$899 MacBook Air taps Apple into massive $63B-per-year notebook market

$899 MacBook Air taps Apple into massive $63B-per-year notebook market
With the launch of its updated MacBook Air models on Tuesday with a new, lower entry price of $899 for the 11-inch model, Apple has firmly placed itself in that massive segment of the notebook industry. The 13-inch variety of the MacBook Air has also dropped to $999, and both new models sport slightly faster Intel Haswell processors boasting all-day battery life."

Yay! Was hoping this would be a refresh with Retina, but whatevs.

NBC's 'Today' offers rare look inside Apple's iCloud data center in feature on environment

NBC's 'Today' offers rare look inside Apple's iCloud data center in feature on environment
In a brief news package for Today, NBC chief environmental correspondent Anne Thompson gave a rundown of Apple's green initiatives, including the company's huge solar panel installation at its iCloud data center."

It's a catchy little phrase "Apple Farm"

Nike to reportedly exit wearables market, fires bulk of FuelBand team [u]

Nike to reportedly exit wearables market, fires bulk of FuelBand team [u] - Citing people familiar with the situation, CNET reports Nike is looking to quickly spin down its Digital Sport division, which is responsible for products like the FuelBand SE, Nike+ sportwatch and other connected devices.

I hope they keep the little thing that goes in the shoe.

Closer look at alleged 'iPhone 6' front panel suggests 5.1" screen with 16:9 ratio

Closer look at alleged 'iPhone 6' front panel suggests 5.1" screen with 16:9 ratio
A photo revealed earlier Tuesday purports to show an "iPhone 6" front panel next to the 4-inch display of an iPhone 5s. AppleInsider reader Steven from East Coast Pixels — makers of the iOS photo editing app PhotoToaster — took a closer look at the alleged Apple part in an effort to determine its dimensions."

Here we go rumors, here we go!

Windows Phone 8.1 update lets users add Passbook cards to Microsoft Wallet | 9to5Mac

Windows Phone 8.1 update lets users add Passbook cards to Microsoft Wallet | 9to5Mac
While the Microsoft Wallet app will be able to load the various coupons and loyalty cards usually reserved for Passbook, it’s still a little unclear exactly what’s going on behind the scenes. Microsoft appears to be allowing users to download the Passbook files and rendering its own card for Microsoft Wallet, but the report speculates Windows Phone won’t be able to tap into the push notifications Apple’s uses to update cards like on iOS."

I suppose one way of looking at this is that the only annoying feature of Passbook is the notifications. I especially dislike the Starbucks geofence but that might be a feature of the Starbucks app as opposed to Passbook.

Can't wait to try my Nokia 925 which arrives any day now.

Samsung calls on Android exec in patent trial to prove certain features were created by Google, not Apple

Samsung calls on Android exec in patent trial to prove certain features were created by Google, not Apple
The testimony was designed to prove some phone features Apple is suing Samsung over were already a part of the Android operating system used in certain devices, like the Galaxy Nexus.

I watched the movie RUSH on DVD last night. Which probably tells you where I am on the adoption curve of streaming video. In Rush, Niki Lauda explains that a fierce competitor does more for someone than a sea of sycophants. Such would be the case here with Google, Apple and Samsung.

Could Apple buy Square to accelerate its mobile payment plans? | 9to5Mac

Could Apple buy Square to accelerate its mobile payment plans? | 9to5Mac
Re/code is reporting that both Apple and Google have considered making acquisition offers for payments company Square, with CEO Jack Dorsey said to favor a sale to Apple."

Could be a good fit as many Square merchants I visit are using the iPad as a cash register.

Digitimes: iWatch circuit board samples being delivered to Apple in preparation for September reveal | 9to5Mac

Digitimes: iWatch circuit board samples being delivered to Apple | 9to5Mac According to the new report, three different firms have supplied Apple with samples of flexible circuit boards that will be integrated into the iWatch for a fall release.

Will be interesting to see what GPS-like sensors are included in this puppy.

New Steve Jobs email a treasure trove of information about Apple TV, Google ‘holy war,’ and behind-the-scenes strategy | 9to5Mac

New Steve Jobs email a treasure trove of information about Apple TV, Google ‘holy war,’ and behind-the-scenes strategy | 9to5Mac - As we’ve previously noted, Jobs referred to 2011 as a year of “holy war” against Google, but this document goes above that and describes how exactly Apple planned to wage this war.

WingMakers - Angels must be confused by war. Both sides praying for protection, yet someone always gets hurt. Someone dies. Someone cries so deep they lose their watery state.

Confused.

This is Healthbook, Apple’s major first step into health & fitness tracking | 9to5Mac

This is Healthbook, Apple’s major first step into health & fitness tracking | 9to5Mac - Healthbook has sections that can track data pertaining to bloodwork, heart rate, hydration, blood pressure, physical activity, nutrition, blood sugar, sleep, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, and weight.

I'm hoping this is fairly automatic so you don't have to enter all these data points yourself.

Pixar president recalls a 'transformation' undergone by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs

Pixar president recalls a 'transformation' undergone by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs - Catmull also revealed that Jobs would give advice at Pixar in a humble fashion, noting up front that he was "not really a filmmaker" and that people could choose to "ignore everything" that he said. When Jobs's take was sought, he would focus on the problems rather than the filmmakers.

Terrific article.

Amazon takes on Apple TV with new $99 fireTV streaming & gaming set-top box

Amazon takes on Apple TV with new $99 fireTV streaming & gaming set-top box - Amazon unveiled the fireTV, its new 1080p HDTV accessory at a media event in New York City on Wednesday, boasting that with a quad-core CPU and 2 gigabytes of RAM, it's three times as powerful as existing devices on the market, all while being about as tall as a "piece of popped corn," the company said.

Personally, I don't own a television. Not without irony. However, the Android wins just keep stacking up. Google, Amazon and Samsung. 3 powerhouses behind one runtime environment with (rapidly improving) development tools.

If only Android dev tools were as good as Xcode.