Apple

Apple Computer may be the next computer maker to initiate a battery recall, according to a report on industry site Laptop Logic.

Dell last week recalled 4.1 million batteries that had cells made by Sony. Other PC makers also use cells from Sony, including Apple and Lenovo, among others.

An Apple representative was not immediately available for comment.

Apple will pay Creative $100 million for a license to a Creative patent that had been the subject of a legal dispute between the two companies.

Creative was awarded a patent last August for a music player user interface, and it sued Apple in May claiming the iPod maker was infringing upon its patent. As a result of the settlement, all legal disputes between the two companies related to the patent will disappear. Apple has the right to be reimbursed on the $100 million payment if Creative is able to secure licensing deals with other MP3 player manufacturers, it said … Read more

Those fun little Mac shareware apps are all over the Web these days, and it seems like they can do just about anything that an OS X user could possibly want. But for the Apple user whose software desires go beyond iTunes-synced alarm clocks and automated invoicing software, software entrepreneur Phillip Ryu has launched a contest to allow Mac enthusiasts, regardless of programming experience, to pitch their dream application.

You can enter the contest, appropriately titled My Dream App, until Sept. 1. The contest's development team will whittle the selection of entries down to 24, and then site visitors … Read more

There's still controversy brewing over the demonstration of a wireless-networking flaw using a MacBook at the Black Hat security conference.

At the Las Vegas event earlier this month, the researchers demonstrated how a flaw they found in a wireless driver could allow a hacker to gain control of a notebook, such as the MacBook they used during their presentation. But although they noted then that the flaw applied to a driver for a third-party wireless card, in an interview with the Washington Post's Brian Krebs, they said the flaw also applied to Apple's wireless drivers.

But the … Read more

This month marked the 25th anniversary of the personal computer, as every schoolboy knows, so we totally understand if you've been feeling a tad nostalgic of late. And if you're in the mood to reminisce even more, take a gander at this page posted by Room 101, which features an impressive collection of screen shots documenting "The Evolution of Desktops," dating back to the Macintosh System 1 in January 1984.

A new version of Apple's Boot Camp software is now available on the company's Web site for those Intel Mac users who wish to run Windows.

Version 1.1 adds support for Apple's iSight cameras in the MacBook Pro and MacBook notebooks, makes it easier to use Apple keyboards when running Windows, and recognizes the new Mac Pro systems unveiled last week at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. The update can be downloaded here.

Apple plans to build Boot Camp into Mac OS X 10.5, code-named Leopard, when it releases the new … Read more

Apple Computer said on Friday that Nasdaq has notified the company that it believes the company is not in compliance with the exchange's rules, following Apple's decision to delay a quarterly filing.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company said last week it would not make the deadline for its quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as it continues an inquiry into stock option grant irregularities. Apple said it has requested a hearing and will remain listed on the exchange pending that hearing.

Read this story for more details.

Microsoft's first Zune device will sport a 30GB hard drive and sell for $299, according to a report in This Week In Consumer Electronics. The trade publication said that the initial Zune would be a single model, available in three colors.

A Microsoft representative declined to comment on the article, which cited reports from retailers that had been briefed by the software maker. Microsoft confirmed last month that it planned to offer its own Zune-branded line of devices, beginning with a single product this year. It said the device would be hard-drive based and have a Wi-Fi connection, but … Read more

Apple Computer this week released the kernel for Mac OS X 10.4.7 to open-source developers, on the first day of its Apple Worldwide Developers Conference.

The move was announced through a posting to Apple's Darwin developer mailing list by Ernest Prabhakar, the open-source product manager for Apple. "As of today, we are posting buildable kernel sources for Intel-based Macs alongside the usual PowerPC (and other Intel) sources, starting with Mac OS X 10.4.7. We regret the delay in readying the new kernel for release, and thank you for your patience," the message read … Read more