While Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) Latest News about Apple stock price has been rocked by the frenzied selling on Wall Street, and as the United States is buffeted by wave after wave of financial uncertainty, there was one massive ray of hope and joy in the Apple world this week: The sometimes draconian company from Cupertino softened its stance on its nondisclosure agreement with Apple developers.
Meanwhile, Apple threatened the possibility of shuttering iTunes, and Mac lovers continue to chase after the elusive -- but on the way -- MacBook Pros.
Down with NDAs, Down with NDAs, Down with NDAs!
The astoundingly successful Apple iTunes App Store hasn't been perfect. Some third-party developers have been rejected for reasons unknown; others have been stuck in virtual purgatory waiting for responses from Apple, and still others have been cut off from finding alternate outlets for selling their iPhone wares. To make matters worse, under Apple's NDA agreements, they couldn't even talk about why they were rejected or even about how they built their own applications.
In a move rarely made by Apple, the company has changed its tune.
"We have decided to drop the nondisclosure agreement (NDA) for released iPhone software. We put the NDA in place because the iPhone OS includes many Apple inventions and innovations that we would like to protect, so that others don't steal our work. It has happened before. While we have filed for hundreds of patents on iPhone technology, the NDA added yet another level of protection. We put it in place as one more way to help protect the iPhone from being ripped off by others," Apple noted publicly on its Developer Connection Web site.
"However, the NDA has created too much of a burden on developers, authors and others interested in helping further the iPhone's success, so we are dropping it for released software," the company added.
"This is great news -- not just for the development of iPhone apps, but also to show that Apple can listen. Too much in the recent past it has given the impression that it is oblivious to the very valid complaints of its customers and developers -- but this move, together with the change on app reviews announced a few days ago shows Apple in a much better light," commented Hugh Jarse on the AppleInsider.com post on the subject.
More importantly, the new NDA will likely provide more openness among the iPhone development community.
"Apple's new NDA will make it much easier to those who are learning the platform to ask questions and receive answers in public forums, and it'll help bring in a new set of developers," Raven Zachary, an independent iPhone advisor and contributing analyst for The 451 Group, told MacNewsWorld.
"Now we can let people talk openly about the fundamentals of iPhone programming," he added, noting that Apple hasn't yet delivered the final details of the NDA, and that unreleased Apple software and features will remain under NDA.
Apple Threatens to Close iTunes
In a surprising turn of events this week, Fortune report that the Copyright Royalty Board in Washington, D.C., was going to rule on a request by the National Music Publishers' Association to amp up royalty payments to 15 US cents per track -- up from the existing 9.1 cents per track. Basically, the copyright holders of the songs, which are often the artists, would like to see better royalty payments.
The problem? Somebody has to pay for the extra cents, and Apple threw down the gauntlet, saying any such increase could cause iTunes to operate at a financial loss ... in which case Apple might have to discontinue operations. Of course, Apple isn't the only music seller that would have been affected, just the most dominant digital merchant. The warning was in the form of a written statement submitted to the Copyright Royalty Board.
Needless to say, many Apple lovers were aghast at the very idea.
"One side of me would be quite saddened by this, as the iTMS is a great way to get music legally," noted NewMacbookPlz on the MacRumors.com post on the subject. "On the other hand though, this would give the RIAA/NMPA a massive kick in the coinpouch and they would be forced to reform their ways."
If the biggest seller of legitimate music online suddenly stopped selling, it might very well lead to a massive increase in online piracy.
Others weren't overly concerned.
"I highly doubt Apple will close the iTunes store, as it would directly affect sales of their most popular consumer product: the iPod," commented Trajectory, adding, "Apple will just do what every other business does: raise the prices and get customers to pay the cost increases."
Still, isn't closing iTunes a pretty big threat?
"I suppose anything is possible, but on the other hand, maybe it would just close the music -- or the songs from the major labels. More to the point, there's still lots movies and TV shows to sell," Mike McGuire, a vice president of media research for Gartner (NYSE: IT) Latest News about Gartner, told MacNewsWorld.
"Although, there may also be a time where Apple looks around and says, 'You know, maybe consumers don't really care if songs are 10 cents more,'" he added.
Either way, the Copyright Royalty Board ruled Thursday, leaving the royalty rate at 9.1 cents per song.
Where Are Those MacBook Pros?
The frenzy for new MacBook Pros continues to keep traveling Mac users on the edge of their seats. The Cult of Mac blog posted some possibly leaked photos of new MacBook Pros, allegedly taken with a camera phone by an Apple employee. The pics show a two-tone case, glossy black on the top with a standard aluminum bottom. The keyboard is black (in the photo, at least) and the touchpad doesn't seem to be made of glass.
The source of the photo also sent a possible ad that shows off the purported MacBook Pro with this tagline: "A blend of beauty meets beastly power."
As Cult of Mac writer Leander Kahney pointed out, "That doesn't sound like Apple at all."
Still, "as far as the tag line not being like apple at all ... who would have thought they would use a line like "THE FUNNEST IPOD EVER" for the 2G iPod Touch ..." commented SCOTT on the Cult of Mac post.
Commenter Tice noted, "Muahaha!! Not even close! The frame of the display is way to thick. The touchpad in black? Come-on! And the ads text Pro, on-the-go. ??? This is so obviously fake!"
And MacSheikh summed up the issue best of all, "The two-tone design, if true (as pictured), is totally fugly."
Oh, one more thing: Current estimates still put Oct. 14 as the big day for possible (likely) MacBook Pro announcement from Apple.
From : http://www.technewsworld.com/
Meanwhile, Apple threatened the possibility of shuttering iTunes, and Mac lovers continue to chase after the elusive -- but on the way -- MacBook Pros.
Down with NDAs, Down with NDAs, Down with NDAs!
The astoundingly successful Apple iTunes App Store hasn't been perfect. Some third-party developers have been rejected for reasons unknown; others have been stuck in virtual purgatory waiting for responses from Apple, and still others have been cut off from finding alternate outlets for selling their iPhone wares. To make matters worse, under Apple's NDA agreements, they couldn't even talk about why they were rejected or even about how they built their own applications.
In a move rarely made by Apple, the company has changed its tune.
"We have decided to drop the nondisclosure agreement (NDA) for released iPhone software. We put the NDA in place because the iPhone OS includes many Apple inventions and innovations that we would like to protect, so that others don't steal our work. It has happened before. While we have filed for hundreds of patents on iPhone technology, the NDA added yet another level of protection. We put it in place as one more way to help protect the iPhone from being ripped off by others," Apple noted publicly on its Developer Connection Web site.
"However, the NDA has created too much of a burden on developers, authors and others interested in helping further the iPhone's success, so we are dropping it for released software," the company added.
"This is great news -- not just for the development of iPhone apps, but also to show that Apple can listen. Too much in the recent past it has given the impression that it is oblivious to the very valid complaints of its customers and developers -- but this move, together with the change on app reviews announced a few days ago shows Apple in a much better light," commented Hugh Jarse on the AppleInsider.com post on the subject.
More importantly, the new NDA will likely provide more openness among the iPhone development community.
"Apple's new NDA will make it much easier to those who are learning the platform to ask questions and receive answers in public forums, and it'll help bring in a new set of developers," Raven Zachary, an independent iPhone advisor and contributing analyst for The 451 Group, told MacNewsWorld.
"Now we can let people talk openly about the fundamentals of iPhone programming," he added, noting that Apple hasn't yet delivered the final details of the NDA, and that unreleased Apple software and features will remain under NDA.
Apple Threatens to Close iTunes
In a surprising turn of events this week, Fortune report that the Copyright Royalty Board in Washington, D.C., was going to rule on a request by the National Music Publishers' Association to amp up royalty payments to 15 US cents per track -- up from the existing 9.1 cents per track. Basically, the copyright holders of the songs, which are often the artists, would like to see better royalty payments.
The problem? Somebody has to pay for the extra cents, and Apple threw down the gauntlet, saying any such increase could cause iTunes to operate at a financial loss ... in which case Apple might have to discontinue operations. Of course, Apple isn't the only music seller that would have been affected, just the most dominant digital merchant. The warning was in the form of a written statement submitted to the Copyright Royalty Board.
Needless to say, many Apple lovers were aghast at the very idea.
"One side of me would be quite saddened by this, as the iTMS is a great way to get music legally," noted NewMacbookPlz on the MacRumors.com post on the subject. "On the other hand though, this would give the RIAA/NMPA a massive kick in the coinpouch and they would be forced to reform their ways."
If the biggest seller of legitimate music online suddenly stopped selling, it might very well lead to a massive increase in online piracy.
Others weren't overly concerned.
"I highly doubt Apple will close the iTunes store, as it would directly affect sales of their most popular consumer product: the iPod," commented Trajectory, adding, "Apple will just do what every other business does: raise the prices and get customers to pay the cost increases."
Still, isn't closing iTunes a pretty big threat?
"I suppose anything is possible, but on the other hand, maybe it would just close the music -- or the songs from the major labels. More to the point, there's still lots movies and TV shows to sell," Mike McGuire, a vice president of media research for Gartner (NYSE: IT) Latest News about Gartner, told MacNewsWorld.
"Although, there may also be a time where Apple looks around and says, 'You know, maybe consumers don't really care if songs are 10 cents more,'" he added.
Either way, the Copyright Royalty Board ruled Thursday, leaving the royalty rate at 9.1 cents per song.
Where Are Those MacBook Pros?
The frenzy for new MacBook Pros continues to keep traveling Mac users on the edge of their seats. The Cult of Mac blog posted some possibly leaked photos of new MacBook Pros, allegedly taken with a camera phone by an Apple employee. The pics show a two-tone case, glossy black on the top with a standard aluminum bottom. The keyboard is black (in the photo, at least) and the touchpad doesn't seem to be made of glass.
The source of the photo also sent a possible ad that shows off the purported MacBook Pro with this tagline: "A blend of beauty meets beastly power."
As Cult of Mac writer Leander Kahney pointed out, "That doesn't sound like Apple at all."
Still, "as far as the tag line not being like apple at all ... who would have thought they would use a line like "THE FUNNEST IPOD EVER" for the 2G iPod Touch ..." commented SCOTT on the Cult of Mac post.
Commenter Tice noted, "Muahaha!! Not even close! The frame of the display is way to thick. The touchpad in black? Come-on! And the ads text Pro, on-the-go. ??? This is so obviously fake!"
And MacSheikh summed up the issue best of all, "The two-tone design, if true (as pictured), is totally fugly."
Oh, one more thing: Current estimates still put Oct. 14 as the big day for possible (likely) MacBook Pro announcement from Apple.
From : http://www.technewsworld.com/
