Mobile menu toggle

Luke Dormehl - page 229

Today in Apple history: Mac LC 520 makes a splash in education market

By

LC 520
Was this really almost a quarter of a century ago?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Tuesday 28 Arriving on this day in 1993, the Macintosh LC 520 was among the first of Apple’s LC 500 series of medium-price Macs.

Selling for $2,000, it was particularly popular in educational institutions, a market Apple continues to pursue today. If you went to school in the decade of Nirvana, Bill Clinton and Pulp Fiction, this could well have been the Mac you used!

Space gray color will be more of a ‘formal black’ for iPhone 7

By

iPhone SE encryption
Space gray will get a bit darker this September.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

A new rumor claims that Apple won’t be launching the iPhone 7 in a new “deep blue” color, as previously suggested, but rather a far darker gray which will replace the existing space gray color the company offers.

The color is reportedly a shade of “formal black,” which will be substantially different to the rose gold, gold and silver iPhone options currently available.

Apple shows LGBT Pride with rainbow Watch strap

By

ApplePride
Sadly you can't buy the Watch strap anywhere!
Photo: Saksuhon

Apple once again showed its support for gay rights over the weekend by participating in San Francisco’s LGBT Pride festival. Numerous Apple employees, including Tim Cook, took part — and Apple even distributed custom limited edition rainbow Apple Watch bands to people on the Cupertino payroll who registered for the event.

Today in Apple history: The end of Apple’s worst financial year

By

Apple losses Gil Amelio
Yep, Apple wasn't always a global behemoth.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Monday 27June 27, 1997: The worst financial year in Apple history comes to an end. During the quarter, Apple lost $56 million — effectively bringing an end to then-CEO Gil Amelio‘s 500 days running the company.

The $56 million loss contributes to an overall Apple loss of $1.6 billion during Amelio’s reign. It effectively wipes out every cent of profit Cupertino had earned since fiscal 1991. In other words — ouch!

Hello Sitter, Perchang, and other awesome apps of the week

By

appsoftheweek_1024
'Appy weekend
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

It’s the weekend again, and what better way to spend the remaining hours of Sunday than by checking out the best new apps — and major app updates — to hit the App Store? From a stunning real-time feed of Earth from space to a tremendous Rube Goldberg-style puzzler, you’re almost certain to find something of interest in this week’s picks.

Check them out below.

Today in Apple history: Original Apple I sells for big bucks at auction

By

Apple-1
A working Apple 1 will set you back a small fortune.
Photo: Auction Team Breker

Friday24On June 24, 2013, an Apple I — the first ever computer built by Apple Computer, Inc. — was listed for auction by international auction house Christie’s.

Thought to be one of the first 25 units to be built by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in the late 1970s, the unit featured no Apple logo, but rather a signature from Woz, who designed the machine. It sold for an impressive $390,000, ranking it among the most expensive computers ever sold.

NASA’s Apple TV app gives you realtime view of Earth from the stars

By

HEADING
Your own private window from the International Space Station!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple loves talking about Apple TV’s impressive screensavers, which let viewers fly through some of the most jaw-dropping locations on the planet. You know what’s even more impressive than the world’s most gorgeous locations, though? The most dazzling locations out of this world!

That’s the concept behind NASA’s stunning new Apple TV app, which offers realtime views of the Earth as glimpsed from the International Space Station, among other space-age features.

Today in Apple history: Apple backs down in Taylor Swift battle

By

Taylor Swift Apple Music ad
These days, Taylor Swift regularly appears in Apple ads.
Photo: Apple

Wednesday22On June 22, 2015, Apple backed down following a brief standoff with Taylor Swift over royalty payments from the soon-to-launch Apple Music service. The company reversed a policy that would have denied royalties to artists during the streaming music platform’s initial three months of operation.

In doing so, Cupertino signaled that this was a kinder, gentler Apple than may have existed previously. Provided the whole thing wasn’t one big publicity stunt, that is.

iPhone display maker takes hit as Samsung steals OLED orders

By

battery
Apple's OLED dreams are turning out to be a nightmare for some.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The rumors that Samsung is ramping up its OLED facilities bodes well for superior displays on next year’s iPhone refresh, but there’s one party that’s not quite so pleased: struggling Apple display maker Japan Display.

The reason? Because while other companies bet big on OLED, it seems that Japan Display doubled-down on its LCD technology — and may now be suffering the effects of its ill-timed decision.

E-book customers receive payouts for Apple price fixing

By

money
Affected customers will get their share of Apple's $450 million payout.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Bringing an end to Apple’s long-running iBooks price fixing scandal, affected customers will today receive their settlement payment for books bought between April 1, 2010 and May 21, 2012.

Settlements work out at $1.57 for the majority of e-books, increasing to $6.93 for New York Times bestsellers. Publishers involved in the suit include the Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Group, and Simon & Schuster — all of whom were found guilty of colluding with Apple to fix e-book prices.

Today in Apple history: eWorld opens its virtual doors

By

macintosh_90s
Short of a Nirvana MIDI playing in the background, you can't get more 1990s than this!
Photo: Andrea Grell/Ste Smith

Monday20 On June 20, 1994, Apple launched its short-lived eWorld service. Why is eWorld so significant? Because it represented Apple’s first deep dive into being a provider of internet services — several years before Steve Jobs returned to the company and embraced the importance of going online.

Part messaging service, part news aggregator — and all with Apple’s customary premium prices — eWorld was ahead of its time.

Apple will be able to open retail stores in India on one condition

By

Photo: Apple
Apple wants to open a flagship Apple Store in India, similar to its Fifth Avenue outlet.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s plans for a string of retail stores in India hit a hurdle last month when the country’s finance minister ruled that Apple must conform to local sourcing laws in order to be granted a permit for the country. Requiring that Apple procure 30 percent of its goods locally, this seemed like it put a decisive halt to plans for Apple Stores in India.

Fortunately, it seems that cooler heads have prevailed — as part of a much larger rethink that goes way beyond Apple.

1979 Revolution, Slip Away, and other apps of the week

By

appsoftheweek_1024
'Appy weekend everyone!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Happy Sunday everyone! During seven days in which Apple revealed iOS 10 and Mac OS Sierra to the world, developers released some great new apps and updates into the App Store.

From a great choose-your-own-adventure game set in 1979 Iran to a price comparison search app, here are our picks for apps of the week.

Apple just hit yet another roadblock in China

By

iPhone 6s
Apple's accused of infringing on the design patents of a rival company.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple has just hit its latest setback in China, after a court ruled that it had infringed on the design patent of a Chinese smartphone maker and may have to stop selling the iPhone in Beijing as a result.

Today in Apple history: Steve Jobs talks to Rolling Stone

By

Steve Jobs during the NeXT years.
Steve Jobs during the NeXT years.
Photo: Doug Menuez/Fearless Genius

thursday16 There was, to put it mildly, a lot that was insanely great about Steve Jobs’ return to Apple. But one thing that always struck me as less than good from an Apple fan’s perspective was that he stopped giving revealing in-depth interviews.

As his ability to command the narrative increased, Apple’s CEO understandably shifted away from playing the media hound he’d been for the first part of his career, where he’d speak with often painful honesty to seemingly any magazine that would have him. One of his last such interviews? The one that appeared in the June 16, 1994, edition of Rolling Stone.

First Macau Apple Store will open later this month

By

Apple West Lake
The Apple Store in Hangzhou, China.
Photo: Apple

Apple may be running into roadblocks during its expansion in China, but that’s not stopping the company from pushing forward with its retail plans — with Macau, a glitzy city often referred to as the “Las Vegas of China,” set to receive its first Apple Store later this month.

According to Apple, the store will open at 10am local time on June 25, based at the upmarket Galaxy Macau resort shopping mall. Its opening will mark the 41st dedicated Apple Store to open in China.

iOS 10 app deletion won’t actually delete Apple’s stock apps

By

You can remove stock apps in iOS 10, but you can't swap them.
"Hiding" apps is a better description.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Among the myriad improvements Apple is making with iOS 10 is the ability to, for the first time, delete the stock apps which come pre-packaged on your iPhone and iPad.

That means that, should you not use your Calendar, Compass, Mail or Weather app (to name just 18 stock iOS apps), you’ll be able to banish them from your device — having to re-download them via the App Store if you change your mind.

But things aren’t quite as straightforward as they might sound!

Today in Apple history: Aluminum Mac mini arrives

By

10macmini_hero
Good things come in small packages!
Photo: Apple

wednesday15 While Apple originally introduced the diminutive Mac mini in 2005, it was on June 15, 2010, that it launched the sleek, unibody aluminum Mac mini redesign that persists to this day.

Starting at $699, the mid-2010 era Mac mini gave users a 2.4-GHz Core 2 Duo CPU, 2 GB of RAM, and a 320 GB hard drive. It also boasted an HDMI-out port for the first time, an SD card reader, a dazzling new NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics chip and — very excitingly — no power brick, since all the power circuitry was housed inside the minimalist device, which stood at a not-so-imposing 1.4 inches tall.