Apple originally intended to use the “Non Disclosure Agreement” just to prevent competitors to steal secret technical information on how its popular device works, but it ended up to be a too heavy burden also for the developers whom wanted to write applications for the iPhone, since they were unable to even share programming skills between each others.

According to Apple, the developers will receive a new agreement without an NDA covering within days.

Links
Apple’s announcement: http://developer.apple.com/iphone/program/.

The problem lays on the metal prongs of the adapter that could break off and remain in the power outlet.

The defect is present on the adapters sold in the following countries:

• US
• Japan
• Canada
• Mexico
• Several Latin American countries

Both the adapters bundled with the iPhone 3G and those that can been purchased separately are affected, while the adapters supplied with original iPhones or supplied with iPhone 3G units sold in other countries not listed above are not affected.

Apple claims that “no injuries have been reported”, but as precaution it is offering the possibility to exchange the defective units. The exchange campaign will start on October, 10th, and the users can choose to receive the replacement either via the Web, which will ship within three weeks, or exchange it at any Apple retail store; in order to receive the replacement the users need to include their iPhone 3G’s serial number with the order.

Links
Apple announcement: http://www.apple.com/support/usbadapter/exchangeprogram/?sr=hotnews.

The update is relatively big as it weight 240 MB. The users who own an iPod with already the 2.x version of the firmware can get the update for free while those who are running a 1.x firmware can upgrade for $9.99.

Links

Apple: http://www.apple.com/.

Kevin posted the news, that he claims he obtained through unnamed sources, and this leaked� photo on his blog on Saturday, 23rd.

The summary of the changes that Kevin obtained are the following:

• Revamp of entire iPod line.
• Small cosmetic changes to Touch, Nano to see significant redesign.
• iPods to see fairly large price drops to distance itself from the $199 iPhone.
• iPod touch 2.1 software, iPhone to get update very soon after.
• iTunes 8.0 (“it’s a big update w/new features”).
• All of this coming in the next 2-3 weeks.

On the YouTube video, reachable from the Kevin’s post, we “learn” more details, like the iPod Nano that will have a small wide screen and it will have a rounded shape. The iPod Touch will receive little design changes, but the biggest news is that it will use the 2.1 version of the software.

Kevin claims that the iTunes software will merit the version number upgrade as it will have many new features and functionalities.

Links
Kevin Rose’s announcement: http://kevinrose.com/blogg/2008/8/23/new-ipods-coming-very-soon.html;
Apple’s iPod site: http://www.apple.com/itunes/.

Previously if the user attempted to apply the 2.0.1 patch while the iPhone was set to “airplane mode”, the phone would not longer connect to the carrier network.

According to a BusinessWeek’s article, the cause of the problem was a faulty chip made by Munich-based Infineon Technologies. Considering the huge sales of the new 3G iPhone, Apple preferred to fix it with a software update rather than making a recall.

BusinessWeek states that, despite the great popularity of the new iPhone, only about 2-3 percent of the iPhone experienced the problem.

Links

Apple: http://www.apple.com/.

Apple did not provided a list of the changes included in the patch, but one thing that many news sites discovered is the reduction of the lag in different features, especially the contacts page.

In other to get the update the user have to connect the iPhone to the computer, launch iTunes and click the “Update” button in the device pane.

Two critical thing have to be done before the update:

• Sync the iPhone’s data (contacts, calendar, etc.) with the computer;
• Change the “airplane mode” to another mode.

These two steps are very important because many users reported a serious problem with the installation of the patch: in those cases the user found that after applying the patch they were unable to connect to their carrier. When this bug is triggered, the only procedure to fix it is the following:

• Connect the iPhone to the computer;
• Open iTunes and click the Restore button under the Summary tab.

The side effect of this procedure is that all contacts, calendars, photos and other data on the phone will be erased and substituted with the last backed-up information on the computer (so that is way a backup is imperative before the update).

Links

Apple: http://www.apple.com/.

CUPERTINO, California—May 1, 2008—Apple® today announced that new movie releases from major film studios and premier independent studios are available for purchase on the iTunes® Store (www.itunes.com) on the same day as their DVD release. New releases and catalog titles will be available from 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Lionsgate, Image Entertainment and First Look Studios. Movies purchased from iTunes can be viewed on an iPod® with video, iPhone™, Mac® or PC or on a widescreen TV with Apple TV®, with new releases priced at $14.99 and most catalog titles at $9.99.

“We’re thrilled to bring iTunes Store customers new films for purchase day-and-date with the DVD release,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “We think movie fans will love being able to buy their favorites from major and independent studios.”

New releases available for purchase on the iTunes Store this week, concurrent with their DVD release, include “American Gangster” and “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.” Other popular titles now available for purchase include “Juno,” “Cloverfield,” “I Am Legend,” “There Will Be Blood,” “Alvin and the Chipmunks” and “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.”

The iTunes Store is the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store with a catalog of over six million songs, 600 TV shows and over 1,500 films including 200 in stunning high definition video. With Apple’s legendary ease of use, pioneering features such as new iTunes Movie Rentals, integrated podcasting support, iMix playlist sharing, the ability to turn previously purchased tracks into complete albums at a reduced price, and seamless integration with iPod and iPhone, the iTunes Store is the best way for Mac and PC users to legally discover, purchase and download music and video online.

Pricing & Availability
Movie purchases and rentals from the iTunes Store for Mac or Windows require iTunes 7.6.2, available as a free download immediately from www.itunes.com. iTunes movie purchases and rentals require a valid credit card with a billing address in the country of purchase. iTunes Movies are available in the US only and are $9.99 (US) for library title purchases and $14.99 (US) for new release purchases and $2.99 (US) for library title rentals and $3.99 (US) for new release rentals, and high definition rental versions are priced just one dollar more with library title rentals at $3.99 (US) and new release rentals at $4.99 (US). Short films are available to rent for 99 cents (US). Movies can be previewed, purchased and watched on iPod classic, iPod nano with video, iPod touch, iPhone and on a widescreen TV with Apple TV.

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Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

The decision came after the avalanche of critics Apple received, especially by Mozilla CEO John Lilly, since March when it offered Safari 3.1 as an default-enabled choice during a Quicktime update. The accusation was that it is un-rightful to push a new software to user by using an update system that is supposed to only deliver updates for already installed applications; since in the last few years there has been an heavy campaign by all software houses to convince users to keep their software updated to minimize the exposure to viruses and malaware installations, many users may have installed Safari because they thought it was important to keep Quicktime and/or iTune updated.

This time the promotion has some more limit. Not only there are less location participating (last October there were 10,000 Starbucks locations involved), but this time the offer is available only every Tuesday instead of every day for a month.

After your purchase you get card redeemable d for 60 days. Probably the cards will be limited like the last promotion.

The Starbucks’ Logo is copyrighted by Starbucks Corporation.