LensProToGo

As a photographer I learned a long time ago that this is one of those hobbies or careers that there will always be something new to buy! No photographer that I know of has everything they want. However, sometimes it’s just not cost effective to actually “own” certain equipment. For example, there are lenses that I use every day and some that I would only use rarely. It’s those rarely used lenses that are usually the most expensive. So why have all that money lying around? I discovered LensProToGo.com a couple of years ago and I use them whenever there’s a lens that I want to try before I buy or use for a special occasion. I’ve had nothing but success with their shipments and returns. Before I bought my  I rented it first from LensProToGo.com.

Top5 iphone apps

                            Top 5 apps
GasBuddy

 while driving around with that new navigation app you juse brought yo need some gase at some poin. make sore you find the cheak points and the prise by using gasbuddy
for download gasbuddy go to this link

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gasbuddy-find-cheap-gas-prices/id406719683?mt=8 







Instagram

 
there i said it. i absolutely love instagram, not as a replasement for the cmera, or plae were i go to make "art"
 http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/instagram/id389801252?mt=8













 MLB.com At Bat 2012

  for download click on this link

 http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mlb.com-at-bat/id493619333?mt=8









Nightstand Central

 for download this apps goto this link 
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nightstand-central-music-alarm/id347843970?mt=8


 facebook

Now a days all r using facebook even a business man alos i want to able to access it from the iphone or mobile also so this apps are use in the iphone 
u can get facebook apps for iphone and itunes for free here
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/facebook/id284882215?mt=8




















http://redd.it/wje3p 

google Releases their g+ for ipad updates

As promised and long overdue, Google has just released their update to their Google+ iOS App with native iPad support (yay!). I rarely used Google+ on my iPad because I didn’t like the mobile browser experience or using the small iPhone sized App. Now I can experience most of Google+ in all its glory with a native iPad App. I say most, because like so many social networking Apps they lack features that the main website has (why is that?). However, with the new App you can browse your Circles, upload photos, make posts, tap to +1 something and manage Circle memberships. You can even do Google Hangouts complete with video and audio using your iPad 2 or higher. They also did a nice job with a sideways navigation in landscape mode.

Garagesale HD let you prepare ebay on your ipad

Garagesale HD eases the pain of creating ebay on your ipad

There seems to be no shortage of uses for the iPad. Many deem it to be a content consumption device more than a content creation device and I typically agree. However, I’m finding myself doing more creating with it than I did two years ago. This is due largely in part to the increase in really great iPad Apps. Yesterday I finally got around to putting some items on eBay that I’d been wanting to sell for a while. Rather than set these auctions up on my Mac, I decided to see if I could do the whole process on the iPad and the answer was YES! On the Mac I use an application from Iwascoding called GarageSale. They released an iPad version and although I bought it a while ago, I never really used it to do an auction. I was always gun shy that I would run into some limitation and end up completing the process on my computer. Since I had a little more time than usual, I decided to try it.

 

Phone 5 redesign says analyst, adds monstrous release date

If one analyst and rumors are to be believed, the iPhone 5 is expected to feature a new design and almost all current iPhone owners might upgrade.
Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Münster is back in headlines after talking about the next Apple smartphone, the iPhone 5, and his new note is related to the impressive sales of the iPhone 4S, the first dual-core Apple phone.

According to the analyst, he is increasing his projected iPhone sales last quarter, with the additional 4 million and with the total of 30 million due to strong demand for smartphones. The iPhone 4S was launched in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries last October, and new countries were added last year and also this month, including the latest and possibly biggest smartphone market in Asia, China.

But the biggest story is Münster’s new statement about the iPhone 5, the 2012 iPhone that is rumored to get a release date of June or October, depending on who you ask. Munster is claiming that the iPhone 5 will feature a new design, and apparently, rumors circulating online, even the older rumors posted last year, also say that the iPhone 5 is expected to avoid the old but totally beautiful iPhone 4 design.

Münster is predicting that 94 percent of the current iPhone owners will upgrade to the iPhone 5 because of the new design and the release date of the phone is the start of the “monster upgrade.” Long lines and record-breaking pre-orders? Well, that’s highly possible especially if the design can beat the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4Ss.

It is worth noting that the iPhone 5 may also be the first Apple smartphone that will feature the largest screen while maintaing the critical iPhone feature, the “one-hand,” rumors say.

How Will Teachers Pay For Apple's New iBooks?

The single biggest question surrounding Apple’s Thursday announcement of its new iBooks textbooks is how teachers and schools will be able to buy enough iPads to make the initiative a success. After all, interactive, touch-friendly iPad books will only benefit students if schools can afford to make iPads widely available. While the new books will be much cheaper than regular textbooks, iPad prices remain $499 to $829, depending on connectivity options and amount of storage.

Apple's new iBooks 2 textbooks are touch-friendly and interactive -- but require an iPad. Teachers and schools may need to raise money for the devices themselves.

One way to help bridge the gap: nonprofits like DonorsChoose.org, which matches donors with teachers in need of supplies. The New York-based organization is already predicting a spike in teacher requests for iPads following Thursday’s news. Such a surge is “certain” to happen, said DonorsChoose.org Founder and Chief Executive Charles Best in an interview.
Apple Goes By The Book, Will Work With Big Textbook Publishers Brian Caulfield Brian Caulfield Forbes Staff
Hyperink's E-Book Model Turns Publishing On Its Head Tomio Geron Tomio Geron Forbes Staff

Apple devices are already in great demand at DonorsChoose.org, which lets U.S. public school teachers list classroom projects and needed resources on its site. Donors can browse the project summaries online and make contributions via credit card or PayPal. The donations are aggregated until the requested amount is raised. At that point, DonorsChoose.org steps in to buy the classroom materials. The items are shipped directly to the appropriate school.

On the DonorsChoose.org website, there are currently 439 listings that include iPads and iPad accessories. One typical example: a first-grade teacher in Little Rock, Ark. who wants an iPad 2 for “independent practice in reading, writing, and math [and] whole group instruction.”

“Many of my students do not have a home computer,” the teacher notes in her proposal. “[An iPad 2] will prepare them for a future of using technology.”

Such listings are proliferating on DonorsChoose.org. During the 2009-2010 school year, Apple products made up $50,000 or 0.2% of all the classroom supplies DonorsChoose.org purchased on behalf of its registered teachers, said Best.

The following year, that amount increased 16 times. During the 2010-2011 school year, Apple products made up $800,000 or 3.2% of all the classroom supplies DonorsChoose.org purchased.

Best attributes the huge year-over-year boost in Apple device requests and fulfillments to the April 2010 launch of the original iPad. (DonorsChoose.org measures school years from July 1 to June 30.) The organization is currently in the middle of its 2011-2012 school year but already sees that figure rising. So far, Apple products make up 3.3% of DonorsChoose.org’s 2011-2012 classroom orders, according to Best.

Some of those products were other Apple devices, such as iPod touches and MacBook laptops but Best said the majority were iPads. “A really large number of teachers contact us offline testifying how valuable iPads are for their students,” he said. Teachers of special-needs classes have particularly found the iPad’s touchscreen and easy-to-use software makes a “monumental difference” in their students’ education, he added.

There’s a lot more teacher interest in iPads than DonorsChoose.org’s statistics indicate. The site requires teachers to be proactive about listing their projects and communicating with donors. That number is growing but is far from including the majority of teachers. Best said about half of all U.S. public schools have at least one teacher who has posted a project on DonorsChoose.org since the site went live in 2000.

Create Hollywood Special Effects on your iPhone with Action Movie FX

By now you've probably seen the movie Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol or at least the trailer. In one of the scenes Tom Cruise seeming barely escapes death by a flying car that crashes to the ground right behind him. We all know that these effects are often done with green screen and CGI, but what if you could do these kind of effects right on your iPhone with a few taps of your finger. That's exactly what Action Movie FX allows you to do. You fire up the App, choose your effect, record your scene in the App and then choose where in your clip's timeline you want the effect to happen. Tap a button to process the video and you're done! The saved movie will be 720p resolution even on an iPhone 4s that can record in 1080p.

 I was blown away by the quality of the overlay considering that I had to do absolutely no keying on my own. What's even more amazing is that the App is FREE! Once you have your processed video you can save it to your Camera Roll, Send it via email or post it on Facebook right from the App. Of course once it's on your Camera Roll you can upload it to just about any other service or App such as YouTube. The App comes with three scenes, "Missile Attack", "Car Smash" and "Demolition Rock". There is an option to do an in-app purchase to buy more effects. However, to date I've not been able to get the store to load in the App. Once it does I'll gladly buy some more effects at $0.99 each.

UPDATE: The FX store finally loaded in the App and there are 4 more "2 Packs" of effects to choose from (8 total effects) at $0.99 per 2 pack.

The Weather Channel

If you're like me the first time that you fired up the weather App on your iPhone or iPad you were left wanting a little more. Sure, the built in App shows you the temperature outside and the 7 day forecast but it shows little else. I wanted to see more. I wanted the ability to see the hour by hour, radar maps and more. Unfortunately the App that comes standard doesn't do any of that. I went searching and found the iOS companion for my favorite weather website, www.weatherchannel.com. This App keeps up the standard of the website and more!

The Usual Suspects
Just like the Weather App that's built in to iOS, The Weather Channel shows you the current temperature outside as well as the next 10 days. These are the things that you would expect from a weather App and TWC doesn't disappoint.





The Extras
Features that TWC offers beyond the built in App are numerous. My favorite feature is the bar at the bottom of the screen allowing you to switch between "Now, Hourly, 36 Hour, and 10 day".  These are all different views of the weather showing their respective information. Another of the features that I find really useful is the "Map" section. Under this tab is the radar maps like you find on the desktop version of The Weather Channel. I use the 

A Few More
Also housed within TWC are settings for social media allowing you to see tweets about local weather. There are videos to watch including content from your local area, the world, all of the U.S. and "must see" video clips.


The Bottom Line
If you're looking for a free, full featured App that provides just about any option that you could want from a weather App in an easy to use package, TWC is for you.

20 Must Have Apps For The New iPhone, iPad or iPod touch User

If you just got your 1st iPhone, iPad or iPod touch then chances are you're looking for some great Apps to have. Although I have literally hundreds of Apps loaded on my iPhone and iPad, I do have a recommended list of "Must Have Apps". I'm keeping the list to 20 which means that there are still dozens that I would recommend, but don't want to overwhelm you with here. Stay tuned for our Top 100 Apps of 2011! In the meantime these are 20 Apps that you should look at sooner rather than later. In most cases the Apps I'm listing today are Universal Apps and therefore work natively on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch including taking advantage of the iPad screen size. However, there are some Apps that will work on iPad, but don't take advantage of the screen size. This being the case if the App is a Universal App I will put a (+) in front of the download link so that you know it works across all iOS devices. In no particular order:





Camera+

Camera+ (pictured above) is my favorite iPhone camera special effects App. You can not only snap photos with this App, but you can really create some very cool effects, including a nice HDR look and feel.
























PS Express

Adobe Photoshop is the industry standard photo manipulation App. Photoshop Express allows for some basic editing beyond what's included in iOS 5 and a few special effects and borders as well. Best of all for the time being it's FREE. 
Snapseed

While Photoshop Express above does a fine job with basic edits and exposure adjustments, Snapseed is much more robust. Apple also named it iPad App of the Year for 2011. There are certainly more full featured editors out there, but Snapseed definitely has an easier interface than most and unique features that don't require any masking.
Taxi Magic

I travel for a living and therefore I use a large number of Apps in the Travel category. One of the coolest travel Apps is Taxi Magic. This location based App will show you the Taxi companies that service the area you're in and let you dial them directly. However, where the cool factor really shines is when you're in an area that supports "Direct Dispatch". When you're in one of these metropolitan areas you'll be able to book your taxi directly from the App, see when it's been dispatched, know the taxi cab number and driver's name as well as see where it is on the integrated map. Once your ride is over you'll be able to pay the fare directly from the App as well if you choose




Evernote

Evernote is the end all be all notes App for iOS that allows you to sync notes and documents with the cloud. While I'm not really an Evernote fan (the built-in Notes App with iCloud syncing serves me well), it's one of those Apps that If I don't list someone will say "how can you not list Evernote?" 
Red Laser

Red Laser is an old favorite that keeps getting better. First off Red Laser lets you scan the barcodes on retail products that you're thinking of buying and show you the online prices for that item so that you can price compare on the spot. It also offers "Local" search so you can see if a nearby store has it cheaper. This latest version also has support for QR codes. Yes, this one App does it all and it's FREE. However, it's not a universal App, so if you're looking for a just a good QR scan App then I'd recommend "Scan" which is Universal.
Twitter, Facebook,  Google+ & Flipboard

If you're into social media then chances are you're going to want the native App for the social media network that you use the most. Therefore, I've listed the most popular ones. Flipboard gives you a visual view of your Facebook and Twitter timelines as well as great photos on the internet and RSS news feeds.
Delivery Status touch

I've been using Delivery Status touch to track packages on my iDevices for a long time. This App is great! You can track packages from all the major carriers simultaneously complete with push notifications and a built-in Map to see where your packages are. This latest version allows you to scan the tracking label for the items you're shipping to cut down on tedious data entry.
Flixster

Flixster is a great multi-purpose Movie and TV App. The main reason I use it is to see show times for my local theater as well as trailers. However, you can also use it to add DVDs to your Netflix queue and see which movies are coming to disc and when. Once you watch a movie you can rate/review it and automatically share that rating on your Facebook or Twitter stream.
Dropbox

Dropbox.com is my favorite cloud based storage service. With your FREE Dropbox account you can store up to 2GB's of data. The Free Dropbox App lets you easily access your files as well as share them. Also many Apps allow you to use Dropbox to back up and share data
Navigon

The Built-in Maps App is pretty cool, but it lacks voice turn-by-turn directions. There are a few good GPS Voice turn-by-turn Apps out there on the App Store, However, my top pick is Navigon. They offer a variety of different Apps depending on how much coverage you need in terms of driving territory. You can buy one just for your region or the entire country. The latest 2.0 version also allows you to just download the maps for the areas you're going to be in, which reduces the amount of storage space required significantly.

Navigon Apps on Sale!

My favorite iOS Turn-by-Turn GPS Navigation Apps are ON SALE just in time for your holiday travel or App Gifting Needs.

Navigon North America (USA & Canada) Now $38.99 ($21 off)






Navigon USA Only Now $29.99 ($20 off)









Lower Cost Region Specific Apps Now $19.99 ($10 off):




East (AL, CT, DE, FL, GA, IN, KY, MA, ME, MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VT, VA, WV)




Central (AL, AR, CO, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NE, NM, ND, OH, OK, SD, TN, TX, WI, WY)




West (AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, OR, UT, WA, WY)

Navigon makes several apps for just about every region around the world. Find yours here: 






These Apps are UNIVERSAL and work on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The Maps are BUILT-IN and therefore these Apps don't require a data connection to navigate. With version 2.0 you can now download just the maps you need for the areas you're driving in so that you don't waste a lot of space on your device.

Kindle Fire owners are heavy internet users?

An ad network is claiming that Kindle Fire advertisement impressions growing, suggests increasing users and owners’ online activity.
Silk Browser is one of the most controversial web browsers this year due to its Amazon cloud-centric structure. Well, the browser is the newest indicator that Kindle Fire users are growing.
According to Millennial Media, November’s ad impressions data hint the growth of the Kindle Fire users and based on its findings, is flaunting the average ad impression growth of 19% since its release date last month. For starters, more users means more web users, and the good news for Amazon, consumers bought the device not because it is cheap, but they are also using it to browse the web.

The Kindle Fire is using a heavily customized version of Android, and the fact is, it is an Android device. The point is, the new Amazon tablet is also helping the search engine giant Google and its Android operating system to grab more ad impression market share.
The data reveal that Android still leads in Millennial Media’s ad impressions list with an impressive 50% of the total mobile ad impressions.
Apple’s new iOS 5 operating system as well as the new iPhone 4S arguably gave the computer company iOS the additional 7% last month now with 30 percent, while the company behind the BlackBerry smartphones grabbed the 17 percent.
The Kindle Fire is currently the cheapest “high-end” Android device, sporting the tag price of $199 only.
Rumors say Amazon will release a new, and bigger Fire tablet next year that will compete against Apple’s 9.7-incher, and other Android devices sporting the larger 10-inch. Amazon said last week that they’re currently selling 1 million Kindles a week, and the growth started last month after the launch of the 7-inch Android tablet.
Via TechCrunch.

ASUS Transformer Prime 64GB delayed: Reports

An Online retail is suggesting that the high-end 64GB ASUS will get a Spring release date.

Still waiting for the more spacious ASUS Transformer Prime or Transformer 2 with 64GB of onboard storage? Well, here’s a little bad news. If you’re not into reading bad tips, exit to Google or Bing or your preferred search engine immediately.
According to multiple reports circulating on the internet, the ASUS tablet with 64GB memory is delayed and will not arrive until next year. Yikes.

It is worth noting that ASUS and third-party retailers are still saying that the “cheaper” 32GB variant is still on schedule and will arrive this week or next month in some regions, and also depending on your retailer.
The source of the new tip is Clove, a smartphone and tablet retailer in the United Kingdom.
Here in the United States, the Transformer Prime is reportedly scheduled to arrive in customers’ houses today via Amazon.com.
Via Electronista.

What Are the Next Apple Products?

The brand-new line of Apple items to be released following year has the tech globe buzzing by having speculation as well as unlimited rumors. One of noted devices, the iPhone 5, has actually produced an internet of feasible designs as well as brand-new features that might come after this year’s Apple iPhone 4S.


The brand-new Apple iPhone 5 will certainly gloat a quicker processor as well as major software upgrades. The lengthy waited for 4G LTE connection will at last pertain to fruition after individuals have actually egged Apple to bring the seldom utilized feature to its items. Numerous of the most current Android devices operating the most current OS variation have actually currently used the feature.


Apple will certainly be heading in a various direction as its brand-new mobile phone takes a totally various design. The year 2012 will certainly guarantee to present major modifications on the equipment as well as software facets of the brand-new line of devices. A larger screen display will certainly be one of the physical features to count on to the brand-new Apple iPhone. Although no verification has actually but been made, the technician giant will likely institute such modification along by having a number of others facets. A number of technician sources are organizing to make the device thinner as well as light-weight.


Comparable modifications will definitely be made by having the following tablet, the iPad 3. Like the brand-new Apple iPhone, it will definitely even view major modifications. One of the first you may likely count on is the 4G LTE connection. DoCoMoo, a neighborhood Eastern company, is in talks by having Apple to bring its brand-new line of devices. Rumour has it that the release for the Apple items will definitely be made sometime on the next hand fifty percent of following year.


The brand-new tablet will definitely even be thinner as well as is expressed to be a lot more sparkling than one of its up as well as coming rival, Samsung. There are others that oppose the concept as well as believed that a backlight Retinal Display will definitely make the tablet a limited thicker.


David Levi writes tech news for a popular news site. Visit it now for more details on the iPhone 4S and iPad 3.

Verizon confirms Samsung Galaxy Nexus “signal issue”

Not yet ready for Prime Time? Verizon Wireless confirms the signal problem of its new Android 4.0 smartphone.

US wireless carrier Verizon has tweeted on Monday regarding the alleged signal issue that is reportedly plaguing some Samsung Galaxy Nexus owners, according to multiple reports posted online.
Verizon reportedly confirmed that the first 4G LTE version of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is suffering from signal strength problem, but they assured the customers that a software update will roll out soon to fix the issue. No word yet about the roll out date of the so-called signal strength software update.
Is there really a problem? One trusted website said — none.

According to AnandTech, there’s a misconception. The tech site said the signal bars displayed on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the actual LTE signal strength, while other devices like the Droid Bionic or the Samsung Droid Charge are displaying 1x/EVDO.
The site also added that LTE with 700 MHz spectrum vs 1x/EVDO’s 800 MHz and 1900 MHz  signal strength comparison is like comparing Apples from Oranges.
The website also describes the issue as “an issue that never really existed to begin with.”
The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the first Long Term Evolution Nexus phone in the country, and also the first Nexus device of Verizon Wireless. The new Samsung smartphone is arguably the most popular LTE phone this month and reviews say the device will continue to dominate the Android market next year largely because Android customers now want the latest and greatest operating system version available.

facebook

Facebook unfriends coal, friends Greenpeace in clean energy campaign
by Peter Sayer, IDG News Service   Dec 17, 2011 1:05 am


Greenpeace International has ended a long-running campaign calling on Facebook to “unfriend coal” as a source of energy for its data centers, after Facebook agreed to promote clean and renewable energy, the two organizations said.


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In late October, Facebook announced plans to build a new data center in Lulea, Sweden, using hydroelectric power for the servers and relying on the local climate to cool the data center for free. At the time, though, Facebook made no commitment to use clean and renewable energy in its other data centers.


Greenpeace rated Facebook’s existing data centers as among the dirtiest on the planet in its April report on cloud-computing services, “How dirty is your data?”


Back then, the campaign group estimated Facebook’s reliance on coal at 53.2 percent, second only to Apple’s (at 54.5 percent) and far higher than Google’s (34.7 percent) or Amazon’s (28.5 percent). Greenpeace based its estimates on published figures for data-center power consumption and electricity utilities’ reports of their energy sources.


Because the local utility, Pacific Power, obtains 63 percent of its energy from coal, even Facebook’s newest data center in Prineville, Oregon, was rated badly—and this despite its industry-leading PUE (power usage effectiveness) score of just 1.07, indicating that almost all the power it consumes is used for computing rather than ancillary functions such as cooling or lighting.


The company should become less reliant on coal, though, as in the future Facebook will favor data-center sites with access to clean and renewable energy, it said Thursday.


For Facebook’s existing data centers, though, expect slow evolution, not a revolution, in energy supply: “We’ll engage in a dialogue with our utility providers about increasing the supply of clean energy that power Facebook data centers,” a company statement said.


The company has also promised to distribute the results of its research into energy efficiency through the Open Compute Project, an organization it set up to promote low-cost, low-energy computing infrastructure. Greenpeace will help promote the project’s findings, it said.

Seagate completes acquisition of Samsung's hard drive business

Seagate Technology said Tuesday it has completed the acquisition of the hard disk drive (HDD) business of Samsung Electronics, after it recently received approval for the deal in Australia, China, and the European Commission. Seagate said in April that it was acquiring the HDD business of Samsung Electronics for $1.4 billion in stock and cash.


Under the terms of the transaction, Seagate said it has gained parts of Samsung’s HDD business, such as Samsung’s M8 product line of high-capacity, 2.5-inch drives, and other assets, infrastructure, and employees.


Samsung employees joining Seagate include a number of senior managers and design engineers from Samsung’s South Korea facility, who will develop small form-factor products for the mobile computing market, Seagate said.


N.Y. Park, senior vice president and general manager, will oversee Seagate’s product development activities in South Korea and serve as country manager of the local design center, reporting to Bob Whitmore, Seagate’s executive vice president and chief technology officer, it said.


In 2010, HDD shipments from both Seagate and Samsung added to 261.2 million units, giving the combined companies 40 percent of the HDD market, IHS iSuppli analyst Fang Zhang said in May in a blog post. Western Digital and Hitachi Global Storage Technologies still held the number one position with a 50 percent share.


The market shares are likely to change dramatically in this quarter and early next year after the Thailand floods halted production at the facilities of Western Digital in the country, though the supply chain to Seagate’s factories in the country was also affected.


The projected loss of shipments for Western Digital could prove a boon in the short term for Seagate Technology and boost the number two HDD player to the top after trailing Western Digital in total shipments for several quarters, IHS iSuppli said in November.


Western Digital said in March that it would buy Hitachi Global Storage Technologies for $4.3 billion in cash and stock. The acquisition is expected to close by March next year, as the company works to satisfy European Commission remedy provision, and obtains approvals from other regulatory authorities.


Seagate said it is retaining certain Samsung HDD products under the Samsung brand name for 12 months, and maintain or establish a number of independent operations including sales staff, key production lines and R&D (research and development). Some of these moves are likely to be linked to conditions imposed by China’s Ministry of Commerce for approving the merger, including requiring Seagate to expand the production capacity of Samsung drives for six months, and selling Samsung’s HDD products through an independent company.


The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission approved the acquisition last week.


Seagate and Samsung have also extended and enhanced their existing patent cross-license agreement, and have expanded cooperation to co-develop enterprise storage solutions.


Under the terms of the agreement in April, Seagate is supplying disk drives to Samsung for PCs, notebooks and consumer electronics devices, while Samsung is supplying semiconductor products for use in Seagate’s enterprise solid state drives (SSDs), solid-state hybrid drives and other products.

New MobileMe phishing scam attempts to relieve users of login data

While most treat the holidays as a time for goodwill toward all, scammers don’t really seem to have gotten the message. Their latest tactic: a phishing scheme aimed at MobileMe users.


First reported by The Mac Observer, the scam consists of a faked email, ostensibly from Apple’s MobileMe team. It warns that a virus has been found within the user’s iDisk; to keep the virus from spreading, users are instructed to reply to the email with their user name and password. (You can see the full text of the email on The Mac Observer’s website.) Other variations of the email—one supposedly from ISP Frontier Communications—are also floating around.


It's important that if you receive this—or any other questionable-looking email—you don't reply to it; if you already received and replied to such a message, you should change your password immediately. Even if your MobileMe account is not be directly linked to your iTunes Store account, you may use the same password combination—and as bad as it might be for a scammer to get into your mail and calendars, if they get ahold of your Apple ID, they'll have access to your credit card information, purchase history, and more. (You can change your password for your MobileMe account or Apple ID by visiting iforgot.apple.com.)


As a general rule, even if an email looks legitimate, you should never reply with sensitive information or visit a linked website directly through a message; if there’s an actual issue, you’ll likely be able to find it by manually typing the vendor’s URL into your Web browser. (Mac 911 columnist Ted Landau has a few more good tips on keeping yourself safe from scams online.)

Nuance buys voice-recognition app maker Vlingo

Nuance Communications and Vlingo gave people plenty to talk about Tuesday. The two makers of voice-driven apps announced that Nuance is buying Vlingo for an undisclosed sum.


In addition to a pair of Mac transcription products, Nuance offers a smattering of iOS apps. In addition to the Dragon Dictation speech-to-text dictation app—and spinoffs targeted at medical professionals and Salesforce.com users—Nuance also makes Dragon Go, a natural language search tool that attempts to provided contextualized results for your spoken queries. (A request for restaurants near you, for example, will turn up results in Yelp, while a movie showtimes request yields Fandango results.)


Vlingo has also made a name for itself with voice-driven apps on the iOS platform. Its self-titled app for the iPhone and iPod touch can send dictated text messages and emails, activate phone calls, search the Web and maps, and update your social networks using spoken commands.


Nuance’s Vlingo purchase “really accelerates the pace of innovation” both companies are bringing to the world of voice-driven natural language applications, Nuance president Steve Chambers told Macworld on Tuesday. The companies share the same vision involving global access via the spoken word, he said, and the acquisition “means we’re going to get there faster.”


The Vlingo acquisition comes just as the market for voice-driven virtual assistance seems to be booming. In announcing the deal, Nuance described a “$5 billion market opportunity” for voice-enabled capabilities that covers phones, tablets, cars, televisions, navigation devices, PCs, and music players. Even if that estimate strikes you as optimistic, it’s clear that Siri—the voice-driven personal assistant feature built into Apple’s iPhone 4S—has captured the imagination of device users. (In fact, Siri uses some of Nuance's technology under the hood.) Siri was bought by Apple in a 2010 deal.


Indeed, Chambers conceded that the “Siri effect was an underpinning of this acquisition,” citing the rapid embrace of Siri among iPhone 4S users and praising Apple’s ability to make voice-activated services accessible to consumers.


“It was a definitely a factor,” Chambers says of Siri’s impact on Nuance’s Vlingo purchase, “though not as recent [a factor] as you might think.”


Less clear is the long-term futures of the individual apps offered by Nuance and Vlingo. While the companies’ assorted iOS apps remained on the App Store Tuesday, Chambers declined to comment about post-acquisition plans for specific apps, though users can expect some future integration.


“We’re going to be adding innovation from Vlingo” into Nuance’s offerings, Chambers added.

SOPA hearing delayed, likely until early next year

A hearing to debate and amend the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S. House of Representatives has been delayed, likely until early next year.


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The House Judiciary Committee had planned to continue with a third day of markup hearings on SOPA on Wednesday, if the House was still in session. But the House leadership plans now to break for the holidays before Wednesday morning, a spokeswoman for the committee said.


The continued markup has been “postponed until the House is again in session,” the spokeswoman said Tuesday. “At this point, we expect that to be early next year.”


The Judiciary Committee held a 10-hour bill markup session last Thursday, then met again for a short time Friday before being interrupted by votes on the House floor. Representative Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican and committee chairman, had first suggested the next markup would be after the holidays, then scheduled a hearing for Wednesday if the House was still in session.


So far, the committee has voted down about 20 amendments designed to address concerns by Web-based companies, Web security experts and digital rights groups.


SOPA would allow the U.S. Department of Justice and copyright holders to seek court orders blocking payment processors and online advertising networks from doing business with foreign sites accused of infringing copyright.


DOJ-requested court orders could also bar search engines from linking to the allegedly infringing sites, require domain name registrars to stop resolving queries that direct traffic to those sites, and require Internet service providers to block subscriber access to sites accused of infringing.


Also on Tuesday, the White House Office of U.S. Trade Representative released an update to its list of “notorious” markets for the sale of pirated and counterfeit goods. The list includes 18 websites, including BitTorrent indexing sites and cyberlockers.


The list shows the need for Congress to pass SOPA or the similar Protect IP Act (PIPA), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said. Educational efforts to warn the public about the so-called rogue websites can take years, the Chamber said.


“That is why we need rogue sites legislation now—to give our courts the ability to cut off foreign criminals from the U.S. marketplace,” the Chamber said in a statement. The two bills “provide reasonable and effective ways” to enforce copyright law.


Earlier this week, the Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group (MAAWG), an international nonprofit group fighting online phishing, botnets and fraud, released a letter to Congress about concerns members have about Web filtering techniques authorized in SOPA and PIPA.


The bills could “unintentionally” increase Web security risks, the group said in the letter.


“The filtering technologies outlined in these bills also would significantly impact the currently reliable messaging processes that are depended on worldwide and would require drastic architectural changes to existing network operations,” MAAWG added. “These bills, if passed in their present form, will make it exceedingly difficult—if not arguably impossible—to protect the Internet community from ongoing attacks on critical infrastructure, to block spam, child pornography and malware, and to prevent phishing attacks against individuals and commercial enterprises.”

Remains of the Day: Copycat cases

Apple’s got a new case on cases, first-generation iPod nano owners are turning into sixth-generation iPod nano owners, and Siri tickles the ivories (but not your funny bone). The remainders for Tuesday, December 20, 2011 are the sincerest form of flattery.


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Apple Claims Samsung Tablet, Phone Cases Infringe Patents (Bloomberg Businessweek)


Samsung’s devices aren’t the only thing that Apple contends the Korea-based company copied from Cupertino’s designs. In a filing in Australia, Apple argues that the cases for Samsung’s devices are just as infringing as the devices themselves. Or, in other words, when is a Smart Cover not so smart?


Apple may be swapping recalled iPod nanos with new models (iPodNN)


Those first-generation iPod nanos that Apple’s replacing? According to some reports, folks are actually ending up with new, sixth-generation touchscreen iPod nanos. Don’t worry: They're officially certified to contain 100 percent less fire.


“Play it again, Siri” - A smartphone plays the piano (YouTube)


You might think Siri’s only good for making your appointments and reminding you to do things, but it has aspirations of its own! You probably didn’t know, for example, that Siri’s an accomplished pianist. At least, that’s what I learned from this video showing how to control a Yamaha player piano via the virtual assistant. That’s pretty good, but until Siri can handle phonetic punctuation, it’s still no match for Victor Borge.


Super Bowl to be streamed online for first time (USA Today)


The U.S.’s biggest sporting event of the year, the world championship of pétanque Super Bowl, will be streamed on the Internet for the first time. To tune in, you’ll have to visit the NFL’s website or NBC’s website—Verizon Wireless customers can also watch via Verizon’s NFL Mobile app. Hopefully, there will be a feature to let me skip through the game and get to the ads.


Product News:


Camera Plus Pro 4.3 - The latest update to Global Delight's camera app for iPhone and iPod touch brings a live Soft Flash feature for devices without a flash. There's also now one-touch cropping by aspect ratio, the ability to import multiple photos from your device's Camera Roll for retouching, and a larger font size for text overlays. $2, for a limited time only. (Normally $3.)


Navigon 2.0.1 - The latest version of this iPhone GPS app fixes server connection problems, improves VoiceOver support, and includes interface enhancements such as integrated iPod controls. Navigon also announced that it will continue with occasional free map updates, in addition to the FreshMaps service that provides more frequent updates for a fee. $39.


GetGlue 2.5.4 for iPhone - A new visual stream look-and-feel, conversation tabs, unified interface, and guides for TV, movies, books, and music highlight the latest release of the social networking app for media. Free.


Evernote 4.1.7 - Version 4.1.7 of the online note-syncing app for iOS adds the ability to share notebooks and manage that sharing via iOS devices, easier access to offline notebooks for premium members, stability improvements, and some fixes for sync errors. Free.