Leaked Images Claim to Show iPhone SE Display, Confirm Lack of 3D Touch Support
Posted: February 27, 2016 Filed under: Mediasphere, Science & Technology, U.S. News | Tags: 9to5Mac, Apple Inc, Apple iPhone 5S, Belkin, Installation (computer programs), iPad, IPad Air, iPhone, Mark Gurman, Screen protector Leave a commentChance Miller reports: Earlier this week we shared drawings of Apple’s upcoming 4-inch device and reported that Apple plans to call the device the iPhone SE. Now, French site NowhereElse has shared images that claim to show the front display portion of the upcoming device. We’ve long reported that the iPhone SE won’t feature support for 3D Touch, and these images corroborate that.
3D Touch, a flagship feature of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, works by taking advantage of a pair of capacitive touch sensors beneath the display. As you can see in the image above, which shows the iPhone SE next to the iPhone 6s, the smaller device lacks the sensors necessary to support 3D Touch.
[Read the full story here, at 9to5Mac]
Other than the lack of 3D Touch, the leaked images don’t appear to show too much about the iPhone SE. 3D Touch was one of the features highlighted the most when Apple announced the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus last year. The company also touted Live Photos, a feature that the smaller iPhone SE is expected to offer. Read the rest of this entry »
Apple to Judge: Drop Dead!
Posted: February 17, 2016 Filed under: Guns and Gadgets, Law & Justice, Think Tank | Tags: Apple Inc, Apple iPhone 5S, FBI, IOS, iPad, iPhone, IPod Touch, National security, Patriot Act, San Bernardino, Technician, Terrorism, The Daily Dot, The Guardian 1 CommentWhere would you draw the line between liberty and security?
Stephen Green writes: Here’s the setup.
San Bernardino killer Syed Rizwan Farook owned an iPhone 5c, which may have been used — probably was used — in planning and perhaps even executing the holiday party terror attack with his wife, Tashfeen Malik.
That iPhone 5c, just like any other up-to-do-date iOS or Android smartphone, has disc-level encryption baked into the OS for users who want that level of privacy, for good or for ill.
Yesterday,U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym ordered Apple to bypass the phone’s security functions, and furthermore “to provide related technical assistance and to build special software that would essentially act as a skeleton key capable of unlocking the phone.”
[Read the full story here, at PJ Media]
Here’s what happened next:
Hours later, in a statement by its chief executive, Timothy D. Cook, Apple announced its refusal to comply. The move sets up a legal showdown between the company, which says it is eager to protect the privacy of its customers, and the law enforcement authorities, who assert that new encryption technologies hamper their ability to prevent and solve crime.In his statement, Mr. Cook called the court order an “unprecedented step” by the federal government. “We oppose this order, which has implications far beyond the legal case at hand,” he wrote.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond publicly to Apple’s resistance.
The F.B.I. said its experts had been unable to access data on the iPhone 5c and that only Apple could bypass its security features. F.B.I. experts have said they risk losing the data permanently after 10 failed attempts to enter the password because of the phone’s security features.
The Justice Department had secured a search warrant for the phone, owned by Mr. Farook’s former employer, the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health, which consented to the search.
Because Apple declined to voluntarily provide, in essence, the “keys” to its encryption technology, federal prosecutors said they saw little choice but to get a judge to compel Apple’s assistance.
Mr. Cook said the order amounted to creating a “back door” to bypass Apple’s strong encryption standards — “something we simply do not have, and something we consider too dangerous to create.”
Security hawks are on solid ground when they worry (as I do) that Farook’s encrypted iPhone might contain data valuable to government efforts to stop future terror attacks on U.S. soil, or to aid intel efforts to locate, track, and kill Farook’s ISIS contacts overseas.
But that’s not the only worry, as Doug Mataconis explains:
From Apple’s point of view, there seem to be a myriad of issues motivating the decision to take what has the potential to be an unpopular decision given the circumstances of this case. First of all, there is the fact that ever since the company made the decision to strengthen security on its phones in a manner that essentially allows customers to encrypt data in a manner that makes it nearly impossible to access without the appropriate pass code, the concerns about data security have only become more prominent and that providing a backdoor that does not exist right now would only serve to make the data itself less secure overall. Second, as the Post article notes the use of the All Writs Act in this manner appears to be unprecedented and, if upheld, would essentially allow the government to do almost anything in the name of law enforcement and intelligence gathering. Finally, and perhaps most strongly, it’s important to note that law enforcement isn’t asking Apple to provide information that it already has, which is what an ordinary search warrant does. It is essentially asking a Federal Court to compel Apple to do something, in this case create a backdoor that does not exist. This arguably falls well outside the scope of the Fourth Amendment and, if upheld, would give law enforcement authority to compel technology companies to do almost anything conceivable in the name of a purported investigation or surveillance of a target. That seems to go well beyond what the Constitution and existing law permits law enforcement to do.
Google Exploring Shanghai’s Free-Trade Zone
Posted: December 8, 2015 Filed under: Asia, China, Politics, Science & Technology | Tags: Apple Inc, Asia, California, California Institute of Technology, China, Department of Motor Vehicles, Diyarbakır, Free trade zone, Google, India, Information technology, iPad, iPhone, Shanghai, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal Leave a commentCompanies such as Amazon and Apple use Shanghai’s free-trade zone to run some of their value-added services in China, due to the area’s looser rules on foreign capital.
Yang Jie reports: The jury is still out on the business benefits of Shanghai’s free-trade zone— but one notable U.S. tech giant is among the firms that has dipped a toe into the pilot area’s waters.
“The free-trade zone’s rules make it easier for foreign companies to run e-commerce operations, for example. But they have little benefit when it comes to activities such as Internet search and e-mail, which are dependent on the location of the server and the storage of data”
Google, of Mountain View, Calif., set up a company in Shanghai’s pioneer free-trade zone last year, according to online filings reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
Companies such as Amazon and Apple use Shanghai’s free-trade zone to run some of their value-added services in China, due to the area’s looser rules on foreign capital and greater freedom in terms of industries that foreign businesses can participate in.
The free-trade zone’s rules make it easier for foreign companies to run e-commerce operations, for example. But they have little benefit when it comes to activities such as Internet search and e-mail, which are dependent on the location of the server and the storage of data, according to people familiar with the matter.
A Google spokesman declined to comment on the issue. The company’s establishment was first reported on Monday by The Paper, a Shanghai-based media outlet.
Read the rest of this entry »
Back-Alley Upgrades: In China, $100 Can Get You an 128GB iPhone Boost
Posted: November 5, 2015 Filed under: Asia, China, Mediasphere | Tags: App Store (iOS), Apple Inc, Beijing, China, China Southern Airlines, iPad, iPhone, Palo Alto Networks, WeChat, Xcode Leave a commentIn China’s unbridled marketplace, you can pay $5 for soap made from human breast milk, $800 to take a cosmetics CEO out during Christmas and $430,000 for a purple Bentley convertible once owned by a corrupt official.
If you’re an Apple Inc. device user, you can also now boost your iPhone’s storage from the cramped-feeling 16GB standard to a cavernous 128GB for less than a hundred bucks.
Mobile phone repair shops in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai have sparked curiosity on sidewalks and social media by offering the service, which appears aimed at the many aspirational Chinese device users who can’t afford the roughly $200 premium attached to large-capacity iPhones….(read more)
Source: China Real Time Report – WSJ
Apple Removes Drone Tracking App
Posted: October 1, 2015 Filed under: Mediasphere, Science & Technology, Space & Aviation | Tags: App Store (iOS), Apple Inc, Apps, Avast, iCloud, IOS, iPad, iPhone, Malware, Xcode Leave a commentWASHINGTON – Apple is known for keeping a pretty tight leash on apps, often blocking or refusing to sell programs it deems too offensive or too sexually suggestive.
The creator of an app that tracks published reports of American drone strikes around the world probably figured his program was in no danger of running afoul of Apple’s strict rules.
But this week, Metadata+ was removed from the App Store for having “excessively rude or objectionable content,” reports CNet.
The app was designed by Josh Begley, one of the editors of The Intercept, to publish data on…(read more)
Source: CBS DC
Apple’s iPhone Market Grew 75% Year Over Year In China
Posted: September 9, 2015 Filed under: Asia, China, Mediasphere, U.S. News | Tags: Apple Inc, Apple TV, Canary Wharf, China, iPad, iPhone, IPod Touch, North America, San Francisco Leave a commentApple’s iPhone market grew 75% in China year over year, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced on stage today. The Greater China region is Apple’s second largest market after the Americas….(read more)
Source: TechCrunch
You Call That an iPad? That’s Not an iPad. THIS is an iPad
Posted: September 9, 2015 Filed under: Entertainment, Mediasphere, U.S. News | Tags: Apple Inc, Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, IOS, iPad, IPad (3rd generation), iPhone, Personal computer, Phil Schiller, Philip Schiller, San Francisco 1 CommentApple Announces iPad Pro With New Larger Screen
Victor Luckerson reports: Apple announced a new big-screen iPad at an event in San Francisco, Calif. Wednesday. The new iPad, the iPad Pro, will have a 12.9-inch screen with a 2732 X 2048 resolution.
The long-rumored tablet will be the most powerful iOS device ever released, Apple marketing exec Phil Schiller said at the event. The iPad Pro’s A9X chip will be 1.8 times faster than the A8X in the iPad Air 2. The device will also have a 10-hour battery life and a four-speaker audio system for improved sound performance. The iPad Pro is 6.9 mm thick, just a bit thicker than the iPad Air’s 6.1 mm, and also features an 8 megapixel camera.
The cheapest model the iPad Pro will cost $799 and have 32 GB of storage. A 128GB version will cost $949, and a 128GB version with LTE capability will cost $1,079. Read the rest of this entry »
Apple TV 4 Hardware Revealed: A8 Chip, Black remote, 8/16GB Storage, Same Ports, no 4K
Posted: September 2, 2015 Filed under: Entertainment, Mediasphere, U.S. News | Tags: 9to5Mac, App Store (iOS), Apple Inc, Apple TV, Buzzfeed, IOS, iPad, iPhone, iTunes, John Paczkowski, Mark Gurman, Siri Leave a commentPriced at $149, will include universal search for finding content across providers.
Mark Gurman reports: The fourth-generation Apple TV, set to be unveiled at an event on September 9thand released in October, will feature a mix of new and familiar hardware, according to reliable sources. While the new device will sport a much faster processor than the current Apple TV, a color-matched remote control, and a somewhat larger body, it will lack support for 4K video streaming and have the same basic ports as the third-generation model…
[Also see – Apple TV Rumor Roundup: Everything We Think We Know – Gizmodo]
The current Apple TV design, first released in late 2010, has 8GB of internal storage for caching media, and the fourth-generation boxes in testing surprisingly range from 8GB to 16GB of storage. We are told that Apple has considered two pricing strategies: the simultaneous release of a $149 base model with 8GB of storage alongside a $199 16GB model, or the release of the 16GB Apple TV alone at $149. In either case, Apple will offer a $149 Apple TV.
While the new Apple TV will include an App Store for deep support for gaming, sources say that the limited storage offered by 8GB and 16GB flash memory is appropriate for the new model, as all content outside of applications will be streamed directly from the Internet. Additionally, the new Apple TV runs an iOS 9 core, and iOS 9 includes several new features for reducing the file size of App Store apps, including the ability to load games in level-sized chunks and stream rather than store videos within app binaries.
[New Apple TV Will Feature Universal Search, Start At $149 – BuzzFeed]
[Also see – The next-gen Apple TV could be the most exciting product Apple has released in years – BGR.com]
Sources indicate that the new Apple TV will be powered by the A8 chip found in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, coming in behind the A9-based iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus. In iPhones, the A8 is notably less powerful than the A8X chip found in the iPad Air 2, which includes an additional processing core and improved graphics. Read the rest of this entry »
‘Mad Men’ Retrospective
Posted: May 11, 2015 Filed under: Art & Culture, Entertainment | Tags: Apple TV, Betty Draper, Don Draper, Google Play, HBO, iPad, iPhone, iTunes, Mad Men, PlayStation, PlayStation 3, Television Leave a commentMad Men Retrospective on Google Play Includes Free Episode
Todd Spangler writes: “Mad Men,” as it nears the finish line after eight years on TV, is getting a virtual retrospective on Google Play that will allow fans to relive the show’s run — a promo that includes free streaming access to the series’ very first episode.
Under a pact with Lionsgate, Google Play is debuting “The Mad Men Experience,” at madmen.withgoogle.com. The website is billed as an interactive, art-exhibit-style destination set in the world of 1960s Madison Avenue with more than 300 pieces of content released for the first time in a digital environment. Those include rarely seen artwork interviews with cast audio commentaries and other features.
The deal is Google Play’s first digital fan experience for a TV show, and it’s aimed at driving viewers to purchase episodes and full seasons of “Mad Men” from the online store. In addition, for a limited time Google Play will stream season one, episode one (“Smoke Gets in Your Eyes”) for free on Google Play, available to users in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia. All prior seasons of “Mad Men” also are available for streaming on Netflix, and for purchase on Apple’s iTunes and Amazon’s Instant Video services. Read the rest of this entry »
[VIDEO] Space Gray Gadget Review: Apple Watch Hands-On and First Impressions
Posted: April 11, 2015 Filed under: Entertainment, Guns and Gadgets, Science & Technology | Tags: 3G, Angela Ahrendts, Apple Inc, Apple iPhone 5C, Apple Store, Facebook, iPad, iPhone, Steve Jobs, User interface 1 CommentDom Esposito writes:
…Apple Watch is finally available to preorder, but if you missed the mark at 12:01 a.m. you might be waiting quite a while to get your hands on one. Luckily, Apple is providing try-on appointments that will allow you to get a taste of the experience and feel one out for yourself. Recently, we took that opportunity to get our hands on a few and offer some initial impressions on the hardware and software…
In the video below, we take a look at three Apple Watch models and the widely popular Apple Watch Sport in Space Gray. Along with that we took a tour of the software available on the demo models and it was quite interesting. Apple Watch is definitely a very different product from anything we’ve seen the company offer, but along with that it brings a unique experience that no other product can match up to.
We got our hands on the 42mm Apple Watch with the Leather Loop, Milanese Loop, and Link Bracelet band styles. Each band really does bring an entirely different look, feel, and experience to the table. The Apple Watch Sport comes along with a “custom high-performance fluoroelastomer,” but don’t let the generic term “rubber” turn you away. It actually feels very nice.
Is it all worth the hype? Well, that’s somewhat subjective, but check out our hands-on and first impressions video above for a closer look at Apple Watch hardware and software:
We also took a brief look through the software UI and features with the demo models. While these demos are running loops throughout various portions of the interface, there’s still quite a bit that you can do to test out its functionality. It’s smooth overall, but we noticed a bit of lag here and there. Read the rest of this entry »
[VIDEO] Want 8 More Minutes? Watch Apple’s Watch and MacBook Event in 11 Minutes
Posted: March 9, 2015 Filed under: Breaking News, Entertainment, Mediasphere | Tags: App Store (iOS), Apple Inc, Apple TV, HBO, iPad, iPhone, MacBook, San Francisco, Spring Forward, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Leave a comment
Apple’s Spring Forward event was quite eventful (repetition intended). Apple TV got a big price drop and an even bigger exclusive partnership with HBO. The Apple Watch was priced for every single tier. And there’s that ultra-thin, minimal-ported MacBook.
Fraud Comes to Apple Pay
Posted: March 4, 2015 Filed under: Crime & Corruption | Tags: American Express, Apple Inc, Contactless payment, Credit card, Debit card, EUROPE, iPad, iPhone, JetBlue Airways, MasterCard, Mobile payment, United States, Visa Inc. 1 CommentDaisuke Wakabayashi and Robin Side report: It didn’t take long for fraud to find its way to Apple Pay
Some banks are seeing a growing incidence of fraud on Apple’s mobile-payment service as criminals exploit vulnerabilities in the verification process of adding a credit card, according to people familiar with the matter.
“The fraud issue was brought to light by Cherian Abraham, a payment expert who works with banks and retailers on mobile-payment strategies, in a blog post in late February. He said fraud “is growing like a weed, and the bank is unable to tell friend from foe.”
Banks are tightening the verification process in an attempt to curb the fraud, these people said, declining to be identified citing a confidentiality agreement with Apple.
The fraud issue was brought to light by Cherian Abraham, a payment expert who works with banks and retailers on mobile-payment strategies, in a blog post in late February. He said fraud “is growing like a weed, and the bank is unable to tell friend from foe.”
“Stolen identities and lifted credit card numbers are not unique to Apple Pay. Stolen cards have been a problem for a long time in e-commerce transactions, where the rates of fraud are higher than in-store credit card purchases.”
Abraham said it’s not “an anomaly” to see fraud accounting for about 6% of Apple Pay transactions, compared to about 0.1% of transactions using a plastic card to swipe. He noted that fraud rates vary by issuing bank.
An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment on the fraud rates, but said Apple Pay is “designed to be extremely secure and protect a user’s personal information.” She added that “banks are always reviewing and improving their approval process, which varies by bank.”
Stolen identities and lifted credit card numbers are not unique to Apple Pay. Stolen cards have been a problem for a long time in e-commerce transactions, where the rates of fraud are higher than in-store credit card purchases. However, Apple Pay – thanks to its quick and easy checkout process – can combine some of the vulnerabilities of online shopping and the instant delivery of buying a product in store. Read the rest of this entry »
[VIDEO] Apple’s New Oscars iPad Ad
Posted: February 22, 2015 Filed under: Art & Culture, Entertainment, Mediasphere | Tags: Academy Award, Alex Gibney, App Store (iOS), Apple Inc, Apple iPad Air, Hollywood, iPad, Martin Scorsese Leave a commentFive years after Apple’s first iPad ad debuted during the Academy Awards in 2010, its new iPad Air promo will again screen during the Oscars on Sunday and tout its filmmaking abilities…100 more words
Apple’s not-so-secret weapon in streaming music
Posted: February 18, 2015 Filed under: Economics, Entertainment, Mediasphere | Tags: Apple, Consumer technology, iPad, iPhone, IPod, Music, streaming Leave a commentCollege Students Prefer Their iPhones Over Sex and Beer
Posted: February 11, 2015 Filed under: Education, Entertainment | Tags: Apple Inc, California, FaceTime, Fortune (magazine), IOS, iPad, IPad Mini, iPhone, IPod, Macintosh Leave a commentAccording to a super not scientific study
But those people are wrong. There is one thing college students care about more than sex, drugs, parties or anything else. And that is their iPhones. At least, according to a recent study conducted by Student Monitor. Researchers surveyed 1,200 undergrads around the U.S. to choose “what’s in on campus” from a list of 77 options, Fortune reports.
Apple’s iPhone earned the most votes, with 66% of students selecting it. The next most popular results were coffee, texting, Facebook, iPads and Instagram. Beer was #7 on the list and “hooking up” was #12. Read the rest of this entry »
Detroit Man: iPhone 6 in Exchange for House?
Posted: October 11, 2014 Filed under: Economics, Mediasphere, U.S. News | Tags: America, Apple, Detroit, General Motors, iPad, iPhone, Silicon Valley, United States Leave a commentA man from Detroit has offered to sell his house for an iPhone 6
The unnamed individual originally listed his three-bedroom property for $5,000 (£3,100) in June, but has now slashed the price to either $3,000, or the latest version of Apple’s iconic smartphone. He would also accept a 32GB iPad, and is willing to negotiate, according to his estate agent, Larry Else.

The three-bedroom house in Detroit which can be bought for the price of an iPhone 6
“Detroit’s not a monster. It’s just ahead of the curve”
— Kevin D. Williamson
The 2,400-square foot house is in poor condition, with broken windows and peeling paint, in one of Detroit’s poorest districts. Even so, the trade has highlighted the contrast between America’s thriving technology industry in Silicon Valley and the economic blight still affecting other parts of the country. Read the rest of this entry »
Apple will No Longer Unlock User’s Mobile Devices for Police, Even with Search Warrants
Posted: September 18, 2014 Filed under: Law & Justice, Mediasphere, Science & Technology, U.S. News | Tags: Apple, Edward Snowden, iCloud, IOS, iPad, iPhone, National Security Agency, Washington Post 1 CommentThe Washington Post reports: Apple said Wednesday night that it is making it impossible for the company to turn over data from most iPhones or iPads to police — even when they have a search warrant — taking a hard new line as tech companies attempt to blunt allegations that they have too readily participated in government efforts to collect user information.
The move, announced with the publication of a new privacy policy tied to the release of Apple’s latest mobile operating system, iOS 8, amounts to an engineering solution to a legal quandary: Rather than comply with binding court orders, Apple has reworked its latest encryption in a way that prevents the company — or anyone but the device’s owner — from gaining access to the vast troves of user data typically stored on smartphones or tablet computers.
The key is the encryption that Apple mobile devices automatically put in place when a user selects a passcode, making it difficult for anyone who lacks that passcode to access the information within, including photos, e-mails and recordings. Apple once maintained the ability to unlock some content on devices for legally binding police requests but will no longer do so for iOS 8, it said in the new privacy policy.
“Unlike our competitors, Apple cannot bypass your passcode and therefore cannot access this data,” Apple said on its Web site. “So it’s not technically feasible for us to respond to government warrants for the extraction of this data from devices in their possession running iOS 8.”
As the new operating system becomes widely deployed over the next several weeks, the number of iPhones and iPads that Apple is capable of breaking into for police will steadily dwindle to the point where only devices several years old — and incapable of running iOS 8 — can be unlocked by Apple.
Apple will still have the ability — and the legal responsibility — to turn over user data stored elsewhere, such as in its iCloud service, which typically includes backups of photos, videos, e-mail communications, music collections and more. Users who want to prevent all forms of police access to their information will have to adjust settings in a way that blocks data from flowing to iCloud. Read the rest of this entry »
[PHOTO] Remember When Apple Used to Crush Leaks with Ruthless Efficiency?
Posted: August 15, 2014 Filed under: Asia, Breaking News, China, Science & Technology, U.S. News | Tags: Apple, China, Foxconn, Inhaler, iPad, iPhone, Smuggling, TMZ 1 CommentMe Neither!
TMZ.com reports:
…We’re told the phone was smuggled out of a Foxconn factory in China … where the majority of iPhone models are manufactured. The owner of the phone says the smuggler is his friend — an ex-employee — who worked in Foxconn’s hardware department designing the outer casing for the new model…(read more)
Not All Laptops Can Turn into a Tablet
Posted: July 17, 2014 Filed under: Entertainment, Humor | Tags: iPad, Laptop, Microsoft Surface, Microsoft Windows, Robby Ayala, Tablet, Tablet computer 1 CommentSo I found out today not all laptops can turn into a tablet @HP #BendTheRules https://t.co/QqMWwRjzXY
— Robby Ayala (@robbyjayala) July 16, 2014
Apple agrees to $400 million settlement in ebook price-fixing case
Posted: July 16, 2014 Filed under: Law & Justice, Mediasphere, Reading Room, U.S. News | Tags: Apple, ebooks, IBooks, iPad, price-fixing, technology 1 CommentWireless Power from Across the Room
Posted: May 23, 2014 Filed under: Guns and Gadgets, Science & Technology | Tags: Electric charge, Gadget, Inductive charging, iPad, iPhone, San Francisco, Wi-Fi, WiTricity 1 Comment
Charge it: An iPhone in an Energous case gets a charge from the transmitter in the background.
For MIT Technology Review, Rachel Metz writes: “Do you want us to charge your phone?” George Holmes asks. Normally, that would be an odd question. But Holmes is the vice president of sales and marketing for Energous, a company that is developing technology called WattUp that will allow you to charge smartphones, tablets, and other small gadgets from across a room without wires.
Energous hopes other companies will license this technology and build it into all kinds of products and places, so you can easily power your iPad while sitting on the couch browsing Instagram, or top off your phone while buying a coffee or playing Candy Crush in an airport. It will face competition, however, from a startup calledWitricity that uses a different method, and already has the backing of some major electronics companies.
For now, WattUp’s technology is still in the demo stage, which means it’s not very good-looking. But it works, and during a visit to my San Francisco office, Holmes wants to show it off. Read the rest of this entry »
McDonalds Hires 7,000 Touch-Screen Cashiers
Posted: May 10, 2014 Filed under: Economics, Food & Drink, Mediasphere | Tags: Big Mac, Chicken McNuggets, Filet-o-Fish, Financial Times, HAL 9000, Happy Meal, iPad, McDonald 3 CommentsWould you like some microchips with that burger? McDonald’s Europe strikes another blow against human interaction by installing 7,000 touch-screen computers to take your order and money.

McDonald’s shows off a touch-screen kiosk installed in France in 2009. McDonald’s Europe
“Welcome to McDonald’s . My name is HAL 9000. May I take your order?”
Amanda Kooser writes: McDonalds recently went on a hiring binge in the U.S., adding 62,000 employees to its roster. The hiring picture doesn’t look quite so rosy for Europe, where the fast food chain is drafting 7,000 touch-screen kiosks to handle cashiering duties.
The move is designed to boost efficiency and make ordering more convenient for customers. In an interview with the Financial Times, McDonald’s Europe President Steve Easterbrook notes that the new system will also open up a goldmine of data. McDonald’s could potentially track every Big Mac, McNugget, and large shake you order. A calorie account tally at the end of the year could be a real shocker. Read the rest of this entry »
BOOKS: ‘Zombie Apocalypse Survival Guide: 2nd Edition’ Kindle Download, Free
Posted: January 22, 2014 Filed under: Reading Room | Tags: Amazon, Amazon Kindle, Amazon.com, Books, E-book, eBook, iPad, publishing, Shopping, World War Z, Zombie 1 CommentAmazon offers downloads of Zombie Apocalypse Survival Guide 2nd Edition for free.
100 top-rated professional rules that will help you stay alive in the zombie apocalypse!
While everyone else is hiding in their house, being eaten alive, and waiting for it to all blow over,
you’ll be high on the streets kicking undead ass & having a gold ol’ time!
This is more than just a funny book with rules about the zombie apocalypse… this might actually save your life and the lives of your friends & family!
‘RED FRIDAY’ – The Non-Communist Version: Discount-Crazed Shoppers Rush China’s Apple Stores for Wonderful Capitalist Goodies
Posted: January 14, 2014 Filed under: Asia, China, Science & Technology | Tags: Apple, China Mobile, Hong Kong, iPad, iPhone, IPod, Philip Elmer-DeWitt, Red Friday, South Korea Leave a comment
Photo: Jason Y. Ng
“It’s like a refuge camp!” wrote Jason Ng, who tweeted this photo from Hong Kong
FORTUNE — Philip Elmer-DeWitt reports: No, these aren’t customers lining up for the launch of the iPhone at China Mobile (CHL). That event is scheduled for Jan. 17, a week from now.
These are shoppers at Apple’s (AAPL) Hong Kong store drawn by the discounts the company is offering for its second-annual Asian Red Friday sale.
Apple strikes multi-year deal with China Mobile
Posted: December 22, 2013 Filed under: Asia, China, Global, Science & Technology | Tags: Apple, China, China Mobile, iPad, iPhone, Samsung, Smartphone, Tim Cook 2 CommentsThe long-awaited deal will see Apple sell its iPhones in the world’s largest smartphone market via China Mobile’s retail stores on January 17 for the first time
Rebecca Clancy writes: Apple has announced a long-awaited distribution deal with China Mobile, the world’s biggest phone carrier, which could generate billions in revenue for the world’s most valuable tech company.
Demand for iPhones, once hugely popular in China, have slumped there as lower-priced rival smartphones from Samsung and Chinese companies entered the market.
The financial terms of the deal were not announced, nor were the details of pricing and availability for its latest iPhone, the 5S and 5C lines, which Apple said would be available at a later date.
The phones will go on sale in China Mobile’s retail stores on January 17 for the first time, but customers will be able to pre-order from December 25.
[VIDEO] Violet vs Siri: Watch a Frustrated Four-Year-Old Have an Argument with Siri About Nothing for Three Minutes
Posted: June 30, 2015 | Author: Pundit Planet | Filed under: Entertainment, Humor | Tags: Apple, Audio commentary, iPad, iPhone, Siri, video, Voice Assistant | 1 CommentRate this: