Posted by Mike Schramm on Feb 8, 2010 in
Apple Filed under: Apple Financial, Apple
Filed under: Apple Financial, Apple
Back during the
earnings call a few weeks ago, it was mentioned that Apple
has a jaw-dropping almost $40 billion just sitting around in cash. In the chat, we started talking about other companies that might have that much money in the hopper -- Google came up, but I don't think we were able to guess another one. But it turns out Apple isn't even the most flush company out there, and the name of the first might surprise you: According to this chart on Silicon Alley Insider,
Microsoft is currently sitting on just slightly more money than even Apple, with Google and Intel coming close behind; although Apple briefly pulled ahead of MS at the end of 2008, the Redmond Revenue Racers had more cash through most of '09 than Apple did.
Well how 'bout that. Of course, the current curves are not so favorable to Microsoft (after the Win7 update push slows down a bit) so it may not be long before Apple's pile grows even bigger. We can probably look for
some significant acquisitions from all of these companies very soon -- with the rest of the economy down and lots of interesting ideas looking to sell, odds are we'll see some of this money spent on worthy purchases.
[via
Cult of Mac]
Microsoft still beats Apple in cash and investments, for now originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Microsoft still beats Apple in cash and investments, for now originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by Mike Schramm on Feb 8, 2010 in
Apple Filed under: Hardware, iTunes, Apple, iPhone, SDK, Jailbreak/pwnage
Filed under: Hardware, iTunes, Apple, iPhone, SDK, Jailbreak/pwnage
Jailbreakers ahoy! Yesterday brought the release of
the Dev Team's pwnage tool for jailbreaking and unlocking iPhones equipped with
the new 3.1.3 firmware. As usual, though, there are a few catches: first, if you don't need to update to 3.1.3, the dev team says you shouldn't bother anyway -- it doesn't do much that the old versions of the firmware doesn't, so if you don't need to upgrade, just leave your jailbreak as is.
3G and 3GS users especially should be leery of this one, since if a mistake is made, there's a chance you could upgrade your firmware and then not be able to unlock it again. They also have
all sorts of other warnings and exceptions on their blog post. As they say, don't download and run those files without seriously thinking about what you're doing with your iPhone.
If, after all of that thinking, you decide it is time to crack open your iPhone with the 3.1.3 firmware, the jailbreak will put together a custom 3.1.3 IPSW for you to restore back on to your iPhone --
here's a quick how-to to start with. Good luck, and be careful out there!
[via
Engadget]
Dev team releases PwnageTool 3.1.5 to jailbreak iPhone 3.1.3 firmware originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Dev team releases PwnageTool 3.1.5 to jailbreak iPhone 3.1.3 firmware originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by Mike Schramm on Feb 6, 2010 in
Apple Filed under: Software, iBook, Apple
Filed under: Software, iBook, Apple
Amazon has run into more trouble with its pricing -- after
Macmillan and
HarperCollins, a third company has pressured the online book retailer to raise prices on their Kindle eBooks. This time
it's the Hachette Book Group, and their CEO in an internal memo says that the company will
switch to an "agency model" for eBook sales.
What's an agency model? Why, it's the 70%/30% split between platform and content provider currently used in the App Store, and the same model that's planned to be used in iBooks on the
iPad. And it's important to note that this is
exactly what Jobs said would happen -- that publishers would move away from Amazon when they had another system to go with.
What we don't yet know is where prices will end up on the iPad -- Jobs said that prices would be "the same," and it's looking more and more like the $9.99 bestseller price is going to be abandoned for $14.99 or even higher. But that's only because Amazon is fighting shadows with the iPad right now. If they can actually woo some content back to their side when the iPad actually releases, we may see prices get a little more competitive. Until then, the iPad hasn't even come out and it's already shaking up the ebook industry completely.
More eBook trouble for Amazon originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
More eBook trouble for Amazon originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by Mike Schramm on Feb 6, 2010 in
Apple Filed under: Video, Cult of Mac, Apple, Found Footage
Filed under: Video, Cult of Mac, Apple, Found Footage
This video of Woz talking about the "revolutionary" idea of putting color into computers is amazing. It sounds like an LSD trip -- he says he was awake for four days in a row, plunged into some sort of television screenglow madness, and somehow emerged from this zeroes-and-ones induced frenzy with a cheap way to create color screens (which we presume eventually
found its way in the Apple II).
This is why Woz is really the preeminent geek for our times -- he's done some brilliant things with computers, really helped revolutionize the industry, and invented from scratch some of the most amazing things in this already amazing age, and when asked how he did it, he doesn't credit his own intellect or any personal insight. He says he stayed up for four days, and "sometimes, you're not sure if it's going to work because it didn't follow all of the methodology, all of the science that's in the books... but in this case it did." That is quintessential Woz -- way before marketing types
put together the "Think Different" slogan, this guy was living it.
[via
Cult of Mac]
Found Footage: Woz on coloring computers originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Found Footage: Woz on coloring computers originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by Mike Schramm on Feb 5, 2010 in
Apple Filed under: Hardware, Bluetooth, Internet, Apple
Filed under: Hardware, Bluetooth, Internet, Apple
For all of the back and forth about the
iPad over the last week, only a handful of people (
including Stephen Colbert) have gotten to actually touch one. Fox News, of all the outlets out there,
posted a pretty clean and objective hands-on with the iPad earlier this week, and you can get a pretty good idea of what it's like to actually hold the device in your hands from them. They say that it works well -- the keyboard is about the same as an iPhone keyboard (though they don't say whether they try the hunt-and-peck of the iPhone, or actually try to lay their hands down as if on a laptop), and they agree to what we've heard elsewhere: that while the iPad is a nice computer, it's much more of an iPhone extension than a full laptop or even desktop replacement.
One of the most interesting notes is that the much-discussed camera might not be the biggest omission from Apple's tablet -- Fox says that an SD slot or a USB port is a much bigger exception, meaning that if you want to actually do anything with files (view photos or print PDFs) from the iPad, you'll have to transfer them to and from another computer first. Of course Apple is
introducing an SD addon with the device, and I thought that I'd heard the Bluetooth connection would
print from the iPad, but then of course you've got to have a Bluetooth-enabled printer, and as you already know if you've ever depended on Bluetooth, even then it may be a crapshoot.
Still, the device sounds about like what we all predicted a tablet would be: a MacBook Air sort of satellite extension to your household web browsing and minor computing. I still can't wait to get my hands on one -- hopefully we'll get to see a unit in person at next week's Macworld.
[via
MacDailyNews]
iPad hands-on: Not a full desktop replacement, but the keyboard works originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
iPad hands-on: Not a full desktop replacement, but the keyboard works originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by Erica Sadun on Feb 5, 2010 in
Apple Filed under: Apple
Filed under: Apple
Dear Auntie T.,
I have the
best idea for an iPhone app, well, modestly speaking,
ever! So how do I sell this great idea? Is there a forum for discussing how to get an idea sold? Any help you can offer will be appreciated.
Love and kissies and hugs,
Your nephew,
Mike (who isn't Max)
Read Auntie's answer below!
Continue reading Dear Auntie TUAW: I've got a great idea, now what?
Dear Auntie TUAW: I've got a great idea, now what? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Dear Auntie TUAW: I've got a great idea, now what? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by Mike Schramm on Feb 5, 2010 in
Apple Filed under: Software, Apple, iPhone
Filed under: Software, Apple, iPhone
Apple's
excited about mobile advertising (and it certainly seems like they're setting up a plan for local ads), but to devs, they say, "not so much." Apparently they've
sent out a message that says location services should only be used to provide "beneficial information," not targeted advertising. Any apps that include ads targeted to where you and your iPhone are will be rejected posthaste, says Apple.
There's a few things going on here --
Mobile Entertainment wonders just what "beneficial information" means. Certainly apps like Foursquare and
MyTown provide business information based on your iPhone's location, and Foursquare especially is
working on local deals with places that you've checked-in to -- is that considered advertising?
And a few developers, including our friend
Craig Hockenberry (MacNN messed up Chock's name
in their post) say that
Apple wants location-based ads for themselves. Kind of a jerk move by Apple, but if that's where the money is, I guess you can't blame them.
Apple puts limits on location-based advertising in the App Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Apple puts limits on location-based advertising in the App Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by Steven Sande on Feb 5, 2010 in
Apple Filed under: Hardware, Apple
Filed under: Hardware, Apple
While Apple appears to be the rightful owner the
iPad trademark for the U.S., there's a bit of a problem in the E.U. A French-Italian company,
STMicroelectronics, currently owns the rights to "iPad" in two different classifications -- "electronics and components" and "using the name in print." ST has held the trademark since September 14, 2001, but it is set to expire on September 1, 2010.
So what does ST intend to do? Possibly try to
get Apple as a customer in return for trademark rights. The president and CEO of STMicroelectronics, Carlo Bozotti, is currently meeting with customers in Taipei, and when asked if the company would make some sort of deal with Apple, he replied "Our ambition is to have a great customer named Apple."
It's a possibility. The existing ST iPad (Integrated Passive and Active Devices) trademark covers chipsets for cell phone manufacturers, so Apple could theoretically use the company's products in future devices. Apple's other choices could include paying ST a license fee for rights to use the trademark, or legal action to gain rights to the name.
This isn't Apple's first run-in with trademark difficulties. The day after the iPhone was announced in 2007, Cisco sued Apple for infringing on the iPhone trademark name. The two companies eventually came to an agreement and both use the term iPhone for their products.
Company that owns iPad trademark in EU wants Apple's business originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Company that owns iPad trademark in EU wants Apple's business originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by Mike Schramm on Feb 5, 2010 in
Apple Filed under: Portables, Software, Freeware, Apple
Filed under: Portables, Software, Freeware, Apple
In addition to
their Quattro Wireless buy last month, Apple has
picked up two more new employees that seems like additions to an incoming mobile advertising business. Theo Theodorou was picked up from Microsoft's mobile advertising sales department and will head sales in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. And Todd Tran, from mobile ad agency
Joule, will serve as general manager in Europe.
Apple hasn't announced exact details of what they plan to do with all of this mobile advertising, but they
did say in the conference call last week that they plan to use their Quattro Wireless acquisition to help app developers make money, especially on free apps. We don't yet know the exact specifics of that plan ("iAds," coming soon to an App Store near you?), but it looks like Apple is making a significant investment in putting mobile ads on their devices.
Apple hires two more for mobile ad sales originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Apple hires two more for mobile ad sales originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by Erica Sadun on Feb 5, 2010 in
Apple Filed under: iTS, Software, iTunes, Apple, App Store
Filed under: iTS, Software, iTunes, Apple, App Store
TUAW reader Gabby tipped us off this morning that Apple has expanded its new browser-based
iTunes previews to include App Store offerings. Sure enough, I pasted
a standard App Store URL for
Apple's Remote application into Safari and was treated to the preview shown just above.
This new preview option is just one of many
App Store URL tricks you may want to take advantage of. You can find some of the most useful tricks right after the break on this post. Got another URL trick for App Store? Let us know in the comments.
Continue reading App Store devsugar: Browser-based previews and URL tricks
App Store devsugar: Browser-based previews and URL tricks originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
App Store devsugar: Browser-based previews and URL tricks originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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