Apple picker Apple week will this time be marked by a new iPad. In addition, you will also read about the new Apple TV, which has received support for the Czech language, or about other developer versions of OS X.
An American sued Apple over Siri (March 12)
Siri isn't perfect. Although it is sometimes incredible how he can respond to users' questions, he often makes mistakes or does not understand the input. That's why the voice assistant hasn't left the beta stage either. However, this imperfection was not proven by one resident of Brooklyn, New York, who immediately filed a lawsuit against Apple for deceptive advertising. However, success in the court of law is not much expected.
“In many of Apple's TV commercials, you see individuals using Siri to make appointments, find restaurants, even learn chords to classic rock songs or how to tie a tie. All of these tasks are easily performed by Siri on the iPhone 4S, but the functionality displayed does not even remotely resemble the results and performance of Siri.”
Source: TUAW.com
Apple Releases Safari 5.1.4 (12/3)
Apple has released another update for its Safari browser that brings several fixes and improvements.
- Improved JavaScript performance
- Improved response when typing in the search field after changing the network settings or when the Internet connection is unstable
- Fixed an issue where pages could flash white when switching between windows
- Preservation of links in PDF files downloaded from the web
- Fixed an issue where Flash content would not load correctly after using the zoom gesture
- Fixed an issue that caused the screen to go dark when watching an HTML5 video
- Stability, compatibility and startup time improvements when using extensions
- Fixed issue where "Remove All Website Data" might not clear all data
You can download Safari 5.1.4 either via System Software Update or directly from Apple website.
Source: macstories.net
The printed Britannica is ending, it will only be available in digital form (March 14)
The world-famous Encyclopaedia Britannica is ending after 244 years, or at least its printed form. The reason is the lack of interest in the 32-volume fountain of knowledge, which sold only 2010 copies in 8000. Even twenty years ago, there were 120 encyclopedias. The fault is of course the Internet and easily accessible information, for example on the popular Wikipedia, which, although not as prestigious as Britannica, is nevertheless preferred by people to an expensive book, in which they would search for information much longer.
The encyclopedia is still not over, it will continue to be offered electronically, for example in the form of an iOS application. It is available for free in the App Store, but you have to pay a monthly subscription of €2,39 to use it. You can find it for download <a href="https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1932/8043/files/200721_ODSTOUPENI_BEZ_UDANI_DUVODU__EN.pdf?v=1595428404" data-gt-href-en="https://en.notsofunnyany.com/">here</a>.
Source: TheVerge.com
Apple updated iPhoto and Aperture to better support RAW format (14/3)
Apple released Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 3.10, which brings RAW image support for several new cameras to iPhoto and Aperture. Namely, these are Canon PowerShot G1 X, Nikon D4, Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GX1, Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ35, Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ38, Samsung NX200, Sony Alpha NEX–7, Sony NEX-VG20. See the complete list of supported cameras <a href="https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1932/8043/files/200721_ODSTOUPENI_BEZ_UDANI_DUVODU__EN.pdf?v=1595428404" data-gt-href-en="https://en.notsofunnyany.com/">here</a>.
Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 3.10 is 7,50 MB and requires OS X 10.6.8 or OS X 10.7.1 and later to install.
Source: MacRumors.com
Foxconn hired professionals to improve safety and living standards (14/3)
Are Chinese factories looking forward to better times? Probably yes. According to recent reports, Foxconn, whose factories produce iPhones and iPads, intends to hire a security officer, a lifestyle services manager and two fire chiefs. These new employees should join the factory in Shenchen, where the manager of lifestyle services, in particular, should see to it that the conditions for the workers, i.e. bedrooms, canteens and health department, are up to standard.
Source: TUAW.com
Syria documentary filmed with an iPhone (14/3)
Documentary film Syria: Songs of Defiance, which aired on Al Jazeera, was filmed only with an iPhone camera. Behind this act is a certain reporter who does not wish to be named for reasons of protection of the participants of the document. Why did he choose the iPhone?
Carrying a camera would be too risky, so I simply took my cell phone, which I could move around freely without arousing suspicion.
Source: 9To5Mac.com
1080p iTunes videos are slightly worse quality than Blu-Ray (16/3)
With the arrival of the new Apple TV, there were also changes in the resolution of movies and series available through the iTunes Store. Now you can buy multimedia content with a resolution of up to 1080, which many owners of FullHD televisions have been impatiently waiting for. Ars Technica decided to do a comparative image test 30 days long night downloaded from iTunes with identical content on Blu-ray.
The image was shot on regular 35 mm film (Super 35) and then transformed into a digital intermediate with 2k resolution. The file downloaded from iTunes was 3,62GB in size and contained 1920×798 video and Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo AAC audio tracks. The 50GB dual-layer Blu-ray disc contained Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS-HD, as well as bonus material.
Overall, iTunes content performed very well. Due to its small size, the resulting image is excellent, although not as perfect as on Blu-ray. Artifacts in the image can be seen mainly from the transition of dark and light colors. For example, the reflections on the nose and forehead are captured realistically on Blu-ray, whereas in the iTunes version you can see overburning or blending of nearby colors, which is due to a higher degree of image compression.
source: 9To5Mac.com
Obama invited Sir Jonathan Ivo to a state dinner (15/3)
Sir Jonathan Ive, Apple's chief designer, had the honor of having dinner with US President Barack Obama. Ive was a member of the delegation of British Minister David Cameron, who visited the United States for the first time. In the White House, Ive met other important people such as Sir Richard Branson, golfer Rory McIlroy and actors Damian Lewis and Hugh Bonneville.
Source: AppleInsider.com
iFixit disassembled the new iPad (15/3)
The iFixit server has traditionally taken apart the new iPad, which it bought among the first in Australia. While exploring the guts of the third-generation iPad, he came to the conclusion that the Retina display, which is different from the iPad 2, is manufactured by Samsung. Two Elpida LP DDR2 chips have also been discovered, with each said to carry 512MB, bringing the total RAM size to 1GB.
You can view the complete disassembly at iFixit.com.
Source: TUAW.com
Namco released the game it showed off at the iPad launch (15/3)
During the presentation of the new iPad, Namco was also given space on the stage to demo their game Sky Gamblers: Air Supremacy. Now the game, ready for the Retina display of the third-generation iPad, has appeared in the App Store, it costs $5 and you can play it on both iPhone and iPad. For control, this 3D flight simulator traditionally uses an accelerometer and a gyroscope, so you control the plane by turning the device. The graphics are amazing.
Sky Gamblers: Air Supremy download from the App Store.
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Source: CultOfMac.com
There are traditionally queues for the iPad, you can also buy your place (March 15)
On Friday, March 16, a new tablet from Apple went on sale. The interest was once again huge and for many people also a great opportunity to earn money. Several options have even appeared on the Internet to buy a place in the queue waiting for the new product. On the auction portal eBay.com, queue seats were sold for $3, and 76.00 buyers were willing to pay that price. It was the 14th place in the ranking for the Apple Store in London. And the price may have risen even more, it was set like this the day before the sale started. Of course, London was not the only place of sale, there was also business in New York. One young man was even offering several seats for a flat price of $4 at a store in San José.
Traditionally, Steve Wozniak is among those waiting in line. He had already managed to be the first in line for the apple company's latest product once, and now he was one of the first to get it. He was preceded only by his wife. The newspaper that interviewed him only found out that Woz "was at a conference in Los Angeles" and then came to get the latest piece. He even referred to this part of shopping as "fun".
"It's becoming my ritual. I've done it several times before and it won't be any different next time. I want to be one of the real people who wait all night or day for a new product to be among the first. Apple is really important to us."
However, in China they don't like the queues in front of the Apple Store because of the violence between the customers. Therefore, Apple has arranged a way to avoid problems when selling in Hong Kong. Buyers must prove themselves with their ID or identity card and are included in the reservation. This will partially prevent sales to customers who are not from Hong Kong and would like to avoid paying the CLA by importing to China. It is true that Apple will not prevent riots or sales from customers who buy an iPad and sell it outside the store to non-Hong Kong residents. But even so, it is the first step to prevent these problems.
Sources: CultofMac.com, TUAW.com
Tim Cook personally reprimanded the co-founder of Path (15/3)
If you recall, the Path app recently faced severe criticism from the public for saving data from users' phones, especially their contacts. A few days after this publication, even big giants such as Twitter, Foursquare and Google+ admitted to similarly stored data in their applications. As indicated by several major dailies, the discovery was made all the worse by the fact that the contacts were saved "just the tip of the iceberg". Applications also had access to users' photos, videos, music and calendar. In addition, these approved apps had access to the camera and microphone, so apps could easily take photos or take recordings without the user's permission (while the user could record these activities very clearly). All of these, and certainly many others, violated Apple's rules primarily by not informing users of this activity in any way. It was even sent to Tim Cook, CEO of Apple letter (in English) who dealt with this issue.
A few days ago, Tim Cook and several other executives hosted the creator and developer of Path, David Morin, in his office. Everyone criticized him very harshly for the fact that Apple as a company does not want to be known for protecting user data. And so, this whole case did not help the name of the application itself, but it did not improve the name of the entire Cupertino company either. Tim Cook even referred to this meeting as "violation of Apple rules".
Source: 9to5Mac.com
Apple shares hit the $600 mark apiece (15/3)
Shares of the Cupertino company have been breaking records almost every month. On Friday, the shares almost crossed the $600 mark, less than a dollar short of breaking through, but then the value started to fall, and the $600 mark has not yet been crossed. Since the death of Steve Jobs, the company's co-founder, the value of shares has almost doubled, and Apple continues to hold the position of the most valuable company in the world, 100 billion ahead of the oil giant Exxon Mobil.
The first reviews of the new iPad are already circulating on the Internet (March 16)
On March 16, the new iPad went on sale in America, Britain, Germany and other countries. With the start of sales, the first reviews also appeared. Among the fastest were big magazines like The Verge, TechCrunch or Engage. However, the server took care of a completely unconventional video review FunnyOrDie.com, who did not take napkins at all with the new tablet. After all, see for yourself.
Source: CultofMac.com
The first applications for the 3rd generation iPad are already appearing in the App Store, they have their own section (March 16)
The new iPad has only been on sale for a while, and already third-party developer app updates are popping up with graphics that take advantage of the newly released tablet's full resolution. There are already dozens, maybe hundreds, of applications. To make it easier to navigate in them, at least initially, Apple created a new category in the App Store, in which you can find an overview of applications designed specifically for the new iPad with four times the number of pixels.
Source: MacRumors.com
Diablo 3 Releases for PC and Mac May 15 (16/3)
The anticipated sequel to the legendary RPG Diablo is set to go on sale on May 15. Blizzard traditionally releases its games for both PC and Mac, so Apple users will be waiting together with Windows users. Compared to the previous works, Diablo III will be fully in 3D environment, we will see new game mechanics and characters. If you're excited for the upcoming RPG, you can participate in the public beta to download <a href="https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1932/8043/files/200721_ODSTOUPENI_BEZ_UDANI_DUVODU__EN.pdf?v=1595428404" data-gt-href-en="https://en.notsofunnyany.com/">here</a>.
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Source: MacWorld.com
Developers Received Second OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion Developer Preview (16/3)
Apple has provided developers with another test build of the upcoming Mountain Lion operating system. The second version comes right after the first Developer Preview and it doesn't bring much revolution, mainly it fixes the errors found.
What is new, however, is the presence of the promised synchronization of tabs in Safari between different devices using iCloud. An icon has now appeared in Safari to activate this feature.
Source: MacRumors.com
OS X Lion 10.7.4 (16/3) was also released to developers
Apple also sent out OS X Lion 10.7.4 to developers, which is now available for download in the Mac Dev Center. The combo update is 1,33 GB, the delta update 580 MB, and the update codenamed 11E27 should not bring any major news. The current version 10.7.3 was released at the beginning of February.
Source: CultOfMac.com
Apple TV update brought Czech language support (March 16)
At the presentation of the iPad, Tim Cook also announced the new Apple TV 3rd generation, which received a redesigned user interface. Apple also offered this to owners of the previous generation of TV accessories in the form of an update. It also brought an unexpected bonus for Czech owners – a Czech interface. After all, Apple gradually translates everything from its portfolio into Czech and other previously unsupported languages, be it OS X or iOS applications. It can be expected that the new version of iWork, which has not yet been announced, will also include Czech.
great read guys!
And that Wizniak-traitor who lets himself be photographed with an Android phone. I hate people like that!
Damn, that was a hearty day :)
I don't know who wrote the "Tim Cook personally reprimands Path co-founders (15/3)" part, but it would be nice to read it back to back.
LOL the review on FunnyOrDie will bring a fairly healthy view of the whole thing ;-)
Those shares reached 600 USD each, albeit only for a while, but the level was 600,01 and then it started to drop down to 585 USD, but I think it could go above 600 USD this week.
Horst, don't eat it like that. Wozniak is a person who always preferred a device that has a thousand connectors and you do crazy things with it, and he likes technology. So he just tried it to find out that his procedure, as he always wanted to do it, is not so ideal ;). He could have done it secretly, but he's more of a nice, naive person.
OK I understand. I don't like total Apple obsession, but it doesn't fit in his position. He should say yes - just for fun I tried Andr. and it was a load….he should just tell the truth
Don't know if the Apple Online Store will offer iPad pre-orders in the Czech Republic?