Steve Jobs Theater Includes Custom-Made Rotating Elevators and Retractable Wall Hiding Demo Area

We’re six days away from Apple’s iPhone 8 reveal event, set to be the first major product unveiling taking place at Apple Park, in the new Steve Jobs Theater auditorium. To get fans ready, Bloomberg today posted a detailed look into the internals of the Steve Jobs Theater, highlighting a few well-known facts while also sharing new tidbits of information about the building that’s dedicated in memory of the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

The theater is built on a piece of high ground, allowing its occupants to catch a wide view of Apple Park from inside its glass walls, as well as hiding the building’s four underground stories. The media will enter through the glass-encased lobby, and will be able to descend down two curved staircases into the main auditorium. However, two custom-made rotating elevators will also shuttle occupants into the lower sections and back up again after the event.

It also boasts two custom-made rotating elevators, which turn as they ascend and descend so that passengers enter and exit by the same door even as they go in and out from different directions. So far, so Apple—the more elegant single door, with its complex engineering, preferred to the more obvious double-door solution.

Down in the auditorium, the 1,000-occupant capacity theater holds as many leather seats, and earlier reports estimated each to cost around $14,000. In these seats, onlookers will get to watch the unveiling of the iPhone 8, iPhone 7s, iPhone 7s Plus, Apple Watch Series 3, and more next Tuesday, September 12, and afterwards more architectural “surprises” will be presented to Steve Jobs Theater attendees as they leave the auditorium.

Steve Jobs Theater floor plan via the City of Cupertino
One section of the theater’s wall space near the entranceway of the building is said to “obscure a hollow space below the floating saucer.” This way, upon entry attendees won’t see what’s behind the wall, but as the event ends and they walk back towards the surface, a product demonstration room will be revealed with all of the just-announced devices available for the first hands-on coverage.

Once CEO Tim Cook and his cohorts finish showing off the new iPhones, Apple Watch and TV onstage, a surprise will await the departing attendees. An inside wall, which obscures a hollow space below the floating saucer, will retract to reveal the product demonstration room, according to someone with knowledge of the design. For fellow Brits: think the Thunderbird 3 launchpad underneath Tracy Island’s circular pool house.

Last night the latest Apple Park drone video was shared by Duncan Sinfield, providing a clear glimpse into the Steve Jobs Theater as people moved around inside the building and sat nearby on benches outside of the lobby. The lobby itself is a 20-foot tall glass cylinder that overlooks the main campus building and is surrounded by landscaping, also boasting the world’s largest freestanding carbon fiber roof.

Tag: Apple Park
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Apple Looking to Purchase ‘James Bond’ Film Distribution Rights

As its hunt for original television and film content heats up, Apple is now reportedly looking to land film distribution rights to the James Bond film franchise (via The Hollywood Reporter). Warner Bros. is said to be the front contender, but Apple and fellow tech company Amazon are both in “hot pursuit” of the spy series.

Sony’s distribution rights for James Bond films ended with the release of the latest entry, 2015’s Spectre, leading to multiple studios and companies vying for the rights. Sources close to the deal said that Apple and Amazon are willing to spend “in the same ballpark” as Warner Bros, “if not much more,” in order to beef up their respective streaming businesses. Besides these companies, Universal and Fox are also pursuing the rights to the franchise.

Daniel Craig as James Bond via 007.com
The deal is said to include the streaming rights to the entire James Bond film back catalogue, and potentially even “the future of the franchise.” In recent James Bond news, Daniel Craig confirmed he’ll be back to play the titular character in future movies.

But the emergence of Apple — which is considered such a viable competitor that Warners is now pressing MGM hard to close a deal — and Amazon shows that the digital giants consider Bond one of the last untapped brands (like a Marvel, Pixar or Lucasfilm) that could act as a game-changer in the content space. Apple’s and Amazon’s inclusion in the chase would indicate that more is on the table than film rights, including the future of the franchise if MGM will sell or license out for the right price.

Newly hired Apple executives Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht are said to be spearheading the effort to acquire the James Bond franchise on Apple’s behalf. Those close to the deal estimate that the property could be worth somewhere between $2 billion and $5 billion.

Tag: Apple’s Hollywood ambitions
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You have 30 more days to tell Ajit Pai not to neuter broadband

While it’s attacking net neutrality, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is pushing a second proposal that could also limit internet freedom. Under Tom Wheeler, broadband was redefined to mean 25Mbps download and 3Mbps upload speeds, but Pai’s FCC wants to change that to include mobile networks with meager 10Mbps/1Mbps speeds. That hasn’t been as well-publicized as the Title II issue, so many folks aren’t aware that the comment period expires tomorrow. After a letter from 12 Democrat Senators urging an extension, however, the FCC agreed to prolong it by 30 days.

“Such a striking change in policy would significantly and disproportionately disadvantage Americans in rural, tribal, and low income communities across the nation,” the letter from Al Franken, Elizabeth Warran and other Senators reads. “The lack of service or high-speed internet is preventing individuals in these communities from applying for jobs; their children from doing their homework; and many small business owners from running businesses out of their homes.”

Such a striking change in policy would significantly and disproportionately disadvantage Americans in rural, tribal, and low income communities across the nation.

The new deadline for initial comments is now September 21st, and the response deadline October 6th. The extension is just a symbolic victory, however, as Pai seems intent on pushing through the new rules regardless. Neither the White House under Trump, nor the carrier-friendly Republican-heavy legislature and Senate are likely to stop him, and Pai himself has said that public comments are pretty much irrelevant.

Unless you have an expensive data plan, it’s hard to see how mobile internet can substitute as broadband. In the US, tethering is often not included, making it impossible to work on a PC via a mobile connection. Data caps are also much lower, generally topping out at a pathetic 20GB, after which users are throttled. And unlike wired internet, data connections can be spotty throughout the US, with LTE unavailable in many places.

In case you’re wondering why Pai settled on 10Mbps/1Mbps for mobile, it’s likely because LTE speeds in the US average just under 15Mbps, giving carriers a cushion. That dismal rate ranks the nation 59th on Open Signal’s global LTE speed charts, behind such nations like Kazakhstan, Slovenia and Ecuador.

Via: Gizmodo

Source: FCC

Hulu recruits Chris Pine for Bobby Kennedy miniseries

Hulu is in the midst of a banner year for original programming, mainly due to the success of The Handmaid’s Tale. The acclaimed series put the streaming service on the peak TV map, and helped secure the majority of its 18 Emmy nods. Armed with that acclaim, Hulu is setting to work on its next high-profile show. And, this time it’s roping in a Hollywood A-lister to help out. The platform is reportedly developing a miniseries about US senator Robert F. Kennedy starring Chris Pine as the politician, reports Deadline.

The untitled show is based on Larry Tye’s bestselling biography Bobby Kennedy: The Making of a Liberal Icon. Seasoned TV veteran Todd E. Kessler (whose production credits include The Good Wife and The Unit) will reportedly write the adaptation. Pine himself is coming off the record-breaking success of Wonder Woman, which just so happens to be the summer’s biggest film.

The Kennedys are still hot property in Hollywood. Jackie, the Natalie Portman-starring drama about First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy picked up three Oscar nominations in January. Then there’s The Kennedys: After Camelot, the follow-up to the 2011 miniseries about the political family, which hit Reelz earlier this year. Even Netflix got in on the act, with JFK and wife Jackie making an appearance on the latest season of The Crown. For Hulu, the new project is also a (sort of) return to the Kennedy dynasty — its limited series about the JFK assassination, 11.22.63, marked its first major foray into original content.

Source: Deadline

India wants it own, 27-mile Hyperloop

Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Dirk Ahlborn’s crowdsourced Hyperloop project, has signed another deal in another country. The company has shaken hands with the Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board in India with the aim of building a loop connecting the two cities of Vijaywada and Amaravati.

The two have, as usual, agreed a memorandum of understanding, giving HTT the freedom to investigate potential routes for the system. An initial phase, where the route will be planned, will take six months, after which it’s hoped that construction will begin.

It’s a good place to begin building a Hyperloop, with the distance between the two cities only being around 27-miles. Journey times right now are around the 70 minute mark, but the company claims that it can shrink that to just six minutes when finished.

The deal is structured as a public-private partnership, although nobody’s revealing just how much cash (and concessions) Andhra Pradesh is offering. The release does mention, explicitly, that the majority of the money will come “primarily from private investors,” although these things have a habit of costing the taxpayer in the end.

If completed, however, it would serve as a big win for India to boast that it has the world’s first operating Hyperloop and should provide an economic boon to the region. It will also provide a useful proving ground for a country that has its own deep attachment to the railway and its future.

The internet has finally killed off the Yellow Pages

If you’re after a plumber you look on Checkatrade, if you need a cab you fire up the Uber app, and if you’re craving pizza you simply ask Alexa to order one. With all the conveniences the internet affords, it was inevitable the local listings tome that is the Yellow Pages would go the way of the dodo eventually. Yell has announced that the large paper doorstop is indeed approaching its final hour. After distributing a penultimate edition in Kingston in January next year, Yell will officially say goodbye to the Yellow Pages in January 2019, when the last ever copies will hit doorsteps in Brighton — back where it all began in 1966.

Yell embraced online many moons ago, of course, with a listings site and mobile apps, but this will mark “the company’s full transition to a purely digital business.” The Yellow Pages is a British institution, but even icons have to roll with the times. Take telephone boxes, for example, which are being ripped out and replaced left, right and centre on account of them being obsolete in the mobile age. The internet has had a particularly broad impact on publishing, causing the closure or moving online of various print publications over the years. Playboy even scrapped nudity because of all the nakedness available online — well, for a year at least.

Via: BBC, Gizmodo

Source: Yell

Logitech is bringing back the trackball mouse

Logitech is going back to reinventing the trackball mouse. The MX ERGO apparently marks the company’s first new trackball in almost ten years, pairing a more subtler color scheme with an adjustable hinge for better wrist posture and pronation. This means that unlike the MX ERGO’s wide-bodied predecessors, you shouldn’t get so much hand cramp — or at least that’s the sales pitch. Cursor speed and accuracy can be changed with a button-press, while the wireless mouse should work up to four months on a full charge, with a fast-charge option to ensure you make it through an entire day with as little as a minute of charging.

Logitech is turning back to analog input: its latest keyboard channels some Microsoft Dial vibes to the traditional key layout. Its mouse, however, looks to the past for its inspiration.

While I’m not sure how I feel about a trackball that isn’t dressed up in stupidly loud shades, the Logitech MX ERGO launches this month for $100, while Best Buy shoppers will be able to pick up the MX ERGO Plus — a limited-edition version that includes an extra 30-degree wedge for even creakier wrists.

Source: Logitech

Apple Begins Sharing Guides for Upcoming iOS 11 Features Within ‘Tips’ App

Apple has begun sharing tips to users on iPhone and iPad concerning the newest features of iOS 11, which is expected to debut sometime later this month. Users on Twitter and Reddit pointed out the new iOS 11 Tips section starting last night, noticing a few push notifications that encouraged them to read up on tips for Control Center, Siri Translate, the new iPad Dock, and more.

Users on iOS 10 in multiple countries are sharing the new additions within Tips, which allows Apple to prepare those on the current version of iOS for the impending launch of iOS 11. Looking back at previous release schedules for iOS versions, Apple typically launches the new iOS to the public about one week after its fall iPhone event, and two days before the debut of the new iPhone devices, with a few exceptions.

2012: Event Sept 12 / iOS 6 releases Sept 19 / iPhone 5 released Sept 21
2013: Event Sept 10 / iOS 7 released Sept 18 / iPhone 5s released Sept 20
2014: Event Sept 9 / iOS 8 released Sept 17 / iPhone 6 released Sept 19
2015: Event Sept 9 / iOS 9 released Sept 16 / iPhone 6s released Sept 25
2016: Event Sept 7 /iOS 10 release Sept 13 / iPhone 7 released Sept 16

This year, the iPhone event is on September 12, while the so-called iPhone 8, iPhone 7s, and iPhone 7s Plus are predicted to debut on September 22. This would place the official public release of iOS 11 around September 20, although Apple could decide to release iOS 11 a bit earlier ahead of the iPhone launch, like it did in 2015 and to a lesser extent in 2016.

Apple is starting to use the Tips app to prepare users for some rather large changes in iOS 11’s operation and functionality. #iOS pic.twitter.com/FePjGbn1eh

— Brad Rowden (@bradrowden) September 6, 2017

When it launches, iOS 11 will bring about a few notable changes to the iPhone and iPad operating system for its users, including peer to peer Apple Pay, improvements to Siri, Do Not Disturb While Driving, Control Center customization, and many overhauls to the UI and dock functionality on iPad. With less than a week to go until Apple officially announces the release date of iOS 11, along with the unveiling of the iPhone 8, be sure to follow the @MacRumors and @MacRumorsLive Twitter accounts on September 12 for all the latest information.

Related Roundup: iOS 11
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Facebook Testing Customizable Colored Comments on Mobile Devices

Facebook has begun testing out a new commenting feature on iOS and Android devices, allowing users to choose a custom colored background for their comment that all Facebook users will see underneath the original post. As of now, only “a small fraction” of users have noticed the new feature on mobile (via Evert Groot and The Next Web), so it appears this is just one of many early-on tests that Facebook performs in order to see how it might implement the new feature to a wider audience, or scrap it altogether.

This is what Facebook’s NEW coloured comments look like

h/t @absoluut pic.twitter.com/NNng6saMoS

— Matt Navarra ⭐️ (@MattNavarra) September 6, 2017

The colorful comments are an extension of Facebook’s custom post background feature, which lets users choose a colored background and write a text-only post on the social network. That feature was one that originally began as a small test in December of 2016, and eventually expanded to all Facebook users throughout 2017. Some Facebook tests make it through to become official features, like the new Reaction buttons, but others end up simply disappearing.

Most recently, Facebook launched its new “Watch” tab on mobile devices, the web, and in Facebook’s TV apps. The tab is full of Facebook-exclusive shows that are “made up of episodes — live or recorded — and follow a theme or storyline.” Discovery is encouraged with user-specific recommendations, and a Watchlist allows users to save videos to watch at a later time.

In a separate report this week by Bloomberg, Facebook is said to be aggressively pursuing contracts with major record labels and music publishers in order to allow its users to legally upload videos with copyrighted music in them. The social network is willing to spend upwards of “hundreds of millions of dollars” in seeking these contracts, with negotiations having been ongoing for the past few months.

Tag: Facebook
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New drone video shows stunning Steve Jobs Theater ahead of iPhone event

Why it matters to you

If the design of the next iPhone is even half as impressive as the Steve Jobs Theater, then Apple fans will surely be delighted.

Even in lousy weather, Apple Park manages to look pretty darn impressive. The tech titan’s sparkling new campus recently began welcoming workers through its doors, while a new drone video shows that finishing touches to elements such as landscaping are heading toward completion.

Shot under gray skies in Cupertino, California, Duncan Sinfield’s aerial video shows off not only the striking “doughnut” design of the main building, but also the impressive-looking Steve Jobs Theater, set to be used for the first time next week when Apple CEO Tim Cook is expected to unveil new iPhones, hopefully along with some other goodies.

The auditorium of the Steve Jobs Theater, which is positioned a little distance away from the main campus structure, is located beneath the ground and is large enough to hold around 1,000 people.

It features an eye-catching lobby with a circular, all-glass wall topped off with what Apple claims is the largest carbon-fiber roof ever made.

Believed to weigh around 80 tons, the roof was built by Premier Composite Technologies in Dubai before being shipped — in pieces — to San Francisco. Sinfield shows two flyovers of the lobby in his video, one at the 48-second mark and another at 1:50.

‘Spaceship’ campus

Work on the 176-acre site started in 2013, with many drone enthusiasts heading to the location to keep Apple fans, as well as architecture enthusiasts, up-to-date with the construction’s progress.

Apple Park features four floors of office space, a research and development facility, fitness centers, dining facilities, a visitors center, and that 1,000-seat underground auditorium.

It’s expected to hold around 14,000 Apple employees once everyone has moved in.

The $5 billion project was the longtime ambition of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who helped develop the plan until his death in 2011. The overall design was finalized by British architecture firm Foster and Partners.

In an effort to reduce its dependency on non-renewable energy sources, Apple’s new campus is using a large number of biogas fuel cells and solar panels designed to generate a collective 20 megawatts of power, which the company hopes will be enough to take care of 75 percent of the building’s power necessities.

Apple has also trumpeted the main structure as the world’s largest naturally ventilated building and as a result it should be able to do without heating or air conditioning for nine months of the year.

As for next week’s much anticipated iPhone event, head over to Digital Trends’ preview to find out more.