Apple

BBC's iPlayer heading overseas on the iPad

The BBC is planning to offer a subscription-based service to iPad owners outside the U.K.

The initiative is being led by BBC Worldwide, the BBC's commercial arm and is expected to pilot first in the U.S. as the Global iPlayer app next year. Currently, one must be in the U.K. to access the BBC iPlayer's content, which includes both radio and television shows.

Luke Bradley-Jones, managing director of BBC.com, said this week in London that Apple's tablet "provides such potential to develop a truly interactive video-on-demand service." There is also the … Read more

Apple patents glasses-less 3D projection

It's not that much of a surprise that Apple thinks watching 3D content with plastic glasses is dumb.

And the company that's all about sleek, cool, and simple has actually been granted a patent on a method of projecting a 3D image that can be perceived properly without glasses.

The system would work like this: each pixel would be projected onto a reflective, textured surface, which is then bounced into a viewer's left and right eye separately, producing the 3D, or stereoscopic, effect. it would sense the locations of both eyes of the each viewer, so multiple … Read more

Apple removes anti-gay app from App Store

Apple has removed an iPhone app considered anti-gay following a wave of protests sent through the online petition site Change.org.

Initially approved and available in the App Store in October, the Manhattan Declaration app was submitted by members of the Manhattan Declaration, a movement launched last year by a number of Christian leaders espousing their condemnation of both gay marriage and abortion rights.

In approving the app, Apple originally gave it a rating of 4+, meaning it had "no objectionable material."

But described by Change.org as an application that invites people to join anti-gay and anti-choice … Read more

Dish delivers live, recorded TV to iPad via Sling

Dish Network subscribers can now watch content from their DVRs in full screen on Apple's iPad.

The satellite provider said today that its Remote Access app is available for free to iPad users in Apple's App Store. The app lets people watch live TV and DVR recordings, as well as manage their DVR. The service was already available on PCs, Macs, Apple's iPhone, Android-based devices, and both the BlackBerry Bold and Curve.

However, in order to get it to work, Remote Access users need much more than just the app.

First off, subscribers will need a Dish … Read more

Apple data center chief dies at 41

Olivier Sanche, the man who oversaw Apple's global data center operations, died on Thursday, Apple has confirmed.

Sanche, 41, died of a heart attack on Thanksgiving Day, according to multiple reports from his friends.

"We are saddened by Olivier's passing," an Apple representative said today. "We will miss him tremendously and our thoughts are with his family,"

An Apple employee for 16 months, he played a big role in the building of Apple's $1 billion North Carolina data center, according to the Apple Insider blog.

Apple hasn't disclosed how it will use … Read more

Xserve's death not a deterrent for many IT admins

Those IT administrators who felt suckerpunched by Steve Jobs' decision to nix the Xserve seem to be recovering just fine.

There wasn't exactly weeping and gnashing of teeth (at least that we know of), but a lot of loyal Mac users in IT departments were seriously disappointed a few weeks ago when Apple said that as of January 31 the assembly line churning out the Xserve would be permanently halted. There was talk from some of ditching Macs altogether at work in a fit of bitter disappointment, and in light of some anticipated major technical challenges.

With a few … Read more

Apple, Android 'most desired' smartphone systems

It should come as no surprise that Apple and Android are the two "most desired" smartphone systems, according to a new Nielsen survey of mobile phone users. But the results vary a bit based on the people who were surveyed.

Among current smartphone owners questioned by Nielsen, the survey results out today show that 35 percent are looking to buy an iPhone as their next device, while 28 percent plan to go for an Android phone. But among those who currently own a feature phone and want to upgrade to a smartphone, 25 percent are eyeing an iPhone … Read more

iPad gaining quickly on Kindle

Apple's iPad is gaining on Amazon's Kindle as a general-purpose e-reader, according to ChangeWave Research, more evidence of the irrepressible popularity of the Apple tablet.

The iPad's share among e-reader owners is up 16 points to 32 percent since August, roughly a mirror image of the Kindle, which has dropped 15 points to 47 percent, according to a ChangeWave Research survey of consumers highlighted in a research note released today.

"The e-Reader market has essentially become a two-horse race between the Amazon Kindle and the Apple iPad," ChangeWave said.

The rest of the market is … Read more

Richard Branson's quest for shiny iPad stardom

NEW YORK--There must be something squirreled away in the human brain that is hard-wired to go absolutely bonkers at the sight of anything that's shiny, slick, and begging to be touched. That, after all, is how Apple CEO Steve Jobs sells products.

But an iPad is only as good as the things you can do on it, and in this sense the device is implicitly a bit of a challenge, an Everest to climb or an English Channel to swim, for developers and entrepreneurs: What can you do on this? How can you take advantage of the features it … Read more