Rumors

Apple touch-screen Netbook rumors heat up

Updated at 4:09 a.m. PDT March 10 with new information from Dow Jones Newswire. This story was originally posted at 9:44 a.m. PDT March 9.

Take this for what you will, but the Apple rumor mill is churning with word that the company has a touch-screen Netbook in the works that will hit the market in time for back-to-school sales later this year.

Citing an article by the Chinese-language Commercial Times, DigiTimes reported Monday that "Taiwan-based Wintek will supply touch panels for Apple's new Netbook, and shipments will start in the third quarter this … Read more

Microsoft enthusiasts atwitter at MVP summit

As it has in years past, Microsoft is meeting this week with some of its hardcore enthusiasts--the Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs) that serve in many ways as unpaid ambassadors for the company's products.

This year, though, the gathering with tech enthusiasts is completely closed to reporters and is also covered by nondisclosure agreements (NDA). However, that hasn't stopped the chatter, particularly because of the heavy use of Twitter to discuss the event. (For the latest discussion, simply click on this link.)

There are dozens of postings every few minutes, ranging from talk about meals and the weather to … Read more

Matte finish on the iPhone 3G? Maybe

If you're tired of your iPhone showing every bit of grit and grime on its otherwise perfectly glossy finish, you're in luck. The next generation of the smartphone might help hide your predilection for greasy food.

MacRumors.com claims to have obtained leaked photos of the next-gen iPhone 3G that show a matte black finish on a metal casing. The photos show the back of a 16GB model with the model number A1303.

MacRumors won't confirm the photos' authenticity but says it was told they came from China.

Various rumors of late have indicated that Apple is … Read more

Report: Apple nixed Android's multitouch

One of the chief complaints about Google's Android is its lack of multitouch support.

Now, according to a VentureBeat report by M.G. Siegler, we may have an idea of why Google skipped the feature on its mobile operating system:

Apple, which of course makes the signature multi-touch mobile device, the iPhone, apparently asked Google not to implement it, and Google agreed, an Android team member tells us.

Further, the Android team member went on to say that they were relieved that Google didn't go against Apple's wishes, given the legal storm that appears to be brewing … Read more

New App Store section for premium games?

Apple may be planning a new section of the App Store dedicated to premium game titles that will put more cash in the pockets of developers.

The new section will supposedly cater to games that sell for about $20, according to the blog PocketGamer.biz, which first reported the rumor.

The new section will be restricted to only games of large publishers, rather than titles created by smaller gaming developers that are already offered through the main App Store, the site said.

PocketGamer believes that Apple will likely introduce the new section its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June.

The … Read more

Steve Jobs health hoax hits Wired

It is a hoax, Wired reported Thursday -- an article that looks like a story on Wired.com and that claims Apple CEO Steve Jobs has had a heart attack.

"A widely-circulated URL which points to an image that purports to be a wired.com story about Steve Jobs health is a hack job," Wired.com said. "We won't provide the URL here but the Twitterverse quickly surmised that the item was not correct." It appears to have first been reported by Mashable.

Someone created a legitimate-looking Web page using Wired's public upload image … Read more

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

Ballmer and Bostock break bread

Well, it's official, Microsoft and Yahoo have come to an agreement.

On lunch.

As first noted by Valleywag, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock had lunch together this week in New York. The New York Times has a lengthy piece up now as well, confirming the meeting, but offering no clue as to what happened beyond, presumably, caloric consumption.

In any case, it's the second high-level contact this week, given that incoming Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz told employees that she, too, had talked with Ballmer.

Microsoft has made it clear in every way imaginable that … Read more

'Fake Steve Jobs' attacks CNBC in on-air tirade

Clarification at 7:02 a.m. PST: This article originally noted Silicon Alley Insider's report that Dan Lyons has been banned from CNBC. A CNBC representative disputes that assertion.

Newsweek columnist Dan Lyons, whose anonymous "Fake Steve Jobs" satire blog took the tech world by storm in 2007 went on a blunt rant on cable network CNBC that questioned its journalistic tactics--but contrary to a blog report, CNBC says he has not been banned from appearing on the network.

Lyons was facing off against CNBC's Silicon Valley bureau chief, Jim Goldman, in a segment about the … Read more