Apple unveils groundbreaking new MacBook Pro

Cupertino, California — Apple today introduced the thinnest and lightest MacBook Pro ever, along with a breakthrough interface that replaces the traditional row of function keys with a brilliant, Retina-quality Multi-Touch display called the Touch Bar. The new MacBook Pro features Apple’s brightest and most colorful Retina display yet, the security and convenience of Touch ID, a more responsive keyboard, a larger Force Touch trackpad and an audio system with double the dynamic range. It’s also the most powerful MacBook Pro ever, featuring sixth-generation quad-core and dual-core processors, up to 2.3 times the graphics performance over the previous generation, super-fast SSDs and up to four Thunderbolt 3 ports.

iFixit tears apart Apple's new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro

It's only been a couple of days since Apple released its shiny new MacBook Pros and iFixit has already torn them apart, in more ways than one. Just like its older sibling, the new 13-inch Retina notebook didn't perform that well on the repairability scale, scoring a one out of 10 -- dropping one point from its predecessor's less than impressive two. That's largely down to the same restrictions as before: a glued battery that has been positioned to cover important screws, a Retina display that is fused inside a whole unit, soldered RAM and a non-standard SSD drive. Apple's also reduced the size of the battery, relying on Intel's Haswell processor and Mavericks' improved power management to boost battery life. The same fate befalls the 15-inch model, meaning it'll be almost impossible to upgrade either of Apple's latest notebooks when they start suffering from the effects of entropy.

Source: iFixit (13-inch MacBook Pro), iFixit (15-inch MacBook Pro)

Aperture 3.5 supports iCloud Photo Sharing, uses Apple Maps for Places

You can add one more thing to Apple's list of new hardware and software upgrade announcements: the latest iteration of Aperture. Version 3.5 brings a handful of new features to the OS X app, including iCloud Photo Sharing support that lets you access (or give access to) shared image or video streams. In addition to that, Aperture's Places feature now uses Apple Maps to pinpoint locations where photos are taken -- not a huge surprise considering OS X Mavericks has Cupertino's map app baked right in. The upgraded app can also recognize and support iOS 7 image filters, upload videos up to three minutes long to Flickr and sync with a SmugMug image hosting account. All these features come free along with a barrel of bug fixes, so long as you have Aperture version 3.0 -- otherwise, the app's available on iTunes for $80.

Source: Mac App Store

LinkedIn unveils new iPad app with a fresh look, improved feed and better search

LinkedIn launched its first iPad app in April of 2012, and today the company has revealed its latest version for Apple slates. The new app's changes revolve mostly around an improved feed interface. Aside from gaining a kind of card interface that's all the rage in mobile UI design these days, the feed now incorporates influencer posts and photos and embedded videos can be viewed in all their glory in the feed. Interacting with individual posts (liking, sharing, etc.) can now all be done directly from the feed via a horizontal swipe within each post, which reveals your options for those interactions. Additionally, search function has improved, so now users can look for jobs, people, groups and companies from one convenient place. The app also brings new top-level navigation in the form of a horizontal scrolling carousel that houses personalized categories and items that populate based upon your usage. Sound good? The new app will be available later today in the App Store, but in the meantime, you can read more about it at the source.

Source: LinkedIn blog

Flash Player now sandboxed for Safari users running OS X Mavericks

If you rushed to upgrade your Mac to OS X Mavericks, congratulations -- you've just taken a big step forward in web security. Adobe has confirmed that Flash Player is now sandboxed in Safari for Mavericks users, preventing Flash-based malware from accessing code and resources beyond Apple's browser. The company is taking special advantage of OS X's new app sandboxing feature, which also minimizes the security risks for other plugins and programs. Safari is undoubtedly late to the party when Flash has been sandboxed for a while in both Chrome and Firefox, but we won't knock an upgrade that neuters many potential security exploits.

Source: Adobe

Stats suggest plastic iPhone 5c is catching up with its prettier sibling

After a couple of high-profile reports about how the plastic iPhone isn't faring too well in the laser-cut shadow of the iPhone 5s, here's a bit of evidence to the contrary. It comes courtesy of stat collectors at an app marketing platform called Localytics, who claim they've spotted a distinct upwards trend in the number of Americans using a 5c relative to a 5s. Whereas usage of the flagship metal iPhone was 3.4x higher during the launch weekend, this ratio has drifted down to 1.9x one month later, suggesting that a secondary wave of not-so-early adopters is happy to give the cheaper model a bit more consideration. Of course, these ratios don't tell us anything about absolute sales figures for either handset -- we'll have to wait on first-hand info from carriers or from Apple itself (perhaps as part of today's event) before we know those.

Source: Localytics

US Cellular finally gets the iPhone 5c and 5s on November 8th

If you've loyally stuck by US Cellular in the hopes of getting an iPhone 5c or iPhone 5s, your patience is about to pay off. On November 8th, the regional carrier will start selling Apple's incredibly popular new phones. The company didn't say for how much or what colors will be available, but we've reached out to the carrier and will of course let you know if we hear back.

Source: US Cellular

Camera showdown: iPhone 5s vs. iPhone 5 tested in the wilds of Patagonia

One of our favorite travel photogs, Austin Mann, snapped up an iPhone 5 and flew to Iceland last year in order to pit Apple's latest flagship against its prior king in a bitterly cold camera test. This year, Mr. Mann hopped a flight down to Patagonia in order to pit the iPhone 5s' sensor against that of the 5. One of the more remarkable findings was the dynamic exposure applied to panoramas with the 5s; in his testing, pans that involved dark and light subjects were accounted for properly without the use of HDR. The result was a far more evenly lit panoramic image, whereas prior iPhone cameras tended to blow out a portion of the image to compensate for another portion.

U-Verse adds live TV streaming via web and iPad now; iPhone and Android later

Following the lead of several other TV providers, AT&T U-verse has launched internet streaming for some of the channels it carries. Subscribers can tune into up to 108 channels while at home, and about 25 while away from home either on Uverse.com or on the U-verse for iPad app. The new iPad app launched on September 30th and Uverse.com streaming went live on the 4th. A support document posted on the AT&T forums indicates it will come to the iPhone app on October 16th, with support following for Android phones and tablets on the 21st. Conveniently, the old U-verse Live TV service from AT&T's mobile unit has already been renamed to Mobile TV, clearing any possible confusion.

Apple and AT&T settle class action for unlimited data claim of original iPad

Another day, another lawsuit finally drawing to a close. This time, a judge has approved a settlement for a class-action lawsuit filed against Apple and AT&T, based on the unlimited data claims of the original iPad that were later withdrawn by AT&T. So, if you bought a 3G iPad before June 7th, 2010, you'll get a $40 payout from Apple, even if you stand among AT&T's grandfathered customers. Meanwhile, if you purchased the original 3G iPad but didn't get a mobile plan, you're also eligible for a $20 / month discount for up to a year under the carrier's current $50 offering. The toddler-aged class action was born out of affected customers' frustration over the change and the belief that they overpaid for their devices as a result. Unfortunately, the ruling won't be finalized until February 2014, so don't expect to hear from Apple about the payout -- or plan a modest $40 dinner for two -- until then.

Via: GigaOM
Source: Law360, Scribd

Baseball's beacon trials hint at Apple's location revolution

As we neared the threshold of the gates in front of the walkway to the home of the New York Mets, a message popped up on developer Chad Evans' space-gray iPhone 5S.
"Welcome to Citi Field."
After a few more paces, we encountered the famed Mets Home Run Apple in front of the stadium. Evans moved his iPhone 5S near a sign by the landmark, and a video popped up detailing its history.

MLB to use iOS 7's iBeacon for pointing out sights (and seats) in stadiums

Major League Baseball is becoming very iPhone-friendly: it gave iOS 6 users Passbook ticketing this season, and it's now planning a treat for iOS 7 users. A 2014 update to MLB's At the Ballpark app will use iOS 7's iBeacon feature to guide sports fans as they pass by low-power Bluetooth transmitters in the stadium. Enter the ballpark and you'll get seat directions; visit specific points and you may get coupons or highlight videos. Only the New York Mets are testing the feature at Citi Field, but the league believes that other teams are likely to follow suit.
 
Source: Mashable

Apple's iPhone 5S in-store pickup said to resume next week

Shortly after the iPhone 5S launched, customers had the option to reserve one through Apple's Web store or its store app, and pick it up later at one of the company's retail stores. But after just a day, Apple yanked away the option.

How to get the most money for your old smartphone

For many people, it’s phone-buying season—in the past month or two, Apple, Motorola, Nokia, and Samsung have all released hot new phones. If your old phone is gathering dust in a drawer somewhere and you don’t have a use for it aside from “paperweight,” you might as well sell it and get something for it.
You have a few options for selling your phone: You can either sell it yourself through a site such as Craigslist or eBay, or you can use a buyback service like Gazelle or Glyde, and make your old phone someone else’s problem. Here’s what you need to know before you put your old phone on the market.