MacRumors

Apple has updated its prosumer photo editing/management software Aperture, bringing it to version 3.4.2. The company has also released a new version of iPhoto, version 9.4.2. Both updates are available via the Mac App Store or Software Update.

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What's New in Aperture 3.4.2

• Photos received via My Photo Stream or shared streams can now be added directly to other shared streams
• Multiple email addresses can now be copied and pasted in the "Shared with" field for shared streams
• When more than five subscribers "Like" a photo in a shared stream, all their names are now displayed correctly
• The Info panel for a shared stream now includes an Unsubscribe button
• The status line in the toolstrip now displays the number of new photos added to a shared stream
• Faces are now properly detected on photos imported into a library from a shared stream
• Adjusted photos added to shared streams are now published with EXIF metadata properly preserved
• Addresses the reliability of Shared Photo Streams when switching between iPhoto and Aperture with the same library
• Custom keyboard shortcuts are now properly preserved when upgrading from earlier versions of Aperture
• Double-clicking a photo in Viewer-Only mode now correctly toggles to the Browser view
• Addresses a problem that could prevent the Viewer from displaying images with correct color after Auto White Balance and Auto Enhance are applied
• Addresses an issue that could cause JPEGs exported with a custom ICC profile to render incorrectly
• A dialog now displays progress when deleting large numbers of photos using the Empty Aperture Trash command
• Fixes a problem that could cause duplicate detection on import to fail when the "Auto-Split Projects" option is enabled
• RAW files are no longer displayed in the Import window when the "JPEG files only" option is enabled
• Key photos made from panoramic images are now displayed at high resolution
• Addresses a problem that could cause the Info panel in the Inspector to display the wrong metadata view
• Fixes an issue that could prevent Microsoft Outlook from being used to email photos from within Aperture
• Improves stability when working with AVCHD video files
• Fixes a problem with using the Zoom navigator on a second display
• Addresses issues that could cause web journals to export incorrectly
• Includes stability improvements

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What's New in iPhoto 9.4.2

• Photos now can be added to shared streams or My Photo Stream by dragging them to "Photo Stream" in the source list
• Multiple email addresses can now be copied and pasted in the "Shared with" field for shared streams
• When more than five subscribers "Like" a photo in a shared stream, their names are now displayed correctly
• Contextual menu now includes an Import command to import all the photos contained in a shared photo stream
• Addresses the reliability of Shared Photo Streams when switching between iPhoto and Aperture with the same library
• Fixes an issue that could prevent Microsoft Outlook from being used to email photos from within iPhoto
• Updated national holidays are available for use in printed photo calendars
• Includes stability improvements

Aperture is available for $79.99 on the Mac App Store. [Direct Link]

iPhoto is available for $14.99 on the Mac App Store. [Direct Link]

Feral Interactive today released Sid Meier's Railroads! on the Mac. The game is the most recent release in the much beloved Railroad Tycoon series, the first of which was released in 1990. Railroads was originally released for the PC in 2006, but this is its first appearance on the Mac.

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Build a railroad empire and shape a nation!

Lay track, route trains and watch the world come to life in this compelling mix of train set and business simulator. Become the ultimate railroad robber baron with the drive to shape a nation, build an empire and amass a fortune.

Spanning the history of the railroads from the steam engines of the 1830s to the bullet trains of today, Sid Meier’s Railroads! for Mac is a bold re-imagining of the legendary Railroad Tycoon (1990), the game that launched the “tycoon” genre.


The game has very generous system requirements, asking for at least a 1.8GHz Intel processor running OS X 10.6.8, 3GB of RAM, and a 128MB graphics card. Sid Meier's Railroads! is available for $30 from Feral's online store, and will soon be available on the Mac App Store as well.

While a number of customers have been able to get their hands on the iPad mini prematurely either through early deliveries or retailers who began selling the devices before the appointed time, sales have now officially started in New Zealand where it is now the morning of November 2.

ipad mini purchased nz
Twitter user @jgriffinz notes that he was one of the first customers to officially purchase the iPad mini in New Zealand, and notes that he was interviewed by The Wall Street Journal about the distinction. He has also confirmed that his iPad mini arrived with the New Zealand version of the 5-watt power adapter rather than the higher-powered 12-watt adapter that is arriving with the full-size iPad.

ipad mini yoobee nz
iPad mini on display at YOOBEE in Auckland, New Zealand

AMA Creative also shared a few photos with MacRumors showing the iPad mini going on sale at New Zealand retailer YOOBEE.

Apple's own stores are opening at 8:00 AM local time on Friday to begin sales of the iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad. A number of third-party retailers will also be carrying the devices, and their opening times and stock levels may vary.

Related Roundups: iPad, iPad mini
Related Forum: iPad

While iFixit was busy tearing down the iPad mini earlier today, Chipworks was taking a closer look at the chips included in the device. The item of most interest is of course the A5 system-on-a-chip, and Chipworks has unsurprisingly confirmed that the iPad mini uses a chip manufactured by Samsung on a 32-nanometer process.

The A5 originally appeared based on a 45-nanometer process, but Apple quietly shifted to a smaller and more efficient 32-nanometer process earlier this year with the launch of the revised iPad 2 and the third-generation Apple TV back in April. The same chip made its way into the fifth-generation iPod touch last month, so it should not be a surprise that the A5 used in the iPad mini is the same part.

Remember the past, when Apple launched the Apple A5X to great fanfare? When the A5X launched, Apple also snuck in a change to the process generation in their A5 chip by putting a new 32 nm version inside the iPad2 and Apple TV3. Apple (likely) plays it this way because they don’t want people evaluating their products based on “commodity” technical specifications, but based on the overall experience with the device.

Because of this past behavior, there has been some speculation on the web as to whether they would do the same thing with the latest generation of Apple A5 processor. A new process for a new product. Maybe even a new foundry partner?

The answer is no.

chipworks a5 a5x a6
Cross-sections of the A5 chip from the iPad mini appear identical to those from other recent A5 chips, indicating that Samsung is indeed still the supplier for the main chip used in Apple's iOS devices. Apple's has been rumored to be trying to move chip production to TSMC, but the process has been a slow one as Apple seeks to strike a deal and ensure that technical considerations will not hinder the shift.

Related Roundup: iPad mini
Buyer's Guide: iPad Mini (Buy Now)
Related Forum: iPad

iPhone5mod is continuing its rapid pace of development on unauthorized Lightning-compatible accessories today, introducing a new direct plug 30-pin dock connector adapter and a Lightning to micro-USB adapter.

iphone5mod 30 pin adapters
Both of these products are substitutes for official Apple products, with iPhone5mod's 30-pin adapter available in both black and white and priced at $15.90, compared to Apple's official $29 adapter available only in white. iPhone5mod's Lightning-to-USB adapter is priced at $9.90 and is the equivalent of Apple's official adapter sold in European countries.

iphone5mod micro usb adapter
iPhone5mod is also offering a 2-in-1 kit with both of the new adapters for $24.90. Shipping to the United States is $4 per item or kit, and orders should begin shipping in 2-3 weeks.

With Apple still yet to allow third-party accessory manufacturers to officially support the new Lightning standard, consumers are in many cases turning to unofficial sources for accessories that are either unavailable as authorized products or available at much higher prices from Apple. There have been questions about the quality of many of these unauthorized accessories, but some users are willing to take chances on products for which official alternatives do not yet exist or which carry significantly higher pricing.

Apple today released the first beta of iOS 6.1 to developers. The beta has a build number of 10B5095f, versus 10A523 (10A525 for the iPhone 5) for the just-released iOS 6.0.1.

ios61beta
Apple mentions a number of changes and known issues, including several related to how developers can integrate Apple's new mapping service in their apps, as well as an improvement to how boarding passes are handled in Passbook, and a few minor changes to Safari.

Registered developers can download the beta via Apple's Developer page.

attlockerAT&T has launched a free online storage service for iOS that allows users to automatically upload and backup images and video. AT&T Locker, which competes with Dropbox and other online backup services, includes 5GB of free storage with upgrades to 30 or 100GB available.

AT&T Locker provides users the ability to upload images and video to secure online storage and quickly share on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter or e-mail. Users can create and customize albums for photos and video on the device or online from a laptop or home computer. Customers can also store music and other files in their AT&T Locker storage. The app is compatible back to iPhone 3GS.

Users can make sure they never lose a photo again with Easy Upload feature, which allows you to automatically upload the photos on your device to the AT&T Cloud. With AT&T Locker, users can choose to upload new photos and video via Wi-Fi, wireless or both. Customers can manage those photos and share them through the app on the smartphone or on the AT&T Locker web page. AT&T plans to incorporate additional features in future versions of AT&T Locker.

AT&T Locker is available for free on the App Store. [Direct Link]

Since the announcement of the iPad mini last week, there has been some discussion about whether Apple would include the smaller 5-watt power adapter typically bundled with iPhone models or the larger 12-watt adapter intended for the latest full-size iPad models.

One report from just after Apple's media event indicated that Apple would be shipping the larger 12-watt adapter with the iPad mini, but iPhoneinCanada.ca noticed soon after that the Apple Store iOS app was showing a photo of the smaller 5-watt adapter as part of the iPad mini package contents.

One MacRumors reader was able to purchase an iPad mini from his local Walmart yesterday and confirmed that it does indeed ship with the smaller 5-watt adapter.

ipad mini power adapter
Portion of 5-watt power adapter visible in lower right corner

The 12-watt charger (or its 10-watt predecessor) could charge the iPad mini more quickly than the 5-watt adapter, provided that the iPad mini itself would allow more than 5 watts to be drawn from the charger. Any of the adapters can be used with any iOS device, but both the adapter and the devices themselves specify how much power can be drawn. For example, an iPhone will only draw 5 watts regardless of which adapter it is plugged into, while an iPad will draw the full wattage on any of the adapters, with the lower-wattage adapters obviously charging the device more slowly than higher-wattage ones.

With the iPad mini's battery having three times the capacity of the iPhone 5's battery, charging the iPad mini through the included 5-watt power adapter would take considerably longer than charging an iPhone. If, however, the iPad mini is capable of drawing higher wattage, users may prefer to charge the device through a larger 10-watt or 12-watt adapter intended for the full-size iPad.

Related Roundup: iPad mini
Buyer's Guide: iPad Mini (Buy Now)
Related Forum: iPad

South Carolina-based Twelve South has released a new adjustable desktop stand designed to compliment Apple's sleek aluminum notebooks. The HiRise for MacBook stand elevates the notebook from a few inches to half a foot off the desk, while staying nearly invisible.

TwelveSouth sells a riser for the iMac as well, also called the HiRise.

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Twelve South's HiRise for MacBook is the only height-adjustable desktop stand that lets you turn your notebook into a comfortable desktop. Unlike a fixed stand, HiRise lets you elevate your MacBook to your most comfortable viewing height, from a few inches to half a foot off your desk. The sturdy, brushed metal stand is designed to work with MacBooks—and people—of all sizes.

HiRise for MacBook is available for $70 on the Twelve South website and Apple's online and retail stores.

One day before the launch of the iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad, Apple has just released iOS 6.0.1. The update had been reported to be in carrier testing two weeks ago.

This update contains improvements and bug fixes, including:

- Fixes a bug that prevents iPhone 5 from installing software updates wirelessly over the air
- Fixes a bug where horizontal lines may be displayed across the keyboard
- Fixes an issue that could cause camera flash to not go off
- Improves reliability of iPhone 5 and iPod touch (5th generation) when connected to encrypted WPA2 Wi-Fi networks
- Resolves an issue that prevents iPhone from using the cellular network in some instances
- Consolidated the Use Cellular Data switch for iTunes Match
- Fixes a Passcode Lock bug which sometimes allowed access to Passbook pass details from lock screen
- Fixes a bug affecting Exchange meetings

ios 6 0 1 itunes
iPhone 5 users updating from their devices are required to first install an "updater" application to fix a bug that would otherwise prevent over-the-air updates. Once the updater has been applied users can download iOS 6.0.1 from their devices.

ios601

bob mansfieldAllThingsD offers a look at the back-and-forth situation with Apple executive Bob Mansfield, who announced his retirement as hardware chief in late June only to rescind the move two months later in order to work on special projects under CEO Tim Cook. With this week's management changes, Mansfield is now heading up a new "Technologies" division and has committed to remaining at the company for at least two more years.

AllThingsD notes that Mansfield was indeed serious about retiring earlier this year and was enticed to stay on in an advisory capacity to ease the transition. But his all-in commitment to head the new Technologies division was reportedly influenced in no small part by the impending departure of iOS chief Scott Forstall.

As one source close to the company told AllThingsD, “The timing of Bob’s return is not coincidental.”

To begin, Mansfield was not a fan of Forstall’s confrontational management style, and sources said he generally tried to avoid the iOS exec. Indeed, Bloomberg last year reported that Mansfield would meet with Forstall only if Cook was present to mediate. I’ve heard many similar stories.

“It wasn’t a him-or-me situation,” one source said of Mansfield’s return and Forstall’s ouster. “But, put it this way, I think Bob was much more willing to commit to two more years once he knew Scott was on his way out.”

Mansfield is just one of several senior Apple executives taking on new roles in the restructuring, with design guru Jony Ive adding software design to his existing hardware design responsibilities, Eddy Cue picking up Siri and Maps, and Craig Federighi adding iOS to his OS X responsibilities.

iFixit is currently working on a teardown of the iPad mini, revealing the internal components of the device for the first time.

One interesting development is the discovery of a Samsung display driver chip. It is unclear, however, whether this means that Samsung is also responsible for the display itself, as the codes found on the back of the display do not provide immediate evidence of its manufacturer. Display production had been reported to be split between AU Optronics and LG, with Samsung being left out on the iPad mini.

ipad mini a5
iPad mini's A5 chip

The teardown has also reached the logic board, revealing the A5 chip powering the device. The A5 chip found in iFixit's model carries date codes indicating that the package was put together in the 31st week of 2012, which would correspond to the end of July or the beginning of August.

ipad mini speakers teardown
iPad mini's stereo speakers

iFixit has also confirmed that the iPad mini contains stereo speakers, although the relatively small spacing between the two speakers means that the benefit of stereo sound will be marginal under most scenarios.

iFixit's teardown is still underway, and we will update this post with any additional observations of interest that may surface.

Related Roundup: iPad mini
Buyer's Guide: iPad Mini (Buy Now)
Related Forum: iPad

Last week, Apple posted a statement on its UK website acknowledging that Samsung had not infringed upon the protected design of the iPad, in line with a court order following the trial. But Apple took the opportunity to playfully quote statements from the judge's ruling saying that the Samsung Galaxy Tab was "not as cool" as the iPad and note that it had won cases against Samsung in other jurisdictions.

apple galaxy tab graf
Bloomberg now reports, however, that Apple's version of the statement is not in line with the intent of the order, which was to present a simple reference to the court decision ruling against Apple. The court has requested that Apple alter its website statement within two days, but Apple claims that alterations could take up to two weeks.

“I’m at a loss that a company such as Apple would do this,” Judge Robin Jacob said today. “That is a plain breach of the order.” [...]

The court’s initial order to post a notice was designed to correct the impression that the South Korean company was copying Apple’s product. Apple’s post, criticized by judges today, inserted four paragraphs including excerpts of the original “cool” ruling and details of similar German lawsuits that the court today said weren’t true.

The original court ruling required that Apple keep the acknowledgement linked on its website for one month and to purchase advertisements in a number of newspapers and magazines to publicly make the same admission. Those advertisements have, however, yet to appear.

Apple has launched a new page on its iTunes Store allowing users to easily donate money to the American Red Cross toward Superstorm Sandy relief efforts. The donation page, which is accessible through the desktop iTunes Store as well as the iTunes and App Store apps on iOS, permits donations at the $5, $10, $25, $50, $100, and $200 levels.

superstorm sandy itunes donations
Apple will transfer 100% of each donation directly to the American Red Cross, allowing users to have their donations seamlessly billed to their existing iTunes Store accounts. With Apple currently holding over 400 million iTunes Store accounts with credit cards attached, the company has a very significant customer base that can take advantage of the donation program.

Apple has conducted several similar campaigns in the past, most recently in March 2011 following the Japanese earthquake and tsunami and in January 2010 following the Haitian earthquakes.

Update: Apple has now added a link to the iTunes Store donation page on the main apple.com page.

Related Forum: Mac Apps

NewImageApple today filed its 2012 annual report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and the document reveals a few interesting tidbits of information:

- Apple now has 72,800 "full-time equivalent" employees, up from 60,400 last year. The company also went from employing 2,900 "full-time equivalent" temporary employees and contractors to 3,300. 42,400 "full-time equivalent" employees are in the retail division, up from 36,000 last year.

- Apple went from 357 stores at the end of fiscal 2011 to 390 stores at the end of fiscal 2012, up 33 from the year prior. Apple earned an average of $51.5 million per store, up from $43.3 million last year. The average number of "full-time equivalent" employees per store grew from 100.8 to 108.7. Apple expects to open 30-35 new stores in 2013, with 75% of those located outside the US.

The Company’s headquarters are located in Cupertino, California. As of September 29, 2012, the Company owned or leased approximately 17.3 million square feet of building space, primarily in the U.S., and to a lesser extent, in Europe, Japan, Canada, and the Asia-Pacific regions. Of that amount approximately 10.9 million square feet was leased building space, which includes approximately 4.1 million square feet related to retail store space. Of the Company’s owned building space, approximately 2.6 million square feet that is located in Cupertino, California will be demolished to build a second corporate campus. Additionally, the Company owns a total of 1,077 acres of land in various locations.

As of September 29, 2012, the Company owned a manufacturing facility in Cork, Ireland that also housed a customer support call center and facilities in Elk Grove, California that included warehousing and distribution operations and a customer support call center. The Company also owned land in Austin, Texas where it will build office space and a customer support call center. In addition, the Company owned facilities for research and development and corporate functions in Cupertino, California, including land for the future development of the Company’s second corporate campus. The Company also owned data centers in Newark, California; Maiden, North Carolina; and Prineville, Oregon. Outside the U.S., the Company owned additional facilities for various purposes.

- As this document is designed mainly for prospective and current investors in the company, Apple also lists a number of risk factors that could affect investments in the company. These include "[Apple] could be found to have infringed on intellectual property rights", the ability to "successfully manage frequent product introductions and transitions", "the Company’s ability to obtain components in sufficient quantities", and numerous more.

- Unlike last year, when Apple said it had no plans to pay a dividend, the company now "expects to pay quarterly dividends in the future."

The document is thick with financial information, including breakdowns of all sorts related to how the company makes money, invests its money, and pays taxes, among other things.

icloudstatus According to Apple's iCloud System Status page, 8% of iCloud users cannot currently use any iCloud service except mail or iChat. The site gives no suggestion of a cause for the outage, nor a timetable for fixing it -- other than to say services will be restored as soon as possible. On Tuesday, iCloud experienced a widespread FaceTime, iMessage and Game Center outage that lasted nearly two hours.

Update: It appears the outage is now limited to Documents in the Cloud only.

In something of a surprise, Friday's launch of the iPad mini will apparently mark the first time an iOS device carries stereo speakers. It appears that Apple's move to the smaller Lightning dock connector has left enough space for an additional speaker along the bottom edge of the device, although the company has elected not to make a similar addition to the fourth-generation iPad.

There has been speculation about the iPad mini's speaker setup ever since early case designs leaked showing two sets of small holes, one on each side of the Lightning port. Similar setups have been seen on iPhone models with one side housing a speaker and the other side a microphone for phone conversations. iPad models have, however, until now only contained a single off-center speaker grille.

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Diagram from Apple's iPad mini tech specs page

Apple did little to clear up the speculation at the iPad mini introduction last week, making no mention of stereo speakers and using the singular "speaker" on its tech specs page addressing the device's input/output capabilities. Amazon seized upon the assumption that the iPad mini did not contain stereo speakers, using it as part of a checklist comparison touting the Kindle Fire HD on its front page.

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But when the first wave of advance reviews of the iPad mini were released last night, The Verge's Joshua Topolsky mentioned that the device does indeed contain stereo speakers. Topolsky later highlighted the feature in a Tweet, noting that it had been confirmed by Apple.

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Dual speaker grilles on iPad mini (Source: The Verge)

Seeking further confirmation, a 9to5Mac reader emailed Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller to ask about the situation, and Schiller responded to simply state "It is stereo." Notably, Amazon has since removed the comparison checklist between the Kindle Fire HD and the iPad mini from its main page.

Related Roundup: iPad mini
Buyer's Guide: iPad Mini (Buy Now)
Related Forum: iPad

mountain lion iconSix weeks after the release of OS X 10.8.2, Apple is preparing to begin testing on the next maintenance update to OS X Mountain Lion. AppleInsider notes that Apple has sent out invitations to select users asking them to participate in the testing process.

The first build of a new OS X version typically appears a few days after such invitations are sent out, suggesting that we may see the first beta of OS X 10.8.3 appearing late this week or early next week.

There is no word yet on what changes and improvements will be included in the update, and the amount of time each release spends in testing can vary significantly, so there is no estimate yet on when OS X 10.8.3 can be expected to make its way to a public release.