Apple

Ivan Krstic is upgrading from working on $100 laptops. Beginning this week, the former security architect for the One Laptop Per Child project is working for Apple.

He wrote about the move to Apple on his personal blog. Krstic was the architect of the Bitfrost security specification used by OLPC for passwords, hard drive encryption, machine authentication, security updates, and prevention of data loss. He will be working on core operating system security in Cupertino.

Though OLPC isn't a large platform that hackers are known for targeting, it's likely the way that Krstic thinks about security that attracted … Read more

Updated at 12:15 p.m. PDT with confirmation and additional information from the Woodside town manager.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs is one step closer to getting permission to tear down his dilapidated 1925 mansion in Woodside, Calif.

The Woodside Town Council voted almost unanimously Tuesday night to let Jobs move forward with his plans to demolish the 14-bedroom home to make room for a smaller, modern home on the same land.

The council for the small town--one of the world's wealthiest and home to other tech pioneers like Larry Ellison, Thomas Siebel, Andy Bechtolsheim, and Gordon Moore--voted … Read more

The Apple World Wide Developers Conference will kick off at 10 a.m. June 8 in San Francisco with Vice President of Marketing Phil Schiller at the podium.

In a press release issued Wednesday morning, Apple stated that Schiller will give the keynote address, but will be part of "a team of executives" who will address the crowd gathered in San Francisco's Moscone Center.

As expected, Apple promises that developers and media in attendance will hear about the company's newest operating systems, iPhone OS 3.0 and Mac OS X Snow Leopard.

There is no mention … Read more

Correction at 7:20 a.m. PDT: Mark Siegel is a spokesman for AT&T mobility.

Just under a year since first announced, the SlingPlayer Mobile application is finally available for the iPhone. But compared with the capabilities of the same application available on other smartphone platforms, the iPhone version of SlingPlayer is curiously handicapped.

The version set to arrive Wednesday costs $30, and can stream a TV signal from a set connected to a Slingbox to the iPhone. But this version is available using Wi-Fi only. It's notable because the beta version of the application was demonstrated at CES using the iPhone's 3G connection. So why is it turned off in the official release? Recent changes in the terms of service that comes with AT&T's iPhone wireless service may offer some clues.

Apple rejected the original version of the application Sling submitted to the App Store that required use of the phone's 3G service, according to Sling. It was subsequently approved when it was modified so that it will just use local Wi-Fi hot spots. Apple's exact reason for rejecting it isn't clear. There are plenty of video- and audio-streaming applications available today in Apple's App Store, from smaller streaming services like Orb and Last.fm (owned by CNET News publisher CBS Interactive), and heavyweights like MLB.com's At Bat, CBS' TV.com, and YouTube.

While Apple has certainly not been shy about exercising its veto power over App Store applications--just ask Trent Reznor, for example--it's unclear why Sling's streaming video service is being treated differently from, say, the YouTube app (owned by Apple-friendly Google), which has been available on the iPhone since the device's launch.

Apple did not respond to requests for comment about why only the Wi-Fi version of SlingPlayer was approved. But it appears the rejection also could have been at AT&T's behest. Early in April, AT&T changed its terms of service for wireless customers, saying that redirecting TV video or audio signals--as the SlingPlayer does--was no longer allowed on its network. After a public outcry, AT&T quickly reversed its decision, citing "a mistake." But then last week the company reinstated the ban in its TOS.… Read more

Updated at 11 p.m. PDT with link to troubleshooting support.

Apple on Tuesday released OS X 10.5.7, an update to its Leopard operating system that is intended to fix a variety of bugs and security issues, as well as provide expanded hardware support.

Several security issues are addressed in the update, including issues related to Apache Web server, PHP, CoreGraphics, and Safari. The update patches three separate vulnerabilities in Apple Type Services, QuickDraw Manager, and WebKit, all of which could allow for arbitrary code execution.

Among the hardware support enhancements is additional RAW image support for third-party … Read more

Update 9:19 a.m. PDT: I redid the benchmarks, and Firefox fared better.

I spent the better part of Monday trying out the Mac OS X version of Chromium, the open-source project on which Google Chrome is based, and I'm favorably impressed.

The software, available for download from the Chromium Web site, is incomplete and definitely buggy, as one would expect for a developer version that reflects all the latest changes programmers are making with the project. But for Mac users who've been clamoring for the software, I can tell you that overall, it works, and it … Read more

Rumors first floated a month ago that there would be a magnetometer built in to the next version of the iPhone. Now there appear to be corroborating screenshots, which Boy Genius Report has obtained.

The images show a debugging menu with the option to "show in compass," that is purportedly going to show up when the upgraded iPhone debuts.

One of the interesting things you can do with a digital compass is introduce augmented reality-type applications, as MacRumors suggests. Mobile augmented reality can use a phone's camera and compass to let a device capture an image of … Read more

Well, Apple has finally approved an update to the official iPhone app for industrial-rock band Nine Inch Nails, after previously rejecting it due to objectionable content pertaining to the band's 1994 album "The Downward Spiral." No changes were made from the rejected version

Maybe Apple relented just to shut up NIN frontman Trent Reznor, whose bloggy rant against Apple was pretty much the equivalent of trashing Steve Jobs' hotel room. Not only did he tell Apple to "think your policies through and for f***'s sake get your app approval scenario together," good heavens, he … Read more

AT&T may slash the price of its iPhone service plan by $10 when a new version of the touchscreen smartphone is launched this summer, according to a story on TheStreet.com.

The article cited analyst Michael Cote of Cote Collaborative saying that there is a "strong possibility" that AT&T will drop the entry-level price of its service plan to $59 from $69. Apple is expected to unveil the latest iPhone on June 8 during the company's World Wide Developers Conference in San Francisco.

AT&T declined to comment for this story, and Michael Cote did not respond to an e-mail request for an interview.

The price cut would likely help make the iPhone, which now retails for $200 with a two-year service plan with AT&T, more appealing to more mainstream customers. I've been saying for quite some time that the biggest hurdle to widescale adoption of the iPhone or any other smartphone in the mainstream market is the high price tag of the service contracts.

Consumers have shown that they are willing to pay anywhere between $100 and $200 for a sophisticated smartphone device. But the monthly service charge, which starts at $69 for the iPhone, is much harder to swallow.

It puts the real cost of the iPhone 3G over the life of the two-year contract at a whopping $1,856, which includes the price of the 8GB phone and 24 months of the most basic iPhone voice and data plan. It doesn't include the activation fee or taxes and other fees associated with the account. For subscribers who need more voice minutes or unlimited texting, the price tag is even higher.

Still, a $240 reduction in the overall cost of the phone over the life of the contract could entice some cost-conscious consumers.… Read more