The time is fast approaching for Tim Cook and his cohorts to adorn that Moscone Center stage and introduce the world to the sixth-generation iPhone, which in turn will more than likely bring with it an immediate release of iOS 6, the company's next major revision of their mobile operating system. Registered members of the iOS dev program are now regularly using the fourth beta of iOS 6 in an attempt to familiarize themselves with the new features and improvements which Apple has pushed out, as well as trying to find and report any bugs that may exist.
For those that believe that Apple's industry leading smartphone is impervious to viral or spyware infections then it would be the right time to brace yourself for some bad news that it just isn't the case. A mobile variant of the commercial FinFisher spyware, produced by the United Kingdom-based Gamma Group, is capable of assuming control of a range of popular smartphones, including those made by Cupertino-based Apple and struggling technology company, Research In Motion (RIM).
It's becoming increasingly obvious that the technology world is accelerating at an unprecedented pace, something that is occurring with both hardware and software. That has never been more evident when Mozilla released Firefox 15 to the general public a few days ago, and a beta build of version 16 is already available for testing. Those millions of web users around the world who choose Firefox as their main desktop or mobile browser have barely had a chance to familiarize themselves with version 15 and now Firefox 16 beta is here to be played with.
The US Open is one of the oldest international tennis championships today, having been contested since 1881. It is the fourth and final grand slam tournament of the year - after Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon. The 2012 version of the tournament started three days ago on August 27th and will continue till September 9th when the men’s finals will take place.
We first brought you the Parallels Desktop 8 announcement last week, and although the creators of the desktop virtualization software - Parallels Inc. - has already stated the eight edition will be arriving on September 4th, it is now available as an upgrade for those running Parallels Desktop 7.
The tablet computing space is one of the most hotly contested industries at the moment, with the success of the iPad proving just how lucrative that particular marketplace can be for companies. Since the launch of the iPad, we've seen many contenders to the throne that have come in all shapes and sizes, running varying operating systems and priced at different points, but nothing has really come close to dominating the space like the iPad has over the last three generations.
When it comes to music discovery, services like Last.fm and Pandora was often the first that come to mind. They are very popular in countries like the U.S., Canada or Europe, but suffer outside them because of the strict licensing rules that they have to follow. Users from outside these countries have to resort to methods like using proxies or VPNs to access and enjoy them.
The tablet market has, up until recently, been pretty one dimensional, but now it's emerging into a battle fought on several different fronts. The original iPad first arrived in 2010, and having tried to emulate its success by essentially emulating its design, competitors have taken revised approaches. As well as the smaller tablet (see Google-ASUS Nexus 7), there's now a Microsoft-lead push for so-called hybrid devices - tablets which can also double up as notebooks and ultrabooks with attachable keyboards.
IFA 2012 has brought plenty of new devices to the fold from many of the key manufacturers, and although we're heard little from HTC thus far, the "quietly brilliant" company has come through with a new, if somewhat mediocre smartphone.
As we edge ever-closer to the announcement of the next-gen Apple smartphone, the shock value and general interest in leaked hardware has naturally died down, since the form factor of the device - dubbed the iPhone 5 - appears to be a done deal. That said, when some high-quality images surface comparing old and new, it's certainly worth taking a look, and Shenzhen-based parts company via NoWhereWlse.fr has some high-quality images which allegedly show the front plate of the sixth-gen device.
