Apple axes Mac name with OS X Mountain Lion

Apple revealed the first developer preview of OS X Mountain Lion. The new operating system drops the familiar "Mac" from its name and delivers even more iOS features to the Mac platform, enabling tighter integration. It seems the Mac name will now solely be used to refer to the hardware, while OS X is used to refer to the platform's operating system.

Apple� today released a developer preview of OS X� Mountain Lion, the ninth major release of the world�s most advanced operating system, which brings popular apps and features from iPad� to the Mac� and accelerates the pace of OS X innovation. Mountain Lion introduces Messages, Notes, Reminders and Game Center to the Mac, as well as Notification Center, Share Sheets, Twitter integration and AirPlay� Mirroring. Mountain Lion is the first OS X release built with iCloud� in mind for easy setup and integration with apps. The developer preview of Mountain Lion also introduces Gatekeeper, a revolutionary security feature that helps keep you safe from malicious software by giving you complete control over what apps are installed on your Mac. The preview release of Mountain Lion is available to Mac Developer Program members starting today. Mac users will be able to upgrade to Mountain Lion from the Mac App Store� in late summer 2012.

�The Mac is on a roll, growing faster than the PC for 23 straight quarters, and with Mountain Lion things get even better,� said Philip Schiller, Apple�s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. �The developer preview of Mountain Lion comes just seven months after the incredibly successful release of Lion and sets a rapid pace of development for the world�s most advanced personal computer operating system.�

The developer preview of Mountain Lion features the all new Messages app which replaces iChat� and allows you to send unlimited messages, high-quality photos and videos directly from your Mac to another Mac or iOS device. Messages will continue to support AIM, Jabber, Yahoo! Messenger and Google Talk. Starting today Lion users can download a beta of Messages from www.apple.com, and the final version will be available with Mountain Lion. Reminders and Notes help you create and track your to-dos across all your devices. Game Center lets you personalize your Mac gaming experience, find new games and challenge friends to play live multiplayer games, whether they�re on a Mac, iPhone�, iPad or iPod touch�.

Mountain Lion presents notifications in an elegant new way, and Notification Center provides easy access to alerts from Mail, Calendar, Messages, Reminders, system updates and third party apps. System-wide Share Sheets make it easy to share links, photos and videos directly from Apple and third party apps. Twitter is integrated throughout Mountain Lion so you can sign on once and tweet directly from Safari�, Quick Look, Photo Booth�, Preview and third party apps. Mountain Lion also introduces AirPlay Mirroring, an easy way to wirelessly send a secure 720p video stream of what's on your Mac to an HDTV using Apple TV�.

More than 100 million users have iCloud accounts, and Mountain Lion makes it easier than ever to set up iCloud and access documents across your devices. Mountain Lion uses your Apple ID to automatically set up Contacts, Mail, Calendar, Messages, FaceTime� and Find My Mac. The new iCloud Documents pushes any changes to all your devices so documents are always up to date, and a new API helps developers make document-based apps work with iCloud.

Gatekeeper is a revolutionary new security feature that gives you control over which apps can be downloaded and installed on your Mac. You can choose to install apps from any source, just as you do on a Mac today, or you can use the safer default setting to install apps from the Mac App Store, along with apps from developers that have a unique Developer ID from Apple. For maximum security, you can set Gatekeeper to only allow apps from the Mac App Store to be downloaded and installed.

Mountain Lion also has features specifically designed to support Chinese users, including significant enhancements to the Chinese input method and the option to select Baidu search in Safari. Mountain Lion makes it easy to set up Contacts, Mail and Calendar with top email service providers QQ, 126 and 163. Chinese users can also upload video via Share Sheets directly to leading video websites Youku and Tudou, and system-wide support for Sina weibo makes microblogging easy.

Hundreds of new APIs give developers access to new core technologies and enhanced features within OS X. The Game Kit APIs tap into the same services as Game Center on iOS, making it possible to create multiplayer games that work across Mac, iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. A new graphics infrastructure underpins OpenGL and OpenCL and implements GLKit, first introduced in iOS 5, to make it easier to create OpenGL apps. Using Core Animation in Cocoa apps is easier than ever, and new video APIs deliver modern 64-bit replacements for low-level QuickTime APIs. Enhanced Multi-Touch� APIs give developers double-tap zoom support and access to the system-wide lookup gesture. Kernel ASLR improves security through enhanced mitigation against buffer overflow attacks.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.

Apple axes Mac name with OS X Mountain Lion - More news at DV Hardware

Apple sues Samsung once more

DailyTech reports Apple is now going after Samsung smartphones and tablets in Germany:

Apple has been handed a number of losses recently in its lawsuits against Samsung in courts around the world. In late November, Samsung won an appeal overturning a ban on its Galaxy Tab 10.1. A German judge in late November then ruled against Apple after Samsung made changes to its Galaxy Tab 10.1 (the new revision was called the 10.1N) to skirt Apple's design infringement claims.

Naturally, those legal setbacks weren�t enough to dissuade Apple from following up with more lawsuits. Bloomberg is reporting that Apple has started up a fresh round of lawsuits against Samsung in Germany's Dusseldorf Regional Court. The first lawsuit takes aim at 10 Samsung smartphone designs. The second lawsuit targets five of Samsung's tablet computers.

Apple sues Samsung once more - More news at DV Hardware

Apple co-founder says Android is better than iPhone

While Apple is still following Steve Jobs' maniacal thermonuclear quest against Android, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak recently admitted that he likes Android better than the iPhone, although he still uses the latter one as his primary phone. Wozniak explained Android has better voice commands and navigation than the iPhone, and added that he feels that the iPhone has too many limitations.

Steve Wozniak may have helped Steve Jobs build one of the greatest consumer electronics empires in the world, but this Apple co-founder admits that he loves his Android handset. During an interview with the Daily Beast, the Woz blasts the iPhone for its limitations and highlights a number of perks that Android brings, including voice commands that are better than Siri and navigation. �My primary phone is the iPhone, I love the beauty of it,� Wozniak says. �But I wish it did all the things my Android does, I really do.�

The statement was heard around the world, as Wozniak adds fuel to the bitter battle between Apple and Android. It�s a rivalry that harkens back to the days of Apple versus Microsoft back in the 1990s, where Apple lost out to volume, pricing and accessibility. Wozniak thinks Apple�s mobile strategy may not be differentiated enough, however, saying �there�s not as big a difference [between iOS and Android] as there was between Mac and Windows.�

More info at Android App Directory.

Apple co-founder says Android is better than iPhone - More news at DV Hardware

Apple finds more worker abuse at its suppliers

Apple has uploaded the results of its 2011 audit of its suppliers. Each year the investigation reveals unsettling facts, including child labor, poor work conditions, health and safety issues and slave labor. You can find the full report at Apple or read a summary at VentureBeat.

Two facilities were repeat offenders in the category of involuntary labor. Apple�s report states, �We terminated business with one supplier and are correcting the practices of the other supplier.�

[In] 15 facilities� we discovered foreign contract workers who had paid excessive recruitment fees to labor agencies� Some of our suppliers work with third-party labor agencies to hire contract workers from countries such as the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam. These agencies, in turn, may work through multiple subagencies in the hiring country, the workers� home country, and, in some cases, all the way back to the workers� home village. By the time the workers have paid all fees across these agencies, the total cost can equal many months� wages, forcing workers into debt�

We discovered a total of 6 active and 13 historical cases of underage labor at 5 facilities. In each case, the facility had insufficient controls to verify age or detect false documentation. We found no instances of intentional hiring of underage labor.

Apple finds more worker abuse at its suppliers - More news at DV Hardware

How To Protect Your Apple iPhone�s Home Button @ TechARP

Two years ago, I made the big leap from Windows Mobile to theApple iOS platform. Migrating from the clunky Dopod 595 to the AppleiPhone 3GS was like upgrading from a Lada to an Audi. There was justno comparison.

The Apple iPhone 3GS was, honestly, the first time I truly used asmartphone as it was meant to be used. I did not just make calls orsend text messages. I spent a lot of time using the iPhone 3GS for aplethora of other tasks - keeping track of my schedule and budget,reading on-the-go, and of course, shooting some green pigs whenever Iget frustrated.

Unfortunately, that�s when I discovered I probably used the iPhone alittle too much... Read more at TechARP.



How To Protect Your Apple iPhone�s Home Button @ TechARP - More news at DV Hardware

Gabe Newell sees Apple redefining the games console market

Could Apple have plans for a living-room product that may redefine the games console market? According to Valve founder Gabe Newell, such a product may be in Apple's pipeline:

'I suspect Apple will launch a living-room product that redefines people's expectations really strongly and the notion of a separate console platform will disappear,' said Newell.

However, Newell admitted that he wasn't hiding any insider information and did not know if there really was such a product in Apple's pipeline.

Newell then moved on to discuss the problems of closed platforms and, according to The Seattle Times, said that if Valve were to ever release a a hardware platform itself then it would be designed as open to competing services.

Source: Bit Tech

Gabe Newell sees Apple redefining the games console market - More news at DV Hardware

Samsung sues Apple over iPhone 4S

The patent war between Apple and Samsung flares up again as Samsung said it will file patent suits to ban sales of the upcoming iPhone 4S in France and Italy. The South Korean electronics giant claims Apple's new smartphone violates two patents related to WCDMA standards for 3G mobile handsets:

Samsung's preliminary injunction requests in France and Italy will each cite two patent infringements related to wireless telecommunications technology, specifically Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) standards for 3G mobile handsets. The infringed technology is essential to the reliable functioning of telecom networks and devices and Samsung believes that Apple�s violation as being too severe and that the iPhone 4S should be barred from sales.

"Apple has continued to flagrantly violate our intellectual property rights and free ride on our technology. We believe it is now necessary to take legal action to protect our innovation," a statement by Samsung reads.

Samsung plans to file preliminary injunctions in other countries after further review.

More details at X-bit Labs.

Samsung sues Apple over iPhone 4S - More news at DV Hardware

Apple iCloud to arrive next week

Apple introduced iCloud, a new set of free cloud services for Apple devices and PCs.

Apple� today announced that iCloud�, a breakthrough set of free cloud services, including iTunes� in the Cloud, Photo Stream and Documents in the Cloud, that work seamlessly with your iPhone�, iPad�, iPod touch�, Mac� or PC to automatically and wirelessly store your content in iCloud and push it to all your devices, will be available on October 12. iCloud stores your music, photos, apps, contacts, calendars, documents and more, keeping them up to date across all your devices. When content changes on one device, all your other devices are updated automatically and wirelessly.

�iCloud is the easiest way to manage your content, because iCloud does it all for you and goes far beyond anything available today,� said Eddy Cue, Apple�s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. �You don't have to think about syncing your devices, because it happens automatically, and it is free.�

iTunes in the Cloud lets you automatically download new music purchases to all your devices, so you can buy a song on your iPad and find it waiting for you on your iPhone―no syncing required. iTunes in the Cloud also lets you download your previously purchased iTunes content, including music and TV shows to your devices at no additional cost.* Since iCloud stores your previously purchased iTunes history, you can see what you�ve bought no matter which device you bought it on, and since you already own the content, you can play it on your devices or simply tap the iCloud icon to download it to store and play later.

In addition, iTunes Match℠ scans the songs in your music library, including music not purchased on iTunes, and matches them to the more than 20 million songs available on the iTunes Store�, offering them in high-quality, DRM-free 256 kbps AAC encoding. Any unmatched songs are uploaded to iCloud so you can play songs, albums or playlists from your music library on your devices.

iCloud�s innovative Photo Stream service lets you take a photo on one device and have it automatically appear on your other devices. A photo you take on your iPhone is sent to iCloud and automatically pushed to your iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC. You can even view your Photo Stream album on your Apple TV�. iCloud also automatically pushes a copy of the photos you�ve imported from your digital camera over Wi-Fi or Ethernet, so you can view them on your other devices. iCloud manages your Photo Stream efficiently, showing your last 1000 photos so you don�t run out of storage space.

iCloud�s Documents in the Cloud keeps your documents up to date across all your devices, automatically, so you don't have to. For example, if you create a document using Pages� on your iPad, that document is automatically sent to iCloud. When you use Pages on another iOS device, you can open the same document with your latest changes and pick up editing or reading right where you left off. Apple�s iWork� apps for iOS, Pages, Numbers� and Keynote� will take advantage of iCloud storage, and Apple is also offering developers the APIs they need to enable their apps to work seamlessly with Documents in the Cloud.

iCloud lets you see your App Store� and iBookstore℠ purchase history and download those apps and books to any of your devices at any time. Purchased apps and books can be automatically downloaded to your devices, not just the device they were purchased on. Simply tap the iCloud icon and download your purchased apps and books to any of your iOS devices at no additional cost.

iCloud Backup automatically and securely backs up your most important information to iCloud daily over Wi-Fi whenever your iOS device is connected to a power source. Once you plug it in, everything is backed up quickly and efficiently. iCloud already stores your purchased music, TV shows, apps, books and Photo Stream; iCloud Backup takes care of everything else, backing up your photos and video in the Camera Roll, device settings, app data, home screen and app organization, messages and ringtones. iCloud Backup can even help you set up a new iOS device or restore the information on one you already own.**

iCloud works seamlessly with your Contacts, Calendar and Mail, so you can share calendars with friends and family, and your ad-free Mail account is hosted at me.com. Your inboxes and folders are kept up to date across your iOS devices and computers, and with icloud.com you have easy web access to your Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Find My iPhone and iWork documents.

The Find My iPhone app can help you if one of your devices is missing. Just use the free Find My iPhone app on another device, or sign in at icloud.com from a computer to see your missing iPhone, iPad or iPod touch on a map, display a message, and remotely lock or wipe your missing device. Find My iPhone now lets you locate a missing Mac running OS X Lion.

Find My Friends is a new app available as a free download from the App Store that lets you easily share your location with people who are important to you. Friends and family appear on a map so you can quickly see where they are. Find My Friends also lets you temporarily share your location with a group of friends, whether it's for a couple of hours for a dinner or a couple of days on a camping trip; when the time is up, the sharing ends. With Find My Friends, you get a notification every time you get a new friend request and if you give them permission, they can see your location. With a simple tap you can hide your location. Parental controls help you manage how your child uses Find My Friends.

iCloud will be available concurrently with iOS 5, the world�s most advanced mobile operating system, which includes over 200 new features including Notification Center, an innovative way to easily view and manage notifications in one place without interruption; iMessage�, a new messaging service that lets you easily send text messages, photos and videos between all iOS 5 users; and Newsstand, a new way to purchase and organize your newspaper and magazine subscriptions.

Pricing & Availability
iCloud will be available on October 12 as a free download to iPhone, iPad or iPod touch users running iOS 5 or a Mac running OS X Lion with a valid Apple ID. iCloud includes 5GB of free cloud storage for Mail, Document Storage and Backup. Purchased music, TV shows, apps, books and Photo Stream do not count against the storage limit. iTunes Match will be available starting in the US later this month for $24.99 a year. Using iCloud with a PC requires Windows Vista or Windows 7; Outlook 2010 or 2007 is recommended for accessing contacts and calendars. Additional iCloud storage upgrades are available to purchase starting at $20 a year for 10GB, $40 a year for 20GB and $100 a year for 50GB.

iOS 5 will be available as a free software update for iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 2, iPad and iPod touch (third and fourth generation) customers, allowing them to experience the amazing new features.

*iCloud is available worldwide. iTunes in the Cloud varies by country. iTunes Match and TV shows are US-only. iTunes in the Cloud and iTunes Match may be used on up to 10 devices with the same Apple ID.

**Backup of purchased music is not available in all countries. Backup of purchased TV shows is US only. A purchased item may be unavailable to be restored if it is no longer in the iTunes Store, App Store or iBookstore.

Apple iCloud to arrive next week - More news at DV Hardware

Mac clone maker Psystar loses case against Apple

Neowin reports Psystar, the company that sells "Hackintosh" systems, has lost its lawsuit against Apple in the Appeals Court:

The US Court of Appeals has ruled, however, that the product violates Mac OS X copyrights and will not be allowed to be sold.

Apple's struggle against Psystar dates back to 2008, when the manufacturer came onto the scene in April of that year. It didn't take long for Apple to respond, and in July the company took Psystar to court for copyright violation, as well as breaking the infamous Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

In December 2009, the courts ruled in Apple's favour and granted them a permanent injunction against Psystar. The court's reasoning was that Psystar "violated Apple's exclusive reproduction right, distribution right, and right to create derivative works."

Mac clone maker Psystar loses case against Apple - More news at DV Hardware

Apple closes in on own GPU design

Once upon a time, Apple was in the habit of developing an armada of hardware itself. Jobs and Co loved the idea of being full-blown designers where each and every component could be unique, stylised and better than everyone else�s bits. Apple�s drive to mass market status saw that strategy dumped. KitGuru ponders whether the future will look a lot like the past.

Read more at KitGuru.

Apple closes in on own GPU design - More news at DV Hardware

Apple files trademark under 42 international classes in Europe

Patently Apple reports Apple decided to file their trademark under 42 of the 45 possible classes of trademarks in Europe, even for totally unrelated product classes like carpets, rubber, beer, vehicles, soaps, paints and pharmaceuticals.

Can you say World Domination? Can you say R-e-v-o-l-u-t-i-o-n? Yeeees, it appears that Apple is tired of incrementally expanding their Trademark under one, two or three International Classes at a time, such as with their recent filing for adding social networking. The hell with that; Apple has decided to file their trademark under a whopping 42 International Classes in Europe. Considering that there are only 45 possible classes to begin with, it's pretty clear that Apple is going for it all at some point in time, so why pretend right? They're now covered for such things as headgear (that's great!), games, telecommunications, education, medical and legal services. Those are understandable, but then they veer into off-the-wall categories such as carpets, furniture, rubber, vehicles, soaps, paints and pharmaceuticals. In this new Post-PC era that Apple has single handedly devised, they're now free to take flight in any direction they so choose. Today, they've made that abundantly clear.

Apple files trademark under 42 international classes in Europe - More news at DV Hardware