60-inch Apple iTV to launch this year

NEW YORK (AP) -- It's no secret that Apple wants to get into the living room by making its own TV set, and there have been plenty of rumors and reports about how and when it's going to happen. Now, an analyst says he's learned that the set will go on sale late this year, for $1,500 to $2,500. In a research note Wednesday, Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets says the "iTV" will be 60 inches on the diagonal, but could also come in 50- and 55-inch versions. Apple will also release a small "iRing" that fits on the viewer's finger, allowing the user to control the screen by pointing, White says. In addition, the set will come with tablet-like "mini iTVs" with 9.7-inch screens, the same as the full-size iPad, White said. The "iTV" will be able to send video to the smaller screens wirelessly around the house. The concept is similar to the way in which cable and satellite TV companies are starting to let their set-top boxes send video to iPads and other tablets. White says his report is based on gleanings from visits with unnamed Chinese and Taiwanese companies that supply Apple with components.

Apple doesn't comment on future products before its launch events, but late company co-founder Steve Jobs told biographer Walter Isaacson that he wanted to remake the TV and had figured out a way to do it. Last year, there were numerous analyst reports that said Apple would launch a TV set in 2012.

Apple does sell an "Apple TV," but it's a small box that connects to a TV to display movies and shows from iTunes. Apple shares rose $4.91, or 1.1 percent, to $434.70 in midday trading, as the tech-dominated Nasdaq index fell 0.3 percent. Apple's stock is still close to the 52-week low of $419, which it hit a month ago. MadOne

Apple, Mac computers hit by hackers who targeted Facebook

 

BOSTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc (NSQ:AAPL - News) was recently attacked by hackers who infected the Macintosh computers of some employees, the company said on Tuesday in an unprecedented disclosure that described the widest known cyber attacks against Apple-made computers to date. Unknown hackers infected the computers of some Apple workers when they visited a website for software developers that had been infected with malicious software. The malware had been designed to attack Mac computers, the company said in a statement provided to Reuters. The same software, which infected Macs by exploiting a flaw in a version of Oracle Corp's (ORCL.O) Java software used as a plug-in on Web browsers, was used to launch attacks against Facebook (FB.O), which the social network disclosed on Friday
.
The malware was also employed in attacks against Mac computers used by "other companies," Apple said, without elaborating on the scale of the assault. But a person briefed on the investigation into the attacks said that hundreds of companies, including defense contractors, had been infected with the same malicious software, or malware. The attacks mark the highest-profile cyber attacks to date on businesses running Mac computers. Hackers have traditionally focused on attacking machines running the Windows operating system, though they have gradually turned their attention to Apple products over the past couple of years as the company gained market share over Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O). MadOne

Samsung ordered to pay Apple $1.05B in patent case

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — After a year of scorched-earth litigation, a jury decided Friday that Samsung ripped off the innovative technology used by Apple to create its revolutionary iPhone and iPad. The jury ordered Samsung to pay Apple $1.05 billion in the latest skirmish of a global legal battle between the two tech giants. An appeal is expected. Apple Inc. filed its patent infringement lawsuit in April 2011 and engaged legions of the country's highest-paid patent lawyers to demand $2.5 billion from its top smartphone competitor. Samsung Electronics Co. fired back with its own lawsuit seeking $399 million.

The verdict, however, belonged to Apple, as the jury rejected all Samsung's claims against Apple. Jurors also decided against some of Apple's claims involving the two dozen Samsung devices at issue, declining to award the full $2.5 billion Apple demanded. However, the jury found that several Samsung products illegally used such Apple creations as the "bounce-back" feature when a user scrolls to an end image, and the ability to zoom text with a tap of a finger.

As part of its lawsuit, Apple also demanded that Samsung pull its most popular cellphones and computer tablets from the U.S. market. A judge was expected to make that ruling at a later time.

The outcome of the case is likely to have ripple effects in the smartphone market. After seeing Samsung's legal defeat, other device makers relying on Android may become more reluctant to use the software and risk getting dragged into court.

iPad 3 with Superfast 4G?

 

The next iPad could be the first Apple product to run on faster 4G cellular networks. In the past, people have bought 3G-capable iPads for backup in case Wi-Fi wasn't available. But if the 4G rumors are true, pricier iPads could become the norm. News of a possible 4G iPad available through Verizon and AT&T was released by the Wall Street Journal this week. 

Faster is always better in the world of tech gadgets. While speed depends on many factors, 4G can be faster than most public Wi-Fi networks and some home connections. Because video streaming and game-playing often benefit from faster connections, 4G's perceived speed advantage could move a cellular-connected iPad from nice-to-have to really-want-to-have.

 

But 4G data will cost extra. Unlike smartphones that usually require two-year data contracts, Verizon and AT&T offer monthly plans for iPads. You can buy data in a pinch, but if you don't cancel at the end of the 30-day period, you'll be billed every month until you do. Already, potential iPad 3 buyers have been salivating over rumored features, such as higher resolution displays and Siri, the voice-controlled virtual personal assistant that debuted on the iPhone 4S.

iPad 3 To Launch At March Apple Event?

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc plans to introduce its latest iPad tablet at an event in the first week in March, the website AllThingsD reported, citing unnamed sources. The event will be held in San Francisco, likely at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, which is Apple's preferred site for product launches, the website said. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment. Apple has typically introduced the latest versions of its iPad in the first few months of the year. The current iPad 2 was introduced on March 2, 2011. The original iPad was introduced at the end of January 2010.

Apple's iPad dominates the nascent market for tablets even though deep-pocketed rivals are taking aim at the lucrative segment. Amazon.com Inc's Kindle Fire, which sells at half the cost of an iPad, has chipped away at the lower end of the tablet market. Apple iPad tablet sales doubled in the December quarter to 15.43 million units from a year earlier.

Apple iTV Coming This Summer in 32- and 37-inch Sizes

Would Apple enter the TV market with two sets that are smaller than the average TV? If you believe the latest Digitimes report, the answer is yes. The outlet claims that Apple will launch both a 32-inch and 37-inch iTV this summer, which will presumably have all the features of the Apple TV integrated along with "the simplest user interface you could imagine." Those are the words the late Steve Jobs used to describe Apple's efforts to his biographer, which have led many to speculate that Siri-like voice control will be part of the package.

According to a story in The New York Times, the average size of a set  today is 38 inches, and the average cost is $460. You can also get a 42-inch set for about $499, the same price as the iPad, and a 60-inch model for $799. So would Apple debut a centerpiece for your living room that literally doesn't measure up to the competition? It's certainly possible. The 32-inch model could be targeted towards college kids or as sets for the bedroom, and at least it would be bigger than Apple's current 27-inch Thunderbolt display.

The 38-inch model would indeed be relatively small compared to some of the behemoths dominating today's households, so Apple would need to convince the masses that its integrated technology would compensate for any size difference. The Digitimes report also references that Samsung began producing chips for "iTVs" in November and that Sharp is making the panels. Technews Daily

Apple Founder Steve Jobs Dies

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs, the mastermind behind Apple's iPhone, iPad, iPod, iMac and iTunes, has died, Apple said. Jobs was 56. Jobs co-founded Apple Computer in 1976 and, with his childhood friend Steve Wozniak, marketed what was considered the world's first personal computer, the Apple II. Industry watchers called him a master innovator -- perhaps on a par with Thomas Edison -- changing the worlds of computing, recorded music and communications. In 2004, he beat back an unusual form of pancreatic cancer, and in 2009 he was forced to get a liver transplant. After several years of failing health, Jobs announced on Aug. 24, 2011 that he was stepping down as Apple's chief executive.

Ipod

The highlights of Jobs's career trajectory are well-known: a prodigy who dropped out of Reed College in Oregon and, at 21, started Apple with Wozniak in his parents' garage. He was a multimillionaire by 25, appeared on the cover of Time magazine at 26, and was ousted at Apple at age 30, in 1984. In the years that followed, he went into other businesses, founding NeXT computers and, in 1986, buying the computer graphics arm of Lucasfilm, Ltd., which became Pixar Animation Studios. He was described as an exacting and sometimes fearsome leader, ordering up and rejecting multiple versions of new products until the final version was just right. He said the design and aesthetics of a device were as important as the hardware and software inside. 

In 1996, Apple, which had struggled without Jobs, brought him back by buying NeXT. He became CEO in 1997 and put the company on a remarkable upward path. By 2001 the commercial music industry was on its knees because digital recordings, copied and shared online for free, made it unnecessary for millions of people to buy compact discs. Jobs took advantage with the iPod -- essentially a pocket-sized computer hard drive with elegantly simple controls and a set of white earbuds so that one could listen to the hours of music one saved on it. He set up the iTunes online music store, and persuaded major recording labels to sell songs for 99 cents each. No longer did people have to go out and buy a CD if they liked one song from it. They bought a digital file and stored it in their iPod.

Iphone

In 2007, he transformed the cell phone. Apple's iPhone, with its iconic touch screen, was a handheld computer, music player, messaging device, digital wallet and -- almost incidentally -- cell phone. Major competitors, such as BlackBerry, Nokia and Motorola, struggled after it appeared. By 2010, Apple's new iPad began to cannibalize its original business, the personal computer. The iPad was a sleek tablet computer with a touch screen and almost no physical buttons. It could be used for almost anything software designers could conceive, from watching movies to taking pictures to leafing through a virtual book. 

Ipad

He was listed in March as 109th on the Forbes list of the world's billionaires, with a net worth of about $8.3 billion. After selling Pixar animation studios to The Walt Disney Company in 2006, he became a Disney board member and the company's largest shareholder. Disney is the parent company of ABC News. MadOne

Apple iMac for Students Less Than $1,000

Apple has announced a new version of its iMac desktop that is aimed at students. What's more, it actually costs less than $1,000. Lengthy arguments about the existence of an "Apple tax" aside, Apple's computers are generally more expensive than the competition, so a sub-$1,000 iMac with decent specs is still remarkable. The new iMac sports a 3.1GHz Intel i3 dual-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 250GB of storage and an AMD Radeon HD 6750 graphics processor. All that comes inside a 21.5-inch display.


Pricing starts at $999, but keep in mind that this is a desktop. Many students prefer portability over screen size, so the new MacBook Air, also starting at $999, might be a more attractive option for students. Regardless, the education-oriented iMac is available to students now on Apple's website. Technews Daily

Apple Patents Keyless Keyboard

If the iPad wasn’t futuristic enough for you, Apple has plans to make your life even more like an episode of Star Trek. This time, the company has conceived of and patented a special kind of flat keyboard with no physical keys at all. 


The idea of a touchscreen keyboard is not new, but Apple has taken the idea further and made it much more versatile. The Apple “flat surface keyboard” will use a combination of pressure sensitive piezoelectrics and acoustic recognition to better register taps and swipes. It will also be capable of voice and gesture recognition.
Apple kept its options wide open in the patent, detailed on the site Patently Apple, explaining that this keyboard could be made of plastic, metal or the more traditional glass surface. The plastic and metal variants would have a pattern stamped or etched into the surface to identify keys, while the glass version would simply show a graphical interface under the glass.

It’s easy to see how this keyboard is a result of the design evolution at Apple. The Trackpad and gesture input for OS X Lion are perfect examples of Apple’s increasing interest in getting rid of the mouse and using gestures to control devices. This keyless keyboard is the next logical step, combining the trackpad and the keyboard into one touch-sensitive input system. Keep in mind that this is just a patent; don’t expect the keyboard to appear at the next Apple press event. However, this patent is an indication of the technologies Apple is pursuing, and it looks like traditional keyboards are the next thing Apple plans to phase out. Technews Daily

 

Apple has more cash than the federal government

Steve Jobs

Who's ready for iAmerica? As the BBC has reported, the software company Apple has more cash on hand than the United States federal government, according to the company's financial records.


Apple's quarterly financial report shows that the company responsible for the iPad, iPod and the iPhone now has $76.4 billion in reserve cash, while the Treasury Department is sitting on just $73.7 billion. The feds could probably learn a thing or two from Apple's success. Congress remains embroiled in a debate over spending and whether the federal government, which currently owes trillions in debt, should be allowed to borrow even more. International credit rating agencies have threatened to downgrade the national debt for the first time in the nation's history if Washington doesn't come up with a solution to lift the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling while implementing a concrete plan to get the nation's financial house in order.


Meanwhile, Apple's financial report shows that the company's profits, even through the last recession, are booming.

Security holes discovered in iPhones, iPads

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A new security hole has opened up in Apple Inc.'s iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices, raising alarms about the susceptibility of some of the world's hottest tech gadgets to hacker attacks. Flaws in the software running those devices came to light after a German security agency warned that criminals could use them to steal confidential data off the devices. Apple, the world's largest technology company by market value, said Thursday that it is working on a fix that will be distributed in an upcoming software upgrade.

With the security hole, an attacker can get malicious software onto a device by tricking its owner into clicking an infected PDF file. Germany's Federal Office for Information Security called the flaws "critical weaknesses" in Apple's iOS operating system.

Internet-connected mobile devices are still subject to fewer attacks than personal computer, but they could eventually prove a juicy target for hackers because they are warehouses of confidential banking, e-mail, calendar, contact and other data. Software vulnerabilities are discovered all the time. What makes the latest discovery alarming is that the weaknesses are already being actively exploited — albeit in a consensual way. 

Apple Inc. spokeswoman Bethan Lloyd said Thursday the company is "aware of this reported issue and developing a fix." She would not say when the update will be available.

Details Emerge about Apple's iCloud

 
iCloud music service Apple has confirmed it will announce at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 2011) suggest that Apple has tied up deals with four major record labels and will initially offer the service at no charge. iCloud "initially will be offered for a free period to people who buy music from Apple's iTunes digital download store, allowing users to upload their music to Apple's computers where they can then play from a Web browser or Internet-connected Apple device,"  iCloud won't stay free, however, these sources say: The LA Times adds, "the company plans to eventually charge a subscription fee, about $25 a year, for the service. Apple would also sell advertising around its iCloud service." 

Apple has reportedly signed licensing agreements with Sony Music Entertainment, EMI, Universal, and Warner Music Group, which would set Apple's cloud music offering apart from its rivals'. Amazon and Google recently launched their own cloud music offering, though failed to negotiate deals with record labels ahead of the debut of the services. Huffington Post

Mac Malware Infection Spreading Fast

A clever and dangerous piece of malware called MacDefender has been targeting Mac users for weeks, and the problem seems to be getting worse.

"[MacDefender] has been very prevalent the last couple of weeks," an AppleCare technician told SecurityNewsDaily in a support call today (May 18). "It looks pretty real, but it's just a scam trying to trick you into giving money." There's a real antivirus application called MacDefender, but the fake one pops up in your browser when you click on an infected website or image.  It tells you your Mac is infected by malware and that you need to install the bogus software — in fact a Trojan — right away.  It even asks for your administrative password if you've got one. Once you've installed the Trojan, it demands that you pay for it with a credit card, and navigates to porn sites until you do. 

Whoever is behind this malware campaign, however, is smart enough to know that Mac users are going to be looking for genuine solutions. As noted above, among the Trojan's many aliases is "Apple Security Center." (Another common one is "Mac Protector.") As the problem continues to spiral, third-party applications have been created, including one called MacDefenderKiller, that are designed specifically to rid your computer of this persistent danger. And one Apple Support Communities forum includes directions from participants as to how to effectively rid MacDefender from your computer. Technews Daily

The Era of Mac Malware Immunity Is Over

For years, security experts predicted that as Apple gained market share, cybercriminals would turn their attention from Windows machines toward Mac attacks. Now it appears to really be happening. Apple's Mac OS X operating system now enjoys a market share of more than 15 percent in the U.S., according to Swedish Web-monitoring service Pingdom. 

"We are now seeing Mac-specific malware that we hadn't seen before," said Michael Sutton, vice president of security research at Sunnyvale, Calif.-based security company Zscaler. In the past few weeks there have been examples such as MacDefender, a fake antivirus program that hijacked the name of a legitimate security program in an attempt to trick Mac users into divulging credit card numbers. While Apple advocates have argued for years that Macs were inherently more secure, most experts say that the hackers simply follow the market. Smartphones are also more attractive because they are constantly connected to the Internet. By the time an infection is discovered, the attackers have made their money with fraudulent charges and moved on.

Websites are designed to infect any computer that inadvertently visits the site, whether it be a Windows or Mac OS X computer running any of a half-dozen Web browsers. The popularity of Apple's iPhone and iPad has had a "halo effect" that attracts both consumers and criminals to the platform, so Mac owners should keep their browsers up to date and be more cautious. Still, much of the computing world, and especially the corporate enterprise side, relies on Microsoft Windows.

"So the Apple malware is still small compared to what we see on the PC side," noted Sutton. But it may be not for long. TechNews Daily

iPhone Will Track You Even After Location Services Are Disabled

Even when location services are not enabled, your iPhone will still collect and store location data, according to a test run by the Wall Street Journal.

The recent revelation that iPhones were collecting precise location data, and storing that data for up to a year in an unencrypted file, has sparked concern among users, as well as from Senator Al Franken and Representative Ed Markey, who have demanded Steve Jobs explain what the data is used for. 

The Wall Street Journal's test showed that the iPhone used cellphone towers and Wi-Fi access to find this location data, though it did not appear to be transmitted back to Apple. The test observed the data recorded by the phone as it moved from place to place, and found that these moves were recorded, using coordinates and time stamps. Google performs a similar operation regarding users' location data on phones using its Android software.Wallstreet Journal

Cloud Storage Is the Future of Music Services

Amazon announced cloud storage for music. Google is reportedly working on a massive music streaming service that will reside in the cloud. And new reports indicate the Apple is working on its own cloud music service that might even beat Google to market. There's a reason why these companies are aiming for the cloud even though Amazon and Apple already have healthy and successful music download services. Cloud storage is the future of media. 


The benefits for companies are clear. For instance, Apple needs only to keep a master copy of a song on their servers, and multiple subscribers can listen to that track at once. Speaking of subscribers, subscriptions are frequently more profitable than single track or album sales on a per customer basis, and streaming music helps to deter piracy. But the benefits to consumers are clear, too. Think of it this way: You don't need to ever worry about the storage capacity of your music player (be it a dedicated MP3 player or a smartphone), and you never have to worry if you've put your latest favorite songs on that particular device. It's all housed in the cloud.

The same transition is taking place in media, and it likely won't be too long before you, too, are storing media in the cloud. Technews Daily

Apple Unveils iPad 2: Faster, Thinner, Same Price

Apple unveiled its anticipated follow up to the popular iPad. Steve Jobs came back from medical leave to show off the new iPad that's thinner, lighter, faster and still the same price as the original. While other manufacturers struggle to release tablets at the same price point as the iPad, Apple seems to have struck gold with its tablet. The original iPad sold 15 million units, and Apple has managed to pack in many new features for the same price.

There are two more small additions on front and back, which are cameras that can be used to shoot pictures and video as well as video chat over FaceTime. The iPad 2 can FaceTime chat with iPhone and Mac users as well as other iPad 2 users. Inside, the iPad has gone through a few changes as well. The new dual-core A5 processor has significantly boosted the tablet's speed and graphics performance. Even more exciting, the pricing scheme has stayed exactly the same: $499 for 16GB Wi-Fi-only all the way up to $829 for 64GB 3G-capable. 

The iPad 2 is set for a March 11 launch date in the U.S., with releases in 26 more countries on March 25. Even though the white iPhone still hasn't appeared, there will be a white iPad 2 available at launch. Both the white and black versions will also be available on AT&T and Verizon. Technews Daily

Report: Apple to unveil iPad 2 on March 2

Kara Swisher over at All Things Digital says she has "multiple" sources who claim that Apple will hold a media event in San Francisco on March 2. Apple has yet to officially confirm an event next week, but according to Swisher, the company "seems poised" to take the wraps off the long-anticipated iPad 2, with the event "likely" to take place at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

The story comes just hours after a flurry of rumors that the next-generation iPad had been delayed, with major news outlets eventually backtracking on the claim Monday. While Apple hasn't said a peep about the new iPad yet, rumors peg it to be both thinner and lighter than the 1.5-pound, 0.52-inch original, with at least one camera for video chat, a souped-up processor, and more RAM. There had also been talk that the iPad 2 would arrive with an improved screen similar to the "retina" display on the current iPhone 4, but a recent report in the Wall Street Journal shot down those rumors, noting that the new display may "disappoint customers" hoping for a "significant improvement" in resolution. Yahoo

Is Apple Working on a Smaller, Cheaper iPhone?

Making things smaller and cheaper worked several times for the iPod — but will Apple do the same thing for the iPhone? Industry sources indicate we may soon see the equivalent of an iPhone Nano. Bloomberg cites several sources who say Apple is indeed developing a smaller, cheaper iPhone that can compete better with cheaper Android phones. The goal, reportedly, is to create an iPhone that will retail for around $200 without a subsidy from carrier networks. 

At first glance, this seems like something antithetical to Apple CEO Steve Jobs' design philosophy. And yet, it also makes some sense. Android handsets are getting cheaper all the time, and while the iPhone is continuously innovating and adding new features, many consumers (especially international consumers who often buy the phone unsubsidized) can't afford one.

A smaller, cheaper iPhone would mean losing some of the lauded features of the current iPhone 4, the first of which would likely be the ultra-high resolution Retina Display. However, the sources say the new iPhone would have some developments of its own, including a dual-mode chipset that would work on all networks (CDMA and GSM).

The smaller iPhone would also get rid of SIM cards altogether. Apple is reportedly working on "Universal SIM" technology that would eliminate the need for the tiny piece of plastic in GSM phones (AT&T and T-Mobile) that tracks user info. This would be an important feature in a dual-CDMA/GSM phone. TechNews Daily

'Roll Your Own' Joint-Making App Approved By Apple

 

Here's an app we weren't expecting to see in Apple's App Store, given the company's stringent (albeit unpredictable) policies regarding the apps that it approves: "Roll Your Own," a free app that offers videos and over 70 photos to help you "master the art" of rolling, packing, and "crutches."

Roll Your Own promises to teach you not only the basics, but also more advanced rolling techniques such as the Crowd Pleaser ("Almost twice as long as the Classic & guaranteed to please the crowds!") or the Tulip ("A Dutch specialty that is sure to bring smiles!"). Based on 40 reviews, the app has four star rating. Due to "frequent/intense alcohol, tobacco, or drug use or references," the app is only available for download by users over 17 years of age.


Apple has been far less tolerant of sexually suggestive apps--Apple CEO Steve Jobs reportedly said in an email that the iPhone and iPod offered users "freedom from porn"--and Apple removed thousands of R-rated apps from its Apple Store in a significant purge that occurred last year.