Apple That

Apple has just launched an all-new recycling plan that is designed to help you actually make money from your old iPhone, iPad, Mac or, surprisingly, your old Windows PC. Known as the Reuse and Recycling Programme, (no, that’s not a spelling error, that’s actually how Apple spells it), this scheme will be operated by Dataserv GmbH and will allow you to recycle your old or unwanted technology, if you live in the UK that is.

According to a message poster on Apple’s website, “Apple’s commitment to the environment includes finding the most efficient ways to reuse or recycle electronic equipment at the end of its useful life, including iPHone, iPad, Mac or PC computers, and displays from any manufacturer. You may even get some money for your old equipment.”

Getting started with the program is easy. All you have to do is go to the Reuse and Recycling Programme website and answer a small series of questions about the device you want to recycle. Once that is done, you will be given an estimate of the overall value of the device as well as a prepaid shipping label, compliments of Dataserv.

The message on the site also reads, “Whether it’s an iPhone, iPad, Mac or PC computer, working or not, we’ll take it and determine if it qualifies for reuse and has a monetary value. If it does, the amount will be credited directly into your bank account. If it doesn’t, you can recycle it responsibly through one of our free recycling programmes.”

After your device has been valued, you can send Dataserv the device, where it will be verified upon receipt. Once that happens, the value you were given for the recycled device will be directly deposited into your bank account. In addition to the aforementioned devices, you can also recycle old iPods and mobile phones via Apple.

Source: PC World – Apple Launches Recycling Program for iPhones, iPads, Macs and PCs in the UK

DVD Video Projectors are exactly what they sound like, a combination unit that combines a DVD media player with a video projector, cutting out the need for multiple pieces of electronics and wiring.

If you are really into collecting things like action figures, you may want to listen up. It has recently been discovered that a completely unauthorized replica of the late Steve Jobs is planned by Chinese manufacturer InIcon. The figure is extremely lifelike and will be a highly collectible product that includes the former Apple co-founder and CEO’s signature black turtleneck, rimless glasses and jeans.

The figure, which stands 1 foot tall, will also come with a stool and a backdrop that reads “One More Thing…”, a reference to the trademark phrase Jobs would use to unveil Apple’s latest product at the carefully orchestrated press releases that Apple is famous for.

If you don’t think that this is going to be a popular product then think again. The sheer amount of traffic that hit the company’s website today was enough to slow the site to a crawl which just goes to show you that anything related to Apple or Steve Jobs is destined to sell. The interesting part is that it is still uncertain as to whether or not this product will actually ever make it to store shelves.

Apple’s lawyers, famous for their fierceness, are reportedly completely aware of the product with most of them taking issue with InIcon’s appropriation of Jobs’ likeness. According to a statement released by Apple’s lawyers, “Mr. Jobs has not consented to the use of his name and/or image in the product.”

Well, good luck getting that. InIcon has not responded to any requests for information on the product from multiple media outlets. In addition to the figure, the company has planned an entire cornucopia of accessories for the figure, including two apples (one with a bite taken out) and three pairs of hands.

A note on the company website states that the pictures seen are only of prototypes with the final appearance and colors subject to variation. In addition, the mini Mac, iPhone and iPad seen in the pictures will not be available. If released, the figure will cost $99.99, although InIcon has already stopped pre-orders for the product which is set to debut in February.

Source: Fox News – Incredibly Lifelike Steve Jobs Action Figure Due in Feb.

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It appears as if Apple has recently won a couple of patent applications that the company has created over the past few years. These patents include such things as the second generation iPod Shuffle, as well as the ability to switch between applications during a call on the iPhone. Unfortunately, these patents do not foreshadow anything that will be released in the future necessarily nor were they meant to be kept secret for long.

However, even though these patents may not lead to new technologies, each is interesting to look at in order to know the process. One thing that sticks out immediately is that Steve Jobs’ name is still very much attached to the core of these transactions.

The first application displays details about a button that will allow the user to switch between apps while talking to someone on their iPhone. You would, essentially, be able to tap the application switch icon that is on the same screen as the phone dialer and switch back to the call with another button located above the display at your leisure.

Functionality like this was replaced by the multitasking abilities of iOS 5 since the application was created. The original patent was filed back in Q1 of 2008 and credits Senior Vice President of iPhone Software Scott Forstall, as well as his team members Stephen Lemay, Imran Chaudhri, Greg Christie and Marcel Van Os.

The other patent was for the second generation iPad Shuffle which also credits Steve Jobs as a designer. There are dotted lines in the picture of the patent that, interestingly enough, are not claimed in the patent. Then there is a microperforated and backlit display having alternate display capabilities which relates to an earlier patent won by Apple. That patent win deals with components on Apple computers that are invisible until light is shown behind them.

Full details can be found at Patently Apple, who have recently found themselves in possession of these newly won patent applications. Head on over there if you want to learn all about it.

Source: Slash Gear – Apple Patents won for iPhone application switching, iPod Shuffle

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I don’t think I have to remind you just how many apps are available for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad (over 500,000). If you are an iOS user, you have undoubtedly purchased or downloaded at least one app from the App Store and, in doing so, you have probably noticed that some of them offer the option of purchasing additional content. These apps usually come in the form of apps that have multiple levels, like Angry Birds.

This type of content can be anything, like more levels, character designs in games or added functionality and expansions. However, not all (but a lot) of apps with additional content for purchase allow you to buy from directly inside the application itself.

Unfortunately, not every app that allows in-app purchasing is as up front about the fact that they do this and, sometimes make it extremely easy to “accidentally” purchase in-app content. One of the more controversial apps of late to pull a stunt like this was Smurfs’ Village. Children played the game on their parent’s phone and unknowingly purchased a whole lot of undesired content.

Thankfully, there is an easy solution that makes sure something like this doesn’t happen to you. Just follow these quick and easy steps and you will have in-app purchasing disabled until you say otherwise, making sure your child doesn’t accidentally rack up a huge phone bill with in-app purchases.

STEP 1: Turn on your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad and from the home screen select the Settings application. From here, select “General”.

STEP 2: Scroll about halfway down the page and find “Restrictions”. Select it and then select “Enable Restrictions”.

STEP 3: Once enabled, you will be asked to create a password. The password locks certain functions on your iOS device. After you enter it twice, you’re on to the next step.

STEP 4: After creating your password, scroll down to the “Allowed Content” section and select it.

STEP 5: Slide the bar next to “In-App Purchases” from “ON” to “OFF” and that’s that! No more accidental in-app purchases will rack up on your phone bill.

Source: Digital Trends – How To: Turn off in-app purchases on Apple products

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If there is one thing that the internet loves to talk about it’s tech rumors, specifically ones involving Apple and its slew of mobile devices. And while the next few weeks will have the internet swimming in rumors about the iPad 3, iPhone 5, iPod 37 and everything else Apple, I think it is ok to talk about some potential changes designated for next year.

iLounge is spewing some information from what they call their “most reliable source”, who claims to have the inside dish on all the upcoming revisions Apple is planning. While there is nothing mind-blowing here, it might be enough to make you start saving up for that new piece of Apple tech.

First up is the MacBook Pro redesign. Some say it is coming in March, which is debatable, though the flatter design similar to the Air is most likely a certainty. The question on everyone’s mind, however, is the details, primarily on the device’s storage, processor, ports and optical drive.

Another report is that the next generation iPad (presumably the iPad 3) will be a bit thicker than the previous one, in order to allow for extra lighting necessitated by the high-res screen that is also supposed to be coming. Many people are drooling over the idea of an HD screen and the increased thickness is only said to be about 0.7mm, which still makes it thinner than the original device.

In terms of size, it is also reported that the iPhone will get an increase in size to a 4″ screen, which will in turn make the entire device 8mm longer. In addition to that, it is rumored that the device will hit next summer. Steve Jobs was always passionate that 3.5″ (iPhone) and 9.7″ (iPad) were always the ideal sizes for the devices, though the company may be acknowledging changes in the market if these rumors end up being true.

There is also a report of the next iPhone coming in a metal case, presumably aluminum. The original iPhone was a wonder to behold, both visually, technically and physically and many people think that Apple should bring back that design. Plus, Apple is probably tired of answering calls about shattered iPhones about now.

These rumors will be determined true or false in the coming months, no doubt about it, even though reveals of these devices are not even going to happen for a while. Regardless, there are many more rumors out there than these so if you are looking for a way to spend your Thanksgiving weekend, you could always compare and contrast different rumors, given you have a couple hundred hours to spare.

Source: Tech Crunch – Apple Rumors: The MacBook Pro Shrinks, iPad And iPhone Grow

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Apple is cracking the whip as the company has just banned security researcher Charlie Miller from its iOS developer program. Mr. Miller’s offense? He publicly demonstrated a proof-of-concept attack that would enable an app developer to execute arbitrary code on any iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch that is running version 4.3 of iOS or later.

For this Miller has been suspended from the developer program for one year. According to a recent tweet from Miller, “First they give researcher’s (sic) access to developer programs, (although I paid for mine) then they kick them out.. for doing research. Me angry.” Apple broke the news to Miller via a letter that the company was kicking him out of the program for breaking its terms of service.

Before getting an app to the Apple App Store, Apple first vets the app. If approved, the company then signs the code to ensure that the app cannot be changed. However, the flaw that Miller discovered essentially breaks the iOS application security walled garden, allowing malware attacks to be launched.

According to a statement from Miller in his unlisted YouTube video that demonstrates the attack, Miller said, “The flaw I found is in the way that Apple handles code-signing. Code-signing is important because that’s the way that Apple protects you from malware.” Here is a link to Miller’s video because unlisted videos can only be viewed by someone who already has a link to the video itself.

In order to test the vulnerability he had discovered, Miller created Instastock, a fake stock market app that Apple accepted. “It doesn’t do anything weird or funny, it just checks the stocks,” said Miller in the video. At least, that’s what it appears to do. After being  downloaded from the Apple App Store and first run, the app contacted an attacker’s server.

For the purpose of the test, the server (in this case) was located at Miller’s home in St. Louis and he didn’t have to push in any code to the app while it was being reviewed by Apple. However, after it was approved, Miller was able to open a shell with the device and issue remote commands, making the iPhone do everything from listing directories and processes to making the phone vibrate or download the user’s address book for the attacker.

Miller added, “You can imagine downloading a nice app like Angry Birds, but instead of just being Angry Birds, it actually could download and do anything it wants, and Apple would have no idea that had happened.” In addition to that Miller disclosed the code-signing vulnerability to Apple several weeks ago, although he did fail to mention the proof-of-concept app that he’d uploaded to the App Store, the same app Apple approved and made available in September.

Miller also demonstrated the exploit in his video, which was also posted in September. However, Apple apparently did not hear about the proof-of-concept attack demonstration until Monday, the same day Miller detailed the flaw and provided a link to his YouTube video to Andy Greenberg at Forbes.com. A mere hours after the story hit the web, Apple canceled Miller’s iOS developer account.

By day Miller is a simple principal consultant at the security research firm Accuvant. However, it appears as if Miller is now best known for “hacking” Apple wares. At the Black Hat Conference over the summer, Miller demonstrated how to hack Apple laptop batteries by reprogramming the firmware. This would allow a hacker to brick the battery or even make it serve malware.

Miller isn’t letting this ban phase him, however, as he intends to demonstrate his code-signing attack next week at the SyScan Conference in Taiwan and then again at the Infiltrate Conference in Florida in January. Is Apple’s reaction a bit extreme? Especially considering the fact that Miller found a major fault in Apple’s programming and then proceeded to tell the company about it? This writer thinks so, but what do you think? Sound off in the comments.

Source: Information Week – Apple Excommunicates iOS Cracker

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Early this morning Apple unveiled updates to the company’s entire MacBook Pro lineup, which is said to bring faster processors, improved performances and bigger hard drives without increasing the price. The unannounced updates have been expected since around the middle of September with faster MacBook models available in time for the 2011 Christmas season.

The 13″ MacBook Pro comes in two different configurations, the first being an entry-level configuration with a retail price of $1,199 comes with an Intel Core i5 processor. The second model is slightly faster and comes with an Intel Core i7 processor for $1,499.

Both models have received slight increases in speed as well as bigger hard drives. The 13″ entry-level model comes with an all new 2.4GHz processor and increases its storage space from 320GB to 500GB. The faster model gets a newer version of the Core i7 at 2.8GHz and also receives a larger 750GB hard drive, a bump up from the original 500GB.

The 15″ MacBook Pro also comes in two iterations, the cheaper being $1,799 and the more expensive one costing $2,199. Both of these models take advantage of the quad-core Intel Core i7 processor and both have received an increase in processor speed with the slower of the two increasing from 2.0GHz to 2.2GHz and the faster increasing from 2.2GHz to 2.4GHz.

In addition to that, the graphics processing hardware has also been upgraded with new discrete graphics cards from AMD. The $1,799 model gets an upgrade to the AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 512MB of dedicated memory and the $2,199 model upgrades to the AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 1GB of dedicated memory.

Finally, the 17″ MacBook Pro is also getting upgraded in terms of processing and graphics. This model, which will run you $2,499, comes with a new quad-core Intel Core i7 processor and the new AMD Radeon HD 6770M with 1GB of dedicated memory. In addition to that, the 17″ MacBook Pro, as well as the 13″ and 15″ models, can be purchased with an additional 512GB of solid-state drive storage.

All of these new models are listed on Apple’s site as being in stock with free shipping, though the new models may not yet be available. While these five models have received an incremental upgrade, the improved performance and hardware, along with the price remaining the same, is definitely something that will please customers and something that will keep Apple in better competition with new Windows devices soon to receive Intel’s new Ivy Bridge processors in the early part of next year.

Source: PC Mag – Apple Sneaks Out MacBook Pro Updates

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What’s this? Apple may be working on a new tablet? And it’s not the iPad 3!? That’s right, many rumors have begun making their rounds on the internet recently that Apple may possibly be working on a brand new entry-level tablet scheduled to launch early next year.

In a note sent out to investors on Wednesday by Brian White, analyst for Ticonderoga Securities, White relayed a plethora of meetings with technology supply chain companies at a recent trade show in China earlier this week. White made a point to note a general ominous environment where most of the companies were commenting on weakening demands across the entire tech industry.

According to one representative, “The whole world is shrinking”. In addition to that, a meeting with Apple suppliers has also turned up some very interesting information according to White. In a recent posting White states, “Our research is pointing to the unveiling of  a lower priced iPad in the first few months of 2012 that is aimed at expanding the company’s market potential by tapping into a more price sensitive consumer segment.”

White went on to write, “Essentially, this ‘iPad mini’ will also fend off the recently announced Amazon Kindle Fire that addresses the low-end tablet market with a $199 price tag but could lead to bigger tablet ambitions from the online retailer in the future.”

White was quick to point out that the title of the iPad Mini refers to the lower price of the tablet and not necessarily a smaller physique. According to White, “We believe this lower priced iPad could be priced in the mid-to-high $200 range. We expect this will be followed by a much more powerful, feature rich standard-priced iPad 3 in 2012.”

Source: Fox News – Apple to Launch ‘iPad Mini’ in Early 2012?

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Steve Jobs battled pancreatic cancer after being diagnosed in 2004. After his diagnosis, he underwent surgery to remove the cancerous tumor. However, it was apparent at the WWDC in 2006 and 2008 that he was not well. He took leave of the company on January 14th, 2009 so that he could focus on his health. During this time, Tim Cook took over as CEO of Apple. On August 24th, 2011 he officially resigned from the company, and Tim Cook took over permanently as CEO.

Today, October 5th, 2011, Apple announced the death of this brilliant man:

“We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today. Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve. His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts.”

Jobs was most definitely an extraordinary man, and he has touched the lives of many. He has helped to shape the world of technology into what it is today, and his work will live on ever after his death.

Jobs was merely 56 years old at the time of his death. He leaves behind a son, three daughters and his wife Laurene. But even more than his family, he leaves behind a legacy.

Picture found at http://www.modelsandmoguls.com/tag/steve-jobs/

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