MacRumors

Apple seems to be deploying iTunes Match into international music stores this evening, though there seem to be some ongoing glitches that suggests they could be an early mistake or a partial roll out.

Several readers in the UK and Australia have noticed that iTunes Match is now a sign up option in their iTunes Account information page. Apple has not yet started promoting iTunes Match in the iTunes Store, but the links to iTunes Match are live with localized pricing (see above).

In the UK, iTunes Match costs £21.99 for a year and €24.99 in other parts of Europe. Users are allowed to sign up for it and receive a confirmation email of their purchase but one Twitter report claims it "does nothing" at this stage. For Australian customers, the service is priced at A$ 34.99.

To see if it appears available in your country, log into your iTunes account on your Mac or PC and then tap on your account name to see your account information. From there, you may be able to sign up, though we'd advise some caution as it seems the service isn't fully operational at the time of this writing. Alternatively, you can also try this direct link that opens the page directly in iTunes.

iTunes Match is Apple's music service offers users the ability to match their existing iTunes library with high quality versions in Apple's iCloud. The service originally launched in the U.S. and recently expanded to Brazil.

Thanks Colin

Update: It appears the launch may have been premature. Apple is refunding early buyers and claims it is not available outside of Brazil and the U.S. at the moment.

Forbes publishes a lengthy guest post from advertising executive Rob Siltanen, one of the primary contributors to the development of Apple's famous "Think Different" advertising campaign that helped turn the company around following Steve Jobs' return. In the piece, Siltanen details the process of pitching the campaign to Jobs and his work on the "Here's to the Crazy Ones" script.

Siltanen was inspired to write the post following the publication of Walter Isaacson's authorized biography of Steve Jobs, which repeats the oft-cited claim that Jobs himself was responsible for much of the "Here's to the Crazy Ones" text and ideas.

Steve was highly involved with the advertising and every facet of Apple’s business. But he was far from the mastermind behind the renowned launch spot. In fact, he was blatantly harsh on the commercial that would eventually play a pivotal role in helping Apple achieve one of the greatest corporate turnarounds in business history.

Siltanen goes on to describe how he and other representatives of the high-profile TBWA/Chiat/Day advertising firm were surprised that Jobs required them to pitch to win the contract with the then-struggling Apple. In dreaming up concepts to pitch to Jobs, the one that stood out was the "Think Different" tagline paired with photos and videos of famous creative thinkers. Jobs liked the campaign but initially worried that it would appear too egotistical. Within seconds, however, Jobs changed course and brought the firm on board to carry out the idea.

Siltanen used Robin Williams' speeches from the movie Dead Poets Society as inspiration for what became "Here's to the Crazy Ones". But when it was presented to Jobs in what turned out to eventually be nearly its final form, Jobs initially hated it.

We played the spot once, and when it finished, Jobs said, “It sucks! I hate it! It’s advertising agency ****! I thought you were going to write something like ‘Dead Poets Society!’ This is crap!”

Clow said something like, “Well, I take it you don’t want to see it again.” And Steve continued to go on a rant about how we should get the writers from “Dead Poets Society” or some “real writers” to write something.

Jobs eventually changed his mind again, and the "Think Different" campaign quickly marked a turning point for the company even as it was still trying to develop new products to execute the dramatic turnaround.

In the wake of reports that Apple is considering the purchase of Israeli firm Anobit, Israeli financial newspaper Globes reports that Apple plans to set up its first research and development center outside of its Cupertino headquarters.

Sources inform "Globes" that Apple Inc. has decided to open a development center in Israel focusing on semiconductors. The decision was taken even before the company entered into talks to acquire Herzliya-based flash storage solutions provider Anobit Ltd..
Apple has hired Aharon Aharon, a veteran player in Israel's high tech industry, to lead the new development center.

[...]

Aharon Aharon comes to Apple with a varied background that will assist him in setting up a semiconductors operation for a foreign company. His most high-tech venture was Camero Tech Ltd., which develops Radio Frequency (RF) based imaging systems, and which he founded in 2004 with Amir Beeri. Aharon serves as chairman of Camero Tech. Before that he was chairman of embedded security solutions developer Discretix Inc. and managed their Israel development center. Earlier still he was VP operations at Zoran Corp. (Nasdaq: ZRAN), having begun his career at IBM's Haifa development center where he reached the post of deputy director.

Globes also claims Aharon will spend several months at Apple's headquarters and will return to Israel to set up the research center whether or not Apple purchases an Israeli company.

Both Globes and Israeli business paper Calcalist report [translation] that Apple vice president Ed Frank has been taking meetings with high-tech companies in Israel ahead of the announcement of the development center. A number of other US tech firms have research centers in Israel, including Intel, Google, IBM, Microsoft.

Following up on last month's promise that it would be launching an updated user interface for its iPad application, Netflix has just updated its universal iOS app to version 2.0. The new update brings the updated iPad interface, compatibility with new streaming services in Latin America, and several other improvements.

New in Netflix v 2.0

1. Netflix now available in Latin America for iPhone and iPad
2. New iPad UI for all regions - US, Canada, Latin America - requires upgrade to iOS 5
3. Addressed stability issues
4. For support questions please contact us at mobilesupport@netflix.com

As Netflix previously noted when the revised interface debuted on Android tablets, the app now displays twice as many movies and TV shows as with the old interface, making it easier for users to discover new content to add to their Instant Queues.

Netflix is a free download, but requires a monthly subscription to Netflix's streaming service.

(Thanks, Arthur!)

Apple's artificial intelligence agent Siri was one of the key new features in the iPhone 4S. The impressive system has generated a lot of publicity and has put voice recognition technologies back into the forefront. Many companies are expected to integrate more voice enabled applications in the coming year.

Google's Android has long had voice dictation and command capabilities, but the company seems to be stepping up their efforts in the coming months. AndroidandMe reports on a secret project codenamed Majel which is meant to be an evolution of Google's Voice Actions with the addition of natural language processing. This natural language processing is what gives Siri an edge over other simple voice recognition systems.

In a Slashgear interview with Matias Duarte, Google's Director of Android OS User Experience, they describe their approach which won't try to mimic Siri's attitude:

The metaphor I like to take is – if it’s Star Wars, you have these robot personalities like C-3PO who runs around and he tries to do stuff for you, messes up and makes jokes, he’s kind of a comic relief guy. Our approach is more like Star Trek, right, starship Enterprise; every piece of computing surface, everything is voice-aware. It’s not that there’s a personality, it doesn’t have a name, it’s just “Computer.” And you can talk to it and you can touch it, you can interact with it at the same time as you talk with it. It’s just another way to interface with the computer.

The codename "Majel" comes from Majel Barrett-Roddenberry who voiced the Federation Computer from Star Trek.

Yesterday, we reported on Apple's removal of a free iOS app from DriversEd.com that allowed users to create fake driver's licenses on their devices. While the app was positioned as a joke app that would allow users to add funny content to licenses and share them with friends, it attracted the concern of U.S. Senator Bob Casey, who sent a letter to Apple suggesting that the app could be used to support identity theft and underage alcohol and tobacco purchases, as well as compromise national security.

DriversEd.com got in touch with MacRumors about the situation, sharing that Apple did not contact the company until several hours after pulling the app from the App Store. In its communication, Apple simply cited without clarification Section 22.1 of the App Store Review Guidelines:

Apps must comply with all legal requirements in any location where they are made available to users. It is the developer's obligation to understand and conform to all local laws.

In a press release (PDF) response and an associated FAQ (PDF), DriversEd.com lays out the numerous ways in which the gag licenses produced by the app could not possibly used to generate legitimate-looking fake IDs. Among the most important characteristics are slight differences in layouts, fonts and colors, multiple mentions of the license being a "mock" from DriversEd.com, and a resolution of just 72 DPI.

DriversEd.com specifically and deliberately designed the app to prevent the creation of counterfeit identification. “By design, it would take more effort and expertise to modify the product of the DriversEd.com ‘Driver License’ app than to construct a counterfeit from scratch,” says Founder and Chief Operating Officer Gary Tsifrin.

Tsifrin goes on to note that it strongly supports Senator Casey's goal of secure identification but that the company's free license app could not possibly threaten that aim. Says Tsifirn, "We hope that in light of these facts Apple will take one more look at the DriversEd.com ‘Driver License’ app."

In a report sure to excite our readers, DigiTimes is saying that Apple may be readying an ultra high-resolution MacBook Pro for as early as second quarter (Q2) 2012:

Apple is likely to launch its new MacBook Pro lineup with a display resolution of 2880 by 1800 in the second quarter of 2012, setting a new round of competition for panel specifications in the notebook industry, according to sources in the upstream supply chain.

The publication cites supply chain partners as the source for the information which would double the resolution of the MacBook Pro to 2880x1800 pixels.

This new high resolution MacBook Pro would presumably be a 15" model which currently carries a native resolution of 1440x900 pixels. By doubling the resolution in each dimension, Apple would achieve four times the number of pixels and provide developers an easy way to scale existing artwork.

We've known about Apple's work to support these ultra high resolution screens, but we didn't necessarily expect them to arrive so soon. That said, support seems to be building for exactly such a thing.

Intel's upcoming Ivy Bridge processors are known to support resolutions as high as 4096x4096. Meanwhile, Apple has already added new "HiDPI" modes in Lion that support this resolution-doubling mode. Apple has even added ultra-high resolution artwork in Lion with desktop images at 3200x2000 pixels and icons at 1024x1024 pixels.

And Apple's not the only company preparing for the possibility. Microsoft is also building in support for high dpi monitors in Windows 8.

A Q2 2012 launch would place it near what has been expected to be the arrival of a 15" MacBook Air. Based on the expected timing of that product (Q1 2012), it seems this MacBook Pro may be a different product altogether.

University of Georgia student and user interface concept designer Jan-Michael Cart has officially announced on his new blog that he is headed to Cupertino to take a seven-month internship with Apple. Cart has gained some fame in the Apple rumor community for his ideas and concept mockups for potential iOS and Lion feature additions and enhancements.

And like that, my time has come — I am now a member of the Apple community. I will still update my website with random small portfolio additions. I will also open up the blog portion of my website to document my day-to-day happenings in Cupertino. Stay tuned!

Notably, MacRumors and Cart worked together earlier this year to create a video mockup of the "Assistant" feature for iOS that appeared a week later in the iPhone 4S as Siri. Working from our information received from a source with direct knowledge of Siri, Cart created a remarkably accurate depiction of how Siri would function.

While Cart's hiring by Apple may be a surprise to some given his role in leaking the design of Siri ahead of its public revelation, this is not the first time that Apple has drawn from what might be considered the fringes of the iOS community from Apple's point-of-view. Notably, Apple previously offered internships to Peter Hajas, developer of the jailbreak tool MobileNotifier, and Nicholas Allegra, better known as jailbreak expert Comex.

Other examples of Cart's user interface design concepts and work can be seen on his YouTube account.

Late last month, we noted that Apple's founding corporate papers were headed up for auction, with Sotheby's estimating that the documents would fetch in the range of $100,000-$150,000. The set of documents included the original three-page contract signed by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ron Wayne, as well as several other documents related to withdrawal from the company just 12 days after it was founded.

According to the Sotheby's auction page for the documents, which are part of an ongoing sale of fine books and manuscripts, the lot sold for $1,594,500, considerably higher than the pre-auction estimates. That price includes a buyer's premium of 12% paid to Sotheby's.

The identity of the winning bidder has not been revealed, but the seller was identified last week as Wade Saadi, who purchased the documents from Ron Wayne in 1994 for "several thousand dollars".

Update: Sotheby's appears to have removed the final sales price from the auction listing for unknown reasons. Fortune reports that the winning bid came in via telephone at $1.35 million, although that figure apparently does not include the buyer's premium.

Update 2: As reported by the BBC, the winning bidder was Eduardo Cisneros, an executive whose Miami-based company owns stakes in a number of different companies.

In 2004, a developer by the name of Allan Odgaard released a new text-editor by the name of TextMate. Over the next few years, the application became extremely popular with coders because of a number of powerful features, including extensive customization, macros, and much more.

TextMate 2.0 was originally announced in 2006, and three years later Odgaard wrote in a blog post that he was still hard at work on TextMate 2 and it was 90 percent complete. He hoped that "an alpha version will be ready before too long, but I can’t make any promises about dates." Time passed, and Wired named TextMate 2 to it's year-end vaporware list in 2009, along with StarCraft II and the US release of Spotify.

TextMate 2.0 has finally been released to the public in the form of a public alpha -- typically the development milestone that precedes beta.

The excitement for a new version has been tremendous and today we’re finally able to repay the much appreciated loyalty and moral support from the community by releasing the first public alpha: TextMate 2.0 alpha (r8930).

It’s important to stress though that being an alpha release; it is not complete. It has reached a point where it may suit some early adopters and provide some relief to those who have been questioning TextMate’s future. For the time being, the alpha builds are only for people who already have a TextMate license and an Intel Mac.

Being a complete rewrite there are too many changes to sum up but here is an overview of notable changes since TextMate 1.5.10.

The TextMate 2.0 alpha is only for current TextMate license holders and will only work on Intel Macs.

TextMate is available for €39 (just over $50 at current exchange rates) from the MacroMates website.

Microsoft today took a major step onto the iOS gaming platform with the release of Kinectimals. The game, which is aimed at children and involves interacting with virtual animals, debuted last year as an Xbox 360 game taking advantage of the Kinect motion-sensing control system.

This irresistible mobile experience gives you the chance to use your phone to visit the island of Lemuria and play with, care for and fall in love with your very own cub. Bring your pet with you wherever you go! If you’ve already experienced Kinectimals on Kinect for Xbox 360, your phone becomes the key to unlocking five new cubs on your console.

The release marks an interesting move for Microsoft, which has an established gaming brand with the Xbox/Kinect line and has been thought to be looking to use that leverage to promote its own Windows Phone platform. But Microsoft has been making a significant push into iOS gaming tie-ins over the past week, beginning with the My Xbox LIVE profile management app and Halo Waypoint companion app for the popular gaming franchise.

Beyond those new offerings, today's addition of Kinectimals signals an even more substantial investment in iOS by Microsoft, which has now proven willing to branch out from its own platforms to support games running directly on iOS devices.

Kinectimals is a universal iOS application for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, and is priced at $2.99 [App Store].

Late last month, Apple announced that it would be offering free standard shipping on all orders placed through the U.S. online store through December 22nd. Free shipping from the U.S. store typically requires a minimum $50 purchase, but Apple is waiving that minimum during the holiday shopping season.

With less than two weeks to go before Christmas, Apple has now bumped up that offer to include free 2-3 business day shipping, offering even faster deliveries for customers trying to complete their shopping. The standard shipping option previously included in the free shipping promotion can require up to five business days for delivery, with customers therefore waiting up to a week to receive their orders. But with the new upgraded free shipping, customers placing orders for in-stock items today can expect delivery on Thursday or Friday of this week.

Apple has also updated its holiday shipping info page to reflect the new 2-3 shipping option. The order deadline dates have not changed with the upgrade to 2-3 day free shipping, but customers should receive their shipment a bit faster.

For the majority of products, orders must be placed by December 19th in order to receive pre-Christmas delivery with the free shipping promotion. Select products do carry earlier deadlines though, with the deadline for customized Macs being tomorrow: December 14th. The deadline for iPhone 4S holiday orders has already passed, given the tight supplies that have resulted in 1-2 week shipping estimates for new orders.

For the last-minute shoppers, Apple does also offer next-day shipping on most items for an additional charge. Orders for most items (with the exception of customized Macs and engraved iPads and iPods) must be placed by December 21st with next-day shipping in order to receive pre-Christmas delivery.