Tech site H-Online has an interesting story today, quoting security expert Charlie Miller about his forthcoming talk at the CanSecWest conference next week. He says OS X is full of security holes. There are lots more than in Windows, he claims. And yet: OS X is a safer system to use. Why? Because, in the words

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Security Expert: “Mac OS X Is Safer, But Less Secure”

If ever you needed a sign that Apple was a different kind of technology company, this is it. What other computer manufacturer would remove its top-selling, hype-inducing, industry-altering new product from the prime spot on its website home page, and replace it with an obituary to an investor? This is one of those “Here’s to the

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Apple Devotes Entire Home Page To Jerome York Obituary

After being promised several months ago, Amazon’s free Kindle for Mac has finally arrived in beta form — right as Apple’s iPad and its accompanying iBooks app looms large over the horizon. Kindle for Mac joins a vast array of available options for Amazon e-book buyers. In addition to the company’s own $259 Kindle 2 and $489 Kindle DX hardware options, e-books purchased through Amazon can also be read on the iPhone or iPod touch, Blackberry, Windows PC and now Mac — and presumably an updated iPad version is yet to come as well. According to AppleInsider , Kindle for Mac allows users to purchase and download from Amazon’s ever-expanding catalog of more than 450,000 e-books and read them on the device of your choice. Amazon’s Whispersync technology is featured on all versions of the software and hardware, which automatically saves and synchronizes bookmarks and the last page read across devices. For instance, you can start reading an e-book on the new Mac version, then open the same tome on your iPhone and pick right up where you left off, on the go. "Kindle for Mac is the perfect companion application for customers who own a Kindle or Kindle DX," said Amazon Kindle director Jay Marine. "For those customers around the world who don’t yet have a Kindle, Kindle for Mac is a great way to instantly access and read the most popular new releases as well as their old favorites." Of course, Amazon would probably prefer that e-book buyers still favor the hardware Kindle over the software options, but ultimately the company has done the right thing by making it available on every possible platform — especially given that Apple will likely have its own iBooks for iPad in its own walled garden as usual. Kindle for Mac isn’t quite feature complete yet — Amazon plans to add more new features, such as full text search and the ability to create and edit notes and highlights. The free beta version is available for download now and requires Mac OS X Leopard 10.5 or greater and an Intel processor

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Amazon Kindle for Mac Beta Now Available

It was bound to happen, sooner or later. Steve Jobs is simply too important, too impressive, too easy a target not to base a character on him and turn it into a sitcom. And that’s what might very well be happening, if the pilot currently in development in Hollywood gets optioned for a series. Yesterday, Media Rights Capital released a statement on its website describing how, working with cable channel EPIX, they have green-lit a pilot episode for a proposed sitcom series entitled — what else? –  iCON . From MRC’s website: EPIX and Media Rights Capital have made a team for iCON, a comedy series pilot that will be developed by Larry Charles, the Emmy-winning TV writer/producer, and the director of the Sacha Baron Cohen features Borat and Bruno. Charles will oversee development of the script and will direct the half-hour pilot of a series written by Dan Lyons. A technology consultant for Newsweek, Lyons created the Fake Steve Jobs blog and wrote the novel Options: The Secret Life of Steve Jobs—A Parody. Yes, you read that right. Fake Steve himself is penning the script (it’s most likely he already has , given how sporadic the updates have been in recent weeks on the Fake Steve Jobs blog .) If you’re a fan of Fake Steve, this is exhilarating news; Lyons is not only an insightful author but is in possession of a Sahara-dry wit, to boot. In addition to his Fake Steve sideshow, Lyons is the author of Options: The Secret Life of Steve Jobs – A Parody . You might say he really knows the subject matter. And then there’s Larry Charles.

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New Sitcom Pilot to be Based Not-So-Loosely on Steve Jobs

An Australian tech website has started running ads featuring Mac Pros and MacBook Pros whose entry-level prices are noticeably higher than those in the current Mac lineup. So what, right? The ads are probably incorrectly labeled, or something. But the word on the street (well, the word on Engadget , anyway) is that these might predict the much-anticipated Mac refreshes that we’ve been waiting for. From Engadget: Apple’s Australian online store lists the most affordable versions of the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and Mac Pro at A$1599, A$1999 and A$3599, respectively, but the ads show significantly higher “starting at” prices of A$1899, A$2399, and A$4499. Following the ads to Apple’s Australian online store reveals the same Mac models at the same old prices, so either these ads are terribly wrong or they’re been released a little early… It has been over a year since Apple released a major update to its high-end Mac Pro computer. I know very well because I bought one last April at an astronomically high price, and as such, guard it with my life. (No one else is allowed near it. No one!) If history has taught me anything, it is that I am not allowed to have the best and brightest kit for long. Therefore, an update is imminent. As for the MacBook Pro, we can probably expect to see Apple upgrade it with Intel’s powerful i7 Chipset

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Australian Website Hints at New Macs, Higher Prices

The money transfer company made infamous by eBay has revamped their app to allow money transfers to happen easier than ever, by adding the "bump" technology feature according to InformationWeek . The feature in Version 2.0 of the Send Money app allows users to move funds quickly between PayPal accounts just by putting the two phones together.  The app also includes a split feature that lets users divide and reimburse each other for the cost of a meal, including tax and tip for up to 20 people. Then there is also a third feature named Collect Money, which lets a person request money from multiple people for collective purchases, like gifts from a group.  Additionally, gifts of money can also be sent immediately. PayPal mobile transactions jumped dramatically in 2009, up to $141 million in 2009 from $25 million in 2008, according to PayPal.  ABI Research predicted that $119 billion will be spent by consumers via their mobile phones through 2015. "PayPal Send Money lets consumers access their wallets through their phones," said Osama Bedier, PayPal VP of platform and emerging technology.  "Because with PayPal, the wallet lives in the cloud — the mobile phone is just one device customers can use to access it." Some other various features of the app include the capability to set up reminders for recurring payments and the ability to manage PayPal accounts.  For international exchanges, the app also includes a global currency calendar as well as 15 languages. The app does require a PayPal membership as well as a PIN or password for every transaction in an effort to prevent unauthorized usage.  The app is free through the App Store. With that, MaclLife readers, have you used PayPal’s app prior to this new update for all your transaction needs?  If not, will you now?  Feel free to leave comments below! Image courtesy of maldonjewellery.com  

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PayPal Revamps App With "Bump" Feature

(Image courtesy of Engadget) From today’s “Take this with a grain of salt” files: An Australian tech journal has some new Apple ads up which appear to show the usual Mac Pros, MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs — but with higher than usual pricing. So what’s going on? According to Engadget , the confusion stems from Apple ads on Australian tech publication PC Authority which display “some rather peculiar price tags for its flagship mobile and desktop computers.” Clicking the online ad takes the viewer to the usual Australian Apple website — but with lower prices. Specifically, Apple Australia’s online store lists the MacBook Pro starting at A$1,599, the MacBook Air at A$1,999 and the Mac Pro at A$3,599, while the “official-looking” ad incorrectly lists the prices as A$1,899, A$2,399 and A$4,499 respectively. The question is, has Apple lost its mind? Is this an unfortunate sign of things to come, or just a slip? There’s no real way to know at this point, although rumors have been swirling that Apple’s laptops will gain Intel Core i7 processors soon, while the Mac Pro has been rumored to gain the Core i7-980X. But it would be out of character for Apple to raise the prices so much for new models, especially at a time when they have so much money in the bank and they’ve been slowly creeping prices downward to continue the good fight against Windows. We figure we’ll find out soon enough…

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Australian Ads Foretell Higher Mac Pricing?

Have Google and Apple stopped having super-fun sleepovers with smores and pillow fights? The New York Times seems to think so and we’re not that surprised. An analytics firm points to some surprising sales information concerning Android and iPhone handsets. Finally, one of our favorite apps and services makes an announcement that makes us sad. So very sad.  Plus, we answer your hard-hitting Twitter and Facebook questions! Okay, they weren’t that hard-hitting. Got a question, but you’re afraid to leave a voice message because of Witness Relocation Dept. rules? Drop us a question via Twitter twitter.com/maclife . This week’s Battlestar Applactica picks: More Toast! – $.99 Curious George Coloring Book – $2.99   Don’t forget, the Mac | Life staff would love to hear your thoughts, comments and ideas for the new podcast. Just leave a message on the Mac | Live question/comment line: (877) 404-1337, extension 622. Please limit the length of your messages to 1 minute max

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Podcast #132: Apple vs. Google and Android vs. iPhone

CNN Money and Fortune Brainstorm Tech reported that a new analysis from Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster continued to advise clients to invest in Apple. He pointed to Mac and iPod sales as reasons for optimism. Wall Street estimated a 22% increase in Mac unit sales for the first quarter of 2010, but January and February numbers show a 39% increase over 2009. The iPod models have turned a corner in sales as well. After sales drops for 16 months in a row, January and February revenue was up 7%. Munster points out that the increases are skewed somewhat by the fact that the beginning of 2009 was the midst of the recession, so sales were down. In addition, the average selling price of both Macs and iPods is down, meaning people are looking for lower priced models. DailyTech considers the Mac numbers surprising because of the age of Apple’s lineup

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Mac Sales Go Up 39% in 2010

CNN Money and Fortune Brainstorm Tech reported that a new analysis from Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster continued to advise clients to invest in Apple. He pointed to Mac and iPod sales as reasons for optimism. Wall Street estimated a 22% increase in Mac unit sales for the first quarter of 2010, but January and February numbers show a 39% increase over 2009. The iPod models have turned a corner in sales as well. After sales drops for 16 months in a row, January and February revenue was up 7%. Munster points out that the increases are skewed somewhat by the fact that the beginning of 2009 was the midst of the recession, so sales were down. In addition, the average selling price of both Macs and iPods is down, meaning people are looking for lower priced models. DailyTech considers the Mac numbers surprising because of the age of Apple’s lineup. "Apple’s computer lineup, with the exception of the new i7 iMacs, is rather dated.  The problem is particularly severe in the MacBook Pro series, whose hardware currently trails even drastically cheaper models from competitors like ASUSTek." There’s room for even more optimism considering the future. The iPad launch in April should be a huge shot of revenue, and an iPhone update is expected this summer.

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Mac Sales Go Up 39% in 2010