The slow week between Christmas and New Year is finally almost over, but it wasn't a boring week in Apple news here at Ars. We compared five different podcast apps for iOS, discussed potential fixes to the problem of iMessages going to stolen iPhones, discussed Apple's latest patent award from the USPTO, and did a hands-on with Airfoil. Need a refresher? That's what we're here for.
Hands on: five podcast apps that improve on iOS functionality: The iPhone and other iOS devices let you listen to podcasts out of the box, but five third-party iOS apps show that there are better, or at least different, ways to skin this particular cat.
Apple fined $1.2 million for misleading Italian consumers on AppleCare: Italy guarantees consumers the right to a two-year warranty on products they purchase, leading Apple to face fines for pushing warranty plans to extend its standard one year of support.
New workaround helps keep Siri running on jailbroken iPhone 4: Siri can run on an iPhone 4, despite the fact that Apple limits the feature to the new iPhone 4S. A new jailbreak tool makes it easier and safer to do so, but still requires authentication keys from an iPhone 4S in order to function.
iMessages going to stolen iPhones? There may be a fix in the works: Are your iMessages still going to and from your stolen iPhone? There may be some fixes soon from Apple, but in the meantime, some iPhone users have come up with other ways to prevent it from happening to you.
Apple outlines international iTunes in the Cloud compatibility: International iTunes users often get the short end of the stick when it comes to features available to US users. That's why Apple has posted a new support document that outlines exactly who can re-download what in which countries.
Small businesses have their eye on tablets—namely the iPad—says NPD: A majority of small and medium businesses plan to buy tablets within the next 12 months, according to a new report from NPD. Which tablets? Mostly the iPad.
Hands on: Airfoil to the rescue for streaming from Mac to Apple TV: So you can stream music from an iOS device to an Apple TV via AirPlay, but what about from your Mac or Windows box? Rogue Amoeba's Airfoil has been around for a while, but it has renewed value now that AirPlay-compatible devices are becoming more common.
Apple slowly gaining patents to fight its war of attrition with Android: Apple was recently awarded a multitouch patent that the company filed just before it announced the iPhone in 2007. While this patent (and others like it) may not give Apple a "thermonuclear" option to kill Android, it might be able to aid in Apple's ongoing legal disputes.
The most significant Apple stories of 2011: 2011 has been a tumultuous year for Apple-watchers. Here are the stories that we think reverberated the most throughout the Apple universe over the course of the year.
We here at Ars, and especially the Infinite Loop staff (Jacqui and Chris, with bonus appearances throughout the year from Casey, Iljitsch, Ryan, and even John Timmer) hope you all have a great New Year weekend, and we wish you the best of luck going into 2012!
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