MacRumors

A report in the San Jose Mercury News yesterday and a follow-up post by TechCrunch this morning are again bringing publicity to users who have experienced unauthorized charges via their iTunes Store accounts. According to the reports, the majority of complaints are coming from PayPal users who have linked their payment accounts to their iTunes Store accounts.

At least one group of scammers has found a way to charge thousands of dollars to iTunes accounts through PayPal. One targeted customer told us, "My account was charged over $4700. I called security at PayPal and was told a large number of iTunes store accounts were compromised." His email was filled with nearly 50 receipts from PayPall for $99.99 each. He was able to catch it before his bank disbursed funds to PayPal.

According to All Things Digital, this latest round of unauthorized charges again appears to be stemming from nothing more than successful phishing attempts and there has been no security breach within the iTunes Store or PayPal.

There's no security hole in iTunes and if you've been unfortunate enough to have hundreds of dollars in unauthorized purchases charged to your iTunes acount it's likely because you've fallen victim to a phishing scam - a variation on the one that's been around for years now. Sources close to Apple tell me iTunes has not been compromised and the company isn't aware of any sudden increase in fraudulent transactions.

Reports of "App Store hacked" surfaced earlier last month when one developer was able to use a relatively small number of iTunes Store accounts apparently compromised by such means to game the App Store rankings. With over 100 million accounts linked to credit card numbers, the iTunes Store is a popular target for phishing attempts, and Apple has repeatedly reminded customers to maintain proper security over their account information and to contact their credit card companies should unauthorized charges appear on their accounts.

Last week, we reported that, despite strong results for early adopters of Apple's iAd mobile advertising platform, roll-out of the ads has been slow due to Apple's tight control over the entire ad development process. At the time we noted that more high-profile ads were scheduled to be coming in the near future.

Silicon Alley Insider provides a walkthrough of two new iAds that have just gone live, featuring Apple's U.S. iPhone partner AT&T and "The Switch", a new movie with Jason Bateman and Jennifer Anniston that debuted this past weekend.

The AT&T ad focuses on the carrier's new $15-per-month Data Plus plan, carrying the tag line "Now your entire family can afford the mobile internet." The various ad panels outline the carrier's Data Plus ($15/200 MB) and Data Pro ($25/2 GB) plans and offer estimates and tools to help users decide which plans would be right for them given their mobile activities. The company also pushes its Wi-Fi hotspots, available to its cellular data customers free of charge.

The iAd for "The Switch" offers a variety of features, including a tool for finding nearby theaters showing the film, trailers and commercials, a photo gallery, character bios, and a humorous "quiz" to help users decide whether they are ready to be parents. The ad also features a mini-game called "Build a Baby", which lets users assemble various combinations of hair, eyes, and mouths to create unique "baby" faces. The resulting images can be saved to the users' Camera Roll photo folders.

Patently Apple reports on an Apple patent application published earlier this year that discloses how Apple might choose to implement systems for transitioning a single Mac computer between mouse-driven input for Mac OS X and touch-based input for iOS.

The method utilizes sensors such as a rotation hinge located in a stand for an iMac-like computer or accelerometer-based orientation sensors that could allow the device to function as a traditional desktop computer when the screen is positioned vertically or as a large tablet-style device when positioned horizontally.

The change in the orientation of the display can be detected by one or more sensors. For example, an accelerometer in the display can sense the force of gravity along an axis, and the measured force can be used to determine an angle of the display with respect to the ground (i.e., the plane perpendicular to the direction of the force of gravity). A transition between input modes can be performed when the orientation of the display crosses a predetermined threshold, such as when the vertical angle (tilt) of the display crosses a predetermined angle.

As another option, Apple proposes touch sensors located in the frame of the device's display that, when grabbed in the manner of a tablet and combined with a change in orientation detected by accelerometer-based sensors, could initiate a transition between input modes. In any of the described methods, the mode transition could involve a user interface transition between high-resolution mouse-driven actions and low-resolution touch-driven actions.

Not limited to desktop computers, Apple's patent application also depicts a notebook-style computer that could transition to a tablet device, with the operating mode adjusting automatically depending on orientation.

Apple has been expressing interest in touch-enabled Macs recently, with a multiple rumors on such an iMac making an appearance sometime this year. And while converting Mac OS X to a touch-specific interface would be a significant undertaking, one former Apple engineer suggested that adding an iOS layer on top of Mac OS X would be a reasonable undertaking.

An Apple patent application published for the first time last week has been generating some discussion and controversy over exactly what the company intends to or could do with methods to identify "unauthorized" users of iOS devices.

The patent application describes how certain activities performed on a device such as an iPhone could be indicative of "suspicious behavior" that could reveal unauthorized usage of the device. In particular, Apple describes how voice, facial, or heartbeat recognition could be used to confirm whether a user is authorized to have access to a given device. Upon detection of an unauthorized user, the system could limit access to sensitive data stored on the device while working to gather information (photos, voice recording, location, screenshots) on the user in order to determine his or her identity.

Some observers have, however, pointed to another set of methods for unauthorized user detection that could in theory be employed by Apple to exert control over legitimate users' activity on the device. Specifically, Apple suggests that such actions as jailbreaking, unlocking, or SIM card removal could be used to flag users as unauthorized.

Ignoring the possibility that a false positive in Apple's proposed theft protection might activate the spy cam while the user is in the bath, or in the middle of some other intimate moment, this technology seems Orwellian for another reason: It gives Steve jobs and Co. the means to retaliate when iPhones aren't being used in ways Cupertino doesn't expressly permit.

But remember, it's for your own good.

Others are urging caution over what could be considered overreactions, claiming that Apple is perfectly clear in its intentions for the features.

Just because Apple could shut down your iPhone if it's "jailbroken" doesn't mean Apple is trying to seize control of your digital life. In fact, if you want to keep control of it, you might actually want Apple to step in.

. . .it's clear what Apple is really doing is scrambling to reassure those running corporate wireless programs - or just paying bills for the household wireless devices - that they're going to be able to secure all those iPhones, iPads, and other gizmos if they get lost or stolen.

Another overlooked factor is Apple's history of inventions disclosed in patent applications, many of which have never made it into shipping products. While Apple does routinely take steps to inconvenience users attempting to perform actions such as jailbreaking of which it does not approve, there are obviously any number of other tactics it could employ to step up its efforts. And while Apple could easily employ more invasive methods, it has shown no apparent interest in doing so, and would obviously face a tremendous public backlash should it do so.

Regardless, this newly-published patent application filed in February 2009 seems to be clearly focused on protecting and finding lost or stolen iOS devices and simply offering up jailbreaking and unlocking as part of a possible suite of clues that together could help assess whether a user is authorized to access the device or not.

Fortune reports on a new research note from Needham analyst Charlie Wolf breaking down Apple's Mac sales by market segment for the second calendar quarter of 2010 and comparing that performance to the PC industry's as a whole. While Wolf found strong across-the-board growth for Apple, the company saw its strongest performance in government and business sales, where it far outpaced overall industry growth.

Among his findings:

- At 35%, Mac shipment growth in June easily exceeded the market's growth rate of 20.9%.
- Mac shipments grew 31.4% in the home market, topping the market's growth rate of 25.2%.
- At 49.8%, the Mac's growth in business was three times higher than the market's 15.7%.
- Mac shipments in government grew 200%, sixteen times faster than the market's 12.1%.

In the business market, Wolf revealed Apple's strongest growth occurring among larger companies, with "large" and "very large" businesses seeing on the order of 100% growth, presumably on a year-over-year basis.

In one final note, Wolf highlights Apple's growth in Europe, where strong iPhone adoption has created a halo effect that has helped Apple's unit share of the PC market to double and its revenue share to triple over the past six years, with most of that growth occurring over the last 2-3 years.

In a blog post over the weekend, Digg co-founder Kevin Rose noted that he is hearing rumors that Apple's revamped Apple TV hardware, reportedly set to be rebranded as "iTV", will launch as early as next month. The hardware refresh, initially reported in late May and again addressed earlier this month, is said to be based on Apple's iOS and carry a $99 price tag.

From what I hear we should expect to see the iTV launch in September. Also, keep an eye on GoogleTV - this is going to be a hot space in 2011.

Rose also shares some other details of his expectations for the iTV, including an arm of the App Store dedicated to the platform, the ability to subscribe to ad-supported content from individual television stations, MobileMe-based sharing of photos and videos, and integration of the iPad as a "big badass remote control" to offer control of and interaction with iTV content.

Apple is reportedly planning its annual iPod-focused media event for mid-September, and it seems likely that Apple would include an iTV launch there if it is in fact planning a September launch for the new hardware.

It is not entirely clearly how much of Rose's information is reliably sourced and how much is mere speculation, as well as whether all of the cited features are expected to appear in the initial device launch. Rose has weighed in with a number of other Apple product rumors in the past and has at times offered correct accurate information.

LAPTOP has been evaluating the performance of Adobe's Flash Player 10.1 on a number of different mobile devices, specifically focusing on how the multimedia player handles various content sources on the new Droid 2. With Apple CEO Steve Jobs' open letter published in late April claiming that Adobe had yet to deliver a Flash Player running well on a mobile platform, there has been considerable interest now that Adobe's much-hyped Flash Player 10.1 is finally making its way to platforms such as Google's Android. Based on LAPTOP's experience on the Droid 2, however, much still seems to be lacking.

I'm the last person on earth who wanted to believe Steve Jobs when he told Walt Mossberg at D8 that "Flash has had its day." I took it as nothing more than showmanship when Jobs shared his thoughts on Flash and wrote that "Flash is closed and proprietary, has major technical drawbacks, and doesn't support touch based devices." After spending time playing with Flash Player 10.1 on the new Droid 2, the first Android 2.2 phone to come with the player pre-installed, I'm sad to admit that Steve Jobs was right. Adobe's offering seems like it's too little, too late.

The report notes that some Flash content, particularly sites featured in Adobe's Flash showcase for mobile devices such as the Sony Pictures movie trailers site, does perform very well. But many others, including ABC.com and FOX.com, deliver jerky video and severe system lag and unresponsiveness.

The difference between the smooth Flash trailers on Sony.com, the jerky episode of CSI, and the system-stalling Flash video on Fox.com is that the smoother ones were optimized specifically for phone playback. But if content providers have to go back and optimize their videos for mobile platforms, one of the key benefits of mobile Flash - backward compatibility with millions of existing videos - is lost. If you're modifying your videos anyway, why not go the full monty and use an HTML 5 player instead of Flash?

When it comes to Flash-based games, LAPTOP found that many of the games are still designed for non-touch input, requiring keyboard presses and other actions that are simply not possible in the Flash Player mobile experience as currently implemented. Furthermore, simply attempting to load websites with Flash content resulted in slower loading speeds and even hangs that would make high-profile sites like The New York Times refuse to load.

Over three years after the launch of the original iPhone, it appears that Adobe has yet to find a way to deliver a quality Flash experience on mobile platforms. While the partial functionality Flash Player is currently capable of offering might be of use to some, the numerous performance issues and incompatibilities are certainly unlikely to convince Apple to embrace the technology. And it seems reasonable to assume that the longer it takes Adobe to develop a smoothly-functioning Flash Player for mobile, the more sites will make the transition to HTML5 and other accessible standards, reducing demand for the player.

Leaks of claimed next-generation iPod touch parts continue to surface, further bolstering speculation that Apple is preparing to launch new models with front-facing cameras to allow for FaceTime video calling. The latest leak comes via M.I.C. gadget, which reveals another LCD/front panel assembly on sale for approximately $95 at a Chinese e-commerce site.

The part clearly shows a front-sided hole that would leave room for a front-facing FaceTime camera, and the part is labeled "Apple (c) 2010".

An iPhone parts supplier is responsible for the store, and this supplier claimed that they got these parts through a "special channel", maybe this is the iPod touch 4th generation prototype which is leaked from the factory.

Just two weeks ago, we received images of a similar assembly also bearing Apple branding on the ribbon cable. The styling of the branding differs slightly between these two samples, however, with the earlier version utilizing two lines of text for the "Apple" brand and dating while the new version presents the text on a single line. Our earlier sample carried a production date of April 2010 stamped on the back of the LCD, while the new version appears to carry only a serial number.

Apple is widely expected to introduce new iPod touch models sometime in the next month or two, with recent claims pointing to a mid-September media event for their debut. Recent betas of iOS 4.1 have suggested that Apple will be utilizing email addresses as options for FaceTime video call initiation, allowing non-iPhone iOS devices such as the iPod touch and iPad to utilize the feature should they receive video camera capabilities.

A new email from Apple CEO Steve Jobs appears to confirm that the company will soon be issuing a software update to address issues with the iPhone 3G's performance under iOS 4. Late last month, the company acknowledged that it was "looking into" user reports of the issues.

The new email came in response to feedback sent by a customer who expressed frustration over the performance of his iPhone 3G, calling it "dog slow" and pointing to problems with system responsiveness when scrolling, zooming, and typing.

I've waited patiently through 4.0.1 and 4.0.2, looking for a fix that will make my phone work again. I've read the forums that advise me to jailbreak my phone or use some other method so I can downgrade back to a version of iPhone 3, however I'm not prepared to use a method that is not supported by Apple.

Jobs' response was unsurprisingly terse:

Software update coming soon.

Sent from my iPhone

While Jobs did not offer details on the planned software update, he was most likely referring to iOS 4.1, which has been in testing with developers. Anecdotal reports have indicated that the iOS 4.1 betas do seem to be improving performance on the iPhone 3G, but confirmation that the company is addressing the issues will be welcome news to users who have been frustrated by iOS 4 performance on their devices.

Just six days after Apple seeded the first build of Mac OS X 10.6.5 to developers, it has followed up with a second one termed Build 10H529. As noted by iPhoneinCanada.ca, the new build resolves the two documented known issues from the previous build and lists no new ones.

The build's documentation also makes a slight adjustment to the list of focus areas on which developers are asked to concentrate their testing, removing iCal and adding Apple Filing Protocol (AFP) network file services.

The quick turnaround suggests that Apple is moving quickly on Mac OS X 10.6.5, as the company usually waits at least a week between its first and second developer builds. The last time Apple moved this quickly on the first developer builds was Mac OS X 10.6.2, which spent only about a month in developer testing before seeing a public release in November of last year. Still, Apple's development schedule is always unpredictable and new or unresolved issues at any point in the process could stretch out the timeline.

Fortune reports that Apple and Time Inc. have come to an agreement to allow the publisher to offer subscribers to its print magazines free access to content through their corresponding iPad applications. The agreement, which is marked by the debut of PEOPLE Magazine under the new structure, sees subscribers to the print edition receiving free access while non-subscribers can purchase individual issues for $3.99 each.

Until now, the iPad versions of People, Time, Sports Illustrated and Fortune have cost the same as the newsstand price -- $3.99 for each issue of People, $4.99 to $5.99 each for the rest -- even if you were are already paying to get the paper edition in the mail.

That changed with this week's People iPad app, which is, for the first time, free to People subscribers. Fortune and the rest of Time Inc.'s (TWX) flagship magazines are expected to adopt the same pricing structure within the next 30 days.

Additional details on the PEOPLE Magazine application and pricing policies are available through the magazine's site.

Late last month, we noted that Apple and magazine publishers had been at an impasse over subscription pricing, and while some progress certainly remains to be made in the area of offering true multi-issue subscriptions for digital content, allowing print subscribers to receive free digital editions marks an important first step.

MacDailyNews reports that Apple has reached out to users of its Quattro Wireless ad platform, notifying them that it has stopped taking new campaign submissions and will be winding down operation of the service by the end of September in favor of Apple's new iAd platform. The message comes from Andy Miller, former CEO of Quattro and currently Apple's vice president for the iAd program.

We believe iAd is the best mobile ad network in the world, and starting next month we're going to focus all of our resources on the iAd advertising platform. We are no longer accepting new campaigns for the Quattro Wireless Network, and we will soon begin winding down existing campaigns. As of September 30, we will support ads exclusively for the iAd Network.

Apple acquired Quattro Wireless early this year in order to bring on board talent for deploying its own iAd mobile advertising service. The iAd program went live on July 1st, and has served up strong performance for early-adopter advertisers and app developers, although rollout of ads for the program has been slowed by Apple's tight control over the entire process. It is clear, however, that Apple is putting all of its mobile advertising emphasis on iAd, unsurprisingly necessitating the discontinuation of Quattro's former services.

During a period of overnight downtime last night, Apple appears to have made several tweaks to the functionality of its online store.

The Loop points out a new "Compare Macs" feature offering users the ability to compare specs among up to three selected Mac models. The new option is available through either a direct link or as an option in the Mac product line menu bar after selecting a model.

Apple has also added collapsible sections to its configuration pages for various Mac models. The change allows users to open and close sections dedicated to topics such as hardware options, software options, service and support add-ons, and accessories.

Fortune noted yesterday that supply constraints for the iPad appear to be easing slightly, with shipping estimates for orders placed through Apple's U.S. online store now coming in at 3-5 business days, down from 7-10 business days. The change was noted in a research brief from analyst Jeff Fidacaro of Susquehanna Financial.

"iPad demand remains strong with production ramping above expectations," writes Fidacaro. He has revised his iPad build forecast for Apple's (AAPL) fourth fiscal quarter to 7 million units, up from 6 million units. And his 4Q iPad shipment estimate now stands at 4.75 million units, a 45% increase from Q3.

The Fortune report also shares results of a weekly survey of in-store iPad and iPod availability at Best Buy locations conducted by Barcalys' Ben Reitzes showing significant improvement this week for all iPad models.

Meanwhile, GigaOM reports on a research note from Rodman Renshaw analyst Ashok Kumar claiming that production of both the iPad and iPhone 4 is beginning to approach demand, with iPhone shortages expected to ease by the end of next month.

The wait for a new Apple iPhone 4 order should be shorter by the end of September, which would help Apple sell 14 million new handsets in the third quarter and another 15 million in the final three months of 2010 according to an industry analyst. With the expectation that LG is ramping up production of 9.7-inch display panels, iPad orders should flow faster as well, with Apple having the capability to sell 5 to 6 million tablets this quarter.

Shipping estimates for iPhone 4 orders placed through Apple's U.S. online store remain at three weeks, however, suggesting that a considerable backlog still remains.