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Apple Now Accepting iPad Apps, Planning “Grand Opening” of iPad App Store

Apple is now accepting iPad apps for a “grand opening” of the iPad App Store, according to an email just sent to registered developers.
“iPad will begin shipping soon and your opportunity to be part of the grand opening of the iPad App Store starts today,” the email says.
There’s no details about when the store’s grand [...]

Security Expert: “Mac OS X Is Safer, But Less Secure”

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Tech site H-Online has an interesting story today, quoting security expert Charlie Miller about his forthcoming talk at the CanSecWest conference next week.
He says OS X is full of security holes. There are lots more than in Windows, he claims.
And yet: OS X is a safer system to use. Why? Because, in the words [...]

Apple Devotes Entire Home Page To Jerome York Obituary

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If ever you needed a sign that Apple was a different kind of technology company, this is it.
What other computer manufacturer would remove its top-selling, hype-inducing, industry-altering new product from the prime spot on its website home page, and replace it with an obituary to an investor?
This is one of those “Here’s to the [...]

Coming Soon: Steve Jobs, the Sitcom

Fake Steve creator Dan Lyons just signed a deal to bring Steve Jobs to another small screen near you.
The half-hour series called “iCon” is billed by the presser as “a savage satire centering on a fictional Silicon Valley CEO whose ego is a study in power and greed.”
Making sure the barbs prick will be the [...]

Cha-Ching! Accounting Rule Change Will Boost Apple’s Bottom Line

Changes to accounting rules will allow Apple to record revenue from sales of the iPhone and Apple TV at the time of sale, rather than spreading it over 24 months, Dow Jones newswire is reporting.

Financial experts predict the rule change will add significant revenue to Apple’s quarterly results, and haveupped their stock targets accordingly. CNBC’s Jim Cramer, for example, predicts Apple’s stock will hit $264 a share, in part because of the rule change (it’s trading at about $188).

Apple currently spreads revenue from iPhone and Apple TV sales over two years, like a subscription.  As a result, blockbuster sales quarters for the iPhone — like this summer’s release of the iPhone 3GS — aren’t reflected in the company’s quarterly revenue statements.

Apple uses subscription accounting for the iPhone and Apple TV because it allows the company to update the devices with new software without charging customers for new features. Apple does not do this for its iPods, which is why customers are charged nominal fees for software upgrades.

Apple lobbied the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) for a change in the accounting rules. The changes were widely expected.

Apple’s shares are up about 2 percent in midday Wednesday trading.

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About the author

Leander Kahney

Leander Kahney is the editor of Cult of Mac, and author of three books about technology culture: Inside Steve’s Brain, the New York Times bestseller about Steve Jobs; Cult of Mac; and Cult of iPod. Leander has written for Wired, MacWeek, Scientific American, and The Guardian in London. Follow Leander on Twitter @lkahney and Facebook.

Email the author | Read more posts by Leander Kahney.

3 comments

    “Cha-Ching!” Was hoping, beyond hope, that Midnight Apps was finally bringing their Cha-Ching finance software out of beta. Their ‘Coming Soon’ sign is quite dusty after all these years. Too bad.

    Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait… does this new accounting rule mean iPhone software updates won’t be free like they used to be?

    So now Apple will be able to charge for iPhone OS updates? So to get the new features of the free iTunes client downloads I’m going to have to pay to update iPhone?
    No wonder this is going to affect Apples profits. 8)
    I was really hoping it would be the other way around that they would enable subscription accounting for iPod touch so you could update that for free.
    Oh , I forget, this is Apple.

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