MacRumors

Apple has released the first beta of iOS 7.1 to registered developers for testing purposes. The update can be downloaded via Apple's developer center. The beta arrives as build number 11D5099e. Apple also released a new Apple TV beta.

According to the release notes, iOS 7.1 fixes some network connection issues and some other bugs. There is also a new Yahoo logo, as well as new burst mode upload options and a toggle for a 'dark keyboard' in the Accessibility settings, according to 9to5Mac.

Late last week, Apple released iOS 7.0.4 to all users, fixing an issue with FaceTime calls.

After building large solar power and biogas fuel cell generating facilities at its Maiden, North Carolina data center, Apple is one of the of the largest non-utility clean energy generation companies in the country. As of a report earlier this year, Apple uses 100% renewable energy across all its data centers, plus 75% at its corporate facilities.

Gigaom's Katie Fehrenbacher went to the facility and has written an extensive article with a number of images of both Apple's two gigantic solar farms, as well as its Bloom Energy biogas fuel cell farm. In total, Apple generates roughly 50 megawatts at peak efficiency -- 40MW across two solar farms, plus another 10MW in fuel cells.

With Apple's data center consuming roughly 40 MW of electricity, at times of peak power production the company becomes a net power producer for local utility Duke Energy. Apple appears to be the only major Internet company with its own power generating facilities like these.

Apple’s solar panel farms were built and are operated by Bay Area company SunPower. SunPower manufacturers high-efficient solar panels, solar panel trackers and also develops solar panel projects like Apple’s. The solar farm across from the data center has over 50,000 panels on 100 acres, and it took about a year to build the entire thing.

Each solar panel on Apple’s farms has a microcontroller on its back, and the panels are attached to long, large trackers (the steel poles in the picture). During the day, the computers automatically and gradually tilt the solar panels so that the face of the panels follow the sun throughout the day. The above picture was taken in the late morning, so by the end of the day, the panels will have completely rotated to face where I was standing. The trackers used are single-axis trackers, which basically means they are less complex and less expensive than more precise dual-axis trackers.

Apple works with a company that provides sheep to eat the grass underneath the solar panels, an environmentally friendly alternative to mowing.

For its fuel cell facility, Apple uses biogas fuel cells made by Bloom Energy. Biogas is an alternative to natural gas that can be captured from decomposing organic matter like landfills, water treatment facilities and farms. Natural gas is significantly cheaper, but is a nonrenewable fossil fuel.

When I was walking around the outside of the fuel cell facility I could also see a couple of people doing maintenance work on some of the fuel cells. I’m not sure what they were doing exactly, but fuel cells need some level of maintenance to keep them provided with the fuel, as well as to replace moving parts like fans. Every few years they also need to have a key part replaced called the stack, which can lead to expensive maintenance costs for the fuel cell operator.

Gigaom has much more about the facility in its article, and examines what a number of other tech companies are doing with regards to clean energy as well.

Renewable energy is a hot-button issue at the moment with some outside observers like Greenpeace pushing large Internet companies to adopt clean power for their data centers, which consume some 2 percent of the total electricity produced in the United States each year. Apple has worked hard in recent years to improve its public image with regards to the environment, and recently hired former EPA chief Lisa Jackson to head the company's environmental and sustainability efforts.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit today ruled that Judge Lucy Koh, who presides over the Apple v. Samsung case, must reconsider her 2011 decision not to ban Samsung devices that infringed on Apple products, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The appeals court ruled unanimously that U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, Calif., made errors last year when she denied Apple's request for a court injunction against 26 Samsung products.

The court said parts of Judge Koh's ruling against Apple were correct, but it said the judge should spend more time considering evidence offered by the iPhone maker to support arguments that Apple is being irreparably harmed by Samsung's patent infringement.

During the original Apple v. Samsung trial, Apple requested an injunction to prevent Samsung from selling its Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets within the United States. Koh denied Apple's request, suggesting there was no evidence Apple would suffer irreparable harm if Samsung was able to continue selling its products.

Koh did issue preliminary injunctions against the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and the Galaxy Tab, but the appeals court later reversed the ban on the Galaxy Nexus.

While today's appeals court ruling upholds Koh's original decision disallowing Apple from requesting an injunction based on design patents, it does allow for a possible injunction on Samsung products based on Apple's utility patents, such as the "Steve Jobs patent" and Apple's "rubber banding" patent covering bounce back.

With both stronger patents and the possibility of an injunction, Apple will have a good case for a Samsung product ban during its second infringement lawsuit that will cover more recent Samsung products like the Galaxy S III, and the Galaxy Note II, among other products. Though the injunction Koh must reconsider dates back to the 2011 lawsuit and covers older products, it would also affect newer devices with a similar infringement pattern.

The second trial will begin in 2014 and is separate from the current ongoing trial, in which Samsung will be forced to pay close to $1 billion in damages following the conclusion of this week's damages retrial.

Last week, we noted that some Retina iPad mini displays were exhibiting image retention issues, while in general other users were expressing some dissatisfaction with the color gamut of the Retina iPad mini's display, particularly compared to that of the iPad Air.

In an extensive review of the Retina iPad mini, AnandTech came away extremely impressed with the device but cited that color gamut issue as a significant disappointment.

Although display resolution is no longer a concern on the mini, color gamut hasn’t changed between the old and new minis. [...]

The iPad mini with Retina Display has the same color gamut as the standard iPad mini, which is narrower than the iPad Air and less than the sRGB coverage we normally look for. The biggest issue here is that there are other smaller tablets in this price range that do offer sRGB coverage (e.g. Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HDX 8.9).

DisplayMate's Ray Soneira has also taken a look at the Retina iPad mini's display in a "shoot-out" with the Kindle Fire HDX 7 and Google Nexus 7, with the Retina iPad mini's display registering a "distant 3rd place finish". The poor showing is due in large part to the iPad mini's narrow color gamut, which naturally leads to poor color accuracy.

[T]he iPad mini with Retina Display unfortunately comes in with a distant 3rd place finish behind the innovative displays on the Kindle Fire HDX 7 and new Nexus 7 because it still has the same small 63 percent Color Gamut as the original iPad mini and even older iPad 2. That is inexcusable for a current generation premium Tablet. The big differences in Color Gamut between the Kindle Fire HDX 7 and Nexus 7 and the much smaller 63 percent Gamut in the iPad mini Retina Display were quite obvious and easy to see in the side-by-side Viewing Tests. [...] This all appears to be due to incredibly poor planning. Instead of moving up to the higher performance (and cost) Low Temperature Poly Silicon LCDs, Apple chose to continue gambling on IGZO, which has resulted in both production shortages and inferior products.

Soneira notes that the strong performance by Google/ASUS with the LTPS display in the Nexus 7 and Amazon with its Quantum Dots technology in the Kindle Fire HDX 7 "should be a wakeup call" for Apple, as the company is clearly no longer leading the industry in display quality.

One complicating factor in comparing the 7.9-inch 4:3 Retina iPad mini to the 7-inch 16:10 tablets from Google and Amazon is the fact that the 35% larger display area for the iPad mini would result in substantially higher costs if Apple were to shift to a different display technology such as LTPS. Still, to consumers comparing display quality of various tablets, the iPad mini appears to be a clear notch below its competitors.

Foxconn will reportedly stop production of Apple's lower-cost iPhone 5C at its factory located in Zhengzhou, China, and will reportedly shift the facility's manufacturing efforts towards the iPhone 5s, reports Digitimes.

The news follows a report last week stating that Apple has been steadily reducing its orders for the iPhone 5c with suppliers as customers continue to prefer the iPhone 5s. Previously, it was stated that assembly partner Pegatron has slashed production from 320,000 units per day in October to just 80,000 units per day, with Foxconn operating at a minimal capacity of 8-9,000 units per day.

Foxconn and Pegatron Technology have obtained OEM orders for 30% and 70%, respectively, of iPhone 5c production, the sources said. One month ago, Apple lowered iPhone 5c orders to Pegatron by 20% and those to Foxconn by nearly one-third for the fourth quarter due to unsatisfactory sales, the sources indicated.

Major cuts in iPhone 5c production at Apple's two major suppliers were first reported last month, as the iPhone 5c has regularly seen much greater availability compared to the iPhone 5s. The Zhengzhou factory, one of Foxconn's main facilities for Apple, saw a hiring drive in April ahead of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c launch in September, and by ceasing production of the iPhone 5c it will be able to focus its efforts entirely on the iPhone 5s.

While iPhone 5c supplies have been in strong supply since the device's September launch, the iPhone 5s has been much more constrained and is only now beginning to see improved supplies. Last week, shipping estimates for new orders through Apple's online store improved to 1-2 weeks, while the various models are showing significantly improved availability in Apple's retail stores.

Back in July, Apple was reported to have been looking at acquiring Israeli firm PrimeSense, the company behind the original 3D body sensing technology used by Microsoft for its Kinect platform, for around $280 million.

According to Israeli newspaper Calcalist [Google Translate, via SlashGear], a deal is now on the verge of being completed, with Apple agreeing to purchase PrimeSense for approximately $345 million. The report claims that the contract was scheduled to have been signed earlier this month but that one final legal issue has delayed the process. The contract should be finalized within the next few days, with an official announcement coming in the next two weeks.

Apple has expressed interest in Kinect-like motion control of such products as appliances and vehicle instrumentation, but the main area where the company has been rumored to be using the technology is in television. Reports have indicated that Apple is looking at Kinect-like motion control for its future television set, although the project is said to be seeing continuing delays due to difficult content negotiations with Apple shifting its near-term focus to wearables such as the "iWatch".

Update: AllThingsD has confirmed that Apple is indeed in talks with PrimeSense, but while a deal is "close" to being completed, final details such as liquidity preferences have yet to be worked out. Apple has declined to comment on the matter, while PrimeSense has released the following statement:

"PrimeSense is the leading 3D technology in the market. We are focused on building a prosperous company while bringing 3D sensing and Natural Interaction to the mass market in a variety of markets such as interactive living room and mobile devices. We do not comment on what any of our partners, customers or potential customers are doing and we do not relate to rumors or re-cycled rumors."

Earlier this year at the keynote during its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple mentioned iBeacon microlocation APIs as a new part of its SDK, which are designed to access location data through the Bluetooth Low Energy profile on iOS devices. Now, the company is preparing to integrate iBeacon systems into its retail locations, which will intially help with customer sales and later be implemented to assist with in-store services such as workshops and Genius Bar appointments, reports 9To5Mac.

According to the report, the integration of iBeacons within Apple's stores will be used in cohesion with a future update to the Apple Store app, which can give detailed information on a product when a user walks near an item. While Apple currently utilizes interactive iPad displays for many of its first-party products in-store, the updated Apple Store app would help users get information about the many products on shelves.

Apple is said to have begun stocking up on iBeacon transmitters, and the company, in the next few days, will begin installing these sensors in many Apple Stores across the United States. These transmitters will be placed on the tables that house Apple products in addition to store shelves holding accessories. The technology will serve as a way to both improve the Apple shopping experience, and in-turn, boost product sales.

Furthermore, Apple is also testing its new iBeacon-based retail system to better provide services in its stores, such as notifying consumers about upcoming workshops, locating customers for Genius bar appointments, and allowing consumers to be informed of a repaired product ready for pickup. This deeper integration of services will reportedly be implemented after the initial roll out of the updated Apple Store app and iBeacons, and would allow for greater accuracy in locating customers within stores compared to the capabilities of the current app.

The company is also looking to integrate an indoor mapping feature in a future version of Maps for iOS, which would help users navigate through buildings and stores, and could also be used with iBeacon technology to provide greater information within an area. A report in September stated that Apple was working on tapping into the power of the M7 motion coprocessor to add additional mapping enhancements in future software updates, and it is possible that indoor mapping and iBeacon technology could work in cohesion with the motion-sensing chip for greater mapping information overall.

Earlier this year, Apple was said to be collaborating with Major League Baseball to utilize iBeacon APIs to enhance its MLB.com At the Ballpark app to create interactive experiences for its fans at stadiums. 9To5Mac also notes that Apple is also rumored to be testing a program allowing iOS developers to easily integrate the iBeacon API into third-party apps. While iBeacons can be currently implemented into existing apps by iOS developers, Apple has yet to provide a straightforward development program for the API.

Apple has seeded the first beta of OS X Mavericks 10.9.1 to developers. The release asks testers to focus on Mail, Graphics Drivers and VoiceOver, though there are no known issues with the release.

Earlier this month, Apple released a special update to Mavericks to address issues using Gmail with the Mail.app client built into the OS.

The update is available to registered developers through the OS X Developer Portal.

Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, took the stand in the damages retrial between Apple and Samsung earlier today, testifying as the two companies argue over how much Samsung should pay Apple after the latter company won its patent lawsuit last year.

Apple is asking for $379 million in damages, while Samsung believes it should only need to pay $52 million.

Last year, Samsung was ordered to pay Apple a total of $1.05 billion after a jury found the South Korean company guilty of willfully violating multiple Apple patents. Back in March, Judge Lucy Koh struck $450 million from the $1 billion awarded to Samsung after deciding the jury may have miscalculated the damages due to a misunderstanding of patent issues.

According to CNET, Schiller told the jury that Samsung made it "much harder" for Apple to market and sell its devices, and that Samsung's behavior has made it "harder for us to get new customers and bring them into our ecosystem."

He added that Apple's marketing strategy revolves around "the product as the hero," highlighting features and capabilities that differentiate its devices from all others on the market. But Samsung's devices caused consumers to "question our design skills in a way they never used to," Schiller said.

He also echoed comments from the trial last year, saying he was shocked when he saw Samsung's Galaxy phones.

"It looked exactly like the iPhone, so much so people might confuse it," Schiller said.

After Schiller's testimony and cross-examination, Apple rested its case and Samsung took over after a lunch break. The trial is expected to conclude in the middle of next week.

Some Retina iPad minis are demonstrating image retention issues, as noted by Instapaper creator Marco Arment, who originally developed a grid test to detect the problem in Retina MacBook Pros.

Image retention was first cited as a potential issue last week, when a rumor suggested that burn-in on Sharp's IGZO panels was causing production delays with the Retina mini's display, leading to significant supply constraints that have resulted in a quiet release for the tablet.

While it is unclear how many Retina iPad minis are affected by the issue, several mini owners on Twitter have discovered the problem after running the grid test. It is not known if the image retention is limited to displays from specific manufacturers, as many Retina iPad minis are not experiencing display problems.

Displays with image retention are not a new problem for Apple. The original Retina MacBook Pro displays demonstrated severe image persistence problems, with remnants or previously-displayed windows remaining visible on the screen for several minutes. It is important to note, however, that the image retention is temporary and not permanent like the burn-in seen with some plasma displays.

In normal use cases, it is unlikely that the image retention is noticeable, but Retina iPad mini owners experiencing image retention are still within their return windows. Apple has replaced Retina MacBook Pros experiencing display problems, and it is likely that a similar policy will be adopted for Retina iPad minis with image persistence.

In addition to image retention, some users on the MacRumors forums have also noted that their Retina mini screens are not as vibrant as iPad Air, suggesting the Retina iPad mini may have a smaller color gamut.

Apple's Retina iPad mini is currently available from the Apple Online Store beginning at $399. Orders are currently shipping within 1 to 10 days in the United States depending on capacity and cellular capability, and while Apple has not made the mini widely available in its stores, it is also available in many areas via Personal Pickup.

Google's 20-million-song strong subscription music service has finally landed on the iPhone, some six months after it was first announced earlier this year.

The Google Play Music app [App Store] allows users to play any songs they have uploaded to Google's iTunes Match-like scan-and-match service -- up to 20,000 songs -- for free, and gives access to an additional 20 million songs for $9.99 per month. There is a free one-month trial of the subscription service available as well.

Reports The Verge:

But to access the real power of Google Play Music, you'll need to pay $9.99 a month for its All Access plan. That gives you the ability to stream or download to your mobile device anything in Google's catalog, which now includes more than 20 million songs. You can create a custom ad-free radio station from any artist, song, or album, and skip as many songs as you like. Google will also recommend tracks based on your listening history, using its own algorithms.

The most distinctive part of Google Play Music lies in its Explore tab, which includes both algorithmic recommendations and playlists created by human editors. "At the end of the day, I think you need both," says Brandon Bilinski, product manager for Google Play Music. Bilinski says his team is designing the service to encourage users to explore unfamiliar categories of music, building starter playlists for 200 genres and subgenres.

Several features present in the Android version are missing from the iOS edition, including the "I Feel Lucky" radio station, which creates a playlist based on your listening history, and songs and subscriptions cannot be purchased directly within the app because of Apple's App Store IAP requirements.

Google's music service is available in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Google Play Music is a free download from the App Store. [Direct Link]

According to Chinese site C Technology [Google Translate, via Unwired View], Apple is continuing to reduce its orders for the iPhone 5c with suppliers, still working to balance production with customer demand that has remained very strongly in favor of the higher-priced iPhone 5s.

The report claims that Apple's main assembly partner ProTek (Pegatron) has slashed production from 320,000 units per day in October to just 80,000 units per day. Similarly, Apple's backup assembler for the iPhone 5c, Foxconn, is operating at only a minimum capacity of 8-9,000 units per day.

Customer interest in Apple's iPhone 5s has continued to outpace that of the iPhone 5c, with Chinese mobile phone retailer D.Phone reporting that that the iPhone 5s is holding a 3.68:1 advantage over the iPhone 5c among its customers, according to MyDrivers [Google Translate].

Similar signs of continued iPhone 5s strength are showing up in data from analytics firm Fiksu, which shows iPhone 5s activity outpacing iPhone 5c activity by a 3-to-1 margin. As of today, Fiksu is seeing the iPhone 5s accounting for 6.4% of active iPhone devices on its network, with the iPhone 5c accounting for just 2.1%. That gap has grown over the past month, with the iPhone 5s previously outperforming the iPhone 5c by a roughly 2-to-1 margin.

Reports of Apple cutting iPhone 5c production are not new, but if the numbers in this latest report are correct, the cuts are even deeper than previously reported.

While iPhone 5c supplies have been plentiful since the device's September launch, the iPhone 5s has been much more constrained and is only now beginning to see improved supplies. Earlier this week, shipping estimates for new orders through Apple's online store improved to 1-2 weeks, while the various models are showing significantly improved availability in Apple's retail stores.