As usual with all things FileVault related, Rich Trouton has the details on a new .app for setting up FileVault 2.  FileVault Setup.app is a standalone app that provides a pretty interface for end users to configure File Vault 2 with during first login.  This is a interesting way to get FV2 setup and is definitely worth a look if you use FileVault 2.About Nate WalckNate is a Macintosh Systems Engineer at Tamman Technologies, Inc in Philadelphia, PA. He is the managing editor for afp548.com and one of the founding members of the ##osx-server IRC channel on freenode.net. He loves being involved in the Mac Admin community and using Open Source projects whenever possible, especially Munki and The Luggage....

The World Wide Web was given to the world 20 years ago on April 30, 1993 with an announcement from CERN stating that the technology supporting the system was available to all, and royalty-free. Since then, the Web has grown at an astounding rate. The very first website was hosted on Tim Berners-Lee's NeXT computer, and now CERN is working to restore the original site and its URL, along with the original Web servers. It's an amazingly cool project, and until it's completed you can at least see what that first site looked like 20 years ago. It isn't quite as flashy as sites today, but it is definitely Flash-free.

Apple, seeking to help finance a $100 billion capital reward for shareholders with borrowed money, is selling its first bonds in almost two decades in what may be the biggest U.S. corporate offering on record, reports "Bloomberg" (http://tinyurl.com/cyfujku).
read more

The countdown is on for the grand opening of Apple's first retail store in Berlin, and the iPhone maker is touting its best selling product ahead of the store's launch.   ...

Three brothers living in Texas who own a 2002 patent titled "Communication and proximity Authorization Systems," are suing Apple ...   ...

The richest man in Russia, Alisher Usmanov, recently bought $100 million in Apple shares, Bloomberg reports. While cautioning that "nothing is eternal," he argues that Apple is a "very promising investment" for the next three years, pointing to the company's plan to return $100 billion to shareholders by 2015. Usmanov's $19.8 billion fortune is based mainly on two websites, Alibaba and Mail.ru, as well as a Facebook investment that yielded over 10 times his initial input....  ...

It's time to save some of that hard-earned cash with our Daily Deals, featuring a handy list from Dealnews and our own hand-picked selections that include some sweet deals on iOS and OS X software (all prices are USD).

Deals from Dealnews

• StackSocial: [Mac Software] The Mac Productivity Bundle 4.0 for Mac downloads for $50
• Other World Computing: [Computer Accessories] OWC 2012 Featured Move 'em Out: RAM, accessories, HDDs, more
• StackSocial: [Mac Software] Cloak WiFi Security for Mac, iPhone, and iPad for $60
• ...

Apple Inc. is widely expected to sell billions of dollars in new bonds Tuesday, according to investors familiar with the offering.
The company kicked off a series of meetings with large investors Monday ahead of the deal, these investors said.
Read the rest of this post on the original site »

Apple last week announced that it would embark on a massive stock repurchasing plan whereby it will purchase US$60 billion worth of its own shares by the end of 2015. In a press release on the matter, Apple called it the "largest single share repurchase authorization in history."

What's more, the company also announced a 15% increase to its quarterly dividend, upping the payout from $2.65 to $3.05 per share.

Taken together, Apple's capital return program is designed to return a total of $100 billion to shareholders.

That's a lot of dough, but with upwards of $145 billion in the bank, there's no denying that Apple has the cash to make that happen. There's just one slight problem -- the bulk of Apple's cash is overseas and would be subject to a corporate income tax rate of 35% should Apple try and bring it back to the U.S.

That being...

A long-fixed bug in the TidBITS Commenting System associated an incorrect identity with a small number of commenters. If you’re experiencing this problem, which we repaired on the system side a while ago, delete your tidbits.com cookies. Here’s how. Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology publication on the Internet. To get a full-text RSS feed, help support our work and become a TidBITS member! Members also enjoy an ad-free version of our Web site, email delivery of individual articles, the ability to make long comments with live links, and discounts on Take Control orders and other Apple-related products.

via guardian.co.uk
Your Vine stream will probably start to include a lot more faces, for better or worse, as the Twitter-owned video-sharing app received an update today to include support for the iPhone’s FaceTime camera as well at mentions:
Today we’re introducing an update to Vine that we think you’ll love. Over the last few months, we’ve asked for your feedback on a lot of things, from reporting bugs to suggesting new features. We’ve been listening. Here are a few new additions...

The CEO of the seemingly reinvigorated BlackBerry doesn't have much faith in the long-term potential of the tablet sector, saying in an interview that in five years there might be no reason to have a tablet at all.  ...

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 43 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we uncover a major surprise. Apple has been granted a major multiplayer gaming patent that emphasizes the integration of chat sessions over mesh and focus networks. Two of Apple's engineers listed as the inventors have worked on other FaceTime and/or iChat patents in the past which gives this aspect of the patent credibility. Last week we covered Apple's patent filing for new pivotal buttons related to a gaming controller and secondary patent today covers techniques for controlling gaming accessories on an iDevice. With Apple's CEO ......

Mac power users will rejoice -- or be relieved -- that Belkin has announced it is officially shipping the Thunderbolt Express Dock. The dock allows users to expand to a wide range of ports via a single Thunderbolt connection on their Mac. The dock offers 2 Thunderbolt ports (one for input, the second for passthrough to as many as five downstream devices), 1 gigabit Ethernet port, 1 Firewire 800 port, stereo headphone and microphone jacks, and 3 USB 3.0 ports.

Belkin officially announced the Thunderbolt Express Dock back in January of 2012; since then it has seen numerous delays and design changes.

In the meantime, another Mac accessory vendor, Matrox,...

Apple and Samsung are scheduled for a due-over in their ongoing patent infringement fight now that Federal Judge Lucy Koh has set a date for a new damages trial for November 12. The trial will determine damages owed to Apple as part of a court victory from August 2012.
The Mac Observer Spin:
Don't expect this to be the end of Apple's patent fight with Samsung over last August's ruling. Samsung is appealing the overall ruling, and will likely appeal whatever ruling comes from the damages retrial. That's a lot of R&D dollars going to lawyers instead of cool product designs.

Following a recent report about iOS 7’s interface, 9to5Mac has more information on Apple’s plans for the new operating system, reporting that “Apple plans to move aggressively into the in-car integration space later this year.” Multiple sources noted Apple is “working with car makers to deeply embed iOS’s…

Product showcases in Berlin / (Source: Leslie Pumm via apfelpage.de)
As we have previously noted, Apple is set to open a gorgeous new Apple Store on May 3rd in Berlin, Germany, and now these beautiful showcases featuring Apple’s  creative product displays have appeared in front of the entrance.
Each Apple Store features an attractive display at the store’s front presenting the latest product, and Apple’s new iPhone kite display is making its way to Apple Stores around the world.
We find these island showcases to be particularly noteworthy as they seem to blend in with the area’s...

With iOS 7, Apple wants to deepen in-car integration options for iOS devices, sources claim. Currently such integration is limited mostly to things like iPod input or Siri Eyes Free, which makes it possible to issue Siri commands with a quick-access button. Sources tell 9to5Mac, however, that Apple is working with car companies on new center consoles that could dock an iPhone and output an optimized, car-oriented version of Maps to a dashboard display....  ...

An recently published Apple patent demonstrates that Apple has continued to contemplate the use of a physical controller accessory with iOS devices. However, the patent filing appears to be mainly concerned about how users with disabilities can interact with touchscreen devices. …

Having a baby requires constant vigilance -- morning and night you are watching over your little one to keep them safe and happy. One indispensable tool for parents is a baby monitor that lets you watch over your child from afar. If you have an old iOS device lying around, then you might want to skip the traditional audio or camera-based monitors and take a look at Baby Monitor 3G and its new OS X version to see if this software package fits your baby-watching needs.

Baby Monitor 3G from TappyTaps works like a standard baby monitor system with an iOS device serving as a monitor in the baby's room and a second device as the parent's listening station. You can use two iOS devices as the baby-parent station pair or add in a Mac now that the latest version of the Baby Monitor 3G software includes an OS X app. The system works best over WiFi, but you can configure it to work over 3G as...

Make no mistake about it: Apple wants Siri and its mapping program in your car.
Per 9to5Mac, Apple plans to move aggressively into the in-car integration space later this year, according to multiple people familiar with the initiative. The company is working with car makers to deeply embed iOS’s Maps and Siri services into cars, according to these people. While companies sell accessories to place iPhone and other iOS devices on car dashboards for easy access to...

Filings with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office show the transfer of a number of patents from Kodak to Apple has begun, with the letter taking ownership of several patents covering aspects of digital photography, reports "AppleInsider" (http://tinyurl.com/c7dth6b)
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Feed Wrangler is also available as an iOS app.

With two months left to go, the post-Google Reader landscape of RSS services is still sorting itself out. The newest player? Feed Wrangler, a paid subscription service from the iOS developer of Check The Weather and Audiobooks.

Feed Wrangler launched Tuesday on the web and as an iOS app, sporting a membership fee of $19 a year. (Users can purchase access through the site or the app.) Developer David Smith said the paid model may be the best way for small services like his—and in the wake of Google’s demise, well, all of the services will...

BitTorrent Labs has released BitTorrent Sync, a tool for syncing files across computers, using the BitTorrent peer-to-peer protocol. This app lets you choose a specific folder (or folders) to sync, and have it automatically synced on one or several computers. It runs on OS X, Windows and Linux.

I find this an interesting tool. While I use Dropbox regularly, and depend on it for collaboration, and to sync a number of files between my two Macs, there is a limit in the amount of space available. (With the free version, it's 2 GB; paid subscriptions are available if you want more storage.) But also, Dropbox requires that anything you sync be put in its own folder. You can use symbolic links in a Dropbox folder, but if you want to sync the contents of a specific folder on your Mac to another Mac, this gets a bit complicated....

Realore has announced All My Gods Free for Macintosh, a free trial version of its god-sim strategy game. It requires Mac OS X 10.6.6 and is available at the Mac App Store (http://tinyurl.com/d9wx3t9).
Here's how the game is described: "All my Gods allows players to immerse into the atmosphere of Ancient Rome and play as a young aspiring godling. The mission is to develop into a mighty Roman god and build a great Empire. With the release of All my Gods Free players have a chance to feel what it's like to be a Roman god without paying a dime.
read more

Another alternative to Google's soon-to-die Reader RSS service rolled out on Tuesday called Feed Wrangler. Right now the service includes a Web interface and an iOS app, but a native Mac client is promised to be coming soon. It can import your RSS feeds from Google Reader, supports filters and searches, supports Instapaper and Pocket, and includes a clean interface both on the Web and on the iPhone and iPad. There's also an API for other developers that want to add support to their apps. Feed Wrangler costs US$18.99 a year, which we're hoping means it has a better chance of sticking around than Google Reader.

Consumer Reports has announced that Apple has come out on top again -- and bested its previous score -- in providing consumer tech support to its users.

The company scored far higher than the other big companies for the elements that make for successful online and phone support: ease of contacting staff, clarity of advice, technical knowledge, patience, and time for follow-up.

The annual survey found that 88% of of customer problems were solved at an in-store Genius Bar, compared to only 70% at Best Buy's in-store Geek Squad bars. Consumer Reports also notes that Apple was able to resolve 82% of computer problems across all its support lines (in-store, phone, etc).

Overall, Apple scored 86 our of 100 in the survey -- the highest of any computer manufacturer. The next best was Lenovo, which scored a 63 out of 100....

US District Court Judge Lucy Koh has set a November 12th date for a trial to recalculate damages vacated from last year's initial, $1.05 billion Apple v. Samsung ruling, reports say. On March 1st, Koh issued an order vacating $450.5 million from the original judgment, owing to a questionable jury outcome which set only one damage figure per device despite multiple patents being involved in each instance. The $450.5 million figure did come down on Monday though, since Koh reversed a ruling on the AT&T edition of the Galaxy S II, returning $40.5 million back to Apple.... ...

Teacher’s Pet is an elegant contextual to-do list and reminder app, designed specially to help you do your job more effectively.

Nice looking app.
∞ Read this on The Loop

Apple plans to move aggressively into the in-car integration space later this year, according to multiple people familiar with the initiative. Apple is working with car makers to deeply embed iOS’s Maps and Siri services into cars, according to these people. While companies sell accessories to place iPhone and other iOS devices on car dashboards for easy access to Apple Maps’ turn-by-turn navigation, Apple wants to break into the space with its own solutions…

//

According to people familiar with the plans, Apple is working with car makers on updated versions of car center consoles that could attach to iOS devices like the iPhone. Specifically, an iPhone could be plugged into a car and an optimized, redesigned version of Apple Maps will appear on the car’s built-in display instead of a proprietary GPS system found in many cars.
Sources have described...

If you're looking for the best after-purchase support for your computer, smartphone, or tablet, Apple is the way to go, according to Consumer Reports latest tech support study. Apple has come out as the top customer support company for the past ten years, and this year managed to beat its previous high score by four points.
The Mac Observer Spin:
When you buy tech gear, you're also buying technical support. Based on the Consumer Reports survey results, shoppers consistently get more for their support dollars when they buy Apple.

Jawbone, the company behind the Jawbone Up fitness tracking wristband and companion app, today is announcing some big news including a new API to allow other apps to access its fitness tracking data and the acquisition of competitor BodyMedia. The new API  dubbed the “Up Platform” will see the company create its own app ecosystem of sorts, allowing other developers to access Jawbone UP data and integrate their apps to “complement your UP experience.”
To go along with the new API, Jawbone has already updated its UP iOS app with a new side menu that allows users to share their data with integrated apps and the ability to “to...

Oh original iPhone, we'll miss you.

Roughly six years after its public launch, the original iPhone is about to become obsolete—at least in Apple's eyes. Apple reportedly sent out internal documentation to its support partners, which was then passed on to 9to5Mac, detailing which of its products would no longer be considered current or recent devices as of June 11, 2013. The list doesn't just include the original iPhone, though: it also includes a number of older iMacs, MacBook Pros, Xserves, and PowerBooks.
According to the document, products that are considered obsolete—or perhaps for a more tasteful term, "vintage"—cannot be repaired or receive replacement parts unless they're in the state of California, "as required by statute." Californians can continue...

“Cookiewaits” mashes up Cookie Monster videos with Tom Waits songs, and the results are amazing.

The Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock, first announced in January of 2012, is now available for purchase for $299, more than a year after the Mac accessory was unveiled.   ...

Back in February, Belkin finally started accepting preorders for its much anticipated Thunderbolt Express Dock that was originally supposed to ship last September. Reports earlier this month noted that further delays meant the device would miss its new Q1 2013 launch date, but today Belkin has finally made things official announcing availability of the Thunderbolt Express Dock and posting the video above to its YouTube channel.
Belkin does have some competition now that it has waited to launch, including the ...

Siri investor Shawn Carolan has launched a new email and task management app, Handle, at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference. The web-based service with iOS companion app is based on the same CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) approach as the highly popular Mailbox iOS app …

//

Here’s how Handle works: Your inbox flows into a JavaScript web app, and you can respond to emails inline. The basic idea is to triage your emails quickly and efficiently also being able to create a task management list. In each email you can decide whether to flag, delete, create into a project, or archive. If...

In yet another challenge to Apple on the mobile front, Google has made its Google Now intelligent personal assistant available for iOS devices. Google Now is part of the Google Search application. It recognizes repeated actions that a consumer performs on a device to learn about usage patterns. The app displays more relevant information as cards that can be swiped on and off the screen. The feature's debut on iOS could pose a threat to Apple's Siri digital assistant.

About a year ago, Tor Books, highly-regarded publisher of science fiction and fantasy, announced that they were dropping digital-rights-management protection on all of their ebooks. Now, Julie Crisp of Tor UK has revealed what that decision has meant in terms of ebook piracy: “As it is, we’ve seen no discernible increase in piracy on any of our titles, despite them being DRM-free for nearly a year.” (This, of course, is no surprise to us at Take Control: we have been publishing DRM-free for ten years, with much the same results.) Equally heartening to Tor is how much support their authors have for the no-DRM policy. Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology publication on the Internet. To get a full-text RSS feed, help support our work and become a TidBITS member! Members also enjoy an ad-free version of our Web site, email delivery of individual...

If you're a road warrior who packs lots of tech equipment and accessories, check out Booq's Boa courier messenger bag, which is both spacious and durable.
read more

According to a new research report from the analyst firm Berg Insight, the total value of the global real-time mobile location-based advertising and marketing (LBA) market will grow from US$526 million in 2012 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 65% to $6.5 billion in 2017.
This will then correspond to 32.8% of all mobile advertising and marketing. This means that location-based advertising and marketing will represent around 5% of digital advertising, or more than 1% of the total global ad spend for all media.
read more

Microsoft – which bought Skype back in 2011 – is starting to rollout the ability to make Skype audio and video calls from within an email thread on outlook.com …

//

With the preview version of Skype for Outlook.com you can enjoy Skype video and audio calls right from your inbox — less typing, more talking! … Just click on the Skype audio or video call buttons in your IM conversation. To start a call while reading an email from a friend on Outlook.com, move your mouse over the friend’s picture and click on the Skype audio or video call buttons that appear above his or her contact details.
The Skype blog refers to the service as a ‘preview version’, suggesting that it may be the first step towards more extensive integration. The feature is...

While it's rare to see design patents get fast tracked as these have today, it's a trend that should continue being that we're in an era of quick design turnovers.   ...

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday granted Apple a patent for a dynamic communications system that automatically selects the best method of contacting another person, be it through voice, text or email, based on a given situation.  ...

Daylite helps businesses organize themselves with tools such as shared calendars, contacts, tasks, projects, notes, and more. Enable easy collaboration with features such as task and project delegation between users, and never let things fall through the cracks. Create smart lists to find meaningful data fast -- including delegated but uncompleted work. Work anywhere -- in a networked office, from home or on the road.
Read the Daylite 4 review at GigaOmVersion 4.2.1:

• Daylite Mail Assistant 4.2.1 will be compatible with OS X 10.8.4
• New version of database engine for Daylite Server
• Addressed a performance issue when loading a calendar sourcelist
• Updated the version of Postgres included with Daylite to include a security fix made by the Postgres working group
• Fixed an issue preventing Daylite from detecting an...

In a post to Twitter late Monday, user @evleaks, who has been reliable in leaking pictures and specifications of various cellular products in the past, said Boost Mobile will start carrying Apple's iPhone in the third quarter of 2013.   ...

The original iPhone will soon be considered obsolete in Apple Retail Stores according to an internal Apple document shared by 9to5Mac. Products considered 'obsolete' are ineligible for service parts and documentation at retail stores and cannot be repaired at mail-in AppleCare Repair Centers. Apple typically makes products 'obsolete' or 'vintage' five years after they are discontinued, though there are some exceptions where required by law. The original iPhone went on sale in June 2007 and was discontinued in July 2008 when the iPhone 3G was released. Other Apple products that will be considered 'vintage' as of June 11, 2013 include the mid-2007 models of the iMac, the late 2006 model Xserve, and the original Mac Pro. 9to5Mac has the...

Consumer Reports on Monday released the results of its annual reader survey that asked respondents to rate the nation's best PC tech support, and Apple topped the chart yet again, this time managing to beat its own score from last year.  ...

Aurich Lawson / Thinkstock

At 8:05am on the morning of December 1, 2010, an FBI search warrant team swarmed up to a Silicon Valley home on an unusual misson: find the "sextortionist" who had been blackmailing pro poker players over the Internet. One agent pounded on the door and shouted out, "FBI!" Movement was heard inside, but no one opened the door. The agent knocked again, but the door stayed shut, so out came the battering ram. Wham—the door gave and FBI agents flooded inside, guns drawn in the dim light.
At the top of the staircase before them stood their target, Keith Hudson. "Show your hands!" demanded one agent. "FBI!" Hudson did not immediately comply; instead, he stepped back from the stairs and said he had to get his daughter. The agents commanded him to stop. Hudson did so, backing down the steps. He was handcuffed when he reached the bottom.
Outside and down the street, the force behind the search warrant was sitting in her car, waiting for the...

According to internal Apple documentation, the original iPhone, which first debuted in 2007, will soon enter “obsolete” status, with a few exceptions. The official switch will happen on June 11, 2013, when the iPhone, along with several other Macs and Xserve models will officially be classified as vintage and obsolete products by Apple. Thanks, G! 

//

Apple’s support site defines vintage products as:
 …those that were discontinued more than five and less than seven years ago. Apple has discontinued hardware service for vintage products with the following exception:
-Products purchased in the state of California, United States, as required by statute.
-Owners of vintage Macintosh products may obtain service and parts from Apple service...

Macworld's parent company, IDG, is once again conducting its annual Global Mobile Survey, which quizzes you on your mobile-device habits and media consumption so we can learn more about how people are using their smartphones and tablets today. Readers who participate will be entered in a drawing for a chance to win an iPad mini.

This year we want to explore whether you use your smartphone for online purchases, and if not, what's holding you back? Your feedback will help us to more closely align our mobile services with your needs, so give us a hand by taking the survey!

Take the 2013 Mobile survey

The survey is around 10-15 minutes in length. And there's a reward! Five lucky respondents who complete the survey will have a chance to win an Apple iPad mini. ...

This will be a rather quick review, not just because silicone iPhone 5 cases are quite commonplace, but because there are mainly just good things to say about these new cases from Ballistic Case. They're all members of the Ballistic Case Aspira series for the iPhone 5 (US$34.99), and three readers will have a chance to win one.

Design

The Aspira cases are lightweight, skinny, and colorful. Ballistic has come up with seven cases in the series that will attract the attention of just about everyone.

There's a white case with imperial blue accents, a white case with a pink flower pattern, an eye-jarring mint green case with strawberry pink accents, a much more soothing raspberry case with gray accents, a black case with a charcoal gray hexagon pattern and accents, a black case with lime green accents and a black case with gray accents.

All of the cases are made of...

For the second consecutive study, Apple ranks highest among manufacturers of tablets in overall owner satisfaction. Apple achieves a score of 836 and performs well in four factors: performance; ease of operation; styling and design; and features.

Apple’s rating was a 5, which is the highest JD Power gives. Amazon, Samsung and Asus all received a 3, which JD Power classifies as “About average.” Acer got a 2 — that’s classified as “The rest.”
∞ Read this on The Loop

If you find a folder called Damaged Files at the root of your hard drive in OS X, it may mean nothing -- or it could be a sign that your drive is failing.

A relatively unknown player to North Americans by the name of China Wireless is seen as a serious challenger to Apple in China. The little unknown was in the number three spot last year behind Samsung and Lenovo but well ahead of Apple who came in the sixth position. Wireless China isn't worried about Apple, even if their more economical iPhone is in the pipeline. While China Wireless is only a fraction of the size of Apple, their latest smartphones called the Coolpad is outselling the iPhone ... ...

In a new TV ad that vaguely recalls the Tareyton cigarette slogan "I'd rather fight than switch" from the 1960s, a new commercial for the Nokia Lumia 920 and its Windows Phone 8 OS pokes fun at the war between Apple and Samsung (and their respective users) in an amusing manner, portraying Nokia's offering as being outside the fray and a fresh alternative. The ad features a brawl breaking out at a wedding between iPhone and Galaxy users and features a number of witty moments, including the Siri signature sound and man with an Apple tattoo.... ...

Apple was one of the first -- if not the first -- major computer manufacturers to provide then-fledgling USB support at the expense of legacy ports on its iMac line some 15 ago. Since then, the Mac maker hasn't always been the fastest at adding new USB protocols to machines, generally lagging six months or more behind, depending on the product line. The Mac Pro is languishing these days, awaiting a revamp -- but still has no USB 3.0 ports, despite an incremental update last summer boosting the speed of the computer somewhat. Highpoint Technologies has had strong support for the Macintosh and O... ...

From 9to5Google:
Earlier today Google officially pushed out an update to its existing Google Search app for iPhone enabling the Google Now service with weather and traffic conditions, updates on breaking news and sports, and more. Some users logging into Google Search through a Google Apps account might have noticed that using the features would prompt an error that “your administrator hasn’t enabled Google Now for your domain.” Hanselman.com shares instructions on enabling the feature which aren’t exactly obvious since the setting is buried in “Android settings”.
Google Apps for Business, Education, and...

Apple was one of the first -- if not the first -- major computer manufacturers to provide then-fledgling USB support at the expense of legacy ports on its iMac line some 15 ago. Since then, the Mac maker hasn't always been the fastest at adding new USB protocols to machines, generally lagging six months or more behind, depending on the product line. The Mac Pro is languishing these days, awaiting ......  ...

Microsoft has released a new ad for the Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone smartphone, an ad that mocks fans of both Apple and Samsung devices. The commercial poses each party as guests at a wedding and draws upon memes that will be familiar to the echo chamber, causing Bryan Chaffin to wonder who the target is.

If views in the OS X Finder shift around, you may be able to control this by a quick settings change.

Ben Thompson imagines an alternate 2013 in which Android did not exist:

Google today announced via their blog that they are filing a
complaint with the Justice Department and EU regarding Apple’s
recent rejection of Google Now for iOS. […]

The iPhone, which was launched in 2007, is on 70% of the world’s
smartphones, and 35% of all phones worldwide. Microsoft is in a
distant second place, with less than 10% of the smartphone market.

I’ve been greatly enjoying Thompson’s writing at Stratechery; it’s easily one of my favorite new sites of the year, and you could do worse than devote the next hour or two to reading the whole thing back to last month, when he began. Among several standouts, I recommend “Two Bears” (dissecting the two bear arguments against Apple’s...

iOS 7 is codenamed "Innsbruck," and will use a "very, very flat" design, sources for 9to5Mac claim. The OS is reportedly jettisoning any signs of gloss or skeuomorphism, making it flat on a level nearing the look of the Metro interface used in Windows Phone and Windows 8. Apple has sometimes been criticized for using unnecessary real-world analogies in the look of iOS and OS X, for instance by making its Calendar apps resemble leather daybooks....  ...

Doug van Spronsen writing about Ron Johnson and JCPenney:

I am not suggesting that great design isn’t effective, quite the contrary. But if the root cause of the issue is deeper, it might be better to start the strategy process a few layers back.

Great article and I agree. Selling iPhones, iPods and iPads is fairly easy because they are great products — the business side of things was working. Couple that with well-designed retail stores and you’ve got a winner.
∞ Read this on The Loop

Sources claim the look of Apple’s upcoming iOS 7 will be simpler than past incarnations, according to a new report from 9to5Mac. “Multiple people who have either seen or have been briefed on the upcoming iOS 7” claim the new operating system will be attractive to new users, but…

Happy Hour by 9to5Mac artwork by Michael Steeber
Introducing Happy Hour, a weekly 9to5Mac podcast that brings you an in-depth look at the top Apple scoops of the week. We’ll give you the insight behind the stories and our (potentially NSFW?) view of the wider Apple reporting world.
Host Scott Buscemi joins Seth Weintraub, Mark Gurman, and the rest of the 9to5Mac team. We’ll answer reader questions posted in comments to posts in the Happy Hour section. We’re even planning some special guests.
Join us every Friday at 5 p.m. for...

The TEC Foundation for Excellence in Audio has formally entered into an agreement to become part of the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), strengthening the important work of both non-profits and the NAMM Show. All TEC activities, including the Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards, will join other marquee activities, events and efforts within the NAMM Foundation portfolio including the Museum of Making Music, research projects, the SupportMusic Coalition and global public service campaigns.

This is great news for NAMM, but more importantly the pro audio community.
∞ Read this on The Loop

It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world.

You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here.

No Flash? Click here to listen.

Subscribe via RSSDaily Update for April 29, 2013 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:45:00 EST. Please see our...

More cool CSS3 magic.
∞ Read this on The Loop

Russell Holly for Geek.com:

If you head to the Storage section of the Settings on a new Galaxy S4, you’ll find that only 8.82GB is available to the user. That’s the total space available to you, so applications that were pre-loaded by your carrier and anything you sync over during account creation will pull from that amount. The rest of that 16GB you can’t even see as the user — Android tells you that the phone only has 8.82GB total, entirely cutting out the space used by the system itself.

Terrible.
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Doctors prefer apples - both the edible and the electronic variety, says a report in The Motley Fool. Apple technology is revolutionizing the medical industry through physicians, who fell in love with their iPads and iPhones. Doctors are using these devices in their daily practice and are driving innovation in the field.

A 2012 survey of health-care professionals by Vitera Healthcare that was cited by The Motley Fool found that 60 percent of respondents have an iPhone and 45 percent have an iPad. They are using these devices to help them diagnose diseases like skin cancer, prescribe medicine and track patient health. In some instances, the iPhone is...

Apple is taking steps towards offering its first-ever bond sale, Reuters reports. A source tells the newswire agency that the company is making investor calls to Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank today, and has filed paperwork for a debt offering with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The sale will go towards funding the company's plan to return $100 billion in cash to shareholders by 2015....   ...

I agree with Gruber on this. No matter what Apple does, someone will find a problem with it.
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Square has issued a major update of the iOS and Android versions of Register, the app for the company's retail checkout system. Version 3.0 focuses on improvements for restaurants: customers can add custom tips, and the payment pad now supports multiple custom amounts, which can each have individual notes attached. On the iPad, customizable kitchen tickets can include a name or number, and orders can be modified at the counter....  ...

Mountain Lion Cache Cleaner is an award-winning general purpose tool for OS X. MLCC makes system maintenance simple with an easy point-and-click interface to many OS X functions. Novice and expert users alike will appreciate the powerful toolset MLCC provides. Mountain Lion Cache Cleaner is one of the world's leading maintenance tools, with millions of downloads around the globe. Maintenance Mountain Lion Cache Cleaner is a one-stop solution for all of your OS X maintenance needs. Intel or PPC, Tiger or Mountain Lion, MLCC has the tools to keep your system running at its best. MLCC Documents and the MLCC Engine maintain system health by providing full automation of common maintenance chores, including virus scanning of Internet downloads. The MLCC Engine can even repair permissions automatically after software installations. With the MLCC Engine, powerful system maintenance and antivirus can be completely transparent or as close as your menu bar....

Ahead of last week's earnings release, Apple announced that it would more than double its capital return program from $45 billion to $100 billion, with a 15 percent increase in dividend payments and a massive stock buyback initiative. To facilitate the expanded capital return program, which will amount to a share repurchase of $60 billion, Apple must take on debt, a process that the company initiated today. According to Reuters, Apple has begun investor calls, led by both Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs, and it has filed the necessary...

All Things D directs us to a new survey conducted by the Yankee Group which offers a compelling look into current smartphone ownership trends in the US and what the smartphone landscape may look like down the line.

Over the past 12 months, the Yankee Group surveyed 16,000 consumers and asked them about their smartphones and their plans for smartphone purchases in the future.

Not surprisingly, the study found that the smartphone landscape is currently dominated by the iPhone and a slew of Android devices. What's more, there doesn't seem to be any indication that's going to change anytime in the near future, despite the best efforts of Microsoft and RIM.

One of the more interesting aspects of the study centered on smartphone loyalty, and in that regard the iPhone has Android beat.

Whereas 91 percent of surveyed iPhone owners plan to purchase...

Samsung outdid itself with its Indian launch of the Galaxy S4. It’s even cheesier than the US launch was.
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When designing its new Galaxy S4 flagship smartphone, Samsung said it considered the question, “How can we change people’s lives for the better?” The answer: By designing a handset that was also a “meaningful life companion.” But evidently that required certain trade-offs, because while the device has been generally well-received, it has taken a fair bit of flak for its physical design. AllThingsD’s Walt Mossberg said the Galaxy S4′s “plastic body felt a bit insubstantial,” and The Verge complained about its “unpleasant, cheap design.” Now, consumer electronics warranty provider SquareTrade says that according to its breakability...

MaxUpgrades has announced the SSD SATA Module with heat sink for the iMac 2012 models. It's available in an US$99.95 single SSD drive kit and a $119.95 dual SSD drive kit.
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A profound transition is taking place in our interactions with technology. If the last ten years were about getting all the information you need at your fingertips, the next ten are about making sure that you have the information that’s useful to you right now. Google Now is the search giant’s attempt to figure out what data you need, and deliver it when you need it—and it’s now available to iPhone and iPad users.
Swipe up on the cards at the bottom of Google Search to access Google Now's features.
Though it’s been available for a while as a built-in feature of Android, Google Now arrives on iOS as part of the Google Search app. It’s also not a stretch to say that the app’s experience has been largely subsumed by the addition of Google Now; when you launch Google Search after the most recent update, you’re greeted by a video explaining what Google Now is, and encouraged to enable the feature...

The ecosystem supporting Apple's products can be deceptively sticky, akin to flypaper, which is why one analyst believes its value has been underestimated by the investment community.   ...

Millions of merchants across the US have embraced the Square Register app to accept credit card payments without the need for a merchant account, expensive equipment or high fees. Now Square has updated the free Register app with new features that target a fast-growing segment of Square's business -- restaurants.

As you'll recall from a previous TUAW post, Square now sells a full point-of-sale system called "Business in a Box for Square Register" that includes a cash drawer, a couple of Square card readers and an iPad stand. A receipt printer is extra. Now the new update to the app allows order modifiers that make taking orders and serving food in restaurants a lot more efficient.

Those order modifiers can be used to make a custom meal order for a...

Kara Swisher of AllThingsD.com reports that LivingSocial, a daily deals site owned in part by Amazon, has suffered a massive data breach involving the names, email addresses, birth dates, and encrypted passwords of 50 million customers. No credit card or financial information was lost, luckily, but this is just another example of why it’s essential to create a different strong password for every Web site and Internet service. Read Joe Kissell’s “Take Control of Your Passwords” for a complete password strategy. Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology publication on the Internet. To get a full-text RSS feed, help support our work and become a TidBITS member! Members also enjoy an ad-free version of our Web site, email delivery of individual articles, the ability to make long comments with live links, and discounts on Take Control orders and other...

The San Francisco Police Department is pursuing a "fear and distrust" strategy in an attempt to wreck the city's black market for mobile devices, particularly iPhones, the Huffington Post writes. Sting operations are targeting both the buyers and sellers of stolen devices, the idea being to deter people from going the illegal route. The SFPD has reportedly had help from Apple, which loaned a collection of iPhones that were then sold by undercover police officers....  ...

Ladies and gentlemen, O’Grady’s PowerPage is looking for a few good game reviewers to cover titles on the Mac OS X and iOS platform. Simply put, we’re looking to continuously review titles on Apple’s notebooks as well as the company’s iOS devices and are looking for a few talented reviewers to take on assignments. So, if you’re in the habit of firing up your favorite game on your MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro or iOS device, you’re halfway there.
The good news: It’s (relative) fame, you will be perceived as having increased sex appeal, you’ll receive the accolades of those around you and free review copies galore. Plus, if you’re an aspiring writer, it’s a spiffy chance to build your clippings and portfolio and cover the stuff you love.
The bad news: At this time, we’re unable to offer compensation for the...

MacUpdate Desktop is one of Peter’s indispensable apps. Find out why.

The operating system's design won't change all that much, according to a report, but it will come with some important enhancements, like tabbed browsing in Finder. Originally posted at News - Apple

As tablet players are turning their focuses from the 10-inch segment to 7-inch for the second half of 2013, sources from the upstream supply chain believe the competition between Apple iPad mini and 7-inch Android tablets will become fiercer than before.  ...

CleanMyMac 2 is an ingeniously simple and powerful system maintenance solution to get extra space and keep your Mac clean and well-organized.

Besides cleaning your hard drive of outdated cache files, system logs, language files and other unneeded data, CleanMyMac 2 also reduces the size of iPhoto libraries, helps find and delete large files and folders which haven’t been used for an extended period of time, correctly uninstalls applications, and so much more — reclaiming your Mac’s valuable hard drive space and keeping it running at peak efficiency.

CleanMyMac 2 is the simplest, safest, and most effective way to clean your Mac. Try it today for free.
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Google has added Google Now to iOS in the form of an updated Search app. Now is the company's predictive results technology, until today available only to Android users. The feature pushes "cards" to a person based on their location and other personal information tracked by Google, such as local weather and traffic, flight statuses, and important news stories....  ...

A new update to the Google Search app for iOS features Google Now, Google’s personal assistant. Google Now offers weather and traffic conditions at the start of the day, as well as updates on favorite sports teams and breaking news. Google Now uses more than 25 different “cards,” including…

The feature rumors about OS X 10.9 have begun.
Per 9to5Mac, the upcoming operating system, which is internally codenamed “Cabernet,” will focus on various “power-user” enhancements and take core features from iOS, according to sources. Unlike operating system updates such as OS X Leopard and OS X Lion, OS X 10.9 will likely not be an overhauled approach to how the operating system feels and functions.

The new operating system is purported to...

I was asked over the weekend to jailbreak a friend's iPhone so they could use the camera flash for alerts. There was a time when hacking your iPhone was the only way to use the camera flash for visual alerts, but times have changed. Now that's just another system setting.

If there’s one new-ish rule of the universe, it’s that Apple chooses when it gets to hold its dog and pony shows.
And the next one might be during the Worldwide Developers Conference this June.
Per AppleInsider, noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities believes Apple will showcase updated MacBook Pro models at its upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference in June, with the most notable upgrade being the move to Intel’s next-generation Haswell family of processors.
Kuo, who has a reliable track record in predicting Apple’s product plans, said in a research note that while the Cupertino...

The next major upgrade of OS X, v10.9, will concentrate on "power-user" features while bringing in more concepts from iOS, say sources for 9to5Mac. In the former category, several improvements to Finder are expected, such as tagging and tabbed browsing. Fullscreen apps should finally remain open on secondary monitors, and Safari is expected to get a new version with a new backend, improving performance and efficiency....  ...