Apple

While children were nestled all snug in their beds, Apple apparently had visions of improved touch-screens in its innovative head.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office revealed a patent application from Apple, dated Christmas Day, for a swipe-gesture system to be used on touch-screen keyboards. It would allow a person to "perform certain functions using swipes across the key area rather than tapping particular keys," according to the patent application, authored by Wayne Westerman.

For example, the application explains that leftward, rightward, upward, and downward swipes might be assigned to inserting a space, backspacing, shifting, or inserting … Read more

This post was updated at 9:41 a.m. PST with more details from Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart on Friday confirmed that it will be selling Apple's iPhone 3G, beginning Sunday at about 2,500 stores. The price, with a new two-year service agreement with AT&T (or qualified upgrade), is $197 for the black 8GB model and $297 for the black or white 16GB version.

"We are delighted to bring customers this ground-breaking mobile technology," Gary Severson, Wal-Mart senior vice president of entertainment, said in a statement. "Our electronics associates have been preparing for many weeks … Read more

The iPhone is the mobile device of choice these days for doing most things that need a network. So it shouldn't be a surprise that the phone has carved out a prominent place on Yahoo's photo-sharing site, Flickr.

The Flickr Camera Finder, Yahoo's statistical counter of camera use among its members, shows that since the arrival of the iPhone 3G model earlier this year, the phone has vaulted not only over all other camera phones, trouncing the Nokia N95 in second place, but also almost all ordinary cameras.

That's a notable accomplishment. I've been watching the Flickr Camera Finder for two years, … Read more

With Macworld coming up in just two weeks, the parade of Apple-flavored rumors, wishes, and murmurings continues.

The latest to surface--or resurface--involves a purported concept photo of what's said to be an "iPhone Nano," a more or less three-quarter-size version of the Apple iPhone. Even as it presents the photo, MacRumors.com also invokes a healthy dose of skepticism:

We have some serious doubts about the likelihood of such a device. These doubts are based both in the quality of the sources as well as the practicality of introducing a new form factor to the iPhone/iPod … Read more

Has a rogue case manufacturer once again jumped the gun on an Apple iPhone announcement?

XSKN has a section of its Web site that promises an "iPhone Nano" case alongside cases for the iPhone 3G and the first-generation iPhone, as noted by MacRumors. Earlier this month a Chinese Web site called iDealsChina reported that XSKN was working on a case for a purported iPhone Nano that is supposedly shorter and thicker than the iPhone 3G.

It still seems a stretch that Apple would be gearing up to release such a device, given the screen size on an iPhone … Read more

Add one more headache for whoever is running Apple's App Store approval process: edgy books.

Books aren't a huge part of the App Store, but there are more than 600 titles for sale, ranging from classics to Japanese comic books. CNET's own David Carnoy has a new detective thriller out called Knife Music, but you won't find it on the App Store.

That's because when Carnoy enlisted a software developer to submit the book to the App Store, Apple rejected the book for containing "objectionable content," citing a clause in the iPhone SDK … Read more

Is it time for Apple's Mighty Mouse to get a tune-up?

That's the question many people on the Internet are asking as MacBlogz has published images of what it expects Apple to do with the multibutton mouse. Extrapolating from Apple's patents on multitouch, MacBlogz's prototype features a sleek profile and aluminum body.

The report notes that a 2007 patent application calls for an "arbitrary shaped grippable member" that would utilize positioning and multitouch detection to interpret a user's movement. Basically, it appears that the button would be replaced by a multitouch trackpad. "… Read more

A Mac fan with way too much time on his hands may have discovered evidence of new iMacs and Mac Minis coming soon.

A forum poster on InsanelyMac.com found code strings inside the version of Mac OS X running on the new MacBooks that point to a new version of the iMac and Mac Mini. MacRumors.com verified that the identifying marks uncovered by the poster (iMac9,1 and Macmini3,1) would indeed represent a new version beyond the marks used by the current iMac and MacMini (iMac8,1 and Macmini2,1).

The new systems appear to use the … Read more

Apple has added support for raw photo files from Canon's vaunted if imperfect 5D Mark II to its Aperture 2 and iPhoto 08 software less than a week after rival Adobe did so with Lightroom.

The Digital Camera Raw Compatibility Update 2.4 also supports Canon's high-end compact, the PowerShot G10, and the Pentax K2000/K-m (presumably the white version, too), according to Apple. It requires Mac OS X 10.4.11 or Mac OS X 10.5.3 or later.

Also supported is Leaf's higher-end digital photography hardware, the AFi-II 6, AFi-II 7, Aptus-II 6, and … Read more