Report- AT&T to offer insurance for iPhones

Report: AT&T to offer insurance for iPhones
One of the biggest complaints people have had about the iPhone is that if they drop it, lose it, or it gets ripped off, they're out of luck. AT&T doesn't offer any insurance programs for the iPhone like it does for other handsets; I'd wager to guess that's because the iPhone is, indeed, more expensive than the others when not subsidized.But that appears to be changing. Boy Genius got his recently manicured hands on some evidence that on June 6, AT&T will roll out an insurance program for iPhone users. Awesome.Described in what appear to be internal documents from AT&T, the MobileProtect insurance will cost $13.99 a month to insure your handset against loss or damage, with a deductible of between $99 for an 8GB 3G to $199 for the king-o-the-heap 32GB 3GS. While at first blush that seems high, consider this: if you lose your iPhone and don't have insurance, you won't be able to buy another subsidized one if you're under contract, so you'd have to shell out the full amount, which can be upwards of $600.The $13.99 a month comes out to $167.88 a year. That might seem like a lot, but look at it this way: You're offered two iPhones with identical features. One is $200 and has no insurance; you lose it, you're screwed. The other is $368 but is insured; you lose it, you get another cheaper. Which would you buy?For me, I'd buy the insured one. But I'm a klutz.The program AT&T is said to be launching will be a partnership with insurance company Asurion, who specializes in these kinds of programs. It won't be included in your AT&T bill, but rather it appears the program will be billed to your iTunes account. To enroll, a user must download the MobileProtect app from the app store within 30 days of purchasing an iPhone. We're not sure if that leaves current iPhone owners out in the dark, but we've asked AT&T to clarify. Normally they don't comment on leaked info, but we'll report back what they say.

Hackers claim to crack Kindle copyright armor

Hackers claim to crack Kindle copyright armor
A U.S. hacker who goes by the name "i♥cabbages," meanwhile, created a program called Unswindle that promises to convert books stored in the Kindle for PC application into a different file format.The free Kindle for PC app lets book buyers read their books right from their PCs without having to buy a Kindle reader. Unswindle has to be used in conjunction with MobiDeDRM, a program by another hacker named "darkreverser."Posters on i♥cabbages' blog give Unswindle mixed reviews, ranging from "works like a charm" and "worked flawlessly" to descriptions of various errors.Unswindle's creator originally detailed the tool on December 17, and posted two updates on the program Tuesday. One noted that Amazon has demonstrated that "it (unlike Adobe Systems) takes its digital rights management, or DRM, seriously: it has already pushed out a new version of K4PC, which breaks this particular script."In a second update, the hacker notes that "the K4PC update may not actually have been targeted at Unswindle, as Amazon seems to have done nothing in particular to make the basic approach more difficult. In any case, I've updated Unswindle to handle the 20091222 version of the executable. We'll see if Amazon throws out another new build in short order."CNET has contacted Amazon for comment and will update this post as soon as we hear back. The Amazon hacks are, of course, just the latest DRM hacks. In 2005, a group of hackers that included a 17-year-old and a man noted for cracking the anticopying protections on DVDs released PyMusique, a program that essentially stripped DRM from iTunes' songs.Each time Apple tried to plug the hole that the software exploited, the hackers would find another.(Sources: BBC News, IDG News Service)

Retina 13-inch MacBook Pro rumored to start at $1,699

Retina 13-inch MacBook Pro rumored to start at $1,699
The rumored 13-inch version of Apple's MacBook Pro with a Retina Display will cost some $500 more than Apple's existing, non-Retina 13-inch model, according to a new report. Citing "wholesale prices," 9to5Mac says the 13-inch model of the notebook will start at $1,699 when it goes on sale next week. That's $500 less than the entry-level version of Apple's 15-inch model with a Retina Display, but also $500 more than the entry-level 13-incher on the non-Retina side.Related stories13-inch Retina MacBook Pro on track, says analyst13-inch Retina MacBook Pro displays in productionCNET Review: 15-inch MacBook Pro w/Retina DisplayApple, of course, has not announced the smaller version of the Retina-equipped Pro, but its arrival has been expected for this fall. Production on the 2,560x1,600-pixel display began in August, NPD DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim told CNET. Apple is rumored to be announcing the smaller model at its event next Tuesday, where the company is heavily expected to debut a smaller version of the iPad, and a refreshed Mac Mini and iMac desktops.CNET's live coverage of Apple's event next TuesdayThis content is rated TV-MA, and is for viewers 18 years or older. Are you of age?YesNoSorry, you are not old enough to view this content.Play

Reports- Apple TV starts shipping

Reports: Apple TV starts shipping
The Apple TV is now shipping, according to reports.Several publications, including Engadget, have been receiving word from people who've ordered the Apple TV that the set-top box has started shipping. The devices are scheduled to arrive at customer homes by the end of the month (that is, Thursday), but as early as tomorrow, the reports claim.I also preordered an Apple TV. Although my order status currently says that the device hasn't shipped, it has been "prepared for shipment." Apple's order-status page still says that the device will ship by the end of this month.The new Apple TV was unveiled at a September 1 Apple event by CEO Steve Jobs. The device is much smaller than the original Apple TV and boasts an all-black finish. Apple ditched onboard storage in favor of streaming in the new set-top box. Users hoping to watch television shows can stream them to their Apple TV for 99 cents apiece. HD films are available for $4.99. Owners can also access Netflix Instant Streaming.The Apple TV is scheduled to hit store shelves by the end of the month. It retails for $99.

App Store hacker says the 'game is over'

App Store hacker says the 'game is over'
The creator of an exploit that let users purchase digital goods inside of iOS apps without actually paying for them said today thatApple's fix puts the hack out of business."Currently we have no way to bypass [the] updated APIs," creator Alexei Borodin wrote in a post on his development blog. "It's a good news for everyone, we have updated security in iOS, developers have their air-money."Borodin says that the exploit, which requires the use of third-party servers and specially-installed security certificates, will continue to be up and running until Apple releases iOS 6. Last week, Apple said that software -- which is due in the next few months -- will patch the exploit. In the interim, the company provided updated APIs that validate each digital purchase."By examining last Apple's statement about in-app purchases in iOS 6, I can say, that currently (the) game is over," Borodin added.According to an interview with the enterprising programmer last week, the exploit allowed more than 8.4 million purchases of in-app content to be made. With a minimum price of 99 cents per in-app purchase item, that represents a total of $5.82 million developers might have received, with another $2.49 million Apple would have earned based on the App Store's 70/30 revenue split. However that tally could be considerably higher given that purchases within iOS applications can go well beyond the 99 cent minimum.Despite the temporary security win for Apple on the iOS front, Borodin says a modified version of the hack targeted at Apple's Mac App Store is still up and running. "We [are] still waiting for Apple's reaction," he said in the same post. "We have some cards in the hand."The exploit remains one of the few high-profile efforts to target Apple's digital storefronts from inside of apps. Separate efforts have targeted individual user accounts, and the copy protection on applications.

App builds iPhone playlists based on your mood

App builds iPhone playlists based on your mood
Moodagent, a free app for the iPhone and iPod Touch released in December, offers a more innovative take on automated playlist creation. It gives you five sliders that let you set desired levels of sensuality, tenderness, joy, aggression, and speed. These categories might seem kind of arbitrary, but in practice the resulting playlists make a lot of sense: turning the sensuality slider up gave me lots of slow and funky stuff like Beastie Boys instrumentals and Portishead, while turning aggression and tempo all the way up returned lots of material from the Reverend Horton Heat, Pixies, and Dead Kennedys. Best of all, the playlist adjusts itself on the fly when you change the sliders. Like Genius, the Moodagent playlists are 25 songs long and tend to contain a few songs from the same album. But beyond those same-album tracks, it seems to offer quite a bit more variety in terms of year and genre. You can also pick a seed song to create a playlist if you like, but it's not required. If you come upon a winning playlist, you can save it to the app. Moodagent requires an active Internet connection to analyze the songs on your device against the 8 million songs in its database. It took about 10 minutes to get through 3,000 songs for me, but about 1,000 songs weren't recognized, or were protected by DRM. (Moodagent won't work on DRM-protected tracks.) You can download a free desktop application that transmits non-personally identifiable information about your iTunes library to the company, which in the long run should help Moodagent recognize more of your songs. But the process was a bit weird--when I launched the app, it simply opened Internet Explorer for a half second, then shut it back down. I have no idea whether the desktop app worked or not. This minor glitch aside, Moodagent is a worthwhile download if you're looking for new ways to listen to your music.

Apple again said to be planning game hardware

Apple again said to be planning game hardware
Pocket Gamer's report says Apple actually has a space reserved at the show for meeting with developers, but that it's using a false name to fly under the radar.An Apple spokesman declined to comment on the report, citing company policy.Last April, a report from popular hardware site AnandTech noted that Apple had a controller project in the works, but that it might not ever make it to market. Adding to the intrigue of it all was a patent Apple applied for in 2008, depicting a dock that would allow iOS owners to add physical controls and other hardware features to devices.Such hardware would be the first for Apple since its ill-fated Pippin home entertainment system of the late '90s. With its most recent crop of portable devices, Apple has eschewed physical controls in favor of on-screen software controls. That's made controlling games more customizable but also less ergonomic and responsive than would be the case with a physical controller. Since the iPhone (and subsequent iOS devices), a handful of companies have created such physical buttons and controllers for portable devices. Many of those options use Bluetooth, though they also require game developers to get on board and add support for the hardware. Apple even sells some of these products -- including the iFling joystick -- in its stores. Gaming has quickly become a major part of Apple's iTunes business since the launch of the App Store. Games make up the majority of the more than 800,000 apps available there, and games are consistently the top paid and grossing apps. (Via 9to5mac)Updated at 1 p.m. with comment from Apple.

Apple adds to its trademark list with Retina (TM)

Apple adds to its trademark list with Retina (TM)
Apple last week was granted a trademark in the U.S. covering "Retina," the marketing term the company uses to describe the pixel-dense screens on its iOS devices and computers.Apple originally filed to trademark the term on June 7, 2010 -- the same day it officially unveiled the iPhone 4 at the company's annual developers conference.That device would be the first to sport what Apple called a "Retina Display," with the promise that it was impossible to discern individual pixels when used at a normal distance. The company has since put its retina displays in other products such as the iPod Touch, the iPad, and most recently its MacBook Pro notebooks. It's worth pointing out the trademark only covers a certain class of goods under its coverage. That list includes computers, computer display screens, and mobile devices -- but not eyeballs.Along with the Retina trademark, which was spotted by Patently Apple earlier today, Apple received a trademark for its Game Center icon. Game Center is the social gaming service originally launched on iOS that has since filtered over to the Mac as part of Apple's latest major OS X update. If you're wondering just how important such trademarks can be, look no further than the dispute over the iPad trademark in China. After months of arguing over ownership of the name,Chinese firm Proview Technology and Apple eventually came to an agreementworth $60 million. In the case of "Retina" there's been less of an issue, as rival manufacturers have simply touted pixel-per-inch counts and overall resolutions. That includes LG's 1080p smartphone screen, which it simply refers to as FHD, for "Full High Definition."

Apple adds special Mac Birthday section to App Store

Apple adds special Mac Birthday section to App Store
The Macintosh 128K was initially released on January 24, 1984, and through 30 years of advancements in hardware and software services, the platform still has some surprising similarities to its initial iteration. While the design of Apple's computers took a number of twists and turns over the years, as seen on iFixIt's celebratory teardown of the 30-year-old Macintosh 128K, the system shares unibody construction and other general features seen in the latest iMac models.While the design of the systems has changed and in some ways come full circle back to the original, and while the computing hardware in the systems have advanced and changed significantly (adopting different CPU platforms and becoming smaller and more compact), its the software environment that outlines the Macintosh experience. Apple's graphical operating system offered a new and yet familiar approach to computing, one that allowed for new interactions with data and content creation.The OS has advanced over the years, becoming more user friendly and undergoing a significant overhaul with the development of OS X; however, even though the OS defines the Mac, its arguably the applications built for the platform that define a user's capabilities.If you have the right apps for your system, then you can get almost anything you need done swiftly, efficiently, and with results that can be deeply satisfying. In this light, many of the apps which Apple outlines on its 30th birthday App Store section may be just what you need to maximize your Mac experience.Questions? Comments? Have a fix? Post them below or e-mail us!Be sure to check us out on Twitter and the CNET Mac forums.

Apple adds to its leased Sunnyvale office space

Apple adds to its leased Sunnyvale office space
Apple may be synonymous with Cupertino, Calif., but it's making more moves in its neighbor to the north. As noted by the Silicon Valley Business Journal, Apple has leased 156,000 square feet of office space in Sunnyvale, Calif.'s Town Center Office building. The space can fit some 400 employees, the City of Sunnyvale said in a press release announcing the deal (PDF).This is Apple's latest expansion in the neighboring city, which is where Yahoo, AMD, Juniper Networks, and a handful of other technology companies are headquartered. Last month Apple signed a deal to lease space in a 224,000-square-foot facility nearby. The latest location is directly next to a similar office building where Nokia put 500 of its employees last year.Related storiesApple leases extra office space ahead of HQ 2.0Jobs stumps for new 'spaceship'-like Apple campusApple's proposed campus 2.0 (renderings)Yet another new Apple campus in the pipeline?"This is an important step forward," said Sunnyvale City Manager Gary Luebbers in a statement. "Our entire community will benefit as we see yet another large gain in the Town Center redevelopment project."Apple is not expected to move into the space until the third quarter of 2012, Luebbers said.Apple has been making moves to find extra space to fit employees around Silicon Valley,leasing office space well outside of its Cupertino headquarters, which can hold about 2,800 employees. The company has some 12,000 employees in the area, which is what led to the company pitching plans to the City of Cupertino last year to build a second campus that can fit 12,000 people. That project is slated to be completed by 2015 pending an environmental impact report and other city approvals.

Apple adds Passbook-enabled gift cards to its store app

Apple adds Passbook-enabled gift cards to its store app
Apple is finally tapping into its own Passbook app by adding it as an option for store gift cards.You can send someone a gift card either through the Apple Store app on your iPhone or iPad, or the Apple Store gift card Web page. In the Apple Store app, you'll need to scroll to the bottom of the home page and tap on the section for Apple Gift Cards and then choose the option to send an Apple Store Card by E-mail.Either from the app or from the Web page, you can choose among blue, silver, or pink for the card color and any amount from $25 to $2000. You then type your name and e-mail address and those of the recipient. You can also compose a headline and message to appear on the gift card notice. Add your card to the cart.After the order is processed, your recipient should receive an e-mail within 24 hours. The person can print the e-mail to use it at a store, shop online with it, or add it to Passbook via an "Add to Passbook button."The gift card holder can also enter a ZIP code or current location to the Passbook pass. Using iOS's location feature, Passbook can then pop up and display the gift card when the person walks into an Apple store.Related storiesGetting started with Passbook on iOS 6Giving Apple's Passbook a real-world spinAdd coupons from big-box retailers to PassbookApple now officially joins the likes of Starbucks and other retailers that offer store cards that tie into Passbook. Beyond paying for items, Passbook users can save coupons, tickets, and other items directly in the app.(Via AppleInsider)