Skip to content
Thoughtful, detailed coverage of everything Apple for 33 years
and the TidBITS Content Network for Apple professionals

ExtraBITS for 14 June 2010

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference generated most of the news last week, leading to TidBITS staffers making guest appearances on the MacNotables and Tech Night Owl podcasts. Also, we point at the keynote video itself, along with an article Glenn wrote for Ars Technica giving a possible explanation for the keynote’s Wi-Fi-related failure. In other news, an AT&T security breach revealed some iPad user email addresses, and Second Life laid off 30 percent of its workforce.

Adam Discusses the iPhone 4 and iOS 4 on Tech Night Owl Live — For yet another discussion of Apple’s WWDC announcements, listen in as Adam and Tech Night Owl host Gene Steinberg talk about the top features in the iPhone 4, how FaceTime should integrate with iChat and Skype, and the change in AT&T’s data plans, among much else.

Read/post comments

Congested Wi-Fi WWDC Keynote May Have Triggered iPhone 4 Bug — TidBITS editor Glenn Fleishman explains in some depth at Ars Technica how so much Wi-Fi network congestion was in the air at the WWDC keynote. Based on discussions with two Wi-Fi experts, one of whom ran Apple’s Mac networking hardware group for seven years, the iPhone 4 likely had a Wi-Fi driver bug, possibly triggered by the congestion.

Read/post comments

AT&T Security Breach Exposes iPad User Email Addresses — The New York Times reports that a hacker group named Goatse Security has successfully exploited a hole in AT&T’s Web site to access the email addresses of 114,000 iPad 3G users. AT&T has since patched the hole on its site, but the breach is a black eye for the company and could also harm the iPad’s reputation, even though there’s no indication that the problem was directly related to Apple.

Read/post comments

Adam & Tonya Discuss Ebook Formats and Safari 5 on MacNotables — MacNotables host Chuck Joiner has been confused about how EPUB and PDF compare, so Adam and Tonya tried to explain the pros and cons of each format in this MacNotables podcast. Adam also summarized the new features in Safari 5, and Chuck called upon listeners to vote in a poll to decide whether Adam or Tonya should get the new iPhone 4.

Read/post comments

Second Life Employees Get Second Careers — Remember the virtual world Second Life, which was much touted as the wave of the future some years ago? Well, it seems that the jokes about not needing to use Second Life in favor of your first life weren’t just poking fun. According to TechCrunch, the user base has been shrinking and Second Life maker Linden Lab is laying off 30 percent of its workforce, giving all those employees a chance at a Second Career.

Read/post comments

2010 WWDC Keynote Video Now Available — For those denied the pleasure of watching Steve Jobs unveil the iPhone 4 in person, Apple has posted a video of the 2010 WWDC keynote speech on its Web site. In addition to introducing the iPhone 4, Jobs and company also previewed iOS 4, an update to iBooks, the new video conferencing app FaceTime, and a hearty collection of app demos.

Read/post comments

Subscribe today so you don’t miss any TidBITS articles!

Every week you’ll get tech tips, in-depth reviews, and insightful news analysis for discerning Apple users. For over 33 years, we’ve published professional, member-supported tech journalism that makes you smarter.

Registration confirmation will be emailed to you.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA. The Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.