MacRumors

Environmental activist group Greenpeace, which has in the past taken Apple to task over environmental issues, has released a new report entitled "Clicking Clean: How Companies are Building the Green Internet" which classifies Apple along with Google and Facebook as "green energy innovators". The report praises Apple for its commitment to renewable energy, awarding the company three "A" grades and a "B" grade in the group's four rating categories.

Apple's aggressive pursuit of its commitment to power the iCloud with 100% renewable energy has given the company the inside track among the IT sector's leaders in building a green Internet. Apple has made good on its pledge by building the largest privately owned solar farms at its North Carolina data center, working with its utility in Nevada to power its upcoming data center there with solar and geothermal energy, and purchasing wind energy for its Oregon and California data centers. Apple's commitment to renewable energy has helped set a new bar for the industry, illustrating in very concrete terms that a 100% renewable internet is within its reach, and providing several models of intervention for other companies that want to build a sustainable Internet.

The full report (PDF) highlights Apple's strong performance in transparency, its commitments to renewable energy and siting of facilities in areas with access to renewable energy, and its deployment of and advocacy for renewable energy. The only area where Greenpeace gives a slight downgrade to Apple is in energy efficiency and mitigation, where the group believes that Apple could do more to share details on its energy efficient facility designs to help the industry in general become more environmentally friendly.

Greenpeace was initially quite sour on Apple's renewable energy plans for its flagship North Carolina data center, believing the company to be relying mostly on coal-powered energy sources. Apple took issue with Greenpeace's claims, but the publicity seemed to have encouraged Apple to become more open about its commitments to renewable energy as it publicly stated its intentions to run all of its data center on 100% renewable energy. While Greenpeace continued to overestimate Apple's energy needs for the North Carolina facility for some time, the group appears to now be satisfied with Apple's disclosures and is on board with the company's energy policies.

In line with earlier rumors, Amazon today announced the Fire TV, a new media streaming device that will compete with the Apple TV, Google Chromecast and the new Roku Streaming Stick.

The Fire TV is set-top box with a bluetooth remote that supports voice search. Internal hardware includes a quad-core processor with a dedicated graphics processor and 2GB of RAM. It supports 1080p via HDMI and features dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi with MIMO for fast video downloads. Amazon claims it Fire TV hardware is three times as powerful as its competitors.

The Fire TV streams Amazon Prime Instant Video titles as well as content from third-party providers such as Netflix and Hulu. Owners can browse through popular movies and TV shows on Amazon Instant Video, with personalized recommendations and a watchlist making it easy to find and save content. A new ASAP (Advanced Streaming and Prediction) feature learns what movies and shows you enjoy and gets them ready for you to watch. The more you use the Fire TV, the better it gets at predicting your media choices.

Setting it apart from its competition, Amazon also bundles games into the Fire TV device with support for a $39 wireless Fire game controller. Well-known gaming studios such as Disney, Gameloft, EA, Sega, Ubisoft and Double Fine are partnering with Amazon to bring their titles to the Fire TV device. Amazon also is launching its own gaming studio, with the tower defense game Sev Zero debuting as the studio's first official game.

Extras packaged into the Fire TV include photos with slide shows and X-Ray that provides IMDB details for movies and TV shows on a second screen device like the Kindle Fire HDX. Music services such as Pandora, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, and Amazon's own Music service will debut on the Fire TV starting next month with support for X-Ray, which will display song lyrics.

Not just for adults, Amazon added its FreeTime service, which offers parental controls and personalized profiles for children. A $2.99 monthly option for a FreeTime Unlimited subscription adds unlimited access to programming from Nickelodeon, Sesame Street, PBS Kids and more.

The Fire TV will ship today from Amazon with a $99 price tag.

Samsung and Apple's second patent trial started earlier this week with jury selection and opening arguments by both Apple and Samsung. Phil Schiller also took the stand as Apple's first witness in the trial, which started in earnest on Tuesday.

Among the volume of internal documents provided in the case, The Wall Street Journal highlights emails from Apple founder Steve Jobs that reveal his commitment to beating Android, calling the competition a "Holy War" with Google.

Jobs outlined this "battle" in an October 2010 email to 100 employees prior to the company's annual retreat. Jobs said in the email that "Apple is in danger of hanging on to old paradigm for too long (innovator's dilemma)" and notes that "Google and Microsoft are further along on the technology, but haven't quite figured it out yet." This characterization is favorable to Samsung as the company attempts to involve Google and Android in the patent infringement case.

As part of its opening statement in the case, Samsung outlined its plans to share internal Apple documents that suggest Apple was taken aback by Samsung's edgy marketing campaign that characterized the company's Galaxy devices as "the next big thing." (via The Verge)

"We will show you internal Apple documents, documents that haven't been made public before, and showed how Apple was really concerned about competition from Android, and in particular Samsung," John Quinn of law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, which is representing Samsung in the trial, told an eight-person jury. "This new, edgy marketing strategy ... it drove Apple crazy."

Following opening arguments by Apple and Samsung, Apple executive Phil Schiller testified in court on behalf on Apple, discussing, as he did in the first trial, the risks the company took as it successfully released both the iPhone and iPad before its competitors, reports Computerworld.

"We wondered what could come after the iPod," Schiller said. "We wanted to try and invent that future rather than let it happen to us."

Schiller also reminded jurors that Apple wasn't always the leader in the mobile market and had a long learning curve to get where it is now.

"Apple really only had two products at the time: the Mac and iPod," he said, reminding jurors of a time before Apple was the phone and tablet powerhouse it is today. "We hadn't made a phone. We didn't know about radios and antennas and all the things that make up a phone."

Schiller remained on the stand for over two hours before his testimony ended for the day. Schiller is expected to return on Friday, with Samsung continuing to question the Apple executive when the trial resumes.

In February, the Wall Street Journal reported on the formation of a new lobbying group called WifiForward that advocated the opening up of unlicensed frequencies to alleviate Wi-Fi congestion and improve performance. The group consisted of industry partners including Google, Best Buy, Microsoft, and many others.

On Monday, the FCC announced that it was freeing up more airwaves for Wi-Fi usage in the U.S. The WiFiForward group wrote in response to the ruling:

Today, the FCC voted unanimously to unleash more unlicensed spectrum will support all the things we already use and further drive investment and experimentation—a 50% increase in spectrum available for Wi-Fi, to be exact. Consumer devices are already equipped to operate in the band, so they can easily be adapted to quickly take advantage of new 5 GHz channels. And a new Wi-Fi standard, 802.11ac, has just been approved for the 5 GHz band. 802.11ac’s wide channels will allow for a better consumer experience.

The group indicates that consumer devices will be "easily" adapted to take advantage of the new 5GHz channels, and that 802.11ac will be able to take advantage of the new bandwidth.

802.11ac or "Gigabit" Wi-Fi offers speeds up to three times as fast as existing 802.11n wireless networks. 802.11ac has been introduced into Apple's Mac line starting in 2013, and is expected to be included in the iPhone 6 later this year.

Back in January, OWC confirmed that the 2013 Mac Pro's processor was socketed and removable, theoretically allowing for future upgrades, which are now available by the company. As of today, OWC is allowing users to send in their Mac Pros for both processor and memory upgrades.

Processor upgrades, which start at $1,498 with the trade-in of the base Apple-supplied quad-core processor, include 8-core, 10-core, and 12-core models that are compliant with Apple's technical specifications and power requirements. OWC says that the upgrades are tested, qualified, and guaranteed to meet or exceed the processors available from Apple.

According to the company, the processors are up 46 percent faster than base factory processors available from Apple, and up to 31 percent more affordable.

OWC Turnkey Server Class Processor Upgrade options for Mac Pro 2013 models:

- Intel Xeon E5–2650 v2 8-Core 2.6GHz with 20MB Cache, 25% faster, $1498
- Intel Xeon E5–2667 v2 8-Core 3.3GHz with 25MB Cache, 41% faster, $2448
- Intel Xeon E5–2690 v2 10-Core 3.0GHz with 25MB Cache, 45% faster, $2396
- Intel Xeon E5–2697 v2 12-Core 2.7GHz with 30MB Cache, 46% faster, $2978

The company is also offering turnkey installations of its memory upgrades, which as previously announced, are available in 32, 64, 96, and 128 GB kits starting at $449.

OWC's Turnkey Upgrade Program, which is available for processor, memory, and storage upgrades, offers professional installation and testing by Apple Certified technicians, also including shipping both ways and rebates for existing hardware. More information on the program can be found on the Other World Computing upgrade website.

Following the launch of Microsoft's Office apps for iOS, Apple is updating its iWork apps for iCloud, Mac, and iOS, adding some major improvements to compete with Microsoft's Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.

As noted by 9to5Mac, Pages, Numbers, and Keynote for iCloud have gained updated designs for their document, spreadsheet, and presentation editors along with support for Retina displays. All three apps have also been updated with the ability to share view-only documents and to open documents directly from iCloud Mail.

Individually, Pages has also been updated with new templates, the ability to edit charts in imported documents, and improved text wrap. Numbers now has improved pop-up menu support, and Keynote also allows charts to be edited in imported documents.

A pop-up within the iWork for iCloud apps indicates that Apple also has plans to update Pages, Numbers, and Keynote for both iOS and Mac, with the updates being required to open documents edited in iCloud.

Apple last updated its iWork suite of apps across all platforms in January, adding several new features to improve the software and return functionality that was removed when the new iWork apps were introduced back in September. Apple pledged to improve the apps back in November after facing significant user criticism from power users.

Pages for Mac - [Mac App Store]
Numbers for Mac - [Mac App Store]
Keynote for Mac [Mac App Store]

Pages for iOS - [App Store]
Numbers for iOS - [App Store]
Keynote for iOS - [App Store]

Update 2:00 PM PT: Keynote, Numbers, and Pages for Mac are all available for download, with each update adding a slew of new features to the apps, including a new "view only" setting that allows users to share documents that can be viewed but not edited. The updated versions of all three apps contain a slew of new features.

Keynote, for example, has gained improved Presenter Display layouts and labels along with new transitions and builds, among other features, while Numbers has new printing options, custom data formats, and custom table styles. Pages has copy-paste style improvements, improved AppleScript support, and better placement of inserted and pasted objects. All of the updates can be found in the Mac App Store.

Updated versions of Pages, Numbers, and Keynote for iOS are also available for download from the App Store, adding the same "view only" setting that lets users share documents that can be viewed but not edited, along with many other new features.

Apple is making it easier for anyone to create an ad campaign using its iAd Workbench mobile advertising tool. As noted by Ad Age, the company is now allowing any person with an Apple ID to open an iAd Workbench account and create an ad campaign, a feature previously restricted to registered developers. The changes will make it simpler for advertisers, small and large, to create ads for the platform.

At the onset of its mobile-ad business, Apple extended olive branches to a select group of brands, promising premier reach. But advertisers pushed back against its pricey offerings. Now, it appears Apple has concluded money in mobile ads comes from a wide net; in short, it'll look more like Google.

Apple is also introducing new features to Workbench, its web-based platform used for tracking and launching campaigns. Users can now include short videos in an ad, which will be displayed full screen on the iPad and the iPhone, as first described earlier this year. Previously, iPhone ads were limited to less obtrusive banners that needed to be tapped before a video would play. Video iAds are also able to send viewers to websites or promoted iTunes content, rather than just mobile apps.

At the current point in time, the iAd Workbench expansion is limited to mobile ads and does not extend to iTunes Radio. Ad buyers are able to pay based on cost-per-click or cost-per-thousand impressions.

The company is likely hoping to attract new advertisers to the iAd platform with the introduction of videos and the simplification of account creation. Since its 2010 debut, iAd has been largely unsuccessful gaining advertising partners, but Apple has been aiming to revive iAd since the introduction of iTunes Radio.

Several major advertising partners, including McDonald's, Nissan, Pepsi, and Procter & Gamble signed up for iAd when iTunes Radio debuted and Apple has managed to increase iAd revenue to $260 million in 2013 from $38 million in 2011.

Apple is in talks with chipmaker Renesas Electronics over the potential acquisition of a unit that creates chips for smartphone displays, reports Japanese business site Nikkei. The chips, which are already used in the iPhone's liquid crystal displays, improve both image sharpness and battery life.

Renesas SP Drivers, the division Apple is aiming to purchase, is a leading producer of drivers and controllers for small LCDs. The company is a joint venture between Renesas, Sharp, and Powerchip, with Apple offering 50 billion yen or $479 million for Renesas' 55 percent stake in the company. Following the transaction, Sharp is also expected to sell its 25 percent of shares in Renesas SP to Apple, while Powerchip will retain 20 percent.

Renesas SP is the world's leading producer of drivers and controllers for small and midsize LCDs, with a market share of around one-third. These chips determine a display's quality and performance as well as a phone's overall energy efficiency – they are said to account for around 10% of battery usage.

Renesas' 240 employees are expected to stay with Apple and the company is aiming to complete the transaction by the summer.

In recent years Apple has taken a greater interest in controlling its own production supplies and core technologies, signing a deal with GT Advanced that will provide it with massive quantities of sapphire and purchasing several chip firms in the past, including P.A. Semi and Passif Semiconductor.

Update 12:28 PM PT: Renesas has issued a statement on the potential acquisition, neither confirming nor denying Apple's interest.

There were media reports regarding Renesas SP Drivers, which were published in certain media.The reports were not based on announcement of Renesas and Renesas SP Drivers’ announcement and they cannot be confirmed or regarded as fact at this time.

Today is April Fools' Day, which means readers should be wary of what they read online as much of it will be a gross hyperbole created in the name of fun. Today also marks Apple's 38th anniversary, with the company having been founded on this day in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.

Among the popular April Fools' Day jokes making the rounds today are the following:

Apple Acquires iFixit

Based on the number of tips we've received, iFixit wins the award for the most believable Apple-related April Fools' prank for 2014. The popular device repair company changed its entire website to announce that it is being acquired by Apple.

It’s finally here. We're thrilled to announce that we are joining forces with Apple starting this summer. It has been an exciting adventure for all of us at iFixit, and we can’t thank our dedicated community enough. Let’s start our next chapter together.

BookBook for iMac

Twelve South, which offers a popular line of book-themed iPhone, iPad, and Mac notebook cases, has introduced its largest version yet: BookBook for iMac.

SwiftKey "Flow Hard" for Physical Keyboards

Popular alternative keyboard SwiftKey, which recently began experimenting on iOS, announced "Flow Hard", a version of its gesture-input technology for physical desktop/laptop keyboards. The new Flow Hard is guaranteed to increase your typing speed and your overall productivity.

The now Google-owned Nest partnered with Virgin America to bring Total Temperature Control to airlines, allowing users to customize their own seat environment.

Orbotix today unveiled the SelfieBot, a camera-equipped drone that hovers around you, capturing the best selfie moments you would normally miss. Always ready to snap a picture, the SelfieBot can be controlled by your smartphone or operate independently.

Google has added support for emoji translation to its popular Chrome browser for iOS and Android. Instead of boring and bland text, users can capture the sentiment of each page through efficient and emotive illustrations.

Today we’re announcing Google Translate support for Emoji, built directly into Chrome for Android and iOS. You can now read all your favorite web content using efficient and emotive illustrations, instead of cumbersome text. Our translation algorithm interprets not just the definition of the words on a webpage, but also their context, tone and if appropriate, facial expression. It then distills text into articulate, meaningful symbols so you can get more out of every screen.

MacRumors has not participated in April Fools' Day prank news stories on its regular news pages in past years, and has no plans to break from that tradition this year. All news stories posted on our front page, iOS Blog, and Mac Blog today are real.

Apple is set to begin mass production of the 4.7-inch display to be used in the iPhone 6 this May in preparation for the device's general release this fall, according to a new report from Reuters.

Citing supply chain sources, the report also states that the much rumored 5.5-inch version of the iPhone could be delayed due to difficulties with in-cell production technology, and is likely to commence several months after the initial production of the 4.7-inch displays.

Japan Display Inc, Sharp Corp and South Korea's LG Display Co Ltd have all been tapped to make the screens, said the sources, who asked not to be identified.

But due to difficulties with in-cell production technology for the larger 5.5-inch size, one of the sources said, a decision was made to begin mass production with the 4.7-inch version alone.

Production of 5.5-inch screens is expected to start several months later, with the possibility of a shift to a film sensor instead of in-cell technology for that size, the source said.

A report last week from Japanese business newspaper Nikkei stated that the iPhone 6 could launch "as early as September", and will be offered in 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch display sizes. This contrasted a claim from UBS analyst Steve Milunovich, who also said that the 4.7-inch version of the iPhone 6 might be the only model to launch later this year, with a timeframe for the larger 5.5-inch version unclear.

In addition to a larger display, Apple's next-generation iPhone will likely feature a durable, sapphire screen, and a thinner, bezel-free design in addition to expected camera and processor upgrades.