application

Apple has sent a stern warning to developers who try to inflate their App Store rankings.

"Once you build a great app, you want everyone to know about it," the company announced to developers last night. "However, when you promote your app, you should avoid using services that advertise or guarantee top placement in App Store charts. Even if you are not personally engaged in manipulating App Store chart rankings or user reviews, employing services that do so on your behalf may result in the loss of your Apple Developer Program membership."

App Store rankings are … Read more

Internet Explorer staved off rival browsers on personal computers in the first month of 2012, but a new battlefield is emerging where Microsoft has virtually no presence today: mobile.

Among personal computers, IE reclaimed a chunk the global browser usage, rising from 51.9 percent in December to 53 percent in January, according to new statistics from Net Applications.

However, while browsing with desktops and laptops dominates, mobile devices are catching up. Smartphones and tablets accounted for an all-time high of 8.8 percent of browsing in January, up from 7.7 percent the month earlier.

And on mobile, Microsoft'… Read more

Online giant Yahoo has killed a host of mobile applications.

The company said on Friday that it has discontinued Yahoo Meme for the iPhone and iPad, Yahoo News for Android, and Yahoo Finance for RIM's BlackBerry operating system, among others. The company said that its decision was a response to the rapidly changing mobile market, and the fact that some of its applications just weren't cutting it.

"Our plan is to keep moving, to keep innovating, and to continuously measure and scrutinize what's working and what isn't--so we can make room for great new products,&… Read more

Another patent application has surfaced showing Apple's interest in changing the way people entertain themselves in their living rooms.

It may not be the much-anticipated Apple TV set, but it does provide a hint or two about a control system for such a device.

Chronicled by Apple Insider this morning, the patent filing details plans for a universal remote control system that uses a touchscreen to let users control multiple devices around their house. That includes the TV, stereo, and even the MP3 player on a user's computer.

The patent application, which Apple filed for in September … Read more

Apple has long been at the forefront of battery technology, especially for mobile consumer electronics. One of Apple's most recent patent applications details a new line of thinking for battery design that could lead to thinner, more efficient power on the go.

Apple believes that the current standard for battery design is approaching its maximum limitations. But, not to worry, the geniuses in Cupertino seem to have a plan. Using electrode sheets of differing shapes and sizes, Apple would be able to build thinner batteries that fit any number of shapes, instead of having to be constrained by the typical rectangular shape of today's mobile device batteries.… Read more

What Siri will do next only Apple knows, but we just got a few hints.

A handful of future features headed to the software may have been outed in a new patent application, primarily that the sassy assistant could be headed to Web and e-mail platforms, and eventually help you buy things, control your home thermostat, and weigh in during conversations.

That application, published this morning by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and picked up by Patently Apple, details an "Intelligent Automated Assistant." The filing, dated January 2011, comes some nine months after Apple's acquisition of Siri the company, and includes numerous diagrams of the software in use.

In the application's abstract, Apple describes its invention as a tool that "engages with the user in an integrated, conversational manner using natural language dialogue," while making use of "external services when appropriate to obtain information or perform various actions."

Sound familiar?

That's Siri as we know it, the virtual assistant that translates user voice requests into actions--functionality that first appeared in Siri the app, and later extended to Apple's implementation of it in the iPhone 4S. Some of those external services have been tools like Yelp and Wolfram Alpha.

Where things get interesting is when Apple details where such a tool could be used.… Read more

Although Apple's education event in New York focused on students, the company today also unveiled a new author platform.

Dubbed iBooks Author, the free Mac OS X application lets authors create textbooks and other books with simple drag-and-drop mechanisms. According to Apple, the application gives authors basic templates to quickly create titles that offer both text and interactive elements such as videos and images. To add multimedia content, iBooks Author lets users drag and drop content onto pages.

In deference to those who want to create more unique titles, Apple says folks who can code in JavaScript and HTML … Read more

Last year Apple managed to get 676 patents awarded to it by the U.S. Patent Office, and 2012 is showing no signs of Apple slowing down. In its latest application, Apple is proposing technology that would control a 3D interface using touch-free motion-based gestures on your iOS device.

The concept of controlling a device with motion is, of course, not a new one. Microsoft's Kinect has proven the technology to not only be practical and applicable, but popular as well. But that technology is for a gaming console connected to your television in the comfort of your home.… Read more

LAS VEGAS--Netgear announced today at CES 2012 its Smart Network Cloud Application Platform (SNCP), which enables consumers to purchase and download apps from the cloud to optimize and personalize their networking devices.

The company says Smart Network apps, ranging from games to tools and utilities, can be developed by anyone. For example, an independent programmer can develop a simple data-usage meter app that alerts consumers when their data cap is about to run out. Utility companies can also provide applications that allow users to monitor their energy usage. Or game developers can provide apps that optimize the connection for high-bandwidth games.… Read more