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Steve Jobs biographer does his own ‘three stories’ commencement speech [Video]
It isn’t quite Stanford 2005, but the Corning stories and others are amusing.
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Listen to our 9to5Mac Happy Hour (5/17/13)
Seth and Mark were traveling back from Google I/O this week, but Scott and Zac sat down to discuss what Google’s announcements mean for Apple and next month’s WWDC.
Outgoing Intel CEO Paul Otellini’s big regret? Not landing an Intel chip in Apple’s iPhone
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Interesting exit interview with Intel CEO Paul Otellini wherein he says (duh) he regrets not trying harder not to get his chips inside the iPhone (and subsequently iPod touch and iPads).
But, oh, what could have been! Even Otellini betrayed a profound sense of disappointment over a decision he made about a then-unreleased product that became the iPhone. Shortly after winning Apple’s Mac business, he decided against doing what it took to be the chip in Apple’s paradigm-shifting product.
“We ended up not winning it or passing on it, depending on how you want to view it. And the world would have been a lot different if we’d done it,” Otellini told me in a two-hour conversation during his last month at Intel. “The thing you have to remember is that this was before the iPhone was introduced and no one knew what the iPhone would do… At the end of the day, there was a chip that they were interested in that they wanted to pay a certain price for and not a nickel more and that price was below our forecasted cost. I couldn’t see it. It wasn’t one of these things you can make up on volume. And in hindsight, the forecasted cost was wrong and the volume was 100x what anyone thought.”
While there seems to be some sentiment that if Otellini had tried, Intel would have won Apple’s iOS device business. But, it clearly isn’t that simple. ARM chips use an order of magnitude less power than Intel chips, even to this day.
Also, if Intel is so great at powering mobile device chips, why wouldn’t Android devices (And Windows 8 devices!) have used them as an advantage?
Steve Jobs and Apple prioritized efficiency over raw power which may have proved to be one of the winning advantages of the feature-rich iPhone and iPad over a decade plus of Windows machines.
More purported iPhone 5S parts surface
BGR claims to have gotten their hands on some iPhone 5S parts. At this stage they could be anything and the parts listed conveniently don’t detail any huge changes. The nano-SIM trays above are reportedly thinner and the different color shown could add weight to the multiple color options claims.
Other parts include the vibrating motor and Wifi chip assemblies that differ slightly from the iPhone 5 design.
These leaks are similar to a previous cache of random parts shown by Nowhereelse.fr. in March (below) and it is hard to know if they are valid parts.
Best Buy Apple sale: Airs $125 off, 15% off $100 iTunes card, $17 Smart Covers, Bluetooth speakers, Free games, more
From 9to5Toys.com:
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Best Buy is taking $125 off the price of MacBook Airs for the next three days to celebrate Mother’s Day. That yields some of the lowest prices we’ve seen. The retailler knocks off $100 across the board, then using code MOM25 knocks off another $25.
Prices after discount:
- 11.6″ MacBook Air 4GB/64GB: $874.99
- 11.6″ MacBook Air 4GB/128GB: $974.99
- 13.3″ MacBook Air 4GB/128GB: $1074.99
- 13.3″ MacBook Air 4GB/256GB: $1274.99
Best Buy is also offering a $100 iTunes gift cad for $85. (Free Money!) That is a total savings of 15% off future purchases of Apps Music, Movies and any other content on the the App Store, iTunes, Mac App Store and iBook Store. This is the first iTunes deal we’ve seen in nearly 2 months and a perfect opportunity to surprise Mom on Mother’s Day.
- Those interested in an iPhone 4S can pick one up for $50 (half off) with contract.
- Best Buy also offers probably the best looking keyboard case out there, Targus – Versavu Keyboard Case for Apple® iPad – Bone White half off for $50.
- An 8GB Kingston Keydrive is $5
More at Best Buy’s Mother’s Day sale and Smart Buys & Gift Ideas for every type of Mom in our Mother’s Day Gift Guide
iMac $150 off sale on most current generation configurations, now starting at $1,150 shipped
Just a few weeks ago we saw an unprecedented sale from Best Buy on current generation iMacs and now Amazon has stepped up and surpassed that deal by offering a staggering $150 off 3 out 4 standard configuration iMacs.
Other amazing 9to5Toys.com deals from around the web:
- Genuine Apple iPad Leather Smart Cover $17 Shipped
- Logitech UE Mini Boombox Bluetooth speaker, “9to5Mac’s best portable speaker you can buy” (Refurb.) $59 (Save 40%) or a Jambox for $90
- Free and reduced Apps/Games: Asphalt 7 Free, Tiny Troopers 2 Free, Bastion $.99, Batman Arkham City $.99, MORE
- SanDisk – Mobile Ultra 4GB microSDHC Class 6 Memory Card $5 Shipped
- IM+ Pro on sale for $1.99 for a limited time (regular $9.99)
- Seagate Backup Plus 4 TB USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive $150 Shipped ($40 Savings)
- iLuv iPod/iPhone Alarm Clock with ‘Bed Shaker’ $20 Shipped
- 4 port USB car charger, 2.1A/5V for quick iPad charging: $8
- 24″ ViewSonic 1080p LED Monitor With HDMI -Refurbished-$135
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9to5Toys weekend roundup
9to5Toys has some pretty impressive daily deals today including:
- AOC 22″ 1080P LED DVI/VGA Monitor $100 shipped
- 3M Streaming Projector powered by Roku, projects up to 120″ $170 Shipped ($130 Savings)
- Seagate Backup Plus 4 TB USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive $150 Shipped ($50 Savings)
- The Sims Medieval (Mac / PC download) $8 (Save $12)
- Barnes & Noble NOOK HD/HD+, save up to 33%, starting at $150
- Apple iPad mini 16GB WiFi $299 or free $30 gift card w/ purchase
- Sony 32GB SDHC Class 10 Memory Card: $16 shipped
Dropcam HD WiFi video monitoring camera $121 shipped (20% off)- Onkyo HT-RC460 7.2-Channel Network A/V Receiver for $250, free store/$5 ship
- Kindle Fire HD $20 off for Mother’s Day: $179
- Colorful Retro Phone handsets for smartphones and tablets: $15
- iPods up to $25 off at Best Buy. MacBooks on sale too.
- Griffin Technology 25% off sitewide (Lightning cables, Mac accessories, cases)
- MacMall slashes SSDs incl.500GB Samsung 840:$349, 24″ Viewsonic Display: $135
- Apps: Grand Theft Auto Vice City: $2 (
$5), Tropico 3 Gold: $15 ($30), more - Bluetooth over ear Runway headphones $57
- Freebies! Audiobook converter
There are also some impressive Mac Software Bundles running this week including:
- $10 “Name your own price” bundle which includes Mac Blu-ray Player, Snapz Pro, Disk Tools, CrossOver, Paperless OCR, Gemini de-duper, more
- Mac SuperBundle: Parallels Desktop + 8 Mac Apps For $49
- The $49 Mac Productivity Bundle 4.0
Bookmark 9to5Toys.com (RSS, Facebook, Twitter or Email), Specials, and the new Daily Deals section for up to the second gear and deals.
Samsung goes back to Apple swiping with latest Galaxy S4 ad [Video]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DlXp41WwpOs
Some things you’ll never use. We missed these.
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Apple counts down to 50 billion app downloads with all-time best sellers, $10,000 gift card
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Apple’s doing another iTunes countdown, this time to the 50 billionth app downloaded. Along with the chance to win a $10,000 iTunes gift card, Apple also greets you with the all time most downloaded free and paid apps. Some interesting notes:
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Happy Hour by 9to5Mac: Now available in iTunes!
Happy Hour by 9to5Mac artwork by <a href="http://9to5mac.com/author/michaelsteeber/">Michael Steeber</a>
Introducing Happy Hour, a weekly 9to5Mac podcast that brings you an in-depth look at the top Apple scoops of the week. We’ll give you the insight behind the stories and our (potentially NSFW?) view of the wider Apple reporting world.
Host Scott Buscemi joins Seth Weintraub, Mark Gurman, and the rest of the 9to5Mac team. We’ll answer reader questions posted in comments to posts in the Happy Hour section. We’re even planning some special guests.
Join us every Friday at 5 p.m. for the live video broadcast and subscribe to the audio podcast in iTunes!
Don’t forget to check out our 9to5Mac YouTube channel for videos of past episodes and the latest video reviews.
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Not able to register for WWDC? Apple’s bringing the conference to you with Tech Talks 2013 Fall Tour
WWDC 2013 sold out in a matter of minutes likely cutting out a few developers who wanted to head to San Francisco for the show. For those who who missed out or who can’t make the trip to San Francisco, Apple will again be offering Tech Talks this Fall in a number of cities. (Apple will also be offering videos of WWDC session videos as they unfold.)
In 2011, Apple’s Tech Talk hit 9 cities though it is far from certain that Apple will be hitting the same places this time around:
iMac $125 off sale at Best Buy pushes new iMacs down to $1175 shipped (Update: Amazon matches)
From 9to5Toys.com
Find the best deals/buying advice at 9to5Mac.com/products
Update: As is often the case, Amazon has matched Best Buy (which could save some tax $)
Best Buy is taking $125 off all of their stock of iMacs for two days only. New iMacs now start at $1174.99 for the 21.5-inch variety and $1674.99 for the 27-inch variety shipped or site-to-store. These iMacs with super-slim profile were released late last year with low inventory and these are the deepest discounts we’ve seen.
More specials at Best Buy’s 2-Day sale.
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Get Mac Blu-ray Player, Snapz Pro, Disk Tools, CrossOver, Paperless OCR, Gemini de-duper, more: $9
From 9to5Toys.com:
We covered this earlier this week when it was under $7 but it bears repeating as the price is still under $10.
Usually, these ‘name your own price’ bundles are full of duds but this one is pretty impressive. You get Mac Blu-ray Player, Snapz Pro, Disk Tools, CrossOver, Paperless OCR, Gemini de-duper, MusicTube and more. There is a catch though. It isn’t really “name your own price”, it is pay a bit more than the last folks did. The good news is that it is currently under $9.17. The bad news is that the more people that buy, the higher the price goes, so get in quick.
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Apple expands Mac accessory line to over 4,700 US Radio Shacks
Radio Shack, a US retailler with over 4,700 US locations, has expanded its lineup of Apple products online and in stores. While Radio Shack has long carried iOS devices and accessories including Apple’s Wireless Keyboard, the retail chain is now offering Mac specific accessories including Wired keyboards, Mice/Trackpads, Magsafe power adapters, video adapter/cables and more. The additions were first noticed by MacRumors.
The move follows Apple’s addition of Staples to it’s stable earlier this year and the combined total of new places to find these items near 6,500 locations in the US. That’s a significant number of new physical locations for Apple customers to find products needed in a pinch.
As 9to5Toys.com points out, RadioShack is also offering $10 in store credit when you purchase $30 worth of pre-tax merchandise making many Radio Shack Apple products the lowest prices we could find them.
Google Babel to have iOS client at launch
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Google’s new Babel messaging platform is not only taking on a Hipchat-like Group messaging featureset, it also appears it will hit the iOS App Store at launch (which is looking like sooner rather than later for all of the code leaks). More at 9to5Google
Get Mac Blu-ray Player, Snapz Pro, Disk Tools, CrossOver, Paperless OCR, Gemini de-duper, more: $7
From 9to5Toys.com:
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Usually, these ‘name your own price’ bundles are full of duds but this one is pretty impressive. You get Mac Blu-ray Player, Snapz Pro, Disk Tools, CrossOver, Paperless OCR, Gemini de-duper, MusicTube and more. There is a catch though. It isn’t really “name your own price”, it is pay a bit more than the last folks did. The good news is that it is currently under $7. The bad news is that the more people that buy, the higher the price goes, so get in quick.
Update (9:50 ET) : It just went over $7…
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Apple Store now offers refurbed 5th-gen iPod touch starting at $249
From 9to5Toys.com:
Apple is now offering the refurbished 5th Generation iPod Touch for $249 (32GB) and $349 (64GB) in a variety of colors. The 17%/$50 discounts are the lowest we’ve seen (new ones at Best Buy and other retailers have hit as low as $270).
Apple refurbished products come with one year of AppleCare just like new products.
Laurene Powell Jobs talks about husband’s legacy, immigration reform
A nice way to look at the legacy all around.
Verizon unveils 1 year “Device Payment Plan” for yearly updaters, moves full subsidies to 24 months
Verizon announced a few notable changes this week, possibly in response to T-Mobile’s new ‘Uncarrier’ pricing structure.
The first change enforces 24-month contracts and restricts subsidized upgrades during that period. Customers will no longer enjoy ‘early upgrades’ after 20-months, as was previously the policy.
While the change may disappoint customers who enjoyed upgrading their devices more frequently, Verizon told The Verge that a new “Device Payment Plan” will be accompany the policy changes.
The new payment plan allows customers to upgrade their smartphone annually by paying the upgrade fee at the register and dividing the rest of the full-retail price over 12 months. This payment plan will include a $2/month finance charge through the duration of the year.
For people like us who update annually, this option is a more pragmatic approach, especially when vendors like Gazelle (as well as others) typically pay more than the subsidized cost of a new smartphone for last year’s smartphone.