Critical Mass

Businessweek says new Apple TV to include Netflix streaming, WSJ says 99-cent TV rentals from Fox and ABC

Well here's an interesting wrinkle to the next-gen iOS-based Apple TV rumors in the leadup to tomorrow's event : Bloomberg Businessweek says the new box will offer Netflix streaming, presumably in addition to whatever cheap TV content deals Apple's planning to offer through iTunes. That would be a first of sorts for Apple; although Netflix has apps for the iPhone and iPad , Steve Jobs isn't exactly in the habit of preloading services that compete with iTunes.

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Reminder: we’re live from Apple’s iPhone 4 press conference tomorrow, 10AM PT / 1PM ET!

Apple's been pretty vague about what's going to go down tomorrow at the press conference it's holding in Cupertino , but we're going to be there live, covering whatever it is they have in store for us. We have a feeling it'll have at least something to do with that antenna issue you may or may not have heard about, so strap yourself into your seat, grab an orange soda, and keep it parked right at Engadget for the best, up-to-the-minute live coverage on the internet . Here's the URL to check in to tomorrow to see the action as it happens, and here's what time you'll need to show up: 07:00AM - Hawaii 10:00AM - Pacific 11:00AM - Mountain 12:00PM - Central 01:00PM - Eastern 06:00PM - London 07:00PM - Paris 09:00PM - Moscow 02:00AM - Tokyo (July 17th) Reminder: we're live from Apple's iPhone 4 press conference tomorrow, 10AM PT / 1PM ET! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:40:00 EDT.

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Steve Jobs to iPhone 4 Owners: Stop Holding the Phone Wrong

Apple has responded to those concerns some new iPhone 4 owners are having with poor reception issues , and the gist is essentially either “stop holding the phone that way” or “buy a case.” Engadget reports that not only have company spokespeople issued a statement advising users to “avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases,” but head honcho Steve Jobs himself responded similarly in one of his increasingly infamous spontaneous email answers: “Just avoid holding it in that way.” The remainder of Apple’s statement stresses that antenna placement can potentially pose a reception issue in any cell phone, not just the iPhone 4: “Gripping any mobile phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas.” The specific positioning of the new iPhone’s antennas in the lower left-hand corner of the device is of particular annoyance for left-handed users, who naturally cup the phone in that area. Apple sells a $29 rubber bumper that creates a barrier between the hand and the phone’s antennas, which many users report solves the reception problem.

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Steve Jobs: iPhone 3G Couldn’t Handle iOS4 Backgrounds

I had to explain today to my disappointed dad why he cannot change the home screen background on his iPhone 3G (owners of iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS can do it), and I wasn’t really sure why. Luckily, the answer comes from Apple’s head honcho, Steve Jobs himself. Gizmodo reader Erica wrote Steve an email asking why older version of the iPhone didn’t have this option

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5 Works of Apple-Inspired Art

Whether you subscribe to the cult of Mac or not, Apple’s immense influence on technology and popular culture is indisputable. But there’s one area in which Apple’s reach may even surprise fans — the art world. iPods, Macs, and even His Jobsness himself have all recently turned up in sculpture, digital art and even oil paintings.

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