Skype Garage:
Today, we are pleased to announce the release of Skype 5.6 for Mac. Please download the latest Skype for Mac to ensure you’re receiving the best quality from Skype on your Mac.New features and improvements in Skype 5.6 for Mac include:Automatic Updates Improved UI for group video calling New full screen mode in OS X Lion Ability to delete conversations Ability to disable Audio Gain Control
Wired Gadget Lab:
Amazon is offering surprisingly high bounties for used iPads, proving that even the bottom feeders of Apple’s tablet line-up still generate significant public interest.As at press time, Amazon’s partner merchants were offering as much as $500 for a like-new iPad 2 with 3G or $320 for a first-gen iPad, depending on features and conditions. The used devices are typically either refurbished or sold as-is, often through Amazon. Sellers don’t receive cash, but rather store credit — a nice way for Amazon to ensure it retains you as a customer, and benefits more than once from the buy-back transaction.
Apple and Google are at the center of a controversy over sharing private data that’s involved a US senator who wants to see them change.
John Letzing for the Wall Street Journal: A subsidiary of a company that shares patent-licensing revenue with Microsoft Corp. has sued Apple Inc. for infringement, adding another wrinkle to the ongoing intellectual-property wars among technology giants. Luxembourg-based Core Wireless Licensing … Continued
Adobe:
Adobe announced the availability of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 software for Mac OS and Windows. First released as a public beta in January 2012, the final version of Lightroom 4 is now available for US$149 for the full version and US$79 for the upgradeAccording to Adobe, “Lightroom 4 introduces refined technology for superior shadow and highlight processing, ability to create photo books, additional local adjustment controls, and enhanced video support.”
Tim Bajarin:
And I also don’t think they really understand the idea that people want to have access to that content anytime, anywhere and on any device they own.
Tim’s article is just chock full of quotes I could pull out, but for me, this is one of the biggest reasons Apple can take over the industry. Traditional market leaders don’t want things to change and that’s exactly why Apple dominates the music, smartphone, tablet and MP3 player markets.
Apple isn’t afraid to turn a market on its head and introduce a new way of doing things.
JP Mangalindan:
Strolling around the Microsoft Store in Santa Clara, Calif., there’s no getting around the fact that you’ve seen this all before. Like, across the street — where a brightly lit, glass-paneled Apple Store stands.
A creditor of Proview – the company which is contesting Apple for the iPad trademark in China – is pressuring to have the company declared bankrupt and liquidated.
Impressive.
[caption id="attachment_21123" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Photo by ifostore"]
[/caption]Apple on Monday named the winner of its 25 billionth app download. The app counter rolled over to 25 billion on Friday night and people have been wondering who the winner was ever since.
According to Apple, the 25 billionth app downloaded, Where’s My Water? Free, was downloaded by Chunli Fu of Qingdao, China. Chunli Fu will receive a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card.
“We’d like to thank our customers and developers for helping us achieve this historic milestone of 25 billion apps downloaded,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “When we launched the App Store less than four years ago, we never imagined that mobile apps would become the phenomenon they have, or that developers would create such an incredible selection of apps for iOS users.”
Apple’s App Store has been open for almost four years and Apple announced late on Friday that the 25 billionth app had been downloaded.
No contest winner has been announced but they will receive a $10,000 gift certificate in iTunes or Mac App Store.
PC World:
Politics could tip the scales in Apple’s favor for a high-stakes legal battle that will decide ownership of the iPad trademark in mainland China. But some legal experts remain divided on whether it will be enough to help the U.S. tech giant avoid a ban of its iconic tablet in the country.Stan Abrams, an intellectual property lawyer and professor at Beijing’s Central University of Finance and Economics says, “The political argument in itself does favor Apple.” But Zhao Zhanling, a legal expert on China’s information technology law said Apple’s arguments were unconvincing. “I think there is little hope Apple will win,” he said.
Throughout our history, Apple has created entirely new products — and entirely new industries — by focusing on innovation. As a result, we’ve created or supported more than 500,000 jobs for U.S. workers: from the engineer who helped invent the iPad to the delivery person who brings it to your door.
Fortune:
To say it was another big year for Apple would be a gross understatement. With the passing of Steve Jobs, questions swirled around the company’s future. But under new CEO Tim Cook’s guidance, Apple continues to prosper.The company’s annual revenues climbed to $108 billion, led by an 81% increase in iPhone sales — a jump that doesn’t factor in the runaway success of the iPhone 4S — and a 334% spike in iPad sales, due in no small part to the revamped iPad 2. Increased sales across the board explain why shares soared 75% during the company’s fiscal year to $495.
If you find Apple’s iPhoto not powerful enough for your photo editing needs, take a look at both Apple’s Aperture and Adobe’s Lightroom apps. Both apps have free 30 day trials you can download and play with.
Aperture is available on the Mac App Store for the ridiculously low price of $80.00 and Amazon has Photoshop Lightroom available for a limited time for only $90.00.
Neither application has won the war of “Which is Better”. Both have their plusses and minuses. I’ve used both and like Lightroom better but for no other reason than a preferred interface, not functionality.
For those who want to play on the bleeding edge, Adobe’s Photoshop Lightroom 4 is now in public beta.
Apple’s valuation pegs higher than the gross domestic product of Poland, Belgium, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, or Taiwan.
Apple argued in front of a Chinese court on Wednesday for its right to use the iPad trademark in China – a claim contested by Proview Technology, which Apple secured the trademark from several years ago using a shell corporation.
iFilm:
When Steve Jobs died in October of last year, it was a blow to us all. The loss was felt especially hard at Pixar, the successful film company he helped not only create, but isolate from the Hollywood machine. John Carter, directed by one of Pixar’s most prolific directors, Andrew Stanton, comes out next week and though it’s not Pixar, the film is dedicated to the memory of the legendary businessman and inventor. During the credits, a card says:Dedicated to the Memory of Steve Jobs, an Inspiration to Us AllAt a recent press junket, Stanton was asked why he decided to dedicated Carter to Jobs and his answer was both logisically sound and beautifully poignant.
The Atlantic:
I do have to wonder what Steve Jobs would have thought if he had lived long enough to see this video – which is Rick Santorum’s application of the 1984 motif in his campaign.
It also has echoes of Apple’s much disliked “Lemmings” ad.
New York Times:
Developers of applications for Apple’s mobile devices, and Apple itself, came under scrutiny this month after reports that some apps were taking people’s address book information without their knowledge.As it turns out, address books are not the only things up for grabs. Photos are also vulnerable. After a user allows an application on an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch to have access to location information, the app can copy the user’s entire photo library, without any further notification or warning, according to app developers.
Mercedes-Benz will offer a kit for some cars to make it easier to use iPhones with Siri.
Apple is said to be working on a new adaptive streaming audio format that will deliver high-quality music to connected devices.
Apple’s auditing of factory conditions isn’t likely to affect the way the rest of the consumer electronics industry works in China.
Adobe:
Photoshop Touch app lets you quickly combine images, apply professional effects, share the results with friends and family through social networking sites like Facebook, and more — all from the convenience of your tablet.
A first review is available at MacStories.
A report says that Apple has acquired Chomp, a company that makes app discovery software.
Daniel Eran Dilger:
Tim Cook met with shareholders for the first time following the passing of Apple’s cofounder and former chief executive Steve Jobs, revealing his own very distinct personality but also strong commonality with Jobs’ wit, passion and analytical focus.
Adweek:
It’s hard to think of a product that’s had a greater impact on the culture in the past five years than the iPhone. Thanks to TBWA, it’s gotten remarkable advertising to match. Check out all 84 spots that have aired so far, beginning with the first teaser up through today.
ABC News:
Last night’s special edition of Nightline expanded upon that original report, and included footage from inside the factory, interviews with the workers, and even a visit to a local village.Since ABC News’ original report, Apple, Foxconn, and the Fair Labor Association have sent statements explaining a few sentences in the original report.
New York Times:
Apple Inc. defended itself in a local court here Wednesday against allegations that it does not own rights to the iPad trademark in China, a challenge that threatens to prevent the company from selling one of its most popular products in one of its fastest growing markets.The heated, four-hour session at the Shanghai Pudong New Area People’s Court ended, though, without the local district judge issuing any ruling or giving any public indication of how the case would be resolved.
Anything that uses CSS3 is good with me. Another good example here, although I’m not a big fan of the accordion effect.