Upgrading RAM on new iMac practically impossible

The electronics website iFixit on Friday downgraded the new 21.5-in. iMac's repair score to 3 out of a possible 10, calling servicing the computer "an exercise in disappointment."
The website urged do-it-yourselfers to look for a leftover 2011 model instead. "Hackers, tinkerers, and repairers be forewarned: Get last year's model if you'd like to alter your machine in any way," said Miroslav Djuric, iFixit's chief information architect, in an email announcing the site's teardown of the newest iMac.
Apple started selling the redesigned 21.5-in. iMac on Friday at its retail and online stores. The larger, more expensive 27-in. iMac is to ship later this month.
After disassembling the iMac, iFixit assigned the all-in-one desktop a repair score of just 3 out of 10; The 2011 version of the same-sized iMac sported a more DIY-friendly score of 7 out of 10.
The iMac's new score is in the same low range as Apple's 15- and 13-in. Retina-equipped MacBook Pro laptops, which earned a 1 and 2, respectively, this summer and fall. In June, iFixit called the 15-in. MacBook Pro "the least-repairable laptop we've taken apart."
Explaining the iMac's low score, iFixit cited the copious amounts of "incredibly strong" adhesive that bonds the LCD and front glass panel to the frame. Earlier iMacs fixed the display in place with magnets rather than the hard-to-dislodge glue, which is even harder to replace.
Just as damning was an Apple design decision that makes it practically impossible for users to upgrade the iMac's RAM. The 21.5-in. iMac comes standard with 8GB of memory -- and can be upgraded to 16GB -- but because the RAM is buried beneath the logic board, owners must "take apart most of the iMac just to gain access," iFixit said.
Older 21.5-in. iMacs had four external RAM slots that were easily accessed by users.
Apple mentions the impracticality of memory upgrade only in a side note hidden on the iMac's options page. There, Apple said: "Every 21.5-inch iMac comes with 8GB of memory built into the computer. If you think you may need 16GB of memory in the future, it is important to upgrade at the time of purchase, because memory cannot be upgraded later in this model."
The not-yet-available 27-in. iMac will continue to sport four external memory slots. Customers can boost the RAM at the time of ordering to 16GB (for an extra $200) or 32GB ($600), but those prices are exorbitant compared to third-party RAM that users install themselves. An additional 8GB of memory -- which would raise the iMac's total to 16GB -- costs just $40 at Crucial.com, for example.
iFixit spotted several other changes to the iMac, including a larger, single fan rather than several smaller fans; dual microphones, likely a noise cancellation move for FaceTime video calls; and a vibration-dampening housing around the laptop-sized 2.5-in. hard disk drive.
The teardown also exposed the location where Apple places a "Fusion Drive," the option that combines 128GB of flash storage with a standard platter-based hard drive.
The new iMacs are priced between $1,299 and $1,999 -- $100 more than their precursors -- and can be purchased or pre-ordered at Apple's online and retail stores.

4G will arrive in UK by summer 2013 after mobile networks deal

The UK will have nationwide 4G services running on multiple networks by the end of next summer – six months earlier than originally proposed – under a deal sealed in a meeting between the networks and culture secretary Maria Miller on Tuesday night.
The agreement will shorten the headstart won by EE, the largest network company and parent of Orange and T-Mobile, which intends to launch the country's first 4G service later this month.
So-called "fourth generation" mobile technology allows much faster internet connections for phones than today's 3G networks. With the iPhone 5 and high-end smartphones from Nokia and Samsung designed for some British 4G spectrum bands, operators are now racing to build the networks capable of running them at full speed – which will allow users to download movies in seconds and make high quality video calls.
EE already owns enough spare spectrum to be able to launch this year, while its rivals O2, Vodafone and Three must wait for a government airwaves auction to acquire enough bandwidth for 4G.
In an 11-page letter sent to Miller on Monday night, telecoms regulator Ofcom offered to bring forward both the auction date and the deadline for clearing the spectrum being sold from digital TV signals so they are free to carry mobile phone traffic.
The heads of the UK networks agreed a peace treaty on Tuesday night after months of legal wrangling.
"Delivering 4G quickly is a key part of our economic growth strategy," said Miller. " I am grateful to the mobile operators for their co-operation in bringing forward vital 4G services. The open and collaborative approach taken between the government and the mobile companies will have hugely beneficial results for UK business and investment. We anticipate that 4G services will boost the UK's economy by around £2-3bn."
O2's UK chief executive, Ronan Dunne, said that after intensive lobbyingthe auction would begin in January instead of February or March. It is expected to bring in up to £4bn for the government's coffers.
Dunne added that masts company Arqiva would be able to clear away digital TV signals in England, Wales and most areas of Scotland by May, with networks able to launch services by the end of the summer after around two months of testing. However, the harder to reach Highlands and Islands will have to wait longer for 4G, with services not expected until later in 2013.
The UK's 4G auction has suffered from repeated delays after a combination of legal threats from phone companies and a mix-up over digital TV signals. UK digital channels launched on a different band to the rest of Europe and Arqiva is now rushing to harmonise them in line with the continent.
Dozens of other nations including Germany, the US and even smaller economies like Estonia already have 4G, putting the UK in danger of losing its reputation as a pioneer in mobile technology.
In a presentation which laid part of the blame for the slow progress at Ofcom's door, Dunne said: "Everyone is pleased that we've made this progress, it's just a little bit frustrating that it's taken so long. Before our various interventions we didn't have a genuine level playing field and we risked a 4G digital divide."
But the regulator denied that it was to blame.
Ofcom's chief executive, Ed Richards, said: "The actions we have taken with industry and government avoids the risk of significant delay and is tremendous news for consumers who might otherwise have waited a considerable period for the next generation of mobile broadband services. Ofcom's objective has always been to release the spectrum as early as possible and we remain focused on starting the auction by the end of the year."
All operators have now agreed not to litigate either EE or the 4G auction. It is understood that the EE chief executive, Olaf Swantee, has promised not to hold up the work of Mitco, a jointly owned company charged with clearing the spectrum for mobile use over the coming months.
Shadow chancellor Ed Balls has said he will spend the proceeds on building affordable homes and a stamp duty holiday if Labour is elected.
Responding to Balls's plans, announced at his keynote Labour party conference speech on Monday, Dunne said: "It would have been nice to have had an auction before somebody actually went and spent the proceeds."

Who is the next Steve Jobs (and is there one)?

It's a loaded question, one with no clear answer. But in the year since Apple's co-founder and visionary CEO died, it's been asked in tech circles over and over:

Who is the next Steve Jobs?

There's one easy response. It's safe to say that no figure in the tech industry will perfectly duplicate the unique blend of vision, salesmanship, mystique and eye for detail possessed by Jobs, who died one year ago Friday.

And it's complicated further, some say, by the fact that for much of his own life, many wouldn't have predicted Jobs himself would earn tech-icon status.

"Steve Jobs had a strange career. He really wasn't celebrated as a genius until really late," said Leander Kahney, editor of the Cult of Mac blog and author of books on Apple, including "Inside Steve's Brain."

Not until Jobs returned to Apple and introduced the iPod and iPhone did people begin to praise him as a modern-day Thomas Edison, Kahney said. "He was dismissed before then as a marketing guy, a fast talker who didn't know much about technology. He only really was lionized in the last four or five years."

#WhatSteveJobsTaughtMe: Share your thoughts on his life and career

But industry observers abhor a vacuum. Futile though it might be, it's perhaps human nature to speculate about who could emerge to fill the void left by the passing of tech's biggest personality and most recognizable face.

One can make cases for or against a handful of nominees. And no list is long enough to include an as-yet unknown creator who may be birthing the industry's next game-changer in a garage or dorm room somewhere.

Did Apple's fanboy fever peak with Steve Jobs?

But here are some names worth considering, with thoughts both for and against their candidacies:

Jeff Bezos, CEO, Amazon

Pros: Bezos actually has a host of traits that mirror Jobs. Like Jobs was with Apple, he's the founder of Amazon as well as its CEO. Being a part of a company's life story helps. As much as anyone, Bezos also captures a bit of Jobs' panache at live events. At last year's rollout of the Kindle Fire, he got high marks for introducing a game-changing product in a stylized fashion, then getting off the stage. (Tech giants Google and Microsoft have been accused of being rambling and unfocused at similar unveilings.) Reports say Bezos shares Jobs' penchant for attention to detail (some would say micromanaging) and, like Jobs, he's been willing to take the company into new and unexpected directions.

"I've met Bezos personally, and he is mesmeric. Brilliant smile, quick mind, very engaging and decisive," Kahney told CNN. "He has the same obsession with the ordinary consumer; to make and sell things from the consumer's point of view. ... Bezos has Jobs' focus and drive. He's a little bit maniacal in his drive and ambition."

Cons: Despite the Kindle line, Amazon is, at its core, a content company. The mobile devices are a means of delivering books, music, movies and other data to customers as directly as possible. Will the public ever be as excited about the CEO of the company that peddles e-books and data-storage space as it was about the one that sold it its personal computers, laptops, phones and music players?

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO, Facebook

Pros: The Steves -- Jobs and Wozniak -- had their garage. Zuckerberg had his Harvard dorm room. And in those two rooms, perhaps the two best-known origin stories in tech were born. As head of the social network that has changed the way people use the Internet, Zuckerberg is maybe the only tech boss who, like Jobs, has become a household name. ("The Social Network" didn't hurt.) He created a product that millions of people now use. And he's even cultivated his own trademark, casual-wear style, as the Zuckerberg hoodie is now almost as iconic as Jobs' mock turtleneck.

"Zuckerberg has some of the characteristics (of Jobs), and perhaps the most important one -- the pursuit of a vision," Kahney said. "That sets him apart."

Cons: He's gotten better at speaking in public. But as a pitchman, Zuckerberg still falls miles short of the charismatic Jobs. It's seems Zuck would rather be the idea man behind the scenes than front-and-center when it comes time to sell the final product. Also, the fact that Facebook's stock price is not already racing toward Google/Apple heights doesn't help.

Tim Cook, CEO, Apple

Pros: Well, there's the obvious one. Job's was Apple's CEO. Now Cook is. At the helm of the company, Cook gets to be the face of every new innovation rolled out by Apple. He's got the biggest stage and brightest spotlight in which to put himself forward.

Cons: Cook comes from more of a business background than one of innovation and design. He may masterfully steer Apple's course for years to come, but, rightly or not, few observers at this juncture are inclined to give him credit for vision, or influence over products' design, the way they did Jobs. Plus, being Apple CEO after Jobs is like being the football coach who follows a retiring Bear Bryant or Vince Lombardi. What were those guys' names? Exactly.

Jonathan Ive, senior vice president, Apple

Pros: When Jobs stepped down, there were many who expected Ive, not Cook, to step up. Ive is senior vice president of industrial design and is believed to be the creative mind behind products from the Macbook Pro to the iPod to the iPad. The London native already has a knighthood, as well as a healthy dose of Jobs' true-believer passion for the product.

Cons: Well, he's not the CEO. (Nor is marketing mastermind Phil Schiller, another name bandied about to replace Jobs). To truly ascend to Jobsian levels, Ive would need to set out on his own -- which, at 45, is doable. It's hard to envision Ive bolting from Apple, where he's worked since 1992. But, boy, it would be fun to watch.

Marissa Mayer, CEO, Yahoo

Pros: If you need proof of how well Google alum Mayer is liked in Silicon Valley, just look at the number of folks she's been able to lure to join her at a Yahoo that was floundering when she took the reins in July. At Google, where the former engineer was the 20th employee, she's credited with everything from the clean design of the search page to becoming one of the leading public faces of the tech giant.

Cons: It looks like a turnaround has begun at Yahoo. But the job's still a long way from done. If Mayer becomes the face of a dramatic rebirth, she will have accomplished something few predicted. If she doesn't (the four CEOs before her all fell short), it likely won't hurt her reputation all that much -- but neither will it bump her up to the next level.

Elon Musk, serial entrepreneur

Pros: How's this for an origin story? Musk grew up in South Africa before leaving home at 17, without his parents' consent, rather than serve a compulsory stint in an army which, at the time, was enforcing the race-based apartheid system. He'd end up in the United States four years later -- although he'd already sold his first software, a video game called Blastar, when he was 12. Since then, all he's done is create publishing software Zip2 (sold to AltaVista for $300 million), co-found PayPal (he owned 11% of its stock when eBay bought it for $1.5 billion) and help create Tesla Motors, makers of the first commercial electric car. Oh, wait ... he also runs SpaceX, a company working on space exploration. Director Jon Favreau says Musk was his inspiration for Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark character in the "Iron Man" movies.

"His ambitions are so huge," Kahney said. "He's definitely a ballsy character. And he's a good leader, like Jobs. He's surrounded himself with good people."

Cons: With the exception of Tesla, none of Musk's projects, so far, have directly involved consumer products. Tens of millions of people had something Jobs made in their pockets, on their desks or piping music into their ears. Among the public, Musk may be less well-known than all of the names above -- at least for now. But, at 41, he's got time to change that and it would be foolish to bet against him.

Seth Priebatsch, CEO, SCVNGR, LevelUp

Pros: Who? Priebatsch is the wild card on this list. But consider him the representative of a new generation of young, creative tech "makers" who could ascend to loftier heights in the years, or decades, to come. At 22, Priebatsch's SCVNGR raised more than $20 million in funding. He founded his first Web company at 12 and has moved on to start LevelUp, a mobile-payments system that's also raked in millions from investors. He got rock-star treatment for a speech he gave last year at South by Southwest Interactive. Plus, he's already cultivated a Jobs-like signature fashion statement -- his trademark orange sunglasses and shirts.

Cons: In the startup world, for every success story, there are countless washouts. Not every young turk even wants to be another Jobs, and not every killer app has the potential to make millions, or billions, of dollars -- even when they're well-liked and widely used.

Good or bad, what lessons did you learn from Jobs? Share your responses in the comments below

Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini to be launched October 11?

It looks likely that Samsung is planning to launch the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini next Thursday, October 11. The manufacturer’s German arm has sent out invites to a special launch event promising “something small”.

The invites, written in German, can be roughly translated as “something small will be really big” followed by “get ready for a little sensation.”
 
It reminds us a little of the phrase used to sell the Samsung Galaxy S3: “the next big thing is already here,” while last year's Samsung Galaxy Nexus was teased with the phrase “something big is coming.”

Add in the distinctive ‘S’ logo that accompanies all Samsung Galaxy devices slap bang in the middle of the invite, and it all points to the launch of a small Galaxy devices.

The Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini has been rumoured for a few months now, and a number of sources are pointing to an imminent launch. Dutch site GSM Helpdesk, for example, recently reported that the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini would be coming out by the end of the year.

Meanwhile German site Mobiflip, which is the source of the above invite information, reckons that “anything else would not make sense for me at the moment.”

The device itself will apparently feature a 4-inch (hardly small by a certain fruity manufacturer’s standards) 800 x 480 display, rather like the original Galaxy S. It’ll apparently run on a dual-core processor and will sport a 5-megapixel camera. Expect it to run Jelly Bean out of the box, too.

We’ve only got around a week to wait before we find out what kind of mini marvel Samsung has in mind.

UK CHARTS: Million-selling FIFA 13 is No.1

There’s claiming the UK No.1. Then there’s claiming the UK No.1.
EA’s FIFA 13 is not only top of the charts, but it sold an incredible one million plus copies in its first week according to the UKIE Charts, compiled by GfK Chart-Track.
It’s not the first game to do so (it’s the fourth, in fact), but it joins a very exclusive club that includes only Black Ops, Modern Warfare 2 and Modern Warfare 3.
And considering the current state of the UK market, the achievement is all the more remarkable. The numbers absolutely nuke anything we’ve seen from any other title in the UK this year.
In hitting these incredible sales, FIFA 13 betters the week one numbers of FIFA 12 by 27 per cent in units and 31 per cent in value. Again, remarkable in the current in the current climate.
Its success drove the overall market to a 196 per cent week-on-week gain in unit sales and a 282 per cent jump in revenue. FIFA 13 claimed 71 per cent of the UK’s total video game unit sales last week and 80 per cent of its revenue.
The biggest achievement of all, perhaps, is that the UK market actually bettered the same week performance of 2011 – up by 11 per cent in units and 18 per cent in revenue.
Other debutants included World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria (4^th), Rocksmith (7^th), Angry Birds Trilogy (16^th) and Gran Turismo 5 Academy Edition (17^th).
Here’s the UK Top 20 in full for the week ending September 29^th:
1. FIFA 13 (EA)
2. Borderlands 2 (2K Games)
3. F1 2012 (Codemasters)
4. World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria (Activision)
5. Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 (Konami)
6. Sleeping Dogs (Square Enix)
7. Rocksmith (Ubisoft)
8. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda)
9. LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (Warner Bros)
10. New Super Mario Bros 2 (Nintendo)
11. Dead or Alive 5 (Tecmo
12. Forza Motorsport 4 (Microsoft)
13. LittleBigPlanet Vita (Sony)
14. Dead Island GOTY Edition (Koch)
15. Max Payne 3 (Rockstar)
16. Angry Birds Trilogy (Activision)
17. Gran Turismo 5 Academy Edition (Sony)
18. London 2012 The Official Video Game (Sega)
19. Guild Wars 2 (NCsoft)
20. Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (Namco Bandai)

Why Samsung wants Apple’s iPhone 5 banned

Samsung has added the iPhone 5 to its list of Apple devices that it claims violates US patents it owns.
According to reports yesterday, Samsung said it had amended its earlier filing against Apple to include the new device. Samsung had originally filed the complaint against Apple on 15 June 2012, alleging that the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad violated two of its standards patents for mobile broadband, as well as six feature patents.
Samsung has stated in its filing that it has good reasons to include Apple’s latest flagship device as the iPhone 5 was released only on 12 September.
According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, “the case in which Samsung added the iPhone 5 claims is scheduled for trial in 2014″.
So what are the patents that Samsung claims the iPhone 5 is infringing upon? Here’s a quick look. You can click on the links given at the end to know more about each patent.
Patent No 7,756,087: This one deals with mobile communication systems using an enhanced uplink dedicated transport channel which transmits data at a relatively low effective data rate through non-scheduled transmission. For more details click here.

The iPhone 5 Getty Images

Patent No 7,551,596: Method and apparatus for signaling control information of uplink packet data service in mobile communication system. For more details click here.
Patent No 7,672,470: Audio/video device having a volume control function for an external audio reproduction unit via a remote controller. For more details click here.
Patent No 7,577,757: Multimedia synchronization in a device. Audio, video, and photographic information including content information and content management information, relating to at least one user, are thus stored in a digital form via this system. For more details click here.
Patent No 7,232,058: This deals with how a bunch of data is displayed on a relatively small display screen. For more details click here.
Patent No 6,292,179: This is how the OS keyboard reacts to a stylus being used on the touchscreen and the methods via which it recognises key code when using a stylus. For more details click here.
Patent No 6,226,449: This one deals with recording and reproducing digital image and speech. For more details click here.
Patent No 5,579,239: This one deals with video transmission system. For more details click here.
In the filing Samsung has also alleged infringement by Apple’s Mac, Mac Mini, MacPro, MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, and Apple TV products, but those products are relevant if they are components of an accused system that also includes the iPhone 5.
Looks like this Apple-Samsung battle is not going to end. Samsung said in its official statement yesterday,  “We have always preferred to compete in the marketplace with our innovative products, rather than in courtrooms. However, Apple continues to take aggressive legal measures that will limit market competition.”
It seems that Samsung is blaming Apple for starting this legal mess.

Rumoured HTC One X+ – what you need to know

Details of the rumoured HTC One X+ have surfaced courtesy of mobile phone and broadband provider O2.
The speculated arrival of the hotly-anticipated One X+ seems to have been confirmed, following its appearance in the latest O2 catalogue.
A significant improvement on the One X and bringing some pretty awesome specs to the table, the newest addition to HTC’s One series can’t come soon enough – especially for HTC.
The Taiwanese manufacturer has had a pretty torrid few months, with poor sales and tumbling shares. So can the One X+ pump in some much-needed life?

HTC One X+ specs

With a 1.7GHz quad-core processor – up 0.2GHz from its predecessor – the One X+ promises to be one of the most powerful, smartphones around.
It is not just power that has been given a boost, but also storage. According to the promotional material from O2, HTC has packed an impressive 64GB of internal storage into the One X+, putting it on a level with the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S3.
The cutting-edge rumoured new release is said to arrive pre-loaded with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and because HTC is prolonging its partnership with Dropbox, customers will be treated to 25GB of free cloud storage.
O2 hasn’t given too much away, but it is reported that the X+ will also feature an 8MP primary camera, akin to that of the original HTC One.

HTC One X+ release date

Unfortunately, O2 kept quiet with regards to a release date, leaving fandroids hanging by simply stating the One X+ is “coming soon”.
Although the mobile provider remained mute on such matters, the catalogue did unveil a price: the “Pay and Go” (PAYG) option, otherwise known as SIM-free, will set customers back £479.99.
Considering that a 64GB iPhone 5 costs a hefty £700, the HTC One X+ is a comparatively good deal – if it ever sees the light of day, that is.