Apple Talk

Feeling a bit skittish about using a mostly-hidden Mac OS X utility and running lines of code to see if your Mac is one of the 650,000-some infected with the Flashback malware? There's a new tool that's much simpler.

Dr. Web, the same Russian security firm that's been tracking the scope and scale of the Flashback malware's spread worldwide, now has a free, Web-based utility that will tell you if your machine has been compromised, and is -- in fact -- plugged into the botnet network.

In order to do this, it cross-checks your Mac'… Read more

Apple's Mac platform has long been promoted as safer than the competition, but as Mac sales and market share grow, it's become a bigger target.

Nowhere is that clearer than with the Flashback Trojan, a gnarly piece of malware designed to steal personal information by masquerading as very mainstream browser plug-ins. Yesterday Russian antivirus company Dr. Web said that an estimated 600,000 Macs are now infected as a result of users unknowingly installing the software.

So here's a quick FAQ on the Flashback Trojan, including information on what it is, how to tell if you have … Read more

The stickers Apple slaps on iPods encased in see-through plastic packaging to show off their features could be replaced with real onscreen visuals, thanks to a technology the company wants to patent.

In a new patent application for "active electronic media device packaging," which was published (pdf) today by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and picked up by Apple Insider, Apple details packaging design that can slurp up wireless power and deliver it to the gadget inside.

This design does two main things, the filing argues: one is keep the gadgets charged and updated with the … Read more

Besides basic divisions in hardware and software, there are some major differences in the way iPhone and Android platform smartphone users ingest data, a new study says.

According to market research firm ComScore, iPhone owners in both the U.S. and the U.K. consumed more of their data over Wi-Fi and their carrier's wireless signal than smartphone users on Google's Android platform during the month of February.

As part of its Device Essentials study released today, ComScore said that 71 percent the U.S. users on iPhones use both cellular and Wi-Fi networks, versus 32 percent of … Read more

Avatron Software has just added a way for users see their Mac desktops at "retina-like" resolution -- via the new iPad.

Avatron Software's app Air Display allows users to "extend" their Mac desktops to an iPad, essentially turning the tablet into a second monitor. An update to the app now offers an option to enable HiDPI mode, a setting tucked away in Apple's Mac OS that renders the user interface at four times normal resolution (twice the resolution in each dimension).

That's well-suited for Apple's new iPad, which as luck would have … Read more

Apple's touch-screen devices and App Store have helped popularize touch gaming, and the company is now said to be working on a hardware solution to provide more tactile controls.

In a review of Apple's latest iPad tablet, Anandtech mentions that Apple has just such a project in development with plans "to bring a physical controller to market."

The outlet added that the project might not result in an actual product.

The news comes as Apple's App Store is ballooning with games, many of them casual titles. In kind, demand for those titles is strong. According to a study on iPad gaming from market research firm Distimo that was released last week, 50 percent of top paid applications during February were games.… Read more

Apple is the top brand in Japanese consumers' minds, according to the results of an annual survey that was published today.

Japan's Nikkei business daily released the results of its 2011 survey on brands, and Apple came out on top. Trailing it was Google, which was last year's leader, as well as other tech brands like YouTube and Panasonic. On last year's list, Apple came in 11th.

The online survey, which was done by Nikkei's consulting business, polled around 52,000 people 18 and older, and ran during the last two months of 2011. Besides consumers, … Read more

The first results from the Fair Labor Association's audit of Foxconn have revealed violations in wages and overtime, conditions that the Chinese manufacturing giant has pledged to remedy.

The audit, which was posted to the FLA's Web site this afternoon, found all three factories in the region to be in violation of both the labor organization's code standard, and Chinese law in hours worked by employees. The FLA said these factories "exceeded" 60 hours per worker, which Foxconn has now said will be scaled back to 49 hours per week by July 1, 2013.

Foxconn … Read more

With lawsuits filed against each other in countries around the world, Apple and Samsung could be headed toward a truce with one another, according to a new report.

In a detailed history of Apple's legal battles with mobile-device competitors including the likes of HTC and Samsung, Bloomberg suggests that Apple and Samsung's top leadership could be looking to strike a settlement.

"People familiar with the situation, however, note that top-level executives at both Apple and Samsung have communicated lately about potential settlement options," the report today says.

"Apple CEO Tim Cook does not seem to … Read more