Tag Archives: Working

Apple Reportedly Still Working Out Royalties Agreements With Sony and Warner for iRadio Service

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eece2 iTunes 11 Thumb Apple Reportedly Still Working Out Royalties Agreements With Sony and Warner for iRadio Service

The Financial Times reports that Apple is still in negotiations with Sony and Warner over royalties for their iRadio streaming music service. Apple had offered roughly 6 cents per 100 tracks streamed, but is reported to have raised the offer to 12.5 cents per 100 tracks. A similar rate is paid by established music servvice Pandora.

eece2 apple music streaming itunes Apple Reportedly Still Working Out Royalties Agreements With Sony and Warner for iRadio Service

The Financial Times, via MacRumors:

Some music industry executives argue that cash-rich Apple should pay a higher rate than Pandora, which had 70m “active listeners” in April, because of its broader ambitions for iRadio. These include using data it already has from hundreds of millions of iTunes users to predict the selection of tracks they will enjoy, and a plan to allow listeners to purchase songs seamlessly via the iTunes store.

Those familiar with the terms say Apple was offering the label three different revenue possibilities: A royalty per track streamed, a share of iRadio’s advertising revenue, and a guaranteed minimum sum over the course of the contract that would provide a safety net just in case the number of plays or advertising dollars weren’t up to snuff.

Apple is reported to be working hard toward reaching a deal for a summer launch for iRadio, perhaps at WWDC in June.

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Apple Reportedly Working Overtime on iOS 7, Borrowing OS X Engineers to Ensure ‘On Time’ Release

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2f973 iOS 7 Thumb 2 Apple Reportedly Working Overtime on iOS 7, Borrowing OS X Engineers to Ensure ‘On Time’ Release

Despite a report early today from Bloomberg, suggesting that Apple’s next version of iOS, iOS 7, may be delayed due to a significant overhaul, John Paczkowski of AllThingsD has confirmed that the report is false. Apple is reportedly still planning to ship iOS 7 on time, and is even pulling engineers from OS X development to make sure it meets their deadline.

iOS 7

AllThingsD:

Sources who declined to be named because they are forbidden to talk publicly about Apple’s plans tellAllThingsD that the company has been “borrowing” engineers from the OS X 10.9 team as part of an effort to double down on iOS 7. “Yes, yes — it’s essentially a repeat of the iPhone/Leopard scenario,” one source said, referring to Apple’s 2007 decision to pull engineers from OS X 10.5 to work on iPhone. “Not as much of a fire drill, though. It will ship on time.”

The report backs up previous claims that Apple was pulling resources from OS X to work on iOS 7, amid numerous reports that Apple is working on a major overhaul for their mobile platform (1, 2, 3) and is scrambling to have at least an initial preview of the app  ready to distribute to developers at WWDC. Apple previously confirmed they were planning to unveil the next version of iOS and OS X at their WWDC conference in June.

Jim Dalrymple of The Loop, well known for his excellent track record and knowledge of goings-on at Apple, has also chimed in confirming the release will not, in fact, be delayed with his traditional one-word response: “Yep.”

The redesign is said to be due to Jony Ive’s preference for a flatter, more industrial design for iOS, compared to Scott Forstall’s preference for texture-based skeumorphic designs – and now that Ive is in charge of human interface at Apple, he’s seeing to it that the design of iOS 7 is up to his high standards. The redesign is said to be extremely significant, yet based on the simplicity Apple is well-known for.

It’s also worth noting that reports of a “delay” of iOS 7 were disingenuous in the first place – it’s simply not possible to delay something that hasn’t officially been given a release date – yet every year, the same reports fly around suggesting that Apple is facing delays. Somehow, it still manages to become a “story” every single year…

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Apple Aggressively Working to Integrate Maps and Siri With Your Car’s Console

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iOS 6 Maps Thumb

Apple is looking to make aggressive moves in the in-car integration space later this year, say numerous people familiar with the initiative. Apple is said to be working with car makers to deeply integrate iOS Maps and Siri services into automobiles.

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9to5Mac: 

While companies sell accessories to place iPhone and other iOS devices on car dashboards for easy access to Apple Maps’ turn-by-turn navigation, Apple wants to break into the space with its own solutions…

According to people familiar with the plans, Apple is working with car makers on updated versions of car center consoles that could attach to iOS devices like the iPhone. Specifically, an iPhone could be plugged into a car and an optimized, redesigned version of Apple Maps will appear on the car’s built-in display instead of a proprietary GPS system found in many cars.

This feature is described by sources as being similar to a video-out or mirrored display representation of the iPhone’s Maps app onto the bigger screens present in the consoles of many modern vehicles. With the iPhone connected to the vehicle, Siri could be used to control the Maps functions along with other iOS features.

Last year, Apple announced their Siri “Eyes Free” service that allows users to connect their iPhone to their car, and use Siri through the vehicles voice command system. Apple is working with Chevrolet, BMW, Toyota, Audio, Honda, and Land Rover among others on the feature. It is likely that Apple is working with those same car makers to integrate Siri and Maps into their vehicles.

The new car functionality could be in the relatively distant future, as Apple will need to conduct extensive in-car testing, make improvements to Apple Maps, and Siri infrastructure, and of course make the deals with the car makers.

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Apple Working With Flexible Screens For iWatch? (Rumor)

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For the past few months, several rumors have been going on over the Internet about Apple’s plan in making an iWatch. In February, some news popped up which talked about a filed patent that describes a wearable piece of accessory which could be either worn on the wrist or on any body parts. Moreover, the patent also describes that the device would feature a flexible type of display which could be easily wrapped around a person’s limb similar to wearing a bracelet.

News about Apple working on flexible displays isn’t entirely new. However, the time came when such news have been hushed and silenced for a while. Suddenly, an ad saying that Apple is looking for a specialist engineer who is a flexible display expert has been divulged by an Apple insider only a few hours ago. The iPhone maker placed its job posting for the open position at the early part of the month but had then pulled it out a couple of days later.

According to the ad, Apple is looking for a qualified Display Specialist to spearhead the company’s investigation on several emerging display technologies and to improve the products’ overall display optical feature. The investigation would focus on technologies such as flexible display, AMOLED, and LCD with high optical efficiency.

Though the rumors have been mentioning about the company’s possible launching of an iWatch, the job posting on the other hand is deemed as general. Apple may be looking for someone to handle one specific project but it’s also very likely that the company plans to explore more possibilities and opportunities revolving around flexible displays.

Two new patent applications have been revealed bearing the titles ‘Flexible Electronic Devices’ and ‘Electronic devices with sidewall displays.’ The first patent shows a picture of an electronic device that is bended and resembles an iPhone. The second patent talks about a device built with a flexible display which can be bent to reveal information and to access the controls found on the gadget’s front and sides.

Apple has been pretty busy creating patents that focus on flexible displays. One of its patents, a flexible touch-screen device which customers can wear on their wrist, gives a strong hint about the highly-rumored iWatch.

(via)

If It Ain’t Working, Fix It or Make a Change

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12d20 Change Things If It Ain’t Working, Fix It or Make a Change

They say, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Grammatical challenges aside, it’s a quote that has indirectly driven many lives in many different aspects. We often get comfortable, complacent, and we start harnessing an attitude of safety over adventure.

This is a good place to be. One can argue that it’s not the best place to be, that a life loaded with changes, curveballs, and adventures galore is preferable to one of stagnant reflection, but that’s debatable. What’s not debatable is the notion of fixing things when they’re not working. This applies on so many levels from a set of nail clippers that aren’t clipping like they used to all the way up to higher levels of thoughts on religion and philosophy that guide our actions. Regardless of the level of importance in your life, if something isn’t working, it’s time to either fix it or change completely.

To some, this sounds like a no-brainer. I would love to say that it applies to most people, but every day I see people who are dissatisfied with aspects of their life but who do nothing to make things better and never entertain the notion of making a change. Don’t wait. Don’t procrastinate. Don’t give in to complacency. Make it better or make it gone. Do something now.

That’s it. Call it a rallying call. Call it a self-help blog post that I needed to put on paper in order to start making some changes in my own life. Call it a lazy way to get exactly 300 words on screen so I can have a blog post for the day. Call it whatever you will but heed the advice. Take a look at what you’re doing and either love it or do something about it.

Now.

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Image: ChrisPirillo