Apple opens its first retail store in France
Today Apple opened its second store on mainland Europe at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris, France. They don't stop there, however; another store in Montpellier, France opens next week on November 14th and one near the Opera Ganier to debut in the summer of 2010.
France's first Apple store opens today at 10AM CET. This is a prestigious location to be sure, right across the famous inverted pyramid inside the Louvre museum. Just for that it would be worthwhile to visit this store, which spans two floors. 150 employees work in the store to offer the same services, which have made the Apple Store experience a success all over the world. The first 5000 visitors will receive a limited edition t-shirt.
This year, close to 170 million people visited Apple Stores on four different continents. Apple has already opened 277 stores in 10 countries: France, U.S., UK, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Australia, Canada, Japan and China.
© Anthony Nelzin / MacGeneration.com... Read on »
Fortune names Steve Jobs 'CEO of the decade'
Fortune magazine has named Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, as "CEO of the decade".
In an article confirming the title, Fortune wrote:
"How's this for a gripping corporate story line: Youthful founder gets booted from his company in the 1980s, returns in the 1990s, and in the following decade survives two brushes with death, one securities-law scandal, an also-ran product lineup, and his own often unpleasant demeanor to become the dominant personality in four distinct industries, a billionaire many times over, and CEO of the most valuable company in Silicon Valley."
Jobs has certainly turned Apple around. Apple now dominates the MP3 player market with a range of iPod products and is well placed in the smart phone market due to increasing sales of the various iPhone editions. Mac sales and iPod sales remain strong despite difficult economic conditions. This quarter has seen Apple hit its best results in the history of the company, boasting a rather hefty $1.67 billion profit. Apple currently sits at position 5 in US computer sales, behind market leaders Dell and HP.
Fortune rounded off their article on "Why Steve Jobs?" by looking to the future. Now that Jobs has returned to his post as CEO following health issues, the question is what next? According to Fortune "given his penchant for secrecy and surprise and his proven brilliance, it's a fair bet that he'll let us know when he's good and ready."
View: Fortune - Steve Jobs, "CEO of the decade"
Image Credit - Fortune Magazine
Thanks to Mephistopheles for the news tip... Read on »
Hacker sneaks into jailbroken iPhones, demands ransom fee
Apple's iPhone is rather popular for a few reasons, and one of those is 'jailbreaking'; that is, freeing your device from Apple's limitations and installing any software desired. However, it's not all good news, as a hacker has recently broken into some phones and demanded a ransom.
The hacker broke into a few unwary Dutch iPhone users' phones, after they made the mistake of leaving their SSH password default, as initially discovered in this thread (in Dutch). According to Ars Technica, the hacker then sent SMS messages from the phones in question stating, "You iPhone's been hacked because it's really insecure! Please visit doiop.com/iHacked [link seems to have been taken down now] and secure your iPhone right now! Right now, I can access all your files." Of course, once you visit the aforementioned site, the hacker asks for a reward of 5 to be sent to a PayPal address in order for him to leave the victim alone. The hacker went on to state, "If you don't pay, it's fine by me, but remember, the way I got access to your iPhone can be used by thousands of othersthey can send text messages from your number (like I did), use it to call or record your calls, and actually whatever they want, even use it for their hacking activities! I can assure you, I have no intention of harming you or whatever, but, some hackers do! It's just my advice to secure your phone."
This shows how careful you have to be when messing around with things such as this; a simple slip of the memory can lead to something far more sinister. Though the hacker seems to be pretty unfocused on removing or destroying data, others might not be so forgiving.
To clarify this issue a bit further, for your iPhone to be in any danger you'd have to meet the following criteria:
- Your device must have been jailbroken.
- The device must have an SSH application installed (OpenSSH, for example).
- SSH must be enabled for this to work, and the password left as default.
Image Credit: Gizmodo... Read on »
Apple said to offer $30 iTunes TV subscriptions next year
Apple's iTunes Store is the biggest online media distributor on the planet; it offers music, movies, games for the iPod and iPhone, and even TV shows. Although you can buy season passes for shows, soon you'll hopefully be able to subscribe to the service on a monthly basis.
According to All Things Digital, Apple is in the process of gathering support from the popular TV networks in order to have it launch some time early next year, for the sum of $30 a month, though it's unclear whether or not this would work globally or just in the U.S. As expected, the company is said to be against aiming this at any particular piece of hardware (such as the Apple TV), but instead will have this service integrated into iTunes itself, saving themselves the worry of customers getting frustrated about being forced onto one device.
Though this might be great for those who use iTunes to watch TV shows often, it might not be so great for those who offer the programs themselves. Whilst the network executives are always happy to make more money one way or another, by offering shows through iTunes, it might mean that the relationship between cable networks and cable providers (such as Comcast, for example) could be severed. Not only that, but it's said that advertising revenue could be at risk, which would be a huge blow dealt to the networks.
If this happens, it should become available some time near the beginning of next year, as mentioned. If such a deal were struck, would you subscribe to shows for a monthly fee through iTunes?... Read on »
Orange UK confirms iPhone date and pricing
According to details published on the Orange UK website today, the iPhone will be available to Orange customers very soon.
Until now, many of the details regarding their provision of the iPhone have been kept very closely under wraps. Orange have simply asked customers to register their interest and wait patiently for further details.
November 10 is the magic day for wannabe Orange iPhone users but until today none knew what they may have to pay for the privilege. Now, Orange have revealed iPhone 3GS pricing details, including a free 3GS on 24-month contracts of £45 ($74) upward, or a free 3G 8GB on a £30 ($49) 24-month contract. Orange pricing seems to be no different from the pricing which O2 provides its customers. What Orange do offer however, is an option to acquire the iPhone 3GS with no initial down payment, something which O2 doesn't. In order to qualify for the no-down-payment option, customers are looking to pay a minimum of £73.40 and a 24 month contract. It's also interesting to note that there is no 12 month contract with Orange, it's either 18 months or 24. According to Zee from TheNextWeb
For customers who want the more basic 3G iPhone, Orange will offer it free to subscribers who take up a £30 two-year contract, with the more powerful 3GS available free on £45 contracts. Pay-as-you-go customers can also buy the handset (8GB) for £333 and iPhone 3GS for £539. The iPhone will also be offered with unlimited data bundles.
Orange seem to have failed on the definition of the adjective "unlimited." For O2, they do have a "fair usage policy" which prevents users from using their sim cards in devices other than their iPhone, however do not have a physical limit with regards to data. Orange however, have a fair usage policy with their tariffs set at 750MB/month - a great deal more restrictive than users with the O2 iPhone are likely to encounter.
According to Orange, stores will open at 7am on November 10th for those interested in picking up an iPhone 3G or 3GS; the handset will also be available through Orange HMV concessions, Apple Retail Stores, Carphone Warehouse, Phones4U and other "selected high street partners".
In September, both Orange and Vodafone announced that they would be offering the iPhone to their customers. Vodafone have said the phone would be available on its network from 2010 but has yet to confirm pricing details.
... Read on »
iTunes update kills Pre syncing
Apple has updated its iTunes platform making the current version 9.0.2. While it does add some new support for the newly released Apple TV 3.0 software, the biggest news is that this update breaks the ability for the Palm Pre to sync with iTunes.
The cat and mouse game has been going on since Palm announced that the Pre would have the ability to sync with iTunes, something Apple did not approve.
The Pre is able to sync itself by spoofing iTunes into thinking that an iPod is attached. The less than ethical approach has been given mixed reviews as Palm is clearly using iTunes as a marketing push when it is not paying royalties to Apple.
The ball is now in Palm's court and it's up to them if they will continue to pursue the iTunes platform. The likely answer is yes and we will continue to see the cat and mouse game continue between two giant corporations, except, unlike Palm, Apple has nearly unlimited resources to take control of the situation.... Read on »
Apple TV 3.0 and iTunes 9.0.2 updates available now
Apple's Apple TV device is a rather low-profile one; even the Cupertino company itself stated that it's just a "hobby" for them, but it's certainly a popular device for those who use it. Today, they've updated it to version 3.0, bringing some welcome changes.
The general UI of the Apple TV itself has been re-done, making navigation a bit easier, and support for iTunes LPs and Extras is now built-in. To add to that, Genius Mixes support is now there as well, and users can now listen to Internet radio directly from the device. If you're a user of iPhoto, you can also take advantage of its features (such as Faces and Events) on the Apple TV itself, according to MacRumors. We've included the full list of changes, directly from Apple, below:
An improved look and feel, including a new Column Browser for easily browsing your artists or albums, movies, TV shows, and more.
iTunes Store has a brand new look, with improved navigation for quick and easy exploration.
iTunes LP and iTunes Extras create unique experiences that feature exclusive interviews, videos, photos, and more - available with select album and movie purchases on the iTunes Store.
Home Sharing helps you manage your family's iTunes collection between computers in your home. iTunes can automatically transfer new purchases, or you can choose just the items you want.
Genius Mixes are created for you by iTunes and play songs from your library that go great together.
iPod and iPhone syncing now allows you to organize your iPhone and iPod touch home screens directly in iTunes. Syncing is now also more flexible, allowing you to sync individual artists, genres, or TV show and Podcast episodes.
iTunes U items are now organized into their own section in your iTunes library.
Sync with iPod nano (5th generation), iPod classic (Fall 2009), and iPod touch (Fall 2009).
iTunes 9 also includes many other improvements, such as HE-AAC encoding and playback, more flexibility with Smart Playlists rules, simpler organization of your media files inside an iTunes Media folder, and more.
iTunes 9.0.2 is now available also, bringing a few changes including the obligatory Apple TV 3.0 support, as well as many other tweaks (including some new UI choices) which we have again included below:
iTunes 9.0.2 adds support for Apple TV software version 3.0, adds an option for a dark background for Grid View, and improves support for accessibility.
iTunes 9 comes with many new features and improvements, including:
An improved look and feel, including a new Column Browser for easily browsing your artists or albums, movies, TV shows, and more.
iTunes Store has a brand new look, with improved navigation for quick and easy exploration.
iTunes LP and iTunes Extras create unique experiences that feature exclusive interviews, videos, photos, and more - available with select album and movie purchases on the iTunes Store.
Home Sharing helps you manage your family's iTunes collection between computers in your home. iTunes can automatically transfer new purchases, or you can choose just the items you want.
Genius Mixes are created for you by iTunes and play songs from your library that go great together.
iPod and iPhone syncing now allows you to organize your iPhone and iPod touch home screens directly in iTunes. Syncing is now also more flexible, allowing you to sync individual artists, genres, or TV show and Podcast episodes.
iTunes U items are now organized into their own section in your iTunes library.
Sync with iPod nano (5th generation), iPod classic (Fall 2009), and iPod touch (Fall 2009).
iTunes 9 also includes many other improvements, such as HE-AAC encoding and playback, more flexibility with Smart Playlists rules, simpler organization of your media files inside an iTunes Media folder, and more.... Read on »
Apple App Store Milestone: 100,000 apps
Reaching yet another milestone, Apple's App Store has broken the 100,000 approved applications mark. According to TheNextWeb, Apple has approved 101,713 applications and games.
Of course, not all of these are available immediately as many have just been accepted. The App Store currently has 93,000 released applications. This is up from a reported 65,000 in August.
According to iPhonesTalk, analysts have predicted the 200,000 mark will be reached next year and by the end of 2010, there will be 250,000 applications.
Some recent additions to the app store include an app from NASA which brings countdown clocks, videos and Twitter feeds to the iPhone. Reportedly, this app will even let you know when the Space Station is passing overhead! Also, TomTom has released an App offering turn-by-turn directions.
100,000 apps certainly offers a lot of choice to the end-user and App Store users should be pleased with the milestone.... Read on »
New Macbook Pros in the works?
It appears Mac lovers might be in for a treat in the near future, following some digging by Apple technology site Applesana.es.
Having browsed through the configuration files of the latest build of Mac OS X, the most recent operating system out of Cupertino, the site claims to have found references to two new Macbook Pro models.
It is reported that the 10.6.2 update to the operating system (build 10C531) hold the configuration files in which Applesana made the discovery. Within the files references to Macbook Pro 6.1 and Macbook Pro 6.1b are made. The current crops of Macbook Pros are designated numbers from 5.1 through to 5.5.
Although speculative, it is not unfathomable to think Apple will soon update its Macbook Pro line, given that it was not updated during the latest Apple product refresh, which saw iMacs gain the powerful Intel Core i5 and i7 processors.
The Intel Core i7 mobile processor in particular offers greater performance than any of its predecessors. Specifically, the i7 mobile has the technology to increase clock speed by up to 75% to match the workload of the system, and has strong performance with multi-threaded applications.
The last Macbook Pro update took place in June 2009, which featured Intel's Core 2 Duo processors and nVidia GeForce 9400M/9600M GT video cards.
Image hosted by Applesana.es... Read on »
ZFS filesystem for Mac OS X is dead
Apple's official project of porting ZFS to Mac OS X has been cancelled.
In a simple message posted by MacOS Forge, Apple stated only "the ZFS project has been discontinued. The mailing list and repository will also be removed shortly."
ZFS is an advanced file system and logical volume manager originally created by Sun Microsystems. The file system boasts features such as support for high capacity storage devices, continuous integrity checking, automatic repair and integration of file system and volume management.
Apple's interest in ZFS stemmed back to initial discussions with Sun to use ZFS as a file system in Mac OS X. By 2007, a read-only port of the file system was created and command line support was added to Leopard.
However, the merger between Oracle and Sun Microsystems in April 2009 saw Apple back away from the technology. This was largely rumored to be because Oracle already owned an advanced open-source file system, BTRFS, which upon merger with Sun put the future of ZFS at risk.
By June 2009, all mention of ZFS disappeared from Apple's website and all code was removed from developer builds.
Apple now holds an unfinished file system that, according to rumors, could encounter patent issues with the newly merged Sun/Oracle should they bring it back to life.
No announcements have yet been made as to whether Apple intend to port Oracle's BTRFS to Mac OS X, or whether they will simply continue to build features into the existing HFS+ file system.... Read on »
Apple tries to gatecrash Win 7 launch with new commercials
In the light of Microsoft releasing their brand new operating system, Windows 7, Apple did not stay quiet. Apple released three new "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" advertisements, focusing on users switching from Windows to Mac, in an attempt to pick up some more market share from upgrading consumers.
The advertisements focus more on consumers who are looking to upgrade their home PC, to go buy a Mac, rather than the usual commercials that depict the faults of Windows. The first of the advertisements attempt to bash Windows 7 on launch day, saying it will have the same problems as previous versions of Windows.
The other two advertisements focus more on users moving from PC to Mac, for the customer service and customer satisfaction.
This isn't the first time Apple has tried to spoil the Windows 7 launch, earlier this week Apple refreshed some of their MacBook and iMac lineup.
Thanks to Wanderermy for the news tip.... Read on »
Apple announces Q4 financial results, beats expectations
The Cupertino-based company Apple has today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter, beating out the predictions and thusly seeing some nice stock price increases. This quarter has seen Apple hit its best results in the history of the company, boasting a rather hefty $1.67 billion profit.
The results, found here, show that Apple managed just short of $10 billion in revenue, at a total of $9.87 billion. Apple sold 3.05 million computers during the quarter, giving it a 17 percent unit increase over the previous Q4 results. Additionally, the company sold 10.2 million iPods and 7.4 million iPhones, representing an eight percent unit decline and a seven percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter, respectively.
CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs, stated, "We are thrilled to have sold more Macs and iPhones than in any previous quarter. We've got a very strong lineup for the holiday season and some really great new products in the pipeline for 2010." In addition, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer said, "We are delighted with our September quarter and fiscal 2009 results. For the full year, we grew revenue by 12 percent and net income by 18 percent in extraordinarily challenging times. Looking ahead to the first fiscal quarter of 2010, we expect revenue in the range of about $11.3 billion to $11.6 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share in the range of about $1.70 to $1.78."
On a rather controversial note, Apple COO Tim Cook shared an opinion on the competitors to the iPhone. Apple views the other smartphones on the market as still being behind the original iPhone, with Cook saying that, "We've moved beyond that." We'll leave that last bit up to the opinion of you guys.... Read on »
Apple's Time Capsules dying in under 18 months
Apple's Time Capsule backup device has a lifespan of less than 18 months, if device users are telling the truth.
This figure comes from The Apple Time Capsule Memorial Register, which is a new site at which Time Capsule users log the serial number of their device, the date of purchase and the date at which the device ceased to function.
The site has currently logged over 260 dead Time Capsules since its launch less than 10 days ago.
Disgruntled Time Capsule user, "zmippie" created the register in response to the number of complaints he read in Apple's own support forum. "In the end, hopefully, by getting a better view on the size of this premature TC [Time Capsule] failure, we can poke Apple to take action", "zmippie" wrote in one forum post. He continues, "I don't think this problem ends after the first batch of TCs have all died, because apparently the design hasn't been changed since the initial release in early 2008".
There are presently two main complaint threads on the Apple support forums about the Time Capsule failures that hold more than 600 messages from users. Most speculate that the Capsule's power supply has failed, or an internal connection to the supply has failed.
In a credit to Apple, however, users have reported that Apple has been replacing dead devices under the standard 12 month warranty issued on purchase of a Time Capsule, as well as under the AppleCare replacement warranty, if the user has purchased it.
Apple's latest Time Capsules include a 1TB model and a 2TB model. The failing models are largely being reported as the older generation 1TB and 500GB models.
Apple has yet to release a statement in response to these claims.... Read on »
Apple now allows In App Purchase in free iPhone applications
Apple's In App Purchase feature for iPhone applications, introduced in iPhone OS 3.0, has been great for developers; it allows them to sell content within their applications, instead of creating entirely new ones. Now, Apple is allowing this feature in free apps; previously, it was restricted to paid.
As announced at the iPhone OS 3.0 event, Apple claimed that "free remains free", referring to the fact that they would not allow In App Purchases in unpaid apps; it is unclear what caused this policy change. The news was announced in an email that went out to developers just earlier, stating, "In App Purchase is being rapidly adopted by developers in their paid apps. Now you can use In App Purchase in your free apps to sell content, subscriptions, and digital services. You can also simplify your development by creating a single version of your app that uses In App Purchase to unlock additional functionality, eliminating the need to create Lite versions of your app. Using In App Purchase in your app can also help combat some of the problems of software piracy by allowing you to verify In App Purchases."
Apple's announcement provides insight into why they're now allowing this, and it's certainly a good step for the App Store; as Wired reported, some developers have had issues with the only-paid model previously supported. Scarab, a company the sells digital magazines, wanted to offer a free application and then have In App Purchase for their issues. Unfortunately, they had to charge for the initial application download, potentially limiting those who would download their software to check it out for free. It's good that this problem has been solved, and it seems that developers agree.
Perhaps we'll start seeing a greater use of In App Purchase now, but, as always, only time will tell.... Read on »
Teens admire Steve Jobs for making the world a better place
According to a survey by Junior Achievement, Steve Jobs is the most admired entrepreneur amongst 35 percent of teenagers, with nearly two-thirds of respondents who chose him saying they did so because he has "made a difference in/improved people's lives or made the world a better place."
Eighty-Five percent of those who selected Oprah Winfrey, who came second to Jobs with 25 percent, said they chose her for the same reason.
The survey, carried out by Junior Achievement, an organization that educates students on future employment and entrepreneurship, asked 1000 12-to-17 year-olds to choose who their favourite entrepreneurs were and why. The list of celebrities to choose from focused on those who had started businesses themselves, as opposed to licensing their name.
Perhaps surprisingly, Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerburg came low, with only 10 percent of teens choosing him despite the huge popularity of the social networking website.
In a statement, Jack Kosakowski, president of Junior Achievement USA said, "We live in a celebrity-obsessed culture, so it's no surprise that teens admire famous entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs and Oprah Winfrey, who have built brands around their personas as well as around their products."
While 33 percent of teens said they chose the Apple co-founder and CEO because of his "success in multiple fields," only 4 percent said they chose him for his wealth and fame.... Read on »
No refunds from Apple's App Store
Apple has come clear on its return policy for the App Store; don't even think about it. Apple has stated that there will be no returning of an App purchased on the App Store
If you want to try out one of the new navigation programs that can run upwards of $100.00 then you better be willing to part with your money even if you don't like the program. There is only one way to get a refund but don't expect or plan on this method to work. "According to paragraph 12B of Apple's App Store Terms and Conditions, you're entitled to your money back when, On occasion, technical problems may delay or prevent delivery of your product.' Other than that, you're out of luck."
The most annoying part about spending a lot of money on an App is that, unlike a retail product that you could resell on eBay, there is no way to recover your investment if you dislike the App.
Apple claims that there is enough information in the App Store to give buyers a good indication of what to expect with the App they are about to purchase. Apple cites that "Customer Ratings and Reviews, App Store Essentials, Staff Favorites, New & Noteworthy section, Top 100 Free Charts, Top 100 Paid Charts, and Top 100 Grossing Charts" provides enough information to inform the consumer about their purchase.
While some companies do offer free "lite" versions of their applications it is not a given for every App. While other stores from Blackberry and Palm do offer the ability to give timed trials of an application, Apple has yet to allow this practice on its own store.
... Read on »