Category Archives: News
Apple releases iOS 6 beta 4 to developers
We are receiving word that Apple has released beta 4 of the upcoming iOS 6 software, which is expected to be released this fall.
As with previous updates, this update is expected to deliver bug fixes for developers who are testing their applications with the new operating system. As this is the fourth beta of iOS 6, a look back at previous iOS beta runs tells us that we should be nearing a final release as Apple refines the next version of its mobile operating system.
The update is available to developers at Apple’s developer site and includes Xcode 4.5 beta along with device-specific builds for supported iOS devices and the Apple TV. Developers can also update their devices over-the-air from the Settings app; however, there are reports that the update servers are not responding when attempting to check for updates, so YMMV.
8 clever iPhone headphone tricks from Tekserve
You see them everywhere — the ubiquitous white iPhone headphones. For many people, they’re just a way to listen to your tunes and look cool, but to the Apple Specialists at New York City’s Tekserve, the standard Apple headphones a powerful tool for controlling your iPhone.
Tekserve’s Chris D’Lando served up a tasty platter of eight iPhone headphone tricks, some of which might be old hat to iPhone aficionados, but all deserve another look.
The role of the Mac at NASA and JPL is shown off by Mars Curiosity mission
My colleague Steve Sande touched on this subject of all the Macs at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in an earlier post, and I’ve been doing some digging to find out more about all the Mac love at our space agency and its field centers. JPL is managed by Caltech, but it falls under NASA’s administrative and funding jurisdiction.
I talked to a retired JPL engineer who was using Macs on his desk all the way back to the vintage Macintosh SE. He feels the population of Macs grew when the company started making solid notebooks, like the first MacBook Pro. “People started bringing their own into work, and pretty soon a lot of other people followed. Soon they became almost standard issue at JPL, where they were popular in imaging work, especially creating large mosaics, and when OS X came out there was the added advantage of an OS that was UNIX based.”
eBay Now for iOS offers same-day product delivery in San Francisco
Just when you thought eBay was slowly fading away into obscurity as the online equivalent of a garage sale, the company has rolled out something new called eBay Now. eBay provides users in a beta program (signup form here) with an iOS app with which they can browse and purchase merchandise from a number of local stores and then have the swag delivered to them the same day.
The eBay Now program is only available in the San Francisco area at this time, but the company has managed to partner with a number of retailers including Bloomingdales, Macy’s, Target, and Best Buy.
IDC: Apple tops in mobile revenue, operating profits
AllThingsD’s John Paczkowski, reporting on some of the numbers released by IDC last week, notes that although Samsung shipped almost double the number of smartphones that Apple did, it makes absolutely no difference because Apple “far outshines its rivals in both revenue and operating profits.”
Apple shipped only 6 percent of the industry total of smartphones and tablets, yet thanks to its immense gross margins the company pulled in 43 percent of the industry’s revenues (above) and 77 percent of the operating profits (below).
