iLounge

By Charles Starrett

Senior Editor, iLounge
Published: Thursday, September 17, 2009
News Category: Mix

Chip designer ARM has announced its latest mobile processors, two high-performance, low-power chips known as the Cortex-A9 MPCore. Able to run at speeds greater than 2GHz, the dual core chip designs are speed- and power-optimized for set-top boxes, DTVs, printers, and other larger devices, the iPhone 3GS runs a Samsung-built processor based on the Cortex-A8 design, making the new dual-core model a likely fit for future iPhone OS devices, although as Mac Rumors notes, the chips would most likely need to be underclocked due to the power and thermal constraints of the iPhone’s and iPod touch’s designs.

A number of iPod classic owners are reporting problems getting their devices to sync after installing iTunes 9, according to a handful of Apple Support Discussion threads. The problems seems to range from iTunes crashing as soon as the iPod is connected, to the device never being recognized, to restores failing, leaving the devices bricked. No single configuration or operating system combination seems to be the cause, as users of different versions of both Windows and Mac, and varying models of iPod classic, are reporting problems; users of other iPod models have also contributed to the threads, but appear to be more isolated than the problems facing iPod classic owners. [via AppleInsider]

Apple has given LogMeIn, the Internet-based computer remote control service, a direct number, or hotline, to call for App Store issues. “We now have a number we can call to ask questions,” LogMeIn CEO Mike Simon told The Register, without elaborating further, except to say he knew of one other app vendor with a personal App Store contact. A lack of personal communication between Apple and iPhone developers has been a point of contention for many since the store’s debut last year; more recently, Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing Phil Schiller has been personally reaching out to developers in an effort to improve relations. It is unclear whether Apple plans to begin offering contact numbers to more developers, or if it is supplying select developers with liaisons on a case-by-case basis.

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Songwriters’ Guild of America, and other performing rights groups are calling for increased compensation from digital download stores such as iTunes, even extending fees to 30-second previews and music contained in other media such as TV shows and movies, Cnet reports. “We make 9.1 cents off a song sale and that means a whole lot of pennies have to add up before it becomes a bunch of money,” said Rick Carnes, president of the Songwriters’ Guild of America. “Yesterday, I received a check for 2 cents. I’m not kidding. People think we’re making a fortune off the Web, but it’s a tiny amount. We need multiple revenue streams or this isn’t going to work.”

According to David Israelite, president and CEO of the National Music Publishers Association, the music industry has begun lobbying Congress to push for legislation that requires anyone selling a download to pay a performance fee. “If you watch a TV show on broadcast, cable or satellite TV there is a performance fee collected,” Israelite said. “But if that same TV show is downloaded over iTunes, there’s not. We’re arguing that the law needs to be clarified that regardless of the method by which a consumer watches the show there is a performance right.”