This is an important step. To give you some perspective on the size of a nanotube:

100 microns – width of human hair
10 microns – water droplet
8 microns – transistors in Cedric
625 nanometres (nm) – wavelength of red light
20-450 nm – single viruses
22 nm latest silicon chips
9 nm – smallest carbon nanotube chip
6 nm – cell membrane
1 nm – single carbon nanotube

Fascinating.

∞ Read this on The Loop

Google has updated its social network to improve the way it handles RAW images. Changes to its RAW-to-JPEG conversion system, credited to Nik Photography, will mean that the converted images shown on Google+ will now match the RAW file more closely in terms of color and hue, while still keeping the uploaded RAW files untouched....
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Supposed posters from China Mobile promoting the iPhone 5s and 5c have leaked out, touting “the strongest iPhone in China” (via UnwiredView). The ’100′ visible on the poster indicates the network’s 100Mb/s maximum speed will be supported by the iPhone. Naturally, the iPhone will be China Mobile’s flagship 4G phone.

Apple has already received the necessary certification to put the iPhone on all Chinese spectrum, including the TD-LTE strand used by China Mobile, earlier this month. Now, the only holdup is getting permission from the...

When Bloomberg ran its latest cover story on Apple last week, most of the highlights came from CEO Tim Cook, but on Wednesday the full interviews of Jony Ive and Craig Federighi were published, offering a deeper look into the duo's collaboration on iOS 7, the new iPhones and Apple's mission.
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While the numbers from Apple's first weekend of new iPhone sales were very impressive, others also saw a significant rise in business as a side effect. While many older iPhone owners traded in their handsets towards a newer iPhone, consumer electronics recycler Gazelle also reported a 210 percent jump in users trading in Samsung phones over the iPhone launch weekend as part of an overall 400 percent rise in trade-ins from last year....
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In-the-know blogger Mark Gurman is reporting that Eddy Cue, Apple Senior VP of Internet Services, recently sent out an email to Apple employees informing them of a new employee-only section on iTunes.

Cue's letter, obtained by Gurman, describes the new iTunes section thusly:

Team, One of the things that makes Apple special is that every person here, no matter where they are or what they do, shares the same deep passion for creativity and innovation. We see this passion most noticeably in the products we make and in the experiences we create for our customers. But it's in other places, too.

For instance, in addition to their work here at Apple, many employees have helped create some amazing books, songs, movies and TV shows on iTunes. In celebration of their achievements, as well as the creative pursuits of everybody at Apple, we're...

There are many calling the iPhone 5s merely an iterative update to the iPhone 5, in particular, because it continues with the chassis design and display from the now superseded model. To do so is selling the iPhone 5s short, and is probably a flat out fallacy. If the case design had changed, or Apple had shifted to a larger display, it seems some people may have then viewed it as a completely new ......
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Nest Labs CEO and former Apple executive Tony Fadell announced on Wednesday that his company will be launching an application programming interface (API) that developers can use to integrate their apps with the Nest Learning Thermostat and future smart home devices.
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Data on global and US adoption of iOS 7 (from Mixpanel and Chitika, respectively) paint somewhat different pictures, but show the same trend: iOS 7 is now on more iOS devices than there are those it isn't on, a crucial crossing of the 50 percent threshold that occurred in the US one week after its release, while globally iOS 7 crossed the mark on Saturday -- just over 36 hours after it first became available. By all measures, iOS 7 adoption has outpaced iOS 6 rates from last year....
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Adds the capability to begin expansions with optional default values. (€24.99 new, free update, 5.5 MB)

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.

According to a new report from IDC, Apple's share of the Chinese smartphone market is expected to double in 2014.

That Apple considers China an important part of its overall plan to significantly increase its revenue base is hardly a secret. With rumors that Apple may soon be finalizing an iPhone deal with China Mobile -- the world's largest carrier -- it makes sense that Apple could easily increase its marketshare in the country in a relatively short period of time.

Of course, it's easy to increase marketshare when you're starting from the bottom and have nowhere to go but up. As it stands now, the iPhone isn't even one of the top five most popular smartphones in China. That list is spearheaded by Samsung, which has an 18.3% share of the smartphone market, followed by Lenovo which owns a 12.6% share of the market.

"The sharp increase in shipments of low-end China Mobile smartphones has...

The San Francisco Apple Store is setting record sales numbers. Not for the new iPhone, but for the land itself. The Union Square property is reportedly selling for almost US$50 million thanks to a bid from mega-realty corporation Ashkenazy.

Normally commercial real estate prices near the exclusive Union Square location average an already mind-boggling price of $2,000 per square foot. The deal for the Apple property makes that look downright reasonable, averaging out to $3,000 per square foot.

Meanwhile the Apple Store will be moving to 300 Post St, a nearby spot that was previously occupied by Levi's. The original building will be demolished so Apple can build the new store to its own specifications. According...

For the last several years, with the introduction of a new iPhone, the replaced model or models shift down to fill lower spots on the ecosystem. This year, Cook and company out of Cupertino tried something different. While this is an "s" year, with the previous brand new model and form factor being uprated with new internals, the base model has been completely supplanted by a new model, in this ......
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Apple Senior Vice President of Internet Services Eddy Cue has announced a new, Apple-internal-only section of the iTunes Store devoted to showcasing the creative outside work that Apple employees engage in beyond their usual job duties and the products the company makes. Dubbed "Employees on iTunes," the private section was announced in a memo by saying the new website was "in celebration of the ... creative pursuits of everyone at Apple." The showcase highlights songs, books, movies and other outside efforts....
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It's time to save some of that hard-earned cash with our Daily Deals, featuring exclusive TUAW Deals, a handy list from Dealnews and our own hand-picked iOS and OS X selections.

TUAW's Daily Deals

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This handpicked Mac Productivity Bundle 5.0 has something for everyone so check out the goods inside and if you find something worth your while snag this offer before it's too late!

Save 91% off the Mac Productivity Bundle 5.0 at TUAW Deals.

Deals from Dealnews

• ...

The French finance ministry is looking into Apple's business practices in the country again, this time focusing on contracts between the company and French mobile carriers. The investigation is part of a larger probe into relationships between major handset makers and their major clients -- the operators who sell the phones.

The probe was initially reported by French news channel BFM TV, and spokesmen for Apple and the finance ministry's anti-fraud and antitrust unit made no comment.

France's antitrust watchdog group -- Autorite de la Concurrence -- is already involved in two other inquiries into Apple's business, having raided some Apple offices earlier in the summer seeking evidence of whether or not the company has engaged in unfair competition against Apple resellers. The authority is also investigating the app stores run by Google and Apple with an eye...

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration will be receiving word from an advisory committee in the coming week that may lead to the loosening of restrictions on personal electronic device use during takeoff and landing, a bone of contention for many travelers.
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The Los Angeles universal student iPad initiative has hit a road bump. More than 300 students spanning three high schools were able to circumvent the security measures installed on the iPads. The unlock allowed the students to access "unauthorized websites" on the school-issued devices. As a result, the students are no longer allowed to take the devices home....
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From 9to5Toys.com:

A large majority of the deals we cover each day come from a variety of ‘Daily Deal’ websites or are so popular that they don’t even last 24 hours. We know you can’t be at your computer every second, so we’re going to round up the best deals each day to make sure you have a fair shot at the deals you want. Be sure to follow 9to5Toys.com so you never miss a deal... Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+.

Today’s featured deals...

Apple on Tuesday detailed a new process for configuring a third generation Apple TV by tapping it with an iOS 7 device, a procedure that may be the first public deployment of the company's new iBeacons communications standard.
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Apple has won an appeal allowing it to continue using the "iPhone" trademark in Brazil. A local company, IGB Electronica, earlier argued in court that it had exclusive Brazilian rights to the name, since it first filed for a trademark in 2000, seven years before the Apple iPhone would be announced. That trademark was granted in 2008 though, and IGB only released its Android-based Gradiente iphone in December 2012, a month before the trademark was due to expire. Nevertheless, Brazil's Institute of Industry Property recently ruled in favor of IGB, prompting the Apple appeal....
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The newest version of iOS is off to a roaring start, with iOS 7 now accounting for more than half of iOS Web traffic across North America, according to one study.
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Apple announced back in April that it would be hitting the road this fall with Tech Talks, a likely response to the overwhelming interest in WWDC 2013 which sold out in mere minutes.

Apple touts the benefits of its Tech Talk event as follows:

Get in-depth guidance about developing for iOS 7, learn practical coding tips and obtain valuable one-on-one programming and design assistance in our lab.

As expected, the Tech Talks tour will be hitting big cities across the world. There are two parts to the Tech Talks, an App Developer track and a Game Developer track. Note that developers can attend either track, but not both.

You can head over here to Apple's developer page to apply, and if WWDC 2013 is any indication, you'll want to apply ASAP!

The blurb regarding the App Developer track reads:

Reimagine...

Originally teased earlier this year, Apple has today formally announced its 2013 series of Tech Talks, themed around iOS 7. The events start in San Francisco on October 8th, and will come to a close in London on December 18th. Other destination cities in the interim will include New York, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Berlin....
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Have you ever wondered how much data you should get with your carrier? Do you barely use your data plan but pay for a huge one anyways? Or do you go over data each month with your data plan and have no idea why? New in the iOS 7 Settings application is the ability to track cellular data usage per each app you have installed on your device.

In iOS 6, it shows you how much data you use, but it did not define or described what made up that number. To monitor and track your cellular data usage in iOS 7, first go into Settings.

Then tap on Cellular. If you scroll down a little bit at first you will see your total history. It will show your Call Time and total Cellular Data Usage, just like it did in iOS 6.

If you scroll down further, you will get an alphabetical list of all the apps...

iFixit did their patented (well, the process should be patented) teardowns of a pair of brand new iMacs and as usual, the team of technicians have found some unexpected surprises.

In a quest to find out just how repairable the new iMacs are, iFixit opened up both the 21.5- and 27-inch models to see what makes them tick. Both new iMacs sport a way to add a second hard drive through the Fusion Drive SSD port. The port features a PCIe connection, so it will just be up to third-party vendors to come up with adapters to allow a simple drive installation.

The 21.5" model no longer has a replaceable CPU, with the previously socketed processor now soldered directly to the logic board. Fortunately for power users, they can still replace the CPU in the 27" model.

Both new iMacs have a new AirPort/Bluetooth card that is on the back of the logic board. The card uses a Broadcom BCM4360 802.11ac...

Apple has announced iOS 7 Tech Talks for developers. The talks will take place in San Francisco, Shanghai, New York, Berlin, Tokyo, and London. Each city will get two days of talks — one day for app developers, and the following day for game developers. The talks start in…

The original iPhone-only version of Clear will remain on sale and get future updates, developer Realmac Software has announced. With the advent of iOS 7, the company decided to replace it with a new, universal version of its popular to-do app, capable of running on the iPad as well. The universal app costs $5, though, instead of 99 cents, something that prompted frustration from people who would've been expected to pay more to stay supported....
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You're on a cruise liner that's lost power and your iPhone battery is dead. Or you're without power in your home after a natural disaster, your iPhone battery is depleted, but there is local cell service. This calls for an iPhone case that can charge your battery manually with hand power.  Just squeeze the handle repeatedly. That's exactly how the Mipwr Dynamo will work if the Kickstarter campaign is a go.   You'll get 30 seconds of talk/text for 1 minute of pumping. The unit will also will include an emergency 400 mAh battery. For iPhone 5/5s.

Twitter has introduced a new alert system for emergency notifications or other important information related to ongoing events. During a crisis or emergency, accounts registered with the Twitter Alerts system can post tweets that will stand out with a unique appearance and higher priority than social posts....
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Apple brought its latest iPhones — the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c — to the big four carriers in the U.S. last week. Next week, it will do the same for a number of small regional carriers. On Tuesday, Oct. 1, nine small U.S. carriers and a few in Canada will begin selling Apple’s new iPhones. Among them, Cellcom and C Spire in the States, and MTS and SaskTel in Canada.

Apple on Tuesday announced the lineup for the 2013 edition of the company's developer Tech Talks with a new dual-track structure.
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Apple's Vice President of Worldwide Government Affairs, Catherine Novelli has been nominated by the Obama Administration for the position of Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment. The news was announced by the White House last night. From the press release:

Catherine Ann Novelli, Nominee for Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, Department of State

Catherine Ann Novelli is Vice President of Worldwide Government Affairs at Apple, Inc., a position she has held since 2007. Previously, Ms. Novelli was a partner at Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, LLP from 2005 to 2007. From 1991 to 2005, she served at the Office of the United States Trade Representative and from 1997 to 2005, she was the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Europe and the Mediterranean. From 1985 to 1991, Ms....

Amazon has updated its duo of Kindle Fire tabets, the 7-inch HD and the 8.9-inch HDX.   Notable are increased screen resolution, much faster processors and the "Mayday button" that launches access to an Amazon expert who can co-pilot the user through difficulties.

Macworld UK recently compiled a list of Twitter accounts that Apple fans should follow. The list covered the executives at Apple who have verified accounts and some notable Apple analysts. We are going to expand their list and add in developers, bloggers and other notable Apple pundits that you should follow for the latest and greatest news and commentary on Apple. If you have any additional suggestions, please add them in the comments.

Former and present Apple Executives

Tim Cook: Apple's CEO just joined Twitter and has logged three tweets. Hopefully more are coming

Phil Schiller: Apple's Senior Vice-President for worldwide marketing, and an enthusiastic presenter at Apple's press events

Eddy Cue: Senior Vice-President for internet software and services...

French authorities are looking into Apple’s contracts with French carriers, according to a new report. Specifics are unclear, but the investigation is likely over concerns of anti-competitive practices. A few months ago, the country’s Competition Authority searched Apple’s French headquarters, wholesalers, and retailers. It was also reported that authorities…

Apple has officially announced the grand opening of two new Apple stores this weekend. The first store in located in the Potomac Town Center shopping plaza in Woodbridge, Virginia. It opens at 10AM this Saturday, September 28th. The second grand opening takes place in Canada at the Guildford Town Centre in Surrey, British Columbia. It also opens its doors for the first time at 10AM local time this Saturday, September 28th.

While neither store is a flagship, Apple usually has some goodies to give away to the first guests that go through the doors. Also, if you are in either locale and waiting to get your hands on a new iPhone, it may be possible that they will be in stock at these two stores--at least at opening--since Apple would likely want their two newest stores to be fully stocked with products.

...

Following their joint top level conversation and subsequent Interview with Tim Cook, Businessweek posts an in-depth interview with Apple SVP of Design Jony Ive and  SVP Software Engineering Craig Federighi.

It gives a nice insight into the collaborative process at Apple between industrial design and software teams which have always been close but took on a new closeness to develop iOS 7 and the new iPhones.  Here’s a snippet to whet your appetite:

What’s Apple’s mission?

Ive: This is probably a clumsy definition, but I think we try to...

solareagle writes "The BBC reports that an Alaskan airport says it has had to place barricades across one of its taxiways after an Apple Maps flaw resulted in iPhone users driving across a runway. The airport said it had complained to the phone-maker through the local attorney general's office. 'We asked them to disable the map for Fairbanks until they could correct it, thinking it would be better to have nothing show up than to take the chance that one more person would do this,' Melissa Osborn, chief of operations at the airport, told the Alaska Dispatch newspaper. The airport said it had been told the problem would be fixed by Wednesday. However the BBC still experienced the issue when it tested the app, asking for directions to the site from a property to the east of the airport. By contrast the Google Maps app provided a different, longer route which takes drivers to the property's car park."

...

Online retail giant Amazon quietly unveiled new versions of its Kindle Fire line of devices this week, showing off a tweaked form factor and a novel on-screen helpdesk feature that could differentiate the company's lineup from Android tablets and Apple's iPad.
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With the iPhone 5s, Apple has gotten back into the dock game, but it’s now competing with Twelve South’s attractive HiRise. Josh Centers looks at both docks — which will reign supreme with his iPhone 5? When you play the game of docks you win… or you waste your money.

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.

China’s smartphone market will experience a massive growth spurt over the next year — one that bodes well for all handset makers that cater to it, but particularly for Apple.

Research firm IDC expects Apple’s share of the smartphone market in China to double from this year to the next. The reason: The debut of the company’s latest iPhones and the expected signing of a long-rumored deal with China Mobile, the country’s largest mobile carrier with its 700 million subscribers.

As I’ve noted before, China Mobile is the largest wireless carrier in the world, and as such one of the few remaining carriers that can really move the needle on iPhone sales.

Approximately 180 million China Mobile customers use the company’s 3G network, and according to ISI analyst Brian Marshall, that’s a decent proxy for assessing the new addressable market that a deal with the carrier would...

French authorities are probing Apple Inc.’s contracts with mobile operators in France, according to a person familiar with the matter, the latest move by European governments to ramp up pressure on largely U.S.-based tech firms.

An administrative authority that falls under the French finance ministry is investigating the terms of contracts between cellphone suppliers and French phone operators for the sale of devices such as the iPhone, the person said, just days after two new models of the device went on sale, leading to long lines and heavy demand among French consumers.

Read the rest of this post on the original site »

Last fall, Apple had a lot of products to introduce: a new iPhone, two new iPads, three new iPods, and a few new Macs. Apple ended up dividing those new devices into two events: an iPhone + iPod event and an iPad + Mac event.

Without much occurring during the first half of this year, and even with the new iPhones launching this month, Apple still has a significant amount of products to still announce this year. Let’s take a look at what’s coming:

• Redesigned full-sized iPad (64-bit, looks like a larger iPad mini, likely no Touch ID)
• iPad mini with Retina display (both 32-bit and 64-bit versions have been in testing...

A number of U.S. regional carriers have announced next Tuesday, Oct. 1, as a launch date for the iPhone 5c and 5s on their networks. Nine carriers have announced an Oct. 1 launch thus far: Appalachian Wireless, Bluegrass Cellular, C Spire, Cellcom, GCI, MTA, Nex-Tech Wireless, Ntelos, and Strata. It’s…

An e-mail app recently acquired by Dropbox contains a security bug that opens iPhone and iPad users to a series of potentially serious attacks, a security researcher warned.

In a blog post published Wednesday, Michael Spagnuolo of Italy said that Mailbox for iOS will execute any JavaScript code embedded in the body of an HTML-formatted e-mail. A video shows how the bug can be exploited to open iOS apps without user prompting, simply by viewing a booby-trapped message. His post said the damage could be much more severe.

"This is bad for security and privacy, because it allows advanced spam techniques, tracking of user actions, hijacking the user by just opening an e-mail, and, using an [exploitation] framework, potentially much worse things."

...

Apple's new flagship iPhone 5s and mid-range iPhone 5c will become available on eight regional wireless carriers in U.S. beginning Oct. 1, including C Spire, Cellcom, and Bluegrass.
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iFixIt has posted teardowns of Apple's new 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMacs, devices that were just released on Tuesday. That's pretty fast, and we love seeing what goes into Apple's devices. Key findings include the news that the CPU on the 21.5-inch iMac is soldered onto the logic board. That's the first time this has been the case for Apple's Intel iMacs. RAM is user-replaceable on both models (according to iFixIt—Apple may see it differently), though the 27-inch model allows you to do so through a rear-access door. Users could also add a second hard drive to the larger unit. Check out the full teardowns (21.5-inch and 27-inch) with great images.