Apple

If you are an iOS 5 developer (or play one on TV), you may be interested in jailbreaking your iOS 5 devices (iPad 2s need not apply) so that you can build Notification widgets or something.  The good news is that you have two different options.  One is from @iH8sn0w who has released the snowbreeze 2.8b1 jailbreak for tethered iOS devices.

That follows the Dev team, which released redsn0w 0.9.8b1 for Mac (Windows) on Friday.

Both jailbreaks are “extremely beta”, but can be used to exploit notifications and other iOS 5 technologies.
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Sources have told 9to5Mac that Apple will be holding one of their retail store overnights on Tuesday. Since Apple has a flurry of upcoming product releases, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what Apple will be releasing – if anything, on Wednesday, June 15th. We first heard about this last week and figured it was OS X Lion related, but now that new chatter has arisen and now that we know Lion is coming in July, we feel it is the right to time to rundown Wednesday’s new possibilities.

The first item on the list would be new MacBook Airs with Sandy Bridge processors and Thunderbolt I/O. Digitimes and CNET have said that the new Airs are coming in either June or July and ChronicWire says they are coming this Wednesday. We have since heard from a source that there are still some current generation MacBook Airs shipping to retail stores across the world into the next couple of weeks. Because of our own independent information, we doubt a new MacBook Air launch for Wednesday. It does make sense though based on the scheduled retail overnight.

Next would be servers. We were first to report that Mac Pro and Mac mini server models are at the constraint stage for supplies, and since then we have been told that supplies have diminished even more with no more current generation models coming through to retail channels. Also, Time Capsules and Airport Extremes are showing the constraint status.

Additionally, sources tell 9to5Mac that Tuesday’s overnight may be related to Apple removing parts of their rumored-be-disappearing software wall. At this point, we are unsure of what is exactly going down Wednesday. It could be new MacBook Airs, Mac minis, Mac Pros, Servers, AirPorts, Time Capsules, or absolutely nothing related to a major product release. We’ll let you know when we hear more.

Update: Wednesday could be related to Apple’s annual Back to School promotion.

Update 2: Another source says that some of the new visuals pertain to the Teach for America Foundation. This is the same foundation that Apple is promoting the donation of iPads toward. This “teaching” theme may or may not confirm the start of the Back to School promotion on Wednesday.

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For those wondering when Apple’s in-house apps will go 64-bit, we have some good news and some bad news. In Lion, the developer release of iTunes 10.5 is 64-Bit (finally). The developer version of iPhoto with Photostreaming to the iCloud however, is still 32-Bit, at least currently.

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Someone made an iPad with $1.2 million worth of diamonds attached to it.  Worst part?  It is an iPad 1.  D’oh.

Shot of the back below.
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From 9to5toys.com:

Best Buy takes 15% off all Apple iTunes Gift Cards. With free shipping, that’s the best deal we could find on these cards and the first time we’ve seen them discounted in several months. After the discount, a $15 gift card costs $12.75, a $50 gift card costs $42.50, and a $100 gift card costs $85, among others. They’re good for both music/video and app purchases.

Obviously, with a Lion purchase coming up, it might be a good time to stockpile iTunes credit.
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The winners were announced at WWDC yesterday:

iPhone Developer Showcase

Related articles

• Is Apple recalling Verizon iPad 2s? (9to5mac.com)
• Official: Steve Jobs to unveil iCloud, iOS 5, and Lion June 6 at WWDC (9to5mac.com)
• HHI Snap-On Hard Back Shell Case for iPad 2 w/ $2 credit for $9 + $3 s&h (9to5toys.com)
• WWDC 2011: Apple unveils iMessage, am iChat-like new messaging service for iOS 5 devices (9to5mac.com)
• This year’s Apple Design Awards is only for apps distributed via App Store and Mac App Store (9to5mac.com)

The Mac/PC is no longer the hub of your digital world according to Steve Jobs and while the traditional computer was demoted to just a  ‘device’, iOS devices did get some promotions at WWDC this week as well.

One notable addition is that you can set up an Apple Airport or Time Capsule from an iOS 5 device, like in the screenshots above.

Let’s just say this one more time: No Mac Needed.

Thanks Clay!
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Everyone’s favorite iPad insurance provider Square Trade decided to waste a few perfectly good tablets (well one is) to drive home the message: Dropping glass screens on cement will break them.

Conveniently, Square Trade just happens to be in the business of insuring iPads and other tablets (Shocking, we know).
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Looking at the graph above it really feels like Apple is taking huge leaps in growth while the rest of the industry is happy to be taking baby steps.  iSuppli today says that with the help of the iPad, Apple passed Samsung and HP in 2010 to become the largest consumer of semiconductors in the world.  While 2010 is relatively close still, 2011 will have Apple pulling away from the pack.

Apple in 2010 bought $17.5 billion worth of semiconductors, a 79.6 percent increase from $9.7 billion in 2009. This represented the highest rate of increase among the world’s Top 10 OEM semiconductor buyers, allowing Apple to rise up two positions to take the No. 1 rank in 2010. Apple in 2009 was the third-largest semiconductor purchaser, behind Hewlett-Packard Co. of the United States and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. of South Korea; it was sixth in 2008.

NAND Flash for iOS devices was a big contributor to Apple’s rise.

“Apple’s surge to leadership in semiconductor spending in 2010 was driven by the overwhelming success of its wireless products, namely the iPhone and the iPad,” said Wenlie Ye, Analyst for IHS. “These products consume enormous quantities of NAND flash memory, which is also found in the Apple iPod. Because of this, Apple in 2010 was the world’s No. 1 purchaser of NAND flash.”Apple is likely to continue increasing its semiconductor spending during the coming years at an above-average pace, allowing the company to extend its lead over Hewlett-Packard, Samsung and other OEMs in 2011 and beyond. In 2011 Apple’s semiconductor spending is expected to exceed that of Hewlett-Packard by $7.5 billion, up from $2.4 billion in 2010.

Via iClarified
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Before we even start, obviously this is something that isn’t covered by warranty and may destroy your phone.  Once you go to iOS 5, you cant go back. APPLE WILL LIKELY FIX THIS IN AN UPCOMING iOS 5 UPDATE AND YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO USE YOUR DEVICE (until iOS 5 final is released or a developer adds your phone to his or her device list).

Gizmodo posts a video on how to activate an iPhone on iOS without having your device ID provisioned by a developer/Apple.  The exploit uses a combination of Voiceover and the pull down notifications to activate the phone.  The user that found this exploit says the device continues to work after restarts (so you won’t need to activate it every time you restart).  The steps are below:

1. Download the iOS 5 IPSW file from the web (it’s easy and readily available. Just Google it and torrent it down).
2. Update your iPhone using iTunes. To do this, connect your iPhone to your computer, click on the Check for Update button with theOption (Mac) or Shift (PC) key pressed. Select the iOS 5 IPSW file from the place you downloaded it to.
3. Wait until it upgrades. A new activation screen will appear.

Activate iOS 5

1. Triple click the home button. This will activate the Voice Over.
2. Triple click the home button and Emergency Call will appear.
3. Click on Emergency Call and, while it’s switching, swipe with your three fingers down.
4. The Notification Center will appear!
5. Click on the Weather widget. The Weather app will load.
6. Click on the home button to exit to the iPhone’s springboard.

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TUAW notes that inside the USB device profiles of iOS 5 are profiles for two never before seen devices called “iPad3,1” and “iPad3,2.”  Obviosuly Apple is going to be making more iPads in the future and devices often show up in these profiles many months before they are delivered.  However, there was some speculation earlier this year that an enhanced iPad 2 or iPad 3 with a Retina display would be released in time for the holidays.

Most analysts currently estimate that the next version of the iPad will hit at the beginning of next year so.

Interestingly, TUAW notes that there are no new iPod touches listed.  Touches usually are released in the Fall, but with no new iPhone hardware announced or released at WWDC, Apple’s traditional hardware release schedule has been put in question.  
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Apple updated iBooks to 1.3 today for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.  Most notable is the read-aloud feature included in select children’s books from the iBookstore.

The read-aloud feature uses a real narrator to read the book to you, and in some books, it will even highlight the words as you read along.

Initially, it isn’t certain whether or not the narrator will be a (Nuance?) Text to speech voice or if the audio is included by the developers.

The new functionality isn’t just for children’s books. Enhanced books can now automatically play audio or video included with the book.

Apple is now going beyond the other eBookstores offering innovation and functionality that differentiates books into the realm of apps.  Apple now offers Books directly in iTunes as part of the 10.3 update yesterday as well.

The 1.3 update also offers some bugfixes and enhancements from previous versions. More below:
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It wasn’t talked about much but it is an often requested feature (and might have made it into a few jailbreak apps if I am not mistaken): The iPhone’s LED flash will now light up on incoming calls and alerts.  Obviously, only if you choose.

It is good to see Apple working their way through these often requested and jailbroken type features.

Thanks Mime454!
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Amazon today lists the Walter Issacson authorized Biography of Steve Jobs, the one commissioned by the Apple CEO last year.  Issacson will have had three years of access to the normally reclusive Steve Jobs.  Listed at 448 pages, the book will be published by Simon & Schuster.

Product Description

From bestselling author Walter Isaacson comes the landmark biography of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. In iSteve: The Book of Jobs, Isaacson provides an extraordinary account of Jobs’ professional and personal life. Drawn from three years of exclusive and unprecedented interviews Isaacson has conducted with Jobs as well as extensive interviews with Jobs’ family members, key colleagues from Apple and its competitors, iSteve is the definitive portrait of the greatest innovator of his generation.

About the Author

Walter Isaacson, the CEO of the Aspen Institute, has been chairman of CNN and the managing editor of Time magazine. He is the author of Benjamin Franklin: An American Life and ofKissinger: A Biography, and the coauthor of The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and daughter.

Before you get too excited however, the book doesn’t ship for nine months (March 2012). But even so, it will likely be a big hit and as you know with iPads, it is good to get in early.

The iBookstore has a placeholder as well:

Full Res book cover below:

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iOS software head and frequent Apple Keynote presenter Scott Forstall got his Twitter account verified in July of last year.  That was right after the Apple-Ping-Facebook breakup (iOS Facebook integration was planned in late betas) and, with the benefit of hindsight, about the time Apple may have started getting the idea of Twitter integration.

He follows one account: Conan O’Brien’s, but has yet to send out his first tweet.

Two recent reports say that Apple will integrate Twitter into its iOS 5 as a low level, integrated service with “mediastream” integration.

Forstall will likely be on stage presenting what this Twitter integration will allow iOS users to do.  He may even send out his first Tweet.

Maybe SJobs gets a twitter account as well?  Nah.

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Douglas Bowman (via MR) had a peak into Moscone West and saw an iCloud icon.   Looks familiar, no? Oh yes, we detailed this just a few months ago:

A 9to5mac reader writes in telling us he/she’s found some interesting files in Lion.  These files are labeled “MobileDocumentsFolder.icns, Mobile Documents 32.png and SidebarMobileDocumentsFolder.icns” and show new types of icons for a Cloud file system.  Clearly, this would seem to be the successor to iDisk and is probably shows a more transparent interface between the desktop and the Cloud, perhaps a little more like Dropbox. We’re also thinking there is an iWork.com component as well since these are “documentsFolders”.

– here’s the new sidebar icon.

Update: In fact, it looks a lot like a mix of iDisk and iSync (which makes a lot of sense)

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We are getting reports that Apple Stores are receiving packages that aren’t to be opened until Tuesday.  Perhaps they are fluffy little iClouds – or maybe new Airport adverts?  Or, yes, Lion and iOS 5

Thanks Jmfm!
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http://www.viddler.com/simple/30fe0cca/

According to Business Insider, Apple COO Tim Cook told Goldman analyst Bill Shope, “he sees no reason why the tablet market shouldn’t eclipse the PC market over the next several years.”

That is right exactly in line with Steve Jobs comments of a year ago.  Shocking, we know.
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Apple looks like it is tightening its grip on the “App” and “Mac” naming rights area.  Last month, it forced App4mac to change its name.  Sure Apple is now in the Mac Apps game but the company in question is six years old and named itself App4Mac two years before iOS turned Applications into apps.  Patrice Calligaris, CEO writes to tell us:

On May 6, we received this letter from Apple lawyers. On June 1st, our company become adnX.com.  Before we were app4mac.com during six years and it has never been a problem.

We complied only for the first case as other two cases are silly. We fixed the graphics that they did not like.

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The laptop mods keep coming but this one might be our favorite so far.

The new Crux Case Loaded comes with an extra battery and working bluetooth trackpad and will be available in July for $250. Older models without are a somewhat more reasonable $150.

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/16274294 w=670&h=377]

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Image via Amazon

We’ve been tracking Time Capsule/Airport shortages reported earlier for about a week. Our sources noted that Airport Express has been plentiful but supplies of TimeCapsule and Airport Extreme have been tightening globally the way products usually do before a refresh.

What we do know is that Apple has been internally testing Time Capsules to cache Software Updates for both Mac and iOS devices.  The way we’ve heard it works is that the new Time Capsule learns which devices connect to it via Wifi.  It then goes out to Apple’s servers and downloads Software Updates for those products.

When the user wants to install the software update, the Time Capsule, which is also the router, routes you to the locally stored update, rather than downloading the whole thing over the Internet.  This works for iOS updates as well, though the updating still happened via the Mac.

Apple’s Mac OSX Servers currently do this for Mac businesses, so the technology already exists externally (though Mac OSX Server just downloads everything – without knowing which devices will be connected).

With Apple’s new iCloud component, we believe Apple has a chance to extend this functionality.  Perhaps Time Capsules could cache parts of your iCloud music locker that you use the most so that it speeds up the streaming process.  It could also cache large documents and files that get used often or even movies and photos you own.

While Macs have plenty of local storage, this would be particularly beneficial for iOS devices which are limited to Flash storage, especially AppleTV which has very little local storage.  As HD video gets bigger (1080P) Apple will need new ways to deliver and store this content.

The system could also work in reverse.  Apple could allow these new Time Capsules to back up your backups to the Cloud.

Will this be part of Apple’s iOS 5/Lion/iCloud announcement?  We’ll just have to wait and see.
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