Weekend Notes: Woz and Apple Firing, iPads in Israel, No Mac App Store, German Airline Offer
A few odds and ends of interest from the weekend Apple news cycle:
- Steve Wozniak reports that he was shown a 3G iPad by an Apple employee the morning of the Wi-Fi launch, and that Apple employee was subsequently fired.
I can tell you that the test engineer who showed me an iPad after midnight, for 2 minutes, during the iPad launch was indeed fired. I opted to spend 2 minutes with Numbers on this iPad, trying some stunts I'd seen on Apple's website demo video. I was not told that it was a 3G model and I had no way to know that. I was told that this engineer had to wait until midnight to show it outside of Apple's secure area. And I'm an Apple employee who he was showing it to. My guess is that he was allowed to take the iPad outside of the secure area but still not supposed to show it.
- Israel lifts ban on iPad imports. iPads were temporarily banned from being imported after it was claimed that they did not follow normal wireless standards:
The tests proved the device identifies the Wi-fi access point in its surroundings and adjusts itself automatically, enabling the iPad to be operated without interfering with other wireless devices, the ministry said.
- Steve Jobs reassures one customer in an email that there will be no "Mac App Store" that mirrors the iTunes App Store. There had been some wild rumors that Apple might be considering an approval-required Mac App Store for future versions of Mac OS X, but this has been denied.
- German Airline Lufthansa has offered the Apple employee that lost the prototype iPhone a free trip to Munich to visit their new Bavarian Beer Garden Business Lounge to "pick up where you left off". The next generation iPhone was lost at Gourmet Haus Staudt, a German bar in Redwood City, CA.
Popular Stories
The iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max introduce some major improvements in camera technology, adding a 48-megapixel lens and low-light improvements across all lenses with the new Photonic Engine. We've spent the last week working on an in-depth comparison that pits the new iPhone 14 Pro Max against the prior-generation iPhone 13 Pro Max to see just how much better the iPhone 14 Pro Max can be.
Subscrib ...
Thursday September 29, 2022 12:38 pm PDT by
Juli CloverTony Blevins, Apple's vice president of procurement, is set to depart the company after he made a crude comment about his profession in a recent TikTok video, reports Bloomberg.
Blevins was in a video by TikTok creator Daniel Mac, who was doing a series on the jobs of people he spotted with expensive cars. After seeing Blevins in an expensive Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, Mac asked Blevins what ...
Wednesday September 28, 2022 4:27 pm PDT by
Juli CloverThe Dark Sky weather app that's owned by Apple is no longer available for download in the U.S. App Store, suggesting that it has been removed ahead of schedule.
Apple acquired Dark Sky back in March 2020 and has since incorporated elements of the app into the Weather app available on the iPhone (and soon, the iPad).
Dark Sky remained available for purchase as a standalone weather app...
The third beta of iOS 16.1 that was released earlier this week expands the Adaptive Transparency feature introduced with the second-generation AirPods Pro to the original AirPods Pro.
As noted on Reddit, first-generation AirPods Pro owners who also have the AirPods beta software will now see an "Adaptive Transparency" toggle in the AirPods section of the Settings app. The 5A304A beta...
Thursday September 29, 2022 7:26 am PDT by
Sami FathiSpeaking at Università Degli Studi di Napoli Federico II in Naples, Italy, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that not too long from today, people will wonder how they led a life without augmented reality, stressing the "profound" impact it will have on the not so distant future. At the university, Cook was awarded an Honorary Degree in Innovation and International Management and also sat down for a...
Wednesday September 28, 2022 10:22 am PDT by
Juli CloverApple has seen high demand for the 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Pro Max, which could lead the company to further differentiate the next-generation iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Apple could add exclusive features to the iPhone 15 Pro Max in an effort to encourage more people to purchase the larger and more expensive device.
Kuo last week said that Apple asked...
Thursday September 29, 2022 9:08 am PDT by
Sami FathiOne of the biggest new features in iOS 16 is a completely redesigned iPhone Lock Screen. The new Lock Screen is entirely customizable, letting you change the colors and fonts, add widgets and new wallpapers, and more to make your iPhone uniquely yours. Of course, even before iOS 16, you could customize your Lock Screen with a wallpaper of your choice. iOS 16 takes the Lock Screen wallpaper...
An Apple Watch Ultra user has modified their new device's casing to add a brushed finish and remove the orange color of the Action Button in an effort to make it more visually appealing.
The Apple Watch Ultra offers the first complete redesign of the Apple Watch since the product line's announcement in 2014, and while the design has been met with praise from many users, some have criticized...
Wednesday September 28, 2022 12:01 am PDT by
Juli CloverLogitech today announced the launch of several new mice and keyboards that have been developed for use with Apple's Macs, including Logitech's first mechanical keyboard that has been optimized for the Mac.
The MX Mechanical Mini for Mac Keyboard has a keyboard layout designed for Macs, with tools to customize shortcuts with Logi Options+. The keyboard uses Tactile Quiet low-profile switches...
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models bring over a longstanding Mac feature, but the setting to enable it is off by default.
The feature, which is actually a new accessibility option, allows the iPhone to play a startup chime like the Mac. When enabled, the sound comes alongside a new shutdown chime.
The Mac has featured a startup chime since 1987's Macintosh II, and the iconic "bong"...
