posted 12 hours ago

Gillmor Gang: Parlor Games & Metaphones

The Gillmor Gang — Robert Scoble, Kevin Marks, Keith Teare, John Taschek, and Steve Gillmor — neatly sidestepped the Yahoo Tumblr acquisition and segued into the wonderful world of messaging. As Facebook Home settles into a cot at the homeless shelter, Google is revving up for an all-out assault on the service suite. Google Glass is just the tip of the iceberg; below the waterline, the search… → Read More

posted yesterday

Jony Ive’s iOS 7 Flat Design Overhaul Reportedly Features A Lot Of Black And White

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A new report from 9to5Mac and its usually well-connected sources today adds a little more color to what we’ll be seeing from the big iOS 7 redesign rumored to be making an appearance at WWDC this year in June – and what we’ll apparently be seeing is a lot less color. The visual overhaul not only emphasizes so-called “flat design” (avoiding complicated textures in favor of bold, solid tones), but… → Read More

May 22nd, 2013

Amazon Wants To Build A Bio-Dome Three Blocks From An Actual, Normal Park

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Amazon has reportedly submitted plans for a new futuristic headquarters in Seattle that couples a skyscraper and an accompanying tri-sphere bio-dome like structure. According to the plans, the structure will be able to hold various forms of plant life and become a place where employees can “work and socialize in a more natural, park-like setting.”

Because God forbid employees walk to the park→ Read More

May 21st, 2013

Laptop Week Review: The 13-Inch MacBook Pro With Retina Display

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If I could only have one MacBook (which is usually the case for your average laptop-buyer), this is the one I’d pick, without hesitation. Fewer issues than its 15-inch cousin, which pioneered the Retina line, combined with a much lighter design with a smaller desktop footprint for a display that can still give you crazy amounts of screen real estate all adds up to a sure-fire winner. → Read More

May 21st, 2013

3 Mind-Bending Ways Apple Dodged $13.8B In Taxes

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Kudos to Apple’s finance lawyers, who are the Cirque Du Soleil of legal contortionism. On the eve of live testimony from CEO Tim Cook, CFO Peter Oppenheimer and Phillip Bullock, head of Apple’s tax operations, a scathing congressional investigation of Apple’s tax dodging strategy reveals how the computer giant avoided $13.8 billion in taxes through a clever labyrinth of offshore tax havens, shell… → Read More

May 19th, 2013

Former Google Exec Turns Whistleblower On Company’s Tax Avoidance Machinations In The UK

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Google is under fire in the UK for its tax practices in the country, and a new key witness (who spoke to The Sunday Times) might put them in deeper hot water when he hands over a reported 100,000 emails and documents to the British Revenue & Customs (HRMC) services. Barney Jones, a former Googler who was at the company between 2004 and 2006, says he has material proof that Google’s London… → Read More

May 15th, 2013

Google Stock Price Closes At 52-Week High Of $915 On First Day Of Google I/O As Apple Takes Another Drop

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Google’s stock price came close to its 52-week high on the first day of Google I/O today, hitting $915 per share at close. In comparison, Apple today dropped 15 points to close at $428 per share, 277 points off its 52-week high. This morning, Google stock jumped to $909 per share from its opening price of $895 when Co-Founder Larry Page hit the stage at around 11:45. It is now trading at… → Read More

May 15th, 2013

The App Store’s 50B Downloads Vs. Google Play’s 48B: Android Closes The Gap

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Apple had a bit of a head start when it came to mobile software sales, since it launched its App Store earlier than the Android Market (which would later become what we call Google Play today). But the gap was more pronounced in terms of downloads when they kicked off, but lately the gap has been closing, and today both Play and the App Store announced very close milestones. → Read More

May 15th, 2013

Apple Bagged 57% Of $12.5B In Smartphone Profits In Q1; Android 43% – Samsung 95% Share Of That, “More Than Google”

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Apple continues to lead both as the single-most profitable smartphone maker, and by default the most profitable platform, taking 57% of $12.5 billion in smartphone operating profits in Q1, according to figures out from Strategy Analytics today. Android took 43%, equating to $5.3 billion, Neil Mawston, chief analyst with the firm, tells TechCrunch. → Read More

May 12th, 2013

If You Can’t Afford $605K For Coffee With Tim Cook, Jack Dorsey’s Charity Auction Is At $5K With Four Days Left

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It’s nice to see people in a power position in the valley give up their time for charitable causes. Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, recently offered up his time for probably the most expensive cup of coffee ever, to benefit The RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights. The current top bid is a whopping $605K, and the auction ends in two days if you’ve got the cash to donate. → Read More

May 11th, 2013

From The Garage To 200 Employees In 3 Years: How Nest Thermostats Were Born

Editor’s note:  Derek Andersen is the founder of Startup Grind, a 40-city community bringing the global startup world together while educating, inspiring, and connecting entrepreneurs.

I remember when the press first hit about Nest Labs, the guys behind the iPod/iPhone were taking on thermostats everywhere! A collective “huh?” went through the tech industry. It felt like the tech version… → Read More

May 10th, 2013

Apple’s iPhone Security Measures Prompt Queue Of Unlock Requests From Law Enforcement

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Apple faces a whole lot of inbound requests to unlock iPhone devices from law enforcement officials, according to a new report from CNET. Seized iPhones with a passcode lock are apparently secure enough to frustrate a lot of police agencies in the U.S., resulting in a wait list that Apple has put in place to help it deal with unlock requests from the authorities. → Read More

May 9th, 2013

Apple Supplier Pegatron’s Hiring Spree Further Fuels Speculation About A Cheaper iPhone

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Once again, news from a supplier is fueling rumors about Apple’s future product roster. This time it’s manufacturer Pegatron’s announcement that it will increase its number of workers in China by up to 40 percent in the second half of this year. The hiring blitz at the company, which produces iOS devices, has led to new round of speculation that a cheaper iPhone is in the works. → Read More

May 8th, 2013

iOS 7 Mobile Traffic Spikes On Both iPhone And iPad Ahead Of Apple’s WWDC, According To Onswipe

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Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference is only around a month away, and while we’re already expecting to see iOS 7 at least previewed at the event, now we have some actual data to back up that supposition. Onswipe, the mobile site conversion company that leverages HTML5 to deliver tablet-optimized websites, has seen a big spike in traffic to its partner sites from devices running iOS 7 in… → Read More

May 4th, 2013

Google’s Cloud Is Eating Apple’s Lunch

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A new front has opened in the smartphone war, and for the first time in many years, Apple is both outnumbered and outgunned.

I’m not talking about the phones themselves. iOS is still better than Android, although the gap has narrowed. The next iPhone will doubtless be the best phone in the world when it’s released, as ever. It won’t be as customizable – no Swype, no Facebook Home – but those… → Read More

May 1st, 2013

Apple’s iOS 7 Will Ship On Time For A Preview Release In June And Full Launch In September, Report Says

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Apple’s iOS 7 will arrive “on time,” according to a couple of well-placed sources following a report from Bloomberg this morning that suggests it was risking delays in the face of major software changes. Apple blogger and noted beard-wearer Jim Dalrymple gave one of his famous one-word confirms today on his blog, agreeing with a source which told AllThingsD that while Apple has had to shift… → Read More

April 29th, 2013

Apple’s OS X 10.9 Will Reportedly Allow Multi-Monitor Fullscreen, More Power-User Friendly Finder

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Apple’s next version of OS X, 10.9 is on the way, according to 9to5Mac, and will offer an improved multi-monitor experience, finally allowing users to run fullscreen apps on one monitor and access different desktop spaces or other fullscreen apps alongside those. That’s a big plus for power users, but most of the other additions planned seem to be under the hood improvements instead of… → Read More

April 25th, 2013

Hon Hai Looks Toward Indonesia’s Promising Economy As Apple’s Growth Slows

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Hon Hai is planning to diversify its business away from producing Apple devices by signing an agreement with Indonesia to make and sell handsets in that country, reports Reuters. A Hon Hai spokesman said that the company, which derives about 60 to 70 percent of its revenue from manufacturing work for Apple, hopes to sign the agreement next month. Hon Hai, the parent company of Foxconn, is one of… → Read More

April 25th, 2013

Classic Note For iOS Is Bringing Blocky Back

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In case you can’t wait for Jony Ive to give iOS a complete revamp, there’s Classic Note, an app that will bring back a bit of the Woz-Jobs magic in fully 128K glory. The app includes a note taker and calculator into a package that harkens back to the days of the original Macintosh. → Read More

April 25th, 2013

Apple Patents Built-In iPhone Remote Unlocker, Engine Starter And Parking Locator For Cars

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The USPTO published a number of Apple patent applications Tuesday, including two related to automobiles (via AppleInsider). The car patents both describe systems that can be built into future iPhones, replacing most of the functionality of your standard key fob with the smartphone, and providing a way to help drivers navigate the often maze-like interiors of parking garages to find their ride. → Read More

April 24th, 2013

Want A Meeting With Tim Cook? You Can Win One For Charity

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CharityBuzz in conjunction with the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights is auctioning off a coffee break with Apple CEO Tim Cook at his Cupertino office, a prize valued at $50,000. That’s right: if you have a great idea for the next Apple TV With Smellovision this could be your chance. → Read More

April 24th, 2013

WWDC 2013 Tickets On Sale April 25 At 10AM PT, Runs June 10-14

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Apple has just released the official announcement for its 2013 Worldwide Developers Conference. Every year, it releases tickets for the developer-focused event at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, and every year, they sell out faster than the year before. Last year, on April 25, they sold out in just two hours, so if you want some, doen’t hesitate when they come out tomorrow, because they’ll be… → Read More

April 23rd, 2013

Apple Q2 ’13 Intl Sales 56% Of Total Revenues; Cook Defensive On China: “Best Quarter Ever” At $8.8B

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Apple today posted Q2 earnings that beat estimates at $43.6 billion in sales, which illustrates that, while the Americas — led by the U.S. — remains the company’s single biggest market, Asia, led by sales in China, continues to show the strongest growth amidst weakened demand at home and in Europe. Overall, international revenues outside of the Americas were $24.3 billion, or 56 percent of the… → Read More

April 23rd, 2013

Apple CEO Tim Cook Hypes The Fall, Downplays The Summer On New Hardware

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Apple CEO Tim Cook doesn’t generally talk too specifically about upcoming product plans, but he went out of his way to put an unusually fine point on when to expect new products than he usually does. Cook kicked off today’s Apple earnings call talking about how Apple is looking forward to exciting product news in the fall, and throughout 2014, and then reiterated the exact same thing during the… → Read More

April 23rd, 2013

Apple Passes 45B Total Unique App Downloads At A Rate Of 800 Per Second With Over $9B Paid To Devs

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Apple took time to update investors on the status of its ecosystem on today’s call, revealing that it has crossed the 45 billion total app download mark, just over four months after it crossed the 40 billion download mark back in January. Apps are being downloaded at a rate of 800 per second, from a total pool of 850,000 iOS apps in total, with 350,000 apps designed for iPad alone. → Read More

April 23rd, 2013

Apple’s Q2 2013 In Charts

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Apple just released its fiscal Q2 2013 earnings, and as always there’s plenty to dig into. In case you’re more of a visual learner (or just don’t have the time to read through multiple posts), take a peek at these charts to get a feel for how the folks in Cupertino did for themselves this time around. If you feel like learning a little more, clicking each of the charts will take you to a full post… → Read More

April 23rd, 2013

Apple’s iCloud Grew 20 Percent In Q2, To 300M Users

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Apple announced today that it now has 300 million users for iCloud, up 20 percent from the 250 million that it announced in January.

iCloud, which allows users to sync their content and data across devices, was launched 18 months ago to replace the MobileMe service. Company executives said today that they will “continue to invest in the ecosystem” with new features and capabilities coming… → Read More

April 23rd, 2013

Apple Will Initiate Share Repurchases To Increase Dividends (And Boost Apple Shares)

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Apple now has $145 billion in cash and it needs to do something about it. That’s why Apple CEO Tim Cook just announced during the earnings call that the company will initiate a stock buyback. It means that Apple will use part of its cash to repurchase existing shares, taking them out of the market, increasing existing stockholders’ shares. That investment will go directly to existing… → Read More

April 23rd, 2013

Apple CEO Tim Cook: “We Acknowledge That Our Growth Rate Has Slowed”

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Apple CEO Tim Cook made a very candid introduction remark during the earnings call. “We acknowledge that our growth rate has slowed,” Cook said. He then said that Apple has experienced “tremendous successes” over the past few years and that may be the reason why growth is slowing. “Decline in stock price has been very frustrating to all of us,” he said. → Read More

April 23rd, 2013

Apple Sells 37.4M iPhones And 19.5M iPads In Q2, Tablet Business Shows 65% YOY Growth

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Apple has just released its Q2 2013 earnings report, announcing sales of 37.4 million iPhones in the quarter ending March. Apple also reported 19.5 million iPad units sold, which shows incredibly strong growth for Apple’s tablet business.

This is a slight decrease from last quarter, which included a holiday sales spike and being the first full quarter in which the iPhone 5 was available. → Read More