In a Q3 earnings call on Tuesday, Apple said third-quarter profits rose more than 77 percent largely from the success of the iPad and iPhone 4--probably not a big surprise for anyone. But the more shocking announcement (in my eyes) is that Apple set a record for the most Macs they've ever sold in a quarter with 3.47 million.

Obviously, I've always been a big fan of Mac computers, but I guess with the emergence of handheld devices like the iPad, iPod, and iPhone, I figured Apple's desktop and laptop business would not be as strong as it once was. Perhaps all these new iPhone users are deciding to give Apple computers a try. Whatever the case is, I'm glad to hear Mac computers are still selling well.

If you're one of the people who recently picked up a Mac (apparently there are quite a few of you), check out our Mac Starter Kit for some must-have software you can download right away.

If you're an iPhone user, make sure to come back and check out this week's apps, which include a simple free to-do list app and a platform game that challenges you to dig deep into the depths of dangerous mines.

SeizeTheDay isn't the most full-featured to-do list app at the iTunes App Store, but as a free app, it offers just enough tools to make your daily tasks much easier. The simple interface of SeizeTheDay makes it easy to navigate so you can get to your list in only a couple of swipes of your finger. The app offers local notifications so you'll get reminders of your daily tasks even if you don't have an Internet connection. SeizeTheDay also takes advantage of iAds (it is a free app, after all), but the ads showed up infrequently in my testing and never got in the way of using the app.

SeizeTheDay lets you quickly create tasks with fields available for setting the due date and priority, along with notes about the task and the capability to set up a reminder. The Home screen in SeizeTheDay divides up your tasks so you can view items that need to be done today, upcoming tasks, and tasks that need to be done "at some point." A tagging feature lets you quickly get to all tasks tagged "Work" (for example) so you'll be able to quickly get to lists that revolve around a specific subject. Overall, SeizeTheDay has just enough features to make it a very useful to-do list for anyone trying to stay organized.

Miner Disturbance is a fun mining game that will immediately remind you of arcade classic Dig Dug, but offers much more. The object of the game is to complete goals as you dig downward into each mine. Some goals will require that you collect a certain number of minerals, while others will only require that you've dug to a specific depth.

But as you dig your way deeper, you'll face baddies like moles, bats, and other underground dwellers that you'll be able to defeat by swinging your pick. As you go further into the game, you'll face water-filled caverns forcing you to go up for air, and hot lava that may mean certain death. All this adds up to plenty of variation on the digging mechanic and remains exciting for me even after several days of playing.

Miner Disturbance lets you navigate from mine to mine by tapping on circled locations on the main map or, if you have collected cash rewards, lets you buy better mining equipment at the above-ground store. The controls are a bit tough to get used to at the start (as any touch-screen directional systems tend to be), but quickly become second nature as you dig deeper into the mines.

Along with the main map, which features several mines, all with different goals, Miner Disturbance includes a second snowy map where you'll face different challenges and a Volcano mine where you can compete for the high score with other players online. Overall, if you're looking for a game with a little more depth (yes, I know: intended!) than Dig Dug and some light RPG elements, Miner Disturbance is a steal at 99 cents.

What's your favorite iPhone app? Are you surprised at the continued success of Mac computers even as the iPhone steals all the limelight? How do you like the feature set in the free SeizeTheDay? What's your high score on the volcano level of Miner Disturbance? Let me know in the comments!

A new report from security software provider Secunia shows that despite considerable security investments, the software industry at large is unable to produce software with substantially fewer vulnerabilities.

The latest data shows that Apple has surpassed Oracle and even Microsoft with accounting for the most software vulnerabilities, though the No. 1 ranking is related only to the number of vulnerabilities--not to how risky they are or how fast they get patched.

This analysis also supports the general perception that a high market share correlates with a high number of vulnerabilities--with Apple (maker of iTunes and QuickTime), Microsoft (Windows, Internet Explorer), and Oracle's Sun Microsystems (Java) consistently occupying the top ranks during the last five years, along with Adobe Systems (Acrobat Reader, Flash), which joined the group in 2008.

Mac OS has remained relatively untouched by major viruses and hacking efforts in the past, as most ne'er-do-wells may have considered the operating system's market share and thus potential for private information less enticing than those of Microsoft's Windows. With the rise of Mac market share and the popularity of the iPhone, however, there is little doubt that Apple platforms will become major malware targets in the near future.

Highlights from the report:

• Ten vendors, including Microsoft, Apple, Oracle, IBM, Adobe, and Cisco Systems, account, on average, for 38 percent of all vulnerabilities disclosed per year.
• In the two years from 2007 to 2009, the number of vulnerabilities affecting a typical end-user PC almost doubled from 220 to 420, and based on the data of the first six months of 2010, the number is expected to almost double again in 2010, to 760.
• During the first six months of 2010, 380 vulnerabilities, or 89 percent of the figures for all of 2009, has already been reported.
• A typical end-user PC with 50 programs installed had 3.5 times more vulnerabilities in the 24 third-party programs installed than in the 26 Microsoft programs installed. It is expected that this ratio will increase to 4.4 in 2010.

While not particularly surprising, it's a bit depressing to think that the multibillion-dollar security software industry continues to be so easily thwarted by bad guys. If there is one positive takeaway from the report, it's that since 2005, there has been no significant upward or downward trend in the total number of vulnerabilities in the more than 29,000 products monitored by Secunia.

Maybe flat is the best we can hope for?

Originally posted at Software, Interrupted

With international ad campaigns, a second "sneak peek" video of its forthcoming BlackBerry OS 6, and several new services--like BlackBerry Protect--BlackBerry-maker RIM has been keeping our attention.

The company's latest is the release of BlackBerry Desktop Manager 6 in a limited beta for Windows computers. RIM hasn't shared many details about how many beta invitations it's giving away for the management software, or how long the closed beta period will last, though RIM does plan to release the software later "this summer."

RIM also shared some teaser screenshots of the revamped app, along with the promise of more-explicit details to come. If there are any major surprises in store, RIM isn't giving them away. The screenshots mostly showcase the app's longtime multimedia-syncing features and application organizer, albeit with an attractive, uncluttered, and dark-themed redesign. RIM also promised "major changes...inside and out," but we'll be the judge of that. We wouldn't be surprised to see some soft of integration with the BlackBerry ID that will guide how applications are maintained (among other things), and we wouldn't mind seeing some convergence with the new BlackBerry Protect service--but we won't hold our breath.

To get started with the BlackBerry Desktop Manager 6 beta, register or log in through RIM's BlackBerry Beta Zone.

Originally posted at Dialed In

The autofill option in Apple's Safari browser can expose personal data without the user's consent, a security researcher reported on Wednesday. It remains unclear as to whether the problem affects Safari specifically or all WebKit-based browsers, which include Google Chrome. It's recommended that Safari and Chrome users disable the autofill feature immediately, until further notice.

Jeremiah Grossman, the chief technical officer of WhiteHat Security, documented the exploit in a blog post on Wednesday, saying that it affects both the current version of Safari, version 5, and the legacy version, Safari 4. He said that the exploit is severe enough that a malicious Web site can access autofill information from Safari without the user entering in any personal information on the site, or even if the user had never visited the site previously.

A malicious Web site would only have to create dynamic form text fields with appropriate names, such as "address" or "credit card," and simulate A-Z keystrokes using JavaScript, and then the data would be filled in automatically, Grossman said in the blog post. This would work, he said, even if the text fields were hidden from the visitor's view. He also added that he notified Apple of the security breach on June 17 in accordance with accepted "best behavior" practices for security researchers, but received only an automatic response.

But it looks like the exploit may not be new. In a blog post from April 2009, Swiss security researcher Patrice Neff uncovered a strikingly similar exploit, which went unnoticed by many people, where Safari would submit a birthday without the user's consent. Neff was able to write a script that could harvest that information from Safari browsers. It's not clear at this point whether the exploits are identical, or just have similar-looking outcomes.

Regardless, the exploit highlights the risk in using automatic data-filling technology without stronger security controls. Users can disable autofill in Safari by going to Preferences, AutoFill, and AutoFill Web forms. In Chrome, go to the "wrench" menu, choose Options, Personal Stuff, and click the AutoFill button. The exploit does not appear at this time to affect the mobile Safari on iOS, or the WebKit-based browser on Android.

Apple's official statement on the autofill vulnerability did not address specifics. "We take security and privacy very seriously. We're aware of the issue and working on a fix," said an Apple representative.

Google did not comment but did confirm that this autofill exploit is not a vulnerability in Chrome because the browser requires a user confirmation to populate text fields that can't be mimicked by JavaScript.

Updated 2:50 p.m. PDT: Comment from Apple has been added.

Updated 3:45 p.m. PDT: Confirmation from Google has been added.

Not all smartphone apps for the Google Voice service are created equal, as we discovered back in September, 2009, when we put each through its paces on iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android phones.

On Thursday, Google updated its Google Voice apps for Android--our hands-down winner--and BlackBerry, the runner up. (If you must know, we declared the iPhone experience to be "a load of crap.")

A modest enhancement to Google Voice on Android and BlackBerry tweaks the back-end calling mechanism to make dialing a faster process when you call out. Though there's no real change to the feature set on the front end, Google says that callers should notice quicker connection times.

Calls took longer to place through the previous apps because the software needed to request an access number from the Google Voice server before achieving a ringtone. Google has cut out a few steps in the process it's now calling "Direct Access Numbers" by assigning a particular phone number to each person you call. This skips the load required by your phone's data network to communicate with Google's server, Google explained on its blog.

U.S. users of the Google Voice service can update to version 0.4 from the Android Market. Blackberry owners should go to http://m.google.com/voice from the mobile browser.

Related stories:

Use Google Voice from your mobile phone
How Google Voice got me out of a bind
Google Voice newbies, start here

Originally posted at Android Atlas

No company is too large to take a cue from Google and Yahoo, least of all AOL.

The Internet-provider and content giant further rushes the Android space with two free apps and a brand-new mobile-optimized Web site for Android and iPhone, all introduced on Thursday.

One of these apps, simply called "AOL," is a content portal that lays out shortcut links to other mobile applications and Web-fed content in AOL's empire. 

The second app, DailyFinance, is the mobile version of AOL.com's Daily Finance site, which hands down real-time data, charts, and portfolios, among other things.

On the Web side of things, AOL has revarnished its mobile site, m.aol.com, for Android phones and iPhones supporting the HTML5 Web standard (video).

With the refurbished site, AOL is again presenting its major content in bite-size chunks that are easier for mobile users visiting the site from relatively small-screen handsets. You'll find information like the weather and links to Moviefone, the YellowPages, and the news in a less cluttered layout than before.

While AOL may not think it's mimicking its Silicon Valley neighbors,  we've seen shades of all these apps from Google and Yahoo. Google routinely updates what it calls its "iterative Web," its mobile site for iPhone and Android smartphones. The finance app also mirrors Yahoo's breakdown of its financial site in a Yahoo Finance app for iPhone, and both Yahoo and Google have released versions of an app portal leading to other apps and content for multiple platforms, such as Google Mobile App for iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Symbian S60, and Windows Mobile.

There's nothing wrong with following suit when the model works, and since all three new products look attractive and cleanly designed, the move is a plus for AOL.com adherents.

Originally posted at Android Atlas

Glide OS, the cloud-based operating system that runs in your browser, is phasing out Adobe Flash in favor of HTML5. This transition begins with a new version of the company's site that's been designed specifically for Apple iPad owners. Beginning Thursday, visitors to Glide's site will see the Flash version if they're on a normal computer, whereas on the iPad, they'll get the HTML5 flavor.

Glide's CEO and founder, Donald Leka, told CNET on Wednesday that the idea to go with HTML5 came out of simple compatibility issues. "The iPad does not support everything, and from the very beginning we've been focused on cross-platform compatibility. So we wouldn't have Glide on it if you couldn't open up your files." With Glide being an all Flash app, that goal obviously faced some hurdles given Apple's no Flash policy.

Glide's HTML5 version gets around incompatibilities by transcoding just about any file type on the server side. "FLV or Windows Media videos--we convert them on the fly, and it works really, really well," Leka said.

Along with file storage, many of Glide's other Web applications have crossed the divide to work without Flash. "Apple didn't make it any easier for us, but we've been able to transport a long list of services," Leka explained. Built in is a search tool that can run queries in multiple engines, and a document editor that can open up stored Microsoft Word documents and let users edit them as well.

All of the features are wrapped into a new UI that floats to the same spot when you scroll down the page, much like the message options found in the mobile Web version of Gmail. "Scrolling isn't very enjoyable on a normal computer, but on something like Microsoft's Surface, or the iPad, it's fun," Leka said. "We wanted to take advantage of that."

As for why Glide isn't releasing its service offerings in a native application, Leka said he didn't think Apple would let it through the company's app approval process. "We were concerned to be honest. I'm not so sure Apple is going to be receptive. A lot of this competes with [Apple's] MobileMe service. We'll see how open they are to us having access to the device itself," he said. Leka did note that the company is working on some location-based features, that will take advantage of the user's location for Glide's own apps; this will be added to both the HTML5 and Flash versions of the site.

Leka says the full version of Glide will eventually make the transition to HTML5, but for now there are certain features that make use of third-party tools, which cannot yet be converted, as well as a sizable group of Internet Explorer users. "We are moving to effectively replace everything in Glide with an HTML5 experience. We see that HTML5 is definitely the future. The thing that Flash had before was ubiquity, but Steve Jobs nixed whatever that was with the iPhone and iPad," Leka said.

Originally posted at Web Crawler

Editors' note: Each day for 10 business days, CNET personalities you know and love are publishing slideshows of their 10 personal favorite iPhone apps. With each post, you get a chance to vote for your own favorite app. Next week, we'll collect the full list of 100 apps and announce the 10 that you, our readers, love the most.

CNET News Staff Writer Josh Lowensohn is a jack-of-all-trades. He podcasts, he reports, he even live-blogs Apple events.

Josh plays games, too. A whopping seven of Josh's favorite iPhone apps are games, some more serious than others. From strategy games to space games, Josh's recommendations could entertain even the most curmudgeonly iPhone owner. Josh does use his phone for work from time to time, however, and offers a few recommendations for the media savvy blogger, as well. Check out his slideshow to see them all:

Once you've seen all of Josh's picks, return to this poll to let us know which app is your favorite, then check back each day on iPhone Atlas to see app choices from the rest of the CNET crew.

Originally posted at iPhone Atlas