Founder, Publisher and Editorial Director of the 9to5/Electrek/DroneDJ sites.
Seth Weintraub is an award-winning journalist and blogger who won back to back Neal Awards during his three plus years covering Apple and Google at IDG’s Computerworld from 2007–2010. Weintraub next covered all things Google for Fortune Magazine from 2010-2011 amassing a thick rolodex of Google contacts and love for Silicon Valley tech culture.
It turns out that his hobby 9to5Mac blog was always his favorite and in 2011 he went full time adding his Fortune Google followers to 9to5Google and adding the style and commerce component 9to5Toys gear and deals site. In 2013, Weintraub bought one of the Tesla’s first Model S EVs off the assembly line and so began his love affair with the Electric Vehicle and green energy which in 2014 turned into electrek.
In 2018, DroneDJ was born to cover the burgeoning world of drones and UAV’s led by China’s DJI.
From 1997-2007, Weintraub was a Global IT director and Web Developer for a number of companies with stints at multimedia and branding agencies in Paris, Los Angeles, New York, Sydney, Hong Kong, Madrid and London before becoming a publisher/blogger.
Seth received a bachelors degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the University of Southern California with a minor in Multimedia and Creative Technology in 1997. In 2004, he received a Masters from NYU’s Tisch School of the Art’s ITP program.
Hobbies: Weintraub is a licensed single engine private pilot, certified open water scuba diver and spent over a year traveling to 60 cities in 23 countries. Whatever free time exists is now guaranteed to his lovely wife and two amazing sons.
More at About.me. BI 2014 profile.
Tips: seth@9to5mac.com, or llsethj on Wickr/Skype or link at top of page.
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We often get review items that do not merit their own review for a variety of reasons. Some might have gotten to us late after we have already read reviews, while others might be smaller niche items or some bigger ticket items that might not have blown us away, but they are still interesting nonetheless. Still, we think these guys are all noteworthy…
A Seoul court ruled Friday that Apple infringed on two of Samsung’s technology patents and “must stop selling the infringing products in South Korea.” In addition, the judge said Samsung infringed on Apple’s “bounceback” design patent but not its icon design patent. These only apply to older model Apple products (perhaps pre-Qualcomm, now Apple is indemnified?), from the sound of it, and the damages are in the tens of thousands of dollars, which is meaningless.
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When word hit at the end of July that Apple was planning an iPhone launch in September, the other big guys in the space all seemed to scurry. Microsoft’s Windows 8/Nokia event was planned for Sept. 5 in New York City and announced on Aug. 15.
Google subsidiary Motorola planned an event for the same day in New York City (easy for the Tech Press!). Invites went out Aug. 17. Droid RAZR HD is the likely main event.
Today, Amazon announced that it would have an event in L.A., where it will likely reveal successors to the Kindle Fire, which may include a 10-inch tablet and even a phone.
Why are all these guys lining up Apple to be the main event for the holidays? Why don’t they wait until after Apple’s event? Google moving Google I/O until after WWDC certainly seemed to help the Nexus 7?
It doesn’t matter. These three major players will get their few days of fame (if that), and then they will be totally washed out by the iPhone event on Sept. 12.
Both Parallels and VMware announced new versions of their software over the last 12 hours. Which software do you use to run Windows applications, if any? Do you Virtualize Linux or other builds of MacOS X?
Leave comments on your experience.
For the record, I have been using Parallels to deal with @#$% QuickBooks most recently, but off and on for years overall. VMware has also impressed me when I have tried it. Both products are so much better than the slow SoftWindows- type solutions we had in the PowerPC days.
@9to5mac That could possibly be the fastest OS update in history.Less than 60 seconds to download, install and restart.— Jarod Williams (@JrodWilliams) August 23, 2012
Apple just released OSX 10.8.1 Mountain Lion via Software Update. The delta update weighs a paltry 7.28MB on my Retina MacBook Pro, but your mileage may vary. Apple did not confirm reports that 10.8.1 improves battery life but many other issues appear to be resolved.
This update includes general operating system fixes that improve the stability and compatibility of your Mac, including the following fixes:
Apple sent out alerts yesterday to the AppleSeed Program that announced Mac OS 10.8.2 testing was already underway. We received word that 10.8.2 testing focus areas include:
• Messages
• Facebook
• Game Center
• Safari
• Reminders
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This should sort out all of its problems.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OzkZWvAJUr0#!]
More at the Verge / Seattle Times
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Last night we got a sneak preview of the most popular virtualization software for Mac, Parallels 8. This morning, the competitor VMware Fusion 5 goes official with numerous new features and two pricing/feature tiers.
Optimized for the latest technologies found in OS X Mountain Lion, Windows 8 and the latest Macs®, VMware Fusion 5 returns with more than 70 new features for a Windows on Mac experience never seen before.
“While the number of users adopting Macs continue to rise, the business environment is still dominated by Windows,” said VMware Personal Products Director Jason Joel. “VMware Fusion 5 and Fusion 5 Professional build upon our award-winning platform, adding new capabilities that are in demand among both individual and professional users. Leveraging our experience with consumer and enterprise end-users, we believe this new version of the product is the best solution on the market for users who want to run Windows on Mac simultaneously.”
One of the standout features includes the ability to AirPlay your VM over to an Apple TV-connected display, and support for Apple’s new Retina display also sticks out, but there are over 70 features all told.
Parallels just announced the availability of its next generation of virtualization software for the Mac. Although details are scant at this point, it is safe to assume it is optimized for Mountain Lion and Windows 8.
Notable: If you purchase/purchased Parallels 7 after July 25 (Mountain Lion’s release date), you are eligible for a free copy of Parallels 8. Not too shabby.
Buy a FULL or UPGRADE version of Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac TODAY and you will receive an upgrade to our next version at NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE.
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More on the “TechGuarantee” here…or just download a free trial.
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AT&T just put up a lengthy response to the FaceTime controversy it started when it announced that only users of its new, more expensive Mobile Share Plans may use Apple’s feature. In short, AT&T says it is not bound by FCC Net Neutrality laws on FaceTime because it is a pre-installed App and can be disabled to the carrier’s liking.
The FCC’s net neutrality rules do not regulate the availability to customers of applications that are preloaded on phones. Indeed, the rules do not require that providers make available any preloaded apps. Rather, they address whether customers are able to download apps that compete with our voice or video telephony services. AT&T does not restrict customers from downloading any such lawful applications, and there are several video chat apps available in the various app stores serving particular operating systems. (I won’t name any of them for fear that I will be accused by these same groups of discriminating in favor of those apps. But just go to your app store on your device and type “video chat.”) Therefore, there is no net neutrality violation.
If FaceTime was a downloadable app, AT&T would be forced by FCC Net Neutrality laws to allow it to work properly.
By those measures, AT&T could block Google Hangouts on Android phones and Microsoft’s soon to be pre-installed Skype application on Windows 8 too.
Former lawyer Nilay Patel from The Verge had this to say:
[tweet https://twitter.com/reckless/status/238262079629430784]
[tweet https://twitter.com/reckless/status/238262588511768576]
AT&T alludes to possible network concerns in the last paragraph of the announcement, but the 3mb/minute lines up with other apps currently in use like Hulu/Netflix/Crackle/Sling/AmazonVideo or any of the downloadable VoIP apps.
If you feel AT&T should rethink this policy, perhaps signing the petition makes sense.
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What does that symbol mean? It is the “Protologo”.
[tweet https://twitter.com/protologo/status/237262624142786560]
More pictures and a video below:
TechCrunch talked to a Verizon rep who will not be taking any days off in late September. Not really surprising since everyone except Apple (directly anyhow) has called for the release date of the new iPhone on Sept. 21.
Any T-Mobile reps out there with any unexplained vacation blackout windows? Now THAT would be interesting.
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We are joining with FreePress to get AT&T to rethink its FaceTime blockade on customers who would prefer not to pay extra for its Mobile Share Plans. As revealed on late Friday afternoon, AT&T will require users to sign up for its more expensive Mobile Share Plans to use one of iOS 6’s most coveted features. Our reader poll shows most of you dislike the action:
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We reported last week that a German parts catalog ran out of current-model iPod nanos from Apple and told its customers to wait for refreshed models in late September. That is, of course, the rumored time frame of Apple’s next iPhone announcement and launch.
iPod nanos are more than overdue for a refresh and we are thinking —with Apple moving away from its 30-pin dock connector— that is at least one bit that needs an update. Other rumors pointed to Bluetooth connectivity, as it could extend the usefulness of the iPod nano greatly and make a more interesting iWatch-type product.
Today, we have seen stock shortages also hit Amazon, Target, Walmart, and Bust Buy—the four biggest electronics retailers in the United States.
Amazon is out of stock for about half of its iPod nano models:
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While Best Buy is a hit-or-miss for online deliveries, iPad nanos that are not available for delivery are still available in some stores (but are very spotty for the most part)…
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Update: Shockingly, they yet again didn’t come to an agreement.
Bloomberg reports today that Apple CEO Tim Cook and Samsung CEO Kwon Oh Hyun will have a phone discussion today ahead of jury deliberations set to begin this week. Previous talks, both before the trial and over the weekend, did not yield any results, but Judge Lucy Koh is said to be “pathologically optimistic.”
Samsung’s new CEO has a strong relationship with Cook from his previous role in Samsung’s components business that oversees chips and display, where he undoubtedly worked hand-in-hand with then-COO Cook on securing parts for Apple’s iOS devices (for which Samsung is still the largest supplier).
The South Korean group named Kwon Oh-hyun as its new CEO [in June]. Currently head of Samsung’s components business, which oversees chips and display, Kwon cemented Samsung’s position in memory chips, where it has almost 50 percent global market share, and expanded into non-memory, or logic chips, which now account for 40 percent of Samsung’s overall semiconductor revenue… Under Kwon, Samsung became the sole supplier of the mobile processors that power Apple’s iPhone and iPad – rival products to Samsung’s own Galaxy and Note. The 59-year-old former engineer, who studied electrical engineering at Seoul National University and Stanford, has also led a restructuring of Samsung’s LCD flat-screen business.
Cook became CEO of Apple a year ago this week when Apple’s cofounder, Steve Jobs, resigned due to an illness that would ultimately take his life.
I think it is safe to say we are seeing an unprecedented number of upcoming iPhone parts from the supply chain this time around and one of the few remaining parts yet pictured not only started showing up over the weekend…it is also on sale. For $199, you can pick up (update: out of stock) the “iPhone 5” LCD Screen complete with digitizer assembly. The part looks to be a taller 1,136-by-640-pixel display but obviously, “buyers beware.”
UbreakIfix relayed by MacRumors posted the first images of the new iPhone display over the weekend. Perhaps it purchased the display from ChinaGadgetLand—the parts look very similar.
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The ChinaGadgetLand description reads:
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AT&T recently revealed to us that they were going to block Apple’s built-in FaceTime over cellular unless users sign up for an expensive Mobile Share plan. Does this reek of loyal customer exploitation?
John Bergmayer, Senior Staff Attorney at advocacy group Public Knowledge has this to say:
“By blocking FaceTime for many of its customers, AT&T is violating the FCC’s Open Internet rules. These rules state that mobile providers shall not ‘block applications that compete with the provider’s voice or video telephony services.’ Although carriers are permitted to engage in ‘reasonable network management,’ there is no technical reason why one data plan should be able to access FaceTime, and another not.
“‘Over-the-top’ communications services like FaceTime are a threat to carriers’ revenue, but they should respond by competing with these services and not by engaging in discriminatory behavior.”
Sure, FaceTime over cellular is a “new feature” of iOS 6, but so is Apple’s new Maps Turn-by-turn navigation. So is the PassBook Application and Photo Streams. They all will use more data. What is stopping AT&T from blocking those too?
What justification can AT&T give for such a move when it allows competing video chat apps to be available over its network? The most popular video chatting app, Microsoft’s Skype, has been available on the iPhone over 3G since AT&T allowed it –with some significant coaxing – from the FCC in 2009.
But with the FCC not only investigating AT&T and Apple’s Google Voice ban — but wireless industry competition overall — AT&T has miraculously had a change of heart and will now allow iPhone Skype traffic over 3G:
Previously, VoIP applications on iPhone were enabled for Wi-Fi connectivity…AT&T this afternoon informed Apple Inc. and the FCC of its decision. In late summer, AT&T said it was taking a fresh look at VoIP capabilities on iPhone for use on AT&T’s 3G network, consistent with its regular review of device features and capabilities to ensure attractive options for consumers.
Skype added the ability to video chat over 3G in 2010. We estimated the data usage to be at 3.4Mb/minute at the time. Many other video chatting apps on the iPhone and iPad exist including: Fring, Google Plus (which also works native on Android phones FWIW), ooVoo and many others.
AT&T can’t claim network usage penalties for a couple of reasons:
1. As mentioned above, Skype and other Video chatting applications aren’t blocked by AT&T and they use just as much data.
2. AT&T has moved just about all of its customers over to tiered data plans and even those who are left on “Unlimited Plans” are still subject to throttling that would eliminate the ability to use video chatting applications. Users are paying for data that they use.
3. FaceTime over Wifi uses about 3 Megabytes per minute of talk. For someone to use up a 3GB monthly allotment of data, they would need to FaceTime video chat for almost 17 hours (and the data usage over 3G would likely be less taxing). Netflix, Hulu, Crackle, Amazon Video all use roughly this amount of data without regulation from AT&T.
As for the competition, Sprint already announced that it will not hinder FaceTime over cellular, and Verizon is being forced not to mess with it because of a Net Neutrality agreement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Kq7Ckcgp0o
Engadget got a statement from Apple regarding the latest SMS iOS flaw that affects iPhone users:
Apple takes security very seriously. When using iMessage instead of SMS, addresses are verified which protects against these kinds of spoofing attacks. One of the limitations of SMS is that it allows messages to be sent with spoofed addresses to any phone, so we urge customers to be extremely careful if they’re directed to an unknown website or address over SMS.
Interesting statement from Apple that seems to throw the blame for the SMS vulnerability over to the SMS protocol. That actually might be the case, but Pod2G’s assessment is that Apple could fix it in an upcoming release.
iMessage, though it sometimes goes down for days at a time, is a good means of communication between your Apple-using buddies. However, with Apple not even at a quarter of total phone penetration, SMS is unfortunately something that still needs to be used.
Other ways to avoid the built-in SMS app vulnerabilities are to use third-party SMS applications like Google Voice.
Pod2G’s assessment of the issue below:
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We broke the news just a month ago that AT&T looked like it was prepping to limit the use of FaceTime over cellular, and we find today that limitation was indeed the intention. As with most Friday after-work announcements, this is bad news – for AT&T customers.
We just got the word directly from AT&T that Facetime over 3G and 4G would only be available on AT&T for those who choose to go with its new “Mobile Share” plans. If you have an individual plan or family plan, you will not be able to purchase or use FaceTime over 3G/4G at any price. Pre-paid? Nope.
The official statement:
AT&T will offer FaceTime over Cellular as an added benefit of our new Mobile Share data plans, which were created to meet customers’ growing data needs at a great value. With Mobile Share, the more data you use, the more you save. FaceTime will continue to be available over Wi-Fi for all our customers.
AT&T noted that you could still use FaceTime over Wi-Fi with an AT&T iPhone. *Slow Clap*.
As for the competition, Sprint already announced that it will not hinder FaceTime over cellular, and Verizon is being forced not to mess with it because of a Net Neutrality promise.
I’m not sure how smart a move this is for a company that has a quarter of the LTE infrastructure as Verizon. AT&T might have been able to pull this when they had faster 3G, exclusive simultaneous Talk+Data and broader international roaming. But with Verizon’s much broader LTE coverage and Sprint’s much more generous plans, there is hardly a reason to stick with AT&T.
Also, we get into the legality of blocking a service. The FCC forced AT&T to allow Skype over 4G, so how is this OK?
Unless there is something I am missing in The Wall Street Journal post, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer’s confidence somehow indicated that Apple would be launching a TV set.
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Apple Stock hit a new record today and Jeffries is calling for an Apple television set as early as December, so maybe Maxwell Murphy left out a few items.
Some good news for those who did not sell their AAPL shares to buy plummeting Facebook stock:
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Apple passed its all-time high of 644 and its market cap is once again over $600 billion. Apple last hit both milestones on April 10. The news follows yesterday’s first dividend disbursement in 17 years that paid $2.65 per share of the company’s common stock. The stock price closed over 648.
Also today, Jeffries Analyst Peter Misek reported that Apple’s HDTV production was a go with early 2013 set as a target shipping date.
Investors are also looking forward to what appears to be a huge product launch in September which should include a new iPhone, an iPad Mini and other products for the holiday season.
According to German publication iFun, Shell Germany awards members, who chose to get an iPod nano with their awards points, were greeted with a letter that there is an unforeseen delay in delivery of “old” iPod nanos and a new version is coming in late September. Machine translation (German speakers can send improved translation to tips@9to5mac.com).. Update: several German speaking readers seem to agree on the below human translation:
There is an unexpected delay in the delivery of your Shell CLUBSMART premium “Apple iPod nano 8GB blue” due to an upcoming re-introduction of this device from Apple (according to our information). Therefore Apple is currently not able to deliver the “old” model..
While the Apple Store and other retailers show no signs of shortages, this could be the first distribution sign of an iPod nano refresh. We are hoping to see Bluetooth 4.0 and improved ‘iWatchability™’).
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We received a number of tips over the last few weeks from sources that we have reason to believe hold knowledge about Apple’s plans on the upcoming iPad mini. A recurring theme of late is that the iPad mini will “look like a big iPod touch” with smaller bezels along the sides in portrait mode and separate volume buttons and not a “rocker” and a mic on the back.
In addition, we received a number of different iPad mini back plates with the best quality being these from case maker Devicewear.
We were not confident enough to post the above information alone (but did make the atop mockup), but the very reliable John Gruber chimes in today with many of the same bits of information.
Here is a gallery of all the iPad mini images and mockups we have obtained to date:
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This ‘Little Printer’ thing is making the rounds today (right). It is a cute $259 (plus $30 shipping to U.S.) Cloud printer that prints on a receipt-size roll of paper from a smartphone using some special software.
I am not feeling it, but I imagine there will be some special use cases. As The Verge notes in an interview with Berg cofounder Matt Webb, you could put one of these at your grandma’s house and just send her black and white notes/receipts all day. You can even have it set up to print news on a smartphone-sized scroll of paper. :/
HP and Google already make Cloud printing solutions that do this better, however, and besides, aren’t we trying to move away from printing stuff in general?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khbVdncMltM&feature=plcp]
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The Wall Street Journal today shows that the value of Apple’s brand varies greatly depending on who is taking the survey. Apple’s brand may be worth as much as $183 billion, according to an earlier Millward Brown study. The study’s results greatly vary from a separate Interbrand study, which valued the company at less than a fifth of that value and half of the value of Microsoft’s brand.
The most valuable brand in the world, according to WPP PLC’s Millward Brown, is Apple Inc., worth $183 billion—nearly a third of the company’s market capitalization of $581 billion.
Omnicom Group Inc.’s Interbrand, however, judges Apple’s brand as worth only $33.5 billion, or eighth, behind such names as MicrosoftCorp. (ranked third at $59 billion), International Business MachinesCorp. and Coca-Cola Co. (first at $71.9 billion). Interbrand notes its estimate of Apple’s brand value has risen.
Why such a big difference?
“The value of brand is both art and science,” says Allen Adamson, a managing director of Landor Associates, a branding firm owned by WPP. “It’s simple in theory but hard to pin down in reality. It’s really about how much would a consumer pay for a caramel colored soda versus how much they would pay for a Coke.”
If you think about PCs, how much would someone pay for a similarly spec’d Microsoft PC Ultrabook vs. a MacBook Air? Usually much less. The same goes for tablets—even though Apple’s prices and margins are smaller than phones or PCs. Apple’s reputation is what allows it to grab such huge margins in its hardware.
Yet, Interbrand ranks Microsoft at double of Apple’s brand. I would re-run the numbers if I were Interbrand. Millward Brown’s numbers are below:
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