Tech News

Week in Apple: post-Macworld|iWorld edition

Saturday, 04 February 2012 14:00

This week, we wrapped up our coverage of the 2012 Macworld|iWorld conference in San Francisco just as Apple issued an update to Final Cut Pro X and gave the AirPort Utility an iOS makeover. Additionally, Tim Cook offered some strong words in response to doubts about Apple's attitude toward worker conditions in China, Neil Young recounted stories about Steve Jobs working towards higher-quality music downloads, and more. Need a recap? You're in the right place.

: Realmac is set to launch an iPhone to-do list app in a few weeks that breaks list making and maintaining down to the barest essentials, eschewing some common iPhone UI elements to make the app as simple as humanly possible.

: A new Cupertino startup is launching a clever, well-designed docking solution for Apple's MacBook Air. The first version is set to begin shipping by March, but a planned Thunderbolt-equipped version is on hold pending licensing approval from Intel.

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Week in Gaming: Misleading game trailers, Online Passes and cat MMOs

Saturday, 04 February 2012 12:00

This week, an animated trailer for an imaginary Zelda game got us wondering why exactly games often can't live up to the thrilling scenes we're shown in pre-release videos. We also looked at the slow redefinition of what an Online Pass can be used for, examined the legality of blocking used games sales, and spent a massively-multiplayer hour as a cat.

Madden NFL and Tecmo Bowl both agree that the Giants are going to win the Super Bowl this weekend. Personally, I'm rooting for stadium collapse.


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Apple updates iBooks Author EULA to clarify restriction on format, not content

Friday, 03 February 2012 14:35

Apple updated to version 1.0.1 on Friday afternoon, the only change being an update to the software's controversial end user license agreement. The updated EULA now only applies to the interactive .ibooks format files generated by the app.

Read more: Apple updates iBooks Author EULA to clarify restriction on format, not content

 

Refurbished Motorola Xooms came with private data from previous owners

Friday, 03 February 2012 12:26

Motorola facilitated the sale of a bunch of refurbished Xoom tablets with former owners' data still on them, the company announced in a press release Friday. The Xooms were part of a deal on flash sale site woot.com last fall, and of the thousands sold, 100 were shipped out to new owners with information the previous owners had left on them, including passwords, account information, photos, and documents.

The Motorola Xoom captured a narrow share of the market following its launch in February 2011, ending with about 9 percent as of November 2011. A number of the tablets appear to have been returned, as Woot.com held sales of refurbished Xoom units.

Of the 6,200 tablets sold, Motorola announced, 100 were not fully scrubbed of data left on them by previous owners. By way of apology, Motorola is offering any customers who bought and returned the tablet from a number of retailers (Amazon.com, Best Buy, BJ’s Wholesale, eBay, Office Max, Radio Shack, Sam’s Club, or Staples) between March and October 2011 two years of membership to Experian's Protect My ID credit monitoring service.

Though the company is trying to make good, it can't be blamed entirely—we shudder at the thought of sending a device into the depths of customer service returns without wiping it via the easily accessible "factory reset" option in Android settings. Might any of our dear readers have been affected by this event, either by returning a Xoom or buying one from Woot?

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Boom to bust: THQ's "revolutionary" uDraw now filling warehouse shelves

Friday, 03 February 2012 11:55

Back in the long-ago days of the 2010 holiday season, it looked like THQ had a hit on its hands with its out-of-left-field uDraw Game Tablet, a slate-like controller that used a stylus to let players draw on the TV. The company sold 1.7 million of them to Wii owners by early 2011, beating expectations and leading some to speculate that the uDraw might be the biggest game control revolution this side of the Kinect.

Buoyed by the initial success, THQ quickly cranked out uDraw tablets for the Xbox 360 and PS3, and got to work licensing new compatible software from big, family-friendly brands like Kung Fu Panda, Spongebob Squarepants, and Disney Princesses. But that expansion now looks like a colossal mistake, as excess uDraw inventory was a major factor in the huge financial loss reported for the company's recent 2011 holiday quarter.


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