Sonnet today announced the first Thunderbolt 2 expansion chassis, allowing owners of late 2013-era MacBook Pro and Mac Pro models to add two or three PCIe cards to their machines.
The Echo Express III-D, Echo Express III-R, and Echo Express SE II incorporate ultra-fast Thunderbolt 2 technology, which delivers twice the throughput of 10 Gb/sec Thunderbolt and provides sufficient bandwidth to support many of the highest-performance and most-demanding PCIe cards. The new expansion chassis support every kind of Thunderbolt-compatible PCIe card available — enabling the use of professional video capture, audio interface, 16Gb and 8Gb Fibre Channel, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, SAS and SATA HBA, and RAID controller cards with Thunderbolt-enabled iMac®, Mac® mini, Mac Pro®, MacBook Air®, and MacBook Pro® computers. Plus, the Sonnet systems' dual Thunderbolt 2 ports support full-bandwidth connectivity with Thunderbolt 2-equipped host computers, full backward compatibility with 10 Gb/sec Thunderbolt-equipped computers and devices, and daisy-chaining of other Thunderbolt 2 and Thunderbolt devices.
Customers who purchased Thunderbolt 1 equipped expansion chassis can get free upgrades to the Thunderbolt 2 version. All the Thunderbolt 2 chassis are fully backwards-compatible with older Thunderbolt equipped Macs.
The desktop three-slot version is available for $979, the rack mount three-slot is $1,199, and the two-slot desktop is $499.
Apple today seeded build 13C39 of OS X 10.9.2 to developers, marking the second developer beta iteration of 10.9.2. The release comes almost a month after the first OS X 10.9.2 beta, build 13C32, was seeded to developers.
The update is available to registered developers through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store as well as through the Mac Dev Center.
The first seed of OS X 10.9.2 introduced FaceTime Audio to the Mac and asked developers to focus testing on Mail, Messages, VPN, Graphics Drivers, and VoiceOver. The second build allows Mac users to block people on iMessage and FaceTime as can be done in iOS 7.
Apple has also seeded Safari 7.0.2 for Mavericks and Safari 6.1.2 for Lion/Mountain Lion, asking developers to focus on General Website Compatibility, Accessibility, AutoFill features, Printing and Emailing from Reader, Dragging Tabs Between Monitors, and Extension Compatibility.
As Apple rolls out its iBeacon technology across its Retail Stores and investigates using it to enable mobile payments, a number of large retailers are testing the technology in their establishments.
As shoppers enter an American Eagle Outfitters store, shopBeacon will welcome and show them location-specific rewards, deals, discounts and product recommendations – without them even having to remember to open the app. It can also tie at-home browsing behavior to in-store benefits; if the customer “likes” a specific product online, if they so choose, shopBeacon can remind them where in the American Eagle Outfitters store that product is sold. Even better, in the future, it can also deliver department-specific offers throughout the store – so must-have skinnies show up at the most useful time: in the jeans department.
Companies introducing iBeacons seem to understand the appeal of the devices, but it remains to be seen how consumers will respond and if they will download apps for individual stores -- a necessity for the iBeacons to have any effect. Shopkick previously performed a retail trial of iBeacons in two Macy's locations.
If the larger American Eagle trial is successful, Shopkick could introduce the technology to its other retail partners including Best Buy, Crate & Barrel, JCPenney, Old Navy, Sports Authority, Target and more.
Current MFi game controllers designed to work with devices running iOS 7, including offerings from MOGA, Logitech, and SteelSeries have all been unpopular with reviewers due to their high price tags, their build quality, and lack of game support. While it has been unclear why each manufacturer has chosen a $99 price tag and why all controllers have suffered from the same quality control problems, a new report from 9to5Mac sheds some light on the issue.
As it turns out, the main issue driving up price is Apple's strict guidelines on the creation of the controllers. Apple is requiring manufacturers to source the pressure sensitive analog switches used in buttons and thumbsticks from a single supplier, Fujikura America.
MOGA Ace Power
According to manufacturers that spoke to 9to5Mac, pressure sensitive switches may have been an area where costs could be cut if they were not forced to use Apple-approved supplies. Apple isn't setting specific prices for the controllers, but these supply costs, coupled with licensing fees and other component costs are edging the controllers to the $100 range.
Along with cost, other construction limitations may be affecting build quality. In addition to specifying the build of the pressure-sensitive buttons, Apple also has requirements that cover the joystick range of motion, d-pads, color, labeling, layout, and more.
There are other limitations of the program as well. For instance, the d-pads must be one circular button, opposed to just a raised cross shape or separate buttons for up, down, right, and left that you find on PlayStation and Xbox controllers and that many gamers prefer. The requirements also extend to the color, labeling and layout of the face buttons, thumbsticks, triggers, etc. It's all meant to control quality and make it easy for developers to update apps to support all controllers, but in some areas Apple's controller specification might not be strict enough.
Quality issues can also be chalked up in part to the rapid development of the first crop of MFi controllers. Apple introduced the API back in June, but developers and manufacturers had little time to get a controller out before the holiday season. One Logitech employee expressed disappointment to 9to5Mac over the quality of the controller and said that it was "put together in haste."
SteelSeries Stratus
One final problem with the controllers lies in developer hands, with some developers expressing reluctance to implement support for subpar hardware and others seeing no need to add support to their games.
For other developers, especially those that developed games specifically for the touchscreen, controller support just doesn't make sense. App developer Massive Damage compared the controllers to Kinect: "An optional piece of equipment with relatively low market penetration that a developer has to program and design for explicitly." It won't introduce controller support in any of its games "until iPhones come with controllers out of the box."
According to accessory maker Signal, the company currently developing an Xbox-style MFi game controller, it is not currently possible to create a reasonably priced controller (matching the cost of low-priced generic Bluetooth controllers) with the quality of those from Microsoft or Sony under the MFi program.
Though MFi game controllers are riddled with issues, there is room for improvement in the future. It is possible that with more development time, second-generation controllers could have a better build quality, and it is also possible that Apple could relax its restrictions in the future to make it easier for companies to source less expensive components. Existing controllers will also see improvements as developers embrace the technology and build specific support into a wide range of suitable games.
With today’s release of Photoshop CC, designs can be printed to a locally connected 3D printer or via built-in access to popular online 3D print services. Photoshop CC supports the most popular desktop 3D printers, such as the MakerBot Replicator, and also supports the full range of high quality materials available on Shapeways -- the 3D printing community and marketplace -- including ceramics, metals, and full color sandstone. Additionally, Photoshop users can now directly upload their 3D models to the Sketchfab 3D publishing service, and embed them in their Behance profile using Sketchfab’s interactive 3D viewer.
Adobe's enhancements to Photoshop CC come as part of a broader Creative Cloud update that sees several other applications receiving upgrades including:
- Indesign CC: EPUB 3.0 support and simplified hyperlink creation and management.
Adobe's Creative Cloud is a subscription service with a variety of plans offering users access to the applications historically made available through the company's flagship Creative Suite bundles. Creative Cloud offers enhanced cloud-based services and mobile integration, with the company deploying regular feature updates to subscribers at a more rapid pace than seen with the traditional standalone software purchase system.
A UK Court will allow a group of privacy experts to sue Google over the company's circumvention of privacy settings in Apple's Safari browser, reports Gigaom. Following this ruling, the activists can pursue a tort claim that alleges Google misused their private information. The Honourable Mr Justice Tugendhat writes in his decision:
"I am satisfied that there is a serious issue to be tried in each of the Claimants’ claims for misuse of private information… The Claimants’ application to rely on ground (9) in relation to the DPA [Data Protection Act] claim is allowed… the Claimants have clearly established that this jurisdiction is the appropriate one in which to try each of the above claims.”
This case stems from Google's former practice of installing cookies in Safari even when the web browser blocked that practice. Google circumvented the browser's default privacy settings by tricking Safari into thinking a web page was a trusted page. Google did this through code embedded in its ads that made Safari think the user was submitting a form. When a user fills out a form, Safari makes an exception in its privacy policy and allows a cookie to be installed on a user's device, and Google exploited this exception to install cookies without the permission of the user.
Google halted this practice in 2012 after it was reported by The Wall Street Journal, but consumers and regulators pursued the case through several investigations and lawsuits. The company was fined $22.5 million by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission for this privacy violation and paid a $17 million settlement in a case filed on behalf of Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia.
Research firm NPD today announced the results of its latest Connected Home Report, showing that Apple increased its share of the U.S. smartphone installed user base by seven percentage points, from 35 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012 to 42 percent in the same quarter of 2013. Second-place Samsung increased its share of the market by a smaller margin from 22 percent to 26 percent, while other major manufacturers saw their shares drop.
NPD's data, which is based on a survey of roughly 5,000 consumers, is in close alignment with recent data from comScore that showed Apple with 41.2 percent of the market and Samsung at 26.0 percent in the September-November period.
Both firms track installed user base rather than sales, offering a more realistic picture of real-world usage but which is slower to react to shifting market trends given typical handset lifespans. Apple has shown steady increases under these studies over the past several years, even as Android has experienced significant growth. One recent study of trends by Asymco's Horace Dediu has predicted that Apple's share of installed user base in the U.S. will peak at 68 percent in 2017 when the smartphone market hits a saturation point at 90 percent of the country's population.
While Apple's performance remains strong in the U.S. and several other countries, Android has had more success attracting customers in many other markets around the world. Data from Kantar Worldpanel for the August-October period pegged Apple's share of the market in many European countries and China in the 15-20 percent range, with iOS barely registering in some countries such as Spain.
Originally a 2012 Kickstarter project, Mindsense's long awaited Mail Pilot email client is now available from the Mac App Store following a beta testing period that began in June. Mail Pilot focuses on the idea that email is action-based, providing users with a number of ways to deal with email messages.
Taking a cue from most standard email apps, Mail Pilot organizes emails into a two column design. A complete list of inbox messages is displayed on the left side of the screen while full email messages are displayed in the right column when an email is selected.
All incoming messages are marked as incomplete and can be dealt with using the following actions from the bottom menu bar: Complete, Remind, Set Aside, and List. While Complete marks an email as read and instantly archives it, the other included functions give users new ways to deal with their messages.
Remind allows emails to be dealt with on a specific date, which the developers suggest is useful for emails about bills and meetings. Set Aside files emails until later, a useful function for emails that require more time than a simple read through, and the List button aggregates related emails together, useful for wishlists, read it later lists, and collecting information on a specific event. Delete and folder options are also available.
At the top of the app, various inboxes can be accessed from a tabbed menu. There's a standard inbox, along with an inbox that displays messages received in the last day, and two inboxes for emails filed as Set Aside or Remind.
Emails added to lists are accessed from the separate and collapsible "Sources" menu bar, which also houses a list of archived, sent, and deleted messages. Composing an email is also done in a separate popup window that includes a text box with simple formatting options.
Mail Pilot is the email client reimagined from the ground up. We ignored all notions of common email clients, and we focused on how an email client could fit modern email workflows and uses. Realizing that all email messages are action-based, we developed Mail Pilot and its feature-set to empower users to use email in an intuitive and productive way.
Many companies have aimed to reinvent email in recent years with apps like Dropbox's Mailbox, but there remain few highly rated email apps for the Mac. While Mailbox does include much of the same action-oriented email functionality found in Mail Pilot, it is limited to iOS. Mail Pilot, while newly released on the Mac App Store, has been available for the iPhone and the iPad since April of 2013 and is able to offer a multi-device experience.
According to the developers, Mail Pilot works with Google, iCloud, Yahoo, Outlook.com, AOL, and standard IMAP/Exchange with IMAP email accounts, but App Store reviews indicate that iOS users have had issues getting some email accounts to work properly.
Mail Pilot for Mac can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for the introductory price of $9.99. [Direct Link]
Google Now is a personal assistant service that is considered to be Google's counterpart to Siri. Available on iOS and Android devices, the service is now making its way onto the desktop via Chrome Canary, the experimental build of Google's Chrome web browser.
As reported by the Google Operating System blog, the latest build of Chrome Canary allows users to receive Google Now cards directly in the browser's notification system. Canary users on the Mac can enable the personal assistant by turning on the correct flag in the browser. Users should go to "chrome://flags/#enable-google-now" and then switch the settings from "Default" to "Enabled." A final click on the "Relaunch Now" button will turn on the feature.
Users who are signed into Chrome will receive a Google Now notification and a list of available cards. According to a Google support page, Google Now on the desktop will support weather, sports scores, commuter traffic and event reminders. Some of these desktop cards will sync with Google Now if it is enabled on a mobile phone. These mobile-synced cards will display relevant information using location data pulled from the mobile device.
Google Now for the desktop is still in the experimental stage, but it will likely land in the consumer version of Chrome for the Mac.
Apple's iBeacon technology based on the Bluetooth LE standard is being installed in Apple Stores and other retail outlets to assist customers and send them promotions while shopping, but as noted by Patently Apple, a newly published patent application suggests this technology could also be used to send secure mobile payments while making purchases.
Patent application number 20140019367, filed in September 2012 and published today, describes a method that would send payment data through various wireless interfaces without compromising the user's data. The method uses two links -- one connection to a point-of-sale device to establish the initial connection and a second, secure connection that sends the payment information. This payment information is then processed by a backend server, which uses a shared secret to verify that the connection was secure before it authorizes the payment.
In one or more embodiments, a method of performing a commercial transaction is provided. The method includes establishing a first secure link over a first air interface by a purchasing device, the first secure link between the purchasing device and a point of sale device, identifying a second air interface different from the first air interface, establishing a second secure link over a second air interface, the second secure link between the purchasing device and a backend server, and conducting, using the second air interface, a secure commercial transaction between the purchasing device and the backend server using payment data secured by a shared secret known to a secure element in the purchasing device and to the backend server.
The payment method described in the patent may use NFC as well as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to connect the mobile device to the point-of-sale terminal. Though iBeacon is not directly named in the patent, it is easy to see how the technology could be used as the conduit for the secure Bluetooth connection. Apple even notes in the patent that NFC "is less desirable for longer transactions," while Wi-Fi or Bluetooth has "more desirable characteristics for maintaining the link over time than NFC."
The use of Apple's iBeacon technology, rolled out alongside iOS 7, is expected to increase over the coming year as other retailers such as Macy's have begun piloting the Bluetooth LE technology. Most recently, the Consumer Electronics Association used iBeacons for a scavenger hunt at CES 2014, while Major League Baseball will be bringing the technology to stadiums.
Starbucks has admitted that its mobile payment app for iPhone does not encrypt user passwords and location data, instead storing it in a clear text format, according to a report from Computerworld.
The credentials were stored in such a way that anyone with access to the phone can see the passwords and usernames by connecting the phone to a PC. No jailbreaking of the phone is necessary. And that clear text also displays an extensive list of geolocation tracking points (latitude, longitude), a treasure trove of security and privacy gems for anyone who steals the phone.
The vulnerability was first discovered by security researcher Daniel Wood, who published his findings online for the security community after repeatedly not having success when attempting to contact Starbucks.
The coffee company tells Computerworld that it has "security measures in place now related to that". However, Wood tellsThe Verge that anything Starbucks does on its end "would not matter" because the vulnerability lies within the app itself.
Potential criminals would still need to physically have the phone to attain any user information, and the only information available would be user names, passwords and location data, but users of the app who had the "auto replenish" feature on would enable criminals to continually add money to the app to make Starbucks purchases.
Update: Starbucks has issued a statement acknowledging the issue and promising an expedited updated for the company's iOS app.
We’d like to be clear: there is no indication that any customer has been impacted by this or that any information has been compromised. Regardless, we take these types of concerns seriously and have added several safeguards to protect the information you share with us. To protect the integrity of these added measures, we are unable to share technical details but can assure you that they sufficiently address the concerns raised in the research report.
Out of an abundance of caution, we are also working to accelerate the deployment of an update for the app that will add extra layers of protection. We expect this update to be ready soon and will share our progress here. While we are working on the update, we would like to emphasize that your information is protected and that you should continue to feel confident about the integrity of our iOS app.
Apple today updated its WWDC app, fixing an issue that prevented developers from being able to log in and watch videos from the June 2013 event.
According to reports on Twitter, some developers had been unable to use the app to view session videos following the security breach on Apple's Developer Center that shut it down for an extended period of time in July 2013.
This release addresses an issue where developers were unable to log into the app to watch videos. Thank you for your bug reports and feedback.
Apple's WWDC app was also used for the evasi0n iOS 7 jailbreak, and it is unclear if the new update also has something to do with that.
WWDC can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition, the sequel to the original Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition for iOS released in late 2012, can now be downloaded from the App Store.
The game, which has been made available thanks to a collaboration between Beamdog, and Atari, is a remake of Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn and the following expansion packs: Throne of Bhaal, Fist of the Fallen, Unbound, A Shadow's Life, In Defense of the Wild, The Black Pits II: Gladiators of Thay, and Gallery of Heroes II.
"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster… When you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you…"
Kidnapped. Imprisoned. Tortured. The wizard Irenicus holds you captive in his stronghold, attempting to strip you of the powers that are your birthright.
Can you resist the evil within you, forge a legend of heroic proportions, and ultimately destroy the dark essence that haunts your dreams? Or will you embrace your monstrous nature, carve a swath of destruction across the realms, and ascend to godhood as the new Lord of Murder?
As with the original Baldur's Gate for iOS, Baldur's Gate II includes multiplayer functionality, remastered artwork, and interface improvements. Baldur's Gate II has also been available from the Mac App Store since November.
Google today released a Google Play Movies & TV app for iOS, allowing iPhone and iPad users to watch movies and TV shows that have been purchased on Google Play. In addition to providing a way for iOS users to stream Google Play content directly to their devices, the app is also a boon for Chromecast users with iOS devices, as it will let them stream movies and TV shows purchased from Google Play to the Chromecast device.
Watch your favorite movies and shows instantly on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch from wherever you are. Buy or rent movies by visiting Google Play Store on any computer and watch them from any device over Wi-Fi using the Google Play Movies & TV app.
Limited content for iOS users has been an issue for Chromecast since the device was first launched in July. Though Chromecast was designed to compete with the Apple TV and Roku set top boxes, Chromecast users on iOS have been restricted to movie and TV content from apps like Netflix and YouTube that have implemented Chromecast support, while Android users have had prior access to movies and television shows from the Android version of Google Play Movies & TV.
Other apps, like HBO GO and Hulu Plus implemented Chromecast support after the device was launched, but it still lacked a comprehensive alternative to iTunes.
With the addition of Google Play Movies and TV to iOS, Chromecast users have a much larger library of content to access, which puts the device more on par with the Apple TV. The Apple TV has long had support for iTunes, which gives users the opportunity to purchase movies and television shows. Chromecast users with iOS devices, like Apple TV users, can now access a service that provides a wide range of recent movie and TV show downloads.
iOS users cannot purchase content directly within the Google Play Movies and TV app due to Apple's restrictions, so movies and and shows will need to be purchased on the Google Play Store on a computer before the content can be accessed within the iOS app to be streamed to a television.
As noted by Gizmodo, content sent to Chromecast from the Google Play Movies and TV app will be in full HD, but content viewed on an iPhone will be limited to standard definition. There are a few other drawbacks with the app as well -- content can only be streamed over Wi-Fi and there is no option for offline viewing.
Google's Chromecast can be purchased directly from Google for $35 and it is also available from a number of third party retailers like Amazon and Best Buy. Google Play Movies & TV can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
The Los Angeles Board of Education announced on Tuesday that it will continue on with its plan to equip all students, teachers, and administrators in the district with a computer, distributing iPads to 38 additional campuses ahead of state tests in the spring, reports The Los Angeles Times. The school district will also purchase laptops for seven high schools.
The newly approved $115-million proposal does not cap the number of iPads the district is able to purchase for students during testing, but the L.A. Board of Education expects the number to be under 67,500. The iPads will be shared by different classes over the course of six weeks of testing.
Each iPad typically costs the L.A. Unified School District $768, which includes curriculum, but the district is aiming to negotiate a fee of $200 to $300 less for iPads used exclusively for testing. Initially, the school district's contract locked it into purchasing older iPads, but Apple has now agreed to provide newer models at no additional cost.
Back in June, the Los Angeles Unified School District voted to spend a total of $30 million on Apple's iPads, equipping every student in 47 of the district's schools with a tablet preloaded with digital textbooks. The initiative, which saw approximately 35,000 iPads handed out to students in the district, is part of a larger effort to equip all 640,000 students in the district with iPads by the end of 2014.
Though the L.A. School District has seen success with the iPads, it did encounter some difficulties with students bypassing the content restrictions on the devices. As a result, home use of the tablets has been halted.
Following the appearance of 15-inch models of the latest Retina MacBook Pro in Apple's online store for refurbished items over the weekend, 13-inch models have now debuted in the store, again offering discounts of roughly 15% compared to brand-new units. While a number of different configurations were available when the 13-inch machines first appeared late yesterday, Apple is currently listing only two of the three stock configurations as available with shipping estimates of 1-5 business days.
The third stock configuration, a 2.4 GHz model with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage, is listed as out of stock but will be priced at $1269, a $230 savings.
Apple and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission have entered into a consent decree over in-app purchases on the App Store. In a memo to Apple employees, CEO Tim Cook wrote that the company felt it had no other choice.
According to the agreement, Apple will be required to provide full refunds to parents whose children purchased unauthorized in-app items, setting a floor of $32 million on refunds.
A large part of the FTC's concern was related to a fifteen-minute window after a password is entered on the App Store, during which other purchases can be made without a password being entered. Apple will now be required to notify users that the fifteen-minute window exists to obtain "expressed and informed consent" from its customers.
In early 2013, Apple settled a class action lawsuit originally filed by parents after their children ran up hundreds of dollars on in-app purchases in freemium games.
In the memo, which was obtained by Re/code, Cook wrote that it didn't "feel right for the FTC to sue over a case that had already been settled" and it "smacked of double jeopardy".
From: Tim Cook Date: January 15, 2014 Subject: FTC announcement
Team,
I want to let you know that Apple has entered into a consent decree with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. We have been negotiating with the FTC for several months over disclosures about the in-app purchase feature of the App Store, because younger customers have sometimes been able to make purchases without their parents’ consent. I know this announcement will come as a surprise to many of you since Apple has led the industry by making the App Store a safe place for customers of all ages.
From the very beginning, protecting children has been a top priority for the App Store team and everyone at Apple. The store is thoughtfully curated, and we hold app developers to Apple’s own high standards of security, privacy, usefulness and decency, among others. The parental controls in iOS are strong, intuitive and customizable, and we’ve continued to add ways for parents to protect their children. These controls go far beyond the features of other mobile device and OS makers, most of whom don’t even review the apps they sell to children.
When we introduced in-app purchases in 2009, we proactively offered parents a way to disable the function with a single switch. When in-app purchases were enabled and a password was entered to download an app, the App Store allowed purchases for 15 minutes without requiring a password. The 15-minute window had been there since the launch of the App Store in 2008 and was aimed at making the App Store easy to use, but some younger customers discovered that it also allowed them to make in-app purchases without a parent’s approval.
We heard from some customers with children that it was too easy to make in-app purchases, so we moved quickly to make improvements. We even created additional steps in the purchasing process, because these steps are so helpful to parents.
Last year, we set out to refund any in-app purchase which may have been made without a parent’s permission. We wanted to reach every customer who might have been affected, so we sent emails to 28 million App Store customers – anyone who had made an in-app purchase in a game designed for kids. When some emails bounced, we mailed the parents postcards. In all, we received 37,000 claims and we will be reimbursing each one as promised.
A federal judge agreed with our actions as a full settlement and we felt we had made things right for everyone. Then, the FTC got involved and we faced the prospect of a second lawsuit over the very same issue.
It doesn’t feel right for the FTC to sue over a case that had already been settled. To us, it smacked of double jeopardy. However, the consent decree the FTC proposed does not require us to do anything we weren’t already going to do, so we decided to accept it rather than take on a long and distracting legal fight.
The App Store is one of Apple’s most important innovations, and it’s wildly popular with our customers around the world because they know they can trust Apple. You and your coworkers have helped Apple earn that trust, which we value and respect above all else.
Apple is a company full of disruptive ideas and innovative people, who are also committed to upholding the highest moral, legal and ethical standards in everything we do. As I’ve said before, we believe technology can serve humankind’s deepest values and highest aspirations. As Apple continues to grow, there will inevitably be scrutiny and criticism along our journey. We don’t shy away from these kinds of questions, because we are confident in the integrity of our company and our coworkers.
Thank you for the hard work you do to delight our customers, and for showing them at every turn that Apple is worthy of their trust.
Tim
In response, the FTC said that its proposed order is more robust than the settlement in the class action lawsuit, and that the resolution in that lawsuit didn't require Apple to change its behavior. Additionally, the FTC's settlement does not put a cap on the amount that could be refunded to parents, while the lawsuit's did.
Apple is creeping closer to opening a new flagship store in Toyko's well-known Omotesando district. Previously reported to be scheduled for a March 2014 opening, an image of the store published by Mac Otakara shows significant progress has been made on the store. Although wrapped in a black shroud, the exterior of the building is starting to take shape, with the building appearing to bear a resemblance to the Apple's new Stanford store.
Just like the Stanford location, the Omotesando store appears to have floor-to-ceiling glass walls and a thin steel roof. Mac Otakara notes that the glass front and sides stand out from the silver-colored metal eaves. This same design is also evident in Apple's new stores planned for Portland, Oregon and Aix-en-Provence, France.
The Omotesando location will feature 20,000 square feet of floor space spanning three floors. Two of the floors will be underground, while the top floor will be above ground. Apple has been hiring employees to staff the store for over six months, and it will be the first new store Apple has opened in Japan since 2006.
The opening comes as Apple is seeing strong iPhone sales in Japan, with estimates from Kantar Worldpanel indicating that the iPhone 5s and 5c accounted for 76% of smartphone sales in the country in October, just after their debut.
Starbucks has admitted that its 
Apple today updated its WWDC app, fixing an issue that prevented developers from being able to log in and watch videos from the 
Apple and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission have 
