The News By Me

Apple CEO Tim Cook says that the company will continue to bridge the gap between iOS and Mac OS X by integrating more popular features from the mobile operating system.

Wednesday's launch of Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, which will arrive this summer, brings more functionality from iOS, including AirPlay Mirroring, a new Messaging app and notifications.

Cook told the Wall Street Journal that Apple will keep converging the two operating systems in future versions to give users the features they love from the iPhone and iPad ecosystem.

He said: "We see that people are in love with a lot of apps and functionality [on the iPhone]. Anywhere where that makes sense, we are going to move that over to Mac."

All roads lead to a touchscreen Mac?

The feeling among many industry observers is that the two operating systems will eventually meet as one if Apple decides to launch a touchscreen MacBook or iMac computer.

Cook also refused to rule out that future Mac devices will run off the same chipset as mobile devices like the iPad and iPhone.

While Cook told the WSJ that the tablet and laptop markets will continue to exist as separate entities, he added: "We think about everything. We don't close things off."

Check out our Mac OS X Mountain Lion: What you need to know rundown to discover the 100+ new features coming in summer 2012.

The FBI has released its files on Steve Jobs, which label the late Apple visionary as 'a deceptive individual' and a 'complex character.'

The former Apple CEO was subject to a background check from the Feds when under consideration for a position in then-US President George H.W. Bush's White House administration.

The files, which have been released following a request under the Freedom of Information Act described, says Jobs would "twist the truth and distort reality in order to achieve his goals."

'Suspect moral character'

The character judgements come from 29 interviews conducted with individuals who knew Jobs.

One so-called "good friend" of the late Apple co-founder said he was "basically an honest and trustworthy person, [but] he is a very complex individual and his moral character is suspect."

The pal added that Jobs had "alienated a large number of people at Apple as a result of his ambition" in the report, which was complied during his exile from the company.

The documents also contain references to Jobs' Buddhist faith, his parenting skills and his well-documented experiments with drugs.

The entire 191-page document can be viewed on the FBI website now.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has sent a lengthy email to staff in response to reports on the alleged unsafe and oppressive working conditions at its Chinese supplier factories

The New York Times article claimed Foxconn employees work excessive overtime where they "stand so long that their legs swell until they can hardly walk," amid scores of other damaging allegations.

The report also quotes a former Foxconn boss as saying: "Apple never cared about anything other than increasing product quality and decreasing production cost. Workers' welfare has nothing to do with their interests."

Defined by values

Cook has hit back at the NYT's report telling his "team" that the company cares about each employee in the supply line and that no company has striven to improve working conditions like Apple has.

He said in the lengthy email: "As a company and as individuals, we are defined by our values. Unfortunately some people are questioning Apple's values today, and I'd like to address this with you directly. We care about every worker in our worldwide supply chain.

"Any accident is deeply troubling, and any issue with working conditions is cause for concern. Any suggestion that we don't care is patently false and offensive to us. As you know better than anyone, accusations like these are contrary to our values. It's not who we are."

Workers rights

Cook claimed to be "outraged" by the allegations and said Apple has "raised the bar" for its partners by going deeper into the supply chain.

"We are focused on educating workers about their rights, so they are empowered to speak up when they see unsafe conditions or unfair treatment," he continued. "As you know, more than a million people have been trained by our program.

"We will continue to dig deeper, and we will undoubtedly find more issues. What we will not do - and never have done - is stand still or turn a blind eye to problems in our supply chain. On this you have my word."

Apple's manufacturing methods in China have been called into question further this week as the company announced its highest single quarter revenue ever with record iPhone and iPad sales.

New Apple CEO is making his mark on the company, with a host of small-scale changes, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

The article, entitled "Cook is making Apple his own" claims that he has already proved to be more communicative with company employees than his late predecessor, Steve Jobs.

According to the WSJ's sources, that includes the sending of company-wide emails addressed to "Team" and tending to administrative matters that Jobs avoided.

Cook, says the report, has also set up a charity program where Apple will match donations made by employees of up to $10,000 per year. One source said that Steve Jobs "didn't like giving money away.".

Education division restructured

The insightful Wall Street Journal report also says that Cook has restructured Apple's massive education division, giving it its own sales and marketing arm.

He is also reported to have given more responsibilities to Senior VP of Product Marketing Phil Schiller and VP of Oversees Sales John Brandon.

One of his first acts of business was to promote iTunes VP and Apple veteran Eddy Cue to Senior VP of Internet Software and Service.

The article also says that Cook is expected to be more open with shareholders and customers than his iconic mentor Jobs.

'Apple will not change'

The spotlight has shined brightly on Cook since he was promoted from COO to CEO when Steve Jobs stepped down in August this year.

At the time, Cook emailed Apple employees to say that: "I want you to be confident that Apple is not going to change. I cherish and celebrate Apple's unique principles and values."

While no large scale changes are currently evident, it's clear that Cook is intent on putting his own stamp on the company.

It's going to intriging to see where he takes Apple in the years to come.

Apple has been awarded a patent covering the slide-to-unlock functionality on the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

The familiar touchscreen mechanism was subject to an trademark application back in 2009 and Apple has finally been given the all clear to add this to its ever-growing army of patents.

The patent filing states: "A device with a touch-sensitive display may be unlocked via gestures performed on the touch-sensitive display.

"The device is unlocked if contact with the display corresponds to a predefined gesture for unlocking the device."

Cue the lawsuits

Slide-to-unlock is also a popular feature on Android and Windows Phone handsets and the next logical step will surely be in the courtrooms as Apple looks to lock-down its intellectual property.

Tellingly, the patent application also has covered "predefined gestures" like the custom pattern input widely used on Android handsets.

It also begs the question, if software developers are unable to use slide-to-unlock or pattern input, then how else are we going to lock and unlock our phones? A counter action claim is likely.

The successful patent application follows this week's revelations of late Apple CEO Steve Jobs' determination to "destroy Android".

Jobs told biographer Walker Isaacson: "I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong.

"I'm going to destroy Android, because it's a stolen product. I'm willing to go thermonuclear war on this."

Via: BBC

Apple has announced its financial results for Q3 2011, revealing that it made $6.62 billion of profit in the last quarter, which, despite being up over $2 billion compared to the same period in 2010, didn't please analysts whose predictions had been higher.

The company's revenue for the quarter was $28.3 billion, which came as a surprise to those analysts who had predicted $29.6 billion. It marks the first time in over four years that Apple's results have dipped below analysts' predictions, a fact which caused the company's stocks to fall in some regions.

iDog and bone

iPhone sales came in at 17.07 million for the quarter, which sounds pretty good to us, but disappointed analysts who had predicted 20 million sales.

The period ended on 24 September, so the 4 million iPhone 4S sales made last weekend aren't included but would have tipped the company comfortably into the 20 million plus zone.

The company acknowledged that iPhone sales were down (the drop in demand over the course of the quarter was "substantial", Apple CEO Tim Cook said), but predicts Q4 to be its "best yet" with Christmas shoppers fuelling the iPhone 4S rush.

"In our wildest dreams, we couldn't have gotten off to as great a start as we did with the iPhone 4S," Cooke added.

He also opened the results call by acknowledging the elephant in the room and paying tribute to Steve Jobs: "His spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple, and we are dedicated to continuing the amazing work that he loved so much."

Apple CEO Tim Cook emailed Apple employees on Wednesday to inform them that company co-founder and iconic leader Steve Jobs had passed away.

Cook, who was handed the reins of the company by Jobs when he stepped down in August, says the company is planning a celebration of his life.

The new CEO who was hired by Steve Jobs in 1998, shortly after Jobs' return to the company had previously served as chief operating officer.

Cook paid tribute to his mentor as an 'amazing human being' and told employees that his spirit will forever live on at Apple.

'Honour his memory'

The email in full is below:

"Team,

"I have some very sad news to share with all of you. Steve passed away earlier today.

"Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.

"We are planning a celebration of Steve's extraordinary life for Apple employees that will take place soon. If you would like to share your thoughts, memories and condolences in the interim, you can simply email rememberingsteve@apple.com.

"No words can adequately express our sadness at Steve's death or our gratitude for the opportunity to work with him. We will honor his memory by dedicating ourselves to continuing the work he loved so much.

Tim."

We'll continue to bring you tributes that flood in from the tech world following this sad news.

Apple has sold over 250 million iOS devices worldwide, the company announced at the iPhone 4S launch today.

That's a quarter of a billion iPod Touches, iPhones and iPads in people's pockets and bags around the world.

As well as the iOS sale-a-thon, Apple announced that its App Store is also going great guns – no surprise there – with over 500 thousand apps now available, with 140,000 of those made for the iPad.

Appgasm

We just can't get enough of those handy applications, it seems, having clocked up over 18 billion downloads – and still going strong with 1 billion more downloaded every month.

It was good news on the Mac front too. Apple bragged that Mac OS X Lion has been downloaded over 6 million times since it was released in July 2011.

"For the first time we've offered Mac OS as a digital download," said Tim Cook, Apple CEO, speaking at tonight's iPhone launch. "The results are staggering."

Bullish

He went on to talk bullishly about the MacBook Air, saying that "Our customers love it, and our competitors are trying to copy it. The Air is just a portion of our entire lineup of Macs, which are the best we've ever shipped."

Speaking of which, he couldn't help but brag about how well the whole Mac line is doing, claiming that, "The Mac outgrew the PC market by almost 6x. This is incredible!"

It is impressive - and a nice spot of Jobsian hyperbole there, we note.

Steve Jobs gave the best performance by a CEO in half a century, according to longtime pal turned fierce rival, Google chairman Eric Schmidt.

Schmidt also led Google as chief executive as both companies enjoyed a meteoric rise to become the world's most revered companies during the noughties.

He thinks that Jobs' ability to build Apple into a force not one, but twice was was made him so special.

In a conversation with Salesforce CEO Mark Benioff, Schmidt reportedly said: "Steve Jobs gave the best performance by a CEO in 50 years, maybe 100 years. He not only built Apple once, but twice."

Jobs stepped down as Apple CEO last week to become chairman. Schmidt did the same in January this year.

Furious row

Steve and Eric were once thought to be close friends, but revelations of Google's plans to enter the smartphone market allegedly resulted in a furious row between the two.

Legend has it that El Jobs had shared his iPhone plans with Schmidt and felt betrayed when he heard Google was thinking of launching the eco-system which eventually became Android.

"Steve was very, very upset," Schmidt reportedly told a colleague following a phonecall from Jobs. "My God, he was so angry." Their relationship never recovered.

Perhaps Schmidt's latest praise is an attempt from Schmidt to bury the hatchet as both men enter the new stage of their careers as chairman of their respective tech superpowers?

Link: TechCrunch

New Apple chief executive Tim Cook has made his big move since taking over from Steve Jobs, by promoting the head of iTunes.

22-year Apple veteran Eddy Cue is now the new Senior Vice President of Internet Services and Software and will oversee iTunes, the App Store, iCloud, the iBookstore and the iAds mobile advertising platform.

Cue, who helped to oversee the construction of iTunes and the App Store is the ninth senior executive to be listed on Apple's corporate website.

Major role

In a statement sent out to Apple employees, Cook paid tribute to Cue saying he 'bled Apple'

"He is a 22-year Apple veteran and leads a large organization of amazing people," Cook said.

"He played a major role in creating the Apple online store in 1998, the iTunes Music Store in 2003 and the App Store in 2008.

"Apple is a company and culture unlike any other in the world and leaders like Eddy get that. Apple is in their blood.

"Eddy and the entire executive management team are dedicated to making the best products in the world that delight our customers and make our employees incredibly proud of what they do."

Well it seems at least the language isn't going to change at Apple now that Steve Jobs is out of the hotseat

Link: MacRumors