Apple Snaps Up Several '.Guru' Domain Names on Launch Day Posted: 30 Jan 2014 08:35 AM PST Domains in the .guru family that have already been registered by Apple and pointed to the company's name servers include: - apple.guru Several others including appletv.guru, macbook.guru, and ipod.guru are currently blocked from registration, presumably at Apple's request. The new domains registered by Apple are not yet active, although at some point the company may choose to redirect them to either its general home and product family pages or support pages. Some browsers with unified search and URL bars, including Apple's own Safari, have also yet to be updated to recognize the new domains as URLs. Safari currently directs such entries to searches rather than attempting to access the addresses themselves unless the HTTP protocol is specifically included in the text entry. Apple routinely moves to protect domain names associated with its business, and the rapidly increasing number of gTLDs is only complicating that effort. Among the most notable expansions, Apple in 2012 applied for control of a new ".apple" top-level domain through a program that appears to still be in progress with Apple having passed initial review last June. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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PayPal Angling for Mobile Payment Partnership with Apple Posted: 30 Jan 2014 07:36 AM PST PayPal wants to be a part of Apple's mobile payment system and is willing to work closely with the Cupertino company to bring the initiative to fruition, claims a report from Re/code .
Re/code's sources claim Apple is capable of rolling out a mobile payment system without PayPal's help, but they could not rule out the possibility of some type of partnership between the two companies. Apple is allegedly focusing on the iPhone for its mobile payment system, though details on how the phone will process payments is not known. A recent patent application hints at the use of NFC and Bluetooth, the latter of which is compatible with the company's iBeacon technology. Apple recently deployed iBeacons throughout its retail chain of stores, while retailers like American Eagle and Safeway are experimenting with the technology in limited trials. Today's report echoes an earlier report from the Wall Street Journal that said Eddie Cue was meeting with industry executives to "to discuss Apple's interest in handling payments for physical goods and services on its devices." Tim Cook also confirmed during Apple's recent earnings conference call that the mobile payment area was "one of the thoughts behind Touch ID" in the iPhone 5s. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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'SwiftKey Note' Brings Contextual Word Suggestions and Autocorrect to iOS with Evernote Integration Posted: 30 Jan 2014 06:01 AM PST Last week, an image was posted on Twitter by noted leaker @evleaks appearing to show a "SwiftKey Note" app for iOS from the company behind the popular alternative Android keyboard that ranked as the top-selling paid app on Google Play last year. SwiftKey Note is indeed real and it launches today as a note-taking app that optionally integrates with Evernote's popular suite of apps. The app offers several features to allow for faster and easier note-taking, including automatic word suggestions based on context and personalized auto-correction. SwiftKey's suggestion and autocorrect features learn over time based on context from previous text entries, and can tap directly into a user's Evernote archive to assist with predictions. SwiftKey's Chief Marketing Officer Joe Braidwood told MacRumors that his firm was approached by Evernote early last year about the possibility of developing a SwiftKey app to integrate with Evernote, and the two companies have worked closely together and with Apple to bring that vision to reality. The new SwiftKey Note app supports seamless backup and two-way syncing, both with other instances of SwiftKey Note and with Evernote, allowing for easy note entry and editing in the app while notes propagate to other instances of Evernote. While SwiftKey Note does support some text formatting through easy swipe access to a toolbar, it does not support syncing of more sophisticated Evernote features such as advanced text formatting and embedded images. With Apple so far refusing to allow developers to create systemwide alternative keyboards for iOS, SwiftKey is limited to bringing its keyboard functionality to its own apps and releasing tools to allow other developers to offer it in their own apps on a case-by-case basis. As such, SwiftKey Note also serves as an example and marketing tool as the company looks to partner with select third-party developers going forward before opening up broader access through an open SDK.
One final key feature of SwiftKey Note is multilingual support, with the app able to offer contextual word suggestions in up to three languages simultaneously. Initial language support includes English (US and UK), German, Spanish (Spain and US), French (France and Canada), and Italian. Unlike the SwiftKey Keyboard app for Android, SwiftKey Note for iOS arrives as a free app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, giving the company the opportunity to test the waters of iOS with a useful but still lightweight app accessible to all users. The app requires a minimum of iOS 6, although text formatting is currently only supported on iOS 7. [Direct Link] Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Apple Details Pressure-Sensitive Touchscreen in New Patent Application Posted: 30 Jan 2014 04:49 AM PST An Apple patent detailing pressure-sensitive touchscreens was published today by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, reports AppleInsider . Entitled "Gesture and touch input detection through force sensing," the application describes a system in which a traditional touchscreen is complemented by multiple force-sensors in order to better log unique gestures and more complex input.
Apple also states that central points determined by force sensors can determine if one or more touches are accidental, which is slightly similar to the current palm rejection technology found on the iPad Air and iPad mini. The illustration above shows a user resting the right thumb on one side of an iPad's screen while continuing to use the tablet with the left thumb. Currently, this input combination cannot be performed on iOS devices, and would potentially allow for new interactions if enabled. Furthermore, the patent notes that the force sensors can be positioned outside of an active touch region, which could allow for users to interact with user interface elements such as menu options that extend well beyond the immediate area of a touchscreen. This would allow a device the option to render more elements onscreen while retaining key touch elements needed offscreen, offering a secondary mode of input. Currently, it is unknown whether Apple plans to create such a touchscreen for its products or not, but the company has shown an interest in pressure sensitive technology before. An Apple patent detailing the integration of a pressure sensitive button in a touchscreen was published last November, and a patent that described pressure-sensitive device casings was awarded to Apple in March 2013. The patent application, which was originally filed on January 30, 2012 and published today, also lists Nima Parivar and Wayne C. Westerman as its inventors. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Apple Looking to Take Arizona Sapphire Plant Live in February for 'Critical' Component Posted: 29 Jan 2014 10:18 PM PST Apple is aggressively pursuing the launch of its new sapphire plant in Mesa, Arizona for a "critical new sub-component", according to documents obtained by 9to5Mac. The company is aiming to open the plant by February.
Furnaces for sapphire glass production. The documents reveal that James J. Patton, Apple's Deputy Director of Global Trade Compliance, requested expedited approval from the Foreign-Trade Zone Board to approve two requests that would allow Apple to meet its "aggressive go-live timeline" for February 2014. Recently, both Apple and manufacturing partner, GT Advanced, have been recruiting potential employees for the sapphire plant. In addition, the documents indicate the sapphire plant would be used to create a "critical new sub-component" for use in Apple's consumer electronics. Apple currently uses sapphire glass to protect the iPhones' camera lenses and the iPhone 5s' Touch ID home button, but Apple's language in the documents suggests something more could be in the works.
While it's not clear what a "new" sub-component could be, Apple could be looking to create full-screen displays made out of sapphire. Sapphire could also be used to protect the display on Apple's much-rumored iWatch. The report also includes information on some of the other materials that will be utilized in the plant, like diamond cutting wire, which as 9to5Mac points out, is currently used in iPhone and iPad assembly to create bezels. Just a couple days ago, Taiwan's Apple Daily reported the company's assembly partner Foxconn had begun an initial 100 unit run of an iPhone with a sapphire glass display. Last week, an Apple patent application for an Apple device with a sapphire glass display was also discovered. Sapphire has been seen as a potential successor to high-strength glass for display covers, although Corning claims Gorilla Glass 3 is stronger than sapphire glass at a lower cost. Apple has reportedly experimented with sapphire glass displays before, but found them infeasible. It is possible, however, that advances in material and production technology have allowed the company to revisit the possibility. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Nintendo Confirms No Games Coming to iOS, But Service App in the Works Posted: 29 Jan 2014 06:43 PM PST During a strategy briefing that took place in Osaka, Japan, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata today confirmed (via The Wall Street Journal ) that Nintendo has plans to "actively" use service apps for smart devices, but does not have plans to introduce key Nintendo software, like its portfolio of games, on third party platforms. According to Iwata, Nintendo is aiming to use service apps to both build a bridge with its customers and deliver information on Nintendo products. Service apps are not intended to make money for the company, but instead will be used to "make connections with customers."
Iwata did, however, say that the game console will continue to be at the center of Nintendo's strategy and there are no plans for the company to abandon its hardware business. News of Nintendo's foray into mobile first surfaced in mid-January after company president Satoru Iwata indicated Nintendo would consider a new business structure involving smart devices in light of increasing competition from both iOS and Android and competing consoles. On Monday, Japanese business newspaper Nikkei suggested Nintendo would release an iOS and Android app featuring game information and playable mini games, but Nintendo quickly refuted the claim and insisted it had no plans to make Nintendo software available on mobile devices. Earlier today, Nintendo missed its earnings forecast and announced an operating loss of 1.58 billion yen ($15.3 million) for the December quarter. The company expects another loss of 33.4 billion yen for the final quarter of the year with a total operating loss of 35 billion yen ($355 million) for 2013. During today's event, Nintendo also announced plans to bolster its profits by introducing an on-demand gaming service, allowing Wii U players to access Nintendo DS games, and releasing a non-wearable health monitoring device in 2015. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Google Selling Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for $2.91 Billion Posted: 29 Jan 2014 01:23 PM PST Google is selling its Motorola Mobility division to Lenovo for $2.91 billion, according to a report from China Daily. Google acquired the company and its then 17,000-strong patent portfolio, along with 7,500 filed patents, in August of 2011 for roughly $12.5 billion. At the time, Google said Motorola was a "natural fit" for the two companies and that it would "supercharge the entire Android ecosystem". The deal is said to include 10,000 of Motorola Mobility's patents, although it is likely that Google will retain licenses for those patents.
Google's Motorola Mobility subsidiary has been a money loser for the company in recent quarters, costing the firm $248 million in the most recent quarter. Earlier this month, Google purchased the Tony Fadell-founded Nest for $3.2 billion in cash. Update: Google has confirmed the acquisition in a blog post, saying "Motorola will be better served by Lenovo". The deal will need to be approved by both the U.S. and Chinese governments.
Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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iCloud Website Error Hints at Upcoming iCloud Bookmarks Feature Posted: 29 Jan 2014 11:32 AM PST An error on Apple's iCloud.com portal is displaying a "Coming Soon" page for iCloud Bookmarks, suggesting that the website may soon gain functionality for displaying iCloud Bookmarks saved in Safari on a Mac or an iOS device. An online iCloud Bookmarks section, if added to iCloud, could be useful for users that wish to access their bookmarks on a computer that is not used regularly. While iCloud already syncs Safari bookmarks between Macs and iOS devices, iCloud bookmarks are not currently accessible via iCloud.com.
Though the page text suggests that an iCloud Bookmarks feature could be in the works for iCloud.com, it is possible, based on the "extension" URL, that it is referring to an iCloud Bookmarks extension, but iCloud browser extensions for both Chrome and Firefox on Windows have been available for several months following the launch of iOS 7. As noted by 9to5Mac, the introductory screen also features the iOS 7-style design for Bookmarks, which seems to indicate that it was rather recently created, pointing more towards a new feature than an old page for an existing feature. Apple has been hard at work beefing up iCloud during the last year. At WWDC, the company introduced iWork for iCloud, giving users a way to work on collaborative documents from any device, and more recently many of the apps received a full iOS 7-style redesign. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Apple Releases iOS 7.0.5 for iPhone 5s/5c With Fix for Network Provisioning in China Posted: 29 Jan 2014 10:03 AM PST Apple today released iOS 7.0.5 for the iPhone with a minor maintenance update to correct network provisioning in China for some iPhone 5s and 5c models sold in China, Europe, and Asia Pacific. Customers receiving iOS 7.0.5 outside of China will likely see no benefit from the update as it is designed to correct network provisioning within the country.
iPhone 5s iPhone 5c The update comes more than two months after the release of iOS 7.0.4, which included additional bug fixes and a repair for an issue that caused FaceTime calls to fail for some users. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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AT&T Offering $200 Off Cellular iPads With 2-Year Commitment, $100 Off New Lines w/No Contract Posted: 29 Jan 2014 09:55 AM PST The deal combines an existing promotion that offers $100 off tablets with contract and a new promotion that offers $100 bill credits to customers who add a new smartphone or tablet to an existing account. An AT&T spokesperson confirmed to MacRumors that the two promotions can be used together. $100 of the credit will be applied at purchase while the other $100 will appear as a bill credit within 3 billing cycles. Customers must remain with AT&T for 45 days to receive the bill credit. A 16GB Retina iPad mini is normally $529, but would be available through the program for $329 after both credits, while the $629 16GB iPad Air would end up at $429. The promotions are available to all AT&T customers, new and existing, who have or sign up for Mobile Share plans. The $100 bill credit promotion also applies to iPhone purchases when adding a new line, both on-contract and on AT&T's Next financing plan. The new $100 bill credit is also available when customers bring their own device. That is, users who already own an iPhone or cellular iPad can open a new line on a Mobile Share plan and receive a $100 bill credit with no commitment beyond 45 days. Purchases can be made at AT&T retail stores as well as its online store at ATT.com. U.S. cellular carriers have been in a marketing war in recent months, particularly between T-Mobile and AT&T. Recently, AT&T began a new promotion to offer up to $450 in credits to customers that switch to it from T-Mobile, while T-Mobile launched a similar program offering up to $350 in credits to customers that switch to it. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Thursday 30 January 2014
MacRumors : Mac News and Rumors
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