Apple’s Snow Leopard not a dramatic change

Associated Press

By Peter Svensson

August 26, 2009

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TEC_APPLE_SNOW_LEOPARD?SITE=ORPOR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

While Microsoft Corp. prepares to release the next incarnation of Windows on Oct. 22, Apple Inc. is cutting ahead, launching a new version of its operating system for Mac computers on Friday.

Apple’s new Snow Leopard software isn’t as big of a step forward from its predecessor as Windows 7 will be from Windows Vista. The most important changes in the Apple operating system are under the hood, allowing software developers to rewrite their programs to run much faster.

Snow Leopard is a relatively cheap upgrade, costing $29 for an individual user who has Leopard, the previous operating system. A “family pack” for five users costs $49.

For Mac owners using the older Tiger operating system, switching to Snow Leopard costs $169, or $229 for a family pack. That “box set” includes the latest iLife and iWork software for such tasks as movie editing, photo organizing and word processing. Buying the DVD is the only upgrade option for consumers — you can’t download the software.

What’s the catch? Well, part of the reason Snow Leopard can promise faster, better applications is that it’s designed for Macs with Intel chips, which Apple started using in early 2006. It won’t run on older Macs with the previous PowerPC family of chips. The launch of the new operating system is a hint to get a new computer.

In an Apple’s demonstration of the software to The Associated Press, these were some of the most obvious changes that stood out in Snow Leopard:

– The built-in e-mail, calendar and address book applications will support Microsoft Exchange servers, the kind used by most companies. That means it will be easier to get company e-mail without using dedicated programs like Entourage or Outlook, which Microsoft is releasing for Macs late next year. However, Snow Leopard supports only the most recent release of Exchange.

– Moving the mouse cursor over a program icon in the “dock” at the bottom of the screen reveals all the windows open in that program, tiled side by side. This is an extension of the “expose” feature, which shows all windows in all programs side by side.

– Right-clicking in a window should bring up more relevant choices, bringing this function closer to its Windows equivalent.

– The new standard version of the QuickTime video-playing software will now convert clips for playing on iPhones or iPods, or upload them to YouTube. You will also be able to trim clips. Previously, you had to buy QuickTime Pro to convert videos or fire up the more time-consuming iMovie.

– You can make the file thumbnails even bigger, giving you a better idea of the contents of your hard drive at glance.

– The operating system is more compact, freeing about 7 gigabytes of hard drive space previously claimed by Leopard.

– Ejecting disks should be easier. Sometimes, Macs won’t let you eject a disk or disconnect a drive because the operating system believes it’s reading or writing to it. Apple says Snow Leopard will be better about freeing up the disk, or if it can’t, it will give a reason.

– Web browsing and image and document previews should be noticeably faster. This is because more of the software now processes data in 64-bit chunks, twice as big as before. Other applications should benefit from this change as well, once developers start writing them in 64-bit versions.

– Developers will also be helped by a new system called Grand Central Dispatch, which makes it easier to take advantage of the multiple “cores” in today’s processors, boosting the speed of heavy-duty applications like video editing. It will also be easier to take advantage of more system memory.

Lastly, Apple is making it easier to tap into what can be the most powerful computing engine in a desktop PC: the graphics chip. While the central processing unit does most of the heavy lifting, the graphics chip is mostly called upon to generate screen images. Developers will now be able to expand the uses of the graphics chip, which could make for smarter enemies in video games and more realistic simulations of real-life objects.

So how does Snow Leopard compare to Windows 7? Snow Leopard’s benefits will be most apparent down the road, while Windows 7 promises more of an immediate payoff.

Windows 7 combines a bigger revamping of the user interface of Microsoft’s last effort, Vista, with a series of smaller under-the-hood changes. It even can work on many older PCs — in fact, Windows 7 is supposed to run better on modest hardware than Vista did.

Apple’s share of the U.S. personal-computer market nearly tripled from 2004 to 2008 but hasn’t gone up significantly since then, and now stands at around 8.5 percent, according to IDC. So Apple could use a fresh reason for buyers to get excited about Macs.

Snow Leopard is unlikely to provide that. People already have a high opinion of Apple’s software. What holds them back from switching from Windows is still the relatively high price and limited selection of Macs and third-party software. Coming in as the underdog in the public-perception contest, Microsoft has more to gain from these software revamps.

For most Mac users, Snow Leopard will likely be a no-brainer upgrade, given the low price. But early upgraders often face minor bugs and installation problems, so unless you’re dying for one of the new features, waiting a month or so is a safer course.

Apple, AT&T Respond in Google Phone Spat

Wall Street Journal

By Amy Schatz

August 24, 2009

AT&T Inc. told federal regulators Friday that it played “no role” in Apple Inc.’s decision to keep Google Inc.’s Google Voice Internet phone application off the iPhone while Apple said that it hasn’t rejected the software.

Instead, Apple told the Federal Communications Commission that it is still studying the Google Voice application, but said it has concerns about how Google’s application puts the Google brand on Apple’s device.

“The application has not been approved because, as submitted for review, it appears to alter the iPhone’s distinctive user experience by replacing the iPhone’s core mobile telephone functionality and Apple user interface with its own user interface for telephone calls, text messaging and voicemail,” Apple said.

The FCC is looking into why Google’s phone app wasn’t approved for Apple’s App Store and whether AT&T, which has exclusive rights to offer the iPhone to customers in the U.S., had anything to do with it. In late July, the FCC asked all three companies for information on what led to the software’s apparent rejection from Apple’s online store.

In its letter to the FCC Friday, AT&T said it wasn’t responsible for keeping Google Voice off of the iPhone and that it doesn’t block consumers from using lawful applications on the Internet.

“AT&T was not asked about the matter by Apple at any time, nor did it offer any view one way or the other,” said Jim Cicconi, AT&T’s senior executive vice president for external and legislative affairs. “More broadly, AT&T does not own, operate or control the Apple App Store and is not typically consulted regarding the approval or rejection of applications for the App Store or informed when an application is approved or rejected.”

AT&T said that it wasn’t asked by Apple about the Google Voice app “nor did [AT&T] offer any view one way or the other,” according to the letter.

Additionally, AT&T said that it plans to take “a fresh look at possibly authorizing [Internet phone] capabilities on the iPhone for use on AT&T’s 3G network.” AT&T currently restricts use of some Internet phone applications, notable Skype’s phone service, on the iPhone to Wi-Fi networks.

Google also filed a response to the FCC about the matter, but redacted any information about its talks with Apple on its Google Voice app.

Thus far, the FCC’s interest hasn’t reached the stage of a formal investigation. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has previously told reporters that the agency is interested in finding out more about what happened in the matter.

An FCC spokeswoman said the agency was reviewing the letters.

Apple declined to approve the Google Voice application and related software developed by third parties in mid-July and some have speculated that AT&T had something to do with the decision.

AT&T has maintained for several weeks that it doesn’t have control over Apple’s App Store and that any decision to reject an application lies with the computer giant.

Google Voice doesn’t replace traditional or wireless phone services since it requires users to have at least one other phone. Google Voice is more of a call directing service. Google Voice users choose a phone number that, if called, will ring all of the user’s other phones. It also offers other services, like call recording and voice mail transcription.

However, Google Voice’s cheap international calling rates and free SMS message service could be more problematic for wireless carriers, which make healthy profits on text-message fees.

It’s not entirely clear what action the FCC could take against Apple to require the company to offer the Google Voice application to its customers.

The agency’s inquiry, however, comes as its focusing more attention on competition issues in the wireless industry, including the issue of whether to ban exclusive handset deals like the one between AT&T and Apple for the iPhone. Next week, the agency plans to open broad inquiries into the state of competition in the wireless industry and whether to change truth-in-billing rules designed to prevent phone companies from tacking on extraneous charges onto subscribers’ bills.

Palm’s Colligan Said to Snub Jobs’s Recruiting Offer

By Connie Guglielmo

Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) — Former Palm Inc. Chief Executive Officer Ed Colligan rejected a proposal from Apple Inc.’s Steve Jobs to refrain from hiring each other’s employees two years ago, calling it wrong and “likely illegal,” according to their communications.

Colligan, who stepped down as CEO in June, discussed the matter with Jobs in August 2007, as the mobile-phone war heated up, according to the communications. Apple had introduced the iPhone two months earlier, just as Palm hired a former Apple executive, Jon Rubinstein, to develop new smart phones. Jobs, Apple’s CEO, told Colligan he was concerned that Rubinstein was recruiting Apple employees. “We must do whatever we can to stop this,” Jobs said in the communications.

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating possible collusion in hiring among technology companies, a person familiar with the probe said in June. Derick Mains, a spokesman for Palm, said the company hasn’t been contacted by the Justice Department. Bloomberg News reviewed the communications between Jobs and Colligan. more…

Apple looking into reports of exploding iPhones

Reuters

By Timothy Heritage

August 18, 2009

Apple is investigating media reports that one or more of the company’s iPhones have exploded in Europe, a European Commission spokeswoman said Tuesday.

The spokeswoman for the EU executive, which oversees the safety of consumer products sold in the 27-country bloc, said Apple had described the reported incidents as isolated.

Apple said it was aware of the media reports, which include a case in which a teenager in France said he was slightly injured when his iPhone made a hissing noise and shattered, but did not comment on any contacts with the commission.

“Apple have come back to us … and what they’ve said to us is that they consider these are isolated incidents. They don’t consider that there’s a general problem,” commission spokeswoman Helen Kearns told a news briefing.

“They’re trying to get more information on the specific details of those incidents (reported in the media) and they will do tests as necessary to investigate the possible cause,” she said.

Apple did not comment on the commission spokeswoman’s remarks.

But a spokesman for Apple Europe Ltd. said: “We are aware of these (media) reports and we are waiting to receive the iPhones from the customers. Until we have the full details, we don’t have anything further to add.”

Apple Probes Reports of iPhone Explosions in Europe

CNBC Asia

Apple is investigating media reports that one or more of the company’s iPhones have exploded in Europe, a European Commission spokeswoman said on Tuesday. The spokeswoman for the EU executive, which oversees the safety of consumer products sold in the 27-country bloc, said Apple [AAPL  164.0056    4.4156  (+2.77%)   ] had described the reported incidents as isolated.

Schmidt’s Apple Exit Suggests New Antitrust Targets

Bloomberg

Schmidt’s Apple Exit Suggests New Antitrust Targets

By Brian Womack and Kelly Riddell

August 4, 2009

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=auuNxtnPiVPw

Google Inc. Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt’s resignation as an Apple Inc. director shows that antitrust regulators may be gaining sway in Silicon Valley, threatening the way companies hire staff and run their boards.

Schmidt stepped down from Apple’s board yesterday as the U.S. Federal Trade Commission investigated whether Google and Apple were breaking antitrust law by sharing board members. The Justice Department also is probing Silicon Valley companies, looking at whether they’re colluding in hiring, two people familiar with the investigation said in June.

Schmidt’s decision may be a symptom of broader pressure, said Samuel Miller, an antitrust lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP in San Francisco. Google’s Android phone software and Chrome operating system are becoming direct competitors to Apple’s products, increasing scrutiny of the companies.

“This is just one piece of a bigger puzzle, but it clearly reflects increased focus on technology companies by the antitrust authorities,” said Miller, who represented the Justice Department in a monopoly case against Microsoft Corp. in 1994. “It reflects recognition both in Washington and in Silicon Valley that the antitrust laws need to be followed.”

In announcing the resignation yesterday, Apple CEO Steve Jobs cited Schmidt’s potential for conflicts of interest. The decision was mutual, Jobs said. Steve Dowling, a spokesman for the company, had no additional comment beyond the statement.

“We’ve agreed it makes sense for me to step down now,” Schmidt said yesterday in a statement. Matt Furman, a spokesman for Google, declined to comment on the FTC’s investigation.

About-Face

Schmidt’s decision to leave Apple is a reversal from three months ago, when he said the idea of resigning hadn’t even crossed his mind.

The Federal Trade Commission said yesterday it would continue the probe. While Schmidt’s move may soothe the concerns, another board member — Genentech Inc. Chairman Art Levinson — serves on the boards of both Google and Apple.

Google’s board also includes Paul Otellini, CEO of Intel Corp., the world’s biggest chipmaker. Apple’s board, meanwhile, includes Intuit Inc. Chairman Bill Campbell. He also serves as an adviser to Google. Campbell didn’t respond to a request for comment. Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy declined to comment.

Levinson, 59, has been at Google since 2004 and at Apple since 2000. He declined to comment as well, Genentech spokesman Geoff Teeter said.

‘Two Masters’

Silicon Valley is a “small area, geographically, with a high concentration of companies in that particular business,” said Charles Elson, director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware in Newark. “The best advice is to stay away from boards that may compete with the company on which you serve. The issue is, you can’t share two masters.”

The departure of Schmidt, 54, was probably seen as the quickest way to resolve the matter, said Greg Neppl, an antitrust lawyer at Foley & Lardner LLP in Washington.

“The inquiry by itself probably motivated the decision,” said Neppl, a former trial attorney with the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “This kind of government investigation is not the kind of hassle that any business wants to endure.”

Schmidt’s decision spotlights the Obama administration’s scrutiny of Google and its peers. Google, the most popular Internet search engine, is attracting attention for its dominant share of Internet searches and its efforts to expand into other markets, such as operating software for computers and mobile phones.

New Problems

“These problems would not have emerged a couple of years ago because Google was so unidimensional,” said Joe Angland, an antitrust lawyer at White & Case LLP in New York, who has defended DaimlerChrysler Corp. and others in antitrust cases. “Google was great at what it did, but it didn’t do that many things.”

Technology companies also had freer rein under the previous administration, said Miller, who isn’t involved in any of the investigations.

“There had been lax antitrust enforcement under the Bush administration and a more hands-off attitude,” he said. “The new head of the FTC and the new head of the antitrust division clearly announced there was going to be increased antitrust enforcement and I think that this is the first example of that.”

Book Scanning

Even if Google can defuse the investigation, the company faces at least two other government probes. Google said in June that the Justice Department has asked the company and publishers for information about the settlement of a book-scanning dispute.

Google is also part of the Justice Department probe into hiring practices, according to the people familiar with the investigation. Microsoft and Yahoo! Inc. were said to be part of that inquiry as well.

David Bowermaster, a spokesman for Redmond, Washington- based Microsoft, declined to comment. May Petry, a spokeswoman for Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo, also declined to comment.

Google, based in Mountain View, California, rose $1.52 to $453.73 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. Apple, located in Cupertino, California, dropped 88 cents to $165.55.

Microsoft and Yahoo are merging their search-engine efforts, a partnership that also will be reviewed by regulators, Miller said. In that case, the combination provides a bigger competitor to Google, so it’s likely to pass scrutiny, he said.

‘Pro-Competitive’

“The issue will be looked at,” he said. “But I think it is pro-competitive because the Microsoft-Yahoo arrangement will actually give advertisers and the public a real and significant choice to Google that should increase competition.”

Google had about 65 percent of the U.S. Web-search market in June, according to Reston, Virginia-based research firm ComScore Inc. Yahoo and Microsoft had 28 percent combined.

Last week, Google said that Apple rejected its Voice program for the iPhone, which would have let people make U.S. calls, send text messages and organize voice mails without charging fees. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission began an inquiry into Apple’s rejection of the program.

Schmidt’s resignation is “a validation of the fact that Apple and Google are getting more competitive,” said Gene Munster, an analyst with Piper Jaffray & Co. in Minneapolis. “It just reached a point for Eric Schmidt to step aside.”