Poll: how did Cook do at D10?

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 30, 2012

Unless you slept over through yesterday, you're well-aware that Apple's boss Tim Cook had a little chit-chat with technology columnists Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher, his first major unscripted media appearance since he took over the CEO job last August. We've been covering the most important talking points throughout the day.

Also available: video snippets plus a 17-minute clip highlighting the interesting bits. So take your time, skim through the articles and watch Cook respond to smart questions and dodge controversial topics before taking this poll. We'd also love to hear your honest opinion on how he handled this major media appearance...

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Cook at D10: video highlights

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 30, 2012

You've read the snippets of Tim Cook's talk at D10: All Things Digital conference from yesterday. We've been publishing those throughout the day and now here are the videos. No fillers, no longish articles or a bunch of backlinks, just what you want - short and up to the point clips. Enjoy...

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Sorkin at D10: “Jobs is an extremely complicated guy”

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 30, 2012

Aaron Sorkin just got interviewed by Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher at the D10: All Things Digital conference. He responded to a bunch of questions concerning his thought process, including ongoing work on his adaption of Walter Isaacson's authorized bio book for the silver screen, likening the job to "writing about The Beatles"...

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Microsoft plays down Apple TV numbers as Apple’s Cook disses gaming consoles

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 30, 2012

Tim Cook shared a pretty interesting data point at yesterday’s D10: All Things Digital conference. He said Apple sold 2.8 million units of the $99 set-top box in 2012 so far, nearly matching sales for the whole of 2011.

Cook argued that 1080p hardware upgrade and greater content availability on iTunes helped drive sales. Microsoft was keen on pointing out that Apple TV numbers pale in comparison to its Xbox 360 console...

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iPhone 5 metal backplate is reportedly the real deal

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 30, 2012

According to well-connected blogger Mark Gurman, an aluminum-clad backplate that leaked yesterday pretty much matches the iPhones being tested internally. If true, this would be another indication that a sixth-generation iPhone will sport a metal back akin to the original model that launched five years ago...

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Cook at D10: Why I’m not big on marrying iPad with MacBook

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 30, 2012

One of the inevitable subjects technology columnists Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher pressed Apple's Cook on during yesterday's D10: All Things Digital opening-night talk touches upon the post-PC world and the convergence dilemma. As you know, Cook's predecessor Steve Jobs was a huge proponent of tablet computing.

Jobs used to passionately defend the tablet with all his heart and soul, insisting on the post-PC revolution spearheaded by the iPad. So, here's Cook's take on tablets displacing PCs, the iPad, the assumed convergence of tablets and PCs and more...

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Sparrow for iPad in the works, compliments of the jailbreak community [updated]

Jeff Benjamin ∙ May 30, 2012

Push Notifications are one thing, but support for the iPad is a whole 'nother area where Sparrow is lacking for iOS. As of now, the popular 3rd party email client is iPhone-only, making it difficult for users who have both devices to fully commit to using it.

But as usual, a jailbreak developer is making serious headway on bringing native-like iPad support to Sparrow via a handy tweak. SparrowPlus may already be familiar to a lot of you, it's the same tweak that allows you to make Sparrow your iPhone's default mail client, along with Push Notifications.

Now the developer behind SparrowPlus is working on an update to bring improved Sparrow support to the iPad. It's not perfect, but as you'll see from our hands-on video, it certainly shows some promise...

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Cook at D10: “you’ll be pleased” with where your best friend Siri is going

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 30, 2012

Be careful how you call Siri. Apple's boss Tim Cook says the controversial digital secretary is "your best friend", teasing "you'll be really pleased with some of the things" the company has in store. We also have a cool vid with Cook fielding questions from Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher at yesterday's D10: All Things Digital talk.

So, is Siri up to Apple's standards? Here's from the mouth of Tim Cook himself...

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This tweak produces pint-sized banner notifications

Jeff Benjamin ∙ May 30, 2012

Are you finding that your iPhone's banner notifications are a bit on the large side? If so, then do we have the perfect jailbreak tweak to fit your needs. SmallBanners is a tweak that performs one function, and does so fairly well — it reduces the size of your iPhone's banner notifications.

Personally I think the stock size of the banner notifications is perfect, but I realize that there are probably a few of you out there that don't. If you fit that description, then head inside and check out our video walkthrough for SmallBanners.

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Cook at D10: We’ll look at killing Ping

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 30, 2012

During his opening-night talk at the D10: All Things Digital conference, Apple's chief executive Tim Cook acknowledged the need for Apple to get more social going forward. He also advised folks to "stay tuned" for Apple and Facebook, subtly hinting that deep Facebook integration could be a go-go for iOS 6.

He also addressed Ping, Apple's beleaguered social network for music that he labeled as a product he didn't "want to put a lot of energy into" because "the customer voted".  So, is Apple really going to ditch Ping?

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Rumor: Apple launching feature-complete Apple TV software for iTV at WWDC

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 30, 2012

According to a new report, Apple is readying a much more feature-complete version of the operating system that drives its Apple TV set-top box.

Sources tell it's also bound to power that rumored HD TV set. It wasn't immediately clear from the report whether the enhanced OS will also support the $99 hockey puck and how it might tie with iOS 6.

The company will allegedly launch it at the upcoming WWDC developers conference in San Francisco which begins with a keynote on June 11 at 10am PST...

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