iPhone Push to Be Delivered Alongside Snow Leopard? – Warning: this post is long, very involved, and pretty detailed. That said, it is very informative, and it presents a well-reasoned argument for why background push notification for third-party apps might be integrally tied to Apple’s upcoming Snow Leopard operating system. It better be. Adobe eBooks Support Coming to Stanza – The Kindle 2 may have only just recently come out, and it looks like it may be a very nice little reading machine, but Stanza isn’t about to stand by and let it take back some of its many readers. They’ve just announced upcoming support for Adobe eBooks, which will broaden their huge library even more. Take that, Bezos. Windows 7 Public Beta Starting to Shut Down – Microsoft opened up the initial pool of public beta testers for Windows 7 beyond their initial limit, but now they’re starting to shut down the servers that house the image file for download.

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Snow Leopard to Have Location, Multi-Touch Features – Those who are privy to the latest build of Snow Leopard are reporting that it has some tools familiar to iPhone users. Core Location services, and additional multi-touch features are part of the new package. But wait, MacBooks don’t have GPS, so how does it know where you are? Leveraging existing network hardware and tech, that’s how. Repair Support Being Phased Out By Apple for “Vintage” Products – I”m having second thoughts about picking up that 12″ Powerbook I was thinking about getting since Apple refuses to release a proper netbook, now that they’ve announced they’re dropping official repair support for the older portable, among others. Check to see if you’ve become obsolete. Apple Tries Fourth Design for Georgetown Store – Fourth time’s the charm, maybe? It seems like Georgetown is becoming slightly more willing to play ball with Apple’s industrial design mavens. Three previous attempts were blocked, since the neighborhood really likes its heritage and heritage look-a-likes, which does not include a giant glowing white Apple symbol. Court Upholds Ruling Against iPhone Exclusivity in France – We reported earlier when a watchdog group found France Telecom’s iPhone deal with Apple to be in violation of regulations governing competitiveness. Now, an appeal by the telecommunication company has resulted in the decision being upheld. iPhone App Makes Up for Weak Built-In Camera – 2 megapixels is lame, and the iPhone camera, with its limited focal range, is not going to win any awards, even among other cellphone cameras. This new app for jailbroken iPhones does a little fancy footwork to double your resolution.

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New Snow Leopard Updated Seeded to Select Group – A new build of the still experimental OS X Snow Leopard has been seeded to developers, but not to all. The app improves stability without adding any new big changes, which may be a sign that Apple is prepping it for public release. No info on why the testing pool is limited at this time. Norway Okay With iTunes, Now That DRM is Gone – Norway’s consumer ombudsman has dropped his complaint against Apple now that they’ve gone DRM-free with iTunes tracks, according to CNET. They’re just one of many European groups to have lodged complaints against Apple for their protection, all of which will likely be dropped now that they’re no longer relevant or meaningful. Makes sense to me. 17-inch MacBook Pro Shipments Get Delayed – Apparently it wasn’t late January, like we reported earlier. In fact, its now early February, and users are receiving notices of delays instead of shiny new 17-inch MacBook Pros. The new ship date of 3-4 weeks puts delivery into March. Apple give the reason as “wrapping” difficulties.

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Background Tasks Coming to iPhone – MacRumors is citing, well, I’m not sure what they’re citing, but they’re saying Apple is considering user-selectable background tasks instead of push notification support. As you probably know, Apple originally promised push notification long, long ago, and then pulled it, and then we haven’t heard anything. I just want to play Last.fm while checking my email. More Tablet Rumors Stirred Up By Patent Application – I’m on a roll, with two patent mentions in two days. This one’s about an Apple tablet, rumors of which will never die because the thing is so many Apple diehards’ most tantalising fantasy. It’s not hard to make a good one, as Axiotron knows, so I don’t know what’s stopping them. Kindle 2.0 Could Come from Amazon Early as Next Monday – Take that with a grain of salt, as its based on the research of a Citigroup analyst, and so constitutes little more than an educated guess. We’ll see if they make enough improvements to threaten the iPhone’s position as the most popular e-reader. Lawsuit City for Apple Over 3G Speeds – Two more lawsuits have been launched against Apple and AT&T over the speeds of the iPhone 3G’s network. The suit claims insufficient hardware speed and infrastructure, which explains why both parties are to blame. I have no frame of reference, but I’ve never had cause to become impatient because of the thing. I think I just ruined my eligibility to cash in should a class action suit result in a pay out. Twitter-Generated List of OS X Software – Blogger Darren Barefoot just recently got a Mac, and was looking to outfit it with apps, so he turned to Twitter.

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Blow-Controlled Mobile Phone Introduced – This might be an example of when avoiding infringement of Apple’s multi-touch patent might have gone too far. Korean mobile manufacturer Pantech is now selling blow-controlled “Sky Wind” phones. Why, with that tech, you could blow out virtual candles on a virtual birthday cake. March 29 Could Bring New Mac Pro Processors – Not, I should note, the Mac Pros themselves, but the next generation Xeon processors that could eventually provide the brains of the operation. They have the same clock speeds, but are supposed to gain lots of performance power through the introduction of other new techs, including a replacement of the legacy “Front Side Bus.” Music Industry Cowers Before iTunes’ Might – The New York Times has an interesting article about how tense relations are between Apple and the big players in the music industry, owing to Apple’s strongarm bargaining tactics and the industry’s fear of courting their disfavor. Patent Points to Video Conferencing iPhone – Usually I don’t pay much attention to the myriad of patent applications Apple makes, because most of them seem to come to nothing. This one, though, is one I’m really pulling for. The iPhone needs video capabilities, and this shows Apple’s at least considering it.

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Monochrome Keyboard DIY Job – Apple may be using a two-color scheme on most of their hardware these days, but Steve Essell likes his keyboards white, and only white. Hence this all-white masterpiece. It’s so cool, it doesn’t need key labels, and neither should you if you’re a Mac user worth his salt. Done using only spray paint, and without disassembly. Apple News Week in Charts and Lists – Since I once dabbled in the desktop publishing trade, no one knows better than me the value of a nice chart. Here are five nice charts from CNNMoney’s Fortune blog, all detailing some different way in which Apple is awesome. The cumulative effect is a reassuring one, for those of us who were worried about the state of the company following Steve’s leave. More Talk About Dell Smartphones – As early as next month, but maybe as late as never, Dell is (still) considering taking on Apple by releasing at least a few models of smartphone. The phones will be WinMo and Android-based, and at least one will feature a touchscreen. I wonder what Dell thinks they have that HTC, RIM, Palm, etc, etc. don’t? 17″ MacBook Pro Now Shipping – MacRumors noticed the disheartening acceptance of pre-orders has changed to the refreshing “Ships in 7-10 business days” at the online Apple Store

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Apple Brand Most Social of All, Crowds Top 20 – Using statistics concerning how many blogs (like this one) and micro-blogged comments make mention of brand names, and how often, social media services company Vitrue developed an index of the top 20 “Most Social” brand names. Apple took four of the spots, including number one. Microsoft was a distant second with two. Useful Data Privacy Tips to Celebrate Data Privacy Day – Today, TUAW marked the “global initiative to highlight information security rights and practices” by providing seven tips to help you stay secure. Most of them are very common sense suggestions, which is exactly why they bear repeating. Your Mac may be tough, but it isn’t invincible. Blackberry Storm More Expensive to Make Than iPhone – Say what you will about the Blackberry Storm, Research In Motion spared no expense when it came to putting the thing together. According to iSupply, the touchscreen device costs $203 to make, compared to just $173 for the iPhone. How much is better design worth, though? More Rumors About Subsidized Apple Notebook – Like a broken record, rumors of an AT&T subsidized Apple notebook continue to surface

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Crazy Apple Concepts From 90’s, No Grunge Model Though – Here are some great Flickr photos of concept designs of Apple products from the early 90’s. Some of it is just bizarre, and others are not so different from concepts that continue to crop up to this day, which is a sad reflection on how badly we want a tablet Mac. Android Has Malware Scare, Now Apple’s Iron-Fisted Rule Makes Sense – Apple gets a lot of flack for their App Store approval process, but Google recently had a near miss with a malware app that makes it look pretty reasonable. The app in question, MemoryUp Personal, apparently deletes memory cards and spams people. Good feature set. NVIDIA Display Fix Doesn’t Fix Everything – Distortion issues on monitors connected to MacBooks via Mini DisplayPort to Dual-DVI adapters were not fixed via Monday’s update, says Gizmodo’s Jason Chen. The issue is an intermittent one that resolves after a few reconnects, but still, this isn’t amateur hour Apple. Speaking of Concepts, Here’s a Whopper – A tri-fold Macbook design

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iLife ‘08 Updates Land Along With iLife ‘09 – The big story might be the release of iLife ‘09, which features major additions to iPhoto, iMovie, and Garage Band, but iLife ‘08 also got some lovin’ from Apple. Those updates include stability improvements and minor issue resolution for both the iLife Media Browser and iDVD 7.0.3. Not as spicy, but at least it’s something. iPhone Basically Is Mobile Independent Gaming Industry – Or at least the successful bits. According to Joystiq, via TUAW, iPhone games from independent developers occupy 11 out of 14 available spots on the finalist list for the 2009 Independent Games Mobile category. Highlights from the list include the popular Fieldrunnners and Galcon, the minimalist sci-fi conquest game. Apple Issues iPhone Firmware 2.2.1 – This minor update to the iPhone 2.2 firmware brings little change, beyond stability improvements for Safari and bug fixes for an issue with photos downloaded to Camera Roll from Mail. I haven’t done it, since I just enabled Emoji the non-jailbreak way and don’t want to lose my cute little pictures, which could happen. Papermaster OK to Work, May Be a Slight (Huge) Hitch – IBM and Apple have finally settled over Mark Papermaster’s sexy bones, but Apple might now have to preview their work to IBM in order to get the go-ahead. Sort of just like I said , in case anyone was wondering.        Green your IT

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Fix for NVIDIA Graphics Issues Released – Users experiencing trouble with their Dual-DVI connected monitors can breathe a sigh of relief now that a fix has been officially released by Apple. The fix addresses cursor problems on DisplayPort enabled Macs, and HD playback quality on machines using newer NVIDIA cards. Apple Nets Multi-Touch, iPhone Patents, Better Position From Which to Threaten Palm – A lot has been made of the threatening words spoken by Tim Cook during the Q1 2009 Apple conference call, in which he hinted that Palm’s Pre could be grounds for a suit(s?). Today Apple can further back that up, since they acquired the patent for multi-touch and the iPhone. Apple Adds New Ad – A new iPhone 3G ad was posted today by Apple on their website, this one again featuring third party apps available in the App Store. The apps featured are Yelp, Osirix, and Classics, and the theme is reading. Because all of those apps require you to read something, see. Zune Revenue Plummets 50% in 2Q – Microsoft should really just put the thing out of its misery at this point. It’s no good, and it’s doing terrible. For a frame of reference, consider that Apple’s iPod sales rose 3 percent in their own first fiscal quarter. Just kill the thing, for all our sakes. One Analyst Thinks New iMac Soon, Also It Will Rain Someday In Future – At this point I think the odds are in your favor if you claim a new iMac is on the horizon. Especially when you suggest a whole bunch of logical reasons why they may be waiting, as this particular analyst does.        Concentric Hosted IT Solutions and Web Hosting Click here to save cost on your IT demands

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