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Apple has always taken privacy very seriously. When it was discovered that popular app Path secretly uploaded an iPhone user’s entire address book to its servers, the media reacted very strongly and Apple was forced to get involved. Path was violating Apple’s terms of agreement, and it was discovered that many other apps in the App Store had been doing the same thing for quite some time. Apple said that it would clarify the privacy issue for end users with a future iOS update.

High-profile meetings take place at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California all the time, but the public rarely gets to hear about what is said behind closed doors. As it turns out, Path CEO Dave Morin was summoned to Cupertino by Apple CEO Tim Cook to talk about the recent privacy scandal his app caused.

The guys at iFixit have been hard at work tearing down the iPad all morning. First posts of the teardown revealed that the iPhone’s retina display is being produced by Samsung. Well the teardown has finally been completed and posted online, exposing the full glory of the new iPad’s guts. It’s a beautiful sight, and we’ve got some of the best pictures below, but first, here are the entire specs of the new iPad.

Experts at the Intrepidus Mobile Security Group came across some interesting parsers definitions within Google Wallet’s source code that could hint at a possible iOS release. How Google actually plans on getting Google Wallet to work on a non-NFC/SE iOS device is another story, but for now, let’s take a look at the iOS definitions found by Intrepidus.

Can you literally not contain your excitement for the new iPad and its glorious Retina display? Will you be unable to sleep tonight because you can’t wait to get in line at the butt crack of dawn tomorrow to buy one? Then you may be in luck because Walmart is kicking things off early.

Starting at precisely 12:01 A.M. tomorrow, Walmart will start selling a limited supply of new iPads at its 24-hour locations around the United States. Apple’s doors aren’t opening until 8 A.M., so you’ll have the opportunity to snag a new tablet before everyone else.

As expected, third-gen Apple TV pre-orders have started arriving early in the mail. The set-top box includes 1080p HD video support and a faster processor. It comes with an updated interface and sells for $99.

Shipping estimates in Apple’s online store for the new Apple TV have slipped past tomorrow’s launch date, but those who were lucky enough to pre-order before stock sold out should be getting their device in the mail either today or tomorrow. We’ve got an unboxing for you to check out.

Apple released iOS 5.1 to the public on March 7th, and jailbreakers with A4-based iOS devices like the iPhone 4 were able to perform a tethered jailbreak shortly after the firmware hit. Those who wanted to keep their full, untethered jailbreak (including iPhone 4S and iPad 2 owners) have had to stay on iOS 5.0.1 until a new jailbreak is announced for 5.1.

There have been whispers on Twitter that certain hackers are finding exploits for a iOS 5.1 jailbreak, and the infamous hacker known as “i0n1c” has already jailbroken his way into 5.1 on the iPad 2.

Have you ever leant your iPad to a friend or family member and when you get it back you find they’ve logged out of all of your social networks and closed all those tabs you were saving for later?

With Skyfire’s new HotSwap feature on the iPad, you can setup different accounts for each users so that everyone has their own profile while browsing the web — with their own bookmarks, tabs, and settings. It’s perfect for sharing.

If you’ve ever taken apart an Apple device, you know what delicate work it can be.

Imagine trying to extract incriminating child pornography photos from a laptop and you’ll understand why tools that help you see what’s on the device before opening it up are increasingly important in law enforcement.

While some people say that waiting in line for hours just to buy a new tablet is stupid, other humans have this weird determination to be the first to everything. Every year we see people selling their spots at the front of launch lines, but it looks like selling your position in queue has become a bit more sophisticated. Apple fans are now selling their spots in line on EBay in an effort to maximize visibility and hopefully the selling price.

As we mentioned earlier, those Dr. Jests of the DIY repair movement, iFixIt, have gotten themselves one of the very first new iPads and are already busy hacking away at it. Their server is being crushed right now, but the teardown has already born some fruit, confirming that Samsung is indeed working with Apple to build the new iPad’s Retina Display.

By all accounts, text-heavy apps really shine on the new iPad’s Retina Display, so I’m glad to see that Amazon have already updated my favorite iOS e-reading app to work at native 2048×1536 resolution.

And that’s not all. Amazon has also taken the opportunity to redesign the Kindle library view so that it’s organized in two separate tabs, “Cloud” and “Device,” which should make it easier to tell which e-books you have stored locally and which ones need to be slurped down from Amazon’s databanks.

You can download Kindle 3.0 on the App Store right now for free.

Camping out for a new Apple product is a time-honored tradition. Outsiders think it’s crazy, and even some insiders do — couldn’t you preorder it this year — but waiting for the product is just part of the reason you do it. It’s really about the camaraderie, the friendship, the adventure.

Craig Fox, organizer of the upcoming JailbreakCon, is roughing it on the streets of London outside Apple’s flagship Regent Street Store. Even if you’ve never considered waiting in line for a new Apple product, his account of the experience might just change your mind.

Here’s his report:

With your new iPad pre-order ready to be loaded onto tomorrow’s truck for delivery, you’re probably pretty excited right about now. But maybe not as excited as some MLB players, coaches, and scouts. Apple’s device allows them to identify tactics and improve their game, and scout for new talent. It’s also great for keeping in touch with their families while they’re away from home, and they’re expecting the third-generation device to be the best iPad yet.

Virtually everyone who’s ever used an Apple product has an Apple ID. This user account for all things Apple is most commonly used with the iTunes Store and the iOS and Mac App Stores. It’s used to both authorize purchases and to allow you to access content or run apps after they’re downloaded. Apple’s philosophy is that every person should have their own Apple ID and that each of us should use our individual Apple ID (and only that Apple ID) on each of our devices – iPads, iPhones, iPods, Macs, even PC’s running iTunes or other Apple software.

That’s a great concept, but it creates a big challenge when iOS devices are used in business or school environments. When someone configures an iOS device for an employee or student with a selection of apps and other content (like iBooks 2 textbooks), they need to use an Apple ID. But once that device is deployed, the end user may need or want to purchase additional apps or other materials.

This is often a stumbling block for business-owned devices. And it’s something that Apple has finally begun to address with Apple Configurator.

In their normal fashion as dissectors and vivisectionists of the gadget world, the fine ladies and gents over at iFixIt — who flew all the way to Australia to get a literal crack at the new iPad early — have just opened Apple’s latest tablet up, as reported by their Twitter feed:

The first legit-purchased, legit-owned iPad 3 is now also the first legit-opened iPad… in the world.

Stay tuned. We’ll let you know what mysteries they find inside.

In the latest patent war saga, a Dutch court ruled that Samsung cannot assert 3G patents against Apple products using Qualcomm’s baseband chips — as Samsung has a licensing deal with the U.S. chipmaker — thus denying their bid to ban the sales of the iPhone and iPad in the Netherlands. However, Samsung didn’t consider the ruling a complete loss as the Hague court also ruled that Samsung could seek damages over the use of Intel chips. While Apple doesn’t use Intel chips, this gives Samsung ammunition against those that do.

When Lion was released last summer, there was a big outcry because Apple had decided to kill off Rosetta, the emulation engine that allowed Macs with Intel processors to run apps designed for Macs with Power PC processors. Apple’s position was that it had made the switch to Intel and stopped selling Power PC Macs five years earlier and it was time for users and developers to move on. Most developers did move on to releasing universal apps that could run on Macs with either processor or that were Intel-only.

One company that dragged its heals was Intuit, maker of the popular Quicken personal finance app. When Lion shipped, users of Quicken 2007, the most recent version, were faced with options that really weren’t that good: not upgrade to Lion, install a stripped down version called Quicken Essentials that was built for Intel Macs, run the Windows version of Quicken, or switch to a different app.

I thought it was impossible to do anything dorkier than wearing a Bluetooth headset all day long, because you’re, like, so important that you’ll be getting a call any minute now. Well, it turns out that I was wrong. Check out the Tomko Transceiver for iPhone, a plug-in handset that makes your iPhone work like a CB radio.

Add this to your list of things Apple is worth more than. As the Zero Hedge blog notes, “A company whose value is dependent on the continued success of two key products, now has a larger market capitalization (at $542 billion), than the entire US retail sector (as defined by the S&P 500).” Nuff said.

Every single thing about the new iPad is more power hungry than the iPad 2. The Retina Display requires more power to drive its double resolution display. The LTE capability requires more battery to suck in faster mobile data speeds. Even the doubled RAM capacity uses more electricity.

Despite all of this, though, the new iPad has the same great battery life as the iPad 2: 10 hours of battery using 3G, 9 hours battery using LTE. Apple’s achieved this extraordinary feat by packing almost twice the battery capacity into the same space.

That’s great news when you’re around town. But it comes at a cost: charging the new iPad to full is a total bitch.

For the first time ever, Apple stock briefly touched, then dropped below, the price of $600 per share. Making that milestone even more impressive is the fact that AAPL just reached $500 per share for the first time a month ago.

Mark my words, Woz is right: Apple’s going to reach $1000 per share become the world’s first trillion dollar company.

[via MacRumors]

I’ve been obsessing over my iPad pre-order so much since I placed it that I’m checking it tracking status almost hourly. I know it’s not going to arrive early, but I can’t help myself.

If you’re like me and you live in the U.K., you may have noticed that your iPad is listed as “out for delivery” today. But here’s why it won’t be arriving on your doorstep early.

Oh Lord, after a dozen years, it’s finally come: Blizzard Entertainment has finally slapped a release date on their much-anticipated horror and fantasy themed hack-and-slash RPG, Diablo III. And that magic date?

You only need to look at the bloodshot eyes, crunchy appearance and tossled hair of famed PS3 and iPhone hacker George “geohot” Hotz to realize that this is a mind which works best when jerkied in the cannabinoid vapours inhaled from a tightly packed magic jaybone. He’s a viper from birth, and we wouldn’t have him any other way.

But the cops would. That’s why they arrested him for cannabis possession while driving to SXSW to deliver a speech on hacking.

With all the attention deservedly going to the new iPad, it can be easy to forget that Apple also launched a third-gen Apple TV set-top box at its March 7th media event. The little hockey puck included 1080p HD video support and a faster processor, but that’s basically it. Not much has changed since the last Apple TV.

Apple has given early review units of the new Apple TV to certain publications to review. Here’s what they have to say: