[Yahoo!TECH]

Bill Gates’s sprawling Washington state compound is, as you might expect, packed to the gills with bleeding-edge gear, from the heated floors and 20-seat home theater to the X-ray machine (for screening the mail, of course) and miles of fiber-optic cabling. But here’s what you definitely won’t find at chez Gates: an iPhone.

In the latest issue of Vogue, Bill’s wife, Melinda Gates, reveals that among the “very few things” on “the banned list in our household” are—you guessed it—iPods and iPhones.

Brutal, yes—especially for Bill and Melinda’s three kids (two daughters and a son, aged 12, six, and nine, respectively), who’ll just have to grin and bear it as their little pals make merry with the latest and greatest iPod.

And even Melinda herself admits to an occasional pang of Apple envy: “Every now and then I look at my friends and say, ‘Ooh, I wouldn’t mind having that iPhone.’” (Ouch!)

Then again, what else did we expect from Microsoft founder Bill Gates? The man has his pride, not to mention scores of Windows Mobile and Zune team members who’d probably feel a tad bit hurt if Bill Jr. was running around with an iPhone.

So, which phones and MP3 players are on the Gates’s “good-to-go” list? Well, there’s always the Zune for music and video—not the sexiest MP3 player out there, mind you, but at least it’s got Wi-Fi and a snazzy interface.

And of course, there are plenty of Windows Mobile handsets to choose from; personally, I’d go for the Palm Treo Pro (if I had to get a Windows Mobile phone, that is), although it’s not exactly a barrel of fun for the teens. Or how about the HTC Touch Pro? That’s a pretty cool phone … I guess (as I pat the iPhone 3G in my jeans pocket).

written by 1st_Gen \\ tags: Bill Gates, iPhone, iPod

[Originally from Agence France-Presse]

Apple said Friday it will replace power adapters sold with its popular iPhone 3G mobile telephones because of a risk prongs will snap and cause people to be jolted by electricity.

“We have received reports of detached blades involving a very small percentage of the adapters sold, but no injuries have been reported,” the California company said on a Web page providing adapter exchange details.

The part Apple is offering to replace is an “Ultracompact USB power adapter” reportedly included with iPhone 3G models sold in Japan, Canada, Mexico, the United States and a half dozen South American countries.

“Customer safety is always Apple’s top priority, and therefore we have voluntarily decided to exchange every Ultracompact power adapter for a new, redesigned adapter, free of charge,” Apple said.

Apple advises iPhone 3G owners to charge their handsets by plugging them into computers or with a standard-sized Apple power adapter until the potentially problematic part is replaced.

Instructions for getting Apple adapters replaced were posted online at www.apple.com/support/usbadapter/exchangeprogram/.

written by 1st_Gen \\ tags: 3g, adapter, electrical, iPhone, power, shock

[Originally from AppleInsider]

Apple’s iPod has been easing tensions with Iraqi citizens in a real-world experiment that has seen the music player provide on-the-spot translating for a fraction the cost and size of earlier systems.

Instead of carrying around a relatively bulky PDA or notebook, the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division has for a year been using 260 iPods and iPod nanos modified to run a special app from Vcom 3D known as Vcommunicator Mobile.

The software takes advantage of the iPod’s hierarchical menu system and scroll wheel to let soldiers sift through and select phrases in local dialects that match the situation at hand, such as a friendly meeting or to question a suspect. A speaker mounted on the headphone jack plays a voice sample of the sentence such that troops don’t have to memorize the pronunciation themselves.

Little has been done to modify the iPod hardware; other than armbands and other accessories to dustproof the iPod and its speaker, Apple’s media players are the same as those that left the factory. The Dock Connector on the bottom functions the same as it does for the reference player and permits speaker docks or most any accessory supported by the Cupertino original.

By exploiting this familiarity to its advantage, Vcom 3D not only lowered the deployment cost versus earlier methods — the complete development and equipment cost $800,000 — but is said to have reduced the learning time both for the soldiers and the Iraqis it’s meant to reach.

Although few American infantrymen can understand Iraqi responses without the help of a translator, the music player is not only intuitive for the Westerners but also, surprisingly, for the Iraqis who are already familiar with Apple’s design. The iPod is less threatening and breaks down more of the cultural barriers the software is meant to overcome.

The year-long use by the 10th Mountain Division has been successful to such a degree that the U.S. Army is looking to expand the program to include the 1st Cavalry Division. The military wing will ship trial devices with three brigades about to leave for Iraq and may use the special iPods in a broader capacity if they prove useful during the division’s operations. Their abilities to play photos and videos are already talked about as potentially useful for showing maps and other visual information to Iraqi residents.

Vcom 3D’s wins further deepen Apple’s involvement with the American military, which in recent months has grown to include native iPhone apps.

written by 1st_Gen \\ tags: field translator, iPhone Philippines, iPod, US Army

It’s a no-brainer that games would be the most downloaded applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch. A current survey shows that 7 of the top 10 applications from the App Store are video games. The most downloaded game from the App Store so far is Sega’s Super Monkey Ball. Simon Jefferey, President of Sega of America, expects Super Monkey Ball to be downloaded 1 million times. Simon Jefferey added, “This is a very viable platform …. We’re just scratching the surface on the iPhone. There’s way more we can get out of the iPhone as we learn the software developer kit.”

Not only Sega but EA Mobile is investing a lot in the development of the platform. Vice president of publishing for EA Mobile said, “We really believed in this platform in a big way and we spent a lot of investment in it, so we’re pleasantly surprised,”. EA Mobile currently has two of it’s game titles in the top 10 most downloaded applications.

There are already emulators for Nintendo, PS2 and Gameboy Advance games made by third party developers. So it’s more than hopeful that other video game companys will join in the foray and offer their games for the iPhone and iPod Touch - not just ported existing games, but games developed specifically for the platform. From accelerometer games to arcade style games to the regular button mashing games, the iPhone and iPod Touch platform is set to take-off in the game development world.

written by 1st_Gen \\ tags: App Store, games, iPhone, ipod touch

The Apple iPod Touch 2.0 firmware is available from iTunes. Unlike with iPhone, iPod Touch owners will have to pay $9.95 (~450PHP) for the update. With the update comes features that are part of the latest iPhone firmware update as well as features from the January 2008 update for the iPhone. So anything that has been lacking in the iPod Touch till now will be filled in with this latest update. Of course there are no phone and text updates for the iPod Touch since it is only an iPod. But owners will now have access to the much awaited App Store where they can download and install applications ranging from 3D accelerometer games to business applications that the iPhone and iPod have been sorely lacking. Another notable update – for Outlook users, is support for Microsoft Exchange, where users can push mail from their Outlook account to iPod.

Other updates include the following:

• additional language support for the keyboard
• improved contacts search
• more than one calendar to organize things
• scientific calculator
• improved mail attachment viewing - support for viewing iWork and PowerPoint files plus you can save emailed photos directly to your photo library
• better management of email and the ability to reply to emails from a different account

To upgrade to iPod Touch 2.0 Firmware you’ll need to first download the latest version of iTunes. You can get the firmware from iTunes Store or from Apple’s website, which launches iTunes for you.

written by 1st_Gen \\ tags: apple ipod, firmware 2.0, ipod touch