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Infinite Loop (10 unread)

Week in Apple: Apple TV, iTunes 10, Delicious Library, oh my!

Posted: September 4th, 2010, 3:00pm EDT

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An Apple event means lots of new announcements. Almost the entire iPod line got updated, Apple TV got a serious makeover, and iTunes 10 got... something. But we also covered a patent suit, some lessons learned from Delicious Library 2, and a rumor about an iPhone revision. Read on for the roundup:

Microsoft cofounder drops patent bomb on Apple, Google, Facebook: Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen has filed a lawsuit against 11 tech companies for violations of his current company's patents that cover basic Internet concepts. The list includes Google, Facebook, and Apple... but not Microsoft.

Hands-on photos, observations of new iPods, Apple TV: Following the fall Apple media event, Ars got some hands-on time with the new iPod touch, iPod nano, iPod shuffle, and Apple TV. We have some up-close and personal photos to share with you, as well as extra product details that we got out of the Apple representatives.

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Etc: In less than 48 hours, over one million iTunes 10 users have signed up for a Ping account. No word on how many of those accounts were used for spam, though.

Posted: September 3rd, 2010, 7:39pm EDT

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In less than 48 hours, over one million iTunes 10 users have signed up for a Ping account. No word on how many of those accounts were used for spam, though.

Read More: Apple, previous Ars coverage

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Etc: Apple has revamped its movie trailers page to now offer showtimes, along with a map. It can automatically detect your location too, so no input necessary.

Posted: September 3rd, 2010, 11:38am EDT

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Apple has revamped its movie trailers page to now offer showtimes, along with a map. It can automatically detect your location too, so no input necessary.

Read More: Apple Trailers/Showtimes

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iTunes 10 hands-on: snappier performance, questionable UI choices

Posted: September 3rd, 2010, 11:05am EDT

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By now, most iTunes users have already downloaded and installed iTunes 10. We've already given you the low-down on the biggest addition to the new version of iTunes—the Ping social network—but we also wanted to give our impressions on two "improvements" promised in the release notes: look-and-feel and performance. While we agree that iTunes is "faster and more responsive," we're not sold on the revised user interface.

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Etc: Apple has posted a page teasing the upcoming features of iOS 4.2 for iPad, including the wireless printing and AirPlay compatibility. Just ship it already!

Posted: September 3rd, 2010, 10:22am EDT

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Apple has posted a page teasing the upcoming features of iOS 4.2 for iPad, including the wireless printing and AirPlay compatibility. Just ship it already!

Read More: Apple

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Etc: Spam has already started to pop up on Apple's new Ping social network. There are built-in tools to report it, but can't we have just one spam-free online service?

Posted: September 2nd, 2010, 7:42pm EDT

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Spam has already started to pop up on Apple's new Ping social network. There are built-in tools to report it, but can't we have just one spam-free online service?

Read More: MacRumors

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Hands-on: Twitter officially comes to the iPad

Posted: September 2nd, 2010, 6:00pm EDT

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When we interviewed Tweetie developer Loren Brichter in June, he made two things clear: 1) Tweetie (now branded simply as "Twitter" after the company was acquired by the microblogging service) would definitely be coming to the iPad, and 2) Loren was really looking forward to exploring the larger screen touch interface.

Now, the official Twitter client for iPad is finally out in the form of a universal app. The team has clearly put some effort into utilizing parts of the multitouch experience in ways that third-party Twitter apps have not, and the app is certainly feature-rich. However, the interface can be confusing at times, and many of the features are not easily discoverable without some help.

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Apple's trouble with TV

Posted: September 2nd, 2010, 3:27pm EDT

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Apple TV has been a persistent loser from a company that usually only tolerates winners. It's clear that Apple wants to do something "in the living room," but damned if it can figure out exactly what that is. Yesterday, Apple took another run at this thing, announcing an "all-new" Apple TV.

As with any new electronic gadget, I must be of two minds about the new Apple TV. The first, most difficult question is, will the new Apple TV be a successful product for Apple? The second question is easier: is this a product I want to buy for myself?

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Hands-on with iTunes Ping, sans Facebook Connect

Posted: September 2nd, 2010, 1:59pm EDT

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Because we all need another social network in our lives, Apple introduced "Ping" as part of iTunes 10 during its big media event this week. Described by Steve Jobs as "Twitter and Facebook meet iTunes," Ping aims to let the already-existing (and quite massive) audience of iTunes users friend each other, stay up-to-date on their friends' musical tastes, and like/comment on things found around iTunes.

Getting started with Ping is fairly easy, although it takes some time to figure out how to do all the things you would want to do with the service. Ping requires iTunes 10 and is not turned on by default—it looks as if Apple is trying to head off complaints about privacy by making users turn it on themselves. Once you install iTunes 10, you can click on "Ping" in the everything-is-now-gray left-hand sidebar to get started.

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iTunes 10 adds "Ping" social network, TV rentals, AirPlay

Posted: September 1st, 2010, 4:04pm EDT

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During Apple's annual music event Wednesday, CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the 10th major version of its iTunes media management software. Since the program now handles music, video, books, iOS apps, and more, Apple has finally revised the logo to eliminate the CD. With a slightly revised UI, the main new features include compatibility with HD TV rentals, the new AirPlay feature, and a new music-focused social network called "Ping."

Jobs noted that one of the most important features of iTunes and the iTunes Store is discovery—that is, enabling users to discover new music from artists they might not already know. Ping is designed to add discovery features directly into iTunes.

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