• apple,  mac os x

    Briefly Noted: Apple Releases Defense for MacDefender Malware

    May 31, 2011 /

    Apple has released Security Update 2011-003 today with the express purpose of protecting Macs from the MacDefender malware.  If the update is installed on a Mac that is already infected, the update will remove the malware program.

    Malware removal
    Available for: Mac OS X v10.6.7, Mac OS X Server v10.6.7
    Impact: Remove the MacDefender malware if detected
    Description: The installation process for this update will search for and remove known variants of the MacDefender malware. If a known variant was detected and removed, the user will be notified via an alert after the update is installed. Additional information is available in this Knowledge Base article:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4651

    Security Update 2011-003 is available now from the Software Update control panel or from the Apple Support Downloads page.

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  • apple,  ios,  mac os x,  mobileme

    Steve Jobs to Deliver WWDC 2011 Keynote Address

    May 31, 2011 /

    Apple today confirmed that CEO Steve Jobs will be on hand, along with other top executives, for the 2011 World Wide Developer’s Conference (WWDC).

    Apple CEO Steve Jobs and a team of Apple executives will kick off the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address on Monday, June 6 at 10:00 a.m. At the keynote, Apple will unveil its next generation software – Lion, the eighth major release of Mac OS X; iOS 5, the next version of Apple’s advanced mobile operating system which powers the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch; and iCloud, Apple’s upcoming cloud services offering.

    I’m really looking forward to what Apple has in store for us with regard to Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and iCloud.  Mac OS X 10.7 Lion is close to a golden master (GM) release with several pre-release beta builds having already gone out to developers already.  Many are speculating that Lion will go on sale in the next few weeks.  Rumors have also been circulating for a while now that the iCloud service, a potential repackaging of MobileMe, will offer more free services as well as a new option to stream your purchases from Apple’s servers.

    iOS 5.0, the next major release of Apple’s mobile operating system, which is based on the same core as Mac OS X, will likely become available in the next 90 days after it is formally introduced at next week’s developer event.

    [Via Apple.com…]

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  • att,  ios,  ipad

    Wait, what? What?! iPad 2 Can Be Used As a Wi-Fi Hotspot?

    May 29, 2011 /

    My wife booked us on a low key, no tech summer vacation.  What? No Internet access for a week?  Clearly, she is trying to kill me for the insurance money.

    Ok, that was probably was a little bit over the top, but a week without Internet access for me is like serving a prison sentence of life without parole.

    So I started looking at Mi-Fi hot spot access points.  I wanted to buy a cheap one and then slap enough data service on it to last me the week.  While I was looking at the AT&T offerings, I came across a note that suggests that the iPad 2, just like the AT&T iPhone 4, can be used as a Wi-Fi hot spot.

    “AT&T offers several convenient billing options, none of which require a long-term contract.  Customers can choose between AT&T’s prepaid billing options, which are charged to a credit card account, or recently announced postpaid plans that can be added to customers’ existing monthly wireless statements.

    Customers may choose from the following options.

    Monthly statements:  $14.99 for 250 MB or $25 for 2 GB.  Customers who exceed their monthly data allotment will be billed $14.99 for another 250MB on the $14.99 plan or $10 per 1 GB of overage on the 2 GB plan.

    Credit card billing:  $14.99 for 250 MB or $25 for 2 GB.  Customers who exceed their monthly data allotment may choose to purchase another 250 MB on the $14.99 plan or purchase an additional 2 GB for $25 on the 2 GB plan.

    Both options are month-to-month and do not require a long-term commitment.

    The Personal Hotspot feature being introduced with iOS 4.3 is also available to customers who choose the $25 plan plus a $20 tethering option that provides an extra 2 GB of data.”

    So it looks like you can use an iPad 2 as a Mi-Fi hot spot if you have the $25/month 2GB data plan and then pay an additional $20 for another 2GB data block for a total combined monthly data limit of 4GB.

    Unlike a Mi-Fi puck, I know I ‘d be using the iPad 2 all the time and I like the idea of being able to go month-to-month with the iPad 2 service plan and still be able to add the Wi-Fi hot spot connection when I need to.

    You can read the full AT&T Wireless press release on the AT&T website.

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  • app store,  games,  ipad,  iphone,  itunes,  mac os x,  popcap,  touch

    Plants vs. Zombies HD on Sale

    May 29, 2011 /

    PopCap’s popular game Plants vs. Zombies HD for iPad and iPad 2 is on sale right now for $1.99 (iTunes link).  PvZ, as it is often referred to, is normally $6.99.

    If you haven’t played before, the premise is that you control a variety of plants and mushrooms to stop the zombie horde that is invading your yard from the cemetery across the street.  Oh, and your neighbor, Crazy Dave shows up every now and again to sell you more seeds and other important upgrades.  The best part of the game, for me anyway, are all of the wonderful plants and things in your zombie busting arsenal.  It’s hard to look cute and slightly irritated all at the same time.

    Sounds weird, I know.  Until you play it.  My kids and I started off playing the web version, and I decided that we like the game enough to buy the Mac OS X version.  For a while there, I was super addicted to the game because I wanted to make it all the way to the end of the game and not get stuck on a tough level.

    PopCap also has a version of PvZ for the iPhone/iPod touch for $2.99 (iTunes link).  You can also purchase the Mac OS X version from the Mac App Store for $9.99 (App Store link) or, if you’re on a Windows PC, you can purchase the game directly from the PopCap website.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98v7Jq6IFrE]

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  • android,  google,  maps

    Google Updates Maps for Android

    May 26, 2011 /

     Today, Google released Maps 5.5.0 for Android powered smartphones.

    According the Android Market web page for Maps, there are only three things included in the update.  They are:

    • Check in and check out directly from Place pages.
    • Change your Latitude work and home addresses.
    • See the redesigned transit station pages.

    I find myself using the Maps application, and the Navigation feature, a lot more than I though I would when I was issued a Motorola Droid Pro for work.

    For more details, check the Android Market.

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  • android,  google,  motorola,  rumors,  verizon

    Rumor: Motorola Droid 3 Coming to Verizon in June

    May 25, 2011 /

    The next version of Motorola’s insanely popular Droid smartphone, the Droid 3, is rumored to touchdown on Verizon in June.

    If the picture is accurate, we can see that just like the Droid 2, the d-pad is gone because of the 4-inch, 960 x 540 qHD display.  The Droid 3 is also rumored to have an 8MP digital camera, and will not include an LTE cellular radio.  (iPhone fans feel the collective pain from Droid fans.)

    [Via BGR.com…]

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  • android,  apple,  blackberry,  google,  ipad,  touchpad,  web os,  windows

    Forget the iPad! The HP TouchPad Will Be the #1+ Tablet!

    May 24, 2011 /

    Chalk this one to drinking too much marketing Kool-Aid(tm), but Eric Cador, HP’s senior VP of Personal Systems Group in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, said that the HP TouchPad, powered by webOS 3.0, will surpass all of the tablets on the market today; including the Apple iPad.

    Mr. Cador, in an interview with The Telegraph, stated:

    “In the PC world, with fewer ways of differentiating HP’s products from our competitors, we became number one. In the tablet world, we’re going to become better than number one. We call it number one plus.”

    Are you kidding me?!  I think that it is going to take a little more than HP willing that their new TouchPad will beat out the growing number of tablet devices in the market running Google’s Android, Windows 7, RIM’s QNX, and, well, Apple’s iOS powered iPad 2.

    Don’t get me wrong.  I’m sure webOS 3.0 and the TouchPad are going to be a great platform, but with webOS hovering around 3% market share in the smartphone OS category, HP is facing a long hard up hill battle.

    [Via AllThingsD.com…]

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  • apple,  ios,  ipad,  retail

    Apple Launches ‘Retail 2.0’ Store Format

    May 22, 2011 /

     Rolling out across all of Apple’s Retail Stores this morning is the “Retail 2.0” make over.  As seen from the picture above, Apple has replaced the paper details display with interactive iPad 2 displays.  Cool!  Not get-out-of-bed-super-early-on-a-Sunday-morning-and-drive-an-hour kind of cool, but cool none the less.

    In addition to the changes to the retail displays, Apple is expected to deploy a new Apple Store iOS app that will allow you to customize your online order, something that is not possible with the original app.

    Apple retail employees are getting some new toys also.  They are suppose to be outfitted with iPads to help manage the large numbers of customers that come to the store each day.  9To5Mac.com writes:

    “The new iPads are imaged with: RetailMe, Apple Connect, Apple Directory, Concierge, and strangely enough, the Easy Pay application (huge credit card readers on the way?!), as well as the standard Mobile Genius and iRepair.”

    Click the Read More link for more photos.

    [Via MacStories.net, 9To5Mac.com…]

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  • apple,  retail,  rumors

    Apple Retail Stores Turn 10

    May 19, 2011 /

    On Thursday, Apple’s retail stores turn 10 years old.  Over the last few days there have been muted rumblings across the Internet that Apple could have a bit of a surprise for retail store customers this weekend to help celebrate the occasion.

    Take for example, BGR.com is reporting that they have received a tip “from a solid Apple source” that Apple will be doing “something this weekend.”

    While I was really looking forward to a *cough*sickdayofffromworktomorrow*cough* it looks like Apple will be running their special event on Sunday, May 22.  To help prepare for the event, Apple is allegedly bringing in staff overnight to setup for Sunday morning.

    Adding to the aura surrounding Sunday’s event, Apple employees will be putting up black curtains over the class windows and doors to the retail stores, are being required to sign NDAs, and to have their cell phones locked in a secured location during the setup.  BGR also reports that, “[t]here are a wide variety of roles, we’re told, for the overnight shift. This includes all visuals staff, a manager, a business team member, a few Genius team members, one back-of-house employee, and a few generic Apple specialists.”

    Ok, so, I’m already making plans to trek down to the nearest Apple Store on Sunday morning.  The nearest stores are 45-60 minutes away by car.  With all the secrecy around the event rumored to be planned for Sunday, it sounds like Apple has more up their sleeves than iTunes gift card or iPod nano case give aways.  But what is it?  Will Apple finally bring their new massive North Carolina data center online to support iCloud?  Will iTunes finally go streaming subscription based?  New Mac hardware refresh?

    We’ll have to wait a few more days to find out.

    [Via BGR.com…]

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