Report claims Apple is placing mobile payment NFC sensors in Disney Stores The rumor follows a report that Apple has struck payment processing deals with American Express, Visa, and MasterCard, and several retailers including Walgreens and CVS. Reports have claimed the iPhone 6 will include NFC support, although there is word that the still rumored…
Jeff Gamet
Jeff Gamet is the Mac Observer’s Managing Editor, and co-host of the Apple Context Machine podcast. He is the author of “The Designer’s Guide to Mac OS X” from Peachpit Press, and writes for several design-related publications. Jeff has presented at events such as Macworld Expo, the RSA Conference, and the Mac Computer Expo. In all his spare time, he also hosts TMO’s Daily Observations podcast, co-hosts The iOS Show podcast, and makes guest appearances on several other shows, too. Jeff dreams in HD.
Articles by Jeff Gamet
Want Real World Maps for LTE Coverage? There's an App for That
Sensorly shows realistic cell service coverage maps Sensorly is a handy service where users can volunteer to share information about the 4G/LTE signal strength they get on their iPhone or Android-based smartphone, and that data is then aggregated to show exactly where the strong or weak signal areas are. The darker the color on the…
Bloomberg Backs Up Wearables Announcement at Apple's Sept 9 Event
Apple to unveil iPhone 6, wearable device on September 9 Apple has been expected to host an iPhone 6 launch event in early September for some time, but word that it could be a mega event where a whole new product line gets introduces as well is cropped up only in the past few days.…
Report Claims this is the Year of the NFC iPhone
Report claims Apple is brining NFC support to the iPhone 6 The latest report comes courtesy of insider sources speaking with Wired, and those sources claim Apple will tout NFC as one of the biggest features on its latest smartphone. Assuming Apple does include NFC support in the new iPhone, it'll most likely be part…
LA Schools Ditch iPad Contract Amid Controversy
LA School District cancels contract for iPads in classrooms A report from the school district's technology committee didn't accuse the two of wrong doing, but did say it appeared as if the contract with Apple had been tailored to the company's products instead of the needs of the schools, according to the LA Times. The…
Bad iPhone 5 Battery Life? Apple May Owe You a Free Battery Replacement
Point your browser to Apple's iPhone 5 Battery Replacement Program webpage Select your country from the drop down menu on the left Enter your iPhone's serial number in the Eligibility field, then click Submit Apple is replacing some iPhone 5 batteries that don't hold a charge If your iPhone 5 qualifies, you can make an…
Report Claims Apple Scrambling After Last Minute iPhone 6 Screen Redesign
Sources speaking with Reuters said Apple switched to a single layer of backlight film for the 4.7-inch iPhone 6, but found the screen wasn't bright enough. Display production was put on hold while engineers rushed to redesign components so they could go with a more traditional double-layer setup. With the redesigned backlight system sorted out,…
3 Free iPhone Apps for Ordering from the Starbucks Secret Menu
Secret Menu for Starbucks Free Secret Menu for Starbucks Free organizes drinks into hot, cold, tea, and Frappuccino groups, and includes photos showing each drink along with its recipe. You can share recipes via social networks and email, plus you can submit your own secret recipes, too. With in-app purchases, you can remove ads and…
Analyst: No Apple iWatch this Year
KGI analysts think the iWatch won't ship until next year because of production issues Mr. Kuo expects the iWatch will launch some time in 2015 instead of this fall. Apple has been expected to jump into the wearable tech market soon with a product commonly referred to as the iWatch. The smart watch device is…
5 Great iPhone Accessories for Runners and Hikers
Fitbit One Fitbit's clip on-style Fitbit One (US$99.95) fitness tracker logs your steps, how far you walked, how many flights of stairs you've climbed, and calories burned — all data that's handy when you're tracking just how far you walk or run each day. It also tracks your sleep patterns, and includes a silent alarm…
Skype to Leopard Users: We Still Love You, Compatibility Update Coming
Skype promises happy faces for OS X Leopard users with compatibility update In a note on the Skype forums, the development team said, Those of you that have been using older versions of Skype for Mac until now have recently seen a prompt to upgrade Skype when trying to sign in… There was some confusion…
iPhone 6 Will Have Sapphire Glass Thanks to GTAT's Hoard
Synthetic sapphire glass is incredibly hard, making it very difficult to scratch. Apple has already been using the material to protect the iPhone's cameras and the Touch ID sensor on the iPhone 5S because of its durability, and also because it's so clear it offers very little viewing distortion. Sapphire sounds like a great option…
OS X Gatekeeper Update Holds Headaches for Developers, Users
Apple drops surprise Gatekeeper update on Mac developers Gatekeeper is a feature in OS X that helps protect Mac users from malicious apps. Developers are assigned their own unique key they use to “sign” their apps, and those digital signatures are verified by Gatekeeper. Apps with proper signatures are allowed to run, but unsigned apps…
Synology NAS Products Hit with Synolock Ransomware
Synology NAS systems hit with SynoLock ransomeware attack A company spokesman told The Mac Observer, So far, it looks like the matter is localized to non-updated versions of [DiskStation Manager] 4.3, but we are actively working on, and researching the issue to see if it also effects DSM 5.0 as well. Synology's advice to customers…
US May Ban In-flight Calls, But not Over Safety Concerns
The Department of Transportation wants to officially ban in-flight cellphone calls The DOT is currently putting together a “notice of proposed rule making,” according to the Wall Street Journal, that will be presented in December. The proposal will outline the the DOT's reasoning behind why inflight calls should be banned and will be open for…
Apple Buys Vivendi's Stake in Beats for $404M [Updated]
Apple buys Vivendi's stake in Beats Music Vivendi confirmed the purchase this week, according to Bloomberg, and the deal puts Apple another step closer to wrapping up its buyout deal with Beats. Vivendi's 13 percent stake in the company had been held by Universal Music Group, one of the other properties it owns and also…
Apple Buys Vivendi's Stake in Beats for $404M
Vivendi confirmed the purchase this week, according to Bloomberg, and the deal puts Apple another step closer to wrapping up its buyout deal with Beats. Vivendi's 13 percent stake in the company had been held by Universal Music Group, one of the other properties it owns and also the world's largest record label. Apple announced…
Apple Confirms Purchase of Swell Talk Radio App for iPhone
Apple confirms Swell purchase, shuts down app and website Apple confirmed the purchase through the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, but didn't offer up any other details. The Swell website has been shut down and now only displays a thank you message stating, Thank you for using Swell over the past year. We wanted to…
Retina MacBook Pro gets Faster Processors, More RAM
Apple's Retina MacBook Pro gets a speed bump and more RAM The 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro includes Intel's 2.6 GHz dual-core i5 processor with 8 GB RAM, up from 4 GB, and 128 GB SSD storage plus Intel Iris Graphics starting at US$1,299 or $1,499 with 256 GB storage. A 2.8 GHz model with 512…
Hilton to Turn Your iPhone into Your Hotel Room Key
Hilton is turning your iPhone into a hotel room key Hilton CEO Christopher J. Nassetta said, “Travelers can use their smartphones as boarding passes to get to their seats on an airplane, so it is only natural that they will want to use them as a way to enter their hotel rooms.” The new room…
Judge Cote Calls Apple Ebook Settlement Unfair to Consumers
Judge Cote says Apple's Ebook price fixing settlement isn't fair to consumers Apple and the top book publishers were all accused of conspiring to artificially raise book prices by the Department of Justice, leading to a Federal trial before Judge Cote. The publishers all settled out of court to avoid potentially crippling fines, although Apple…
Swatch: We Aren't Making Apple's iWatch
Swatch/Apple iWatch team up? Not likely. The report about Swatch's alleged collaboration with Apple came through insider sources speaking with VentureBeat. The sources said the partnership wasn't limited to Swatch and that Apple planned to roll out its smartwatch technology across several companies so consumers would have a broad selection of watches from which to…
Jot Touch with Pixelpoint: Like Adobe's Ink Stylus, but More Buttons
When Adonit teamed up with Adobe to bring the design software company's stylus to market, Ink and Slide (TMO review) weren't the only pieces of gear to take advantage of the technology because Adonit also released its own Jot Touch with with Pixelpoint pressure sensitive stylus for the iPad. It costs less than Adobe's Ink…
How to Add iTunes Pass to Passbook on your iPhone
iTunes Pass works something like a reloadable gift card in that you pay up front a set amount of money and then spend against that until it's gone. When your card is empty, you can reload it again and keep spending. Here's how to set up iTunes Pass on your iPhone: Launch the App Store…