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Business
March 8, 2012
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In a post-PC world, Gartner sees PC growth accelerating in 2012

By on March 8, 2012 at 10:00 AM.

In a post-PC world, Gartner sees PC growth accelerating in 2012

Apple on Wednesday unveiled its new iPad, a sleek slate with a stunning 2,048 x 1,536-pixel Retina Display, a speedy Apple A5X processor and embedded 4G LTE. The Cupertino, California-based company repeatedly tossed around its “post-PC” buzzword — Apple’s post-PC devices accounted for 76% of its revenue in the fourth quarter last year — and there is no question that the new iPad will be a hit. Does it spell the end for PCs, however? Not according to market research firm Gartner. Read on for more. More →

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Gaming
March 5, 2012
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Mari0, an amazing mashup of Super Mario Bros. and Portal, is now available for free [video]

By on March 5, 2012 at 10:53 PM.

Mari0, an amazing mashup of Super Mario Bros. and Portal, is now available for free [video]

One of the most beloved video games in history has been refreshed in a new mashup that gaming fans of all shapes and sizes need to download immediately. The title is “Mari0″ and simply stated, it’s Super Mario Brothers meets Portal. Game developer Maurice Guegan is the man behind Mari0, and he built the title from the ground up. It features a start to finish recreation of Nintendo’s original Super Mario Brothers game, adds a portal gun that shoots portals through which Mario can travel as in the popular PC game “Portal,” and mixes in a 4-player cooperative mode along with several additional features. The result is an addictive game that does a better job adding a new twist to an old classic than anything we’ve seen in recent history. Mari0 is free and open source, and it is available immediately for Windows, OS X and Linux PCs. A trailer video follows below, as does a link to a download that will ensure your Monday is completely unproductive. More →

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Computers
February 29, 2012
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Upcoming 14-inch MacBook Air may help Apple’s position in China

By on February 29, 2012 at 8:25 AM.

Upcoming 14-inch MacBook Air may help Apple’s position in China

Apple is said to currently be considering the launch of a new MacBook Air notebook PC with a 14-inch display. Citing unnamed sources within Apple’s supply chain, DigiTimes on Wednesday reported that Apple is considering a 14-inch ultra-slim laptop computer to better address consumers in China, where 14-inch models have between 35% and 40% of the portable computer market. The site had previously reported that Apple is working on a 15-inch MacBook Air model, a claim that a number of other reports have mirrored. DigiTimes first reported that Apple will launch the 15-inch Air in the second quarter this year, but then issued a new report two weeks later stating that the 15-inch model was slated to launch in the first quarter of 2012 alongside new 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air models. It is unclear if DigiTimes is now suggesting that Apple will launch a 14-inch model in China and a 15-inch model for the rest of the world, or if the company is considering replacing the previously-rumored 15-inch model with a slightly smaller laptop. More →

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Computers
February 17, 2012
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Apple CEO: No pressure from Microsoft, PC industry is chasing MacBook Air

By on February 17, 2012 at 11:01 AM.

Apple CEO: No pressure from Microsoft, PC industry is chasing MacBook Air

Apple deviated from its standard closed-door approach to unveiling new software earlier this week and gave a number of media outlets early access to an upcoming version of its OS X operating system for Macs. Apple’s OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion will launch this summer, featuring a wide range of enhancements that will see Apple’s desktop platform look and behave more like its mobile platform. Executives from the Cupertino, California-based technology giant even met with reporters personally to demonstrate the new software, perhaps in an effort to help foster the same type of enthusiasm for OS X that iOS enjoys. During one such meeting with The Wall Street Journal, Apple CEO Tim Cook shed some light on the PC industry from Apple’s point of view. Read on for more. More →

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Computers
February 16, 2012
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OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion first impressions: This is a cougar I’d take home

By on February 16, 2012 at 2:15 PM.

OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion first impressions: This is a cougar I’d take home

OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion review

Apple just did something the company hasn’t done very often in recent years — it completely surprised nearly every single person with the announcement of OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, the next OS for the Mac. Inching a step closer to bridging the gap between iOS and OS X, Mountain Lion brings practically all of iOS’s featured apps to desktop and laptop computers. From Messages, which I’ve been waiting for ever since iMessage was announced, to built-in iCloud support, Notification Center, Game Center, Reminders, Notes, a much-improved Safari browser, AirPlay and more, the two OSes are practically the same now in terms of system apps. This is the first developer preview of OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, and the OS will only improve before it is released in the summer. If you’re itching for my thoughts, though, you’ll find them after the break. More →

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Computers
February 16, 2012
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Apple’s OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion: iMessage on Mac, Notification Center and more

By on February 16, 2012 at 8:51 AM.

Apple’s OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion: iMessage on Mac, Notification Center and more

Details surrounding Apple’s next-generation Mac operating system were released on Thursday morning, shedding light on a number of new features set to hit Apple’s desktop operating system later this year. OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion highlights include the arrival of iMessage on Mac computers, a feature iOS users have been clamoring for since iMessage was first introduced in iOS 5. Notification Center will also arrive on OS X with Mountain Lion, bringing further iOS-like features and visual elements to the platform as the world awaits a touchscreen-ready version of Apple’s desktop platform. Other new features include Game Center integration, AirPlay mirroring, enhanced iCloud support and a number of redesigned apps. A developer preview of OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion will be released on Thursday and the updated OS will become available to end users this summer. Apple’s press release follows below and a beta of Messages for OS X can be downloaded immediately. More →

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mobile
February 10, 2012
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iOS Web traffic share surpasses Mac OS for first time ever

By on February 10, 2012 at 10:35 AM.

iOS Web traffic share surpasses Mac OS for first time ever

Following Apple’s blowout December quarter during which it shipped a record 37 million iPhone handsets and 15.4 million iPad tablets, a significant shift has taken place. iOS’s share of U.S. Web traffic as observed during a six-month study conducted by leading ad network Chitika has surpassed Apple’s Mac OS Web traffic share for the first time. Read on for more. More →

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Breaking
January 20, 2012
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Untethered jailbreak for iPhone 4S and iPad 2 now available

By on January 20, 2012 at 12:09 PM.

Untethered jailbreak for iPhone 4S and iPad 2 now available

Following news earlier on Friday that an untethered jailbreak for the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 was almost ready for public release, anew tool has been made available for download. The new build makes use of pod2g’s “corona” exploit and is the result of combined efforts from the iPhone Dev Team, the Chronic Dev team and iOS hacker pod2g. The tool that enables iOS devices with A5 processors to be jailbroken has been dubbed “Absinthe A5,” and users need to load the Greenpois0n website on their devices in order to trigger the jailbreak. Users having problems loading the site in Safari should simply go into Settings and enable VPN — after about a minute, the device will reboot and the jailbreak will be applied. iPhone 4S users running iOS 5.0 and iOS 5.0.1 and iPad 2 owners running iOS 5.0.1 can download Absinthe for OS X via the read link below to apply. Unfortunately, there is still no option for Windows users looking for an iPhone 4S or iPad 2 untethered jailbreak for the time being. More →

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Computers
December 14, 2011
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Windows usage grows in November as Mac OS, Android, iOS inch down

By on December 14, 2011 at 6:45 PM.

Windows usage grows in November as Mac OS, Android, iOS inch down

Microsoft’s desktop Windows operating system was the only major platform to show usage gains in November according to new data released on Tuesday. Using impressions served to desktop and mobile platforms to calculate market share, advertising network Chitika found that Windows gained 1.4% between October and November to climb to a 76.45% share. Apple’s Mac OS stayed in the No.2 spot but slid 0.35% to a 9.33% share, and iOS dropped 0.04% to a 6.76% share in November. Android dipped 0.58% to 3.93% while Linux shed a half a point to drop to 2.93%. Chitika noted that this is the first time Android’s share has declined in several months, though it anticipates a rebound in December. Charts outlining the firm’s findings follow below. More →

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Software
November 17, 2011
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Skype adds Facebook video calling to beta desktop clients [video]

By on November 17, 2011 at 7:10 PM.

Skype adds Facebook video calling to beta desktop clients [video]

Skype on Thursday announced that its Mac OS X and Windows beta clients now support video calls to Facebook users. Skype introduced a Facebook-to-Facebook video client for the social network in July, but now users on both platforms can video chat with one another. Users who choose to download Skype 5.7 Beta on Windows or Skype 5.4 Beta on Mac will be prompted to enter in their Facebook credentials. Once logged in, Facebook friends will be presented on the Skype buddy list and a video chats can easily be initiated. Skype also said it has added a group screen-sharing feature for its Skype Premium Windows users, an option that was released in an earlier Mac OS X update. A video of Skype’s Facebook calling integration follows after the break.

More →

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Computers
November 11, 2011
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OS X Lion sees slow adoption with less than 2% of OS traffic share, study finds

By on November 11, 2011 at 7:00 AM.

OS X Lion sees slow adoption with less than 2% of OS traffic share, study finds

Adoption of Apple’s latest version of OS X stalled in October following a strong start that saw OS X Lion downloaded more than 1 million times during its first day of availability this past July. Ad network Chitika analyzed its recent traffic and found that Lion’s share among all operating systems is just over 1.5%, barely a blip on the radar. Usage of the new OS had grown at an average rate of 4.05% each month between June and September, but since then its share has increased at an average rate of just 0.98% per month. Read on for more. More →

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Computers
November 2, 2011
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Windows market share slides in October as Mac, Linux gain

By on November 2, 2011 at 7:15 AM.

Windows market share slides in October as Mac, Linux gain

Just-released data from Net Applications shows that Microsoft’s share of the PC operating system market continued its slow decent in October as Apple’s Mac operating system and Linux both showed narrow gains. While Windows is still the overwhelming market leader among desktop operating systems, the platform slid from a 92.44% share in September to a 91.86% share last month. Over the same period, Apple’s Mac OS climbed from 6.45% to 6.94% while Linux inched up from 1.11% in September to 1.19% in October. Microsoft’s share of the computer OS market is expected to continue its slow decent until the second half of 2012, when it is expected to launch its next-generation Windows 8 operating system that marries a full-blown desktop OS with a light-weight mobile platform for tablets and other emerging devices. A chart illustrating October desktop operating system market share data from Net Applications follows below. More →

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Software
October 31, 2011
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AirPlay Mirroring, iMessage reportedly headed to OS X [video]

By on October 31, 2011 at 7:15 PM.

AirPlay Mirroring, iMessage reportedly headed to OS X [video]

The eventual arrival of iMessage on OS X, in some form, is almost a foregone conclusion at this point, but a new report claims to confirm that Apple is indeed working on bringing it to the Mac platform alongside AirPlay Mirroring. Citing multiple anonymous sources, 9to5 Mac says Apple is already hard at work bringing the services to OS X, though it is apparently unclear whether or not the efforts will bear fruit. AirPlay Mirroring will theoretically allow OS X users to mirror their Mac display wirelessly to an Apple TV while iMessage will let users carry on conversations from Mac computers just as they can now with the iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. The report says Apple is also currently debating whether or not iMessage should be integrated into Apple’s iChat app or introduced as a standalone app, and a concept video of how the latter scenario might work follows below. More →

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