News - page 2314

Changes to accounting rules will allow Apple to record revenue from sales of the iPhone and Apple TV at the time of sale, rather than spreading it over 24 months, Dow Jones newswire is reporting.

Financial experts predict the rule change will add significant revenue to Apple’s quarterly results, and haveupped their stock targets accordingly. CNBC’s Jim Cramer, for example, predicts Apple’s stock will hit $264 a share, in part because of the rule change (it’s trading at about $188).

Apple currently spreads revenue from iPhone and Apple TV sales over two years, like a subscription.  As a result, blockbuster sales quarters for the iPhone — like this summer’s release of the iPhone 3GS — aren’t reflected in the company’s quarterly revenue statements.

Apple uses subscription accounting for the iPhone and Apple TV because it allows the company to update the devices with new software without charging customers for new features. Apple does not do this for its iPods, which is why customers are charged nominal fees for software upgrades.

Apple lobbied the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) for a change in the accounting rules. The changes were widely expected.

Apple’s shares are up about 2 percent in midday Wednesday trading.

Turn at the right corner. Look behind you. Is that TomTom in the rear-view mirror?

Those probably aren’t instructions most of us will hear from our GPS units, but they might have been in the minds of Kensington when it released a “cost-effective” alternative to competing systems. The windshield or vent car mount also “acoustically increases speaker volume without additional battery drain on the iPhone,” the company claimed Wednesday.

The mount is placed either on an auto’s windshield or in a vent. How can volume increase without using any power? The keyword in the last paragraph may be “acoustically.” We’ve all experienced the great acoustics in a tiled bathroom or the cathedral ceilings of a church. Maybe Kensington’s discovered an electronic voice bounce better when backed by a windshield or a hollow vent? Who know, no details were provided.

But what is evident is that Kensington is taking a slap at TomTom. In August, the FCC released photos of TomTom’s Car Kit, including a GPS mount that can reportedly be positioned either vertically or horizontally . The kit also includes a SIRFstar GPS chipset and Bluetooth.

Kensington’s acoustically updated GPS mount goes on sale in November, including at all Apple stores.

[Via iClarified and Kensington]

There are a number of ways to bring your iPod or iPhone along for the ride, but playing tunes in your auto usually requires an FM link with iffy quality. Griffin Technology, however, smooths out the bumps by teaming its iTrip audio hardware with a retro interface thanks to a bit of free software from the App Store.

To get past the problem of finding a transmission-free FM frequency, the iTrip ($50) scans for the best signal, then automatically sends your iPhone or iPod to the spot. The iTrip also features an LCD display for the current frequency, plus will offer in-dash readouts of the current track for cars with RDS (Radio Data Systems). RDS-capable autos can receive inaudible information (such as traffic reports) alongside FM content sent by RDS broadcasts. The iTrip is rounded out with a mini USB port that can connect to your iPhone, making on-the-go recharging a snap.

Along with the hardware, Griffin is offering a free iPhone application, complete with a display of a large retro-style dial for precise tuning.

Griffin isn’t alone in the FM iPhone market. Belkin also offers its TuneBase FM product.

[Via Griffin and Gadget Lab]

In an embarrassing turn of events, Palm has gotten the smackdown from a USB industry group over a software hack that enables Palm’s Pre smartphone to sync with iTunes.

When Palm released the Pre earlier this year, the company cleverly spoofed Apple’s unique USB identifier to fool iTunes into thinking the Pre was an Apple device, allowing it to sync songs and playlists. It was a sneaky but daring move for Palm, ensuring the Pre was compatible with the market-leading music software.

But Apple repeatedly disabled the hack with a series of iTunes updates, so Palm sent a letter to the USB Implementers Forum, an industry group that oversees the USB standard, claiming Apple is “hampering competition.”

But in a response to Apple and Palm on Tuesday, the group sided with Apple, saying Palm’s spoofing of Apple’s ID likely violates USB-IF policy.

“Under the Policy, Palm may only use the single Vendor ID issued to Palm for Palm’s usage,” “the group said in a letter obtained by Digital Daily.

“Usage of any other company’s Vendor ID is specifically precluded. Palm’s expressed intent to use Apple’s VID appears to violate the attached policy,” the letter continued.

Embarrassing. Clearly not the response Palm was hoping for.

The USB Forum asked Palm to clarify its position and respond within seven days. Palm told Digital Daily it is reviewing the Forum’s letter and will “respond as appropriate.”

This prototype iPhone nav system mounts on standard bike helmets to help get cyclists where they’re going.  Devised by Tokyo iPhone app developers  Ubiquitous Entertainment, it runs on an original app that in addition to using the iPhone’s compass and GPS maps can also receive push notifications from Twitter (via TwitBird Pro) or phone calls with A2DP.

The head mounted device (HMD) is retractable, and as you might expect, the screen is a little jiggly during ride. Test cyclist Sho checked out the map while stopped or at traffic lights, not while pedaling. The HMD was so light it was secured with scotch tape; in later trials the iPhone was stuck in a pocket to avoid potential tumbles from the helmet.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1AzailvJB0
As an urban biker sick of pulling out maps or trying to check Google maps on my phone, I love this idea,  though I would stick to keeping the phone in a pocket to avoid worry about someone snatching it and the perils of sudden showers.

Via Make

Version 8 of Adobe’s popular Photoshop Elements photo-editing software is coming to the Mac in October, adding several new intelligent photo fixes, such as Photomerge Exposure, previewing a range of adjustments and one-click fixes for skin, skies and teeth.

Photoshop Elements 8 adds about a dozen new photo editing features or enhancements, including the ability to share photos via iPhone.

Known as “Photoshop Lite,” Elements brings a lot of the power of Adobe’s flagship editing suite to non-professionals, thanks to its stripped-down interface and well-implemented help options.

“We’ve simplified the editing process, without taking away any of the power, and incorporated smart tools with built-in intelligence to bring once difficult tasks, within reach of everyone,” said Adobe executive Doug Mack in a statement.

Guided Edit for example, new in version 8, walks the user through both basic editing operations like removing scratches and blemishes, and artistic effects like line drawing.

Another new smart fix, Photomerge Exposure, combines two shots — one with flash, the other with flash off — into a single, well-lit photo. See above.

Photoshop Elements was first released for the Mac in 2006 and has gained a slew of new features and enhancements in meantime. Here’s what’s new in version 8, and the list of comparison features between versions.

The $99 software (or $79 pre-order after a $20 rebate) is compatible with Snow Leopard. It requires Mac OS X 10.4.11 or better.

Nicole posted about the somewhat crazed Microsoft Windows party video earlier today. Just when you think Microsoft advertising and marketing can’t get any worse, it does.

Funny as the original is, Fraser Speirs suggested on Twitter: “I bet that Win7 party video would be an internet sensation if someone just beeped out all the references to Windows 7.”

As if by magic, Panic‘s Cabel Sasser duly obliged, with his own take on the Windows 7 Party video. Watch it below.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyas7BrbUFY

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oWWt_L-qeo

To help launch Windows 7, Microsoft is enlisting PC people to hold house parties to promote the new operating system.

For the October 22 launch date, Microsoft enthusiasts around the world just got selected to show off their new software at home with parties, sort of Tupperware style.

Naturally, the company has a few ideas of how these launch parties should go. A short sample party agenda, from the above talking heads: first, have a drink and mingle. Then shoot 20 or so photos. “Then when everyone was settled, I showed them my favorite features from the new Windows 7.”

“It only took like 10 minutes. Everyone just crowded around the computer in the kitchen.”

Andrew Coates, developer evangelist for Microsoft, told the Sydney Morning Herald the idea behind Windows 7 was to bring back the “sense of mastery” to software users.

“We have done a lot of work around why people weren’t feeling comfortable with software any more. People felt like they weren’t in control.”

Party hosts also have “a good chance” of winning a Windows PC worth $750, according to Microsoft.

“In a lot of ways, you’re just throwing a house party with Windows 7 as an honored guest,” says one of the actors in the video.  “Sounds easy and it is.”

Whatever they’re smoking in the Microsoft marketing department, I’ll have some.

Via Sidney Morning Herald, hat tip to CoM reader Brett McCurdy.

Un-fuckin-believable. Like Apple, Microsoft is also secretly developing a multitouch tablet, according to this report on Gizmodo.

But where Apple’s device will be designed for your fingers, Microsoft’s includes a pen! WTF? Is this the nineties? Has Microsoft learned nothing from the iPhone at all?

Yeah, Apple’s tablet will also support a pen. For detailed graphics work, and maybe even text input, a pen will work better than your fingers, but the primary input device?

Says Giz:

“The Courier user experience presented here is almost the exact opposite of what everyone expects the Apple tablet to be, a kung fu eagle claw to Apple’s tiger style. It’s complex: Two screens, a mashup of a pen-dominated interface with several types of multitouch finger gestures, and multiple graphically complex themes, modes and applications.”

Microsoft’s tablet is actually a dual-screen booklet, very much like the OLPC XO-2 design concept that made the rounds last year (and I personally was hoping would be Apple’s secret “Brick project).

Codenamed Courier, it has two multitouch 7-inch screens joined by a central hinge, which has a single iPhone-like “Home” button. It’s a late prototype, Giz says, and may have nifty hardware features like inductive pad charging.

But if you have to use a pen to control it, it’s fucked.

Remember when wearable computers were all the rage? Well, we’ve come far from the days of geeky head-mounted displays and backpacks stuffed with electronics. Killa is a Vancouver-based interactive apparel firm that specializes in turning the common into wearable consumer electronics. In 2008, for instance, the company introduced a line of coats, including a pea coat, that had iPod controls sew into the sleeve. Now Killa is remaking the ordinary World War II satchel.

The bags, the first in the Killa Vintage series, are actual World War II items from Germany – with a bit of updating. Touch pad controls connect to your iPod via Bluetooth. Also, the bags include a solar panel from Germany’s Solarc. Along with a unique upgrade of 50 year military gear is how and where the solar iPod bags can be purchased. First, sales are limited to 20 per year and only to buyers able to visit Killa’s Vancouver store.

Now solar backpacks for iPods aren’t new – a number of companies offer them, including O’Neill Europe, Voltaic Systems and others.

The scenario is familiar: you’re rockin’ out to your favorite tunes and you have to answer a phone or converse with someone, requiring you to pause the iPod, remove an earbud, then the reverse to get back to the music. Apple took a stab at easing this annoyance by including a pause and volume switch on the earphone’s cord. However, Sony Ericsson has come along with an even more intuitive solution: motion-sensitive earbuds.

The MH907 ($55) automatically pauses music when one earbud is removed, restarting when the SenseMe technology detects human contact. The technology sounds fantastic, except it requires Sony Ericcson’s fast port connector, currently not available for the iPhone.

[Via Gadget Lab]

Now this looks interesting: Blasted is a Menu Bar app that quietly tracks what you’ve been working on – all the files you’ve created, opened, or modified recently – and makes them available when you need them via an unobtrusive icon.

Apple has shot three new TV ads for the iPhone: Dine in Dine Out, Pass Test Pass Time, and Nature Lovers.

Above is the Nature ad, the other two ads are after the jump.

Staff at an Apple retail store in Seattle are planning a walkout over “abusive” management, the first labor dispute to hit the company’s super-successful retail chain, IFOAppleStore is reporting.

Employees at Apple’s Alderwood Mall store claim the store’s management is “abusive” and cite unspecified violations of state and federal labor laws.

Apple’s human resources department hasn’t properly investigated their complaints, and even an appeal to the head of the chain, Ron Johnson, went unheeded, the staff told IFOApplestore.

Workers are planning a walkout at 1PM on October 3 if no action is taken before then.

The threat of industrial action is unusual for Apple’s stores, which have a reputation as a good place to work and an unusually high retention rate for retail.

Apple claims the turn-over rate for Apple store employees is just 20%, compared to an industry average of well over 50%.

Microsoft is attempting to hire Apple retail managers to staff its new stores, Jim Dalrymple of The Loop reports.

Citing anonymous sources, The Loop says managers are being offered better money and in some cases, relocation expenses. They are then encouraged to recruit their former colleagues with similar incentives.

The strategy seems to be in line with Microsoft’s playbook. Earlier this year, Microsoft reportedly tried to lure iPhone developers to the Zune platform with cash incentives.

Which means that Microsoft’s retail strategy can be summarized thus:

• Copy the idea of retail stores
• Hire Apple’s former real estate head George Blankenship as a consultant
• Locate Microsoft’s stores next to Apple’s stores
• Put in face-to-face help desks, but call them Guru Bars instead of Genius Bars
• Hire Apple’s staff

What’s next? Stock the stores with Apple products?

Microsoft’s first retail store is scheduled to open in October near Apple’s retail store in Mission Viejo, Calif., at The Shops.

Your kids won’t remember the day you made them wear the “cheese” body suit instead of the one with the cute felt Mac on it,  but if you work it out right, a happy face photo in the Mac version and a stroppy pout in the cheese may hang around long enough to traumatize them.

Imagine the fun if you have twins: you could spark lifelong arguments about which one you have favored since infancy.

Handmade felt designs on 100% cotton, available in black, white or red.
$36 for the pair on Etsy.

The impulse to immortalize locker room nudity or wiggly-jiggly at the gym is leading at least one large gym chain to limit use of the new iPod Nano over privacy issues.

Health club chain Life Time Fitness has restricted use of the new Nano in its 84 facilities in 19 states, saying that it fears gym goers may shoot videos of people working out or in locker rooms.

The chain also forbids cell phone use in locker rooms to avoid nude or compromising shots of patrons making their way to the Internets.

Spokesman Jason Thunstrom admitted that discerning whether someone is taking video or just fiddling with a playlist can be difficult.

Gym goers at Life Time can still use their iPod Nanos in the work out room, however, as long as no one catches them capturing fellow participants grimacing through that last squat or revealing an eyeful of cottage cheese bottom.

It’ll be interesting to see how they manage to enforce it as video and photos become more common features; the same gym chain reported a couple of years ago that 60% of gym members used iPods or MP3 players to work out.

My gym would face a revolt if it tried to ban cell phones — more or less a permanent appendage in the locker room and weight room and most of those phones now have video and photo capabilities, so it seems a little harsh to single out the iPod.

Via Twin Cities

Like Apple, Microsoft is developing on a touchscreen tablet, several sources say.

CoM has heard rumors that Microsoft has a touchscreen tablet in the works. 9to5Mac is reporting that Microsoft is working on a tablet (and two touchscreen phones to compete with the iPhone).

Mary-Jo Foley at ZDNet has some details: Microsoft’s tablet effort is being led by James Allard, the Microsoft executive in charge of the XBox and Zune, and members of Microsoft’s Surface team, Foley reports.

Okay, at first the idea of using your iPhone while biking makes about as much sense as gabbing away on your phone while behind an auto’s steering wheel. But if risk is your middle name and you need your touch-screen on your handlebars, Dahon has just the ticket. The company’s BioLogic iPhone bike case is both waterproof (includes touch-sensitive membrane) and shock-proof. The case also pivots 360-degrees, permitting an on-bike experience in either landscape or portrait mode.

The BioLogic iPhone case ($60, January) can be teamed with Dahon’s ReeCharge system that provides juice for your gadget via the bike’s generator.

[Via Bikehugger and Gadget Lab]

“Art in the Time of the iPhone” is one-man show by artist Matthew Watkins, on now at Apple reseller C &C in Bari, Italy until September 25.

Watkins, who hails from England and lived in Canada before moving to Italy, shows just how versatile an artist can get by letting his fingers do the talking on the touchscreen.

His mainstay is the Brushes app,  out of which he transferred the works to forex, paper — and even had two rugs made in Katmandu (see above) from designs made with his iPhone.

Hit the jump for a Q&A on how Watkins got the iPhone art from his phone to a gallery and for a gander at more of his work.

Apple can keep the porn off iTunes, but it may be having a harder time keeping Apple retail stores smut free.

A 10-year-old girl was dragged, bug-eyed, out of the Apple store in Lakeside after her mom found her looking at porn on one of the iPod demo models.

“I called to complain and was told matter of factly by staff this happens a lot as people come in and download it for a laugh,” mom Helen Goodman told website the Echo.

“I don’t find it funny and all my friends think it’s disgusting, but Apple say there is nothing they can do to stop it.”

C’mon. There has to be a way to make the Apple store kiddy-safe — or maybe there’s something else behind the looks of wonder on those retail store field trips?

Via the Echo

This fantastic rotating iPhone dock is made entirely of Lego. It’s the work of Steven Combs, a long time Lego and Mac enthusiast who runs web sites for adult fans of Lego and fans of technology generally.

Here’s a video showing the rotating mechanism in action:

I wanted to know a little more about hacking Macs with Lego add-ons, so I bombarded Steven with a few questions. And here’s what he said.

Google says categorically that Apple has rejected its Voice app for the iPhone. Apple denies this, saying several times that the app is still under consideration. Apple has said this in official documents submitted to a government inquiry by the FCC, and most recently today in a statement to the press.

Someone is lying. Who is it?

Well, the test is quite simple:

Last Thursday, iFixit’s CEO Kyle Wiens spent all day in San Francisco trying to buy the new fifth-generation iPod nano. It was the day after Steve Jobs introduced the new iPod, but none of Apple’s stores in the city had them. So that evening, Wiens sent iFixit’s summer intern on a red eye to the east coast with orders to buy one and immediately tear it apart.

The intern’s teardown was reported all over, generating massive attention for iFixit. The next day, iFixit got a genuine scoop with a teardown of the new iPod Touch, which surprisingly doesn’t feature a camera. But iFixit’s dis-assembly revealed space for a camera. Apparently, the Touch was supposed to get one after all.

Between the two teardowns, iFixit generated literally thousands of news stories — from Gizmodo to the Los Angeles Times. Not bad for little repair shop started by a pair of college students in San Louis Obispo, Calif.

iFixit makes its money by selling spare parts for Macs, iPods and iPhones. Its mission is to help people fix their own devices. It publishes free and easy-to-follow repair guides, but it gets the most attention for it’s superb product teardowns.

This is internet marketing par excellence. Not only are the teardowns creating genuine news for the tech press, they are efficiently executed and beautifully documented. The photos are superb, and the walkthroughs are clear and informative. Best of all, Wiens is a genius at sending the media timely and informative emails about the teardowns that all but write the stories for reporters.

“Our goal at the end of the day is to keep devices working longer,” said Wiens modestly in an email to me earlier this week. “Anything that we can do to make repair sexy and gadgets feel less like a black box, the better.”

My friend Brian Chen over at Wired.com has a great story today with a lot more detail about Wiens and his teardowns. Read it here.

Apple has responded to Google’s charge that Phil Schiller rejected Google’s Voice app: “We do not agree,” says a spokesman.

Apple says it has NOT rejected the Google Voice app and continues to evaluate it. In a statement, Apple PR says:

“We do not agree with all of the statements made by Google in their FCC letter. Apple has not rejected the Google Voice application and we continue to discuss it with Google.”

Earlier today, Google unredacted its response to the FCC, claiming that Phil Schiller had personally killed the Google Voice app in a phone conversation in July.

Who’s lying?

As reader Steven points out below, a good test is whether Google’s app is available in the app store — which it is not. “Until the application does appear in the App Store, we can all say with 100% certainty that it has been denied,” he says.