Next-generation iPhone could go on sale during WWDC

Mashable is reporting today that Apple is planning to release its next-generation iPhone for sales during the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). WWDC will kick off on June 7th and go on until June 11th.

Over the last two years, Apple has revealed both the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3GS at WWDC. However, the release of the actual iPhone hardware has traditionally come a few weeks after the announcement. Our sources say that Apple may break that tradition this year by shortening the timetable. An immediate release would also break another tradition: Apple fans camping out in front of Apple stores just so they can get their hands on the company’s newest product.

Another reason why Apple may be planning to release the next-generation iPhone during WWDC is that it has already been leaked to Gizmodo after an Apple engineer left it in a Redwood City, California bar last month. Due to consumer excitement and the fact that we know everything already, Apple may want to just release it to the public rather than keep people waiting.

Microsoft hasn’t ended support for Xbox Live on original Xbox’s…yet

Neowin is reporting today Microsoft has not been able to end support for Xbox Live on the Original Xbox yet, due to a few smart users.

To kill the service, Microsoft needs every user to sign off themselves - they are not forcing users off the server - but they will no longer be able to sign back in. However, 13 different Halo 2 players have kept their consoles running and are online playing Halo 2.

According to Bungie.net forums:

Throughout the past week, a small group of dedicated Halo 2 players kept their Xbox's on so that they could enjoy the game for a while longer. (As long as we don't turn off our Xbox's, or lose connection, we can stay online. Our Xbox's have been on for nearly 13 days straight) Each day the amount of people decreased, at a rapid rate.

The players will continue to play and keep their consoles on until they freeze, connections drop or Microsoft gets annoyed and kicks them off the server.

Microsoft announced back in February that they would be killing Xbox Live support for original Xbox users to increase performance for Xbox 360 users. This has been in affect since April 14th of this year.

Apple releases MobileMe Control Panel for Windows 1.5.2

Apple released MobileMe Control Panel for Windows 1.5.2 yesterday, adding compatibility with iTunes 9.1.1, which was also released yesterday.

MobileMe Control Panel for Windows 1.5.2

MobileMe Control Panel is required to manage iDisk settings and to sync contacts, calendars, and bookmarks on a Windows PC.

This update is required for Windows computers running iTunes 9.1.1.

The update weighs in at 2.4 MB and requires a MobileMe subscription, iTunes 9.1.1 and Windows 7, Windows Vista SP1 or later, or Windows XP Home or Professional SP2 or later. Outlook 2003 or 2007 is also required for calendar syncing.

App Review: We Rule

App Name: We Rule

Developer: ngmoco, inc

Price: FREE!

Link

Were can I start with we rule, other than that it in a way, is like MW2, its a love-hate relationship.  We Rule is pretty much farmville, but more, basically, you create a kingdom and build stores and farms and try to make a living.  You can add friends an

d buy and sell stuff to them to make money and mojo, mojo is a special kind of money that can speed up the productions of goods and crops to earn money faster.  This game is great, it keeps you coming back and i find my self checking it a hundred times a day!  You start off at level one were you can make and sell a limited amount of goods, but as you buy and sell, you get experience and level up, at certa

in levels you are able to expand your kingdom to make room for more buildings, farms and decorations.  Now if you remember I said at the beginni

ng of the article that it is a love hate relationship, this is because We Rule may have the worst connection, or server issues I have EVER scene, almost 50% of the time I go on We Rule, it has connection issues or it just wont work. I don't know if this is Rogers fault or the game but it sure gets on my nerves when I have a patch of pumpkins that I need to harvest and they get spoiled.  Im believe that they are trying to fix

this by having having updates but hopefully we see much better improvement soon!  The game also has pretty good graphics and a lo

t of cool features like the "+" witch is a account that you can use with any game that is made by ngmoco witch is great if you like to play their other games (reviews on them will come!)  My suggestion to you is that you go and download this game because one, its free, and two, its a kick ass game that will keep you occupied through those boring classes!

Apple announces WWDC 2010 Dates: June 7-11

Apple today announced that this year's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) will take place from June 7th to June 11th in San Francisco, California.

The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is the premier technical conference for developers innovating with Apple technologies. Over 1,000 Apple engineers will be at Moscone West to present advanced coding and development techniques that will show you how to enhance the capabilities of your applications with the revolutionary technologies in iPhone OS and Mac OS X.

The event will include hands-on activities, new gadgets, and a keynote from Apple. Registration for the event is set at $1599 and tickets usually sell out fast.

Apple is expected to introduce a new iPhone during their keynote, although the device was already leaked to Gizmodo after an Apple engineer left it in a Redwood City, California bar last month.

Looking at the event's headline banner (shown above), people can tell that the conference will have a heavy emphasis on the iPhone, meaning that the rumors Apple will not be discussing Mac OS X 10.7 at the event were true.

[UPDATE] HP acquires Palm

HP and Palm have announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement in which HP will acquire Palm for $1.2 Billion, which will in turn work out for $5.70 for share holders. The deal is expected to close on July 31st, which is coming very quickly.

The current CEO, Jon Rubinstein is "expected to stay within the company." but nothing is set in stone yet.

A shareholder web-cast will be held at 5 EST time tonight, and hopefully more will be announced then.

UPDATE: Jon Rubinstein will stay with Palm as CEO

Full Press Release

PALO ALTO, Calif. & SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HP (NYSE: HPQ - News) and Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM - News) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which HP will purchase Palm, a provider of smartphones powered by the Palm webOS mobile operating system, at a price of $5.70 per share of Palm common stock in cash or an enterprise value of approximately $1.2 billion. The transaction has been approved by the HP and Palm boards of directors.

The combination of HP's global scale and financial strength with Palm's unparalleled webOS platform will enhance HP's ability to participate more aggressively in the fast-growing, highly profitable smartphone and connected mobile device markets. Palm's unique webOS will allow HP to take advantage of features such as true multitasking and always up-to-date information sharing across applications.

"Palm's innovative operating system provides an ideal platform to expand HP's mobility strategy and create a unique HP experience spanning multiple mobile connected devices," said Todd Bradley, executive vice president, Personal Systems Group, HP. "And, Palm possesses significant IP assets and has a highly skilled team. The smartphone market is large, profitable and rapidly growing, and companies that can provide an integrated device and experience command a higher share. Advances in mobility are offering significant opportunities, and HP intends to be a leader in this market."

"We're thrilled by HP's vote of confidence in Palm's technological leadership, which delivered Palm webOS and iconic products such as the Palm Pre. HP's longstanding culture of innovation, scale and global operating resources make it the perfect partner to rapidly accelerate the growth of webOS," said Jon Rubinstein, chairman and chief executive officer, Palm. "We look forward to working with HP to continue to deliver industry-leading mobile experiences to our customers and business partners."

Under the terms of the merger agreement, Palm stockholders will receive $5.70 in cash for each share of Palm common stock that they hold at the closing of the merger. The merger consideration takes into account the updated guidance and other financial information being released by Palm this afternoon. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of domestic and foreign regulatory approvals and the approval of Palm's stockholders. The transaction is expected to close during HP's third fiscal quarter ending July 31, 2010.

Palm's current chairman and CEO, Jon Rubinstein, is expected to remain with the company.

Apple seeds Mac OS X 10.6.4 build 10F37 to developers

As predicted last week, Apple today seeded the first developer version of Mac OS X 10.6.4, the next maintenance update to Mac OS X Snow Leopard. iPhoneinCanada has the seed notes, which are not very descriptive, but asks developers to focus on many different areas:

According to reports, the current build focuses on Graphics Drivers, SMB, Time Machine backups, USB, and VoiceOver. The build does not include any further updates or enhancements.

There is one known issue with the build and that it iChat requesting password entry upon every launch.

Mac OS X 10.6.3 was released to the public on March 29th, but Apple usually varies on release times for updates, leaving little possibility of guessing a release time.

News editors chime in on whether Gizmodo editor should be considered a “journalist”

Bloggasm is reporting today that they have contacted multiple editors from: LA Times, Salon, CrunchGear, Hot Air and Mediaite, asking them whether Gizmodo editor Jason Chen should be considered a "journalist" under California law.

To give you some background information, a lost next-generation iPhone prototype magically made its way over to Gizmodo editor Jason Chen's house to the tune of $5,000. However, many began to question whether the acquisition of the device was legal and whether it could be considered stolen because it is Apple's property. Last Friday evening, police conducted a search and seizure at Chen's house, recovering four computers, two servers and anything else they believed was related to the investigation. However, a California state law, "Journalist Shield Law" protects journalists from search warrants. Many are now arguing that all of Chen's belonging should be returned to him immediately because of this law.

John Biggs, editor-in-chief of CrunchGear, believed that it would have been better for Gizmodo to pay for temporary "access" to the prototype iPhone, rather than purchasing it.

He suggested in my phone interview with him that it may have been better for Gizmodo to pay for temporary “access” to the iPhone rather purchasing it outright. “That definitely sounds like the way it should have been done,” Biggs said. “You can’t second guess everything but it’s basically similar to the Pentagon Papers in one respect in the sense that you have a document that was given to you, not purchased obviously, but you had access to a document, and that would obviously be more accepted than outright saying, ‘here we gave this person $5,000 and purchased this phone … purchased this stolen item that wasn’t anyone’s to begin with.”

Ed Morrissey, an editor for Hot Air, believes that even if the device was stolen, it should not have resulted in the search of Chen's home. He believes that for a prototype iPhone, taking so much equipment was unnecessary:

“It seems to me that seizing six computers because of the supposed theft, the alleged theft, of a single iPhone is somewhat overkill,” he told me. “Even apart from the shield law.”

Morrissey also believes that Chen should be considered a "journalist" since Gizmodo regularly posts articles and reports. However, he does go on to say that journalism laws, in specific the one in question, should not apply to most leaks:

“Certainly there has to be parameters on everybody, not just on bloggers, but on mainstream news journalists about what they can and can’t use that shield for, but it seems to me just based on what I’ve seen that this is a very strange overreaction on the part of California.”

Mediaite editor Colby Hall believes that Chen should be protected under journalism laws:

“I believe currently that they should be protected by journalism laws,” he said. “The larger question is what is journalism, and the definition of journalism has evolved … Gawker Media notoriously flaunts accepted practices of traditional journalism to great effect. I imagine at the end of the day not a lot will come of this.”

Joan Walsh, editor-in-chief for Salon.com believes that Gizmodo was wrong for paying for the iPhone prototype, but compares them to TMZ and the National Enquirer who also pay for material and are protected under journalism laws.

“The fact that Gizmodo paid for the phone muddies the water a little, but would we really say that reporters/editors for TMZ and the National Enquirer — which also pay for information — aren’t protected?” she wrote in an email. “Gizmodo isn’t an Apple competitor; it paid $ for a big scoop in its realm of coverage. Salon doesn’t pay sources or pay for information or gadgets — but I have a hard time with the idea that Chen isn’t a journalist.” She later added in a follow-up email: ” Also, to storm Chen’s house, while he’s not there, rather than issue a subpoena? WTF? He didn’t have Osama bin Laden in there…”

Finally, Tony Pierce, blog editor for the LA Times pointed to this link in a short Gmail chat with Simon Owens, which was an interview with Gawker founder, Nick Denton saying:

“We may inadvertently do good. We may inadvertently commit journalism. That is not the institutional intention.”

Pierce went on to say:

“So unfortunately I think Gizmodo doesn’t have much of a leg to stand on if their own boss says they don’t really do journalism there.”

So, should the police consider Jason Chen a "journalist?" It' s their decision, but it seems as though everyone thinks they should.

[Thanks, Simon]

Person who found lost next-generation iPhone prototype identified by police, more details found regarding investigation

Well, this just gets more and more interesting every article...right?

According to the San Jose Business Journal, Apple itself requested law enforcement to perform a criminal investigation regarding the lost next-generation iPhone prototype that was found in a bar in Redwood City, California last month.

The phone was found by someone, police are not releasing the name in that same bar. However, it is unclear whether it was the same person who sold the phone to Gizmodo for $5,000, which eventually led to the search and seizure Jason Chen's, Gizmodo editor's, house.

Apple engineer Gray Powell, who was the person who left the prototype in the bar was also mentioned in the investigation.

Gawker Media (Gizmodo's parent company) is arguing that the search and seizure of Gizmodo's editor's house was against California's journalist shield law, which protects them from search warrants.

The investigation has reportedly come to a halt because police are trying to figure out whether the shield law is applied in this situation.

As of now, nobody has been charged with a crime, and Apple has declined to comment on the investigation any further.

HTC Desire launching on US Cellular in July

US Cellular is defiantly making it known that they are getting their first Android device.

Android Central has found a post on US Cellular's Facebook page stating the specs of the HTC Desire, and they also threw in that it will be hitting the markets sometime in July. If it fail's their "rigorous testing", it might not make it out in July.

US Cellular is the sixth largest wireless provider in the United States.

Google confirms Android 2.2 will support Flash Player

In an interview with The New York Times, Andy Rubin, vice president for engineering at Google, confirmed that Android OS 2.2 will have support for Flash Player technology. Codenamed "Froyo," Android 2.2 will certainly be a welcome upgrade to all Android OS users.

It has been proven that playing Flash content on a Nexus One, running Android 2.1, will not decrease battery life as significantly as most think. We reported earlier this month that Android would be receiving Flash Player later in the year.

There is no information regarding when Android OS 2.2 will be released or its current stage of development.

Apple acquires chip manufacturer ‘Intrinsity’

The New York Times has confirmed today that Apple has acquired Intrinsity, a Austin, Texas based company that helped speed up ARM-based chip designs, like those used in the iPhone and iPod touch.

Apple has finalized a deal to acquire a small chip company called Intrinsity, Apple confirmed. Intrinsity, of Austin, Tex., made a name for itself by creating a fast chip for mobile devices in cooperation with Samsung, both a partner and competitor to Apple.

Many experts in the chip industry have speculated that Apple relied on Intrinsity's chip as the basis for the main engine behind its new iPad.

There had been a lot of speculation that Apple was planning to purchase the chip manufacturer, and today, those rumors were confirmed.

An Apple spokesperson has declined to comment on the acquisition, as they always do.

Windows 7 reaches 1 million sales, becomes Microsoft’s fastest selling OS ever

Silicon.com is reporting that Microsoft has announced that Windows 7 has hit its one millionth sale. The announcement comes just six months after Windows 7 was initially released to the public. Along with the one million sales, Windows 7 has become Microsoft's fastest selling operating system in history.

Microsoft reported last week a $14.5 billion revenue for quarter three, mainly due to Windows 7 sales.

Sorry UK – no Hulu coming for you

According to Telegraph.co.uk, Hulu has reportedly abandoned the plans to bring the popular U.S. video streaming site to the UK.

Hulu, the US video aggregator, has been forced to abandon plans to launch a UK version of its web TV service after talks with the major British broadcasters have collapsed”. They state that the negotiators for Hulu were unable to gain any traction in the UK among senior broadcasting executives. “Hulu’s talks with ITV have come to a halt because the broadcaster wants to focus on growing its own catch up service – ITV Player and not syndicate its content out to a third party at the moment

The report also mentions that Hulu has not completely removed plans for a UK based site, but there are a few setbacks that are currently in their way with UK broadcasters that are keeping them from continuing.

Hulu has been a huge success in the United States and all of the people in Europe won't be able to see it anytime soon.

Apple releases iTunes 9.1.1

Apple today released iTunes 9.1.1, addressing several minor bugs for the company's music application.

iTunes 9.1.1

iTunes 9.1.1 provides a number of important bug fixes, including:

• Addresses several stability issues with VoiceOver
• Addresses a usability issue with VoiceOver and Genius Mixes
• Addresses issues with converting songs to 128 kbps AAC while syncing
• Addresses other issues that improve stability and performance

iTunes 9.1.1 is available for Mac (93 MB) and Windows (93.9 MB). The Windows version is a little different than the Mac version, instead of addressing an issue with VoiceOver and Genius Mixes, fixing an issue with iTunes crashing with third-party software.

More evidence of video chat with Game Center integration found in the iPhone 4 SDK Beta 2

MacRumors is reporting today they have found more evidence that Apple has placed references to video chatting features in the latest iPhone 4 SDK Beta 2.

It should be obvious by now that Apple is planning on integrating a front-facing camera in its next-generation iPhone. The natural use for such a feature is video conferencing. Apple has had numerous references to the unannounced feature in its past iPhone firmware releases, and iPhone 4 SDK Beta 2 is no different.

One of the new evidence found is strings that show status/error codes regarding video conferencing. It also appears that users will have to register for video conferencing:

ACCOUNT_NOT_REGISTERED_MESSAGE = "This device has not been registered for video conferencing.";

Another interesting note in the files found is that there are weird error message strings regarding lost or disconnected calls, as well as networking issues. However, they are not related to 3G or EDGE connections, but Wi-Fi connectivity:

IMAVCHAT_COULD_NOT_CONNECT_NO_REMOTE_WIFI = "The video call could not connect because a remote Wi-Fi connection could not be established.";
IMAVCHAT_DISCONNECTED_NO_LOCAL_WIFI = "The video call disconnected because the local Wi-Fi connection was lost.";

Finally, evidence has been found that Apple will be integrating these video conferencing features into its new Game Center.

Finally, it appears Apple will be integrating the Video Conferencing feature with its new Game Center. It appears players may be able to chat or coordinate calls with fellow Game Center participants. Several status messages relate to Apple's social gaming system:

IMAVCHAT_ERROR_NO_SUCH_PLAYER_ID = "No Such Player ID";
IMAVCHAT_ERROR_NO_SUCH_ACHIEVEMENT = "No Such Achievement";
IMAVCHAT_ERROR_UNRECOGNIZED_GAME_DESCRIPTION_HEADERS = "Unrecognised Game Descriptor Headers";
IMAVCHAT_ERROR_NO_SUCH_GAME = "No Such Game";

Apple will be releasing iPhone OS 4 to iPhone and iPod touch users this summer and iPad users this fall.

New malware attack targets iPad users

BitDefender has posted a warning regarding a new malware attack that targets iPad users and is beginning to hit many Windows users.

The attach uses email to spread itself. A user may get an email asking them to download an iTunes update that improves and adds iPad support throughout iTunes. The email contains a direct download link that contains the malware in disguise as an iTunes update for Windows.

BitDefender has identified the malware as Backdoo.Bifrose.AADY. The company says the code is placed inside the explorer.exe background process on Windows and allows the infected computer to be taken over and gained remote access to.

The malware also tries to read serial numbers and passwords for different applications, including ICQ Messenger, POP3 email accounts and storage devices.

The malware only affect Windows users; if you are a Mac user, don't worry!

It's All Tech is warning users to NOT click on any links in emails where you do not know the sender and do not install any applications that are not from a trusted source.

[UPDATE] BlackBerry 6 coming third quarter of this year

RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis announced today in a call that the company's next mobile operating system, entitled "BlackBerry 6" will be available "in the next calendar quarter," which means quarter three of 2010.

While not too many details have been released regarding the next BlackBerry OS, it seems as though it will be available for both touchscreen devices and non-touch devices. However, according to a source, the video they showed at the event was with a touchscreen interface.

One new feature of BlackBerry 6 is the brand new WebKit-powered web browser, something RIM has been trying to improve for a while now.

UPDATE: RIM has posted a video via their YouTube channel showing some of the features of BlackBerry 6 through a touch interface:

Police seize Gizmodo editor’s computers and other things related to lost iPhone prototype

Gizmodo has posted that last Friday evening, California law enforcement entered editor Jason Chen's house without him being there and took four computers and two servers. They also took any other items they felt were connected to the lost next-generation iPhone that made its way to Gizmodo.

Last Friday night, California's Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team entered editor Jason Chen's home without him present, seizing four computers and two servers. They did so using a warrant by Judge of Superior Court of San Mateo. According to Gaby Darbyshire, COO of Gawker Media LLC, the search warrant to remove these computers was invalid under section 1524(g) of the California Penal Code.

A total of 24 items related to the investigation were taken.

Chen returned to his home after dinner only to find police officers in his home.

Gawker Media, Gizmodo's parent company believe that the search warrant police had was invalid and are fighting to get the items taken returned to Chen immediately.

Google and Verizon announce no Nexus One will be coming to Verizon Wireless

When Google first announced the Nexus One earlier this year, they announced that the phone would be available on Verizon Wireless' network sometime in Spring. But on Monday, Google quietly cancelled the planned release of a CDMA version of their smartphone.

Google posted an article on the Nexus One blog earlier today, saying that people who wanted to get the Nexus One on Verizon should buy a HTC Droid Incredible instead, which is set to be released April 29th. The article called the Droid Incredible, which also runs on Android OS, "a cousin of the Nexus One."

It seems as though Google has crushed the hopes of everyone who waited months for the Nexus One to come to Verizon, and no they'll never get one.