Angry Birds maker Rovio chooses a new CEO to succeed longtime boss in 2015 | GamesBeat | Games | by Dean Takahashi: "Mikael Hed has passed the hoodie. The chief executive of Rovio Entertainment, the maker of the iconic mobile game Angry Birds, will turn over the top job at the company in 2015 to Pekka Rantala. Hed has run the Espoo, Finland-based company for the past five years, helping to turn Angry Birds into a global phenomenon. The CEO changeover happens Jan. 1, 2015."

As much as I enjoy twiddling with Angry Birds, this is a sign of the fallout in the new dot com bubble.

Labels: android vs ios, angry birds

Document claims to detail 'Phosphorus,' a mysterious chip for Apple's 'iPhone 6' [u]: "Last year, Apple introduced the M7 coprocessor as part of the A7 system-on-a-chip inside the iPhone 5s, allowing battery-efficient motion tracking. This year's 'A8' chip may also feature an improved 'M8' motion sensor, according to the latest alleged 'iPhone 6' schematic, published on Monday through Geek Bar's Weibo account and spotlighted by G for Games."

Mocopro!

There are almost 19,000 distinct Android-running devices in the wild | 9to5Google: "There’s always been much debate over whether or not the intense fragmentation of the Android ecosystem is a good thing, but I think the latest Android fragmentation report from OpenSignal puts it best: ‘Fragmentation is both a strength and weakness of the Android ecosystem, a headache for developers that also provides the basis for Android’s global reach.’ "

It's a strength. iOS has plenty of form factors and things to check. Probably not nearly as many.

Labels: ios vs android

Samsung puts 'wall hugger' ads on airport power outlets, takes Apple mockery to next level: "As part of its ongoing Apple-bashing campaign, Samsung recently took their 'wall hugger' message to major airports, cleverly buying ad space around power outlets where iPhone users apparently congregate. "

Personally, with the iPod 5G, it was iOS 7 that destroyed the amazing power management. These days, my iPod 5G is practically tethered to a wall outlet.

Labels: ipod

Apple ignores calls to fix 2011 MacBook Pro failures as problem grows: "Affected MacBook Pro owners have taken to Apple's Support Communities forum, with one of the longer threads racking up well over one million views and 7,611 replies since February 2013. Others have signed a Change.org petition asking Apple CEO Tim Cook and SVP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi to fix or replace MacBook Pro units subject to the 'manufacturing defect.' With 7,920 supporters, the petition needs another 2,080 signatures to reach its goal. "

For those of you unfamiliar with the history of the American automobile industry, Apple has of late, adopted the policy of "planned obsolescence" in order to get users to buy new hardware. After all, they give the software away for free. If anything, old Macs are "too reliable". My 2001 TiBook still runs well (last time I checked). Once replaced the non-volatile RAM battery. Other than that, probably would scream with a SSD drive.

Personally, my 2011 MacBook Pro is toast. Cosmetically, it's flawless. But it's unreliable. Contrast that with my 2006 17" first edition right off the line from China after the switch from PowerPC. Again, this machine works perfectly. I do plan to put a SSD drive in it, even if only to run Snow Leopard.

Labels: APPL

Alleged iPhone 6 backplate appears in new, high-resolution leaked photos | 9to5Mac: "New photos of the iPhone 6 surfaced tonight from Sonny Dickson that appear to show the backplate of the upcoming iPhone 6.  Dickson says that these photos were obtained from a source with access to the part, and they do appear to be legitimate."

TrueTone. Sounds like a guitar from the 1930s.

Labels: iphone6

Microsoft no longer dissing the iPad in Surface ads, now dissing the MacBook Air | 9to5Mac
Oh dear. Just when we thought Microsoft might have gotten over its misleading Surface tablet ads attacking the iPad (and iPad mini), it has run three new ones, each attacking the MacBook Air (the other two are shown below the fold).

One thing is sure: whatever Microsoft says about Pads and Airs, Microsoft's strategy of supporting older applications written for Win32 is always going to be a compelling factor for the device. Apple seems bent on alienating all 3rd party developers and older hardware owners with a "too-bad, doesn't run anymore, buy a new app and a new computer" strategy.

Can we interest you in a new iPad that runs millions of apps which really don't do anything functional? But are really fun to play with? At least until the next version of iOS comes out and breaks them.

For better or for worse, I have Win32 apps that I wrote in the early 90s that still boot up and run on Windows. Sounds irrelevant until you consider the massive number of companies that invested in developing in-house Win32 solutions over the past 20 years. Think they want to port to Swift so their software can run for 3-6 years? Ostrich head in the sand.

New images provide clearest look yet at iPhone 6 front panel | 9to5Mac
Images of what appears to be the face and screen assembly of the next iPhone have appeared on the Taiwanese blog AppleClub [translation]. In the photos, you can see both the inside and outside of the 4.7″ device’s front panel. For the most part it looks just like the current-generation iPhone 5s, though it’s obviously much larger

iPhone 6 coming quite very soon.

Labels: iphone6

Skype temporarily ends support for Macs running OS X 10.5.8 and below [u]: "Confirming reports that Skype no longer works with older versions of Apple's OS X, Microsoft on Thursday announced it has ended support for Macs running OS X 10.5.8 Leopard or earlier in Skype's most recent version, though a Leopard-specific variant is on the way."

That's no problem because Apple doesn't support them either.

Labels: apple

Apple reportedly schedules new iPhone event for Sept. 9 | 9to5Mac: "While an event in the second week of September would line up nicely with past iPhone unveilings, there is still no confirmation on what exactly we’ll be seeing at the event. It looks like Apple has put the wheels in motion for scheduling the event, but it doesn’t appear that press has received invites or any confirmation from Apple."

The rumor mill speaketh.

Labels: apple

Apple awarded patent for magnetic power that could wirelessly energize keyboards & mice
AppleInsider was first to discover that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has officially granted Apple U.S. Patent No. 8,796,885, entitled "Combining Power from Multiple Resonance Magnetic Receivers in Resonance Magnetic Power System." The invention describes a system that would use wireless near-field magnetic resonance, or NFMR, to transmit power.

Apparently, it only took 100 years for Tesla's ideas to catch on. I'm referring to Nikolai Tesla, not the car.

Labels: tesla

MacBook sticker sellers see sizable sales surge after Apple's 'Stickers' ad airs: "At least one web-based shop, The Decal Guru, recorded an eight-fold increase in unique visitors to go along with a quadrupling of sales. Independent sellers on Etsy's marketplace have seen similar boosts, according to MacStories."

Nothing like the fart of an 800 pound Gorilla to steam up the jungle. Even the little creatures get a waft.

Labels: aapl