Apple has posted an update to its supplier responsibility document that it has been publishing since 2007 with details of its improvements in 2010 and the core violations that occurred in 2010. Jump the break for a brief re-cap of the report. You can download a full copy of the report from Apple’s Supplier Responsibility website.
Intego’s Free Antivirus for Mac Gets 500K Downloads in 30 Days
In its first month of downloads, Intego’s VirusBarrier Express, which is being distributed exclusively on the Mac App Store, has racked up an impressive 500,000 downloads. VirusBarrier Express is Intego’s free antivirus and anti-malware offering that claims to protect Mac users from viruses, Trojan horses and other malware, including Windows malware that could be accidently passed on.
Help Desk Service Zendesk Releases iPad App
The web-based help desk service Zendesk has today rolled out a spiffy iPad app to allow companies and their employees to manage customer help desks on the go. The iPad application joins the existing offerings of iPhone, Android and BlackBerry apps that have a total of over 80,000 downloads.
The iPad app contains similar functionality to those existing mobile apps with some additions such as the ability for users to view a real-time list of tickets assigned and bookmark tickets for later response or reference. Zendesk’s CEO Zack Urlocker said to TechCrunch that he believes the iPad app will become their most popular mobile application as companies adopt the iPad in their businesses.
Three UK + Ireland Block Cydia Servers
Customers of Three in Ireland and the UK might wake up today with a little bit of a shock when they hear that Cydia has seemingly been blocked by the carrier, leading those who jailbreak their iOS devices unable to access certain content from Cydia when on the Three network. The block seems to be for Cydia’s servers so whilst the main page is inaccessible, Three users in the UK and Ireland should still be able to access other repositories and download from them.
Manuals on Amazon Suggest Late July Launch for Lion
Several manuals for the upcoming Mac OS X 10.7 Lion have been spotted by 9to5 Mac on the Amazon.UK website and all are set to be released sometime around late July, hinting that the OS will also launch around that time. WWDC is expected to be from July 5 to July 9 and it would make sense for Lion to be released shortly after WWDC as these manuals seem to suggest.
Whilst the release date of these guidebooks don’t confirm a late July launch it makes a late July launch likely because there have been several previous cases of Amazon guidebooks effectively revealing a products launch date, such as Office 2011 last year.
Some of the manual covers include references to the already known features of Launchpad, Mission Control and changes to the dock, all of which were revealed in the ‘Back to the Mac’ event late last year.
[Via 9to5 Mac]
greenpois0n Reaches Release Candidate 6, Jailbreaks Apple TV
greenpois0n, the tool for jailbreaking your iOS devices on version 4.2.1, has been updated again, and now supports jailbreaking the second generation Apple TV. By jailbreaking the second generation Apple TV you will be able to install NitoTV without all the hassle and difficulty of using SSH and entering lines of code into terminal as was previously required.
Now at release candidate 6, this version of greenpois0n is also said to fix some issues that had occurred when using zodttd’s emulators. For those curious, NitoTV allows users to play more video formats, run emulators, view RSS feeds, view weather forecasts and more in what is essentially a more fully featured media center application.
greenpois0n RC6 is available for Windows and Mac.
[Via Engadget]
iPhone Dominates in Small and Medium Sized Businesses
The iPhone is the most popular smartphone for small and medium sized business employees according to Intermedia, the world’s largest provider of hosted Microsoft Exchange email services. With a user base size of more than 250,000 email users, Intermedia says that 48.5% of email accounts were accessed through an iPhone compared to 25% accessed by a BlackBerry and 12.75% accessed through Android.
BlackBerry’s usage is also dropping and Android is gaining quickly whilst other smartphone’s such as Windows Phone 7 and other non smartphone operating systems represent 13.75%. Intermedia’s chief executive Jonathon McCormick said “staying in sync with the office regardless of time or day has become imperative in most industries.” Also interesting was that iPhone users sent the most emails whilst Android users received the most emails.
[Via AppleInsider]
Today Is The Verizon iPhone 4 Launch Day
A reminder that today is the day that the Verizon iPhone goes on sale across the US in Apple, Verizon, Walmart and Best Buy stores and Macworld is reporting of mixed queue lengths around the country. It seems that few stores had more than just a couple of people queuing before the shops opened.
If you are in the US and looking to walk in and grab a Verizon iPhone 4, Macworld is updating their post as they hear information about supplies so have a look over their for some updated information. Apple and Verizon are also selling the Verizon iPhone on their websites to everyone, no longer restricting purchases from non-Verizon customers.
[Via Macworld]
fring Update Brings fringOut, Allows Cheap Calls to Landlines and Mobiles
In its latest update, the iPhone app fring which allows instant messaging and VoIP calls between users has added the ability to call people on regular landline or mobile numbers. The new feature, fringOut isn’t free but the rates are fairly competitive starting at 1c a minute for users in the US and UK and users can still call other Fring users at no cost.
Rates vary from country to country so be sure to check out the full list of rates, but the service should work from any country, but be careful to note that calls are charged in one-minute increments. The service also currently does not send SMS messages and calls cannot be made to premium, toll-free or emergency numbers.
For more information visit the fringOut website.