Mac-A-Doodle

Reuters BEIJING--Apple Inc said on Tuesday it had launched an online shop selling secon d-hand Apple products in China, offering discounts of up to 22 percent, as it l ooks to beef up its business in the country. These are products that were previously sold and returned to Apple and have und ergone quality tests, the company's website said. The refurbished products available on Apple's Chinese website ranged from a 308 yuan ($44) iPod shuffle to an iMac computer costing more than 14,000 yuan ($2, 047). "We kicked off the campaign at the end of last year," said Huang Yun a, Apple's spokeswoman in China. She declined to give a figure of total used pr oducts available. Apple has introduced similar deals in other countries, including the Unites Sta tes, the United Kingdom and Japan, for years, but second-hand purchase only mak es up a small portion of its total sales. U.S. retailer Best Buy Co earlier this month started selling refurbished versio ns of Apple iPhone 3G that were priced about $50 less than new ones in an effor t to seek new ways to appeal to cost-conscious shoppers. ($=6.84 yuan).

By Anna Valmero INQUIRER.net APPLE CEO Steve Jobs won't be delivering the keynote in this year's MacWorld ev ent (January 5 to 9). The iconic Apple CEO has recently confirmed the cause of his weight loss, dispr oving speculations that it was due to cancer. In a letter, Jobs said everyone can relax and enjoy the MacWorld event, as he s tressed that doctors have found that a hormone imbalance has been causing his c ontinuous weight loss. He wrote:

The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and st raightforward, and I've already begun treatment. But, just like I didn't lose t his much weight and body mass in a week or a month, my doctors expect it will t ake me until late this Spring to regain it. I will continue as Apple's CEO duri ng my recovery. He called for the Apple community to support him in his recovery.

To read his full letter, click here.

By Glenn Chapman Agence France-Presse SAN FRANCISCO -- A "Tap Tap Dance" videogame built exclusively for Apple's hip iPhones was launched Thursday, challenging users to stay in rhythm with songs b y tapping the device's screen in time to the music. Offering an Internet-age stage for a new generation of musicians, the game is t he brainchild of Tapulous, a start-up based in Palo Alto, California. "We went from a game familiar to people that play 'Guitar Hero' or 'Rock Band' to something more similar to an interactive music video," said Tapulous chief e xecutive Bart Decrem. "We are really pushing forward and defining our own exper ience. We are really proud of that." Thursday's launch came on the heels of Apple revealing that the free "Tap Tap Revenge" earned top spot as the most popular iPhone game in 2008. "Geek rock" band Weezer recorded six traditional Christmas songs for a special holiday-season version of the iPhone videogame expected to hit Apple's online A pp Store at iTunes this week. "Dance" is an iteration of the game featuring hot dance-music genre artists suc h as Daft Punk, Moby, Justice, Chemical Brothers and Soul Magic Orchestra. Unlike "Revenge," the "Dance" and Weezer versions of the game are priced at 4.9 9 dollars (US) each at the App Store. Weezer and other musicians connected with Tapulous as "Revenge" gained momentum and iPhone sales continued to soar. Weezer band member Scott Shriner said often fans at their concerts wave iPhones showing on-screen virtual lighter flames, a playful fire-free application for the devices. "The drummer and I are big iPhone fans, and I'm a huge gaming fan at the same t ime and obviously a huge music fan," Shriner said while discussing teaming up w ith Tapulous. "Weezer's goal for a while now has been to get fans more involved in our music and live shows and this seemed a way to get people physically involved in our m usic." Besides, he added, "I love Christmas songs and it seemed like a good match." There have been "well over" three million downloads of "Revenge" during the pas t four months and the appeal is clear to artists seeking ways to sell their mus ic and connect with fans, according to Tapulous co-founder Andrew Lacy. "For the last 10 years the music industry has been struggling to re-invent itse lf and counter slumping sales," Lacy said. "Being on MySpace or Facebook and connecting with fans is more important than e ver. But, if you look at games artists are being more successful selling music there than they are in the traditional model." "Guitar Hero" published by Activision is a videogame sales superstar and "Rock Band" by Harmonix has earned similar acclaim. Shriner said Weezer is "absolutel y" exploring putting its music in more videogames. "People are engaging with the music products and are willing to pay a pretty bi g premium," Decrem said. "The friction gets removed. The iPhone is always in your pocket and always conn ected online, so people can access music and games at all times." Tapulous launched in January of this year with the goal of crafting application s exclusively for iPhones and iPod Touch devices, which are essentially iPhones without the mobile telephone feature. "We got really excited by the device," Lacy said. "We saw it as a truly disrupt ive platform." Tapulous had "Revenge" and two other applications ready when Apple opened its A pp Store in July. "It started as a simple music rhythm game but we developed a relationship with musicians and labels that saw it as a platform to interact with users." "Revenge" launched with about five music tracks that Tapulous hired artists to create but has grown to 55 songs including "some really big hits." Tapulous teamed with musician Trent Reznor to make a version of the game devote d to his Nine Inch Nails music. Tapulous splits revenues with musicians after paying a standard 30 percent of t he price of its games with the App Store. A major overhaul of the free game is planned for early next year. "We are also talking to the artists about refreshing and updating the game, so these are sort of living things that evolve," Decrem said. "We have been approa ched by artists and labels so we will be doing more of these in the coming year ."

By Agence France-Presse SAN FRANCISCO -- Apple replaced advice on Wednesday that people install anti-vi rus software on Macintosh computers with assurances that the machines are safe "out of the box." The move prompted online speculation as to whether Apple was merely polishing t he Macintosh image or that the increasingly popular computers are as impervious to hackers as the California company maintains. Apple routinely touts how rarely Macintosh computers are afflicted with malicio us software as compared to machines based on Microsoft Windows operating system s, which run more than 90 percent of the computers in the world. On Tuesday Apple removed a 2007 Knowledge Base posting telling people to instal l "multiple anti-virus utilities" in Macintosh computers to thwart ill-willed s oftware savants with arrays of defenses. "We removed the Knowledge Base article because it was old and inaccu rate," Apple spokeswoman Monica Sarkar said Wednesday. "The Mac is designed with built-in technologies that provide protections agains t malicious software and security threats right out of the box." Some software specialists believe that Macintosh computers have been spared att acks mostly because hackers see more return in targeting Windows-based machines that make up the bulk of the market. Macintosh sales have rocketed with the popularity of Apple's iPhones and iPods, but the rising profile of the computers has also made them more appealing to h ackers. Software security firms consistently urge people to protect computers with anti -virus software kept up-to-date no matter the operating systems used. "Since no system can be 100 percent immune for every threat, running anti-virus software may offer additional protection," Sarkar said.

By Marjorie Gorospe INQUIRER.net HAVING a hard time with your own PC? Tired of not being cool enough to switch t o an Apple computer? Well, you donât have to go any further to find sexy and co ol Apple products located in one store. Thereâs now one in Alabang Town Center owned by Ben Loo. INQUIRER.net multimedia reporter Lawrence Casiraya got to talk to Ben Loo and h ere's the video interview:
A fan of Apple products, Loo opened an Apple store, dubbed Switch, to encourage more local users to consider switching from using the PC to Apple. The store o ffers everything from the latest iPod, iPhone, MAC notebooks and other peripher als genuinely manufactured by Apple Inc. Loo calls his target market "potential switchers." The store in Alabang may be a long drive for most people. But he wants to concentrate first in small commun ity and not jeopardize their business with the current competition. Having been an Apple user for a long time, Loo admits that he is always awaitin g for the next innovative Apple product. At the present, he's very excited and is looking forward to all "switchers" com ing to see his store.

DUE to pressures from developers, Apple has finally decided to drop the non-disclosure ag reements that software developers for the iPhone are required to sign, a report from Agence Fr ance-Presse said. Excerpt:

WASHINGTON -- Apple said Wednesday that it was dropping a controver sial non-disclosure agreement that software developers who wanted to create app lications for the iPhone mobile telephone had been forced to sign. The non-disclosure agreement, or NDA, prevented software developers seeking to take part in the iPhone Developer Program from discussing their work, even with colleagues. Apple's move to drop the NDA came just days after Internet search giant Google jumped into the mobile telephone market with a handset powered by Google's open -source Android software. The ability of outside developers to freely write applications for the phone, t he T-Mobile G1, which Google developed with telecom carrier T-Mobile, is seen a s a major selling point by Google and its partners.

Also from the Apple website:

We put the NDA in place because the iPhone OS includes many Apple i nventions and innovations that we would like to protect, so that others donât s teal our work. It has happened before. While we have filed for hundreds of pate nts on iPhone technology, the NDA added yet another level of protection. We put it in place as one more way to help protect the iPhone from being ripped off b y others. However, the NDA has created too much of a burden on developers, authors and ot hers interested in helping further the iPhoneâs success, so we are dropping it for released software. Developers will receive a new agreement without an NDA c overing released software within a week or so. Please note that unreleased soft ware and features will remain under NDA until they are released. Thanks to everyone who provided us constructive feedback on this matter.

Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs is far from sick, as he launched the new line of iPODs, Agence Fra nce-Presse reports. Excerpt:

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs on Tuesday unveiled new iPod model s and iTunes stores upgrades for the coming holiday season as he brushed aside reports about his health. Jobs kicked off a theatrical press event in downtown San Francisco by poking fu n at persistent rumors about his health.

Probably you've already downloaded the iTunes version 8. According to Apple's website, iTunes 8 features a "genius sidebar and playlist" feature, which we found no t working in countries like the Philippines. We almost fell out of our chairs i n excitement, as we read the Genius Sidebar feature but was quickly doused by t his message, "Genius sidebar is not available in your country." Bummer. More about Genius Sidebar:

While you reacquaint yourself with the music you already own, let G enius introduce you to new music youâll love. As you select songs in your libra ry, the Genius sidebar displays songs from the iTunes Store that go great with it. The Genius sidebar wonât recommend songs already in your library, and you c an preview and buy recommended songs directly from the sidebar.

Okay, a quick notes on the new features: A "grid view," which makes organization of your music easier, we believe. So yo u have the traditional and confusing view, the cover flow, and now this, grid v iew. High-definition shows are now available on iTunes 8. Apple says you can now pur chase select episodes of your favorite TV shows in high definition for just $2. 99. We hope this is also available to Philippine users. Finally, "enhanced accessibility." iTunes 8 has been made more screen reader fr iendly on both Mac and PC. Well, if you have a terabyte of music, what would yo u do? Hope this helps you wade through your growing library of music. "Manage your iTunes library using VoiceOver in Mac OS X Leopard or Window-Eyes for Windows XP and Windows Vista. Or use your screen reader to purchase or down load content from the iTunes Store â including iTunes U," Apple says. So there you go, what are your thoughts?

I've seen fast, but this takes the cake. The guy behind ZiPhone, the turnkey app that simplied iPhone unlocking and put it within the reach of everyone for free (and putting lots of would-be hack-trepreneurs out of business in one fell swoop), claims that his software can already do the same for the new iPhone 3G< /strong> on his blog ZiPhone Status. W e don't know how he can do that, given that the new iPhone won't be out until J uly 11, but we've seen stranger things before. Zibri himself said on the blog on a post dated June 10 that he was still waiting to get his hands on the 2.0 software and a unit, but two day s later posts that he's already patched and unlocked the firmware baseband. He also says all the carriers are supported already (and even adds our own Globe Telecom to his long list). We'll see. In the meantime we'll order a large grain of salt to go, please.