BREAKING: Apple reveals release date and pricing info for the gorgeous new iPad Air 2

Thursday's big Apple event is still going strong, and the company just announced the release date for its brand new iPad Air 2. The device is somehow even thinner than the original iPad Air, the A8X processor is more powerful, the display technology is even better, the 8-megapixel rear camera is better, it has Touch ID, and the graphics are 180x faster than the original iPad. And somehow, despite all the new technology Apple stuff into the tablet, it still gets 10 hours of battery life per charge.

But when will we be able to buy one?

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Posted in 2014 at 06:03PM, October 16

GT Seeks to Void 'Oppressive and Burdensome' Agreements With Apple, Outlines Sapphire Wind Down Process

Yesterday, lawyers for Apple's bankrupt sapphire production partner GT Advanced Technologies notified the court that court that the company would be seeking to "wind down" operations at its sapphire production facilities in Arizona and Massachusetts, while also pursuing efforts to escape from contracts related to those operations.



In a pair of filings today, GT has followed through on those plans, with one filing asking for court approval to void its contracts related to the operation, calling the terms of its contracts with Apple "oppressive and burdensome."

As discussed in detail in the Supplemental First Day Declaration, the agreements imposed oppressive and burdensome terms and obligations on GTAT. The contracts and leases...provide no benefit to GTAT's estates, and GTAT's continued performance under the Agreements is no longer a viable business option. [...]



GTAT has determined that the Agreements are no longer necessary for GTAT's business operations. The Agreements also are not a source of potential value for GTAT's future operations, creditors, or interest holders and constitute an unnecessary drain on GTAT's resources.

GT believes it will be able to pursue further claims against Apple, but is unable to do so at this stage of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, and so has asked that the agreements be voided while maintaining its right to pursue future claims against Apple related to the agreements.



GT's second filing addresses the wind down procedure for its sapphire production facilities, noting that sapphire boules currently being grown in furnaces are valued at roughly $20,000 each and take up to 30 days to grow, and thus it is in the interest of the company and its creditors to allow boules already being grown to be completed.

[M]erely "pulling the plug" is not a viable option given the significant value of GTAT's equipment at these facilities (most notably, the sapphire growing furnaces) as well as the significant value of the sapphire boules that are currently being grown in the furnaces (a process that can take up to 30 days). For these reasons, GTAT has developed the Wind Down Process, which will allow GTAT to wind down its sapphire manufacturing operations in as orderly a manner as possible while preserving the value of its assets.

The first stage of GT's Wind Down Process involves maintaining a crew of 75 employees to monitor ongoing sapphire growth and then remove the boules and prepare them for sale, a process expected to be completed by mid-November. The second stage, requiring 15 employees, involves the cleaning and decommissioning of the furnaces themselves to preserve their value. Finally, roughly 35 employees will be needed to "shut down and clean up" the Arizona facility, with final closure coming by December 31.



Overall, GT projects that 890 employees will lose their jobs with the shutdown, with the company seeking approval to spend approximately $65,000 in incentives to ensure certain qualified employees remain with the company during the wind down process.



Apple has not commented publicly on the matter beyond its initial statement expressing surprise at GT's bankruptcy filing and pledging to work to preserve jobs in the area.



(Image: GT sapphire furnace)

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Posted in 2014 at 06:03PM, October 10

Netflix Launches in Germany, Including on Apple TV [Mac Blog]

Netflix today officially launched [Google Translate] its subscription movie and TV show service in Germany, and as noted by ifun.de [Google Translate], the launch includes day-one support on the Apple TV.





Apple has significantly expanded content offerings on the Apple TV over the past year or two, but many of the additions have been limited to the United States. The Netflix channel has, however, been available in many of the markets served by Netflix, which has included the U.S., Latin America, and a number of countries in Europe. As a result, it is unsurprising that the channel has expanded to Germany, but viewers there will be happy to see Apple TV support arriving right alongside the general launch of Netflix in the country.

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Posted in 2014 at 06:03PM, September 16

Nexus 9 reveal pegged for October 8th, set to feature a killer new processor

We haven't seen a new Nexus device from Google so far in 2014, but according to Portugal-based tech blog 4GNews , HTC will reveal its Nexus 9 tablet at an upcoming media event on October 8th. This is the same media event that we reported on last week after receiving an invitation in our inbox with the title "Double Exposure."

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Posted in 2014 at 06:03PM, September 15

Microsoft Preparing to Add Share Extension Support to OneNote for iOS 8

When iOS 8 is released to the public this fall, users will be able to take advantage of several new operating system features, including app extensions. App extensions are designed to allow third-party apps to share services with other apps, letting apps work together and interface in ways that they never have before.



We've shared a brief look at app extensions in the iOS 8 version of 1Password, but as the launch date of the new operating system approaches, developers are hard at work integrating Apple's APIs into their apps and have been sharing more information on some of the ways app extensions will work.



Microsoft will be updating OneNote for iPhone and iPad to take advantage of Apple's iOS 8 share extension, adding useful new capabilities to the note taking app through built-in share sheets.






As demoed in the video above, a OneNote button in Safari (accessed via the share sheet) will let users quickly clip articles and information from the web, automatically inserting content into the OneNote app. The OneNote Share Extension will also allow users to export files to OneDrive, Microsoft's cloud storage service, and it's also possible to save photos from the device's camera roll to the app.



The sharing functions built into the OneNote app will undoubtedly become common features in many iOS apps in the future, making it easier than ever to share content between apps and services. In addition to offering inter-app sharing features, Apple's Extensibility APIs let apps access system-wide third party keyboards, add widgets to the Notification Center, share photo editing extensions, and more.



Microsoft plans to release its OneNote update on the same day that iOS 8 becomes available to the public, which should be shortly before the iPhone 6 begins shipping to customers.



Microsoft OneNote can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link: iPad/iPhone]

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Posted in 2014 at 06:03PM, September 08

Here’s all the exclusive content Destiny players will receive on PS4

As revealed during Sony's E3 press conference last week, Destiny is going to be chock full of exclusive content for PS4 and PS3 owners at launch. PlayStation VP Adam Boyes didn't have enough time to share every detail during the show though, so social media manager Sid Shuman has taken to the PlayStation Blog to outline all of the PlayStation exclusives.

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Posted in 2014 at 06:03PM, June 17

Finally, Apple Maps is good for something

Sure, Apple Maps might send you into a death trap in the Australian outback or onto an airport runway, but it does do things that other mapping services don't, such as being able to find imaginary monsters. AppleInsider points out that hunters of the Loch Ness Monster claim that they found an image of the mythical beast on a satellite image provided by Apple's iOS Maps, which was something that they didn't find when they tried looking for it on Google Maps.

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Posted in 2014 at 06:03PM, April 18