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TidBITS#949/13-Oct-08

Apple is announcing new laptops tomorrow – that’s straight from Apple, not a rumor – but before we cover the event (check our Web site on Tuesday!), we have a lot of news and information in this issue. Speaking of laptops, Apple has instituted a repair program for MacBook Pro models containing certain Nvidia chips. The company also changed its App Store customer review policy to reduce ill-informed posts. Changing gears, Rich Mogull takes us on a fascinating tour of how mobile phones – including the iPhone – accomplish some of their magic. Plus, Doug McLean looks at news of upcoming Mac compatibility for Netflix’s streaming video service and how that field is starting to get crowded, Adam writes about submitting bug reports and getting impressive turnaround from a developer, and Glenn Fleishman reports on a recent outage of our Web server despite having multiple backups and contingency plans. We also note the releases of MozyPro, Apple Security Update 2008-007, 1Password 2.9, Opera 9.6, and Radioshift 1.1. Finally, don’t miss the opportunity to win a copy of PDFpen 4 in this week’s DealBITS drawing!

Joe Kissell No comments

EMC Releases MozyPro Backup for Business

Mozy (now part of EMC) has been, for a couple of years, one of the least-expensive ways to back up your Mac online. Now the service has expanded to include a version for businesses with additional features (and, naturally, higher prices).

Doug McLean No comments

Netflix Mac Support News and More

This week Netflix announced that it would offer Mac support for their popular Watch Instantly feature by the end of 2008. The announcement came on the heals of three other big Netflix-related news items. Here's a look at all four.

Doug McLean No comments

Apple Changes App Store Customer Review Policy

Find yourself using customer reviews to assist in your online shopping decisions? Ever wonder how reliable they are? Last week Apple announced a significant change to the way its App Store customers review products. Here we take a look at the change and what it means.

Rich Mogull No comments

Peering Inside a Mobile Phone Network

We seldom think about how our mobile phones actually work, but Rich Mogull pulls back the covers and peels away the jargon to explain why text messages work when voice calls are dropped, why your battery lasts longer in some places than in others, why you're not allowed to use phones on airplanes, why you can be notified of a voicemail message when your phone never rang, and more.