Do you agree with academics who say Apple is the new religion? Cast your vote in "Today's Poll..." below in the left column or go straight to the results here.
Thursday Highlights: From the halls of academia comes this: "The religious-like behavior and language surrounding Apple devotion/fandom is an example of 'implicit religion'"; Macworld's Kirk McElhearn says Apple will have a tough time convincing users to upgrade their iPods as the device has hit a plateau; and another iPad lawsuit ... but this one claims iPad doesn't work "just like a book" as indicated by Apple in ads; World of Apple has the latest in the Psystar psaga :-); Apple ships more mobile phones than Motorola two quarters in a row; US President, Barack Obama, may be a BlackBerry fan, but is all MacBook Pro when it comes to presentations; NBC Chicago reports that the freshman class at Chicago State may be getting iPads; porn industry set to bypass Apple's App Store restrictions via FaceTime; over in the UK, iPhones upgraded to iOS 4 are having roaming problems on O2's network; Apple's latest patent applications are down in our Hardware/Software section, of interest today are a couple on the iTravel App, and it seems Apple may be making a foray into the Virtual Fashion Closet, and here's a cool one: music sync arrangement where the device controls mood, speed of music while you exercise; Walt Mossberg completes a 6-week real-world test of a couple iPhone 4 models, finds iPhone 4 better than 3GS mostly, but carrier restriction still an issue; Gizmodo believes the new Magic Trackpad is "beginning of the end" for OS X.
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Mon Feb 8
"A Smarter Tablet: The Apple iPad made for splashy headlines and visuals, but its business utility is dubious, at best. What would a tablet need in order to take off among mobile professionals?" Smarter Technology
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"Apple updates Safari 5: The latest version of Apple's web browser, Safari 5.0.1, features extensions for an improved internet experience" Telegraph 8:54 AM
AppleCare/Troubleshooting
"iTunes not allowing users to sign in with AOL screen name" Macsimum News 8:22 AM
"As with earlier versions of Safari 5 running on Boot Camp, Safari freezes when referencing a .pdf file. Other Windows browsers (Firefox, etc.) properly download and display .pdf files. The only way to exit is to 'force quit' Safari. I reported this to Apple several weeks ago, but the bug is still there. Does anyone else experience this?" MacInTouch 11:33 AM
Reviews/How-To/Tips
"Miro 3.0.2: Miro is a free HD video and media player that helps you aggregate and download web-based content so that you can watch and listen to it on your Mac." Macworld 10:46 AM
"Nuance Unveils Dragon NaturallySpeaking Version 11, Simply Smarter Speech Recognition: New Release of Dragon Delivers the Accuracy, Flexibility, and Features to Make Speaking Your Mind Easier than Ever – at Home, in the Office and On the Go" Business Wire 9:32 AM
"dmg software announced Sidekick 1.5 for AppleWorks 6, a Mac OS X menu bar item for Apple's aged but still loved office productivity program." dmg software 9:29 AM
"Macintosh Explorer 5 Adds Snow Leopard, Quick Look Support" The Mac Observer 8:49 AM
"Synium Software presents MacFamilyTree 6 - Genealogy built for Mac" prMac 7:48 AM
"Norway's largest paper: iPhone 4 Antennagate is a US problem" AppleInsider 6:51 PM
"Crazy: Apple Ships More Mobile Phones Than Motorola For The Second Quarter In A Row" Silicon Alley Insider 10:08 AM
"Motorola's phone sales drop, give Apple US crown once again" Electronista 8:46 AM
"10% Of Applications In The App Store For iPad Boast In-App Purchases" TechCrunch 10:48 AM
"Barack Obama's MacBook Pro: The President may carry a BlackBerry on his belt, but he does his demos on a Mac" Fortune 8:23 AM
"Sprint prepping iPod touch case with Wi-Fi hotspot?" iPodNN 11:09 AM
"iPads infiltrate hospitals: Graduate doctors, nurses and advanced practice nurses to receive mobile device" Computerworld Australia 2:23 PM
"Chicago State May Dole Out iPads to Freshman Class: Trustees will decide next week" NBC Chicago 9:37 AM
"Porn Industry Sees Opportunity In Latest iPhone: With Adult Apps Banned By Apple, New FaceTime Video Chat Feature Marks 1st Chance At Untapped Market" Associated Press 8:02 AM
"GAO Launches Mobile Website: Responding to the growing trend of accessing content on mobile devices, the Government Accountability Office reports are now accessible to BlackBerry, iPhone, Android and other mobile device users." InformationWeek 3:15 PM
"MLB's iPad App Hits the 100,000 Buyers Mark" PadGadget 10:08 AM
"Study: 14 percent of free App Store software can browse user contacts." LoopRumors 4:13 PM
"Verizon users outpace iPhone users in data usage" CNET News 8:03 AM
"Fake Chinese iPads No Longer Hot Sellers" ReadWriteWeb 9:08 AM
"Best Buy Jumps Into 'Antennagate' With Free Shields" InformationWeek 10:48 AM
"New Droid X ad laughs at Apple's bumpers" CNET News 8:03 AM
"Droid X Vs iPhone 4: Bumper Issue Continues Embarrassing Apple" LA News Monitor 8:17 AM
"Amazon's new Kindle competes with iPad on price, focus" TiPb 9:08 AM
Non-Apple News
"Imminent Piwik 1.0 release may pose challenge to Google Web Analytics" ZDNet 2:40 PM
"Affordable 3-D Arrives: No More Clay Models, but Hardware Costs Still a Drawback" WSJ.com [Paid Membership Required] 2:28 PM
"Black Hat: Internet gets 'biggest upgrade since World Wide Web'/DNS Security Extensions could cripple man-in-the-middle attacks" V3 2:26 PM
"Next Gnome delayed until 2011: Linux users on Gnome must wait a full year before their favorite desktop is updated – the first such delay in the project's short history." The Register 2:19 PM
"Bad guys could read RFID passports at 217 feet, maybe a lot more: Black Hat demo shows how to do it for $2,500" Network World 12:48 PM
"Nintendo Takes Loss, Will Reveal 3DS Price in September" Wired 2:36 PM
"Polycom's CEO On Business, Viking-Style" Forbes 11:45 AM
"BlackBerry Maker to Name Tablet: BlackPad? BlackBerry-maker RIM has reportedly purchased the domain BlackPad.com for its rumored tablet device. If true, it would stack up against the HP PalmPad, Lenovo LePad and, of course, the Apple iPad." eWeek 11:35 AM
"Facebook Questions Challenges Quora, Google Aardvark, Hunch: Facebook launches Facebook Questions to limited beta, allowing users to ask questions of the the social network's 500 million users. The application will compete with offerings from Google Aardvark, Quora, Hunch and others." eWeek 11:34 AM
"'Facebook Hacker': All I Did Was Compile Publicly Available Information" CrunchGear 2:11 PM
"Details from 100 million Facebook profiles posted online: Social network says information was freely available already" PC Advisor UK 12:47 PM
"Google Apps intrigues IT pros, but security worries remain: Google struggling to satisfy enterprise security concerns with cloud services" Network World 12:48 PM
"Google crowned 'king of malware': Google has been crowned the 'king of malware' by security company Barracuda Networks, linking to twice as much malware as search rivals Bing, Yahoo and Twitter combined." Techworld 12:47 PM
"'Unhackable' Android phone can be hacked: Black Hat told that applications can steal data and – worse – take over the Android phones completely" Network World 12:49 PM
"Japan robots chat, play -- and help find lost specs" Reuters 10:24 AM
"Amazon Unveils New Kindle: $139 WiFi-Only Model, $189 With 3G, Available August 27th" VentureBeat [Free Registration Required] 10:22 AM
"Panasonic swings to black, plans $9.4 billion acquisition" MarketWatch 9:52 AM
"Motorola Mobile Devices Generate $87 Million Profit: Focus remains on the recovery of Motorola's mobile phone operations as the company preps for a split early next year." InformationWeek 11:50 AM
"RadioShack Net Rises, Reaches Deal With Wireless Provider" WSJ.com [Paid Membership Required] 9:44 AM
"Android App Steals and Sends User Data to China" The Mac Observer 10:52 AM
"Secrets of the Boy Genius: The once-anonymous blogger is out now, with a logo, a PR agent and plans to build a brand" Fortune 10:21 AM
Publications/Podcasts
"GeekBeat.TV #15 – Apple Magic Trackpad and DMCA Rule Changes" CrunchGear 8:54 AM
"YML Archives for July 28th, 2010" Your Mac Life 7:51 AM
"What Weeks Of Real Usage Tells About New iPhone" ["Despite the hot-spot issue and the exposed antenna, the iPhone 4 does better than the 3GS for me in decent coverage. But I still wouldn't advise adopting it as your primary phone if you live, work or travel in areas with poor AT&T reception, or if you prefer a network under less stress."] AllThingsD 8:23 AM
"Apple Magic Trackpad: The Beginning of the End for Mac OS X" ["Its true relevance is in what it heralds: The end of Mac OS X as we know it. You are probably thinking that I'm crazy, but before explaining why this is the beginning of the end of Apple's desktop operating system as we know it, here's the review"] Gizmodo 9:33 AM
"The Eye-Fi Pro and the iPad? Forget About it: After posting about the ShutterSnitch/Eye-Fi combo on Monday, which lets you beams photographs direct from your camera to an iPhone or iPad, I was sold, and I bought both. After using them for a couple days, it turns out that the Eye-Fi, in its Pro form at least, pretty much sucks." Wired 2:38 PM
"Kindle vs. iPad: You're Both Winners" The Apple Blog 12:13 PM
"Amazon's New Kindle: Priced as an iPad Accessory?" Seeking Alpha 10:49 AM
"Mossberg: iPhone 4 the best of the super-smartphones, except for U.S. voice calls on AT&T" MacDailyNews 9:28 AM
"The iPhone 3G Hates iOS 4. It's a fact." IntoMobile 9:08 AM
"iPad Users Are 'Selfish Elitists'" TheStreet 11:09 AM
"Study: iPad owners are selfish elitists, non-owners are independent geeks" The Unofficial Apple Weblog 9:08 AM
"So is iPhone Jailbreaking Now a Good Thing?" The Tech Night Owl 8:55 AM
"Apple's Overheating Problem Boils Over" Gizmodo 8:54 AM
"Thanks for arranging my exit from Apple: This is a letter sent today to an Apple executive who will remain nameless. It was not Steve, but I thought it was worth sharing." Applepeels 8:47 AM
"5 ways Apple's Magic Trackpad could change the world" The Next Web 8:46 AM
"iPadawan - pt 12: Mobile Madness" iPadawan 8:37 AM
"Apple's iPad muscle flex: Setting the stage for a showdown with publishers?" ZDNet 8:10 AM
"Magic Trackpad + iPad = MacBook killer?" ZDNet 8:09 AM
"Phunking for a Phone: Providing further proof there really is a problem with Apple and the latest phone, John Gruber launched into a supposedly humorous piece last Thursday on why there's no need to write yet another piece about Apple and the latest phone." Rixstep 8:07 AM
"Overheating iPads bring legal fire to Apple's doorstep" ZDNet 8:02 AM
"iPhone 2G/3G/3GS/4 Reaction Comparison" The Apple Press 7:52 AM
Non-Apple
"Major Corporations Are Downloading Those 100 Million Facebook Profiles off BitTorrent" Gizmodo 6:06 PM
"How Fast Can a Cloud Run?" New York Times [Free Registration Required] 3:12 PM
"The First Pair of Glasses: A Geek Rite of Passage" Wired 2:36 PM
"Acer Aspire Ethos 8943G 18.4in laptop: Full HD desktop replacement with plenty of poke" Register Hardware 2:21 PM
"Set up your printer to save ink and paper" PC Advisor UK 12:50 PM
"Facebook Questions: Thumb Up or Down? Facebook Questions taps the social networks ginormous users base for answers to your questions. Do you give it a 'Like' thumb up or a thumb down?" Technologizer 12:42 PM
"Bargain Hunt: Blu-ray Players for Less" TechSaver 12:11 PM
"AT&T Is Winning Its Catch-Up Race: AT&T focused on smartphones before it was cool. Before everyone else did. Many thought it was nuts. However, that is the direction the industry is now heading in, and it is paying off for AT&T." E-Commerce Times 11:34 AM
"'StarCraft II' lives up to 11 years of hype" Wired 11:11 AM
"Review: Hulu Plus takes television to your pocket" Associated Press 10:47 AM
"Hot Summer: Gadgets That Help You Beat the Heat of Summer/Get Tips to Keep Your Tech Gadgets Functioning and Cool" ABCNews 10:38 AM
"Google searches for growth: While still dominant in search, and gaining in mobile, Google's stock has been relatively flat for several years." [Video Report] Fortune 10:08 AM
"Google: The search party isover/Yes, the company is still growing at rates that would be the envy of the rest of the Fortune 500. But its core business is slowing, its stock is down, its Android mobile platform generates scant revenue, and competition (hello, Facebook) is fierce. Can Google find its footing in this brave new world?" Fortune 10:02 AM
"Videogame publishers to report tough June quarter: Activision, EA and THQ see sales declines; analysts looking to second half" MarketWatch 9:53 AM
"Is Kindle 3 a game-ender for e-reader wars?" CNNMoney 2:58 PM
"Why Business Should Embrace the $139 Kindle 2" PCWorld 12:41 PM
"Is Amazon's New Kindle Good Enough? Despite new features -- like a battery that lasts for a month and a slightly smaller size -- the Kindle 3 may not be cheap enough at $139." Minyanville 9:38 AM
"Facebook Mountain ('I wish I knew how to quit you'): Why abysmal customer satisfaction levels won't stop the social giant." O'Reilly Radar 8:56 AM
"Google's lax vetting allows almost any app in the Android market. Unscrupulous developers rejoice." The Small Wave 7:52 AM
"OWC Offers iMac RAM Options Not Available From Factory" Other World Computing 4:11 PM
"Screen-Protector for Magic Mouse: Why?" Wired 2:38 PM
"iPhone Application to Help Prevent Spina Bifida Launched: --VitaTrack Folate Tracker helps women measure folic acid intake--" Business Wire 2:35 PM
"Namco Networks Lands Flight Control onto Mobile Devices: Company Works Closely with Firemint to Keep the Skies Safe" Business Wire 2:35 PM
"On-Call Defender Mobile Panic Alarm and Medical Alert Now Available on App Store: New app brings high-level personal security to iPhone at an affordable price" Business Wire 2:35 PM
"$299.99 Parrot AR.Drone Now Available for Pre-Order – Shipping September 3rd" Touch Arcade 2:30 PM
"ElementCase Vapor Aluminum iPhone 4 Case" Apple Gazette 2:27 PM
"Vulkano Allows You To Stream LiveTV On Your iPad" PadGadget 2:25 PM
"GadgetTrak 3 Adds Tracking for Multiple Computers" The Mac Observer 1:16 PM
"SendStuffNow app now available for iPhone, iPad" Macworld 11:34 AM
"I'd like to introduce our Just Mobile UpStand™, made of quality aluminum and precision crafted: as a museum piece of art. It is the ultimate accessory to compliment your Apple iPad." Just Mobile 10:58 AM
"Grocery iQ Now a FREE Download" Best App Site 10:47 AM
"Trans International a Company known for Maximizing Macs today announced the worldwide availability of Upto16GB Memory Upgrade Kit [4X4GB] PC-3 10600 DDR3 1333MHz SO-DIMMS for the newly released Apple iMacs [July2010]." Trans International 2:23 PM
"Trans International announces memory upgrades for new iMacs" Insanely Great Mac 10:01 AM
"Microsoft hosts annual financial analyst meeting: Analysts trek to Redmond in hopes Microsoft will talk mobile strategy, tablets and online ads" Associated Press 10:08 AM
"Microsoft exec takes shots at Google for analysts' benefit: Software giant kicks off analyst meeting highlighting its battle for the 'Cloud'" MarketWatch 3:05 PM
"Microsoft to analysts: Here's how we win business & the cloud" Seattle Times 1:01 PM
"Microsoft touts cloud computing customers" CNET News 10:18 AM
"Microsoft says cloud computing is the future" TG Daily 2:15 PM
"Microsoft's bug reports fail to produce prompt patches: 55% of the flaws Microsoft reported to other vendors in the last 12 months go unfixed" Computerworld 11:14 AM
"Microsoft names September for IE9 beta" The Register 2:20 PM
"Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 beta due in September" ZDNet 2:40 PM
"Internet Explorer Remains Vulnerable To Autofill Flaw, Says Researcher" Forbes 11:44 AM
"Tech Feud: Informatica vs. Microsoft" TheStreet 9:40 AM
"IBM to buy Storwize for undisclosed sum: IBM said it has agreed to buy privately held data-compression company Storwize for an undisclosed sum." Associated Press [Free Registration Required] 10:45 AM
"IBM buys file compressor: IBM is buying Storwize for its real-time, inline data compression technology and products." The Register 2:20 PM
"IBM Acquires Storage Compression Company" IDG News Service 12:39 PM
"IBM to open infrastructure lab at Carnegie Mellon: IBM to team with Carnegie Mellon University on infrastructure technology lab in Pittsburgh" Associated Press 10:04 AM
"IBM Invests in Infrastructure Sensing and Analysis Tech" IDG News Service [Free Registration Required] 11:52 AM
"IBM Revamps Financing Plans For System X Sales" ChannelWeb 11:12 AM
"IBM pushes forward with UK smart meter plans: Big Blue working with government on intelligent utility network" V3 2:26 PM
"Potential Streak buyers blast Dell over delays: Analyst calls on Dell to finally set a sale date or lose credibility" Computerworld 11:14 AM
"Intel to announce next-generation desktop platform at CES 2011" DigiTimes 11:29 AM
"Infineon, Intel in talks on wireless sale-sources" Reuters 10:05 AM
"Oracle sued for alleged contract fraud" MarketWatch 3:06 PM
"Dell, HP to resell Oracle's operating systems" IDG News Service 11:14 AM
"Oracle and HP make a deal for Solaris on ProLiants: Dell does deal for PowerEdges, too" The Register 2:20 PM
"Oracle Out, Google In At Berkeley Lab: 4,000 employees at DOE research facility will have new calendaring system when they show up for work Monday." InformationWeek 10:25 AM
"New Sherriff In Town: Cisco Names U.S., Canada Channel Chief" ChannelWeb 11:13 AM
"Tech Firms Lobby EU on Privacy" WSJ.com [Paid Membership Required] 9:46 AM
"Apple may soon be worth more than Exxon" CNNMoney 3:23 PM
"IPad, Not Macbook, Wears The Pants At Apple" ["We expect average pricing on the iPad to decline from $600 in 2010 to $440 over the Trefis forecast period, with margins also declining from 55% to 40%, implying profits of $330 per iPad in 2010 trending down to about $175."] Forbes 2:31 PM
"Is Apple Value Hiding In Plain Sight?" Investopedia 8:30 AM
Industry News
"Nvidia, Symantec losses take tech's center stage" MarketWatch 10:00 AM
"U.S. stocks stall before key government read of economy: No truce in market's tug of war between corporate results and economic data" MarketWatch 2:51 PM
"US Stocks Climb, Buoyed by Energy Earnings, Jobless Data" MarketWatch 9:53 AM
"Bulls' Comeback Comes Up Short: After suffering steep losses early in the day, Wall Street closed out Thursday's session just modestly lower as the bulls' comeback attempt failed to completely overcome gloomy earnings reports in the tech and consumer staples sectors." FOXBusiness 4:19 PM
"Stocks Close Lower in Rocky Session" TheStreet 4:19 PM
"Stocks edge lower: Stocks slid Thursday, although they finished off their session lows, as investors weighed cautious comments from a regional Federal Reserve president about the health of the economy and a mix of quarterly profit reports." CNNMoney 4:19 PM
"Stocks: Down Day, Strong July/Stocks finished lower for a second consecutive day, as disappointing revenues from utilities and consumer companies pushed aside a handful of strong earnings reports, though the market remained on track to close out the best month since July 2009." WSJ.com [Paid Membership Required] 4:19 PM
"Stocks set for early gains: U.S. stocks were set to rise Thursday, as investors attempted to shake off worries about slowing economic growth and looked to corporate earnings." CNNMoney 9:39 AM
"Asia ends mixed: Tokyo drops as Shanghai rises/Panasonic slumps on planned M&A stock issuance; AgBank raises more funds" MarketWatch 9:52 AM
"Europe Markets: European ends lower as growth jitters spark late selling/France Telecom, Telefonica, AstraZeneca and Merck KGaA all update investors" MarketWatch 2:53 PM
MacSurfer Headline News Staff
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief: P. Pearson
Managing & Weekday Editor: D. Mahaffy
Evening Editors: S. Siegling and
D. Mahaffy
Weekend Editors: S. Siegling and
D. Mahaffy
CEO: T. Jefferson
CFO: K. Midas
Editor Emeritus: W. Shakespeare
Writers Emeritus: W. Lewis, R. Chandler, W. Morris, G. Simenon, C. Vallejo, F. Garcia Lorca,
P. White, R. Adams, P. Valery, C. Aiken, R. Bradbury, F. Pessoa, S. Bellow, F. O'Connor
Art Directors: V. Van Gogh, C. Monet
Advertising Managers: C. Chaplin, H. Marx
Public Relations Firm: Bits & Bytes
Bomb Squad: Type 11 Errors
Chief Scientists: I. Asimov, S. Hawking
Road Crew: R. Petty, J. Cooper
Mechanics: Tom and Ray
Fishing Crew: A. Lindner, D. Stange, K. VanDam
Head Chef: Mom
Head Travel Guru: D. Pearson
Whipping Boys: B. Gates, S. Jobs
Mascots: Cyberdog, Clarus the Dogcow
General Counsel: #%@*$$$$!
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