messages

Apple is already testing a new version of its desktop operating system, reports claim.

Citing their respective Web logs, Apple rumor blogs MacRumors and 9to5Mac say that they have seen a steady increase in the number of visits to their site by computers running Mac OS X 10.8. The blogs said that the computers running the operating system started accessing their sites in August. The people using the operating system appear to be Apple employees, since the site requests originate from the company's headquarters and surrounding areas.

Although those findings are by no means a smoking gun that … Read more

Research In Motion is providing the Indian government with some information on BlackBerry users, as long as the company deems it appropriate, The Wall Street Journal is reporting.

Citing anonymous sources, the Journal says that RIM has a "small" facility in Mumbai that was set up earlier this year to field surveillance requests from the Indian government. The Journal's sources say that the government must provide RIM with enough legal justification for the company to hand over an individual's "decoded messages," including BlackBerry Messenger chats.

But Indian government apparently wants more. For example, the … Read more

Siri is turning out to be a great assistant for iPhone 4S owners.

Using Siri to compose e-mails or messages for you while on the go is fairly easy and straightforward. One thing that can be a bit of a pain, though, is the lack of punctuation used by Siri while composing those messages for you.

While Siri may not be able to insert punctuation automatically, you can tell Siri where and what type of punctuation you want to use in your messages.

To get Siri to use punctuation, you only need to speak the punctuation during the composition of … Read more

With about one in six pregnancies ending in miscarriage or stillbirth, plenty of women have to endure the loss of a developing life. For those who turn to online message boards, a new survey finds, there can be great solace in the company of others who have experienced the same loss.

The survey of more than 1,000 anonymous women on 18 messages boards was launched by researchers at the University of Michigan and Georgia Health Sciences University to better understand how women use these forums and why.

The most common reason women gave for choosing to participate in message … Read more

commentary I'm generally an optimistic guy, but iMessage left me feeling that the cup is half empty.

Apple's new service for iOS 5 devices lets people send messages to each other through a system that embraces and then extends the traditional text-messaging world. It's got plenty to be excited about, but overall I'm sad that a powerful computer is repeating the mistakes of the instant-messaging market.

Here's why: I'm glad somebody with Apple's clout is sticking it to the carriers when it comes to overpriced text messages. But I need another proprietary messaging … Read more

An update to Ford Sync retrofits the infotainment platform with the Bluetooth Message Access Profile (MAP), which enables some smartphones to stream and read text messages out loud to to the driver.

If you haven't heard of MAP, you're in good company. MAP is a Bluetooth protocol designed specifically for message streaming in automobiles, which is why most smartphones are not equipped with that profile. It's used to transmit SMS, MMS, and e-mails between devices, such as between mobile phones and the Sync system. The update doesn't bring a lot of new features to Sync subscribers, … Read more

Updating software on smartphones has become a scary proposition. It seems like you never know what glitch or bug might break your device.

But at the same time, new software updates promise all kinds of cool new features. And Apple's iOS 5 is no exception. So it makes sense that iPhone 3GS users, who aren't ready to upgrade to the iPhone 4S, would want to update their phones with the new software. But can two-and-a half year old iPhone 3GS handle the new software? In this week's Ask Maggie, I address this very issue.

I also offer … Read more

One pretty cool iOS 5 feature that flew in under the radar is Shortcuts, which CNET's Jason Cipriani dubbed AutoText in his June preview, How to customize AutoText shortcuts in iOS 5.

If you've ever used AutoHotKey, PhraseExpress, or even Microsoft Word, you're probably familiar with this time-saving capability: When you type a customized abbreviation, iOS expands it into a complete text blurb. Thus, something like "omw" becomes "on my way," which is handy when you're texting.

Indeed, shortcuts are most useful for composing e-mail and text messages, though you can … Read more

One of iOS 5's most anticipated features is iMessage, an Apple instant-messaging service that can be used only among iOS devices. This is essentially Apple's answer to BlackBerry Messenger, RIM's own internal messaging system. The idea behind both messaging services is that they don't cost anything extra and won't deduct from your text messaging plan.

The catch, of course, is that both exist only in either the iOS or the BlackBerry ecosystem. Here, we take the opportunity to compare both messaging services. … Read more