Apple patent involves real-time streaming
An Apple patent (number 8301725) for variant streams for real-time or near real-time streaming has appeared at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.
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Type of Article: MacTech Blog
Time to turn iWork apps into a true Office competitor
Apple and VMWare (www.vmware.com) — which specializes in virtualization and cloud infrastructure — are teaming to build a cloud-hosted office suite for the iPad “that will let organizations ditch Office entirely,” according to “CRN” (http://macte.ch/2sasV), quoting unnamed sources “with knowledge of the project.” It’s about time that Apple revved its iWork apps into a true competitor for Microsoft’s offerings.
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Apple granted patent for iOS Maps interface
Apple has been granted a patent (number 8,302,033) by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office for a “touch screen device, method and graphical user interface for providing maps, directions and location-based information.” It involves the graphical user interface used in all versions of the iOS Maps app since the software was first introduced in iPhone OS 2.0 and the iPhone 3G in 2008.
Read MorePremium TV package subscribers loyal to their providers
If Apple does indeed plan to tackle the television market the way it did the music industry, it needs to have some revolutionary products and services in the works.
Premium television package subscribers are more loyal and more likely to purchase additional products from their television provider than are subscribers with basic and expanded basic programming packages, according to the J.D. Power and Associates’ “2012 U.S. Residential Television Service Provider Satisfaction Study.”
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The Mac keeps on going strong (better than the industry average)
Don’t write off the Mac just yet (as if anyone seriously has). Apple sold 4.9 million Macs during its fiscal 2012 fourth quarter that ended Sept. 29. That’s an all-time high for Apple computer sales during the September quarter.
That compares to an 8% contraction of the overall computer market during the quarter. Mac sales have exceeded overall computer industry averages for 25 consecutive quarters. Look for that to continue with ever-increasing MacBook Pro and MacBook Air sales — and the iMac remaining Apple’s (and the industry’s) hottest desktop model.
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