Mark Gurman

Nearly one month after the initial seed, Apple has provided developers with a second beta release of the upcoming OS X 10.9.2. The new build is labeled as version 13C39, and it is available via both Software Update in the Mac App Store for those running the first beta and from Apple’s online developer portal. The first 10.9.2 seed added enhancements to both the Messages and FaceTime applications, allowing for FaceTime Audio calls. Apple has added the ability to block people on iMessage and FaceTime with this new seed. The blocking mechanism syncs with blocked contacts on iOS 7. Blocking, according to people familiar with this update, is available in the preferences tabs for both the Messages and FaceTime apps.  Thanks, K!

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Today, Google has released a new application for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch to allow Google Play users to stream purchased movies and TV shows. You cannot rent or purchase content via this application: you must download it from Google Play on Android or the web and then the purchased titles will be available to stream via this app. The application is only supported in the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom. WiFi is currently required for streaming. The app also allows streaming to the ChromeCast.

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Apple CEO Tim Cook informed Apple employees today via email that the company has settled with the United States Federal Trade Commision over an in-app purchases dispute. Cook says that Apple and the FTC have been negotiating for “several months.” The issue in the App Store comes down to the controversies surrounding children spending money too easily in the App Store without the consent of their parents.

Cook notes that “protecting children” has been a priority for everyone at Apple, and Cook notes that the App Store has industry leading controls for security and privacy, making the need to deal with the FTC surprising. Cook’s email details the safeguards in place for the in-app purchase system. Cook also notes the great lengths that Apple went to in order to appease customers who may have been harmed by in-app purchases:

Last year, we set out to refund any in-app purchase which may have been made without a parent’s permission. We wanted to reach every customer who might have been affected, so we sent emails to 28 million App Store customers – anyone who had made an in-app purchase in a game designed for kids. When some emails bounced, we mailed the parents postcards. In all, we received 37,000 claims and we will be reimbursing each one as promised.

Cook also says that it doesn’t feel right that the FTC intervened here. Alas, a settlement has been reached:

It doesn’t feel right for the FTC to sue over a case that had already been settled. To us, it smacked of double jeopardy. However, the consent decree the FTC proposed does not require us to do anything we weren’t already going to do, so we decided to accept it rather than take on a long and distracting legal fight.

Here’s Cook’s email in full:

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiyIcz7wUH0]
Apple certainly isn’t shying away from using the iPad as a camera anymore.

Airing today is a brand-new TV advertisement touting the abilities of the iPad. The ad is in a serious tone and is voiced over by a quote from the film Dead Poet’s Society. Re/Code has the text from the advertisement:

We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering — these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love — these are what we stay alive for.

To quote from Whitman,

“O me, O life of the questions of these recurring.
Of the endless trains of the faithless. Of cities filled with the foolish. What good amid these, O me, O life?
Answer: that you are here. That life exists and identity. That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.”

“That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.”

What will your verse be?

To go along with the TV ad, Apple has also posted a new webpage with the ad’s theme. This new page shares stories of the iPad being used in film-making, sports, and education. Original from movie below:

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Apple has announced on its retail website that the forthcoming flagship Apple Store in Brisbane, Australia will have its grand opening on Friday, January 17th. The store will open at 10 AM on that date, with regular business hours beginning at 9 AM Monday through Saturday. The store will always open up at 10 AM on Sundays. The closing hours are shown in the image above from the store’s official website. Late last year, Apple teased the opening of this store with a Twitter hashtag and colorful barricades.

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Yesterday, Apple issued the third beta of iOS 7.1 to developers for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. Like the original beta track for iOS 7.0, these iOS 7.1 betas have slowly been introducing some user-interface tweaks to the iOS Device experience. While not significant, changes to the Phone application, system sliders, some icons, and the keyboard slightly alter the way Apple’s products are used. Many of you sounded off in the comments about the changes, but we’ve compiled a poll (below) for you to vote if you like each new change over the iterations in the current release of iOS 7:

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Apple today issued its Preliminary Proxy Statement via its Investor Relations website. As a publicly traded company, Apple issues this document annually, and it discusses pay packages for both executive team members and board members, company practices, and topics which shareholders will vote on at the upcoming shareholder meeting. Apple says that the next shareholder meeting will take place on February 28, 2014. Some interesting tidbits include that Apple’s board met seven times in 2013 with 75%+ attendance during each meeting. Additionally (to be voted on), a shareholder wants Apple to create a board committee related to human rights. Apple says that it is against this additional committee:

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On its developer website, Apple has published videos and PDF slide decks for its iOS 7 Tech Talk sessions. The Tech Talks are an expanded version of the Worldwide Developers Conference iOS app development sessions and are hosted by Apple across the world. This year, the Tech Talks were held from early October until last week in several cities around the world, including Tokyo, London, New York, and Shanghai. This year’s talks focus on App Store distribution, gaming, user-interface design, and the integration of new iOS 7 technologies.

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<a href="http://benjaminfeenstra.com/2012/11/google-vs-apple/">Apple HQ in Cupertino</a>

Apple has been on a roll this year in terms of acquisitions. According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, the Cupertino firm acquired 15 companies this year, but only ten have been revealed. That list includes mapping companies such as Embark, chip makers like Passif, search specialists such as Cue and Topsy, and hardware companies such as PrimeSense. Because only 10 of the 15 Apple acquisitions of 2013 have been revealed, we have been digging and asking around to find the few remaining Apple pickups. Based on evidence and chatter from sources, Apple seemingly acquired mapping firm BroadMap in the first half of this year and Evernote-competitor Catch within the last few months…

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This morning, Apple CEO Tim Cook sent a lengthy memo to employees as a reflection of the soon-ending 2013 and the upcoming year of 2014, according to multiple sources. In the letter, Tim Cook discusses people experiencing Apple products this holiday season, the Apple products launched throughout 2013, and corporate initiatives. “This holiday season, tens of millions of people around the world, from all walks of life, are experiencing Apple products for the first time. Those moments of surprise and delight are magical, and they’re all made possible by your hard work,” Cook says in the beginning of the email.

Cook notes Apple’s new manufacturing process for the Assembled in the USA Mac Pro and calls iOS 7 an “extraordinarily ambitious project.” “We extended our lead in the smartphone market with iPhone 5s; launched iOS 7, an extraordinarily ambitious project; released OS X Mavericks for free to our customers; introduced the iPad Air and the iPad mini with Retina display; and this week began shipping the Mac Pro from a manufacturing facility in Austin, Texas,” Cook told employees. Cook also notes his pride over Apple reaching 50 billion App Store app downloads this year. Apple reached this milestone in approximately five years…

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Just days after the first public release of OS X 10.9.1, Apple has seeded the first beta of OS X 10.9.2 to developers. The update is available in the Mac App Store for registered developers, an Apple asks testers to focus on Mail, Messages, VPN, Graphics Drivers and VoiceOver. Apple also issued a VPN update to Mavericks Server fixing a connection issue.

Update: We’ve learned about new features in 10.9.2:

• FaceTime audio has been integrated deeply into the Messages and FaceTime apps
• Minor tweaks in Mail

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