Author

Mike Beasley

Apple publishes new legal process guidelines for law enforcement information requests

Mike Beasley May 7 2014 - 9:10 pm PT

Earlier this month Apple announced its decision to notify customers of law enforcement requests for user information. Today the company also published a new set of guidelines for law enforcement officials regarding how it will handle such requests, what types of information can be obtained, and more.

Most of the document contains information regular customers won’t ever need to know, but for those interested in Apple’s participation in the legal process will find a wealth of information here. The document also confirms once again that Apple will notify users in most cases where law enforcement requests their personal information:

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GT Advanced provides update on Apple Arizona partnership in latest earnings results

Mike Beasley May 7 2014 - 4:38 pm PT

GT Advanced Technology has given an update on the status of its contract to supply Apple with sapphire displays for the upcoming iPhone 6 displays. According to the information provided with the company’s Q1 2014 financial report, Apple has already made three of four payments to GT Advanced for the sapphire, and GT notes that so far it is on track to meet demand.

Apple struck a deal with GTA last year to manufacture the sapphire displays that are expected to appear in the next-generation iPhone at a new plant in Mesa, Arizona. Earlier this year the plant was outfitted with enough sapphire crystal furnaces to create an estimated 100-200 million displays. At the end of April, Apple started sending its first shipments of sapphire to China, where the new iPhone models will be manufactured. These displays are expected to make their debut in the fall of this year along with two new iPhone models, each sporting a different size sapphire screen.

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Apple seeds OS X 10.9.3 build 13D61, Safari 7.0.4 to developers

Mike Beasley May 7 2014 - 3:18 pm PT

Apple has seeded a new build (13D61) of the upcoming OS X 10.9.3 update to developers. The developer update comes just hours after Apple seeded a slightly newer build to its AppleCare team. 10.9.3 is expected to ship in the near future and features improved support for 4k monitors on newer MacBook pro models. The update also re-introduces the ability to sync contacts and calendar data to an iOS device from iTunes over a USB connection.

The update is accompanied by the very first seed of Safari 7.0.4. At the moment there are no details as to what’s new in the Safari update, aside from the typical performance updates and such. These updates don’t yet appear to be available for AppleSeed users.

Apple passes Staples to become the #2 online retailer behind Amazon

Mike Beasley May 6 2014 - 4:34 pm PT

According to a new report from the Wall Street Journal (citing e-commerce trade publication Internet Retailer), Apple has managed to overtake Staples and claim the number-two spot in the world of online retail. Apple’s online sales data jumped a significant 24% last year, although this jump is mostly due to the fact that Internet Retailer now includes the company’s online hardware sales along with digital download data from iTunes and the App Store and doesn’t seem to reflect an actual sales increase of that magnitude.

Essentially what that means is that Apple could actually have been sitting in the #2 spot for some time now, but simply wasn’t recognized as such because Internet Retailer previously excluded sales of iPhones, iPads, iPods, Macs, Apple TVs, and other hardware processed through the company’s online store.

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Upcoming album ‘Turn Blue’ by The Black Keys now available on iTunes Radio First Play

Mike Beasley May 5 2014 - 11:34 pm PT

iTunes Radio is once again proving to be one of the destinations for an early listen to unreleased albums from popular musicians. Today, the service added The Black Keys’ upcoming album Turn Blue to its “First Play” lineup, allowing users to stream the entire album for free ahead of its release on May 13.

Previously, iTunes Radio has granted early streaming access to albums from artists like Eminem, Rick Ross, and Pharrell. First Play is one of the ways Apple is attempting to set its own offering apart from competing streaming services like Pandora and Spotify, which don’t currently offer any early-access releases.

You can listen to Turn Blue by opening up the Radio page in iTunes on a computer or the iOS Music app and selecting it from the list of pre-made stations. The full 11-track album is available for pre-order for $10.99. Two songs from the album—the title track and “Fever”—can be purchased and downloaded now for $1.29 each.

Apple welcomes new Senior VP Angela Ahrendts with 113,334 AAPL shares worth $68M

Mike Beasley May 5 2014 - 4:38 pm PT

An SEC filing has revealed that Apple granted its incoming retail Angela Ahrendts 113,334 shares in the company. At today’s price (which hit $600 for the first time since the end of 2012), that comes out to about $68 million. Of course, as usual, she’ll need to wait to get the full payout—in this case the stocks will fully vest in 2018.

For comparison, John Browett, the company’s former retail chief, got 100,000 shares when he joined the company, or about $61 million at the time.

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AAPL Company

Verdict reached in Apple v. Samsung patent trial with mixed results, Apple awarded $119.6 million in damages

Mike Beasley May 2 2014 - 4:42 pm PT

Jurors have finally reached a verdict in the latest patent spat between smartphone rivals Apple and Samsung. This trial will determine whether Samsung violated Apple’s technology patents, and, if they did, the extent of the damages incurred by Apple in losses to competing infringing devices. Apple has argued that it is owned over $2 billion in damages, and brought in several expert witnesses to testify on that point.

Earlier this month, we recapped the five key software patents that Apple claims Samsung violated. We’ve broken down the verdicts for each patent below. Samsung insists that Apple’s patents still haven’t been proven valid, so there’s a chance that some of these verdicts could be overturned on that basis in the future.

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Tech Industry

Samsung attempts to preempt Apple’s Healthbook launch with a health-focused event of its own in late May

Mike Beasley May 1 2014 - 7:10 pm PT

Image via Engadget

Image via Engadget

Samsung has just announced a health-focused event that will take place on May 28th, just days before Apple is set to unveil its next-generation mobile and desktop operating systems at WWDC, including the expected announcement of the company’s Healthbook software.

We’re going to go out on a limb here and assume that Samsung really wants to take credit for kicking off the “health” craze and capture as much attention as possible as the “first” to the game, but will likely end up sorely disappointed when Apple comes along and dominates the news cycle the following week. Again.

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Apple to begin notifying customers of law enforcement requests for personal information

Mike Beasley May 1 2014 - 5:10 pm PT

Image via Wiki

Image via Wiki

The Washington Post reports that Apple is one of several tech companies planning change the way it handles government requests for customer information in the near future. According to the Post, Apple will begin notifying any customer whose information is requested by law enforcement later this month.

Microsoft, Facebook, and Google are also adjusting their own policies accordingly. The companies say that users have a right to know when their data is being turned over to officials. The government, on the other hand, argues that this could give criminals under investigation a chance to fight back, cover their tracks, and avoid being caught.

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Infuse 2.3 introduces streaming support for XBMC, Plex, PS3 Media Server, new controls, and more

Mike Beasley May 1 2014 - 10:00 am PT

Infuse, the popular iOS media streaming app from FireCore, was given a big update today in the form of version 2.3, which adds support for several new streaming services, gesture-driven playback controls, continuous playback mode, and more.

The biggest new feature in this update is support for UPNP/DLNA streaming, which allows Infuse to connect to XBMC, PS3 Media Server, Plex, Windows Media Center, and other similar services and stream content from them to your device.

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Virgin Atlantic reportedly planning to implement Passbook-powered iBeacons in London Heathrow Airport

Mike Beasley May 1 2014 - 12:07 am PT

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUIqfjpInxY]

A promotional video created by Estimote

Re/code reports that Virgin Atlantic is planning to implement iBeacons throughout Heathrow airport to help travelers quickly find different points of interest inside the airport. Users would be able to easily navigate the facility using a combination of Apple’s native Passbook application and Bluetooth beacons supplied by a company called Estimote.

According to the report, users will be able to find services like currency exchanges using the technology, which was announced as part of the iOS 7 update released for the iPhone last year. Apple currently uses iBeacon technology in many of its own retail stores to provide a customized shopping experience.

Virgin Atlantic has not yet confirmed this report, but the company does have a record of looking for ways to implement new technology into its services, such as a previous test run of Google Glass.

Adobe updates Photoshop Express for iOS with new design and features

Mike Beasley Apr 29 2014 - 6:47 pm PT

Adobe has published an update for its mobile photo editing app, Photoshop Express, bringing the version up to 3.3. The update includes a redesigned interface to match iOS 7’s look along with a handful of new features.

Feature-wise, the update adds a ‘green eye’ correction filter, an auto-save feature, improved tool tips, a better photo picker, and new sharing options for Instagram and SMS.

The update is available for free to everyone on the iOS App Store.

What’s New in Version 3.3

• A brand new editing experience with a new look for iOS7
• Share via Instagram or SMS
• Pet-eye (a.k.a. green-eye) correction
• Save your work without saving now that the app resumes where you left off
• Navigation improvements throughout the app, including Tool Tips and updates to the Photo Picker
• Bug fixes and performance improvements.

Apple seeds new OS X 10.9.3 beta build (13D55) to developers

Mike Beasley Apr 29 2014 - 3:13 pm PT

Apple has just seeded a new build (13D55) of OS X Mavericks to developers. The update is currently showing for users on the beta from the Dev Center and doesn’t seem to be showing up yet for members of the recently-reopened AppleSeed program. This release is expected to include improved USB syncing in iTunes and enhanced support for 4k monitors on newer MacBook Pros.

Typically Apple increases the frequency of beta builds as it gets closer to the public release of a piece of software. The previous OS X build was released one week ago, indicating that Apple is possibly preparing to release 10.9.3 in the very near future. The full release notes for this build are below, and once again point developers to areas such as graphics and audio drivers, Safari, Mail, and iTunes USB syncing of contacts and calendars as key areas to test.

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4Snaps word game for iOS updated to version 2.0 with a new look and gameplay tweaks

Mike Beasley Apr 29 2014 - 8:00 am PT

[vimeo 92684154 w=700 h=394]

4Snaps, the creative new word game we first wrote about when it debuted last year, has gotten a big overhaul today with the launch of its 2.0 update. The new version brings a new design with a gesture-focused interface that bounces around playfully using the new UI physics found in iOS 7.

Other interface tweaks include the ability to rearrange your snaps before sending them, delete finished games from the main screen, and preview exactly what your opponent will see when you hit the ‘send’ button.

The update also adds some new tweaks to the gameplay. If you’re having trouble figuring a word out, you can now share snaps to Instagram and ask your followers on that network for help.

The in-game economy has also gotten a boost. In the old version of the game, you could spend in-game coins to switch out your set of playable words for a new one. Now you can also spend those coins on hints, such as removing any incorrect letters from the board. And where coins were previously earned only by completing rounds, you can also now earn them by watching in-game video ads.

Overall, this is a really solid update to what was already a fun game. 4Snaps 2.0 is a free download on the App Store for all players.

Apple now notifying WWDC student scholarship winners

Mike Beasley Apr 28 2014 - 5:53 pm PT

Apple has just started sending out emails to WWDC student scholarship winners informing that they are now eligible to this year’s conference free of charge. Steps for claiming a ticket will be arriving in winners’ inboxes soon. Those who didn’t win a ticket are also being notified.

Apple notified winners in the ticket lottery earlier this month that they would have a week to purchase a ticket to the event for $1,599. After that time expired, a number of developers were told that they had been selected for a chance to buy unclaimed tickets.

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Apple patches another major security hole in its website that allowed access to all developer personal information

Mike Beasley Apr 28 2014 - 12:18 pm PT

Imagine our surprise when an email from a complete stranger showed up in our tips box containing the personal contact information—including cell phone numbers—of several 9to5Mac staffers, as well as a few high ranking Apple executives.

Last night Apple pulled the Developer Center offline for maintenance, but as is usually the case, no noticeable changes were visible when it came back up. As it turns out, the company was patching a very serious security breach that was discovered over the weekend, allowing anyone to access the personal contact information for every registered iOS, Mac, or Safari developer; every Apple Retail and corporate employee; and some key partners.

The issue was discovered by developer Jesse Järvi and brought to our attention on Saturday. A video of the exploit is below. We ensured that the problem was reported to Apple and ran it up the ladder. Due to the critical nature of the problem, we would never reveal this type of flaw to the public until it had been dealt with and we had contacted Apple . As of last night, the hole has been patched. Keep reading for the full details of how the breach was executed and exactly what information was at risk.

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Nike seeking to expand software partnership with Apple following shutdown of wearable tech division

Mike Beasley Apr 25 2014 - 8:00 pm PT

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOCKp9eij3A]

Nike’s Mark Parker reveals some advice given to him by Steve Jobs (2010)

Earlier this week, it was revealed that Nike was winding down its wearable technology efforts with the intention of focusing on fitness software, such as thhe Nike+ Running app seen above. Today Nike CEO Mark Parker told CNBC (clip below) that the company is looking to expand its partnerships with other companies, including Apple.

Parker stopped short of saying that the two were collaborating on a future fitness endeavour (such as the iWatch), but said that Nike is interested in working with many companies looking to integrate its NikeFuel software into their hardware. Parker said that his goal is to reach a total NikeFuel user base of 100 million, over three times the current number of 30 million.

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Apple launches new program to repair faulty iPhone 5 sleep buttons

Mike Beasley Apr 25 2014 - 2:27 pm PT

Apple today launched a new program that will allow iPhone 5 owners to have devices with fautly sleep buttons repaired at no cost. Apple says it has identified an issue with some devices that can cause the button to fail on a “small percentage” of these devices. iPhone owners can use a new page on Apple’s support site to determine if their phone is eligible for repair.

Unfortunately for these users, the phones won’t be replaced or repaired in-store. Instead, the phone has to be sent to an Apple Repair Center, which means the entire process can take up to a week to be completed.

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Lisa Jackson gives NBC’s Today a look inside of Apple’s North Carolina data center

Mike Beasley Apr 24 2014 - 7:25 pm PT

Apple gave NBC’s Today a rare look inside its Maiden, NC data center during a segment on the company’s efforts to use more green energy (via AppleInsider). Apple’s NC data center is powered entirely by reusable energy, including a massive solar farm and on-site biogas cells.

Jackson notes that Apple sometimes generates even more solar power than it needs, which allows the excess to go toward supplying energy to the city’s power grid

The segment also includes a look at the inner workings of the data center, which serves as the center of Apple’s iCloud and other online operations. You can see the entire clip below.

Weather Channel launches redesigned iPhone app with ‘social weather’ and flight info

Mike Beasley Apr 23 2014 - 9:50 pm PT

The Weather Channel app for iPhone has been updated with a brand new iOS 7-inspired design and features. The new design gives each bit of information a more prominent location on the screen, though it does so at the expense of an all-in-one overview. Where previously all relevant weather information was contained on the main screen, the updated app places various types of information on separate pages that can be swiped through.

The addition of a new airport mode that provides users with information about weather-related flight delays and cancellations could serve as a useful tool for travelers. A new severe weather mode causes the entire app’s interface to change if severe weather is reported in your area, putting critical information front-and-center. Finally, a social component has been added that allows users to submit weather reports and photos of their own.

You can grab the redesigned Weather Channel app on the iPhone App Store free of charge.

Sketchy new rumor point to possibility of rounded edges, curved-glass display in iPhone 6

Mike Beasley Apr 23 2014 - 5:42 pm PT

A new rumor from Mac Otakara (via AppleInsider) indicates that the next-generation iPhone could sport curved edges in place of the squared edges found on every model of the iPhone since the iPhone 4 debuted in 2010. To facilitate this, the display glass would also be slightly curved, although probably not to the degree of some of the first curved phones that have been revealed.

This is the first we’ve heard of any rounded edges on the iPhone 6. Given how prevalant other rumors regarding the phone’s design, such as two models, each with a larger screen, have become in recent months, it seems a bit a bit odd that this design note is just now coming out. We’re calling this one a bit sketchy until there’s more information to support it.

By the numbers: a breakdown of Apple’s Q2 2014 earnings call

Mike Beasley Apr 23 2014 - 3:28 pm PT

Apple went over its Q2 2014 earnings today on its quarterly conference call with CEO Tim Cook and incoming CFO Luca Maestri. The company announced that former Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts will finally be joining the executive team as SVP of Retail. Cook also addressed the recent debut of Microsoft’s Office productivity suite on the iPad.

But, as with any earnings call, the numbers that define Apple’s success or failure in the market took center stage. Here are some of the big ones you might have missed:

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Apple updates App Store content ratings system with new descriptions and market-specific ratings

Mike Beasley Apr 22 2014 - 3:27 pm PT

Apple has made some changes to the way it handles content ratings in the App Store, as outlined in an email (included below) sent to developers today. These ratings aren’t the five-star reviews that users assign apps, but the age-based restrictions assigned to each app based on the type of content in the app. While most apps are rated 4+ (the lowest), some that contain violent or potentially offensive content may have higher ratings (as seen above).

Starting today, developers will be able to assign a few new content descriptions to their apps in order to help better determine what age group the software is appropriate for. These new descriptions include “Medical/Treatment Information, Gambling and Contests, and Unrestricted Web Access.” That last one is good news for many developers previously forced to use a 17+ rating just because their app included a web browser that could be used to accesss anything on the web.

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1Password for Mac updated with improvements to 1Password Mini, better URL matching, and more

Mike Beasley Apr 22 2014 - 6:00 am PT

1Password 4 for Mac was updated today to version 4.3 with a bevy of enhancements and new features. Unlike today’s update to the iOS version of the app, the OS X-based update is not an overhaul of the application, but instead focuses on refining the software’s feature set.

This update features big updates to the 1Password Mini plugin, which now allows you to edit your saved items and generated passwords, recognizes a number of new keyboard shortcuts, and supports “fuzzy search” for saved items; the auto-save system, which now prompts you to update your existing password if you create a new password for a saved website; and a lot more.

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