Do you agree with academics who say Apple is the new religion? Cast your vote in "Today's Poll..." below in the left column or go straight to the results here.
Thursday Highlights: From the halls of academia comes this: "The religious-like behavior and language surrounding Apple devotion/fandom is an example of 'implicit religion'"; Macworld's Kirk McElhearn says Apple will have a tough time convincing users to upgrade their iPods as the device has hit a plateau; and another iPad lawsuit ... but this one claims iPad doesn't work "just like a book" as indicated by Apple in ads; World of Apple has the latest in the Psystar psaga :-); Apple ships more mobile phones than Motorola two quarters in a row; US President, Barack Obama, may be a BlackBerry fan, but is all MacBook Pro when it comes to presentations; NBC Chicago reports that the freshman class at Chicago State may be getting iPads; porn industry set to bypass Apple's App Store restrictions via FaceTime; over in the UK, iPhones upgraded to iOS 4 are having roaming problems on O2's network; Apple's latest patent applications are down in our Hardware/Software section, of interest today are a couple on the iTravel App, and it seems Apple may be making a foray into the Virtual Fashion Closet, and here's a cool one: music sync arrangement where the device controls mood, speed of music while you exercise; Walt Mossberg completes a 6-week real-world test of a couple iPhone 4 models, finds iPhone 4 better than 3GS mostly, but carrier restriction still an issue; Gizmodo believes the new Magic Trackpad is "beginning of the end" for OS X.
Today's MacUpdate Promo features 40% off Slink 1.2.2, the "easy way to remotely connect to your home network from anywhere. All shared services on your home network automatically appear in the Finder, iTunes, iPhoto, and other applications. (Just as they do at home!)"
THURSDAYBLOWOUT: Every NEW or RENEWING paid subscriber receives 2 YEARS FREE....
Mac Memory and Hard Drives: MacBook Pro Memory 8GB kits $295.99! iMac Memory 4GB DDR Kits for $109.99! Mac Pro Memory 8GB Kits for $289.99! Mac Hard Drives 1TB Seagate SATA II for $94.99! Click Here!
"Palm Drops iTunes Workaround, for Now" New York Times [Free Registration Required] 12:03 PM
AppleCare/Troubleshooting
"Today's Snow Leopard reader report touches on permissions repair, Finder vs. FTP, MS Office, development issues, Norton update, user accounts and more." MacInTouch 1:30 PM
"Snow Leopard: Finder not opening files when double-clicked" CNET Reviews 1:30 PM
"Khronos details new WebGL initiative" Architosh 12:05 PM
"Eaton's New Software for Macs Protects at Server Level" Eaton 10:44 AM
"Screentime Media Updates Screentime for Flash: Professional Screen Saver Creation Application Adds Support For Windows 7 and Mac OS X Snow Leopard." ScreenTime Media 10:12 AM
"SubRosaSoft.com announces FileSalvage 7 - a new version of their long standing Mac OS X file undelete tool" SubRosaSoft 9:50 AM
"Paramount Digital Entertainment and TransGaming Team Up to Bring Star Trek: D-A-C Video Game to Mac" TransGaming Technologies 8:48 AM
"Analyst: Google Phone Won't Ding Apple's IPhone" eWeek 12:04 PM
"Conde preps Wired for Apple tablet without Apple help" Electronista 8:40 AM
"Official: Virgin Mobile launching the iPhone 'in the coming months'... we say February" MobileSyrup 2:57 PM
"Wikipedia, iPhone among decade's top 10 Internet moments" Reuters 10:28 AM
"A&W guys are the new Apple guys: Have 'Mac and PC' ads jumped the shark?" National Post 8:40 AM
"New AT&T TV Ad More Misleading Than Verizon's Claims" PC World 12:37 PM
"Judge refuses AT&T injunction request for Verizon ads" iPhone.Blorge 7:57 AM
"Apple Store opens in SuPE Store: More than 150 students and faculty members filed into the Ferguson Center Plaza for the grand opening of the Apple Store Wednesday." The Crimson White: University of Alabama 8:41 AM
"Indian Eye Hospital Uses IPhone for Remote Diagnostics" IDG News Service 12:37 PM
"iPhones: Great for games, not so good in wind storms/Our army of reporters and photographers all have iPhones to get news stories and breaking news into our newsroom faster, but sometimes, Mother Nature wins." KOMO News: Seattle Washington 8:41 AM
"iPhone Ad Network Greystripe Rolls Out Guaranteed Download Program" TechCrunch 12:13 PM
"Like AT&T, O2 Pays the Price for Heavy iPhone Usage" GigaOM 12:13 PM
"Apple Exec's Backyard Is Designed for Barfing" Fast Company 11:59 AM
"iPhone rigged to drive a car: Engineers in Texas have developed a way to use your iPhone to drive a car. KXAN's Kate Weidaw reports." [Video Report] CNN 10:29 AM
"Wheelchair bound folk now have iPhone controls for their chariots." 9 to 5 Mac 8:25 AM
"iPhone apps run background checks on your date" Network World 8:11 AM
"North England to replace satanic mills with iPhone app factories" The Register 8:11 AM
Non-Apple News
"Google Shows Off Chrome OS, Releases Source Code: Google ties Chrome OS to solid-state netbooks and systems available for 2010 holiday system." InternetNews 2:08 PM
"'Hybridisation' tech to quintuple battery life" The Register 1:41 PM
"Users howl as Fedora 12 gives root to unwashed masses" The Register 1:39 PM
"Computers Can't Answer Everything: A startup says natural language processing works best with human intelligence." Technology Review 1:27 PM
"Nintendo's Mario endures as video games come and go" Associated Press 12:09 PM
"Google Releases Chrome OS Code: Developers can now participate in the Chrome OS open source project and help Google bring its new operating system to market next year." InformationWeek 2:24 PM
"Google Says Chrome OS Still a Year Away: Google Inc. said Thursday the Internet search company is 'a year away' from making its anticipated Chrome computer operating system available to users." WSJ.com [Paid Membership Required] 1:49 PM
"Yahoo's Search News Shortcuts Gain 'tweets,' Videos, Photos" IDG News Service 11:52 AM
"AOL Seeks to Cut 2,500 Jobs" WSJ.com [Paid Membership Required] 9:59 AM
"Infineon Swings to Profit: German semiconductor maker Infineon Technologies AG swung to a fourth-quarter net profit on growing demand and said Thursday it sees further improvement of sales and profit in the current fiscal year." WSJ.com [Paid Membership Required] 9:58 AM
"Condé Preparing E-Reader Version of Wired" WSJ.com [Paid Membership Required] 9:57 AM
"Sony Unveils Its Answer to Apple's iTunes: The tech giant will launch an online store selling music, movies, books, and other downloadable applications for mobile products" BusinessWeek 10:45 AM
"Sony to create 'evolving TVs': Sony will create 'evolving televisions' and other devices that can download and run third-party applications as part of its strategy to stand out from competitors, the company said in a briefing on Thursday." Financial Times [Paid Membership Required] 11:16 AM
Publications/Podcasts
"MyMac Podcast 267 - Marian Minarik" MyMac Magazine 8:57 PM
"Gene Steinberg meets Special Correspondent David Biedny, TidBITS editor/publisher Adam Engst, and columnist Kirk McElhearn this week on The Tech Night Owl LIVE" The Tech Night Owl LIVE 6:15 PM
"Dan Frakes On Getting The Most Out of the Mac mini, and Why Apple Is Sometimes Right" MacNotables 10:10 AM
"Apple machines are less reliable" The Inquirer 8:10 AM
"Apple Recruiting for iPhone Game Development: A job posting seeks software engineers for internal game development at Apple." 1Up 12:37 PM
Apple Patent Applications
"Apple Reveals a New GUI System for In-Car Infotainment Systems" Patently Apple 8:52 AM
"Pushing A User Interface To A Remote Device: A graphical user interface ('GUI') can be presented on a remote control accessory device that has user input and display devices." United States Patent and Trademark Office 8:03 AM
"Location Determination: Systems, methods, and computer program products obtain power information indicating a detected power of respective signals received in a mobile device from multiple transmitters." United States Patent and Trademark Office 8:01 AM
"Apple Introduces New Athletic Sensory Technologies & Devices in Development" Patently Apple 1:38 PM
"Bluetooth Comfort Mouse review" Macworld UK 8:30 AM
"Bamboo Fun and Bamboo Pen & Touch: New generation of streamlined Wacom pen tablets offer multi-touch input" Macworld 9:12 AM
"Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290: Wide-angle lens, big LCD, and good battery life complement this point-and-shoot's unique in-camera features" Macworld 8:26 AM
"Synology Disk Station DS409slim: RAID uses laptop hard drives" Macworld 8:26 AM
iPhone/iPod touch Apps
"First Look: Super Monkey Ball 2" Macworld 9:25 PM
"Star Wars: Trench Run Blows Away The Dark Side — And Any Other iPhone Shooter I've Played So Far" Cult of Mac 8:57 PM
"Review: Voices Is Today's Best Thing Ever, Grab It Now While It's Cheap" Cult of Mac 6:29 PM
"Photo geotagging apps for iPhone: Apps make short work of geotagging photos with your mobile device" Macworld 2:58 PM
"Reinventing the Remote Control with Voomote" TotalApps 2:53 PM
"A closer look at iPhone transition animations" Watching Apple 9:51 AM
"Business Card Reader -- App Scans Cards into iPhone's Address Book (Review)" Insanely Great Mac 8:32 AM
"RedLaser for iPhone review: Grab yourself a bargain with this innovative iPhone app" Macworld UK 8:42 AM
"Apple Tablet: It'll Shine When It Shines" PC World 12:00 PM
"Rumors Emerge That Apple Tablet Is Delayed" BusinessWeek 11:58 AM
"Don't Bet on Apple's Tablet: Reports today the Apple tablet will be delayed again to late 2010. Scott Moritz, TSC's senior tech reporter, says Apple needs a new hot product but the iTablet won't be it." [Video Report] TheStreet 9:52 AM
"We're Optimizing For The New Apple Tablet Too!" TheDigitalLifestyle 9:51 AM
"Microsoft's attempt at a viral video is comically bad" Edible Apple 11:59 AM
"Gmail Users Better-Connected, More Likely to Tweet than Members of other Webmail Services" ReadWriteWeb 10:12 AM
"Editorial: Chrome OS is what I want, but not what I need" Engadget 3:38 PM
"Google Is Keeping Chrome OS Simple. Maybe Too Simple." TechCrunch 2:58 PM
"Google's Chrome OS revealed -- with video!" Engadget 2:03 PM
"Everything You Need To Know About Chrome OS" Gizmodo 2:02 PM
"Live from Google's Chrome OS project announcement" Engadget 12:27 PM
"Google Chrome OS: What We Might See" PC World 12:06 PM
"ChromeOS says tear down this network regulation wall" ZDNet Blogs 9:24 AM
"Google's Chrome May Shift the OS Landscape: Google is providing a sneak peak at the Chrome OS today. Maybe the Google Midas touch can succeed where decades of Apple and Linux have failed--denting Microsoft's OS dominance." PC World 8:13 AM
"Droid Could Bring Motorola Back From Dead" DaniWeb 7:55 AM
Humor/Cartoons
"Unfamiliar Surroundings!" The PC Weenies [cartoon] 7:47 AM
"iFixit has released over 200 repair guides, covering every Mac mini and most iMacs produced by Apple since 2004. All iMac and Mac mini repair manuals are immediately available for free on http://www.iFixit.com." iFixit 5:30 PM
"Proporta ships Antimicrobial Case for iPhone 3G, 3GS" iLounge 2:57 PM
"After long wait, Trillian finally comes to iPhone" CNET News 2:18 PM
"Incase unveils new chargers for iPod, iPhone" iLounge 2:09 PM
"iMojito: The Vegan Friendly iPhone Case and Wallet" Wired 2:05 PM
"Voices released ~ grab a free copy of Voice Candy for Mac!" tap tap tap 12:01 PM
"OWC Offers Free Shipping & Top 10 'Black Friday/Cyber Monday' Gift Giving Ideas" Other World Computing Blog 2:02 PM
"OWC Announces Free Shipping, Top 10 Ideas List For Easier, Money Saving 'Black Friday/Cyber Monday' Shopping" Other World Computing 11:58 AM
"GelaSkins Intros Tim Burton, Bettie Page, WETA iPhone Skins" The Mac Observer 10:28 AM
"THQ Wireless Launches Star Wars™: Trench Run Game for the iPhone/Players Take Control of an X-Wing Fighter and Battle Against the Dark Side" Business Wire 8:47 AM
"Jeff Gamet, Nancy Gravley Share Holiday Gift Ideas on MacJury" The Mac Observer 8:46 AM
"Marware debuts cases for iPod nano 5G, touch 2G" iLounge 8:45 AM
"Used Car Dealer in Atlanta GA Launches New iphone Web App, Unique to Industry" PRWeb 8:41 AM
"Marware debuts cases for iPod nano 5G, touch 2G" iLounge 8:39 AM
"Both our Applications have been approved! Our very first Application, Geek Reply is now in the App Store. Our second Application, Our Secrets is also in the App Store." Modern Geek 7:53 AM
"The Third Advent by Gregoire de Kalbermatten - New iPhone ebook" prMac 12:07 PM
"MultiEducator releases Builder Pro 1.0 for iPhone/iPod Touch" prMac 8:49 AM
"Holiday-themed reMovem Christmas Edition iPhone game now available" prMac 8:47 AM
"3D Aquarium 1.1 for the iPhone - the Answer for Busy Pet Lovers" prMac 7:52 AM
"Touch Foo Releases Free Version of Soosiz for the iPhone and iPod touch" prMac 7:51 AM
"Plaid World Studios releases Mouse House 2 for iPhone - The Lost Garden" prMac 7:51 AM
"TomTom Adds Support via Kit for Original iPhone and iPod touch" TidBITS 7:47 AM
"H-P expected to show more stability in earnings report: Analysts seek insight into PCs, printing and services despite pre-announcement" MarketWatch 10:04 AM
"HP workers eye walkout over engineer jobs dispute: Hewlett-Packard workers have voted in favour of strike action in the UK, following a ballot among members of the Unite union who complained about 150 customer engineers being shunted over to a subsidiary company." The Register 1:40 PM
"HP workers vote for strike action: Unite members angry at removal of pay and pension benefits" V3 1:46 PM
"HP tool offers continous laptop backup: HP has announced a new tool it says can solve the worry of laptops that spend long periods out of the office with no backup regime in place." Techworld 1:29 PM
"HP introduces continuous backup for laptops: HP Data Protector Notebook Extension backs up data whether online or offline" V3 1:47 PM
"Dell Plays Keep-Up With Rival H-P" WSJ.com [Paid Membership Required] 9:59 AM
"Dell earnings this afternoon: What to expect" Associated Press 11:01 AM
"Dell's report to come amid market-share losses" MarketWatch 2:08 PM
"Dell's 'Mr. A' is a key figure in Intel defense" CNET News 2:16 PM
"How to build a (strong) virtual team: In a world where fewer and fewer employees work in the same location as their bosses, IBM is figuring out how to bring together far-flung coworkers." Fortune 9:50 AM
"IBM software launch shows there's life in the mainframe" Techworld 1:29 PM
"IBM squishes systems software into new business unit: Making programs play nice with each other" The Register 1:39 PM
"AOL Also Likely to Eye Sale of MapQuest–Is Microsoft a Possible Buyer?" AllThingsD 10:16 AM
"Future bright for Microsoft cloud computing, server president says" Seattle Times 12:07 PM
"Office 2010: At last, the suite that users built/Microsoft drew upon real-world usage data to make its latest Office suite the most efficient version yet" InfoWorld 11:34 AM
"Confessions of an Office 2010 CTP Tester: Microsoft released the public beta of Office 2010 yesterday, but I have already been using Office 2010 for the past four months. Here are my thoughts on the new Office." PC World 11:53 AM
"Microsoft's Thoroughly Modern IE9? Browser will get a faster JavaScript and HTML5 support, but we don't know what it will look like, or when it will arrive." Technologizer 11:53 AM
"How Microsoft blew it with Windows Mobile" Wired 10:29 AM
"Microsoft-Pure alliance is no threat to the iPhone" Boston Globe [Free Registration Required] 10:44 AM
"Microsoft, SAP Partner on SAP BusinessObjects" eWeek 11:11 AM
"Microsoft and SAP sing praises of Duet" V3 1:47 PM
"Microsoft's Parallel Push Takes Another Step Forward" eWeek 11:12 AM
"Xbox Marks The Spot For M'Soft Ratings" New York Post 11:42 AM
"Europe's dishonest squeeze play on Oracle over MySQL" InfoWorld 11:34 AM
"Intel Labs Europe tackles large-scale computing" CNET News 10:22 AM
"Intel invests in Europe 'exascale' computing center" EE Times 11:08 AM
"Intel throws millions of Euro into Exascale center" TG Daily 1:31 PM
"Cisco: New Wi-Fi Flip Camera Early Next Year" Wired 1:54 PM
"Is Cloud Computing Ready to Rumble? Virtualization vendors say cloud computing is the proverbial 'next big thing,' though it's not necessarily an IT priority yet." InternetNews 11:26 AM
"Chip losses pressure tech sector; Nasdaq down nearly 2%: Technology stocks lost more ground Thursday as a harsh view of the semiconductor market and pessimism about the economic recovery contributed to broad losses across the sector." MarketWatch 2:01 PM
"Wall Street faces worst outing of the month: Investors, prompted by economic worries, scale back risk in portfolios" MarketWatch 2:01 PM
"Stocks down on recovery doubts: Major indexes decline for the second day in a row, as nervousness about the economy puts the brakes on a recent rally." CNNMoney 2:03 PM
"Techs Lead Triple-Digit Setback: Hurt by slumping semiconductor stocks and a rallying greenback, the Dow lost more than 100 points Thursday afternoon." FOXBusiness 2:02 PM
"Stocks drop as recovery fears curb risk appetite" Reuters 2:02 PM
"Stocks, Commodities Fall as Dollar Rebounds, Treasuries Gain" Bloomberg 10:43 AM
"Stock Selloff Continues on Mixed Data" TheStreet 2:02 PM
"Stocks Fall as Bonds, Dollar Rise: A sharp pullback put stocks on track for their biggest daily decline of the month Thursday, weighed down by an analyst downgrade of the semiconductor sector and as new economic data failed to quell investor jitters about the U.S. economy." WSJ.com [Paid Membership Required] 1:49 PM
"Wall Street drops sharply on economic concerns: US stocks dropped sharply on Thursday after a bleak outlook for the semiconductor industry and fears over the housing market added to concerns about the pace of economic recovery." Financial Times [Paid Membership Required] 2:04 PM
"Stocks set for early slide: Worries about the economic recovery put investors on the sidelines." CNNMoney 9:50 AM
"Europe Markets: Miners, Danone send Europe to third straight daily loss/Infineon's shares take a hit; SABMiller advances following results" MarketWatch 2:04 PM
MacSurfer Headline News Staff
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief: P. Pearson
Managing & Weekday Editor: D. Mahaffy
Evening Editors: S. Siegling and
D. Mahaffy
Weekend Editors: S. Siegling and
D. Mahaffy
CEO: T. Jefferson
CFO: K. Midas
Editor Emeritus: W. Shakespeare
Writers Emeritus: W. Lewis, R. Chandler, W. Morris, G. Simenon, C. Vallejo, F. Garcia Lorca,
P. White, R. Adams, P. Valery, C. Aiken, R. Bradbury, F. Pessoa, S. Bellow, F. O'Connor
Art Directors: V. Van Gogh, C. Monet
Advertising Managers: C. Chaplin, H. Marx
Public Relations Firm: Bits & Bytes
Bomb Squad: Type 11 Errors
Chief Scientists: I. Asimov, S. Hawking
Road Crew: R. Petty, J. Cooper
Mechanics: Tom and Ray
Fishing Crew: A. Lindner, D. Stange, K. VanDam
Head Chef: Mom
Head Travel Guru: D. Pearson
Whipping Boys: B. Gates, S. Jobs
Mascots: Cyberdog, Clarus the Dogcow
General Counsel: #%@*$$$$!
Mac Memory and Hard Drives:
Deal Brothers Daily Deal: 
