March 18, 2010

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Amazon Quietly Releases Kindle for Mac

Amazon has released a free software application called Kindle for Mac which allows users to… Full Story >

Amazon Quietly Releases Kindle for Mac Amazon Quietly Releases Kindle for Mac

Apple Releases iPhone SDK 3.2 Beta 5 to Developers

Just a quick note. Apple has released iPhone SDK 3.2 Beta 5. This update comes just a little… Full Story >

Apple Releases iPhone SDK 3.2 Beta 5 to Developers Apple Releases iPhone SDK 3.2 Beta 5 to Developers

Apple Beefs Up iWork.com Beta with Sharing and Mobile Interface Features

Apple has sent out an email to iWork.com users announcing several enhancements involving document… Full Story >

Apple Beefs Up iWork.com Beta with Sharing and Mobile Interface Features Apple Beefs Up iWork.com Beta with Sharing and Mobile Interface Features

Apple Board Director Jerome York Hospitalized

March 18, 2010 by Alex Jordan · Leave a Comment

Bloomberg is reporting that Jerome York a member of Apple’s Board of Directors and former CFO of IBM and Chrysler has been hospitalized in critical condition after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage.

York, 71, collapsed at his Rochester, Michigan, home Tuesday night, according to his wife, Eilene York, and was taken to Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital by ambulance. She said today that doctors told her that he suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage.

Steve Jobs hand-picked York for Apple’s board after Jobs’ return to the company in 1997. York was just reelected to the board at lat month’s shareholders meeting.

Apple’s corporate bylaws require at least five board members and no more than nine. Google CEO Eric Schmidt resigned from Apple’s Board last summer bringing the number of Board members to seven.

Apple Banning Screen Protection Films From Their Retail Stores

March 18, 2010 by Alex Jordan · Leave a Comment

iLounge is reporting that Apple has banned the sale of film screen protectors for all products in their retail stores.

In communications with vendors that have been ongoing for “some time now,” according to one company, Apple has said that it will remove both film-only solutions from its stores, as well as any case or other accessory that includes film protection as part of its package, such as cases that include film screen protectors. According to sources, the ban will impact all forms of screen film, including completely clear film, anti-glare film, and mirrored film, regardless of whether the purpose of the film is protective, decorative, or both.

The official reason for this odd move is not know, however there are two possibilities being thrown around. Firstly, some customers may be under the impression that these protective films are needed because the iPhone’s screen isn’t durable enough to withstand day-to-day use. The other possibility is that there are high return rates for the films due to finicky customers who are discontent with air bubbles or dust being caught when applying the screens.

Apple Seeds Yet Another Build of Mac OS X 10.6.3 to Developers

March 17, 2010 by Alex Jordan · Leave a Comment

Apple has seeded yet another build (Build 10D571) of Mac OS X 10.6.3 to developers. iPhone in Canada has the lengthy details, but the nut of it is that Apple is asking developers to focus on things like Graphics Drivers, Fonts, iChat, and Quicktime. There have been a few additional changes too.

- Issues addressed that caused background message colors to display incorrectly in Mail when scrolling

- Issue resolved that caused machines using BTMM and the Bonjour Sleep Proxy to wake unexpectedly

There appears to be one known issue, which involves software update urging a user to upgrade to Safari 4.0.5 when in fact the user is already running the latest version.

As you may have noticed, Apple has been issuing seeds of Mac OS X 10.6.3 for some time now in rapid succession, which is a sign that the update is headed for a public release any time now.

iPad Accessory Ship Dates Begin to Slip

March 17, 2010 by Alex Jordan · Leave a Comment

9 to 5 Mac has pointed out that the shipping times for several iPad accessories have started to slip well past the iPad’s April 3rd release date.

First we noticed the iPad case making a slight shift from April 3rd to Mid-April. Today we notice Apple has delayed the iPad Keyboard Dock. The product was originally set to ship to customers in late-April but now the Apple store has placed the shipping time for sometime in May.

No one knows exactly why these periferals are being delayed, but it’s a safe bet to assume that Apple is having trouble keeping up with demand for the launch rush.

It’s also worth pointing out that the iPad Camera Connection Kit (so you can import photos from your SD card or Camera directly to the iPad) has yet to become available for pre-order. Again, we can only speculate why.

These delays aren’t insufferable but they are odd. One would think it would be easier to mass produce a case for the device than the device itself.

Apple Looking to Negotiate Long-Term Deals Amid Weak NAND Flash Demands

March 17, 2010 by Alex Jordan · Leave a Comment

Digitimes is reporting that NAND flash memory demand has been weak, and Apple has been cautious as to enter deals with Flash suppliers who have been trickling supplies to market in an attempt to bolster the price. Digitimes is reporting however that Apple is throw it’s weight into the market and negotiate long-term contracts as we head toward a (speculative but almost certain) iPhone revision later this year.

NAND flash demand has been weak, but pricing has been stable as major suppliers are limiting their supply to the market.

But the sources said Apple may start negotiating long-term supply contracts with its chip partners in the second quarter. Apple’s demand will continue to play a significant role in the NAND flash industry in 2010.

A report from late last year suggested that NAND flash supply and demand would balance out sometime after the Christmas rush, but it still appears supplies are tight and Apple wants to scoop more up.

Apple Hires Wearable Computing Expert Richard DeVaul

March 16, 2010 by Alex Jordan · 1 Comment

Computerworld is reporting that Apple has hired Richard DeVaul, an expert in wearable computers, to the “Senior Prototype Engineer” position within the company.

DeVaul has a background in wearable technologies as you can see from his personal homepage, as well as a PhD. in Media Arts & Sciences from MIT. At MIT, he worked on new human-computer interaction techniques for wearable, mobile, and portable applications.

The report claims that DeVaul will be working on secret projects directly under Jony Ive, Apple’s SVP of Industrial Design at Apple.

DeVaul will be working under Jonny Ive in a secret lab focused on wearable computing technology where only seven people besides Ive and CEO Steve Jobs know what he is doing.

To me, this development tells us little more than what we already knew. Apple is at the bleeding edge and wants to remain there as future technologies spring up.

Around 150,000 iPads Pre-Ordered During First Weekend

March 16, 2010 by Alex Jordan · Leave a Comment

Fortune has been keeping track of an effort to round up U.S. iPad pre-order numbers. Demand has fallen off after the first three days it was available for pre-order.

According to Daniel Tello, the Venezuelan blogger-analyst who has been tracking order numbers submitted by volunteers at Investor Village’s AAPL Sanity board, orders on Saturday and Sunday slowed to an estimated 1,000 per hour.

Tello predicts that Apple may receive as many as 500,000 iPad pre-orders before the device goes on sale April 3rd.

“My best guess, although very tentative given the early stage and few data we have so far, would be that they hit the 1 million unit milestone by the second week after it ships,” he told Fortune. “But this is a very speculative guesstimate based on just a weekend of pre-orders.”

Tello calculates these numbers based on a sampling of Order ID numbers from Apple customers which are adjusted for non-iPad product sales. The current average works out to be around 1.125 iPads per order.

Chart courtesy of Fortune.

Multitasking Coming in iPhone 4.0?

March 15, 2010 by Alex Jordan · Leave a Comment

AppleInsider is reporting that they have received information that claims iPhone OS 4.0 will likely support multitasking, which is allowing multiple apps to run simultaneously. AppleInsider does not offer any technical details other than claiming it will take advantage of interfact technology used in Mac OS X.

People with a proven track record in predicting Apple’s technological advances tell AppleInsider that the Cupertino-based company has developed a “full-on solution” to multitasking on the iPhone OS but offered no specifics on how the technology would optimize resource conservation and battery life — two of the most critical issues surrounding the matter, alongside security.

From a user-facing perspective, Apple plans to deliver a multi-tasking manager that leverages interface technology already bundled with its Mac OS X operating system, according to those same people. It was requested that specifics be withheld at this time, as the iPhone Software 4.0 remains under development and reportedly has a quite ‘way to go’ before it’s ready for prime time.

There have been similar reports in the past that claimed iPhone OS 4.0 would have multitasking along with a revamped user interface.

I don’t buy into this entirely because it took Apple so long to implement their Push Notification system for developers. Why go through all that trouble and delayed release just to outdate it in a year’s time? That said, John Gruber believes it, and he almost always knows what he is talking about.

iPad’s ‘Mute’ Switch Magically Becomes ‘Screen Rotation Lock’, iPad Submitted to FCC

March 15, 2010 by Alex Jordan · Leave a Comment

Apple has made a very minor hardware change to the iPad in the days running up to it going on sale to the public. What was previously described as the “mute switch” in Apple’s diagrams is now referred to as “screen rotation lock”.

It goes without saying that the iPad is much like the iPhone in the sense that it can change screen orientation just by changing the orientation of the device due to the use of an internal accelerometer. This hardware switch would negate this and lock the screen the orientation it was currently in when the button is pressed. This should come in handy for users who are lying down.

In other hardware news Engadget points out that Apple has submitted two filings to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, and these filings have now shown up in the FCC’s online database.

Apple, of course, has a track record of timing its FCC filings perfectly so that virtually nothing is revealed before Cupertino wants it to be, and frankly, you’re not going to get much here that you didn’t already know — the photographs (both external and internal) and the user manual are both still under confidentiality. Both units were tested for WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n and Bluetooth, while one — model number A1337 — adds in GSM 850 / 1900 and UMTS 850 / 1900, so it appears that Apple has bundled all of its 3G and non-3G models into just two filings regardless of storage capacity.

These filings come with requests for 180 days of confidentiality on things like external and internal photos and user manuals.

Images courtesy of MacRumors.

COO Tim Cook Receives $22 Million in Compensation From Apple

March 15, 2010 by Alex Jordan · Leave a Comment

Apple has filed a Form 8-K submission with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission which publicly discloses a bonus package of $5 million and 75,000 (combined totaling around $22 million) Apple shares paid to Chief Operating Officer Time Cook for his time as CEO during Steve Jobs’ medical leave of absence through the first half of 2009.

On March 10, 2010, the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of Apple Inc. (the “Company”) unanimously approved a recommendation by Steve Jobs, the Company’s CEO, to award Timothy D. Cook, the Company’s Chief Operating Officer, a one-time discretionary bonus of $5,000,000 and 75,000 restricted stock units in recognition of his outstanding performance in assuming the day-to-day operations of the Company for the period in fiscal 2009 during which Mr. Jobs was on medical leave of absence.

Fifty percent of the restricted stock units are scheduled to vest on each of March 10, 2011 and March 10, 2012, subject to Mr. Cook’s continued employment with the Company through that date.

Tim Cook is the most likely candidate to replace Jobs when he steps down. Cook has guided the company twice in Jobs’ absence (when Jobs had to have his pancreas removed in 2004, and of course in 2009 when Jobs had a liver transplant) and handled it very well, guiding the company thorough several product launches and maintaing massive profits for the company.