Apple

Apple bumps specs of $999 MacBook

Sometime earlier this week, Apple updated its least expensive notebook.

Engadget noticed Wednesday that the white $999 MacBook was slightly--and quietly--upgraded. It now has a newer Intel processor (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo), 2GB of memory, integrated graphics (Nvidia GeForce 9400M), and a faster frontside bus, now 1,066 MHz.

Besides that, almost everything else remains the same. But at $999, it's now much closer to its more expensive, unibody-constructed MacBook cousins.

Report: SEC reviewing Apple's disclosures over Jobs' health

Securities and Exchange Commission investigators are reviewing the way Apple handled the disclosures surrounding the health of CEO Steve Jobs, according to a Bloomberg report citing a person familiar with the matter. Earlier this month, Jobs announced he would take a six-month medical leave.

Apple, whose CEO's health has been a concern to investors over the past six months following his gaunt appearance at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, announced in mid-December that Jobs would not be speaking at the January Macworld and that Apple would not participate in the event going forward.

At the time, Apple said … Read more

With earnings call, Apple heads back to business

After a week spent worrying about the health of CEO Steve Jobs, Apple will look forward to getting back to business Wednesday when it reports its fiscal first-quarter earnings.

The last three months were not kind to computer and consumer electronics companies, but Apple is expected to have weathered the storm better than others. Analysts are predicting the company will report revenue and earnings per share at the high end of the guidance it provided in October, with expectations of $9.76 billion in revenue and earnings per share of $1.38.

The three-month period between October and December is … Read more

Apple now selling used products online in China

Apple announced Tuesday it has opened an online store selling used products in China in an effort to expand its business there, according to a Reuters report.

The new store is offering discounts of up to 22 percent on various refurbished products. Apple said on its Web site that the products had been previously sold, then returned, and had undergone quality tests, Reuters reported.

An Apple representative in China would not say how many products are available on the site. But the store was featuring such items as an iPod shuffle for 308 yuan ($45) and an iMac for 14,… Read more

Wozniak on Steve Jobs' health, Apple culture

Offering a unique perspective on Steve Jobs' health, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is speaking out in the media on his old friend's leave of absence and its likely effect on the company.

In an interview with NBC11 in San Jose, Calif., Wozniak said investors and the media should be respectful of his privacy.

"What he says, we ought to accept," Wozniak said in response to a question about Jobs' health.

Wozniak also said Jobs' six-month absence shouldn't have a negative effect on Apple's product line:

"The products coming out of Apple, out of tech … Read more

Developer considers charges after iPhone app is pirated

The developer of an iPhone app that has been cracked and distributed for free said he is considering pursuing criminal charges against whoever is responsible for the piracy.

On the Apple App Store, Annoy-A-Teen sells for 99 cents. But now you can get the amusing app--which plays a high-pitched tone at the press of a button that is inaudible to most adults but highly annoying to teens--for free on a pirate site, said Christopher Kemsley, an electrical engineering student trying to pay his way through college.

"I made, in a month, about the same amount of money as professionals … Read more

Apple approves e-book after dirty words removed

An e-book submitted to Apple's App Store has been approved after the author removed language that apparently offended Apple.

CNET's David Carnoy wrote a book called Knife Music last year, and attempted to submit it to the App Store as an e-book. Apple rejected his application for containing "objectionable content," which appeared to be a couple of uses of that four-letter word that starts with F.

But Carnoy decided to remove that type of language from the book, which he said didn't amount to all that many words in the first place. Upon resubmitting the … Read more

What ails Apple's Steve Jobs?

Apple CEO Steve Jobs' disclosure that he'll have to take some time off to tend to his health did not clear up any of the mystery surrounding exactly what is ailing the man.

By any measure, Jobs has lost a lot of weight over the last year. He has only said that he is suffering from some sort of hormone imbalance that is preventing his body from properly absorbing protein and therefore is causing weight loss. The problem has apparently become "more complex" in the last several days.

Let's look at what we know and what … Read more

Apple faces credibility crisis over Jobs' health

Apple may have wanted to protect Steve Jobs' privacy with the way it chose to address his health. But the end result is a credibility problem that will not go away easily.

After initially reassuring the public that Jobs' health issues were real, but not all that serious, Apple's statement Wednesday that his problems had grown "more complex" outraged many investors and corporate governance experts. Jobs will remain Apple's CEO, but he is turning the responsibility for day-to-day operations over to COO Tim Cook until the end of June to focus on his recovery.

Now that … Read more