Ondrej Holzman The last week before the WWDC developer conference was marked by silence. Not too interesting events happened, however, you can read about the new generation of Thunderbolt, Apple's continuing court battles and the American PRISM affair.
Intel revealed the details of Thunderbolt 2 (4/6)
Thunderbolt technology has been in Mac computers since 2011, and Intel has now revealed the details of what its next generation will look like. The next version of the high-speed multi-function interface will be called "Thunderbolt 2" and will reach twice the speed of the first generation. It achieves this by combining two previously separate channels into one that can handle 20 Gb/s in each direction. At the same time, the DisplayPort 1.2 protocol will be implemented in the new Thunderbolt, so that it is possible to connect displays with a 4K resolution, which is, for example, 3840 × 2160 points. Thunderbolt 2 will be fully backward compatible with the first generation, it should hit the market in early 2014.
Source: CultOfMac.com, CNews.cz
Apple would not be financially affected by the ban from the ITC (June 5)
Although Apple at the US International Trade Commission (ITC) lost a patent dispute with Samsung and there is a threat that he will not be able to import iPhone 4 and iPad 2, among other things, into the States, but analysts do not expect that this should affect him in any fundamental way. In addition to the two aforementioned iOS devices, the dispute concerns only older ones that are no longer sold. And the life of the iPhone 4 and iPad 2 probably won't be very long either. Apple is expected to introduce new generations of both devices in September, and thus these two models will cease to be sold. Apple always keeps only the last three versions in circulation.
Maynard Um of Wells Fargo Securities calculated that Apple should be affected by the ban in just six weeks of shipments, which is about 1,5 million iPhone 4s, and would have minimal impact on financial results for the full quarter. Analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray said the ban would cost Apple roughly $680 million, which is not even one percent of total quarterly revenue. It is also influenced by the fact that the ban from the ITC only applies to models for the US operator AT&T, and only the iPhone 4 is a measurable product, when it accounted for about 8 percent of the California company's total revenues in the last quarter.
Source: AppleInsider.com
Apple tries to settle the dispute with THX out of court (June 5)
In March THX sued Apple for infringing her loudspeaker patent, and the matter was headed for trial. However, representatives of both companies have now asked to postpone the court hearing from the original date of June 14 to June 26, explaining that the two sides are trying to agree on an out-of-court settlement. THX claims that Apple is infringing on its patent for amplifying the power of speakers and then connecting them to computers or flat-screen TVs, which is most clearly seen in the iMac. Because of this, THX demanded damages, and it seems that Apple does not want to deal with him in the presence of a court.
Source: AppleInsider.com
Apple has already signed with Sony, nothing stands in the way of the new service (7/6)
Server & Hosting AllThingsD brought the news that Apple had signed a deal with Sony, the last of the three major record labels Apple needed on board to launch its new iRadio service. The California-based company is reportedly set to unveil the new service at Monday's WWDC keynote. In May, Apple already agreed with Universal Music Group, a few days ago struck a deal with Warner Music and now it has acquired Sony as well. It is not yet entirely clear what Apple's new service will look like, but there is talk of streaming music in the form of a subscription including advertising support.
Source: TheVerge.com
The American PRISM Affair. Does the government collect private data? (7/6)
In the United States, the PRISM scandal has been burning for the last few days. This government program is supposed to collect private data from all over the world except America, with the government agencies NSA and FBI having access to it. Initially, there were reports that the largest American companies such as Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo or Apple are involved in this operation, which according to the head of National Security, James Clapper, has been repeatedly approved by Congress, but all of them strictly deny any connection with PRISM. They do not provide the government with access to their data in any way. According to the administration of US President Barack Obama, PRISM is to focus exclusively on foreign communications and to serve as a defense against terrorism.
Source: TheVerge.com
In short:
- 4. 6.: Apple handed Cupertino City Hall almost 90 page study, in which he describes the economic impact the construction of his new campus will have. Apple recalls that the construction of a modern campus in the shape of a spaceship will have a positive effect on the economy in Cupertino and the surrounding area, as well as creating many new jobs. The city of Cupertino itself will benefit from this.
- 6. 6.: Chitika Insights conducted a survey ahead of WWDC, where the new iOS 7 will be unveiled, and found that the current mobile operating system iOS 6 is installed on 93 percent of iPhones in North America. The latest software also runs on 83 percent of iPads. The second most used system is iOS 5 on iPhones, but it only has a 5,5 percent share of Internet accesses.
Other events this week:
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