We all know that Steve Jobs is obsessed with crafting top-notch customer experiences. Of course, he’s famous for being dismissive of focus groups, but did you know he spies on customers at his local Apple Store?
If you’re wondering were all the comments went, they’re currently being imposted into Disqus. We’ve switched to Disqus, a commenting platform with all kinds of great features, including great social integration, notifications and multimedia.
When it’s up and running, it promises to be a great system. However, importing the old comments can sometimes take a while: maybe even two or three days.
That’s for existing comments. New comments should post immediately. Fingers crossed it’s up and running quickly. In the meantime, please leave any questions, comments or complaints in — you guessed it — the new comments system.
And thanks for your patience — Leander.
Raoul-Gabriel Urma writes:
We are computing students from Imperial College London and created a website dedicated to Steve Jobs allowing members of the public to leave their birthday comments and this way to support him while he is currently dealing with serious health issues.
Our aim is to allow as many people to wish him a happy birthday this way letting him know he has a back-up of so many.
Leave your best wishes here: Happy Birthday Steve Jobs.
Apple is helping finance a major remodel of Stanford Hospital (where Jobs was photographed by the sleazy National Enquirer). But is Apple also helping design the $2 billion facility, perhaps based on the design of its retail stores?
Check out the rendering of the atrium above. Look familiar? Note the massive skylight, the marble floors. Is that a Genius Bar on the right?
Most important, the brains behind Apple’s stores — Ron Johnson — is intimately involved.
The new MacBook Pros expected later this week will boot off solid-state drives, claims Boy Genius Report, citing unnamed sources.
In addition:
Boy Genius Report: New MacBook Pro models imminent; we’ve got some new details
It looks like Apple’s all set to launch new MacBooks next week, but the launch day is — a Thursday?
What’s up with that? Apple’s big product launches are almost always on Tuesdays. (It allows reporters on the East Coast to fly into California on a workday instead of the weekend).
So why would Apple launch new MacBooks on Thursday February 24?
It’s new MacBook Pros next Thursday February 24, according to MacRumors, citing a “reliable” source.
We’ve since heard reliable confirmation that this information is accurate and that the expected release date is next Thursday, February 24th. The move would be a bit unusual for Apple to launch new machines on a Thursday. So, if you are about to buy a new MacBook Pro, wait until next week.
MacBooks were last updated a year ago with Intel Core i5 and i7 chips. The new machines are likely to get Intel’s latest Sandy Bridge processors, which are faster and a lot less power hungry. Rumors that the machines will have cases made of Liquidmetal are unlikely, but they will probably will be lighter, thinner and have higher-resolution screens. A big price drop is predicted too.
Apple’s said to be releasing five new models, which will include two new 13-inch versions, two new 15-inch versions and one new 17-inch version.
Years ago, the Sun tabloid newspaper kidnapped a donkey and kept it in a Spanish hotel room for a story. Yesterday, Gizmodo hired a plane to take aerial photos of Steve Jobs’ demolished mansion.
Demolition began Monday of the abandoned mansion. Jobs won a long legal battle to have the old pile torn down. He wants to build a smaller, greener place on the property.
More demolition pictures below:
And here are some really beautiful pictures of the Jackling House before it was demolished, courtesy of photographer Jonathan Haeber, who sneaked in one night.
Steve Jobs is sitting next to President Obama. He’s wearing a black turtleneck!
This is an official White House photo. Here it is zoomed in:
Both Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal reported that a smaller iPhone nano was in development, but now the New York Times says a shrunken iPhone is NOT on the cards.
Apple is developing a budget iPhone, the NYT says, but the device will not be any smaller than current models. Instead, it will scrimp on internal components, like memory, as we exclusively reported on Monday (More Detail On Apple’s iPhone Nano).
Keeping the iPhone nano’s screen size the same as current models makes perfect sense. Developers won’t have to code apps for different screen sizes, like they do on other platforms.
The Times did corroborate our report earlier this week, also reported in the WSJ, that Apple is planning a major overhaul of MobileMe. MobileMe will put a lot more media and files in the cloud, allowing users to stream and sync to all their devices without using cables.
The budget iPhone will make more use of voice commands, the NYT says.
Here’s the cover of the March 2011 edition of Wired magazine, which just showed up in the mail:
1 million workers
90 million iPhones
17 suicides
This is where your gadgets come from. Should you care?
Yes, you should care. We do. Kudos to Wired for shining a much-needed spotlight on this important issue.
On Monday, we reported how Apple is working on a streaming-only iPhone. The smaller, lighter device will have limited storage. Media and data will be streamed to the device over the network, like the second-generation Apple TV.
In November, we reported that the iPhone 5 will use a Near Field Communications chip (NFC) to enable an ambitious remote computing system. Wave the NFC-equipped iPhone near any compatible Mac, and the user’s entire Home directory will be loaded onto the guest machine — files, photos, music and even the same desktop background. It will be as though the user is sitting in front of their home computer. Apple has even patented the system.
How are the two related?
It’s unlikely that Apple will use Liquidmetal for the new MacBooks that are expected any day now, but it sure would be sweet. Check out how svelte the machines would be if Apple used the extra-stiff material.
Mockup by designer Dario Crisafulli.
Via SagiaMente.
Who wants one?
If Apple shrinks the iPhone to nano size with a screen that runs edge-to-edge and no Home button, how will users quit apps and return to the Home screen?
Developer Max Rudberg suggests that users could squeeze the sides of their iPhone to close apps. He writes:
This could be a real wow effect. Seeing how the phone reacts to your grip and then having the app vanish in the palm of your hand.
To avoid ‘squeeze to go Home’ from happening by accident, a visual cue could show that pressure is being applied. In this concept, the app begins to shrink to reflect the pressure that is being applied. When the pressure goes over a defined threshold, the user is returned to the Home screen.
The strength of a users grip will of course vary. Therefore, a setting for how much pressure that’s needed before an app is exited could be a good idea.”
Rudberg, who runs Max Themes and created popular jailbreak themes Glasklart HD and Serious SBSettings HD, suggests the iPhone nano have a pressure-sensitive body. He made a cool video showing how it would work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7uk_sxYW98
[via iPhone Download Blog and MacStories]
Our friends at Hong Kong-based M.I.C. Gadget have received a letter from Apple! It’s not a very nice one though. It concerns the Pineapple CEO action figure, which portrays our favorite technologist as a star-throwing ninja (remember the story about Jobs being stopped at airport security?).
“Mr. Jobs has not consented to the use of his name and/or image in the Product. Unauthorized use of a person’s name and/or likeness constitutes a violation of California Civil Code Section 3344, which prohibits the use of any person’s name, photograph or likeness in a product without that person’s prior consent… The figure and its stand are replications of Mr. Jobs image and Apple’s trademark. The thin attempt to “disguise” the figure in its current iteration does not impact the fact that you are plainly trading on Mr. Jobs image…”
M.I.C. Gadget says it’s sorry and will no longer sell the action figure.
Actually, we are wondering what took the law firm so long to send us an email to request us to cease the marketing and sale of the figure. We reviewed it on January 18, and we received the email on February 8. That’s almost a month time! We believe someone from Apple has bought the figure so the lawyer took so much time to look for us. So, who bought it??
M.I.C. Gadget: Apple Is Not Happy With The Pineapple CEO Action Figure
Apple will build a massive store in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal, Cult of Mac independently confirmed.
The store will open in the fall, likely early September — and it will be Apple’s largest retail space in the world.
The store already has a name: Apple Store, Grand Central, according to a source close the company. The source said Apple will be making an internal announcement within the next month or so.
“The company will certainly pull out all the stops on this one,” said the source, who asked not to be named.
This year is the 10th anniversary of Apple retail, and Apple wants to make a big splash, our source said. Apple’s retail operation has been a spectacular success, helping fuel the company’s explosive growth and creating shops that make twice as much money as Tiffany & Co.
Apple’s stock is taking a hit on fresh rumors that Steve Jobs has only a few weeks to live. Apple stock is currently down about three points in after-hours trading. It’s likely to take a big hit tomorrow when the markets reopen. The stock dropped a few points last week on rumors that Jobs was in hospital.
The sleazy rumors, published by the supermarket tabloid National Enquirer, reportedly show photos of Jobs outside the Stanford Cancer Center in Palo Alto, his home town. The pictures don’t seem to be available online, but apparently show Jobs looking very thin and frail. The tabloid says Jobs has dropped from 175lb to just 130lb and has just six weeks to live. The topic is lighting up Twitter.
We don’t know whether the information is correct, but we certainly hope not. Best wishes Steve.
Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple is working on a “major revamp” of MobileMe, including a “locker” that will stream movies and TV shows to iPhones and iPads.
We’ve learned that Apple is going far beyond this. The company is looking to add a ton of ambitious cloud computing features to MobileMe — possibly in anticipation of a streaming-only iPhone.
Among the many services Apple is working on are:
According to our source, who asked to remain anonymous, Apple is working on a lot of streaming data services and location-aware technologies. It’s not clear when or how these features will be rolled out, but they appear to complement our report that Apple is working on a streaming-only iPhone.
“A ton of ideas were hatched on what they could do, and from what I heard, a lot of their ideas were shelved for a later date in order to focus on a few of them,” said our source.
Demolition crews have begun tearing down Steve Jobs’ ramshackle mansion in Woodside.
Preservationists had wanted the historic mansion saved but Jobs wants to build a smaller, modern residence on the property. The 86-year mansion was subject to a long legal battle, which Jobs eventually won. Jobs famously lived in the mansion during the ’80s. It was empty of furniture and he neglected to mow the lawn.
The San Francisco Chronicle talked to a local resident and got a great quote from Jobs’ attorney:
“I just heard a bunch of noise up there and saw it going on,” said Greg Moretti, 37, of Woodside. “Whatever side of the demolition debate you are on, it’s hard to deny that what we are witnessing here today is the loss of a significant piece of California architectural history.”
Jobs’ attorney, Howard Ellman, said, “He applied to demolish the house, we got the house demolition permit, and the demolition started today. What more can I say?”
For a good look on just how run down the mansion was, check out Jonathan Haeber’s amazing photos.
Apparently, Deutsche Telekom expects NFC-equipped smartphones this year from Samsung, RIM, LG and Apple.
A PowerPoint presentation at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona seen by PhoneScoop says wireless Near Field Communications payment systems are coming soon:
Deutsche Telekom announced that it expects NFC phones in 2011 from Apple, Samsung in Q2, and RIM & LG in Q3. The company expects mobile payments replacing cash to be the most popular use for NFC technology, followed by mobile ticketing for services such as public transportation.
Unfortunately there’s no pictures or further detail. It’s not clear whether Deutsche Telekom has prior knowledge or is just wishful thinking. NFC-equipped iPhones and iPads have been widely rumored.
The main point of performer Mike Daisey’s powerful one-man show about Apple and its Chinese factories is that in China, it’s cheaper to have people make products rather than have machines make those products. As a result, people are treated like machines. They perform the same tasks, day in, day out. They work excessively long hours and if they break down, they are discarded. Most tellingly, if they try to commit suicide, the factory puts up big nets around its buildings to catch them. Nothing about the work or the workplace is changed.
It’s these nets that Apple touts in its just-published Supplier Responsibility report, which details the progress it has made during 2011 in imposing standards on its overseas contractors. The report discusses child labor, factory poisonings and conflict materials. A whole section is devoted to the suicides in 2010 at Foxconn, its largest overseas supplier.
At the weekend, the Wall Street Journal reported an intriguiging detail about the upcoming iPhone nano: the new iPhone would feature “voice-based navigation.” (It will also be streaming-only, according to our report).
Could this be true system-wide voice control, as programming legend Bill Atkinson predicted at Macworld?
As we previously reported, Atkinson said it’s clear that iPhones would one day be controlled by voice, but he predicted the development to be several years away — two to ten years, he said.
But Atkinson reminded us we can get a sneak peek at the technology if we tune into Jeopardy! tonight. The history-making show features IBM’s DeepQA Project Watson supercomputer versus previous champions, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter.
It’s likely to be a first public demonstration of the kind of natural-language and real-world knowledge technology to make it work.
“When we see computers interacting with a natural language interface, people are going to want it,” Atkinson said.
“I’d ask you all to watch Jeopardy on February 14,” he said. “It may be a momentous occasion.”
This is probably the best iPhone nano mockup so far from our friend Tyler Hojberg, who writes:
Hey, just thought I’d share my concept idea of the “iPhone nano.” Creating a smaller chunkier screen allows more room for a full sized keyboard and contrary to popular belief, I decided to keep the home button. I don’t believe Apple is ready to do away with the iconic home button just yet, as I believe it’s one of the distinguishing form factors of the iPhone. Notice the change in antenna at the bottom which I believe would be blocked because of the way a smaller iPhone is held, leaving only one at the top. It’s conceptual, but not too far-fetched.
What do you guys think? Would it work?
The iPhone nano mockups are coming in thick and fast.
The one above is by iOSboy. It has the same screen size as the full-size iPhone to make it easy for app developers. But he’s put the camera on the bottom. Does that make sense?
Here are some other interesting mockups:
UPDATE: The big question about a streaming-only iPhone is apps: How will users download apps? My source compared it to the second-generation Apple TV, which is a streaming-only device but includes 8GB of onboard memory (for the OS and buffering media). “I’m not 100% sure on the amount of memory available for the user,” he said. “I know there is some memory but it acts more like the memory on the AppleTV. There is some there, I’m just not sure how much.”
We have more detail on Apple’s iPhone nano, which according to Sunday’s Wall Street Journal is real and may be headed to market this year.
But what we have will blow your mind.
