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Annotation, subsidies could and should be Apple's 'killer apps'

Though everyone has been thrilled about the possibilities of today's Apple tablet announcement, the functional purposes and affordability of such a device could be the biggest sticking points.

How much people will pay for a tablet seems predicated on how many devices they already own, and more importantly, how much an additional 3G data plan could cost for a device that wouldn't act as a phone for most people.

To this point, we wonder: could a publisher offer a subsidized Apple tablet to long-term subscribers of normally higher-cost publications such as newspapers or weekly magazines? If Apple's … Read more

Would you share your tablet?

This week's Apple tablet rumors are incessant and ever-mounting, but a big rumor rundown from the Wall Street Journal that posted late last night introduced several new wrinkles to the expected Apple tablet, the most notable in my eyes being the use of the tablet as a "shared media device."

According to sources, not only will the tablet (or iWhatHaveYou) aim to reinvent the concept of shared media, but the device will focus on multi-user sharing, with concepts such as sticky notes and a camera that could identify the user and, possibly, bring up their personalized content. … Read more

The 404 Podcast 493: Where we pulled the plug on the Microsoft keynote

LAS VEGAS--Our good buddy Clayton Morris from "Fox and Friends" joins us live onstage at CES 2010 to chat about this year's ongoing trends in technology. But before we get to all of that, we feign responsibility for the power outage at Wednesday's Microsoft keynote address. Just kidding, guys; please divert your hate mail elsewhere.

The first half of the show is all about emerging tech at this year's CES: we quickly touch upon the growing popularity of 3D visuals and their place in the home, and Clayton fears the day that he finds his parents sitting on the couch staring at the TV through huge glasses. Jeff dishes his usual plate of hate on 3D (not to mention Project Natal and iPhone gaming), and we have to quickly move on before he blows a gasket.

The next story is about another fallen child at the hands of 4Chan, but the story is admittedly kind of funny. YouTuber Lukeywes1234 was just another kid expressing his love for Super Mario Bros. and Harry Potter through a series of YouTube videos; that is, until 4Chan got word and innocently subscribed to his videos...by the thousands.

For the rest of that story and more on the latest e-readers and an appearance by the Google Nexus One, be sure to check out today's episode of CNET's The 404 Podcast and come back tomorrow for our final show from the CNET stage at CES 2010!

EPISODE 493 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

iWork & iWeb unexpectedly quit after upgrading to Mac OS X 10.6.2

Users may find that after upgrading to Mac OS X 10.6.2, Pages, Keynote, Numbers, and iWeb unexpectedly quit during use. Apple has released a knowledge base article that suggests the issue could be related to the font database. Apple recommends removing that database to clear the issue.… Read more

Home Sharing is great, but where's our Apple home media server?

As the relationship between the iPod, iPhone, and iTunes gets ever more complicated with apps, photo and video sharing, and iTunes 9 management options, one thing still remains clear: syncing with a computer, be it desktop or laptop, is still a pain in the butt. But sharing content between computers authorized under a shared iTunes account has just gotten a little easier.

Buried in Apple's press conference amid iPod and iTunes news was an announcement of Home Sharing, a service that will make transferring music and movies between the five computers that your content a simpler matter than it'… Read more

Apple's iPod refresh: What you need to know

Apple on Wednesday unveiled a refreshed lineup of iPods, as well as new iTunes, and iPhone/iPod Touch system software at an invite-only event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in downtown San Francisco.

While there were no tablet computers, or an updated version of the Apple TV (as rumors had suggested), Apple's CEO Steve Jobs surprised everyone by anchoring the keynote, making it his first public appearance since October 2008.

Read on to get a quick overview of what was announced, and why it matters.

Price cuts and new hardware

Apple introduced an updated version of … Read more

Unclear how badly news sites fared after Jackson's death

This story has been updated. See below for details.

Keynote Systems, a company that measures Web site performance, created some confusion on Friday by acknowledging that it released easily misunderstood data on how Web news services fared following the death of Michael Jackson.

Keynote follows a multitude of Web sites and monitors their performance with the help of 3,000 servers in 59 countries. On Thursday, the company said the online units of major news services became nearly inaccessible for long periods of time, as people rushed online to learn about Jackson's condition.

However, site accessibility wasn't necessarily … Read more

News sites swamped following Michael Jackson's death

This story was updated multiple times after it was originally published, including with a Keynote System statement that it erred in assessing the performance of ABCNews.com and other media news sites.

It turns out many of the Internet's top news sites fared better at handling the glut of traffic following the death of singer Michael Jackson than previously thought.

Keynote Systems, a company that tracks site performance, said Friday that it erred in measuring performance for news sites and issued incorrect information Thursday evening.

Dan Berkowitz, Keynote's spokesman, said the most important thing was to correct the … Read more

Snow Leopard preview at WWDC

Editor's note: This review has been updated from its original to include source information.

Among the news and announcements at the WWDC Keynote this morning, Apple previewed the next iteration of Mac OS X Leopard. Snow Leopard, as Mac OS X 10.6 is known, appears to pack a lot of new features and is slated for release in September, though no hard dates were announced during the Keynote.

The goal of Snow Leopard, according to Apple, was not to reinvent Mac OS X, but to refine, simplify, and speed up the overall experience. They were careful to point … Read more