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Apple has added several whitepapers to its training site. All them address enterprise technologies in Lion. While many of the whitepapers have been available from Apple in the past, two of them appear to be new additions. The first of these details the use of Configuration Profiles to manage Macs running Lion as well as iOS device while the second covers 802.1X networking.

The first new whitepaper, which isn’t dated, is definitely the more interesting of the two.  It discusses Mac management as an extension of mobile device management (MDM). As we reported last week, Apple appears to be positioning Macs running Mountain Lion to be managed in the same manner as iOS devices rather than using its long-standing Managed Preferences architecture that has been built into OS X and OS X Server since their initial releases over a decade ago.

Well what do we have here. With rumors saying that the next iPhone will feature a taller, 4-inch display, a video has surfaced from Japanese site Macotakara detailing the new screen dimensions on video. After getting its hands on what appears to be the parts that have been floating around in the wild for the last few days, Macotakara’s video shows off a 4.07-inch front panel that could easily house the larger display everyone has been talking about.

While most new stories covering Internet piracy talk in terms of the entertainment industries and major associations like the MPAA and RIAA, software piracy is often part of the discussion and debate as well. While entertainment companies collectively call for extreme legal measures like SOPA and ACTA, software companies also battle piracy outside the legal arena by using extreme anti-pirating measures built into their products (and their accompanying license agreements). Microsoft is probably best example of a company that goes to great lengths to limit pirating of its products.

With digital piracy being a major issue in many countries over the past several months, the Business Software Association added user surveys to its annual piracy study. The results show that, despite measures from software makers, existing anti-piracy laws, and pending legislation, more than half of all Internet users admit to pirating at least one piece of software.

Samsung’s predilection for shamelessly ripping off Apple’s design is well documented at this point. Here’s Samsung shamelessly ripping off the iOS homescreen. Here’s Samsung shamelessly ripping off the iPod touch. Here’s Samsung shamelessly ripping off the Smart Cover. Here’s Samsung shamelessly ripping off the iPhone 3G. And here’s Samsung even ripping off an actress from an iPhone commercial.

If Samsung’s ever going to quit ripping off Apple’s design team and make their own damn products, they show no sign of abating, as the latest product design to be ripped off by Samsung is their new Chromebox, which looks almost identical to the Mac mini: a tiny aluminum box with a black circular opening at the bottom. Unbelievable.

Source: Dan Curtis

In a recent article over at The Wall Street Journal, Nokia’s challenges trying to make a dent in the iPhone 4S with the Lumia 900 are highlighted by some pretty grim numbers: Nokia makes more than $200 less on each Nokia Lumia 900 sold compared to Apple’s profit on an iPhone 4S.

AT&T has unleashed its 4G LTE fury upon the city of Cleveland, and its citizens are ready to Rock ‘n’ Roll. It continues to be a slow rollout for AT&T, but every little bit counts if you’re a customer. If you’ve already jumped ship over to Verizon, then you probably won’t care, but if you’re still an AT&T faithful living in Cleveland, you’ll know be able to enjoy:

Netflix announced an updated version of its iOS app on Thursday for customers in the U.S. and Canada. The update is centered around improving the overall user experience while streaming movies and TV shows to an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. One important improvement beyond that, however, is the ability to control mobile data use and avoid expensive overage fees.

Face it. Your Apple TV is boring. It looks just like every other Apple TV, everywhere in the world. Sure, you might say it doesn’t matter, that the whole point of the little puck is to get out of the way and let you watch TV shows and movies, but that shows a lack of imagination. What you need, my friend, is a set of decals. And not just any old decals. You need decals that make your Apple TV look like a NES console.

Healthcare has been a natural fit for the iPad and, to a slightly smaller extent, the iPhone. iOS devices can provide interaction with electronic records and other patient information as well as offer access to reference guides, medical images like X-rays, and even remote diagnoses via FaceTime.

A new program being tested in California’s Marin County aims to bring some of those abilities to paramedics in the field. The program, which equips paramedic teams with iPhones via a specialized QR reader app, is a joint venture with Silicon Valley startup Lifesquare. Its aim is to allow paramedics instant access to patient information using QR codes stickers.

Following the Fair Labor Association’s audit into Foxconn working conditions earlier this year, which unearthed several labor violations, including unlawful working hours, poor pay, and a total disregard for health and safety, Apple and Foxconn promised to make some major improvements.

However, two months on, activists say violations “remain the norm,” and that there is no evidence of any significant changes in Foxconn’s Chinese factories.

Echoing a report from last week, the The Daily has followed up its original scoop by saying that Microsoft will launch Office for iPad on November 10th, 2012. The Daily originally leaked images of the iPad app, but Microsoft denied the report by saying that it was “based on inaccurate rumors and speculation.”

Today The Daily gives a specific launch date for Office on the iPad. According to the report, the app is in the “hands of a usability team” at Microsoft and will be submitted to the App Store soon.

Today Leap Wireless, parent company to Cricket, announced that it has partnered with Apple to bring the iPhone to the U.S. prepaid market for the first time. Starting June 22nd, customers will be able to buy iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S models from Cricket on a prepaid wireless plan. The iPhones have been substantially subsidized by Cricket, indicating that the carrier is taking a financial hit to hop on the Apple bandwagon.

Apple’s iPad Smart Cover is a wonderful product. Not only is it pretty much the most minimal yet versatile iPad case around, it’s fun, attractive aesthetic — inspired by Japanese bath covers — hides some serious engineering beneath the surface thanks to its 30+ odd magnets.

So it’s a great product. Did you know that for Apple, though, Smart Covers alone are a $2 billion a year business?

A pair of new job listings on Apple’s website confirm that the company is seeking two engineers to overhaul the existing 30-pin dock connector currently employed by its iOS devices. The listings strengthen rumors Apple will introduce a new dock connector with its sixth-generation iPhone later this year, that will be significantly smaller than its predecessor.

If William Blake was alive today, and was pitching an iPhone case on Kickstarter, he might have called it The Trygger. Alas, he dies in 1827, long before either the iPhone or Kickstarter were invented, leaving the fate of the Trygger in the hands of Scott Phillips and Joel Kamerman.

The Trygger is a bumper-style case with a very clever sliding back which houses a polarizing filter. And if you have a nagging feeling that polarizers are the new fisheyes in the world of iPhone accessories, you’d be right — we covered a clip-on polarizer just last week.

We’ve profiled a range of companies and products during our Mobile Management Month event. One of the things that seems to stand out to some readers is the number of companies that offer mobile management as part of a larger set of enterprise and IT solutions. Integrated solutions are nothing new to IT. The cultural shift of mobile devices and BYOD programs, however, have many organizations wondering whether to go with an integrated  or branch out into new territory and use a range of deployment, management, and monitoring tools for desktop systems as well as mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad.

Mike Daisey, the author behind The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, who was forced to admit that he fabricated some of his claims about worker mistreatment in Apple’s supply chain, has criticized Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher for being too soft on Tim Cook during their interview at All Things D’s D10 conference earlier this week.

After offensively branding Swisher as lazy for her use of the word “fictional,” in a post on his blog, Daisey continues to blast the pair’s “weak” interview questions and suggests how they can “do [their] job better.”

Angry Birds Space is continuing to make its $0.99 price tag look like an absolute bargain with yet another update that brings a brand new, food-themed planet with ten brand new levels to iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

Paper, the hugely popular iPad drawing app by FiftyThree, just got a new update that finally allows you to export your sketches as PDF documents, and introduces an increased “Rewind” history.

During the last 8 or so years of his career at Apple, Steve Jobs gave his most famous interviews at the annual D: All Things Digital conference. Sitting opposite veteran journalists Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher, Jobs was know for candidly answering questions and giving his honest opinion on hot topics.

Following the D10 interview with current Apple CEO Tim Cook yesterday, AllThingsD has made its entire collection of Steve Jobs interviews available as a free download in the iTunes Store.

Fantastical is one of my favorite Mac apps. The handy calendar app sits in my menubar and manages my schedule like a personal secretary. The beauty of Fantastical is that, unlike iCal on the Mac, you can quickly add complex events to your calendar using natural, everyday language. “Lunch with John at 12 on Thursday” translates to an event titled “Lunch with John” that’s automatically scheduled for Thursday at noon.

Flexibits, maker of Fantastical, announced a nice update to the app today. Version 1.3 adds Reminders integration, allowing you to add and edit reminders on your Mac and have them synced via iCloud to your iOS devices.

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.

Hollywood screenwriter Aaron Sorkin was interviewed today by Walt Mossberg at the D10 conference in California. Sorkin has been hired by Sony to adapt Walter Isaacson’s official biography of Steve Jobs, and he has already tapped Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak to help advise him during the production process.

Sorkin talked about writing his Jobs movie today onstage. He described his writing process and how he wants to approach the film. After affirming that the film is still in the earliest stages of production, Sorkin talked about how he wants the audience to relate to his script and the kind of actor he wants to play Jobs.

Ever wondering if you’d be better off working for Apple than your current company? A job at Cupertino isn’t guaranteed to make you rich, but they do pay their talent fairly well, especially their engineers and designers. Here’s a list of some of the most common positions within Apple, along with their average salary, in ranking order.

MacKeeper is a strange piece of software. There may be no other app as controversial in the Apple world. The application, which performs various janitorial duties on your hard drive, is loathed by a large segment of the Mac community. Check out any blog, site or forum that mentions it, and you’ll find hundreds of furious comments condemning MacKeeper and Zeobit, the company behind it. We discovered this ourselves earlier this month, when we offered a 50%-off deal on MacKeeper. Look at all those furious comments on the post.

The complaints about MacKeeper are all over the shop: It’s a virus. It holds your machine hostage until you pay up. It can’t be completely removed if you decide to delete it. Instead of speeding up your computer, it slows it down. It erases your hard drive, deletes photos, and disappears documents. There are protests about MacKeeper’s annual subscription fees. Zeobit is slammed for seedy marketing tactics. It runs pop-under ads, plants sock-puppet reviews and encourages sleazy affiliate sites, critics say.

But what’s really strange is that MacKeeper has been almost universally praised by professional reviewers. All week I’ve been checking out reviews on the Web and I can’t find a bad one.