So, it probably goes without saying that everyone here at Popgadget can safely be classified as a geek (though I think there may be a nerd or two among us, but a deliberation on the differences between the two is for another time). Anyway, as geeks go, there is a tendency to have significant charging needs to keep all of our gadgets up and running.
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Though I’m normally partial to in-ear headphones, I decided to give the Urbanears Plattan headphones a whirl and was very impressed.
I admit to being a sound snob. I usually go toting around in 0 professional headphone gear, so I was skeptical about anything with a price tag. I’m pleased to report, however, that these stylish, full-sized headphones delivered great sound that was music [pun intended] to these audiophile ears. I plugged into my iPhone and cranked some thumping dance tunes. Clear, rich sound with no bass breakdown or muddiness. Their adjustability even made them start off comfortably on my fat head and their light weight made them stay comfortable.
Read More...By Scott M. Fulton, III, Betanews
You may think that your communications with other individuals over the Internet may be protected from unreasonable use by US law enforcement without subpoena and due process. The truth is, judges have been loosening the interpretation of a 1986 wiretapping law, almost pretending that it did apply to present circumstances. But perhaps the greatest problem with the current Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) lay with its definitions, which at one point appear to be applicable (after several stretches of logic) to the Internet…and then, upon further review, does not.
Read More...By Scott M. Fulton, III, Betanews
As first reported this afternoon by Groklaw, the publication that made its name covering the ugliest chapter in the history of computing, a jury in Utah district court has found that the copyrights to UNIX were never transferred to the original Santa Cruz Operation by way of a 1995 asset purchase agreement.
The decision may finally put to rest a 15-year-old argument over who, or what, has the rights to UNIX.
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It’s been about five months since Apple put out the Mac OS X 10.6.2 update, which fixed a potentially damaging guest account bug that could delete a user’s account data if another user logged in and out of a guest account on a Snow Leopard machine.
Today, the company rolled out its next update to the operating system, which has reportedly been in beta since late December. The update includes more than 70 security fixes and 49 general improvements to Snow Leopard, including fixes for Mail, MobileMe, and AirPort. The full release notes are here.
Read More...By Joe Wilcox, Betanews
The iPad cometh this Friday to an Apple Store near you — or in a pretty box delivered to your door. No doubt, this week the rumor mill will again run wild about what to expect. I’ve been wondering about rights usage for ebooks. Can Apple do better than Amazon or Barnes & Noble? That answer is best for a blog post, but not this one.
Read More...By Scott M. Fulton, III, Betanews
In the latest check of progress in the development of the major Web browsers for Windows, the brand that helped Betanews launch its regular browser performance tests appears to be making a comeback effort: With each new daily build, the WebKit browser engine — running in Apple’s Safari 4.0.5 chassis — gains computational speed that it was sorely lacking.
Let’s keep the iPad in proper perspective
By Carmi Levy, Betanews
Can you vehemently disagree with a colleague and still respect him? Despite the often passionate claims of our readers and commenters, who may have forgotten the era of Siskel & Ebert, I believe you can.
I’m as much a fan of a vigorous debate as anyone else. In my previous column last Thursday, Enough with the Apple bashing!, I apparently stepped on the baby toe of fellow Betanews contributor, Joe Wilcox. As scathing as his response — entitled Of course media bias favors Apple — was, I assure you I’ve got pretty thick skin. Read more...