Apple Inc. - page 46

A 1978 legal agreement between Steve Jobs and future mining tycoon billionaire Robert Friedland has fetched $40,000 at auction. The eight-page legal document set up an investment business, and carries the signatures of both men.

“In 30 years of business we have only offered one other Jobs item — a signature,” RR Auction Vice President Bobby Livingston noted in a statement. “[T]his document, incredibly substantial and significant in its connection to a major figure in his life, is of the utmost rarity.”

With the news of the 15-year-old worker dying at the Pegatron factory which makes the iPhone 5c, attention is once again turning to worker treatment at Apple’s suppliers/contract manufacturers.

The news in this case is that Foxconn Technology Group — while making progress improving factory working conditions — is still failing to limit the number of overtime hours its Chinese workers carry out.

Part of Steve Jobs’ genius was his ability to find just the right words to explain why whatever Apple product he was unveiling was so “insanely great” you had to rush out and buy it at that very moment.

Outgoing Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer never had that gift, but his final interview before stepping down contains a few really telling quotes about why things turned out the way they did — with Apple being the innovative market leader, and Microsoft being… well, Microsoft.

A judge in Seoul, South Korea has denied Samsung’s claim that Apple violated three of its patents, relating to short message services.

Yesterday we reported on the tragic death of a 15-year-old worker at a Shanghai factory belonging to Pegatron — the Taiwanese manufacturing firm who produce the iPhone 5c and iPad mini.

At the time the story was written, Apple hadn’t responded to the reports — or to requests from the New York-based China Labor Watch asking the company to take a closer look at working conditions at its supplier.

Since then, Apple has given its answer: noting that it sent independent medical experts to conduct an investigation at the factory last month.

“While they found no evidence of any link to working conditions there, we realize that is of little comfort to the families who have lost their loved ones,” Apple said in a statement.

Be honest…the first time you saw a cassette or Nintendo-style retro case, you wanted it. But quality-wise, these style of cases just hasn’t been up to snuff. Until now. Rocketcases did the right thing, and made the cases we all wanted the way they should have been made the first time.

Now you can choose two cases from a variety of options. Whether you pick the classic black or white GameBoy, multi-colored cassette tapes, or the black or grey “Ghetto Blaster” boombox, you’ll get them for an incredible deal – just $25 – during this limited time Cult of Mac Deals offer.

Back in September in the aftermath of the iPhone 5s’s debut boasting the world’s first 64-bit smartphone chip, Qualcomm representative Anand Chandrasekher called a 64-bit ARM chip a “gimmick.” Just three months later, Qualcomm’s announcing one, the Snapdragon 410, opening the door for 64-bit Android devices.

‘Tis the season for speculative fiction, fa la la la la, la la la la.

In an interview with with Fox Business’ Stuart Varney, Money Map Press analyst Keith Fitz-Gerald predicted that not only might Apple and Microsoft want to work together in the near future, but that a merger in the next 5-10 years is entirely possible.

Since revelations of NSA eavesdropping surfaced earlier this year with the Edward Snowden leaks, Apple has been at the forefront of a tech company push-back demanding reforms.

The company is joining a number of other industry giant — including Google, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, Microsoft, LinkedIn and AOL — in setting aside business rivalries to demand a scaling back of government surveillance.

It’s that time of year again.

The time of year where we start looking for the best deals out there. The time of year where we want to get the most bang for our buck wherever we can. Well, Cult of Mac Deals has assembled quite the offer with The Black Friday Mac Bundle. You’ll get 11 killer Mac apps for the low price of $49.99 – a savings of 88%!

The best iPad case I ever had was the red leather Smart Cover for the iPad 2 (and iPads 3 and 4). It looked and felt great, and only ever got better with age. It’s sturdy (the Lady is still using it on her iPad 3), and while the metal hinge has worn a shiny pattern into the iPad’s edge, it grips way better than the plastic-hinged covers for the Air and Mini.

In short, I loved the leather. To get an Apple-made leather cover for the iPad mini, though, you need to buy the Smart Case, which is a case, and regular readers will know I’m not so hot on cases thanks to their usual bulk and weight.

So how does the crazily overpriced Smart Case shape up? Pretty damn well.

Upgraded to the iPhone 5S or 5C but still have a speaker dock with a 30-pin connector? The folks at Auris feel your pain. That’s why they’ve designed a way for you to enjoy your music without ever worrying about dock compatibility again.

The Auris freeDa is a small Bluetooth® receiver that connects to any speaker system via 30-pin connection (old-gen Apple devices) or auxiliary input – providing an elegant, compact way to wirelessly play and control your music from any Bluetooth-enabled device. And Cult of Mac Deals has it for only $44.99 during this limited time offer.

Right now, Apple has over $156 billion in its war chest, prompting investors like Carl Icahn to pretty much riot to try to get at some or all of it.

Compared to $156 billion, $16 million is a drop in the ocean of Apple’s money, an amount so small that Tim Cook wouldn’t think twice to even sign the check. But when it comes to Samsung, Apple’s intellectual property arch rival, Cupertino wants to wring out every drop of money it can.

Many of the stats we have about iOS marketshare and demographics come from third-party companies, most of whom are tracking ad impressions within their network. As such, their stats have the potential of being inaccurate, and need to be taken with at least a little bit of salt.

Looks like online ad network Chitika can be trusted though. Earlier this week, we reported that Chitika was now tracking 74.1% of all devices as running iOS 7. Now, Apple is backing those numbers up, and it makes Google look pathetic.

Forbes contributor Mark Fidelman has posted an article arguing that Microsoft’s new mobile strategy will help it overtake Apple within three years.

Fidelman’s case comes down both to the possibility of “seamless integration” with Windows 8.1, Office 365 and Xbox — in addition to the growing share of the smartphone market that Windows Phones currently represent.

After years of negotiations, Apple and China Mobile have finally closed a deal for the carrier to sell the iPhone. Rumors of the two companies working together started gaining momentum a few months ago with a report from the The Wall Street Journal, and now the same publication is reporting that the deal has been finalized.

We’re still waiting on an official confirmation from Apple and China Mobile, but now is probably a good time to buy Apple stock. Why? There are 700 million reasons.

While Android may be running away with the lion’s share of the smartphone market, there’s still no doubt about what rules the roost when it comes to tablets. New data from InfoScout reveals that roughly 40% of iPads sold on Black Friday were purchased by Android smartphone users.

When people talk about Android’s “fragmentation” problem, what they are referring to is the fact that the majority of Android devices are not running the most current version of Google’s mobile operating system.

The reason this is a big deal is because an ecosystem is only as strong as how many devices are running a current version of the operating system: older versions of Android are not only more vulnerable to malicious exploits that have been patched in more recent versions, but apps running on them can’t make use of newer Android features.

A new chart released by Fidlee shows exactly how bad Google’s fragmentation problem has become. Although iOS 7 runs on almost all Apple iPhones released in the last five years, there are few Android devices that are supported by the most recent version of Android just two years after they are purchased.

Need a fast, discreet way to determine when you’ve had too much to drink or put a number on all of your inebriated muscle flexing?

The BACtrack S35 breathalyzer is small enough to keep in your pocket, and accurate enough to keep your keys there as well, if necessary. As one of the smallest, sleekest breathalyzers on the market – it also delivers reliable blood alcohol estimates in just five seconds. And Cult of Mac Deals has The BACtrack S35 breathalyzer for 57% off during this limited time offer – only $29.99!

As a great man once said, “Can’t we all just get along?”

Sadly when you’re talking about tech companies, and products worth billions of dollars, the answer is a resounding “no”.

Every once in a while, an insanely great offer comes around that can’t be missed and this happens to be one of them. The iRest lets you view your iPad’s screen in comfort with excellent stability.

For only $39.99 you’ll get one of the most flawless iPad accessories ever created. This 2011 Macworld Best of Show winner was designed to be used not just at your desk or on a table, but also on your lap while kicking back on the sofa or laying in bed.

In this increasingly noisy, digital age – simple is the new style.

That’s what Native Union had in mind with the POP Desk – a handset and custom-designed stand to hold your smartphone. The large, classic style of the handset allows you to make mobile, Skype and other VoIP calls comfortably – like an old-school business pro – while the anti-slip rubberized pad holds your smartphone securely in place. And when you’re done at the office, keep it classy on the move with the CLIC Wooden iPhone case. Individually cut from natural cherry wood and hand-polished – each case is as unique as the owner carrying it.

You can have all that simplicity and style for a fraction of the regular price thanks to this Cult of Mac Deals limited offer – just $64.99.

If you’ve been meaning to treat yourself to a Pebble smartwatch and you haven’t already blown all of your savings on other Black Friday deals, then you might be interested to know that you can now get $20 off the device for one day only.

Apple is all about the dollars; something that usually pleases its shareholders no end.

However that same behavior may be exactly what has wound up getting the company on the wrong side of Brazil’s Consumer Protection Secretariat department.