Apple has yet another new iPhone commercial out touting the smartphone's features by showing it as a personal device and a part of people's daily lives. In contrast, Microsoft's latest ads take a more negative spin by trying to show Apple's products are inferior.
AT&T Hits Customers with a New Administrative Fee
AT&T Wireless added a new US$0.61 a month administrative fee in May its customers will pay as part of their regular bill. The fee may be new to AT&T, but it's already standard practice at Verizon and Sprint.
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Like it or not, cell service providers can add "administrative fees" and consumers will have to pay. At least AT&T didn't try Verizon's short-lived $2 fee for paying your bill by phone.
Google, Facebook May be Facing Waze Bidding War
Facebook isn't the only company interested in buying up the community-fed mapping and navigation company Waze. Apparently Google is negotiating with the Waze, too, and that could drive the company's price up over US$1 billion.
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Assuming the Waze team really is interested in a buyout, a bidding war would be a great thing. While there is a lot of value in the company, the bigger value in the end for Facebook and Google may be keeping Waze out of competitor's hands.
Terminal: Using “lsof” When Files Won’t Delete
Got a file that's preventing you from emptying your Trash? Got a disk image that won't eject? Then we've got a Terminal trick you'll like. This command will show you what programs are accessing a file or volume, so you can quickly figure out what to quit to get on with your life.
Judge Cote Likely to Side with U.S. Against Apple
Judge Denise Cote said on Thursday that she expects the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) will be able to prove that Apple conspired with publishers in the run-up to the release of the iPad. The judge issued a "tentative view" to attorneys representing the DOJ and Apple to that effect, adding that the opinion is based on reading through some of the evidence.
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This case drives us nuts. On the one hand, Apple mostly likely did act as ringleader in getting the publishers to shift to the agency model for pricing. At the same time, before Apple did so, Amazon had monopoly power in this market and was dumping books to gain that power and shut down competitors.
Microsoft Commercials Take Swipes at Apple’s iPad
Microsoft is taking pot shots at Apple's iPad in its efforts to promote moribund sales of Windows 8 tablets. In a new series of commercials, the Redmond, WA company harnesses Siri to disparage iPad's one-app-at-a-time nature, and compares specs to show an Asus device is thinner and weighs less than iPad.
Apple Updates Fuji-Xerox Printing & Scanning Drivers
Apple released Fuji-Xerox Printer Drivers v2.4 for OS X on Thursday. The patch notes don't specify what's new, saying simply, "This download includes the latest Fuji-Xerox printing and scanning software for OS X Mountain Lion, OS X Lion and Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard."
Reuters Traces Apple’s Irish Operations Back to 1980
Reuters has put together a detailed look at Apple's operations in Ireland at the center of the company's tax strategy. As noted by CEO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer during their testimony in a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Apple first started doing business in Ireland in 1980. Reuters explains how the Irish government used generous tax concessions to attract companies like Apple going back to 1956, and how those efforts led to many multinationals using Ireland for their European operations. If you're following Apple's tax story, it's a great read.
Apple Reportedly Plans WWDC Keynote for Monday, June 10th
Apple has reportedly scheduled its keynote event for its 2013 World Wide Developer Conference on Monday, June 10th. We say reportedly, because while AllThingsD reported the date, Apple hasn't officially announced it and media invites have yet to go out.
Analyst: iWatch Coming in 2014 with Biometrics
Don't plan on spending your money on an Apple smartwatch this year, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. He expects the rumored iWatch will surface later in 2014 and that it will include biometric-related features, too.
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It's a pretty safe bet that Apple is experimenting with wearable technology in its labs, and that most likely includes watch-type devices. Whether or not any of those products ever make it to market remains to be seen, and it's also a safe bet they won't make it out of testing if Apple doesn't think they'll be market changing devices.
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