In May of 2006, an appeals court thwarted Apple’s efforts to determine who leaked information about Asteroid, a FireWire audio interface for its GarageBand music program, to O’Grady’s Power Page and Apple Insider. It ruled all three were protected under California’s Shield Law, which confers protections to journalists seeking to shield their sources.

“We decline the implicit invitation to embroil ourselves in questions of what constitutes ‘legitimate journalis[m],’” the court wrote in its ruling.  “The Shield Law is intended to protect the gathering and dissemination of news, and that is what petitioners did here.  We can think of no workable test or principle that would distinguish “legitimate” from “illegitimate” news.”

Apple subsequently abandoned the case.

But in another, similar case, it wasn’t so easily dissuaded.

In December 2007, Apple managed to shut down Think Secret, a Mac rumor site it sued for misappropriation of trade secrets in 2005 after it pre-announced the Mac mini and the iLife ’05 software suite.

“Apple and Think Secret have settled their lawsuit, reaching an agreement that results in a positive solution for both sides,” Think Secret said in a statement at the time. “As part of the confidential settlement, no sources were revealed and Think Secret will no longer be published.”

A victory for Apple, then, though Think Secret’s attorney, Terry Gross of Gross & Belsky LLP, described it otherwise. “It’s clear that Apple filed the lawsuit with such fanfare, but then stopped the entire litigation because they thought they were going to lose, and that they’d end up paying a lot of money for it,” Gross said. “This shows that lawsuits like Apple’s can be stopped dead.”

Maybe, but not without consequence. After all, Think Secret is no more.

So Apple’s essentially one-for-two in these battles. Not a great record, but good enough, I imagine, to have the folks at Gizmodo and Gawker Media mulling the potential legal costs if if it turns out that the San Mateo District Attorney’s office does believe they committed a crime by buying the iPhone prototype and Apple brings civil charges against them as a result.

The story is attributed to “people with a proven track record in predicting Apple’s technological advances.”

Read the rest of this post on the original site

That’s the word from AppleInsider, which claims some insight into the next iteration of Apple’s (AAPL) iconic device.

“People familiar with Apple’s initiative” tell the publication that the company has been ordering “tens of millions” of LED camera flash components for delivery this year, presumably with the intention of building them into the next-generation iPhone and iPod touch.

I have no confirmation of this myself, but it certainly seems plausible, and given the lousy photos the iPhone takes in low-light situations, more likely an inevitability.

Neither filing provides much detail about either device beyond model number, though the keyboard described in one does appear to be smaller than the current model. That said, AppleInsider speculates that the mouse Apple (AAPL) is evidently working on will be significantly mightier than the current Mighty Mouse, scrapping the device’s rollerball in favor of a touch-sensitive housing and perhaps even an aluminum finish.

[IImage Credits: Engadget and MacBlogz]

Well, no longer. Because Apple (AAPL) is planning to refresh its iMac desktop computer in the next few weeks, and when it does, it may well offer a Blue-ray drive option.

Sources tell AppleInsider that the new all-in-one, dual-core desktops, which are also said to feature a new, slimmer enclosure, were finalized earlier this month and are already rolling off the assembly lines of Apple’s manufacturing partners.

“The late 2009 iMac line should also debut several features previously unavailable to Mac buyers,” the publication notes. “People familiar with Apple’s thinking have suggested in recent months one of these moves could see the company finally embrace Blu-ray.”

One last point worth noting here: According to the MacRumors Buyer’s Guide, the iMac is due for a refresh. Apple has updated it every 220 days on average since it debuted the machine in 2003. As of today, it has been 204 days since the last update. MacRumors’s recommendation: “Buy only if you need it–Approaching the end of a cycle.”

Well, no longer. Because Apple (AAPL) is planning to refresh its iMac desktop computer in the next few weeks, and when it does, it may well offer a Blue-ray drive option.

Sources tell AppleInsider that the new all-in-one, dual-core desktops, which are also said to feature a new, slimmer enclosure, were finalized earlier this month and are already rolling off the assembly lines of Apple’s manufacturing partners.

“The late 2009 iMac line should also debut several features previously unavailable to Mac buyers,” the publication notes. “People familiar with Apple’s thinking have suggested in recent months one of these moves could see the company finally embrace Blu-ray.”

One last point worth noting here: According to the MacRumors Buyer’s Guide, the iMac is due for a refresh. Apple has updated it every 220 days on average since it debuted the machine in 2003. As of today, it has been 204 days since the last update. MacRumors’s recommendation: “Buy only if you need it–Approaching the end of a cycle.”

BoomTown extends apologies to the late Francis P. Church, who penned the original “Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus” editorial in the New York Sun on Sept. 21, 1897.

But with just a little rejiggering, his eloquent words work perfectly as a translation for Apple’s press release about its withdrawal from San Francisco’s Macworld and no keynote speech from Apple CEO Steve Jobs yesterday, which doubtlessly shook the Apple (AAPL) faithful to the core.

Oddly enough, it matches up surprisingly–and a little disturbingly–well.

Thus, here’s a little holiday inspiration to help those poor souls make it through these darkest of days:

Dear Editor:

I am 28 years old. Some of my little fanboys say there is no Steve Jobs at Macworld. My imaginary friend at AppleInsider says, ‘If you see it on BoomTown, it’s so.’ Please tell me the truth, is there a Steve Jobs?

–O’Hanlon, a geek in Virginia”

Apple wrote: CUPERTINO, California—December 16, 2008—Apple today announced that this year is the last year the company will exhibit at Macworld Expo. Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, will deliver the opening keynote for this year’s Macworld Conference & Expo, and it will be Apple’s last keynote at the show. The keynote address will be held at Moscone West on Tuesday, January 6, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. Macworld will be held at San Francisco’s Moscone Center January 5-9, 2009.

Translation: Virginia geek, your little friends are wrong (and they also have no life, which is self-evident). They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia geek, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. Not as elegantly tiny as the iPod Nano, but little nonetheless. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Apple wrote: Apple is reaching more people in more ways than ever before, so like many companies, trade shows have become a very minor part of how Apple reaches its customers. The increasing popularity of Apple’s Retail Stores, which more than 3.5 million people visit every week, and the Apple.com website enable Apple to directly reach more than a hundred million customers around the world in innovative new ways.

Translation: Yes, Virginia geek, there is a Steve Jobs. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion and the fabled touchscreen tablet Mac exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Steve Jobs! It would be as dreary as if there were no amazingly great iPhones. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance, no Pull My Finger app to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Apple wrote: Apple has been steadily scaling back on trade shows in recent years, including NAB, Macworld New York, Macworld Tokyo and Apple Expo in Paris.

Translation: Not believe in Steve Jobs! You might as well not believe in those admittedly freaky iPod shadow dancers. You might get your other pretend friend at MacRumors to hire men to watch in all the Chinese manufacturing factories on Christmas eve to catch Steve Jobs, but even if you did not see Steve Jobs ordering up new Mini desktop computers, what would that prove? Nobody sees Steve Jobs, but that is no sign that there is no Steve Jobs. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see the iPod dancers dancing bizarrely on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

Apple wrote: 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.

Translation: You tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, and the fact that the Mac guy vs. PC guy ads are pure genius can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia geek, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

Apple wrote: 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.

Translation: No Steve Jobs! Thank God! he lives and lives forever, despite Henry Blodget-fueled health rumors to the contrary. A thousand years from now, Virginia geek, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of Mac fanboyhood.

Belkin has confirmed that it’s pulling its booth from the show floor as well. The company has opted instead to hold private meetings with its channel partners. It insists that this isn’t so much a financial decision, as a strategic one–”we’re reallocating show floor funds to hold private product meetings,” a spokesperson told me–but it’s hard not to view it that way, given the continued deterioration of the economy. Interesting to note, though, that sources tell AppleInsider that the company had already paid for its 2009 booth space.

Show organizer IDG must be offering Econalypse refunds….

UPDATE: Belkin won’t be exhibiting at the Consumer Electronics Show, either. “No booth at CES–and it’s for the same reasons why we’re not exhibiting at MacWorld,” a spokesperson tells me. “We learned that a smaller group of our channel partners will be attending CES, and those who are attending are focusing on driving incremental value in 2009. We believe that private meetings in hotel suites are more conducive for this type of discussion, as they are more intimate. So, we are redistributing our resources and funds to help support sell-thru for our retail partners and drive traffic into their stores. Examples: more holiday promotions and programs.”

As of this morning, no participants–potential or otherwise–have pulled out of Super Bowl XLIII, but the trend is looking grim for seasonal blockbusters. We’ll keep you posted.

Belkin has confirmed that it’s pulling its booth from the show floor as well. The company has opted instead to hold private meetings with its channel partners. It insists that this isn’t so much a financial decision, as a strategic one–”we’re reallocating show floor funds to hold private product meetings,” a spokesperson told me–but it’s hard not to view it that way, given the continued deterioration of the economy. Interesting to note, though, that sources tell AppleInsider that the company had already paid for its 2009 booth space.

Show organizer IDG must be offering Econalypse refunds….

UPDATE: Belkin won’t be exhibiting at the Consumer Electronics Show, either. “No booth at CES–and it’s for the same reasons why we’re not exhibiting at MacWorld,” a spokesperson tells me. “We learned that a smaller group of our channel partners will be attending CES, and those who are attending are focusing on driving incremental value in 2009. We believe that private meetings in hotel suites are more conducive for this type of discussion, as they are more intimate. So, we are redistributing our resources and funds to help support sell-thru for our retail partners and drive traffic into their stores. Examples: more holiday promotions and programs.”

As of this morning, no participants–potential or otherwise–have pulled out of Super Bowl XLIII, but the trend is looking grim for seasonal blockbusters. We’ll keep you posted.

UPDATE: New reports are emerging that claim Apple isn’t selling the iPhone at any of its retail stores outside the U.S come Friday. This would suggest that, while Apple may well be appalled by Rogers’ pricing, it isn’t protesting it by refusing to sell the iPhone 3G through its own retail stores in Canada.

……….

If you’re a Canadian who doesn’t like the price at which Canada’s exclusive iPhone carrier, Rogers (RCI), is selling the device don’t buy one, the Vancouver Sun advised in an editorial last Friday. Wise advice. And easier to follow, now that Apple (AAPL) is reportedly sanctioning Rogers out of disgust for its exorbitantly priced data rates (see chart below). Appalled by Rogers’ pricing, Cupertino is said to be refusing to sell the iPhone 3G through its own retail stores in Canada. So come Friday, Canadians looking for a new iPhone will have to head over to a Rogers Wireless outlet to buy one–assuming they can stomach a three-year contract that requires a minimum monthly payment of $60 for just 150 minutes, 75 text messages, and 400MB of data … Apple stores will have demo models only.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20080708/apple-to-rogers-take-off-eh-hoser/feed/ 6 http://allthingsd.com/20080708/apple-to-rogers-take-off-eh-hoser-2/ http://allthingsd.com/20080708/apple-to-rogers-take-off-eh-hoser-2/#comments Tue, 08 Jul 2008 12:07:19 +0000 John Paczkowski http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/?p=2706

UPDATE: New reports are emerging that claim Apple isn’t selling the iPhone at any of its retail stores outside the U.S come Friday. This would suggest that, while Apple may well be appalled by Rogers’ pricing, it isn’t protesting it by refusing to sell the iPhone 3G through its own retail stores in Canada.

……….

If you’re a Canadian who doesn’t like the price at which Canada’s exclusive iPhone carrier, Rogers (RCI), is selling the device don’t buy one, the Vancouver Sun advised in an editorial last Friday. Wise advice. And easier to follow, now that Apple (AAPL) is reportedly sanctioning Rogers out of disgust for its exorbitantly priced data rates (see chart below). Appalled by Rogers’ pricing, Cupertino is said to be refusing to sell the iPhone 3G through its own retail stores in Canada. So come Friday, Canadians looking for a new iPhone will have to head over to a Rogers Wireless outlet to buy one–assuming they can stomach a three-year contract that requires a minimum monthly payment of $60 for just 150 minutes, 75 text messages, and 400MB of data … Apple stores will have demo models only.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20080708/apple-to-rogers-take-off-eh-hoser-2/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20080313/appltvo/ http://allthingsd.com/20080313/appltvo/#comments Thu, 13 Mar 2008 22:59:05 +0000 John Paczkowski http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/20080313/appltvo/

Lest there be any doubt that DVR functionality was purposefully left out of Apple TV, consider this patent recently unearthed by AppleInsider. Filed in October of 2006, the patent describes not just a version of Apple TV capable of browsing and recording live TV programming, but a touch-based remote that could be preloaded with upcoming TV listings to facilitate it. From the patent:

For example, program data for upcoming programs, e.g., for the next month, can be downloaded and stored on the remote control device. Thereafter, a user of the remote control device can search programs that are to be broadcast and determine which programs to record. The recording settings can be programmed onto the remote control device, and then be provided to the video device when a data communication is established between the remote control device and the video device.”

Pretty slick, eh? Lots of additional possibilities here as well. One could easily imagine the iPod Touch and iPhone serving as the remote the patent describes. And if this next-generation Apple TV is capable of recording TV programming, why not make it the gateway through which such programming is delivered? How nice would it be to subscribe to HBO–and HBO alone–via iTunes? How nice would it be to subscribe to a season of “Weeds”? Or to a commercial-free season of “The Office” and skip everything else NBC has to offer? How nice would it be if the latest unwatched episode of “Weeds” on your Apple TV was automatically synced to your iPhone for later viewing? How nice would it be if new films opened on iTunes the same day they opened in theaters?

Pipe dream? Perhaps. Certainly, these scenarios would require Apple (AAPL) to ink some fantastical new licensing deals with Hollywood. And the two aren’t exactly seeing eye-to-eye all the time these days. Still, you never know. Stranger things have happened.

Silverthorne, part of Intel’s “Menlow” Mobile Internet Device platform, reportedly runs as fast as a second generation Pentium M processor, but consumes between half a watt and two watts of electrical power–about a tenth of the power consumed by a typical notebook processor. No wonder Apple’s said to be interested in the chip. It would appear to be perfect for a number of devices rumored to be secreted away in its product pipeline–the FlashBook, the multitouch Newton, the Mac tablet.

That said, we’ll likely not see it popping up in a 3G iPhone, though at first glance it would make sense there as well. “According to several iPhone teardowns, Apple is likely using the Samsung S3C6400, or some special equivalent built just for them, in the iPhone,” explains News.com’s Tom Krazit. “That chip is based on the ARM1176 core, which at 620MHz consumes just 279 milliwatts. That’s running all-out, whereas most of the time you’re actually going to be drawing much less power than that. Silverthorne, by contrast, will consume 500 milliwatts of power at minimum, and probably only when it’s doing nothing in idle mode. Those numbers just aren’t going to work in a phone, especially an Apple phone, if the company really is so concerned about power consumption that it has held off on releasing a 3G iPhone until the power consumption of that modem improves.”