Intel to Launch New Mobile CPUs (Arrandale) in January?

According to Digitimes, Intel is poised to launch their Arrandale mobile CPUs in January 2010.

Intel plans to launch four 32nm dual-core Arrandale CPUs (Calpella platform), the Core i5-520M, Core i5-430M, Core i3-350M and Core i3-330...

Apple Rejects/Removes Unity-built Games to Protect User Privacy

It looks like Apple is using its rejection power for good this time — removing games built on the Unity engine which included private-API calls that could be used to steal private user information like your iPhone’s phone number.

Not all of the rejected/removed games were engaged in privacy violations (or even had the network capability to exploit it), but Apple isn’t taking any chances following the Storm8 lawsuit. Touch Arcade has the details:

The Unity engine currently uses the two private API calls that Storm8 allegedly exploited to steal user data, NSGetEnviron and excserver. Mantas Puida of Unity Technologies explains these two API’s utilized by the Unity engine serve the following functions:

_NSGetEnviron is used by Mono runtime to provide implementation of .NET core API method: Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable().

exc_server is also used by Mono runtime to provide graceful NULL reference exception handling.

The Unity engine, however, has been updated to remove the offending API calls, and the games are being recompiled and resubmitted to the App Store. Hopefully this will keep users’ data safe from unscrupulous developers, while the scrupulous ones continue to turn out great games.

[Touch Arcade via TUAW]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Apple Rejects/Removes Unity-built Games to Protect User Privacy

Apple Hiring an iPhone Game Developer, Getting Even More Serious About Gaming?

Apple appears to be getting even more serious about gaming on the iPhone and iPod Touch. We've long known that Apple has been positioning the iPod Touch as a gaming device, and Steve Jobs even acknowledged to the New York Times the success of this i...

Apple Wins Judgement Against Psystar for Mac OS X Copyright Infringement

Groklaw reports on the early outcome of the Apple vs. Psystar case from a report filed on Friday. According to the court documents, Apple's motion for summary judgment on copyright infringement and DMCA violation is granted.

So that...

Another iPhone App Developer Quits Protesting App Store Policing

Apple rejects Unity games on the App Store

Filed under: Gaming, Apple, Developer, iPhone, App Store, SDK

Touch Arcade has the news that the long-awaited Ravensword and a number of other games built on the Unity game engine have been rejected by Apple from the App Store. The problem appears to be a number of API calls in the engine (though not specifically the game themselves, as I understand it) that allow the games to access the iPhone's number and send it back to the developer's servers.

Apple considers these to be private APIs, and they also got games developer Storm8 in trouble earlier this week; their games were pulled from the store in response to a lawsuit alleging that they were collecting data from users without their knowledge.

Chillingo, publishers of Ravensword, contacted us about this story, and they said that while the Unity engine does allow developers to use these calls, they did not use them or collect any user information. We're also told that the problem APIs "have been removed," and Chillingo has resubmitted the game for App Store approval.

As I understand it, this is the same type of issue that came up with Google a while back. It's not the same APIs (Google was using the proximity sensor back then), but now as then, it's Apple's call whether they will allow developers to use these private and undocumented calls. Obviously some apps on the iPhone have to access the address book from time to time, but it's Apple's call whether they can use APIs like that or not. This time, it appears, they said no.

Apple rejects Unity games on the App Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple rejects Unity games on the App Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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High Unemployment Rate? There Just May Be an App for That!

As odd as it sounds, the iPhone is doing its share to alleviate some of the unemployment by putting people to work making apps. While Apple may not be directly employing the latest wave of tech entrepreneurs, the iPhone is responsible for quite a few startup companies that are seeing college whiz kids cash in [...]

Apple Hiring Gaming Engineer for iPhone Team

Apple is looking to hire an experienced multimedia engineer for the iPhone and iPod touch, who’s a passionate gamer and has shipped at least one “AAA” game in the last few years.

While first-party titles are a mainstay, and main point of attraction for dedicated gaming platforms like Nintendo (Mario), Microsoft (Halo), and Sony (Little Big Planet), so far all Apple has offered its “funnest iPod ever” is Texas Hold’em [$4.99 - iTunes link] back in 2007.

Just what could Apple be brewing now? Anyone imagine what a first-party Apple gaming franchise could be?

[via AppleInsider]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Apple Hiring Gaming Engineer for iPhone Team

Cellphone Number Harvesting Result Of Obsolete Code - Storm8 Says Lawsuit Lacks Merit

Core i7-Based 27″ iMac Benchmarks Show Significant Improvements

The delivery of the Core i7-based iMacs have generated the usual discussion threads about unboxing, impressions and benchmarks. The performance of the high-end iMacs have been of particular interest due to the new incorporation of desktop-class pro...