MacRumors

Apple's "Your Verse" website highlighting the various ways that people use their iPads has been updated with two new stories, featuring electropop group Yaoband and Jason Hall, founder of a biking program in Detroit.

Luke Wang and Peter Feng, the two Chinese musicians who make up Yaoband, use their iPads to capture audio samples, turning them into beats. In a video on Apple's site, the duo are depicted using the iPad to capture sounds like water flowing over rocks in a river, water dripping from a faucet, a spoon on a bowl, a ringing bell, and more.

Various audio apps then allow them to mix sounds, styles, and techniques, creating a unique sound. To capture and make music, Feng and Wang use apps like iMaschine, iMPC, Music Studio, Notes, MIDI Designer Pro, Figure, and TouchOSC.

With iPad, Luke Wang has the power to make every show unique. "I'll add new apps, new techniques, and new ideas during the show," he says. By adding fresh elements to the music, even in a live performance, Yaoband lives up to its vision of an ever-evolving sound. "Creativity and innovation are the essence of music," says Peter. "For us they're what keep the power of music alive."

Jason Hall, who cofounded Detroit's Slow Roll city bike ride that thousands of people participate in, uses his iPad to organize the event, plan routes, create posters, communicate with other organizers, check the weather, and more. Hall uses apps like Mail, Calendar, Facebook Pages Manager, Prezi, Penultimate, and Phoster, managing each bike ride from start to finish on his iPad.

"I wanted to convince other people to see Detroit the way I was seeing it," he says. "The plan was, let's start a bike ride and see if people want to go with us."

It began simply enough. Just 10 friends on a Monday night ride. Soon it was 20. Then 30. In its second year, the ride grew from 130 to 300 cyclists in two weeks. As the numbers increased, Hall turned to his iPad and made it the command center for all things Slow Roll. "We use it for everything we do, from mapping to communicating to ordering new T-shirts," he says."

Apple's newest stories, which are part of its "What will your verse be?" campaign and a continuation of its "Life on iPad" ad campaign, join several previous stories that have shown the iPad being used in a multitude of creative ways. Featured iPad users have included conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, travel blogger Chérie King, mountaineers Adrian Ballinger and Emily Harrington, choreographer Feroz Khan, and biologist Michael Berumen.

Update 2:30 PM PT: Apple has now posted two YouTube videos on the new "Your Verse" stories featuring Yaoband and Jason Hall, which are embedded below.

Over the last several months, a number of drawings, mockups, and even rear shell parts for the iPhone 6 have consistently shown a round hole for the LED flash next to the rear camera. That feature has been one of the primary sources of skepticism about the legitimacy of these leaks, as many observers have argued it suggests Apple would have to be abandoning the pill-shaped "True Tone" dual-LED flash introduced in the iPhone 5s.

Earlier today, we highlighted a new photo set from Nowhereelse.fr [Google Translate] showing a number of components said to be from the iPhone 6, but one part we neglected to feature shows Apple has indeed developed a new round version of the True Tone flash. The part shows both white and amber LEDs within a single round flash component.

This round flash module is integrated into a purported iPhone 6 flex cable that contains several arms with a power button, a logic board connector, a microphone, and the round True Tone flash. The cable had been seen in a previous leak late last month, but only from the rear where the flash itself was not visible.

Apple added the dual-LED True Tone flash to the iPhone 5s, replacing the white-only flash module in previous iPhone models. The True Tone flash includes both white and amber LEDs in order to improve white balance and add support for more than 1,000 different color temperatures.

Besides a round flash module, Apple may also improve the photo-taking abilities of the iPhone 6 with an enhanced camera module featuring either optical or electronic image stabilization. The high-quality rear camera may come with an aesthetic cost in some users' eyes, however, as at least the 5.5-inch model has been rumored to require a slight protrusion from the thin body to accommodate the camera, as seen on the current iPod touch.

The iPhone 6 is expected to launch in two different sizes including a 4.7-inch or 5.5-inch display, along with a more durable Touch ID. Apple is expected to unveil its next-generation handset at a September 9 press event with the retail launch to follow shortly after the announcement.

Nowhereelse.fr (Google Translate) shares more photos said to be of various iPhone 6 parts, including images of the embedded rear Apple logo, external camera ring, Touch ID home button enclosure, flex cables, and more. The pictures of the embedded rear Apple logo and external camera ring also line up with photos shared last week by luxury modified iPhone vendor Feld & Volk.

Apple has not used an embedded logo on the iPhone since shipping the original iPhone in 2007. It was stated last week that the embedded logo may be made of an incredibly scratch-resistant metal, perhaps even a Liquidmetal alloy. Earlier this year, Apple renewed its rights to use Liquidmetal Technologies' alloy in consumer products, although no other evidence suggests that this logo or any other components are using such a material.

The external camera ring also makes an appearance once again, and may indicate that at least one iPhone 6 model may have a protruding lens. To this point, leaked design drawings, mockups, and rumors have pointed to the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 having a protruding rear lens, while reports have pointed to a flush rear camera for the 4.7-inch iPhone 6. It is possible that a protruding lens on the iPhone 6 would appear similar to the one currently on the iPod touch.

Other components such as the headphone jack, Lightning port connector, and Touch ID home button enclosure among others appear to be similar to those found in the iPhone 5s. Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 6 on September 9, with a launch likely coming shortly afterward. The 4.7-inch iPhone 6 will also possibly be released before the 5.5-inch model, as Apple is said to be experiencing issues with the larger device's display technology and battery life.

Microsoft today launched three new ads targeting Apple's MacBook Air and comparing the notebook to its new Surface Pro 3 tablet. All three commercials emphasize the Surface Pro 3's touchscreen multitasking features and expandable hardware, with each showing how the MacBook Air lacks similar functionality. The ads also end with the tagline "The tablet that can replace your laptop."

The first spot is titled "Crowded" and focuses on two narrators and how the Surface Pro 3 is a tablet and a laptop. When told about the Surface Pro 3 by the first narrator, the second claims that the tablet doesn't have the power of the MacBook Air's Intel i5 processor. The first narrator states that the Surface Pro 3 does have an equal processor, and shows off Microsoft Office, Photoshop, pen support and its touchscreen. The second narrator counters with showing off his own touchscreen (an iPad), and exclaims "I have a lot of stuff to carry." The ad ends with the first narrator saying "You are more powerful than you think", referencing Apple's recent "Powerful" ads for the iPhone 5s.

The second ad, named "Head to Head", features a direct comparison between the two, drawing a parallel between the 128GB of storage and 4GB of RAM on each device. However, Microsoft once again emphasizes the Surface Pro 3's touchscreen, pen support and detachable keyboard, while the MacBook Air is shown to have none of those features.

The third ad "Power" starts off with a Mac user curious about a full version of Adobe Photoshop running on the Surface Pro 3, once again demonstrating the device's laptop and tablet capabilities. The narrator claims that the Surface Pro 3 is just as fast as the Mac, boasting a touchscreen with a kickstand along with a Mini DisplayPort and a USB port. The ad ends when the Mac user states "So you're saying it does more than my Mac?", and the Surface Pro 3 user going "Well, technically you said it."

Microsoft originally announced the Surface Pro 3 this past May, and also launched a program offering MacBook Air owners $650 to trade in their laptop towards the Surface Pro 3. In prior years, Microsoft has also released ads poking fun of the iPad and comparing it to the Surface.

A new profile of Apple's internal training program published by the New York Times has shed new light on how the company teaches its vision and practices to select new employees. Originally established by Steve Jobs and Apple's Vice President of Human Resources Joel Podolny, the-so called "Apple University" is a year-round, in-house program that allows employees to enroll in a number of classes with instructors coming from universities like Yale, Harvard, Stanford, M.I.T., and more.

Apple's internal training programs are taught at the company's Cupertino, California campus, with rooms being described as being "well lit" and formed in a trapezoid shape with elevated seats so employees can clearly see their instructors.

Interested individuals sign up on an internal Apple website, as classes are taught to employees based on their positions at the company and work backgrounds. Some courses teach employees about vital business decisions in the history of Apple, with one employee citing a case study on how Steve Jobs chose to make the iPod and iTunes compatible with Windows after being opposed to the idea. Even classes for founders of recently acquired companies are available:

One class taught founders of recently acquired companies how to smoothly blend resources and talents into Apple. The company may also offer a course tailored specifically to employees of Beats, perhaps including its founders, Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine. Neither Apple nor Beats would comment.

Another course, titled "Communicating at Apple", focuses on being able to convey products and ideas to others and is taught by the former Dean of Pixar University Randy Nelson among others. A detailed overview of the course given by an employee shares how Apple used the works of Picasso to explain its vision:

In a version of the class taught last year, Mr. Nelson showed a slide of "The Bull," a series of 11 lithographs of a bull that Picasso created over about a month, starting in late 1945. In the early stages, the bull has a snout, shoulder shanks and hooves, but over the iterations, those details vanish. The last image is a curvy stick figure that is still unmistakably a bull.

"You go through more iterations until you can simply deliver your message in a very concise way, and that is true to the Apple brand and everything we do," recalled one person who took the course.

Another class taught by Nelson, titled "What Makes Apple, Apple" gives lessons on how the company executes its design principles with precision and simplicity in time. To convey that idea to employees, Nelson showed a comparison of the Apple TV remote that has three buttons and the remote from a Google TV, which features 68 buttons. The instructor explained that Apple designers included just what was needed, while the Google TV remote resulted in a complicated device because its designers "got everything that they wanted."

Finally, the article describes a course called "The Best Things", which teaches employees to be proactive in a high-caliber work environment so they can perform their best work. An example relayed to employees by course teacher and Stanford professor Joshua Cohen pointed out New York City's Central Park, which was transformed from a rocky swamp into an area that made residents feel comfortable with nature. The goal of the class was to teach employees how to make intricate computer technologies feel natural, which was a main philosophy of Jobs.

Taiwanese Apple news website AppleClub (Google Translate, via 9to5Mac) shares new photos of the supposed front panel from the 4.7-inch iPhone 6, including the device's display and its insides.

The images are consistent with prior leaks of the iPhone 6's front panel, showing a larger screen, a thinner bezel, rounded edges, and a cutout for the Touch ID home button. The panel depicted also features the front-facing camera and the ambient light sensor located on the left and at the top respectively, which is similar to the design of the iPhone 4.

It is not known whether the display shown is made of sapphire, which was once rumored to come with the 4.7-inch iPhone 6. However, recent rumors have suggested that the smaller iPhone 6 will not come with a sapphire display, as rigorous scratch tests may instead hint at a more durable glass screen. Sapphire panels may come to the larger 5.5-inch iPhone 6, which is reported to feature a number of other differentiating factors including a faster processor and a camera with optical image stabilization.

Apple's next-generation iPhone will be revealed at an event on September 9, with sales likely commencing roughly a week and a half afterward. It is likely that the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 will launch first, as the 5.5-inch model is said to be experiencing production issues that may lead to a delayed release.

According to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, the United States Federal Communications Commission is now questioning all wireless carriers on their network management policies, asking how carriers choose when to throttle customers, including those with unlimited data plans.

In a report from Reuters, Wheeler said that the FCC had written to all major U.S. carriers about its concerns on throttling practices following its inquisition into Verizon's upcoming plan to throttle unlimited data customers during peak usage times.

"My concern in this instance - and it's not just with Verizon, by the way, we've written to all the carriers - is that it is moving from a technology and engineering issue to the business issues ... such as choosing between different subscribers based on your economic relationship with them."

Last week, after Verizon announced plans to slow down the data speeds of unlimited customers using heavy amounts of data, the FCC questioned the carrier about its policies, with Wheeler stating that he was "deeply troubled" by the decision.

Verizon responded, suggesting its throttling plans were both fair and legal, and likely to impact only a small subset of customers. Verizon also noted that several other carriers, like Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile all have unlimited data restrictions in place. According to Wheeler, pointing towards the policies of other carriers was not a sufficient response. "'All the kids do it' was never something that worked for me when I was growing up," he said.

AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile have long had policies in place that allow the carriers to opt to restrict the data usage of customers with grandfathered unlimited plans in an effort to encourage users to switch to pay-by-usage tiered data plans.

While the FCC did not share the letters sent to AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint, an FCC spokesperson said the letters were similar in nature to the original letter sent to Verizon. That letter asked the carrier to answer specific questions on its rationale for treating customers differently on plan type, the need for such throttling on efficient LTE networks, and the legality of throttling.

Verizon was the first to receive the letter because of the announcement of a new policy, according to the FCC spokesperson. Verizon will begin throttling its high-usage off-contract LTE customers accessing congested network cells beginning on October 1.

Judge Lucy Koh today rejected the settlement deal that Apple, Google, Intel, and Adobe had reached with tech workers over a lawsuit involving anti-poaching agreements, reports CNBC.

According to court documents, Koh believes the total settlement "falls below the range of reasonableness," compared to the $20 million settlement that Pixar, Lucasfilm, and Intuit reached with tech employees in 2013. Proportionally, based on that settlement, Apple and the other tech companies should have to pay out at least $380 million.

The Court finds the total settlement amount falls below the range of reasonableness. The Court is concerned that Class members recover less on a proportional basis from the instant settlement with the Remaining Defendants than from the Settled Defendants a year ago, despite the fact that the case has progressed consistently in the Class’s favor since then. Counsel’s sole explanation for this reduced figure is that there are weaknesses in Plaintiff’s case such that the Class faces a substantial risk of non-recovery. However, that risk existed and was even greater when Plaintiffs settled with the Settled Defendants a year ago, when class certification had been denied. [...]

Using the Settled Defendants’ settlements as a yardstick, the appropriate benchmark settlement for the Remaining Defendants would be at least $380 million, more than $50 million greater than what the instant settlement provides.

Tech workers initially levied the class action anti-poaching lawsuit against the companies in 2011, accusing them of creating no-hire agreements and conspiring not to poach employees from one another in an effort to keep salaries lower.

No-solicitation agreements revealed during the lawsuit dated back to 2005, involving Apple, Google, Intel, Adobe, Intuit, Lucasfilm, and Pixar, among others. The agreements prevented company recruiters from contacting employees placed on specific no-contact lists.

The United States Department of Justice stepped in back in 2010, ordering the companies to stop entering anti-poaching agreements, but the class-action civil lawsuit brought against the companies by 64,000 employees will remain open until a suitable settlement can be reached. The suit originally asked for $3 billion in damages, a significantly higher number than the 324 million agreed upon in April.

Apps in the iOS and Mac App Stores have begun displaying details on Family Sharing, letting users know whether or not the feature is enabled for specific apps ahead of the launch of iOS 8 and Yosemite.

A new Family Sharing listing has appeared in the Information section for each app, as noted by German site iFun.de [Google Translate]. For developers that have turned on Family Sharing, the section displays a "Yes" under the Family Sharing heading, while apps from developers that have opted not to allow Family Sharing or have yet to turn the setting on display "Not Available."

Certain apps, like Sketchbook Mobile display a "Yes" for purchases after a set date, indicating that developers have the option to only allow Family Sharing for new purchases.

First announced during June's Worldwide Developers Conference, Family Sharing for iOS 8 and Yosemite lets families of up to six people share content like apps, iBooks, music, movies, and more, across all of their iOS devices, provided their iTunes accounts use the same credit card. Family Sharing also lets families share photos, videos, a calendar, reminders, and more, to keep everyone in the family connected.

Though Family Sharing is not yet fully functional, Apple has made steps towards implementing the service throughout the iOS 8 and Yosemite beta testing period. Shortly after WWDC, Apple began asking developers to enable the feature in their apps.

Early iOS 8 betas saw the addition of Family Sharing in the iCloud section of the settings app, and iOS 8 beta 2 and an Apple TV beta laid significant groundwork for Family Sharing, adding a new section for "Family Purchases" to the iOS App Store's purchased tab and a new iCloud Family setting for the Apple TV.

Family Sharing is expected to be implemented and fully functional ahead of the public release of iOS 8, which will be available in September after the upcoming iPhone event.

Following a major earthquake in China's Yunnan Province earlier this week that killed over 600 people and caused widespread damage, Apple has made a donation of 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) in support of relief efforts in the region, reports CRIENGLISH.com. Apple has also updated its Chinese home page to acknowledge the disaster.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has also sent an email to company employees, shared by 9to5Mac, in which he expresses "deepest sympathies" to those affected and mentions Apple presence in the region and commitment to help.

Team,

Our deepest sympathies go out to the people of China’s Yunnan Province, which was struck by a devastating 6.5-magnitude earthquake over the weekend. Nearly 600 people died and over 2400 were injured in the worst earthquake to hit the region in 100 years. Rescuers have evacuated 230,000 people who are now displaced from their homes. The road to Longtoushan Township, the epicenter of the quake, has been blocked by landslides, making the rescue effort there even more challenging. Apple is eager to help. We are making a financial donation in support of the work of Mercy Corps and CFPA (China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation) to get supplies and relief to those affected by the earthquake and to help them through the process of healing and recovery. The tragedy in Yunnan Province is on the minds of many in the Apple community. Apple has over 6500 employees in China and Hong Kong as well as a growing developer community and deep ties to the workers in our supply chain who make Apple products. In this time of tragedy, our thoughts are with the victims and their families.

Tim

Apple made a similar but larger donation in support of relief efforts following another earthquake in China last year, and the company has committed to charity support on a number of other occasions, including facilitating donations from iTunes Store users following such disasters as Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and Super Typhoon Haiyan last year.

Apple is once again expanding its Reno, Nevada data center, adding several new data cluster buildings, reports Reno Gazette Journal. The upcoming expansion was documented in building permits filed recently with Washoe County.

This new round of expansion is expected to kick off the third phase of development for the center that was approved in 2012 and went live in 2013. Apple currently is in the second phase of construction, which is expected to be completed by the end of this summer.

"They just keep plugging along," said Trevor Lloyd, senior planner for Washoe County. "Apple keeps submitting plans … and it looks like they'll be expanding for a long time."

Apple's latest plans will boost the number of buildings on the site to nine, including eight data cluster buildings and an administration building, with plenty of room for further expansion on the 2,220-acre property.

As previously outlined by Wired, Apple's initial plans call for a cluster of eight small interconnected data buildings, which the recent building permits cover the completion of. A second facility of equal size is planned for future expansion.

Apple also is building a solar panel farm that will generate up to 18–20 megawatts of power for data center operations and will supplement the plant's current geothermal power.

While Apple improves its Reno data center operations, its proposal for a downtown facility has stalled, with Apple yet to submit building plans for a location in the Tessera District of Reno.

"I haven't heard anything and, as far as I know, no one in the city has heard anything," said Bill Thomas, assistant city manager for Reno. "I'm not saying we won't hear from them but it's been silence on their end (as of now)."

This downtown facility, which has been described as a "business and purchasing center", is part of Apple's original proposal and is required if the company is to receive up to $89 million in tax breaks on data center equipment over the next decade.

Last month, luxury modified iPhone vendor Feld & Volk [Instagram page] shared some high-quality photos and a video of the purported rear shell of the iPhone 6. The part was in an intermediate stage of production, and thus had not been fully processed and polished, but it still offered a good look at the device's body.

Feld & Volk has now received what it believes to be a completed 4.7-inch iPhone 6 rear shell and has shared some new photos revealing a few features not highlighted in previous leaks. Among these is a good look at the volume button cutouts, which have now been recessed slightly in a change that will allow for a lower profile along the edges and decreased likelihood of accidental volume changes.

Similar recesses for the volume buttons have been seen on a purported "perfect replica" and claimed actual rear shell for the next-generation iPad Air.

Feld & Volk's photos also offer a look at the embedded Apple logo, something Apple has not used on the iPhone since the original iPhone back in 2007. Feld & Volk says the embedded logo is very similar to that seen on the original iPhone, but says it is made of "very extraordinary" scratch-resistant metal that it speculates could be a Liquidmetal alloy, although there is no specific evidence supporting that speculation.

Another photo shows what seems to be an external camera ring, which measures 6.66 mm in diameter and reportedly fits perfectly on the rear camera hole of the shell. Leaked design drawings and physical mockups have indicated that the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 may see a protruding rear camera as seen on the current iPod touch, but so far those leaks have all pointed to a flush camera for the smaller 4.7-inch model, so it remains to be seen whether this camera ring does indeed pair with the rear shell of the 4.7-inch model.

Finally, the set of parts includes a long flexible cable previously seen in another photo leak. As with the previous leak, Feld & Volk speculates that it could be for the home button, but given its length we wonder if it is actually a flex cable for an upcoming iPad.

Apple is all but confirmed to be holding its annual iPhone media event on September 9, although it is unclear whether both the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch models will be arriving simultaneously. At a minimum, the 4.7-inch model should launch in the first wave of countries roughly a week and a half after the event, based on past release patterns.