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Remarkable sophistication of Mac Pro manufacture

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 23, 2013

Not that long ago, these three words - 'Made in USA' - stood out for American quality, craftsmanship and reliability. What a difference a few decades make! As everyone's been building virtually everything in China, small wonder even Apple's boss Tim Cook, like his predecessor Steve Jobs, suspects those manufacturing jobs won't be coming back anytime soon. What might is (some) assembly work.

It was only recently that the nation's tech brands began experimenting with doing final assembly domestically. Motorola, for example, is putting the final pieces of the Moto X in place at a Texas plant, previously a Nokia facility.

Apple, in the meantime, has always designed its products in California and tapped its vast network of suppliers and contract manufacturers in Taiwan and China to build its gizmos. That's starting to change now as Apple's next-generation Mac Pro marks the company's return to the US in a limited manufacturing capacity.

The upcoming dream desktop is being assembled in a $100 million U.S. plant. And like Motorola's, Apple's facility is located in Texas. So, how does Apple build such a sophisticated and radically rethought desktop computer? Industrial designer Greg Koenig took a closer look at an eye-candy Mac Pro assembly video Apple played at yesterday's keynote, here's what he gleaned from it...

Apple’s new ‘Life on iPad’ video highlights creative iPad uses the world over

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 23, 2013

In addition to the inaugural iPad Air television commercial dubbed 'Pencil' and the promotional video featuring Jony Ive and other executives who talk about solving the design challenges of making the iPad Air 28 percent lighter and 20 percent thinner, another video has just gone live on Apple's YouTube channel.

Appropriately titled 'Life on iPad,' this one celebrates Apple customers' creativity and genius in using their iPads and covers a wide range of uses in business, education, entertainment, health and in many other fields.

It's included right after the jump so give it a quick watch right now...

Apple’s inaugural iPad Air ad – ‘Pencil’ – hits YouTube

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 23, 2013

You've read all there is to know about Apple's iPad Air, watched Jony Ive talk enthusiastically about the crazy attention to detail that had gone into designing the product - perhaps streamed or even downloaded the entire keynote to your computer - and now you can appreciate Apple's inaugural, feel-good, mission-statement iPad Air ad.

This is the same 60-second commercial that was played to the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts audience yesterday, and now it's just gone live over at Apple's YouTube channel. It's included for your viewing pleasure right after the fold and I urge you to give it a watch and join the discussion down in the comments...

iPad keynote now available on YouTube and iTunes

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 9, 2016

Apple rather uncharacteristically not only live-streamed yesterday's keynote through its website and on Apple TV, iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices, but has also made a replay available shortly thereafter. The October 2013 Apple Special Event video is now available on-demand through the Apple Events section of the company's website.

I typically prefer to keep Apple's keynote clips handy for later reference and offline viewing. As a bonus, I get to keep the videos forever and make as much copies as my heart desires. Right on cue, the iPhone maker has now made the entire iPad keynote available as a downloadable video podcast on iTunes...

Apple may have sold 15M (now old) iPads during the September quarter

Ed Sutherland ∙ October 23, 2013

Normally, selling 170 million of anything is cause for headlines, but everyone isn't Apple. When CEO Tim Cook said Tuesday the tech giant has sold 170 million iPads to date, analysts forecast sales of fifteen million tablets during the September quarter, at a minimum.

If correct, the predictions would top the fourteen million iPads sold during the same quarter of 2012. For Apple, the expectations could also counter the belief that demand for its tablet computers are slowing...

iOS 7.0.3 brings back web and Wikipedia search from Spotlight

Sébastien Page ∙ October 23, 2013

A feature that could have easily gone unnoticed with yesterday's release of iOS 7.0.3 is the return of web and Wikipedia search directly from Spotlight. The feature had been missing since the first beta release of Apple's latest mobile operating system.

To access it, simply pull your Home screen down to reveal Spotlight Search. Then start typing whatever you're looking for. If necessary, scroll all the way down. In my experience, I've found that some common searches usually return tons of emails first, making the feature a little less convenient to use than I would want to...

Russian carriers that dropped Apple in 2012 now want it back

Ed Sutherland ∙ October 23, 2013

Two of the three Russian carriers that dropped the iPhone in 2012 now want it back. MTS and Vimplecom announced Tuesday they will begin selling Apple's new iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s starting Friday.

Vimplecom (which owns Russia's No. 3 carrier Beeline) said it signed a contract with Apple for the new handsets. MTS, on the other hand, will use a distributor to get the smartphones. Both Vimplecom and MTS stopped iPhone sales last year, complaining Apple's stringent contracts created "harsh conditions"...

iOS 7.0.3 apparently corrects iPhone 5s sensor calibration issues

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 23, 2013

A smaller percentage of owners of Apple's new iPhone 5s flagship have been inundated with inaccurate compass and inclinometers readings.

As you've likely heard by now, some of the affected customers in Apple's support forums reported readings consistently off by a noticeable margin. This has been blamed on a change of supplier.

Rather than tap its longtime supplier STMicroelectronics, Apple has opted to buy accelerometer sensor for these new iPhones from Bosch, a large German industrial company producing household appliances, automotive parts and many other items.

Haters came out of the woodwork screaming Bosch hardware was at fault to suggest Apple had run out of options and will now supposedly need to recall the affected units. Turns out the issue was easily fixable because the newly released iOS 7.0.3 update has made inaccurate sensor readings a thing of the past...

Aperture gains iCloud Photo Sharing, SmugMug integration, iOS 7 Camera filters and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 5, 2018

Apple's Aperture for Mac continues to give Adobe's Lightroom a run for its money as both programs compete for the title of the best photo manipulation and management software on the Mac. As you know, Apple's long been bundling a free copy of its iPhoto application with every new Mac (and now also with new iOS device purchases). But for photography fans whose needs go beyond the basic set of iPhoto's editing and photo management tools, Aperture is a logical progression.

In its latest 3.5 update, Aperture brings a couple welcomed new features to the table and a host of tweaks and bug fixes. Jump past the fold for the full breakdown...

Pixelmator 3.0 FX now available with Layer Styles, Liquify Tools and new Mavericks features

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 23, 2013

My favorite Photoshop Mac replacement, Pixelmator, has just received a massive 3.0 update. Now rechristened as Pixelmator FX to reflect the newly acquired capabilities, it brings the much needed Layer Styles and Liguify Tools, both building on top of the recent 2.2 update which dates back as recently as two weeks ago.

Pixelmator 3.0 also supports new features introduced in OS X Mavericks (a free upgrade) and introduces a new image editing engine which the team claims make Pixelmator "a top-quality, full-featured image editing app for the Mac”...

iPad Air wallpaper for iPhone and iPad

Cody Lee ∙ October 23, 2013

Since Apple unveiled the all-new iPad Air yesterday, one of the most popular questions we've been asked has been: "where can I download that blue-green gradient wallpaper shown in some of the iPad Air promo shots?"

We're not sure where the exact wallpaper is—it doesn't seem to exist in iOS 7. But we happen to have the next best thing. Designer Adriano Mendez has recreated the beautiful background for both the iPhone and the iPad...

Apple drops refurbished iPad mini entry price to $249, iPad 4 to $379

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

After introducing of the new iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display yesterday, Apple lowered the prices of its refurbished iPads across the board. The entry-level (first-gen) iPad mini, for example is now just $249.

That's down $30 from where it was before the new iPad announcements, and $50 less than a new one, which Apple dropped down to $299 yesterday. And don't worry, Apple has discounted its full-sized tablets as well...