Tech firms agree to settle lawsuit over no-hiring pacts
Silicon Valley’s tech giants aren’t going to face that class action lawsuit over no-hiring deals, after all. Adobe, Apple, Google and Intel have all reached a settlement in the case, which would have otherwise headed to trial in late May. The terms of the deal haven’t been revealed, but we wouldn’t be shocked if a significant amount of cash traded hands. The truce is mostly symbolic at this stage — the companies are already required to let headhunters operate freely, so it’s more about compensation than a change in recruiting policies. Still, it’s good news for tech workers who may have been denied better careers and the bigger paychecks to match.
[Image credit: AFP/Getty Images]
Filed under: Misc, Apple, Google, Intel
Source: Reuters, CNBC (Twitter)
Mac Pro Shipping Estimates Improve to 3 to 5 Weeks [Mac Blog]
Apple’s Mac Pro is now shipping within three to five weeks in the United States, a slight improvement from its previous shipping estimate of four to five weeks.
Both stock and custom configurations list the same shipping estimates, indicating that Apple is slowly making its way towards achieving supply/demand balance on the professional desktop computers.
In early April, shipping estimates were as high as five to six weeks and back in early 2014, shipping estimates were as high as eight weeks, with Apple giving estimates of “March” or “April” for computers ordered in January or February.
Apple’s Mac Pro has been in short supply since its December launch, selling out of stock configurations in a matter of hours. While some early buyers received their machines as early as December 24, buyers who ordered custom configurations had to wait much longer to receive their machines, as did purchasers who ordered after December 19.
“Demand for the all new Mac Pro is great,” said an Apple spokesperson in December. “It will take time before supply catches up with demand.”
iOS 6 Users on Devices Able to Run iOS 7 Must Upgrade to Fix FaceTime
Apple today released a new support document, detailing the issue behind the recent problems some iOS 6 users have been experiencing with FaceTime. According to Apple, a bug resulting from an expired device certificate has rendered FaceTime unusable on older versions of iOS and the only solution to the problem is to update to the latest version of the operating system.
Devices capable of running iOS 7 must be upgraded to iOS 7.0.4 or later, while devices unable to run iOS 7, such as the fourth-generation iPod touch, must upgrade to iOS 6.1.6.
If you started to have issues making or receiving FaceTime calls after April 16, 2014, your device or your friend’s device may have encountered a bug resulting from a device certificate that expired on that date. Updating both devices to the latest software will resolve this issue.
If you’re using iOS 7.0.4 or later or iOS 6.1.6, this issue doesn’t affect you.
If you’re using these versions of OS X or FaceTime for Mac, this issue doesn’t affect you:
– OS X Mavericks v10.9.2 or later
– OS X Mountain Lion v10.8 with the latest security updates
– OS X Lion v10.7 with the latest security updates
– FaceTime for Mac version 1.0.5 or later for Mac OS X v10.6
While FaceTime does work with iOS 6.1.6, that particular update is not available to recent devices that are able to run iOS 7, which means iOS 6 users with newer devices who wish to access FaceTime must upgrade to iOS 7.
There’s a sizable contingent of iOS users who opted to stick with iOS 6 over iOS 7 due to the drastic visual changes introduced with the operating system update, so Apple’s upgrade suggestion is likely to be unpopular with those users.
Apple’s FaceTime issues first began on April 16, with many iOS 6 users reporting an inability to use the service. At that time, it was unclear whether Apple would implement a fix, but customer service representatives have been presenting iOS 7 updates as a solution since the problem was first uncovered, and it appears that Apple does not plan to offer another solution. The company did, however, release a FaceTime update for OS X users to fix the issue earlier this week.
Creation of Original iPhone Browser Detailed by Former Apple Engineer [iOS Blog]
Countless details on the development of the original iPhone have been shared by various Apple employees in several different publications, but a new story on the creation of the phone’s first web browser has surfaced courtesy of Francisco Tolmasky, an early iPhone engineer who interviewed with The New York Times.
Tolmasky joined Apple when he was just 20 years old, working under Steve Jobs to create a mobile web browser for the original iPhone. Jobs regularly gave him feedback on his project, often sending Tolmasky back to the drawing board because his creation wasn’t “magical” enough.
“Steve was really adamant, where he said, ‘This needs to be like magic. Go back, this isn’t magical enough!’” Mr. Tolmasky said about his experience developing the mobile Safari app. “I remember being very frustrated. This was, like, an impossible task.”
Countless hours of work resulted in Safari for iPhone, which used WebKit to load web pages on a small screen and allowed users to interact with sites via pinches, swipes, and taps.
As with other accounts of the iPhone’s creation, Tolmasky details the intense security behind the project, explaining how the software team was split into sections focusing on web and apps. “Each one of these things is basically one person,” explained Tolmasky, speaking of the original iPhone apps.
In one anecdote, Tolmasky divulges the origin of the iPhone’s keyboard, which reportedly came about during a week-long hackathon where Jobs instructed the software team to work only on keyboard prototypes. The engineer who won the hackathon was assigned to the keyboard permanently.
According to Tolmasky, Apple’s original iPhone Maps app was a last minute addition to the device, as Jobs decided the app should be added just a few weeks before the smartphone was first introduced at the Macworld Expo in January of 2007. It only took his teammate, Chris Blumenberg, a week to have a workable prototype.
“Within a week he had something that was working, and in two weeks he had something to show at Macworld that we were showing,” Mr. Tolmasky said. “That was the kind of effect Steve could have on you: This is important, this needs to happen, and you do it.”
Tolmasky left Apple shortly after the original iPhone was released as the company no longer felt like a startup, and now he works as a mobile game designer. His most recent creation, Bonsai Slice [Direct Link], was released today. Tolmasky’s full interview and additional details on his game can be found in the original NYT piece.
Apple, Google Settle Class-Action Anti-Poaching Lawsuit
Apple, Google, Intel, and Adobe have settled the lawsuit levied against them for their anti-poaching agreements, reports Reuters. The settlement was revealed in a court filing, but the terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed.
The no-hire agreements between the companies first came to light in 2011, after tech workers filed a class action lawsuit alleging the companies had conspired not to poach employees from one another in an effort to keep salaries lower.
No-solicitation agreements dated back to 2005 and in addition to Apple, Google, Intel, and Adobe, involved Intuit, Lucasfilm, and Pixar, among others. The agreements prevented company recruiters from contacting employees on specific no contact lists.
The United States Department of Justice got involved in the lawsuit back in 2010 and the companies were required to cease entering into anti-poaching agreements. A class-action civil suit covering 64,000 employees was allowed to proceed, and that is the lawsuit that was settled today for an unspecified amount of money. The terms of the settlement will be presented to District Judge Lucy Koh on May 27.
Pixar, Lucasfilm, and Intuit previously settled their cases for approximately $20 million.
Opera’s Coast iPhone browser is a speed dial for your favorite sites
Last year Opera introduced Coast, a simple mobile browser designed specifically for the iPad, and today it brought the same unique experience to the iPhone. Coast is a little different than Chrome or Safari, and streamlines browsing by organizing shortcuts to sites on menu pages like they’re apps. Think of it like your phone’s home screen, except exclusively for the internet. It’s intentionally pretty barebones, and doesn’t have much besides those site icons — so no address bar or back button. While the stripped down browser may sound a bit restricting at first, we’ve been testing the iPhone app for a few days and have found it makes getting to your favorite sites a lot easier.
The app comes preloaded with shortcuts to a few popular sites like Gmail and YouTube, but gets much more useful once you start adding your own must-view pages (we hear Engadget is pretty awesome). Instead of using a traditional address bar, swiping down from the top of your home screen launches a blank page where you can type a topic. As you input letters, Coast starts to suggest sites you might want to check out using colorful tiles. Our search for “phones” for instance, quickly brought up several popular mobile pubs. The app tries to steer you towards sites, but you can perform an old-fashioned search result page as well. If you see a page you like, you can tap on the icon to launch it, or press and hold to pin it to one of three menu pages. It’s a simple process that makes it easy to create the ultimate collection of news sites or cat grooming blogs. Everything can be synced using iCloud, so you’ll have the same bookmarks on your iPad as well.
While the experience is pretty limited, Coast does have a few tricks up its sleeve. Inside launched pages you can press and hold to share a story with a friend or take a screenshot. If you’re feeling really adventurous, you can save a photo from the web to use as a background image throughout the app. Open tabs are also handled a little differently than you might be used to. Pages you’ve previously visited are displayed in a format reminiscent of Apple’s multitasking feature rather than a list, with full screens you can swipe to. We found seeing the whole site made navigating back in time a lot easier. When you’re done with something for good, it can be closed just like an iOS app, by swiping it off the top of the page. Everything is super fast and responsive, probably thanks to the browser’s stripped down nature.
If you’re used to something like Safari and typing in URLs everyday, Coast’s simple interface and shortcuts can be a bit jarring at first. After using the app for a while, however, we noticed how few mobile sites we actually go to on regular basis. Once you’ve come to terms with that fact, a speed dial for your faves makes a ton of sense. Overall, we found the app makes it easier to get to the places you love faster — earning Coast a permanent place on our home screen. Curious to give it a try for yourself? You can snag the app for iPhone and iPad now from the App Store.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Apple
Source: iTunes
Facebook Expands Mobile App Portfolio with ‘Moves’ Fitness App Acquisition [iOS Blog]
Facebook today announced that it is acquiring mobile fitness app developer ProtoGeo Oy, reports the Wall Street Journal. The Helsinki-based company was founded in January 2012 and launched its first and only app, Moves [iTunes] one year later. The fitness tracking app debuted first for the iPhone and was made available for Android in August of 2013. It is popular, accruing 4 million downloads across both mobile platforms.
In a post on its website, ProtoGeo confirms Moves will continue to operate as a standalone app and adds that the company has no plans to share its fitness data with Facebook’s social network.
Today, we’re delighted to announce that Facebook has acquired our company and the Moves app. Since we launched Moves, we’ve been focused on running a simple and clean activity diary that millions of people have enjoyed using.
Now, we’re joining Facebook’s talented team to work on building and improving their products and services with a shared mission of supporting simple, efficient tools for more than a billion people.
For those of you that use the Moves app – the Moves experience will continue to operate as a standalone app, and there are no plans to change that or commingle data with Facebook.
Moves stand out from competing fitness apps by automating the tedious process of data entry, which can be a hindrance to the effective use of a fitness tracking app. Move imports data from a variety of third-party apps and automatically detects activities such as entering the gym, going out to lunch or riding on public transit. On the iPhone, Moves supports Apple’s M7 motion co-processor, which is available in the iPhone 5s.
This acquisition by Facebook is one of several high-profile app purchases by the social network as the company continues its expansion into the mobile app market. Moves will join Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Paper, all of which operate as stand-alone apps under the Facebook umbrella.
The amount Facebook paid to acquire ProtoGeo was not revealed, but a Facebook spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal that the amount is “nowhere near the size of other acquisitions the company has made in recent months.” Facebook announced earlier this year it was acquiring mobile messenger WhatsApp for $19 billion and Oculus Rift for $2 billion.
Tim Cook Auctions Charity Lunch Meeting at Apple HQ
Charity auction site CharityBuzz is hosting a second listing to meet with Apple CEO Tim Cook at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, this time offering a lunch meeting.
The auction is the second Cook has volunteered his time for, with last year’s coffee auction raising $610,000 for the RFK Center for Justice & Human Rights. The 2014 auction benefits the same cause, which aims to achieve a “just and peaceful world by partnering with human rights leaders, teaching social justice and advancing corporate responsibility.”
Two people can meet with Cook for lunch, for approximately one hour. The cost of the meal is included, and the auction winner must agree to travel to Cupertino for the meeting, which will be scheduled on a “mutually agreed upon date.”
The current high bid on the auction, which has an estimated value of $100,000, is at $10,000 with 19 days left to go. The auction will end on Tuesday, May 13. Due to shill bids last year, all bidders are required to submit credit card authorization to bid.
Apple’s Future OS X Names May Include Yosemite, Mammoth, Big Sur, Redwood, Pacific
Following recent trademark investigations related to the iWatch, French site Consomac has discovered [Google Translate] that Apple may also be using a pair of shell companies to protect various California-related names in anticipation of future OS X releases. Apple’s Craig Federighi announced at last year’s Worldwide Developers Conference that the company would be shifting gears on OS X naming, moving from big cats to “places that inspire us in California”. The current OS X Mavericks was the first to adopt the new naming pattern, taking its name from a popular surfing spot known for its massive waves.
Consomac notes that a pair of companies going by the names of Yosemite Research LLC and Coast Research LLC applied for trademarks on several California-related terms in the category of computer software on the same day back in early December. The terms for which the companies are seeking trademark protection include Yosemite, Redwood, and Mammoth (via Yosemite Research), and California, Big Sur, and Pacific (via Coast Research).
As with several other Apple shell companies created for quietly protecting trademarks, such as CarPlay Enterprises and perhaps Brightflash USA, both Yosemite Research and Coast Research are registered in the state of Delaware and use the Corporation Trust Center as their addresses. Both companies were registered with the state on November 22, 2013. Those details by themselves do not clinch the companies’ association with Apple, as the Corporation Trust Center is used by many companies large and small to facilitate corporate registrations, but it is consistent with Apple’s past behavior.
Another intriguing connection noticed by Consomac is that the attorney listed on the Coast Research applications is Stephen Brown, and an attorney by the same name is listed on an “iGuide” application dating back to late 2007 from iGuide Media LLC, a company MacRumors linked to Apple a number of years ago. Another attorney on that iGuide application is James Johnston, who was involved with Apple’s efforts to protect the “iPhone” name using another shell company by the name of Ocean Telecom Services LLC.
The U.S. trademark applications by Yosemite Research and Coast Research from early December also all cite filings in Trinidad and Tobago for priority purposes, similar to Apple’s CarPlay strategy. Those California-themed filings in Trinidad and Tobago were made on June 7, 2013, the Friday before Apple’s WWDC 2013 keynote where it announced the change in naming scheme for OS X.
Taken together, all of these pieces of information make a strong case for Apple being the company behind the recent California-themed trademark applications. If this is indeed in the case, past history shows that Apple may or may not elect to use all of these names for future versions of OS X. For example, the company long ago filed for protection on various big cat names to reserve them for OS X releases, but never used some of them such as Lynx and Cougar.
The next version of OS X, 10.10, has been showing up in server logs for some time and according to 9to5Mac is expected to feature a “flatter” look compared to OS X Mavericks. Apple made similar changes with iOS 7, but the OS X changes are said to not be as drastic as those seen on iOS. OS X 10.10 is likely to be previewed at this year’s WWDC, which will kick off with a keynote on June 2.
Apple Researching Temperature, Pressure, and Humidity Sensors for Mobile Devices
A pair of patent applications published today by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and spotted by AppleInsider describes how an electronic device such as an iPhone, iPad or even a wristwatch could be used to detect ambient conditions such as temperature, pressure, humidity and sound. The applications appear just as Apple has been rumored to be incorporating such functionality into the iPhone 6, and the company’s rumored iWatch has also been said to include an array of sensors.
Cutaway view showing environmental sensors inside a mesh-covered recess in a device’s body
The first patent, titled “Electronic Devices With Environmental Sensors,” describes a device equipped with a speaker, microphone and a suite of sensors to monitor environmental conditions in the immediate surroundings. Sensor components may include a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, a humidity sensor and other sensor combinations.
An electronic device may be provided with environmental sensors. Environmental sensors may include one or more environmental sensor components and one or more acoustic components. Acoustic components may include a speaker or a microphone. Environmental sensor components may include a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, a humidity sensor, or other sensors or combinations of sensors for sensing attributes of the environment surrounding the device.
The second patent, “Electronic Devices With Temperature Sensors,” is more specific, covering electronic devices that can monitor ambient temperature. In this scenario, a thermal sensor could be embedded into a button, switch or slider component. A piece of thermally conductive metal could be used to transfer temperature data from the air or from an item such as a finger placed on the material to a sensor embedded within the device.
Though these are inventions and not a specific feature roadmap for future devices, they do suggest Apple is considering the ways in which sensors could be incorporated into a device to improve the overall user experience. For example, Apple could use the temperature sensor technology to build an iWatch that could warn you when you are starting to overheat while mowing the lawn in the high summer heat.
Looking beyond the patent applications, Apple has been hiring experts from the health and medical sensor field in recent years. The long list of new hires include former Philips sleep researcher Roy J.E.M Raymann, biosensor hardware engineer Nancy Dougherty, pulse oximetry expert Michael O’Reilly and others. These engineers allegedly are joining Apple to work on its iWatch team, which may also include exercise physiologists and other non-hardware experts.
Apple’s iWatch is rumored to include biometric functions such as pulse rate, blood oxygen saturation, glucose levels and more. Apple is said to be making the health-tracking experience more accessible to the general public and may use the iOS 8 Healthbook app to compile this health and fitness data and present it in a user-friendly way.
