Personal Technology

BOSTON (Reuters) - Hackers have built a virus that attacks Apple Inc's iPhone by secretly taking control of the devices via their Internet connections, security experts said.

Is an iPhone an acceptable device for business users? Verizon Wireless and AT&T have been involved in a public multimillion-dollar spat over the question with dueling television advertising campaigns -- and a lawsuit to boot. Now Apple is stepping into the fray with its own ads.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - AT&T Inc unveiled on Monday an offering that lets customers using its network for Web-surfing on laptop computers or netbooks avoid the obligation to sign a two-year contract with the operator.

Twelve South on Monday announced the BassJump, a portable, USB-powered "subwoofer" designed to enhance your MacBook's audio output by adding midrange and bass frequencies that the MacBook's built-in speakers can't adequately produce.

A report from AdMob has people claiming there is now proof that iPhone users now account for more than half of mobile data traffic. For months now many have suspected the iPhone - with its data-hungry applications - is a network bandwidth hog. But a closer look at the AdMob report reveals iPhone users probably aren't as hoggish as some in the blogosphere are claiming.

Thursday is Thanksgiving in the U.S, so in this week's super-sized edition of iPhone hints we give thanks for the few, the proud, the useful—the iPhone’s physical controls.

NEW YORK - Patent holding company Klausner Technologies Inc. on Monday said it's suing Motorola Inc. and the maker of BlackBerry smartphones for allegedly violating its patent for visual voicemail.

San Francisco - InfoWorld released today the fifth entry in its "Deep Dive" series of special PDF reports, covering the now-crucial area of server virtualization. InfoWorld, a Web-based publication devoted to emerging technology and hands-on business tech expertise, had previously released "Deep Dive" reports on cloud computing, Windows 7, enterprise iPhone, and next-gen mobile devices, as well as a quick-start guide to Windows 7.

About 10 percent of software applications turned down by Apple's App Store are "inappropriate," either because they will steal personal data, are meant to help users break the law, or contain "inappropriate content," an Apple senior executive reportedly said.

Just two weeks after Apple iPhone users in Australia reported jailbroken iPhones came under siege by attackers, a new version of the iPhone worm is posing a threat. Symantec reports the new worm targets jailbroken iPhones running SSH that are still using the default password. The worm can reportedly steal data stored on the iPhone as well as connect back to the attacker, giving them control of the phone.

Of all the Mario Kart games, the best was probably the first, and now you can see why for 800 Wii Points, or about eight US dollars. We're talking the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) original here, born 17 years ago in 1992. It supported 1 to 2 players, packed eight playable Mario-verse characters, and offered three championship cups divvied into three distinct 'kart' classes.

Another week, another worm hitting jailbroken iPhones. As with the previous exploits, which Rickrolled your phone’s wallpaper and stole your data, this nasty piece of work burrows its way into your jailbroken device if you haven’t changed the password for the iPhone’s root account—you have changed your root password, right? Right?

The Apple App Store has been the subject of debate. Developers complain about the hoops they have to jump through to get through the approval process, while Apple defends the process and claims there is nothing wrong with the App Store. As with most things, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Swedish streaming software Spotify announced on Monday the launch of a music application for the Symbian platform, used by the world's biggest mobile phone maker Nokia and other smartphones.

Mobile phone apps able to work on all OSs instead of just one, the potential for Android to become a major OS and the promotion of ways to save energy were all major areas of focus at the Mobile Asia Congress organized by the GSM Association (GSMA) last week in Hong Kong.

South Korean carrier KT will start selling the iPhone this month, the company said Monday, bringing the hit device to another Asian country.

LAS PIEDRAS, Uruguay (AFP) - A laptop is now finding its place alongside a notebook and pen in schoolbags in Uruguay, the first and only country to offer an Internet-connected computers to all public primary school students.

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - French videogame powerhouse Ubisoft will have a virtual fitness coach whipping Wii users into shape starting Tuesday.

SEOUL, South Korea - Apple Inc's iPhone is coming to South Korea this week, a local carrier announced Sunday, bringing the iconic communications device to one of the world's most sophisticated mobile phone markets.

San Francisco - Ruby, the popular open source dynamic language, is making headway not only on Java but also on the Windows and Mac platforms.

California's plan to require the sale of energy-efficient televisions to reduce energy consumption could cost as much as $50 million per year in sales taxes because consumers are free to buy less-efficient sets online or in other states, the Consumer Electronics Association says. "At a time when the state of California is facing its worst money crisis in history, this is going to be disastrous," said Jennifer Bemisderfer, a spokesperson for the CEA, which lobbied against the ban.

Two competing approaches to equipping mobile phones with contactless communications capabilities vied for supporters at the Cartes exhibition in Paris this week. Either approach could turn phones into self-service electronic tour guides, travel tickets or secure payment terminals.

Though you may think us to be iPhone fans all the time, we really do want to root for the underdog. Whether it's Google's Android or Palm's webOS, the smartphone industry could really use a David to the iPhone's Goliath to promote competition and better products all around.

Early last week, Apple released the 10.6.2 update to Snow Leopard loaded mostly with welcome, but unsurprising bug fixes, including a patch for the uncommon but extremely harmful user account deletion bug.

Microsoft wants you on Xbox LIVE for the weekend with, of course, a view toward forever, and it's prepared to temporarily waive the cover fee to grab your attention.

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Cisco on Friday announced the release of a free iPhone application for anyone who wants to stay on top of the latest trojans, worms, or other threats marauding on the Internet.

TOKYO (AFP) - Sony Corp. aims to launch next year a new online service that will allow people to download content such as music and movies to their televisions and other electronic gadgets, a top executive said Friday.

HELSINKI (AFP) - Nokia, the world's biggest mobile phone maker, said on Friday it would shed about 330 jobs in Finland and Denmark as part of a streamlining of its vast research and development operations.

Sales of plasma HDTVs have been on the decline for some time now. Although plasmas are generally cheaper than comparably-sized LCD models, their picture isn't as bright; as a result, their images often appear dark and washed out under the bright, fluorescent glare of the local big box store. However, plasmas are often favored by home theater buffs, who savor the display technology's fast refresh rates and often superior reproduction of black and dark tones.