$AAPL Slips Below $580 to Close Down 3.3%

Shares of Apple Inc. closed below US$580 on Friday, the first time it has done so since July 26th. $AAPL ended the week at $576.80, a loss of $19.74 (-3.31 percent), on moderate volume of 22.1 millions shares trading hands. The broader markets were down, but AAPL's selloff may have been sparked by what is…

Why It’s Fashionable Nowadays to Beat on Apple

More and more, there are all kinds of articles, coming out from under the woodwork, criticizing Apple. The stock is down, no one likes how much they have to pay for the iPad mini, and Tim Cook is making management changes at Apple. All this is inviting ever more pompous armchair criticism. What’s happening to…

People Expecting Long iPad mini Lines Can't Do Math

Apple released the iPad mini and iPad with Retina Display on Friday, an event that has earned competing narratives, especially in New York City. Lines of people waiting to buy the iPad mini are either “shorter,” according to Reuters, or “still impressive,” according to The Wall Street Journal. In both cases, hundreds of people lined…

UK Court Orders Apple to Change Samsung Galaxy Tab Statement

Apple has been ordered by the U.K. Court of Appeal to reword its court ordered statement saying Samsung didn't copy the iPad design. The iPad and iPhone maker had been ordered to post a statement on its U.K. website telling visitors claims that the Galaxy Tab copied the iPad design were false, but Apple went…

Amazon Shows then Pulls iPad mini Homepage Slam

Amazon used its homepage to slam Apple's new iPad mini while touting its own Kindle Fire HD earlier this week, but has since pulled the chart claiming its own tablet is better and less expensive. Amazon's chart highlighted the Kindle Fire HD's display as “stunning,” while calling the iPad mini's “standard definition, low-resolution,” noted the…

Tips as Stocking Stuffers, Really?

When it comes to big holidays I tend to plan and prepare ahead. Now, if my children were reading this you would hear loud guffaws coming from two states at my use of the word “tend”. My family celebrates Christmas and they don’t laugh when all my early activities mean there is plenty of time…

Scott Forstall 'Refused' to Sign Apple Maps Apology Letter

An interesting tidbit in Scott Forstall's ouster at Apple has surfaced saying that the former Apple senior vice president refused to sign a letter of apology over Apple Maps in September. The New York Times, Fortune, and The Verge (which specifically pointed it out), all claim sources saying as much, suggesting that this could have…

Apple Execs Forstall, Browett to Leave the Company

Apple dropped a surprise Monday afternoon by announcing Senior Vice President of iOS Software Scott Forstall and Senior Vice President of Retail, John Browett, are leaving the company. Mr. Forstall will pack his bags some time next year, and it looks like Mr. Browett is already turning in his executive washroom key with only five…

Steve Jobs's Yacht Hits the Waves

Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs had been designing a yacht for his family, and a year after his death it is finally ready to set sail. The 80 meter-long craft was christened “Venus,” and sports the sleek and minimalist look Mr. Jobs preferred. Since Mr. Jobs was all about his Apple gear, Venus is controlled…

ECBC’s Dart Laptop Tote Is Well Designed & Lookin’ Good

ECBC  has a new Laptop Tote, the B7301 that is very impressive. It's very lightweight, made from ballistic nylon, and will hold a 13-inch MacBook Pro or either the 11-inch or 13-inch version of the MacBook Air. There are two full zipped sections inside, a zipped padded pocket on the outside for an iPad or…

Macworld / iWorld Opens Registration for 2013 Event

Macworld / iWorld Expo opened its virtual ticket booth for its January 2013 conference on Thursday. The annual conference and expo includes sessions for new and experienced Mac users, along with sessions for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users, too. Macworld iWorld Expo: January 31 through February 2, 2013 The event will include more than…

Apple Announces "Jaw-Dropping" App Store & iBook Statistics

The numbers for App Store downloads are “jaw-dropping,” Apple CEO Tim Cook told the audience Tuesday at Apple’s special event. On the verge of the iPad mini’s official unveiling, over 275,000 iPad apps are available in the company’s app store. Overall, customers have downloaded 35 billion apps across all iOS platforms. Mr. Cook revealed that…

BlackBerry Loses Another U.S. Agency, Immigration & Customs

After eight years, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is parting ways with Research In Motion's BlackBerry and moving to iPhones. The switch will involve devices for 17,600 employees and US$2.1 million. ICE said BlackBerry “can no longer meet the mobile technology needs of the agency.” Reuters reported that the agency put out a…

California Theater All Dressed Up & Ready for Apple (Photos)

San Jose's California Theater is all dressed up and ready to go for Apple's media event on Tuesday. The company is expected to announce a 7.x-inch iPad, as well as a potpourri of other rumors that include a minor upgrade for the larger new iPad with a Lightning connector, a smaller Mac portable with a…

Construction of Oregon Data Center Gets Underway

Apple has begun construction on its Prineville, Oregon data center. The company purchased 160 acres of land  in February for US$5.6 million for such a facility. The first phase of construction will be for a 338,000 square-foot building that could be the first of two at the location. Apple in Oregon This will be the…

Microsoft’s New Tablet: Surface Warfare Torpedoed

Microsoft’s disclosure of its Surface RT tablet pricing and availability has once again ignited the discussion about the role of a tablet’s keyboard. It also raises the issue of how Microsoft has set the product’s keyboard pricing. Was it all planned? Has Microsoft misjudged the market? Or is this supreme cleverness by Microsoft? When Microsoft…

Vintagio Takes Your Home Movies On a Journey Through Time

We still live in an age where time travel eludes us. Although, you would never know it with the iPhone video app known simply as Vintagio. With several authentic filters and soundtracks to suit, you will be instantaneously taken back decades. That is, unless you want to use the iPad in native mode. ____________________ Vintagio…

iOS Hacker Comex Loses His Apple Gig

Nicholas Allegra, who earned fame as the iOS jailbreak wizard Comex, no longer has his internship with Apple after he failed to reply to an email offering him another year on the job. “So… no point in delaying. As of last week, after about a year, I'm no longer associated with Apple,” he said on…

Sterne Agee: Microsoft Surface Pricing Could Be Fatal Mistake

Microsoft's decision to price its new Surface Windows 8 tablet at $499 without a keyboard, and $599 with a keyboard, could end up being a “fatal mistake,” according to Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu. The analyst said that Microsoft should have priced its device starting at $299 with a keyboard if it wanted the device…

Carriers Will Embrace Win Phone in Fear of Apple-Android Planet

Fear of an Apple-Android planet* will cause carriers to embrace and push Windows Phone devices, according to Nokia CEO Stephen Elop. The Canadian tech exec said that carriers want a third ecosystem to reduce the power of the two heavyweights in the industry, and that their support will finally make Windows Phone 8 a thing.…

Apple Buying Nearly Defunct Color Labs

Apple is apparently in the process of buying the failed social networking company Color Labs. The company was co-founded by Bill Nguyen, who also happened to launch LaLa — the online music service Apple purchased in 2009 and later shut down. The Color team had hoped to make a name for themselves as a dynamic…

Dumping on Tim Cook Seems Easy, But It's Misguided

“Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent than the one derived from fear of punishment.” — Mahatma Gandhi Steve Jobs had a strong personality, one that wasn't amenable to second…

Apple Buys Up Web App Developer Particle

Apple apparently purchased the Web app development company Particle in September, although so far neither company has confirmed the deal. Particle is known for its HTML5 skills and includes companies like Apple, Amazon, Google, Sony and Yahoo among its clients. Word of the deal came through CNET talking with unnamed sources, and several of the…

$AAPL Jumps 2.4% on iPad mini Media Event Expectations

Shares of Apple Inc. jumped 2.37 percent on Tuesday as investors reacted positively to the news that the company will hold a media event on October 23rd. Everyone and their brother expects the company to announce a 7.x-inch iPad that the tech world has dubbed the iPad mini. AAPL ended the day at US$649.793 per…