According to a report due out tomorrow based on a tear-down analysis of both the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s, each handset costs Apple between $173 and $218 to manufacture.

AllThingsD got their hands on the report from research firm IHS a day early, and provide component and assembly breakdowns for both handsets. If IHS got their sums right, there is a surprisingly small difference in manufacturing cost between the 5c and 5s, making earlier suggestions of higher margins on the 5c seem unlikely … 

Apple spends at least $191 on...

Apple today updated their iMac models with a slew of technological enhancements including 802.11ac Wi-Fi, 3.7GHz i7 processors, and up to 4GB of VRAM.

In something of a surprise move, Apple today announced the launch of updated iMacs based on Intel's Haswell processors, faster PCI Express-based flash storage options, and 802.11ac Wi-Fi.“iMac continues to be the example that proves how beautiful, fast and fun a desktop computer can be,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Inside its ultra-thin aluminum enclosure, the new iMac has the latest Intel processors, faster graphics, next generation 802.11ac Wi-Fi and faster PCIe flash storage.”New models include:

21.5-inch
- $1299: 2.7 GHz quad-core i5 and Intel Iris Pro graphics
- $1499: 2.9 GHz quad-core Intel i5 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M with 1 GB video memory

27-inch
- $1799: 3.2 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M with 1GB video memory
- $1999: 3.4 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX...

One powerful new feature in the Settings app lets you see how much data your apps are using over your iPhone's cellular connection. You can even block specific apps from accessing data over your cellular connection if you prefer, limiting them to Wi-Fi-based data access only.

To find the options, launch Settings, and tap on Cellular.

Scroll down past all the Personal Hotspot, Call Time, Cellular Data Usage, and other options, and you'll get to a Use Cellular Data For section.

The list is sorted alphabetically, unfortunately, and not by cellular data consumption. But you can see how much data each app has used over your iPhone's cellular connection, and use the green slider to disable certain apps from using cellular data at all.

You can tap on System Services to see how much cellular data is used by system components that you can't prevent from using the cellular connection, like DNS services, Time & Location, Siri, mapping, networking, and such....

Apple has launched an updated line of iMacs with faster processors, improved graphics, faster 802.11ac WiFi connectivity, and improved Flash storage. The new iMacs are now available from Apple’s online store.

“iMac continues to be the example that proves how beautiful, fast and fun a desktop computer can be,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Inside its ultra-thin aluminum enclosure, the new iMac has the latest Intel processors, faster graphics, next generation 802.11ac Wi-Fi and faster PCIe flash storage.”

The new iMacs, like the MacBook Airs that launched in June, include Intel Haswell processors.

However, the iMac’s chips are all quad-core across the...

A day after announcing record iPhone sales, Apple has updated its line of iMac PCs. The company says the new machines use Intel “quad-core” processors, and boast improved graphics and Wi-Fi. Base pricing ranges from $1,300 to $2,000.

Glad to see this. Apple is definitely doing the right thing here.

∞ Read this on The Loop

Auction site eBay is launching a in-store pickup service in the United Kingdom, as well as expanding its eBay Now same-day delivery scheme outside of the United States. A partnership with retailer Argos will allow eBay users to order from 50 merchants and have goods delivered to a store, which in the case of the Click & Collect pilot, consists of 150 Argos branches across the country....
  ...

New iPhones always gladden the hearts of the analysts at the research firm IHS, because it means it’s time to tear the phones apart.

This year’s iPhone teardown project was twice as much fun because there are two phone models, the iPhone 5S sporting its muscular A7 processor and an internal fingerprint sensor, and the iPhone 5C, which is at first glance essentially an iPhone 5 but with a candy-colored external plastic shell.

But as is often the case with Apple-designed products, looks on the outside can be deceiving. The results of two teardown studies show that aside from the most obvious differences, the two phones are internally very much alike. Indeed Apple likes it that way. But more on that in a moment.

According the findings of an IHS report coming tomorrow (but shared with AllThingsD today), Apple spends at least $191 on components to build a 16-gigabyte iPhone 5S....

Just three days after its iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c models hit store shelves, Apple announced Monday that it had sold a record-breaking 9 million handsets. In addition, more than 200 million devices were running iOS 7 as of Monday -- a mass upgrade that Apple called the fastest in its history. However, the iPhone 5s outsold its flashier counterpart by a factor of 3.4 times, according to Localytics. After three days of sales, the iPhone 5s accounted for 1.05 percent of all iPhones in the U.S.; the iPhone 5c just 0.31 percent.

This is dark, sad, and powerful. About a year ago, David Hilfiker was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. This past January, he decided to blog about his journey. Here’s his self-written bio:

I am a 68-year-old retired physician and live with my wife in the nation’s capital. I practiced for seven years in an isolated rural area and then for ten years in an inner-city neighborhood. In 1990 we founded Joseph’s House, a home for homeless people with AIDS and cancer. I have continued to write, teach and lecture about poverty, politics and other issues. I am writing this blog to dispel some of the fear and embarrassment that surrounds Alzheimer’s.

And here’s a bit from his first post:

Garrison Keillor said recently, “Nothing bad ever happens to writers; it’s all material.” So, at least for a time, this Alzheimer’s disease will become material for my website and for this blog. I want to write about what Alzheimer’s is like from the inside. What is the experience of losing...

Smile, a developer of productivity applications for Mac and iOS, has released PDFpen Scan+, a mobile scanning and OCR app, and the latest addition to the PDFpen suite of apps.

read more

NumberCop (www.numbercop.com), a mobile security company dedicated to combating phone spam, has announced research findings that reveal the amount of spam calls arriving on mobile phones is increasing on a daily basis.

read more

As you’ve probably heard by now, Apple’s Touch ID—the technology behind the iPhone 5s’s new fingerprint scanner—was circumvented over the weekend by a group of German security researchers. With little more than the kind of supplies you’d find in the home of your average computer enthusiast, the hackers claim to have fooled the sensor on their brand-new handsets into accepting a fake fingerprint that had been photographed at high resolution, printed out, and transferred to a piece of latex.

If true, this trick appears to cast some serious doubts on just how effective Touch ID is at keeping your information secure from ill-intentioned third parties. But despite those concerns, you shouldn’t discount the usefulness of Apple’s fingerprint-based security system just...

This review of the iPhone 5s is about what you’d expect. The author loves his new phone, points out things other reviewers have also raved about. But this bit focused on the difference with apps specifically compiled for the iPhone 5s’ 64-bit processor, vs their 32-bit iPhone 5 counterparts:

For instance, Night Sky 2 — it’s among those apps compiled in 64-bit — clearly gains speed during startup. It launches in 2.7 seconds on the iPhone 5S, compared to 4.6 seconds on an iPhone 5. Although 1.9 seconds may not sound like much, it’s still an indicator of the kinds of speed gains we’re likely to see as more apps are updated.

A better test of the new architecture is the new game Infinity Blade 3. For this quick test, I rebooted both devices and launched the game before running any other apps. From the moment I launched the game until the introduction animation ran, I found the iPhone 5S to be surprisingly faster than its predecessor. On first launch, the iPhone 5S needed...

iLifeTouch (www.ilifetouch.com) has revved Daily Expenses, their financial tracking app for Mac OS X, to version 1.2. The upgrade offers improved for iCloud Configuration, new Funds transfer, new Income Category, Monthly Budgets, and Reminders.

Daily Expenses offers a way to balance your expenses and income. You can keep track of your spending habits with customized payment modes, categories, dates, expense details and more.

Daily Expenses requires Mac OS X 10.7 or higher. It costs US$10.99 and is available at the Mac App Store (http://tinyurl.com/pqucvbh).

Firetask uniquely combines the advantages of classical priority-and-due-date-based task management with GTD.

• Stay focused and on top of your commitments - Firetask's "Today" view shows all relevant due and next tasks in a single, clear overview. Due tasks only appear when becoming due within the next days, next tasks only if they are the first next task of a project or if marked as flagged. This helps you to focus on your most urgent and important tasks.
• Manage your tasks in a project-oriented way - Firetask is project-oriented. Every task is part of a project and the order of next tasks is defined within each project. This helps you to break down your unnumbered tasks into manageable units and it helps us to provide you with a more focused view across all your commitments.
• Efficiently enter and delegate your tasks -Entering a number of tasks in Firetask is as simple and fast as writing a view lines of text. There is no need to take your...

Default Folder X attaches a toolbar to the right side of the Open and Save dialogs in any OS X-native application. The toolbar gives you fast access to various folders and commands. You just click on the buttons to go to your favorite and recently used folders, manage the folders and files shown in the list, and make changes to your settings. It also fixes a number of problems in Open and Save dialogs, "rebounding" to the last selected file, putting the path listing back in the top menu, and correcting bugs in scrolling column views.

Features:

• Directory assistant: You can access the contents of your recent, favorite, and open folders right from Default Folder X's toolbar.
• Real time saving: If you're constantly saving things inside the same folder, Default Folder X can remember that folder for you.
• Finder management: Default Folder X lets you open up or save to...

Since iOS debuted in 2007 with the iPhone, Apple has been reluctant to incorporate specialized gestures for the platform's virtual keyboard, but a newly awarded patent reveals such functionality may be incorporated in a future version of the operating system.
  ...

Earlier this month, iMessage Chat for Android appeared on the Google Play store. The app is by no means an official Apple-created iMessage solution for Android, but the creation of a third-party developer named Daniel Zweigart. Surprisingly, according to a few users who have tried the app, it actually works. You can send messages from your Android device to your iPhone or iPad, and vice versa.

However, it’s quite possible that the Apple IDs and passwords being entered into the app are being collected by the developer for nefarious purposes.

I 100% do not trust that apk, but it does work with test...

Adobe on Tuesday announced the availability of Photoshop Elements 12 and Premiere Elements 12, bringing fans of the photo- and video-editing solutions a number of new mobile capabilities and easier processes for editing their media.
  ...

On Monday, Apple restored an update to its Apple TV device after pulling the previous version on Sunday over widespread reports that the update "bricked" the device, rendering it inoperable for some users. Others complained of lesser technical issues (like lost content or inability to download), while others reported no issues. The new version carries the same name as the old, and those who still have functioning units can re-download the 6.0 update through the built-in Software Update mechanism....
 ...

After two commercials that emphasized the technology behind the iPhone 5c, Apple has returned to the familiar iPhone 5 campaign style in its latest ad for the colorful new iPhone model with a spot called "Greetings." The ad -- which is available in 30-second and 60-second versions -- was previewed at the iPhone rollout last week, and highlights again the user interaction with the iPhone rather than touting specific features. The previous ads, "Plastic Perfected" and "Designed Together" emphasized the 5c's production and iOS 7 integration, respectively....
 ...

In August, we noted that iTunes was offering Season Passes of the popular show Breaking Bad in a split-up format. For Season 5 of the show, the first eight episodes was under one iTunes purchase, while the second half (which was known as “The Final Season”) was an additional download.

This split did not go over well with Breaking Bad fans, and one iTunes customer even filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple, even though the matter was due to a decision by AMC, not iTunes.

Dear Customer, We...

A day after pulling the Apple TV 6.0 update, Apple has released a new build to the public. The original Apple TV 6.0 that was pulled had the build number of 11A470e. That version proved to provide significant problems for some Apple TV owners, including the loss of content and bricking of their Apple TVs.

The new Apple TV 6.0 update, released tonight, has the build number 11A502, and offers everything the first Apple TV 6.0 update did -- including iTunes Radio, podcast syncing, and AirPlay from iCloud--presumably without the bugs. Users can go into Settings>General>Software Update on their Apple TV's to grab the latest version.

[via 9to5Mac]

...

Upgrade vendor Sonnet introduced the Tango 3.0 PCIe, a combination USB 3.0 and FireWire 800 PCIe adapter card. The Tango card provides users with a simple way to add USB 3.0 and FireWire 800 connectivity to Mac Pro and Windows computers with PCIe slots, and to Thunderbolt-to-PCI Express expansion chassis....
  ...

The Apple TV 6.0 update that Apple pulled over the weekend is now once again available for download. As noted by 9to5Mac, the updated version carries a build number of 11A502, compared to the old 11A470e version, indicating Apple has made some changes to the software.

Following the software’s initial Friday release, there were multiple reports that the update caused critical errors for a number of users, necessitating a full iTunes restore. The newly updated software presumably fixes those issues.

The Apple TV's 6.0...

Apple on Monday released a new version of its Apple TV software after the previous update was pulled due to technical issues that would find some users left with an inoperable device.
   ...

The original Angry Birds Star Wars title was a blissful marriage of two iconic IPs, and as a dedicated Angry Birds fan, it remains one of my favorite games in the series. With Angry Birds Star Wars II, Rovio tries to recapture that same magic, and while the core mechanics remain largely unchanged, your enjoyment of the game will depend on how well you stomach in-app purchases.

When the original Angry Birds Star Wars was released, its in-app purchase options were limited to a few bonus training missions. Over time, a plethora of microtransaction options were added, giving the experience a bit of a cheap feel. That same emphasis on purchasable upgrades permeates Angry Birds Star Wars II from the very start, and a pulsing shopping cart at the top of the game screen is a constant reminder that the game would love to sell you some...

Display manufacturer ViewSonic is expanding its product family of professional displays by announcing the availability of its 27-inch VP2772 Adobe Color QHD display. The VP2772 delivers image quality with its Adobe Color capability and a 10-bit panel that delivers 1.07 billion colors at a 2560x1440 resolution....
  ...

Smile Software makes some great products.

∞ Read this on The Loop

We know you're dying to know this little bit of trivia: Apple's iPhone is the dominant smartphone in the U.S. House of Representatives, crossing party lines to do so. Meet the Press conducted a survey of the House and found that 61 percent of Republicans carried iPhones, while 56 percent of Democrats did the same.

WANT!

∞ Read this on The Loop

It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world.

You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here.

No Flash? Click here to listen.

Subscribe via RSS

Daily Update for September 23, 2013 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 23 Sep 2013 17:45:00 EST. Please see our...

A gold iPhone 5s—hold on...time out for a facepalm—OK, a gold iPhone 5s sold on Ebay today for US$10,100. It was a 16GB model, too, the smallest of the iPhone 5s models, but it is unlocked.

If nothing else, the iPhone 5s and 5c launches – and the processors within – offer a glimpse of things to come down the line.

More to the point, they show a future without Intel.

Per Jason Perlow’s excellent column over on ZDNet and pointed out the us by reader Robert Snow, the piece brings up the notion that no one really expected to see a 64-bit System on a Chip this soon and that the term “Desktop Class”, which was being thrown around, seems appropriate and not just hype.

The article also points out that the biometric authentication that Apple is incorporating with its new Touch ID system requires a significant amount of CPU horsepower to pull off without being sluggish, as would strong end-to-end VPN encryption, both of which are likely...

Apple fans looking for the one keyboard to rule them all can stop looking. Kanex has released the Multi-Sync Keyboard ($US69.00), and if you're wondering about the name, it's because this one keyboard can be paired with four devices. Want to use it with your Mac, an iPad, and an iPhone? Pair through Bluetooth with each of those devices just once, and you can then use the Multi-Sync Keyboard with it with just a tap of a button. Another device can be connected through USB.

This keyboard has a numeric keypad built in for those hardcore spreadsheet editors, but also features iOS-specific keys for your favorite mobile device. It operates on two AAA batteries, and can also be used in a USB-wired mode if needed. Kanex even threw in a stand for your iPhone or iPad to sit on while you're typing away, so this is an amazingly complete keyboard solution. Check out the three minute video review of the keyboard, and then be sure to enter...

Police in New York City are asking "Apple users" to upgrade to iOS 7, and they're going so far as to hand out flyers to encourage you to do so. The effort is part of the NYPD's Operation Identification Program, which is part of the city's larger effort to reduce iPhone-related crime.

Learn more about Logic Pro X with these resources.

An apparent bug in iOS 7's Background App Refresh implementation is causing users of certain third-party apps to be kicked out of login sessions, forcing them to reenter their credentials every few hours.
  ...

Logic Remote may not connect with a computer running Logic Pro X on the same Wi-Fi network. 

I knew something was up this morning when my wife sent me a message saying that she had received an email from Apple about exceeding 5 GB of storage and functions would stop working after September 30, 2013, if she continued to exceed that amount. There's a reason for this: former MobileMe customers (those who may have a .mac or .me email account) received a 20 GB complimentary storage upgrade when they moved to iCloud. That upgrade expires next Monday -- September 30, 2013.

To keep things running the way they have since 2011 when the migration from MobileMe to iCloud occurred, you'll need to either reduce the amount of storage you're using or buy one of Apple's storage plans. Those plans include 20 GB more space (25 GB total iCloud storage) for US$40 per year, or 50 GB additional storage (55 GB of iCloud storage) for $100.00.

Want to find out what's eating up all of that storage in the cloud? From an iOS device, go to...

In addition to battery issues, many of the complaints I've heard about iOS 7 center around WiFi. After upgrading, many people are getting the dreaded "unable to connect" message. There is a solution that's been passed around on the Apple discussion forums that should work for most people. You'll need to spend a couple minutes with your phone and router.

Put your phone into Airplane Mode. Then, go into Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings. Then, reboot your router if you have access and take your phone out of Airplane Mode. You'll be prompted to join your network again, and it should work this time.

You can do this with Airplane Mode turned off, but several people on the forums say they've had better luck with Airplane Mode on.

Did you have this issue? Did this work for you, or did another method help? Let us know in...

The Los Altos Historical Commission will soon determine whether or not the childhood home of Steve Jobs is a historical site, reports say. Today the Commission is conducting a "historic property evaluation" of the building, located at 2066 Crist Drive. Should the group give the go-ahead, the city will have to preserve the structure for future generations....
  ...

Verizon has released an update to its FiOS Mobile app, which now allows users of Verizon's My FiOS service to watch TV shows over cellular networks, instead of limiting them to Wi-Fi viewing in their homes. As noted in the app's release notes for version 2.0:

What's New in Version 2.0
Access to select Free and Subscription On Demand content from anywhere, as well as the ability to browse the ever-growing Flex View library for great movie deals and exciting new TV programs

Live streaming TV channels both in and out of your FiOS home
- Select live channels while away from your FiOS home
- Select live local channels if you are a FiOS customer based in certain locations: NYC, NJ, Philadelphia, DC

TechCrunch reports that...

Steve Jobs is widely acknowledged to have helped change the way much of the world interact with computers, and now the childhood home of the late Apple co-founder could become a historically preserved site in order to honor his accomplishments.
  ...

Not that BlackBerry’s officially dead in the water (yet), but this isn’t a great sign.

Per Mac|Life, BlackBerry announced Saturday that it had suspended the rollout of the BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) app for iPhone and Android over concerns that a rogue version of the Android app would cause issues with the service.

Originally scheduled for release on Saturday, BlackBerry’s BBM app for iPhone actually did make it out of the gate in a few countries such as New Zealand, only to be withdrawn from the App Store after the company decided to hit the pause button on the global rollout.

...

It only took three days to hack the iPhone 5s’ Touch ID authentication system.

Per The Mac Observer, the gChaos Computer Club has claimed to have hacked Apple’s newest security feature. The group started by scanning the fingerprint associated with an iPhone at high resolution, and then printing it out for transfer to another material such as latex. Once the material holding the...

Campfire is a very popular web-based chat and team collaboration tool from 37Signals that has spawned a number of apps that ease use of the tool on both Mac and mobile devices. Now one of the more popular native clients for Campfire on OS X, Flint, has been released as an iOS app at an introductory price of US$4.99.

Giant Comet's Flint for iOS is a universal app that is at home on an iPhone or an iPad, and it was designed to work with iOS 7. Push notifications can be set up for specific keywords, so if you need to be alerted of team conversations regarding a certain project or person, you'll get pinged through Notification Center.

The app can be set to connect to multiple Campfire accounts or sites, and multiple rooms can be open at the same time. Rather than just seeing user names, avatars for each user appear for...

Struggling Canadian smartphone manufacturer BlackBerry announced on Monday that it has agreed to a $4.7 billion deal that will see it acquired by a group led by Fairfax Financial.
  ...

Members of the media were given their first hands-on with Microsoft's new slimmer and lighter Surface tablets and accompanying accessories on Monday, and AppleInsider was on-hand for the event.
  ...

Apple has sold a record-breaking nine million new iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c models, three days after their September 20 launch. In addition, more than 200 million iOS devices are now running the completely redesigned iOS 7, making it the fastest software upgrade in history. Both iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c are available in the U.S., Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the UK. The popularity of iPhone 5s has exceeded expectations, and many online orders are scheduled to be shipped in the coming weeks. “The demand for the new iPhones has been incredible, and while we’ve sold out of our initial supply of iPhone 5s, stores continue to receive new iPhone shipments regularly,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We appreciate everyone’s patience and are working hard to build enough new iPhones for everyone.”

In the face of pundits who thought Apple's iPhone success had plateaued, Apple sold a record number of iPhones this past weekend -- 9 million units to be exact.

In fact, Apple's iPhone sales this past weekend were so great that Apple this morning filed a regulatory filing with the SEC slightly tweaking its initial financial forecasts for the quarter.

Apple expects total company revenue for the fourth fiscal quarter to be near the high end of the previously provided range of $34 billion to $37 billion, and expects gross margin to be near the high end of the previously provided range of 36% to 37%.

Apple's fiscal quarter ends on September 28.

Apple...

Apple has withdrawn the Apple TV v6.0 update it issued on Friday. A number of early installers have reported that the firmware bricked their set-top, rendering it unusable. Some people with less serious problems, such as a bad Wi-Fi connection, have nevertheless been forced to connect their hardware to iTunes via micro USB and restore to earlier firmware. Apple hasn't said when a fixed version of v6.0 might be available....
  ...

...

Casey Bisson

This weekend's decisive defeat of Touch ID is the most poignant reminder yet of the significant limitations of using fingerprints, iris scans, and other physical characteristics to prove our identities to computing devices. As previously reported, a team of German hackers who have long criticized biometrics-based authentication bypassed the new iPhone feature less than 48 hours after its debut.

Many security researchers and writers, yours truly included, predicted that the ability of the high-definition scanner included in the iPhone 5S wouldn't be fooled by attacks using scanned fingerprint smudges to...

BlackBerry has agreed to a "letter of intent" to be acquired by Fairfax Financial, in a potential deal worth $4.7 billion or $9 per share. Fairfax currently owns 10% of BlackBerry shares.

Fairfax Financial is a conglomerate holding company, somewhat like a Canadian Berkshire Hathaway. The company's primary business is insurance. Fairfax's CEO, Prem Watsa, was on the BlackBerry board of directors until he resigned from the position last month.

The deal is far from complete, with "a number of conditions" according to Bloomberg reporter Sarah Frier. The agreement includes six weeks of due diligence and, in the meantime,...

Blackberry has just announced (via Business Insider) that an investment firm has put in an offer for the company. At $9 a share, the deal is worth about 4.7 billion dollars in total. Fairfax already owns about 10 percent of Blackberry before the deal.

Having an investment company buy Blackberry does not have a direct impact on the smartphone market. Often though, investment firms buy out companies with the aim of selling off assets separately. For instance, BlackBerry’s patent portfolio may soon be put up for auction as a result of the deal, allowing for smartphone makers like Apple and Google to then bid for the intellectual property without the other baggage associated with buying out the failing company in its entirety.

...

All in all, it's a great Monday for Apple. Earlier today, the company announced that it sold 9 million iPhones over the weekend, nearly doubling their previous launch weekend record. And in early morning trading, shares of Apple are up nearly 5%.

In keeping the good news train moving along, Apple also mentioned in its press release from this morning that over 11 million unique iOS 7 listeners have tuned into iTunes Radio, Apple's own take on streaming Internet Radio.

Over 11 million unique listeners have already tuned in to iTunes Radio since launch with the most listened to song being "Hold On, We're Going Home" by Drake.

Just last week we reported that Apple has been working with record labels to gain access to their "heat seekers...

...
    

...

The iPhone 5s appears to be outselling the iPhone 5c by a ratio of 3.4 to 1 in the US, according to marketing and analytics firm Localytics. About 1.05 percent of all American iPhones are said to be the 5s, while the 5c represents just 0.31 percent. "This makes sense since those who feel the need to buy a new device the very weekend it launches are most likely the power users who want the highest-end phone experience," writes Localytics marketing VP Bernd Leger....
  ...

Defying the rumormongers’ drivel, the new iPhone 5s and 5c are a smashing success. Less successful are the Touch ID fingerprint scanner in the iPhone 5s and the iOS 7 Lock screen, both of which have already been defeated by hackers. Before you head to the Apple Store for your new iPhone, be sure to read J. K. Appleseed’s brilliant inside look at being an Apple Genius. Finally, our own Tonya Engst appeared alongside Andy Ihnatko, Mike Elgan, and Rene Ritchie on MacBreak Weekly to discuss iOS 7 and the new iPhones.

Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology publication on the Internet. To get a full-text RSS feed, help support our work and become a TidBITS member! Members also enjoy an ad-free version of our Web site, email delivery of individual articles, the ability to make long comments with live links, and discounts on Take...

According to several emails from readers, Apple is reminding former MobileMe customers that their free 20GB of iCloud storage will go away on September 30th. That’s a week from today. With the transition in 2011 from MobileMe to iCloud, Apple offered paying MobileMe users the extra 20GB. Now, these users will be stuck with only the free 5GB that iCloud includes unless they choose to upgrade to one of the priced plans. Apple previously notified customers of the change in early August, but today’s reminder servers to reiterate that. Thanks, Logan for the image. ...

Orbino has announced its new Patine ($109) and Pantera ($189-$399) cases for iPhone 5s and 5c. Patine is a hand-stained leather case that comes in graphite, sunburst, mocha, or mahogany colors. Pantera is a hand-stitched leather case that comes in a number of different colors and leather options, with…

Uncommon has introduced Power Gallery ($120), a new customizable battery case for iPhone 5s/5. Power Gallery lets users upload their own images and text to be printed on the back of the case, which contains a 2200 mAh battery. For those who don’t wish to use their own photos,…

An SEC Form 8K alerting the commission that those 9 million sales represents a material change in the company’s prospects for its fiscal fourth quarter, which ends Saturday. “Apple expects total company revenue for the fourth fiscal quarter to be near the high end of the previously provided range of $34 billion to $37 billion,” the company wrote, “and expects gross margin to be near the high end of the previously provided range of 36% to 37%.”

Sales are so over-the-top great, the company has to tell the SEC.

∞ Read this on The Loop

Microsoft on Monday used a media event in Manhattan to show off the next wave of its Surface devices, doubling down on an effort to simulate Apple's widely successful ecosystem by which the company is responsible for developing both the tablet's software and hardware.
  ...

By now you've all probably seen the video that is currently making its way around the web claiming to show how easy it is to fool the Touch ID sensor on the new iPhone 5s. In it, a shaky-handed individual uses what appears to be a thin film of some sort to trick his phone into thinking he was using his correct finger, when in fact he wasn't. It's important to note that we're still waiting on the video showing the actual process -- which is obviously the more important part -- but for the moment we'll give the videos creators the benefit of the doubt.

Easy? Ha!

Certain corners of the tech blogosphere are reporting this as an "easy" trick, and even the original posting on the Chaos Computer Club website refers to the trick being pulled off "using easy everyday means." Again,...

A new filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission shows that Apple is expecting higher revenues and profits for the current quarter, based on this weekend's successful iPhone launches. "On September 23, 2013, Apple Inc. (the 'Company') announced that it has sold over nine million new iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c models, just three days after the launch of the new iPhones on September 20," the filing reads. "Apple expects total company revenue for the fourth fiscal quarter to be near the high end of the previously provided range of $34 billion to $37 billion, and expects gross margin to...
 ...

Today, Apple hails the adoption rate of their new iOS 7 as being historic. The positive news continues with Britain's CoolBrands has been chosen Apple ...

In line with our report from last week, Apple has flipped the switch in its Apple Store app to allow for customers to check availability for the new iPhone models at Apple Stores. The process is similar to the one for Personal Pickup on Apple’s online store.

To check for availability on the iPhone and iPod touch Apple Store app, navigate to the buy iPhone page, add your iPhone to the cart, then choose “Check Availability.”

The app...

Still looking for an iPhone 5s handset? If so, you'll want to point your browser to Apple's online store front and make your way to the iPhone 5s ordering page. Take a few minutes to pick out your color, capacity and carrier and then click on the "Check Availability" link to see the inventory at your local store. If the handset is in stock, you can reserve it for in-store pickup.

Apple offered this for the iPhone 5 last year, and it was an easy way to get an iPhone without having to show up at your local Apple Store before it opens each morning. If it works like it did last year, inventory levels are updated every night at 10 PM local time, and new stock becomes available to reserve at that time.

Select iPhone 5s models available for in-store pickup in...

Apple is now allowing customers to check the availability of its iPhone 5s and arrange for in-store pickup through its online store. Currently, all 5s models on all carriers are showing an October shipping date. Although it differs by store, a search of numerous zip codes shows very few…

The iPhone 5s has been available for only three days and already a group has found a way to bypass the smartphone's Touch ID fingerprint-based authentication system. The group concocted an elaborate system to replicate a fingerprint that's associated with a particular iPhone 5s, and the hack requires physical access to the device.

Setting up your email in iOS 7 is just like setting it up in earlier versions of iOS. Just like before, you are able to have Gmail set up in the Mail app. To set up your email you would go to Settings, then tap on Mail, Contacts & Calendars, and then press Add Account. By default in iOS, Gmail is set to archive your emails as opposed to deleting them. Archiving email keeps the messages in an Archived folder, but Deleting moves them to the trash.

If you are viewing your inbox, and you swipe from right to left on the message, you do not get the option to delete the message. Rather, you get an Archive option or a More option. The More option gives you every other option except for deleting the message. You could always tap on More, then press Move Message, and then choose the Trash folder. That’s rather tedious for a simple task:

...

From 9to5Google:

We’ve enjoyed seeing the new iPhones get smashed to pieces in the inevitable drop tests that followed the launch of Apple’s two new smartphones this month, but what we really want to know is how it holds up against some of its Android competition. SquareTrade has just completed a durability test (via AllThingsD), and found that not only are the new iPhones not performing as well as last year’s models, the new 5s and plastic-backed 5c were both beat by Motorola’s new flagship Moto X:

“We were expecting that at least one of the new iPhone models would up its game but surprisingly, it was the Moto X that proved most forgiving of accidents,” SquareTrade marketing chief Ty Shay said in a...

Last year, Microsoft introduced its Surface line of tablets, designed to compete with Google, Amazon and quite specifically, Apple.

A few months ago, Microsoft took a $900 million write-down on its new devices, admitting that it had overestimated demand.

Now — as it looks for a new CEO — it’s going to try again, with a new line of Surface devices it is unveiling in New York this morning. I’m going to be typing live during Microsoft’s show-and-tell, so you can follow along below:

10:42 am: Belated greetings! Slow to get up. Not sure it’s a...

Apple has pulled Apple TV Software Update 6.0, which was released last Friday. The software update — which provided support for iTunes Radio, among other enhancements — caused some Apple TVs to fail during the update process, requiring an iTunes restore. According to reports, some Apple TVs have been…

Ever wanted to remove all events prior to a given date from your calendar? Well, there's a script for that. This Applescript prompts you for a pivot date and removes all events prior to this date from your Calendar database.

display dialog "Please set the pivot date. (Events earlier than the pivot date will be deleted.)" default answer "01-01-2010" with icon note
set dateLimit to (date the (text returned of the result))
display dialog "This might take a few minutes." giving up after 2

tell application "Calendar"
set cals to every calendar whose writable is true
set r to {}
repeat with c in cals
set event_list to every event in c
repeat with e in event_list
if start date of e is less than dateLimit then
set r to r end if
end repeat
end repeat
if the number of items in r > 1 then
display dialog "Nothing to...

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The average computer programmer makes 78k a year and there will always be a need for programmers. The only problem is that most (if not all) online coding courses are not tailored towards the learning styles of COMPLETE BEGINNERS.

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Apple today announced it has sold a record-breaking nine million new iPhone® 5s and iPhone 5c models, just three days after the launch of the new iPhones on September 20. In addition, more than 200 million iOS devices are now running the completely redesigned iOS 7, making it the fastest software upgrade in history. Both iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c are available in the US, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the UK. Demand for iPhone 5s has exceeded the initial supply, and many online orders are scheduled to be shipped in the coming weeks.

“This is our best iPhone launch yet―more than nine million new iPhones sold―a new record for first weekend sales,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “The demand for the new iPhones has been incredible, and while we’ve sold out of our initial supply of iPhone 5s, stores continue to receive new iPhone shipments regularly. We appreciate everyone’s patience and are working hard to build enough new...

Getting ready to sell or give away your iOS device? Bookmark this page. The instructions are simple enough, but handy to have this page around when the time comes.

∞ Read this on The Loop

According to sources close to the situation, Flipboard has raised $50 million in new funding, in a round led by Rizvi Traverse Management and Goldman Sachs.

The new funding puts the valuation of the Silicon Valley startup that makes the popular social reading service at $800 million, said sources.

Flipboard declined to comment on any recent fundraising, which I have been tracking for some time, after I heard that big private equity firms were sniffing around the deal. Rizvi, a multibillion-dollar investment fund which is run by under-the-radar Suhail Rizvi, has investments in Twitter, Facebook and, most recently, Square.

In addition, sources said, current investors, including venture firms Kleiner Perkins and Index Ventures, are also participating, while Insight Venture Partners is taking an even larger stake in Flipboard....

Last year's iOS 6 release was marred by the negative reactions to Apple's Maps, yet the iOS quickly went on to be the most downloaded and used iOS ever. This year, iOS 7 arguably had more of a potential hindrance: a completely revamped UI. Yet Apple has seemed to have pleased almost everyone, with the iOS garnering praise from users and technology critics alike. Still, to see the analytics data from Mixpanel over the weekend is no less shocking: within 72 hours of its release, iOS 7 overtook iOS 6 as the iOS installed on the majority of devices.

Apple'...

So you’re going to send a computer off to a colocation facility, and it’ll use a static IP and DNS when it gets there, the info for which it’ll need before it arrives. Just like colo, you access this computer remotely to prepare it for its trip, but don’t want to knock it off the network while prepping this info, so you can verify it’s good to go and shut it down.

It’s the type of thing, like setting up email accounts programmatically, that somebody should have figured out and shared with the community as some point. But even if my google-fu is weak, I guess I can deal with having tomatoes thrown at me, so here’s a rough mock-up:

 
#!/bin/bash
# purpose: add a network location with manual IP info without switching
# This script lets you fill in settings and apply them on en0(assuming that's active)
# but only interrupts current connectivity long enough to apply the settings,
# it then immediately switches back. (It also assumes a '...

iOS 6 users who have upgraded (or will upgrade) to iOS 7 may lament the loss of their "swipe to delete" functionality. In iOS 6, swiping to the right brought up a 'Delete' button, whereas now in iOS 7 that to-the-right swipe causes a different type of navigation. Never fear: Apple hasn't left you in the dark, they've just changed directions on you. Try swiping to the left in mail and you'll get instant payoff!

Speculation about poor iPhone sales appears to have been just that—speculation. Apple on Monday announced the figures for the first weekend of sales for its latest smartphones: The company racked up 9 million in the three days after launch, which Apple says is a new record.

That 9 million includes sales of both the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s; as is its wont, Apple doesn’t break out sales of individual models within its product lines. However, customers looking for an iPhone 5s may be out of luck for the moment: Tim Cook said that the company had sold out of its initial stock for the high-end smartphone, which was not available for pre-order, though the iPhone 5c was.

But, if anything, twice the number of iPhone models has helped Apple rack up nearly twice as many sales: Last year,...

(Click for full size images)

Apple has made it clear that it isn’t going to get into the megapixel race with the likes of Nokia and Sony when it comes to the camera system used in its iPhones. The new iPhone 5s has the same 8-megapixel shooter as previous generations, but Apple is...

the company appropriated their identities for marketing purposes by hacking into their external e-mail accounts and downloading contacts’ addresses.

That’s a pretty serious charge. Given the process by which LinkedIn grows their user base (an expanding tree of referrals), you might be tempted to see this as true. I’m skeptical. Seems so easy to detect. A foolish move, if the charge is true. I hope this is not the case. We shall see.

Here’s LinkedIn’s public response to the suit.

∞ Read this on The Loop

Apple's Touch ID authentication system can be defeated using a well-honed technique for creating a latex copy of someone's fingerprint, according to a German hacking group.

The Chaos Computer Club (CCC), which hosts an annual hacking conference and publishes computer security research, wrote on its blog that their experiment shows that fingerprint authentication "should be avoided."

Apple introduced Touch ID with its latest high-end iPhone 5S on Sept. 10. A person's "fingerprint is one of the best passcodes in the world. It's always with you, and no two are exactly alike," according to the company's website.

A hacker who goes by the name Starbug found that while Touch ID scans at a higher resolution, it can be beaten by increasing the resolution of the victim's fingerprint.

...

Put rumors of lagging iPhone sales to rest — Apple has announced that it has sold over nine million of the new models in just three days. It’s the biggest iPhone launch yet, nearly doubling iPhone 5 launch weekend sales of five million. Also, more than 200 million iOS devices are now running iOS 7 — double the number of devices upgraded to iOS 6 a year ago.

Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology publication on the Internet. To get a full-text RSS feed, help support our work and become a TidBITS member! Members also enjoy an ad-free version of our Web site, email delivery of individual articles, the ability to make long comments with live links, and discounts on Take Control orders and other Apple-related products.

The launch of BlackBerry Messenger on platforms other than the company's smartphones has hit a roadblock, after both the Android and iOS versions of the app were pulled from the relevant app stores. A leaked version of its Android app apparently caused more than 1.1 million users to try out the service within eight hours, before the app was even released....
  ...

Apple's iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c launch weekend sales hit 9 million units, killing concerns that numbers would fall flat. The company's previous opening weekend iPhone sales figures came last year when the iPhone 5 hit 5 million.

The Mac Observer Spin:
The anti-Apple crowd says Apple has lost its ability to innovate and that interest in the iPhone is waning. First 64-bit smartphone, fingerprint scanner technology, built-in motion and fitness coprocessor, and record breaking opening weekend sales. It looks like "failure to innovate," and "no interest" don't mean what these people think it means.

The hard-to-find iPhone 5s now has immediate availability in the online Apple Store if you opt for in-store pickup.

We mentioned last week that Apple is said to be adding a store pickup availability check to its Apple Store app. This hasn’t yet made it into the App Store, but you can use the website to check availability – see the screenshot below the fold … 

To check availability for in-store pickup, spec-up your phone first, then click the Check Availability link beneath the green...

One of the most user-friendly new features in iOS 7 is swipe navigation, and it's available in a whole bunch of places. So if you think you don't like Safari's redesign, for example, this may make you change your mind. In this article, we'll talk about where and how you can use it.

The launch weekend for the new flagship iPhone 5s and colorful iPhone 5c proved to be the most successful smartphone debut ever for Apple, with a record 9 million units being sold in the first three days.
  ...

Apple retail stores have now begun offering a Personal Pickup option for the iPhone 5s through its online purchase page, allowing customers to see store availability for each model and place orders for in-store pickup.

The move comes after Apple quickly sold out of its initial iPhone 5s online order stock following its launch on Friday, with shipping estimates in the United States falling to October.

In-store pickup is also available for the iPhone 5c, although that device has seen much better availability than the iPhone 5s.

Apple cited "incredible" demand for the new iPhones in...

The New York Police Department is taking the unusual step of asking people to upgrade their devices to iOS 7. NYPD officers have been spotted handing out fliers to people on the streets, telling users to download iOS 7 onto their iPhones and iPads, due to the introduction of Apple's new "Activation Lock" security feature....
  ...