Apple

A forum thread on a Chinese Apple fan site is generating some interest by AppleInsider readers because one commenter claims to have used prototypes of Apple's next-gen iPhone because he purportedly has a friend working at the company's manufacturing partner Foxconn.

The commenter, who goes by the name patapon200, describes the next iPhone as a "repeat" in physical design with many of the changes relating to speed and other less overt upgrades.

Citing copyright infringement concerns, Apple won’t include a BitTorrent client in the App Store.

The Cupertino-based electronics company rejected Maza Digital’s Drivetrain, saying “this category of applications is often used for the purpose of infringing third-party rights. We have chosen to not publish this type of application to the App Store.”

On Thursday, Apple told developers that it would only accept mobile apps that work with its new operating system, 3.0, which hints that the release is getting near. Apple never gave a date for the release, promising only it would be in the summer.

The new OS for the iPhone and iPod Touch will add functions that people have long clamored for, like the ability to cut-and-paste text and a landscape keyboard.

The precise specifications for many iPhone chips are murky. Should Apple be more open about its secret ingredients? Granted, many people don't care about the silicon inside their iPhone. They just want it to work. That said, I think more than a few people would like to see the specifications for the iPhone's core silicon posted on Apple's Web site.

As expected, my blog this week about Macintosh security generated a lot of comments. Some were personal in nature (author's note: I really do know the difference between a Trojan and a virus but typos happen), some were quite thought-provoking.

Developers got an unexpected surprise yesterday after Apple released a new beta of the iPhone OS 3.0 and a second version of iTunes 8.2. This release comes just eight days after Apple released 3.0 beta 4 and the first public version of iTunes 8.2. Apple's typical release schedule for new 3.0 beta versions has been about two weeks. If beta 5's availability signals a faster release schedule, then a near-final version of iPhone OS 3.0 may be just around the corner.

Apple on Thursday told iPhone developers in an e-mail that all new apps submitted to the App Store must work with the beta version of iPhone OS 3.0, according to The Loop Blog. The e-mail reads, in part:

The latest suitor for everyone's favourite mobile application is apparently Apple.

Quite why Apple wants to buy Twitter is not entirely clear, but that hasn't stopped the story spreading, partly because it's too good a story to kill and partly because it will create page impressions whether it is true or not.

Symantec says a new worm targeting Mac OS X spreads via email and network shares. But is it really a threat? According to Symantec, the Tored worm spreads through network shares and by emailing itself to addresses gathered from the infected computer's Address Book.

It opens a back door to the computer, allowing it to be conscripted into distributed denial of service attacks as well as logging keystrokes (which could be used to steal passwords and other confidential information).

Following the rejection of an iPhone app for content the developer didn't produce itself, Apple has given signs it may allow more risque software on the App Store once iPhone OS 3.0 and its enhanced parental locks become a reality.

The response came as part of a rejection notice sent to Newspaper(s) app creator Makayama over the initial submission of its article reading software; the software's inclusion of the UK edition of daily newspaper The Sun, which is well-known for the topless models in its Page 3 section, purportedly violated App Store rules against obscene content.