The US Department of Veterans Affairs gave a big lift to Apple in government by starting up a pilot project to use iPads and iPhones. Staff are testing the use of iOS hardware for official business. If all went well with the trial, “thousands” will be bought for government use by October 1, the agency’s CIO Roger Baker said Monday.
Wait a minute, isn’t the government a RIM stronghold?
Many thanks to Sarah Jones from Electronic Musician for sending this to me. (more…)
Microsoft on Tuesday updated its OneNote Mobile app for iPhone, adding new features and expanding the number of countries where the app is available. (more…)
<a href=http://www.garmin.com” target=”_blank”>Garmin Ltd. on Tuesday announced the completion of its acquisition of Navigon AG, the company behind its eponymous turn-by-turn navigation software for the iPhone. (more…)
Up to now, Apple peripheral maker Twelve South has offered devices for Macs and iPads, but the company is branching out into iPhone accessories as well with the introduction of BookBook for iPhone, a version of its book-looking case designed specifically for the iPhone 4. It costs $59.99. (more…)
The Macalope (Subscription required):
We are talking about the same Mac mini, right? The one from Apple? The company whose logo is an apple with a bite out of it? Because, reading this, one might get the impression that you have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.
The mythical beast is in a mood today.
The Macalope is referring to a scathing editorial posted at DealMac which talks about the new Mac mini. Jeff Somogyi knocks the Mac mini’s weight, its expandability, its use of an HDMI connector and makes a host of other complaints.
RIM on Monday provided details on management changes and what it calls its “cost optimization program.” In other words, it is shuffling things around to make it look like they have a handle on things. They don’t. (more…)
“Netflix says it will have a cool integration with Facebook up and running sometime in the next three months, but only for subscribers in Canada and Latin America (where it has yet to officially open for business).“Blame the government, says CEO Reed Hastings, citing a law I’ve never heard of.”
The law in question is called the Video Privacy Protection Act, and Hastings says that Netflix is hoping new legislation currently under consideration will clarify ambiguities about how user video viewing data can be shared – the issue that’s causing the holdup to begin with.
“Based on Macworld Lab’s benchmark results, the new Mac mini models provide a great leap in processor performance over the previous generation.”
James Galbraith reports that the new Mac mini beats the pants off its predecessor in most tests, though the integrated graphics in the low-end model were left wanting. People looking for maximum performance out of the little box may want to opt for the Mac mini that includes a discrete graphics chip from AMD instead.
Apple on Monday released iOS 4.3.5. You can download the new update by connecting tethering your iPhone to your Mac, opening iTunes and clicking the Update button. (more…)
“Google engineer Steve Lacey, 43, a veteran of the Seattle region’s tech community who worked for more than a decade at Microsoft, died Sunday in a car crash in Kirkland.”
Lacey, a British ex-pat worked on DirectX and Xbox-related software, including several iterations of the hugely popular Flight Simulator titles, Munch’s Oddysee, NFL Fever and Crimson Skies. Most recently he had been working at Google.
Lacey was apparently the victim of road rage, and not the intended victim, either. An imbecile (that authorities believe had been drinking) smashed into him in pursuit of another car. A tragic, senseless loss. Our thoughts are with Lacey’s family.
“In a pair of moves that suggest Apple Inc. is enforcing rules for selling content on its devices, Kobo Inc., the Canadian e-book retailer, and The Wall Street Journal said Sunday they will no longer sell content directly to customers through their apps for Apple devices.”
The article also notes that Google Books has been removed from the App Store – whether it’s a temporary change or permanent removal is unclear. A spokeswoman for the Journal quoted in the story said that the paper is concerned that Apple’s subscription rules “would create a poor experience for [the Wall Street Journal’s] readers.” Google wasn’t available for comment.
[Updated headline and article to reflect that Kobo app has not, in fact, been removed.]
There’s a very simple business reason why Google cares if they have your real name. It means it’s possible to cross-relate your account with your buying behavior with their partners, who might be banks, retailers, supermarkets, hospitals, airlines. To connect with your use of cell phones that might be running their mobile operating system. To provide identity in a commerce-ready way. And to give them information about what you do on the Internet, without obfuscation of pseudonyms.
Follow the money.
Paul Baldovin posted this on Twitter this morning: (more…)
AT&T is asking managers to finish training in order to have employees available for the influx of foot traffic expected in September.
I don’t think there’s been much doubt that the iPhone 5 would launch in the September timeframe.
Nuance on Monday unveiled Dragon Dictate for Mac 2.5, the newest version of its speech recognition software for Mac users. (more…)
We’ve now learned that at least some U.S. Apple Retail stores are also recruiting former employees to return as part time employees for Holidays, new Product Launches and Back to School time. A former employee received emails asking to return between August 15 and September 15th.
Could be nothing at all. As Mac Rumors points out, this is the back to school time, but it could also be the time for the iPhone 5. Only Steve knows for sure.
Chinese officials in Kunming have ordered two fake Apple shops to close, not because of piracy or copyright concerns, but because the stores in the southwestern city did not have an official business permit.Five self-branded “Apple Stores” were found to be selling Apple products without authorization from the California-based company but only two were told to shut, officials said.
I must admit this went much quicker than I thought it would.
The hammer fell today at RIM as the company tries to bring costs in line with its falling sales. (more…)
The inspections will look into business licenses, authorized permits on brand use, and the purchase channel of each store, said a worker with the city’s industrial and commercial department.
I don’t think anyone was surprised when these fake stores first cropped up. We were all watching it like we watch a train wreck, wondering what was going to happen, but we weren’t surprised. Remember all of the fake iPods? I don’t know what will happen here.
Jim Dalrymple and Peter Cohen were featured on several podcasts this week. If you’re interested in hearing them share their opinions on various topics, here’s where you can find them.
The 23,000-square-foot store will take up Grand Central’s north and northeast balconies, displacing Charlie Palmer’s Metrazur restaurant, according to MTA documents.Apple will initially pay rent of $800,000 a year, nearly half a million more than Metrazur paid.
On top of the rent, Apple will also pay to renovate the space. You just know it’s going to be the major attraction… well, besides traveling.
TMZ:
A press release from the Metropolitan Police, which doesn’t specifically name Winehouse, says:“Police were called by London Ambulance Service to an address in Camden Square NW1 shortly before 16.05hrs today, Saturday 23 July, following reports of a woman found deceased.On arrival officers found the body of a 27-year-old female who was pronounced dead at the scene.
Too bad.
Apple on Friday launched a program to replace the hard drive on certain of its iMac computers. (more…)
Apple is plugging along with more iOS updates. The company has been on a furious pace lately, working on Macs, Lion and iOS. You might think that they would have slowed down this week, but apparently not. Of course, this release is only available to registered Apple developers and not the general public.
“An Ohio-based firm, Impulse Technology, says that Microsoft is violating seven patents on motion tracking technology, and has decided to take things to court. Impulse alleges that they developed the technology first and rightfully own the technology thanks to patent filings.”
Looks like Apple’s not the only one in the middle of a patent war. The hardware technology used to create Kinect was originally developed by an Israeli company, so it’ll be interested to see how far Impulse Technology thinks it can go.
“Apple added $60 billion to its market cap during the month of June. The company may be able to leapfrog Exxon if several planned products prove enough of a catalyst…”
Wow. And if it comes to pass, Apple will have done so without destroying the environment.
A new page on T-Mobile USA’s website makes some fairly bold claims about the carrier’s premier Honeycomb tablet, the LG G-Slate. In comparing the sleek device to its steepest competition at AT&T and Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile says the G-Slate is “more than two times faster than the Apple iPad 2 on AT&T and Verizon, and three times faster than the Motorola XOOM on Verizon — and it’s less expensive, too!”
Whatever. Good luck with that.
I am always amazed at the detail Apple puts into the simple things with its products, like packaging. But that’s the first impression we have of the product, so it does matter. With the latest MacBook Air, Apple changed from a flip lid to a box style, where the top lifts off completely. The attention to detail just with the box is great. (more…)
I believe that this inflection point can be described as going from personal computing to personalized computing and will be defined by tablets and smartphones that take all types of shapes, form factors and designs that make the computing experience more personalized and customizable. This inflection point is just as dramatic as when the PC came on the scene and cut the chord between the mainframes and mini’s and brought personal computing local. Another way to think of this is that we are moving into a phase in which people want a PC on their desktop and in their pocket.
It’s the post-pc world.