Apple Talk Weekly: Apple's market-cap shuffle
Apple releases $999 Thunderbolt-free iMacBefore getting your hopes up, this new iMac is effectively a kiosk unit, with less RAM and no Thunderbolt port. It's also only for education buyers, so it's probably not something you're in the market for. Still, it's a sub-$1,000 iMac that comes in $200 less than Apple currently charges for its entry-level model. Apple updates recycling program to include iPhone, iPad buybacksAn update to Apple's reuse and recycling program that's a result of a partnership with PowerON means people with old iPhones, iPads, and Macs can get money back for their old stuff. Don't expect cash though--Apple is doling out gift cards that can be used in its retail stores or online stores. Apple disk assistant app lets you make your own Lion recovery toolApple's new software tool lets you turn an ordinary blank drive (including a hard drive or USB stick) into a recovery image of your system. Apple is offering it as a backup in case you can't start your computer with Lion's built-in recovery drive partition, or you've just popped a new hard drive in your system without Mac OS X on it.Legal news of the weekApple gets injunction against Samsung's Galaxy tablet in EuropeThis preliminary injunction, which went in Apple's favor this week, means Samsung can't sell its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in all of Europe, except the Netherlands. A hearing scheduled for later this month will let Samsung fight the action. Apple and Samsung are embroiled in similar legal battles with each other in the U.S., both with lawsuits and with complaints to the U.S. International Trade Commission. (Note: Apple filed a similar suit against Motorola in the EU over the design of Motorola's Xoom tablet).Prosecutors file charges in prototype iPhone caseRemember the iPhone 4 that was left in the bar and wound up on Gizmodo months before Apple took the wraps off it at last year's WWDC? The San Mateo County District Attorney's office this week filed criminal charges against two men who were involved in the alleged theft and subsequent sale of that device.An arraignment has been scheduled for later this month. The outside of the fake Apple store in Kunming, China.BirdAbroadApple sued for Fast Boot patentA lawsuit from entity Operating System Solutions takes aim at Apple's Mac OS X for violating a patent it owns for quickly booting up an OS. What's interesting about that patent is that it was originally owned by LG, which supplies Apple with components it uses in its electronics. The patent changed hands in 2008 as part of a reissuing. Apple, others sued over e-book price fixingApple was named along with a handful of major book publishers like the Penguin Group and Simon & Schuster in a lawsuit saying those companies "colluded to increase prices" on popular books by using an "agency model" versus the traditional wholesale model. 22 more fake Apple stores found in ChinaFollowing an investigation, 22 additional local Chinese retailers were found to be selling goods under Apple's banner without permission to do so. The finding comes after international attention on counterfeit Apple stores made waves last month. The key thing here is that this was just one city within the country. A similar crackdown in another part of the country found an additional crop of stores.Rumors of the week: September iPod event, iCloud phonesA report by Japanese tech news site Kodawarisan made waves this week, claiming Apple planned to announce a new lineup of iPods at an event on September 7. That date's not all that hard to believe, considering it's around the same time the company takes the wraps off that line of devices. The report was later rebuffed by Apple tracker Jim Dalrymple, who, citing anonymous sources, said there's no event or phone launch planned for that date. AllThingsD's Kara Swisher later weighed in as well, once again reiterating the outlet's claims that Apple plans to debut the new device in October.The invite to last year's Apple music event, where the company unwrapped new iPods.AppleThe day before all this, a separate report by Apple news site Apple 'N' Apps claimed Apple would be taking the wraps off a new phone that would drop some of the storage, instead making use of iCloud's storage features to stash away and access data. Between the two, the so-called "iCloud iPhone" is the far more interesting rumor. iPods now play second fiddle to the iPhone both in terms of sales and buzz. The prospect that Apple is somehow working on a second tier of iPhone has been kicking around for years, though it's of special interest now that Google's Android platform has made considerable gains--in part because it's available in different form factors.In this case, the paid storage aspect of iCloud, mixed with a device with little on-board memory could provide an additional way for Apple to make money after a user buys the hardware. The big blocker? Short of what Apple's recently done with itsTV show streaming, iCloud is not a streaming service for things like movies and music--the items that can really take up space on these devices. And how would this work with apps, some of which can take up room? Those are all things that would need to be answered with such a device. Patent of the week: Projectors in your gadgets for a shared displayAn Apple patent applicationthat surfaced this week offered the tantalizing prospect of not only putting projectors in gadgets like phones, tablets, and notebooks to display content on nearby walls or presentation surfaces, but also giving those devices a way to talk with each other to make a big, shared workspace. Apple's multidevice projector patent promises to blend screens from multiple devices into one.USPTOIn the patent this is depicted with images of phones and computers blasting out images of scatter plots and pie charts, but the same technology could also theoretically be used to let you stitch together those projections into a nice big wide screen, perfect for watching movies, or, say, putting nine iPhones together to see photos in their native resolution. Reader question of the weekCNET reader Michael S. asks:Hi Josh, I enjoy reading your work on CNET.In regards to cloud computing, I have been busy digitizing my CD collection, and on my iPod Touch I'm at about 24GB of music in my iTunes library. Thus, going on what you wrote, it's going to cost me a chunk of change to put that on the cloud, right? As you can probably tell I'm no Apple--or for that matter PC--black belt, but as I understood the promo launch Steve Jobs did, I upload my music, they convert it to 256(Kbps) quality, and it's goodbye CDs. Now I understand it to mean basically it's going to cost me $100 a year. Am I missing something? AppleA: OK, here's the thing about storage on iCloud: if you've purchased anything from Apple, it doesn't get counted. And anytime you want to go redownload that music on another device attached to your account, you can do it free of charge. Considering your library is made up of non-iTunes purchases, what you're going to need is the upcoming iTunes Match service. For $24.99 a year, Apple will scan your library (all 24 gigs of it), then cross-reference that music with what's in its iTunes Store library. If it finds a match, you effectively own a cloud license of that track for as long as you're paying Apple for the Match service, meaning you can download and use the high-quality version of it on other devices just as if you had bought it through Apple. Anything else that's not included in that match goes against your regular iCloud storage. So if you plan on storing a copy for safe keeping and it ends up being more than 5GB, you'll need to upgrade to one of Apple's paid storage plans.One other caveat with iTunes Match is that it's limited to 25,000 songs, meaning if you have a library bigger than that in terms of song volume, only 25,000 songs of that library will get indexed. Note: If you have any of your own questions that you'd like to see answered in this weekly column, use the e-mail link right below this article. If I can't get to your question, I might pass it on to my colleagues over at MacFixIt, who run MacFixIt Answers.
Microsoft on iTunes in 2003- 'We were smoked'
Microsoft on iTunes in 2003: 'We were smoked'
One of the most interesting follow-ups comes from Groklaw, which dug up some e-mails placed into the public record a few years ago during an antitrust case against Microsoft. (These materials have been a treasure trove of interesting and sometimes-embarrassing internal communications, including then-Windows chief Jim Allchin's 2004 admission that he would have bought a Mac over a Windows PC at that time.) Almost immediately after Apple launched the iTunes Music Store in April 2003, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates sent an e-mail to a bunch of folks in the Windows Media and MSN groups praising Steve Jobs' ability to get "a better licensing deal than anybody else has gotten for music." He continued, "We need some plan to prove that even though Jobs has us a bit flat-footed again, we move quick, and both match and do stuff better." Allchin added his opinion in a follow-up e-mail: "We were smoked."A bit of historyAt the time, the major record labels had built a couple of music stores, as well as online-delivery platforms Pressplay and MusicNet, which were almost universally panned for their lack of usability. Initially, songs purchased through the services couldn't be burned to CD or transferred to any portable device. Other online music stores were similarly hampered. By the time Jobs struck his iTunes Music Store deal, the labels had loosened these restrictions only slightly, and they still required users to pay a subscription fee for a limited number of downloads or streams. Jobs was able to get consistent (99 cent) single-song download pricing, unlimited CD burning, and--critically--unlimited transfers to the iPod. As Allchin asks, "How did they [Apple] get the music companies to go along?" Jobs' personal magnetism, as well as status as a Hollywood insider through his founding of Pixar Animation Studios, probably had some effect. But more importantly, the iTunes Music Store was originally Mac-only. The Mac had less than 5 percent market share at the time, so content owners probably figured that allowing single-song downloads into such a small market would provide a good test bed for Apple's FairPlay DRM system and pricing model. By the time Apple was ready to launch the Windows version of iTunes in October 2003, Apple had sold 13 million songs through the service, outpacing all other music stores, despite the Mac's small market share. In other words, FairPlay and the consistently priced single-song downloads worked. Almost seven years later, the iTunes Store is the largest music retailer in the United States, online or offline, and most of the stores based on the Windows Media Platform (including MSN Music) are out of business or have moved to selling unrestricted MP3 files. Getting back to Dick Brass's criticism of Microsoft, I find it fascinating that top Microsoft executives were aware almost immediately of the threat the iTunes Music Store posed to the whole Windows Media ecosystem, but Microsoft was still unable to stop it. This matches what I've seen time and time again in my last 10 years following the company. Microsoft has some smart executives who can quickly and correctly assess market changes and opportunities. Often, they come up with a good strategy to capitalize on those changes. But somewhere between strategy and execution, the thread is lost. Windows Media and Zune are most relevant to this blog, but you can see it elsewhere: online advertising, search, and mobile phones, to name three obvious examples.
One of the most interesting follow-ups comes from Groklaw, which dug up some e-mails placed into the public record a few years ago during an antitrust case against Microsoft. (These materials have been a treasure trove of interesting and sometimes-embarrassing internal communications, including then-Windows chief Jim Allchin's 2004 admission that he would have bought a Mac over a Windows PC at that time.) Almost immediately after Apple launched the iTunes Music Store in April 2003, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates sent an e-mail to a bunch of folks in the Windows Media and MSN groups praising Steve Jobs' ability to get "a better licensing deal than anybody else has gotten for music." He continued, "We need some plan to prove that even though Jobs has us a bit flat-footed again, we move quick, and both match and do stuff better." Allchin added his opinion in a follow-up e-mail: "We were smoked."A bit of historyAt the time, the major record labels had built a couple of music stores, as well as online-delivery platforms Pressplay and MusicNet, which were almost universally panned for their lack of usability. Initially, songs purchased through the services couldn't be burned to CD or transferred to any portable device. Other online music stores were similarly hampered. By the time Jobs struck his iTunes Music Store deal, the labels had loosened these restrictions only slightly, and they still required users to pay a subscription fee for a limited number of downloads or streams. Jobs was able to get consistent (99 cent) single-song download pricing, unlimited CD burning, and--critically--unlimited transfers to the iPod. As Allchin asks, "How did they [Apple] get the music companies to go along?" Jobs' personal magnetism, as well as status as a Hollywood insider through his founding of Pixar Animation Studios, probably had some effect. But more importantly, the iTunes Music Store was originally Mac-only. The Mac had less than 5 percent market share at the time, so content owners probably figured that allowing single-song downloads into such a small market would provide a good test bed for Apple's FairPlay DRM system and pricing model. By the time Apple was ready to launch the Windows version of iTunes in October 2003, Apple had sold 13 million songs through the service, outpacing all other music stores, despite the Mac's small market share. In other words, FairPlay and the consistently priced single-song downloads worked. Almost seven years later, the iTunes Store is the largest music retailer in the United States, online or offline, and most of the stores based on the Windows Media Platform (including MSN Music) are out of business or have moved to selling unrestricted MP3 files. Getting back to Dick Brass's criticism of Microsoft, I find it fascinating that top Microsoft executives were aware almost immediately of the threat the iTunes Music Store posed to the whole Windows Media ecosystem, but Microsoft was still unable to stop it. This matches what I've seen time and time again in my last 10 years following the company. Microsoft has some smart executives who can quickly and correctly assess market changes and opportunities. Often, they come up with a good strategy to capitalize on those changes. But somewhere between strategy and execution, the thread is lost. Windows Media and Zune are most relevant to this blog, but you can see it elsewhere: online advertising, search, and mobile phones, to name three obvious examples.
Apple's set-top box cure- A TiVo acquisition
Apple's set-top box cure: A TiVo acquisition
Apple is reportedly in talks with cable manufacturers to make set-top boxes that would sort of reinvent TV, but there's an easier and more obvious route for Apple to take: buy TiVo.The Wall Street Journal has chimed in on Apple's set-top box plans for two consecutive days. The first story highlighted how Apple is in talks with cable operators to be set-top box partners. Today, the set-top box market is dominated by Motorola Mobility, now owned by Google, and Cisco via its Scientific Atlanta acquisition years ago. If these reports are true -- and frankly they could just be a diversion to take focus off of an iTV -- Apple has decided that if it can't beat the content-cable establishment, it'll join them, with a few new icons and the familiar iOS interface. Bernstein Research analyst Carlos Kirjner said in a research note:Ever since Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs was published, speculation has swirled over how Apple might re-invent the pay TV business. Today's reporting by the WSJ suggests that Apple is now exploring the possibility of cooperating with the incumbent ecosystem, a departure from previous speculation that Apple might produce its own television and/or license content directly from studios. While the release of a potential set-top box is consistent with our long-held belief that a modified set-top box was a more likely path for the company than an Apple television, possible cooperation with the cable operators does appear to represent a scaled back set of ambitions for Apple, from complete re-invention to something like cooperation. And that's if they can reach a deal at all. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.The big question here is whether Apple would really get into a low-margin set-top box business. Kirjner noted that even if Apple sold 50 million set-top boxes (a sum that's a bit nuts) in 2014, it would amount to 5 percent of revenue. If you boosted iTunes sales, there would be more return, but iTunes is only 3 percent of revenue. In other words, Apple's set-top box route is a lot of headaches for an iOS halo effect.What's a shorter route to TV set-top box utopia? Just buy TiVo.Alfred Fried & Co. analyst Rich Tullo floated the TiVo idea in a research note. His reasons for arguing that Apple should buy TiVo go like this:Apple could acquire TiVo for $1.5 billion to $2 billion. Apple could reverse engineer set-top boxes for $500 million, or buy TiVo, which would probably sue Apple anyway. The TiVo box would become an iBox. TiVo has valuable intellectual property for Apple. Cable companies already have deals with TiVo. TiVo has been selling set-top boxes in the aftermarket, and Apple could provide support with its genius bars in its retail stores. Manufacturing costs would go down for these set-top boxes because of Apple's massive supply chain. Tullo said one wrinkle in the Apple-TiVo argument boils down to an intellectual-property lawsuit with Verizon starting September 12. If TiVo wins a settlement, Motorola and Cisco are likely to settle. A global IP settlement would make TiVo worth even more to Apple. Bottom line: If Apple is seriously considering the set-top box market, it has to be looking at TiVo. An acquisition is the best and quickest way toward upending Google-Motorola in the living room.
Apple is reportedly in talks with cable manufacturers to make set-top boxes that would sort of reinvent TV, but there's an easier and more obvious route for Apple to take: buy TiVo.The Wall Street Journal has chimed in on Apple's set-top box plans for two consecutive days. The first story highlighted how Apple is in talks with cable operators to be set-top box partners. Today, the set-top box market is dominated by Motorola Mobility, now owned by Google, and Cisco via its Scientific Atlanta acquisition years ago. If these reports are true -- and frankly they could just be a diversion to take focus off of an iTV -- Apple has decided that if it can't beat the content-cable establishment, it'll join them, with a few new icons and the familiar iOS interface. Bernstein Research analyst Carlos Kirjner said in a research note:Ever since Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs was published, speculation has swirled over how Apple might re-invent the pay TV business. Today's reporting by the WSJ suggests that Apple is now exploring the possibility of cooperating with the incumbent ecosystem, a departure from previous speculation that Apple might produce its own television and/or license content directly from studios. While the release of a potential set-top box is consistent with our long-held belief that a modified set-top box was a more likely path for the company than an Apple television, possible cooperation with the cable operators does appear to represent a scaled back set of ambitions for Apple, from complete re-invention to something like cooperation. And that's if they can reach a deal at all. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.The big question here is whether Apple would really get into a low-margin set-top box business. Kirjner noted that even if Apple sold 50 million set-top boxes (a sum that's a bit nuts) in 2014, it would amount to 5 percent of revenue. If you boosted iTunes sales, there would be more return, but iTunes is only 3 percent of revenue. In other words, Apple's set-top box route is a lot of headaches for an iOS halo effect.What's a shorter route to TV set-top box utopia? Just buy TiVo.Alfred Fried & Co. analyst Rich Tullo floated the TiVo idea in a research note. His reasons for arguing that Apple should buy TiVo go like this:Apple could acquire TiVo for $1.5 billion to $2 billion. Apple could reverse engineer set-top boxes for $500 million, or buy TiVo, which would probably sue Apple anyway. The TiVo box would become an iBox. TiVo has valuable intellectual property for Apple. Cable companies already have deals with TiVo. TiVo has been selling set-top boxes in the aftermarket, and Apple could provide support with its genius bars in its retail stores. Manufacturing costs would go down for these set-top boxes because of Apple's massive supply chain. Tullo said one wrinkle in the Apple-TiVo argument boils down to an intellectual-property lawsuit with Verizon starting September 12. If TiVo wins a settlement, Motorola and Cisco are likely to settle. A global IP settlement would make TiVo worth even more to Apple. Bottom line: If Apple is seriously considering the set-top box market, it has to be looking at TiVo. An acquisition is the best and quickest way toward upending Google-Motorola in the living room.
The 404 1,034- Where Jeff takes an ice nap (podcast)
The 404 1,034: Where Jeff takes an ice nap (podcast)
Jeff took a spill on the ice during a hockey game yesterday, but he manages to limp his way into the studio to help us out with today's rundown. We wouldn't be The 404 if we didn't cover the 2Pac holographic concert at Coachella last weekend, and even though it's technically just a clever optical illusion, we're excited about the upcoming 2.0Pac tour and the potential of resurrecting our own favorite performers from history.Meanwhile, Ikea furniture designers in Sweden have come up with a new way to vertically integrate their furniture with another crucial piece of your living room: the television set. It's called Uppleva, and it combines an LED flat panel television set with built in speakers, a wireless supwoofer, a baked-in Internet connection, and a combination CD/DVD/Blu-ray player into a console that includes a shelf to house your other electronics. No word yet on how much assembly will be required, but at least its name sounds cooler than this.Finally, we'll tell you about an upcoming art exhibition in Australia that will feature a scent that encompasses the smell of a MacBook Pro unboxing: everything from the printed ink on the cardboard, the plastic components, and the aluminum used to build the Macbook body itself will be represented in the fragrance we hope will be called "Eau de Chinese Foxconn Factory."Bathroom break video: Eye drop swag.This content is rated TV-MA, and is for viewers 18 years or older. Are you of age?YesNoSorry, you are not old enough to view this content.PlayEpisode 1,034PodcastYour browser does not support the audio element. Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video  Follow us on Twitter!The 404Jeff BakalarJustin YuAdd us on Facebook!The 404 Fan PageThe 404 GroupJustin YuJeff Bakalar
Jeff took a spill on the ice during a hockey game yesterday, but he manages to limp his way into the studio to help us out with today's rundown. We wouldn't be The 404 if we didn't cover the 2Pac holographic concert at Coachella last weekend, and even though it's technically just a clever optical illusion, we're excited about the upcoming 2.0Pac tour and the potential of resurrecting our own favorite performers from history.Meanwhile, Ikea furniture designers in Sweden have come up with a new way to vertically integrate their furniture with another crucial piece of your living room: the television set. It's called Uppleva, and it combines an LED flat panel television set with built in speakers, a wireless supwoofer, a baked-in Internet connection, and a combination CD/DVD/Blu-ray player into a console that includes a shelf to house your other electronics. No word yet on how much assembly will be required, but at least its name sounds cooler than this.Finally, we'll tell you about an upcoming art exhibition in Australia that will feature a scent that encompasses the smell of a MacBook Pro unboxing: everything from the printed ink on the cardboard, the plastic components, and the aluminum used to build the Macbook body itself will be represented in the fragrance we hope will be called "Eau de Chinese Foxconn Factory."Bathroom break video: Eye drop swag.This content is rated TV-MA, and is for viewers 18 years or older. Are you of age?YesNoSorry, you are not old enough to view this content.PlayEpisode 1,034PodcastYour browser does not support the audio element. Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video  Follow us on Twitter!The 404Jeff BakalarJustin YuAdd us on Facebook!The 404 Fan PageThe 404 GroupJustin YuJeff Bakalar
iTunes slip-up reveals auto app-updates feature
iTunes slip-up reveals auto app-updates feature
A message that appeared in iTunes briefly last night before being taken down by Apple hints that automatic application updates are on the way to iOS users as part of the upcoming system update.Discovered by MacRumors, the hint came inside of the iTunes app update page, where users can opt to have the iTunes software fetch application updates in bulk, as opposed to waiting for them to update one at a time on the device itself. The boilerplate text on this section was otherwise identical to what's been there for years, with the exception of the end line, which said: "or if your device has Automatic Download enabled for apps, your updates will download to your device without having to sync."Apple's had on-device application updating since the launch of the App Store, though one of the only enhancements since then has been an option to install all the updates at once, which was added as part of iOS 2.2. Otherwise, the process is entirely manual, and one that requires launching the App Store app, and often being connected to a Wi-Fi network for any updates over 20 MB in size. Competitor Google's had an automatic update feature as part of Android since the "Froyo" update was released last year. This lets users opt to pick certain applications that should automatically update every time the OS makes a check. Apple's system could work in a similar fashion, though the brief language suggests the feature will only deliver downloads over the air, versus automatically installing them.Rumors cropped up earlier this week that Apple was testing a similar update system for its Time Capsule device that would fetch system software updates for Apple's Mac OS, as well as tap into iCloud services. This could very well be a part of that system, or just a standalone feature in iOS 5, which Apple has said it will be debuting on Monday morning.WWDC kicks off at 10 a.m. Pacific on Monday with a keynote from Apple CEO Steve Jobs. You can catch our live coverage of it here.
A message that appeared in iTunes briefly last night before being taken down by Apple hints that automatic application updates are on the way to iOS users as part of the upcoming system update.Discovered by MacRumors, the hint came inside of the iTunes app update page, where users can opt to have the iTunes software fetch application updates in bulk, as opposed to waiting for them to update one at a time on the device itself. The boilerplate text on this section was otherwise identical to what's been there for years, with the exception of the end line, which said: "or if your device has Automatic Download enabled for apps, your updates will download to your device without having to sync."Apple's had on-device application updating since the launch of the App Store, though one of the only enhancements since then has been an option to install all the updates at once, which was added as part of iOS 2.2. Otherwise, the process is entirely manual, and one that requires launching the App Store app, and often being connected to a Wi-Fi network for any updates over 20 MB in size. Competitor Google's had an automatic update feature as part of Android since the "Froyo" update was released last year. This lets users opt to pick certain applications that should automatically update every time the OS makes a check. Apple's system could work in a similar fashion, though the brief language suggests the feature will only deliver downloads over the air, versus automatically installing them.Rumors cropped up earlier this week that Apple was testing a similar update system for its Time Capsule device that would fetch system software updates for Apple's Mac OS, as well as tap into iCloud services. This could very well be a part of that system, or just a standalone feature in iOS 5, which Apple has said it will be debuting on Monday morning.WWDC kicks off at 10 a.m. Pacific on Monday with a keynote from Apple CEO Steve Jobs. You can catch our live coverage of it here.
Apple's big 'little' event- Join us Tuesday (live blog)
Apple's big 'little' event: Join us Tuesday (live blog)
Apple is holding its special event on Tuesday, and you can get your full dose of the news right here.The press conference, at which Apple is expected to debut a smaller version of the iPad as well as updates to Apple's Mac line, kicks off at 10 a.m. Pacific. CNET's Scott Stein, Rich Brown and I will be bringing you the news live from the California Theatre in downtown San Jose, Calif.CNET will also be running live commentary from editors Molly Wood, Brian Tong, and Donald Bell beginning at 9 a.m. PT, which you'll be able to watch right above our live blog. Note that there's no live video of the presentation itself.You can tune in to the live blog here:CNET's live coverage of Apple's event on TuesdayApple sets the stage for Oct. 23 event (...See full gallery1 - 4 / 9NextPrevThe event is overwhelmingly expected to bring a smaller, less expensive version of Apple's iPad. The product would be Apple's first expansion of its tablet line since the iPad's debut in 2010, and its second iPad announcement this year. Related storiesApple iPad Mini: The ultimate rumor roundupiPad Mini: What we expectThe next Macs: What we expectRumors also suggest that Apple may update other products, particularly Macs. Both the MacBook Pro and iMac are rumored to be getting upgraded models, as well as Apple's Mac mini. See CNET's full rundown on that here.As usual, we'll be using ScribbleLive to bring you live text and photos, blow by blow. We'll start the live blog about an hour before Apple officially kicks off its event, so be sure to come early.This content is rated TV-MA, and is for viewers 18 years or older. Are you of age?YesNoSorry, you are not old enough to view this content.PlayEditors' note: The original version of this story was posted October 21 at 12:01 a.m. PT. It has been updated since then.
Apple is holding its special event on Tuesday, and you can get your full dose of the news right here.The press conference, at which Apple is expected to debut a smaller version of the iPad as well as updates to Apple's Mac line, kicks off at 10 a.m. Pacific. CNET's Scott Stein, Rich Brown and I will be bringing you the news live from the California Theatre in downtown San Jose, Calif.CNET will also be running live commentary from editors Molly Wood, Brian Tong, and Donald Bell beginning at 9 a.m. PT, which you'll be able to watch right above our live blog. Note that there's no live video of the presentation itself.You can tune in to the live blog here:CNET's live coverage of Apple's event on TuesdayApple sets the stage for Oct. 23 event (...See full gallery1 - 4 / 9NextPrevThe event is overwhelmingly expected to bring a smaller, less expensive version of Apple's iPad. The product would be Apple's first expansion of its tablet line since the iPad's debut in 2010, and its second iPad announcement this year. Related storiesApple iPad Mini: The ultimate rumor roundupiPad Mini: What we expectThe next Macs: What we expectRumors also suggest that Apple may update other products, particularly Macs. Both the MacBook Pro and iMac are rumored to be getting upgraded models, as well as Apple's Mac mini. See CNET's full rundown on that here.As usual, we'll be using ScribbleLive to bring you live text and photos, blow by blow. We'll start the live blog about an hour before Apple officially kicks off its event, so be sure to come early.This content is rated TV-MA, and is for viewers 18 years or older. Are you of age?YesNoSorry, you are not old enough to view this content.PlayEditors' note: The original version of this story was posted October 21 at 12:01 a.m. PT. It has been updated since then.
Apple's back-to-school deal gets download focus
Apple's back-to-school deal gets download focus
Instead of offering student Mac buyers a free iPod--as it's done for the past several years--Apple this morning launched its annual back-to-school promotion with a $100 credit for digital downloads. That $100 can be spent in iTunes, the iBookstore, and in the iOS and Mac App Stores. One trend you might notice there is that Apple's found a way to get a return on that $100, which could be the whole amount if someone ends up buying Apple's own software like iWork and Aperture, which can be found in the Mac App Store. Apple makes 30 percent on sales made on all those stores, with the exception of iTunes. As part of the deal Apple is heavily promoting that $100 be spent in the Mac App Store. The company's curated a special back-to-school collection of apps in the Mac App Store, though not yet in its other stores. That collection includes Evernote (which is pictured above), Things and Scrivener. There are also "apps for study breaks," which are mostly made up of games. Details on Apple's deal leaked out earlier this week. A rumor near the end of May incorrectly suggested that Apple would be offering $229 towards an iPod model, or $200 off the purchase of a new iPad to those making Mac purchases. To qualify for this year's deal, Mac buyers need to be college students, or students who have been accepted to college. The deal is also good for parents of those students, as well as faculty and staff members. The deal runs from today through September 20, 2011.Worth noting is that Apple plans to release the next major version of its Mac OS X software next month, which will only be delivered through the Mac App Store. Apple has said it will be giving everyone who's purchased a Mac between WWDC last week and its release a free copy of the upgrade.Competitor Microsoft launched its back-to-school program last month, offering students who buy a new PC at $699 or more a free Xbox 360 console.
Instead of offering student Mac buyers a free iPod--as it's done for the past several years--Apple this morning launched its annual back-to-school promotion with a $100 credit for digital downloads. That $100 can be spent in iTunes, the iBookstore, and in the iOS and Mac App Stores. One trend you might notice there is that Apple's found a way to get a return on that $100, which could be the whole amount if someone ends up buying Apple's own software like iWork and Aperture, which can be found in the Mac App Store. Apple makes 30 percent on sales made on all those stores, with the exception of iTunes. As part of the deal Apple is heavily promoting that $100 be spent in the Mac App Store. The company's curated a special back-to-school collection of apps in the Mac App Store, though not yet in its other stores. That collection includes Evernote (which is pictured above), Things and Scrivener. There are also "apps for study breaks," which are mostly made up of games. Details on Apple's deal leaked out earlier this week. A rumor near the end of May incorrectly suggested that Apple would be offering $229 towards an iPod model, or $200 off the purchase of a new iPad to those making Mac purchases. To qualify for this year's deal, Mac buyers need to be college students, or students who have been accepted to college. The deal is also good for parents of those students, as well as faculty and staff members. The deal runs from today through September 20, 2011.Worth noting is that Apple plans to release the next major version of its Mac OS X software next month, which will only be delivered through the Mac App Store. Apple has said it will be giving everyone who's purchased a Mac between WWDC last week and its release a free copy of the upgrade.Competitor Microsoft launched its back-to-school program last month, offering students who buy a new PC at $699 or more a free Xbox 360 console.
Apple's Australian maps mishap linked to local data
Apple's Australian maps mishap linked to local data
The bad directions issue that led local police in Australia to steer motorists away from Apple's Maps app may not entirely be the iPhone maker's fault.Apparently there are two listings for the same problematic location in the Australian Gazetteer, the de facto local geographical dictionary that lists some 322,000 locations and their corresponding GPS coordinates.As reported by The Register, this resulted in two possible results for "Mildura" -- one of which was located in remote wilderness more than 40 miles away from the town of the same name. People were reportedly getting stranded in that wilderness area after following Apple Maps directions.The problem in question was quietly fixed yesterday, notes The Guardian, and now directs users to the town of Mildura instead of a location outside the not-so-nearby Murray-Sunset National Park. Apple's maps software was released in September as part of iOS 6 as a replacement to Google Maps. Users with devices on iOS 5 and below continue to use software that sources information from Google. Apple gets its own mapping data from a variety of sources, including TomTom, Waze, Yelp, and NASA. Data from the Australian Gazetteer comes from various local government agencies and is managed by the country's federal government. After user complaints and some negative press about the software,Apple apologized for its quality and pledged to make improvements. There have already been signs of progress, like updated 3D and satellite imagery and corrections to location database information. Unlike rival Google, Apple hasn't alerted users to these changes, making progress harder to track.
The bad directions issue that led local police in Australia to steer motorists away from Apple's Maps app may not entirely be the iPhone maker's fault.Apparently there are two listings for the same problematic location in the Australian Gazetteer, the de facto local geographical dictionary that lists some 322,000 locations and their corresponding GPS coordinates.As reported by The Register, this resulted in two possible results for "Mildura" -- one of which was located in remote wilderness more than 40 miles away from the town of the same name. People were reportedly getting stranded in that wilderness area after following Apple Maps directions.The problem in question was quietly fixed yesterday, notes The Guardian, and now directs users to the town of Mildura instead of a location outside the not-so-nearby Murray-Sunset National Park. Apple's maps software was released in September as part of iOS 6 as a replacement to Google Maps. Users with devices on iOS 5 and below continue to use software that sources information from Google. Apple gets its own mapping data from a variety of sources, including TomTom, Waze, Yelp, and NASA. Data from the Australian Gazetteer comes from various local government agencies and is managed by the country's federal government. After user complaints and some negative press about the software,Apple apologized for its quality and pledged to make improvements. There have already been signs of progress, like updated 3D and satellite imagery and corrections to location database information. Unlike rival Google, Apple hasn't alerted users to these changes, making progress harder to track.
Apple's App Store travels to 32 more countries
Apple's App Store travels to 32 more countries
Apple yesterday widened the reach of its popular online App Store to an additional 32 markets.Citing an e-mail sent to registered iOS and Mac developers last night, 9to5Mac said that the new markets are mostly in Africa, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region.The App Store expansion follows an announcement by Apple CEO Tim Cook at last week's Worldwide Developers Conference that the online store would branch out to the 32 new markets, adding up to 155 regions across the world.The 32 new areas: Albania, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Chad, Congo, Fiji, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Micronesia, Mongolia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Swaziland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Zimbabwe.Related storiesApple: 30B apps downloaded, 400M App Store accounts set upApple's App Store: 25 billion downloadsGet alerted when the free App of the Week is posted in the App StoreCook also shared the latest App Store stats at WWDC.The store currently holds 400 million active accounts. More than 650,000 apps abound, and 30 billion have been downloaded since the store's birth in 2008. Apple has also handed out $5 billion to developers over the past four years.The App Store achieved its 25 billionth download just this past March, showing a steady rise since 2008. The first nine months saw 1 billion downloads. That number hit 5 billion in June 2010, 10 billion in January 2011, and then surpassed 18 billion last October.
Apple yesterday widened the reach of its popular online App Store to an additional 32 markets.Citing an e-mail sent to registered iOS and Mac developers last night, 9to5Mac said that the new markets are mostly in Africa, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region.The App Store expansion follows an announcement by Apple CEO Tim Cook at last week's Worldwide Developers Conference that the online store would branch out to the 32 new markets, adding up to 155 regions across the world.The 32 new areas: Albania, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Chad, Congo, Fiji, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Micronesia, Mongolia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Swaziland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Zimbabwe.Related storiesApple: 30B apps downloaded, 400M App Store accounts set upApple's App Store: 25 billion downloadsGet alerted when the free App of the Week is posted in the App StoreCook also shared the latest App Store stats at WWDC.The store currently holds 400 million active accounts. More than 650,000 apps abound, and 30 billion have been downloaded since the store's birth in 2008. Apple has also handed out $5 billion to developers over the past four years.The App Store achieved its 25 billionth download just this past March, showing a steady rise since 2008. The first nine months saw 1 billion downloads. That number hit 5 billion in June 2010, 10 billion in January 2011, and then surpassed 18 billion last October.
Apple's Arizona plant could make 'unprecedented' amounts of sapphire
Apple's Arizona plant could make 'unprecedented' amounts of sapphire
Apple's new Arizona factory could manufacture "unprecedented" amounts of synthetic sapphire used to make stronger iPhone screens, according to a report.The factory will make as much as double the current global capacity of sapphire, according to Yole Developpement analyst Eric Virey, via Bloomberg. That's enough for 80 million to 100 million iPhones a year, the report said. Related stories:Apple closer to mass producing sapphire displaysApple inks $578 million deal for sapphire productionApple to make critical new component at sapphire plantArizona Governor Jan Brewer in November announced that Apple was building a factory in Mesa, Arizona, to manufacture sapphire materials. And Apple late last year signed a contract with GT Advanced to produce sapphire-based materials at Apple's new facility in Arizona. The plant should open later this month with 700 full-time workers and 1,200 temporary construction jobs, Bloomberg said.Apple has already used sapphire for the surface of the rear camera lens for the iPhone 5 and the ID fingerprint sensor in the iPhone 5S. The company is now believed to be planning massive production of synthetic sapphire displays for use in its various gadgets. A future iPhone with a display made out of the material could render it scratch-resistant and nearly unbreakable.Synthetic sapphire is made using furnaces that cause cylinders of sapphire to grow in about a month. The cylinders are then sliced to less than a millimeter thick, Bloomberg said. Because the process is so complex, it requires a small and well-trained workforce, unlike the factories run by Foxconn to assemble Apple's gadgets by hand. The sapphire plant is Apple's latest effort to control every part of the process for making its gadgets. Along with now building sapphire for strong screens, the company also designs the processors powering its iPhones and iPads. Controlling more of the process allows the devices to work exactly as Apple wants, and it also allows the company to keep its plans more secret.
Apple's new Arizona factory could manufacture "unprecedented" amounts of synthetic sapphire used to make stronger iPhone screens, according to a report.The factory will make as much as double the current global capacity of sapphire, according to Yole Developpement analyst Eric Virey, via Bloomberg. That's enough for 80 million to 100 million iPhones a year, the report said. Related stories:Apple closer to mass producing sapphire displaysApple inks $578 million deal for sapphire productionApple to make critical new component at sapphire plantArizona Governor Jan Brewer in November announced that Apple was building a factory in Mesa, Arizona, to manufacture sapphire materials. And Apple late last year signed a contract with GT Advanced to produce sapphire-based materials at Apple's new facility in Arizona. The plant should open later this month with 700 full-time workers and 1,200 temporary construction jobs, Bloomberg said.Apple has already used sapphire for the surface of the rear camera lens for the iPhone 5 and the ID fingerprint sensor in the iPhone 5S. The company is now believed to be planning massive production of synthetic sapphire displays for use in its various gadgets. A future iPhone with a display made out of the material could render it scratch-resistant and nearly unbreakable.Synthetic sapphire is made using furnaces that cause cylinders of sapphire to grow in about a month. The cylinders are then sliced to less than a millimeter thick, Bloomberg said. Because the process is so complex, it requires a small and well-trained workforce, unlike the factories run by Foxconn to assemble Apple's gadgets by hand. The sapphire plant is Apple's latest effort to control every part of the process for making its gadgets. Along with now building sapphire for strong screens, the company also designs the processors powering its iPhones and iPads. Controlling more of the process allows the devices to work exactly as Apple wants, and it also allows the company to keep its plans more secret.
Your Top Three: Kevin Costner Movies
Your Top Three is a series here at Movies.com where we choose a topic and you give us your top three picks. We are currently experiencing a serious Kevin Costner resurgence. Not that he was really gone recently, but his roles are becoming much more notable this year. First we got to see him offer No Way Out-referencing support in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. Now this weekend he;s pulling the Liam Neeson trick by starring in the Luc Besson-scripted, paternal-antihero revenge flick 3 Days to Kill. In a little over a month we;ll see him starring again in another sports movie, Draft Day. And this isn;t all for him in 2014, either. In November, he returns with yet another sports movie, McFarland. I;m not a huge Costner fan. My not being a big sports guy, especially a baseball guy, probably makes that the case more than what I think of his acting talent. Until his surprisingly touching bit as Pa Kent in Man of Steel last year, I don;t think I;d seen a full Costner movie since 2000;s Thirteen Days. And before that I probably hadn;t seen one of his movies in a theater since The Bodyguard. He;s done some fine work, though, even when he;s doing one of his notoriously terrible accents. And as you;ll see in my picks for my topthree Costner movies, sometimes when he;s really awful is when he;s the most enjoyable. Here are my top three Kevin Costner movies: 1. JFK One of the more forgivable performances by Costner in bad accent can be found dominating this Oliver Stone movie about the assassination of John F. Kennedy. It;s a poignantly perplexing work, appropriately hard to follow because the investigation itself took Jim Garrison down plenty of rabbit holes, and of course no conspiracy theories have ever been proven as fact, so it has to be left totally open to discussion. 2. Field of Dreams Fantastically cheesy, this movie should not be so enjoyable for someone as cynical as myself, but I actually have a soft spot for its magical quest. I don;t care about the baseball aspect, only the journey and the universality of Costner;s character;s passion. Plus it;s the film debut of Gaby Hoffman, who has now grown into a phenomenally great actress. 3. The Postman One of the all-time greatest bad movies ever made, one I;m surprised isn;t more beloved as a campy midnight movie. It;s just totally ridiculous all the way through, but it;s particulalry awesome when Tom Petty shows up as the Mayor of Bridge City, who is also implied to actually be Tom Petty playing himself. Your Picks (the top three being Bull Durham and a tie between The Untouchables and JFK): @thefilmcynic the untouchables, no way out, 3000 miles to Graceland... — Peter James coop (@CoopPete) February 17, 2014 @thefilmcynic (1) BULL DURHAM, (2) JFK, (3) NO WAY OUT ... Nota Bene: His half of A PERFECT WORLD is great; the Eastwood half ... blech! — Victor Morton (@vjmfilms) February 17, 2014 @thefilmcynic Field of Dreams, Bull Durham, Untouchables — Alex Suskind (@AlexJSuskind) February 17, 2014 @thefilmcynic JFK, MAN OF STEEL, THE UNTOUCHABLES — Zack Parks (@Zack_Parks) February 17, 2014 @thefilmcynic OPEN RANGE, THE UNTOUCHABLES, SILVERADO — Bill Ryan (@faceyouhate) February 17, 2014 @thefilmcynic Waterworld, JFK, 3000 Miles To Graceland — Larry Wright (@refocusedmedia) February 17, 2014 @thefilmcynic Tin Cup, Bull Durham and the one with Gene Hackman and Sean Young - No Way Out? — Linda (@brodyrocks) February 17, 2014 @thefilmcynic Field of Dreams, The Bodyguard, JFK. — George Stavrinou (@georgestavrinou) February 17, 2014 @thefilmcynic The Untouchables, A Perfect World, Open Range — Ricky George (@RickyGeorge8) February 17, 2014 @thefilmcynic I;ll go with the baseball trifecta of Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, and For Love of the Game. — Joey Magidson (@JoeyMagidson) February 17, 2014 @thefilmcynic BULL DURHAM cuz Susan Sarandon! FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME cuz my friend;s in it, DRAFT DAY cuz my hometown;s (hopefully) in it. — Adam Hartzell (@FilmEssaying) February 17, 2014 @thefilmcynic Silverado, Bull Durham, Open Range — justin robinson (@TheJSRobinson) February 17, 2014 @thefilmcynic A Perfect World, A Perfect World and A Perfect World. — Ieda Marcondes (@iedamarcondes) February 17, 2014 @thefilmcynic THE UNTOUCHABLES, JFK, SILVERADO — Livia Tamara Widjaja (@liviatamaraliu) February 17, 2014 @thefilmcynic Waterworld, JFK, The Untouchables — Patryk Czekaj (@PatrykCzekaj) February 17, 2014 @thefilmcynic JFK, THE UNTOUCHABLES, and BULL DURHAM. (Honorary mention to THE BIG CHILL, which he was cut from.) — nixskits (@nixskits2) February 17, 2014 @thefilmcynic Bull Durham, No Way Out. And Bull Durham — Teri (@tmvogel) February 17, 2014 @thefilmcynic JFK, Bull Durham, Testament. — The Doug (@douglenox) February 17, 2014 @thefilmcynic Dances with Wolves, Waterworld, Tin Cup. Yes Tin Cup. — John Andrews (@Jandies1) February 18, 2014 Join in the next discussion: and
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