Apple

6,154 'Apple News' stories November 2008 - April 2012

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Apple News and Brief History

Before you can properly understand Apple News, it’s important to know its history. Apple was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976. In 1977, Apple’s sales were growing with the success of its early computers. Within a few years, Jobs and Wozniak hired designers and a production line crew. Apple went public in 1980 and was an instant success. Over the next few years, Apple shipped new computers featuring new graphical user interfaces, such as the original Macintosh in 1984. As the market for personal computers expanded through the 1990s, Apple lost market share to the cheaper Microsoft Windows on PC clones. Eventually, Wozniak and Jobs both left Apple. Jobs would go on to found NeXT and would return to Apple when NeXT was acquired in the late 90s. Apple then began a journey to the great second act in the history of the business world.

Since the release of the iPod in 2001, Apple has become a major player once again in the technology industry. After releasing the iPhone in 2007, the iPad in 2010, and the Apple Watch in 2015, Apple is now one of the largest companies in the world. Apple’s worldwide annual revenue totaled $274.5 billion for its 2020 fiscal year.

Today, Apple operates retail stores all across the world, has a growing services division, and an ever-expanding hardware lineup. The technology industry follows Apple news to see where the company is headed in the future.

Keep reading for the latest Apple news

iMac Touch concept incorporates a touchscreen, iOS, and Siri

Jordan Kahn Apr 25 2012 - 7:22 am PT

[vodpod id=Video.16427916&w=650&h=350&fv=]

“You can converge a toaster and refrigerator, but these things are probably not going to be pleasing to the user”- Tim Cook on Windows 8 and touch-friendly PCs at Q2 earnings.

Disregarding Cook’s statement for a second, here is an iMac touch concept sent by 9to5Mac reader and 3D animation student Joakim Ulseth. The mockup shows how he thought a redesigned iMac could incorporate a touchscreen and iOS-like features. The overall concept is based on an Apple patent published in 2010 that detailed an iMac with adjustable “Flex base.” This is what Ulseth imagined would be inside the next-gen device:

Apple iMac Touch with Flex Base running both OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion and iOS5– ”Power at your fingertips”

Specs:

Retina-Display: The 27-inch iMac Touch features 4096-by-2304 HD resolution. The resulting pixel density — 174 pixels per inch — makes text and graphics look smooth and continuous at any size.
Siri: The intelligent assistant that helps you get things done.
Ivy Bridge: Intels new Ivy Bridge i5 and i7 processors.
Thunderbolt: Two Thunderbolt ports for high speed data transfer.

And, before you unleash the hate:

[tweet https://twitter.com/chronic/status/195163119788634114]

Intel officially launches 22nm Ivy Bridge processors, will likely add improved A/V, USB 3.0, more to future Macs (9to5mac.com)
Apple WWDC 2012 announced for June 11th – get your tickets now! (9to5mac.com)
That’s not a defibrillator, it’s OWC’s DIY SSD kit for 2011 iMacs (9to5mac.com)

Apple WWDC 2012 announced for June 11— sold out in under 2 hours

Seth Weintraub Apr 25 2012 - 5:33 am PT

Update: Within two hours, Apple has now confirmed that all tickets to WWDC 2012 are sold out.

Apple just announced the June 11 kickoff date for its Worldwide Developer Conference at the Moscone Convention Center. Developers should buy their tickets as soon as possible here. ($1,599 each—Hope your app is doing well!) (Also, do not forget to book your hotel.)

Apple is also offering a scholarship program this year for young developers ages 13 and older:

.

“We have a great WWDC planned this year and can’t wait to share the latest news about iOS and OS X Mountain Lion with developers,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The iOS platform has created an entirely new industry with fantastic opportunities for developers across the country and around the world.”

Activities at Apple’s WWDC 2012 include:

more than 100 technical sessions presented by Apple engineers on a wide range of technology-specific topics for developing, deploying and integrating the latest iOS and OS X technologies;
100 hands-on labs staffed by more than 1,000 Apple engineers providing developers with code-level assistance, insight into optimal development techniques and guidance on how they can make the most of iOS and OS X technologies in their apps;
the opportunity to connect with thousands of fellow iOS and OS X developers from around the world—last year more than 60 countries were represented;
engaging and inspirational lunchtime sessions with leading minds and influencers from the worlds of technology, science and entertainment; and
Apple Design Awards which recognize iPhone®, iPad® and Mac® apps that demonstrate technical excellence, innovation and outstanding design.

Press release follows:
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$110B in the bank and other monster numbers

Jordan Kahn Apr 24 2012 - 2:24 pm PT

Apple just announced during its Q2 2012 earnings call that it currently has $110 billion in cash reserves, which is up from $81.5 billion in September 2011. Apple was also up in every other segment with $18.4 billion in short-term marketable securities (up from $16.1 billion) and long-term marketable securities at $81.6 billion, which is up from $55.6 billion in the previous six-month period ending September 2011.

Other numbers that Apple reported today for the quarter:

iTunes and App Store:

-$1.9 billion in iTunes revenue (a 35 percent YOY increase)

-600,000 apps (200,000 iPad specific apps)

iOS devices:

-365 million iOS device sales

-$22.7 billion in revenue from iPhone and accessories

-6.6 billion in revenue from iPad and accessories.

-7.7 million iPod sales

-94 percent of Fortune 500 and 75 percent of global 500 testing or deploying iPad

iCloud:

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Live blog: Apple Q2 earnings call

Jake Smith Apr 24 2012 - 12:58 pm PT

Apple just announced is fiscal Q2 2012 earnings, and the company is set to hold an earnings call with investors to announce its fiscal Q2 2012 financial results at 2 p.m. Pacific / 5 p.m. Eastern time this evening. You can listen to the call on Apple’s Investor Relations page (QuickTime required) or you can follow along below.

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Japan inches closer to Android/iPhone duopoly, as Apple gains marketshare

Jordan Kahn Apr 24 2012 - 9:31 am PT

As of the latest research from Nielsen, we know the United States smartphone market has quickly become an iOS/Android duopoly with 90 percent of devices on either one of those platforms. While smartphone usage in Japan is still at 1-in-5 mobile phone owners, new numbers from comScore today show Japan’s smartphone market is also quickly becoming dominated by Apple and Google. To be specific, 95.6-percent of smartphones in the country are Android or iPhone, and Apple has outgrown Google in the last three months while Android’s share remains steady.

Game Over: Latest Nielsen survey says over 90% of US Smartphones purchased in last 3 months are iOS or Android (9to5google.com)
AT&T activated 4.3M iPhones last quarter, over 78 percent of its smartphone activations (9to5mac.com)
comScore: Android and iOS grab 80 percent US marketshare, Apple passes Motorola (9to5google.com)

Apple could lose China iPad trademark, boasts Chinese govt official as groups enter mediation

Jordan Kahn Apr 24 2012 - 7:13 am PT

Apple’s iPad trademark dispute with cash-strapped display company Proview has continued to drag on despite the Chinese company claiming it was in negotiations with Apple as recent as February. Today, several reports suggested Apple and Proview are now involved in court-moderated mediation with senior officials who are boasting Apple could lose the right to the iPad trademark in China. The mediation would be the first confirmation of settlement talks between the two companies. The Associated Press reports:

Apple Inc. risks losing the right to use the iPad trademark in China, a senior official suggested Tuesday, as a Chinese court was seeking to mediate a settlement between the technology giant and a local company challenging its use of the iPad name… Yan Xiaohong, deputy director of the National Copyright Administration, told reporters in Beijing that the government regards Shenzhen Proview Technology as the rightful owner of the trademark for the popular tablet computers

If Apple and Proview are unable to come to a settlement in the talks, Guangdong High Court in southern China will rule over the case in the months to come. According to Deputy Director of China’s State Administration for Industry and Commerce Fu Shuangjian (via The Wall Street Journal), Proview is still the legitimate owner of the iPad trademark in the country:

“Currently, Proview Shenzhen is still the legitimate registered owner of the IPAD trademark,” Mr. Fu said. But he indicated that officials are waiting for the Guangdong court’s final judgment, after which the industry and commerce sector “will deal with the case according to law.”

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WSJ: Apple and Samsung are winning with different strategies

Seth Weintraub Apr 24 2012 - 7:07 am PT

The Wall Street Journal:

Apple, the world’s most valuable company, sells just one phone, the iPhone. The Cupertino, Calif., company emphasizes design and profitability over sales. It also invests heavily in its consumer brand and its tightly controlled retail stores, and it benefits from a strong ecosystem of software and apps.

Meanwhile, Samsung, the world’s largest tech company by revenue last year, goes for scale. The South Korean company is a fast-follower that places its bets broadly, creating multiple versions of myriad products such as its Galaxy smartphones to suit partners’ needs. It maximizes profits by controlling its own manufacturing

Advertising tricks Samsung uses to win over Apple fans (9to5mac.com)
Without biggest mobile network in China, Samsung gains on Apple in smartphone sales (9to5mac.com)

Little Snitch network monitoring Mac App for $15

Seth Weintraub Apr 24 2012 - 5:38 am PT

From 9to5Toys.com:

MacUpdate has Little Snitch for half off – $14.99 – today only.

Little Snitch alerts you to outgoing network connections.

A firewall protects your computer against unwanted guests from the Internet. But who protects your private data from being sent out? Little Snitch does!

As soon as you’re connected to the Internet, applications can potentially send whatever information they want to wherever they want.

Sometimes they do this for good reason, on your explicit request. But often they don’t. Little Snitch allows you to intercept these unwanted connection attempts, and lets you decide how to proceed.

Little Snitch informs you whenever a program attempts to establish an outgoing Internet connection. You can then choose to allow or deny this connection, or define a rule how to handle similar, future connection attempts. This reliably prevents private data from being sent out without your knowledge. Little Snitch runs inconspicuously in the background and it can also detect network related activity of viruses, trojans and other malware.

Remember, we’re also giving Toast 11 Platinum along with 8 other quality Mac Applications for $49 as part of the Superbundle deal..
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AT&T activated 4.3M iPhones last quarter, over 78 percent of its smartphone activations

Seth Weintraub Apr 24 2012 - 5:07 am PT

AT&T is still the “iPhone network,” according to numbers from its quarterly earnings report. AT&T sold 5.5 million smartphones in the quarter, but 4.3 million of the smartphones activated were iPhones. That means the iPhone represented a whopping 78 percent of total smartphone sales (although some “iPhone activations” could have been hand me downs). Additionally, AT&T’s postpaid customers are almost 60 percent smartphone customers, which means AT&T’s iPhone customers represent a huge percentage of its base—nearly 5o percent and growing.

Verizon announced numbers last week including 3.2 million iPhones sold. While the iPhone is down significantly from the holiday quarter, it is up from 3.6 million activations in Q1 2011. Apple’s earnings will be reported at the end of the day today.

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More mockups make the case for a 4-inch iPhone

Jordan Kahn Apr 23 2012 - 2:38 pm PT

We know our readers have a love/hate relationship with mockups, but we think these are worth sharing due to all the rumors of a 4-inch iPhone coming this October, It does not seem like a ton of math went into these mockups to ensure an easy transition of existing iOS apps to a larger screen iPhone, but they certainly help us picture what a 4-inch iPhone could look like.

The first three images above come from 9to5Mac reader and design student Daniel Bautista. Like our own 4-inch iPhone mockup, these were inspired by Photo Stream leaks from last summer. The image on the far-right above (and the image below) is another mockup from apfelpage.de that shows a slimmed down next-gen iPhone with a touch-sensitive home button running a widget-enabled iOS 6.

Teardrop-shaped iPhone 5 mockup: Cool or? (9to5mac.com)
We didn’t believe that 4.6-inch iPhone report but it sure makes a pretty mockup [Gallery] (9to5mac.com)

Cargo-bot, the first app created entirely on the iPad, hits the App Store

Seth Weintraub Apr 23 2012 - 10:50 am PT

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mPWWDOjtO9s#!]

Using a development environment/ app called Codea (formerly Codify), Two Lives Left created a free iPad game called Cargo-Bot. It is now available in the App Store.

Cargo-Bot is a puzzle game where you teach a robot how to move crates. Sounds simple, right? It features 36 fiendishly clever puzzles, haunting music and stunning retina graphics. You can even record your solutions and share them on YouTube to show your friends.

The app itself looks good but where it gets interesting is that it was made entirely on an iPad using Codea ($9.99 App Store). Codea uses the Lua programming language and has called the GarageBand of iPad coding for its visual ease of use. Until now, apps built using Codea were only able to play inside the app. Using a preview of a new Open Source exporter tool, Codea exported the Cargo-bot app and submitted it to the App Store where it was recently approved.

It’s the first game of its kind, prototyped, programmed and polished on iPad. Cargo-Bot was created by Rui Viana, a Codea user who developed his initial prototype and shared it with the Codea community. Two Lives Left reached out to Rui in order to turn his prototype into a published App Store game. They also enlisted the aid of Fred Bogg, a composer who developed a music library for Codea, to create the music for Cargo-Bot.

Coinciding with the release of Cargo-Bot, Two Lives Left is releasing the Codea Runtime Library source code under the Apache License Version 2.0. Registered Apple iOS Developers will be able to export their Codea projects into the Codea Runtime Library in order to release them as standalone apps, just like Cargo-Bot.

How long until iPad game creation is mainstream? Xcode for iPad certainly couldn’t be too far off?

Press release follows:

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How to unlock an iPhone 4S in 12 easy steps

Élyse Betters Apr 23 2012 - 8:12 am PT

Weiphone’s Hacker Loktar_Sun just unearthed how to unlock an iPhone—including the iPhone 4S.

To complete Weiphone’s step-by-step unlock tutorial, the latest version of iTunes and a jailbroken iPhone is required. For those unaware, unlocking is the process of modifying an iPhone’s software so that it can operate through carriers other than its official carrier in a given country. Also, a jailbroken iPhone simply means it is freed from the limitations imposed by Apple for safety measures. In other words, continue at your own risk.

The following process is straightforward for anyone familiar with unlocked or jailbroken iPhones:
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Cue on agency model: ‘I don’t think you understand. We can’t treat newspapers or magazines any differently than we treat FarmVille.”

Jordan Kahn Apr 23 2012 - 6:59 am PT

By now you probably know that the U.S. Department of Justice launched an antitrust lawsuit against Apple and two publishers this month following an investigation into Apple’s eBook pricing agency model. Three publishers, including Hachette, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster, decided to reach a settlement with the Department of Justice to return to Amazon’s set-your-own price wholesale model. Meanwhile, Apple, Macmillan, and Penguin will take the fight to court.

Interestingly, a report from The Wall Street Journal, which is owned by the HarperCollins’ parent company News Corp, suggested Apple was only ever trying to continue its App Store business model. The Wall Street Journal’s L. Gordon Crovitz described visiting Senior Apple Executive Eddy Cue to discuss changing Apple’s policies for publications. He quoted Cue as comparing book pricing to apps and not wanting to treat publications differently than app developers:

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Apple to drop 17-inch MacBooks, slim down iPhone w/ in-cell?

Jordan Kahn Apr 23 2012 - 6:05 am PT

You can read into these reports from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities as much as you want. Kuo claimed this morning that Apple is about to axe the 17-inch MacBook Pro line entirely while introducing a rumored all new MacBook design by Q3 2012 (via MacRumors). Kuo also alleged Apple will adopt in-cell display technology to help slim down the next-generation iPhone by up to 1.4mm to under 8mm. IHS told Wired earlier about the advantages of in-cell displays:

“The advantage of in-cell is that you’re streamlining the manufacturing process, so in time you should be able to drive efficiencies and reduce cost.” IHS analyst Rhoda Alexander told Wired. “Additionally, by reducing the number of layers, you reduce the size and thickness of the device, making it thinner and lighter.”

According to the report, Kuo said in-cell would provide a reduction of approximately 0.5mm, while other reductions could come from the battery and a thinner metal casing on the back.

Since Apple’s smartphone competitors have generally slimmed down their high-end offerings to 7-8mm, Apple needs to make a leap forward from 4S’ 9.3mm thickness. We believe Apple will aim at 8mm or below (at least 1.4mm slimmer) for iPhone 5, in a bid to ensure brisk sales through 2014, while peers will also continue to introduce increasingly slim models next year… As such, all iPhone 4S components that account for thickness must be slimmer, specifically, touch panel, battery and casing. Moreover, a marginal amount of space is required between the three parts for the sakes of assembly tolerance and thermal expansion of components.

Report: Apple building thinner and lighter Liquidmetal next-gen iPhone (9to5mac.com)

Intel officially launches 22nm Ivy Bridge processors, will likely add improved A/V, USB 3.0, more to future Macs

Jake Smith Apr 23 2012 - 1:58 am PT

After months of talking about its features, Intel officially launches its new Ivy Bridge processor today. As we previously reported, this processor is undoubtedly headed to the next line of Macs, and it will help provide some significant feature updates. The processor is a 22-nanometer 3D transistor chip that will be more efficient than the bigger Sandy Bridge processors it replaces. It is initially available in 13 quad-core models in both the i5 and i7 versions. According to Intel, lower-end i3 and i5 models will launch later this spring.

One big aspect to note is that the Ivy Bridge also features on-chip USB 3.0 – a technology Apple is long-rumored to adopt. While may Apple not choose to take that route, the likelihood of it using the now built-in USB 3.0 tech has grown exponentially.

Intel’s Vice President and General Manager of the PC Client Group Kirk Skaugen told the crowd at the Intel Developer Forum earlier this month that the Ivy Bridge Processor is built for Retina display computers, “if OEMs choose to use it.” This is especially interesting, because Apple is rumored to include a Retina-like display thanks to a slue of hints in the developer preview of Mountain Lion. Retina would be a game changer on the displays of Apple’s Pro/Air. Intel’s new 4000 chipset supports up to 4K resolutions natively, and it supports improved audio and security functions that Apple may or may not choose to take advantage of.

With the official launch of the Ivy Bridge processor, the launch of new Macs does not seem to be that far off. The new processor will most likely be found throughout the Mac line, including the MacBook Air, iMac, Mini, and MacBook Pro.

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App allows users to watch premium TV live without a subscription or jailbreak [Update]

Apr 22 2012 - 7:24 am PT

Update: As expected, this is not what it seems. It looks like the developer switched all of the advertised premium content over to an ad for Futobox. Premium content vendors take note: People are willing to pay for good streaming content.

Update 2: TV Premium removed from the Apple Store over 24 hours later. We’re hearing from multiple sources that Apple issuing refunds.

A new iOS app released in the App Store this weekend called “TV English Premium” that allows users to watch premium TV stations without a subscription. Most of the channels on the app are English-centric and include BBC Two, Three, Four, BBC HD, and Eurosport channels, but there are some native USA channels, such as: History HD, National Geographic HD, ESPN HD.

We downloaded and tested the app, and it seems to work as advertised. We only paid the one-time app fee of 99 cents, and then we were free to browse all the channels the app has to offer. A couple of times the app stopped to buffer, but we did not experience any other real pain-points. Needless to say, we do not expect this app to last too long in the app store, so you may want to act fast if you are interested. It is a universal download for iPad, iPod, and iPhone, and it is available here (iPad screenshot and video below). Buyer (obviously) beware.

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Apple shows off iPhone’s use in the enterprise world

Jake Smith Apr 20 2012 - 2:28 pm PT

If you need more convincing before ditching your BlackBerry, Apple just posted a new page on its website that highlights the iPhone’s use in the enterprise market. The info-packed page shows how the iPhone is used in the business setting to organize days, manage projects, setup meetings, read mail, set calendar appointments, keep contacts organized, and more. In typical advertising fashion, Apple highlighted specific apps on the App Store like “MicroStrategy,” “OmniFocus” for iPhone, “GoToMeeting,” “TripIt,” and much more.

Over the last year, Apple made a dent in the enterprise market—a place formerly dominated by Microsoft and RIM. Apple has continued to offer better working tools than the competitors do. For example, Apple’s new iMessage provides BBM-like messaging, which is a service highly adored on the BlackBerry. However, the iPhone’s ease of use is starting to make it a No. 1 choice for IT departments.

Apple also provides a page showing the businesses that have chosen to use the iPhone. Lowes, for example, opted to use the iPhone for its payment service, as we exclusively told you last year. World Wide technology, GE, Gap Adventures and more are also highlighted on the page.

At the end of the day, I think more and more businesses are starting to realize where they need to put their money. Apple’s new page should help IT heads to choose the products from Cupertino, rather than the plastic phones from up north.

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Museum display company sues Apple over touchscreen patent

Jordan Kahn Apr 20 2012 - 12:14 pm PT

Yesterday, law firm Hagens Berman filed a lawsuit in a California U.S. District Court against Apple Inc. related to “gesture recognition technology for touchscreens” covered in patents owned by Flatworld Interactives. The company, which originally developed its technology for museum exhibits in the 1990s, is seeking an “injunction enjoining Apple from continued infringement, and an award of damages to compensate Flatworld” for the millions of iOS devices and MacBooks using its technology.

Flatworld Interactives, LLC received U.S. Patent No. RE 43,318, which includes claims to touch screen based systems that allow users to manipulate images using gestures, such as selecting an image by touching it, and flicking images off of the screen.

The full press release is below:

Hagens Berman: Lawsuit Claims Wide Range of Apple Devices Infringe Patents for Screen Manipulation

A lawsuit filed yesterday against Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) by the Hagens Berman law firm claims that the computing and consumer-products giant has built many of its most popular devices including the iPhone and iPad using intellectual property owned by a Villanova, Penn. company that developed gesture recognition technology for touchscreens in the mid-1990s.

Flatworld Interactives, LLC received U.S. Patent No. RE 43,318, which includes claims to touch screen based systems that allow users to manipulate images using gestures, such as selecting an image by touching it, and flicking images off of the screen.

The company designed touchscreen systems originally for use in video displays for museums and other exhibit applications.

Hagens Berman’s lawsuit was filed on Flatworld’s behalf in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. It alleges that numerous best-selling Apple devices, including the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, iPod Nano, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air infringe the patent. The complaint also alleges that Apple knew about the patent but continued to sell the infringing products.

“Reading Flatworld’s patent is like reading the description of gesture recognition features of any of the accused products on Apple’s website,” said Steve Berman, Hagens Berman’s managing partner. “It is clear that Flatworld owns technology that Apple has used to drive billions of dollars in infringing sales.”

Flatworld was founded by Dr. Slavko Milekic, a Professor of Cognitive Science & Digital Design at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Penn. Professor Milekic first developed gesture recognition touch screens for use by children as an easier and more intuitive means of interacting with a computer.

The lawsuit seeks a ruling from the court affirming that Apple has infringed the patent, an injunction enjoining Apple from continued infringement, and an award of damages to compensate Flatworld.

More information about this case is available at www.hbsslaw.com/Flatworld.

HTC fights ‘slide-to-unlock’ in London as Samsung continues patent war with Apple ahead of settlement talks (9to5mac.com)

16GB iPhone 4S (New, no contract) for $619

9to5 Staff Apr 20 2012 - 11:47 am PT

Go4Computers has the 16GB iPhone 4S in black or white for $619 with free United States shipping— and tax in Florida only. They also ship internationally. That’s $30 off of Apple’s no contract price.

Refurb iPhone 4S 16GB for $150 + free shipping, 32GB for $250, 64GB for $350 (9to5toys.com)
200,000 pre-orders later, China Telecom’s 130 million CDMA customers get access to the iPhone 4S today (9to5mac.com)
Anyone got a catchy title for a creepy iPhone hand case? (9to5mac.com)
Refurb Apple iPhone 4S 32GB for $250 + free shipping, 64GB for $350 (9to5toys.com)
Refurb Apple iPhone 4S 32GB for $250 + free shipping, 64GB for $350 (9to5toys.com)
AT&T Apple iPhone 4 / 4S USB Car Charger for $4 + $2 s&h (9to5toys.com)

Apple eBook price-fixing lawsuits hit Canada following DOJ suit

Jordan Kahn Apr 20 2012 - 11:25 am PT

Following an investigation into alleged eBook price-fixing, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple and publishers Macmillan and Penguin earlier this month, who refused to settle. Other publishers, including Hachette, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster, settled and reached an agreement to return Amazon to its previous wholesale model and dismantle Apple’s agency model. The settlement also included agreements with select states that would see $51 million in restitution paid to those who purchased eBooks through Apple’s platform. Now, several Canadian publications are reporting class-action lawsuits were filed against Apple and the five publishers throughout Canada.

Lawyer Normand Painchaud spoke with The Montreal Gazette about his class-action suit filed in Quebec Superior Court and talked about two others filed in Ontario and British Columbia:

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Tip: Bring Siri’s voice to your Mac with Samantha downloadable Voice for Lion

Jordan Kahn Apr 20 2012 - 9:36 am PT

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOCA-nqIzz4&feature=player_embedded]

Since the introduction of Nuance speech technology in OS X Lion, which provides several new voice options in system preferences for the System Voice, many have compared the voice of Nuance-powered Siri on iPhone 4S to the improved text-to-speech included as free downloads within Lion. As noted by Reddit user Moosehadley, what you might not have realized is the downloadable “Samantha” voice for Lion is the same as Siri’s in the United States. Here is how to download it:

Open System Preferences> Speech> Text to Speech>System Voice> Customize> and select “Samantha” from the list. Apple will ask you to confirm the 469MB install.

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Munster: Next iPhone will be ‘Mother of all Upgrades’ (video)

Jordan Kahn Apr 20 2012 - 7:34 am PT

Yesterday, we reported that Qualcomm announced it was having “trouble meeting demand” for its next-generation chips that would likely find their way into an LTE-enabled iPhone 5. While the announcement was a clear indication that Apple’s rumored October release window was much more likely than talk of a June unveiling at WWDC, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster agreed and said the new device will be the mother of all hardware upgrades:

“We think one of the big features of iPhone 5 is going to be LTE… when iPhone 4S came out it was obviously the same form factor… this is going to be a big hardware upgrade… this is going to be the year of the hardware… the mother of all upgrades “

Apple to hire 500 employees at European HQ in Cork, Ireland

Jordan Kahn Apr 20 2012 - 6:18 am PT

Apple made official plans to hire additional employees at its European headquarters. Reuters reported that the current workforce of 2,800 would expand by up to 500 over the next 18 months at the building located in Cork, Ireland. According to a report from local RTE News Ireland, revenues in the markets handled by Cork HQ grew 55 percent year-on-year for October/December:

Apple’s Senior Director for Corporate Communications Alan Hely said the company plans to increase its workforce in the city to 3,300 over the next 18 months… Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton and senior officials in IDA Ireland have been involved in meetings on the project in Ireland and with Apple management in the US over several months.

Tim Cook didn’t visit Valve, says Valve Co-Founder

9to5 Staff Apr 19 2012 - 4:37 pm PT

Oh my. Last week, AppleInsider ran a post claiming Tim Cook visited the headquarters of Valve for some undisclosed business. We did not report it due to the sketchy nature of the source, but the story did receive some airplay amongst those less familiar with reputation of the source in question.

Anyway, long story short, it never happened. It was totally made up with the hope that neither company would call it out.

Unfortunately/fortunately, Valve did call the report out as a total fabrication.

Video game website Kotaku had a preview of the podcast from Seven Day Cooldown that included this quote:

We actually, we all sent mail to each other, going, “Who’s Tim Cook meeting with? Is he meeting with you? I’m not meeting with Tim Cook.” So we’re… it’s one of those rumors that was stated so factually that we were actually confused.

No one here was meeting with Tim Cook or with anybody at Apple that day. I wish we were! We have a long list of things we’d love to see Apple do to support games and gaming better. But no, we didn’t meet with Tim Cook. He seems like a smart guy, but I’ve never actually met him.

Image credit JoyofTech

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