Apple’s legal chief joins ski resort board

Ed Sutherland ∙ January 14, 2013

Who knew Apple's legal honcho was also a ski bum? Bruce Sewell, the iPhone maker's General Counsel and Senior Vice President, becomes the latest Apple executive to join an outside board of directors.

In Sewell's case, he was named Monday to a chain of ski resorts, Vail Resorts, Inc. Trust me, we were flabbergasted as well.

Sewell, described as a "lifelong skier" who also participated in ski patrols between college and law school, is likely more known for his legal expertise away from the slopes. After losing in a dust-up between Intel and AMD, he joined Apple, where he made real Steve Jobs' call for 'thermonuclear war' against Google's Android...

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Microsoft (barely) sells a million Surface units

Ed Sutherland ∙ January 14, 2013

If you're Microsoft, January can't end too soon. The company's Surface RT is taking a battering from the iPad, selling one million of the tablets during the holidays. According to one Wall Street observer, the consumer-oriented tablet has two strikes against it: being compared to Apple's product and too little retail exposure.

The one million figure is less than half of the two million units previously forecast by UBS analyst Brent Thill. In December, IHS iSuppli projected Microsoft would sell just 1.3 million units of the Surface RT...

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Do reports of iPhone 5 part order cuts mean Apple’s in trouble?

Cody Lee ∙ January 14, 2013

The Wall Street Journal reported last night that Apple has been contacting suppliers to reduce iPhone 5 part orders due to 'weaker-than-expected demand.' The story has made some serious waves today, causing Apple's stock price to drop (at the time of writing) 16 points.

But for several industry watchers, including myself, the math on last night's report just doesn't add up...

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Listen to your iTunes library in 3D with ‘Music Collocator’

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Music Collocator is a jailbreak app recently added to Cydia which plays tracks from your library simultaneously using what the developer calls '3D sound'. In this case, 3D sound means the app plays tracks together, shifting the stereo volume based on where the song is 'located' in 3D.

Since Music Collocator pulls tracks from your iTunes library, you have access to your favorite playlists, artists, albums, and genres. Unfortunately you can't swap individual songs to Music Collocator arrangements à la carte. To get around this limitation, you'll have to set a custom playlist with each track setup you want, and that's not an ideal solution.

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Netflix announces multi-year deal with Turner Broadcasting and Warner Bros. Television

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 7, 2016

The popular over-the-top video-on-demand provider Netflix today announced that it has inked a major multi-year deal with both Turner Broadcasting and Warner Bros. Television that includes episodes of shows from Cartoon Network, Warner Bros. Animation, Adult Swim, as well as the show Dallas from TNT. The deal goes into effect on March 30 when Netflix also gets to become the exclusive over-the-top streaming subscription provider for past seasons of Cartoon Network and Adult Swim titles...

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US Bank launches NFC iPhone case for Go Mobile payment service

Cody Lee ∙ January 14, 2013

The iPhone may not have near field communications installed, but that's not stopping companies from trying to integrate the tech. US Bank proves that yet again today by unveiling its new NFC-enabled iPhone case.

The case is a major part of the bank's new Go Mobile payment service, which will allow US Bank customers to pay for goods and services from their checking, savings or credit accounts using an NFC-compatible device...

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Pulse news reader gains beautiful social streams

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

Pulse, the popular news aggregator app akin to Flipboard, was updated today with the ability to browse your Flickr, Instagram, Tumblr and YouTube streams. If you thought that getting your favorite best news content in one place was all the rage back when developer Alphonso Labs launched the app in 2010, you'll want this update for it brings your favorite social feeds in one place, with one clean interface. I'm a big fan of Flipboard which already provides these features, but if you prefer Pulse you can now jump into the 21st century...

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A new concept from the designer of Auxo improves Do Not Disturb

Jeff Benjamin ∙ January 14, 2013

I think it's safe to say that the Auxo jailbreak tweak was a resounding success. As you may remember, it initially started out as a concept posted on The Verge forums. Its designer, Sentry, hooked up with a more than capable developer, and eventually the pair made the concept into a successfully reality.

Well it appears that Sentry is back, this time with a new concept aimed around improving the functionality of Apple's built in Do Not Disturb feature. While Apple may not think that it needs improvement, judging from the advertisement spot it just released showcasing the feature, Sentry believes that he can improve Do Not Disturb by meshing it with Notification Center.

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Apple offering new interest-free payment plan in China

Cody Lee ∙ January 14, 2013

Last week, Tim Cook made it clear that Apple intends to beef up its presence in China. The CEO said that although the country is only its second largest market right now (behind the US), it will soon be number one.

With that, comes a report today that Apple has introduced a new interest-free installment payment option to its web store in China as a way of enticing potential customers that may not have enough cash on-hand...

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Poll: is the time nigh for an Apple phablet?

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 14, 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NNNHLjMc9I

Many watchers, this author included, never thought phablets would make an impact. But they are taking off, mostly due to Samsung's Note series, an Android-driven smartphone/tablet computer hybrid (hence, a "phablet") introduced in October 2011. It tallied a respectable ten million shipments as of August 15, 2012. Not bad for a product category that virtually didn't exist a couple years back. Its successor, the Galaxy Note II, was released in August 2012. With its massive 5.55-inch screen sporting the native 720p (1,280-by-720) resolution, it's the perfect epitome of the phablet trend.

There's no denying that phablets are slowly but surely becoming the new normal as deep-pocketed smartphone users  now yearn for devices with a greater screen real estate and more computational power to handle even more tasks previously handled by the struggling notebook or the traditional PC. That being said, today we're asking you to opine on whether or not Apple should release a phablet of its own, a 5+ inch iPhone of sorts...

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‘Better Switcher Position’ aims to create a better app switcher

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Better Switcher Position is a simple jailbreak tweak that switches the position of the rotation lock button and the music button found in the app switcher. The idea behind the tweaks is that it more closely aligns the volume control slider found in the app switcher, with the music button.

While the position of the app switcher buttons never really dawned on me before, I guess the developer of Better Switcher Position has a point. Take a look at our hands-on video inside to see what I mean.

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