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Apple donates $500K to SF Gives and other news for May 5, 2014
Apple's concern for it's California community and a dip in retail sales are in this morning's Apple news. Apple has donated US$500,000 to an anti-poverty initiative in San Francisco. The organization SF Gives was formed by Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff and Tipping Point CEO Daniel Lurie. Apple's contribution was in response to the group's efforts to get 20 companies to donate $50K each, for a total of $10 million dollars. Apple Store sales slow down as shoppers wait for new products. No surprise, really. Conscientious shoppers fear making a major electronics purchase just prior to the launch of a major update. Needham analyst Charlie Wolf compiled data that demonstrates that same-store sales were down five percent in March after a three percent bump in December.
App Store's monthly "Best of" feature and more news for May 2, 2014
Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday. Here's your Apple news for the first Friday of May, 2014. Apple has curated a new section of the App Store, highlighting the best of what April had to offer. It's a nice idea, especially since the ever-growing store makes discovery so difficult. Here's hoping Apple keeps this up. Samsung is going to hold a "health-related" event just five days before Apple's WWDC. A teaser published by Engaget reads, "A new conversation around health is about to begin." To quote master Yoda: "Begun these fitness gadget wars have." iTunes Match has expanded to Japan. The service costs ¥3,980 per year over there, or about US$39 as of this writing.
Snapchat adds text chat, video calling and other news for May 1, 2014
It's Thirsty Thursday, so let's look at the news. Snapchat has updated it's self-destructive service to include text chat and video chat. You can swipe to initiate a text chat with another user, and its history is wiped when your done. Similarly, video chats are just as temporary, and can be one-way or two. Virgin Atlantic Airline has begun testing out iBeacons at London's Heathrow airport. The tech could allow a passenger's iPhone to pull up a boarding pass as she approaches security, or offer promotions like currency exchange. Microsoft has updated the OneNote apps for the iPhone and OS X. The new versions will let users create new notes and sections with their iPhones. Meanwhile, the Mac versions lets you save a document as a PDF and supports drag-and-drop for images.
The jury deliberates in the Apple vs. Samsung case and other news from April 30, 2014
The second Apple vs. Samsung trial is now in the hands of the jury, and in addition to asking for supplies, they also have asked for additional information regarding the first jury trial but was denied. As Electronista reports: The second jury question asked how Apple chose the five patents presented in the case, and whether Apple's leadership were made aware of what patents would be used prior to the decision to pursue a lawsuit. The third question asked essentially the same thing of the two Samsung patents, how they were "chosen to be purchased, and who specifically and initially recommended that purchase?" Following a brief discussion with attorneys for both Apple and Samsung, Judge Koh adopted Apple's proposal and instructed the jurors that the evidence presented at trial is all they will have to work with, and that they must reach a decision based on what they were given during the trial. Typically, juries are not allowed to be presented with additional evidence following the conclusion of a trial – though they can, at a judge's discretion, be directed back to specific parts of the evidence already presented, or have specific portions of testimony read back to them as a refresher. Other news from Wednesday afternoon includes: Apple has sold $12 million in US bonds, and the funds will go toward the expanded capital return program announced during its earnings call last week. Google has announced standalone versions of Docs, Sheets and Slides for the iPad to compete with offerings from Apple and Microsoft. Offline support is built in. Docs and Sheets are available through the App Store now. The Mac Observer reports that sapphire material produced in Arizona is beng shipped to China for usage in the next version of the iPhone, expected later this year.
Microsoft Office apps for iPad gain printing abilities and other news from April 29, 2014
Microsoft's Office for iPad apps have received an update that adds the ability to print to an AirPrint printer, PowerPoint smart guides, auto fitting in Excel and more. It's a funny thing, going more into debt in order to raise cash. But that's what Apple is planning to do to prevent having to bring some of its off-shore funds back into the United States. We took a look at the Kinsa smart thermometer a couple months ago, and now it's available for purchase. The Kickstarter for Lunecase went live today. Lunecase uses electromagnetic energy from the iPhone to provide call and text notifications on the back of the case without needing a battery. Re/code's Code Conference has added Apple's Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi to its all-star roster. They will be the keynote of the second night of the May 27–29 conference. While the conference itself is sold out, there is a waitlist.
Jobs tops CNBC's "most influential" list and more news for April 29, 2014
A free iPhone voice & data plan (no, really), Steve Jobs back in the news and a reminder that there's a lot more to do in this world that stare at your phone. Here's this afternoon's Apple news. CNBC has compiled a list of the most influential business leader of the last 25 years, and Steve Jobs is at the top. "More than any other member of our group of extraordinary entrepreneurs and executives-all outstanding leaders-his vision spurred changes far beyond his industry and put an indelible stamp on the wider culture," the magazine wrote. In the number two spot is Steve's former rival, Bill Gates. FreedomPop has announced free voice and data plan for iPhone. The offer is location-specific so enter your zip code and physical address to see if you qualify. If so, you've got a choice: buy a refurbished 16 GB iPhone 5 (US$349) or BYO Sprint-ready iPhone 4, 4s, or 5. Finally, a gentle reminder that not everything is available in the App Store. So power down once in a while.
Skype makes group video calling free and other news for April 28, 2014
Good afternoon, everyone. This week we've got Skype going all "Google+" with the video chats and Apple Maps expands its flyover feature a bit. Skype has made group video calling free for all users. This used to be a premium feature for users on Windows, OS X and XBox One. The service is now free on those devices, and the company says it will add additional platforms soon. Stonehenge has been added to Apple Maps flyover feature. Now you can explore the mysterious structure from home. Just don't crush it.
Better battery life for your iPhone under iOS 7.1.1 and other news from April 24, 2014
Have you updated your iPhone to iOS 7.1.1 yet? If you're concerned about your battery life, go ahead and hit the update button. ZDNet noticed that the newest update is bringing a drastic increase in battery life, based on internal usage. Have you noticed a difference? Let us know in the comments. Other news from Thursday afternoon includes: Want to take a look inside one of Apple's data centers? Check out this video from NBC's Today show. It took a few months, but as 9to5Mac notes, shipping times on the Mac Pro are finally starting to improve, with just a 3 to 5 week wait now. Facebook has added the Moves app to its growing family. TUAW has taken several looks at Moves, including its usage of the iPhone 5s' M7 motion data. As with other acquisitions, Moves will remain available as a standalone app. The latest updates to the eBay app take on some Pinterest influences, as Engadget notes.
Apple tops JD Power smartphone satisfaction and other news for April 24, 2014
Former Apple engineer Francisco Tolmasky has shared some very interesting stories about the development of mobile Safari and other software features of the new iPhone. Including Steve Jobs' insistence that it be "like magic." Meanwhile, Apple's stock split and customer satisfaction wrap up today's news roundup. Surprise! Apple has topped another JD Power satisfaction rating. This time, its US smartphone owners who voted the Cutpertino company as their favorite. The survey examined performance, physical design, features, and ease of use. A former Apple engineer shares his story of creating mobile Safari. It's a very interesting look behind the curtain during the development of the first iPhone. For example, the software keyboard resulted from "a kind of hackathon run by Jobs," during which everyone on the software team was to work on keyboards only for one week. iMore has taken a look at Apple's recent stock split. Take a look if you've got questions.
Tidbits you might have missed from Apple's earnings call
While the big focus of Apple's Q2 earnings call was the stock split and dividend increase, a number of other interesting tidbits were announced during the call. A few of them, culled from our liveblog of the call, include: More than 20 million Apple TVs have been sold, netting a business that's worth more than $1 billion. It's no longer considered a hobby. Apple made $19 billion in revenue for the first half of 2014 in China. 85% of those who bought the iPhone 4S were first-time iPhone buyers. Apple has acquired 24 companies recently. Tim Cook feels that Microsoft should had released Office for the iPad earlier. A delay allowed competitors to muscle in on the market. Apple is no longer just an "American" company. Two-thirds of the company's revenues during the quarter came from countries other than the US.
Apple patches Heartbleed for base stations and more news for April 23, 2014
A stunning new iPhone 5s campaign and safer AirPort base stations are in the news today. Apple has created a fantastic new iPhone film and accompanying micro-site. Entitled "Powerful," it features six impressive apps being used on the iPhone 5s: Star Walk, Instant Heart Rate, Word Lens, AmpliTube, Luminair and Pacific Rim. The short film is very well done and emphasizes what I've believed for years: the iPhone is the best computer I've ever owned. Apple has offered a firmware update for the 2013 model AirPort Extreme Base Station. The update patches the OpenSSL Heartbleed bug. To grab it, just launch AirPort Utility on your Mac.
Apple expands its recycling program and other news from April 21, 2014
On this Earth Day, Apple has expanded its free recycling program to include any Apple product, no matter the age. While not all products will be eligible for a gift card when traded in, Apple will take any item produced in its 30-year history in an effort to avert more electronic waste from reaching landfills. You can read more about Apple's efforts to grow the use of renewable energy in its business and watch the "Better" video (narrated by Tim Cook) at the apple.com/environment page. Other stories from Monday afternoon include: The Hollywood Reporter reports that director Danny Boyle is in talks with Sony Pictures to direct the Walter Issacson-book biopic of Steve Jobs. And those talks include a possibility of Leonardo DiCaprio starring as Steve Jobs. Version 2.0 of Dropbox's Mailbox has been released, with the addition of an auto-swipe feature and the use of Dropbox to sync preferences across devices. Google Glass will be adding SMS capabilities for iPhone users later this week. Catch up with these features: Narrative Clip lifelogging camera: Hands-on with the wearable photo capture device Find Tinder too ambiguous? Heavenly Sinful is here to help. The 25 best Game Boy games to play on your iPhone Dear Aunt TUAW: Why don't my searches work in Safari anymore? Apple renewable energy use grows from 35 to 95 percent in less than 4 years Mac 101: A handy list of startup options for Macs running OS X Rumor Roundup: Validity not confirmed
John Sculley regrets ousting Steve Jobs and other news for April 18, 2014
It's Friday! Slip on a pair of loafers and browse today's Apple news in a leisurely fashion. Because it's Friday. And you're a boss. In an interview with Times of India, former Apple CEO John Sculley admitted that ousting Steve Jobs was a mistake. "I think there could have been a way, in hindsight, where Steve and I did not need to have a confrontation, and we could have worked it out," he told the Times. "And, perhaps the board could have played a bigger role in that. But you can't change history." John seems to spend a lot of time saying, "I fired Steve Jobs once." Candy Crush developer admits it can't own "candy." Not long ago, the makers of Candy Crush wanted to trademark the word "candy." They've withdrawn the application in the US, but managed to win it in Europe. Still, it seems there's some wiggle room, as the company has let apps Banner Saga and CandySwipe keep those monikers. Sugar crush! Jim Dalrymple of The Loop has posted a "super, double top-secret of the iPhone 7. He even names his source.
Dropbox acquires Loom and other news from April 17, 2014
Dropbox is continuing to swallow up other companies, this time acquiring photo storage site Loom. Loom emerged as an alternative to EverPix after its demise in late 2013, and I gave it a try for a few months. A review for TUAW was in my queue when the acquisition was announced. Loom was a pretty good service, though I had some syncing issues that eventually caused me to drop it. The customer service, however, was stellar, and Loom was adding new features constantly that made it far more useful than when I first tried it in November. Loom cited Dropbox's new Carousel as one of the reasons behind joining the Dropbox team, and Loom is a fantastic fit for Dropbox. Loom users can continue to use the service until May 16, but existing users already were sent instructions on how to migrate their photos to Dropbox with no service interruption. Free users will receive an equal amount of free space on Dropbox. Paid users will get the same amount of paid space on Dropbox for free for a year. Users also can request copies of their entire library -- albums and all -- in one zip file. Other news from Thursday afternoon includes: In the market for a Hyundai Sonata? Some 2015 models will include Apple's CarPlay. This is really cool. A new air purifier from Honeywell will send pollen and mold alerts to your iPhone. You also can control the device through the app. Head to RadioShack today if you want a great deal on a 16 GB iPhone 5s. With a 2-year contract, you can get the 5s for $99 or free if you trade in an iPhone 4s.
Several BBC iOS apps acting up, more news for April 17, 2014
There are a couple of nice app updates this morning, plus an automation solution with what will likely be a short-lived name. Several users have noted that the BBC's iPlayer app, Sky Go and Now TV for iOS have stopped streaming video. The BBC is aware of the problem and, while still unaware of what's causing the issue, is working to find and fix it. So hold tight, folks! Twitterrific has been updated to version 5.7.2 which adds a new "edit tweet" feature. It lets you delete a tweet, and then it opens up an edit screen. Also, make sure to shake your phone while Twiterrific 5.7.2 is on the theme panel. A few University of Pennsylvania students have come up with a way to push Siri commands through a proxy, opening up a whole host of real-world actions for it to take. The service, which they're calling GoogolPlex (good luck keeping that name) is interesting, but I'm not convinced it's quicker than just turning on the lights yourself. Pixelmator has posted a teaser video promoting its upcoming release, codemaned "Sandstone." It features a very impressive Repair Tool. Watch a video demo here. Goodbye, mom and dad!
8G iPhone 5c debuts in more countries and other news for April 16, 2014
That Mac Pro is still taking its sweet time getting to customers, and the 8 GB iPhone 5c reaches new countries in this morning's news roundup. Apple is now offering the 8 GB iPhone 5c in fourteen countries. Now customers in the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Sweden, Poland, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Portugal, Austria, Spain, Norway, Finland, Denmark, and Switzerland can pick up the bargain device. The Mac Pro is still seeing significant shipping delays. As of this writing, those buying a new Mac Pro from Apple's online store can expect the device to arrive in four to six weeks. As Computer World points out, the Mac Pro was announced four months ago. The 2012 iMac had similar problems, but its delay was trimmed to one to three days after three months of availability. Apple has agreed to make the CTIA's request for a "kill switch" on its iPhones a reality. Apple won't have to do much work beyond what Find My iPhone already does to reach compliance. The switch, if you will, renders a lost or stolen iPhone useless remotely.
Data swiped from LaCIe and other news from April 15, 2014
News from Tuesday afternoon includes: LaCie is notifying customers that malware was used to gain access to customer transactions between March 27, 2013, and March 10, 2014. Customers who have shopped through LaCie's site during this time might have had their names, addresses, email addresses, and payment card numbers and card expiration dates revealed. Apple will be joining Google, Microsoft, Samsung and others in including new anti-theft technology on their devices starting July 2015. Apple has already started down this path with the addition of Activation Lock to iOS 7. Google has debut a new app for its Helpouts program, which allows people to consult with experts over video. And catch up with these features: Using a Lego robot to defeat freemium game roadblocks Review and giveaway: Moshi VersaKeyboard for iPad Air On the road with the Divoom Voombox Travel Bluetooth speaker How to turn your iPhone or iPad into a retro game console without jailbreaking Who else could direct the Jobs movie and what would it be like? iPhone 101: Improve the App Store search experience with this easy trick
Apple confirms after-market CarPlay and other news for April 15, 2014
A new subscription plan from Microsoft, after-market CarPlay and more gorgeous hardware from Twelve South. Here's this morning's news. Apple has confirmed to The Verge that after-market CarPlay solutions will be made available. The company did not offer much more detail than that. It's interesting, as The Verge points out, that in this scenario Apple does not have control over the hardware running its software. Speaking of CarPlay, Pioneer has announced that its in-dash systems will support the technology this summer. And here I thought I was cool because my Mazda mini van does Bluetooth. Apple's court-appointed monitor says the company is becoming increasingly cooperative. You'll remember that Apple is now legally required to monitoring by Michael Bromwich as a result of a trial regarding ebook pricing. Apple's relationship with Bromwich has been contentious to say the least, but in a recent report he noted that "...we are starting to see the original pledges of cooperation and collaboration, which for many months were at odds with the company's actions, fulfilled." It's so nice when huge corporations and court-appointed monitors get along. Twelve South has announced a wooden, adjustable version of its BookArc laptop stand, called the BookArc möd. As you might suspect, it's lovely. Microsoft has launched its Office 365 Personal subscription plan. Now, a customer can choose a personal subscription for one Mac or PC plus one tablet for US$69.99 per year or $6.99 per month. The plan was announced last month.
Fincher passes on Steve Jobs film and other news from April 14, 2014
Famed director David Fincher has passed on the chance to direct the Steve Jobs biopic based on Walter Issacson's book. Fincher had wanted $10 million upfront, and Sony balked, saying the fee was "ridiculous." Who should replace Fincher? Check out TUAW's ideas for the role later today. Wolff Olins CEO Karl Heiselman has resigned to join Apple in an undesignated marketing communications role. This is a return to Apple for Heiselman, who had worked as a design contractor for the company in the early 1990s. Microsoft is adding Passbook support to its next version of the Windows Phone OS. Amazon Cloud Drive Photos has updated its app for iOS 7, which comes just a few days after Dropbox released its Carousel. And catch up with these features: The best Nintendo DS emulator on iOS doesn't require a jailbreak The HTC One M8 is an Android phone made for iPhone lovers Why 9:41 AM is always the time displayed on iPhones and iPads Billboard claims iTunes Radio isn't the hit Apple was hoping for iPhone 101: What model of iPhone do I have? Rumor Roundup: Fourth-power stupid
Free 1Password tutorial video and more news for April 14, 2014
Another Monday is upon us. But don't despair, it brought enough Apple news to share with the entire class. Let's get started. In light of the Heartbleed threat, ScreenCastsOnline has made a tutorial video featuring 1Password available for free. We're big fans of 1Password here at TUAW, as it makes it easy to have various, complex passwords set up for all of your favorite sites. ScreenCastsOnline offers a very competent overview. Reports of an aftermarket CarPlay rig appeared this week, according to Asian review site Nikkei, we could see aftermarket units in the US and Europe selling something like US$500-700. Summer is coming (in the northern hemisphere at least), so consider the Wi-Fi ready, iPhone-controlled home air conditioner from Quirky and GE. The Aros learns your budget, schedule and location for super-efficient cooling. Neat, eh? It's available for pre-order on Amazon now.
