05/01, 10:52am
Vine now supports front-facing cameras
Vine, the six-second video sharing service from Twitter, has undergone its first major upgrade and now offers support for the iPhone's front-facing camera and Twitter mentions in posts and comments. Vine's launch in January was tainted by a major security glitch that resulted in some users being logged into the wrong account. However, after a few patches the issues where sorted out and quickly grew in popularity. While currently limited to iOS devices, an Android version is in the works and is said to include the ability to tag friends to a clip.
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04/30, 9:07pm
Long-term exclusive deal with Apple nixed by new deal
Hewlett Packard announced today that it was awarded a four-year hardware and services contract by the Maine Department of Education. The Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI) award effectively ends the state's long-running exclusive contract with Apple, which was in place since 2002. The program will ensure each student in the school system is equipped with a computing device, an underpinning of the initiative since it was founded by then-Governor Angus King in 2001.
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04/29, 9:24am
Executive shares business tips with alma mater
Apple CEO Tim Cook spent both Friday and Saturday this weekend at Duke University, accounts note. The executive sat down to talk as part of a "Real Conversations with Real Leaders" session at the Fuqua School of Business. Cook is said to have shared business advice with the audience in attendance at his alma mater.
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04/23, 2:29am
Apple to sponsor Lennor 'tour bus,' educational music clinics
Apple is now sponsoring the long-running "John Lennon Educational Tour Bus," a mobile audio and video studio on wheels that tours educational institutions, encouraging students to explore and produce their own music with free songwriting, recording and multimedia production workshops. Using Macs on board to help with production, children write, perform and record original music and produce music videos with the assistance of three on-board engineers. Most recently seen in Phoenix AZ last weekend, the bus is scheduled to be in Gulf Shores AL as part of the Hangout Music Festival. The non-profit organization has its own App Store iOS app (free) as well.
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04/16, 1:14pm
Budget student notebook includes Windows, Ubuntu OS options
Dell has introduced a new budget notebook aimed at students and businesses, as well as a storage system for the education market. The Latitude 3330 is a lightweight notebook with a 13.3-inch, 1,366x768-resolution display, while the new Mobile Computing Cart can be used to securely store and transport up to 30 notebooks at the same time.
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04/11, 12:29pm
MAX renamed Creativity Conference
Adobe has announced a new focus for its upcoming MAX Creativity Conference, which will now look to explore the ideas,inspirations, and technologies that push the boundaries of creative thinking. Scheduled from May 4 through 8 at the Los Angeles Convention Center and Nokia Theatre, the conference will feature a lineup of keynotes, luminary sessions, and training workshops from industry specialists. Anyone interested in attending can find more information on conference's official website.
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03/19, 6:00pm
Will complement existing notebook coverage for middle schools
The small suburban village of Barrington IL, just northwest of Chicago, has approved a plan to equip all of its high school students with MacBook Air models over the course of the next school year. After researching other options, a committee of teachers and administrators recommended the Air as the best option for the intended age group. Though the board has not yet finalized the funding required, it gave its approval to the request and said it would find the money for the initiative, which will cover some 600 students.
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03/11, 2:50pm
Free 3-month offer extendable by Facebook sharing
Microsoft is offering students in US colleges access to the educational version of Office 365 at no charge. The free three months of access Office 365 University, doubled to six months after sharing the offer on Facebook, also includes an extra 20GB allocation of SkyDrive cloud-based storage and 60 minutes of Skype calls each month.
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03/05, 6:55pm
New model offers more RAM, storage; costs $100 more
Apple, which has only just this week seen its ability to supply new iMac models match its ability to produce them, is now offering an education version of the current 21.5-inch iMac to schools and universities. The new model includes most of the same features as the base consumer iMac, but uses a dual-core Intel i3 processor rather than a quad-core i5, and the Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics chipset rather than a discrete card. It is also $100 more expensive than the previous educational iMac version, but features doubled storage capacity and RAM in exchange.
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02/28, 10:03am
Says most downloads happening outside US
(Updated with Apple quote on iPad sales) Over 1 billion downloads have been made through iTunes U, Apple has announced. The service, a subset of iTunes, includes books, coursework, and podcasts, many of which are free to the public. Apple says that it has over 1,200 universities and colleges participating, and about the same number of K-12 institutions. In all, over 2,500 public courses are available, along with "thousands" of private ones.
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02/22, 11:49am
MacTech Office accreditation program
MacTech has announced that it will now be offering a new Microsoft Office for Mac accreditation program. The half day course will be offered the day before each MacTech BootCamp II in 2013 and includes information on both Microsoft Office for Mac and Microsoft Office 365. At the end of the course, attendees will be evaluated on the content presented, and those who demonstrate sufficient knowledge will become a "Microsoft Office for Mac Accredited Support Professional." This accreditation includes an official certificate from Microsoft, as well as an accreditation graphic for use on web sites.
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02/20, 3:05pm
Full interview for BBC show 'Blue Peter' now available
Sir Jonathan Ive, the head of design at Apple and the recent winner of an honor from UK children's television institution Blue Peter gave the program a rare look inside his work area, along with a brief interview that points out how carefully the designer thinks about every aspect of a design question. Also included in the video, which has now made its way to YouTube, is a rare look at an aluminum molding machine in Ive's lab, and some product designs from viewers.
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02/18, 2:40pm
Major tech companies wield influence on American government
Google increased the amount it spent on lobbying the US government 90 percent year-over-year in 2012, according to data compiled by Fortune. The company ended up spending $18.22 million, easily beating out any other American technology firm. Microsoft, in fact, came in second place with $8.09 million, despite likewise increasing its spending. Other major tech businesses that funneled more money toward lobbying last year included HP, Facebook, and Amazon.
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01/30, 11:12am
Culpability depends on which trips were paid for
Apple could be guilty of trying to bribe Russian officials through a seminar in London, according to Russian news agency Regnum. The service says that Apple is organizing a week-long event during which Russian regional ministers of education and other officials, responsible for public purchases, will be familiarized with Apple products. People participating in the event will stay in downtown London, and visit Apple Stores outside customer hours.
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01/29, 3:26pm
Donation to help encourage students to start programming
Schools in the United Kingdom will be receiving free Raspberry Pi Model B boards, courtesy of Google. The grant from Google Giving will help provide the schools around 15,000 units of the low-cost micro computer, in a bid to encourage more students to take up computer programming, and to encourage change in the way computing classes are currently taught.
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01/23, 12:22pm
$65,000 to cover tablets, projectors
The Boston Globe has announced plans to use iPads as part of its Newspaper in Education program. A pilot initiative will see $65,000 in vacation donation funds from Globe subscribers pay for 75 iPads, plus projectors. 50 tablets will go to Boston Public Schools, while the remaining 25 will be assigned to Stoneham High School.
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01/21, 5:43pm
Singer will talk tech, film duo will detail jOBS experience
Although Apple no longer attends the show, the annual Macworld/iWorld convention in San Francisco carries on, with lots of vendors hawking the latest wares, presentations and courses for attendees to take in, and more often than not some well-known names in the Mac and iOS communities. Macworld announced on Monday that the stars of the independent biopic jOBS, Ashton Kutcher and Josh Gad, will headline a panel at the show, while rock star Will.i.am will give a talk on technology and his latest iOS products.
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01/17, 12:22pm
Similar hardware to Windows-based ThinkPad counterpart
Lenovo has updated its ThinkPad line with a notebook running Chrome OS aimed at students and educational staff. The ThinkPad X131e Chromebook is effectively the same as the Windows-based version, except that the option for an AMD E-series processor is no longer available, instead replaced by an Intel-based counterpart.
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01/15, 11:43am
Grants small discounts toward Macs and iPads
Apple has begun the Australian and New Zealand editions of its annual Back to School promotion. In Australia, students, school staff, and parents of students can get a $100 AU gift card with the purchase of a Mac, or a $50 AU card with an iPad with a Retina display. The New Zealand promotion is similar, simply adjusting the cards to $125 NZ and $65 NZ, respectively. The cards can only be used towards apps, books, movies, and music on iTunes.
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01/13, 6:35pm
Sales figures suggest close to millionth unit milestone
The Raspberry Pi micro computer has sold at least 500,000 units since launch, and could have reached the million-unit mark, according to sales figures. Numbers released by Element 14 (Premier Farnell) has confirmed that the hobbyist and low-cost computer system has passed the half-million barrier, while previous figures from the other distributor, RS Components, suggest it may have already passed the millionth shipped sale.
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01/08, 1:48am
Belkin offers 'home theater' slipcase speaker stand for iPad
Among the many goodies to be found at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Electronista spotted the Belkin Thunderstorm Handheld Home Theater speaker stand ($200). It combines a folio-style iPad case with front-facing speakers and features a free app to help customize the sound to different kinds of media. The case will be available both in 30-pin and Lightning connector styles, with the latter becoming available in the spring. The unit turns an iPad into a 9.7-inch landscape HD cinema and offers pass-trough access to the rear camera, mic, headset jack and other controls.
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12/10, 4:32pm
Google partners with DonorsChoose.org for school promotion
Google announced a partnership today that will see the search giant working with DonorsChoose.org to provide Chromebooks at a special, discounted rate for teachers in budget-strapped classrooms. Under the new program, Google and DonorsChoose.org will be providing the Samsung Series 5 Chromebook for $99. That cost will include hardware, management, and support.
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11/13, 8:30pm
Sections for Mac, iPhone, iPod, iPad accessories
Apple has added their annual Holiday Gift Guide to their website. The virtual catalog includes both Apple and non-Apple products, accessories built around the Mac, iPhone, iPad and iPod ecosystems. Though prices are unchanged from normal retail, the listing serves as a showcase for new and interesting products that complement Apple's core devices. This year, a number of devices get promoted across sections--including the Apple TV, and Contour+2 HD mountable sports video camera.
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10/29, 11:20am
Virtual Human Body now Universal app
QA International has launched an update for its Virtual Human Body app that adds support for the iPhone and iPod touch. Originally released as an iPad app last December, version 1.4 has been optimized for use on the iPhone, including support for the iPhone 5's larger display. With the Virtual Human Body, users can navigate through the 11 systems and structures of the human body, such as the skeleton, the nervous system, and the respiratory system. The Virtual Human Body is available as a $5 purchase from the App Store.
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10/23, 6:16am
Mid-80s film chronicles create of NeXT
A little-seen documentary focusing on Steve Jobs in the mid-80s, after his departure from Apple and during the period when he was building NeXT, has been posted to YouTube by the original filmmaker. The film (called Steve Jobs: Keeper of the Vision) covers the areas of building the company that Jobs thought important, including the creation of the NeXT logo, mission statement and how the company was run. The 20-minute film covers only the first six months of NeXT's existence, and shows the company in its formative stages.
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10/22, 7:56pm
Central American countries added, Portuguese language support
Late on Monday and ahead of its media event tomorrow that is said to include updates to iBooks and possibly iBooks Author, Apple has opened the iBookstore in a slew of new countries, almost entirely in Central and South America (along with New Zealand). The media event, expected to introduce the "iPad mini" and perhaps other new products, has been rumored to include an update to the company's educational efforts and may indicate that the smaller iPad is being positioned for schools, education and e-reading.
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10/22, 2:01pm
Smaller, cheaper iPad could draw in educators
When Apple's smaller iPad debuts tomorrow, the Cupertino-based company will make a special point of focusing on the device's potential for educational use. Apple is hoping to use the lower-cost iPads to make a big push in the education sector and thereby grow its already existing lead in the tablet market. In preparation for the focus on education, Apple is reportedly readying an update to its iBooks feature with a streamlined authoring process, making it easier to produce e-textbooks.
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10/21, 2:00am
At least one if not both likely for October 23 press event
Rumormongers and pundits continue to pile a long list of things they "expect" to see at Apple's scheduled October 23 press event, which was originally (and may still be) more-or-less exclusively about the so-called "iPad mini." Among the items now also rumored to arrive at or around the event itself are updated Mac minis and iMacs, a 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro, a "tweaked" full-size iPad to accommodate a change to the new Lightning connector (and possibly other updates) and now the debut of iTunes 11 and iBooks 3.
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10/17, 3:30pm
Amazon touts Kindle use in education
On Wednesday, Amazon announced it was pushing to get its Kindle e-readers and tablet computers into the education sector, a move that will bring it into even stiffer competition with Apple, which has seen some successes in getting schools to look to its iPad as an educational tool. Amazon has been testing Kindles in kindergarten through 12th grade programs across the United States, and the company believes its services make the Kindle an ideal match for educators looking to manage content across devices.
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10/17, 2:37pm
Master Your Mac instructional guide
Route 66 has released a new line of Panoramic Car Kits designed for some of the most popular smartphones. Instead of creating a universally mount, the Panoramic Car Kit is available in specific models designed for the iPhone 3GS and 4S, the HTC One X, and the Samsung Galaxy S, Galaxy S II, Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note. Each mount has a dual car charger and is designed to be mounted on both the windshield and dashboard of any vehicle. The Panoramic Car Kit can be purchased online for $26 including world wide shipping.
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10/12, 3:00am
Parents of private school students must bear expense
A church-based private school, along with several other private educational institutions in Sydney, Australia are now informing parents that most students will be required to own an iPad beginning in the next school year. The move to tablets has become compulsory at the schools because educators believe they are significantly more effective as learning tools than notebook, and eliminates the need for students to lug around heavy textbooks. While not all schools are mandating iPads specifically, traditional printed materials and even laptops are clearly on the way out.
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10/11, 2:37pm
XEffects Transitions pack for FCP X
FileMaker Technical Network members can now access a new Training Series Sampler Kit that features three self-paced training modules. The modules include Working with Layouts, FileMaker Go, and FileMaker Server, each featuring its own exercises, demo files, and videos. Working With Layouts teaches techniques for creating a variety of layouts, while FileMaker Go includes tips on building mobile apps for the iPhone and iPad. Finally, FileMaker server includes information on setting up and maintaining FileMaker Server.
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10/08, 8:29pm
Lends money, talent, content to reference site
Apple has joined forces with most of the other big industry players (HP, Google, Microsoft, Mozilla, Facebook and others) in supporting Web Platform Docs, a new site dedicated to documentation, reference and tutorials for the various components that make up the Open Web Platform. OWP is a community-driven project that aims to unify documentation on current and future web technologies from HTML5 to WebGL which is currently scattered among the various industry players' sites and elsewhere.
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10/01, 3:18pm
Movius Visual Voicemail for iOS
Organizers of the 2012 MacTech Conference have released new details regarding the upcoming event. Scheduled for October 17th through 19th in Los Angeles, the conference offers two separate tracks; one dedicated to programming and development, while the other focuses on IT and consulting. A number of post-event activities for both tracks have been organized, including a special Hopper presentation that will teach attendees how to use the Hopper Dedicated Disassembler. Registration for the event is still open and costs $1000, however, MacNN readers can receive an additional $100 discount and free MacTech subscription.
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09/26, 1:49pm
Samsung's Smart School Solution to provide 35 Note 10.1 units
Samsung announced today a new partnership with Memphis City Schools that will see the company's Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet placed in classrooms to engender a more interactive learning experience. The partnership is the first deployment of the Samsung Smart School Solution at a US school, and Samsung hopes it will demonstrate the educational potential of its new stylus-driven tablet. The pilot program was officially launched at an event held at the Geeter Middle School last Friday,
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09/05, 10:27pm
Graduated with MBA from school of business in 1991
Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Apple CEO Steve Jobs and chair of the Emerson Collective as well as president of the board of College Track , has been elected to the Board of Trustees for Stanford University. Powell Jobs has been a strong advocate for education reform throughout her career, and sits on the boards of several organizations that promote opportunities for underprivileged youth, encourage science education in service to environmental causes and other areas.
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09/04, 11:39pm
Analyst says milestone is 'canary in a coal mine'
Needham & Company analyst Charlie Wolf noted in a letter to investors that while PCs in the educational market continue to outsell iPads, the remarkable growth of the iPad in the most recent quarters shows definitively that it is cannibalizing PC sales in the sector, a trend that will likely continue further narrow the gap. PC shipments fell nearly 14 percent or 265,000 units compared to the June quarter of a year ago, while Mac sales in education held steady and iPad sales doubled.
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08/29, 11:15am
Shifts some training, pre-buying questions to web site
Amid reports that Apple is looking at new ways to make the retail Apple Stores more profitable, the company has added a new "online training" feature to its store website, bringing "live chat" abilities along with a guided tour of the online store, Genius scheduling, or the ability to request a phone call from a product specialist. The program launched today in the UK, Germany, Spain and Brazil, but has not yet been rolled out in the US.
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08/20, 8:10pm
Practical application still years away
Harvard geneticist and bioengineers George Church and Sriram Kosuri with the assistance of John Hopkins Yuan Gao have stored 5.5 petabits (700 terabytes) of data in a single gram of DNA. This accomplishment, published in Science, bests the previous DNA data storage record by more than 1000 times.
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08/17, 4:50pm
Galaxy Tab with keyboard for $250
The previously leaked back-to-school offer for Samsung's Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 has been officially announced. Samsung confirmed today that it will be offering its 7-inch tablet in a special Student Edition -- a white variant of the tablet with a keyboard dock and USB adapter in box -- for $250. Beginning August 19, consumers will be able to take advantage of the new offer, but it only runs until September 1.
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08/16, 6:54pm
Contract worth up to $16.5 million over 5 years up for bid
Prior to payment and delivery, the US State Department has torpedoed its $16.5 million contract with Amazon, proposed in June, for Kindle e-book readers. The contract is headed to a normal Request for Information process, rather than the no-bid award that Amazon was initially selected to fulfill. The program was intended for use in overseas language programs, and any device chosen would have to support wireless connectivity, central management, text-to-speech, long battery life and a number of other requirements.
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08/06, 10:30am
Event runs October 17th-19th
Speakers and sessions have been announced for this year's MacTech Conference, which takes place October 17th through the 19th in Los Angeles. The sessions are divided into four categories: Sessions Chairs, Joint Sessions, the Developer Track, and the IT Track. Joint Sessions, notably, are designed to address both developer and IT audiences.
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08/03, 9:58pm
Other certifications remain unchanged so far
The first Mountain Lion training guide and IT certification for OSX 10.8 has been released by Apple. The Apple Certified Associate -- Mac Integration certification, first offered following the release of Lion, is available for free. The course does charge $65 to take the online exam, but one free retake is allowed. The guidebook for the courseware is only available as a PDF currently -- the Lion version was available from Apple's iBookstore in ePub format.
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08/03, 1:45pm
Claims largest Street View collection at 6,000 images
Google has added a tour of the Kennedy Space Center to its Google Maps Street View Gallery collection. NASA worked with Google to show off the US launch site as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations, for which the search giant has created its largest special collection of Street View imagery to date, creating approximately 6,000 panoramic views of the complex.
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07/26, 2:29pm
OLPC partners with Neonode to bring mutlitouch tech to educational notebooks
As expected, One Laptop Per Child's next ultra-affordable notebook will sport a multi-touch display, but it will be called the XO Touch and not XO-1.75. The technology will come thanks to a newly started partnership with Neonode. It will get a 7.5-inch display, according to SlashGear.
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07/25, 1:56pm
Xcode gets Retina support, upgraded language features
Continuing a spree of software updates, Apple has also posted new versions of Xcode and Remote Desktop for the Mac, and iTunes U for iOS devices. Xcode 4.4 incorporates upgrades such as Retina display support, new C++ and Objective-C features, and the ability to commit individually-selected changes during source control. By default, the software includes the latest SDKs for OS X Mountain Lion and iOS 5.1.
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07/24, 7:16pm
Large single-purchases, iPad price reduction credited for gains
During its latest financial conference call, Apple emphasized that the last quarter was its best ever for Mac sales in the education market, with K-12 and higher-education institutions accounting for a significant portion of overall shipments. Further boosting Apple's standing and sales numbers in education further, the company sold twice as many iPads to educational customers than Macs.
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07/15, 8:09pm
Wikitravel, Wikivoyage express interest in project
Wikipedia may create its own travel guide that would compete with books such as Lonely Planet. According to Skift, the Wikimedia Foundation board of trustees discussed the possibility of a publicly-edited free travel guide service, and will decide the proposal's fate in six weeks time after a public consultation, although some suggest it is effectively already decided.
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07/13, 3:05am
Dupe finder for iPhoto reaches version 4, gains speed, more
A well-regarded duplicate image finder for iPhoto, Duplicate Annihilator, has reached version 4.0 -- a major release with a completely rewritten code base. The new version, which folds in its companion program Thumbnail Annihilator, is up to three times faster at detecting duplicates, missing or damaged thumbnails and missing images. The program is now compatible with the forthcoming Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8) and 64-bit, but remains compatible with OS X 10.4 or later and PPC-based Macs. The program works with iPhoto 5 and higher, and a version for Aperture is also available.
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07/13, 1:30am
May have bought house in the Sun Valley region
Laurene Powell Jobs, Steve Jobs' widow, and her family have temporarily moved out of the Palo Alto home they shared with the Apple co-founder while major renovations take place. Powell Jobs, who is an accomplished businesswoman in her own right, will also appear at the same Allen & Co. private business retreat in Sun Valley, Idaho that Apple CEO Tim Cook was spotted at yesterday. A report in the New York Post claims Powell Jobs has bought a house in the Sun Valley region.
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