It’s got to kill Apple management to have a co-founder saying things like the company should make Android phones.
Category: Apple
On Sony VAIOs and OS X⇢
Nobuyuki Hayashi:
Most of Sony’s executives spends their winter vacation in Hawaii and play golf after celebrating new year. In one of those new year golf competitions back in 2001, ” Steve Jobs and another Apple executive were waiting for us at the end of golf course holding VAIO running Mac OS” recalls Ando; 2001 is the year, Mac OS X shipped and I am speculating this is Intel-version of Mac OS X, they hid for four and half years since then.
Apple donating $100 million in equipment for Obama’s ConnectED initiative⇢
The Associated Press:
Apple is pledging $100 million in iPads, computers and other tools. AT&T and Sprint are contributing free Internet service through their wireless networks. Verizon is pitching in up to $100 million in cash and in-kind contributions. And Microsoft is making Windows available at discounted prices and offering 12 million free copies of Microsoft Office software.
Obama was to announce the commitments Tuesday at a middle school in the Maryland suburbs near Washington. Also in the pipeline: an addition $2 billion that the Federal Communications Commission is setting aside from service fees over two years to connect another 20 million students to high-speed Internet.
Apple reports Q1 results⇢
Business Wire:
Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2014 first quarter ended December 28, 2013. The Company posted record quarterly revenue of $57.6 billion and quarterly net profit of $13.1 billion, or $14.50 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $54.5 billion and net profit of $13.1 billion, or $13.81 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 37.9 percent compared to 38.6 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 63 percent of the quarter’s revenue.
Apple expands educational offerings to new countries⇢
Apple PR:
Apple today announced iBooks Textbooks and iTunes U Course Manager are expanding into new markets across Asia, Latin America, Europe and elsewhere around the world. iBooks Textbooks bring Multi-Touch textbooks with dynamic, current and interactive content to teachers and students in 51 countries now including Brazil, Italy and Japan; and iTunes U Course Manager, available in 70 countries now including Russia, Thailand and Malaysia, allows educators to create and distribute courses for their own classrooms, or share them publicly, on the iTunes U app.
The Verge’s Typo Keyboard review⇢
Under the “bad” list:
- Bad keyboard
- Doesn’t mesh with the iPhone or iOS
- Awkward interaction between touchscreen and keyboard
- Causes battery problems
These seem like some big drawbacks, and some things the makers would have gotten right…
Thinking about an iPad Pro⇢
Federico Viticci has strung together all the rumors about a bigger iPad, and thought about what a bigger tablet from Apple could offer.
In his article, Mr. Smooth Hands outlines two possible ways Apple could define a “pro” tablet:
- Making the iPad bigger
- Making software or hardware changes, including adding things like more RAM, better inner-app communication and a window manager
While I do think Apple will probably ship a larger iPad at some point, I don’t think that the company would add substantial software features to it that would be exclusive to the form factor.
Apple’s Verse
Earlier today, Apple released a new ad, which shows the iPad being used in a wide range of situations and places.
The voiceover has gotten a lot of attention, as it’s from a scene of Dead Poets Society.
Here’s the quote, courtesy of IMDb:
We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, “O me! O life!… of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless… of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?” Answer. That you are here — that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?
$10 Billion⇢
Apple PR:
Apple today announced that customers spent over $10 billion on the App Store in 2013, including over $1 billion in December alone. App Store customers downloaded almost three billion apps in December making it the most successful month in App Store history. Apple’s incredible developers have now earned $15 billion on the App Store.
“We’d like to thank our customers for making 2013 the best year ever for the App Store,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “The lineup of apps for the holiday season was astonishing and we look forward to seeing what developers create in 2014.”
Apple posts Mac Pro Environmental Report⇢
Apple:
Apple believes that improving the environmental performance of our business starts with our products. The careful environmental management of our products throughout their life cycles includes controlling the quantity and types of materials used in their manufacture, improving their energy efficiency, and designing them for better recyclability. The information below details the environmental performance of Mac Pro as it relates to climate change, energy efficiency, material efficiency, and restricted substances.
Helplessly pretty⇢
I just came across this photo set from 2012 of the eMac, iBook and iMac, but man, is Andrew Kim right about these designs.
The AnandTech Mac Pro review⇢
BRB, selling my other kidney.