Apple today released a series of security updates targeting users of Mac OS X Snow Leopard and Leopard. According to the support document for the release, the updates address a single vulnerability related to handling of embedded fonts by Apple Type Services. Discovery of the vulnerability is credited to noted cybersecurity researcher Charlie Miller, who last month disclosed his discovery of 20 new zero-day holes in Mac OS X.
- Security Update 2010-003 (Snow Leopard) (6.50 MB)
- Security Update 2010-003 (Leopard-Client) (218.6 MB)
- Security Update 2010-003 (Leopard-Server) (379.5 MB)
The Leopard versions posted to Apple’s site incorporate previous security updates, explaining their large file size relative to the Snow Leopard version.
Apple also released Server Admin Tools 10.6.3, an update to Apple’s package for installing remote administration tools to non-server machines. The update delivers 16 documented improvements

The Wall Street Journal takes a look at ABC’s application for the iPad ten days after the device’s launch, revealing that users have streamed at least part of 650,000 television episodes in what the network deems a very successful launch.
The network said that in the 10 days since the iPad’s debut, its TV-show watching app has been downloaded 205,000 times, giving the Walt Disney Co. unit a presence on nearly half the 450,000 devices that Apple says it has sold. Moreover, users have watched at least part of 650,000 television episodes using the app, generating “several million” ad impressions, according to an ABC spokesman, although the precise number is still being calculated.
The report notes that ABC has been offering on the iPad the same traditional 30-second ads from a host of advertisers that are seen by television audiences. By fall, however, ABC plans to roll out special interactive ads for users of its iPad application. Additional plans involve allowing local affiliates to offer targeted advertising to users based on their location.
Also provided in the report is an interesting look at the development of ABC’s iPad application, which was undertaken by a team of twelve ABC engineers. Development is reported as having occurred “in the five weeks between the Jan. 27 announcement of the iPad and its commercial release on Saturday” despite that fact that that time interval was over nine weeks in length. And somewhat surprisingly given Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ position as the largest individual shareholder of ABC parent company Disney, ABC’s engineers were not provided with a pre-release iPad for development purposes and had to rely on the simulator included in Apple’s development tools for the platform in order to build the application.
Application developers have been able to ride along with strong sales of the iPad, with Apple today announcing that strong U.S. sales of over 500,000 already have forced the company to push back international launch by one month to late May as it struggles to keep up with demand.

Bad news for overseas techies dying to get their hands on Apple’s “magical” new tablet: looks like you’ll have to wait an extra month for your iPad.
Apple released a statement early Wednesday citing “surprisingly strong U.S. demand” as the reason for the delay, which will push the iPad’s international debut back until the “end of May.” Apple says it’ll start taking international iPad pre-orders and reveal pricing details May 10.
In its announcement Wednesday, Apple claims it’s “delivered more than 500,000 iPads during its first week” of U.S. sales and that “demand is far higher than we predicted and will likely continue to exceed our supply over the next several weeks.” Apple also notes that it’s already received “a large number of pre-orders” for the 3G-embedded version of the iPad, still due by “late April.”
Now, it’s not clear what Apple means by “delivered” — it could mean sold or merely shipped — but Steve Jobs did say at Apple’s iPhone OS 4.0 event last Thursday that 450,000 iPads had already been sold up to that point, so 500,000 iPads sold in its first week sounds plausible.
But not everyone is taking Apple’s excuse for the delay at face value. Larry Dignan at ZDNet sees “a few missing elements” in Apple’s statement Wednesday, including the fact that “Apple’s store isn’t out of stock” (it’s currently showing a shipping time of five to seven days) “and iPads appear available.” Are we talking “a conscious decision by Apple to make sure it can satisfy U.S. demand first,” Dignan wonders, or “a case of manufactured shortage?”
And Gizmodo asks, “Is a pile of 500,000 iPads really more than Apple expected to sell by this point?”
Well, whether it’s a conspiracy or not, the fact remains that international gadget hounds will have to wait a few weeks longer for their iPads.
Full release follows:
Although we have delivered more than 500,000 iPads during its first week, demand is far higher than we predicted and will likely continue to exceed our supply over the next several weeks as more people see and touch an iPad™. We have also taken a large number of pre-orders for iPad 3G models for delivery by the end of April.
Faced with this surprisingly strong US demand, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the international launch of iPad by one month, until the end of May. We will announce international pricing and begin taking online pre-orders on Monday, May 10. We know that many international customers waiting to buy an iPad will be disappointed by this news, but we hope they will be pleased to learn the reason—the iPad is a runaway success in the US thus far.

Apple has not been shy about publicizing its culture war with Adobe over the use of Flash on the iPhone or iPad platforms. Yesterday, Apple took the battle to a new level, though, by changing the legalese for the App Store to prohibit any apps not built solely on Apple’s proprietary Objective-C programming language.
Apple has not been shy about publicizing its culture war with Adobe over the use of Flash on the iPhone or iPad platforms. Yesterday, Apple took the battle to a new level, though, by changing the legalese for the App Store to prohibit any apps not built solely on Apple’s proprietary Objective-C programming language.
The new iPhone Developer Program License Agreement includes the following text: “3.3.1–Applications may only use Documented APIs in the manner prescribed by Apple and must not use or call any private APIs. Applications must be originally written in Objective-C, C, C++, or JavaScript as executed by the iPhone OS WebKit engine, and only code written in C, C++, and Objective-C may compile and directly link against the Documented APIs (e.g., Applications that link to Documented APIs through an intermediary translation or compatibility layer or tool are prohibited).”
This is essentially checkmate in the chess match between Apple and Adobe (ADBE). However, checkmate comes at the end of a well-played match as a result of superior strategy and tactics. Apple’s move is more equivalent to throwing a tantrum, taking your chess board, and going home.
I understand this strategy. I see it on a regular basis in games between my young children and their friends. All of the kids can be playing with a ball and having fun, but if the other kids won’t play the game that the owner of the ball wants to play, or if the owner of the ball is not winning, that child will simply storm off and take the ball home with them.
It is effective, but there are no real winners. And, I am not sure how well the immature toddler tantrum translates as a business strategy. Ultimately, Apple’s decision to slam the door on alternate development platforms limits the potential capabilities of iPhone and iPad apps, and increases the effort developers need to invest in order to provide the same app across multiple platforms.
By banning Adobe, Apple may be biting the hand that feeds it, though. Apple and Adobe have had a symbiotic relationship that has been mutually beneficial. The Mac computer has always been perceived as a superior platform for graphic arts and design, and Adobe has provided the fuel to drive that engine with products like Photoshop and Illustrator.
Adobe is set to release CS5–its flagship Creative Suite product–next week. One of the key features of the new software is Adobe’s Flash-to-iPhone compiler that enables developers to create an application in Flash, then package it for use on the iPhone–circumventing Apple’s lack of Flash support.
While restricting development to the Objective-C programming language effectively blocks Adobe’s flanking maneuver, and arguably helps Apple maintain the stability and consistency of apps with a minimum of effort, it also hinders what developers can achieve.
Facebook’s Joe Hewitt stated via Twitter “I’m upset because frankly I think Objective-C is mediocre and was excited about using other languages to make iPhone development fun again.”
Setting those considerations aside, Apple’s war with Adobe puts developers in a tough spot as well. Apple has managed to establish itself as the de facto App Store–meaning that it is virtually a requirement to at least create an app for the iPhone and iPad, but it is not the only platform.
Developers want tools that allow them to develop an app once, and repackage or redistribute it across multiple platforms such as Android, Windows Mobile, WebOS, PC, etc. Flash is fairly ubiquitous, so developers could create an app in Flash that would work across most platforms, then use the Flash-to-iPhone compiler to port it to the iPhone and voila!
Unfortunately, those compiled apps won’t ever see the Apple App Store because they violate the new rules. So, developers will have to create one app for the iPhone and iPad, and then develop the same app all over again for other platforms.
The move by Apple seems petty. There may be some benefit to Apple, but Adobe, app developers, and ultimately iPhone and iPad users all suffer as a consequence.

Do you remember the OS X game SketchFighter, the shooter made from pencil drawings? Sketch Nation Shooter is certainly very similar, letting you draw your own levels, players, and even enemies. You pretty much design the game yourself!
It’s 99 cents / 59p, and from what I can tell sounds worth every cent. Or penny. It’s compatible with iPhones, iPod Touches and the iPad, and if you’re not feeling too creative then you can download other players’ attempts too. The game is apparently available on Facebook too, meaning you can send your lovingly hand-crafted game to Facebook players as well.
[iTunes Link]

Opera today announced that its Opera Mini browser has been approved for inclusion in Apple’s App Store. Opera Mini is available on the App Store.
Opera Mini, with more than 50 million users worldwide, enables fast mobile Web browsing by compressing data by up to 90 percent before sending content to the device, resulting in significantly improved page loading. Users of the app will notice an uptake in speed, especially on slower networks such as the 2G Edge network. Surfing the Web with the Opera Mini App on iPhone and iPod touch will also help users save money because of its data compression capabilities. This will hold especially true while the user is incurring roaming charges.
Opera submitted its browser to Apple late last month and started a count-up timer to keep track of how long it had been in Apple’s hands for review. Some observers had wondered whether the browser would be accepted by Apple, as it directly competes with the mobile Safari browser application included with the iPhone and iPod touch.
Opera Mini is now available [iTunes link] in the App Store.

Just in case there was any doubt regarding Apple’s plans to not support the original iPhone with iPhone OS 4, Apple CEO Steve Jobs has now weighed in on the matter with one of his typically terse emails. MacStories reports that a Twitter user sent an email to Jobs asking about future support for the original iPhone, to which Jobs responded “Sorry, no.”
Apple’s preview page for iPhone OS 4 also omits compatibility for the first-generation iPod touch. The iPhone 3G and second-generation iPod touch (which includes the 8 GB model still available for sale today) will be compatible with iPhone OS 4, but will lack support for certain features such as multitasking. Only the iPhone 3GS and third-generation iPod touch (and future hardware) will support all of the features of iPhone OS 4.

In a report on forthcoming challengers looking to rival Apple’s iPad, The New York Times notes that Google is reportedly preparing to launch its own Android-based entrant into the field as Nokia, HP and Microsoft also move forward on their own plans for devices in the emerging industry segment.
Eric E. Schmidt, chief executive of Google, told friends at a recent party in Los Angeles about the new device, which would exclusively run the Android operating system. People with direct knowledge of the project — who did not want to be named because they said they were unauthorized to speak publicly about the device — said the company had been experimenting in “stealth mode” with a few publishers to explore delivery of books, magazines and other content on a tablet.
After reportedly holding back to see what Apple would do with the iPad, competitors such as HP and others have been hard at work developing their own answers to Apple’s challenge.
The rivalry between Apple and Google has become increasingly personal as the two companies have begun to compete in a growing number of areas. Google’s Android operating system has been a fast-growing alternative to the iPhone in the smartphone market, with Apple signaling that it is taking the threat seriously by filing a patent infringement lawsuit against handset maker HTC in what has been seen as an indirect assault on Google’s smartphone offerings.
While an unsurprising development given Google’s and Apple’s increasing overlap, a Google tablet would offer yet another area of direct competition between the two companies and likely escalate tensions even further.

One of the biggest criticisms leveled at the iPhone and the iPad — that it can’t run third-party apps in the background — will be fixed at last (partially, anyway), with a little help from iPhone software 4.0, Steve Jobs announced Thursday. The major OS revision will arrive this summer for the iPhone, while iPad users will have to wait until the fall.
The new iPhone software will pack in more than 100 new features, Jobs promised, including (besides multitasking) a unified email inbox, support for Apple’s new iBookstore, a social gaming network, a series of interface enhancements (such as app folders and wallpapers for the home screen) and — yep, it was bound to happen — a new, Apple-controlled mobile ad framework, with Apple set to keep a generous 40 percent of future ad revenue for itself.
Without further ado, then, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty:
Multitasking
Here’s how it’ll work: If you’re running an app on the iPhone — anything from the core Mail app to, say, a game like Tap Tap Revenge — you just double-click the Home key to pull up a small window shade at the bottom of the screen, which can show four apps at a time (just swipe to scroll through more running apps). Tap an app in the new multitasking “dock” and you’ll switch to the app, with the first app’s state saved in the background.
So, will all these apps actually be running in the background? Well, no (if they did, they’d slow iPhone performance to a crawl and eat up battery life, Jobs said). That said, Apple will be allowing a few selected processes to run in the background, including music, VOIP, and location-based apps.
For example, Pandora will still play music while you’re browsing on Safari (you can even pause Pandora or skip tracks using the iPhone’s “lock” control bar), you’ll be able to answer and maintain VOIP calls (think Skype and the like) while you’re working in other apps, and location-aware apps like Loopt will be able to track your location in the background via cell-tower triangulation. (An icon will appear in the iPhone’s top status bar to warn you if a background app is tracking your location; you’ll also get to tweak a series of new location-based privacy settings).
Universal e-mail inbox
Here’s a feature that’s been a long time in coming. Currently, iPhone users checking multiple email accounts have had to switch back and forth between those accounts to see their respective in boxes (a process that takes several more clicks than it should). With iPhone OS 4.0, however, users will at last get a single, unified in box, just like BlackBerry users have enjoyed since … well, forever. You’ll also be able to “fast switch” between accounts, sort messages by thread, and open attachments with a third-part app (nice). Also, good news for Exchange users: No longer will you be restricted to a single Exchange account.
Home screen enhancements
You know how the iPhone won’t allow you to select wallpaper for the home screen? (That’s the home screen with all your app icons, not the lock screen with the digital clock and the “slide to unlock” thingy). That’s all set to change once iPhone OS 4.0 comes out. You’ll also be able to create “folder” icons that contain a series of apps — say, for all your games — effectively boosting the number of apps that can be displayed on the iPhone’s home screen from 180 to more than 2,100.
Social gaming network
The Xbox 360 has Xbox Live, the PS3 has the PlayStation Network, and now the iPhone will have Game Center, a new social gaming system that’ll let you earn achievements, invite pals to your personal gaming network, compare top scores on leaderboards, and square off with other players via matchmaking. Third-party developers who’ve already set up their own social gaming networks for the iPhone (such as Gameloft and OpenFeint) aren’t gonna like this one bit.
A word from our sponsors
Plenty of iPhone apps already feature in-app advertisements, but Steve Jobs (unsurprisingly) thinks Apple can do it better — thus, iAd, a framework for dynamic new in-app, HTML5-powered ads that “deliver interaction and emotion” (I know, I know). Jobs showed off a series of demos, including a full-motion app for Pixar’s “Toy Story 3″ (shocker!), a Nike ad that lets you design your own shoe, and a Target ad that lets you set up your dorm room. Ads won’t pull users out of a running app, Jobs promised, and you’ll also be able to play videos, games, download wallpaper, and view maps from within the ad itself. Last but not least: Apple says it’ll split ad revenue with advertisers 60-40, with Apple keeping the 40-percent cut. Look who just got into the advertising business.
Other enhancements
Expect the iBookstore to come to the iPhone with OS 4.0, along with a series of enterprise enhancements (in-app encryption, wireless app deployment for an entire workforce, etc.) and support for Bluetooth keyboards.
Which iPhones/the iPad will be compatible with OS 4.0?
The iPhone 3GS and the third-generation iPod Touch will be fully compatible with the new OS, multitasking and all, Jobs said. If you have the iPhone 3G or the second-gen iPod Touch, they will run “many things” in OS 4.0, but multitasking won’t be one of them. Finally, the iPad will also be getting all the new OS 4.0 features — including multitasking — but not until this fall. Jobs didn’t mention the original iPhone or iPod Touch, nor did he mention a fee for iPod Touch users wishing to upgrade (as we’ve seen in the past).
What we didn’t get
No Flash support (just “no,” Jobs reportedly said). No status-bar notifications for new email or SMS messages (which already exist on WebOS and Android phones). And no mention at all of an iPhone for Verizon.

Now more than ever, Americans are falling all over themselves to continue their collective love affair with the Apple iPhone.
In J.D. Power’s most recent quarterly survey of smartphone owners’ satisfaction levels with their handsets, the iPhone again has come out — far and away — at the top of the heap. In every metric but one, owners give the iPhone the highest marks: 5 stars out of 5 in the J.D. Power “Power Circle Ratings.”
Apple owners gave their iPhones top marks for ease of operation, operating system, physical design, handset features, and an overall satisfaction rating.
The iPhone, however, earned a mere 2 out of 5 rating for its puny battery life. (I feel your pain on that one, folks.)
In comparison, the other smartphone makers rated earned dismal scores. The BlackBerry line got a 3 out of 5 overall satisfaction rating, enough to put it in a solid second place in the survey. All the other brands analyzed — Palm, HTC, Nokia, and Samsung — scored a pathetic 2 out of 5 stars for overall satisfaction.
The good news: Owners of other brands of phones aren’t completely turned off by their devices. The BlackBerry earned a 5 out of 5 rating for its battery life, and both Nokia and Samsung scored 4 out of 5 in that category.
But other than those highlights, the numbers are pretty grim. In fact, while the iPhone’s overall satisfaction rating remained unchanged since the last survey, every other manufacturer’s rating has been on the decline.
What do users polled in this survey like the most about their phones? The touchscreen. Failure to include a touchscreen on a smartphone was responsible for a healthy smackdown in a phone’s average rating, and consumers now say that they even prefer traditional (“dumb”) phones with touchscreens by a wide margin over those with nothing but keypads.