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发帖数: 3492 | | w********1
发帖数: 3492 | 2 Thu, 26 Jul 2012 06:32:44 PDT
Following Verizon and AT&T, Sprint today became the last of the three major
U.S. iPhone carriers to report results for the second quarter of 2012,
revealing that it sold 1.5 million iPhones during the period. That matches
the previous quarter's performance even as Verizon and AT&T experienced
declines of roughly 15% quarter-over-quarter.
In addition to its steady second quarter iPhone performance, Sprint can also
look forward to momentum from iPhone sales through its prepaid Virgin
Mobile USA brand, which launched the iPhone with just two days left in
Sprint's fiscal quarter. | w********1
发帖数: 3492 | 3 Thu, 26 Jul 2012 06:59:04 PDT
Research firm IHS iSuppli today released the results of a new study tracking
global semiconductor sales in 2012, predicting that Apple will expand its
lead on the strength of 15% growth in the face of a stagnant market. Apple
first topped the list in 2010 after quickly rising from third place in 2009
and sixth place in 2008.
Apple is maintaining its lead in semiconductor purchasing because of
continuing strong demand for its products, combined with the company’s
capability to maintain beneficial relationships with more than 150 suppliers
that provide components or offer manufacturing and assembly services.
But aside from maintaining its global dominance in chip purchasing, Apple is
also outgrowing the other OEMs and making gains in the various regions of
the world. For Apple, this translates into competitive advantages when it
comes to manufacturing electronic products.
The report notes that Apple's increasingly dominant market position, which
is estimated to see nearly double the revenue of second-place Samsung this
year, gives Apple significant market advantages in terms of controlling
pricing, availability, and product roadmaps.
Apple is predicted to continue expanding its lead in 2013, with IHS iSuppli'
s estimates pegging Apple at 12.3% growth next year, the highest of any top-
ten global customer. | w********1
发帖数: 3492 | 4 Thu, 26 Jul 2012 07:23:45 PDT
Last month, The New York Times reported that Facebook has been working on a
major overhaul of its iOS app, seeking to improve performance by
transitioning from the current HTML5-based app to a native Objective-C one.
At the time, Facebook was said to be releasing the app the following month.
Facebook's current iPhone app
Bloomberg now follows up with a more extensive report looking at Facebook's
mobile efforts, which reportedly include work with HTC on a Facebook
smartphone targeted for mid-2013. That effort has been previously disclosed
, with the company reportedly having hired former Apple engineers to drive
the project.
Today's report indicates that this team of former Apple engineers has
actually been focused primarily on the iOS app rebuild, although the company
's timeline appears to be a bit longer than suggested last month.
This team from Apple has been primarily focused on rebuilding Facebook’s
iPhone application, which has been criticized by users for being slow. An
initial release could be announced within a couple of months, with another
broader overhaul of the iPhone app coming next near, one person said.
Facebook's team of former Apple employees includes Mike Matas and Kimon
Tsinteris, two iOS interface designers who left the company to start digital
publishing company Push Pop Press, which Facebook acquired last year.
Former Apple staff hired by Facebook to work on mobile are: Greg Novick, who
helped develop the touch-screen user interface; Tim Omernick and Chris
Tremblay, who also worked on the device’s software; and Scott Goodson, who
helped create the stock-market application, according to people with
knowledge of the hires.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has acknowledged that transitioning to
mobile devices is among the most difficult tasks for the company, given the
differences in user experiences between mobile and desktop. While the
company has embraced mobile with apps for iOS and Android, it is still
seeking ways to improve the user experience on those devices and bring new
features to those platforms. | w********1
发帖数: 3492 | 5 Thu, 26 Jul 2012 07:53:44 PDT
Time yesterday released a list of the 20 most influential Americans of all
time, with Apple founder Steve Jobs making the cut for inclusion in the list
. Jobs is the final entry on the chronologically-sorted list that includes
such figures as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Henry Ford, and the
Wright brothers.
Jobs was a visionary whose great genius was for design: he pushed and pushed
to make the interface between computers and people elegant, simple and
delightful. He always claimed his goal was to create products that were “
insanely great.” Mission accomplished.
The new Time feature is part of a promotion for the publication's new book
covering what it judges to be the 100 most influential people of all time, a
list that also includes Jobs.
Time also releases annual lists of the world's most influential people, with
Apple CEO Tim Cook and Jobs' biographer Walter Isaacson making the 2012
list back in April. | w********1
发帖数: 3492 | 6 Thu, 26 Jul 2012 08:17:58 PDT
Last month, Google attempted to siphon some interest from Apple by holding a
press conference introducing "the next dimension of Google Maps" just days
before Apple's preview of iOS 6 and its own mapping solution at its
Worldwide Developers Conference.
Among the announcements from Google were new 3D features for the company's
Google Earth platform, features the company reported would be coming to iOS
in an update to the Google Earth app in the coming weeks. A few days later,
Apple introduced its new Maps app for iOS 6 which will include similar 3D
imagery under the name "Flyover".
But with iOS 6 not launching to the public until later this year, Google has
now beaten Apple to the punch, with CNET reporting that Google has released
version 7 of Google Earth [App Store] for iOS to bring the new 3D imagery
to the platform.
Google today is updating its Google Earth app on Apple's platform to include
the same 3D imagery it showed off in early June. That same feature rolled
out to users on Google's Android in late June.
iOS users are getting those same 14 regions, including Los Angeles, the San
Francisco Bay Area, Boston and others. As Google adds more 3D cities to its
database, both those platforms will get them at same time.
Google is looking to quickly expand the feature, planning for 3D coverage of
300 million people by the end of the year and many more beyond that.
The new 3D feature of Google Earth requires an iPhone 4S, iPad 2, or third-
generation iPad, but older devices can continue to use the other features of
the Google Earth app. | w********1
发帖数: 3492 | 7 Thu, 26 Jul 2012 08:29:23 PDT
Last week, a UK judge ruled that Apple must post public notices in
newspapers and on its website acknowledging that Samsung did not copy the
design of the iPad with its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet. That announcement came
a little over a week after the same judge had ruled against Apple in its
infringement claim against Samsung, opining that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is
simply "not as cool" as the iPad.
Apple of course appealed the ruling that it must publish those notices,
which were to remain on its UK website for six months, and Bloomberg now
briefly reports that Apple has been granted a stay on that requirement until
an appeal is heard in October.
Apple was ordered earlier this month to put a note on its U.K. site and buy
advertisements in British newspapers to alert customers to a court ruling
that Samsung hadn’t copied the iPad’s design. Cupertino, California-based
Apple appealed saying it didn’t want to advertise for its rival. The order
is stayed until its appeal against the ruling is heard in October.
More information on the stay may yet be forthcoming, but it appears that
Apple will have significant time to put forward its arguments attempting to
convince a separate court that the notice requirement was an improper part
of the verdict. | w********1
发帖数: 3492 | 8 Thu, 26 Jul 2012 09:19:12 PDT
Yesterday, we noted that Apple's Up-to-Date program allowing recent Mac
purchasers to receive free upgrades to OS X Mountain Lion was experiencing
some early hiccups, with users receiving Mac App Store redemption codes that
were registering as invalid. Customer support representatives were
advising users that Apple was aware of the issue and would be automatically
issuing replacement codes but that the process could take up to three days.
While many of these replacement codes are already coming through, users
today have begun reporting that Apple is mistakenly sending out codes for
the OS X Server components of Mountain Lion rather than Mountain Lion itself.
I just got my second code and was able to redeem it. The only problem is
when it redeemed it came up with an error saying OSX Server cannot be
downloaded because it requires OSX 10.8.0 to run. It seems they sent me a
redemption code for server instead of mountain lion. The pdf with the code
clearly says that the code is for mountain lion...
My purchased tab only shows OSX Server - no mountain lion...
At least half a dozen users have reported the same problem, with the issue
presumably affecting a much greater number of users receiving codes today.
One user who called Apple about the issue was advised to file another
request through Apple's u*************[email protected] support mechanism.
OS X Server is also available through the Up-to-Date program, but is limited
to users who purchased server models of the company's Mac Pro and Mac mini
lines. | w********1
发帖数: 3492 | 9 Thu, 26 Jul 2012 10:15:31 PDT
Autodesk's official release of Inventor Fusion has arrived on the Mac App
Store, after several months as a technology preview. Inventor Fusion is
software that enables advanced 3D mechanical design. The software is free
and "makes it easy to open and edit 3D models from almost any source and
incorporate them into your design, enabling rapid design changes without
limitations."
Imagine the new and exciting ideas you can create using Autodesk Inventor
Fusion technology to bring your designs to life. This new, 3D CAD modeling
software enables creation of designs through intuitive direct manipulation
and easy to understand design tools.
Features:
- 2D Sketching: Start your designs by using simple 2D sketch tools. Control
sketches with dimensions. Create 2D layouts from which you can create
multiple shapes fast.
- Direct Modeling: Push – pull and edit your way to your final desired
result. Direct modeling means you can focus on your design task and not on
complex modeling commands and dialogs. Autodesk Inventor Fusion technology
is a history free 3D design tool.
- Assembly design: Assemblies that mimic the real world makes positioning
and moving your design fast and predictable. Designing in context means you
have all the right information to make design decisions. Flexible assembly
structure ensures you can change your mind at any time.
- Real Time Visualization: Beautiful 3D and fast real-time navigation make
creating and presenting your design easy.
- Cloud Storage: Store and Share your designs using Autodesk 360
collaboration service. Use Webgl enabled browsers or Autodesk Viewers for
IOS to view your designs when on the go.
- AutoCAD | w********1
发帖数: 3492 | 10 Thu, 26 Jul 2012 10:36:13 PDT
Chinese news agency Xinhua reports that consumer organizations in the
country are taking a closer look at Apple's warranty repairs, criticizing
the company over a number of policies including the use of reconditioned
parts rather than new ones.
According to the company's after-sale clauses, customers have to agree that
Apple repairers utilize used or reconditioned parts to replace damaged parts
on the products of iPhones or iPads during the repair process, the
provincial consumers' council found in an industrial investigation and
released the result on Tuesday.
The customers also have to agree that replaced parts will be retained by
Apple, which is believed to probably reuse these parts to repair other
products, the result said.
Apple has faced similar criticism in other countries, with Apple executive
Farrel Farhoudi having testified before the South Korean parliament on the
company's use of refurbished devices as warranty replacements. Apple
ultimately changed its policies in South Korea, with customers whose iPhones
are deemed defective during the warranty period now receiving new units
rather than refurbished ones as replacements. | | | w********1
发帖数: 3492 | 11 Thu, 26 Jul 2012 10:43:45 PDT
Earlier this week, we reported that the ZEVO solution for bringing the ZFS
file system to the Mac had been acquired by storage appliance company
GreenBytes. With ZEVO having been pulled from sale with the transition, the
future of ZFS on the Mac has been in question, although GreenBytes
indicated at the time that it was still committed to the project.
GreenBytes has now announced that it will be launching a free "Community
Edition" of ZEVO on September 15.
We wanted to take a few days to nail down the specifics, but we are happy to
announce that beginning on September 15, 2012, GreenBytes will offer the
ZEVO Community Edition as a freely downloadable binary!
As we approach the September 15th launch date, we will reveal more details
about the functionality in the ZEVO Community Edition -- and you should
expect enhancements from the prior commercial version!
Support for the new Community Edition will be handled through discussion
forums, with forum members and GreenBytes staff helping users of the free
edition there.
Don Brady, the former Apple engineer who worked on ZFS at the company before
leaving to develop the project on his own after Apple canceled it, will be
providing more information on GreenBytes' plans for ZEVO in upcoming posts
on the company's blog. | w********1
发帖数: 3492 | 12 Thu, 26 Jul 2012 12:13:37 PDT
Autodesk has issued a support document outlining which of its products do
not work with the just-released OS X Mountain Lion:
The following products are currently NOT supported on the Mac OS X 10.8 (
Mountain Lion) operating system:
- AutoCAD 2013 for Mac
- AutoCAD 2012 for Mac
- AutoCAD LT 2013 for Mac
- AutoCAD LT 2012 for Mac
If any of these products are installed on Mountain Lion, undesirable side
effects can occur, including issues with Installer re-start, resetting
applications, cursor missing when printing to PDF, and more. Our engineers
are working round the clock to support Mountain Lion for these products,
however no support is currently available.
Until such time as a service pack is available, we highly recommend NOT
installing Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) on any machines where AutoCAD 2013
for Mac, AutoCAD 2012 for Mac, AutoCAD LT 2013 for Mac, or AutoCAD LT 2012
for Mac is required.
Autodesk also says that a Beta program adding support for Mountain Lion to
AutoCAD 2012 and 2013 will be coming shortly, though doesn't include any
specifics about a timeline.
As always, it is recommended that those using their computers in a
professional, production environment should hold off on any upgrades to
either software or operating systems until the makers of all the products
they use confirm that everything works as it should. | w********1
发帖数: 3492 | 13 Thu, 26 Jul 2012 13:11:32 PDT
Last week, we highlighted the unique construction barrier art in place at
Apple's forthcoming Passeig de Gràcia retail store in Barcelona, Spain.
The art, which consisted of tile mosaics using images of Apple iOS app icons
and honoring the style of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, surrounded the
store during the final phases of construction leading up to grand opening
scheduled for this Saturday, July 28.
With the grand opening just two days away and Apple making preparations to
open the store for the media and then the public, the construction barriers
have come down and Cult of Mac has been able to shoot some photos through
the windows of the new store.
Despite the Gaudí-influenced signage promoting the store's opening, Apple
appears to have maintained its usual style for the store itself, using its
typical stone, wood, and metal finishes to create a clean, open feel inside
the store. With three levels, the large store offers a full range of Apple
products on display, as well as a large Genius Bar and a theater.
On the ground floor of the Barcelona Apple Store, about half of the
available floor space is taken up with iPhone and iPad displays, spread
across twelve tables in three rows. The other half of the floor is taken up
by various models of MacBooks, with only a single table devoted to iMacs.
Higher up, the glass staircase leads to the Genius Bar, as well as an in-
house theater.
In the basement is where Mac and iOS accessories are stored, which Apple
retail employees are now hard at work filling the shelves.
Apple's new Passeig de Gràcia store opens to the public at 10:00 AM on
Saturday. | w********1
发帖数: 3492 | 14 Thu, 26 Jul 2012 13:29:54 PDT
As part of the streamlining of Safari 6, Apple removed a number of items
from the main toolbar including the dedicated Google search box and the
button that allowed users to easily subscribe to RSS feeds right from the
toolbar.
The lack of a Google Search box doesn't affect much as users can now search
by typing within the address box, much like in Google Chrome. The lack of an
RSS button is a bit trickier, however.
Safari no longer includes RSS detection and one-click subscriptions to RSS
feeds. For users looking to get that button back, Daniel Jalkut of Red
Sweater Software -- makers of software products like MarsEdit and Black Ink
-- has created a "beta-quality, more-or-less unsupported" Safari Extension
called Subscribe to Feed.
[The] extension adds a handy button to the toolbar that, when a page offers
RSS or Atom feeds, can be clicked to easily open the feed:// link, which
should automatically open your favorite news reader.
The extension works as advertised, however it falls flat when used on a
website with multiple RSS feeds. MacRumors, for example, has four RSS feeds
listed -- one for the Front Page, two more for the Mac and iOS Blogs, and
one feed that lists every post to the site.
We've reached out to Jalkut to ask if this limitation is something that
could be easily remedied. | w********1
发帖数: 3492 | 15 Thu, 26 Jul 2012 13:47:41 PDT
With the opening ceremonies for the 2012 Summer Olympics set for tomorrow in
London, Apple is preparing to offer an extra bonus to some customers
visiting its stores in the area during the roughly two-week event. The
company has produced a series of four lapel pins commemorating the London
Olympics, displaying the flag of the United Kingdom in place of the screen
of both black and white iPhones and iPads.
The pins are distributed attached to larger sheets of cardboard that appear
as five iOS device flags hanging on a line, with the center one being the
actual lapel pin.
We have not confirmed the exact details on distribution of the pins, but we'
ve heard that select stores will be distributing the free of charge while
supplies last on select days. Also unclear is how broad the distribution
will be: Apple has a total of six retail stores inside the M25 motorway
encircling London, with several others just outside and a total of 33 in the
United Kingdom.
Apple offered a similar promotion during the 2010 Winter Olympics in
Vancouver, distributing an iPod nano pin with the Canadian maple leaf at one
store and a pair of pins showing off the maple leaf and the Apple logo at
the other Vancouver-area store open at the time. Apple now has four stores
in the Vancouver area. | w********1
发帖数: 3492 | 16 Thu, 26 Jul 2012 15:10:06 PDT
The plethora of court cases between Apple and other companies over
trademarks, design decisions, and patents have only occasionally offered
anything of interest to the average observer. Today, however, The Verge has
dug up a treasure trove of images of early iPhone and iPad prototypes.
Early designs include an eight-sided iPhone with diagonal corners, early
Sony-inspired designs, and another model that has the same aluminum-based
design as the old iPod Mini.
Of particular note are multiple iterations of the iPad featuring different
types of kickstands, what appears to be a 16:9 model with wide handles on
either side, and an eight-sided iPhone with diagonal corners. Also of
interest is a slim, sleek iPhone prototype labeled the N90. The N90 was
widely believed to be the codename for the iPhone 4, and while this narrow
device definitely bear some aesthetic similarities to Apple's glass-and-
metal design, this variant appears to feature a much smaller screen.
One Sony-inspired design from 2006, which bears a "JONY" logo in honor of
Apple chief designer Jonathan Ive, looks strikingly similar to the iPhone 4
that debuted years later.
The Verge has a number of other images scattered across two different posts.
They're worth a look. | w********1
发帖数: 3492 | 17 Thu, 26 Jul 2012 15:22:09 PDT
As we noted, The Verge has come across a number of photos of iPhone
prototypes in court documents related to Apple's lawsuit with Samsung. One
of the early prototype images seemed particularly familiar to us.
This two-tone design with a central aluminum backing looks like an early
version of the rumored next-generation iPhone:
On the right is a prototype iPhone design posted by the Verge. The image on
the left is a rendering of the next generation iPhone by Blackpool Creative
. The rendering was based on leaked parts of the upcoming iPhone. The
parts were also shown on video here:
Similar parts have been circulating for a couple of months now. One early
report described it as such:
According to our source, Apple will make one major change to the rear
casing, adding a metal panel to the central back of the new iPhone. This
panel will be flat, not curved, and metal, not ceramic.
It seems possible that the new iPhone has evolved from some of the early
Apple prototyping of possible designs. |
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