Apple

Apple is once again being asked to discuss what the company would do without CEO Steve Jobs.

Apple said today in regulatory filings that it was informed that Central Laborers' Pension Fund, which owns over 11,000 shares of Apple stock, plans to submit a proposal at Apple's annual shareholder's meeting on February 23, that if passed would require Apple to "adopt and disclose a written and detailed succession planning policy."

Apple's board of directors said in the filings that it has recommended shareholders vote against the proposal. They say they have already established a … Read more

DisplayLink announced an $1.99 application today that turns an iPad into a second monitor wirelessly connected to a Windows computer.

The application works with Windows XP, Vista, and 7 and requires an iPad with iOS 3.2 or later, the company said. It's configured with the DisplayLink software that the company offers for its primary line of business, USB-connected display technology.

"The productivity benefits of multiple displays has been proven, so leveraging the idle screen of the iPad while computing is ideal for parking and for running applications like instant messaging, e-mail, social networking, Web browsing, and … Read more

That didn't take long.

Apple's Mac App Store tallied 1 million downloads in its first day of availability, the company announced today.

"We're amazed at the incredible response the Mac App Store is getting," Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in a statement. "Developers have done a great job bringing apps to the store and users are loving how easy and fun the Mac App Store is."

Apple launched its Mac App Store yesterday to Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard users. It was made available in the free Mac OS X 10.… Read more

A weakness in copy protection--the antipiracy mechanism at the heart of many a digital distribution system--has reared its head with Apple's brand-new Mac App Store.

The store, launched yesterday, includes digital rights management (DRM) technology designed to ensure that only a program's purchaser is authorized to run the program. But a hack distributed online apparently can be used to get around the system in some situations.

Although several have reported successful use of the hack to circumvent copy protection, it stems from problems in how software developers get their applications to verify permission to run, not from an … Read more

Apple is denying reports that the company is searching for a new chief financial officer.

According to a report published today by Bloomberg, Apple approached Blackstone Chief Financial Officer Laurence Tosi to take over the role from Peter Oppenheimer. Apple says that's not the case.

"Peter is not leaving Apple. We are not conducting a CFO search," Apple spokesman Steve Dowling told CNET.

Bloomberg cited sources "who asked not to be identified because the talks were private."

Oppenheimer replaced Fred Anderson as Apple's CFO in 2004, when Anderson retired from the company. Anderson was … Read more

The Mac App Store is officially open.

According to Apple, the marketplace is launching with over 1,000 paid and free apps in categories ranging from games to productivity. As with the company's mobile store available on the iPad and iPhone, users can search for apps, find out "what's hot," check out staff favorites, and see the most-downloaded programs in different categories.

Apple itself is selling iPhoto, iMovie, and GarageBand for $14.99 each. Its Pages, Keynote, and Numbers apps are available for $19.99 in the store. It's also selling Aperture 3, its photo-editing … Read more

Starting tomorrow, you can get your hands on the iPhone 3GS for $49 both at AT&T stores and on the carrier's Web site.

The iPhone 3GS, which was first made available in 2009, had its price slashed to $99 last year. Apple, which hasn't made any announcement about changing its price for the iPhone 3GS, is still selling the device on its Web site for $99. However, considering that AT&T is reducing the price of the smartphone, it would only make sense for Apple to do the same.

Apple did not immediately respond to … Read more

Could Apple announce a Verizon iPhone as early as next week? According to an anonymous tipster who contacted me directly, yes indeedy.

During this weekend's 2011 CES, he says, Apple will steal some thunder by announcing a product-launch event on Tuesday, January 11. (That's 1/11/11, if you're into numerology.) At that event, the company will finally announce the long-awaited Verizon iPhone. (Cue "Hallelujah" chorus.)

Alas, this is all just hearsay, and while a lot of it seems reasonable--likely, even--there's still no official word from either Apple or Verizon.

My tipster, citing a … Read more

Comcast will allow for in-home streaming of its live and On Demand content to the iPad and Android tablets later this year, the company announced today.

So far, details on the streaming option are slim. Comcast only revealed that users "will be able to watch live news, TV shows, and movies in their homes whenever they want." The company didn't say how it will stream content to those devices nor if it will charge an additional fee for the service. It plans to unveil a few more details at the Citigroup Investor Conference later today.

In addition … Read more