Apple

Popular Science has published its Best of What’s New 2009 list, with Apple a winner in the Computing category.

The MacBook Pro’s mention in the list is entirely about its battery life, and doesn’t mention any of the other good reasons for owning one (display quality, unibody design, computing value-for-money).

The MacBook Pro is the only notebook, and one of only two computers that appear in this category (the other is the ingenious Sheevaplug). Other winners include Google Wave, Wolfram Alpha, and, um, Windows 7.

Tech blogs and Hackintosh comment threads confirmed the rumor that a recent update to the Snow Leopard platform eliminates support for a PC-specific processor, thus dropping any compatibility for Intel (INTC) Atom-based computers. That included models from Dell (DELL), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Samsung, EEE, and Lenovo.

Apple released a security update for its Safari Web browser on Wednesday. Available for Windows and Mac, Safari 4.0.4 plugs what sound like moderate to severe security holes. Unlike competitors Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Chrome, Apple doesn't rate the severity of its security fixes.

As you may have heard, OS X 10.6.2 kills Atom powered netbooks dead. It’s not clear whether this was an intentional move by Apple to keep people from installing the operating system on netboks, or if it’s just a side effect of the fact that Apple has absolutely no reason to support the Atom chipset since the company doesn’t have a single product using the Atom processor.

The conspiracy theorists are crying foul over Apple's alleged hacking of the few who have managed to turn their netbooks into a "Hackintosh."

Apple's latest update for its Snow Leopard operating system killed the Intel Atom processors of clever hackers who rigged their netbooks with OSX.

Apple's second update for Snow Leopard, Mac OS X 10.6.2, was officially released Monday afternoon, fixing a number of issues including a guest account bug that could potentially delete a user's account data.

The guest account bug is triggered by logging in and out of a guest account on a Snow Leopard machine. Upon logging back in to their regular account, users will find that it has been wiped of all data. When it was first publicized in October, Apple acknowledged the issue and said it was working on a fix.

If you've only been half paying attention, you probably think that the Apple Tablet is a done deal. It isn't. Outside the impervious hallways of One Infinite Loop, the tablet remains a technological unicorn -- a mythical beast whose beauty, elegance and singularity we can only imagine.

Wired.com is among the vast majority of publications which fervently believes, however. We have found supporting evidence in all manner of tea leaves, including the decision by Apple to allow iPhone developers to create free apps that can be platforms to charge for something.

Once you enter the Big Tent of Apple, it's exceedingly hard to find the exit.

Over its 33-year history, Apple has consistently elected to limit consumer choice, creating a situation known as "lock in." As soon as you start buying stuff from Apple, you'll find it difficult to move to products made by someone else without losing everything you've already paid for.

Last week, Apple released its new 3.0 software for the Apple TV. Unfortunately, it looks like it came with a pretty big bug in tow: Disappearing content. Here’s the problem in Apple’s words:

The new Verizon Droid, like many a high-profile smartphone just coming onto the market, has been hailed by some as a potential--you know what's coming--iPhone killer. (Chronicling the very first Droid sales in Manhattan the other day, CNET's Maggie Reardon observed that the gadget may actually turn out to be more of a BlackBerry killer.)