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  • Ed
    As the dust settles on the legal battle between Apple and unauthorised Mac clone-maker Psystar, Judge Alsup ruled against Apple being able to keep "trade secrets" from the public eye, arguing that were already available on the Internet and in print.
     
    According to court documents, Apple was seeking to seal documents used in the case that detailed information about Mac OS X, Apple hardware that runs it and their protection measures, thermal management techniques and system integrity checks. However, given that the web is rife with this information on sites such as InsanelyMac, the judge ruled that "Apple cannot have this court seal information merely to avoid confirmation that the publicly available sources (have) got it right."
     
    The legal battle started in 2008, with the pair eventually settling out of court for a payment of $2.67M due from Psystar to Apple in 2009. Psystar's website and store shut down the following year in 2010.
  • Ed

    Apple TV hacked to run iOS apps

    By Ed, in OSx86,

    The latest Apple TV, which was released September 2010, shares much of the same hardware as the iPad and iPhone, with an A4 processor and what is believed to be a version of the iOS. So it was only a matter of time until some bright spark managed to hack it to run iOS apps. Check the video below:
     

     
    The hack requires your Apple TV to be jailbroken and then have MobileX applied, which is still in early development.
     
    iOS apps scale up to fill the Apple TV's native 720p resolution, although not all apps scale elegantly.
     
    As you can see in the video, it's not entirely clear how the same apps that work well on a touchscreen can be controlled elegantly on the TV when you can't touch it - possibly a Magic Trackpad is the answer.
     
    It'll be very interesting to see what Apple comes up with later this year or next for its own Apple-branded integrated television sets, and to see if the App Store does make its way to TVs, but until then this appears to be a rough glimpse of what may be the future for Apple TV.
     
    Let us know what you think the Apple TV should be in the comments below!
  • Ed
    Well would ya look at this, one of the first videos to emerge from the press of the brand spanking new Apple Store at Grand Central Station Terminal in New York. The sheer scale is incredible.
     
     
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vGBSRgPtBQ
     
    Apple made a press release this morning announcing the new Apple Store's opening on Friday, December 9th at 10AM in time for Christmas. Aside from the obvious scale of the place, other notable differences from traditional Apple Stores will be the 7AM opening time during the week for commuters in rush hour, dual Genius bars, and 15-minute Express Workshops to cater for the time constrained customer.
     
    Let us know if you plan on making the trip on Friday!
  • Ed
    Having personally unveiled plans to Cupertino's council earlier this year before his death, Steve Jobs' proposed new landmark campus has now submitted detailed architectural plans including floor plans for the 'spaceship' style Apple HQ.
     
    The highly ambitious project is set to be completed in 2015, with the main circular structure over 1,500 feet in diameter, with 4 overground office levels and 4 underground car parking levels.
     
    The new campus will even supply its own power, with the roof of the main complex almost entirely covered with solar panels.
  • Ed
    A lifestyle technology website in Australia allegedly has sources in Japan claiming that Apple's first foray into television sets will begin at the end of 2012, with three sizes to choose from ranging between 32" and 55".
     
    The new Apple TVs have long been rumored now, and have almost been confirmed with the release of Steve Jobs' official biography making reference to them, quoting the late Jobs as saying, "I'd like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use... It would be seamlessly synced with all of your devices and with iCloud... It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine. I finally cracked it."
     
    It's anticipated that the integrated television set would likely have OLED technology and compete with existing Smart TVs from the likes of Samsung and LG who currently lead the market with their affordable, cutting-edge, Internet-enabled TVs.
     
    Likely to be powered by an A6 processor (expected to be utilised in the next version of the iPad), the Apple TV would run a version of iOS that would accept voice commands thanks to Siri, which was introduced in October with the iPhone 4S.
     
    Apple's expected to announce the new Apple TV sets next year, although reports currently contradict, with some expecting them in mid-2012 and others saying the last quarter of 2012. Either way, it looks like 2012 may be the year of the Apple TV, and I for one certainly can't wait.
  • Ed
    The latest beta of Mac OS X 10.7.3 is reported to feature support for the next generation of AMD's graphics cards, named "Tahiti" and forming part of the new wave of 28nm GPU chips codenamed "Southern Island".
     
    Scheduled to arrive in time for Intel's Sandy Bridge Xeon, which is expected to arrive in the first quarter of 2012, AMD's high-end Tahiti graphics cards use 28nm chips and replace the existing HD 6970 and HD 6950.
     
    The cards are expected to be used in a forthcoming update to Apple's professional-level Mac Pro, which hasn't seen a proper product update for over year. Indeed, the mid-2010 Mac Pro 5,1 still ships with the ATI Radeon HD 5770, so an update is long overdue.
     
    It has, however, been rumoured for a while that the Mac Pro may be due to be axed as Apple's bottomline continues to be buoyed by strong notebook, tablet and iPhone sales, and becomes less of a desktop computer manufacturer and more of a mobile Internet device company. With the advent of thunderbolt, which provides as much data bandwidth as PCI cards, it would seem logical that the Mac Pro eventually gets phased out, especially with iMacs being adopted by professionals instead of costly Mac Pro's.
     
    Of course, if you're still desperate for a powerful and cutting-edge Mac you could always hack your custom built PC ;o)
  • Ed

    New InsanelyMac website!

    By Ed, in OSx86,

    It's been a long time coming but we finally managed to deliver the all-new InsanelyMac website over the weekend, with a majorly upgraded forum, which I hope everyone will benefit from and should deliver better stability during peak traffic times.
     
    If you spot anything that's not quite right or have any queries, please direct your questions here and we'll do our best to help you out!
     
    Enjoy the new forum guys
  • TH3L4UGH1NGM4N
    So where does Apple stand on the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)? A report from TNW gives the impression Apple is in support of the bill via their association with the Business Software Alliance, who made their stance clear by commending the introduction of the bill in a recent bulletin. However, while Apple�s stance isn�t official, they do support SOPA by proxy, and haven�t made an effort to distance themselves from it with an official statement. The BSA is also associated with Microsoft, Adobe, Dell, and 20+ other large tech companies.
     
    According to Apple�s website, �Apple works closely with the Business Software Alliance (BSA) and the Software Information Industry Association (SIIA) to combat software piracy worldwide.� They also provide links to report piracy through the BSA and provide the following statement on copyright law and piracy on their Piracy Prevention page:
     
     
     
     

     
    The illegal copying of software programs is a crime! In the United States and many other countries, copyright law provides for severe civil and criminal penalties for the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of copyrighted material. Copyrighted material includes, but is not limited to, computer programs and accompanying sounds, images and text. Under U.S. law, infringement may result in civil damages of up to $150,000 and/or criminal penalties of up to five years imprisonment and/or a $250,000 fine� It is important to manage software well, just as you would any other valuable company asset, in order to avoid serious problems. Apple aggressively enforces our company�s proprietary rights under the U.S. copyright laws, but we know that poor software asset management often keeps people from complying with the law.
     
     
     
     

     
    If you�re unfamiliar with SOPA, legislation that aims to tackle foreign �rogue� websites that host copyrighted content illegally, you might be interested in knowing Google, Facebook, AOL, Mozilla, Twitter, Yahoo, eBay, LinkedIn, and Zynga issued a letter on Wednesday to congress expressing their opposition to the bill. In the letter (via BoingBoing), they wrote: ��the bill as drafted would expose law-abiding U.S. Internet and technology companies to new and uncertain liabilities, private rights of action, and technology mandates that would require monitoring of websites. We are concerned that these measures pose a serious risk to our industry�s continued track record of innovation and job creation, as well as to our nation�s cybersecurity.� The Electronic Frontier Foundation, Mozilla, Creative Commons and a group of other tech companies are banding together at AmericanCensorship.org to voice their frustrations with the bill and organize protests and petitions. They also created this infographic to explain their view of the legislation. Many are hoping Apple takes similar action to make their position clear. We�ve reached out to Apple for their official stance on SOPA and will update this post if we hear back.
     
     
     
    Source:
     
     
    9to5mac
  • Ed
    Google Music launched to rival iTunes originally appeared on LyricStatus.com
     
    Google's highly anticipated challenge to iTunes finally launched in the US today, going by the name of Google Music.
     

     
    Apple launched its revolutionary iTunes Music Store in 2003, and over time it's become one of the most popular ways to download music legally, especially if you own one of Apple's iPods or iPhones.
     
    Google is aiming to break the monopoly that Apple's been enjoying by launching its own music store, which is tightly integrated with its Android OS, the market leading mobile operating system for smartphones made by major manufacturers including Samsung, Motorola and HTC. As of Q3 2011 Android has captured over 50% of the smartphone market, whereas surprisingly Apple's iOS is trailing at 15%, meaning a music store offering from Google could pose a serious threat to Apple's music business.
     
    So, how do the two compare in the real world?
     
    iTunes has 18-million songs, Google Music has 13-million, crucially missing out major label Warner Music. This means no Prince, Led Zeppelin, Yes, and other big music artists. I have no doubt this will change over time, but as a new comer versus a veteran that's been collecting music over 8 years, this is to be expected.
     
    Advanced features such as storage and sync'ing in the cloud are free on Google, $25/year on iTunes. So if you fancy the idea of having up to 20,000 of your songs stored in the cloud (25,000 on iTunes) and made available across all your devices (computer, phone, tablet), then Google Music will do this as part of the service. Apple will charge you for the pleasure of this advanced feature, albeit at a modest $25/year, but still, it's not as good as free. The advantage of storing your music in the cloud is that it reduces the need to have huge amounts of storage on your mobile devices and means you'll never be without any of your music providing you're connected to the 'net. It also lets playlists sync across all your devices, so if you change your playlist while you're on the go it'll be exactly the same on your computer and other devices.
     
    Google Music shares what you're listening to with your friends over the Google+ social network, iTunes instead uses its own Ping. The problem with both is that neither of them are Facebook, and now that cloud-based streaming music provider Spotify is in bed with the mighty FB, it seems unlikely that either iTunes or Google Music will be coming to the biggest social network anytime soon. That said, I would argue that Google's again got the edge here as Google+ may still mature as it's early days for the fledgling Facebook rival.
     
    Overall, Google Music looks set to be a very worthy competitor to iTunes and it'll be interesting to see if Google are able to obtain a strong foothold thanks to its huge installed user-base of millions of Android devices out there.
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