid

    March 6, 2011 /
    I guess that I shouldn’t really be surprised by this, but Google has a Blogger app for Android phones.

    I recently had to replace my company issued RIM Blackberry Storm2 with a Motorola Droid Pro.

    I still miss my “CrackBerry” but the Droid Pro and I are getting along well.  As cool as this is, I don’t see myself posting a blog entry much longer than this from this tiny keyboard.

    Tap or click the Blogger icon below to download the app to your Android device from the Android Market website. (Link)

    Update

    I noticed a typo in the above post, “has” rather than “had”.  So I jumped on the blog with my Mac and after I made the update, it looks like the formatting from the Blogger app on the Droid was lost. Interesting.  I’ll have to keep an eye on that.

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  • apple,  ipad,  playbook,  rim,  touchpad

    iPad Competitor “Cat Fight”

    March 3, 2011 /

    I just finished reading John Paczkowki’s Digital Daily post titled “HP to RIM: Our iPad Challenger Is More Original Than Your iPad Challenger”, in which HP and RIM fight over who’s Apple iPad clone is more original.

    Mr. Paczkowski writes:

    “Isn’t this ironic. Hewlett-Packard and Research in Motion, two companies that haven’t officially launched their first tablets yet, talking smack to one another the day before Apple debuts its second.”

    Read the full article on Digital Daily.com.
    [Editor’s Note: I’m sorry, but I had to replace the original article’s Dr. Seuss art with the two women locked in a “cat fight” because that was the first thing that popped into my head when I read the headline.  My apologies for my sense of humor.]
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