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Despite the surge in demand for Android, Apple's iOS still holds the lead among mobile platforms, at least according to the latest data from Net Applications.

In a survey of the mobile landscape for September, iOS hit a new record with a 54.6 percent share of the market. That's up from 53 percent the prior month and 42 percent a year ago.

Trailing behind Java ME, which is typically used in feature phones, was Android with a 16.26 percent share. Though in third place, Google's mobile OS has seen a rise from a year ago … Read more

One of the services that Apple offered when it initially released MobileMe was personal Web hosting, allowing users to create Web pages with Apple's iWeb program. While Apple will still be supporting its personal Web hosting service until June 30, 2012, the service will eventually be shut down. In addition, Apple's iWeb program has been discontinued, so while it still works, it too will sooner or later need to be replaced.

This situation will affect anyone who uses either iWeb or MobileMe hosting, but luckily there are a few options for people wanting to transition to alternative services … Read more

Apple stepped up the development of the upcoming OS X 10.7.2 update and released a new beta build of the OS to developers for testing on Sunday. The main focus of the 10.7.2 update is support for Apple's iCloud service, which is Apple's successor to its MobileMe online services and offers a more "Cloud-based" array of options for syncing documents and online purchases as well as managing their use on multiple devices you own.

Until now Apple's iCloud services have been a separate installation for OS X developers and testers, but with this latest update, Apple has included iCloud built into the OS as MobileMe has been in past versions of OS X, and as iCloud is intended to be in its final release.

The OS X 10.7.2 update is anticipated by many Lion users not only because of iCloud, but also in hopes that it will address some outstanding bugs that have cropped up with the initial 10.7.0 release. These include black screens when waking from sleep and when performing some graphics manipulations, shifting application windows and Finder items, touchy HDMI output when using adapters, and even a potential security flaw with handling LDAP-based authentication on enterprise networks.

Apple did issue a quick 10.7.1 update a few weeks ago that included new video drivers to address some graphics problems in Lion, but this small update was released relatively quickly and was likely already in the works before 10.7.0 was released, to address known problems.

In addition to developing iCloud support in OS X, Apple is also working on implementing support for it in various applications, including its iWork and iLife programs. As a result, when OS X 10.7.2 is released, expect there to be numerous updates available for other programs as well. In all, 10.7.2 will be a significant update that is likely due out any day now, so be sure you maintain a full and restorable backup of your system in anticipation of its release.

Questions? Comments? Have a fix? Post them below or e-mail us! Be sure to check us out on Twitter and the CNET Mac forums.… Read more

A new feature in Apple's forthcoming iOS 5 update, Find My Friends, will help users see where their contacts are. Think GPS tracking for your social life, included in iOS.

According to sources reporting to 9to5Mac a few months ago, Apple had been working on the Find My Friends feature for quite some time, though the project was on and off several times.

Now, after new HTML code in the MobileMe/iCloud Web site has been found, it appears that Find My Friends is back. And it could signal one of the most significant entries into the social networking … Read more

Skype just got so easy your great-grandmother could use it without having to know anything about a sound card or any other input/output doohickeys that are more convoluted than President Harding and his confounding Teapot Dome scandal! (Look it up, millennials...)

Actually, there is one doohickey, but once it's all hooked up it looks an awful lot like a regular old cordless phone--with VoIP hidden inside. (No need to tell great-grandma about that last part, it will only confuse her--apologies to all technologically astute great-grandmothers out there, BTW.) It's the Freetalk ConnectMe home phone adapter for Skype, which connects to any regular old home phone.

You'll need to connect your PC to set things up the first time, but after that, Skype says you'll just need to make sure your broadband connection and phone are hooked into the adapter. If you keep your landline, you'll want to hook that in too, because the adapter allows you to switch back and forth between Skype and a regular phone line.… Read more

If you are a MobileMe user and are looking forward to the switch to Apple's iCloud service next month, be aware that scammers are starting to target the transition. Some MobileMe users are receiving fake e-mails regarding the MobileMe-to-iCloud transition; the e-mails request the users click on links in the e-mail to extend their current MobileMe subscriptions.

The e-mail is from the "MobileMe team," with the subject "Welcome to iCLOUD," and reads as follows:

Dear MobileMe member,

Please sign up for iCloud and click the submit botton [sic], you'll be able to keep your … Read more

HP has a winner on its hands, now that it's killed off that particular winner. The Internetorati clamor to buy discounted TouchPads, while HP's stock plummets 20 percent to a six-year low. So, Apotheker, who's right? You or the geeks? Also, Facebook finds out once again that censorship is hard, and the real reason aliens want to kill us: we'll ruin the entire galaxy if we get off this rock!

Google rolls out verified profiles for Google+, Skype buys GroupMe messaging service, and HP liquidates its stock of tablets.

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

Skype announced today it has agreed to acquire group messaging service GroupMe. Financial details of the deal were not revealed.

"Skype and GroupMe have a shared vision of creating applications and experiences that are the daily communications choice for a billion people," Skype CEO Tony Bates said in a statement announcing the deal. "The GroupMe team has created an incredibly sticky group messaging experience that works across mobile devices and platforms, making this a perfect addition to the voice, video and text products in the Skype family."