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New Windows Tablet Ad Again Uses Siri's Voice to Poke Fun at iPad

Microsoft has posted a new television ad on YouTube for the Dell XPS 10 Tablet running Windows RT. The ad, which somewhat reminiscent of Apple's Mac vs. PC spots, use Siri's voice to compare the Windows Tablet to the iPad. A similar spot featuring the ASUS VivoTab Smart was posted last month.

Sorry, I don't zoom like that. Ouch. Ouch.

You can't put an SD card there. Or there. Or there.

You can do two things at once? That's cool.

Oh. That's not cool.
Microsoft has come under some criticism for a comparison page it posted back in May that inaccurately depicted a Windows Tablet as larger than the iPad.

The campaign is a bit of a reversal for Microsoft and other of Apple's competitors -- in general, advertising from the competition has tended to avoid mentioning Apple's iconic products in their ads.

Apple's latest advertising campaign has focused on the people using its products rather than the products themselves, a significant change from its more recent

Apple Allowed Developers to Test a Prerelease Mac Pro Hidden Inside a Metal Box

Before Phil Schiller gave the world a sneak peek of the new Mac Pro at WWDC this week, Apple allowed select developers to come to its Cupertino headquarters to test out their software on preproduction hardware.

AppleInsider spoke with employees of The Foundry, a firm that develops high end rendering software used on Hollywood productions.

The Foundry shared with AppleInsider the story of how its team worked with the new Mac Pro in a room at Apple HQ known as the "Evil Lab" ahead of the desktop's unveiling. During the tests, the Mac Pro was entirely concealed in a giant steel cabinet, keeping its new design a mystery to The Foundry and Pixar.

"We were essentially doing a blind tasting of the machine," said Jack Greasley, MARI product manager at The Foundry. "All we could see was the monitor, and the Mac Pro was encased in a giant metal filing cabinet on wheels. Experiencing the machine in this way was actually really cool, because I can tell you that the speed and power of this machine really stands up. Mari running on this machine out of the box is the fastest I have ever seen it run."
Greasley said "some real innovation and thought has gone into what users want and need" with the new Mac Pro, and he doesn't "think pro users should be concerned" about the new machine.

Representatives from The Foundry and Pixar participated in a lunchtime session at WWDC this week, demonstrating the company's MARI software running on the new Mac Pro. The company managed to get a working copy of MARI ported to the Mac in just under a week and convinced Apple executives to give a

Steve Jobs Didn't Want an iBookstore, but the iPad and Eddy Cue Changed His Mind

Testifying in court yesterday as part of the ongoing e-books price fixing trial, Apple senior vice president for Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue offered some perspective on the history of iBooks and the iBookstore, noting that Steve Jobs was initially opposed to such a project. As shared by AllThingsD, Cue noted that it wasn't until just prior to the launch of the iPad that he was able to convince Jobs of the potential of e-books.
“… When I got my first chance to touch the iPad, I became completely convinced that this was a huge opportunity for us to build the best e-reader that the market had ever seen,” Cue said. “And so I went to Steve and told him why I thought [the iPad] was going to be a great device for ebooks. … and after some discussions he came back and said, you know, I think you’re right. I think this is great, and then he started coming up with ideas himself about what he wanted to do with it and how it would be even better as a reader and store.”
Cue had initially suggested an e-book effort earlier in the fall of 2009, but Jobs felt that the iPhone's screen was too small to allow for a good user experience and that the Mac didn't feel like a reading device. By the time Jobs was on board, it was November, and the iPad was scheduled for a January introduction, giving Cue just weeks to line up the deals needed to build the iBookstore.

In relating the story, Cue noted that getting the iBookstore deals done took on special significance for him, as it was obvious that Jobs was in declining health at the time. Jobs had taken a strong interest in iBooks

Microsoft Brings 'Office Mobile for Office 365 Subscribers' to iPhone

Microsoft today announced the launch of Office Mobile for Office 365 subscribers, a new iPhone-only app that allows users to view and edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files. The free app requires a subscription to Microsoft's Office 365 service in order to function.

Similar to our free Office Mobile for Windows Phone that ships with every handset, the iPhone app enables great Office content viewing and on-the-go content editing capabilities.

After signing in to an Office 365 account, you can access, view and edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents from anywhere. And, you can count on Office Mobile to keep all your content and formatting intact so the document still looks great when you're back on your PC or Mac.

Office Mobile integrates with Microsoft's SkyDrive cloud storage service, allowing users to edit their documents on the go and have changes automatically synced for access from other machines. Office Mobile also supports several sharing options, allowing users to view and add comments on a document and then share via either SkyDrive or email.

Additional details, a first-run walkthrough, and an FAQ are included in a separate blog post from Microsoft.


Office Mobile for Office 365 subscribers is a free download from the App Store. [Direct Link] The app requires a subscription to Office 365, which can be purchased through the app itself. Microsoft also offers a 30-day trial of Office 365 to allow users to test out the

MacBook Pro Updates Still to Come, But What Can We Expect?

Earlier this week, many observers were surprised that Apple did not announce updated MacBook Pro models at its Worldwide Developers Conference keynote. Sources such as KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo had indicated that updated Retina MacBook Pro models based on Intel's new Haswell processors were likely to appear at WWDC, but questions arose when model number leaks ahead of the event suggested that either the MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, but not both, would be receiving updates.

So the question for many now is: Where are the new MacBook Pros? Kuo's note prior to WWDC indicated that Apple was likely to leave the non-Retina models without an update as part of an effort to continue pushing consumers toward the Retina line, so the primary focus is really on new Retina MacBook Pro models.

One potential explanation comes from a late April note from Kuo in which he suggested that updated Retina MacBook Pro models may not ship for some time after WWDC due to production bottlenecks on the displays used in the machines. Depending on when those updated models might be ready, Apple may simply have felt that the gap between WWDC and their availability would be too large to make an announcement at WWDC.

If that is the case, Apple could simply introduce new Retina MacBook Pro models in the coming weeks while having avoided putting an additional damper on sales of current models by pre-announcing the launch at WWDC.

Despite the lack of new Retina MacBook Pro models at WWDC, many of the circulating rumors still stand, and some of the developments seen in the new MacBook

Apple Makes 'iWork for iCloud' Beta Available to Registered Developers

Apple has made the iWork for iCloud in-browser versions of Pages, Keynote and Numbers available to registered developers as a beta release. The browser based version of iWork was announced at Monday's WWDC Keynote address.

The browser-based versions of iWork are meant to be a competitor to Google Docs and other cloud-based office productivity platforms -- they work on both a Mac or PC in Safari, Google Chrome and Microsoft Internet Explorer.

iWork for iCloud is expected to be released to the public later this year. For now, registered developers can log in with their developer credentials at beta.icloud.com.

Key Claim of Apple's 'Rubber Banding' Patent Used Against Samsung Confirmed

Apple's "rubber banding" patent (U.S. No. 7,469,381) has been under heavy scrutiny in recent months, with a number of claims found invalid in two different rulings.

The patent, which pertains to the ability for content displayed on iOS devices to "bounce back" when a user scrolls to the top or the bottom of a page, is significant because it is one that was successfully used by Apple against Samsung in the ongoing legal dispute that saw Apple awarded with more than a billion dollars.

According to FOSS Patents, Apple has scored a major victory in regards to the '381 patent, having just received notice that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will issue a reexamination certificate that confirms the formerly invalidated claim 19, which was the portion of the patent used against Samsung. In April, three other claims were also confirmed.

As a result of this new reexamination certificate, claim 19 will enjoy an enhanced presumption of validity against the invalidity theories the patent office evaluated. Instead of invalidation in mid–2017 or later, this patent has now been confirmed in mid–2013.

Apple would presumably have liked to salvage even more claims than the seven claims the patent office is now going to confirm, but claim 19 is the one that matters in the dispute with Samsung, and it’s now stronger than ever.
Samsung has, at multiple points in time, attempted to have the rubber banding patent declared invalid and has also attempted to use the question of the patent’s validity as a reason to delay the November trial that will redetermine a

13" MacBook Air Review Roundup: Apple's Battery Claims Appear Accurate, SSD and Graphics Drive Performance Increases

The first reviews of the 2013 MacBook Air models are beginning to come out and, aside from new CPUs and a new SSD architecture, the biggest new feature is a dramatic increase in claimed battery life.

Apple has increased the battery capacity of the 13" MacBook Air from a 7.3V 6700mAh unit to a 7.6V 7150mAh battery. As a result, the claimed battery life of the 13" model has increased from 7 to 12 hours. In its review, Engadget found the 13" MBA achieved 12 hours and 51 minutes on a charge under their standard battery test.


Engadget
:
If that didn't impress you enough, there's one area where the performance has really gone off the charts, and that's battery life. Apple rates the 2013 edition of the MacBook Air for up to 10 hours of battery life playing video or 12 hours of wireless web surfing. Our standard rundown test, as it happens, also entails playing video and last year's machine managed just over six and a half hours before expiring. We were, then, skeptical that this new edition could manage nearly twice that longevity -- but it actually did better. This year's Air survived 12 hours and 51 minutes on a charge. That's a stunning number from a laptop this thin, achieved with WiFi enabled and without any external batteries.
Laptop Magazine's test unit achieved 10 hours and 53 minutes on a home Wi-Fi connection suggesting that, while mileage may vary, Apple's claims appear to be largely legitimate.

A review from Forbes found that the battery life would be somewhere between 8 and 9 hours under more strenuous use conditions. Competing 13" notebooks don't come

Apple Experimented with Sapphire Crystal Displays, Found Them Infeasible

Back in March, an MIT report suggested that Apple and other smartphone manufacturers could potentially switch to sapphire crystal displays rather than the standard Gorilla Glass displays currently in use.

As it turns out, Apple has already experimented with sapphire screens. In an interview with Swiss news site Tages-Anzeiger [Google Translation], Vertu COO Perry Oosting revealed that Apple investigated the possibility of a sapphire display, recruiting an unspecified number of Vertu employees to work on the project.

Vertu is a British company that produces luxury cell phones, some with sapphire displays, and at least two former Vertu employees appear to have joined Apple in the last year.

According to Oosting, Apple ultimately shelved the sapphire project because the material is unsuitable for production in the numbers that Apple requires at the current point in time. Corning, the company that manufacturers Gorilla Glass 3 for Apple's displays, has also stated that sapphire is an inferior option for mobile displays.

The company believes that Gorilla Glass offers greater strength, lower weight, less energy cost in production, and lower pricing; all important features for mass manufactured products.

Though Apple may not have current plans to utilize sapphire displays, it has incorporated sapphire crystal into the iPhone, as a cover for the rear camera on the fifth generation iPhone. Rumors have suggested that sapphire may also be used as part of the home button in the iPhone 5S.

(Thanks, Rainer!)

Apple's Mac Pro to Be Assembled by Flextronics in Fort Worth, Texas?

Last December, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed that Apple would be bringing some Mac production back to the United States. He offered more details on the effort last month, and earlier this week the company announced that its radically redesigned Mac Pro coming later this year will be the product line assembled in the U.S.

Apple had been presumed to be working with current manufacturing partner Foxconn on the U.S. production, but KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo told Taiwan's Economic Daily News [Google translation, via Macotakara] that Apple will actually be partnering with Flextronics for the new Mac Pro.

Last week, we received an unconfirmed tip making a similar claim about Flextronics' role in the "Made in the USA" Mac, with the source alleging that Flextronics will be assembling the product at its new facility in Texas. That claim is line with Tim Cook's disclosure during a Senate hearing on Apple's tax practices last month that the product would be assembled in the state.

Flextronics' new Texas facilities are housed in a 450,000 square foot building in Fort Worth formerly used by Nokia. Flextronics will be using the site for production of Motorola's Moto X smartphone, but our source indicated that Apple's production will also take place there.

Apple's new Mac Pro will be launching later this year, but Apple has yet to reveal pricing or a more specific launch timeframe following Monday's "sneak peek" at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference

Apple Considering 4.7" and 5.7" Screens for 2014 iPhone Models, iPhone 5S and Low-Cost iPhone Due in September

Reuters reports that Apple is looking closely at larger screens for upcoming iPhone models, indicating that the company is specifically testing display sizes of 4.7 inches and 5.7 inches for iPhone models that could launch next year. The iPhone 5 carries a 4-inch display, up from the 3.5-inch displays found in prior models.
Apple is looking at introducing at least two bigger iPhones next year - one with a 4.7-inch screen and one with a 5.7-inch screen - said the sources, including those in the supply chain in Asia. They said suppliers have been approached with plans for the larger screens, but noted it is still unclear whether Apple will actually launch its flagship product in the larger sizes.

"They constantly change product specifications almost to the final moment, so you're not really sure whether this is the final prototype," said one person with direct knowledge of the matter.
The report also addresses Apple's plans for this year, claiming that the company is expected to deliver both an iPhone 5S with fingerprint sensor technology and a lower-cost iPhone in multiple colors in the September timeframe.
For this year, Apple is expected to launch two new models, widely referred to as the iPhone 5S, with new fingerprint technology, and a cheaper version in plastic casing, supply chain sources have said. Apple plans to dress up the cheaper phone in a range of 5-6 colors to differentiate it from the more expensive model that has traditionally come only in black and white.

The U.S. firm has discussed a price of $99 for the cheaper phone, the timing of which could slip to

State and City Officials to Investigate Anti-Theft Practices of Cellphone Makers Following Summit

Several state and city law enforcement officials are teaming up to launch an investigation on why smartphone manufacturers including Apple have not done more to combat device thefts, reports the Huffington Post.

The investigation will be conducted by attorneys general in six different states along with district attorneys and police officials from eight additional cities. Included in the group are New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman who previously called for a summit with several smartphone manufacturers to discuss device theft and San Francisco district attorney George Gascón, who has been pushing for a "kill switch" that would permanently disable stolen iOS devices
The group intends to probe why Apple and other smartphone makers have failed to create a so-called “kill switch” that would render their devices inoperable if stolen – a feature that could undercut the value of stolen gadgets now trading on a global black market. The officials also plan to investigate whether smartphone manufacturers have not adopted effective anti-theft measures out of simple financial interest – a stolen phone generates new business as crime victims buy replacements.
On Monday, Apple announced anti-theft plans for an "Activation Lock" feature in iOS 7, which is designed to require an Apple ID and a password to disable Find My iPhone or to reactivate a phone if it is wiped.

Though the implementation of the Activation Lock will likely cut down on thefts, Schneiderman and Gascón believe that it is ultimately inadequate as a kill switch because it requires customers to utilize both

Apple's Google Now Competitor 'Today' Features Traffic Information on Frequently Visited Locations

In iOS 7, Apple has included a new Notification Center feature called Today, which the company says is designed to provide users with the day's events at a glance, including information like birthdays, weather details, and traffic reports.

We've unearthed additional details about how Today works, including how Apple gathers information to provide traffic details on frequently traveled routes. In the location settings section of iOS 7, there’s a new feature called "Frequent Locations," which Apple says "suggests locations of interest based on historical location usage."

Frequent Locations stores information about locations that have been visited multiple times and it appears to pair with another "Traffic" setting to provide commute details on locations a user visits on a regular basis, as seen in the screenshot below. It is unclear, however, if these traffic notifications appear based on the time of day. For example, they could appear only during a morning or evening commute to work.

Users have found other interesting items in the 'Today' panel, including a suggestion of an early bedtime for an upcoming busy day.

It appears that location settings in iOS 7 have a wide range of capabilities, which could see the Notification Center including even more detailed information as iOS 7 evolves. In a report earlier today, The Next Web estimated that iOS 7 would see a number of design changes before being released this fall. We have additional details on iOS 7, including major changes, small updates, and new APIs.

(Thanks Olivier and John!)

Jony Ive Put Apple's Marketing Team in Charge of iOS 7 Icon Design

The Next Web has given us a peek behind the scenes at the development of the new and controversial user interface in iOS 7.

One of the more revealing points in the piece is that Jony Ive, recently put in charge of software as well as hardware design, tapped Apple's marketing and communications team -- MarCom -- to design the look and feel of the icons. Then, with those as a guide, the iOS design teams went to work.
First of all, many of the new icons were primarily designed by members of Apple’s marketing and communications department, not the app design teams. From what we’ve heard, SVP of Design Jony Ive (also now Apple’s head of Human Interaction) brought the print and web marketing design team in to set the look and color palette of the stock app icons. They then handed those off to the app design teams who did their own work on the ‘interiors’, with those palettes as a guide.

The site goes on to note that the design is "firmly a 'work in progress'", and that the look and feel of the icons and other new UI bits are likely to change significantly as the iOS 7 beta

Apple Posts Ten-Minute 'Making a Difference, One App at a Time' Video

Apple has posted a new entry in its branding campaign, this time a ten-minute piece entitled 'Making a difference. One app at a time.'

The video looks at how Apple customers are using its technology and third-party apps to make a difference in communities around the world. The first example features an interview with Okari Denzil, a community health nurse in Lwala, Kenya.

I've never considered myself a visitor to this community. I'm a son of this community, I work here, this is my home. I have the opportunity as a community health nurse to ensure that there is health care available to this very rural setting. This is my goal.

I try to see 5-6 clients a day. Talking about those mothers who need prenatal care, mothers who are ready to deliver, mothers who have young babies at home.

We sit down with them and talk about how to ensure that we give the babies the best start in life. I also have an opportunity to ensure that the wellbeing of the entire family is taken care of.

We use Skyscape to diagnose and prevent any complications from setting in. The iPad is a resourceful tool. It's a doctor, it's a nurse, it's a public health officer in my bag.
Apps featured in the video include Skyscape Medical Resources, Orthocare's Galileo, Thornton Media's Cherokee Language App, and AssistiveWare's Proloquo2go.

Upcoming iOS 7 APIs: Gaming Improvements, Multitasking Support, AirDrop, and More

During Monday's WWDC keynote, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi, mentioned that iOS 7 would add 1,500 new APIs to Apple's SDK, including iBeacons, MFi game controllers, and new multitasking options.

These APIs reveal promising new features that developers will be able to incorporate into future app and hardware releases, offering new gaming technology, new location tracking options, and more. Here's a closer look at a few of the most notable APIs:

iBeacons - According to MacWorld, iBeacons are designed to use the Bluetooth Low Energy profile for microlocation, allowing iOS devices to use Bluetooth 4.0 devices to access location data.

AirDrop from Activity Sheet - Apps will be able to incorporate AirDrop support, giving users the ability to share photos, documents and more with friends from within an app.

Apple Maps - iOS 7 will let developers include additional mapping features in apps, including 3D viewing experiences, direction related route information and map-based images.

MFi Game Controllers - iOS 7 includes support for MFi "Made for iPhone" Apple Certified hardware game controllers, which will allow manufacturers to create dedicated iOS gaming controllers, turning the iPhone and the iPad into gaming machines on par with handheld gaming systems. Apps will be able to be designed around the Game Controller framework, allowing for seamless connectivity. Our sister site TouchArcade has shared an image from Apple's developer library detailing a reference design of both a standalone controller and an iPhone enclosure.

Apple, Tim Cook and Others Sued Over Alleged NSA/PRISM Privacy Violations

Apple, and Tim Cook personally, have been sued by a conservative activist and three others as part of a class action lawsuit [PDF] over alleged privacy violations resulting from the company's supposed participation in the NSA's PRISM intelligence program.

The plaintiffs have also sued President Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder, NSA Director Keith Alexander, the NSA itself, the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as Facebook, Google, YouTube, Microsoft, Skype, AOL, Yahoo, PalTalk, AT&T and Sprint -- and all the CEO's of those companies personally.

As one of the largest companies in the world, Apple is routinely sued over a wide variety of issues. The company has a large legal teams to handle these lawsuits, though the sheer number of defendants in this case could make for interesting court filings.

Plaintiff Larry Klayman issued this statement:
This and the Verizon class action will serve to unify all political and social persuasions in our great nation to wage a second American revolution, one that is peaceful and legal – but pursued with great resolve and force. Government dishonesty and tyranny against the people have reached historic proportions during the last three administrations in particular, and the time has come for We the People to rise up and reclaim control of our nation. If not, the government will control us and this will mark the end of individual liberties. The American people can thus use these class actions to 'man the barricades of freedom' against the establishment government despots and their corporate enablers who seek to enslave them

Apple Claims 20% of U.S. E-Book Market, Double Previous Estimates

Publishers Weekly reports (via paidContent) that testimony from Apple executive Keith Moerer in the ongoing e-book price fixing trial has revealed that Apple holds approximately 20% of the e-book market in the United States, roughly double many of the previous estimates made by third parties.
The government also focused on the relative success of the iBookstore asking Moerer what marketshare the store held in the months after launch (about 20% Moerer said) and what its marketshare was after several years of operation and adding Random House in 2011 (also about 20%).

Beyond the market share claim, Moerer pointed to strong growth of the iBookstore in vigorously challenging the U.S. government's assertion that Apple's e-book effort has been a failure.
The government called the iBookstore “a failure,” and charged that “Apple pricing was unfair to consumers,” and that “Apple sold fewer books because of the higher price caps.” Moerer challenged that characterization, “I disagree. E-book sales grew 100% last year at the iBookstore and it had over 100 million customers.” The government countered that “when you drop prices you sell more books,” and Moerer said, “sometimes, yes.”

But the government bluntly said, “Apple forgot to focus on customers that’s why the iBookstore is a failure.” Moerer: “that’s not true.”
Testimony in the case is now in its second week, with Apple senior vice president for Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue scheduled to take the stand

Teardown of Apple's New AirPort Extreme Reveals Hard Drive Slot, but No Connectors

While iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks drew most of the attention at this week's Worldwide Developers Conference keynote, another one of Apple's introductions also generated a significant amount of discussion and controversy: redesigned AirPort Extreme and AirPort Time Capsule Wi-Fi base stations.

The new vertical designs take up considerably more volume than their predecessors, although footprints have been reduced to just 3.85 inches square. The new base stations include support for the latest 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard, and Apple has increased the number of antennas from three to six. The vertical design is intended to optimize range and signal strength by elevating the antennas, while also helping the base stations offer beamforming, which automatically finds 802.11ac devices and targets Wi-Fi signals toward those devices for optimum performance.

The teardown experts at iFixit have obtained one of the new AirPort Extreme units and have torn it apart to examine its internals. Given that the AirPort Extreme and AirPort Time Capsule have identical external designs, it should be no surprise that the AirPort Extreme contains space for a hard drive, although it appears that users will not be able to build their own Time Capsules by simply adding hard drives to their AirPort Extremes.
We free the top cover, only to find...3.5″ of empty space. While the AirPort Extreme doesn’t come equipped with storage, we dug up a standard 3.5″ SATA hard drive, just to test it out. Perfecto!...Except we can’t find any connectors where we’d plug in the hard drive, only empty spaces on the

Ashton Kutcher's 'Jobs' Film to Launch on August 16

The Wrap reports that Ashton Kutcher's film "Jobs" will now debut on August 16 in the United States. The film, which premiered at the Sundance Music Festival in late January to mixed reviews, had been scheduled for an April 19 wide release, but was delayed.
Five Star Institute's Mark Hulme financed and produced the movie, which Open Road acquired in a service release deal prior to this year's Sundance Film Festival, where "Jobs" was the closing night film. Both sides decided to wait and create proper buzz before releasing "Jobs" rather than rush the movie out so soon after Sundance.

By opening after most summer blockbusters (Sony's "Elysium" is the last major title on Aug. 9) rather than mid-April, "Jobs" now stands a better chance to succeed and distinguish itself in the marketplace.

"Jobs", which stars Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs and Josh Gad as Steve Wozniak, is one of several Jobs-related films in the works or already released. Back in April, rumor site Funny or Die released a rather poorly received "iSteve" comedy film starring Justin Long, who had played the "Mac" character in Apple's long-running "Mac vs. PC" ad campaign.

A third film is being written by Aaron Sorkin and is the official adaptation of Jobs' authorized biography by Walter Isaacson. The film, which is still in the early stages of development, is planned to encompass three 30-minute scenes showing Jobs backstage just prior to the launches of the original Mac, NeXT, and the