Edible Apple

While Steve Jobs can command a room and deliver a speech like no other, he’s prone to making mistakes just like anybody else.  But ever since his memorable and powerful introduction of the iPhone at Macworld in January of 2007, Jobs has taken on an aura of superhuman proportions.  But the Mac faithful know that Jobs’ presentations throughout the years haven’t all been flawless masterpieces.  Sometimes hardware fails and software demos freeze up, and sometimes Jobs will even admit that he has no idea what he’s talking about.

So for your enjoyment, take a look at this collection of Apple Keynote bloopers.

Yesterday we reported that Apple’s use of NVIDIA graphics chips in its products might soon be coming to an end after reports that NVIDIA demands during contract negotiations with Apple were so outrageous that Apple effectively kicked them to the curb.  In the past, NVIDIA chips have been at the forefront of a number of overheating and failure issues in Apple’s line of MacBooks.  Most recently, problems with the new MacBook Pro’s graphics chipset forced Apple to extend the warranty on the notebooks to 3 years.

Now, Fudzilla is reporting, citing “industry sources close to NVIDIA” that the 2 companies aren’t on the outs, and that NVIDIA will continue to supply Apple with graphics chips for the foreseeable future.

We spoke to industry sources close to Nvidia and got clear confirmation that the Nvidia-Apple relationship is doing just fine.

Apple is still buying Nvidia notebook chips and chipsets and nothing has changed in the last few weeks. Nvidia and Jensen himself have a lot of respect for fuss maker Apple, and therefore this relationship has top priority for Nvidia people.

Of course, would NVIDIA ever admit to making outrageous contract demands and being at odds with Apple?

At approximately 10 am ET, a male gunman opened fire in an Apple Store in Arlington, Virginia after an apparent failed robbery attempt.  Customers reported hearing what were later deemed to be gunshots coming from a back room in the store, and the suspect was subsequently spotted escaping from a back exit.

So far Police are confirming that one person has been injured, having been shot in the shoulder and subsequently transported to a nearby hospital.  Police are now using helicopters and Police dogs to scour the area for the as of yet unidentified suspect who was noted to be wearing a fake beard.

Update: The injured person was a 26 year old female Apple employee.

Developing…

Cult of Mac directs us to this pretty funny drawing that riffs on recent reports that the new white iPhone 3GS is prone to overheating.  So instead of bitching about it, why not put some kabobs on that bad boy instead?  Sounds good to us!

Work done by illustrator Chad Covino.

Check out the first music video shot entirely with an iPhone 3GS, Technologic Overkill by XFYA. Not too shabby.

Apple took a notoriously long time to implement ‘copy and paste’ onto the iPhone, with many pundits shouting that it should have been included from the get go.  Apple, in response, has stated that it was looking for the most suitable implementation, and wanted to wait until it could do it right before introducing it at all.

With that in mind, Lukas Mathis of Ignore the Code has an interesting post up which details the design mindset which went into Apple’s implementation of “copy and paste.”

Quasimodes require the user to do several things at the same time, such as holding down the Shift key while typing. Modes, on the other hand, allow users to do things sequentially - hit Caps Lock, type, hit Caps Lock again. Sequential actions, especially if guided well, are often easier to execute than parallel actions.

Additionally, the iPhone has very limited input mechanisms. Basically, the user interacts with most applications by touching the screen. While the iPhone can accept multiple touches at the same time, requiring multitouch interaction is often a poor idea. It makes it impossible to use the app with only one hand, it forces the user to obstruct larger parts of the screen, and it requires precise, coordinated user input.

The iPhone, of course, lets users access ‘copy and paste’ commands with only one finger.  In contrast, the Palm Pre requires users to press down on the “shift” key at the same time that they drag their finger over the desired area of text.  In terms of simplicity and usability, the iPhone’s implementation seems much more fluid and convenient.

You can check out the article in its entirety over here.   It’s well worth a look if you’re into UI design.

via ignorethecode via DF

Nearly 2 weeks ago, O2, Apple’s iPhone provider in the UK, stated that sales of the iPhone 3GS on launch day had, by noon, already exceeded sales of the original iPhone 3G.  Now, almost 2 weeks later, it appears that the high demand for Apple’s latest iPhone still hasn’t subsided.

Late last week, O2 noted on their website that they are completely, and currently, out of stock of the new iPhone 3GS.

If Apple had a website in 1983, it might have looked a little something like this.  Click to enlarge the picture.

A number of patent applications from Apple were made public today, but we feel the most interesting, by far, is its application for implementing a form of haptic feedback on the touchscreen iPhone and iPod Touch.

In the application, Apple concedes that the touchscreen used on the iPhone has its shortcomings in regards to haptic feedback, and that there exist a number of real-world situations where a button enabled device would be preferable.

However, one of a touchscreen’s biggest advantages (i.e., the ability to utilize the same physical space for different functions) is also one of a touchscreen’s biggest disadvantages. When the user is unable to view the display (because the user is occupied with other tasks), the user can only feel the smooth, hard surface of the touchscreen, regardless of the shape, size and location of the virtual buttons and/or other display elements. This makes it difficult for users to find icons, hyperlinks, textboxes, or other user-selectable input elements that are being displayed, if any are even being displayed, without looking at the display. But, in some instances, it may be inconvenient, or even dangerous, for the user to look at the display. Unless touch input components are improved, users that, for example, drive a motor vehicle, may avoid devices that have a touch input component and favor those that have a plurality of physical input components (e.g., buttons, wheels, etc.). The present invention improves on nearly all kinds of touch input components that are used in conjunction with a display screen.

MacRumors aptly sums up Apple’s proposed solution nicely:

The proposed solution is the adoption of “haptic” display technologies which allow for some tactile feedback from touch screen displays. Apple proposes including a grid of piezoelectronic actuators that can be activated on command. By fluctuating the frequency of these actuators, the user will “feel” different surfaces as their finger moves across it. As an example, a display could include a virtual click wheel which vibrates at a different frequency as the center. Users could easily sense the difference and use the click wheel without having to look at it.

Interesting, for sure.

The Loop reports:

The Loop has confirmed that if your iPhone has a broken screen and you take it to an Apple retail relocation, they have the capability to fix it on the spot. The machine (think big suction cup), which is located out of customer view in the back of the store, reportedly separates the iPhone from the screen, allowing a new one to be installed.

Of course, your screen doesn’t have to be completely smashed to need some sort of replacement done. Some users have reported dust particles on the inside of the screen as well.

MacDailyNews has obtained an internal AT&T email which sheds some light on just how successful the iPhone 3GS launch was for Ma Bell.  Not only did sales of the iPhone 3GS on launch day surpass first day sales of the original iPhone 3G last year, it had already surpassed it by noon Central Time.

1. Fact of the Week: On June 25, the day Michael Jackson died, text messages sent on our network spiked at 65,000 messages per second — the largest volume ever recorded — surpassing events like American Idol voting and New Year’s Eve, when millions of our customers wish their friends and family a happy new year via text.”

2. “iLaunch day 2009 was one for the record books, as AT∓T customers scrambled to get their hands on the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet.

Here’s a look at some of the milestones we achieved:

* Best-ever sales day in our retail stores
* Second-largest traffic day in our retail stores
* Most transactions processed via our IT systems in a single day
* Most upgrade eligibility checks in a single day
* Largest order day in att.com history
* Largest features sales day in att.com history

On this year’s launch day, iPhone sales exceeded sales recorded on 2008’s iPhone launch day, Black Friday 2008 and Dec. 26, 2008 — all heavy-volume sales days. In fact, this year we surpassed 2008’s launch day sales at about noon Central time, and sustained our previous peak hour record, also set in 2008, for 11 straight hours.

Say what you will about Psystar, but you can’t deny that they have balls.  Hot on the heels of their bankruptcy filing and yet another court defeat to Apple, Psystar recently unveiled a new Nehalem-based Mac clone for $1,499, a setup it touts as as its fastest and quietest configuration to date.

And in an effort to show that they’ve been unfazed by Apple’s legal sniper scope as of late, they recently distributed an e-mail newsletter in attempt to alleviate concerns that they were going under anytime soon or would fold under mounting legal and financial pressure.

As you all may already be aware, in late May Psystar filed for Chapter 11 protection. Although this was critical to our continued daily operations, we now are ready to emerge and again battle Goliath.

Wow, these guys just don’t know how to quit, even if their legal arguments are baseless and their tactics somewhat questionable, if not downright shady.

Psystar ended the email with a little jab at Apple, noting that “When life gives you apples, make applesauce.”

Related: Psystar refuses to divulge financial information to Apple, and what it might be trying to hide