The 404 382: Where Randall Bennett didn't start the fire
We've had Randall on the show before, but this is the first time we've seen him since he moved back to New York from his brief but productive stint on the Left Coast. What the heck has he been doing this whole time? Well, Randall is a man of many many talents, and he tells us that he's been using those talents for projects including Tech Vi (pronounced vee), a constantly updated tech news outlet with frequent guests that include industry pundits from Engadget, Popular Mechanics, and a couple of lame dudes that have no idea what they're talking about.Randall also lets us in on some big news in the works for TechVi that actually involves the CNET departed, so be sure to listen closely to hear it first!Per usual, the second half is all about the latest news in the world of silly tech and beyond. Following up on yesterday's story about the young woman falling through a manhole while texting, we discuss an even worse occasion: a different woman has twittered through a bank robbery! How is that possible? Well, mainly because the trackball on her BlackBerry smartphone fell off, rendering her incapable of doing anything on her phone but twittering out asinine messages like "cant figure out how to call work without a trackball... police just arrived. maybe theyll let me go now." Me, I probably would've twittered something useful, like "OMFG call the cops frealsies, there's an effing gun in my face."Be sure to listen to the entire episode to hear Randall's hilarious story about how he saved the lives of countless Netflixers by stopping a man from burning down a post office box. New York needs more good Samaritans like you, dude! Also, feel free to leave us a voicemail (a clean one we can actually play on the air, sans caviar) at 1-866-404-CNET!EPISODE 382Download today's podcast Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) |Subscribe in RSS Audio |Subscribe in RSS Video This 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.PlayFollow us on Twitter!The 404Jeff BakalarJustin YuWilson TangAdd us on Facebook!The 404 Fan PageThe 404 GroupJustin YuJeff BakalarWilson Tang
Manage your iPhone address book with CopyTrans Contacts
Manage your iPhone address book with CopyTrans Contacts
Remember the PalmPilot? Remember how it synced all your contacts to either Palm Desktop or Outlook? That was pretty nice.If you're a Windows user, there's no such desktop option for managing your iPhone address book. Sure, it gets backed up when you sync with iTunes, but there's no way to view or edit all those contacts. Your only real option is to switch to syncing with iCloud, which affords limited browser-based contact management.Thankfully, there's another option: CopyTrans Contacts. This simple Windows utility lets you organize, edit, back up, and export your iPhone address book.It works like this: Connect your iPhone to your PC, let iTunes do its sync/backup thing, then shut down iTunes and launch CopyTrans Contacts. (FYI, the program is portable, meaning there's nothing to install -- you can run it from a flash drive for on-the-run address-book management.)In seconds you'll see your entire address book. You can click a contact to view or edit it, add a new contact, and so on. The program also lets you create and manage groups.CopyTrans performs backup and migration duties as well. You can back up one or more contacts to your PC (each as an individual .vcf file), or export them to any number of destinations: Android, Gmail, Hotmail, Outlook, Thunderbird, and so on. That makes this an especially handy utility for anyone looking to migrate from iOS to another platform.Likewise, CopyTrans can import contacts in any standard format: comma-separated, Excel, Windows, and .vcf. You can even drag and drop them to the CopyTrans window, just to save a few steps.It's a decidedly handy little tool, one I especially like for doing the kind of contact editing/organizing I can't easily do on my iPhone. One thing it lacks, however, is any kind of duplicate remover. Plus, it doesn't let you edit contacts stored in iCloud, which is kind of a hassle.CopyTrans Contacts will sell for $9.99 starting this Sunday. But you can grab it now for $1.99. For 2 bucks, I wouldn't hesitate to snatch this up. For 10 bucks, I'd consider it money well spent for a simple, solid address-book manager.
Remember the PalmPilot? Remember how it synced all your contacts to either Palm Desktop or Outlook? That was pretty nice.If you're a Windows user, there's no such desktop option for managing your iPhone address book. Sure, it gets backed up when you sync with iTunes, but there's no way to view or edit all those contacts. Your only real option is to switch to syncing with iCloud, which affords limited browser-based contact management.Thankfully, there's another option: CopyTrans Contacts. This simple Windows utility lets you organize, edit, back up, and export your iPhone address book.It works like this: Connect your iPhone to your PC, let iTunes do its sync/backup thing, then shut down iTunes and launch CopyTrans Contacts. (FYI, the program is portable, meaning there's nothing to install -- you can run it from a flash drive for on-the-run address-book management.)In seconds you'll see your entire address book. You can click a contact to view or edit it, add a new contact, and so on. The program also lets you create and manage groups.CopyTrans performs backup and migration duties as well. You can back up one or more contacts to your PC (each as an individual .vcf file), or export them to any number of destinations: Android, Gmail, Hotmail, Outlook, Thunderbird, and so on. That makes this an especially handy utility for anyone looking to migrate from iOS to another platform.Likewise, CopyTrans can import contacts in any standard format: comma-separated, Excel, Windows, and .vcf. You can even drag and drop them to the CopyTrans window, just to save a few steps.It's a decidedly handy little tool, one I especially like for doing the kind of contact editing/organizing I can't easily do on my iPhone. One thing it lacks, however, is any kind of duplicate remover. Plus, it doesn't let you edit contacts stored in iCloud, which is kind of a hassle.CopyTrans Contacts will sell for $9.99 starting this Sunday. But you can grab it now for $1.99. For 2 bucks, I wouldn't hesitate to snatch this up. For 10 bucks, I'd consider it money well spent for a simple, solid address-book manager.
Core of original Apple tablet lives on in iPhone, iPad
Core of original Apple tablet lives on in iPhone, iPad
At the heart of the iPad is Apple's A4 processor, which is based on core technology from United Kingdom-based ARM.Ditto for the ARM-based iPhone.More than 15 years earlier, in 1993, the Apple MessagePad, aka Newton, also used an ARM chip.By 1997, the Newton design had evolved into the MessagePad 2000 with a StrongARM chip from Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC). And ARM has been a stunning success, as evidenced by Apple's adoption of the design in the iPhone and iPad and its ubiquity in popular small devices like the BlackBerry and the Amazon Kindle.Moreover, ARM silicon will inhabit a number of future tablets based on Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, Marvell, and Nvidia chips.Which means that the iPad is part of a larger ecosystem driving the next computing paradigm outside of the galactic Intel sphere of influence."There's healthy competition that goes on amongst our (chip) partners," said Jeff Chu, segment marketing manager for mobile computing at ARM."Nvidia competing with Qualcomm competing with Marvell competing with TI (Texas Instruments).We see this as good for the ecosystem, good for the consumer.It keeps things moving forward," he said. Apple silicon DNA today can be traced back to the Apple Newton: below the larger Cirrus Logic chip is a DEC StrongARM processor.iFixitAnd there's more than a little irony here.Intel got the StrongARM chip design from DEC in 1997 when the Apple Newton had become the MessagePad 2100 and was using a StrongARM processor.By Intel's standard of success in the PC business, it failed miserably in the world of ARM-based computing.Ultimately, Intel sold off its StrongARM business--which it branded as XScale--to Marvell in 2006.As iFixit shows (see photo above), the Newton used DEC's 162 MHz StrongARM SA-110S 32 bit ARM Processor.Other notable silicon includes: two Sharp (2MB) flash ROM chips, Cirrus Logic's PS 7010/20/30 CPU Subsystem, Analog, and PCMCIA controllers, Hitachi DRAM, and Linear Technology's AppleTalk Transceiver.
At the heart of the iPad is Apple's A4 processor, which is based on core technology from United Kingdom-based ARM.Ditto for the ARM-based iPhone.More than 15 years earlier, in 1993, the Apple MessagePad, aka Newton, also used an ARM chip.By 1997, the Newton design had evolved into the MessagePad 2000 with a StrongARM chip from Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC). And ARM has been a stunning success, as evidenced by Apple's adoption of the design in the iPhone and iPad and its ubiquity in popular small devices like the BlackBerry and the Amazon Kindle.Moreover, ARM silicon will inhabit a number of future tablets based on Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, Marvell, and Nvidia chips.Which means that the iPad is part of a larger ecosystem driving the next computing paradigm outside of the galactic Intel sphere of influence."There's healthy competition that goes on amongst our (chip) partners," said Jeff Chu, segment marketing manager for mobile computing at ARM."Nvidia competing with Qualcomm competing with Marvell competing with TI (Texas Instruments).We see this as good for the ecosystem, good for the consumer.It keeps things moving forward," he said. Apple silicon DNA today can be traced back to the Apple Newton: below the larger Cirrus Logic chip is a DEC StrongARM processor.iFixitAnd there's more than a little irony here.Intel got the StrongARM chip design from DEC in 1997 when the Apple Newton had become the MessagePad 2100 and was using a StrongARM processor.By Intel's standard of success in the PC business, it failed miserably in the world of ARM-based computing.Ultimately, Intel sold off its StrongARM business--which it branded as XScale--to Marvell in 2006.As iFixit shows (see photo above), the Newton used DEC's 162 MHz StrongARM SA-110S 32 bit ARM Processor.Other notable silicon includes: two Sharp (2MB) flash ROM chips, Cirrus Logic's PS 7010/20/30 CPU Subsystem, Analog, and PCMCIA controllers, Hitachi DRAM, and Linear Technology's AppleTalk Transceiver.
Cook upbeat about China Mobile deal, hints at broader tie-up
Cook upbeat about China Mobile deal, hints at broader tie-up
Apple CEO Tim Cook said Tuesday he is "incredibly optimistic" about the company's new partnership with China Mobile and hinted at a deeper collaboration.Apple's chief was particularly upbeat while addressing the media before the latest iPhones go on sale Friday on China Mobile, the world's largest wireless carrier."We've gotten to know each other....Today is a beginning, and I think there are lots more things our companies can do together in the future," Cook told members of the media, including the Wall Street Journal. Confirming long-standing rumors, Apple announced last month that it had finally reached an agreement with China Mobile to offer the iPhone 5S and 5C to the carrier's 760 million customers beginning January 17. Although the iPhone is already available in China through China Unicom and China Telecom, the deal with China Mobile is expected to deliver vast numbers of new customers to Apple. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster expects that Apple could sell 17 million total iPhones on China Mobile in 2014, reaching approximately 2 percent of China Mobile's total subscriber base. Cook's comments suggest that Apple's deal with China Mobile will extend beyond mere handset sales but did not elaborate. CNET has contacted Apple for more information and will update this report when we learn more.China Mobile Chairman Xi Guohua has said his company's customers had already ordered several million iPhones. The Journal reported on Tuesday that Apple supplier Foxconn shipped 1.4 million phones to China Mobile.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said Tuesday he is "incredibly optimistic" about the company's new partnership with China Mobile and hinted at a deeper collaboration.Apple's chief was particularly upbeat while addressing the media before the latest iPhones go on sale Friday on China Mobile, the world's largest wireless carrier."We've gotten to know each other....Today is a beginning, and I think there are lots more things our companies can do together in the future," Cook told members of the media, including the Wall Street Journal. Confirming long-standing rumors, Apple announced last month that it had finally reached an agreement with China Mobile to offer the iPhone 5S and 5C to the carrier's 760 million customers beginning January 17. Although the iPhone is already available in China through China Unicom and China Telecom, the deal with China Mobile is expected to deliver vast numbers of new customers to Apple. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster expects that Apple could sell 17 million total iPhones on China Mobile in 2014, reaching approximately 2 percent of China Mobile's total subscriber base. Cook's comments suggest that Apple's deal with China Mobile will extend beyond mere handset sales but did not elaborate. CNET has contacted Apple for more information and will update this report when we learn more.China Mobile Chairman Xi Guohua has said his company's customers had already ordered several million iPhones. The Journal reported on Tuesday that Apple supplier Foxconn shipped 1.4 million phones to China Mobile.
Cook the cannibal- Apple chief's secret product recipe
Cook the cannibal: Apple chief's secret product recipe
The context here was that Apple is perfectly sanguine about the cannibalization of the Mac--so long as Apple is the one doing the cannibalizing. If ever some academic sought an example of creative destruction in action, here was the perfect photo opp.We all know that Apple makes great products that customers love. But here's the other reason to explain why Apple is the most valuable company in the world in terms of market cap: Unlike the competition, Apple was willing to swallow hard and ultimately doom one of its traditional cash cows. Apple saw a tremendous opportunity in tablets and worked on turning the iPad into a global phenomenon, even at the Mac's expense. The gamble is paying off. A new report suggests that based on orders placed for displays, iPad sales may be on track for more than a 60 percent jump over 2011. Cook now expects the unit size of the tablet computer industry to outstrip that of the PC industry. Echoing a philosophy first laid down by Steve Jobs, Cook has often mentioned Apple's willingness to eat its young. (See here and here.) Given that Apple shares just busted past the $500 level, however, his most recent affirmation seems even more prescient. With the benefit of 20-20 hindsight, Apple's willingness to sacrifice the Mac at the iPad's altar qualifies as a no-brainer.But it's precisely because Microsoft wasn't able to do something so radical that some investors now bay for Steve Ballmer's head.It was the challenge posed by Harvard's Clayton Christensen years ago in his idea of the innovator's dilemma. Unlike Apple, Microsoft has always resisted jeopardizing a profitable, decades-old business model, one that generated the funds to help build a multibillion-dollar dollar software empire. Even though Microsoft had its opportunities, the internal debate always came out on the side of protecting Windows licensing. We know how the rest of the story turned out.
The context here was that Apple is perfectly sanguine about the cannibalization of the Mac--so long as Apple is the one doing the cannibalizing. If ever some academic sought an example of creative destruction in action, here was the perfect photo opp.We all know that Apple makes great products that customers love. But here's the other reason to explain why Apple is the most valuable company in the world in terms of market cap: Unlike the competition, Apple was willing to swallow hard and ultimately doom one of its traditional cash cows. Apple saw a tremendous opportunity in tablets and worked on turning the iPad into a global phenomenon, even at the Mac's expense. The gamble is paying off. A new report suggests that based on orders placed for displays, iPad sales may be on track for more than a 60 percent jump over 2011. Cook now expects the unit size of the tablet computer industry to outstrip that of the PC industry. Echoing a philosophy first laid down by Steve Jobs, Cook has often mentioned Apple's willingness to eat its young. (See here and here.) Given that Apple shares just busted past the $500 level, however, his most recent affirmation seems even more prescient. With the benefit of 20-20 hindsight, Apple's willingness to sacrifice the Mac at the iPad's altar qualifies as a no-brainer.But it's precisely because Microsoft wasn't able to do something so radical that some investors now bay for Steve Ballmer's head.It was the challenge posed by Harvard's Clayton Christensen years ago in his idea of the innovator's dilemma. Unlike Apple, Microsoft has always resisted jeopardizing a profitable, decades-old business model, one that generated the funds to help build a multibillion-dollar dollar software empire. Even though Microsoft had its opportunities, the internal debate always came out on the side of protecting Windows licensing. We know how the rest of the story turned out.
Cook sizes up TV prospects for Apple
Cook sizes up TV prospects for Apple
Apple CEO Tim Cook dodged a handful of questions about whether the company is at work on a TV set, while making the argument that it's still an activity Apple is trying to improve.During a live interview at the D10 conference tonight in Palos Verdes, Calif., Cook was asked how the company was looking to "change television," a question he dodged. "Very uncharacteristically of us, we're staying in the Apple TV business," Cook said, adding that Apple was "not a hobby kind of company." Cook added, however, that Apple has already sold 2.7 million Apple TV set-top boxes this year, up from the 2.8 million the company sold last year. "I think many people would say that this is an area of their life that they aren't pleased with," he said, noting that the company would keep at it. Of course the real interest is about Apple's much-rumored TV set, which interviewers Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg pressed Cook on. Mossberg in particular asked Cook to consider the question of making a TV set hypothetically. Cook countered by saying that Apple would need to control key technology, make a "significant contribution," and if the end result would be the product the company wanted. The discussion then turned to content, which Cook argued the company didn't have a problem getting. Cook also noted that he did not believe Apple needed to own a content business, and worked better by partnering. Apple, of course has long been rumored to be working on a TV set, a rumor that's rooted in some fact. Late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs told biographer Walter Isaacson that he wanted "to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use," and that he "finally cracked it." Since then there has been no shortage of rumors that suggest Apple is still at work on such a product. CNET's Rafe Needleman contributed to this report.Update at 10:45 p.m. PT with relevant clip from that section of the talk.
Apple CEO Tim Cook dodged a handful of questions about whether the company is at work on a TV set, while making the argument that it's still an activity Apple is trying to improve.During a live interview at the D10 conference tonight in Palos Verdes, Calif., Cook was asked how the company was looking to "change television," a question he dodged. "Very uncharacteristically of us, we're staying in the Apple TV business," Cook said, adding that Apple was "not a hobby kind of company." Cook added, however, that Apple has already sold 2.7 million Apple TV set-top boxes this year, up from the 2.8 million the company sold last year. "I think many people would say that this is an area of their life that they aren't pleased with," he said, noting that the company would keep at it. Of course the real interest is about Apple's much-rumored TV set, which interviewers Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg pressed Cook on. Mossberg in particular asked Cook to consider the question of making a TV set hypothetically. Cook countered by saying that Apple would need to control key technology, make a "significant contribution," and if the end result would be the product the company wanted. The discussion then turned to content, which Cook argued the company didn't have a problem getting. Cook also noted that he did not believe Apple needed to own a content business, and worked better by partnering. Apple, of course has long been rumored to be working on a TV set, a rumor that's rooted in some fact. Late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs told biographer Walter Isaacson that he wanted "to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use," and that he "finally cracked it." Since then there has been no shortage of rumors that suggest Apple is still at work on such a product. CNET's Rafe Needleman contributed to this report.Update at 10:45 p.m. PT with relevant clip from that section of the talk.
Cook reportedly discussed music streaming service with Beats
Cook reportedly discussed music streaming service with Beats
Tim Cook has held talks with Beats CEO Jimmy Iovine about a potential partnership involving Beats' planned music service, Reuters reports.The Apple chief met with music mogul Iovine in late February to discuss Beats' "Project Daisy," a music subscription service announced in mid-February, unidentified sources told the news agency. Iovine, who co-founded Beats with hip-hop producer Dr Dre, said at last month's AllThingsD Dive Into Media conference that he expects to launch a "curated" music subscription service this summer.During their meeting, which sources described as "informational" and as including iTunes chief Eddy Cue, Cook expressed interest in the service's business plan and launch schedule. CNET has contacted Apple for comment and will update this report when we learn more.A partnership with Beats would provide an instant entry for Apple, which has long been rumored to be working on a music streaming service. The company was reportedly in talks last September with record companies to license music for a custom music service that would create "virtual" music stations based on a song or artist of choice.Such a venture would put Apple in competition with the likes of Spotify, iHeartRadio, and Pandora, which uses an algorithm to create custom radio stations based on a single song or artist and offers paid subscriptions as well as a free, ad-supported version and a suite of popular mobile apps.Market-research firm BTIG Research predicted in November that Apple would launch a streaming-music service at some point in 2013 based on interviews with industry executives and the addition of a "Radio" option in the horizontal bar in iTunes 11.Apple has dabbled in the sector before, buying music streaming site Lala.com in 2009. However, Apple shut down the operation less than six months later, leading many to wonder if Apple would ever get into the streaming business. Speculation resumed after Apple filed for a patent on streaming music in 2011.
Tim Cook has held talks with Beats CEO Jimmy Iovine about a potential partnership involving Beats' planned music service, Reuters reports.The Apple chief met with music mogul Iovine in late February to discuss Beats' "Project Daisy," a music subscription service announced in mid-February, unidentified sources told the news agency. Iovine, who co-founded Beats with hip-hop producer Dr Dre, said at last month's AllThingsD Dive Into Media conference that he expects to launch a "curated" music subscription service this summer.During their meeting, which sources described as "informational" and as including iTunes chief Eddy Cue, Cook expressed interest in the service's business plan and launch schedule. CNET has contacted Apple for comment and will update this report when we learn more.A partnership with Beats would provide an instant entry for Apple, which has long been rumored to be working on a music streaming service. The company was reportedly in talks last September with record companies to license music for a custom music service that would create "virtual" music stations based on a song or artist of choice.Such a venture would put Apple in competition with the likes of Spotify, iHeartRadio, and Pandora, which uses an algorithm to create custom radio stations based on a single song or artist and offers paid subscriptions as well as a free, ad-supported version and a suite of popular mobile apps.Market-research firm BTIG Research predicted in November that Apple would launch a streaming-music service at some point in 2013 based on interviews with industry executives and the addition of a "Radio" option in the horizontal bar in iTunes 11.Apple has dabbled in the sector before, buying music streaming site Lala.com in 2009. However, Apple shut down the operation less than six months later, leading many to wonder if Apple would ever get into the streaming business. Speculation resumed after Apple filed for a patent on streaming music in 2011.
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