AllThingsD yesterday announced the release of a new set of video and audio podcasts covering all six of Steve Jobs' on-stage appearances at the D Conference between 2003 and 2010.
[B]y far the largest trove of video of the legendary innovator candidly answering unrehearsed questions and explaining his views on technology and business comes from his six lengthy appearances at our D: All Things Digital conference, from 2003 to 2010. [...] So, as a memorial to a great man and in the spirit of sharing a priceless piece of history, we are making all six of these appearances available on iTunes for free, in high-quality video. We thank Apple for its cooperation in making these videos available for all.
Jobs' five solo appearances check in at between 45 and 95 minutes each.
Update: All Things D tells us that the interview with Steve Jobs and Bill Gates was omitted by accident. It has since been added to the podcast collection in its entirety.
Following last week's report from BGR claiming that Microsoft is planning to launch Office for iPad in November, The Daily follows up by pinpointing the launch date as November 10.
We’ve learned that the development team within Office Mobile finished its work on the project last month, and the efforts of the design group wrapped soon after. The app is now in the hands of a usability team that appraises software that utilizes the Metro design language for “Metro compliance” and suggests changes as needed. When approved by the team, the app likely will go to Apple for app store approval, which could take a couple of weeks.
The Daily has been following the Office for iPad story closely, revealing last November that Microsoft was actively working on the project and claiming that it had hands-on time with a prototype version of the app back in February. Microsoft has attempted to deny the reports, suggesting that The Daily is a victim of a misunderstanding about exactly what it has been shown, but The Daily stands by its reports.
Cricket Communications today announced that it will begin offering the iPhone on June 22, becoming the first U.S. carrier to offer the device on a prepaid basis with no contract. Service will cost $55 per month and include unlimited voice and SMS, as well as "unlimited" data with a soft monthly cap of 2.3 GB after which speeds will be throttled.
Cricket Communications, Inc., a leading provider of innovative and value-driven wireless services, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leap Wireless International, Inc., announced today that it will be the first pre-paid carrier in the US to offer iPhone to its customers. Beginning on Friday, June 22, Cricket will offer iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 with its $55 per-month, all-inclusive unlimited talk, text and data plan. [...]
"Our customers want the best products available and we are excited to bring iPhone to our pre-paid consumers with an industry leading $55 per-month service plan," said Doug Hutcheson, president and chief executive officer, Leap Wireless International, Inc. "Launching iPhone is a major milestone for us and we are proud to offer iPhone customers attractive nationwide coverage, a robust 3G data network and a value-packed, no-contract plan."
Interestingly, Cricket appears to be offering a partial subsidy on the iPhone hardware, with the iPhone 4 priced at $399.99 and the 16 GB iPhone 4S priced at $499.99. The discounts of $150 off of Apple's standard pricing for unlocked handsets are in place even though customers are not required to sign service contracts.
The iPhone will be offered in Cricket's existing core markets covering over 60 million people. The full list of iPhone markets is included on the carrier's iPhone site.
Cricket has entered into a three-year deal with Apple with a commitment to purchase at least $900 million worth of iPhone hardware over that term. The carrier also intends to carry new iPhone hardware as it becomes available, although company executives were unwilling to directly address whether Cricket would be able to offer new hardware at the same time as other carriers.
Cricket is generally considered one of roughly half a dozen "super-regional" carriers in the United States, with just under 6.2 million customers as of the end of the first quarter. The carrier offers a nationwide network through roaming agreements and its prepaid model offers simple pricing with no activation fees or overage charges.
Fantastical, an OS X natural language calendar assistant, has been updated to version 1.3 today. The new version includes support for iCal and iOS reminders.
Fantastical can create, edit, and delete reminders with natural language recognition. In testing the app, I told Fantastical to “remind me to take out the trash”, and the app intelligently parsed the command as just “take out the trash”, interpreting the initial portion of the sentence as a reminder input.
The utility can then sync reminders across iCloud and iOS devices. Fantastical is available as a free trial download from the developer's site, or directly from the Mac App Store for $19.99. [Direct Link]
Flexibits is also the company that we've hired to develop a MacRumors iOS app which is currently in the works.
At this year's All Things D conference, Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher interviewed Apple CEO Tim Cook about a range of topics. We offer a transcript of the interview, but didn't include the Q&A session because we were standing in line to ask Cook a question.
A number of questions were asked, including about Apple's product naming strategy and how Cook originally joined Apple -- I asked about his feelings regarding the attention paid to Apple and himself by rumor sites, the media and Apple's extremely passionate customers:
MacRumors: Jordan Golson from MacRumors.
You talk a lot about the emotion of the customers, there's a lot of passion amongst customers. Do you think the sort of attention that's paid to Apple from rumor sites and news sites and everybody is a distraction or a driver? How does that affect you and the company?
Tim Cook: I think it's a privilege to have people that care about the company and care enough to write, care enough to talk, and care enough to send me an email and say "you're out to lunch on this thing" and "you should be looking at this differently".
I think all of that is great, I love it. And do I want something printed on a website that's confidential? No, but I don't think that's what you're asking.
I view our ecosystem as including great sites that care deeply about the company and want to inform customers. I have no problem with people that disagree with things that we're doing. That's our country and I love it. It's great that we have disagreements.
MarketWatch reports that Chinese regulators have cleared for sale a new 3G-capable wireless device from Apple, with the A1430 model number specified in the agency's database indicating that it is the cellular-capable model of the new third-generation iPad.
According to China's Telecommunication Equipment Certification Center, an Apple device with third-generation, high-speed wireless data capabilities has been issued the license needed for the company to begin sales in China.
The device, listed as "model number A1430" is compatible with the 3G standard wide band code division multiple access, or WCDMA. The language used by the regulator suggests the device is the new iPad, which has yet to launch in China. Vendors often begin selling new devices within weeks of network access licenses being granted.
Apple previously obtained certification on the Wi-Fi model of the new iPad, and with the 3G model now receiving the required network access license, Apple may move quickly to launch the device in its second largest market after the United States.
The new iPad is already available in roughly 90 countries around the world, with the company adding the Philippines and Guam just yesterday. Based on information on Apple's site, it appears that the company has also quietly added Honduras and Paraguay to the list of markets for the new iPad over the past few days.
Nicaragua is currently the only Latin American country with official iPad distribution that has yet to begin offering the latest generation of models, but we understand that Apple has just received the necessary certifications there and distributors should begin sales of the new iPad in the near future.
TechCrunch points to a post [Google translation] from Italian blog Fanpage noting that Apple has signaled its intent to purchase Redmatica, a small Italian software firm responsible for audio editing apps such as Keymap Pro and AutoSampler.
Evidence of the acquisition has appeared in the weekly bulletin of AGCM, Italy's antitrust regulatory agency. The announcement, which is in Italian, begins on page 37 of the bulletin (PDF) published on May 28, and the most relevant portion translates into English as follows:
Under the provisions of the contract "Asset Purchase Agreement Relating to the business as an ongoing concern of Redmatica S.r.l." (hereinafter the Agreement) with the present operation, Apple intends to acquire, through a transfer of assets, the business Redmatica.
AGCM determined that the proposed acquisition would not be anticompetitive in nature given the relatively small sizes of the entities in that specific market and an abundance of competitors. Consequently, the agency does not object to the acquisition by Apple.
Following news from late last week that the Nest thermostat from iPod creator Tony Fadell would be coming to Apple's retail stores, the device has just been added to the company's online store. While currently not available for pickup in retail store locations, it should be making its way to the brick-and-mortar locations shortly.
The Nest thermostat is priced at $249.95 in the U.S. online store and is just one of a number of products featured in Apple's App-Enabled Accessories section. The thermostat can be controlled via a free universal iOS app [App Store], with access to controls also available through web browsers.
The Nest Learning Thermostat helps you stop wasting energy, while providing control using your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac. Consider that your thermostat controls about half your energy bill—more than TV, appliances, and lighting combined. But it's wasting energy every time it turns on the heating or cooling system in an empty house. The Nest Learning Thermostat solves this problem by programming itself, turning itself down when you're away, and keeping track of your energy use.
AllThingsD has posted highlights from Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher's interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook from yesterday. The nearly 17-minute video includes Cook's thoughts on a number of topics, including the impact of the iPad, Steve Jobs' passing, patent litigation, and more. MacRumors was on hand for the session and offers a rough transcript of the entire interview.
Several other video clips from Cook's interview addressing specific topics have also been posted. Other MacRumors coverage of key points from his interview includes:
BGR claims to have received information from a "trusted source" indicating that Apple will demonstrate the operating system for its television set at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) next month. The company is reportedly making a public unveiling of the operating system ahead of the actual product in order to allow third-party manufacturers to build functionality into their components to allow them to be controlled from the Apple television set and remote.
This new OS is said to be much more feature-complete than the current OS that runs on the Apple TV, and is apparently the one that Apple’s upcoming HDTV will run. Yes, that one.
We’ve heard Apple is actively trying to court manufacturers to use a new “control out” API in order for third-party manufacturers to make accessories that are compatible with the new Apple TV OS and the upcoming “iTV.” It’s said that by using the API, it will be possible to control any connected components all from the Apple remote (and the Apple remote iOS app as well, we’re assuming).
The report's source indicates that Apple is unlikely to show off its actual television set at WWDC, and most rumors have suggested that the company won't introduce the product until late this year at the earliest.
BGR has a mixed track record of late, having accurately offered information on several iOS releases last year while being more hit-or-miss on hardware-related claims.
Earlier today, Japanese blog Mac Otakarapointed to a blog post [Google translation] from repair firm iLab Factory showing what is claimed to be a design schematic for a next-generation iPhone front panel part. The schematic appears to correspond closely with part photos that leaked yesterday, showing a taller display and a shift in the position of the FaceTime camera to above the device's earpiece.
But while iLab Factory's version of the schematic has had many of the details blurred out, another source has provided MacRumors with a complete version of the schematic including measurements for several of the important features on the panel. The schematic appears to have been originally posted by Cydia Blog.
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Most notably, the "active area mask" corresponding to where the device's display will be attached measures 90.1 mm (3.55 in) high and 51.42 mm (2.02 in) wide. This corresponds to an opening measuring approximately 4.08 inches diagonally, but iPhone viewable display areas have historically measured slightly smaller than their corresponding front panel openings. Consequently, this part would seem to nicely accommodate a display measuring 4 inches diagonally at an aspect ratio of roughly 16:9, in line with rumors of and evidence for a taller screen that maintains the width of the current model.
The schematic does not show an exact total height for the part in question, but calculations based on pixel counts and the known height of the display mask area suggest that the overall height of the part is roughly 122 mm, approximately 7 mm taller than the overall height of the iPhone 4S. With yesterday's leaked photos suggesting that the design will see a similar treatment to the iPhone 4/4S with metal edges of the device extending out further than the front panel, the overall device height and width on the next-generation iPhone would measure slightly larger than seen on this part.
At this year's All Things D conference, Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher interviewed Apple CEO Tim Cook about a range of topics. We offer a transcript of the entire interview. During the talk, Cook provided hints at two upcoming features for Apple customers.
The first has to do with the possibility of Facebook integration into iOS. Apple and Facebook are believed to have previously been in tough negotiations about Facebook integration into Apple's products. As a result, tight Facebook integration has been absent in iOS while Twitter has seen service-level support.
When asked about Apple's relationship with Facebook, Cook suggests that there will be news in the near future:
For us, we want to provide customers simple and elegant ways to do the things they want to do. Facebook has hundreds of millions of customers. So, anyone that has an iPhone or iPad, we want them to have the best experience with Facebook on those platforms. So stay tuned.
Next, when questioned about Siri, Cook reports that customers love the voice assistant feature on the iPhone 4S, and that its one of the most popular features on the device. He goes on to report that they have a lot more coming:
But, there's more that it can do. We have a lot of people working on this. You'll be really pleased with the things you'll see over the coming months. The breadth that you're talking about -- we've got some cool ideas about what Siri can do. We have a lot going on on this.
Cook goes on to say that he thinks they'll be "really happy" with where it's going.
At this year's All Things D conference, Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher asked Apple CEO Tim Cook about the Apple TV and the company's interest in making a full fledged television set. Rumors of such a product have been persistent but with increasing frequency over the past few years.
Cook reiterated the relatively small success of the current Apple TV set top box. He notes that the device has been selling at twice the rate of the previous year with 2.7 million units sold in the first 6 months of 2012. As he has in the past, Cook reports that there is incredibly high customer satisfaction with the current Apple TV set top box, and it's an area they have intense interest in:
This is an area of intense interest for us. Many of us, the TV that we do watch, is almost exclusively on [the Apple TV]. That's what my TV watching is. All of my movies, everything is coming through Apple TV.
So, the customer satisfaction with that product is incredible. We're going to keep pulling this string and see where it takes us. Many people would say "this is an area in their life that they aren't pleased with." They might not be pleased with many things about it. The whole TV experience. It's an interesting area. We'll have to see what we do. Right now our contribution is Apple TV.
A bit later in the interview, Mossberg comes out and asked Tim Cook directly "Are you making a television", to which Cook replies that he's not going to answer that question.
Cook does discuss their general approach to product design in response to Apple's possible contribution to the television market:
We would look at this and say can we control the key technology? Can we make a significant contribution beyond what others have made in this area? Can we make a product that we would all want? That's all thing we would ask about any new product category. It's the ones we ask about products within families we're thinking about now.
Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher spent time interviewing Apple CEO Tim Cook tonight on a range of topics. The interview took place at the All Things D conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. We have a full transcript of the interview available.
When asked about what Cook has changed at Apple, he discusses that he plans on doubling down on secrecy on products.
We're going to double down on secrecy on products. I'm serious.
Cook, however, does goes on to say that he is going to be the most transparent company on other topics such as social change and supplier responsibility.
Apple's secrecy surrounding its product line is legendary. Apple cofounder Steve Jobs even identified secrecy as one of the specific tenets at Apple that has been responsible for its success. Apple's ability to keep products secret has been hampered in recent years by Apple's reliance on Foxconn and other 3rd party manufacturers. Just earlier today, part leaks seem to have revealed the look of the next generation iPhone.
MacRumors will be providing live coverage of Apple CEO Tim Cook's interview with Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher at D10: All Things D live this evening from Rancho Palos Verdes, California. The interview begins at 6PM Pacific / 9PM Eastern. It's the first major interview that Cook has given since he became CEO last August.
A number of Apple executives are also on the attendee list, including PR chief Katie Cotton and Senior Vice President of Marketing Phil Schiller, although they will not be speaking at the event.
All Things D was the only conference that Steve Jobs regularly attended where he sat down for public one-on-one interviews, including one famous sit-down where Jobs and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates shared the stage.
The interview will not be live streamed, but videos of conference interviews have traditionally been available for viewing soon after the shows.
Following today's leaked photos of a claimed next-generation iPhone part containing the back plate and sides of the unreleased device, 9to5Mac has received more photos showing these same parts in black and white, as well as a mid-frame plate.
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In addition, the source has also provided a photo of what is claimed to be the next iPhone's front panel in black, which shows that the FaceTime camera has been moved from beside the earpiece to above it.
Apple today made a series of announcements on its Worldwide Developers Conference page, most notably posting the conference schedule confirming that an opening keynote will be held on Monday, June 11 at 10:00 AM Pacific Time. As noted by The Loop, Apple has also issued media invitations for the keynote.
No other details on the keynote session are available, but it will presumably see Apple CEO Tim Cook kicking off a team presentation to show off OS X Mountain Lion and iOS 6 and potentially introduce major updates to the company's Mac products.
The full schedule is restricted to conference attendees, but includes the typical suite of session, labs, and other events to help developers learn from Apple experts and socialize with others. As usual, the schedule includes a number of "To Be Announced" sessions that will build upon announcements made in the keynote. Apple has also published an Attendee Guide to help conference attendees plan their week, know what to bring, and get up to speed to be ready for conference sessions.
Finally, Apple has once again released a free WWDC iOS app [App Store] to help attendees stay organized during the conference. Arriving as a universal app compatible with iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, WWDC 2012 includes the conference schedule with the ability to "favorite" sessions of greatest interest, news updates, maps of the Moscone Center, and photos from the event.
9to5Mac reports that iPhone repair firm iFixyouri has received information on a new part claimed to be the rear shell for the next-generation iPhone. The part is reportedly made of an aluminum alloy that integrates both the rear panel and sides for the device.
Notably, the part is relatively consistent with previous claims that the next-generation iPhone would integrate a "metal panel" to the center section of the device's back, but in reality the panel appears to simply be a different finish applied to that portion of the casing.
With the part also including the device's edges, a port for a smaller dock connector can also be seen, as well as larger speaker and microphone grills. The part's source claims that Apple will take advantage of the space freed up by shrinking the dock connector to enhance speaker performance in the next-generation iPhone.
Finally, the supplier claims that the part is showing up not only in black and white, but also in two other unspecified colors, although it is unclear whether those colors would make it to final production.
Update: The part appears to show the headphone jack being on the bottom of the device as on the current iPod touch, rather than along the top edge as found on all iPhone models to date. That observation would fit with a recent part leak of what was claimed to be the headphone jack and earpiece. But many observers suggested that the center feature on that part looks more like a dock connector than an earpiece assembly. Moving the headphone jack to the bottom of the device would explain the layout of this component.
Update 2: Repair firm uBreakiFix has also received photos of what may be the same part in white. The "iPhone" font on the shell appears to be somewhat suspicious, seemingly of a lighter stroke and/or looser spacing between the letters. But otherwise the part appears identical to the previously-posted part, which seems to carry a more typical "iPhone" typeface.
Jobs' five solo appearances check in at between 45 and 95 minutes each.
At this year's 
Apple today made a 
