hitting

This week marks the beginning of Apple's next financial year. It's also the first full calendar year of Apple without Steve Jobs. The technology icon passed away a year ago today.

Now's as good a time as any to take a quick look back at some of the highlights and lowlights for Apple at a time when onlookers are paying close attention to just about every detail -- something that certainly hasn't changed.

New iPhone breaks sales records Despite some finding Apple's annual iPhone update to be underwhelming, the device got off to a … Read more

We've seen all kinds of cool music software that puts cutting-edge production tools in the hands of up-and-coming musicians with more talent than financial resources or contacts. Hit 'n' Mix Play is one of the most unique and interesting yet. It rips up and lays out your MP3 and CD tracks so you can mash and mix them up in new and dazzlingly brilliant beats -- and since it's free, there's no stopping you from practicing and perfecting your art. It breaks down vocals, instruments, percussion, and even noise. You can change beats, tempos, and pitch; add … Read more

Flick Home Run is an arcade home-run-hitting game that only requires a flick of your finger to send the ball over the fence, but it definitely takes practice. Unlike 3D home run games like Home Run Battle, in Flick Home Run you have a 2D view of the playing field, with pitches coming from the right and you timing your flick to send the ball as far as you can. The game instructs you to touch a Pitch button in the lower left corner, and when the ball comes into play, your job is flick the ball at just the … Read more

Continuing this week's unofficial deals-under-$10 theme, let's talk cheap tunes.

For a limited time, Amazon is offering 129 one-hit wonder MP3s for 69 cents each. (That's the promotion's landing page. If you want to see the choices in list form, click here.)

You've probably heard most, if not all, of these songs on the radio, which is still the place where one-hit wonders are born. And maybe you even bought an entire album just to get one song--only to be disappointed by the rest of the tunes.

Heck, maybe you've long harbored a … Read more

While CNET cannot endorse any form of drug paraphernalia, I would like to give credit to the creators of the iHit iPhone case for not dancing around their product's real intention--especially since that honesty might cost them funding and retail opportunities.

The name says it all. The iHit is an iPhone 4 case intended to hold one joint, presumably for emergency use. Of course, it could also hold a single standard tobacco cigarette, but think of the serious smokers you know. They'd need about 24 iPhone cases a day to cope with their habit. The iHit is for the wake-and-bakers. If you're confronted with a jonesing Grateful Dead fan threatening to play an endless guitar solo if he doesn't take a trip to the laughing tree, you can whip out the iHit. … Read more

Back in the 1970s, '80s, and '90s, one of the favorite destinations for kids after school and on weekends was the local video arcade. Many readers will probably remember changing dollars for tokens, stacking up tokens and quarters on machines to indicate you "had next," and how quickly you could blow your money by playing game after game. Sadly, arcades slowly died out as home gaming consoles improved and stand-up arcade cabinets--for the most part--became a thing of the past.

When iOS devices and the iTunes App Store came along years later, the developers of those old games (… Read more

In a CNET News story yesterday, our very own Josh Lowensohn explored Apple's recent patent application for an interesting touch-screen concept. The patent details separate smaller displays outside of the regular iPhone touch screen. According to the patent filing, these separate displays could be used in tandem with the main iPhone touch screen or used by developers to show added information in apps and games. Josh is careful to point out that patent applications don't necessarily mean a company will use an idea in a future product, but they are nonetheless interesting to consider.

Obviously, adding separate screens would open up all kinds of options for apps, but I wonder if these areas would be used by Apple for showing things like battery life, current time, camera information, or other more generic smartphone-related uses. But if these added touch-screen areas could be used by app developers, it would open up a huge number of possibilities for more interesting on-screen controls and other information widgets related to what's happening on-screen.

Even without knowing whether this will come to light, what sort of uses can you envision for extra displays around the main iPhone screen? Let me know your ideas in the comments.

This week's apps include an app for star gazing that uses augmented-reality technology and an app that lets you play classic arcade and console games from the golden age of gaming.… Read more

Links from Friday's episode of Loaded

Facebook launches the Open Compute Project, a collaboration with hardware manufacturers, aimed at making more energy-efficient Web-centric computers

The FCC adopts new rules on roaming rates and cell phone signal boosters

T-Mobile confirms that the Sidekick 4G will cost $99 when it launches April 20

Atari Greatest Hits brings vintage Atari titles to the iPad and iPhone

The personal jet pack takes a 7-minute flight in New Zealand, a new record.