Hasta La Gadget!

Today Apple has let loose information about their 2012 developer conference, showing a hero image for the event that’s unmistakably indicative of their intent for content. As the past few years have shown, the invitation for WWDC isn’t always a perfect representation of what will be unveiled – but clues are always present. Here in the 2013 edition, the multi-colored stack of four-sided, rounded shapes along with the ultra-thin stick lettering shows Apple is ready to open a whole new door.

The initial invite to WWDC 2013 let developers know that they’d be in for just as exciting a set of presentations as any they’d seen in years past, promising also that those not able to attend would be taken care of. Noting that they’d be posting videos of each and every session spoken at the series of events, Apple made it clear that Registered Apple Developers would be able to take advantage of the content even if unable to be there in person. These videos have been promised to be delivered in a timely fashion.

If you have a peek at the image above, you’ll see what WWDC 2012 delivered as its first and main event mark. This combination preceded an event which delivered the original MacBook Pro with Retina display as well as sets of updates to Apple’s mobile and desktop operating systems iOS 6 and OS X Mountain Lion. Below you’ll find the WWDC 2011 image presented before the show – this tipped the reveal of Mac OS X Lion, iOS 5, and iCloud.

The 2010 edition of WWDC revealed the iPhone 4, changed the name of iPhone OS to a much simpler iOS, and showed both FaceTime and iMovie for the iPhone. So now that we’re several years in to this trend of revealing major software updates and a return (after one year without) of hardware announcements, Apple has been tipped to be bringing both to San Francisco on June 10th. And if you’re feeling cheeky, you could see the 2012 logo’s color orbs converging together to create the logo you see for 2013′s event – that could mean some real one-ness between the systems.

SlashGear will be attending this event and will be bringing on hands-on coverage and up-to-the-minute news from start to finish. Don’t miss it – straight from our WWDC 2013 tag portal all week long.

Apple WWDC 2013 logo evolution tips cross-platform conglomeration is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We’ve seen various ways to manage cables on a desk before, but if have a MacBook computer that you take with you on the go and need to plug in a variety of peripherals and cables, such as USB flash drives, Ethernet cables, display cables and power cables, we understand just how messy it can get, not to mention it probably gets a bit time consuming having to unplug all of them one by one. The good news is if you’re willing to spend $139, you will be able to get yourself a ZenDock, which as you can see in the image above is a clean and elegant way of managing your cables, all in a high quality aluminum body designed to match the MacBook.

The ZenDock will plug into the side of your MacBook and will connect to the various ports on your MacBook Pro or MacBook Pro with Retina display. By combining all the ports into a single block of aluminum, this also allows ease of removal rather than unplugging devices one by one. As it stands the Pro version of ZenDock will play nicely with MacBook Pros and will support gigabit Ethernet, FireWire, Mini DisplayPort, 3 x USB 3.0 ports, and an audio input and output. The ZenDock Retina model will support a Mini DisplayPort, 3 x USB 3.0 ports, and audio in and out ports, and Thunderbolt passthrough connection as well. Both models will also feature a slot for the MagSafe power cable.

The ZenDock Kickstarter project is currently a little over halfway its funding goal, so if you’d like to order yourself a copy upon successful funding and release, head on over to its Kickstarter page for the details.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: SimCity Headed To Mac On June 11; Will Be Free For PC Owners, Mac OS X 10.8.4 Code Confirms 802.11ac WiFi Support,

An interesting new patent has made its way through the US patent office, and it suggests that Apple is looking into convertible MacBooks of sorts, showing off the technology in a recent patent application. However, this particular type of convertible laptop with a removable display would boast wireless display technology.

The patent is titled “Wireless display for electronic devices,” and it’s pretty similar to what we’ve seen on laptops from other manufacturers, only Apple’s version would come with wireless inductive charging capabilities. Other than that, it looks to be traditional convertible laptop, complete with a detachable display that could also act as a tablet.

As for how the wireless charging would work, the display would use the hinges as a connector for the charging functionality, but we’re sure that other factors are involved. Plus, we’d have to believe that battery life and other technical issues could get in the way of something like this.

However, like many patents, this one may never be turned into a product that would release to the public, although anything’s possible of course. Apple has said themselves that touchscreen computers aren’t all that great, so unless they secretly changed their minds, we wouldn’t expect a laptop like this to make it to the public.

[via AppleInsider]

Apple patent suggests convertible MacBooks on the way is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Google announced its Chromebook Pixel high-end laptop last month which features a screen that’s capable of producing a high-DPI of 239 dots per inch, which is slightly higher than Apple’s MacBook Pro Retina’s display. Because of this, Apple has quietly removed the “highest-resolution notebook ever” tagline from its MacBook Pro Retina display listing on their website.

The Chromebook Pixel has a 2560 x 1700 resolution, while the MacBook Pro with Retina display only has a 2560 x 1600 resolution. That 100 additional pixels in the Chromebook Pixel’s resolution has earned them the right to be called the “highest-resolution notebook ever” tagline. Apple replaced its original tagline with a new describing the MacBook Pro with Retina display as “High performance has never been so well defined.” (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Modbook Pro Brings Us The iPad We’ve Wanted All Along, 600 Students To Receive MacBook Air At Illinois High School,

Apple’s annual shareholders meeting was held today, and present were many shareholders who were concerned about Apple’s decline in stock prices since September. Apple’s stock price is down 35% since its $702.10 peak in September. Its stock price is currently sitting at $443.77. This drop in stock price took out a total of $240 billion in shareholder wealth, and shareholders want to know what Apple plans on doing to change things around.

Despite the drop in stock price, Tim Cook still had an amazing 99.1% approval rate in his re-election as CEO. Cook had many discussions with shareholders about the direction Apple is going, and he says that there are many great products that Apple is planning that will help boost the company’s stock price. Cook, however, did not elaborate on what type of products these would be. The shareholders asked that Apple increase its dividends to $2.65 per share, which would turn out to be a total of $10 billion in annual dividend payments.

That’s much lower than David Einhorn, who runs the Greenlight Capital hedge fund, had planned. Einhorn, who was absent from the meeting, wanted Apple to release preferred shares called iPrefs that would offer an annual dividend of 4%. Einhorn even sued Apple in order to block a proposal from the company that would require it to receive the approval of its shareholders before issuing preferred stock.

Cook commented on Einhorn’s suggestions and lawsuit, saying, “I strongly believe it was a silly slideshow, regardless of how the judge ruled on it.” Apple had begun 2013 with $137 billion, which is much more than the $98 billion it had at the start of 2012. There was a huge influx of sales on iPhones and iPads that contributed to this number. Cook also says that he has no worries about Android having a higher market share than Apple, because in the end, all Apple wants to do is create the best products. A shareholder suggested that Apple create a computerized bicycle (iCycle?) to help boost its stock prices, erupting laughter in everyone, including Tim Cook.

[via ABC]

Tim Cook talks financials at Apple’s shareholders meeting is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.