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Major/Minor Threat to Apple's living room vision: Microsoft's new Xbox One game+media hub?
Vote for the results in the left column below or go straight to the results here.
Wednesday Highlights: Tim Cook goes to Washington, under fire from the US Senate over offshore tax shelters including Ireland, China, makes no apologies, defending his company and telling senators they need to fix the tax system; Cook even plays a little Genius Bar as Senator John McCain complains of having to constantly update apps on is iPhone; plenty more in our Apple/Macintosh, Op/Ed, and Finances sections; Apple claiming Samsung Galaxy S4 infringes on five patents including customizations Samsung has done on the Android Jelly Bean OS; a "sophisticated 'operation hangover' gang in India" said to be responsible for new OS X Oslo malware; Mactuts+ offers help for those having issues downloading apps from the Mac App Store; Macworld shows you where to get some nice, free or low-cost fonts; and the staff at Macworld have another tutorial for switchers from Windows to OS X; and here's how to sync calendars for those of you balancing between Mountain Lion and Snow Leopard systems; according to new stats, Samsung and Motorola have cut Apple's lead in customer satisfaction by half; Apple updates online store in preparation for Father's Day; TechHive shows you which major US carriers have the most LTE throughout the states; Tim Cook says the USA-made Macs are to be built in the great state of Texas, with Apple spending $100 billion in the endeavor; Flickr, Vimeo integration rumored for iOS 7, and a couple interesting iPhone 6 concepts hit the web; LAPTOP Mag gets a hands-on with LifeProof's Fre iPad mini case; is Apple held to different standards than other companies?; Rush Limbaugh has no love for the Senates "high-tech lynching" of Apple; Microsoft's Xbox One means "goodbye freedom".
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"Apple's $40 rise and fall: Was Goldman Sachs behind it? Something jammed its blood funnel into Apple's share price last week" Fortune 6:59 AM
"Tim Cook Shines at Goldman's Tech Confab" ["The CEO indicated that the board of directors has always discussed the possibility of returning cash to shareholders, but 'it is being discussed more and in greater detail' lately, he said. 'We have more cash than we need to run the business on a daily basis.'"] Barron's 7:12 AM
"Apple's 2011 iOS Sales Larger Than Mac Sales in Last 28 Years" PC Magazine 10:46 AM
"Apple Could Destroy Tablet Rivals with iPad Price Cuts" PCWorld 10:46 AM
"Apple Wanders Into Mountain Lion Territory" TechNewsWorld 10:44 AM
"Settlement reached in iPhone 4 antennagate suit: Original iPhone 4 buyers can get either $15 or a new bumper case from Apple as part of a newly settled class-action lawsuit." CNET News 6:56 AM
"Congressmen Query Google Over Apple Safari Cookie Tracking" eWeek 10:44 AM
"Apple brought formal EU antitrust complaint against Motorola Mobility over FRAND abuse" Foss Patents 7:09 AM
"Motorola Mobility says Apple files EU patent complaint" Reuters 7:14 AM
"Apple wins German patent suit against Motorola" Los Angeles Times 10:02 AM
"Apple Keeps Selling iPad in China As Trademark Dispute Escalates" Forbes 7:06 PM
"China Tech Co Prepares Major Lawsuit Against Apple" Forbes 10:45 AM
"Mac Tip: How Many Items Do I Have In A Specific Folder" MacTrast 7:07 AM
"Mountain Lion: What you need to know/We provide answers to your questions about Apple's next OS X update" Macworld 2/17
"How to Uninstall Messages and Restore iChat to Mac OS X" OS X Daily 2/17
"Hands-On With AirPlay In OS X Mountain Lion [Video] Cult of Mac 2/17
"AirPlay on OS X Mountain Lion to Apple TV, wirelessly (Video)" Insanely Great Mac 2/17
"How to Use AirPlay Mirroring on a Mac with OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion" OS X Daily 2/17
"A sneak peek at Apple's upcoming OS X Mountain Lion: Apple says its latest Mac OS X version will be released this summer; here's a look at what to expect" [Slideshow] InfoWorld 2/17
"Bookle Is The Type Of Software That Should Come With The Mac" MacNews 2/17
"MacMost Now 672: Using Image Capture With Scanners" MacMost 2/17
"How To Give Your Mac Multiple Sound Volume Controls For Each App" BohemianBoomer 2/17
"The On Screen Magnifier You Wish Your Mac Had (now available)" McSolo 2/17
"OS X: Mac Screenshot How-To & Power Tips" The Mac Observer 2/17
"10.7: Move messages to favorite mailboxes" Mac OS X Hints 2/17
"10.7: Spelling correction using only the keyboard" Mac OS X Hints 2/17
"Mac Tip: Change The Open Folder When Going To A New Finder Window" MacTrast 2/17
Op/Ed
"Mountain Lion discussion continues at full steam today with more about the differences between traditional Mac systems and Apple's iPad-inspired OS X systems, including product volume and market share; various features (pro and con); compatibility and Rosetta; Gatekeeper security/control issues; Mac malware; Windows/Linux upgrade/adoption rates; the Mac Pro; Notification Center; Lion experiences and more." MacInTouch 9:12 PM
"Gatekeeper, Sandboxing and the Evolution of OS X Apps" Gizmodo 2/17
"Five ways Apple should make iCloud ready for business: Apple is integrating iCloud more tightly into iOS & OSX, but the features appeal to indiViduals and not businesses" Computerworld UK 2/17
"Mountain Lion discussion [updated 17:17] debates forced obsolescence vs. new features; iOS vs. Mac platforms (including relative sales volumes); security issues and Apple control; hardware compatibility; the new Messages app; hands-on experiences and more." MacInTouch 2/17
"Steve Jobs is gone, Windows 8 is coming and Apple panics" BetaNews 2/17
"OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion Preview, Apple the Most Reputable Brand, FBI's Steve Jobs File, and More" Low End Mac 2/17
"With Apple's Mountain Lion OS, Twitter is a winner" Washington Post [Free Registration Required] 2/17
"Ted Landau's User Friendly View: Mountain Lion Does iOS-ification Right" The Mac Observer 2/17
"Apple's Busy Week: Tech Weekly" TheStreet 10:45 AM
"Google sneaked tracking files onto iPhones, privacy researcher says: A researcher at Stanford says Google made an end run around a privacy feature in Apple's Safari browser, adding outside advertisers' cookies. Google says it did not intentionally do so." Los Angeles Times [Free Registration Required] 7:55 AM
"In Argentina, iPhone Drought Continues" WSJ.com [Paid Membership Required] 7:05 AM
"Apple fans in Argentina face an uncertain wait for the iPhone" The Next Web 7:05 AM
"Apple's App Store Closes in on 25 Billion Downloads" PC Magazine 7:06 PM
"Final Construction Underway At Amsterdam Store" ifoAppleStore 7:10 AM
"Brash analyst charged in insider case" ["Between 2008 and 2010, investigators said, Kinnucan paid insiders with cash, trips and other benefits to get secret information, including sales trends for Apple Inc's iPhone."] Reuters 10:43 AM
"Petition Drive Readies Second Visit to Stores" ifoAppleStore 2/17
"Privacy invasion: There's an app for that" CNET News 2/17
"Google's iPhone Tracking: Web Giant, Others Bypassed Apple Browser Settings for Guarding Privacy" WSJ.com [Paid Membership Required] 2/17
"Google and Facebook accused of bypassing iPhone's privacy settings to spy on owners to build advertising profiles" Daily Mail (UK) 2/17
"Google Dodged IPhone Users' Privacy With DoubleClick, Stanford Study Finds" Bloomberg 2/17
"Google Accused of Tracking Safari Usage Without Permission" PC Magazine 2/17
"Google on defense on iPhone privacy" [Audio Report] MarketWatch 2/17
"Google allegedly outsmarted mobile Safari to force ad cookies upon iOS users" 9 to 5 Google 2/17
"WSJ: Safari loophole lets Google track Apple users through web ads" Engadget 2/17
"The Cookie Monster returns! Google caught tracking Safari users on Apple's iOS" VentureBeat 2/17
"More iPhones sold per second than babies born" Fairfax NZ News 2/17
"Apple Announces Countdown to 25 Billion App Store Downloads with $10,000 Gift Card Prize" MacRumors 2/17
"Apple celebrates App Store countdown to 25B downloads with $10,000 prize" The Next Web 2/17
"Apple Launches $10K Promotion for 25 Billion App Store Downloads" The Mac Observer 2/17
"US Federal Contractor Registration: U.S. Air Force May Buy 18,000 Apple iPads for Flight Crews" PRWeb 2/17
"Buyology: Apple One Of The Most Desired Brands Among Men" MacNews 2/17
"The Most Desired Brands In America/No. 6 Most Desired Brand Among Men: Apple" Forbes 2/17
"3G access pricing madness: The iPad example" ZDNet 2/17
"Ex-Pixar Geeks Building Siri-Style Line of Toys" ReadWriteWeb 2/17
"ip.access E-100 brings 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi together in small cells: First LTE small cell from ip.access, for use inside buildings, will include a slot for Wi-Fi" Techworld 2/17
"Nomophobia -- fear of being without your phone -- is on the rise" Los Angeles Times [Free Registration Required] 2/17
"RSA brushes off crypto research findings that RSA algorithm is flawed" Network World 2/17
"HTC Quad-Core Smartphone Nears MWC Debut: Look for HTC to announce an Android smartphone with a Tegra 3 quad-core processor at the upcoming Mobile World Congress trade show." InformationWeek 2/17
"Google Drive spotted in the wild, still looks exactly like Google Docs" VentureBeat [Free Registration Required] 2/17
"YouTube Google+ Integration Makes Video Sharing More Social" eWeek 2/17
"Google swings new mobile unlock patent punch at Apple: Android overlord designs two-icon widget" The Register 2/17
"Google's New 'Dart' Language to Get a Starring Role in Chrome" Webmonkey 2/17
"Google looking to reduce Chromebook Wi-Fi connection problems: Some Chromebook users have been complaining for months that their machines get disconnected from Wi-Fi networks" Techworld 2/17
"Faster Chromebooks to leapfrog today's slowpokes" CNET News 2/17
"Fate of Silicon Valley icon hangs in limbo" MarketWatch 2/17
Publications/Podcasts
"Engadget Mobile Podcast 126 - 12.18.2012" ["01:08:43 - OS X Mountain Lion (10.8) in-depth preview"] Engadget 7:10 PM
"GeekWire Radio: Microsoft's Windows Phone vs. our iPhones in an on-air speed test" GeekWire 10:46 AM
"5by5 | The Critical Path #25: Only the freshest Mountain Dew/We take a look at Mountain Lion as evidence that Apple is cross-pollinating its product lines. We look at the Apple stores as a service brand and Horace tips his hand ever so slightly about Asymconf." asymco 2/17
"The Vergecast 018 - 02.17.2012" ["00:24:30 - Apple OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion preview: Notification Center, iMessage, AirPlay and more"] The Verge 2/17
"Gene Steinberg meets Adam Engst from TidBITS, Dan Moren from Macworld, and Bob 'Dr. Mac' LeVitus this week on the Tech Night Owl LIVE" The Tech Night Owl LIVE 2/17
"Tiny Heroes Review: Tower defense game keeps the challenges coming" Macworld 2/17
"Reiner Knizia's City of Secrets Skyline Review: It's Sudoku-meets-urban planning in this bizarre amalgamation of App Store talent." 148Apps 2/17
"Bubble in Paradise Review: Clickgamer doesn't reinvent the word game, but it adds polish and lots of replay value." 148Apps 2/17
"Wave Crasher Review: Ride the waves (sound and otherwise) in an unexpectedly entertaining fashion." 148Apps 2/17
"League of Evil 2 Review: League of Evil 2 is a sequel to the iOS trial platformer with a new art style, new levels, and new features." 148Apps 2/17
"Blockolicious HD Review: Use special moves to pop juice boxes and score points." 148Apps 2/17
"Track Lapse Review: Track Lapse is a level-based runner game that is full of quirky environments." 148Apps 2/17
"Tiny Toots Review: Shallow yet undeniably fun, Tiny Toots is a hoot." 148Apps 2/17
Tips
"Remove All Music from iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad" OS X Daily 2:28 PM
"Messages Beta App Lets You Transfer Files of Any Type to iOS Devices [Video] iClarified 11:39 AM
"You can bypass Clear's 30 character limit using Siri Dictation" iDownload Blog 10:46 AM
"Help! When's the best time to sell my old iPad?" CNET News 2/17
"Take Panoramic Photos On Your iOS Device With 360 Panorama [iOS Tip] Cult of Mac 2/17
"Kindle Fire Vs. iPad 2: Top Tablet Troubles/What are the most common problems users have with Apple's iPad 2 and Amazon's Kindle Fire? Troubleshooting site FixYa shares the scoop." InformationWeek 2/17
"Use your laptop for a tracing backlight." Mac OS X Hints 2/17
"Apple's Death Wish for the Rumour" World of Apple 9:14 PM
"Two Android tablets take on Apple: One is up to the task/Can Android tablets match the iPad in usability? Yes, if they apply an important lesson from Apple's approach." CNET News 7:17 PM
"Another Big Move for the King of Tablets" The Motley Fool 7:09 PM
"Too Much Cash in the Corner Office: It's proxy season, high time to figure out the right way to pay the country's chief executives" ["In his first year on the job, Apple's Tim Cook received a pay package that could be worth $378 million over the next 10 years"] Bloomberg Businessweek 7:09 PM
"Just When You Thought Apple Ruled Mobile ..." The Motley Fool 7:06 PM
"Motorola Droid 4 Review: This Keyboard Rocks, But That's About It" TechCrunch 2/17
"Big data and the cloud: A far from perfect fit" InfoWorld 2/17
"6 cool uses of near-field communication" [Slideshow] InfoWorld 2/17
"IT, keep your hands off my cloud storage: Too many IT organizations try to block information workers from information -- imperiling their businesses in the process" InfoWorld 2/17
"Inside Zynga's Big Move To Private Cloud" InformationWeek 2/17
"What You Need to Know About NoSQL Databases" Forbes 2/17
"Is the Playstation Vita a Dinosaur Already?" Forbes 2/17
"Samsung Galaxy Note: The highs and lows/The hybrid smartphone/tablet has serious size-related interface issues, but it also features a compelling pen-input capability" [Slideshow] InfoWorld 2/17
"Hands on: Samsung's Galaxy Note engages, perplexes" Computerworld 2/17
"Slow smartphone? It's not the network, it's NAND flash: Phase change memory could be key to better smartphone performance, researchers say" Computerworld 2/17
"Game Plan for HP: Hewlett-Packard has been whipsawed by three CEOs, each with a different strategy, in ten years. Can Meg Whitman coach the company back to health?" Barron's [Paid Membership Required] 7:14 AM
"WebOS gets a brand-new browser: Based on QtWebKit, the new, open source Isis browser has proven 'extremely responsive' in benchmark tests, HP says." PCWorld 8:03 AM
"HP Unveils Initiatives For Channel-Only, SMB Storage Sales" CRN 8:03 AM
"Rackspace, Dell & HP play in cloud computing sandbox" ComputerWeekly 8:01 AM
"Microsoft's Android Licensing Tactics are 'Hard Bargaining' Says Judge" ITProPortal 10:05 AM
"What problem does Windows 8 solve?" ZDNet 10:57 AM
"Windows 8 logo revealed -- it's a window" Crave @ CNET 10:06 AM
"Microsoft redesigns Windows logo" TheWeek 10:04 AM
"Microsoft Unveils New Windows Logo" TopNews 10:05 AM
"Windows 8 Logo Leaves Much To Be Desired" Forbes 10:06 AM
"Evolution of the Microsoft Windows logo" [Slideshow] IBN 10:04 AM
"What should Microsoft do to become a success in the tablet industry? – Part 1" News Pakistan 10:06 AM
"Microsoft to create a 'Spotify-style music service'" Crave @ CNET 10:08 AM
"Microsoft Aims to Speed up Internet Explorer, Taking 5.7 Million Measurements a Day" ITProPortal 10:05 AM
"Microsoft to cut SQL Azure prices: Aiming to catch wider base of customers" Computerworld UK 10:04 AM
"Cisco's Mobile VNI Forecast: What Does it All Mean?" Cisco 8:00 AM
"Vmware/Mitel Compete With Cisco For Contact-Center Desktop Virtualization" DABCC 8:00 AM
"The search engine for love: In the winter of 1959, two Stanford University students used the institution's room-size IBM 650 to build a computer program that paired 49 young men, mainly classmates, with 49 local women." Sydney Morning Herald 8:04 AM
"Rise of the 'phablet': Why giant phones will rule. (But not yet.)" Computerworld 8:02 AM
"Foursquare Tries a Bicoastal Approach to Engineering" AllThingsD 6:55 AM
"Oppenheimer on Apple: We're Even More Bullish than Before" Wall St. Cheat Sheet 2:24 PM
"Does anyone care what Ed Zabitsky says about Apple? An analyst with a $270 target and 'sell short' rating may have a credibility problem" Fortune 11:39 AM
"The Right Way To Evaluate Apple: Divide By 10" Seeking Alpha 10:45 AM
"Eat More Than an Apple: The iPad maker's success has made it hard to avoid in ETFs. Here are some ways to diversify your diet." Barron's [Paid Membership Required] 7:14 AM
"1 Change at the Top Apple Needs to Make" The Motley Fool 7:14 AM
"Can Apple Investors Sue For a Dividend?" TheStreet 2/17
"Apple: Oppenheimer Boosts Target To $570; Raises Estimates" Forbes 2/17
"Weakness drags on tech stocks at week's end: Tech stocks closed the week out on a largely negative note Friday, yet still saw some decent activity from the likes of Applied Materials Inc. and Netflix Inc., as well as reaction to Brightcove Inc.'s IPO ahead of the President's Day holiday in the U.S." MarketWatch 2/17
"U.S. stock indexes end with weekly rise: Dow industrials within reach of 13,000, level not seen since May 2008" MarketWatch 2/17
"Stocks End Mixed as Investors Eye Greek Rescue Hopes With Caution" TheStreet 2/17
"Stocks struggle for direction as Greece languishes" Associated Press 2/17
"Dow Finishes at 52-Week High: The Dow industrials pushed higher for the second day, closing at a 52-week high, after European leaders signaled progress toward an agreement on a bailout for Greece." WSJ.com [Paid Membership Required] 2/17
"Investors on edge awaiting Greek bailout" CNNMoney 2/17
"15 Hot, Highly Rated Technology Stocks of 2012" TheStreet 2/17
"Asian Stocks Rise, Set for Ninth Weekly Rally, on U.S., Greece" Bloomberg 2/17
"Asia Markets: Asian stocks rise, with Japan rallying" MarketWatch 2/17
"European Stocks Rise: European stocks rose Friday, with banking stocks posting strong gains as investors welcomed signs that Greece is edging closer to securing a second bailout." WSJ.com [Paid Membership Required] 2/17
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