Sony

When Nintendo announced last week that it will collaborate with DeNA to release iPhone and iPad games, gamers split into two camps: people intrigued by the promise of brand new Nintendo titles designed for mobile devices, and others — including myself — who expect Nintendo to release shallow mobile minigames, mostly to promote console titles. Nintendo hasn’t actually committed to bringing the Super Mario games people love into the App Store; instead, it’s saying only that its characters will appear in new titles that won’t require complex controls. The implication is that only Nintendo consoles are capable of playing Nintendo’s console games.

I disagree with that. For years, Macs and PCs have been able to run thousands of classic console and arcade games, including Nintendo’s best-known titles, using emulators. These free programs let discontinued, often HDTV-incompatible games play on computers — in many cases, with noticeably better graphics than you remember. Freed from the fuzzy, low-contrast televisions people used to own, classic games can look pixel-sharp on Retina displays, and some emulators actually improve the edges and textures of 3-D objects. Nintendo may not want you to play its prior console games on your favorite Apple device’s screen, but thanks to emulators, it’s possible today. The picture above? That’s Super Mario Galaxy, running on a Retina MacBook Pro…

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Apple reported the largest profit ever recorded by a public company in the holiday quarter, mostly driven by sales of 74 million iPhones with an average selling price of $687. According to Cannacord, this meant Apple captured 93% of handset smartphone profits. Perhaps more staggering is that it claims Apple dominated on similar levels across the entire of 2014 — with 79% of mobile device profits.

The analyst expects continued growth for the iPhone for the next few users, with an estimated 650 million iPhone users by the end of 2018.

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Photo via @motro68

As filming for the announced Steve Jobs biopic continues, first at Steve Jobs’ childhood home, then at the Flint Center where the original Macintosh was unveiled, the first photos of Michael Fassbender and Seth Rogen as Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak have appeared.

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Apple, after reportedly being involved in early negotiations for the film, has put Sony’s “The Interview” up for streaming on iTunes. Apple is offering the film at the same price as Google, YouTube, and Xbox video – $6 to rent and $15 to own.

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Update: Sony has now announced that “The Interview” will be available on YouTube, Google Play, and Xbox Video today, December 24th, at 1PM Eastern. The film will cost $14.99 to own or $5.99 to rent. Google Play Movies & TV is available for iOS on the App Store.

The New York Times reported earlier today that Sony Pictures had approached Apple about the possibility of streaming the upcoming film “The Interview,” which features actors James Franco and Seth Rogen (who will also appear in the upcoming Steve Jobs biopic) as a US talk show host and producer tasked by the CIA with assassinating North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un.

Earlier this month, hackers with ties to North Korea breached Sony’s system, stole terabytes of data, and threatened physical attacks against theaters that showed the movie. Most national theater chains backed out of the premiere and Sony decided to scrub the entire affair.

The studio immediately began searching for an on-demand service that would host the movie online, including iTunes. According to the Times:

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Michael Fassbender will reportedly play Steve Jobs in the upcoming biopic

While we’ve already learned some interesting details about the upcoming Steve Jobs biopic from the recently leaked Sony Pictures files, it seems there’s still more to be gleaned from the company’s documents. As the Verge notes today, new emails have revealed the possible settings for the film, which include “two auditoriums, a restaurant, and a garage.”

Those locations were included in an email sent from screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, who, along with director Danny Boyle, will be taking the film to Universal Pictures for production after working with Sony on it for several years.

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DiCaprio and Boyle on the set of the 2000 film “The Beach”

New information discovered in the Sony Pictures data dump indicates that the loss of Leonardo DiCaprio for the lead role in the studio’s Steve Jobs biopic may have contributed to the decision to give the movie to Universal Pictures. According to Fusion, the film’s revenue projections dropped by a whopping 25% after Leo dropped out.

Soon reports claimed that Christian Bale would be taking up the role, but that ended up falling through as well. Most recently, actor Michael Fassbender is said to be up for the titular spot, though the movie is now being produced by Universal.

Now the movie has lost another potential cast member…

I’ve already broken down the best gifts for students this holiday season, but now it’s time to talk about the best gifts for all the Apple lovers in your life. These are most of the products that I use on a daily basis. Whether I use them on-the-go, while working, or pretty much 24/7, these are some of the best products that have earned a coveted spot in my daily routine.

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Lisa Brennan-Jobs & Natalie Portman

Actress Natalie Portman is the latest name to be thrown in the mix of potential stars in the upcoming Steve Jobs biopic written by Aaron Sorkin. The information comes courtesy of Deadline, which reports that Portman is “in talks to join” the project in a leading role although the specific character is unknown. It’s possible Natalie Portman is being considered to portray Steve Jobs’ daughter Lisa Brennan-Jobs.
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A new Bloomberg report indicates that Sony might be preparing to produce a smartwatch that uses an e-paper display rather than a traditional LCD display. Not only will the display be made of e-paper, the report continues, but the entire wrist band as well. Could such a device take on Apple’s own smartwatch, set for release early next year?

E-paper, for those unfamiliar with the term, is the same low-power “electronic paper” display used in devices like the Kindle. It allows a display to be legible, even in direct sunlight, by reflecting light rather than emitting it like a standard LCD display.

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A new report claims that the upcoming Steve Jobs biopic, led by veteran screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, is set to change hands. According to Hollywood magazine Deadline, the film will be moving from Sony Pictures to Universal Pictures by tomorrow at the latest. Despite the studio move, production of the movie is expected to remain on the fast track.
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The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Christian Bale will not star at Steve Jobs in the upcoming biopic:

Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the actor has fallen off the Jobs biopic that is being directed by Danny Boyle. […]

Sources say Bale, after much deliberation and conflicting feelings, came to the conclusion he was not right for the part and decided to withdraw.

Just last month, the film’s writer Aaron Sorkin had stated that Bale would star as the Apple co-founder in the movie as Bale was “best actor on the board in a certain age range.”
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Variety reports that actor Seth Rogen has been cast to play Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak in the upcoming Steve Jobs biopic from Sony:

Seth Rogen has been set to star as Steve Wozniak opposite Christian Bale in Sony’s Steve Jobs biopic.

We learned earlier this month that Christian Bale, who starred in the recent Batman trilogy, will portray Steve Jobs in the Aaron Sorkin directed film. Sorkin later confirmed the report adding that Christian Bale didn’t have to audition for the role in the film.

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Variety reports that sources have confirmed actor Christian Bale is in talks to play the role of Steve Jobs in the upcoming biopic based on Walter Isaacson’s official biography of the late Apple co-founder. Variety adds that insiders believe Bale will begin filming for the biopic this spring.
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[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpx6r5FVXPo&start=47]

In iFixit’s ritual dismantling of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus last week, the repair company noted that Apple had started including rubber gaskets around the power and volume buttons likely in an effort to make the iPhone more water and dust resistant.

Similar gaskets surround the volume buttons. Altogether, this seems to represent a move toward increased water/dust resistance, and therefore improved durability.

iFixit

How did Apple do? Well iPhone warranty provider Squaretrade was able to dunk both the 6 and 6 Plus for 10 seconds without any real damage. While this is indeed nice to have, especially for those of us who like to take our iPhones with us to the pool, it is by no means a guarantee like Samsung and Sony have on some of their phones.

And then there is the toilet. If you are willing to go after your iPhone 6 within a few seconds, you might actually have a good chance at saving it.

The slightly amphibious nature of the iPhone 6 isn’t entirely new either. Previous iPhones have been able to go underwater for a few seconds (see iPhone 5c below) but as you can see buttons and features rapidly begin to fail. 
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