By Alex Brooks Apple CEO, Tim Cook shows his Nike Fuelband at D11
As the age old saying goes, there is no smoke without fire—and my eyes sting because it’s really, really smoky round these parts. The last couple of months have reminded me of the lead up to January 2007, and maybe even more early 2010. The Apple rumour game, and arguably the world of technology were very different back then though.

As I sat on the concrete floor outside a conference centre in San Francisco on a frigid January morning in 2007 I remember discussing what Steve Jobs would get up on stage and announce later that day, Digg was pretty popular back then and there’d been a whole bunch of popular rumours that had surfaced (titled “iPhone After All?) in the small hours before the keynote. If you’re interested, here’s the rumour roundup. What I’m trying to say is, the iWatch stinks of this scenario all over again.
The scenarios for the iPhone and the iPad were simple, Apple announced the products before it filed for the primary patents, before it began mass production to prevent supply chain leaks, and before the majority of Apple knew about them. The rumours included no parts leaks, no name leaks (largely), and certainly no internal software leaks. This all led to a six month delay before the products hit market, so whatever happens on Tuesday, don’t expect the product to drop until early January—in line with rumours [1, 2, 3].
Anyway, things have changed a bit in the four and half years since the announcement of the iPad, rumour sites have more money, better sources (due to more money), and Apple is far larger and a little more careful with controlling the rumour mill—that is to say that if Apple was to only announce two iPhones on Tuesday then they would have killed these iWatch rumours.
Let’s take a look at what we know. For the sake of this write up I’m going to stick with iWatch as a name.
The Display
There are multiple reports that the iWatch’s display will come in two sizes, some suggesting to distinguish a male and female model (not uncommon in the real world). Initially rumours suggested a display size of 1.6-inch, and the addition of a 1.8-inch model. However, a separate report has claimed that a model could have a 2.5-inch display, for reference that’s the same size display as the current iPod nano (although hopefully a different shape).
Rumours also suggest that the iWatch will have a curved, flexible, OLED (organic LED is good on battery but bad in the sun) display, this display is said to be protected by a synthetic sapphire crystal—this author is unsure how it’ll remain flexible in that case with flexible glass not being market ready.
Functions
One thing we can be sure of, the iWatch will be able to display the time—although questions remain about whether the display is always on. What has been the topic of discussion surrounding the iWatch for years is the intended purpose, recently Apple has given us some clues but questions still remain.
The iWatch appears to be all about the sensors, and the wrist is a good place to put these sensors. With the introduction of iOS 8, Apple will also introduce HealthKit, described by Apple as “an entirely new way to use your health and fitness information”. On the surface Apple has showed HealthKit collecting data from things like FitBits, the Nike Fuelband, wireless scales and displaying steps taken, calories burnt, nutrition, etc within a simple to use dashboard with HealthKit. Apple of course has already begun some data collection with the inclusion of the M7 coprocessor which is capable of acting as a pedometer, and Apple appears to be building more into the iPhone 6.
The iWatch is rumoured to include 10 different sensors, although it’s not entirely known what these will be. It’s easy to guess that steps taken, calories burnt, sleep data, and possibly heart rate will be included.
In addition to being packed with sensors that can collect data when an iPhone isn’t nearby, the iWatch is expected to act as an extension of an iPhone capable of receiving notifications, messages, and phone calls. More recent rumours have suggested that it’ll be possible to develop apps directly for iWatch and that some select developers already have the Software Development Kit (SDK), which was the case with the iPad too.
The final functionality that has been rumoured is the inclusion of NFC to allow for payments, the rumours around NFC in the iPhone have also been strong and the NY Times claims that:
“Apple has teamed up with American Express, MasterCard and Visa to support the payment system, said several people involved in the partnerships. With the deal, these people said, iPhone owners will be able to use their devices as a sort of digital wallet, improving their ability to pay for items at select partner merchants without handing over cash or a credit card.”
The same New York Times article claims that the iWatch will be charged using wireless charging, claiming also that Apple had tested solar charging but to no avail.
Focus on Fashion
Apple by any measure designs and builds products that are fashion accessories, but recent rumours suggest that Apple is taking this approach more seriously with iWatch. With rumours just this weekend claiming that many fashion bloggers and editors have been invited to the announcement event on September 9—this despite it being New York fashion week.
iWatch is also said to have been tested with professional athletes such as Kobe Bryant and these athletes will be used to promote iWatch and add to its fashionable value.
Apple has also recently confirmed the hire of famed fashion designer Marc Newson, although it’s worth noting that Newson is long time friend of Jony Ive (Senior Vice President for Design at Apple) and that Newson is unlikely to have much impact on the current model of iWatch.
Apple has previously confirmed hiring former Yves Saint Laurent CEO Paul Deneve to work on “special projects”, in addition to a pair of health sensor hardware experts, Michael O’Reilly, M.D., the former Chief Medical Officer and EVP of Medical Affairs at Masimo Corporation specialising in pulse oximetry, and sleep expert Roy J.E.M Raymann from Phillips.
Trademark Filings
Apple traditionally tries to keep trademark filing on the down low, but with so many territories it’s been tricky this time round. Apple appears to have been filing for iWatch trademarks in Russia, Japan, and Jamaica as far back as December 2012. In dozens of other countries including the United Kingdom, United States, Denmark, Macau, and Australia the company appears to have used a shell firm called Brightflash USA LLC to file for iWatch trademarks.
Apple has also extended its own trademark of “Apple” to include jewellery and watches in Ecuador, Mexico, Norway, and the United Kingdom.
September 9 Event
Apple is hosting an event on September 9 at 10:00 AM Pacific Time at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of De Anza College in Cupertino. Apple will offer a live stream of the event starting at the following times:
10:00AM – Pacific
11:00AM – Mountain
12:00PM – Central
1:00PM – Eastern
6:00PM – London
7:00PM – Paris
9:00PM – Moscow
2:00AM – Tokyo (Wednesday 10th)
3:00AM – Sydney (Wednesday 10th)
iPhone 6
For everything iPhone 6, see the roundup of rumours from early last week.

Source: World of Apple

As of August 29, 2014, Google has decided to intentionally break old browsers. They say it’s not a bug, it’s by design here, even though Google’s support page says it accepts Safari 4 as a fully supported browser.

If you want Google searches to go back to the modern style, you need to change your User-Agent string. For Safari, enable the Develop Window and use an option in there that works. Internet Explorer 9 (Windows) works, for example.

[crarko adds: I don’t have an older system active at the moment to try this. It’s inevitable that older software becomes obsolete, the same way older hardware does. I think the actual hint here is a reminder that if a site misbehaves, changing the user agent can be an effective troubleshooting tool.]

Source: Mac OSX Hints

By Alex Brooks iPhone 6 Compared to Existing iOS Devices
September has arrived and in the world of Apple that can only mean one thing, the new iPhone is due to turn up. Not to mention a plethora of other devices and software updates; as we lead up to the holiday season September is undoubtedly Apple’s action packed month. This is by no means a detailed run down of iPhone 6 rumours, but it is aimed at giving a picture of what to expect.
Rumours about the iPhone 6 have swirled since the before the current iPhone hit the market but in recent months, as ever, rumours have reached fever pitch. And as with previous years Apple appears to have been unable to keep a lid on the vast supply chain that manufactures the devices with every single component being leaked in some form and more rarely some have managed to piece together a device and get it working.
Apple has confirmed that it will hold a media event on September 9, a date that falls in line with previous announcements. However, the venue is considerably larger than other used and Apple appears to be planning a particularly special show. Many are expecting the company to announce another wearable device at the same event, for now we’ll stay focused on the iPhone.

Two iPhones, Three iPhones, Four?
One the most consistent rumours leading up to September has been that Apple will release two models of iPhone, both with larger screens than the current iPhone 5s. The most consistently rumoured sizes are 4.7-inch, and 5.5-inch. No leaked parts suggest that Apple has any plan to continue manufacturing an iPhone with a plastic shell, and no rumours have pointed towards a continuation of devices with the current 4-inch display. This would suggest Apple will stick to just having 4.7- and 5.5-inch iPhones on the market, but could supplement the lower end market with the current iPhone 5S, or put the case of the current iPhone 5c around iPhone 5s components.
iPhone 6 assembled display and case. Note the tapered finish to the glass.
The Display
With the 4.7- and 5.5-inch models all but confirmed it’s been the focus of much debate about what resolutions the displays will turn up in. Blogger John Gruber threw his weight (and maths) behind the idea that the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 will feature a 1334 x 750 pixel display at 326 pixels per inch while the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 will have a resolution of 2208 x 1242 with 461 pixels per inch. The current iPhone 5s features a 4-inch display of 1136 x 640 at 326ppi.
However, other rumours and guesses have suggested various other resolutions. The most notable of those was a claim from an individual in possession of a display for the iPhone 4.7-inch, the display which showed roughly 13 pixels per mm would suggest a resolution of 1472 x 828 at 355 ppi.
A lot of rumour has also focused on what will cover the display components. For years iPhones have made use of durable Gorilla Glass that is highly resistant to scratching but, as with all glass, is susceptible to smashing when exposed to sharp blows. With recent iPhones Apple began using Sapphire crystal, for example to cover the camera lens and the home button on the iPhone 5s.
Rumours at the start of the year seemed to suggest that Apple’s partner GT Advanced was looking to significantly ramp up production of sapphire crystal but disagreement has risen about whether Apple will use sapphire across the entire range or just for “higher-end” models. A recent Wall Street Journal article stated that Apple use the display material on the higher end 4.7- and 5.5-inch devices, it failed to explain what higher end meant in this context.
Whilst on the wild end of the rumours spectrum, this author has recently heard that Apple has at least explored the idea of a display with solar charging capabilities. Upon further research it appears that the rumour has surfaced in January of this year, but after corroboration the sources appear separate.
The Case
Without doubt the outer case is the first part to leak, and no surprise when case manufacturers are turning in billions of dollars worth of protective case sales so being first to the market is key.
iPhone 6 Compared to iPhone 5s
The cases for the 4.7- and 5.5-inch models appears identical in leaks, other than the obvious increase in size. The larger model appears to have a slightly thicker case though. The final dimensions seem set to be as follows, 4.7-inch: 6.9 mm thick, 138 mm long, and 66 mm wide; 5.5-inch iPhone 6 is said to be 7.1 mm thick, 158 mm long, and 78 mm wide. The current iPhone is 7.6mm thick.
iPhone 6 rear plate showing antenna markings and cutout for camera and flash
The case is almost fully aluminium with the antenna bands marked out in a lighter coloured rubber, there is no longer any glass on the back and the only other markings are the traditional Apple logo cutout and the camera and flash. The camera lens appears now too thick for the case and may stick out a little.
The Camera
Rumours disagree on the improvements heading for the iPhone 6, many suggest that the current 8 megapixel sensor used in the iPhone 5s will make its way to the iPhone 6, another singular rumour suggested a 13 megapixel sensor could arrive. Either way MPs are a poor measure of a camera.
Purported fully assembled iPhone 6 showing protruding camera lens
In other camera improvements it could be that Apple looks to build in Optical Image Stabilisation that works in conjunction with the position sensing gyroscope. This would allow for considerably sharper photos and video, particularly in low light.
Again, this feature has rumoured to only land in the 5.5-inch model.
In recent years Apple has made significant improvements to the iPhone camera using either software or technology that is difficult to discern in factory leaks.
The Innards
The specification of the new iPhones are not so easy to track down, but a recent flurry of leaks from the supply chain have supplied a surprisingly accurate range of data.
The biggest focus of attention is of course what processor Apple will use. The current iPhone makes use of a Apple’s A7 system on chip (SoC) powered by a 64-bit ARMv8 1.3-1.4GHz dual-core CPU. It looks like the iPhone 6 will make the jump to an Apple A8 featuring a 20nm manufacturing process, making it extremely power efficient. It’s difficult to gauge the specs of an unreleased SoC as Apple has tighter control on the parts but rumours suggest that the A8 will be a dual-core 2.0GHz with 1GB of RAM on board. That 1GB RAM figure would mean the iPhone 6 remains at the same number as the current iPhone 5s.
With gaming being a strong element of the iOS ecosystem it has become important for Apple to focus on the graphics capabilities of devices. Rumours point towards Apple continuing to use the same graphics as the iPhone 5s, a PowerVR G6430 GPU. But there are very few rumours circling around this particular element.
iPhone 6 internals compared to iPhone 5s. Note the Apple A8 SoC, and significant size difference in assemblies.
There are also few rumours around the storage capabilities of the iPhone 6. The current iPhone 5s ranges from 16GB to 64GB with many complaining about the limits. This may change with the introduction of iOS 8 and the change to the way photos are stored on the iPhone with them now primarily sitting in the cloud with low resolution thumbnails residing on the phone itself.
However, some rumours suggest Apple may bump the storage capacity of the iPhone to 128GB, in line with recent updates to the iPad. Some leaks have also spotted 16GB storage chips though, this may suggest that Apple could begin differentiating iPhones by storage size and screen size with some suggesting the 128GB model will only be available with the 5.5-inch model.
With the iPhone 5s Apple introduced the M7 coprocessor, capable of offloading data collection from the CPU. Currently the M7 tracks what a user is doing in terms of movement such as driving, walking, running, or sleeping. Upgrades in the iPhone 6 could see the addition of a atmospheric sensor offering details on current weather conditions like pressure and altitude data.
There’s been a number of other rumours that have pointed to numerous sensors making their way into the iPhone 6, capable of detecting temperature and humidity, altimetry, spirometry—a measurement of lung capacity.
The Battery
With a bigger device comes a bigger battery, although Apple has a habit of spreading out components in an effort to create thinner devices. However, rumours suggest Apple will make some improvements to the size of the batteries included with the iPhone 6, improvements may be unnoticeable though with larger displays on board too.
The current iPhone 5s battery is rated at 1560 mAh, compared that to a whopping 2800 mAh in the Samsung Galaxy S5 and there’s a reason Samsung shout from the rooftops about battery life.
Rumours suggest that Apple will include a battery rated at either 1810 mAh or 2100 mAh in the 4.7-inch model, and in the 5.5-inch model a possible 2915 mAh battery.

NFC or not?
I almost have to count of two hands the number of times we’ve got close to the release of an iPhone and a rumour has popped up about the inclusion of NFC technology (here’s a good example from 2011).
This time though, things feel different. Reliable sources have got on board with the idea, including Re/Code, John Gruber and the FT. And now a logic board leak suggests the chip is right there.
The case for Apple to jump on board with NFC hasn’t changed much though. Whilst a rumour suggests Apple has negotiated deals with big banks (now MasterCard and Visa too!) it is still unclear why Apple would pursue this route, other than the potential lucrative market of playing middle man to millions of transactions. It’s worth noting that Apple upgraded some pay terminals in US Apple Stores to NFC capable earlier in the year.
Contactless payments via a physical card and an NFC capable terminal are extremely popular in Europe with some 45 million contactless cards in circulation in the UK alone.
When?
Event Invite for September 9th
Apple has confirmed the event for September 9, and whilst we don’t know for sure that this is the iPhone event. All signs point to yes.
Traditionally following announcement the iPhone models would make their way to market within a week and a half, usually on a Friday. Which would land us on September 19. However, long standing rumours have suggested that only the 4.7-inch model will see a release on this date with a 5.5-inch model coming towards the end of the year, with some rumours suggesting early 2015.
Apple’s event will begin at 10am Pacific (6PM London) time on September 9, it’s not yet known whether Apple will offer a live video stream.
An iWatch
If we thought iPhone 6 rumours were at fever pitch then iWatch rumours are super sonic pitch. However the field is far more scattered and there is yet to be a signal part of design leaked. There will however be an a summary of rumours at some point, so watch this space.

Source: World of Apple

Usually I want to open Gmail in Chrome and URLs pointing to my development server in Firefox. For everything else I use Safari.

There is this nifty free app called LinCastor that enables you to register your own handler for an URL. Although it had beed designed to register your own non-standard URL schemes, it can intercept standard http and https as well.

In LinCastor (which you need to double-click twice to fully open for editing):
Add a new URL scheme
Choose AppleScript handler

Paste the following code in, (replacing the stub code at the bottom):

on handle_url(args)
if (|URL| of args starts with “https://mail.google.”) then
tell application “Google Chrome”
open location |URL| of args
…

Source: Mac OSX Hints

By Alex Brooks Apple employees carry rainbow flags as they march in the San Francisco Gay Pride Festival in California June 29, 2014 | REUTERS/Noah Berger
Tim,
Apple is a company that has for decades inspired millions of young people to design the best they can design, to focus on the detail and create beautiful and functional products. Apple has stood at the forefront of amazing product design and changed the way humans interact with technology through its own passion for design.
I, like many other people have watched on at Apple for years and looked up to the brand as a role model. Many years ago I would write school essays about Apple if I could and in my mid-teens decided that it was such a passion that I should help in the spread of Apple’s message by setting up this very website. I wouldn’t be surprised that if for the past 15 years I’ve said or read the word Apple dozens of times a day. But most notably Apple has shaped me as a person, it has shaped the way I perceive the world, the way I enjoy the world, and how I choose to live.
Recently Apple has climbed to be one of the most successful corporations the world has ever known, both financially and in terms of its product portfolio. With much glee I’ve watched on as you have steered Apple into an era of transparency and thoughtfulness—but most importantly, an era of equality and diversity.
Just last week Apple published, for the first time, equality and diversity figures from across its workforce. Before that a video was posted on the company’s website where hundreds of Apple employees were seen marching through the streets of San Francisco for Pride. You clearly outline your belief that “inclusion inspires innovation”, a catchy phrase but a message with strong responsibilities attached.
Don’t get me wrong, Apple leading the pack and publishing equality data is extremely welcome. Remember, Apple is a beacon to millions of young people—as it was to me. But equality and diversity is about more than just race, ethnicity, and gender. Sexual orientation is an important aspect in understanding a workforce, and gender is not binary. So whilst you’ve said you’re committed to the advancement of equality and human rights everywhere, I’d also encourage you to expand the understanding across Apple.
But this is not what I write to you about. Job listings would suggest you’re due to open an Apple Store in the United Arab Emirates—a country with an abhorrent track record of human rights. UAE is a country where women are required to ask for the right to travel without a male guardian’s permission, where women are refused the right to education and the right to drive any motor vehicle. A country where a women who has been raped can be jailed, and often are.
In the UAE LGBT people are effectively threatened by death and despite there being a fairly large LGBT scene there are still horrific stories of punishment. In Dubai where you look set to open a huge Apple Store it is illegal to be homosexual and the issues around trans people are not just misunderstood but outlawed.
I have no doubt that there is already a sizeable Apple workforce in the UAE, I find it hard to believe that such human rights abuses would prevent Apple from entering a market—parts of the United States and China aren’t much better—but I would encourage you to stick to your word of spreading the advancement of equality and human rights everywhere. For the sake of Apple employees in the UAE and other uneducated countries it’s important that Apple, once again, leads the way.
Alex Brooks
August, 2014

Source: World of Apple

I’m writing a detailed set of instructions for getting VPN ‘on-demand’ working with iOS 7.

See Setting Up an iOS 7 On-Demand VPN for the details (it’s way too much stuff to post via MacOSXHints, as much as I’ve been a fan of this site for many years).

The complete set of instructions include:

setting up an IPSec VPN with iOS

setting up an OpenVPN with iOS

setting up a managed iOS device with VPN ‘on demand’ capabilities (for both IPSec and OpenVPN).

A few comments about this work:

One of the primary objectives was to document a setup where the VPN-connected iOS devi …

Source: Mac OSX Hints

By Alex Brooks 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display | Image courtesy of Apple
Weekly summary of stories from across the World of Apple during the week commencing 28th July, 2014. An attempt to summarise the more interesting stories from the week and lace them in observation and comment.
MacBook Pro Receives Minor Update
The MacBook Pro with Retina display has marked the way for a flurry of updates across Apple’s product line as we head into busy season. The update is relatively minor and will act as a stop gap before Intel’s Broadwell processor platform hits the market in mid-2015.
The MacBook Pro with Retina display saw updates to both its 13- and 15-inch display models which feature faster versions of Intel’s Haswell processors, all 13-inch models now come with 8GB of RAM standard while all 15-inch models now feature 16GB of RAM. Apple also cut the price of the high end 15-inch model by $100, which now starts at $2499 (£1,999).

The update to the Retina MacBook Pro comes close after a minor refresh to the MacBook Air. Next up for refresh are the iMac and Mac mini, references to “mid-2014″ versions have been found in various places on Apple’s website.
iPhone 6, iWatch, Apple TV Rumours Flow Readily
I’ll start with the more suspect rumours and work down to something more believable. First up is the long-rumoured Apple TV product, often dubbed iTV. Ars Technica has paraphrased a post from elsewhere outlining how it’s unlikely that we’ll see the rumoured Apple TV refresh this year—although we may well see a fresh to the current form of Apple TV.
The article refers to Apple’s troubles with procuring content for the hardware set top box, quoting cable companies as ‘dragging their heels’. As with most rumours around the Apple TV, it’s not yet known what form this piece of hardware will take and whether it’ll replace the current incarnation of Apple TV.
Related to this is a report from AppleInsider which covers Apple’s continued efforts to create its own Content Delivery Network (CDN) and apparently begin to rely less on third party distributers. It would appear that Apple is now serving content from its own servers directly to some and no longer serving from third party mirrors. Apple is said to have “added ‘multiple terabits per second’ of capacity, a nearly tenfold increase over its current capabilities.”
It’s not known why Apple is building this capacity, the obvious answer is of course the world’s continued reliance of the iTunes and App Stores but some have speculated that for Apple’s Apple TV dream to be answered then a reliance on media streaming will sit at the centre of it.
Next up is the iWatch. KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who holds a solid track record, has suggested that Apple’s iWatch will be available in limited quantities during 2014. His prediction for the number of units that will ship is just three million. Kuo has previously pinpointed November as a production date for the iWatch which has been pushed significantly by display manufacturing issues. Previous rumours have suggested that the iWatch will be unveiled during an October 2014 event.
So far no one has spotted an iWatch, or has much clue what the device will do—other than gather fitness data.
Rumoured iPhone 6 lineup, featuring 4.7- and 5.5-inch mockups next to iPhone 4-inch and iPad mini | Image courtesy of MacRumors
And finally the iPhone 6. Apple is said to be planning a September 16 event to unveil the next iPhone, with an apparent release almost a month later on October 14.
This author will offer more detailed analysis of iPhone 6 rumours nearer the time, so far however we expect Apple to release two new iPhone models, one with a 4.7-inch display and one with a 5.5-inch display. It’s not known what will happen to the 4-inch model, or how the current iPhone 5c plays into this mix. Some rumours have suggested that the 5.5-inch model will be so constrained by manufacturing that it will not launch until early 2015.
Other rumours about the iPhone 6 remain scant, we’ve got a good idea of the design which will naturally be thinner than previous models and it’s expected that Apple will incorporate a faster A8 processor and an improved camera.
The end of MacIntel?
Speaking of the A8 system-on-chip, Jean-Louise Gassée has written in his Monday Note about Apple’s reliance on Intel and how that relationship could come to an end with the onset of ever powerful A-series ARM processors. As we can see from above evidence, Apple is being held back on the Mac by slow releases from Intel but its own processor manufacturing continues to forge ahead.
Gassée uses a number of arguments to back his case, starting with cost, moving on to power dissipation, and finally Intel’s poor delivery schedule.
The A7 was described by Apple as a “desktop-class” processor; Gassée summates by saying:
“By moving to ARM, Apple could continue to increase its PC market share and scoop much of the profits – it currently rakes in about half of the money made by PC makers. And it could do this while catering to its customers in the Affordable Luxury segment who like owning both an iPad and a Mac.”
Dell and BlackBerry Act Like Nothing is Wrong
Here’s some Monday entertainment for you all.
As pointed out by John Gruber, Dell and BlackBerry recently scoffed in an interview with Reuters about the threat from Apple and IBMs partnership. Whilst I wouldn’t expect any company in the world to openly admit about increasing competition from competitors, I thought we’d all learnt about how embarrassing it is to scoff at credible threats to your entire business. Gruber quotes former Palm CEO who claimed that Apple could never play in the smartphone sector and win customers as evidence of previous stupid comments, I prefer Ballmer:

Dell and BlackBerry have both stated that they’re in the midst of re-inventing themselves, and rumours have swirled about the pair maybe forging a partnership. BlackBerry’s Chief Exec likened the Apple-IBM partnership to when “two elephants start dancing”, I’d liken a Dell-BlackBerry partnership to two lead brinks sinking in the ocean.
Next week
Tune in next week (hopefully) for another dose of Apple musings. In the mean time you can follow me on Twitter and sometimes I’ll tweet something funny but mostly it’s about Apple, higher education and politics in the UK, and beer.

Source: World of Apple

By Alex Brooks OS X Yosemite running on MacBook Pro | Image courtesy of Apple
Weekly summary of stories from across the World of Apple during the week commencing 21st July, 2014. An attempt to summarise the more interesting stories from the week and lace them in observation and comment.
Apple Shows Off Solar Array
Towards the end of the week Apple granted a bunch of journalists a tour of Apple’s latest green iniative, a huge solar array farm in Maiden, North Carolina. Capable of producing 20MW of energy, it allows Apple the peace of mind that it now outstrips its competitors with energy friendly schemes and for once has GreenPeace looking on and saying positive remarks—calling Apple the “gold standard”.

The Guardian has a reasonable write up of their tour and includes a number of comments from Apple’s new senior staff Lisa Jackson who now heads up Apple’s green moves. Jackson explains that “[o]n any given day 100% of the data centre’s needs are being generated by the solar power and the fuel cells”.
The Guardian does throw in a dose of oddity—possibly as link bait—about how Apple’s upcoming iPhone 6 will feature a Sapphire display (not news but by no means a certainty) and that Apple plans to use solar power to manufacture the displays in Arizona. Whilst this is not the first time this bit of information has surfaced, it does raise an eyebrow on the author’s face. Anyone that knows an ounce about physics will understand the sheer energy involved in doing anything with second hardest material known to man.

OS X Yosemite Beta Goes Public
For the first time since the original release of Mac OS X in 2001 Apple has released a public beta of the software. The move which has caused some concern amongst developers is clearly aimed at expanding the testing base of the beta process and maybe an admission that everyone who wanted it was pirating it anyway.
The public beta which is available from Apple’s site is not the same that is available to developers and lacks some of the Continuity features that would pair with iOS 8—which has yet to enter public beta.
For those thinking about it, it’s best to check out the ongoing threads on Mac Rumors’ forums to see if any software you rely on breaks completely.
Apple’s Latest Ad Ends in a Colourful Twist
Many had speculated post WWDC that Apple was showing a new friendly, playful, and open side to its personality. And just maybe Apple’s latest Mac advert effort shows this too.
The first Mac advert in recent years doesn’t show off any software, doesn’t show off the MacBook Air’s extreme battery life, thinness, or even its perfectly manufactured aluminium case but instead focuses purely on the customisation that is available through third party stickers. As Matthew Panzarino writes for TechCrunch this is definitely the first time that Apple has shown a banged up and scratched MacBook, the first time they’ve not even shown the screen, and definitely the first time they’ve shown a Mac how it would be in its natural environment outside of the Store.
My favourite touch, the flicker of the Apple logo at the end which shows Apple’s colourful logo that adorned the company between 1976 and 1999. A very rare twist of Apple’s usually pristine modern branding.

Earnings Hold Steady, R and D Spend Soars
Research and Development spend | Image courtesy of Barefigures
This week Apple released its quarterly fiscal results for Q314, with profit coming in ahead of expectations and ahead of the year ago quarter it has left analysts and onlookers feeling a little safer about the company’s position. The profit line of $7.7bn on revenue of $37.4 billion is being driven primarily by sales of the iPhone but also Apple’s entrance into markets where the company has historically struggled. For example iPhone sales were up 48% in China, and in BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) countries the iPad did extremely well. However not well enough for the iPad not to be raising some concern.
Maybe more interestingly than what was said in Apple’s orchestrated earnings call was what followed the next day. As is customary Apple published its quarterly 10-Q filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which showed all what the company didn’t talk about the day before. As pointed out by the FT Apple’s spending on research and development has soared to $1.6bn for the three months leading up to the end of June, roughly 36 percent more than it spend in the same period the year before.
There are some obvious explanations for this: we’re heading into new product season with a flurry of products expected to be released in September and October. But of course this climb in expenditure has led others to speculate that we could be in for more than just new iPhones and iPads.
Next week
Tune in next week (hopefully) for another dose of Apple musings. In the mean time you can follow me on Twitter and sometimes I’ll tweet something funny but mostly it’s about Apple, higher education and politics in the UK, and beer.

Source: World of Apple

By Alex Brooks iPad Unit sales (Quarterly Q310 – Q314)
Apple today announced financial results for its third fiscal quarter of 2014 which ran from March 30, 2014 until June 30. Apple posted revenue of $37.4 billion and net quarterly profit of $7.7 billion, or $1.28 per diluted share (adjusted for stock split). These results compare to revenue of $35.3 billion and net profit of $6.9 billion, or $1.07 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter.
Gross margin was 39.4 percent compared to 36.9 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 59 percent of the quarter’s revenue.
Apple reported the following number of shipments for its products during the quarter:
35.2 million iPhones compared to 31.2 million in the year-ago-quarter
13.2 million iPads compared to 14.6 million in the year-ago-quarter
4.4 million Macs compared to 3.8 million in the year-ago quarter
2.9 million iPods compared to 4.5 million in the year-ago quarter.

“Our record June quarter revenue was fueled by strong sales of iPhone and Mac and the continued growth of revenue from the Apple ecosystem, driving our highest EPS growth rate in seven quarters,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We are incredibly excited about the upcoming releases of iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, as well as other new products and services that we can’t wait to introduce.”
“We generated $10.3 billion in cash flow from operations and returned over $8 billion in cash to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases during the June quarter,” said Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO. “We have now taken action on over $74 billion of our $130 billion capital return program with six quarters remaining to its completion.”
Apple provided the following guidance for its fiscal 2014 third quarter:
revenue between $37 billion and $40 billion
gross margin between 37 percent and 38 percent
operating expenses between $4.75 billion and $4.85 billion
other income/(expense) of $250 million
tax rate of 26.1%

Source: World of Apple

Mousecape is a new open source Mac App which is available on GitHub to finally allow you to create and use your own mouse cursors, or ‘capes’ as the app calls them.

Once you download the app, there is a remastered version of the Svanslös cursor set created by Max Rudberg which is retina-screen ready.

Mousecape is as non-instrusive as possible, never asking you for your password for anything. It works by using private APIs created by Apple to register system cursors so it has no performance hit at all.

Capes, or cursor sets, are applied for as long as display state doesn’t change, meaning until you change resolution, monitors, sleep your computer, reboot or logout. However, inside of the application is a helper application that will detect when the cape is reset and will apply it again.

Mousecape is available for free, open source and with no obligations. …

Source: Mac OSX Hints