MacRumors

The Telegraph reports that Apple CEO Steve Jobs had been set to be awarded honorary knighthood by the British government and Queen Elizabeth II in 2009, but his nomination was blocked by Gordon Brown, who served as Prime Minister at the time. Brown's block is said to have been related to a failed bid to attract Jobs to speak at a Labour Party event.

The then-Prime Minister refused to knight Mr Jobs in 2009 because he turned down an invitation to speak at the Labour Party conference, a former senior Labour MP said.

Mr Jobs was put forward for the honour by the MP for services to technology. Apple is credited with revolutionising the industry in recent years with its iPhone and iPad devices, which have unleashed a boom in mobile internet usage.

Honorary knighthood can be bestowed on citizens of countries outside the British Commonwealth of Nations and has been used to honor the achievements of a number of prominent individuals. Notably, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates was named an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2005.

Reuters reports that former Apple supply manager Paul Devine, who was arrested last August over a kickback scheme in which he provided confidential company information to accessories manufacturers, has pleaded guilty in the case.

Apple launched an internal investigation last year and found a cache of emails between Devine and the suppliers, according to a civil lawsuit the company filed against Devine. U.S. prosecutors then obtained an indictment on 23 counts in August.

Devine pleaded guilty on Monday to wire fraud, conspiracy and money laundering in a San Jose federal court, the U.S. Attorney's office announced. He also agreed to forfeit about $2.28 million in money and property.

Devine, who worked at Apple from 2005 until 2010, faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on the wire fraud and money laundering counts. Among the companies that paid kickbacks to Devine was Kaedar Electronics, a subsidiary of Apple manufacturing partner Pegatron that has provided packaging for Apple's iPod products for a number of years.

In a brief press release (PDF), publisher Random House yesterday announced that it will immediately adopt the agency model for e-Book pricing in the United States, paving the way for its content to be included in Apple's iBookstore should the companies come to a final agreement.

Random House, Inc. is adopting the agency model for e‐book sales in the United States effective March 1, 2011. Going forward, Random House will set consumer prices for the e‐ books we publish, and we will provide retailers with a commission for each sale. There are no changes to our terms of sale for physical books.

Random House, the world's largest publisher, as been the highest-profile holdout from the agency model, with most major publishers having reached agreements with Apple, Amazon, and others nearly a year ago as the iBookstore launched in the United States.

The agency model allows publishers to set retail prices, with retailers earning commissions for each sale. The traditional system had allowed retailers to set their own prices, with some such as Amazon even selling select content at a loss in order to draw in customers. Many publishers viewed the practice as devaluing their content and threatening the long-term viability of the industry, but Random House has been reluctant to shift away from it. Even with today's announcement, Random House will continue to use the traditional model for its physical books.

Random House's announcement does not include specific mention of the iBookstore, but given that its refusal to move to an agency model appeared to be by the most significant stumbling block to the two companies reaching an agreement, it seems likely that Random House's books will make their way to the iBookstore in the relatively near future.

As expected, Apple's "secret" meeting for retail store employees last night was in fact targeted at sharing information on the company's forthcoming "Joint Venture" service that will roll out over the next few days, primarily focusing on providing advanced and priority technical support to small businesses.

9 to 5 Mac and our own sources have provided a few details on the program, which will cost $499 per year for up to five machines and $99 per year for each additional machine. The program offers a number of benefits, including:

- Genius Bar telephone support and priority access: Users will be able to receive call-in technical support from Apple Geniuses rather than having to visit an Apple Store. Those that do elect to stop by an Apple Store for in-person consultations will receive priority access.

- Loaner computers: For repairs scheduled to take more than 24 hours, Apple will provide loaner 15-inch MacBook Pros to carry users through while their own machines are out of commission.

- Workshops and setup: Specialized workshops will be held to assist small businesses with increasing the effectiveness of their Macs and other devices. Apple Geniuses will also provide setup for new machines, including data transfers and configuration of Microsoft Exchange and other services to work with companies' existing systems.

9 to 5 Mac reports that a number of Apple resellers have been notified that iPad supplies are currently "constrained" and that there is no estimate on when they may become available. The development is not much of a surprise, considering that Apple has been widely rumored to be introducing the next-generation iPad at a media event on Wednesday, just two days from now.

MB292LL/A iPad 16GB WiFi Constrained No ETA

MB293LL/A iPad 32GB WiFi Constrained No ETA

MB294LL/A iPad 64GB WiFi Constrained No ETA

MC349LL/A iPad 16GB 3G Constrained No ETA

MC496LL/A iPad 32GB 3G Constrained No ETA

MC497LL/A iPad 64GB 3G Constrained No ETA

The fact that supplies are already drying up does hint, however, that we may see the new iPad go on sale sooner rather than later. That would match up with a report from AppleInsider late last week claiming that customers should be able to expect "near immediate availability" of the new iPad.

Taiwanese site Apple.pro today posted a photo [Google translation] claimed to be of the dock connector and cable for the next-generation iPhone. The part is nearly identical to the corresponding part found in the current iPhone, with the main exception of a slightly narrower connector and cable where the part connects to the device's main board. The connector carries a part number of 821-1300-02, compared to 821-1281-A for the Verizon iPhone and 821-1093-A for the original iPhone 4.

It may also be somewhat notable that this part exists in the first place, if it is indeed legitimate, as it would confirm that Apple is continuing to use the dock connector on the next-generation iPhone rather than shifting entirely to a different standard. The European Commission recently implemented a micro-USB universal charger standard, leading to some speculation that Apple would have to include such a port in addition to or instead of the existing dock connector, but Apple can meet the new requirements by simply including a dock connector to micro-USB adapter.

It is not entirely clear from the automated translation of today's post, but the author also seems to assert that the recently-claimed larger screen for the iPhone 5 is indeed a fake, possibly claiming knowledge of a four-inch screen only in a slider form factor previously rumored by the site.

We continue to have a hard time believing that Apple is planning to release an iPhone with slide-out keyboard, but it is certainly possible that the company has developed internal prototypes simply to assess its options. Apple.pro has, however, posted legitimate photos of a number of parts for unreleased Apple products in the past, most recently with a small touchscreen revealed last July that ended up in the new iPod nano a few months later, supporting claims of authenticity of the new photo.

As happens on occasion, Apple once again last week held a meeting with research analysts to answer questions and offer guidance on Apple's plans. While the company is careful not to reveal many specifics, analysts in attendance routinely parse executives' words carefully to try to ascertain future directions for the company in an attempt to guide their clients. Forbes shares some details from a report of the meeting issued by Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi, which included a number of comments by Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook regarding the iPhone and iPad.

Calling the iPhone "the mother of all halos" for its ability to draw in new customers for the iPad and Mac, Cook apparently noted that the company is not ceding the low end of the smartphone market and is specifically working on "clever things" to address the prepaid market that offers significant potential, particularly in international markets. Cook's comments could be interpreted to lend credence to claims that Apple is working on a cheaper version of the iPhone that could be offered at a relatively low price even without carrier subsidies requiring long-term contracts.

The analyst says Cook "appeared to reaffirm the notion that Apple is likely to develop lower priced offerings" to expand the market for the iPhone. Cook said the company is planning "clever things" to address the prepaid market, and that Apple did not want its products to be "just for the rich," and that the company is "not ceding any market."

According to the report, Cook also expressed optimism for the tablet market, suggesting that it would eventually turn out to be much bigger than the PC market. Cook expects strong competition in the market from both smartphone and PC manufacturers, but points to Apple's significant head start and "interesting new things in the pipeline" as reason for optimism regarding Apple's future in the market. Apple is of course holding a media event on Wednesday where it is widely expected to unveil the next-generation iPad.

Among other tidbits, Apple executives reportedly noted that carrier expansion continues to be a major goal for the iPhone, and the company is seeking ways to improve the use of its capital, in part by doing more deals with suppliers to lock in components over the long-term.

VR-Zone reports (via Hardmac) that Intel has begun production of its new "Z68" chipset for Sandy Bridge-based processors, with availability set for May. Most notably in light of rumors regarding the new MacBook Pro that failed to materialize, the Z68 chipset will support Intel's Rapid Storage Technology SSD caching.

Interestingly, Intel has also started production of their Z68 chipset this week along with other Cougar Point SKUs like H61 and Q65. All of them are based on the new B3 stepping therefore the SATA port 2-5 issue is fixed before they hit the market. Judging from the specs, it seems Intel has catered Z68 specially for enthusiasts which allows better processor overclocking, discrete graphics support and SSD caching capability.

SSD caching marries a conventional hard drive to a relatively small solid-state drive (SSD), with the most frequently-accessed data automatically placed on the SSD for fast access while the two drives appear to users simply as a single drive. The functionality serves to bring users much of the speed benefit of SSDs but with the storage capacity and lower cost of traditional hard drives.

Several rumors in the days leading up to last week's MacBook Pro refresh claimed that the updated models would offer a dedicated SSD to host the operating system and other essential files. The claims did not, however, come to fruition.

Update: To be clear, the Z68 chipset is for desktop implementations.

Apple is holding its iPad media event in just a couple of days. The rumors to date have been relatively modest for the iPad upgrade. The general consensus seems to be that the new iPad will be thinner, faster, and with improved (but not Retina display).

If the latest Chinese iPad parts are to believed from iFixyouri/9to5, then Apple may be considering creating a white iPad 2 as well. The shown bezel does include a hole for a front-facing camera that is a widely expected feature of the iPad 2. The white coloring, however, has been a big issue for Apple with the iPhone 4. While they originally announced a white iPhone 4, they have yet to deliver it to customers. Rumors have suggested that Apple has had problems with the white paint process for the iPhone 4, so it's not clear if the materials or issues would be the same for the next iPad.

Apple's iPad-focused media event takes place on Wednesday, March 2nd in San Francisco. There are typically last minute rumors and leaks in the days leading into the final event. iPad 2 availability is expected shortly after the announcement, though we've heard no word of shipments targeted for Wednesday, so same day availability seems unlikely.

The Sunday Times reports that Apple designer Jonathan Ive and the Apple's board of directors are at an impasse about his future. The British designer is said to want to spend more time in the UK while Apple's board seems unwilling to allow that. The report comes by way of The Daily Mail and Cult of Mac as the original article appears to behind The Sunday Times' paywall.

Ive has reportedly been tied to Apple for the past three years based on a "golden handcuffs" deal from 2008. That deal is reportedly due now and will net the designer 18 million. The completion of this deal seemed to open these negotiations with even the possibility of his leaving the company. Ive reportedly has proposed to commute from Somerset, but Apple's board seems unwilling.

A friend of the family told The Sunday Times: 'Unfortunately he is just too valuable to Apple and they told him in no uncertain terms that if he headed back to England he would not be able to sustain his position with them.'

Jonathan Ive has long been credited for being the principal designer for many of Apple's iconic products. Ive joined Apple in 1992 and has been responsible for the design of the unibody MacBook Pro, iPod, iPhone and iPad. His name was even thrown around as a possible successor to Steve Jobs in 2007.

Starting in Mac OS X Lion, we've learned that Apple has started utilizing WebKit2 in their Safari web browser. The advanced version of Apple's Webkit engine was first announced in April of 2010. WebKit2 is described as a new API layer for WebKit that offers both speed and security improvements:

WebKit2 is a new API layer for WebKit designed from the ground up to support a split process model, where the web content (JavaScript, HTML, layout, etc) lives in a separate process from the application UI. This model is very similar to what Google Chrome offers, with the major difference being that we have built the process split model directly into the framework, allowing other clients of WebKit to use it.

For the end user, the result should be a faster and more stable browsing experience. If a webpage crashes or hangs, only that single tab is affected rather than the whole browser. Subjective reports from early end users have indicated that the new Safari seems to run smoother.

Google's Chrome browser introduced a similar sandboxing model when it was introduced.

As developers delve into the early build of Mac OS X Lion 10.7, a large number of smaller features are being revealed. One discussion thread seems to be compiling these findings. There seems to be a lot of nice new features being described. A couple of particular interest include:

- PowerPC (Rosetta) emulation is no longer offered. That means if you have any PowerPC applications they won't be able to run in Mac OS X Lion. You can determine if you are still running PowerPC applications by going into Applications -> Utilities -> System Profiler -> Applications and viewing "By Kind". This will show you which applications you have that are running under PowerPC. Rosetta had already become an optional install in Snow Leopard, and it appears Apple will be removing support for it entirely in Lion.

- QuickTime Player finally re-incorporates some features from QuickTime Pro. New features cited include Copy/Paste, Insert Clip, Crop Video, Rotate Video, Resize, Trim, More Export options.

- TUAW points to a video walk through of Lion from Ian Bauters that gives an overview:

Other highlights from the growing discussion thread details many smaller updates and features that users have found in Mac OS X Lion. An abbreviated list includes:

- Preview is a powerhouse app, you can even sign your document just by holding a piece of paper up to the camera with your signature (it saves it for you!) (screenshot)
- There's animations for everything, slick simple transitions that remind you of the polish of the iphone. Stuff that makes it easier to understand what your OS is doing with visuals
- You can turn the lights back (open application indicator) on in the dock (screenshot)
- iChat supports Yahoo Messenger Video and Voice chat
- Address Book also with "classic" view
- Much More

We've compiled a couple of more notes of interest on the Apple's upcoming Mac OS X 10.7 Lion.

- Classic Mail: While Apple is pushing the new iPad-inspired Mac OS X Lion Mail application, we've learned that Apple also offers a "Classic Layout" checkbox in the Mail settings which reverts the interface back to the familiar Mail interface.

- Finder: AppleInsider posts this video which shows Lion in action (embedded above). It demonstrates new Finder features including:

- Overlay Scrollbars
- Window Resizing from any edge/corner
- Enhanced Finder Source list
- Enhanced Quick View
- Zoom button behavior

Apple launched the developer preview of Mac OS X Lion on Thursday. The public release is expected this summer. We've opened a Mac OS X Lion forum for questions and discussion about Apple's new operating system.

The front bezel of what is claimed to be an "iPhone 5" part has reportedly been posted to by iDealsChina. The image was first discovered by 9to5Mac. iDealsChina writes:

China's 1st iPhone 5 photo has surfaced! From this photo it seems that the screen size will be larger than iPhone 4. There has been a lot of specualtion about a larger screen and maybe this will be one of the upgrades we will see when iPhone 5 is released this summer.

The screen could match up with claims that the iPhone 5 will have a larger 4 inch screen as well as a "edge to edge" screen which we mean to interpret as a smaller bezel (border). It's hard to tell for sure without a comparison with the current iPhone 4 next to it.

iDealsChina was one of the sources of the early (2008) iPhone Nano rumors based on some early cases from accessory makers. They had previously posted moldings for the then-unreleased iPhone 3G cases which turned out to be accurate. The iPhone 5 is rumored to be launching this summer.

With Apple having released updated MacBook Pros yesterday, here is a look back at the some of the rumors that preceded the launch along with an assessment of their accuracy.

Winners:

- As long ago as last December, CNET reported that Apple would move even its smaller notebooks to Intel's Sandy Bridge platform, necessitating the use of Intel integrated graphics on the machines unable to utilize a discrete GPU for space reasons. Apple did just that with Sandy Bridge and with the integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 serving as the sole graphics processor on the 13-inch model. The report also claimed that Apple would tap AMD for the graphics in the company's larger MacBook Pro, displacing NVIDIA as the GPU provider for the line, another development that did in fact occur in the update.

- Last Friday, a pair of Italian blogs, iSpazio and Slide to Mac, pinpointed Apple order numbers for the new machines, with one of them accurately claiming a release on Thursday or Friday of this week. Later that day, we confirmed that the launch would in fact take place on Thursday, Feburary 24th.

- On Sunday, CNET reported that Apple was expected to introduce a "new high-speed connection technology", referring to Intel's Light Peak standard, in the "near future". Light Peak did in fact make its debut in the new MacBook Pros under the name "Thunderbolt". Later that day, AppleInsider accurately reported that shipments were en route to resellers, with delivery set for early in the week. Best Buy also slipped its placeholder information into public-facing inventory lists.

- On Wednesday of this week, 24 hours before official launch, fscklog and Mac4Ever posted photos of specs from the box of the new entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro, as well as shots of the machine itself. The sources of these shots were obviously resellers who had received Apple's shipments of the new machines and opened the packages early.

Losers:

- In early February, a Best Buy inventory screenshot appeared showing a new Apple notebook with a dummy SKU and an in-stock date of March 11th, but the update actually occurred more than two weeks ahead of that date. The evidence continues to suggest that Best Buy's inventory databases are an inaccurate source of information until shipments are actually en route to stores, as the company appears to use placeholders that are simply based on circulating rumors and guesses up until that point.

- Danish blogger Kenneth Lund claimed earlier this month that a reseller had informed him of a March 1st date for MacBook Pros.

- An Intel ad published earlier this month sparked significant speculation that the notebook pictured was a leaked next-generation MacBook Pro. But as we noted at the time, the picture was simply a generic mockup and not related to any revamped MacBook Pro design.

- On Monday of this week, BGR reported that the new MacBook Pros would offer larger trackpads, a small SSD boot drive for system files, and reduced weight compared to the previous generation. None of the claims came true.

- On Tuesday, French site MacGeneration offered a list of claimed specs for the revamped MacBook Pro (repeating the hybrid SSD claim), with essentially none of these claims coming true with the exception of the "new technology" that had already been widely rumored to be coming as Light Peak/Thunderbolt.

Mixed Bag:

- In mid-December, DigiTimes predicted that Apple would update the MacBook Pro and iMac in the first half of 2011. While certainly not a stretch given that the previous update had occurred in April 2010, Apple did indeed easily meet this prediction for the MacBook Pro. The report claimed that Apple would launch "at least four" upgraded MacBook Pros, and the company did in fact introduce five standard configurations yesterday. The report also claimed, however, that the new MacBook Pros would ship with Mac OS X Lion. In addition, the report claimed that there would be a "slight change in chassis design", but the new MacBook Pros are for all intents and purposes identical to the previous generation.

The Wall Street Journal reports on an interview with Verizon Wireless CEO Dan Mead, who claims that short lines for the public launch of the Verizon iPhone were the result of an intentional effort to push sales to online distribution and to stagger availability, not due to poor sales.

Verizon first offered pre-orders of the phone to existing customers on Feb. 3, and then began selling it in stores one week later. Mr. Mead said the company staggered the launch of the Apple Inc. device in phases so that customers would have a smooth purchasing experience. "It was a conscious decision to spread the launch over three phases," said Mr. Mead.

Mr. Mead said more than 60% of iPhone sales occurred online. That heavy activity online contributed to short lines on launch day, which were noted by many news outlets. "If we had not done online, you would have seen a much different flow in the pictures," he said. In a few days, the company will double the number of stores that sell the iPhone, going from 4,000 to 8,000.

Mead declined, however, to announce specific sales figures for the Verizon iPhone, choosing to wait for the company's next earnings release to share numbers.

Mead also reported that Verizon expects Apple to offer devices compatible with the carrier's new 4G LTE network, although he declined to offer information on which product lines they might be and when they might be released.

"You'll see more coming from Apple on LTE," he said. "They understand the value proposition of LTE and I feel very confident that they are going to be a part of it."

The interview comes just as Consumer Reports announces that the Verizon iPhone possesses an antenna issue similar to that found on the original iPhone 4, although the strength of Verizon's network makes the issue less noticeable to users.