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Kanex’s DualRole is an Ethernet hub that comes equipped with three USB 3.0 ports, a useful accessory for newer MacBooks which require an adapter to connect to a wired network.



The DualRole is USB bus powered with an included 3-inch cable, but it also supports an additional 5V power adapter (not included) to provide extra power for intensive tasks like charging the iPad and the iPhone or powering hard drives.

While DualRole supports plug and play for its USB 3.0 ports, it does require drivers to access the Gigabit Ethernet port.

Kanex’s DualRole is available immediately for $69 from the Kanex website.

Less than two days after Apple once again blocked Java 7 web plug-ins on OS X, Oracle has released an updated version of Java 7 to address certain security vulnerabilities.

The new Java 7 arrives as Update 13 and carries a version number of 1.7.0_13-b20, meeting Apple's requirement for a minimum of 1.7.0_11-b22. Oracle has also released an updated version of Java 6, although Apple was not blocking the previous version of the plug-in.

Oracle notes that the new update contains fixes for over 50 issues and that the launch was accelerated by several weeks in order to address a vulnerability that was being exploited in the wild.

The original Critical Patch Update for Java SE – February 2013 was scheduled to be released on February 19th, but Oracle decided to accelerate the release of this Critical Patch Update because active exploitation “in the wild” of one of the vulnerabilities affecting the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) in desktop browsers, was addressed with this Critical Patch Update. [...]

Due to the threat posed by a successful attack, Oracle strongly recommends that customers apply CPU fixes as soon as possible. This Critical Patch Update contains 50 new security fixes across Java SE products.

The latest versions of all Java SE packages are available through Oracle's support site.

(Thanks, Flemming!)

Best Buy is offering special two-day pricing on MacBook Pro models as part of its Winter Doorbuster sale, following on its $200 promotion earlier this week on MacBook Air models.

Amazon has reduced pricing to compete with Best Buy, though purchasers should take sales tax and convenience into account when making a purchase decision. Best Buy is also offering $20 off for buyers who buy online and pick up in-store.

MacBook Pro 13" 2.5GHz / 4GB / 500GB - MD101LL/A
Apple: $1,199
Amazon: $1,099.97
Best Buy: $1,049.99

MacBook Pro 13" 2.9GHz / 8GB / 750GB - MD102LL/A
Apple: $1,499
Amazon: $1,419.98
Best Buy: $1,349.99

MacBook Pro 15" - 2.3GHz / 4GB / 500GB - MD103LL/A

Apple: $1,799
Amazon: $1,709.98
Best Buy: $1,649.99

MacBook Pro 15" - 2.6GHz / 8GB / 750GB - MD104LL/A

Apple: $2,199
Amazon: $1,999.99
Best Buy: $1,999.99

MacBook Pro 13" with Retina display - 2.5GHz / 8GB / 128SSD - MD212LL/A

Apple: $1,699
Amazon: $1,515.59
Best Buy: $1,549.99

MacBook Pro 13" with Retina display - 2.5GHz / 8GB / 256SSD - MD213LL/A

Apple: $1,999
Amazon: $1,899.97
Best Buy: $1,799.99

MacBook Pro 15" with Retina display - 2.3GHz / 8GB / 256SSD - MC975LL/A

Apple: $2,199
Amazon: $1,999.99
Best Buy: $1,999.99

MacBook Pro 15" with Retina display - 2.6GHz / 8GB / 512SSD - MC976LL/A

Apple: $2,799
Amazon: $2,599.99
Best Buy: $2,599.99

According to a report from The NPD Group, Apple's iPhone 5 was the top selling phone during the final quarter of 2012, comprising 43 percent of all iPhone sales and accounting for nearly two thirds of all post-paid smartphone sales above $199.


Samsung's Galaxy S III was the second most popular smartphone in Q4 2012, while Apple's iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 also sold well, taking the third and fourth spots on NPD's list of top-selling mobile phones in the U.S. The SIII's predecessor, the SII, was the fifth best selling phone during the holiday quarter.

A report earlier today from Strategy Analytics ranked Apple as the largest mobile phone vendor in the U.S. during Q4 2012, which is in accordance with NPD's data, which places Apple with 39 percent of overall smartphone sales, compared to Samsung's 30 percent.


Combined, Apple and Samsung accounted for almost 70 percent of smartphone sales, with Motorola, HTC, and LG lagging behind.

The second week of Apple's 'Get Stuff Done' Mac App Store promotion began today, dropping the prices on a new set of productivity apps. Last week, task management apps like Clear and Things were discounted as part of the three week long promotion.


This week's category is Organize, featuring organizing and cataloging apps like Gemini, which removes duplicate files and Compartments, which is used for home inventory. Here's a full list of this week's sale apps along with pricing information:

-Gemini: The Duplicate Finder: $4.99 down from $9.99 [Direct Link]
-Unclutter: $1.99 down from $2.99 [Direct Link]
-Delicious Library 2: $17.99 down from $34.99 [Direct Link]
-Together: $19.99 down from $39.99 [Direct Link]
-Tree: $6.99 down from $14.99 [Direct Link]
-Mindnode Pro: $9.99 down from $19.99 [Direct Link]
-Compartments - Home Inventory: $6.99 down from $14.99 [Direct Link]
-DaisyDisk: $4.99 down from $9.99 [Direct Link]
-Home Inventory: $9.99 down from $19.99 [Direct Link]

The sale on these apps will last from February 1 to February 7. Next week, Apple will feature a new set of apps for sale.

Earlier this week, TechCrunch shared data from touch-based website developer Onswipe showing that, based on its user base of over 13 million monthly active users, over 21% of iPhone and iPad users had updated to iOS 6.1 in the first two days of availability.


We've since followed up with Onswipe to see how the share of users on iOS 6.1 has moved over the past several days, and the firm tells us that it is now seeing over 26% of users running iOS 6.1 just four days after its debut.

Onswipe CEO Jason Baptiste noted earlier this week that the rapid rate of adoption for iOS 6.1, which appears to be the fastest in history for Apple, is likely due to user comfort with the company's over-the-air updates, introduced with iOS 5 in October 2011.

The rapid uptake of iOS updates contrasts strongly with Android devices, where mobile networks are responsible for updates and just 10% of users are on the latest Jelly Bean versions, first introduced last July. The majority of Android users are still using Gingerbread, which dates to December 2010, or earlier versions of the operating system.

Early last year, the popular iOS app Path came under fire for uploading users' entire address books to company servers without alerting users or asking for authorization.

The scandal resulted in Apple locking down user data in iOS 6, requiring explicit permission before apps could access a users location, contacts, calendars, photos, and reminders.

Today, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced that it has reached a settlement with Path. The agreement requires Path to establish a new privacy program, obtain independent privacy assessments for 20 years, and pay an $800,000 fine.

"Over the years the FTC has been vigilant in responding to a long list of threats to consumer privacy, whether it’s mortgage applications thrown into open trash dumpsters, kids information culled by music fan websites, or unencrypted credit card information left vulnerable to hackers," said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz. “This settlement with Path shows that no matter what new technologies emerge, the agency will continue to safeguard the privacy of Americans."

The FTC alleged that Path's app was misleading and failed to offer the consumer any choice in whether his data was uploaded, and that Path violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by collecting personal information from children without getting parents' consent.

Path has posted a response to the settlement on its blog.

As reported [Google translation] by Turkish blog Elma Dergisi, Apple executives including vice president for education John Couch met with Turkish president Abdullah Gül today to discuss several issues. The office of the Turkish president has also posted a photo and a brief video from the meeting.


Turkish president Abdullah Gül at far left, Apple VP John Couch at far right
Among the primary topics addressed during the meeting was Turkey's tablet initiative, a $4.5 billion program to provide as many as 15 million tablets to Turkish schoolchildren. Apple has reportedly been pushing for the contract, but negotiations are said to still be underway.

Also discussed was the layout of the older Turkish "F-keyboard" on iOS devices, which has several keys located in the wrong positions.

Apple has been making a significant push in Turkey, launching the iTunes Store for music and movies there in December and hiring for future retail stores in the country. Gül had visited Apple headquarters last May and discussed many of the same issues included in today's meeting with Couch and other executives.

Apple is better placed than Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo to take a lead in the games console market, said Gabe Newell, founder of the games-distribution hub Steam in a speech at the University of Texas.


As noted by Polygon, Newell argued that games served from a PC in the home direct to a TV, rather than from a games console, are the future of the market. But if the PC industry does not move quickly enough to establish itself in the living room, Newell sees an opportunity for Apple to seize the market.

"The threat right now is that Apple has gained a huge amount of market share, and has a relatively obvious pathway towards entering the living room with their platform," Newell said. "I think that there's a scenario where we see sort of a dumbed down living room platform emerging — I think Apple rolls the console guys really easily. The question is can we make enough progress in the PC space to establish ourselves there, and also figure out better ways of addressing mobile before Apple takes over the living room?"

Newell's full one-hour session
While Apple has not made any noises about a fresh entry into the games market, it did file patents for a Wii-style wireless controller back in 2008, and has been rumored to be working on a gesture-based user interface for the Apple television set which has obvious potential gaming applications.

While a prediction that the next-generation iPad will be thinner and lighter than the current one may not seem an overly ambitious one, Digitimes claims to have details, suggesting that the iPad 5 will borrow the G/F2 (DITO) thin-film type touch screen technology used on the iPad mini.


Digitimes cited an un-named industry source as reporting that the screens would use a similar mix of suppliers to the iPad mini screen.

The supply chain for Apple's next-generation 9.7-inch iPad will be similar to the iPad mini's, with Japan-based Nitto expected to supply thin-film materials and Nissha Printing touch screen modules, noted the sources. Taiwan-based TPK will be responsible for the device's lamination while LG Display (LGD) and Sharp will provide panels.

The DITO thin-film technology is believed to have been behind supply constraints on the iPad mini, but these issues have now been solved, claims Digitimes.

Just last week, iLounge shared details on the fifth-generation iPad, noting that it would be smaller in every dimension than the current model and suggesting that a change to the display technology would be necessary to achieve that reduction.