News from category ‘Other’

Apple could be planning to introduce touchscreens to the iMac by way of a hybrid interface, a recently discovered patent application suggests. The company notes that despite the usefulness of a touch slide off-screen interface, a mouse- and keyboard-based one is still better in some circumstances. To switch between the two, Apple proposes a design in which a computer's display would be upright for the mouse interface, but slanted down and back for touch.

To make the transition possible an iMac would need a flexible display stand, and a sensor to determine when to change. For the latter Apple proposes several options, such as an accelerometer, a rotation sensor in the stand, and/or a special touch sensor at the place people would want to grip the display. Past a certain input limit, a computer would automatically switch between interfaces.

Notably, elements of Mac OS X such as the Menu Bar, the Dock and the mouse cursor could be made to slide off-screen during the handover. Apple has not specified what the touch interface would be, but it could be iOS.

As noted by analyst Charlie Wolf of Needham & Company Monday, Mac government sales grew 200.8 percent year over year in the June quarter, well beyond the 12.1 percent growth seen by the rest of the PC market. In addition, the business market grew 49.8 percent during those three months, besting the market-wide 15.7 percent growth in enterprise sales.

Apple's best business sales came with very large companies, where Mac shipments improved 103 percent. Large businesses also bought 98.3 percent more Macs than the previous year.

Home Mac sales were also up 31.4 percent, besting the industrywide 25.2 percent growth. Despite the growth in business sales, the home market remains Apple's most important, accounting for 61.4 percent of all Mac shipments in the June quarter.

In all, Mac sales grew 31.5 percent year-over-year, ahead of the 20.9 percent growth seen by the entire PC market over 2009.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office revealed a patent application from Apple entitled "Systems and Methods for Identifying Unauthorized Users of an Electronic Device." The invention describes methods to identify users through a picture, the sound of their voice, or even their heartbeat.

"The photograph, recording, or heartbeat can be compared to a photograph, recording or heartbeat of authorized users of the electronic device to determine whether they match," the application reads. "If they do not match, the current user can be detected as an unauthorized user."

If an unauthorized user were to attempt to access an iPhone or another device, the owner of the handset could be notified via a phone call, text message or e-mail. It could send the owner - or the police - a picture of the unauthorized user, or other information specific to the potential thief.

The handset could recognize an unauthorized user if they do certain uncharacteristic activities with the phone, such as hacking, jailbreaking, unlocking, or removing a SIM card.

It became known that Lady Gaga, the famous singer, has visited Apple’s 1-Infinite Loop Campus in Cupertino, California, where she was photographed behind the main building with the Apple’s staff. But what was the purpose of her visit? Do you have the same opinion as we, don’t you?

Now it is said that she was probably invited to make a new series of commercials for iPhone 4 about which we have already reported in May. There is also a possibility that she was invited for a small private concert, which Apple organizes from time to time? Nevertheless, soon we’ll know about the event in more details.

New report from Associated Press reveals that this Friday Nokia acquired a company named Motally, though there was no information on the terms of the deal. Such a strategic move is pointed on boosting Nokia's Ovi platform and making it more interesting for mobile software developers.

"The Finnish company says the acquisition Friday underscores its attempt to improve mobile Web browsing analytics for software developers of its Internet services, that are struggling to match competitor Apple Inc."

Motally is a small analytics firm that was founded in 2008 and has only eight employees.

Apple did not acquire any analytics firms yet though it has strong partnership with a few of them.

According to the Wall Street Journal, recently Foxconn developed a new strategy that must solve the problem with suicides. It reveals that every employee will have less overtime work and more time for entertainment.

It is also said in the report that this Friday the company held a special meeting for employees and its theme was "treasure your life, love your family and care for each other". One employee told that current changes can help to boost morale and make employees less stressed and that previously Foxconn did not care about the emotional needs of its workforce.

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Apple is testing the first material update to its iOS 4.0, next-generation iPod touches, an iPad revision, and an "unknown" product.

The latest beta of iOS 4.1 includes three new "Configuration Descriptors" within its USB configuration files - all of which pertain to devices that list "Apple, Inc." as their "manufacturer" (see screenshot).

The first product, a fourth-generation iPod touch, is referenced as "iPod 4,1." This year's iPod touch calls for models akin to iPhone 4, equipped with dual cameras, FaceTime support, Apple's A4 processor, and Retina Display.

The second product referenced in the USB configuration files is "iProd 2,1." All indications are that this device represents a material update to the iPad.

Finally, is a previously undiscovered mention of a mysterious device listed as "unknownHardware." Although the configuration files tag this device with Apple product ID of 20547, it's textual descriptor is similarly listed as "Unknown- Add device descriptor info for this device." It's possible that those place holders are to be dubbed iTV - capable of running App Store applications and based on iOS 4.0 platform.

Chinese-language newspaper Economic Daily News reported Tuesday that Apple plans to launch a second-generation iPad with a 7-inch screen by Christmas of this year.. The report claimed that the original, 9.7-inch iPad is too big and heavy for many consumers, and the new model will cut weight down from 700 grams to 500 grams.

The newspaper suggested that the new iPad will have a Cortex-A9 processor and 7-inch LCD screen with resolution of 1,024-by-768 pixels.

On Monday, it was alleged that indications of a next-generation iPad are currently found within the source code of iOS 4. The relevant code allows devices carrying the designations of iPhone3,2, iPhone3,3, and iProd2,1 to “auto-activate”, a process said to allow carriers to test the devices without requiring manual activation through iTunes.

A global supply manager for Apple  - the 37-year-old Paul Devine has worked for the company since 2005 -  was faced a civil suit from Apple, which alleges that he received more than $1 million bribes and payments for his assistance to six overseas suppliers. But on Monday he pleaded not guilty in a federal court.

Pegatron, the parent company of Kaedar Electronics, admitted Monday that it did pay brokerage commission to an intermediate trading company between 2005 and 2008. The incident occurred before Pegatron acquired Kaedar, which has supplied iPod packing boxes to Apple since 2005.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Pegatron said Kaedar's business arrangement with Apple was introduced by the same intermediary company that accepted the commission. A spokesperson said that no money was every paid to an individual.

A source has revealed code in iOS 4 showing that new iPhone and iPad models may be set to begin field testing. The relevant code allows devices carrying the designations of iPhone3,2, iPhone3,3, and iProd2,1 to "auto-activate", a process said to allow carriers to test the devices without requiring manual activation through iTunes.

Software evidence of Apple's future devices tends to appear rather early in the development process, as evidenced by iPhone3,1 appearing in iPhone OS configuration files in March 2009. That device turned out to be the iPhone 4, released 15 months later. Evidence of field testing of the iPhone 4 appeared by late November 2009, more than six months before its public launch. The fact that the new iPhone models carry the iPhone3,2 and iPhone3,3 designations rather than "iPhone4,1" suggests that the hardware is a relatively minor revision to the existing iPhone 4, although it is unclear why there are two new iPhone models in testing.

NearFieldCommunications World reports that Apple has recently hired Benjamin Vigier as its new product manager for mobile commerce. Vigier is described as an expert in near field communications (NFC) having been in the field since 2004. Apple also has published a number of patent applications related to NFC technology. That means, that Apple’s mobile devises can be used as an electronic wallet and payment system.

Near Field Communications is short range wireless communication technology (~4 inches) that is used in mobile phones for a variety of applications including mobile ticketing, mobile payments, interactive advertising and more. The same site had previously reported that Apple has had prototype devices already outfitted with the required radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips.

Vigier joined Apple in July 2010. And now he is a product manager for mobile commerce.

Last week, SFWeekly has published reports about how the iPad is helping children of autism. The publication visited the family of Leo Rosa, a nine-year old that suffers from autism. Despite his limitations, Leo is learning to communicate better with his family thanks to a new iPad.

Since the iPad’s unveiling in April, autism experts and parents have brought it into countless homes and classrooms around the world. Developers have begun pumping out applications specifically designed for users with special needs. Through the devices, some of these children have been able to communicate their thoughts to adults for the first time. Others have learned life skills.

For Leo, the introduction of the iPad into the family home has been life-changing. Leo’s mother won the iPad in a school raffle for $5. She stated:“With the iPad, Leo electrifies the air around him with independence and daily new skills”.

New report published in the San Jose Mercury News reveals that recently Apple’s global supply manager Paul Shin Devine was accused by the US Internal Revenue Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation in a fraud scheme. It is claimed that Devine was using his security clearance to obtain confidential information about Apple’s upcoming products and provide it to the company’s suppliers. The latter then used the info to make favorable deals with Apple and after that paid Devine kickbacks. One of the suppliers was Andrew Ang from Singapore, who is also named in the indictment as an accomplice, as Devine was sharing his kickbacks with him.

To receive payments Devine held a series of accounts inside and outside the US. Payments were marked as “samples” so no attention was attracted. Bank accounts were registered under his and his wife’s names. It is reported that sometimes Devine received bribes on the meetings with suppliers in Asia.

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Here is the story of a 16-year-old boy whose name is Christian Owens. Being so young, he managed to make $1,000,000, following the steps of his mentor Steve Jobs who is Apple’s CEO.

Being an unusual boy, he achieved this result after 2 years of work in the Internet. Read how he did it: “The British teenager living in Corby, Northamptonshire got his first computer at 7. Three years later, he got a Mac and started studying the principles of web design. In 2008 when he was 14, he founded his first company. It was a simple website that some people may know: Mac Bundle Box. The website was pretty good and corresponded to the principles of design and style oа Apple.”

The website offered software at incredibly low prices, for example, an application that costs $ 400, here its price was just $ 50. This business has been developing and for the first two years of its work the website Mac Bundle Box has brought its owner $ 1,000,000. But he didn’t stop and created another 17 websites for the iPhone and Android applications, and new company called Branchr ...

In the world, the Apple's Regent Street store is still the busiest selling point, according to senior vice
president of Apple's retail sales Ron Johnson. He has highly appreciated Regent Street considering that undertaken
risk has been justified. Now, in the Regent Street store has one of the best traffic performances in the world.

The Apple network has had a significant impact on the retail sector. Many other stores around the world seek to
repeat their success.

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