Snow Leopard has been out just a few days and folks are already trying to benchmark its OpenCL capabilities. While the available tools are barely a few days old, the results so far show some interesting results for Snow Leopard’s OpenCL implementation.
Have you ever texted someone while behind the wheel? We’ll admit it: some of us here at Ars have in the past. Such an activity is very dangerous though, and a highway safety group has reversed its position on texting and driving, now endorsing a ban on the activity across the US. The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), a group made up of state governor-appointed members, cited recent research showing the dangers of texting and driving, though the GHSA also acknowledged that enforcement could be difficult.
Following a rash of reports of iPhone screens spontaneously “exploding,” in Europe, Apple today met with France’s consumer affairs minister Herve Novelli. So far, according to Apple’s investigations, none of the incidents involving an iPhone 3GS are due to rechargeable batteries or faulty glass. Of the problem devices that Apple has examined, the screens were broken by an “external force.”
We have covered what you can do if your laptop has been stolen, but with the proliferation of other portable gadgets—cameras, cell phones, e-book readers—theft recovery applies to more than just your computer. An Ars reader recently told us a tale of woe involving the loss of his Kindle DX on a flight home and his subsequent efforts to get it back. Unfortunately, he was unable to do so, although he was able to see that whoever found it had unregistered his Amazon account from the device.
Is it any surprise that this week’s top Apple news revolved around Snow Leopard? It turns out that the updated OS has built-in malware protection, Adobe CS3 will work on it (but it won’t be supported), and the $29 upgrade disk will work for everyone—even though the EULA forbids using it unless you have Leopard. There are also new Mac ads and some legal drama, so read on to catch the highlights. Be sure to look for our Snow Leopard review on Monday.
With the release of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, Apple has introduced a new wake on network activity feature called “Wake on Demand” that uses Bonjour to to alert other machines on a network that their services are being requested. Perhaps most intriguing is the fact that the feature works over wireless networks as long as certain hardware requirements are met.
Apple and China Unicom have finally succeeded in reaching an agreement to bring the iPhone to China. Details are scarce at this point, but China Unicom officials revealed during a press conference on its recent financial results that it has made a three-year deal to sell the iPhone, and it should go on sale later this year. “This will provide users with brand new communication and information experience,” according to a statement released by China Unicom.
iPhone users are downloading, on average, ten new applications per month onto their handsets, according to new survey results from AdMob. That number puts iPhone users on par with Android users, but lagging behind iPod touch users who consume 18 App-Store-sized morsels during the same duration of time. Unfortunately for developers, it seems that 19 percent of Android users and about half of all iPhone users are buying more than one application per month. That means roughly half of all individuals make for the majority of app store purchases and that most downloads from the Android Market and iTunes Store are free applications.
Those living in urban environments probably know all about car-sharing service Zipcar. For the rest of the world, Zipcar made its global splash by demoing its upcoming iPhone app during the keynote at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco.
It’s not a surprise to hear that OmniVision, which provides Apple with the 3.2MP camera module for the iPhone 3GS, will most likely be supplying Apple with camera modules for some future iPod models. What we are finding hard to swallow, though, is the rumor that Apple’s iPod classic will also be getting a built-in camera with the expected refresh next month.
