An ongoing digital strategy by the European Union (EU) could force Apple into allowing Adobe’s Flash to run on the iPhone.

The incomplete plans, known as the Digital Agenda, not only aim to redefine how antitrust rules are practiced, but also hope to see an overall improved digital economy in place by 2020. In order to reach this goal, the EU plans to work with a number of individual companies, relevant organizations and governments. The efforts carried out with these various groups will involve working through seven key points. The second point of this seven-part plan is one which may be of concern to Apple.

Point two of the Digital Agenda highlights the need for set standards and interoperability between devices. It specifically states:

The internet is a great example of interoperability — numerous devices and applications working together anywhere in the world. Europe must ensure that new IT devices, applications, data repositories and services interact seamlessly anywhere — just like the internet. The Digital Agenda identifies improved standard-setting procedures and increased interoperability as the keys to success

How This Could Affect Apple

It’s no secret that the European Union isn’t shy to flex its muscle when it comes to competition rules. In the past, it has fined various industry heavyweights including Intel and Microsoft. In fact Microsoft has found itself in the firing line on multiple occasions.

But what could the Digital Agenda truly mean for Apple? Comments from European Union commissioner Neelie Kroes hint that she is giving Apple’s business practices a serious review. According to a report from Rethink Wireless, the commissioner has concerns that the current smartphone market is too closed, detailing that consumers are currently limited when coming to choose what software is present on their selected handset.

With the Digital Agenda in place, dominant market figures, such as RIM and Nokia, will not be the only ones to receive official practice reviews. Figures that are deemed significant, such as Apple, will also be called upon. Kroes detailed that:

“…significant market players cannot just choose to deny interoperability with their product. This is particularly important in cases where standards don’t exist. This is not just about Microsoft or any big company like Apple, IBM or Intel. The main challenge is that consumers need choice when it comes to software or hardware products.”

With Kroes’ comments in mind, it seems that Apple’s banning of Flash could come under serious investigation from the EU. Other blogs have speculated on how the Digital Agenda’s rules may apply beyond Apple’s Flash ban. Some have suggested that this digital strategy could be applied to change the closed nature of iPhone development via Xcode, whereas others have expressed thoughts on how iTunes’ restrictive style could be an issue — especially considering the whole Palm Pre syncing drama.

With the U.S. Fair Trade Commission looking into Apple’s ban on Flash and the European Union also casting an authoritative eye over the issue, it will be interesting to see how Apple would handle the Flash ban if any official body were to make a move.

Whatever happens, with both Apple and Adobe picking and choosing both open and closed formats and practices, one thing is clear: nobody’s perfect.

Related GigaOM Pro Research (subscription required): A Brighter Week Ahead for Flash

View full post on TheAppleBlog

The first branch of Metro Bank opened to the public in Holborn, central London, on July 29 (Getty)

LONDON, England – I hardly go into my London bank branches. I don't even do much internet banking. Everything I do is through automatic debits and standing orders and automatic deposits. Then there is the occasional phone call. Britain's big banks have been shedding branches for this very reason. No surprise there.

So, why are there people wanting to start new banks and open new branches just after the worst banking crisis in decades?

On Thursday Metro Bank opened its first "store" (they like to call them that instead of branches) in central London.

Metro is based on the Commerce Bancorp model started in the United States in the early 1970s by founder Vernon Hill. He's also the man behind Metro and thinks Londoners want more branches (sorry, stores), longer hours and to be able to walk into the bank 7 days a year, 361 days a year (few 'bank' – aka public – holidays for his employees).

There are certainly some nice touches at the Holborn store; friendly staff, quick sign-ups for a new account, a coin-counting machine for the kids to put money into a new account and even hundreds of American-style safe deposit boxes. Hill told me one big advantage is that it doesn't have to deal with legacy technology.

More stores will open soon and they hope to have 200 in 10 years. Chairman Anthony Thomson says they want to grab 5 10 percent of London's banking market and says that would be enough to be lucrative.

People were lined up in front of the store before it opened and every teller was busy during the first few hours. People do seem to want a simple branch bank concept. But Metro does not appear to be trying to undercut the big boys – consumers groups have looked at the rates being charged for things like mortgages and credit cards and child accounts and while they are competitive, they are not priced to lure people in it seems. Its all about customer service.

Metro also promises to make loans to small and medium-sized companies near the stores.

Metro might have competition soon. Bank branches are being closed or sold off by state-owned Northern Rock, Lloyds and Santander and there is talk that other "community" banks will sprout up. Just when I got used to not finding a branch when I occasionally do need one.

View full post on Business 360

On the heels of the release of his incredibly successful film “Inception,” actor Leonardo DiCaprio has decided to withdraw from a Mel Gibson-directed film as Gibson continues to battle a prolific domestic abuse scandal, according to a report from RadarOnline.com.

Sources reportedly told Radar that a source close to DiCaprio said “not a chance” when asked if he would still participate in Gibson’s next project, which was said to be a film about Vikings.

Gibson has been a constant presence in headlines for the past few weeks as alleged recordings of the actor’s racist, sexist and violent rants have leaked to the press. The Oscar-winning actor is also engaged in a bitter custody battle with his ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva for their infant daughter Lucia.

According to the report from Radar, DiCaprio did not want to risk his reputation, which is at an all-time high following commercial success with “Inception” and “Shutter Island.”

The untitled project was slated to begin filming in 2010 and would be produced by Graham King and Mel’s Icon Production, Radar reports.

Last year, Variety reported that the period piece would be similar in storyline to Gibson’s other successful films “Braveheart” and “The Passion of the Christ.”

View full post on Entertainment

Life as a player for the North Korean national team is probably pretty difficult as it stands what with living through that 7-0 to Portugal and a much improved 3-0 loss in their final two games. Their passion for the motherland combined with their pride as athletes surely took a belting hit as they headed back to the land of mystery.

Seems this was the least of their worries, as they were publicly humiliated for “betraying the trust of Kim Jong-un” – a phrase which is getting more and more play by the day. (Feels like I may have done the same at least twice during breakfast.)

Of course it doesn’t help that the first ever live game showed in North Korea was that very same 7-0 loss, a move which seemed perfectly fine from the end of the Brazil match until the whistle starting the second half. It was at that point which the nuclear bomb went off and the team was left to rubble while serving as the fish in Portugal’s barrel. Hard to imagine a worse live debut.

And this was their payback:

Citing unnamed North Korean sources, RFA said the team were made to stand on a stage at the People’s Palace of Culture on July 2, just three days after they returned from South Africa, and subjected to ideological criticism for six hours. The team’s two Japanese-born players, Jong Tae-se and An Yong-hak, were exempt from the session.

Around 400 officials including the vice minister of the Workers’ Party, Sports Minister Pak Myong-chol, other athletes and sport students were apparently part of the audience. Ri Dong-kyu, a sports commentator for the North’s state-run Korean Central TV, pointed out the mistakes of each player.

“Coach Kim Jong-hun and the team’s athletes were made to stand on a stage and other North Korean athletes and students took turns criticizing the players. At the end of the session the team members were made to criticize their coach,” RFA quoted a source as saying.

It sounds a bit harsh, but there are countries doing internal studies trying to determine whether or not they can get away with the very same.

[Thanks to Marco for the tip.]

View full post on World Cup Soccer – South Africa 2010

It almost sounded as if U.S. lawmakers felt jilted by Washington’s long-time NATO ally Turkey.

“How do we get Turkey back?” demanded Representative Gary Ackerman at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing exploring “Turkey’s New Foreign Policy Direction.”

“Why is Turkish public opinion … perhaps one of the most anti-American of any of the countries of the world?” asked the committee’s chairman, Representative Howard Berman.

With a panel of experts on Turkey listening, Berman and other lawmakers listed their worries about recent Turkish policy turns on Iran, Israel and the Palestinians.

Concerns about Turkey had hit a new peak with its support of an aid convoy of ships that tried to run the Israeli blockade of the Gaza strip this summer, Berman said.

Turkey’s contacts with the Islamist group Hamas — which won the 2006 Palestinian parliamentary election — are “deeply offensive,” Berman continued, and show Turkey doesn’t respect Washington’s list of foreign terrorist organizations (Hamas is on it).

And Turkey effectively dissed the United States again this week when its finance minister said it would boost trade with Iran, while ignoring non-United Nations sanctions, said Berman, the author of recent tough new unilateral U.S. sanctions on Tehran.

“That’s an upsetting position when Russia takes it, but it is appalling when it comes from an ally,” Democrat Berman declared.

“Eveyone seems to agree that this is ‘not your grandfather’s Turkey anymore’,” agreed Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the panel’s ranking Republican.

Ross Wilson, former U.S. ambassador to Turkey, tried to soothe some of the concerns.

He assured the lawmakers that there have always been ups and downs in U.S.-Turkish relations. And he said anti-American feeling in Turkey tended to be “very broad and very shallow.”

The negative feelings tended to be based on Turkish opposition to specific U.S. policies, like the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Turkey’s neighbor, in 2003. Sometimes the “wild and crazy” Turkish press did not help, Wilson added.

But lawmakers should remember that the United States is a country where Turks still like to vacation and send their children to school, he said.

“They are not sending their children to Iranian schools, they are not sending their children to Palestinian schools. The Western aspiration that Turkey has had for years … remains there,” Wilson assured lawmakers.

The United States had “no choice” but to work with Turkey, Wilson said. “Where we see problems, we should talk about them. Primarily we should talk about them in private,” the diplomat concluded.

Photo credit: Reuters/Larry Downing (Dome of U.S. Capitol in Washington)

View full post on Global News Journal

Japanese automaker Mazda will soon roll out its new small Mazda CX-5 SUV, after having tempted the world with its Kazamai concept for a couple of years now. The new small SUV is to be based on the two-year-old Kazamai concept and is most probably due for a launch date during the end of 2011.

The new small Mazda CX-5 SUV will be rolled with features that have an inclination towards maximum fuel efficiency. The new model is expected to also sport a new set of Sky generation direct-injection engines and a light transmission. The car, in fact, will be the first production Mazda to be powered by the new generation of ultra-efficient Sky engines.

It will also come with regenerative braking and start/stop functionalities. To be at least 100kg lighter compared with rival models, the car might come in both three- and five-door versions.

[via Autocar]

View full post on Car Blog | Breaking Motoring News Daily

UPDATED: Feel like jailbreaking your Apple iOS device? Fearful that Apple will set the law on you if you do? Fear not, because a decision just rendered by the U.S. Copyright Office now allows you to legally jailbreak your device for a number of purposes without violating Apple’s copyright. The alterations to the way the Digital Media Copyright Act (DMCA) are enforced are huge news for both Apple and Apple users alike.

Not only is jailbreaking now okay no longer a violation of copyright, but ripping DVDs and cracking video game or software encryption is allowable too, in certain special circumstances. It doesn’t exactly mean it’s open season for any and all piracy, but it does relax things quite a bit, and will probably make it much harder to prosecute those kinds of violations.

The new rules designate six classes of work that are now exempt from prosecution under the DMCA. Here’s the categories, briefly explained:

1. Movies on DVD, when used for educational, non-commercial purposes. Bypassing encryption on said videos is now legal. NewTeeVee has more on this portion of the rule changes.
2. Applications that allow for the use of legally obtained software on platforms that otherwise wouldn’t allow it. For instance, jailbreaking iOS so you can run Backgrounder or Wi-Fi Sync.
3. Applications that allow for the use of cellular devices on networks for which they weren’t originally designed. Case in point, unlocking an iPhone so that you can use it on Sprint T-Mobile instead of AT&T.
4. Video games can be cracked when the reason behind it is to promote, investigate or test for security of a computer, computer system or network.
5. Hardware-dongle protected software for which the dongle is no longer available or is obsolete, rendering the software otherwise unusable.
6. Enabling text-to-speech in ebooks which contain methods to prevent those read-aloud features, since, presumably this limits access by those with disabilities, though that isn’t specificly stated in the rule itself.

Now, as you might have guessed, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any consequences for jailbreaking. Apple is still well within its rights to void your warranty, or even to suspend your Apple Store account if it manages to discover that you’re using jailbreak software. But not having to fear the long arm of the law is yet another argument in favor of jailbreaking still being worth it.

I’ve been leaning heavily towards jailbreaking my iPad, mainly because Apple seems not to be in a hurry to get iOS 4 on the device. This ruling pretty much cinches it for me, though I think I’ll do some more research about the effect it has on battery life before I commit. Anyone else motivated to jailbreak because of this news, or was the threat of legal action never much of a scare tactic to begin with?

View full post on TheAppleBlog

When I was tasked to write a roundup of iPad blogging apps, I figured this would be the usual pros and cons of four or five apps. Instead, I found only two, one of which is specific to WordPress (see our disclosure below). Since neither of the two apps made me all that happy, the multi-app roundup I was hoping for instead became a case of “two apps enter, no app leaves.”

Blogging on the iPad is a sorry state of affairs — I’m also coming at this from the angle of a prose blog, not a photo blog. Both WordPress and BlogPress allow you to do the same basic features: type in your thoughts and press publish. Neither of the apps let you define links or format your text — you’re limited to plain style. Some of this, I am led to believe from researching other apps with the same problem (Evernote), is how restrictive Apple is on its rich text features. On the other hand, all of the Office-style apps out there let you format text, so I don’t know what’s up. What I do know is, neither of these two apps even come close to the feature set most bloggers need.

WordPress (Free)

As the official app for WordPress, it’s a sad commentary when the best I can say is, “Some of the time, it doesn’t crash. And it’s free.” A quick five minute double-check of some features yielded four crashes. It crashed inserting a picture. It crashed while canceling edits. I wouldn’t be surprised if it crashed while crashing. When I was able to successfully insert a picture, it didn’t show up in the local draft; I had to go out to the local view to see it, and even then it was just code, not a visual. You can, however, manage comments, pages, and assign categories within the WordPress App.

I was also impressed with its offline features. It cached previous posts which made it handy to reference what I’d  said about a topic.

BlogPress ($2.99)

In addition to the hearty, “It crashes less” feature, BlogPress also connects to Blogger, MSN Live Spaces, Movable Type, TypePad, Live Journal, Drupal and Joomla in addition to WordPress. If you’re not using WordPress, BlogPress is the only game in town for you. Unfortunately, it doesn’t connect to Tumblr. I had a lot more success with this app, even within my WordPress-hosted sites. For starters, the only time it crashed on me was when I connected it to Live Journal, and when I relaunched it everything was OK. Inserted pictures showed up inline where I wanted them to, and I could adjust their alignment, but not their size. I was also unable to manage comments or edit static Pages in BlogPress. Still, I found BlogPress to be worth the $2.99.

My recommendation for BlogPress is somewhat grudging. It’s not a bad app, but I’m hard pressed to find many blog posts I’ve ever written that I could do entirely in either of these apps. Almost every post has bolded or italic text, an image, and a link or two. Of those three things, both apps only let me embed the image. Unless I’m writing a rare text-only post, I’ll need the web front-end of each site to wrap up the post. Sure, the apps are good for throwing a post together on the iPad and tossing it in the online Drafts folder for later editing, but it’s pretty sad I can’t rely on either of them to start-to-finish an average blog post.

Hopefully, at some point we’ll see a better selection, as well as the ability to format text and insert links. Until then, BlogPress earns my enthusiastic “At least it sucks less than the WordPress app” seal of approval.

Disclosure: Automattic, maker of WordPress.com, is backed by True Ventures, a venture capital firm that is an investor in the parent company of this blog, Giga Omni Media. Om Malik, founder of Giga Omni Media, is also a venture partner at True.

View full post on TheAppleBlog

Today, Apple sells just one monitor and in September, it’ll be selling two. But is it too little, too late when competitors already have an edge on a yet-to-be released, smaller upgrade?

The history of Apple’s flat panel monitor offerings is pretty dry, but as we’ll see, shows a pattern. Apple’s first LCD was a 15″ monitor that came in July 2000 and had a max resolution of 1024×768. It was a beautiful, very expensive display that weighed 12 pounds and had a viewing angle of 120 degrees. Soon, similar models in 17- and 22-inch configurations arrived. Finally, in 2002, we long-time Apple fans were caught drooling over the 23″ Apple Cinema HD display that pushed a 1920×1200 pixel resolution and was available directly from Apple for $3499.

Design-wise, updates have also been rare. Even after Apple went all aluminum with its PowerMac G5, and more recently, its Mac Pro, the plastic and translucent Cinema Displays remained unchanged. It wasn’t until June 2004 that Apple updated the design and went aluminum with displays bearing the same Cinema Display name in 20-, 23- and 30-inch configurations costing $1,299, $1,999 and $3,299 respectively. You were paying about the same as you did back in 2002, but for slightly larger monitors in sleeker packages with a viewing angle of 170 degrees and a much higher brightness (400 cd /m² versus 200 cd /m² in the old models). These monitors were pretty good, but still insanely expensive compared to comparable monitors from Viewsonic and Dell.

In October 2008 (nearly two years ago), Apple released the 24″ LED Cinema Display with a 178-degree viewing angle, IPS display and a 100:1 contrast ratio besting the previous model that only offered 700:1. The 20″ and 30″ Cinema Displays with old specs are still readily available, but only from eBay and a few resellers, so Apple is technically selling one monitor to replace a previous offering that included three: a 20″, 23″ and 30″ model. What gives?

Yesterday, that changed when Apple announced that a 27″ LED Cinema Display will go on sale in September for $999.

Where is the 30″ Model?

We don’t cover non-Apple news very much, but yesterday, HP released a new 30″ display that leverages IPS technology and has a 7-millisecond respond time, which is two times faster than Apple’s current 24″ display for $1399. The HP offering is only $400 more than Apple’s 27″ display that isn’t even shipping yet. What’s the holdup, Apple?

I covered the past Apple offerings because it’s obvious that Apple takes its sweet time with display releases, but there’s absolutely no need. I understand its withholding of cool features like FaceTime and bluetooth multitouch trackpads to fuel demand and excite Mac users every few weeks with a new toy, but display technologies universally offer exactly the same function.

Apple’s CRT, LCD and now LED monitors are exactly the same as monitors from every other manufacturer aside from the pretty aluminum-and-glass casing and nice additions like MagSafe ports or a built-in webcam, but Apple somehow charges a premium on identical technology (something we’re all used to as Mac users). Apple gains nothing by holding back on larger monitor releases. The fact that Apple released a 24″ model in October 2008 and in September 2010 is finally getting around to releasing a 27″ display gives me the impression that we’ll see a 30″ LED Cinema Display with a $1999 price tag sometime in July 2012. Of course, I’m doubtful of that, but the Adam of 2008 would have laughed when you told him he’d be waiting two years for a 27″ LED Cinema Display.

My point is that Apple’s withholding of larger monitors only makes power users like me buy a monitor from another manufacturer. My 30″ Dell 3008WFP that I bought two years ago has a higher contrast ratio, response time and brightness than Apple’s unreleased 27″ LED Cinema Display with a similar viewing angle. It also uses IPS technology which Apple acts as if it invented or as if using it is, somehow, cutting edge. The truth is, the 30″ Dell monitor released three years ago that costs only $1599 has the exact same specs as HP’s $1399 30″ that came out yesterday and will probably have the same specs as Apple’s $1999 30″ LED Cinema Display that may come out sometime in the next 24 months.

What Apple is doing is making pros buy monitors elsewhere. I wish the 30″ display sitting next to my iMac was an Apple-branded one and not a Dell, but I need the screen real estate and Apple has left me hanging.

View full post on TheAppleBlog

The message to Serbia from Brussels is clear: swallow your pride and start talking to Kosovo. Without strong evidence that Belgrade is mending ties with its former province, the message goes on, Serbia’s pathway to European Union entry will be rocky, if not blocked entirely.

Quietly, EU diplomats warn that Serbia must tread carefully on the issue. Since the International Court of Justice ruled last week that Kosovo’s 2008 secession was legal, the province is gone from Serbia for good, they caution.

“After the ICJ decision, anyone who thinks the status of Kosovo as independent will be reversed is delusional,” one 
Brussels-based diplomat stated plainly.

At the same time, it’s not as if the EU is above mixed messages. Twenty-two of the EU’s member states recognise Kosovo’s independence, while the remaining five are more sympathetic to Serbia. At a meeting of EU foreign ministers this week, several governments pressed for Serbia to be given inducements, such as a smoother ride towards EU entry, to get it to start negotiating with Kosovo.

But no such incentives emerged. On the contrary, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said after the meeting that the bloc was waiting for Serbia, and for good measure Kosovo too, to make the first step.

That has fallen on deaf ears in Belgrade, where politicians insist they will never recognise Kosovo.

Hostility between the two runs deep. Serbia sees Kosovo as the inseparable birthplace of its Orthodox Church. Kosovars will never forget the brutal crackdown by Slobodan Milosevic’s Serb army that ended with NATO bombings in 1999.

Neither Serbia nor Kosovo has any near-term prospect of joining the EU, but membership of the bloc remains an economic and political priority for both over the next decade and is likely to keep them in odd conjunction.

There are practical ways that both Pristina and Belgrade could win favour in Brussels and ease their way to the
negotiating table without addressing the critical question of Kosovo’s status.

These include separate country telephone codes, electricity supplies and customs controls, among others. Talks on those issues will be difficult, but it’s easier to explain them at home when customs stamps are all that’s at stake and not far more emotive issues of separation.

It may sound wishy-washy, but as Balkans expert Tim Judah pointed out in the Financial Times on Wednesday, it may be that what Serbia and Kosovo need right now is a period of “constructive ambiguity” — where each finds non-antagonistic ways of talking around the main point — before the hardnosed issue of final settlement is tackled.

View full post on Global News Journal