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Daily Update for July 26, 2013 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 26 Jul 2013 21:45:00 EST. Please see our...

A total of more than a half-million iPads will be given out by the Los Angeles Unified School District, covering 1,124 schools by the end of 2014 in a deal worth "hundreds of millions" to Apple -- far larger than the $30 million contract initially reported. That contract covers only the first deployment of iPads, covering 49 schools and an estimated 31,000 students that will be given out by the end of the year. As reported earlier, Apple will be the sole vendor for the ambitious project, resulting in costs of nearly $415 million over the first two years for the iPads alone.... ...

A filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission published Friday reveals Apple senior vice president and Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer sold 37,172 shares of AAPL stock earlier this week at a price of $440.31, netting the executive $16.37 million.  ...

Check out this behind-the-scenes look at Apple's development process: Flickr member jimabeles posted a great gallery of photographs of a 13-inch MacBook test unit. He labeled it a prototype, but some folks on reddit identified it as the more proper name of EVT, or engineering validation test unit. EVT units are apparently used to test the hardware components in a way that offers engineers direct access to those components.  What you and I might think of as a "prototype" is designated a DVT, or design validation test unit. You can see the EVT label on many of the pictures in the full gallery. Normally we'd say look quickly before Apple has the gallery pulled down, but most of these photographs have been on Flickr since 2010. This member has a number of other galleries of similar Apple development products.

...

Google's developer preview SDK for Google Cast -- the streaming technology that's powering the Chromecast hardware -- is up and running. It looks like adding Google Cast support will be ridiculously easy with little coding overhead for anyone who wants to jump on the bandwagon.

Although the Chromecast stick we ordered here at TUAW will take a couple of weeks (at least) to arrive, the iOS SDK is already live and an iOS-specific project can be found over at Github.

It consists of an app that more or less runs (you may want to comment out the bits about the playProgressSlider) and transmits arbitrary media to a Chromecast receiver.

Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, you can't immediately use the receiver HTML on your local network to test transmission. Google writes in its Xcode...

Apple’s brand is still riding high in all of its key markets; an under-the-radar group from the company is working on speech-recognition in Boston; and Apple’s drafted academics to help increase its responsibility. The remainders for Friday, July 26, 2013 are speechless.

Apple Pulls a Hat Trick with Brand of the Year Status Across Three Harris Poll EquiTrend® Categories (Harris Interactive)

Just in case you were worried that Apple was losing some of its luster, the latest brand studies from Harris put the company in the top spots for Computers, Tablets, and Mobile Phones. But they didn’t even place for “delicious scones!” The tragedy!

Apple’s Boston-Area Team: Working on Speech...

See those green boxes above? That's good news for iOS and Mac developers, as well as those who write extensions for Safari. Apple's Developer System Status page is now showing that the iOS, Mac and Safari Dev Centers are up and running again after an week-long outage.

Apple's developer sites were taken offline more than a week ago in response to a security issue that may have exposed the names and contact information of some developers. Apple has stated that no application code, credit card numbers or other privileged information was exposed, and the company has been working to harden the systems since then.

In addition to those welcome green boxes, the status page also shows that the all-important Certificates, Identifiers, and Profiles page is back up, and Software Downloads are ready for those of us who...

Having a mobile phone with you at all times is a great tool for communication, but sometimes you might need a tool in a more literal sense. Enter the TaskOne iPhone case, a protective cover that is designed to not only protect a handset in the case of a fall but also provide a litany of handy accessories should you ever find yourself in need.

The TaskOne houses a total of 22 different tools including screwdrivers, a knife, wirecutters, a bottle opener, and several others. Of course, you'd never want to attempt to board a plane with the case strapped to your smartphone, but other than that it seems like it could come in handy - plus, an iPhone with a giant blade sticking out of the top is kind of cool looking on its own.

Unfortunately, the cost of rolling like MacGyver isn't cheap, and the TaskOne will set you back a cool $100. Still, there are probably worse ways to blow a Benjamin.

[Via...

In a new filing lodged with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit this week, Apple claims Google's Motorola demanded unreasonable rates for tech based on deemed standard essential patents, with fees 12 times higher than what Motorola charged other companies.  ...

A new report from the analysts at IDC on the mobile market in Q2 2013 shows smartphones are continuing to outsell standard feature phones by a wide margin. Smartphones now account for 59 percent of mobile phones shipped. 230 million units were shipped in Q2 2013, up 47 percent from Q2 2012 when 156.5 million units were sold. It's the largest single quarter ever for shipments in the mobile market.

The biggest winner was Samsung, who saw 56 percent growth since Q2 2012 and shipped 76 million smartphones in Q2 2013. Thanks in part to strong demand for the Galaxy S4 model, Samsung (which makes scores of different phone models, compared to Apple's lean lineup of three phones in two colors) ended up with 33 percent of marketshare for...

Apple has set up an academic advisory board for its Supplier Responsibility program, according to a press release from Brown University's Watson Institute for International Studies. Chairing the volunteer group is the Institute's director, Prof. Richard Locke. The board is in fact said to have been working for six months so far, and have seven other members. These include Chair Mark Cullen (Stanford University), Eli Friedman (Cornell University), Mary Gallagher (University of Michigan), Margaret Levi, (University of Washington), Dara O'Rourke (University of California Berkeley), Charles Sab... ...

Questions answered in this week's Q&A include OS X not prompting for how to handle home folders when an account is removed, and more.

Given Apple-supplied password reset tools, you may have concerns about the possibility of these being used to override a FileVault-protected volume.

American business history is replete with companies that made their mark by building the best.  And there was no end of competition, seeking to take their place. What tools do today's competitors have to fight Apple and how could a subtle lapse in attitude lead Apple astray? John Martellaro explores a dangerous scenario for Apple.

The latest edition of iLounge Weekly, our weekly newsletter covering all things iLounge, will be arriving in subscribers’ inboxes early next week. iLounge Weekly is a summary of the week’s best news, reviews, and feature articles we’ve published, and it also features giveaways and accessory discount offers from various companies.…

Roccat has announced the launch of an optical version of its Kone Pure gaming mouse, as well as a reissue of its Sense mousepad. The Kone Pure Optical retains the design and ergonomic shape of the original Kone Pure, but exchanges the laser sensor for an LED optical sensor that maxes out at 4000 DPI. The Pro-Optic sensor is fully adjustable with a max DPI setting of 4,000. Meanwhile, the reissued Sense mousepad is the same 400 x 280mm pad, but now features a new Meteor Blue design. Both products are available from Roccat's website with the Kone Pure Optical retailing for $70 and the Sense Mete... ...

Apple’s new release of Logic Pro X marks the first time in nearly six years that the company has completely overhauled the app’s UI. It’s been a long time coming for pros like myself that rely on the application, and to make things even sweeter, Apple is promising more than just a fresh coat of paint this time around.

There’s no ignoring the backlash Apple experienced just two years ago with its redesign of Final Cut Pro X and the removal of pro features in return for an elegant, streamlined interface. The question is, does Logic’s slick new interface come with compromises for professionals? Or has Apple learned from its mistakes with FCPX?

The New Look |

Immediately noticeable upon launching the app is the changes to the interface – it...

Looking to further its efforts to improve working conditions within its worldwide supply chain, Apple is turning to a community of academics, establishing an academic advisory board to study and recommend courses of action to the iPhone maker.  ...

Laurene Powell Jobs—the widow of Steve Jobs—has put some of her vast wealth to work backing a media company focused on change. The company, Ozy Media, aims to write content for the "change generation," short hand for people who actively embrace change.

The new update to Logic Pro is still a hot topic on the MacNN forums this week with more forum-goers chiming in with user experiences. The Free iTunes App of the week thread continues this week as well with another free title from the App store....   ...

iMore directs us to a new research study from Kapersky Labs which indicates that the number of phishing attacks purporting to come from Apple are on the rise.

Kapersky writes that the phishing attacks attempt to secure the Apple ID credentials of unsuspecting victims, which can then be used to access said users' iTunes and iCloud accounts and subsequently retrieve stored credit card numbers.

From January 2012 through May 2013 Kaspersky Lab's cloud-based Kaspersky Security Network (KSN) detected an average of 200,000 attempts per day of users trying to access the phishing sites, which were triggered each time a user running Kaspersky Lab's products was...

Right now BestBuy.com is offering $200 off select MacBook Pro models, like the 13.3-inch MBP with Retina display which was $1,499.99 but is now $1,299.99. That discount makes this the lowest price on this configuration by $100. Free shipping is included and sales tax applies for residents of most states. This MBP features a 2.5GHz Intel i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of flash storage along with Intel HD Graphics 4000. Mac OS X Mountain Lion comes pre-installed, and a one year warranty is included from Apple....  ...

The Irish Office of the Data Protection Commissioner says it won't investigate Apple and Facebook over their sharing personal data with the US' National Security Agency, according to New Europe. Both Apple and Facebook have their European headquarters in Ireland, and an Austrian student activist group -- europe-v-facebook -- asked the ODPC to look into claims that the NSA collects emails and other private information from the companies through its Prism spying initiative. The ODPC states that the companies are covered under "Safe Harbour," which allows US companies to self-certify themselves... ...

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has created a draft code of conduct for mobile apps. The draft, issued today by the telecoms adviser to the White House, aims to help consumers protect their privacy by asking developers and publishers to give notices for how data is being used and stored by the app....  ...

Apple has put together a small team of experts in speech recognition technology in Boston, in an effort to bolster its voice-driven Siri personal assistant service.   ...

The rumors never really stop and if there’s video to go with them, even better.

Per MacRumors, a recent posting of the purported “iPhone Lite”/”iPhone Plastic” has surfaced wherein Michael Kukielka shows off what he claims is the actual shell for the low-cost iPhone and places it next to several previous iPhone models, revealing that the budget phone may have roughly the same dimensions as the current iPhone 5.

The shell Kukielka handles in the video is white, although we’ve previously covered another rumor that alleges the phones will come in a variety of colors,...

With Intel's Haswell chips now in the MacBook Air, people are wondering when the MacBook Pro will get a similar update. Based on new rumors, that won't happen until October, but that doesn't mean updated Retina MacBook Pros are delayed.

A new photo shows what appears to be the back of a completed low-cost iPhone, sometimes known as the iPhone Lite, reports say. Unlike past leaks, the camera, headphone, and Lightning ports appear to be filled, and the back has various certification markings, including one from the FCC. The device hasn't been spotted in FCC filings, but like some other companies Apple typically requests that approvals be kept quiet until a product has been formally announced....  ...

Ashton Kutcher, the star of the upcoming jOBS biopic, a film about the late Steve Jobs and his life before the launch of the iPod, sat down with The Verge’s Joshua Topolsky to talk about all things tech. In their 20 minute conversation, the two talk about Kutcher’s physical and intellectual investment in technology and tech culture.

Topolsky starts off the interview asking Kutcher about how his interest in tech originated, to which Kutcher admits that he was tasked with programing Fortran in college, but wasn’t even sure how to use his email. Kutcher was then inspired by a comment from his professor who said to Kutcher, “scientists discover problems, engineers solve them.” From there, Kutcher wanted to “grow up to be someone that solved problems.”

Topolsky also asked Kutcher about both his positive and almost infamously negative experiences with Twitter. Topolsky recalls when Kutcher was one of the most popular celebrities on Twitter or, as...

It's time to save some of that hard-earned cash with our Daily Deals, featuring a handy list from Dealnews and our own hand-picked selections that include some sweet deals on iOS and OS X software.

Note: All prices are USD and subject to change. Some deals may expire quickly. TUAW is not responsible for third party deals and cannot guarantee availability of any particular product at a specific price.

Deals from Dealnews

• StackSocial: [Mac Software] The Mac Freebie 10-App Bundle for free
• StackSocial: [Graphics & Publishing Software] 192-Vector Icon Bundle for PC and Mac downloads for free
• ...

Beginning tomorrow, T-Mobile USA will be running a "zero dollars down" promotion for its devices, the carrier has announced. That includes smartphones, tablets, hotspots, and basic feature phones, but buyers will still be expected to pay for a device over the course of two years. An iPhone 5 or a Galaxy Note II, for example, will require 24 payments of $27 per month. Previously the iPhone 5 cost $146 plus 24 payments of $21....  ...

Back in June, the Los Angeles Unified School District awarded Apple a $30 million contract to provide its students with iPads. Under its terms, the company will supply about 31,000 iPads to 47 LAUSD schools, each preloaded with a bunch of educational software. But evidently that’s just the first phase of the program.

According to an LAUSD representative, the nation’s second-largest school district hopes to provide iPads to all 640,000 students by late 2014. Which means it’s going to buy a few hundred thousand more iPads over the next year — though it’s not yet sure how it’s going to do it. “We’re hoping that we will get a lot of private donors,” Mark Hovatter, chief facilities executive for...

If you watch a lot of videos on your iPad 4, you’ll definitely want to check out Belkin’s new Thunderstorm Home Theatre iPad case. We previously reviewed the 30-pin version for iPad 2 and 3, which integrates a powerful front facing speaker, amplification system, and integrated air channels that give you that rumble of the big the screen moviegoing experience. Today the Lightning version of the product is finally available to order and, if you’d prefer not to lug your favorite Bluetooth speaker around, it’s worth every penny Belkin is asking.

Belkin is selling the Thunderstorm for iPad 4 for $199 through...

More details have emerged on the L.A. Unified School District's massive plans to supply students with iPads, as all 640,000 students in the district will receive their own Apple tablet by the end of next year.  ...

T-Mobile has announced it will be selling the 16GB iPhone 5 for no money down, starting Saturday. Customers taking advantage of the promotion will pay $27 a month for 24 months in addition to their monthly service charges. Though the promotion is available for a “limited time,” no end…

New Retina MacBook Pros -- upgraded to Intel's Haswell platform -- won't ship until October, claims the China Times. Apple suppliers are allegedly suffering yield problems with Retina displays, delaying internal timetables. Some analysts have been anticipating new Pros in September, the same month that new iPhones are likely to be announced; Apple will often use its fall events to debut products that aren't related to the events' highlights....  ...

When the ship times vary, a new product refresh could be around the corner.

Per MacRumors, Mac mini ship times on many Apple Online Stores have slipped to 5-7 business days.

This flies in the face of ship times for all the other Macs, as the other units on the online store have shipping estimates of “within 24 hours”. That said, most Apple Retail Stores do show availability for the mini, as does Amazon.com.

Apple sometimes does have temporary product shortages of computers mid-cycle, but they can also portend intentional drawdowns of stock ahead of a product refresh. The Mac mini is a...

Image: iosappsnews.com

App developers may soon be asked to tell us what data they collect and how it is used under a set of government proposals released today (via TNW). 

The US government’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration today issued its first draft of what will be a mobile apps code of conduct intended to better protect consumers and their privacy. If made final, policy states that publishers must provide consumers with “short-form” notices in multiple languages informing them of how their data is being used [...]

Just so that there’s no doubt about what “data” means, the government entity specifically says...

That new Retina Display MacBook Pro with the Hasell processor you’re craving could be arriving a bit later than you’d like.

Per the China Times and Macotakara, the new MacBook Pros equipped with Retina displays won’t ship until October, well after the June debut of Haswell-powered...

T-Mobile is continuing to shake things up.

The No. 4 U.S. carrier on Friday announced a promotion that will offer its entire lineup of phones for no upfront payment. It isn’t really dropping the price of phones, just spreading the entire cost of the phone over 24 months instead of using a mix of an initial down payment and monthly payments.

Still, the move shows the flexibility T-Mobile has since moving to a model in which it separates the cost of the phone from its monthly service.

“The number of reasons not to switch to T-Mobile this summer is ZERO,” T-Mobile CEO John Legere said in a statement. “This is a fantastic offer and we’re making it easier than ever for customers to get the latest amazing devices.”

Under the new promotion which starts on Saturday, customers can get a 16 gigabyte iPhone 5, for example, for no upfront fee and 24 monthly payments of $27 per...

These are some great guitars played by some of the world’s best.

∞ Read this on The Loop

Many services are bidding for the chance to store and share our digital memories: Apple’s Photo Stream, Flickr, Instagram, 500px, Everpix, and many more all pitch various ways to hold and showcase our photographs, but all do so slightly differently—and not always successfully.

The new Loom service aims to do many of the same things as the above-named platforms, but it has an edge: excellent apps, a clean design, and a speedy back end. I took it for a spin over the past few days, uploading photographs and video from all manner of sources. Here’s how Loom shakes out.

The look...

New Retina MacBook Pros with Intel's new Haswell processors could arrive even later than expected, in October, if the latest rumor is to be believed.   ...

A Harris poll of almost 40,000 American consumers on more than 1,500 brands across 155 categories saw Apple retain Brand of the Year in three categories.

• 2013 Computer Brand of the Year
• 2013 Tablet Brand of the Year
• 2013 Mobile Phone Brand of the Year

What really stands out is that in all three of the categories Apple brands are measured – Computer, Tablet and Mobile Phone – its Brand Momentum scores are in the top 30 of all 1,500 brands evaluated in the study, showing that consumers see this as a brand of the future.

The poll asks consumers to rate brands on Familiarity, Quality, Purchase Consideration, Emotion, Fit, Trust, Performance, Energy, Ubiquity, Future Outlook, Leadership and Popularity.

The top four...

The Verge snapped together the chart below illustrating the feature set of the Chromecast dongle as compared to the Apple TV’s Airplay functionality.

In reality, we are looking at two different ways of looking at place-shifting content. Apple’s is directly from an iOS device or a recent Mac’s display. The Chromecast is sending instructions to the dongle to start playing content from the cloud (meaning you need a pretty healthy Internet connection).

In its present state, the...

What’s that? You say you’re intrigued by the notion of a Web TV box, but $35 for a Google Chromecast is too rich for your blood?

Here you go – if you live in the UK: Satellite TV service BSkyB has rolled out a Web TV box for £9.99.

That works out to about $15, and what that essentially gets you is a rebranded Roku HD box — BSkyB  invested in Roku last year, and once again this spring — tailored to support BSkyB’s Now TV streaming subscription service. That also means the box won’t support BSkyB rivals...

It's simple to password-protect your Pages, Numbers, and Keynote files, and once you know how to do it in one program, you know how to do it in all three. In this tip, we'll discuss how to require a password to open iWork documents (along with some important caveats for using this feature!).