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The U.S. Department of Justice reaches settlement with Apple, and five other companies

Six technology companies involved in no solicitation agreements were ordered to stop by the U.S. Department of Justice. The U.S. Department of Justice filed antitrust complaints towards Apple Inc., Google Inc., Intel Corp, Intuit Inc. and Pixar because of the no solicitation agreements that the companies took part in. The no solicitation agreements among the six companies prevented the companies from soliciting, or trying to hire each others employees by offering more money as an incentive. The agreements also prevented employees from the opportunity of having a better job at another company. Following the no solicitation agreements, the company executives at the six high-tech companies agreed not cold call each other employees. The no solicitation agreements were between Apple and Google, Apple and Adobe, Apple and Pixar, Google and Intel, and Google and Intuit.

The U.S. Department of Justice stated that the no solicitation agreements stopped competition and allowed the company to place a monopoly on their employees. The U.S. Department of Justice and the six companies had later reached a settlement. The settlement prevents the companies from making no solicitation agreements for the next five years. In general, that allows the companies to solicit freely.

I think the settlement was a good settlement. The no solicitation agreements prevented competition, which is very important by-product of capitalism. Business competition ensures that companies survive if it provides its customers with products and services that it needs. The U.S. Department of Justice is very strict on antitrust issues and I think it did the right thing. The six companies still don’t admit that they did something wrong and still insist that they made the agreements to maintain good relations with the other companies. That is still debatable. What do you think about this issue?

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App Store “To Approve or Disapprove”

Apple’s App Store has over two hundred thousand apps and it is still growing. Since its launch in 2008, Apple has allowed third party application developers makers to develop and submit new applications to be approved or disapproved to run on iOS devices all over the world. The approval process of Apple’s App Store has been   controversial throughout the world. Apple is constantly updating their guidelines. Recently, new guidelines letting more “fair play” in Apple’s monopolized ecosystem. For example, the existence of an iOS version Adobe’s Flash Players and the opportunity of a Google Voice app to be existent.

Apple is sometimes rather lenient when accepting apps, but can also be harsh to disapprove of them. . According to Stackoverflow, the average time it takes Apple to review an app is about two weeks. This depends on how complex your app is, if your app is simple to use and easy to figure out, your app can be evaluated in about a week. When you do finish your app, the third party app maker has to make the adjustments to Apple’s rules. Such as, when Apple changed their software to iOS 4, the third party app maker has to manage their own app to fit the new software. They also have to fix the bugs that affect the apps when they either start up or crash in the middle of the game. Your app can be seen by anybody who has an Ipod product, and your app can be the talk of the world, or the nobody of the app world. The success to an app is great idea, doesn’t crash, and is winnable or has a solution to a problem.

I think that Apple has the perfect-ehh mixture of being lenient with apps but can also drop the hammer on some. Many reviewers such as engadget.com have expressed that having multiple apps of the same thing is not a good thing. Like the flashlight app, is there really a need to have fifteen of the same kind of app? I think that Apple needs to get rid of some of the apps that are appearing to many times through the search engine. Over the past two years, Apple has developed a great presence in the mobile application industry. Apple has taken many risks by letting third party app makers into the App Store, but also has great reward. In order to improve, Apple needs to look into applications on the App Store since there is an existence of “garbage” applications. I think they need a better filtering system that gets rid of apps that are duplicates of one another.

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TRMG Forums

Do you want to talk to other TRMG fans or get help?  Check out our (brand new)forums at:  http://www.forums.therealmacgenius.com/

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All about the new iPod touch

San Francisco – September 2, 2010, Apple CEO Steve Jobs revealed the new Apple iPod touch. The new Apple iPod touch is not far from amazing. You can buy the iPod touch for $229 for 8GB, $299 for 32GB, and $399 for 64GB. With such stunning new features such as FaceTime, the Retina Display, HD video, and Game Center, what can go wrong?

FaceTime

FaceTime is an iPod touch application that provides video calling from the new iPod touch to another iPod touch or to an iPhone 4 through Wi-Fi. The iPhone 4 also includes the FaceTime feature. The iPhone 4 comes with a front and back camera which are 5-megapixel. FaceTime only requires you to enter your Apple ID and email address to work. FaceTime is rather straightforward and easy to use. It starts by tapping the FaceTime application on the iPod touch screen and sending an invitation to the person you wish to speak to. The receiver will get an invitation and once the receiver accepts the invitation, FaceTime begins. You take full advantage of the iPod touch’s new built-in cameras, one on the front and one on the back. The front camera has been modified for use especially with FaceTime. I think FaceTime is a great addition to the iPod touch line. With this feature, you can have video chats with your friends through your iPod touch. I am also very pleased that there are two built-in cameras on the new iPod touch. You can now take pictures from your iPod touch instead of carrying a traditional camera around.

The Retina Display

The new iPod touch comes with a new Retina Display, which I think is awesome. The Retina Display has a higher pixel density that makes the images on the screen more clear and crisp. The pixels are packed very tightly and there are 326 pixels per inch. Apple has developed pixels that are 78 micrometers wide. LED backlighting and an ambient light sensor are key features that contribute to better battery life and a clearer image. The 960-by-640 resolution is incredible to observe. Apple packs four times the amount of pixels found in older iPod touch models on the same screen, which is why the Retina Display is such a big improvement.

HD Video

The new iPod touch comes with a built-in HD video camera on the back and built-in video editing. iMovie, Apple’s video editing app that costs just $4.99, provides additional opportunities when it comes to video editing. It allows you to combine, edit, add music, and publish your video to the public. You can also use the VGA-quality camera on the front to simply record yourself. The camera in the front provides an easy alternative than trying to record yourself using the back camera and not knowing how the video looks as you are recording it.

Game Center

I will be honest; I am very excited about Game Center. Game Center is a new feature that comes with iOS 4.1. Game Center allows you to play games, which are downloaded from the Game Center, with or against friends and people from all around. Plus, the A4 processor provides a better gaming experience. You are required to have iOS 4.1 and to sign in with your Apple ID. You are allowed a nickname that will make it easier for friends to find you. You can invite someone to play with you by sending a friend request using their nickname or email address. Your friends are listed on a Friends list. You can look at leaderboards and achievements to see how you compare in rank to others. Auto-match will automatically match you with a friend if they are also looking for a match to play, if not, you will matched with another person from around the world. How convenient is that? I am thrilled and excited to use Game Center. Aren’t you?

Environmental Status Report

The new iPod touch is designed to reduce the impact on the environment. The iPod touch is made based on these guidelines:

  • Arsenic-free display glass
  • Brominated flame retardant-free
  • Mercury-free LCD display
  • PVC-free
  • Recyclable stainless steel enclosure
  • Smaller, more compact packaging

There features are definitely important because it affects everyone. The environment is important to all of us and we are responsible to take care of it. Apple is doing their part to save the environment. Now you can look at your iPod touch and know that it was made with a design that lessens its impact on the environment.

What do I think?

Basically, I am excited to use the new iPod touch. Out of all the new features, I think they are all great. I am more enthusiastic about Game Center, FaceTime, and the Retina Display. The video editing feature is not really a big thing for me because the iPod touch is typically used for listening to music, watching videos, and playing games. The video editing feature may turn out to be very useful.

Purchasing Recommendation

I would also recommend the 32 GB because it is only $70 more and it provides 4x the space. The 32 GB is a perfect amount for containing a huge number of songs, movies, and apps. 64 GB is usually not necessary, but if you believe you will need a lot of space, the 64 GB is the way to go. If you don’t think you will use a lot of space, I would still recommend the 32 GB over the 8 GB because you will end up using a lot of space in the long run.

Let us know what you think about the new iPod touch.

[Image Source: http://storeimages.apple.com/1739/store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/touch/img/ipodtouch-hero.jpg]

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iOS 4.1 Breakdown

If you have not heard yet, a new update is coming to an iPhone or iPod touch near you!  You can expect this update next week, but I am expecting it early( as early as tuesday of next week).  But I digress now let’s get down to business and tear this update apart and see what’s new and see my favorites of this update.

HDR Photography

Be a photographer myself I was already familiar with HDR photos, or High Dynamic Range photos.  This is a cool feature that helps to “pop” those small features out in your photos.  It works by taking three pictures at the same time, but here is where it getting interesting.  It over exposes one, under exposes one, and the last is taken at normal exposure.  These are all then combined together, and then bam, you have an HDR photo.  I think this is definitely gonna be a cool feature I am going to be using a lot.

Game Center

Have you ever been playing a game on your iPhone and thought, I really want to play my friend right now.  Well no longer will you have to think that anymore.  You will be able to challenge your friends in any game that develops allow support for game center in.  But not only is game center only going to allow you to challenge friends, but you will be able to post high scores and compete with friends in scores as well.  One game already known to support game center will be Angry Birds.

Bug Fixes

There are also going to be some bug fixes to clean everything up.  One big one is going to be the proximity sensor fix.  It has been sorta annoying when I accidentally put my phone on speaker phone when my proximity sensor decides it doesn’t want to work.  There will also be some other minor bug fixes to fix up any other known problems at this time.

Wrap-Up

I am excited for this update, especially game center.  I guess Nick and I will finally be able to find out who is the real champion at Angry Birds now!