When opening up his new MacBook Pro, an Apple customer recently found the laminated card pictured above that was probably lost in the packaging by some worker at the Foxconn factory. Obviously it’s in Chinese, which adds a bit of mystery to the card because most of us Americans can’t read it. Does the card contain Apple’s secret plans for world domination? Maybe it’s an invitation to a top secret party?
I’m still sitting at my desk wiping the froth from my mouth dreaming of how much better my life is going to become once I get Apple’s new MacBook Pro with Retina display. It’s totally the most beautiful laptop computer I’ve ever seen, and I haven’t even really seen it in real life, but I know I want it. All my friends want it too, so of course after the keynote we talked about who’s going to get it, who’s not, and why not.
And then we all realized that there’s really no reason for any of us to buy it, and there might not be any reason for you to get it either. Here’s why:
During today’s keynote Apple showed a slide that mentioned iOS 6 would get some “Redesigned Stores” but Scott Forstall never went into detail on what the stores look like. Now that we’ve got iOS 6 loaded up on our iPhones we’re finally able to see what the new stores look like and boy are they a great improvement over the predecessors. Here’s what the new App Store, iTunes, and iBooks look like in iOS 6:
I don’t “need” a new MacBook Pro with Retina display and maxed out specs, but I really want one. I want one like really really bad, and maybe you do too, but if you’re frothing at the mouth to shell out the $4,000 for the top of the line MacBook Pro you’re going to have to be really patient because right now the shipping estimates are 3-5weeks. That’s just long enough for buyers remorse to sink in.
iOS 6 isn’t scheduled to be released until later this Fall, but if you’re a developer you can get a sneak preview of iOS 6 by downloading it from Apple’s developer website right now and installing it on your device. The iOS 6 beta just went live on the Developer Center so grab it now if you’re willing to take the plunge.
If you weren’t at WWDC today to see the video of Johnny Ive and Bob Mansfield introducing the new MacBook Pro with Retina display, don’t get sad, Apple’s already posted the video on their website. You can watch it right here.
Wow! Apple just unleashed a thunderstorm of new products and software on the world. Our heads are still spinning trying to keep up with all the new awesome features but we’ve managed to compile a list of everything Apple just announced at today’s WWDC keynote so you know all about the goodies coming your way. Take a look and see what you might have missed.
Is Apple hiding something awesome under their black banner?
At every WWDC, Apple dresses up the Moscone Center with beautiful banner graphics to promote their newest software and hardware. Sometimes before the keynote, they keep some banners veiled in black cloth to prevent any keynote spoilers. This year is no exception. So what’s under this year’s black banner? Let us hear your guesses in the comments.
The last two days we’ve given away two MacBook Airs to lucky readers, but if you haven’t been lucky enough to win yet, don’t fret, here’s your last chance.
Even though we have this really cool internet technology thing called the “cloud” that stores all of our pictures, music, documents, videos, and anything else we want to throw at it, searching for stuff inside the cloud still sucks. Most people use Gmail, DropBox, iCloud and Google Drive to store certain things, but the problem is that they’re not connected, so files become fragmented across multiple services. Found is a brand new app that just launched on the Mac App Store, and it’s ready to change the way you search for files by making them easy to find regardless of which cloud service you stored them in.
Not only is Found a deliciously simple app for finding stuff, but it works across multiple services at once and is completely free. Best of all, to celebrate the launch of their app, Found is giving away one last MacBook Air today. So not only are you getting a sweet new app that will make your life easier, but you might win a new MacBook Air to run it on.
These icons will turn your new Mac into something a bit more "vintage"
There’s a dusty old Macintosh Classic sitting in my bedroom closet that has gone neglected for years now. It used to be fun to turn it on every and play Oregon Trail just for nostalgia’s sake, but I outgrew that phase after a few weeks. How much time does one really want to spend on an old beat up machine when you have the most beautiful desktop computer in the world resting inches away? Well, if you’re craving to have some retro-Mac goodness in your life but don’t want to bootup a machine whose operating system hasn’t been supported in two decades, this cool mod might be just what you’re looking for.
I want to lose weight. Really. I mean, I just gained 30lbs over the last 18months thanks to the magical folks at Chipotle and it’s time for a change. Problem is, every time I invite my friends to come jogging with me plans fall through and then I have another excuse to inhale half of a blueberry cheesecake.
Admittedly, I’ve sunk pretty low, but I’m not sure if I’ve reached the point where I need a robot to whip me into shape. Maybe I do though, and the guys behind the Joggobot have created one of the oddest contraptions to help nerds lose weight by chasing them around with a deranged robot quadrocopter.
Wouldn’t it be freaking cool to hangout with a couple thousand other iPad owners and make the world’s biggest interactive billboard? You could create some pretty amazing stuff – like a huge video of that Helicopter Cat thing. We’re always so separated and alone when using our cool new gadgets, but Nate Bolt, Ryan Schude, and Lauren Randolph think it’s time to make something together out of them, so they created a huge jumbotron out of their iPads.
Apple's going to destroy MobileMe in 30 days, so hurry and get out.
Apple is hell bent on detonating their MobileMe service on June 30th. If you’re still using it, they want you out, and now. Earlier this morning Apple sent email notices to customers who still use MobileMe, iWeb, and iDisk instead of iCloud and told them to pack their lovely treasures and head over to Me.com before everything gets lost in a digital fireball of destruction in 30days.
When you’re upgrading your PC to Windows 8 and can’t decide if you should keep nothing, or keep nothing, don’t worry, Windows 8 will help you decide. At least that’s what happened when one person on Twitter upgraded their OS today. It’s probably just a small bug, but we’ll stick to Mountain Lion when it comes out.
Check out Wired's iPad app to see how their first issue was made
Over the past two decades, WIRED has been looked at as one of the premier technology publications in the world. They’ve been churning out amazing tech content before some of our readers were born, yet they’re still going strong. The iconic inaugural issue of WIRED debuted in January 1993, but WIRED announced today that they are reissuing it on the iPad as a free download, filled with annotations and perspectives on how the magazine came about.
Remember a few years back when all the cool kids in Europe bragged about how they were enjoying this really cool new music service called Spotify, and you couldn’t even try it because Spotify wasn’t available in the USA? It took forever for Spotify to launch their awesome product in the U.S. Rumors floated that the hangup was caused by legal issues with the licensing of the music, but in an interview today at AllThingsD’s D10 conference, Sean Parker claimed Apple was trying to keep the music service from launching Stateside.
With the release of the iPhone 4S and its super incredible camera, point-and-shoots were supposed to be dead. What’s the point of buying a compact digital camera if it only takes photos that are the same, or slightly better than the iPhone in your pocket? For the most part, I think we’re right in saying that the point-and-shoot is destined to become a relic. However, there are certain exceptions to that rule.
I love my iPhone 4S so much that I don’t want to endanger its gorgeous glass body. I also love hiking in the summer and water activities, and even if I buy a military grade case for my iPhone, I still get scared when taking it on outdoor adventures. That’s where the Olympus TG-820 point-and-shoot comes in. It’s waterproof and shockproof, and ready to go where you’re too scared to take your iPhone.
Do you know how much sweat, blood, and tears went into making your beautiful aluminum iMac? Trust us, it wasn’t easy. Five tiny construction workers risked life and limb in some Foxconn factory far away to assemble your sweet little machine, just so you could watch cute cat videos on that gorgeous 27inch screen.
Ok, maybe that’s not how it really got assembled, but we love these images from Mathieu Schatzler, who imagines what it would be like if Liliputian men constructed each iMac individually. I wonder if they fight over who has to clean the display.
How do you take a life that was lived so fully, with so much drama, triumph and failure, and condense it into a 2.5 hour movie that will effectively express Steve Jobs as a person? It’s a monumental task that will be nearly impossible for any screenwriter to accomplish.
No matter how great a job Aaron Sorkin does adapting Steve Jobs’s biography into a screenplay, some people are going to hate it and say parts were left out while other were embellished. Sorkin’s not aiming for Sony’s movie to be historically accurate though, so what do you think he should focus on?
Our friend Ken Segall, who worked closely with Steve for over a decade, has some great ideas on what the focus of Aaron Sorkin’s screenplay should be.
If you thought a little hurdle like mortality would stop His Steveness from selling you a new iPhone you are wrong my friend. Scott Beale was wondering around Mid-Town yesterday and came across a tiny version of Steve in the Cellular Express store ready to sell him some insanely great products.
American television has been infested with ridiculous singing shows – American Idol, The Voice, X Factor, Sing Off, and now Duets. It’s become too much. Why won’t everyone just enjoy watching Walter White run his meth empire instead? I dunno, but the newest singing show, Duets, is looking to set themselves apart from other shows by ripping off Apple’s classic ‘1984’ commercial in order to get people to plop down and listen to Kelly Clarkson screech for two hours. Sounds like a great marketing plan.
Oh, and they got Jennifer Nettles to join the show too. I guess Toni Basil wasn’t available.
The problem with using OS X Messages, Twitter, Facebook, and other communication clients is that they operate in separate locations. I got like five different ones open on my desktop right now and it’s a confusing mess of switching windows and tabs and errant messages.
To make life easier one clever hacker figured out how to add a Twitter Timeline to OS X’s Messages app so that you can read your entire Twitter stream, in realtime, from the Messages app. It’s awesome, and I want it now!
Almost every tech publication there is has been claiming that the next iPhone will have a 4-inch screen, culminating with the Wall Street Journal‘s report today basically confirming it, but there’s still a lot of debate over how Apple will make the screen larger without bringing on a lot of extra bulk to the device. Should they make it taller? Wider? What about making room for LTE?
Here are 12 cool iPhone 5 concepts that envision what Apple’s next iPhone might look like. If you want to know what we think, though, check out this opinion piece we wrote for Wired on why we think the 4inch iPhone makes a lot of sense.
A certain indie film starring Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs has been the recipient of a ton of press lately, but that little film is being put together by an ragtag crew with no experience, based off a screenplay from an unknown writer. That film is probably going to suck, but the movie being put together by Sony Pictures should get everyone excited because they just hired one of the best screenwriters in Hollywood – Aaron Sorkin.