The Toronto Star reports: Toronto lawyer Michael Deverett bought a MacBook Pro, an iPod Touch, cables and programs for $2,248.53 at the Apple store in the Yorkdale Mall. He didn’t notice anyone following him…to his car. He didn’t notice anyone … Continued
Sen. Reid postpones PIPA vote
Thomas Lane for Talking Points Memo, quoting from a statement from Sen. Harry Reid: “In light of recent events, I have decided to postpone Tuesday’s vote on the PROTECT I.P. Act. Reid says he’s “optimistic that we can reach a … Continued
SOPA Web blackout wouldn’t have happened in China
David Pierson for the Los Angeles Times: As websites including Wikipedia shut down and millions of Americans complained to lawmakers about the potential for government censorship, Chinese netizens spoke admiringly of the public rebellion. Such a display in China would … Continued
A look at the fed takedown of Megaupload
Nate Anderson for Ars Technica: “… the government asserts that Megaupload merely wanted the veneer of legitimacy, while its employees knew full well that the site’s main use was to distribute infringing content. Indeed, the government points to numerous internal … Continued
Apple stores sales ban boosts rival outlets
China Daily: China Unicom, the country’s second-largest telecom operator by subscriber numbers, said it has large stocks of Apple Inc’s iPhone 4S handsets available for purchase. That’s despite Apple’s Chinese stores halting supplies of the device and scalpers charging a … Continued
Video from the Apple Special Event in New York City
Apple just posted the streaming video file of the video from today’s Apple Special Event in New York City. Streaming video requires Safari 4 or 5 on Mac OS X Snow Leopard or Lion, Safari on iOS 3 or later, … Continued
Apple education event – live coverage
The Loop liveblogged Apple’s education event, where Apple has introduced iBooks textbooks, iBooks Author, a creation app, and the new iTunes U app. Please read on for details.
New AT&T data plans will launch on Sunday
AT&T will hike data rates by $5 on all new subscribers: As the AT&T network gets even faster with 4G LTE deployment – up to 10 times faster than 3G – and devices and applications become even more sophisticated, it’s … Continued
PID-controlled Espresso machine
Gleb Polyakov and Igor Zamlinsky are Kickstarting this project: We’re making a commercial-quality espresso machine at a consumer-friendly price. There are basically two kinds of home espresso machines on the market today. The affordable models have no good mechanism of … Continued
“What’s wrong with education cannot be fixed with technology”
Wired quotes Steve Jobs: I used to think that technology could help education. I’ve probably spearheaded giving away more computer equipment to schools than anybody else on the planet. But I’ve had to come to the inevitable conclusion that the … Continued
In-app purchases to lead app market revenue by 2015
Steve Peterson for Industrygamers: Market research firm IHS iSuppli is projecting that in-app purchases will account for 64% of total app market revenue by 2015, up from 39% in 2011. These percentages reflect the total from both iOS and Android … Continued
The secrets Apple keeps
Fortune has published an excerpt from senior editor-at-large Adam Lashinsky new book, “Inside Apple: How America’s Most Admired–and Secretive–Company Really Works”: Apple employees know something big is afoot when the carpenters appear in their office building. New walls are quickly … Continued
More US Consumers Choosing iPhones
Nielsen’s December survey of the U.S. mobile phone market: According to the latest research from Nielsen, the high-profile launch of Apple’s iPhone 4S in the Fall had an enormous impact on the proportion of smartphone owners who chose an Apple … Continued
Co-founder and former CEO Jerry Yang leaves Yahoo
Wall Street Journal: Yahoo Inc. said its co-founder Jerry Yang has resigned from its board of directors, severing all ties with the Internet company he founded about 17 years ago. It’s worth underscoring that Yang has severed “all ties” with … Continued
CEA president calls complaint about CES booth babe ‘irrelevant’
Mat Honan, for Gizmodo: But the second issue is arguably more important. It’s the cluelessness. To demean the concerns about booth babes as “cute” and “irrelevant” shows a huge disconnect with, I dunno… this century. The drumbeat against booth babes … Continued
James Bond cars on display in the UK
From the National Motor Museum in the UK: 2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the James Bond film series. What better way to celebrate than with the biggest exhibition of James Bond vehicles ever staged? Alongside the most famous vehicles … Continued
Das Keyboard Model S Professional for Mac
Do the words, “gold-plated, German-engineered, mechanical key switches” mean anything to you? If they do, you’re going to love Das Keyboard’s “Model S Professional for Mac” keyboard. Those of us old enough to remember the wonderfully tactile and ridiculously loud … Continued
Supreme Court rejects social media cases involving students
David Kravets for Wired: The Supreme Court declined Tuesday to clarify on what grounds public schools may punish students for their off-campus, online speech. The justices have not squarely addressed the student-speech issue as it applies to the digital world … Continued
Fake Apple iPad 2 made of clay sold in BC
From CTV News: Retail giants Future Shop and Best Buy have launched a major fraud investigation involving Apple iPad 2s, after as many as 10 fake models made of modelling clay were sold in Metro Vancouver retail stores. Mark Sandhu … Continued
Mac game maker looks for beta testers
Virtual Programming, maker of Mac versions of commercial games like Supreme Commander 2 and X3: Terran Conflict, is on the prowl for beta testers. If you have what you think it takes, you can get in touch with them. You … Continued
Apple doubles iTunes Match footprint
MacRumors: But as Apple now details on its iTunes Match availability page, the service actually launched in 19 new countries today, focusing on Latin America, the Baltic states, and the Netherlands. That brings the total to 37, almost doubling the … Continued
UltraViolet movies still have no Apple support
Daniel Frankel, paidContent.org: That speed to get into the market was second-guessed at CES this week, with accounts of early adopters frustrated by UlraViolet’s extensive digital rights management, which requires users to register at two different websites. Singer boiled down … Continued
Apple to teach a few things about textbooks
From the Wall Street Journal: While the notoriously secretive Apple remains mum about its education announcement Thursday at New York’s Guggenheim museum, the company is expected to unveil textbooks optimized for the iPad and that feature ways to interact with … Continued
Coca-Cola is world’s most valuable brand, Apple leaps to 8th
Interbrand’s Best Global Brands 2011 Report has the top seven brands in the world remaining steady from 2010 – Coca-Cola, IBM, Microsoft, Google, GE, McDonald’s and Intel – but Apple jumps nine places into the eight spot, supplanting Nokia who … Continued
Apple expands their recycling program to the UK
Apple’s Reuse and Recycling Program (UK):
With the Reuse and Recycling Programme, you could turn your old equipment into a brand-new Mac, iPod, iPhone or iPad.Whether it’s an iPhone, iPad, Mac or PC computer, working or not, we’ll take it and determine if it qualifies for reuse and has a monetary value. If it does, the amount will be credited directly into your bank account. If it doesn’t, you can recycle it responsibly through one of our free recycling programmes.
Apple now has recycling programs in Europe, Africa, Middle East, India, Japan, Australia, Brazil, Costa Rica, USA and Canada, among other countries.
CES sets attendance, space and exhibitor records
PC World:
The 2012 International CES had more exhibitors (3100)…across more space (1.9 million square feet) and…more people (153,000 attendees) than any other CES in history. More than 20,000 new products were introduced at this year’s show, the association said, and more than 2000 news articles were written about innovations at the event — a 33 percent increase over 2011.
The increase in all aspects was reflected in the announcement the iLounge Pavilion at CES for next year’s CES sold out 95,000 square feet of space in just three hours.
Nearly transparent Apple store planned for France
From ifoapplestore:
One of the most unusual and amazing architectural designs for an Apple store will reportedly appear in Aix en Provence (France), featuring a nearly all-glass structure enabled by new technology developed by Apple’s glass suppliers. A rendering posted…shows a one-level structure set back on a broad stone plaza, with a tan-colored rear wall, and all other encompassing walls made of glass.
Apple loves pushing the envelope when it comes to the design of their stores and this one looks like it will be amazing visually.
Samsung ships Microsoft Surface 2.0 table
Engadget: Samsung’s SUR40 has been a long time coming. The 40-inch next-gen Surface was unveiled at CES 2011, but it’s only just now starting to ship, following the 2012 edition of that gadget show. If you’ve never had a chance … Continued
Creepy Steve Jobs doll won’t go into production
Inicons: “Though we still believe that we have not overstepped any legal boundaries, we have decided to completely stop the offer, production and sale of the Steve Jobs figurine out of our heartfelt sensitivity to the feelings of the Jobs … Continued
Obama opposition turns the tide against SOPA
Reuters: In a potential problem for the movie industry, the White House has issued a warning about the anti-piracy legislation in Congress. While agreeing that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem and requires a serious legislative response, … Continued