One year of Tim Cook as CEO of Apple

Exactly one year ago today, Tim Cook took over the leadership of Apple from Steve Jobs. CNET's Josh Lowensohn reports that his first year at the company has been a huge success.

Not everyone believed that Cook, who had filled in for Jobs twice during his battle with pancreatic cancer, would keep the company on its incredible journey. When the announcement of his appointment as CEO was made, Apple's stock dropped more than $6 a share. But now the stock is up 44 percent over its value at this time in 2011 and Apple was recently named the most valuable company in the world in terms of market capitalization.

During Cook's first year, the company continued to see revenue growth outpacing the rest of the industry during a worldwide recession, continues to fight patent battles against rivals in court to assure that Apple (in the words of Cook) "not become the developer for the world," and has released follow-ons to its highly successful products.

However, some Wall Street analysts believe that Apple's future is bleak without the charisma of Jobs at the helm. Forrester CEO George Colony was quoted in April as saying that "Apple's momentum will carry it for 24 to 48 months, but without the arrival of a new charismatic leader it will move from being a great company to being a good company."

[Source: TUAW - Read more here]

Apple to Ramp Up 7.85" iPad Mini Production in September?

Digitimes reports that the long-rumored 7.85" iPad will begin volume production in September with a target of 4 million units per month.

Supply volume of Apple's 7.85-inch iPad is estimated to reach four million units per month starting in September in order to prepare for demand from year-end holidays, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.

The goal is said to launch the new device before the 2012 holiday season.

The timing is consistent with previous rumors that Apple would be ramping production in September. iMore reported back in May that Apple was targetting an October launch for the smaller iPad with a target price in the $200-$250 range. iMore also lumped in the iPad Mini to be announced alongside the next iPhone on the rumored September 12th media event. 

The September 12th date seems certain for an Apple media event as it has been verified by a number of publications. Apple has yet to officially announce an event, however. 

While a number of part leaks have already revealed what to expect in the next iPhone, iPad mini parts have been quite scarce. This seemingly late ramp up in production may have been intentionally timed by Apple to correspond with their launch media event in order to prevent as many leaks for this new device.

[Source: MacRumors]

Maxthon web browser arrives in bite-sized form for iPhone

Maxthon has long since escaped the days when it was chiefly a customized version of Internet Exploreron the desktop, and nowhere is that more apparent than its just-launched version of the normallyWebKit-based browser for the iPhone and iPod touch. All the core features of the app carry over from earlier Android and iPad versions, such as an Opera-like grid of favorite pages, a download manager and a unified address bar, but it's arguably more useful than the iPad edition: conventional browser tabs aren't coming to smaller-screened iOS devices in a future mobile Safari build anytime soon. Bookmark syncing and an optimized reading mode also persist to reduce the chance that Maxthon users drift back towards the official Apple browser, even after iOS 6 rolls around. With that all-important "free" price tag, there's every reason to give it a try -- let others know in the comments if Maxthon is enough to take precedence over comparable iOS alternatives like Chrome.

[Source: Engadget]

Mac 101: Battery not charging? Recalibration may be the answer

If your MacBook (any model) is not charging to 100%, it may need to be recalibrated. Apple explains how to do this, but basically it comes down to three steps:

1. Fully charge your MacBook (and leave it charged for about 2 hours)
2. Fully drain your MacBook (by using it on battery until it turns off)
3. Fully recharge your MacBook again.

That should help the battery indicator recalibrate so that it shows the correct information. If it doesn't, you might need to reset the System Management Controller (SMC), but in most case I've found that a simple recalibration will work.

[Source: To read the full article visit Tuaw]

Apple seeds new OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.1 beta (build 12B17) to developers

Less than a week after seeding the initial build of OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.1 (build 12B13), Apple has followed up with a new build to developers. The beta, coming in at build number 12B17, has no known issues. Apple asks developers to focus on Active Directory, iCal, Microsoft Exchange in Mail, PAC proxies in Safari, SMB, USB, and WiFi and audio when connected to an Apple Thunderbolt Display.

10.X.1 OS X updates are usually maintenance updates released soon after the initial 10.X.0 release. The short amount of time between developer beta releases, and the small amount of builds between the earlier release and today’s release should point to that. However, the release notes are yet to be included in 10.8.1 seeds. (as shown above).

Earlier this week, Apple seeded a new beta of 10.7.5, a maintenance release for OS X Lion.

[Source: 9to5Mac]

Apple files plans for Oregon data center

The Apple Oregon data center is moving closer to reality. Apple has filed formal plans with the city of Prineville, and it looks like Apple will build a 500,000-square-foot facility. It's likely the data center will serve the Apple app stores and iCloud.

The plan shows two buildings with more than 500,000 square feet of what are described as 'data halls,' The Bend Bulletin reported Wednesday. The plan doesn't say when Apple might start building.

"They really didn't say how long they are looking at," Prineville senior planner Joshua Smith said.

An Apple spokeswoman, Kristin Huguet, referred Wednesday to the company's early statements on the development, which forecast "hiring dozens of people and bringing hundreds of construction jobs to the area" but didn't set a construction schedule." The two data centers will be neighbors across the street from the other.

[Source: TUAW]

Apple’s new set-top box to feature DVR-like media access and iPad-like icon interface

Going away from the constant rumors that Apple is building its own TV set, yesterday evening the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple is in talks with cable television operators to use an Apple TV device as a set-top-box. Adding to yesterday’s report, the publication has shared another note today with more details of Apple’s vision for the new device. This evening’s report mentions is that Apple is looking to introduce a feature that will allow users to view a TV show at any time, even minutes after it has begun. iCloud DVR has a nice ring to it.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company proposes giving viewers the ability to start any show at any time through a digital-video recorder that would store TV shows on the Internet. Viewers even could start a show minutes after it has begun. Time Warner Cable Inc. offers a limited version of this feature called Start Over.

Furthermore, Apple is said to be working on a redesigned interface for the set-top box that is more in-line with the icon interface of the iPad. In recent months, users have begun to express their concern over the Apple TV’s UI, saying that the menus are confusing and calling the interface clunky. Social media features may also be added, allowing users to easily share thoughts on TV shows and movies.

[Source: 9to5Mac - Read more here]

Are Retina MacBooks displaying screen issues?

If a 56-page discussion thread on the Apple Support forums is any indication, there appears to be a problem with some MacBook Pros with Retina displays. The Retina displays with the issues show image retention and burn-in; others do not.

TUAW reader Joe K. sent us a note about the issue, which appears to be happening to MBPs with displays manufactured by LG; other displays made by Samsung don't have the problem with image retention and burn-in, are brighter, and seem to display colors with more accuracy.

To determine the make of the Retina display installed in your MacBook Pro, Joe supplied a helpful terminal command:

ioreg -lw0 | grep \"EDID\" | sed "/[^<]*</s///" | xxd -p -r | strings -6

It's basically the same command seen on OSXDaily to check for LG screens on MacBook Airs, which will also tell you how you know if you have a Samsung or LG display. If your display code begins with "LP," it's an LG display. Mike Rose has verified that with his LG panel he sees faint ghosting of Finder windows when he goes into a PowerPoint slideshow with a gray background.

Those who own a MacBook Pro with Retina display and see this problem as described in the thread should contact their local Apple Store or AppleCare for resolution.

[Source: TUAW]

Site tracks growing list of retina Mac apps

Do you have a Retina MacBook Pro, wondering which apps are going to look their best on the massive amount of glossy pixels before you? Well, Microsoft might not be ready, but quite a few developers have updated their apps, and those are showing up on Retina Mac Apps. It's a simple site with a simple purpose: to show you which apps are ready for the big (resolution) screen.

[Source: TUAW]

Apple in talks with cable operators to use Apple TV device as set-top-box

The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple is in talks with cable television operators to use an Apple TV device as a set-top-box. Instead of Apple building their own TV show database to compete with the cable operators – as Apple has discussed with show creators in the past – this approach would simply plug cable operators to televisions via an Apple device.

The report says that Apple’s plans with cable TV networks aren’t necessarily for the current Apple TV $99 box. The plans could be for a future version of Apple’s current device, or for the much-rumored Apple Television set.

Two people briefed on the matter said the technology involved could ultimately be embedded in a television. Apple has worked on prototypes for televisions in the past, according to people briefed on the projects.

Additionally, the report says that Apple has not yet come to any agreements with any cable TV operators.

[Source: 9to5Mac - Read the full story]

OWC offers 480GB SSD upgrade for Retina MacBook Pro, requires screwdriver and careful math

Order up a Retina MacBook Pro and you'll likely be confronted with a gravelly message about how the SSD is "built into the computer" and not user-upgradeable. As it turns out, that's not quite true -- so long as you're prepared to ignore a whole bunch of other warnings written inside the chassis itself, iFixit has shown how to remove the factory drive and now OWC has a new SSD to replace it with. The only downside is the cost: at $580, OWC's 480GB Mercury Aura Pro is actually more expensive than Apple's official 512GB upgrade. In an effort to sweeten the deal, OWC is offering those who buy before September 30th a compact USB 3.0 enclosure to make use of the freed-up drive. Alternatively, you may want to wait for prices to drop or for OWC to offer an even bigger capacity with better cost / benefits.

[Source: Engadget]

Third Beijing Apple Store planned

Apple already operates two stores in Beijing, and a report from ifoAppleStore suggests the company will add a third location early next year. According to local sources, Apple may open a street-level store on Wangfujing Street, a popular pedestrian-only thoroughfare that's lined with over 200 retail stores. This new location is not too far away from the Xidan Joy City store, which was visited by Tim Cook earlier this year. It's also close to the Sanlitun store, the country's first Apple store. The Wangfujing Street store could open sometime in early 2013.

[Source: TUAW]