BusinessWeek Online -- Byte of the Apple

Thoughts On The Steve Jobs Legacy

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:31:25 -0500

Reading through Bloomberg News’ mistakenly published obituary today has got me to thinking a little bit about how history will remember Steve Jobs. In case you missed it, Jobs joined scores of other notable people who over the years have...

Apple Runs the Table on Mobile Traffic at Engadget.com

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:08:51 -0500

iPhone 3G users might be suffering some reception problems when it comes to mobile browsing of the Net. But judging from Engadget's analysis of its traffic, owners of iPhones and iPod Touches are getting through a whole lot more than...

Mac Customer Satisfaction Gains: "We've Never Seen Anything Like This"

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:13:32 -0500

ACSI's data is an important reminder of Apple's basic nature, as the iPhone 3G kerfuffle dominates headlines. When people have a problem with a pricey, highly-hyped product like the iPhone 3G, they are bound to be angry. But one way or another, Apple will resolve the issue. It may take too long, and it may be inconvenient. But Apple has never simply dropped the ball on customers, that I can think of.

A Closer Look at Dell's Digital Entertainment Ambitions

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 20:47:40 -0500

So far, 144 readers have responded to our story on Dell’s plans to get back into digital entertainment, with software to make it easier to buy, share and play digital content. Unless I missed it, not a single one of...

A Nice Tidy End To The Options Backdating Scandal

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:56:46 -0500

Everyone directly involved in this scandal is probably having a celebratory drink tonight.

Nancy Heinen, Former Apple General Counsel, Settles Backdating Charges

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:46:06 -0500

Nancy Heinen, Apple’s former general counsel has settled civil charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2007, the commission announced today. The settlement calls for Heinen, who had served as Apple’s general counsel from 1997 until her departure...

Coming in September: Better 3G In The iPhone 3G

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 10:08:08 -0500

As we reported last night, two reliable sources say Apple will issue a software fix that will address the widespread complaints regarding lost calls and inconsistent 3G access with the iPhone 3G. The problem (and it is a real issue,...

Frotz: Zork On The iPhone

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:41:10 -0500

This is going to date me in a big way, but during the years when I was about 12 to 15 years old I spent a little more time than I'd care to admit playing games like Zork and Planetfall...

Best Buy Deal Expands iPhone's Retail Footprint

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:29:35 -0500

Electronics retailer Best Buy announced today that it will become the first independent retailer in the U.S. to sell Apple’s iPhone 3G. Best Buy said it would carry the iPhone at its Best Buy Mobile outlets beginning Sept. 7. Like...

Fire at Apple HQ

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 08:28:03 -0500

The Associated Press is reporting that firefighters have put out a fire that burned for nearly three hours at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. The first reports of smoke came about 10 p.m. Pacific last night and contained about 12:30...

A Missed Marketing Opportunity: Free iPhone Apps

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:06:27 -0500

From intern Jay Yarow: Dear Corporations, You just missed a huge marketing opportunity. Smallware, a company that specializes in making solitaire and puzzle games for Windows, Mac and Palm OS, released a free version of its iPhone solitaire game last...

Mac Notebooks: New Video Features?

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:15:58 -0500

Dan Frommer at Silicon Alley Insider reports a tip from saying claiming to know saying as follows: ""I happen to know that the product transition referred to in Apple's recent conference call was referring to Quicktime encoding/decoding chips built into...

iPhone App Store: Big Success

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 09:31:19 -0500

I admit it. I was ambivalent about the iPhone the first time around. It was beautiful and fun, and intriguing at first, but once I had tried out everything it could do, I got bored with it. I couldn't add...

IBM To Launch Lotus Notes iPhone App This Year

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 09:24:19 -0500

Ars Technica has the scoop on a forthcoming iPhone application that will bring Lotus Notes, IBM's big enterprise email/calendar/contacts application to the iPhone. It will be called Lotus iNotes Ultralite. I've never personally used Lotus Notes, but I see it...

Qik For iPhone Launches, But Only Runs On Old Firmware

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 09:12:58 -0500

Techcrunch notes the release of Qik for the iPhone. Qik is the live video-streaming application for high-end mobile phones that essentially streams video directly to the Web live. I did a segment on it for my weekly video podcast "The...