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Steve Jobs never wanted anyone to tinker with the machines built by his company. That's why Apple's original Macintosh required special tools to open it up and even then, it used proprietary parts and lacked extra slots. Today, that closed spirit lives on in the company's newest laptop, the retina display-equipped MacBook Pro.  This week, the new, high-end machine was crowned "the least repairable laptop" yet seen by iFixIt, a site that specializes in creating do-it-yourself repair guides for products. Much like some of its ancestors, the new MacBook Pro - which starts at $2,199 -requires specialized tools to gain access to its electronic innards. Once opened, only a few of its components can be safely repaired or replaced. Others are inaccessible or too risky for users to mess with. "It’s clear that Apple did not design this computer for the sake of repair-conscious customers," reads iFixIt's blog. "That said, a number of components can be rem...

Aug 11, 2012 12:02 AM   The latest word out of the epic saga that is Apple vs. Samsung is that in October 2010, Samsung passed up on an offer from Apple to license certain of their patents for royalty rates: $30 per smartphone and $40 per tablet device. Additionally, Apple was willing to offer Samsung a 20% discount if they agreed to cross-license their own patents back to Apple. The Cupertino-based company had already begun to suspect Samsung of copying the design of its wildly popular iPhone, and said as much in an an August 2010 presentation. This latest testimony and evidence, released today, seems to make Samsung's case even bleaker than it had already begun to look. Below is Apple's October 2010 patents presentation to Samsung. This will never end. Samsung Apple Oct 5 2010 Licensing [AllThingsD] View the original article here This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the soft...

Aug 7, 2012 4:40 PM   Apple has landed some more intellectual property for Passbook, its mobile wallet solution for iOS 6. This time it's a patent directly related to shopping. The latest is an NFC-powered shopping app that lets you make a list by scanning product codes or taking pictures. It will also pull up information you'd want to know like price, quality, ratings, etc. Then when you make your decision, you could check out electronically. Sounds a little obvious, and it actually seems similar to the Apple Store app that already exists. Except this one would work at every store. But just like the travel patent Apple recently earned, we won't see it as a standalone product, but rather another portion of Passbook. That's not a bad thing, though. With so many capabilities rolled in one, Passbook could be absolutely killer. Assuming, you know, the next iPhone actually has NFC. [USPTO via Engadget] View the original article here This post was made using the Auto Blogg...

There are coincidences in this world, and it's important not to read too much into them. Pandora playing the song stuck in your head doesn't make you psychic. But then there are coincidences you can't help but think might mean a little bit more. Like, say, three heavy hitter holdouts all hopping on Apple TV within two days of each other. Maybe it's just one of those things. Or maybe it's a sign that something major's in the works. Let's embark on some wild conjecture, shall we? Two days ago, word came down that Hulu Plus had crash-landed on Apple TV. It's hard to overstate what a big deal this is; the assumption had long been that Apple didn't want Hulu on its streaming box because it directly competes with Apple's own (highly profitable) iTunes offerings. Who's going to buy a $30 season pass to Modern Family when when it's rolled into your $8/month Hulu Plus subscription? That's not just idle speculation, either; Hulu Plus had repor...

There's been so much rumor-hawking and speculation the past few weeks that whether you're ready or not, we're squarely in the middle of iPhone season. So here's a quick rundown of everything we think we know about Apple's next iPhone. We think we have a pretty good idea of what the new iPhone will look like; we've been seeing leaked parts for months now, and recently that has moved up to fully assembled phones, and possibly a whole phone smuggled out of a plant. The phone will reportedly be a unibody design, with a two-tone back, and come in both black and white. First and most obviously, the display is probably going to be four inches, and 16:9. We've heard this again and again, and iMore's report today suggests that's the configuration that Apple's locked into. On a technical level, though, the iPhone is probably going to use Sharp's IGZO display technology. IGZO screens are thinner, because they use smaller transistors, allowing more ligh...

Apple had three favorite typefaces: Myriad, Lucida Grande and Helvetica Neue. Now there's a new favorite: Avenir . It has appeared simultaneously OS X Mountain Lion and iOS 6—which means you will see it featured in the next iPhone. All these sans serif typefaces have a few things in common, but they all have a very distinctive look and role. Back in 2002, Apple adopted Myriad as its corporate typeface. It replaced Apple Garamond, Cupertino's own version of the classic Garamond, a serif typeface that was everywhere—from the company logo to all of its computers, including every single model of Macintosh and PowerBook released until the eMac. It was so iconic that long-time Apple users protested when the company abandoned it. Myriad is an Adobe typeface, created by Robert Slimbach and Carol Twombly. You can find it in every single Apple product box, advertising and marketing material, even its own logotype. Some fonts of the Myriad typeface are included in OS X, but it is complet...

Jul 30, 2012 9:00 PM   Apple has new ads out, and because Apple is a special company, we all care. Also, Apple's ads tend to be well executed, occasionally bizarre in a charming way, and often Zooey. But this time? Ehhhh? The "Genius" series of spots is a pretty stark 180 degree slide from the haute marketing reached with Malkovich and Deschanel's dabbles with Siri. Suddenly it's the mid/late 2000s again, and a goofily affable dude is trying to sell us Macs. He's not annoying like Justin Long, but the gist of the ad is still, with little verve, that users don't know how to use their computers. Is the objective here to make the Geniuses look vaguely superior? To make Mac users look somewhat dim? Both? Are either of those appealing? Would either of those make you want to buy an Apple? Do you feel stupid? Is this stupid? View the original article here This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when ...

Jul 27, 2012 12:40 PM   Apple has long been working on a Google Glasses-like heads up display, and have been granted a couple of patents already. But Patently Apple has drudged up their latest one, which promises to bring Retina-quality visuals to the little screen. And intriguing as that may be, the more entertaining thing here is the sketch itself. The look on the person's face. That boxy attachment for the screen. THE HELMET! All of it adds up to something quite ridiculous. Granted, this isn't a design patent, so whatever Apple is working on will look nothing like this. But for a company as obsessed with image as Apple is, one would have thought even their non-essential sketches would even look good. [USPTO via Patently Apple] View the original article here This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Jul 27, 2012 12:40 PM   Apple has long been working on a Google Glasses-like heads up display, and have been granted a couple of patents already. But Patently Apple has drudged up their latest one, which promises to bring Retina-quality visuals to the little screen. And intriguing as that may be, the more entertaining thing here is the sketch itself. The look on the person's face. That boxy attachment for the screen. THE HELMET! All of it adds up to something quite ridiculous. Granted, this isn't a design patent, so whatever Apple is working on will look nothing like this. But for a company as obsessed with image as Apple is, one would have thought even their non-essential sketches would even look good. [USPTO via Patently Apple] View the original article here This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Jul 24, 2012 2:18 PM   Did you hear about the latest Apple versus Samsung patent development in [INSERT COUNTRY]? Judge [INSERT NAME] ruled that [Apple/Samsung] had to stop selling [INSERT PRODUCT] because it infringed on [Apple/Samsung]'s patent on [INSERT VAGUE TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION]. You didn't hear? Well who can keep up anyway? For those who need a refresher, here's one of Apple's basic claims against Samsung boiled down into a single image posted by AllThingsD's John Paczkowski. Before the iPhone, Samsung smartphones were ugly and horrible. After the iPhone, they're beautiful iPhone clones. Case closed? Someday, someone will decide for sure. [Twitter] View the original article here This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Features 9.1 Display 9.8 Battery life 9.1 Ease of use 9.6 Storage capacity 8.3 Design and form factor 9.3 Portability (size / weight) 8.4 Durability 8.4 Get better reviews from people who actually have this product! write a reviewsee all reviews ? View the original article here This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.