Hasta La Gadget!

On Monday, August 20th, 2012, Apple became the new most valuable United States-made company in the history of the world. Their market capitalization has surpassed that of Microsoft’s previous record of $618.9 billion, that amount having been set back in November of 1999. The current market capitalization of Apple is $622.6 billion, with 936,596,000 outstanding shares as of June 30, 2012 – we’re guessing that everyone reading this post wishes that they’d invested in the company when they had the chance, of course.

This feat comes after an all-time high share price was reached for a second consecutive session today for Apple, reaching up to $664.74 in the morning hours. The highest that Apple has gotten with their market capitalization total today (thus far) has been $623.1 billion. We’re expecting Microsoft to be left in the dust, at this point, but of course it must be recognized that with cash adjustments for time, the latter company might still be on top.

Comparing such things is like comparing the Dream Team to the 2012 USA Olympic basketball team, however, as Microsoft’s current value just is not up for snuff. Apple shares are currently continuing to stay on the rise as they head towards an Autumn season with several new launches (if the rumors are all true). Apple may well have a new iPad mini, iPhone, and more by the time the holiday season begins.

Apple surpassed Exxon earlier this year to be the fifth company in history to have a market capitalization higher than $500 billion. Have a peek at our Apple portal to see what the company has been up to lately, and get pumped up about their new line of devices which may very well be released inside the next month!

[via Mercury News]

Apple now most valuable public company in history is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The newest Humble Bundle package of cross-platform games has been released to the public, once again bringing on several fabulous apps for a “pay what you want” price and contributions to charity in tow. This offer brings on now only four games (and a fifth if you pay above the average price), it comes with soundtracks from two of the games in both FLAC and MP3 format! The games Fieldrunners, BIT.TRIP BEAT, SpaceChem, and Uplink are included in the normal bundle, and if you pay more than the average paid price (currently $6.07), you get the game Spirits as well!

This offer supports both Child’s Play Charity and the Electronic Frontier Foundation in addition to the folks at Humble Bundle that put the offer together and the developers that created the games. Have a peek at a trailer for the game collection here, and get pumped up for the package!

While the full supported devices and software builds list is here for each of the games, you’ll find that if your device is relatively new, you’ll be set. Strange devices such as the Orange San Diego and the HTC Wildfire S are not included with games such as BIT.TRIP BEAT, for example.

If you purchased each of these games separately, you’d have payed somewhere around $52 USD, but with Humble Bundle, you’ll pay whatever you decide is right. This release is the first that several of these games will be popping up on Android and Linux – so it’s also a double-whammy!

If you head over to Humble Bundle right this second, you’ll be able to move sliders back and forth for how much cash out of your contribution you want to go to the Developers, how much you want to go to Charity, and how much you want to push as a Humble Tip. Make a standard payment amount or go custom priced!

Humble Bundle 3 launches for Android, OS X, Windows, and Linux is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It’s been nearly 10 long years since SimCity 4 was unleashed, and next February, we’ll finally be getting a new installment in the main franchise. Electronic Arts and Maxis seem to be making a number of changes with in SimCity, and if you want to check it out ahead of time, you might be pleased to know that you can now register to be in the upcoming closed beta. Of course, you may not get in, but you’ll never know unless you try.

Registration went live shortly after Electronic Arts discussed the beta during its Gamescom press conference. We’re not sure when this beta itself is going to go live, but we imagine (or hope, whichever term you prefer) that it’s only a few weeks away. Also unknown is which platforms are included in this beta, as Electronic Arts didn’t clarify if this beta is open to those playing on a Mac.

This closed beta isn’t just going down to offer longtime SimCity fans a look at the new iteration. In many ways, it’s a necessity for Maxis and Electronic Arts, as they’re requiring that all SimCity players have a persistent Internet connection while playing. The idea behind it is that individual players will be part of a larger persistent world, which – aside from the thinly veiled always-on DRM – does sound pretty cool. Let’s just hope that Maxis and Electronic Arts can get all of the kinks worked out before release – after all, remember how all of that beta testing helped the launch of Diablo III?

As stated above, we don’t know when this beta will be going live, but with registration now up and running, it can’t be far off. Given the large following SimCity has built in the past two decades, you can count on the fact that a lot of people will be interested in signing up, so good luck getting in. The registration form can be found here, and be sure to keep checking back with us here at SlashGear for more information on SimCity!

SimCity closed beta registration now live is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Have you ever taken the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality test? If not, you will eventually fail in a happy hour when people compare their personality-type acronyms. I took the test years ago, and have no recollection of my official personality type. ENTJ (Extroverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Judging)? ISFP (Introverted, Sensual, Feeling, Perceiving)? No idea.

But I can tell you this: I am a WiBG digital citizen. That is my Ecosystem Type Indicator. Back to that in a minute. First, some ecosystem history.

Continue reading Editorial: when the ecosystem is the product, picking a favorite isn’t easy

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Software

Editorial: when the ecosystem is the product, picking a favorite isn’t easy originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Aug 2012 15:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

While we’ve been fans of the MacBook Pro with Retina display, iFixit hasn’t been so keen — a company based around DIY repairs isn’t fond of a system where most components are glued or soldered into place. That hasn’t stopped the team from developing a repair manual for those who want to give maintenance a try. A total of 16 guides show us how to disassemble or remove those parts that stand a realistic chance of leaving the system unscathed. While that does include some key components, iFixit continues to fly some caution flags: getting to one part often requires taking apart others, and removing the battery carries the very real possibility of permanent damage. If you’d still prefer to upgrade the SSD yourself (when an option) than pay Apple more for a custom order, there’s now a helping hand for your thriftiness.

Filed under: Laptops

iFixit produces repair manual for MacBook Pro with Retina display, tests DIY’s limits originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Aug 2012 11:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  iFixit  | Email this | Comments