Gadget and Techno Updates
Apple
Apple TV switches to streaming, gains 99-cent HDTV rentals
Sep 2nd
Apple today exposed a major overhaul of the Apple TV, long the company’s neglected “hobby” product. The new set-top is roughly a quarter the size of the original, and all black. It includes HDMI, USB, Ethernet and optical audio connections, as well as 802.11n Wi-Fi. In terms of interface it continues to use a button-based remote, and the firmware resembles earlier versions. Inside, however, there is no longer any option of permanent storage.
The device is now entirely based around streaming, mostly in the form of HD rentals. Movies can be rented from Apple for $ 5, while TV shows can More >
Apple iOS overtakes Linux for online share
Sep 2nd
Apple’s iOS platform has managed to pass a major desktop OS for the first time in web use as it now has more share than Linux, Net Applications found today. It just took the lead in July but held and widened it in August, with iPads, iPhones and iPods taking 1.13 percent; Linux has declined to a new low at just 0.85 percent. The figure doesn’t include Android, though it has far lower share at just 0.2 percent.
The analysts didn’t explain the reasoning, though the rapid growth of iOS may have pushed Linux share downwards. While Linux has routinely struggled More >
Apple iTV pegged for tomorrow with Netflix app
Sep 1st
Apple’s expected iTV media hub launch tomorrow is real and should include some form of Netflix support, a last-minute leak contended this evening. Three unidentified sources claimed Netflix’s Watch Instantly would be “available” and carry its usual, separate subscription fee. Bloomberg didn’t confirm whether it was an app or built-in, though it’s much more likely that it would be a variant on the iPad/iPhone app and simply used as a showcase for third-party support.
The presence of a Netflix app could be a coup for Apple. Although it has declined to follow the paths of Roku and many electronics giants by More >
Apple to stream event over HTML5 for iOS, Snow Leopard Macs
Sep 1st
StreetSpace lawsuit targets Apple, others over ads
Aug 31st
Apple and newly-absorbed subsidiary Quattro Wireless are just two of several targets in a new lawsuit from Malaysian company StreetSpace, says AppleInsider. The firm is responsible for the Web Station, a web-browsing kiosk supported in part through targeted advertising. The defendants are accused of violating US Patent 6,847,969, Method and System for Providing Personalized Online Services and Advertisements in Public Spaces.
The iAd system developed by Apple and Quattro is said to violate StreetSpace’s patent by using location, profile and history data to personalize ad content. The case is being handled through the US District for the Southern District of California, More >