Ben Lovejoy

AppleInsider reported late last week that web traffic logs from machines claiming to run OS X 10.9 had jumped from "a few dozen" back in October into the thousands last month, suggesting that the new operating system may be close to making its first appearance. MacRumors is seeing a nearly identical trend, with a significant increase in OS X 10.9 activity since last November. Hits on ...

One of the fastest-spreading stories of the weekend has been a strange OS X Mountain Lion bug that can crash almost any Mac app running any version of OS X 10.8, reported on Open Radar. The initial bug report stated that typing 'File:///' (without the quotes) into almost any app causes the app to crash. Follow-up testing has shown that the final character needn't be a forward-slash, with...

Several clues surfacing in recent days have hinted that Apple's iWork and iLife suites may be undergoing substantial redevelopment. Late last week, Apple Bitch noticed two new job listings for senior software engineers for the company's iLife team, with the descriptions emphasizing a desire to "re-imagine how user interfaces should be built and work". MacNN followed up with its own reporting ...

Earlier this week, TechCrunch shared data from touch-based website developer Onswipe showing that, based on its user base of over 13 million monthly active users, over 21% of iPhone and iPad users had updated to iOS 6.1 in the first two days of availability. We've since followed up with Onswipe to see how the share of users on iOS 6.1 has moved over the past several days, and the firm tells...

Apple is better placed than Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo to take a lead in the games console market, said Gabe Newell, founder of the games-distribution hub Steam in a speech at the University of Texas. As noted by Polygon, Newell argued that games served from a PC in the home direct to a TV, rather than from a games console, are the future of the market. But if the PC industry does not move ...

While a prediction that the next-generation iPad will be thinner and lighter than the current one may not seem an overly ambitious one, Digitimes claims to have details, suggesting that the iPad 5 will borrow the G/F2 (DITO) thin-film type touch screen technology used on the iPad mini. Digitimes cited an un-named industry source as reporting that the screens would use a similar mix of...

Apple overtook Samsung as the market leader in mobile phones in the United States for the final quarter of 2012, reports Strategy Analytics, though Samsung still led for the year as a whole. The development marks the first time Apple has held the top spot in overall mobile phone shipments. The technology analysts estimate that a total of 52 million mobile phones were shipped in the U.S....

While iOS 6.1 brought several widely publicized new features such as support for several dozen new LTE carriers and new support for ordering Fandango movie tickets through Siri in the United States, a number of other minor changes were also included in the update. Given the frequency with which our readers have been pointing some of them out, we thought it would be appropriate to make note of...

Apple's decision to launch the 128 GB iPad in February seems to make rumors of a new model in March or April appear unlikely, suggesting the fall as a more likely time for a refresh. iLounge was among the sites to suggest a Spring 2013 date for the launch of the iPad 5, although the site has since backtracked from that claim to suggest that the device will be arriving in or around October....

Apple has dropped out of the Top 20 list in world's largest survey of consumer trust. Apple's 21st ranking in the Ponemon Institute's Most Trusted Companies for Privacy Study is its lowest ranking in three years. The survey asks consumers to name and rate organizations they believe are most committed to protecting the privacy of their personal information. Apple fell from 8th place in 2009 to ...

Bloomberg reports that Apple is to open its first store in Berlin, in the upmarket shopping district of Ku'damm. The store, for which Apple began hiring over a year ago, will be in a former movie theatre at Ku'damm 26, opposite the Hard Rock Cafe and close to the city's most famous department store, Kaufhaus des Westens. The area is home to Berlin's biggest concentration of luxury shops,...

Microsoft today announced the launch of its latest Office software suite, updating its applications for Windows machines to new 2013 versions and launching a new Office 365 subscription option. While the $99-per-year Office 365 option allows for installation on up to five computers, Mac users will continue to receive Office 2011 applications until an updated version of Office for Mac becomes...

BrightWire summarizes a report [Google translation] from Chinese financial news site yicai.com noting that the city of Shangahi has officially announced Apple will open a new facility including some research and development operations in the city this summer.- Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce has announced that Apple will open its R&D center this summer. - Apple has registered three...

Recent production problems with the 2012 iMac have largely been solved, suggesting that supply constraints may ease, according to a report from China Times, summarized by BrightWire.- [T]he company's Taiwanese component suppliers noted that the assembling conformity rate for the new iMac has been improved and mass production started in December 2012. Sales of the device may be boosted in 1Q 2013. ...

A blog entry at Zero Hedge suggests that a deliberate share dump in the final second of trading may have been partly responsible for yet another drop in Apple's share price on Friday. Zero Hedge cites several Nanex charts as evidence, observing that some 800,000 shares worth $350 million were traded in the final seconds of trading on Friday.Unlike traditional flash crashes where the trade is ...

Apple is to move its Tokyo HQ from the Shinjuku district to a $2.2 billion development in the more central area of Roppongi Hills, reports Bloomberg. Apple is said to be planning to take one or two floors of the 54-story building, which is home to Goldman Sachs and Barclays. Roppongi Hills is one of Japan's largest integrated property developments, the complex including a Grand Hyatt hotel,...

The 10% drop in Apple's share value following the company's earnings release earlier this week was not entirely the fault of Apple, Fortune suggests, but rather that of overheated analyst predictions. Fortune assessed the accuracy of the predictions made by 68 analysts, and found that revenue figures ranged from $51.7 billion to $65.69 billion against Apple's actual performance of $54.51...

The interaction between Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak shown in the first scene to be released from the biopic JOBS, due to appear in theaters April 19, is 'totally wrong' according to an email Wozniak sent to Gizmodo.Totally wrong. Personalities and where the ideas of computers affecting society did not come from Jobs. They inspired me and were widely spoken at the Homebrew Computer Club. Steve ...

Apple yesterday released its 2013 Supplier Responsibility Report (PDF), disclosing the results of its audit program for 2012 and revealing that it had fired one of its suppliers after finding evidence of 74 underage workers at one facility. In January 2012, for example, we audited a supplier, Guangdong Real Faith Pingzhou Electronics Co., Ltd. (PZ) that produces a standard circuit board...

The iPhone app needed to unlock much of the functionality of the Pebble e-paper smart watch is now available for download from the iTunes Store - just in time for the first deliveries of the devices. Pebble had previously suggested that the iPhone app might not be available in time for early deliveries of the watch, which set new records for a Kickstarter project in raising over $10...