Apple's Snow Leopard Devouring Data

Software update designed to correct weak battery life in iPhone 4S

(NEWSER) - The battery troubles of the iPhone 4S may be over. After acknowledging that “a small number of users” were having issues with their batteries when using iOS 5, Apple has produced a new version of the operating system, iOS 5.0.1, aimed at fixing the bug. The source of the trouble remains unclear, notes TechCrunch . The update also offers iCloud fixes ... and improves the phone's understanding of Australian accents. All users should have it available today either in iTunes or via Wi-Fi. More»

He created UNIX, C programming languages

(NEWSER) - Dennis Ritchie, who invented the C programming language and helped create the UNIX operating system, died last weekend at age 70. His death after a long illness was first reported by Google engineer Rob Pike . Obituaries popping up on tech sites hail his work, vision, and legacy:

• “Ritchie's contribution to computer science cannot be overstated. … His vision, innovation, and hard work shaped much of what has come in the following four decades,” writes Lawrence Latif on the Inquirer . “To this day C is arguably the fastest, most efficient, most widely deployed high level programming language."

Parallels' product makes choice of operating system less important

(NEWSER) - Conflicted about choosing sides in the apocalyptic showdown between Microsoft and Apple? No need to worry—in this brave new world, you can have your cake and eat it. Parallels is Mac software that allows users to seamlessly integrate Windows programs, even the entire desktop. So, for just $79.99—plus the price of a Windows license, and an actual Mac, of course—you’ll never have to pay attention to those commercials again. More»

Performance and price gaps close but Mac is still value

(NEWSER) - With Windows 7 and Mac’s Snow Leopard operating systems both available, it’s time for Walter S. Mossberg to drop some science on the arduous task of picking a computer. Things aren’t too different this time around: Macs are still more expensive, though “prices on Windows PCs are creeping upward.” And Apple’s OS X is still better than Windows, though with the exit of dreaded Vista “Microsoft has closed most of the gap.” More»

(NEWSER) - Apple's Snow Leopard arrives in stores tomorrow, and advance reviews find it a sleeker beast than the typical upgrade. Rather than decking out OS X Leopard with new features, Apple has shrunk and sped up the program. David Pogue in the New York Times greets the upgrade as a long-overdue end to bloatware, and hopes the rest of the industry will take a hint. More»