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This Is How Many MacBook Airs $1.1Million Buys

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Have you ever wondered what 1107 Macbook Ars would look like? I sure hope not. I mean, hopefully you have more pressing things on your mind, like how to solve world hunger or where to get a burrito for lunch. But if you do fantasize about stacks-on-stacks-on-stacks of Apple products then check out this massive order of MacBook Airs.
The entire pile includes 1107 MacBook Airs. If the company just bought the baseline 11-inch $999.99 model then you’re looking at $1,106,988.93 worth of Apple Hardware.
Have you ever seen a bigger stack of Apple products? Tell us your fish-tale in the comments.

Find What Type of RAM a Mac Uses & the Maximum Supported Memory

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Different Mac models use different types of RAM, and each also supports a different maximum level of RAM. Unless you spend a lot of time upgrading and repairing Macs yourself, you probably don’t know these exact details off the top of your head, and that’s just fine because the information can be retrieved directly from the Mac in most cases. This is vital information to know if you have determined a memory upgrade is in order, so we’ll cover several different ways to find out what RAM type and speed a given Mac uses, what the maximum amount of supported RAM is, and if RAM slots are available.
Check Mac RAM type and maximum capacity










1: Check the Mac for RAM Type & Memory Slot Details

The quickest way to find out RAM details of a Mac is to check About This Mac, which will identify the memory module type and speed, how many RAM slots there are on the Mac, and which slots are in use.
  • Pull down the Apple  menu and go to “About this Mac”
  • Click the “More Info…” button to summon System Information
  • Look under the “Memory” tab for information about your Mac RAM, including maximum capacity, used memory slots, and which type of RAM the Mac accepts
All Macs will show the maximum RAM, what size RAM modules are installed, if there are open memory slots, and the RAM speed used. Here’s an example showing a Mac with available slots:
Mac Memory Slots available










If the Mac is not upgradeable because RAM is either inaccessible to users or soldered onto the board, which is commonly the case for MacBook Air and Retina MacBook Pro models, then you will still find the RAM details, but there will be no available slots shown like so:
Check Mac RAM type and slots on the Mac itself














Finding the RAM Type & Speed

If you have determined slots are available and the Mac can support more RAM, the most important information to know when ordering or looking for upgrade modules is the RAM module type and speed, which is always shown at the top of the “Memory” screen and labeled something like “Your Mac contains 4 memory slots, each of which accepts a 1333 MHz DDR3 memory module.” It’s the “1333 MHz DDR3″ (or whatever it says) part that is most important to know:
RAM module type and speed on a Mac





If for some reason you can’t boot the Mac, or if it’s older and doesn’t have memory details in System Information, you can use other options to find the RAM type, speed, and maximum capacity as well.

2: Use MacTracker

MacTracker is an excellent free app that provides tons of hardware details on just about every Apple product ever released, including Macs. Conveniently, the app runs on both iOS and OS X, so download whichever version you prefer (again, it’s free):
Though MacTracker contains an abundance of information, we’re using it specifically for Memory information, so locate your Mac through the list or search, then choose the Memory tab to see details about the Macs RAM capacity, type, and if it’s user serviceable (i.e.: upgradable) or not.
Check RAM upgrade information in MacTracker
The iOS version is an excellent companion app for more technical Mac users who like to perform hardware upgrades on their own, but both desktop and mobile versions contain the same treasure trove of information about hardware. This is one of those apps that is so freakishly useful that every technically-minded Mac or Apple hardware owner should have it installed.

3: Check Apple Web Support

Can’t download MacTracker, and can’t find any information in About This Mac? You can also turn to Apple’s web support, which has a huge knowledge base of technical details on every Mac model:
  • Go to Apple Support knowledge base for Macs, and select your general Mac model from the list
  • Choose “Tech Specs” and locate the precise model and model year
  • Look for “Memory” to find the RAM type and maximum supported RAM amount
Apple’s web support is easy enough to use, and because it’s available on the web it’s accessible from just about any device. So if your MacBook Pro has bad memory chips and won’t power on, and you only have an Android phone or a Windows PC available to you, you can still use Apple’s support site to get the important details.

4: Use RAM Resellers

Finally, you can always get the exact RAM type, capacity, and maximum from the myriad of memory sellers out there. Crucial has the Mac Memory Advisor tool which is extremely easy to use, and you can always just search Amazon for Mac RAM with a model name to find the RAM upgrade kits available to that specific hardware, the largest kit of which is the maximum supported amount.
If you are upgrading RAM on your own, don’t forget to run a memory test on the new modules to be sure that everything is in full working order. Though RAM is checked at the factory before shipping out, every once in a while a bad chip does get through the quality assurance process and ends up in the hands of a user. Frustratingly, sometimes that bad memory will actually work just fine… to an extent at least… and only cause weird issues and crashes. But that’s exactly why the aforementioned RAM test is important, it can help you weed out such a problem before it causes any annoyances.

How to Assign an Apple ID to a Mac User Account in OS X for Added Peace of Mind

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Apple logoMany Mac users overlook a feature in OS X that allows them to attach an Apple ID to their actual user account, not just to iCloud and the App Store. It only takes a moment to set, and it provides for an incredibly simple password recovery option at the login and boot menus, allowing you to regain access to your user account and files just by entering the associated Apple ID.
Going further, Macs with multiple user accounts can assign different Apple ID’s to each unique user account, or you can just choose to tie a single Apple ID to the Mac. If you do choose to attach a lone Apple ID to the Mac this way, be sure to associate it with an administrator (admin) account in OS X, that way you will be able to regain full system access in the event it’s needed because the primary password has been lost.

Set Up Apple ID and Associate it with User Accounts in OS X

  • Open System Preferences, found easily in the  Apple menu
  • Choose the “Users & Groups” panel and select your primary user account from the list
  • Look under the user name to “Apple ID” and click the “Set” button
  • Set an Apple ID and attach it to a Mac account










  • Enter your Apple ID (the same login information as used for iTunes, App Store, and iCloud), then click “OK” to confirm it – users without Apple ID’s can create one here too*
  • Setting an Apple ID to a Mac User account







  • Check the box for “Allow user to reset password using Apple ID” – this is optional, but highly recommended
Allow Apple ID password resets















* If you somehow don’t have an Apple ID yet, you can set one up easily by clicking the “Create Apple ID” button. Apple ID’s are now tied to just about everything, from iCloud backups and access, to App Store downloads and purchases, to iTunes and the iBookstore, so if you somehow haven’t created one yet, do that now.
That optional Apple ID-based password reset feature is extremely helpful and as we mentioned, highly recommended, because it allows you to be able to reset a lost password directly from the login screen just by verifying the Apple ID details:
Reset a Password in Mac OS X with the Apple ID











This is extraordinarily quick and quite simple for Mac users running Mavericks, Mountain Lion, and Lion, and it prevents the need of the more technical approaches to resetting forgotten passwords (though those will continue to work as well).
This works in OS X Mavericks, OS X Mountain Lion, and OS X Lion, the only requirement is having an active Apple ID. You will obviously need internet access to use this feature as well, since it requires the communication between Apple and the Mac to set the ID and also to be able to access the recovery benefits it offers.

Apple Releases OS X Mavericks Developer Preview 4

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Apple has seeded the fourth Developer Preview of OS X Mavericks to developers, some two weeks after the release of Developer Preview 3.

mavericks
OS X Mavericks is slated for release this fall and includes new features like a tabbed Finder, full screen dual monitor capabilities, Safari improvements, and a new Maps app. Developers can receive the update via the Software Update tool in the Mac App Store.

Apple Reports Q3 2013 Quarterly Results: $6.9 Billion Profit on $35.3 Billion in Revenue

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ApplelogoApple today announced financial results for the second calendar and third fiscal quarter of 2013. For the quarter, Apple posted revenue of $35.3 billion and net quarterly profit of $6.9 billion, or $7.47 per diluted share, compared to revenue of $35 billion and net quarterly profit of $8.8 billion, or $9.32 per diluted share in the year-ago quarter.

Gross margin for the quarter was 36.9 percent compared to 42.8 percent in the year-ago quarter, with international sales accounting for 57 percent of revenue. Apple also declared a dividend payment of $3.05 per share, payable on August 15 to shareholders as of the close of trading on August 12. The company currently holds $146.6 billion in cash and marketable securities.

The company generated $7.8 billion in free cash flow from operations and Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer said Apple returned $18.8 billion in cash to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.

Apple Earnings Over Time
Quarterly iPhone unit sales reached 31.2 million, compared to 26 million in the year-ago quarter, and the company sold 14.6 million iPads, down from 17 million in the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 3.8 million Macs compared to 4 million in the year-ago period.
“We are especially proud of our record June quarter iPhone sales of over 31 million and the strong growth in revenue from iTunes, Software and Services,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We are really excited about the upcoming releases of iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks, and we are laser-focused and working hard on some amazing new products that we will introduce in the fall and across 2014.”
Apple's guidance for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 includes expected revenue of $34-37 billion and gross margin between 36 and 37 percent.

Q32013 Pie Chart
Apple will provide live streaming of its Q3 2013 financial results conference call at 2:00 PM Pacific, and MacRumors will update this story with coverage of the conference call highlights.

Conference Call and Q&A Highlights are available after the jump.

Conference Call Highlights (reverse chronological order, no need to refresh):

2:54 pmThe conference call has concluded.
2:54 pmA: Very important. A part of the ecosystem. Just like the App Store and iTunes and content are key, and services we provide from Siri to messaging, having something in the automobile is very important. It's something that people want and I think Apple can do this in a unique way and better than anyone else. It's a key focus for us.
2:53 pmQ: iOS in 12 different car manufacturer models next year -- is it a license opportunity or what's the strategic relevance?
2:52 pmLowered diluted share count by 22.9 million shares, looking forward before any further buybacks or issuance to employees, would expect to see 11 million share benefit from the things that occurred during the June quarter.
2:52 pmA: During June quarter, we concluded first $2 billion ASR program begun in December. Final shares in on those. Did second ASR program of $12 billion, started at end of April. Received 23.5 million shares initially. At some point during fiscal '14, that program will close and we'll get the final number. Bought back $4 billion on open market in June quarter. Received 9 million shares.
2:51 pmQ: Can you tell us the ending basic share buyback count was?
2:51 pmA: For tailwind, we would expect our component costs to be favorable in the quarter, and some FX pressure in the quarter given some strengthening of the dollar particularly against the yen.
2:50 pmQ: Looking one quarter forward, you've given us some stuff to think about. Can you highlight the puts and takes in the September quarter?
2:50 pmA: We don't project ASP, but is bundled into guidance. If you look underneath the iPhone numbers, we saw significant growth in lower price points YoY, the iPhone 4. Still a great product. That was one of the things -- and the iPhone 5 doing well -- that allowed us significantly beat the vast majority of iPhone sales expectations. Obviously if we do a lot better at the low end, we get a mix change. If you look at 3GS last year, we're selling a lot more 4's than 3GS's. We understand the market much better and have finger on the pulse of distribution across different countries. Sure we'll get better and better at that over time and how that will change mix, I don't know. Typically for us, a product has the highest mix during its initial few months of sales. So you'd have a natural seasonal decline over a product cycle. That generally happens on iPhone, iPad and the Mac and we've seen this over many years. I don't see anything that fundamentally would change that but again we're going to look at this thing quarter by quarter and give you guidance based on that.
2:47 pmQ: To the high end saturation of smartphones, is the current mix what we should be thinking about for iPhones? Would you anticipate that ASPs would continue to trend lower on iPhones?
2:47 pmA: We believe the most important thing is that the customers love the products and want them. If you don't start at that level you can wind up creating things that people don't want. We try very hard to focus on products and customers.
2:46 pmQ: You don't go into a product saying "we need X percent growth".
2:46 pmIf you look at how the company has executed over many years, it would suggest that its possible.
2:46 pmA: The way I think about it, we're here to make great products. If we do that really, really well, the financial metrics will also come. So, we don't see those two things as being mutually exclusive. They have great overlap.
2:46 pmQ: Whenever you talk about something important to the company, you talk about great products more than 'More' products. If you come up with a few great products, are you happy with that or do you want to bring out giant products?
2:45 pmA: Not something we can comment on.
2:45 pmQ: Are any of these new products shipping in the quarter built into guidance?
2:45 pmA: No problem procuring them, pricing factored into gross margin. Very weak PC market but DRAM pricing has increased. Continued upward pressure in this area. NAND pricing is fairly stable and is following seasonal trends. LCDs are falling and other commodities seem in supply/demand balance.
2:44 pmQ: Talk about commodities? Pricing, ability to procure them, how some of that supply chain is working?
2:44 pmWe do continue to sell through some carrier owned stores but the contribution is much less than the retail organizations. Possibly not well understood there. Continually looking for other relationships to add and enhance the current ones, I do think there is some opportunity there for us.
2:43 pmA: I could call them 'good'. The press I've seen on Russia probably needs some color. The articles I've seen suggested that we are not selling iPhone through carrier owned stores. If that's what you're referencing, in Russia over 80% of phones are sold in retail outside of carrier owned stores. Our activations in Russia for iPhone set a record last quarter.
2:42 pmQ: Talk about carrier partners? How have discussions been?
2:42 pmA: We'll see! There are some products that we're working on that we're really proud of.
2:41 pmQ: In terms of the growth question, you've talked about more products over the next few years. Are there product categories out there that are big enough to move the needle for Apple?
2:41 pmA: There are always more weapons and we have more than one tool in the toolbox. It's a great way to get buyers into the iOS ecosystem. The stickiness of the platform is huge and its great for customers and we're very glad to offer it.
2:41 pmQ: Are there more weapons that you can use in these markets to continue this pace?
2:40 pmiPhone 5 continues to be the most popular iPhone by far but we're happy to sell the 4 to as many first-time smartphone buyers as we can and it's a great product for that buyer.
2:40 pmA: Reference was to the iPhone 4, what we've seen is that the number of first-time smartphone buyers that the iPhone 4 is attracting is very impressive. We want to attract as many of these buyers as we can. Saw that beginning to happen towards the end of Q2, we did that on a wider-spread basis -- more affordable iPhone 4 -- this quarter. Very happy with what we saw.
2:39 pmQ: You talked about more affordable pricing, could you talk about possibilities for new products or lower pricing in new markets?
2:38 pmIn the arc of time, China is a huge opportunity for Apple and I don't get discouraged over a 90-day kind of cycle. That can have economic factors and other things.
2:38 pmWe're paying developers quite a bit and it's furthering the advancement of the ecosystem. Going to double number of retail stores there over the next two years. iPhone and iPad point of sale are currently lower than we would like them to be, but want to increase that with great quality.
2:37 pmFrom an ecosystem point of view, we continue to attract a lot of developers from China, half a million devs in China working on iOS apps. Up 70% year over year.
2:37 pmGrown our business there significantly. We have a very strong market there and we've down $27 billion across the past 4 quarters on a trailing basis. Underlying the results, look at iPad sellthrough in Greater China was up 8%, in mainland China was up 27%. Doing remarkably well. Latest share numbers for iPad is over 50%. YTD, iPad units are up 48%.
2:36 pmA: There have been some stories in China but our revenues there were $4.9 billion for the quarter, 14% for the company.
2:36 pmQ: How do we turn around China and other APAC? There's been some press there that you've had to deal with.
2:35 pmI'm not opposed to it and I like the environmental aspect of it and so that part of it really is encouraging to me.
2:35 pmA: We haven't announced anything, so what you've seen is rumor oriented. Number of channels that do trade-ins across U.S. and other regions. Residual value of an iPhone stays high and there is a lot of demand for it. Trade-in programs can be win-win from many points of view. We haven't announced anything.
2:34 pmQ: A lot of talk about a trade-in program that you're going to start talking about on your own, is that something that could help margins? How's that gonna work?
2:33 pmA: China was weaker in the quarter though the data sheet focuses on revenue and doesn't tell the complete story. If you look at sellthrough, in China it was only down 4% from year-ago.
2:32 pmQ: Missing from that was China, what's different there?
2:32 pmA: We were down 4% YoY on iPhone ASP, $27. That was primarily due to the mix of products that we're selling and FX headwinds. iPhone 4 sales accelerated in emerging and other markets YoY, sequentially down $32 driven by mix. Partly iPhone 4. From iPhone point of view, the moves that we made on the 4 and 5 continuing to be most popular, we saw very strong sales in several emerging prepay markets. India was up more than 400%, Turkey and Poland up 60%, Philippines up 140%. Saw very strong iPhone sales in several developed markets, U.S. up more than 50%, Japan more than 60%, UK up more than 50%. Several regions where iPhone growth accelerated which is unusual for us.
2:30 pmQ: iPhone ASP was down 5% sequentially and 10% over last 2 quarters -- due to higher mix of 4's and 4S' but what's driving that change in ASP? Is it more pronounced in certain geographies?
2:30 pmA: We had some give and take in the quarter but it ultimately ended up in the range we thought it would be.
2:30 pmQ: Mix wasn't that different, so perhaps it was better than you anticipated. I appreciate the volume revenue mix, but was your mix in line with what you expected?
2:29 pmA: We're very pleased with gross margin on the quarter with 36.9%. That's the high end of our range. The decline was not a surprise to us, we understood the warranty effects in March. We expected margins to be down sequentially for two reasons -- lower sequential revenue so lost leverage, different product mix. As you can see, we reported near the top end of our range.
2:28 pmQ: Could you provide some gross margin bridge sequentially? You had a 90 basis point one-time impact last quarter, so margins are down 150 basis points sequentially. Mix of products is relatively similar to last quarter, given that you're riding the experience curve on these products. I'm surprised given the mix that margin was down as much sequentially as they were. Can you give more info on what happened with GM?
2:28 pmWe had double digit unit growth in China for iPad, in Japan, in Canada, Latin America, Russia, the Middle East and in India so we're really happy with what we saw.
2:27 pmIf there are lots of other tablets selling, I don't know what they're being used for. That's a pretty basic function. We feel pretty good about where we are. We had an incredible in U.S. Education, we're really happy to be selected for the first phase of the LA County rollout.
2:27 pmA: For the iPad, if you look year over year, we had a 2.4 million unit decline but 80% of that, or 1.9 million units, were due to changes in channel inventory. We reduced by 700k in the current quarter and the year ago quarter had an increase of 1.2m. The sell-through declined by just 3%. If you look at the situation last year, we had just announced the third generation iPad which was our first iPad with a Retina display. What we expected 90 days ago, we hit in the midpoint of the range we expected on iPad unit sales. It was not a surprise for us. In terms of how others are doing, I don't know. The iPad web share data shows that through the quarter, we accelerated further and now iPad accounts for 84% of the web traffic from tablets.
2:25 pmA: I don't subscribe to the common view that the higher end of the smartphone market is peaked. I don't believe that. We'll report our results as we go along.
2:24 pmA: Our new catalyst will always be new products and new services, both in current product categories and in new categories. We have opportunities in distribution, from carrier relationships to expanding retail stores and online, and continuing to expand the indirect channel. Also have a market expansion opportunity, including the enterprise across both iPad and iPhone. We're at the very front end of that. We have lots of growth opportunities.
2:23 pmQ: Despite substantial iPhone upside this quarter, there are concerns the high end of the smartphone market is reaching saturation and growth may be harder to come by. What's your perspective? Are there new products that can reinvigorate the premium segment of the market?
2:21 pmA: Gross margin will be between 36 and 36%, same as June quarter. Sequentially, GM will be largely flat to slightly down. On track to have a very busy fall, I'd like to leave it there and go into more detail in October.
2:21 pmQ: New products will ship this fall and gross margins do come down in product transition quarter. Talk about why this product cycle might be different?
2:20 pmQuestion and Answer session with analysts now beginning.
2:20 pm26.5% tax rate for next quarter.
2:19 pm$34-37 billion in revenue for next quarter, gross margin between 36% and 37%.
2:19 pm$3.05 common share dividend payable in August.
2:18 pm$12 of $16 billion was utilized under new program initiated in April. Initial delivery of 20.5 million shares delivered.
2:18 pmPaid $2.8 billion in dividends and $16 billion in cash on share repurchase activity on open market.
2:18 pmConcluded $1.95 billion accelerated share repurchase program in April. Cumulative retirement of 4 million shares of AAPL stock.
2:17 pm$146.6 billion in cash, compared to $144.7 billion at end of March quarter. $106 billion was offshore.
2:17 pm16,000 visitors per store per week.
2:17 pmAvg rev per store was $10.1 million.
2:16 pm9 new stores in September quarter to 27 new store openings in fiscal 2013. Relocated four stores in June quarter. Complete 23 such relocations in fiscal 13.
2:16 pmApple Retail: $4.1 billion in revenue, flat YoY. Strong growth in iPhone sales. Most successful MacBook Air launch to date. 6 new stores across 5 countries. Ended quarter with 408 stores including 156 outside the U.S..
2:16 pmExtremely excited for fall launch of iOS 7.
2:15 pmThis fall we'll release a beta version of iWork for iCloud.
2:15 pmAmong corporate clients, iPhone 5 was by far the most frequently activated device of any kind and iPads represent 88% of tablet activations.
2:15 pmStability and security and popularity of the iOS platform, iOS has a strong lead over Android in the enterprise.
2:14 pm320 million iCloud accounts, 900 billion iMessages, 120 billion photos, and 8 trillion push notifications.
2:14 pmCumulative app downloads have surpassed 50 billion, developers have made $11 billion from the App Store, half in the last 4 quarters.
2:14 pmDevelopers have created 900,000 iOS apps, 375,000 made for iPad.
2:13 pm1 billion TV episodes, 390 million movies downloaded from iTunes to date.
2:13 pmTotal quarterly revenue of $4 billion from iTunes, software and services. Added great new video content to iTunes and Apple TV: HBO Go, WatchESPN.
2:12 pmStrong growth in revenue from both content and apps.
2:12 pmBest week ever in iTunes billings at the end of the quarter.
2:12 pmLA County plans to equip all 660,000 students with a tablet by 2014.
2:11 pmIn Maine, individual school districts can choose which products to buy for their students. 94% choose Apple products.
2:11 pmU.S. Education business was the best ever. Strong Mac and iPad sales.
2:10 pmOS X Mavericks will be available to customers in the fall.
2:10 pmLast month, we provided a sneak peek at the next-generation Mac Pro. New state-of-the-art Mac Pro will be available later this year.
2:09 pmGlobal computer market contracted by 11% last quarter, indicating Mac gained share.
2:09 pm3.8 million Macs sold, 7% decline from last year -- higher than internal expectations.
2:08 pmiPad accounted for 85.3% share by tablet web usage in the U.S. and Canada.
2:08 pmFactoring in 1.9 million unit channel inventory swing, iPad unit sell-through was down 3% YoY. 4.1 million units in channel, within target of 4-6 weeks.
2:07 pmiPad driven by channel inventory increase and new 3rd-generation iPad last year.
2:07 pmiPhone holds 62.5% share of U.S. commercial market, combining commercial, industrial and government.
2:05 pmTop spot in customer satisfaction from JD Power 9 times in a row, but top customer satisfaction ranking in a number of other surveys including one in South Korea.
2:05 pm93% loyalty rate amongst iPhone owners.
2:05 pmiPhone sales very strong in Japan up 66% YoY. Top-selling smartphone in Japan. Apple is number 1 or number 2 smartphone maker in most markets IDC tracks.
2:04 pmiPhone unit sales increased 51% YoY in the U.S., iPhone is #1 in U.S. smartphone market with 39% share.
2:04 pmiPhone is "by far" the most popular iPhone, but very happy with sales of the iPhone 4 and 4S. 11 million units in channel inventory, in target range of 4-6 weeks of iPhone channel inventory.
2:04 pm5.2 million increase in iPhones, or 20%. iPhone sell-through of 31.8 million units. Ahead of expectations and particularly pleased in iPhone sales in a number of developed and emerging markets.
2:03 pmBecause of inventory and sell-through numbers, Apple sold 6% more product, versus just 1% in actual revenue growth.
2:02 pmEstablished new June quarter record for both iPhone sales and revenue.
2:02 pmCEO Tim Cook, CFO Peter Oppenheimer and Treasurer Gary Wipfler are on the call.
2:01 pmThe conference call is beginning.
1:58 pmFollowing the earnings release, Apple's stock price is up more than 5% after hours to 440.85.

iOS in the Car 'Very Important' to Apple, 'Part of the Ecosystem'

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During the question and answer portion of today's third quarter earnings call,  Apple CEO Tim Cook was asked about iOS in the Car, which was a highlight of the company’s keynote presentation at WWDC. Cook said that it was an important "part of the ecosystem," likening it to the App Store, iTunes, messaging, and Siri. 

"Having something in the automobile is very important," he said. "It’s something people want." He went on to say that Apple could "do it in a unique way better than anyone else," and that it was a "key focus" for the company. 

iosinthecar
iOS in the Car is designed to provide enhanced iOS integration in automobiles, offering hands-free controls that allow drivers to access maps, get directions, and control music by displaying content on the navigation screen of the car.
iOS in the Car seamlessly integrates your iOS device — and the iOS experience — with your in-dash system. If your vehicle is equipped with iOS in the Car, you can connect your iPhone 5 and interact with it using the car’s built-in display and controls or Siri Eyes Free. Now you can easily and safely make phone calls, access your music, send and receive messages, get directions, and more. It’s all designed to let iPhone focus on what you need, so you can focus on the road.
The feature is expected to be integrated into a number of new cars in 2014, from manufacturers like Honda, Acura, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Infiniti, Ferrari, Chevrolet, Hyundai, Kia, Volvo, Opel and Jaguar. 

According to settings hidden within iOS 7, iOS in the car may potentially work over AirPlay in addition to USB. iOS in the Car will be officially unveiled later this year alongside the release of iOS 7. 

Last year, Apple debuted Siri 'Eyes Free,' which made its first appearance in the Chevy Spark and Sonic cars earlier this year.

Apple's Logic Remote shows the logic of Post-PC

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Apple [AAPL] yesterday introduced Logic Pro X and in doing so took another big step toward a post-PC future, releasing an iPad app that acts as a user interface for many of the application's actions.
The Logic of Remote
It's only a suggestion of the future direction of the most processor-hungry apps within the new PC generation. You don't get to access every feature of the pro music studio using your iPad and you'll need Logic installed on your Mac. Despite which it represents a new paradigm in which your Mac or PC becomes the "truck" to handle the processor intensive functions, while your mobile device becomes the user interface from which to access those features.
Logic Pro X is picking up positive reviews:
"Logic Pro X is the best music software release I've seen from Apple in a while. They added a lot of pro features, but at the same time managed to make the app more approachable -- that's a difficult thing to do." Jim Dalrymple, The Loop.
"Unless you’re already committed to another DAW or aren’t entirely dependent on 32-bit plug-ins, you should plunk down the measly 200 bucks Apple asks for it. It’s an amazing piece of work." Chris Breen,Macworld.
"For existing users, though, unless you need 32-bit compatibility, I think upgrading is a no brainer."  Peter Kirn, Create Digital Music.
(To be objective, consistent criticisms I'm picking up refer to the software's abandonment of support for 32-bit plug-ins; the upgrade is the same as full retail price of $199; there's a feeling Apple should improve some of the audio processors within the suite.)
The iPad app is called Logic Remote and is available for free from the App Store. This is what Apple says of the release:
"Logic Remote is an innovative new way to extend the creative power of Logic by using your iPad. Designed to take full advantage of the iPad Multi-Touch™ display, Logic Remote gives users new ways to record, mix and even perform instruments in Logic Pro X from anywhere in the room, turning their iPad into a keyboard, drum pad, guitar fretboard, mixing board or transport control." Apple.
Untethered UI
This all sounds like candy, right? Nothing too significant. You still need your Mac to run the software. You aren't running Logic independently of the computer, the iPad is simply an interface to those functions.
This will change.
Circumstantial evidence of the change is seen in Adobe's move to embrace cloud-based services across its creative apps, as evidenced by Creative Cloud.
Once again, the mobile apps don't offer the full versatility of the PC/Mac-based versions, but they do offer some of the features. It must surely be obvious that as devices become more powerful and the cloud-based technologies are improved, it's only a matter of time until the mobile apps/cloud-based CS services offer additional features.
You see, what Apple has done with the release of the iPad app for Logic is plant a flag in the ground. Right now it's just about using Logic on your Mac from the other side of the room, but the inherent happening here is that you have now untethered the user interface from the Mac and put (some of it) inside a mobile device.
Apple is aware of the need to innovate within cloud services: take a look at iWork for iCloud as evidence of this.
It's all about the user interface. Your entire relationship with the computer you're likely to be reading this article on is predicated by that interface. The actual technology inside your computer isn't as relevant to that experience as your experience of using the user interface. It's not what the computer does that defines this experience, but what you do.
The separation of the Logic interface from the Mac and its inclusion within the iPad as an app means that in future you can put the Mac in another room, town, city or country while continuing to access its power using your iPad.
As broadband access becomes ever more ubiquitous and speeds improve, it will become increasingly possible for all of us to access the full power of a computer remotely using a mobile device.
At some point, the applications we are today completely reliant on a computer to perform (video and audio processing software being good examples of this) will be made available as cloud-based services. The only reason for any delay in such evolution might be to protect PC sales -- which is why Adobe is in position to accelerate that migration.
That this migration has begun is clearly evidenced by Apple's move to liberate Logic's UI from the Mac, and make it available on the Post-PC iPad. Yes, you need your own Mac to run the software today, but that won't always be the case tomorrow.
[ABOVE: A truck, taken by Tony Harrison c/o Flickr]
Keep truckin'?
The PC has become a truck. It will be used for certain specific functions. However, as mobile devices and cloud services are improved, the reasons for using a PC will shrink. These things won't go away, they will simply step into the background, supporting new breed devices, new user interfaces, and ubiquitous new computing experiences. Logic Remote is a significant release because it cuts the cord between the computer and the user. Now it is here it will only improve.
Like climate change skeptics, there's a lot of resistance to the notion of Post-PC; but the deniers doom us all -- the ice is melting and the evolution of the computing world will take place regardless of loud denials from the lackeys of vested interest.
The Post-PC sea change that defines the new era of the computer world has begun, so ask yourself how will affect you and your business: Will you sink, or will you swim?
 
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