Hasta La Gadget!

Apple’s facing yet another patent infringement lawsuit — this time, in Florida, where a company called Operating Systems Solutions (OSS) is taking aim at OS X’s fast booting operation. According to court documents, the plaintiff alleges that Cupertino’s function (most prominently displayed on this year’s MacBook Air refresh) violates at least one protected claim, which details a four-step method for speedy booting, and involves files like config.sys and autoexec.bat (seriously). Interestingly enough, the patent in question was originally granted to LG Electronics, back in 2002, but is currently owned by the little-known OSS. It’s still unclear whether or not LG has any involvement with the suit, but we’ll bring you the details as soon as they emerge. In the meantime, you can hit the coverage link below to dig in to the full complaint.

[Thanks, Lucian]

Apple faces infringement lawsuit over fast booting patent once owned by LG originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Aug 2011 10:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MobileMe’s impending demise just got one step closer, folks. Apple’s updated iCloud.com to now sport an official login page with what we’re assuming is Cupertino’s rendition of a CNC-machined aluminum unibody badge. It looks like those of you rocking iOS 5 or OS X 10.7.2 and who’ve also created an iCloud account are probably already busy frolicking through email, editing contacts and slinging calendar events all from the comfort of your browser. Those services already existed under its predecessor, but it looks as if Cupertino has spruced ’em up with fresh paint jobs. A screenshot from MacRumors also shows the addition of an iWork section, which we’d surmise means the previously siloed iWork beta now has a new place to call home. We couldn’t get past the migration step with our trusty MobileMe account (disappointing proof is after the break), but you’re more than welcome to tap the more coverage link and have a go yourself.

Oh, and if you’re wondering how much it’ll cost you to claim more than those 5GB that Apple’s tossing in gratis, the folks over at Electronista have confirmed that an extra 10GB will cost $20 per year, while an extra 20GB runs $40 / year and an extra 50GB will demand $100 per annum.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Apple launches iCloud and iWork betas, confirms pricing for extra capacity

Apple launches iCloud and iWork betas, confirms pricing for extra capacity originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Aug 2011 21:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Funny — we (almost) asked this same exact question in August of 2009, just after Snow Leopard had been loosed on the unsuspecting public. But as fate seems to have it, each and every OS overhaul brings gobs of issues, and regardless of how hard the problem finders in Cupertino work, there’s simply too many unchecked variables to squash each and every bug prior to release. And with that, we present to you just a handful of the biggest quirks that have cropped up since a cool million of you downloaded Lion. For one, you can kiss Rosetta support goodbye, and secondly, it seems as if 10.7 is seriously cramping third-party NAS support for Time Machine. We’ve also had numerous reports from folks that are having issues dragging application installs to their Applications folder, not to mention an uptick in Guest account crashes. Of course, there’s also the whole “I can’t get my free update to Lion!” thing, busted Windows partitions and a veritable plethora of dilemmas when looking at Pro Tools and Cubase. Hit the links below to join the misery party, or feel free to start your own in comments below. Oh, and if you’re furious that Lion and its incompatibilities have ruined your livelihood… well, welcome to the downside of early adoption. Here’s hoping a raft of updates cures whatever’s ailing you in the days and weeks to come.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Mac OS X Lion: what’s broken (or working) for you? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 23 Jul 2011 13:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple confirmed Lion’s big day during the company’s Q3 earnings call this week, and Mac OS 10.7 hit the App Store right on schedule yesterday morning, allowing us to give Snow Leopard the boot and make room for the king of the jungle. We’ve already installed Lion on a half-dozen of our own systems, testing the new operating system with a variety of configurations for our review. But we want to know about your experience. Did you pull an all-nighter on Tuesday, backing up files, reformatting drives, and updating to 10.6.8? Are you still rockin’ dial-up and waiting for the $69 flash drive version to ship next month? Or perhaps you’re a PC user, holding out for Windows 8? Let us know in the poll below, and feel free to expand on your decision in the comments as well.

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Poll: Did you download Mac OS X Lion (10.7)? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jul 2011 14:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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They say Apple updates its products like clockwork, releasing something new at the same time in the same place every year. Not so with MacBook Airs anyway. The outfit’s gone and freshened up its 13-inch and 11-inch ultraportables — the second such update in nine months. Although the industrial design hasn’t changed much since the last generation, both models step up to Sandy Bridge Core i5 and i7 processors, Thunderbolt ports, backlit keyboards, and, of course, OS X Lion.

The 11.6-inch flavor starts at $999 with 64GB of solid-state storage, 2GB of memory and a 1.6GHz Core i5 processor. The higher-end of the two configurations costs $1,199, with the extra two hundred dollars doubling your RAM and storage. The 13-inch Air, meanwhile, starts at $1,299, with a 128GB SSD, 4GB of RAM, and a 1.7GHz Core i5 CPU. Step up to the $1,599 model and you’ll get a 256GB SSD instead. Regardless, you’re looking at Intel HD 3000 graphics across the board, along with FaceTime webcams, two USB ports (plus an SD slot on the 13-inch version), 802.11n WiFi, and Bluetooth 4.0. The two differ when it comes to resolution and battery life: the 11-incher has a 1366 x 768 panel and is rated for up to five hours of battery life, whereas the 13-inch model has a 1440 x 900 screen and promises up to seven hours of juice. As for that 1.8GHz Core i7 CPU, it’ll set you back an extra $100 on the 13-inch version, and $150 for the 11-inch version. Whichever size you choose, it’s only an option for the higher-end configuration. Hit the source link to peep the specs and buy one, if you’re so inclined.

Continue reading Apple refreshes MacBook Air with Sandy Bridge, Thunderbolt, and backlit keyboards

Apple refreshes MacBook Air with Sandy Bridge, Thunderbolt, and backlit keyboards originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 08:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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