According to sources, Apple’s App Store has rejected one of the newest Google innovations. From one popular tech news source, Apple is “rotten to the core” for stiffing “one of the best things to happen to telephony services in a very long time.”

One Google representative remarked, “We work hard to bring Google applications to a number of mobile platforms, including the iPhone. Apple did not approve the Google Voice application we submitted six weeks ago to the Apple App Store. We will continue to work to bring our services to iPhone users — for example, by taking advantage of advances in mobile browsers.” But apparently not Apple’s.

Google Voice, is a new-and-improved online telephone service. One of its best features is that it assimilates all of a user’s numbers into one single phone number. Talk about simplifying things. If a caller dials your home, office, cell phone, or any one of your other phones, you can still take the call anywhere you want. Google voice offers dozens of other features like call screening, listen in, phone forwarding, voicemail transcripts, conference calls, voicemail sharing, SMS notifications, caller-personalized greetings, and a bunch of other things that only Google would think of.

Google Voice, for all its power, seems like a natural choice for an iPhone app. After all, with thousands of cheap, useless, and error-riddled apps in the App Store, why not let Google’s get by? From Apple’s perspective, Google Voice is a mere replication of the iPhone’s major features.

But “mere replication” doesn’t quite describe Google Voice. The problem is deeper than mimicked features. It’s called the elimination of competition. It is far more likely that the blame for the rejection lies at the feet of AT&T, not some ornery Apple techie angrily clicking “no” on a new app submission. It’s true; Google Voice offers features—like talking to people on a virtual phone—that, according to one source, would ‘compete with the services that AT&T charges for.’

Google Voice seems like an injurious blow to the service of a carrier like AT&T, which already offers SMS messages, voicemail, etc.—features which Google Voice provides for free, plus a whole lot more.

But does this come as a surprise? Apple has the prerogative over which apps they say “yes” or “no” to. If it hurts biz then, hey, why offer it as an app? But will it hurt business? Maybe it will hurt business in a way that Apple doesn’t anticipate. The rejection of Google Voice, and any other forthcoming apps with similar services, may steer potential iPhone buyers away from the iPhone and toward competition phones like the Palm, or Android devices. Now that would hurt.

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As the tech world ogles at the increases of IBM and Intel, something is happening quietly but swiftly in nearby Cupertino, headquarters of Apple, Inc. As the Wall Street Journal reports, Apple is ramping up a new side to its business—designing its own semiconductor chips

Via LinkedIn and other recruiting efforts, Apple has been hiring semiconductor professionals. By now, they have assembled a team capable of designing, developing, engineering, and producing exclusively Apple chips. Obviously, thousands of applicants have submitted resumes for the jobs. Few have been selected. Apple is targeting high-potential individuals who possess promising futures along with relevant experience in the semiconductor industry.

But why does Apple need proprietary semiconductor chips? Aren’t the ones they have doing just fine? Clearly, as sales would indicate, they are. However, the potential that an Apple-only semiconductor chip could offer seem too good to pass up.

For one, it is suspected that Apple’s new chips will offer new power-saving technology. A power-miser chip combined with an ultra-dense battery life technology will allow users to go for much longer time periods without having to plug in their devices for a charge.

Furthermore, exclusive chips may give Apple hardware the edge to create higher-powered gaming machines—machines that are capable of delivering stunning graphics and ultra-quality video definition.

Another potential upside of a new chip design is handwriting recognition capability (would this confirm rumors of a forthcoming Apple tablet?). Such technology, although it already exists, would fit well into Apple’s model of improving upon already existing technology.

Currently, Apple uses chips from ARM Holdings for many of its devices. Through an acquisition move in 2008, Apple took over P.A. Semi, a chip manufacturer. Apple uses hardware from these firms, but is able to customize it to meet its own purposes. Even though official reports of the new chip may not roll out until early 2010, shareholders saw a $1.24 rise as the rumors spread on Wednesday. 

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Unfortunately, it looks like Mac OS X users are going to have to wipe off at least one smug smile of superiority. For some time now, Mac people have touted the vastly increased security that comes from owning a Mac, and this bragging has always been backed up with one vital statistic: there are no major viruses or trojans that affect Mac OS X.

All that now is coming to an end. As has recently been reported all over the Mac blogosphere, a new trojan has created the first-ever Mac botnet, which has been actively working on the internet since infiltrating unsuspecting users computers in January via pirated iWork ‘09 installers leaked to torrent trackers and binary newsgroups.

Have you been infected? The Apple Blog shows how to check, and includes a guide to cleaning the malicious crapware off your system. The article shows a few quick terminal commands for checking if the trojan exists on your system. It also gives a link to a free utility from SecureMac for wiping the trojan away.

Of course, this particular trojan certainly relies on user intervention in order to gain access to a computer. In that regard “iworkserv” demonstrates an old truth of computer security: you can build the most reliable, secure system possible, but that system can still be compromised so long as a malicious application can persuade a user to give up his or her administrator password.

It seems that the promise of quick and free Mac warez, coupled with a false expectation of security, led to this botnet. Paying closer attention to what you download and where it’s from is a good way to maintain good system security. Also, staying away from warez is usually a good idea. So perhaps a lesson to Mac users is: be careful what you download. It’s something that the Windows world has had to live with for a long time.

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The plastic iMac is no more. Apple has offered a special, low-price “educational” Mac for a while now. First the machine was the eMac, then a special version of the iMac — usually with a smaller screen and slower processor than those found in the regular, consumer versions.

Even after the introduction of the aluminum iMac, Apple continued selling the plastic-bodied version as their education model. Now, Ars Technica reports that the plastic iMac’s days are coming to an end. Apple has announced that the educational iMac will be upgraded to a new, low-end aluminum model featuring a 20-inch screen.

The new iMac will also feature a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB of RAM, and a SuperDrive, all for $899. The only way to purchase one is through a special institutional buyer — so even individual students or education professionals can’t buy one.

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