Broz News

Survey tries quantifying iPad hype, suggests interest waning

"iPad hoopla" has passed, according to a survey by electronics shopping site Retrevo, and consumers have lost interest after the product's unveiling less than two weeks ago. More than twice as many respondents said they were uninterested after the iPad was announced compared to a week prior. Of course, there are lies, damned lies, and statistics—three times as many said they were confident they would buy one after finding out the product's details.

Retrevo did similar surveys to gauge interest in Apple's new portable touchscreen device both before it was announced and after. The week prior to Apple's big media event, 26 percent of those surveyed said they knew about the device but weren't interested. After the announcement, that number jumped to 52 percent. However, 3 percent said they would buy an iPad sight unseen. The number that would buy an iPad after Steve Jobs showed it off went up to 9 percent.

Mozilla dropping 10.4 support with next Firefox release

The next major release of Firefox will not be compatible with Macs running Mac OS X 10.4, also known as Tiger. This comes from a mozilla.dev.planing discussion on Google Groups started by Josh Aas, a Mozilla-employed developer working on the project. The change will go into effect later this year when the browser's Gecko rendering engine makes the jump from 1.9.2 to 1.9.3.

The Mozilla Foundation estimates that there are currently about 1.4 million Tiger users using Firefox 3.5 every day and approximately 36,000 using version 3.6. Those numbers total a little under 24 percent of daily Mac Firefox use.

According to the discussion, Mozilla stopped supporting Tiger on mozilla-central, the most "cutting edge" repository, in September of 2009. Much of the old code was left, however, in case Mozilla had a change in heart. The decision means that the code specific to the old operating system will be removed soon, along with any hope of future 10.4 support.

Users of the open source Web browser who are still using Tiger will be able to continue to use Firefox 3.6 for as long as they want, but the browser will stop receiving updates "several months" after the release of the next major update. This means that any security issues found in the browser after that date would be unlikely to be addressed by the team, and, in turn, left unpatched.

Unsurprisingly, there is a vocal minority speaking out against the move. Individuals with older hardware are no doubt concerned that their old hardware will become even more obsolete and less usable as the rest of the world soldiers on. Mozilla isn't concerned however, citing past data that shows no significant market share loss occurs after support for an older version of the Mac OS has been dropped. The company also claims that it usually supports older versions of Mac OS X longer than most companies. 

etc: Jailbreakers can now update to iPhone OS 3.1.3 if they so choose, as a jailbreak update is available from the iPhone dev team. As usual, there are heavy warnings for some users.

Jailbreakers can now update to iPhone OS 3.1.3 if they so choose, as a jailbreak update is available from the iPhone dev team. As usual, there are heavy warnings for some users.

Read More: Dev-Team Blog

ZoomMediaPlus intros new SD card reader for iPhone
ZoomMediaPlus has introduced the ZoomIt memory card reader for the iPhone and iPod touch. The new dock-connecting accessory works with the companyís ZoomIt application that provides access to content stored on SD cards. Support is offered for all file types recognized by iPhone OS 3.0, ranging from photos and videos to PowerPoint documents. The accessory allows users to upload all stored media for use at a later time, or share files with other users via e-mail, Facebook or Flickr....

Google to hold special event Tuesday
Google tonight confirmed talk of a significant product update by sending an invitation to a special event on Tuesday at the company's Mountain View, California campus. The company is short on details but promises "some new product innovations" at the gathering....

Apple survey gauges developers' satisfaction with App Store
Apple is reportedly distributing a survey to iPhone developers, with a variety of questions covering the App Store program. Respondents are asked to rate their level of satisfaction in different areas such as enrollment, feedback, app submission, the review process, and the length of time it takes to get updates onto the App Store....

Amazon Update
Amazon has the best price on MacBook Air: just $1699. Or save $55-$105 off Apple's latest iMacs, or $150-$380 off the Mac Pro Quad and new Quad-Core models. Amazon discounts iPods and a huge selection of digital cameras and HDTV's, too. Save on AppleCare, ".Mac", "Leopard", iLife, iWork, Aperture 2, VMware, Photoshop Elements 6 and Office 2008, as well. And the Kindle wireless book/reader is now in stock at $359. While you're saving yourself money, you're also providing critical MacInTouch support just by clicking through our links to purchase!

Report: Leopard
[Updated 14:30] a 10.5.3 problem affects web browsers; other 10.5.3 issues, compatibility notes and more

Report: Applications
Adobe CS3 issues, Print to PDF tips

Contextual consolidation in iTunes 9
Learn how to consolidate only selected music and media in iTunes 9.

Rotate user images in many OS X apps
Learn how to rotate the "avatar" images used to represent a user in programs such as iChat and Address Book.

Possibly reduce iPhoto launch times
Learn one way to possibly improve iPhoto's launch time if you find that yours is taking forever to launch.

Neo Nectaris strategy game arrives on the iPhone
Hudson's nifty turn-based strategy game, Military Madness, enjoyed a revival on Xbox Live last year with Nectaris. Now it's spreading the love to iPhones with Military Madness: Neo Nectaris.

iHound aims to help you find your missing iPhone
At this week's Macworld Expo, iHound Software will hand out stickers aimed at aiding people who find lost iPhones to reunite them with their owners. And for the month of February, iHound has dropped the price on its iPhone app.

Report: Google to make Gmail more social
Google will add social features to Gmail, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Did this Metro PCS ad make the tech world cringe?
Cell phone provider Metro PCS' new campaign, featuring two supposed Indian tech experts, is proving a little controversial. The company admits it has received complaints.

iPad pricing: How low can you go, Apple?
It seems odd that Apple execs would even hint at the possibility of an early price cut lest they give folks already on the fence about buying the first iteration of the device more reason to stay there.

Twins learn of teen brother's death on Facebook
Twins logging on to Facebook to read birthday wishes instead discover that people have left RIP posts about their 17-year-old brother. Police hadn't notified the family.

Macworld Expo 2010 Caters to Apple Fans — Without Apple
The Macworld trade show goes on without Steve Jobs. But will it live another year?

Video Gallery: Lightning Reveals Its Power in Slow Motion
Ultrahigh-speed video reveals six lightning strokes in startling slo-mo.

Stormy Weather Cannot Defeat Re-Engineered Umbrella
Saving up for a rainy day? Consider using some of that cash on an umbrella from Blunt. This reinforced dome will hold up to gusts short of hurricane force.

An HD Video Tour of the International Space Station [Space]

If you're a huge space buff, you might not be surprised by anything in this video tour of the International Space Station. But it's still great to just get a simple walkthrough of this incredible project and all its corners.

Anyone else get a bit bit light-headed watching all those twists and turns? [CrunchGear]

Apple Job Posting Suggests Cameras in Future iPads [Rumors]

Apple's hiring again and this time they're looking for "Performance QA Engineers" in their "iPad Media" department. Based on the description for the job, we might be seeing an increase in iPad camera rumors:

The Media Systems team is looking for a software quality engineer with a strong technical background to test still, video and audio capture and playback frameworks. Build on your QA experience and knowledge of digital camera technology (still and video) to develop and maintain testing frameworks for both capture and playback pipelines.

Based on the demand for someone to work on video capture frameworks for a device which can't even capture video we could presume that Apple's exploring some future options. As if we didn't already think that. [Apple via MacRumors]

It May Be Creepy, But This Case's Ad Is Popcorn-Worthy [Wtf]

I hate spiders, I hate horror movies, and I hate gimmicky computer cases. But I love the commercial for the Lian Li Mini-atx case. Maybe it's just because it reminded me of Steve Irwin.

There aren't details on availability and pricing for this case, but who cares when the promo video alone is fun. [CrunchGear]

Groundhog Day Pictures: Punxsutawney Phil, Now and Then

Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil Sees Shadow--And Long Winter for 2010
On Groundhog Day 2010, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow?and six more weeks of winter, according to tradition. Get surprising facts behind the wacky weather prediction.

Obama Scrubs NASA's Manned Moon Missions
Although NASA will get a budget increase for 2011, plans to return humans to the moon by 2020 would be officially scrapped, because the program is "over budget, behind schedule, and lacking in innovation," according to the White House.

Enceladus water story reinforced
The Cassini probe returns yet more data to back up the idea of a sub-surface sea on Saturn's moon Enceladus.

Smartphone keys get quantum trick
A quantum physics trick is set to give smartphones and hand-held devices pressure-sensitive switches and touchscreens.

Shuttle makes final night flight
The US space agency (Nasa) has launched its shuttle Endeavour on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

Robot helicopter takes flight navigation to a new low
While other uncrewed planes fly high to stay safe, this autonomous chopper can plan its way around obstacles close to the ground

Pimped up T-cells seek out and destroy HIV
Researchers have used evolution to create immune cells able to destroy HIV far more effectively than the regular cells our body produces

The odd drink in pregnancy won't harm baby
Lots of expecting mums now say they avoid even light drinking, but the latest study indicates that this may be an unnecessary precaution (full text available to subscribers)