os

Apple releases iPhone OS 3.0 beta 4 to developers

Apple's engineering department is still working hard toward the summer release of iPhone OS 3.0. It has released beta 4 to developers only two weeks after beta 3 was released.

Like most Apple updates, we suspect that the new beta 4 includes several stability and performance enhancements that might make the beta more pleasing to use, if you are testing it.

We've heard from some early beta testers complaining (see article comments from this April 1 post) about the number of issues they were experiencing with the previous releases.

It is too early to tell what kinds … Read more

Glide OS connects across devices, desktops

There are few, if any, horizontal platforms that offer users the capability to e-mail, create, and edit documents and pictures, and collaborate across all three major desktop computing platforms as well as almost every major smartphone platform. Glide 3.0 has just updated, introducing changes aimed at parental control and creating a child-friendly environment.

The new e-mail filter lets parents intercept all messages sent to a child's in-box. Parents can then approve or deny the e-mails so children can only see preapproved messages, filtering out pornographic spam, phishing attempts, and other junk. Parents need to create a secondary e-mail … Read more

iPhone OS 3.0 beta 3 jailbroken

If you blinked again, you might have missed it: several days after Apple released an update to the iPhone OS 3 beta, hackers have already jailbroken the OS 3 beta 3 release.

A new version of QuickPWN for Windows only (direct download link) has been released. This version should work with all versions of the iPhone or the iPod Touch. We have not yet tried the jailbreak, but our sources have not reported any trouble with the hack. (As usual, however, download and use QuickPWN at your own risk.)

Jailbreaking is competitive in the hacking community. The Dev Team, the … Read more

Report: iPhone OS 3.0 may include voice control

Last month, after the new iPod Shuffle came out, I wrote a column about how Apple might be considering a shift to a voice interface for iPods and iPhones.

Well, now Ars Technica is reporting that there's "evidence of new voice control features coming to iPhone OS 3.0," which will be released sometime this summer.

Ars Technica's sources are of the anonymous variety, but they claim that these new voice features are code-named "Jibbler" and will not only provide voice synthesis but voice recognition.

Ars says Jibbler appears be an enhancement to the … Read more

VMware unveils its cloud OS

This was originally posted at ZDNet's Between the Lines.

VMware announced on Tuesday its cloud operating system--dubbed vSphere 4--with plans for general availability in the second quarter.

With the effort, VMware is attempting to bridge virtualized data centers--now known as "private clouds"--and growing cloud computing services from the likes of Amazon.com and others. However, this bridging process is a work in progress due to the lack of standards. VMware's big pitch is that vSphere can run your data center and allow you to bridge out when external resources are needed.

John Gilmartin, director of … Read more

Apple releases iPhone OS 3 beta 3 to developers

Apple's engineering department still isn't sparing the horses for iPhone OS 3.0. It has released beta 3 to developers only two weeks after beta 2 was released.

Like most Apple updates, we suspect that the new beta 3 includes several stability and performance enhancements that might make the beta more pleasing to use, if you are testing it.

We've heard from some early beta testers complaining (see article comments) about the number of issues they were experiencing with the previous releases.

It is too early to tell what kinds of changes have been made in beta … Read more

Parsing the nuances of Windows 7 decisions

This was originally posted at ZDNet's Between the Lines.

A new survey reveals that 84 percent of IT pros don't have plans to upgrade to Windows 7 in the next year and that half of respondents are considering alternatives. But it pays to parse a few nuances.

The survey, which was conducted by Dimension Research and commissioned by KACE, a systems management appliance company. The survey had 1,142 respondents and 99 percent of them had a Windows operating system installed at their companies.

The spin here has been that it's somehow bad that most IT professionals … Read more

More iPhone OS 3.0 secrets revealed: Wi-Fi 802.11n and video editing

Developers have had the iPhone OS 3.0 beta for nearly a month now and are continuing to uncover new features. Initially reported by TAUW and AppleInsider, a few of these features hint at Apple's next iPhone hardware revision.

Reports are that the iPhone OS 3.0 firmware beta now includes driver support for a new Broadcom Wi-Fi chip that might support high-speed 802.11n Wi-Fi and improved support for 5 Ghz Wi-Fi networks--a logical step for Apple, since this feature would improve compatibility between the iPhone, current MacBooks, and Apple's newly refreshed Time Capsule and Airport Extreme … Read more

Is an Apple more form than function?

Updated at 10:45 p.m. PST with additional system specifications.

The aesthete buys an Apple. This dig in the latest Mac-attack Microsoft ad contains a kernel of truth.

Here's the essential choice: A Dell with a pedestrian design but all the fixin's or a gorgeous Apple MacBook that doesn't offer quite as much. (Whether the prospective buyer needs a maxed-out laptop is a pertinent question too.)

The Dell paradigm is how many people define practicality, i.e., you get more box for the money. Hewlett-Packard of course falls into this category too.

I use both a … Read more