Ken Ray Ken Ray

Prying iThings

Did you hear? Did you hear? If you've got a 3G device running iOS 4, it's keeping tabs on you. Where you go (roughly) and when (exactly). Why? Good question, and one about which I'm sure we'll be hearing for quite a while. Let's start with what sta…

Did you hear? Did you hear? If you've got a 3G device running iOS 4, it's keeping tabs on you. Where you go (roughly) and when (exactly). Why? Good question, and one about which I'm sure we'll be hearing for quite a while.

Let's start with what started it. An O'Reilly Radar piece by security-types Alasdair Allan and Pete Warden saying what they've found and what it means. They also say - in a separate piece - you can see what info your phone or iPad are collecting on you, thanks to an application written by Warden.

Almost as troubling (maybe more so?) the fact that the info being compiled is not encrypted. Silicon Alley Insider says users may want to encrypt their device syncs instead. Here's how to do that.

Senator Stuart Smalley Al Franken is curious about the info iThings are collecting, and so he sat right down and wrote himself a letter. Actually, he wrote it to Apple CEO Steve Jobs asking a series of questions about the data deal. And being a senator now, he may well get an answer.

Perturbed by the whole issue, tech forensics expert Alex Levinson. He's bothered by Allan and Warden's assertion that Apple collects the data since he can find no indication that the info is being sent to anyone else. In fairness, Allan and Warden do say that the info does not seem to be being transmitted to anyone. Maybe the part that annoys Levinson more is the fact that he found the iOS 4 data compilation months before Allan and Warden did. Here's his take.

I feel certain that some will wonder why we should care. In answer, I give you a story that's just plain scary, and really makes me wish my phone wasn't keeping a secret file on me.

Maybe no ill will is intended and maybe no bad will come of it. Still, it would have been neat to know it was happening from the start, rather than having it discovered by people who had to dig and dig and dig.

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Solvitur ambulando. To solve a problem, walk around.

Some of you know Susan Peek. Some of you do not. She's super important to me and is doing a super important thing - raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I have a family member who beat leukemia years ago. I have a friend who lived …

Some of you know Susan Peek. Some of you do not. She's super important to me and is doing a super important thing - raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I have a family member who beat leukemia years ago. I have a friend who lived with lymphoma for years before losing his match with the illness. If you could take a moment to check what she's doing and see if you can help, it would be much appreciated. Ahimsa.

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Mac OS Ken: Live 04.06.2011 - The Second One with All the iOS Apps

Wednesday night on Mac OS Ken: Live we ran through the iOS App Store again, picking and choosing the ones that currently rock our worlds. Games, Photos, and Productivity apps seem to have been the biggest winners, though there was one that fit into …

Wednesday night on Mac OS Ken: Live we ran through the iOS App Store again, picking and choosing the ones that currently rock our worlds. Games, Photos, and Productivity apps seem to have been the biggest winners, though there was one that fit into none of those categories.

I mistakenly said that the app Naturespace was in the $4 to $6 range. It's free! I was mistaken! It's FREE! Get it and relax. RELAX!

We also talked GarageBand for iPad. $4.99 to turn your iPad into a music machine of some sort.

One thing to note: I say iPhone or iPad throughout the list. Sub iPod touch for iPhone if that's your thing. Now on to the three big categories.

Photography

Productivity

Games

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Mac OS Ken Listener Wonders Over Slip in iPad 2 Shipping Time

Apple's Online Canadian Store shows shipping times for iPad 2 at 2 to 3 weeks. And yet, I received the following email from listener Greg: Ken,First, great show. I catch it every morning on the drive into work.Second, wanted to pass on what app…

Apple's Online Canadian Store shows shipping times for iPad 2 at 2 to 3 weeks. And yet, I received the following email from listener Greg:

Ken,

First, great show. I catch it every morning on the drive into work.

Second, wanted to pass on what appears to be a slip in iPad 2 shipping dates for online orders in Canada.

We ordered an iPad 2 on March 26. Quoted shipping dates were 3-4 weeks when ordered, so should have shipped between 4/15 and 4/22. Yeah, we should have ordered earlier in the day, but what can I say.

Anyway, we got an update from Apple indicating that the ship date had slipped to 5/2. Hard to understand how quoted shipping times in the US and the rest of the world appear to be getting shorter, but actual shipping times, at least in this case, appear to be getting longer.

Wondering if any of your other listeners are seeing slips in their actual ship dates for their online iPad 2 orders.


Have another great show tomorrow,
Greg

Not sure what the discrepancy is about. Thanks to Greg for pointing out the oddity.

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Mac OS Ken: Live - Another Pass at the "Capital-F" Future

I want to try another pass at the "Capital F" Future on tonight's edition of Mac OS Ken: Live - 10PM EDT/7PM PDT on UStream.tv. I came across two articles today that made me want to take another run at this today. One from Fortune had Needham &…

I want to try another pass at the "Capital F" Future on tonight's edition of Mac OS Ken: Live - 10PM EDT/7PM PDT on UStream.tv.

I came across two articles today that made me want to take another run at this today. One from Fortune had Needham & Company analyst Charlie Wolf saying that - before the launch of iPad 2 - he and his peeps weren't sure that either iPads or tablets weren't just a fad. Another from The Sydney Morning Herald had Microsoft's global chief research and strategy officer Craig Mundie saying he did not know whether tabelts as a category are here to stay.

Both, to me, bring back a question we've discussed before on both "Mac OS Ken: Live" and "Mac OS Ken: Day 6." What will the future look like and what do we want the future to look like? This can be computing, commuting, shopping, entertainment, education, energy, you name it. You are the Futurist on tonight's edition of Mac OS Ken: Live.

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iPad 2: The Backlight Bleed

[Photo: Flickr User Gymkata] A follow-up to something I mentioned briefly on the Tuesday, March 22 edition of "Mac OS Ken," the backlight bleeds on iPad 2. Listener Jim wrote to me earlier this week saying he bought three iPad 2s on launch day (…

[Photo: Flickr User Gymkata]

A follow-up to something I mentioned briefly on the Tuesday, March 22 edition of "Mac OS Ken," the backlight bleeds on iPad 2.

Listener Jim wrote to me earlier this week saying he bought three iPad 2s on launch day (two online from Apple and one from a local Best Buy). They ALL suffered from, what he calls, backlight bleeding.

He contacted AppleCare and had a replacement 64gb wifi iPad 2 the next day... with the same problem.

“There are lots of areas where the backlighting is bleeding through from under the bezel,” says Jim... “A particularly bad area is to the right of the home button.” He says the replacement iPad is not as bad as the original, but that’s hardly what one’s looking for when one buys a product and certainly isn’t what one expects when a product has to be replaced.

Jim says the problem definitely seems to be some sort of design/production issue, though I’d have to argue against it being a design issue since my 32 gigabyte, wifi iPad 2 doesn’t have the same problem.

Not that it’s not happening... after I mentioned his email yesterday Jim wrote in again, saying he’s been back in touch with AppleCare and told them that the replacement they sent him had the same problem as the original.

AppleCare’s official answer: the glue used for iPad 2 had not had time to dry. The rep told Jim to keep an eye on it and that it should change in 3-5 days... the only problem... March 23 is Jim's fifth day with the machine.

He was kind enough to send me links to stories and discussions online from Cult of Mac, MacRumors, and Apple's own Support Forum. There's also this short piece from Electronista.

If you've had similar problems, please send me an email about them: info@macosken.com. Or call Mac OS Ken: Live - Wednesday nights at 10PM Eastern/7PM Pacific on UStream.tv and tell us all all about it.

Update: So it turns out my iPad 2 does show a bit of the backlight bleed, but I have to work to see it. I generally run my screen at 50% brightness or less. After reading Jim's emails and the Electronista account, I decided to see if I could see such problems myself. So into a dark room I went, boosted my screen's brightness to 100%, opened the Netflix app, and played something letterboxed. Sure enough, I can see the "backlight bleed," though only by taking steps I would not normally take. Additionally, mine did not look anywhere near as bad as the picture above.

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Apple Retail: One Worker's Tale

An anonymous Apple Retail employee has written up what it’s like working for the all-things iMaker... for Popular Mechanics. I know, right? They make it sound like... well... like working retail. Sometimes people are funny. Sometimes they&rs…

An anonymous Apple Retail employee has written up what it’s like working for the all-things iMaker... for Popular Mechanics.

I know, right?

They make it sound like... well... like working retail. Sometimes people are funny. Sometimes they’re annoying. People come in and use the computers, and Apple’s weird in what they’re cool about and what they’re not.

Who’d have guessed that?

Here's the link. Enjoy.

 

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AT&T Keeps Trying to Keep Subscribers with Upped Caps on DataPro Tethering

Listener Ken forwarded to me an email he received from the cellular industry's very own Death Star:

Subject: AT&T DataPro Tethering Plans Increasing From 2GB to 4GB

Dear AT&T Customer,

Great News!

Effective immediately, AT&T is increasing the amount of data included in all our DataPro Tethering plans from 2GB to 4GB. The monthly charge for these plans will not change but your employees will have twice as much included data for Internet browsing and Corporate and personal email.

All of your users currently on a 2GB Tethering plan will be automatically moved to a 4GB plan so there is no action required by you.

If you have any questions, contact your Service Manager or call 800-xxx-xxxx.

Thank you for choosing AT&T.

-----

Please do not reply to this e-mail. If you have comments or questions, please contact AT&T Customer Service at the toll-free number on your bill.

Thanks (other) Ken for the tip!

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Changes Come to iTunes TOS with Arrival of “The Daily”

We'd wondered whether News Corps' "The Daily" would bring actual subscriptions to the iTunes Store. Wonder no more! Changes to the iTunes Terms of Service. Below, what Apple says has changed, followed by the specific section regarding In-App Subscriptions, found in the second half of the TOS:

Terms and Conditions and Apple Privacy Policy

 

A new “In-App Subscriptions” section has been added to the Terms and Conditions to explain how in-app subscriptions auto-renew, how the auto-renewal can be managed and turned off, and that we may request permission to provide personal information to the Licensor for marketing purposes which, if declined, will not affect your purchase.

 

IN-APP SUBSCRIPTIONS

 

Certain App Store Products may include functionality that enables you to purchase content on a subscription basis (“Paid Subscriptions”). Paid Subscriptions are non-refundable. Paid Subscriptions will automatically renew for the applicable time period you have selected, and your Account will be charged no more than 24 hours prior to the expiration of the current Paid Subscription. You may cancel automatic renewal by selecting Manage App Subscriptions in your Account and selecting the subscription you want to modify. The auto-renew feature of the subscription will be turned off if the Licensor increases the price of the subscription. Certain Paid Subscriptions may offer a free trial prior to purchase. If you decide to purchase a Paid Subscription prior to the end of the free trial period, your Paid Subscription will start immediately. Also see additional information about the Paid Subscription offer at the point of sale within the App Store Product. We may ask for your permission to provide the name, email address and zip code listed in your Account to the Licensor so that it can send you marketing messages about its own products in accordance with its publicly posted privacy policy. Once the Licensor has this information, it will be treated in accordance with the Licensor’s privacy policy. We encourage you to learn about the privacy practices of the Licensor before agreeing to give it your personal information. For more information, please review the Licensor’s privacy policy or contact the Licensor directly.

 

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Leaving San Francisco

Can't help thinking - when leaving SF - that I am somehow drawing back from progress. Progress has - at least for the past several hundred years - flowed west in the states. Yes... There's still Boston, New York, the research triangle, and Atlanta. Additionally, there are pockets of amazement in just about every town or city. Still… flying away from the edge of the earth makes me feel like I'm going to miss something. At the same time, I won't miss the smells of millions people cramming themselves - daily - into a seven-mile by seven-mile square. Humanity I miss. The crush of humanity, less so.
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iPhone 4: The New Screw Review

Have you heard the latest from the Genius Bar? The one that has Apple replacing the teeny-tiny Phillips screws in iPhone 4 with "pentalobe security screws?" If not, you may want to check out this story from The Mac Observer before reading ahead.

 

I received this email from someone who says they work in some capacity for Apple Retail. Can I confirm this? No, though the arguments make sense from an Apple point of view.

 

Read on:

 

I wanted to provide some insight about this whole non-standard screw issue that's been going around. I know, just like any Apple story, there's multiple sides of the story. But since you so rarely get Apple's side, I figured you'd appreciate a little bit. Most of this stuff, if one really thinks it through, is pretty obvious and makes sense. There's nothing secret about it. But I haven't heard it mentioned on any of the Apple-related blogs or podcasts I follow. So here goes: 

 

There are two reasons Apple puts non-standard screws on items: safety and warranty. Not all our products have non-standard screws. MacBook Pros have Phillips screws where it's OK for users to get in a upgrade or replace items like the RAM and hard drive. But there's no reason that the average user should need to remove his MacBook Pro's logic board (and doing so without proper training and without being in an ESD (electro-static discharge) safe room can permanently damage the board. So, we use Torx screws for that. 

 

Some people are complaining because on the new MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs we have non-user-replaceable batteries, to the point that we use an ultra-special screw to hold it down. Thus, they claim, a user who wants to get in and replace their own battery without having to pay Apple to do it is now prevented from doing so. But we don't do it out of greed, we do it for safety reasons:

 

One of the biggest factors when someone is buying a laptop is battery. Most laptops with user-removable batteries have a 4-5 hour max charge. We wanted to change that. Some current Windows laptops boast higher charge times than that, but they have bulky batteries that stick out the back of the computer another 10-20% (to visualize this, think about hanging a giant igloo cooler off the back of my compact car so I can boast about having more trunk space). Apple, instead, said, "Hey, in order to make user-replaceable batteries safe to handle outside the computer, they have thick plastic shells around them. If we take away most of that, we can gain up to 40% in volume to give more room to the actual battery cells!" So, without sacrificing any external size, we now sell computers with 8-10 hours of battery life. On a MacBook Pro, you can unscrew the bottom cover (Phillips screws) so if you want to replace the hard drive, you can. The side of the battery that's facing you has a plastic cover so that you don't accidentally puncture it and spill battery acid all over yourself. But the bottom of the battery does not (in order to make more room for the battery cells). So we put security screws on the battery so that Joe Hacker doesn't unscrew his battery, puncture the cover, burn his arm off and sue Apple. The new MacBook Airs have an extremely thin shell on them - to the point that us Geniuses have to go through a special online training course before we can work on them. If Apple won't even let their repair techs remove the Air battery without being certified to do so, why would they be OK with the average consumer doing so? 

 

The Mac Pro is a very customizable machine. You can add up to 4 hard drives, 3 video cards, 32 GB of RAM, and more. But if the processors are even slightly out of place, you can ruin them. And those things can be up to $1000 each. Apple puts security screws on things like these because users have no business tampering with them. If they do, they'll damage them. But without things like tamper-proof stickers and security screws, we would have no way of knowing whether a part was damaged or was truly defective. There's a reason Apple makes billions of dollars - we're a smart company. We don't lose millions of dollars to people who putz around on the insides of their machine and then want the damage they caused covered under our warranty. 

 

And that's what this iPhone hullaballoo is about: the only people who actually want to get inside of an iPhone are people who are doing illegitimate stuff with it: they're trying to tamper with it to get it unlocked, they try and remove or swap out the liquid damage indicator stickers, they're trying to change the serial number on the board from one that's out of warranty to one that's within warranty. We see tons of people every day trying to pass off damaged phones as in-warranty phones. For example, on every iPhone, the serial number is in three places - within the software Settings menu, on the little pop-out tray that holds the SIM card, and on a metal plate that covers the logic board and processor inside the phone. For several years now, we've had people who bring in out-of-warranty (either by time or damage) phones that are dead (so we can't see the number in the software) and have SIM trays from in-warranty phones. Previously, if we could just open up the phone and view the real serial number on the logic board. Now, though, people are even replacing those! The only way we catch them is that many times, they'll hand us a certain model (a black 16GB iPhone 3G, for example) and the serial number on the board will be for a completely different model (like a white 32GB 3GS). 

 

To reiterate: Apple isn't trying to be greedy. We're trying to prevent unnecessary damage and fraud. Can you fault us for that?

 

Makes sense to me from Apple's point of view, though there was one thing in all of this that bothered me more than the rest. It was the line "the only people who actually want to get inside of an iPhone are people who are doing illegitimate stuff with it." So I wrote back and said, "From a fraud point of view it does make sense. but what becomes of the 'makers' and tinkerers when they can no longer get under the hood?"


Our mystery mailer was kind enough to reply, in part:

 

 

For the makers and tinkerers, getting "under the hood" is still possible on a Mac. A friend of mine replaced the optical drive in his MacBook Pro with an SSD. Is that computer under warranty any more? Hell no. And he didn't expect it to be. I think most people who really are into modding their devices understand that, too. The thing is, the makers and tinkerers (and I guess, the (illegal) resellers) will find a way to get into their devices, no matter what Apple does to stop them. I don't remember who said today that anyone who has the knowledge and will to get into the Phone will be cool with springing for iFixit's $10 kit. More than fraud and "makers", these screws prevent the curious, non-technical consumer from taking a peek into the innards of their device and accidentally "screwing" something up.

 

I am very much NOT an under the hood guy. Still, while I get the points our mystery mailer makes, there is something that bothers me about not being allowed to go under the hood. Especially when I've paid for that hood and what is housed underneath. 

 

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Apple Seeds First Build of Mac OS X 10.6.7 to Developers

Reports are popping up all over online. Here's what a little bird sent me:

The first build of Mac OS X 10.6.7 has been seeded to developers. There are no known issues listed by Apple. While a number of changes are noted, exactly how the things that have changed have changed is not made clear. 

Some of the applications that are updated (all minor updates) are:

 

  • App Store (to 1.0 build 14)
  • Dashboard
  • Dictionary
  • Front Row 
  • iCal
  • Time Machine
  • Boot Camp Assistant (build is from different source than previous, could be another slight update)

 

Other Items that are updated:

 

  • iSight Audio
  • QuickTime
  • Mobile Me Preference Pane
  • Vietnamese Inputs from the keyboard
  • Automator Actions are getting some updates (Related to Quicktime)
  • PHP is updated to 5.3.4

Additionally, World of Apple says developers are asked to focus on:

  • AirPort
  • Bonjour
  • SMB
  • Graphics Drivers

They've got the build designated 10J842. 

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Notes on Apple's 1Q FY2011 Earnings Report

 

Note: Except where linked, these notes were taken from Apple's earnings call, a recording of which is available as a podcast for the next couple of weeks through iTunes. They were written as part of the script for the Wednesday, January 19th, 2011 edition of Mac OS Ken, also available as a podcast through iTunes.

Apple on Tuesday announced financial results for its fiscal 2011 first quarter - AKA “the Holiday quarter” posting record revenue of $26.74 billion and record net quarterly profit of $6 billion. 

The company sold 4.13 million Macs for the quarter - a record - and up 23% from the same quarter a year earlier... 16.24 million iPhones - a record - and up 86% from the same quarter a year earlier... 19.45 million iPods - down 7% from the same quarter a year earlier... and 7.33 million iPads, which they weren’t on sale a year ago.

Quoted in the earnings press release, Apple CEO Steve Jobs, saying, “We had a phenomenal holiday quarter with record Mac, iPhone and iPad sales. We are firing on all cylinders and we’ve got some exciting things in the pipeline for this year including iPhone 4 on Verizon which customers can’t wait to get their hands on."

Taking a look at what was said about individual products, services, and segments during the earnings conference call... yes iPod sales were down 7% year-over-year, though sales of  the iOS-powered iPod touch were up 27%. The device, which can go on to make Apple more money in App sales, made up over 50% of all iPods sold in the holiday quarter.

 

The iTunes store brought in $1.1 billion in revenue...

 

Sales value of iPhones - JUST iPhones - were over $10 billion. Sales of the device doubled in the Asia-Pacific region and in Japan, and - as has been the case since the phone was released over six months ago - they could have sold more iPhone 4s over the holiday quarter if they’d had more to sell.

 

While this was the first holiday quarter for the iPad, Apple execs seeemed pretty pleased, noting that the 7.33 million sold in the December quarter were roughly three million more than were sold in the September quarter, and that 80% of the Fortune 100 are already deploying or piloting the less-than-a-year-old tablet.

 

Retail went gangbusters once again, seeing revenue of $3.85 billion - nearly double the 2009 holiday quarter - with each store generating average revenue of $12 million, up 69% from the year ago quarter. There were 75.7 million visitors across the chain, up 49% from a year earlier... the 4 China stores saw the highest traffic and revenue on average... and - as always seems to be the way - 50% of in-store Mac sales were to people who have never owned a Mac before.

 

And finally... the big number... the number that make people wonder when Apple will build its very own country... or put a bid in on the Moon... Apple is now sitting - like the world’s largest medieval dragon - on $59.7 billion-with-a-"B"-dollars in cash, up $8.7 Billion from the end of the most recent September quarter.

 

And now... other fun Conference call notes.

 

What’s Apple spending $3.9 billion on in the next two years? No clue... but they are.

 

World of Apple eyes the number, mentioned during Tuesday’s earnings call. 

While he wouldn’t say what they were getting for the money, COO Cook said the deal was a “fantastic” use of the Apple’s money. “I don’t want to give it out, because I view it as a competitive… something I don’t want our competition knowing...” though he was willing to compare the deal to the one-billion dollars Apple committed to NAND Flash memory back in 2005, when Apple was just starting to put flash into almost everything it made.

This deal, according to Cook, is “similar to flash agreement, focused in an area that (Apple feels) is very strategic...” he didn’t want to say what it was for exactly, but - he said, “it’s the same kind of thinking that led us to those deals.”

Shannon Cross of Cross Research wanted to know how Apple execs thought the Mac App Store was going...

 

It’s early, in Cook's estimation, though they’re thrilled with the start.

 

Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty wanted to know how Apple felt about supply and demand on iPads and iPhones... 

 

On iPads, Cook says they ramped up production in a big way last quarter, and were confdent enough in their ability to deliver that they’re adding 15 new countries to the tablet’s itinerary this month.

 

As for iPhone 4, Cook says a significant backlog still exists... it feels great that demand is so high but he’s not willing to predict when supply and demand will meet, especially with the Verizon iPhone about to come online.

 

Huberty then shifted gears, asking the COO what’s driving growth in the Asia-Pacific region and Japan growth? Cook says Apple decided China was a place they needed to be years ago and started  laying groundwork then. In Japan, revenue for the last quarter was up 83% year-over-year, with which the company is pleased. Apple is aiming more resources at those regions and looking for more avenues of expansion there.


“The art of asking without asking” award goes to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster... while the press and tech press have asked repeatedly how Apple will get along - both short term and eventually long term without Apple CEO Steve Jobs, Munster asked the question without actually asking it.

 

“How far out do you guys plan?” he wanted to know... “What’s the longterm business plan? One year? Five years?”

 

Tim Cook’s response... “That’s part of the magic of Apple... I don’t want to let anyone know our magic... I don’t want them copying it.” Cook DID say the Apple team is awesome, having been lead to that level by Jobs. “Excellence has become a habit,” said Cook... which I could so see on one of those motivational posters... Cook says he’s confident about future of Company... they’ve seen 19-quarters of Mac growth and there’s still plenty of growth there... as big as the iPhone is it commands a relatively small share of the total handset market, so there’s huge opportunity there.... the iPad just got started, yet they managed to sell roughly 15 million of them in their first three quarters of availability, so huge potential there... Apple - he says - is in great markets... it’s in fast moving markets... and it’s right now cranking out the best products it’s ever made.

 

So... would Cook talk about competition for the iPad? 
 

In an exchange reminiscent of Steve Jobs’ appearance on the last earnings call Cook basically put the question back, “what competition?” 

 

Silicon Alley Insider quotes the COO:

 

There's the [tablets] that use Windows, they're generally big and heavy and expensive. They have weak battery life, they require a keyboard or a stylus as an input device, customers are frankly just not interested in them. Then you have Android tablets, and the varieties that are out shipping today, their operating system wasn't designed for tablets. Google has said this, this isn't just Apple saying this. That means you have the size of a tablet that just isn't reasonable for what we call a 'real tablet experience.' That's just a scaled-up smartphone, which is a bizarre product category. If you do a side-by-side with an iPad, you'll pick an iPad.

 

Cook did acknowledge that the next version of Android is supposed to be tailored for tablets, but it and they are not here yet... so for now they’re just "vapor." 

 

Sanford Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi did NOT ask about returning money to shareholders, either through dividends or stock buybacks. Rather, he wanted to know about CDMA carriers other than Verizon for iPhone 4... nothing new to report on that. 

 

Brian Blair of Wedge Partners wanted Cook’s thoughts on the Mac side, specifically in face of iPad... or put another way, is the iPad cannibalizing the Mac?

 

Cook reiterated, the Mac grew 23% worldwide last quarter versus the same quarter a year earlier... eight-times the 3% rate of growth for the PC market as a whole. Is there cannibalization? Probably, according to Cook, though there’s also probably a halo effect. The COO says millions in Asia and Japan meet Apple through the iPhone and the iPad, which is probably leading to more Mac sales. And - if the iPad or tablets in general do cannibalize Macs or PCs in general, Apple has such a low market share worldwide in PCs, they’d be in a much better position than other companies who lean more heavily on computer sales. In the meantime, the iPad group is building the best iPads it can, the Mac group is building the best macs it can, both groups see growth, and Apple believes they’ll see it.

 

Those were just the bits that caught my ear but there was more said and heard... if you want to hear the whole thing for yourself you can... the entire call is available as a podcast for the next couple of weeks through iTunes.

 

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Apple Treats iWork.com beta as a beta!

I can't remember the last time Apple did anything new with the iWork.com beta. It may have been the day it announced the availability of the iWork.com beta. I'm not sure.

So imagine my surprise when I got an email from Apple today saying, "Hey! Guess what! We did something with the iWork.com beta!"

They were - of course - less expressive and more descriptive in their missive:

Dear iWork.com beta member,

 We're pleased to announce the availability of new features and enhancements to iWork.com.

Play back Keynote '09 presentations on the web, complete with animations.
Using Keynote for Mac, share your presentations and let viewers experience them with over 15 animations, video, hyperlinks, and audio. Play back a presentation on iWork.com using the latest version of Safari on a Mac or PC, iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. Just swipe to advance slides on your iPad using Safari.

New publishing options for public sharing and private online storage.
Upload your documents for private online storage and easily access them from anywhere, or share your documents on social networks using a Public link. Also, you can now embed your presentation seamlessly on a website or blog using the embed code provided byiWork.com. To learn more about these features, and to view an embedded presentation,click here.

To take advantage of these new features on iWork.com, make sure you're using the latest version of iWork for Mac. To update iWork, go to the Apple menu, choose Software Update,and install any available updates for iWork. To share a document from Keynote '09, Pages'09, or Numbers '09, choose "Share via iWork.com" from the Share menu.

Thanks for using iWork.com. We hope you enjoy these enhancements to your service. After you've had a chance to try them out, we invite you to tell us what you think.

To learn more about the iWork.com public beta, click here.

Sincerely,
The iWork.com Team

 

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