Part of the issue is the goal of pro-Net Neutrality people to keep “Internet access” synonymous with “phone line.” While we take it for granted today, a phone line is a wire provided by one company that allows you to choose who you call, whether they are using the same telephone provider you use or not. Many large…
News
PR Queen Katie Cotton Leaving Apple
Katie Cotton, Apple's legendary queen of public relations, is leaving the company after 18 years of managing what is arguably the most successful PR department in corporate history. According to Re/code, Ms. Cotton said it was a difficult decision, and that, “Apple is a part of my heart and soul.” “Katie has given her all…
Biotech Industry Bracing for Apple's Brand of Disruption
In recent months, it has become evident that Apple's long-rumored “iWatch” product will have an intense focus on medical monitoring and fitness. 6-12 months ago Apple was hiring sensor experts and other engineers with sensor experience, but more recently the company has been bringing medical experts on board, including doctors. “There's no doubt that Apple…
Vanity Fair Profiles Samsung's History as a Willful Copycat in Multiple Industries
Apple's Original iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy S Apple's epic patent infringement battle with Samsung serves as the ostensible foundation of the article, but at the heart of the matter is a clear pattern of deliberate infringement by Samsung. When sued for that infringement, the company's strategy is to launch counter suits, delays, and to…
$AAPL Closes above $600, First Time Since October 2012
$AAPL last traded above $600 on November 1st, 2012, when the stock hit $603 in intraday trading. It last closed above that mark on October 26th, 2012, when it ended the day at $604 per share. Five Year Chart for $AAPL Source: Yahoo! Finance Those levels were on the downward slope of sharp decline that…
Yahoo Reverses Stance, Won't Honor Browser Do Not Track Requests
Yahoo to users: No more Do Not Track for you Yahoo said it decided to stop honoring DNT settings in Web browsers, even though it had been in support of the option for the past couple years, because there aren't any real standards governing the setting. The Internet search company said the change will also give…
A Critical To-do List for Apple's New VP Angela Ahrendts
____________________ First, as some have suggested, a decorative makeover of Apple's retail stores is the least of Ms. Ahrendts' concerns. The original design, perfected by Steve Jobs, is clean and attractive. For Apple to sink many millions into a project like that would not only be a waste of money but also greatly ignore the…
Short Work Week: Angela Ahrendts First Day at Apple
Apple announced Ms. Ahrendts would be the company's new retail VP last October with the promise that she would start her new job this spring after transitioning Christopher Baily in as Burberry's new CEO. She has been credited with turning around Burberry's success in the Asian market, and she will likely be tasked with improving…
Facebook Announces Anonymous Login, More Privacy Controls
Facebook's new Anonymous Login option. This solves a common problem with Facebook apps or logins, where maybe an app looks interesting, but a user doesn’t want to share a bunch of data up front. This way there can be a trial while a user forms an opinion about an app, then go back and adjust…
Aerial Photo Shows Apple's Spaceship HQ's Circular Shape
It's still early in the construction process, but the aerial photo reveals that almost all of the existing HP buildings have been demolished and the ground cleared. Mr. Cervi's tweet and photo: The spaceship! #ApplesNewHQ beginning to take shape. pic.twitter.com/hVEDKjx4w4 — Ron (@Sky1Ron) April 30, 2014 Once it's done, it's expected to look like this:…
Apple Completes $12 Billion Bond Offer
Reports on Monday said that Apple might tap the European bond markets for the offering, but it ended up doing so in the U.S. after all. The company might make another offering later, however, as Apple CFO Luca Maestri said that his company was planning on matching 2012's $17 billion bond offering this year. Like…
A First Reaction to Firefox 29's Visual Makeover - With Video
This is not a formal review. It's not even a quick look review. Rather, it's my first-blush reaction to Firefox 29. My readers know that I have been a big fan of Mozilla's Firefox for a long time. The reason is so eloquently and perfectly summarized by Jack Schofield at ZDNet that I won't even…
What Tim Cook Didn't Say About iPad's Share of Web Traffic
______________________ First of all, it's important to realize that the Chitika tablet data that Tim Cook referenced is based on a specific methodology. “All Chitika ad impressions in this study are generated through Web browsing, not mobile or desktop applications.” That means that if an Amazon Kindle Fire HDX user is using an app that…
Microsoft Internet Explorer Zero Day Exploit Threatens 26% of Web Users
Use Internet Explorer? There's a security flaw for that. Microsoft described the issue in a security alert saying, The vulnerability exists in the way that Internet Explorer accesses an object in memory that has been deleted or has not been properly allocated. The vulnerability may corrupt memory in a way that could allow an attacker…
Former Employee Criticizes Apple's Security Patching Practices
Kristin Paget's Former Twitter Pic “Is this how you do business?” she asked in the blog post. “Drop a patch for one product that quite literally lists out, in order, the security vulnerabilities in your platform, and then fail to patch those weaknesses on your other range of products for *weeks* afterwards? You really don’t…
Verizon Plans to Use Desktop Tracking for Mobile Ads, How to Opt-Out
Image made with help from Shutterstock. Here's how it works: Like a lot of sites, when you visit Verizon’s site and log in, it sets a cookie on your computer. Verizon’s cookie includes an anonymized identifier (also common in cookies). What's new here is this identifier will now be made available to third-party mobile ad firms…
New York World's Fair 50th Anniversary
World's Fair Site I know, the World's Fair isn't Apple related, and normally I'd have made this a Cool Stuff Found entry here at TMO; but, when I went to write it up I had so many cool things I decided to make it an editorial. Sadly what remains on site is minimal and only…
California Rejects Smartphone Kill Switch Bill
California's smartphone kill switch bill is dead for now The vote was close, according to CNET, with 19 legislators in favor and 17 against. While there were more votes in favor of passing the bill, California requires a minimun of 21 votes, leaving proponents two votes short of the majority they needed. The now defeated…
Satechi LED Desk Lamp: Cool, Glare-free and Adjustable Illumination
The new, flexible LED Desk Lamp from Satechi provides five brightness levels and includes a USB port on the base that will charge phones and tablets. It's available in brushed silver color. This desk lamp is adjustable thanks to a flexible neck. It can bend left, right, and up and down which gives users control…
AAPL Expands Dividend Program to $130B, Announces 7-to-1 Stock Split
The company bumped up its quarterly dividend for shareholders by about 8 percent with a per share payout of $3.29. The new dividend will be paid on May 15 for shares held on May 12. Apple also said in a statement, “The Company also plans to increase its dividend on an annual basis. With annual…
Why 4K Streaming Isn't Really 4K
The bandwidth requirement for a full-fledged 4K video signal, including audio, is enormous — nearly 18 gigabits per second. Therefore, superior compression technology is required to transmit a 4K signal into the home with current Internet technology. Every tech giant is up against extreme limits to make 4K video the Next Big Thing, and compromises…
Numbers: Fitting Your Content to a Printed Page
Hey, Numbers, if my columns could NOT bleed over onto page two, that’d be really nice. Luckily, this is pretty easy to fix on both the old version of Numbers (from iWork ’09) and the new one (for Mavericks), and you won’t have to adjust any column sizes by hand or anything. In the old…
How Apple Could Have Increased iPad Sales, But Didn't
Philip Elmer DeWitt Writes: “With growing competition and the rise of the phablet (mini-tablets that double as phones), nobody is expecting a repeat of Q2 2013, when sales grew 55% year over year. In fact, nearly half of the 34 Apple analysts we've heard from so far — 21 Wall Street professionals and 13 amateurs…
Square Reportedly Talks to Tech Giants about a Buyout
Square has revolutionized the payment industry for small businesses, particularly very small businesses, by making it possible for them to accept credit and debit cards from an iPhone, iPad, or Android smartphone. The company did so by charging modest fees compared to the traditional credit card industry and offering next-day deposits, a killer feature for…