Logic Pro 9.1.1

This update delivers improved compatibility and numerous fixes.

Issues addressed with 9.1.1 include:

• Improved stability of the 32-Bit Audio Unit Bridge
• Compatibility with Novation”s Automap feature in 64-bit mode.
• Compatibility with Euphonix Eucon protocol in 64-bit mode.

Issues addressed with Logic Pro 9.1.0 include:

• Support for 64-bit native mode
• Compatibility with 64-bit Audio Unit plug-ins
• File names with over 32 characters are now supported
• Samples are now mapped correctly when using the “Contiguous Zones” option in the EXS editor Updated System Requirements
• 32-bit mode requires Mac OS X 10.5.7 or later
• 64-bit mode requires Mac OS X 10.6.2 or later
• The update is recommended for all users of Logic Pro 9.

Logic Express 9.1.1

This update delivers improved compatibility and numerous fixes.

Issues addressed include:

• Support for 64-bit native mode
• Compatibility with 64-bit Audio Unit plug-ins
• File names with over 32 characters are now supported
• Samples are now mapped correctly when using the “Contiguous Zones” option in the EXS editor

The build delivers multiple enhancements and contains a new list of focus areas, build 10D572 still contains one known issue.

Seed notes below.

Included in this update

• Performance improvements for 64-bit Logic
• Addresses compatibility issues with OpenGL-based applications
• Includes changes to QuickTime X that increase reliability, improve compatibility and address security
• Improves printing reliability and compatibility with 3rd party printers
• Addresses an issue that causes background message colors to display incorrectly in Mail when scrolling
• Resolves an issue that prevented files with the # or & in their names from opening in Rosetta
• Resolves an issue that prevented files from copying to Windows shares
• Resolves an issue that caused machines using BTMM and the Bonjour Sleep Proxy to wake unexpectedly
• Resolves an issue with recurring events in iCal when connected to an Exchange server

Known Issues

• Safari 4.0.5 will be reoffered by Software Update after upgrading to 10D572 from a previous seed

Focus Areas

• GraphicsDrivers
• Images & Photos
• Mail
• QuickTime
• Security Certificates

Homage to Jerry York featured on Apple.com

Following yesterday’s news that Apple director Jerry York had been hospitalised Apple has today said that York has passed away. Jerome York served as an Apple board director since 1997 and was chairman, president and CEO of Harwinton Capital. He was the former CFO of IBM and Chrysler, and former vice chairman of Tracinda.

“Jerry joined Apple’s Board in 1997 when most doubted the company’s future. He has been a pillar of financial and business expertise and insight on our Board for over a dozen years,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “It’s been a privilege to know and work with Jerry, and I’m going to miss him a lot.”

Apple has updated the Apple.com homepage to pay respect to Jerry York.

Jerry York, 71 reportedly collapsed at his home in Rochester, Michigan on Tuesday night and was taken to Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital by ambulance. York’s wife states that York has suffered a massive cerebral haemorrhage.

York graduated from West Point and went on to receive an MBA from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

York has been a member of Apple’s board of directors since 1997.

iWork.com on iPad

• Share documents on websites and social networks. iWork.com allows you to share a document by creating a public link. Use the link to share your document with large groups or on websites and social networks. There’s no need to set a password or send an invitation. Anyone with the public link can view your document but cannot add comments or notes.
• Improved Shared Documents page. Download documents shared on iWork.com without leaving the Shared Documents page. You can also track the number of views your publicly shared documents receive.
• Refined user interface. A redesigned Sign In and Shared Documents page for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch makes it easy to access your documents while on the go. The new interface and improved scrolling help you find your shared documents faster. Visit www.iwork.com from your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch to view your shared documents.

iWork.com was released as a public beta at Macworld ‘09 and provides a method of sharing uploaded documents via the web. iWork.com allows commenting on documents and downloading in a multiple of formats such as PDF and Microsoft office formats.

Mac OS X 10.6.3 has been in developer testing since early January and continues to deliver enhancements and bug fixes. Unlike previous builds 10D571 comes with one known issue.

Seed notes below.

Included in this update

• Compatibility issues with OpenGL-based applications
• Performance improvements for 64-bit Logic
• Changes to QuickTime X that increase reliability and improve compatibility and security
• Printing reliability and compatibility with third party printers
• Issues resolved that prevented files from copying to Windows shares
• Issues resolved with recurring events in iCal when connected to an Exchange server
• Issues resolved that prevented files with the “#” or “&” symbols in their names from opening in Rosetta
• Issues addressed that caused background message colors to display incorrectly in Mail when scrolling
• Issue resolved that caused machines using BTMM and the Bonjour Sleep Proxy to wake unexpectedly

Known Issues

• Safari 4.0.5 will be reoffered by Software Update after upgrading to 10D571 from a previous seed

Focus Areas

• iChat
• Fonts
• GraphicsDrivers
• QuickTime

It is unknown why the iPad accessories have become so delayed but speculation points towards high demand as the culprit.

[Update 16 March 2010 23:00 GMT] Apple has adjusted the shipping window for the iPad keyboard dock to “Late April”, not a far departure from “May” but an improvement.

Jobs and Schmidt shake hands at iPhone launch in January 2007

The increasing rivalry between Apple and Google has been in the spotlight recently and now The New York Times has published a four page report on the ongoing relationship between to the two mammoth corporations.

The article covers many details of the increasing number of spats, starting out by detailing Apple’s suit against HTC which many believe is a wider attack against Google and its Android smartphone operating system.

At the heart of their dispute is a sense of betrayal: Mr. Jobs believes that Google violated the alliance between the companies by producing cellphones that physically, technologically and spiritually resembled the iPhone. In short, he feels that his former friends at Google picked his pocket.

“We did not enter the search business. They entered the phone business,” Mr. Jobs told Apple employees during an all-hands meeting shortly after the public introduction of the iPad in January, according to two employees who were there and heard the presentation. “Make no mistake: Google wants to kill the iPhone. We won’t let them.”

The report offers some details of meetings that were described as “fierce” and heated”.

At one particularly heated meeting in 2008 on Google’s campus, Mr. Jobs angrily told Google executives that if they deployed a version of multitouch — the popular iPhone feature that allows users to control their devices with flicks of their fingers — he would sue.

The New York Times also interesting gives some background on the acquisition of AdMob by Google and how Apple had been bidding on the mobile advertising company at the time. Apple later acquired another firm Quattro.

Illustration of Steve Jobs, left, and Eric Schmidt. Credit: Daniel Adel (Courtesy of New York Times)

Last fall, Apple made a formal bid to acquire AdMob, a rapidly growing mobile advertising company, for $600 million. AdMob specializes in developing ads that run inside mobile phone applications, like those on the iPhone.

While Apple conducted due diligence on the deal, AdMob agreed to a 45-day “no shop” provision, a routine clause that prevented the start-up from offering itself for sale to others, according to three people briefed on the negotiations. But after Apple inexplicably let 45 days pass without consummating its offer, Google pounced.

On talking to both Google and Apple employees the New York TImes discovered that the rivalry is “intense” and many believe that a peacemaker is “sorely needed”. Bill Campbell who serves on Apple’s board has said to have been attempting to “smooth over the problems”.

While Mr. Campbell has tried to be a diplomat and smooth over the problems between Mr. Jobs and Mr. Schmidt, the task hasn’t been easy. Mr. Campbell declined to comment for this article, but people briefed on the matter say that throughout last fall, Mr. Jobs and Mr. Schmidt each lobbied Mr. Campbell to sever his connection with the other’s company, at times even giving him ultimatums to do so.

Finally, Mr. Campbell was forced to choose, and according to a person with knowledge of the situation, he dropped his formal responsibilities at Google, although he is still informally mentoring executives there.

The filings reveal very few details as Apple has requested 180 days of confidentiality on external photos, internal photos, test setup photos and the user manual.

What is revealed is that both models have been tested for 802.11a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.0, the Wi-Fi + 3G model has been tested for GSM 850/1900 and UMTS 850/1900.

Tim Cook who took the place of Steve Jobs during the first half of 2009 was awarded a discretionary bonus of $5,000,000 and 75,000 stocks “in recognition of his outstanding performance in assuming the day-to-day operations of the Company for the period in fiscal 2009″. The recommendation for compensation was put forward by Steve Jobs.

View entire form 8K (PDF).

Apple iPad

As expected Apple has made the iPad available for pre-order in the US today. Those looking to purchase an iPad in the US can pre-order both the Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G. WiFi versions will be delivered on April 3 with the Wi-Fi + 3G version available late April.

iPad is a revolutionary device for browsing the web, reading and sending email, enjoying photos, watching videos, listening to music, playing games, reading e-books and much more. iPad’s responsive high-resolution Multi-Touch display lets users physically interact with applications and content. iPad is just 0.5 inches thick and weighs just 1.5 pounds — thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook. iPad includes 12 new innovative apps designed especially for the iPad, and will run almost all of the over 140,000 apps in the App Store. iPad will be available in late March starting at the breakthrough price of just $499.

iPad is available for $499 (US) for the 16GB model, $599 (US) for the 32GB model, $699 (US) for the 64GB model. The Wi-Fi + 3G models of iPad will be available in late April in the US and selected countries for a suggested retail price of $629 (US) for the 16GB model, $729 (US) for the 32GB model and $829 (US) for the 64GB model.

Apple describes the update as delivering:

Safari 4.0.5 is available via software update or Apple’s website.

iPhone SDK 3.2 provides support for developing iPad applications. This beta of iPhone SDK 3.2 includes the complete set of Xcode 3.2.2 tools, compilers, and frameworks for creating applications for iPhone OS and Mac OS X. These tools include the Xcode IDE and the Instruments analysis tool among many others.

With this software you can develop applications that run on iPad using the included iPhone Simulator, which runs iPhone OS 3.2. Additionally, you can develop applications for iPhone and iPod touch, which run on iPhone OS 3.1.3. (This software does not include all of the iPhone OS 2.x SDKs.) Installing the iPhone SDK 3.2 beta requires a Macintosh computer running Mac OS X 10.6.2 (Snow Leopard) or later.

The latest build of iPhone SDK 3.2 is labelled beta 4 (10M2144).

Developers used to pay either $499 or $3,499 for either “Select” or “Premier” ADC accounts. These two tiers of developer program are no longer available and sees the removal of hardware discounts and WWDC access for developers.

The new $99 developer program allows access to “pre-release Mac OS X software” and allow developers to “to begin incorporating the latest technologies into their development process, test for compatibility, and report bugs.”

Access to Xcode tools remains available for free developer accounts.

During the 82nd Annual Academy Awards which took place last night Apple aired the first advert for the iPad which goes on sale April 3 in the U.S. The 30 second spot entitled “Meet iPad” features The Blue Van’s song “There goes my love”.

The iPad advert quickly demonstrates handfuls of features of the iPad whilst also showing the gestures used on the large multi-touch display. Features of the iPad shown in the advert include Maps, Mobile Safari, iBook Store and an eBook, email, iWork’s Pages and multiple clips of the Star Wars movie playing.

The advert simply ends with “April 3″.

On related note Steve Jobs was in attendance at the Academy Awards last night and was snapped by an AP photographer on the red carpet.

Mac OX 10.6.3 build 10D567 weighs in at 718.7MB as a delta download, 783.3MB as a combo update.

Attached notes below. Mac OS X 10.6.3 continues to contain no known issues. Developers are asked to focus their attention on Graphics Drivers, iChat, QuickTime, Printing and Rosetta.

The 10.6.3 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Snow Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac, including fixes that:

• improve the reliability and compatibility of QuickTime X
• address compatibility issues with OpenGL-based applications
• address an issue that causes background message colors to display incorrectly in Mail
• resolve an issue that prevented files with the # or & characters in their names from opening in Rosetta applications
• resolve an issue that prevented files from copying to Windows file servers
• improve performance of Logic Pro 9 and Main Stage 2 when running in 64-bit mode
• improve sleep and wake reliability when using Bonjour wake on demand
• address a color issue in iMovie with HD content
• improve printing reliability
• resolve issues with recurring events in iCal when connected to an Exchange server
• improve the reliability of 3rd party USB input devices
• fix glowing, stuck, or dark pixels when viewing video from the iMac (Late 2009) built-in iSight camera

Apple iPad running New York Times app

Apple has announced today that the iPad will ship in the US on April 3 with WiFi+3G models following in late April. Apple also said that all models of iPad would be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK in late April.

US customers can pre-order both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models starting March 12 or reserve a Wi-Fi model to pick up on Saturday, April 3, at an Apple retail store.

“iPad is something completely new,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’re excited for customers to get their hands on this magical and revolutionary product and connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before.”

International pricing will be available in April.

Upper West Side, Apple Store | Image courtesy of Apple

For the third consecutive year Apple has come on top of Fortune’s “World’s Most Admired Companies” and this year has increased the margin of its win to the largest in the 10-year history of the survey.

The ranking is based on a survey of 4,200 executives, directors and industry analysts.

Apple is followed by Google, Berkshire Hathaway, Johnson and Johnson and Amazon.

What makes Apple so admired? Product, product, product. This is the company that changed the way we do everything from buy music to design products to engage with the world around us. Its track record for innovation and fierce consumer loyalty translates into tremendous respect across business’ highest ranks.

As BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer puts it, “The whole world held its breath before the iPad was announced. That’s brand management at its very best.”

According to PC World Window Synder began work at Apple this week, Synder has in the past also worked at Mozilla and was said to be credited with “professionalizing the Firefox security response team, at a time when the open-source browser was increasingly coming under attack from hackers.”

It is unknown what products Snyder will be working on but Apple is the third browser-maker to hirer her in the last five years.

“We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We’ve decided to do something about it,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.”

Engadget offers a brief breakdown of the patents Apple claims HTC has infringed.

• The ‘331 Patent, entitled “Time-Based, Non-Constant Translation Of User Interface Objects Between States,” was duly and legally issued on April 22, 2008 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
• The ‘949 Patent, entitled “Touch Screen Device, Method, And Graphical User Interface For Determining Commands By Applying Heuristics,” was duly and legally issued on January 20, 2009 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A copy of the ‘949 Patent is attached hereto as Exhibit B.
• The ‘849 Patent, entitled “Unlocking A Device By Performing Gestures On An Unlock Image,” was duly and legally issued on February 2, 2010 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A copy of the ‘849 Patent is attached hereto as Exhibit C.
• The ‘381 Patent, entitled “List Scrolling And Document Translation, Scaling, And Rotation On A Touch-Screen Display,” was duly and legally issued on December 23, 2008 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A copy of the ‘381 Patent is attached hereto as Exhibit D.
• The ‘726 Patent, entitled “System And Method For Managing Power Conditions Within A Digital Camera Device,” was duly and legally issued on July 6, 1999 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A copy of the ‘726 Patent is attached hereto as Exhibit E.
• The ‘076 Patent, entitled “Automated Response To And Sensing Of User Activity In Portable Devices,” was duly and legally issued on December 15, 2009 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A copy of the ‘076 Patent is attached hereto as Exhibit F.
• The ‘105 Patent, entitled “GMSK Signal Processors For Improved Communications Capacity And Quality,” was duly and legally issued on December 8, 1998 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A copy of the ‘105 Patent is attached hereto as Exhibit G.
• The ‘453 Patent, entitled “Conserving Power By Reducing Voltage Supplied To An Instruction-Processing Portion Of A Processor,” was duly and legally issued on June 3, 2008 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A copy of the ‘453 Patent is attached hereto as Exhibit H.
• The ‘599 Patent, entitled “Object-Oriented Graphic System,” was duly and legally issued on October 3, 1995 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A copy of the ‘599 Patent is attached hereto as Exhibit I.
• The ‘354 Patent, entitled “Object-Oriented Event Notification System With Listener Registration Of Both Interests And Methods,” was duly and legally issued on July 23, 2002 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A copy of the ‘354 Patent is attached hereto as Exhibit J.

Complete USITC and Deleware Court filings below.

Delaware Filing

USITC Filing

Apple Aperture 3

Apple has issued a minor update to tackle stability issues in Aperture 3 which was released earlier this month.

Aperture 3.0.1 – 29.41MB

This update improves overall stability and addresses a number of issues in Aperture 3, including:

This update is recommended for all users of Aperture 3.

Apple also updated Camera RAW for better compatibility.

Digital Camera Raw Compatibility Update 3.1 – 6.77MB

This update extends RAW image compatibility for Aperture 3 and iPhoto 09 for the following cameras:

Apple HQ, 1 Infinite Loop | Photo by Wysz - Flickr

Yesterday afternoon Apple held its annual shareholder meeting at its Cupertino headquarters. This year discussions focused primarily on the company’s financial situation and environmental issues.

At the meeting the shareholders re-elected Jobs and the Apple board of directors. The topic of previous board member Eric Schimdt came up when one shareholder asked if the Google CEO had conducted properly while serving on Apple’s board. Jobs said that “Eric Schmidt conducted himself appropriately and recused himself on matters that might involve conflict”.

Also approved was Ernst and Young as Apple’s public accounting firm for the year 2010.

During the meeting two shareholder proposals were voted down, in-line with board recommendations. The first proposal read as follows, “Shareholders request that the Board of Directors prepare a sustainability report describing corporate strategies regarding climate change, specifically to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address other environmental and social impacts such as toxics, recycling and employee and product safety.”

The board rebutted with, Apple “is already substantially fulfilling—and in many respects exceeding—the request for information in Proposal No. 6″.

On the second opposed and denied proposal was for Apple to amend the bylaws to establish a sustainability committee “to ensure our corporation’s sustained viability”…”responding to changing conditions and knowledge of the natural environment, including but not limited to, natural resource limitations, energy use, waste disposal, and climate change.”

The board opposed the proposal with the following, “[Apple] takes environmental sustainability very seriously, and the Company has made significant progress in reducing the environmental impact of the Company’s operations and products, as described in the Company’s statement in opposition to Proposal No. 6, above. However, the Board does not believe a Board committee dedicated to this issue is necessary”.

After all the proposals were out of the way Steve Jobs, Tim Cook and Peter Oppenheimer fielded some questions.

One shareholder asked if Jobs has returned to Apple in a limited capacity, the CEO simply replied with “No” adding that while he was out, “Tim took the helm and Apple didn’t miss a beat.”

Other areas of interest mention include Jobs’ view on Apple’s financial situation. A present shareholder asked if Apple would use it’s current $40 billion cash and short-term investments to pay dividends, Jobs refuted saying that Apple is holding cash to take “big, bold” risks.

Jobs said that China is a market with lots of promise and said that Apple would open 25 retail stores in the near future.

Related: Apple’s 2010 Proxy statement.

In a press release Apple stated that the 10 billionth song, “Guess Things Happen That Way” by Johnny Cash, was purchased by Louie Sulcer of Woodstock, Georgia. Sulcer will win a $10,000 iTunes store gift card.

“We’re grateful to all of our customers for helping us reach this amazing milestone,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of Internet Services. “We’re proud that iTunes has become the number one music retailer in the world, and selling 10 billion songs is truly staggering.”

Earlier this week Apple COO Tim Cook who led the company during Steve Jobs’ time off in early 2009 spoke candidly about Apple. During the Goldman Sachs Technology & Internet Conference Cook gave a talk about Apple including some interesting details about the company’s products.

During the 40 minute talk—which can be listened to on Apple’s website and read in full below—Cook discussed how Apple TV remains a hobby to Apple and the company will use custom silicone in future products.

Cook also discussed Apple retail stores saying that new stores opening this year in London and Shanghai will “make your jaw drop.”

Paraphrased transcript courtesy of Silicon Alley Insider

4:08 Clapton’s “Change the World” is playing leading up the presentation. Now “Sunny Came Home.”

4:09 Getting underway. Tim Cook reads disclosure.

4:10 Q&A begins. Steve Jobs was very clear about leadership in mobile devices. Is that how we should think about Apple at this point? Tim Cook: Yes. Let me elaborate. If you look at Dec. quarter results, which included revenues of almost $15.7 billion, as we compared ourselves to every other company in the world, including Sony and Nokia and Samsung, which now have huge mobile device businesses, we found out we were the largest in the world, measured by revenues.

4:11 How are you channeling resources differently? Transition to mobile devices began in 1991 with first introduction of portable product for Apple with introduction of the TFT screen. During that time, the Mac business has become a predominantly mobile device business. Huge difference between us and the balance of the industry in portable share.

4:12 Ah, a history lesson. Going through all the mobile devices Apple has ever launched. Vast majority of Apple’s revenue now comes from mobile devices and content purchased for those devices. Believe we’re well positioned to do extremely well because we can seamlessly offer software and hardware.

4:13 Who are biggest competitors and who are biggest partners? Tim Cook: I wish the world were that simple. Many people you can’t cleanly put in one or another. Take Microsoft. In Microsoft, we love the Mac Office division. They do a great product and we partner with them and work with them very tightly. Most of the balance of Microsoft we compete vigorously against, in OS, in mobile OS, etc. If you look at Google, I would say Google is similar in that respect. We partner with them in maps, in search for most of our products, but we also compete with them in the mobile OS space and now in the hardware phone space. So, it’s difficult to put people in one camp or the other always. There are some companies like the media companies where we partnered with so well that Apple is now selling billions of dollars of digital content.

4:15 Also companies like carriers where we partnered with to bring iPhone to in 86 countries. Ones that draw the most attention are the ones that are more complex, where we’re both competitors and partners.

4:16 Apple TV is still a hobby. We’ve been very clear about that. The reason that we call it a hobby… if you look at the other businesses we’re in, these businesses are all in huge markets. The unit volumes in these things is huge. Apple TV is in a market that’s very small. Today. Apple TV did grow in the quarter we just finished by 35% in a unit basis year-over-year.

4:17 No interest in going into the TV market. But still think there’s something there. So we continue to invest in this as a hobby.

4:18 iMac is very key, will continue to be very key. I think people will continue to want a very gorgeous large screen, all-in-one, simple to use, very elegant machine, we’re going to continue to deliver it.

4:19 Where growth coming from going forward? Here’s the exciting thing. If you take a look at the Mac, the Mac has outgrown the market 20 of the last 21 quarters. 5 years in a row. Has outgrown the market. And in many of those quarters, outgrew it by multiple. The PC industry is over 300 million units per year. Last fiscal year, Mac did over 10 million units. Ceiling is far above. Continue to invest in enormous amount of energy and talent in the Mac. Doesn’t take Market growth. 50% of customers in Apple store are from Windows.

4:20 iPod touch has been a runaway hit, and it helps the platform that you’re talking about. If you look at the iPod touch, it grew 100% last fiscal year. 55% y/y last quarter. Each fuels more app sales, more developers. iPad? Haven’t sold one yet. A lot of interest in it. I’ve been using one for 6 months or so, I’ll tell you the experience is just absolutely incredible. Can’t wait to start shipping it.

4:21 iPhone, I feel we’ve just gotten started.

4:22 Over 3 billion downloads on app store, over 140,000 apps for sale, these are incredible numbers. Who would have dreamed of these? I see opportunity all over the place.

4:23 The word “complete” is not in our dictionary. We’re all about innovation. Many times that means we’re all about obsoleting ourselves. Going to continue to make things better and going to continue to innovate. I’d say the ecosystem is really good, the platform is really good. Certainly all the foundation is in place. Will it get better? Clearly yes. But great now.

4:24 iPad new use case or replacement for netbooks? We haven’t sold one. I’m a paranoid guy by nature, but I’m not losing any sleep over cannibalization, to be honest with you. Who would buy it? I’ve been very clear about my view of netbooks. I think they are an experience that most people will not want to continue to have. People were interested in the price and they got it home and used it and went ‘Why did I buy this?’ so I think when somebody looks at iPad and compares it to a netbook, I find it hard to believe that people are going to buy netbooks. Not everyone will make the comparison so I’m not suggesting that. But I think what I’d rather do with this question is report back to you.

4:26 iPad will launch in direct channel first, and indirect channels where we have assisted sales, such as store-in-store at Best Buy, and Internationally, Apple Premium Resellers. Initially, it will be around places with really great assisted sales. Over time, it will expand. Where it goes and how fast it goes, we’ll see.

4:27 Why so cheap? We didn’t want to leave pricing umbrella for competition. For those who haven’t focused on this, it has best browsing experience you could ever imagine. Very anxious to start getting it out.

4:28 Extended key partnership with AT&T. Can you talk about advantages and disadvantages of having exclusive agreement? The primary advantages on a single carrier model, and I’ll talk about the iPhone, is simplicity and in some cases, we’re able to innovate along with the carrier and provide a feature it would be difficult to work with multiple carriers and provide. We brought visual voicemail to market, which took innovation from Apple and carrier partner. On a multi-carrier model, the question is, can you sell more units? And so what that gets at is, in some countries, carriers have very sticky relationships with their countries, so having more carriers and more distribution allows you to sell more units. If you look where are from the end of our Q1 in December, if you looked at top 10 iPhone countries, 5 were single carrier countries. 3 of those we had a contractual exclusivity, 2 we can add carriers when we desire. Across 2009, we added carriers in France, UK, Singapore, several Scandinavian countries. A great deal of our work on distribution side was expanding carriers in existing countries. Pleasantly surprised that in every single country, our units increased significantly, and our share with it. Feel like we made really good decisions. Not saying we would do it in every country. But that was our experience with the ones we did it in 2009. We do it on country by country basis.

4:32 Would another carrier need to match pricing on iPad to become carrier for it? I think AT&T’s pricing is revolutionary. (Unlimited data for $30/month, 250 MB for $15/month.)

4:33 Talked a little before about virtuous cycle we have with devs. How do you protect user experience as developers go out and develop products? This is the privilege and curse of technology. Same as you’d see in PC world; at some point, if you include every hardware you’ve ever shipped, you stifle innovation. Because we’ve done this for so long, I feel like we’ve come to a really intelligent conclusion on these each time. I think that’s part of our knowledge and heritage as a platform provider.

4:35 Which way is OS market moving? I don’t see it as this or that — iPhone vs. Mac — or this over that. I think there is a place for both. What you’re seeing for Apple is that the Mac OS is very scalable. Huge competitive advantage for Apple. Use the Mac OS in a lot of products. Don’t think there’s another company that can use the foundation of their OS that way. Move at a fast speed with many fewer people than it would take if we were geographically north. (Slap at Microsoft.)

4:36 Our surveys indicate Mac and iPhone are attracting significant interest in enterprise. What are you doing?

4:36 For the iPhone, 70% of Fortune 100 companies in US are either deploying iPhone or currently testing for deployment. 50% of the FT 100 are doing the same thing. Huge uplift in interest as we went to iPhone 2.0 software and then 3.0 because we put a number of enterprise features in the software. We clearly see this continuing. On Mac side, amazing how many CIOs are now visiting Apple and are interested in the Mac. We haven’t put on a huge channel, and don’t have a huge sales force, but many CIOs that once thought standardization was the most important thing in life, they now look at salaries of people and the importance of having peoples’ creativity at peak, and are increasingly allowing employees to decide. This helps Apple immensely.

4:39 I think people in general and they think enterprise is bigger than consumer. But it’s not. In PCs, it’s 10%, which is sizable, but consumers are over 50%. Our heart and soul and DNA is in consumer. It just so happens there are consumers working in enterprises who want to use these products.

4:41 People are looking at this differently. At least the people with a lot of vision are.

4:41 Just short of 300 stores. Ron Johnson has built a retail team Bar None. We went into retail not as a test, not as pilot, but to sell to consumers, because many wanted it. We knew we’d never have enough stores to cover the world. So after we got going, we set a range of 25-50, reasonable range we could execute really well. Made a strategic call in 2008, we thought we’d see many more opportunities — some top properties would come on the market with better economics. And guess what? Now, there’s a lot of great properties on the market. So we’re going to do about 50 this year. We’ve always had the team to do 50. It’s not easy to do, it’s very hard to do. But we’re going to do it. We didn’t lower the bar at all. These stores are among the best we’ve ever done. If you haven’t been to NYC Upper West Side store, it will make your jaw drop. Next time you’re in Paris, go to the Louvre; it’s just amazing. Another store in China in Shanghai in the summer that is mind blowing. Another one in London that will also drop your jaw.

4:45 New chip. Apple has been in silicon design business for years. Not new to us to be in silicon design business. As we looked at some of the products that we are doing like the iPad, and some we will do in the future, we felt that we had the best knowledge of what we wanted the silicon to do. And were in the best ability to deliver that ourselves versus going out to somebody else and buying something that wasn’t exactly what they wanted.

4:47 Acquisition strategy: Historically, we have acquired companies for technology and talent. And they have been on the small size. We’ve looked at large companies, but we have not had a large company pass a strategic and a financial test. We don’t let our money burn a hole in our pocket. Unless we find something that really makes sense for Apple shareholders, we’re not going to do it. The small ones have been incredibly valuable for us, mainly from the talent POV, but also from technology. If we find a large one, we won’t be shy about it. But we won’t do it to do it. We have never been about being the biggest, we’ve always been about making the best products. Not having highest market share or most revenue. Acquiring something that makes our revenue go higher wouldn’t be a reason why we’d buy a company.

4:49 How do you stop hubris from creeping in? Executive team in the company spends a lot of time thinking and discussing how to retain and recruit the best talent in the world. At the end of the day, I know it’s a cliche, but people are our most important asset in the world by far. It’s people who deliver innovation. We are the most focused company that I know of or have read of or have any knowledge of. We say no to good ideas every day. We say no to great ideas in order to keep the amount of things we focus on very small in number so that we can put enormous energy behind the ones we do choose. The table each of you are sitting at today, you could probably put every product on it that Apple makes, yet Apple’s revenue last year was $40 billion. I think any other company that could say that is an oil company. That’s not just saying yes to the right products, it’s saying no to many products that are good ideas, but just not nearly as good as the other ones. I think this is so ingrained in our company that this hubris you talk about that happens to companies that are successful and sole role in life is to get bigger, I can tell you the management team at Apple would never let that happen. That’s not what we’re about. Small list of things to focus on.

Of note Mac OS X 10.6.3 10D561 is different to previous builds and indicative of a nearing release as the download is now available to developers in both delta and combo formats, which is the method of delivery to the public upon release. The delta download size is reported to be 787MB.

Seed notes below.

Included in this update

• Performance improvements for 64-bit Logic
• Addresses compatibility issues with OpenGL-based applications
• Includes changes to QuickTime X that increase reliability, improve compatibility and address security
• Improves printing reliability and compatibility with 3rd party printers
• Addresses an issue that causes background message colors to display incorrectly in Mail when scrolling
• Resolves an issue that prevented files with the # or & in their names from opening in Rosetta
• Resolves an issue that prevented files from copying to Windows shares
• Resolves an issue that caused machines using BTMM and the Bonjour Sleep Proxy to wake unexpectedly
• Resolves an issue with recurring events in iCal when connected to an Exchange server

Known Issues

• none

Focus Areas

• Bluetooth
• GraphicsDrivers
• iChat
• QuickTime
• USB

Since the iTunes Store opened in April 2003 Apple has led a major change to the music industry and today celebrated the sale of the 10 billionth song from the online store.

Apple celebrated the sale of 1 billion songs in February 2006 and 3 billion in July of 2007.

The person who downloaded the 10 billionth song will win a $10,000 iTunes gift card.

The 10 billionth song download coincides with Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ 55th birthday.

A furore began towards the end of last week when it became apparent that Apple had begun removing up to 5,000 apps from the App Store for containing “overtly sexual” content.

The change in policy has caused some confusion and some apps remain untouched despite still containing questionable content. The New York Times spoke to Apple worldwide product marketing head Phil Schiller who helped clarify the situation.

According to Schiller, “It came to the point where we were getting customer complaints from women who found the content getting too degrading and objectionable, as well as parents who were upset with what their kids were able to see”.

Despite this an app from Sports Illustrated that shows bikini-clad women is still in the App Store. When questioned on this Mr. Schiller outlined that Apple looks at the intent of the content, “The difference is this is a well-known company with previously published material available broadly in a well-accepted format”.

When asked about the needs of developers who have had there revenue stream pulled from underneath them Schiller said that Apple needs to “put the needs of the kids and parents first”.

A video posted on Data Center Knowledge now reveals the extent of the construction visible from a helicopter.

Apple’s plan for one of the worlds largest data centres remains unknown although speculation revolves around cloud computing.

The first ad called “Hold Us” shows off the iPhones ability to multitask whilst on the phone, including purchasing from the App Store and playing games.

The second shows capturing video, sending it via an MMS message and conference calling with multiple people.

The latest build labelled 10D558 and weighing in at 710.5MB has been delivered in close proximity to the last build and the attached notes remain unchanged. Sources continue to insist to World of Apple that a release is imminent.

Seed notes below.

Included in this update

• Performance improvements for 64-bit Logic
• Addresses compatibility issues with OpenGL-based applications
• Includes changes to QuickTime X that increase reliability, improve compatibility and address security
• Improves printing reliability and compatibility with 3rd party printers
• Addresses an issue that causes background message colors to display incorrectly in Mail when scrolling
• Resolves an issue that prevented files with the # or & in their names from opening in Rosetta
• Resolves an issue that prevented files from copying to Windows shares
• Resolves an issue that caused machines using BTMM and the Bonjour Sleep Proxy to wake unexpectedly
• Resolves an issue with recurring events in iCal when connected to an Exchange server

Known Issues

• none

Focus Areas

• AFP
• AirPort
• GraphicsDrivers
• QuickTime

Previously Apps downloaded from the App Store would have to be downloaded using WiFi if over 10MB, this limit is now 20MB and is said to not only apply to Apps but podcasts and videos too.

The investigation is based on a complaint filed by Eastman Kodak Company of Rochester, NY, on January 14, 2010. The complaint alleges violations of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 in the importation into the United States and sale of certain mobile telephones and wireless communication devices featuring digital cameras and components thereof that infringe a patent asserted by Kodak. The complainant requests that the USITC issue an exclusion order and cease and desist orders.

Kodak alleges that the iPhone and Blackberry use technologies that infringe patents and has asked the ITC to ban the imports of units in the United State.

The USITC will offer a “final determination in the investigation at the earliest practicable time.”

Tipped by a worker outside the Longhua complex that a nearby Foxconn plant was manufacturing parts for Apple too, our correspondent hopped in a taxi for a visit to the facility in Guanlan, which makes products for a range of companies.

As he stood on the public road taking photos of the front gate and security checkpoint, a guard shouted. The reporter continued snapping photos before jumping into a waiting taxi. The guard blocked the vehicle and ordered the driver to stop, threatening to strip him of his taxi license.

The correspondent got out and insisted he was within his rights as he was on the main road. The guard grabbed his arm. A second guard ran over, and with a crowd of Foxconn workers watching, they tried dragging him into the factory.

The reporter asked to be let go. When that didn’t happen, he jerked himself free and started walking off. The older guard kicked him in the leg, while the second threatened to hit him again if he moved. A few minutes later, a Foxconn security car came along but the reporter refused to board it. He called the police instead.

After the authorities arrived and mediated, the guards apologized and the matter was settled. The reporter left without filing a complaint, though the police gave him the option of doing so.

“You’re free to do what you want,” the policeman explained, “But this is Foxconn and they have a special status here. Please understand.”

The article also revealed that Apple often carries out spot checks of manufacturers to ensure security is tight, adding that several suppliers have been warned about losing their contracts if leaks continue.

Apple is also said to use a lot of custom parts, request tight lead times whilst supplying different manufacturers with different parts of a product to limit how much they can discover about the device.

Symptoms are described as a flashing question mark on the screen at which point Apple will “examine the hard drive to confirm if it is eligible for a replacement, free of charge, under this program.”

More specifically the issue that seems to effect MacBooks with Seagate hard drives is said to only prevail on 13-inch MacBooks with a processor speed of 1.83GHz, 2GHz, or 2.16GHz and one of the following hard drive capacities 60GB, 80GB, 100GB, 120GB, or 160GB.

iPhone 3GS | Image courtesy of Apple

Apple has been officially awarded the “IPHONE” trademark in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office under number 3,746,840 covering International Classes 9, 28 and 38.

Of interest from the award which covers both the name and logo is that the trademark includes classes 9, 28 and 38. The most interesting of the three being class 28 which covers “Handheld unit for playing electronic games.”

View the full patent certificate here, awarded on February 9, 2010.

Apple issued an update yesterday with an aim to fix the issue is available through software update. The 1.6MB download is described by Apple to “reduces processor utilization during audio activities, such as playing or recording music.”

Since the store opened in April 2003 it has reached multiple milestones, iTunes reached its first billion songs downloaded in February 2006 and 3 billion songs in July of 2007.

Apple website read, “iTunes changed the way you buy music, making songs and albums available for download, day or night. Seven years later, we’re about to celebrate our biggest milestone for music, yet — 10 billion songs downloaded”.

Apple TV Interface | Image courtesy of Apple

Apple today released a software update for the Apple TV but has yet to reveal any details of the update. Apple TV 3.0.2 is said by users who have updated to make no noticeable changes.

Until Apple releases a related support article smart speculation suggests that the update simply brings compatibility with Aperture 3 which was released yesterday.

Apple TV 3.0 was released in October last year bringing major UI changes and iTunes LP playback capabilities.

2009 Aluminum Keyboard Firmware Update 1.0

This firmware update improves battery performance of the 2009 Aluminum Apple Wireless Keyboard when used in combination with other Bluetooth devices (example. Magic Mouse, Bluetooth headsets).

According to comScore Apple’s share grew to 25.3% up from 24.1% in the previous quarter in the U.S. At the same time Research in Motions’s share fell to 41.6% from 42.6%.

IDC also reported that in the worldwide market Apple gained significantly to reach a 16% share during 4Q09 with unit shipments of 8.7 million. IDC also offered market share information for the whole of 2009 showing Apple in a dominant third place behind Nokia and RIM. During 2009 Apple’s market share almost doubled from 9.1% to 14.4%.