Apple Introduces Three New Mac Ads During Olympics Opening Ceremonies
Apple debuted three new ads tonight during the London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremonies featuring an “Apple Genius” helping a Mac owner on a plane, and another while his wife is giving birth. A third ad features a Genius telling a customer who thought he bought a Mac that he really purchased a knock-off because it doesn’t come with iPhoto, iMovie, or GarageBand.
The ads are a departure from previous ad campaigns — they don’t feature products and they don’t mention any specific service that Apple offers. Instead, they hint at the training services provided at Apple Retail Stores by the Creatives (Genius’ are used for tech support, rather than training) and the fact that just because a computer looks like a Mac, it isn’t necessarily one.
They are also a bit of a throwback to the ‘Get a Mac’ ads featuring Justin Long and John Hodgman. By emphasizing the personal aspects of Apple’s services, it appears that the company is looking to humanize itself and make it less about the products and more about the entire Apple ecosystem, including the personal services offered at the Apple Retail Stores including the Genius Bar and One-to-One training service.
Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Apple, Samsung bickering over where to sit in court
The bickering between Samsung and Apple just won’t stop. The latest report from AllThingsD suggests Samsung is even arguing over where it will sit and what the two companies will be called during the trial. Striving to get every advantage it can, Samsung is asking the court to call both companies claimants instead of plaintiff and defendant, since the trial involves patent infringement allegations from both sides. Samsung also asks that it be allowed to sit in the plantiff’s table when it is arguing its case.
“Equal treatment of the parties with respect to where they sit while presenting their affirmative case will mitigate any prejudice to Samsung that may result from Apple being in closer proximity to the jury throughout the trial,” Samsung said in its brief. Jury selection in the trial is slated to begin July 30 so expect to hear a lot more about this legal battle in the upcoming weeks.
Continue reading Apple, Samsung bickering over where to sit in court
Apple, Samsung bickering over where to sit in court originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog
Apple Genius ads debut during Olympic opening ceremonies
Three new Apple commercials aired during television coverage of the 2012 Olympic Games in London’s opening ceremonies on Friday night, each of which starred the same Apple Genius character in what could be the kickoff to a new ad campaign.
AppleInsider
Apple Genius ads debut during Olympic opening ceremonies
Three new Apple commercials aired during television coverage of the 2012 Olympic Games in London’s opening ceremonies on Friday night, each of which starred the same Apple Genius character in what could be the kickoff to a new ad campaign.
AppleInsider
Instagram update disables “Find Twitter Friends” feature
A new version of Instagram (free) just arrived this morning, along with the news that the photoblogging tool now has 80 million users. But there’s something missing in the update. If you’ve ever used the “Twitter Friends” feature, you’ll be dismayed to find that it’s no longer available.
As you can see in the screenshot from Instagram at right, Twitter is no longer allowing its users to find friends via the Twitter API. You can still tweet your photos; you just can’t tap the “Twitter Friends” button to automatically follow your Twitter friends who also use Instagram.
Our sister site TechCrunch reports that the feature is “missing due to API restrictions from Twitter’s end, restrictions likely resulting from concerns about Instagram’s scale and its strain on data pulls.” The feature is still available in other social apps, particularly Foursquare.
Alexia Tsotsis at TechCrunch speculates that “this is a competitive move on Twitter’s part, a direct attack on Facebook’s social graph via limiting access to its recent acquisition (Instagram).” Twitter recently moved to pull tweets off of LinkedIn; whatever the next skirmish in the API battles may be, it’s starting to get nasty out there.
Continue reading Instagram update disables “Find Twitter Friends” feature
Instagram update disables “Find Twitter Friends” feature originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog
iOS App Review: National Geographic’s national parks app impresses on the iPad
This app contains information and photographs featuring 20 national parks. It’s a decent offering on the iPhone, but it’s really impressive to see what National Geographic does with the iPad’s larger screen.Apple Considered Purchasing a Large Stake in Twitter
Apple is either actively considering purchasing a major stake in Twitter or discussed making an investment with the social company more than a year ago and the talks have since ceased, depending on which newspaper one wishes to believe.
The New York Times reported tonight that Apple and Twitter were talking “in recent months” about a major strategic investment in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Apple has considered an investment in the hundreds of millions of dollars, one that could value Twitter at more than $10 billion, up from an $8.4 billion valuation last year, these people said. They declined to be named because the discussions were private.
There is no guarantee that the two companies, which are not in negotiations at the moment, will come to an agreement. But the earlier talks are a sign that they may form a stronger partnership amid intensifying competition from the likes of Google and Facebook.
However, within several hours of the posting of the Times piece, The Wall Street Journal posted a rebuttal of sorts, saying that the Apple/Twitter discussions took place more than a year ago and didn’t go anywhere:
Apple Inc. held discussions with Twitter Inc. more than a year ago about taking a strategic investment in the short-messaging service, according to a person familiar with the talks.
People familiar with the matter said there are no current formal investment or acquisition discussions between the companies.
News of the investment talks was first reported by the New York Times.
Apple has run into difficulties in its social media efforts with the Ping social network on the chopping block according to Apple CEO Tim Cook. Walter Isaacson, Steve Jobs’ biographer, said recently that social was one nut that Steve Jobs couldn’t crack.
In the past year, rather than building its own social product, Apple has partnered with both Twitter and Facebook to integrate their API’s into the new versions of both the iOS and OS X platforms.
Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
• 'Subscribe to Feed' Extension Puts RSS Button Back in Safari 6
• AutoCAD 2012 and 2013 Do Not Yet Work With Mountain Lion
• GreenBytes to Offer Free 'Community Edition' of ZEVO ZFS for Mac
• Chinese Consumer Groups Focusing on Apple's Use of Reconditioned Parts for Warranty Repairs
• Autodesk Releases 'Inventor Fusion' on Mac App Store
MacTech and Southern Stars launching a satellite into space
The folks at MacTech Magazine have teamed up with the Southern Stars Group to launch a satellite, and you can have a hand in the fun.
The project, called SkyCube, is now on Kickstarter and looking for funding. The nano-satellite, designed to the CubeSat standard, is scheduled to take a ride into earth orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle next year as a “secondary payload”.
Once in space, SkyCube will take photos of the Earth and broadcast text messages. That’s where you come in. Depending on your contribution level, you can determine some of what it has to say. The options break down like this:
- For $ 1, you can send a “text” from space.
- For $ 6, you can take a picture of the Earth from orbit.
Another option is the SkyCube sponsor package, available to those who register for the MacTech Conference at the pre-registration rate of US$ 999. It includes:
- Sponsorship of 10 minutes of the mission (including bragging rights)
- Ability to broadcast 60 “text messages” from space
- Ability to request up to six images from the satellite (looking at Earth from space)
- SkyCube mission T-shirt
Finally, an iOS app will let you track its progress. Sound like fun? Then make a contribution and help make SkyCube a reality.
Continue reading MacTech and Southern Stars launching a satellite into space
MacTech and Southern Stars launching a satellite into space originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog
Apple Authentec deal already ‘under investigation’
Apple’s AuthenTec buy already under ‘investigation’
AppleInsider
WebHelpDesk acquired, Mac and Linux versions disappear
Web Help Desk is software that runs on Mac OS Server, among other platforms — it’s an enterprise “help tracking” package that allows small and large companies to track IT and help support across large teams and customer bases. Users access the ticketing system via their web browsers, or via their iPhones with the Web Help Desk iOS app.
The company that makes this software just got acquired by another IT software company called Solarwinds, but apparently Solarwinds is planning to do things over there a little differently: the Mac and Linux version download links have been removed from the website. A salesperson at the company emailed TUAW reader Neil, and says that “moving forward [Web Help Desk] is strictly Windows-based.”
That’s a strange decision — according to the company’s page, even Apple makes use of the Web Help Desk software, so there’s definitely a call for the Mac version. On the company forums, another representative says the issue isn’t quite over yet: Web Help Desk will continue to support previous Mac customers, and hasn’t yet decided what the future holds.
In the meantime, there are plenty of alternatives for issue-tracking systems like this, many of which will work fine on Mac OS (and quite a few that are open source as well). Our own Brett Terpstra recommends the hosted Tender web app as a support solution, so that’s worth checking out as well. Still, migrating from one of these systems to another is likely a huge pain, so hopefully Web Help Desk and Solarwinds will find the resources necessary to keep its Mac version up and running.
Thanks, Neil!
WebHelpDesk acquired, Mac and Linux versions disappear originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog
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