Apple misled iPod owners, plaintiffs allege at class action trial
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Plaintiffs on Tuesday started outlining their case against Apple, saying in a courtroom here that the electronics giant kept iPod prices high by implementing unneeded software updates. Because Apple wanted to hurt competitors and ban their music from iTunes, it ended up harming consumers in the process, attorneys for two plaintiffs in a class action antitrust lawsuit argued. The trial, which is slated to last nine days, will decide an almost decade-old claim that Apple's MP3 players may have been overpriced while the company used its iTunes software to squash cheaper devices. The crux of the case is a set of now-defunct policies that Apple instituted in the earliest days of the iPod to control how and where users of iTunes and owners of its music players could play back purchased songs. The plaintiffs argue that Apple, in restricting iPod owners to songs purchased only through iTunes and in banning songs from iTunes from playing on competing MP3 players, the company stifled competition. That kept iPod prices artificially high, the plaintiffs say. "Apple made those changes to its software after top executives at Apple learned that competitors had figured out a way to have their songs played on the iPod," Bonny Sweeney, the lead plaintiffs' lawyer, said Tuesday. "And there was a concern by Apple that this would eat into their market share."Apple's lead attorney refuted those claims. "This insertion of the stranger in the middle could not get everything right. It posed a danger to the consumer experience and to the quality of the product," William Isaacson said in defense of Apple's software updates. Isaacson also pointed out that the plaintiffs' claim that iPod prices were inflated happened to be at a time when iPod storage increased while prices either fell or remained flat. "There should be no damages here because prices went down and quality went up." The plaintiffs, Melanie Wilson and Marianna Rosen, are seeking $350 million. Because of its class action status, the lawsuit could award damages to as many as 8 million people who purchased an iPod between September 12, 2006, and March 31, 2009. Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller and iTunes chief Eddy Cue are set to take the stand in the coming days, and the plaintiffs also will play videotaped deposition from former CEO Steve Jobs, who died in 2011. See also: Everything you need to know about Apple's iPod class action suit This case is not Apple's first antitrust rodeo. The company, thanks to Jobs' often bullheaded business tactics, has been embroiled in other high-profile cases concerning the iPhone maker's competitive strategies and whether they stepped over the line. In 2010, Apple was accused of conspiring with other tech firms to fix employee wages to prevent competitors from recruiting top talent from one another. Two years later, Apple was accused of leading a charge in the e-book industry against Amazon, conspiring with the top US book publishers to fix prices of digital titles higher than Amazon wanted to sell them to consumers. Apple failed in its e-book crusade -- it may soon begin paying $400 million to as many as 23 million e-book customers -- and a rejected settlement agreement in the wage-fixing suit means Apple will face another antitrust trial in April. See alsoApple fights RealNetworks' 'hacker tactics'Apple's Jobs calls for DRM-free musicDRM-free iTunes Store to haunt Apple?Jobs ordered to testify in FairPlay antitrust case The current case involving iPods is complex, having evolved significantly since the original January 2005 filing. The suit initially alleged that Apple broke the law by restricting owners of its iPod to songs purchased only through iTunes. A court deemed that legal, however, and the plaintiffs have since altered the suit, alleging instead that Apple made a series of software updates to iTunes specifically designed to shut out competing music stores' ability to load their songs onto iPods. The case will aim to determine what effect Apple's FairPlay technology -- a so-called digital rights management tool that acts like a watermark made of code -- had on the market for MP3 players when it restricted iPod owners to iTunes and how to interpret Apple's behavior in protecting FairPlay using software updates. Apple refused to license FairPlay to competing music stores and would not allow other MP3 players to connect to iTunes. The plaintiffs lawyers will need to prove that Apple's actions were in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act and California's Unfair Competition Law. Apple says that competing online music stores like RealNetworks, which designed a specific tool called Harmony so that customers could load its MP3s onto their iPods, were using the "ethics and tactics of a hacker." The crucial updates to Apple's iTunes software, numbered 7.0 and 7.4 and released in September 2006 and September 2007, were designed not to block companies like RealNetworks, Apple says, but to improve the user's experience and maintain the security of its software. The plaintiffs' argument, however, is that the updates "did not make the iPod faster, improve sound quality, did not make the iPod sleeker or smaller or cooler," but "prevented customers who had legally purchased songs from Apple's competitors from playing those songs on their iPod," Sweeney said. Steve Jobs, Apple's co-founder and former CEO who died in 2011, will appear on the stand through a taped deposition.Stephen Shankland/CNET Such "genuine product improvements," as they're called, would exempt a company's actions from being deemed anticompetitive. iTunes 7.0 is notable for introducing digital movie purchases to the store. Jobs called it at the time "the most significant enhancement" to iTunes "since it debuted in 2001." Yet the updates also contained specially designed code that would go so far as to force users to reset their iPods if they were loaded with unauthorized MP3 files, wiping the devices clean. "These fixes were really directed at competitors -- it blew up everything if you used a third-party player," said Roger G. Noll, a professor emeritus of economics at Stanford University and the first expert witness called by the plaintiffs Tuesday. "That was Apple's fix."Apple's Isaacson says the iTunes 7.0 and 7.4 updates were designed to improve security and purposefully keep third parties like RealNetworks, which Apple still considers a hacker, out of its system. "Harmony was outdated when FairPlay was updated. All Apple was doing was updating FairPlay," he said. "That's what happens when you reverse engineer the product and there's an update of that architecture." Neither RealNetworks nor any of the retailers named in the suit, including Best Buy and Walmart, have filed suits of their own. RealNetworks executives will not appear as witnesses. Instead, the trial will hinge on the words of Jobs and other Apple executives on the architecture of FairPlay and iTunes development and expert testimony on both sides from university professors on the strengths and weaknesses of the plaintiffs' antitrust argument. Ultimately, the case will not impact Apple beyond the potential monetary damages. The company began offering DRM-free music in January of 2009 and FairPlay is now used only to monitor the number of computers and other devices to which a user has downloaded a media file or mobile app. Music and other licensed media purchased from other companies like Amazon and Google can now be played on Apple devices. Yet more interesting is that the music landscape is now drastically different now than it was just seven years ago. The iPod has been on a steady decline since 2008 -- smartphones having demolished the MP3 player business -- while digital music downloads have begun losing ground to subscription streaming services like Spotify. --Shara Tibken contributed to this report.Update at 11:32 a.m. PT: Added comment from Apple's opening arguments.
Lenovo joins Chrome OS party with laptop for schools
Lenovo joins Chrome OS party with laptop for schools
Google got a big new ally in its Chrome OS push today: Lenovo, the No. 2 PC maker.Although Lenovo is a notable ally, it's only really a foot in the door for Google. Lenovo's new ThinkPad X131e Chromebook is only geared for schools. Presumably it could lead to greater things for Google if the device gets a good reception, but this shouldn't be confused with Lenovo pushing a mainstream device the way the two existing Chrome OS partners, Acer and Samsung, have done.It's not clear whether Lenovo has grander ambitions for Chrome OS, something that might cause alarm at Microsoft since it threatens both Windows and Office. Lenovo didn't respond to a request for comment on its plans but we'll update this story if it does.Other Chrome OS devices are in the works, judging by code names for hardware platforms surfacing in the software's source code and issue tracker. Francois Beaufort, who pores through those sources, said yesterday that Lenovo has been working on a Chrome OS device code-named Stout. He also said another device in the works, called Kiev, is a Chromebox from Acer. So far only Samsung has shipped a Chromebox, a standalone PC that lacks a Chromebook's built-in keyboard, mouse, and monitor.Related storiesAsus weighing Chrome versus AndroidThe Real Deal 193: Road Test - CES edition (podcast)Google shows off Chrome OS tablet ideas Chrome OS is a browser-based operating system; although it runs Linux under the covers, all the software people use are Web sites or Web apps. That means no Photoshop, Skype, iTunes, or Call of Duty, but it's fine for looking up recipes, connecting on Facebook, checking e-mail, and using Google Docs.Chrome OS is a natural fit for Google Apps -- a subscription service that grants access to a variety of browser-based Google services including Gmail, word processing, calendars, and presentations. It ordinarily costs $50 per user per year, but Google Apps for education customers is free -- a nice deal compared to Microsoft Office.The ThinkPad X131e is a rugged design that already was available with Windows. It'll be available starting February 26 for schools that bid for it.The laptop has an 11.6-inch, 1,366x768 LED antiglare screen, three USB ports, HDMI and VGA video ports, and an Intel processor. Lenovo promises the battery is enough to last a full day of school. The Windows version of the X131e, using a 1.40GHz Intel Core i3-2367M Processor with 3MB cache, starts at $619.What did Lenovo do with the Windows key on the laptop? Changed it into a search key, naturally. Unlike the Samsung and Acer Chromebooks, which weren't variations on Windows machines, that means it still has a caps lock button.
Google got a big new ally in its Chrome OS push today: Lenovo, the No. 2 PC maker.Although Lenovo is a notable ally, it's only really a foot in the door for Google. Lenovo's new ThinkPad X131e Chromebook is only geared for schools. Presumably it could lead to greater things for Google if the device gets a good reception, but this shouldn't be confused with Lenovo pushing a mainstream device the way the two existing Chrome OS partners, Acer and Samsung, have done.It's not clear whether Lenovo has grander ambitions for Chrome OS, something that might cause alarm at Microsoft since it threatens both Windows and Office. Lenovo didn't respond to a request for comment on its plans but we'll update this story if it does.Other Chrome OS devices are in the works, judging by code names for hardware platforms surfacing in the software's source code and issue tracker. Francois Beaufort, who pores through those sources, said yesterday that Lenovo has been working on a Chrome OS device code-named Stout. He also said another device in the works, called Kiev, is a Chromebox from Acer. So far only Samsung has shipped a Chromebox, a standalone PC that lacks a Chromebook's built-in keyboard, mouse, and monitor.Related storiesAsus weighing Chrome versus AndroidThe Real Deal 193: Road Test - CES edition (podcast)Google shows off Chrome OS tablet ideas Chrome OS is a browser-based operating system; although it runs Linux under the covers, all the software people use are Web sites or Web apps. That means no Photoshop, Skype, iTunes, or Call of Duty, but it's fine for looking up recipes, connecting on Facebook, checking e-mail, and using Google Docs.Chrome OS is a natural fit for Google Apps -- a subscription service that grants access to a variety of browser-based Google services including Gmail, word processing, calendars, and presentations. It ordinarily costs $50 per user per year, but Google Apps for education customers is free -- a nice deal compared to Microsoft Office.The ThinkPad X131e is a rugged design that already was available with Windows. It'll be available starting February 26 for schools that bid for it.The laptop has an 11.6-inch, 1,366x768 LED antiglare screen, three USB ports, HDMI and VGA video ports, and an Intel processor. Lenovo promises the battery is enough to last a full day of school. The Windows version of the X131e, using a 1.40GHz Intel Core i3-2367M Processor with 3MB cache, starts at $619.What did Lenovo do with the Windows key on the laptop? Changed it into a search key, naturally. Unlike the Samsung and Acer Chromebooks, which weren't variations on Windows machines, that means it still has a caps lock button.
Apple, Facebook ruining rock, says Pumpkins' Corgan
Apple, Facebook ruining rock, says Pumpkins' Corgan
Billy Corgan is a tetrahedron who embraces rock. He also pisses on it.This is not my intellectual musing. This is the intellectual musing of Billy Corgan, in a fine and wide-ranging interview with the Antiquiet.Corgan is the most smashing of the Smashing Pumpkins. He has principles. He believes that bands like Deep Purple and Rainbow have more value than Radiohead (upon whose head he would happily piss). Radiohead is, for him, pompous.An even greater object of his urination, however, is the technological pincer movement symbolized by Apple and Facebook.In response to his interviewer's suggestion that the way technology now dominates music creates a deep shortsightedness among listeners, a deep obsession with what is merely new, Corgan fulminated.He said: I'm sorry, every system up until the last 10, 12 years... it kicked its own door in. They didn't need it lubricated first. The Clash kicked the f****** door in. Nirvana kicked their own door in. The Cure kicked their own door in. Whatever, pick your f****** movement. Kick in your own f****** door. You don't need a guy with a beard to put you over. Do it yourself.I am assuming the guy with the beard he was referring to wasn't God, but a friend of God's: Steve Jobs. Facebook, too, Corgan deems destructive.He said: Look, we're all insecure in our own ways, most of us. You've got a Facebook with a few hundred friends. If you do something truly radical, are you ready to withstand the 40 negative comments? Most people aren't. So they're getting peer pressured at levels they don't even realize. It's what you don't say. It's like the government spying on us. Right? Now it becomes about what we don't say. The same thing with culture. I'm just willing to say it, and deal with the 40 negative comments. Once upon a time, Corgan believes, rock was a truly revolutionary force. He offered a quote from Woody Guthrie: "This guitar is a f****** weapon. This guitar kills fascists."Now technology makes us anodyne."When music is so goddamned f****** iTunes friendly cuddly, it makes me want to f****** puke. It's not for everybody to be like that, but where is that voicing in the greater collective voices? Why don't we have that anymore?"His suggestion is that the Apple-Facebook cabal is making artists cower. Of Facebook, he said: "We're all being identified by a conceptual identity. Not a true identity, a conceptual identity."Perhaps one can see what he means. Perhaps, though, one has always had a conceptual, rather than a true, image of rock stars.Many will titter to bladder-pressure -- as do the nice people at Tuaw -- at the notion that the Pumpkins have a new album coming out, one that happens to be available on iTunes. But the truth is that technology has made music more disposable and therefore less important. The buffet is now so vast, so all-you-can eat, that it's hard to appreciate any of the dishes. Isn't it worth wondering why it is that the only bands that seem to sell out large venues these days all have a combined age that drifts beyond 250? iTunes screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET
Billy Corgan is a tetrahedron who embraces rock. He also pisses on it.This is not my intellectual musing. This is the intellectual musing of Billy Corgan, in a fine and wide-ranging interview with the Antiquiet.Corgan is the most smashing of the Smashing Pumpkins. He has principles. He believes that bands like Deep Purple and Rainbow have more value than Radiohead (upon whose head he would happily piss). Radiohead is, for him, pompous.An even greater object of his urination, however, is the technological pincer movement symbolized by Apple and Facebook.In response to his interviewer's suggestion that the way technology now dominates music creates a deep shortsightedness among listeners, a deep obsession with what is merely new, Corgan fulminated.He said: I'm sorry, every system up until the last 10, 12 years... it kicked its own door in. They didn't need it lubricated first. The Clash kicked the f****** door in. Nirvana kicked their own door in. The Cure kicked their own door in. Whatever, pick your f****** movement. Kick in your own f****** door. You don't need a guy with a beard to put you over. Do it yourself.I am assuming the guy with the beard he was referring to wasn't God, but a friend of God's: Steve Jobs. Facebook, too, Corgan deems destructive.He said: Look, we're all insecure in our own ways, most of us. You've got a Facebook with a few hundred friends. If you do something truly radical, are you ready to withstand the 40 negative comments? Most people aren't. So they're getting peer pressured at levels they don't even realize. It's what you don't say. It's like the government spying on us. Right? Now it becomes about what we don't say. The same thing with culture. I'm just willing to say it, and deal with the 40 negative comments. Once upon a time, Corgan believes, rock was a truly revolutionary force. He offered a quote from Woody Guthrie: "This guitar is a f****** weapon. This guitar kills fascists."Now technology makes us anodyne."When music is so goddamned f****** iTunes friendly cuddly, it makes me want to f****** puke. It's not for everybody to be like that, but where is that voicing in the greater collective voices? Why don't we have that anymore?"His suggestion is that the Apple-Facebook cabal is making artists cower. Of Facebook, he said: "We're all being identified by a conceptual identity. Not a true identity, a conceptual identity."Perhaps one can see what he means. Perhaps, though, one has always had a conceptual, rather than a true, image of rock stars.Many will titter to bladder-pressure -- as do the nice people at Tuaw -- at the notion that the Pumpkins have a new album coming out, one that happens to be available on iTunes. But the truth is that technology has made music more disposable and therefore less important. The buffet is now so vast, so all-you-can eat, that it's hard to appreciate any of the dishes. Isn't it worth wondering why it is that the only bands that seem to sell out large venues these days all have a combined age that drifts beyond 250? iTunes screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET
Star 6 beat-box app for iPhone improved
Star 6 beat-box app for iPhone improved
Once you've picked a family of beats, you can switch among six individual beats, control the speed, and add wacked-out effects like delay and reverse by touching various icons on the screen. It also lets you manipulate tonal qualities such as pitch and gate by tilting the device backward and forward--it uses the iPhone's built-in accelerometer. (The "speed" setting controls the playback speed of the individual sample, not the beats per minute, or BPM, of the entire track.) You can create and name sessions to recall later, and all sessions are automatically saved in the state you left them. It's a lot of fun to play with, and could be useful in certain professional situations: you could plug your device into an amp or a PA and use it as a simple drum machine, or to fill the gaps between songs in a live or DJ gig, or simply as an audio backdrop for a party.Version 1.1. of the app, which became available last Friday in the iTunes App Store, adds a number of important usability improvements. First and foremost is something called "quantizing," which helps you switch between rhythms directly on the beat. Before, you had to hit the button at the exact right time, which could be pretty hard when playing a rave track at 170 BPM, otherwise you'd get an awkward transition. The BPM controller is now on the main screen, and has a new feature that lets you slide the rate quickly up and down. You can also have the BPM affect the pitch, in case you want your samples to sound like they've been inhaling helium as you increase the speed of the track. It's currently available for an introductory price of $6.99, but will go up to $9.99 on January 18, 2010. So if you're interested, jump on it now. For what it's worth, I get a lot of iPhone apps to test out, and this is one of the few that I'll be keeping.
Once you've picked a family of beats, you can switch among six individual beats, control the speed, and add wacked-out effects like delay and reverse by touching various icons on the screen. It also lets you manipulate tonal qualities such as pitch and gate by tilting the device backward and forward--it uses the iPhone's built-in accelerometer. (The "speed" setting controls the playback speed of the individual sample, not the beats per minute, or BPM, of the entire track.) You can create and name sessions to recall later, and all sessions are automatically saved in the state you left them. It's a lot of fun to play with, and could be useful in certain professional situations: you could plug your device into an amp or a PA and use it as a simple drum machine, or to fill the gaps between songs in a live or DJ gig, or simply as an audio backdrop for a party.Version 1.1. of the app, which became available last Friday in the iTunes App Store, adds a number of important usability improvements. First and foremost is something called "quantizing," which helps you switch between rhythms directly on the beat. Before, you had to hit the button at the exact right time, which could be pretty hard when playing a rave track at 170 BPM, otherwise you'd get an awkward transition. The BPM controller is now on the main screen, and has a new feature that lets you slide the rate quickly up and down. You can also have the BPM affect the pitch, in case you want your samples to sound like they've been inhaling helium as you increase the speed of the track. It's currently available for an introductory price of $6.99, but will go up to $9.99 on January 18, 2010. So if you're interested, jump on it now. For what it's worth, I get a lot of iPhone apps to test out, and this is one of the few that I'll be keeping.
iPhone game tracks face movement for in-game navigation
iPhone game tracks face movement for in-game navigation
Eye tracking in mobile devices is still in its infancy â€" but one Jerusalem-based company has been working on a software solution for some time. Called Umoove, it aims to integrate face and eye tracking into mobile apps for a variety of applications, including scrolling down a page â€" and, of course, games.The company's first game, Umoove Experience: The 3D Face & Eye Tracking Flying Game, has now launched and is available for free on the iTunes app store. As far as games go, it's very basic: you move around an environment (in this case, flying through a desert village), collecting potions to keep yourself aloft. There is, however, one key difference: rather than touching the screen to move, you move your head left, right, up and down to move in the corresponding direction in the game.Once the technology is working as it should, we imagine it'll be pretty amazing, and in the company's demos it certainly looks impressive. Playing Umoove Experience on an iPod Touch 5, though, leaves a lot to be desired. Upon starting the game, you are asked to calibrate with a simple series of head movements. Then you're launched into the game, where whether or not the controls will actually work is very hit-and-miss. We found that the controls would overshoot or â€" far more likely â€" simply fail to respond to head movements at all.Umoove describes what it has built:Umoove has created a software-only face and eye tracking technology, built especially to facilitate the challenges in mobile environments such as shakiness, lighting and limited hardware resources. The technology runs at a CPU as low as 5% in real-time and needs nothing but the raw frames of the front-facing camera for input. On top of the core technology, Umoove has developed an interpretation layer which turns the face and eye movements into a language of interaction and valuable data. Umoove's technology is built on top of unique algorithms and has over fifteen patent files pending. We actually have no doubt that the potential for the Umoove software is there, but Umoove Experience: The 3D Face & Eye Tracking Flying Game is, at this point in time, a pretty poor expression of that potential.If you want to try it out for yourself, you can find it for free on the iTunes app store. It will be arriving soon for Android.
Eye tracking in mobile devices is still in its infancy â€" but one Jerusalem-based company has been working on a software solution for some time. Called Umoove, it aims to integrate face and eye tracking into mobile apps for a variety of applications, including scrolling down a page â€" and, of course, games.The company's first game, Umoove Experience: The 3D Face & Eye Tracking Flying Game, has now launched and is available for free on the iTunes app store. As far as games go, it's very basic: you move around an environment (in this case, flying through a desert village), collecting potions to keep yourself aloft. There is, however, one key difference: rather than touching the screen to move, you move your head left, right, up and down to move in the corresponding direction in the game.Once the technology is working as it should, we imagine it'll be pretty amazing, and in the company's demos it certainly looks impressive. Playing Umoove Experience on an iPod Touch 5, though, leaves a lot to be desired. Upon starting the game, you are asked to calibrate with a simple series of head movements. Then you're launched into the game, where whether or not the controls will actually work is very hit-and-miss. We found that the controls would overshoot or â€" far more likely â€" simply fail to respond to head movements at all.Umoove describes what it has built:Umoove has created a software-only face and eye tracking technology, built especially to facilitate the challenges in mobile environments such as shakiness, lighting and limited hardware resources. The technology runs at a CPU as low as 5% in real-time and needs nothing but the raw frames of the front-facing camera for input. On top of the core technology, Umoove has developed an interpretation layer which turns the face and eye movements into a language of interaction and valuable data. Umoove's technology is built on top of unique algorithms and has over fifteen patent files pending. We actually have no doubt that the potential for the Umoove software is there, but Umoove Experience: The 3D Face & Eye Tracking Flying Game is, at this point in time, a pretty poor expression of that potential.If you want to try it out for yourself, you can find it for free on the iTunes app store. It will be arriving soon for Android.
Wolfram Alpha iPhone app is cool but overpriced
Wolfram Alpha iPhone app is cool but overpriced
Now, to be fair, the iPhone app is a much better way to use Wolfram than the Web site, for a few reasons.The Wolfram Web site renders all answers, even text, as GIF graphics, which means that text doesn't automatically wrap, or even scale well, on the iPhone's small screen. The app fixes that, and results render nicely on the iPhone. Also, entering complex queries using numbers and symbols on the iPhone's standard keyboard is a real drag, but the Wolfram app has a special keyboard that gives fast access to the symbols you'll need if you're a heavy Wolfram user.There are several other nice features. You can bookmark queries, e-mail them, and Twitter them. They really do make the Wolfram app very handy for frequent users, and it's those power Wolframers that the app is targeted at. If you need it, then the "price of 12 lattes from Starbucks," which I'm told is another way the team is thinking of the price, is as they might say in the halls of some physics departments, trivial.But as they would tell you in the economics department, you're being taken for a ride.Also, Wolfram Alpha doesn't know the price of 12 Starbucks lattes either, but it did tell me the stock price of SBUX and, to its credit, if you enter "12 lattes" as a query, you'll get all sorts of nutritional information, such as calorie content for the 12 lattes (1,654), carbohydrates (61 percent of daily recommended intake), and cholesterol (162 mg).Just like the dozen lattes, this app is hard to swallow.Previously: Wolfram Alpha opens API to developers.
Now, to be fair, the iPhone app is a much better way to use Wolfram than the Web site, for a few reasons.The Wolfram Web site renders all answers, even text, as GIF graphics, which means that text doesn't automatically wrap, or even scale well, on the iPhone's small screen. The app fixes that, and results render nicely on the iPhone. Also, entering complex queries using numbers and symbols on the iPhone's standard keyboard is a real drag, but the Wolfram app has a special keyboard that gives fast access to the symbols you'll need if you're a heavy Wolfram user.There are several other nice features. You can bookmark queries, e-mail them, and Twitter them. They really do make the Wolfram app very handy for frequent users, and it's those power Wolframers that the app is targeted at. If you need it, then the "price of 12 lattes from Starbucks," which I'm told is another way the team is thinking of the price, is as they might say in the halls of some physics departments, trivial.But as they would tell you in the economics department, you're being taken for a ride.Also, Wolfram Alpha doesn't know the price of 12 Starbucks lattes either, but it did tell me the stock price of SBUX and, to its credit, if you enter "12 lattes" as a query, you'll get all sorts of nutritional information, such as calorie content for the 12 lattes (1,654), carbohydrates (61 percent of daily recommended intake), and cholesterol (162 mg).Just like the dozen lattes, this app is hard to swallow.Previously: Wolfram Alpha opens API to developers.
With TakeTV and Fanfare, SanDisk aims to bridge gap between PC video and TV
With TakeTV and Fanfare, SanDisk aims to bridge gap between PC video and TV
It was first shown at January's Consumer Electronics Show--and then leaked on Buy.com just days ago--but the Sansa TakeTV is now official. It's not the first device designed to put PC-based digital videos on the TV, but what sets SanDisk's TakeTV apart is its simplicity: just drag and drop videos to the flash drive from your PC, and then plug it into the included video dock to watch them on your TV. The straightforward operation is a notable counterpoint to most other PC-to-TV digital video alternatives, which involve either cumbersome direct hook-ups (video and audio runs from a PC to a TV); installing digital media adapters (such as the Apple TV or Xbox 360), which require some knowledge of home networking; or burning video files to disc for playback on compatible DVD players. Concurrent with the TakeTV launch, SanDisk is also debuting Fanfare, a premium video download service. TakeTV is the first device that can play back Fanfare content, but SanDisk is aiming to expand compatibility to other products in its Sansa line. Currently in beta, Fanfare is little more than a proof of concept, but the addition of content partners beyond CBS and Showtime could certainly position it as a worthwhile alternative to Apple's iTunes Store. For a more in-depth look at the SanDisk Sansa TakeTV--including a first look at the Fanfare service--check out CNET's complete hands-on review and the accompanying photo gallery.
It was first shown at January's Consumer Electronics Show--and then leaked on Buy.com just days ago--but the Sansa TakeTV is now official. It's not the first device designed to put PC-based digital videos on the TV, but what sets SanDisk's TakeTV apart is its simplicity: just drag and drop videos to the flash drive from your PC, and then plug it into the included video dock to watch them on your TV. The straightforward operation is a notable counterpoint to most other PC-to-TV digital video alternatives, which involve either cumbersome direct hook-ups (video and audio runs from a PC to a TV); installing digital media adapters (such as the Apple TV or Xbox 360), which require some knowledge of home networking; or burning video files to disc for playback on compatible DVD players. Concurrent with the TakeTV launch, SanDisk is also debuting Fanfare, a premium video download service. TakeTV is the first device that can play back Fanfare content, but SanDisk is aiming to expand compatibility to other products in its Sansa line. Currently in beta, Fanfare is little more than a proof of concept, but the addition of content partners beyond CBS and Showtime could certainly position it as a worthwhile alternative to Apple's iTunes Store. For a more in-depth look at the SanDisk Sansa TakeTV--including a first look at the Fanfare service--check out CNET's complete hands-on review and the accompanying photo gallery.
Dictionary apps post false piracy confessions on Twitter
Dictionary apps post false piracy confessions on Twitter
Publishers, as you might have guessed, want piracy to end. So far, though, nothing has proved to be effective. Laws? Nope. DRM? Pirates laugh at DRM. So dictionary app developer Enfour has come up with its own novel solution, but it's one that targets legitimate customers.On 1 November, the developer rolled out updates to its apps that included an "anti-piracy" module. Once installed, the update requests access to users' Twitter accounts â€" an odd permission for a dictionary app. As it turns out, that access is then used to impersonate the user posting to Twitter with a false piracy confession under the hashtag #softwarepirateconfessions:(Screenshot by Michelle Starr/CNET Australia)This tweet appears in exactly the same form hundreds of times over.When it afflicted Pocketables associate editor Andreas ØdegÃ¥rd, who had purchased the Oxford Deluxe dictionary app for US$50 in 2010, he posited that the app is targeting phones with Installous installed â€" an app that allows users to share cracked and jailbroken apps. (ØdegÃ¥rd was careful to mention that he has only used this app once â€" when another app he bought stopped working.)It is plausible that this feature would target jailbroken iPhones, but it seems that even uncracked devices are falling prey, as user reviews on iTunes suggest.According to Tracey Northcott, Enfour's vice president of International Communications, the tweets are a "bug". However, it has been two weeks since the update, and the Enfour confessions are still happening.We're inclined to agree with ØdegÃ¥rd:You don't accidentally include a feature that asks for Twitter access and then uses that access to accuse the owner of software piracy.Via www.pocketables.com
Publishers, as you might have guessed, want piracy to end. So far, though, nothing has proved to be effective. Laws? Nope. DRM? Pirates laugh at DRM. So dictionary app developer Enfour has come up with its own novel solution, but it's one that targets legitimate customers.On 1 November, the developer rolled out updates to its apps that included an "anti-piracy" module. Once installed, the update requests access to users' Twitter accounts â€" an odd permission for a dictionary app. As it turns out, that access is then used to impersonate the user posting to Twitter with a false piracy confession under the hashtag #softwarepirateconfessions:(Screenshot by Michelle Starr/CNET Australia)This tweet appears in exactly the same form hundreds of times over.When it afflicted Pocketables associate editor Andreas ØdegÃ¥rd, who had purchased the Oxford Deluxe dictionary app for US$50 in 2010, he posited that the app is targeting phones with Installous installed â€" an app that allows users to share cracked and jailbroken apps. (ØdegÃ¥rd was careful to mention that he has only used this app once â€" when another app he bought stopped working.)It is plausible that this feature would target jailbroken iPhones, but it seems that even uncracked devices are falling prey, as user reviews on iTunes suggest.According to Tracey Northcott, Enfour's vice president of International Communications, the tweets are a "bug". However, it has been two weeks since the update, and the Enfour confessions are still happening.We're inclined to agree with ØdegÃ¥rd:You don't accidentally include a feature that asks for Twitter access and then uses that access to accuse the owner of software piracy.Via www.pocketables.com
Device monitors teen driving (podcast)
Device monitors teen driving (podcast)
There are plenty of things for parents of teens to worry about, but almost nothing is as scary as when your kid ventures out behind the wheel of a car or rides in a car with another teen driver. Each year more than 6,000 teens are involved in fatal accidents. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for teens.Still, most parents allow their teens to drive. You can't sit in the backseat every time your kid takes the wheel, but thanks to the Tiwi, a $299 device that mounts to the windshield of your kid's car, you can now virtually watch and nag your kids as they drive.As Inthinc CEO Todd Follmer explains (scroll down to listen to interview), the device can track the car's speed and location and the speed limit.The Tiwi, which has a GPS and cellular modem, will use voice to tell the driver when to slow down.The device is also integrated into the vehicle's diagnostic port so it knows if the driver has his or her seat belt on.There is also an accelerometer that can sense a hard acceleration, hard stop or hard turn.If your son or daughter responds to the device's coaching by slowing down or putting on a seat belt, nothing else happens but if they ignore the coaching, the device sends a notification to the company's portal which in turn notifies the parent via e-mail, text message or phone.When asked if the device could actually slow down or stop the car, Follmer said that it's possible, "but not knowing exactly what the situation is, the liability of doing something that absolutely affects the operation of that car wouldn't be something we would want to take on."For more information, visit Tiwi.com.PodcastYour browser does not support the audio element.Subscribe now:iTunes (audio) |RSS (audio)
There are plenty of things for parents of teens to worry about, but almost nothing is as scary as when your kid ventures out behind the wheel of a car or rides in a car with another teen driver. Each year more than 6,000 teens are involved in fatal accidents. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for teens.Still, most parents allow their teens to drive. You can't sit in the backseat every time your kid takes the wheel, but thanks to the Tiwi, a $299 device that mounts to the windshield of your kid's car, you can now virtually watch and nag your kids as they drive.As Inthinc CEO Todd Follmer explains (scroll down to listen to interview), the device can track the car's speed and location and the speed limit.The Tiwi, which has a GPS and cellular modem, will use voice to tell the driver when to slow down.The device is also integrated into the vehicle's diagnostic port so it knows if the driver has his or her seat belt on.There is also an accelerometer that can sense a hard acceleration, hard stop or hard turn.If your son or daughter responds to the device's coaching by slowing down or putting on a seat belt, nothing else happens but if they ignore the coaching, the device sends a notification to the company's portal which in turn notifies the parent via e-mail, text message or phone.When asked if the device could actually slow down or stop the car, Follmer said that it's possible, "but not knowing exactly what the situation is, the liability of doing something that absolutely affects the operation of that car wouldn't be something we would want to take on."For more information, visit Tiwi.com.PodcastYour browser does not support the audio element.Subscribe now:iTunes (audio) |RSS (audio)
Apple to meet Swiss railway over clock-design flap -- report
Apple to meet Swiss railway over clock-design flap -- report
It may be time for a meeting between Apple and the Swiss rail provider that's accusing the electronics giant of ripping off its clock design for iOS 6. The Swiss Federal Railway service, or SBB, told global news service Agence France-Presse (AFP) that it would meet in the coming days or weeks with Apple representatives to reach an agreement over the clock design.Apple, which recently introduced the latest version of its mobile operating system, redesigned the clock in iOS 6. But SBB says it owns the trademark to the design. The SBB clock was created in 1944 by then-SBB employee Hans Hilfiker. It's used throughout the railway system and is also licensed to Mondaine, a Swiss watch maker. Related stories:Apple accused of ripping off clock designiOS 6 reviewApple delivers iOS 6In the AFP article, an SBB spokeswoman dismissed claims the company was seeking financial compensation from Apple, saying SBB did not intend to "upset them by asking for money." She added that SBB was "proud" its clock had been chosen for iOS 6. Apple is no stranger to design-related litigation. The company in 2009 asked popular app develper Tapbots to change the design of the clock icon it used in its pocket converter application, saying it looked too much like the image in Apple's own phone app. And Apple has been pursuing litigation against other handset makers, saying they copied the design features of Apple's products. Apple and SBB weren't immediately available to comment.
It may be time for a meeting between Apple and the Swiss rail provider that's accusing the electronics giant of ripping off its clock design for iOS 6. The Swiss Federal Railway service, or SBB, told global news service Agence France-Presse (AFP) that it would meet in the coming days or weeks with Apple representatives to reach an agreement over the clock design.Apple, which recently introduced the latest version of its mobile operating system, redesigned the clock in iOS 6. But SBB says it owns the trademark to the design. The SBB clock was created in 1944 by then-SBB employee Hans Hilfiker. It's used throughout the railway system and is also licensed to Mondaine, a Swiss watch maker. Related stories:Apple accused of ripping off clock designiOS 6 reviewApple delivers iOS 6In the AFP article, an SBB spokeswoman dismissed claims the company was seeking financial compensation from Apple, saying SBB did not intend to "upset them by asking for money." She added that SBB was "proud" its clock had been chosen for iOS 6. Apple is no stranger to design-related litigation. The company in 2009 asked popular app develper Tapbots to change the design of the clock icon it used in its pocket converter application, saying it looked too much like the image in Apple's own phone app. And Apple has been pursuing litigation against other handset makers, saying they copied the design features of Apple's products. Apple and SBB weren't immediately available to comment.
Apple to make critical new component at sapphire plant
Apple to make critical new component at sapphire plant
Apple has plans in mind for its new sapphire crystal plant that promise to "enhance and improve" its consumer devices.E-mails from Apple to U.S. Foreign Trade Zone officials point to a manufacturing process called "Project Cascade." Uncovered by 9to5Mac with help from analyst/investor Matt Margolis, the e-mails give some clues as to the work that will be done at the Arizona-based plant.This high-tech manufacturing process will create a critical new sub-component of Apple Products to be used in the manufacture of the consumer electronics that will be imported and then sold globally. By pulling this process into the U.S., Apple will be using cutting edge, new technology to enhance and improve the consumer products, making them best in class per product type.The e-mails also list an aggressive go-live date for the plant's grand opening, namely sometime next month.Announced last November, the plant has been gearing up to manufacture sapphire-based materials, an item confirmed by Apple CEO Tim Cook in a recent interview with ABC News. Apple has already used sapphire for the surface of the rear camera lens for the iPhone 5 and the ID fingerprint sensor in the iPhone 5S. But recent reports suggest the company has more aggressive plans for the hard substance.A newly published patent application envisions the expansion of sapphire to other parts of the iPhone. Apple may, for instance, be gearing up to use sapphire to cover the entire screen of the iPhone and iPad. Such a technology could be considered a "critical new sub-component." It would also make Apple's mobile devices less vulnerable to scratches and therefore considerably more durable.
Apple has plans in mind for its new sapphire crystal plant that promise to "enhance and improve" its consumer devices.E-mails from Apple to U.S. Foreign Trade Zone officials point to a manufacturing process called "Project Cascade." Uncovered by 9to5Mac with help from analyst/investor Matt Margolis, the e-mails give some clues as to the work that will be done at the Arizona-based plant.This high-tech manufacturing process will create a critical new sub-component of Apple Products to be used in the manufacture of the consumer electronics that will be imported and then sold globally. By pulling this process into the U.S., Apple will be using cutting edge, new technology to enhance and improve the consumer products, making them best in class per product type.The e-mails also list an aggressive go-live date for the plant's grand opening, namely sometime next month.Announced last November, the plant has been gearing up to manufacture sapphire-based materials, an item confirmed by Apple CEO Tim Cook in a recent interview with ABC News. Apple has already used sapphire for the surface of the rear camera lens for the iPhone 5 and the ID fingerprint sensor in the iPhone 5S. But recent reports suggest the company has more aggressive plans for the hard substance.A newly published patent application envisions the expansion of sapphire to other parts of the iPhone. Apple may, for instance, be gearing up to use sapphire to cover the entire screen of the iPhone and iPad. Such a technology could be considered a "critical new sub-component." It would also make Apple's mobile devices less vulnerable to scratches and therefore considerably more durable.
Apple to let multiple Apple IDs merge, report says
Apple to let multiple Apple IDs merge, report says
As the chorus of complaints grows over Apple's unwillingness to merge Apple IDs, it appears the company might soon change its stance on the matter.According to MacRumors, two of its readers have contacted Apple CEO Tim Cook to see if Apple will eventually allow users to merge their Apple IDs. Those readers, MacRumors says, received word from an Apple executive relations employee, who said that the company is planning to allow for that functionality.Apple has long denied customer calls for merging IDs. However, with the launch earlier this year of automatic downloads, complaints about that policy started to grow. The feature allows people to automatically download, to their devices, music, apps, and iBooks that had already been downloaded on other platforms, like their computer. The issue, though, is that in some cases, users had been downloading content to a device from one Apple ID, and have another Apple ID assigned to, say, their iPhones. In those cases, content cannot be synced between the devices.According to Apple blog TUAW in a report in June, people who tried to switch their Apple IDs to download the content received an error message saying that they could not "auto-download or download past purchases with a different Apple ID for 90 days."As MacRumors points out, the inability to merge Apple IDs has also become a problem for iCloud developer testers who want to be able to sync content between products, but are not getting everything properly synced because of their use of multiple IDs.That said, it's tough to estimate how many people are affected by the lack of ID merging. In many cases, consumers have a single Apple ID, and thus, the quirk doesn't affect them. But the problem has apparently become enough of an issue for Apple to move forward on a fix.Apple did not immediately respond to CNET's request for comment.
As the chorus of complaints grows over Apple's unwillingness to merge Apple IDs, it appears the company might soon change its stance on the matter.According to MacRumors, two of its readers have contacted Apple CEO Tim Cook to see if Apple will eventually allow users to merge their Apple IDs. Those readers, MacRumors says, received word from an Apple executive relations employee, who said that the company is planning to allow for that functionality.Apple has long denied customer calls for merging IDs. However, with the launch earlier this year of automatic downloads, complaints about that policy started to grow. The feature allows people to automatically download, to their devices, music, apps, and iBooks that had already been downloaded on other platforms, like their computer. The issue, though, is that in some cases, users had been downloading content to a device from one Apple ID, and have another Apple ID assigned to, say, their iPhones. In those cases, content cannot be synced between the devices.According to Apple blog TUAW in a report in June, people who tried to switch their Apple IDs to download the content received an error message saying that they could not "auto-download or download past purchases with a different Apple ID for 90 days."As MacRumors points out, the inability to merge Apple IDs has also become a problem for iCloud developer testers who want to be able to sync content between products, but are not getting everything properly synced because of their use of multiple IDs.That said, it's tough to estimate how many people are affected by the lack of ID merging. In many cases, consumers have a single Apple ID, and thus, the quirk doesn't affect them. But the problem has apparently become enough of an issue for Apple to move forward on a fix.Apple did not immediately respond to CNET's request for comment.
Apple to lavish $10.5B on production line tech
Apple to lavish $10.5B on production line tech
Apple plans to spend billions next year to automate certain tasks in its production line.The company recently revealed in its 10-K filing that it has earmarked $11 billion for capital expenditures for 2014. Out of that amount, around $10.5 billion will go toward product tooling, manufacturing process equipment, and corporate facilities and infrastructure, including information systems hardware, software, and enhancements.Specifically, much of the spending will be on equipment that can tackle the mass production of iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks, among other devices, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. Citing "people with knowledge of the company's manufacturing methods," Bloomberg said that the automated gear includes machines that can polish the plastic finish on the iPhone 5C, carve the MacBook's aluminum body, and test the camera lens on the iPhone and iPad.Cutting more exclusive deals with makers of automated machines, Apple intends to place the gear in the factories of its manufacturing partners, many of them in Asia, the sources said.Apple certainly has more than enough cash to spend on these automated processes. Excluding spending on its retail business, the company's fiscal 2014 capital expenditures will be 61 percent higher than the amount seen in 2013.Part of the goal is to outspend Samsung and other rivals on such gear."Apple deploys capital as a competitive advantage," Asymco analyst Horace Dediu told Bloomberg.This content is rated TV-MA, and is for viewers 18 years or older. Are you of age?YesNoSorry, you are not old enough to view this content.Play
Apple plans to spend billions next year to automate certain tasks in its production line.The company recently revealed in its 10-K filing that it has earmarked $11 billion for capital expenditures for 2014. Out of that amount, around $10.5 billion will go toward product tooling, manufacturing process equipment, and corporate facilities and infrastructure, including information systems hardware, software, and enhancements.Specifically, much of the spending will be on equipment that can tackle the mass production of iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks, among other devices, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. Citing "people with knowledge of the company's manufacturing methods," Bloomberg said that the automated gear includes machines that can polish the plastic finish on the iPhone 5C, carve the MacBook's aluminum body, and test the camera lens on the iPhone and iPad.Cutting more exclusive deals with makers of automated machines, Apple intends to place the gear in the factories of its manufacturing partners, many of them in Asia, the sources said.Apple certainly has more than enough cash to spend on these automated processes. Excluding spending on its retail business, the company's fiscal 2014 capital expenditures will be 61 percent higher than the amount seen in 2013.Part of the goal is to outspend Samsung and other rivals on such gear."Apple deploys capital as a competitive advantage," Asymco analyst Horace Dediu told Bloomberg.This content is rated TV-MA, and is for viewers 18 years or older. Are you of age?YesNoSorry, you are not old enough to view this content.Play
Apple to launch 'low-end iPhone' without Retina in 2013 -- report
Apple to launch 'low-end iPhone' without Retina in 2013 -- report
Apple is planning a "low-end iPhone" that will lack some of the extras found in the company's iPhone 5, one analyst claims.In a note to investors today, Amit Daryanani of RBC Capital Markets said that Apple plans to launch "multiple new phones" between June and July this year. According to AppleInsider, which obtained a copy of his investors note, Daryanani said in addition to a flagship handset that Apple will call the iPhone 5S, the company will deliver a lower-end device featuring "plastic casing and no Retina display.""With a lower price point, Apple will be able to target a growing and important part of the smartphone market (sub-$400 price band)," he wrote.This isn't the first time we've heard from an analyst that a low-end iPhone is coming to the marketplace. Earlier this month, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that Apple would offer a low-cost iPhone 5 that would come with "hybrid casing of fiberglass and plastic will make it lighter and slimmer than general plastic casing and easier to make in various colors." That device, however, would be heavier than the iPhone 5S.The upshot for Apple of delivering a low-end iPhone could be major, Daryanani says. The addition of that handset to the iPhone lineup could bring another $22 billion in revenue in 2014.Apple seems to be inching its way toward a lower-end iPhone. The company last year unveiled an iPad Mini that's designed to capture customers who don't want to spend more cash on a full-priced, bigger slate. Apple also still offers previous-year versions of the iPhone to customers on a budget. A lower-end iPhone could split the difference.
Apple is planning a "low-end iPhone" that will lack some of the extras found in the company's iPhone 5, one analyst claims.In a note to investors today, Amit Daryanani of RBC Capital Markets said that Apple plans to launch "multiple new phones" between June and July this year. According to AppleInsider, which obtained a copy of his investors note, Daryanani said in addition to a flagship handset that Apple will call the iPhone 5S, the company will deliver a lower-end device featuring "plastic casing and no Retina display.""With a lower price point, Apple will be able to target a growing and important part of the smartphone market (sub-$400 price band)," he wrote.This isn't the first time we've heard from an analyst that a low-end iPhone is coming to the marketplace. Earlier this month, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that Apple would offer a low-cost iPhone 5 that would come with "hybrid casing of fiberglass and plastic will make it lighter and slimmer than general plastic casing and easier to make in various colors." That device, however, would be heavier than the iPhone 5S.The upshot for Apple of delivering a low-end iPhone could be major, Daryanani says. The addition of that handset to the iPhone lineup could bring another $22 billion in revenue in 2014.Apple seems to be inching its way toward a lower-end iPhone. The company last year unveiled an iPad Mini that's designed to capture customers who don't want to spend more cash on a full-priced, bigger slate. Apple also still offers previous-year versions of the iPhone to customers on a budget. A lower-end iPhone could split the difference.
Ahead of iPad Mini, Apple granted patent on original iPad
Ahead of iPad Mini, Apple granted patent on original iPad
Apple has been granted a U.S. patent on the design of its first iPad, nearly three years after the device's public debut. Among more than 30 patents granted to Apple today, there's one standout: D669,069. Called simply a "portable display device," the pictured gadget matches up identically with Apple's first-generation iPad, a design the company kept around until the iPad 2 in early 2011. Apple filed for the patent on January 26, 2010 -- the day before the product was first shown off at an event in San Francisco. The side view of Apple's patented iPad design.USPTO/AppleIf you're doing a double take saying "hey, doesn't Apple already have a design patent for the iPad?" you're right. But the patent Apple's had since mid-2005 is more generic, missing features like the home button, volume buttons, and a dock connector -- all things the first iPad came with. Nonetheless, Apple has used it as legal ammunition against Samsung in its efforts to get versions of the Galaxy Tab barred from sale in the U.S. and other countries.In its counterarguments, Samsung has railed against that 2005 patent, calling it "obvious," and pointing to prior art. That includes a newspaper tablet design mockup from Roger Fidler from 1994, and the TC1000, a Microsoft Windows-based tablet PC from Compaq made just ahead of Compaq being acquired by Hewlett-Packard.Along with the iPad's design, Apple was granted two other design patents. One for the interface of its iBooks software (PDF) and another for the iPhone with a bumper case on it (PDF). The granted patents come just days ahead of when Apple is expected to unveil a smaller version of the iPad at a press event next week. (Via Engadget)
Apple has been granted a U.S. patent on the design of its first iPad, nearly three years after the device's public debut. Among more than 30 patents granted to Apple today, there's one standout: D669,069. Called simply a "portable display device," the pictured gadget matches up identically with Apple's first-generation iPad, a design the company kept around until the iPad 2 in early 2011. Apple filed for the patent on January 26, 2010 -- the day before the product was first shown off at an event in San Francisco. The side view of Apple's patented iPad design.USPTO/AppleIf you're doing a double take saying "hey, doesn't Apple already have a design patent for the iPad?" you're right. But the patent Apple's had since mid-2005 is more generic, missing features like the home button, volume buttons, and a dock connector -- all things the first iPad came with. Nonetheless, Apple has used it as legal ammunition against Samsung in its efforts to get versions of the Galaxy Tab barred from sale in the U.S. and other countries.In its counterarguments, Samsung has railed against that 2005 patent, calling it "obvious," and pointing to prior art. That includes a newspaper tablet design mockup from Roger Fidler from 1994, and the TC1000, a Microsoft Windows-based tablet PC from Compaq made just ahead of Compaq being acquired by Hewlett-Packard.Along with the iPad's design, Apple was granted two other design patents. One for the interface of its iBooks software (PDF) and another for the iPhone with a bumper case on it (PDF). The granted patents come just days ahead of when Apple is expected to unveil a smaller version of the iPad at a press event next week. (Via Engadget)
Director’s Notebook: How 'Rear Window' and 'Ocean's Eleven' Inspired the Best Scene in ‘Neighbors’
In this monthly column we spotlight new Blu-ray/DVD releases by interviewing directors about the scenes that stood out most for them while making their movies. This month, we talk to Nicholas Stoller about the Seth Rogen/Zac Efron comedy Neighbors (on sale September 23). Known best for doing comedies that explore relationships, Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek, The Five-Year Engagement) continues that trend with Neighbors, but this time he also highlights what it means to get old and suddenly be thrust with responsibilities. In the movie Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne have a newborn baby but struggle to push away temptation to party like they did in the prebaby days. Things don’t get any better when a fraternity suddenly shows up next door. Soon the couple has enough of the frat (presided by Zac Efron with Dave Franco his VP) leading to both neighbors hating each other. Byrne’s character decides the only way to get the frat to move is to pull off a stunt that will break Efron and Franco’s characters’ “bros before hos mantra. Here Stoller explains how he planned out his favorite scene, which included finding the right layout for the frat house and watching some classic films. “A dumb heist movie” For me the most complicated sequence and probably the sequence I;m most proud of is the one where Seth and Rose’s characters try to put hos before bros. That sequence I jokingly say is one of the few parts of the movie where I was a movie director. It was very planned out. In terms of the script I;ll rewrite a zillion times and we rehearse with it and we find improv in the rehearsal, and that goes into the script and we do table reads so it gets really hammered out. Then on the day we;ll end up shooting a lot of improv and the jokes we craft. But this sequence was carefully planned. I do a thing called photo boarding that a friend of mine, Ruben Fleisher, showed me where I go to the locations and rather than storyboarding, I take my camera and take photos of every shot in the sequence. I might not stick to that when we get on set but it makes me have a great understanding of the scene. So this sequence is very carefully photo boarded, and what I did was I watched a lot of heist movies because, yes, I wanted it to be funny but I also kind of wanted it to be tense, like a heist movie -- a dumb heist movie. And so I watched Ocean;s Eleven and noted how Soderbergh shot a lot of that stuff. I watched a bunch of heist movies. And my other goal was to have the audience applaud when Rose walked away from [Dave and Halston Sage] making out. That was another big goal, so if that happened [the scene] would work. So it was very carefully plotted and I discovered from watching heist movies that you need to explain the goal to the audience, which she does at the beginning and you have to show with your camera what the problem is and what the obstacles are. So that;s what I did. And the obstacle was getting Zack to turn around and see Dave and Halston walking up the stairs, but it was all about throwing as many obstacles into that as possible. “I watched a lot of serious movies” On my films I;m constantly calling my editor and asking if we need to pick up anything. Fortunately we were shooting on location and didn;t really move much so I could pick things up if need be, but that sequence was so well planned that I didn;t need to pick anything up. The main thing in postproduction for that scene was just shortening it. The original version, like all movies, it was just long. It was all about chopping it down and making it quickly. Another movie I watched a lot was The Conversation. People will think it;s funny that I watched a lot of serious movies for this scene, but there are a lot of great POV shots and people looking at people, and Rear Windowwas another movie I watched. Seth and Rose are constantly looking at the frat house, so there;s a lot of weird slow zooms that we thought would be fun to have for a silly movie. “I put a lot of my ego as a director into this scene” I was worried about the scene when showing it because I really put a lot of my ego as a director into this scene. I was worried if it didn;t work people would think I really didn’t do my homework, and throughout I thought I had. But what really sealed that scene was our music supervisor, Manish Ravel, who found that Flo Rida song that has this crazy energy. So I showed it to friends and family and I;d give it a B-, but it was basically working. And what happened was our editor did his pass and just cut out a lot of stuff and focused it around that song and suddenly it took off. When we screened it for the first time for a real audience they just applauded when Rose turned around, and I was like, Oh, we got this.
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