I'm amazed and pleased at the same time, that nothing about this buzz is on this forum ...

Poll: Do you plan to buy an ?phone this year?
Cisco sues Apple over ?Phone name
Macworld 2007 - Apple ?Phone and other goodies

Enjoy

Vatican: Catholics cannot confess via iPhone

Catholics cannot confess via iPhone and technology is not a substitute for being present when admitting sins to a priest, the Vatican spokesman said on Wednesday.

The statement by Father Federico Lombardi follows the launch of an iPhone application aimed at helping Catholics through confession sanctioned by the Catholic Church in the United States.

"One cannot speak in any way of confessing via iPhone," Lombardi said on Wednesday, adding that confession required the presence of the penitent and the priest.

"This cannot be substituted by any IT application," Lombardi added.

Confession: A Roman Catholic app, thought to be the first to be approved by a church authority, walks Catholics through the sacrament and contains what the company behind the program describes as a "personalized examination of conscience for each user."

The application is not designed to replace going to confession but to help Catholics through the act, which generally involves admitting sins to a priest in a confessional booth.

Some reports on its approval by the Catholic Church in the U.S. suggested confession would now be possible via iPhone.

Verizon Wireless, which also carries the device, could not be reached for comment.

Oh Kas, I don't know whether to laugh or cry! Lord help this nation!

Apple and Exxon race for most-valuable crown

Which is the world's most valuable company: Apple (AAPL) or Exxon Mobil (XOM)?

Until Tuesday, the answer has been Exxon Mobil. We're talking about a company that set a record in 2008 for the highest quarterly earnings of any company ever. But Apple shares have been on an unbelievable march since 2009, and Apple passed Exxon to become the most valuable company.

For much of the afternoon, anyway. But Exxon came back at the last minute.

Apple shares closed up nearly 6% Tuesday to $374.01, giving the company a market cap of $346.74 billion. Exxon shares rose a little more than 2% to close at $71.64, making its market cap $348.32 billion.

Exxon has suffered lately as oil prices have dropped, and its growth prospects are limited, the Associated Press reports. The company is still raking in money hand over fist -- it made a $10.7 billion profit in its last quarter -- but Apple has the momentum.

Apple made a $7.3 billion profit in its last quarter, and continues to build sales around the world. It's the 800-pound gorilla in the tablet market, and its computers and iPhones have maintained incredible growth.

Investors are starting to look more confident in Apple's future than Exxon Mobil's.

Exxon Mobil shares may come back, however, and leave Apple in the dust. But for part of the day, Apple officially basked in the spotlight as the most valuable company.

Does Kubrick have dibs on the iPad?

Give Samsung's lawyers points for creative thinking.

The company says it couldn't possibly have stolen Apple's (AAPL) designs for the iPad because Stanley Kubrick was there first. His 1968 movie "2001: A Space Odyssey" showed the design long before Apple was founded, Samsung says.

In a federal court filing this week, Samsung even references a YouTube clip from the movie that shows two astronauts eating and using tablet computers. You can watch the clip here.

Samsung says the tablets used by the astronauts are thin and have a rectangular shape, display screen, narrow borders and flat surfaces on the front and back. That's what Apple claims in its patent, the court filing claims.

I don't know, I think Star Trek has a better claim to the first iPad in this 1989 clip. Or maybe the iPad can trace its origins back to this portable device.

Apple sued Samsung earlier this year over the Galaxy line of devices, saying they trample all over Apple's patents. It has asked a judge to stop Samsung from selling the devices, and a U.S. hearing is pending.

Apple's case has gained some footing in Europe, where a court this week stopped Samsung's Dutch subsidiaries from selling three of its smartphones. The court ruled that the smartphones -- all from the Galaxy line -- did indeed violate Apple's patents.

Does Kubrick have dibs on the iPad?

Give Samsung's lawyers points for creative thinking.

The company says it couldn't possibly have stolen Apple's (AAPL) designs for the iPad because Stanley Kubrick was there first. His 1968 movie "2001: A Space Odyssey" showed the design long before Apple was founded, Samsung says.

In a federal court filing this week, Samsung even references a YouTube clip from the movie that shows two astronauts eating and using tablet computers. You can watch the clip here.

Samsung says the tablets used by the astronauts are thin and have a rectangular shape, display screen, narrow borders and flat surfaces on the front and back. That's what Apple claims in its patent, the court filing claims.

I don't know, I think Star Trek has a better claim to the first iPad in this 1989 clip. Or maybe the iPad can trace its origins back to this portable device.

Apple sued Samsung earlier this year over the Galaxy line of devices, saying they trample all over Apple's patents. It has asked a judge to stop Samsung from selling the devices, and a U.S. hearing is pending.

Apple's case has gained some footing in Europe, where a court this week stopped Samsung's Dutch subsidiaries from selling three of its smartphones. The court ruled that the smartphones -- all from the Galaxy line -- did indeed violate Apple's patents.

During an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Hoffa said companies like Apple have a responsibility to put Americans back to work and that encouraging them to do so should be part of President Barack Obama’s jobs plan.

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak holds up his new Apple iPhone 4S as he leaves on a scooter from the Apple store in Los Gatos, Calif., Friday, Oct. 14, 2011. Wozniak waited 20 hours in line to be the first Apple customer at the Los Gatos Apple store to buy the new iPhone.

All this sneaky individual has to do is press down the device's power button (that's the one on the top edge) until "slide to power off" appears on the screen. After that he or she simply slides a magnet along the right edge of the device's screen until it dims briefly and then taps the on-screen "cancel" button.

Samsung New #1 Smartphone Vendor Over Apple

In the third quarter of 2011, Samsung was the king of the smartphone world, with one report showing the domination of the manufacturer overtaking Apple's global reign.

While smartphone sales in the U.S. dipped for the first time during the same duration, the rest of the world was busy snapping up the devices. According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, "Global smartphone shipments grew 44 percent annually to reach a record 117 million units in the third quarter of 2011. Samsung overtook Apple to claim top spot as the world’s number one smartphone vendor." The company shipped 28 million smartphones and gained 24 percent of the market.

Alex Spektor, Senior Analyst at Strategy Analytics, explained Samsung's leapfrog:

Samsung’s rise has been driven by a blend of elegant hardware designs, popular Android services, memorable sub-brands and extensive global distribution. Samsung has demonstrated that it is possible, at least in the short term, to differentiate and grow by using the Android ecosystem.

When we got in touch with Spektor, he also said that Apple not releasing the iPhone 4S until after the third quarter had something to do with Samsung's ascension. But, the strong showing could also not be laid on the shoulders of the popular and highly anticipated Galaxy S II, which did not ship until after the third quarter was over.

Neil Mawston, Director at Strategy Analytics, added some more insights into the push-and-pull between Samsung and Apple:

After just one quarter in the top spot, Apple slipped behind Samsung to second position and captured 15 percent share. Apple’s global smartphone growth rate slowed to just 21 percent annually in Q3 2011, its lowest level for two years. We believe Apple’s growth during the third quarter was affected by consumers and operators awaiting the launch of the new iPhone 4S in the fourth quarter, volatile economic conditions in several key countries, and tougher competition from Samsung’s popular Galaxy S II model.

But wait, what about Nokia? Unfortunate naming snafu aside, will the new Windows-Phone-powered Lumia be a chance for the one-time phone superpower to recover?

For now, Nokia has continued to slide down the abyss, reaching only 14 percent of the global smartphone market share in the third quarter, from 33 percent a year earlier. But Tom Kang, Director at Strategy Analytics thinks there may be hope for it to bounce back: “The transition from Symbian to Microsoft as Nokia’s main smartphone platform has clearly been a very challenging process this year. The recent launch of the new Microsoft Lumia portfolio has helped to raise Nokia’s profile, and Nokia will be hoping the partnership with Microsoft can drive at least an L-shaped recovery in its global smartphone market share over the next few months.”

Remember “Antennagate?” A year and a half after Gizmodo first reported reception problems with iPhone 4, a class action lawsuit against Apple has finally come to a settlement. According to CNet, iPhone 4 owners in the US will soon be entitled to $15, or a $30 iPhone bumper case.

Thanks to an accounting change for which it lobbied, Apple gets to book revenue from sales of bundled products more quickly, making its valuation look cheaper.

Apple supplier gives raises, upping salaries to a pittance

The tech manufacturer under fire for its treatment of Chinese workers is handing out pay raises. Foxconn Technology Group, which makes Apple iPhones and iPads, is raising worker wages by 16 to 25 percent, according to Reuters. However, while it might sound generous, it's really not that much: A junior level worker will see his or her pay rise to about $285 a month. Workers who pass a technical exam could be eligible for an additional increase, up to $350 a month. The raises come on the heels of a report by The New York Times ridiculing the company for its poor labor practices; Apple has since started inspections at Foxconn manufacturing plants.

Perhaps the libraries around the area should use Apple PCs. Too often I get on computers at one library and it still be signed on to Black Planet. That's a hook up site for the entitlement class.