MacRumors

A survey (reported by AppleiPhoneReview.com and Engadget) purportedly showed [information removed at the request of PineCone Research.]*

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal (paid subscription required), SEC investigators are closing in on bringing criminal charges against former Apple executives.

Apple's independent investigation had found "serious concern" regarding two former officers, which were later identified as former CFO Fred Anderson and former general counsel Nancy Heinen.

On a positive note, the report mentions only ex executives as likely to be indicted at this time. The SEC has questioned Apple CEO Steve Jobs on at least one occasion, and some were worried that he could become embroiled in the scandal. Apple itself had cited the SEC investigation as one of the risks that it faces in improving financial performance in the future (i.e. the fear being that the investigation could be costly and distracting, hindering profit margins).

Apple is not alone, with the report also naming Broadcom, Monster, McAfee, and others as also having their investigations proceeding.

Cisco issued a brief statement yesterday indicating that Apple and Cisco's negotiations over the iPhone trademark are ongoing and that an extension has been provided until February 21st 2007.

Cisco appears to be capitalizing on the ongoing press coverage over the "iPhone" trademark and in February had taken out a full page ad in the New York Times promoting its own iPhone.

Cisco is hard at work increasing their brand recognition according to a Timesonline.co.uk article:

"People know about Cisco, perhaps because of the stock, but most people do not know what Cisco does," [CEO's chief development officer] said. The group is intent on changing that.

Appleinsider provides additional confirmation that Apple is indeed working on a sub-notebook version of their MacBook line.

The rumor site draws parallels to Apple's PowerBook Duo, Apple's first sub-notebook released in 1992. The Duo-line of PowerBooks offered a unique 152-pin port in the back that allowed it to connect to various Docks that provided additional functionality, such as external drives, video capabilities, and ethernet that were left off the notebook itself to maximize portability.

Appleinsider reports that the new mini MacBook will be "lighter and more compact than any other Mac portable Apple has put forth in recent years" and is on track for release near WWDC in mid 2007. Other features listed in the MacBook include the use of NAND flash ram to speed up boot times, as well as the exclusion of an optical drive to save on space.

The first rumors of a sub-compact ("Ultra-thin") notebook coming from Apple came in December 2006 from MacScoop. At that time, however, the rumors pointed to a MacBook Pro model that would see miniaturization with a 12" Widescreen display. It isn't clear if these two reports are related , and this new report may represent a distinct project.

A patent application from January provided additional evidence that Apple had been actively working on methods to miniaturize their notebooks, with research into alternative locations for the optical drive in a laptop computer. Making smaller laptops was listed as the motivation for pursuing these alternative designs.

Apple released a number of software updates today under Mac OS X's Software Update feature. The first is a security update that "is recommended for all users and improves the security of the following components:"

- CoreServices
- iChat
- UserNotificationCenter

More detailed information about the changes are listed at Apple.

Apple also revealed a Daylight Saving Time Update due to recent changes on the dates Daylight Savings will occur this year:

The Daylight Saving Time Update for Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server addresses recent changes in the way Daylight Saving Time will be observed in the U.S. and Canada beginning in March 2007 and includes the latest time zone information for the rest of the world.

More information is at http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305056

Other updates also listed by Apple include:

- Java for Mac OS X 10.3 Update 5
- Java for Mac OS X 10.4 Update 5
- WebObjects 5.3.3
- Final Cut Pro 5.1.3

Digitimes claims that Apple will be shipping 15.4" MacBooks in the second quarter of 2007:

Apple is planning to introduce 15.4-inch MacBooks in the second quarter of 2007, according to industry sources in Taiwan. The new model will fill the gap between the company's 13.3-inch MacBooks and the 15.4- and 17-inch MacBook Pros that form its current notebook line up, and is expected to boost shipments of Apple's Intel-powered MacBooks, the sources add.

Historically, Digitimes has not been very accurate with their predictions, but a number of recent Digitimes rumors have been corroborated, if not confirmed. (LED-backlit Laptops, Apple Notebook with Robson Caching)

Hrmph reports on the latest Apple patent application that was just published on February 15th, 2007.

The newest patent addresses the topic of allowing iPhone and similar devices (Tablet) to be charged in any orientation... landscape or portrait. Methods described include various physical connectors to handle both orientations.

A much more interesting method of transfering power is proposed in the patent application -- the use of "induction" for both data transfer and charging that would not require physical contact between the dock and the iPhone.

With regards to non-contact platforms, inductive coils can be placed in each device to transfer both power and data. The inductive coils are typically hidden from view behind the housings of each device and therefore they are more aesthetically pleasing than electrical contacts, which need to be exposed in order to operate effectively. Furthermore, inductively based systems are more robust than electrical contacts. For example, there are no contacts to wear out and/or oxidize.
...
In another implementation, power is transferred via an inductance-based system and data is transferred via a wireless system. The combination of inductance and wireless provides an efficient way to transfer both power and data while keeping both the docking station and portable electronic device fully enclosed.

Appleinsider claims that Apple has started canvassing at least one school for individuals to work on art for future 2D and 3D games from Apple.

Students at the Savannah College of Art and Design reported today receiving an e-mail from a recruiter working directly for Apple, Inc., who appears to be actively tracking down skilled graphics designers among those enrolled in the school's Fine Arts programs. Those hired for the summer program would be tasked with creating "consistent, high quality 3D and 2D art for games," the message said.

With the release of the iPod Games in in September, Apple demonstrated that they had already started some game development in-house with the release of Vortex and Texas Hold 'Em.

Recent comments by game developers have suggested Apple may be expanding games beyond the ipod. Electronic Arts revealed that Apple had already started approaching 3rd party developers to launch games on their upcoming iPhone, while PopCap Vice President listed the Apple TV as a future gaming platform.

Meanwhile, Jesse Tortora had previously speculated that Apple could be getting serious about the gaming market.

With the early announcement of the iPhone, competition appears to be heating up for similar touch-screen cellphones from other manufacturers.

VR Zone posts photos of an iPhone look-alike from Chinese company Meizu. The "miniOne" reportedly runs Windows CE 6.0 and offers a similar look to the unreleased Apple iPhone. The clone, however, does offer a higher resolution screen (720x480) and a 3 megapixel camera.

Meanwhile, Samsung has announced the F700 which also incorporates a touch-screen, but also offers a slide-out keyboard for text entry.

Finally TelecomsKorea reports that LG officials believe that the iPhone is a copy of their Prada phone, which was shown 3 months before the iPhone's announcement.

We consider that Apple copycat Prada phone after the design was unveiled when it was presented in the iF Design Award and won the prize in September 2006.

The similarities between the Prada phone and the Apple iPhone were widely noted shortly after the iPhone's announcement.

Based on the available information, none of the iPhone-alikes appear to offer a multi-touch screen which has been considered an innovative new feature of the iPhone.

This FoxNews.com story offers some confirmation that the Beatles will offering their music catalog digitally. Neil Aspinall, head of Apple Corps Ltd. confirms that all 13 core Beatles albums have been remastered.

There have been a lot of rumors and speculation that Apple and the Beatles had come to an exclusive agreement to release the Beatles catalog on iTunes. The rumors were reinforced when Apple Inc and Apple Corps announced a trademark agreement earlier this month in which Apple Inc will own all the trademarks related to "Apple" and license the trademarks back to Apple Corps for continued use.

Aspinall's comments indicate that they will be releasing the Beatles catalog in time, but that it will not be exclusive to iTunes:

But now Aspinall says that when the Beatles songs do get put on the Internet officially, it will be on all the services, not just one. So all the Beatles songs will be found on iTunes, Rhapsody, etc. Thats very PC of him!

Another interesting comment suggests that there was more to the licensing agreement between Apple Inc and Apple Corps than revealed by the announcement:

The Beatles, sources say (and not Aspinall, whom I didn't even discuss this with), may have won royalties on Apple iTunes/iPod hardware as part of the settlement.

Vnunet claims to have received a short statement from an Apple spokeswoman regarding the ship date for the Apple TV:

"We're still planning to release Apple TV in February, as announced" she said.

The comment is triggered by a recent ThinkSecret report that the Apple TV had been pushed to the beginning of March.

The source of the confusion had been Apple's internal ship dates for Apple Stores to expect their Apple TV units. Indeed, Macworld.co.uk also claimed that they were told not to expect a review unit before March.

Early customers who placed online orders through the Apple Store are still being quoted a ship date "by February 28th".

Apple announced in a joint statement with Lionsgate that more than 150 movies from the studio would be added to the iTunes store by the end of the month.

Were delighted to offer these incredibly popular Lionsgate films on iTunes, and look forward to adding even more films in the future, said Steve Beeks, president of Lionsgate. iTunes lets users download these wonderful films to watch on their computer, TV or iPod, so movie fans can take their favorite Lionsgate films with them anywhere.

iTunes customers will be able to purchase blockbuster Lionsgate films like Terminator 2, LA Story, Basic Instinct, The Blair Witch Project and Dirty Dancing and more than 150 titles coming to iTunes this month. Lionsgate joins Paramount and Disney, who just recently announced that it had sold over 1.3 million movies since it joined the store.

It appears that the release is limited to a portion of Lionsgate's catalog rather than new releases, similar to the current deal with Paramount.