MacRumors

As expected, Apple has begun taking Apple Online Stores around the world offline as it prepares for its second wave of iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s launches on October 25. First announced in early October, this second launch will bring Apple's newest iPhones to 35 additional countries, including India, Mexico, and Russia.

As noted by 9to5Mac, consumers around the world are lining up at Apple Stores hoping to purchase a new iPhone. The launch will kick off in New Zealand first, where it is just after 10:30 AM on October 25.

Countries receiving the iPhones today include Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, French West Indies, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Reunion Island, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and Thailand.

On November 1, the rollout will be extended to the following countries: Albania, Armenia, Bahrain, Colombia, El Salvador, Guam, Guatemala, India, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and United Arab Emirates.

Following Apple's third launch on November 1, the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c will be available in more than 60 countries, bringing Apple closer to its stated target of availability in 100 countries before the end of the year.

Supplies of the iPhone 5s remain constrained, with shipping times in the United States and a number of other first wave launch countries still at two to three weeks. Supplies of the iPhone 5c, however, remain plentiful, with estimated shipping times of 24 hours.

Apple released version 6.0.1 of the Apple TV software today, a minor bug fix release capping a week of new product updates.

The last Apple TV update occurred back in September following the public release of iOS 7 for the iPhone and iPad. That release added support for iTunes Radio, AirPlay from iCloud and new podcast functionality.

On Tuesday, Apple added a new iMovie Theater channel to the Apple TV. The new channel is designed to work in conjunction with a new feature in the Mac and iOS versions of iMovie that allows users to share clips and videos seamlessly between their Apple devices.

According to Apple's Apple TV software update page with, version 6.0.1 includes "general performance and stability improvements. The update is available through the Apple TV's over-the-air update mechanism via Settings / General / Software Update.

Some observers may have wondered why Apple would continue to sell the iPad 2 for $399 after announcing the iPad Air and Retina iPad mini on Tuesday. The answer, according to new research from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, is because customers are still buying the two-year old tablet.

The iPad 2 accounted for some 22 percent of iPad sales in the September quarter, down significantly from prior quarters, but it appears there is still more than enough demand for a cheaper, full-size iPad, particularly for the education sector.

"Despite this quarter including back-to-school sales, the iPad 2, which accounted for a third of sales for the prior six months, seems to have started to show some age, after several strong quarters," said Josh Lowitz, Partner and Co-Founder of CIRP. "Yet, the iPad Mini continued its relative share in the past few quarters, as customers seem to continue to like it as a low-price tablet alternative."

The full-size iPad 4 remained the most popular iPad in the quarter, accounting for nearly half of total sales in the U.S., while CIRP says the iPad mini tallied about a third of sales.

Apple's new iPad lineup sees the older iPad mini starting at $299, the new Retina iPad mini and the full-size iPad 2 available for $399, and the new iPad air beginning at $499.

It appears some Disney and Pixar titles like The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and Cars series Mater's Tall Tales have been pulled from both the iTunes Store and the "Purchased Content" libraries of customers who paid for the content.

While the removal, originally noticed by a 9to5Mac reader, first appeared to be a glitch, AppAdvice has pointed out that the titles are also unavailable via the Amazon Instant Video service, suggesting the disappearance of the content may be intentional, potentially due to a licensing issue.

According to the customer who noticed the missing titles, Disney elected to remove the content from the iTunes Store, preventing customers who have purchased the movies/TV shows from re-downloading the content via iTunes in the Cloud, which allows users access to previously purchased content.

Two movies disappeared from my Apple TV yesterday (Mater's Tall Tales and The Lion King). I called Apple and they told me that Disney has removed them from the iTunes store. They are no longer available for viewing on my Apple TV. There was no warning, no notice and no refund. According to Apple, all digital content belongs to the content provider.

On Amazon.com, searching for the titles results in a notice that licensing agreements have prevented the content from being purchased or rented, and as AppAdvice points out, Apple's iTunes Store Terms and Conditions does specify that previously purchased content can be made inaccessible.

As an accommodation to you, subsequent to acquiring iTunes Auto-Delivery Content, purchased (i.e. not rented) movies iTunes Products and TV show iTunes Products (each, "iTunes Eligible Content"), you may download certain of such previously-purchased iTunes Eligible Content onto any Associated Device.

Some iTunes Eligible Content that you previously purchased may not be available for subsequent download at any given time, and Apple shall have no liability to you in such event. As you may not be able to subsequently download certain previously-purchased iTunes Eligible Content, once you download an item of iTunes Eligible Content, it is your responsibility not to lose, destroy, or damage it, and you may want to back it up.

Both Apple and Disney have yet to comment on the content removal, and it remains unclear whether the disappearance of select titles is temporary or a more permanent move.

Update: A Disney spokesperson told AppAdvice that Disney plans to work with Apple to ensure that users who purchased The Lion King and other content now removed from the App Store will be able to continue to download their purchases.

As part of its efforts to ensure that all eligible software owners are able to upgrade to the latest versions of its software on the Mac App Store, Apple is intentionally allowing users with any version of Aperture, iLife and iWork installed on their system to upgrade to the latest versions on the Mac App Store -- even illegally acquired or trial versions.

In order to ensure that no legitimate software owners are left behind, according to MacTrast, Apple has eliminated its legacy software update mechanism entirely and is instead pushing all software updates onto the Mac App Store.

According to a MacTrast source at Apple:

It’s no coincidence that Apple’s support site doesn’t have downloads for the new Aperture, iWork, and iLife updates. They aren’t in our Software Update system either – and there’s a good reason for that. With Mavericks, we have changed the way we distribute updates for legacy versions of our apps

Rather than maintain separate updates for these in addition to the Mac App Store versions of each app, Apple has decided to eliminate their legacy software update system for apps entirely. Instead, when Mavericks discovers legacy apps installed on your Mac, it provisions them as a Mac App Store purchase using your Apple ID. It saves us a lot of time, effort, and bandwidth. After the provision is complete, it will appear in your Mac App Store history as though you have purchased the Mac App Store version of the app.

While we are aware that this enables piracy of our apps for unethical users, Apple has never taken a strong stance or action against piracy in the past. We like to believe that our users are honest, even if that belief is in vain.

When the new apps were released on the Mac App Store, many users with legitimate copies were unable to upgrade to the latest versions, though many users who were having difficulties seem to be able to upgrade now.

As a result of Apple's changes, all users with older versions of Aperture, iWork or iLife installed -- even if acquired through less-than-ethical means -- should be able to upgrade to the latest versions through the Mac App Store.

Following Apple's launch of MacBook Pro models equipped with Thunderbolt 2 ports, PROMISE Technology has announced new Thunderbolt 2 RAID systems for users needing the fastest possible storage.

The company says its Pegasus2 line of RAID arrays allow for simultaneous transfer and display of 3D and 4K video files. It will work with the new MacBook Pro with Retina display, as well as the new Mac Pro when it launches this December.

Pegasus2, the ideal external RAID storage solution, is available in 4-bay, 6-bay and 8-bay enclosures, and maximizes the available line rate of Thunderbolt 2 by providing blistering fast transfer speeds for a growing number of 4K applications. With two Thunderbolt 2 ports, 6 devices can be attached – allowing for daisy chaining of up to 6 Pegasus enclosure units, Apple Thunderbolt Displays, or Mini DisplayPort devices.

As the first and only RAID 5 solution with Thunderbolt 2 technology, Pegasus2 delivers enterprise-level hardware RAID protection in a portable package that can be taken almost anywhere - perfect for photographers, filmmakers, and other multimedia professionals.

PROMISE will be offering the Pegasus2 in 8TB, 12TB, 18TB, 24TB and 32TB capacities through the Apple Online Store and elsewhere, though the systems -- and pricing -- are not yet live on the Apple Store.

The company also announced the SANLink2, aThunderbolt 2 bridge that provides dual 8Gbps Fibre Channel ports for connection to other RAID systems. Both the SANLink2 and the new Pegasus2 line are fully backwards compatible with the Thunderbolt 1 ports in older Apple devices.

Thunderbolt 2 was announced earlier this year by Intel and both the new MacBook Pro and the upcoming Mac Pro will include it. The connection enables two 20Gbps bidirectional channels, allowing 4K video to travel over a single cable and theoretical transfer rates of 800-900MB/s for storage arrays. This is roughly twice as fast as Thunderbolt 1. It is aimed at high-end video editors and users who need the ultimate in expansion capabilities.

Update: PROMISE has now provided MacRumors with pricing details on the forthcoming Pegasus2 RAID storage arrays:

- Pegasus2 R4 (4-bay): 4x2TB $1499
- Pegasus2 R6 (6 bay): 6x2TB $2299, 6x3TB $2999
- Pegasus2 R8 (8-bay): 8x3TB $3599, 8x4TB $4599

Following concerns expressed during the lead-up to this week's Apple media event that the company would be unable to launch the Retina iPad mini in any significant volume before the end of the year, supply chain analysts continue to expect very low supplies of the device when it launches next month.

Shortly after Apple announced the new Retina iPad mini, IHS iSuppli analyst Rhoda Alexander noted that supplies will indeed be "severely constrained", according to CNET.

"The supply for that product is severely constrained," said Rhoda Alexander, director of Tablet and Monitor Research at IHS iSuppli.

"We don't expect to see meaningful volume until first quarter [of 2014]."

Alexander expanded a bit more in comments shared by The Telegraph yesterday, calling the supplies "ridiculously tight" at one-third the levels seen for last year's launch of the original iPad mini.

Rhoda Alexander, director of tablet research at IHS electronis and media, said: "The supply of the Retina Mini is going to be ridiculously tight in the fourth quarter.

"Apple’s 2013 iPad shipment growth is shaping up to be comparatively modest and the shift in launch cycles has played a major role in the slowdown."

Production of the Retina display panels for the new iPad mini is said to be the bottleneck for Apple, with Apple's suppliers needing to optimize processes for building displays with the same number of pixels as the full-size iPad but at the higher pixel density of the iPhone and iPod touch.

Alexander is certainly not the only analyst to be predicting tight supplies of the new iPad mini, with KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo making similar claims. Kuo's modeling has Apple shipping only a little over 2.2 million Retina iPad mini units during the fourth quarter due to those low supplies and a mid-quarter launch, compared to nearly 6.6 million units of the non-Retina iPad mini.

Apple's own announcements have also suggested low availability of the Retina iPad mini, with the company introducing the device at Tuesday's event but declining to announce an exact launch date in specifying only "November". And with the iPad Air launching on November 1, it seems clear that Apple is struggling to produce the new Retina iPad mini in quantities sufficient enough to allow it to launch as the holiday shopping season kicks off at the end of November.

Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn has published a new letter sent to Apple CEO Tim Cook, addressing his thoughts on an enhanced stock buyback plan for the company. The letter, released on Icahn's new Shareholders' Square Table website and republished by StreetInsider, also notes that Icahn now holds $2.5 billion in Apple stock, having increased his position by over 20% since he met with Cook at the very end of last month.

As he noted in his tweet following the meeting with Cook, Icahn is requesting that Apple undertake an "immediate" $150 billion buyback of its stock, arguing that it would be a terrific use of cash and debt given his belief that Apple's stock is currently severely undervalued. Such a program would mark a major expansion of the current program designed to repurchase $60 billion worth of stock over three years.

When we met, you agreed with us that the shares are undervalued. In our view, irrational undervaluation as dramatic as this is often a short term anomaly. The timing for a larger buyback is still ripe, but the opportunity will not last forever. While the board’s actions to date ($60 billion share repurchase over three years) may seem like a large buyback, it is simply not large enough given that Apple currently holds $147 billion of cash on its balance sheet, and that it will generate $51 billion of EBIT next year (Wall Street consensus forecast).

Icahn lays out his expectations for earnings per share and stock value growth that could be expected from such a move, and notes that Apple could easily manage debt payments if it were to finance the entire $150 billion buyback with debt at 3% interest.

While this would certainly be unprecedented because of its size, it is actually appropriate and manageable relative to the size and financial strength of your company. Apple generates more than enough cash flow to service this amount of debt and has $147 billion of cash in the bank. As we proposed at our dinner, if the company decided to borrow the full $150 billion at a 3% interest rate to commence a tender at $525 per share, the result would be an immediate 33% boost to earnings per share, translating into a 33% increase in the value of the shares, which significantly assumes no multiple expansion. Longer term (in three years) if you execute this buyback as proposed, we expect the share price to appreciate to $1,250, assuming the market rewards EBIT growth of 7.5% per year with a more normal market multiple of 11x EBIT.

Finally, Icahn notes that he would not participate in the buyback he proposes, indicating that there "nothing short term about [his] intentions" as he attempts to convince Apple and his investors that he is not simply pushing an agenda serving his own immediate interests without regard for the company's long-term health.

Microsoft's corporate vice president of communications, Frank Shaw, today took to the Official Microsoft Blog to denounce both Apple's revamped iWork software and the company's well-received decision to distribute it as a free upgrade for existing users.

"Seems like the RDF (Reality Distortion Field) typically generated by an Apple event has extended beyond Cupertino," writes Shaw, before launching into a long-winded rant that positions the Surface and the Surface 2 as better productivity devices, insinuating that Apple doesn't understand productivity.

That’s what Surface is. A single, simple, affordable device that helps you both lean in and kick back. Let’s be clear – helping folks kill time on a tablet is relatively easy. Give them books, music, videos and games, and they’ll figure out the rest. Pretty much all tablets do that.

But helping people be productive on a tablet is a little trickier. It takes an understanding of how people actually work, how they get things done, and how to best support the way they do things already.

The good news is that Microsoft understands how people work better than anyone else on the planet.

Shaw goes on to suggest that since iWork has never "gotten much traction", Apple's decision to provide both free upgrades and free software to new users was insignificant as it was "already priced like an afterthought" and it's difficult to work on a device that "lacks precision input and a desktop for true side-by-side multitasking." He also offers several bullet points that highlight the iPad's shortcomings, following up with a statement that Microsoft has "built a better solution for people everywhere."

- The Surface and Surface 2 are less expensive than the iPad 2 and iPad Air respectively, and yet offer more storage, both onboard and in the cloud.
- … come with full versions of Office 2013, including Outlook, not non-standard, non-cross-platform, imitation apps that can’t share docs with the rest of the world.
- … offer additional native productivity enhancing capabilities like kickstands, USB ports, SD card slots and multiple keyboard options.
- … include interfaces for opening multiple windows, either side by side or layered to fit the way most people actually work.

Shaw's anti-iWork comments follow Apple's own jabs at Microsoft, where Tim Cook took to the stage to question Apple's competitors.

"Our competition is different. They're confused. They chased after netbooks, now they're trying to make PCs into tablets and tablets into PCs. Who knows that they'll do next? I can't answer that question, but I can tell you that we're focused."

Over the course of 2013, Microsoft has unsuccessfully attempted to position its Surface tablets as ideal productivity tools, continually highlighting the iPad's inability to run multiple apps at once, its lack of accessories, its high price, and of course, its less popular productivity software.

Following a series of price cuts, Microsoft revealed that its Surface lineup had earned just $853 million for the company, less than the $900 million writedown the company took for the Surface RT. Nevertheless, Microsoft forged ahead to release a second Surface tablet, announcing the Surface 2 and Surface 2 Pro in September.