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- EA to lay off 1500 workers, close some facilities
Large-scale layoffs have been hitting everywhere in the past year, and Electronic Arts is now no different: according to Gamasutra, the game publisher announced today that it will lay off 1,500 workers by April 2010, after posting a year-to-year decrease in revenue and a net loss of $391 million.
About 1,300 of the freshly unemployed individuals will result from the full closure of some of EA's facilities. This will cost EA money at the outset, but they estimate that by dropping the facilities they stand to save about $100 million annually. According to EA CEO John Riccitello, the cuts are happening in "targeted areas," so the company can focus up on its bigger, more lucrative games.
EA has kept up well with the iPhone platform and has released some of its most popular titles to the App Store, such as The Sims 3, Rock Band, and Spore. Consumers still pay a premium price for them, however. For example, Rock Band costs $9.99 and comes with only 20 songs, and charges 50 cents for each additional song. Still, Rock Band ended up selling well, so maybe we'll be seeing more of EA in the App Store in the coming fiscal quarters.
EA also announced today its acquisition of Playfish, whose primary business is Facebook games, for $300 million. Hopefully out of the layoff ashes rises some brutally addictive social-based game for the iPhone.TUAWEA to lay off 1500 workers, close some facilities originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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iPhone - AppStore - Apple - Electronic Arts - TUAW
Переслать - Navigon updates again - adds live traffic
Filed under: Software, iPhone, App Review
Navigon [iTunes link] has been very aggressive in the world of iPhone navigation. After taking the early lead in features, they continue to pour on the steam. Using in-app purchasing, any Navigon owners can now get live traffic, both crowd-sourced, and additional data from Clear Channel radio stations and other traffic providers.
According to Navigon:
- Users receive immediate on-screen alerts via iconic warnings indicating accidents, construction and other incidents that can cause congestion along the current route.
- Provides detailed information regarding the severity of the incident and the speed of traffic flow.
- Based on the real-time traffic warnings and the excellent mapping functionality the user can determine an efficient, alternative route or stay on the course.
- The software automatically adjusts estimated time of arrival.
I've found the Navigon app a pleasure to use. In addition to the extra cost traffic info, this new release has added to the base software. That includes extended destination search. If you are not sure of the address you can move an icon around on a map and navigate to that point. The app also can launch in landscape mode.
Navigon has offered a car kit in Europe with a cradle, speaker and power connections. The company says it is evaluating selling the kit in the U.S., but hasn't come to a final decision.
As I've mentioned in this space before, expect a holiday round up of all the nav apps we've tested, along with some recommendations. Drive carefully.TUAWNavigon updates again - adds live traffic originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Found Footage: The iPhone and the WiiMote
Filed under: iPod Family, Bluetooth, iPhone, Jailbreak/pwnage
Matthias Ringwald, of iPhone Bluetooth fame, has just released BTstack 0.1 for iPhone. This video demonstrates his group's technology in action, as an iPhone syncs with a WiiMote and then uses the WiiMote for input. Although the system does not yet have OBEX, it is, as Ringwald writes, "better than Apple's nothing."
I haven't had a chance to give the software a spin yet (you can download the source from Google Code) but I'm looking forward to playing. BTstack creates device connections using the L2CAP protocol. The code is currently aimed at jailbroken devices only. It supplies a Bluetooth daemon (BTdaemon) that you access from your apps. Given that the release is still only at version 0.1, expect a certain degree of instability and a lot of further development potential.TUAWFound Footage: The iPhone and the WiiMote originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Dangerously driving a car with an iPhone
Filed under: Hacks, How-tos, iPhone
Here at TUAW we've seen lots of uses for the iPhone as a remote control, but if you were watching and thinking that those projects were way too safe, then the guys at Waterloo Labs have got you covered. They approached the project with a low budget and DIY attitude, building a low-cost (relatively speaking) car that is controlled by a first generation iPhone. Not content with just building the car, they also chose to car-surf on the hood and roof, Teen Wolf style, while testing their handiwork.
While we at TUAW do not condone such dangerous behavior, we can recommend that you watch this other video by Waterloo Labs as a more in-depth instructional video on how to build your own vehicle.TUAWDangerously driving a car with an iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - MobileMe mail offline for 'some users'... again
What is there to say about it, really? The cloud that thinks different appears to be unresponsive on webmail and POP/IMAP connections for some unknown fraction of the userbase, and it's been having issues since the morning hours today. Mel noted a long slow period yesterday, and also spotted some downtime about three weeks ago. As of 2:30 pm ET, it looks like mail is beginning to flow again for POP users, although IMAP and webmail are still shaking off the jitters.
While monitoring services like Netcraft don't help to track MobileMe email uptime (since the website keeps responding even though mail isn't flowing), it's hard to shake the sense that this $99/year service is costing us more in aggravation than is strictly necessary.TUAWMobileMe mail offline for 'some users'... again originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Apple poised to take over the (tech) world
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple Financial, Apple, Apple History
Our friends at Cult of Mac commented on the possibility, floated on CNBC, that Apple will eventually overthrow Microsoft as the most valuable company in the technological world. If you think about it, Apple's stock was worth an unstable $25 dollars a share at this time 10 years ago -- today, it's worth $202 a share and shows no signs of decline. CNBC reports that Microsoft isn't really growing, but Apple continues to gain value and market share every day. From that, you could logically deduce that Apple will surpass Microsoft... but there are still a few points to make.
Apple has a long way to go before they're really ahead of Microsoft by most metrics. I suppose it's possible that the company's worth could surpass Microsoft within the 2 years that CNBC predicts, but as far as actual market share... I hope not. Here's why:
If Apple grows that quickly, we're going to see the effects of gravity bring them back down a bit. That kind of growth would be great for the brand but not necessarily the customer. We're already seeing record highs at the Genius Bars and not enough experienced staff to handle the demand. Calling AppleCare is usually a chore, not a pleasure.
Then again, any tech support call isn't fun, but long wait times make it even more frustrating. Using the example of Microsoft, getting too big too fast degrades your ability to offer quality service. It doesn't mean that their products are horrible, it means that you have to bring in more people to fill the gap -- people who aren't necessarily the most qualified to help. Will this sort of thing happen with Apple? I hope not. If their growth continues at its current rate, they better have a very good plan to avoid the Microsoft effect.
In my opinion, Apple does well as the underdog: they constantly have to adapt to the changing markets and make themselves more appealing than the competitor. If you look at Apple's top-dog aspects (iPod and iPhone), we begin to see things that aren't so awesome: the lack of a subscription service, the restrictive iPhone platform, not to mention the App Store approval process. In some ways, they get to the top of the mountain and then stop trying. Apple doesn't figure out where to go after they reach the summit, they simply find a different mountain and start climbing. They spent a couple years with the iPod, then a couple years with the iPhone... now we're gonna be seeing a couple years of the iTablet (or iSlate or iPad, you get the point).
If I'm not mistaken, it's really been a while since they've done anything innovative with the computer. Sure, the iTablet could bring innovation, but that's another mountain -- as were the iPod and iPhone. I'd love to see the company get back to the personal computer and do something that would change how we look at Apple. When I mention Apple at the moment, I hear the response, "Oh, they make the iPhone, right?" 4 years ago, that was the iPod. Soon enough, it will be a new piece of sexy hardware that Jonathan Ive designed.
Maybe two mountains will collide with the iTablet. Maybe it will really be the computer innovation that we've been missing. Maybe it will put Apple ahead of Microsoft in value, but let's hope that the Apple brand continues its reputation for great products, service and innovation.TUAWApple poised to take over the (tech) world originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Hiring a new sheriff: Apple clamping down on jailbreaking to soothe corporate angst?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Enterprise, Blogging, iPhone, Jailbreak/pwnage
With the latest jailbreaking code, blacksn0w, now available for Geohot's blackra1n utility, iPhone owners who want to free their favorite smartphone from the constraints of the App Store and the AT&T network may do so. But a recent report by PCWorld / Network World indicates that Apple is hiring a new "sheriff" to lock up the iPhone platform for good. Is this true? Maybe not.
According to the post by Network World blogger John Cox, an Apple corporate website is showing a job posting for an iPhone platform security manager. The manager would lead a team aimed at creating methods for secure booting and installation of the iPhone OS, strengthening the platform's cryptographic services, partitioning and hardening internal security domains, and providing risk analysis of security threats.
The post goes on to breathlessly state that this job posting (which is noted as filling an existing position, not creating a new one) is indicative of Apple's concern that enterprise users might jailbreak and unlock their iPhones. The jailbroken phones would let enterprise users load apps that could "threaten corporate data or back-end Exchange servers," and "unlocking the phone... makes it hard to track, monitor and optimize wireless costs and could open the enterprise to legal problems."
Why is it so important for Apple to crack down on jailbreaking and unlocking? Well, the post says that many enterprises are adopting the iPhone "despite the fact that Apple provides virtually no security or management infrastructure..." That last statement is a bit ridiculous, considering that Apple even provides a series of white papers on exactly how to implement secure, managed iPhone deployments in enterprises.
Perhaps the author has been out the enterprise world for a while, since alterations like jailbreaking and unlocking are forbidden by policy in almost all big businesses that provide their employees with phones. As Mike Rose put it succinctly, "What enterprise user is jailbreaking their phone to use T-Mobile when that means they won't get reimbursed for their cell costs? What enterprise user wants to risk getting cut off from Exchange access?" And what enterprise employee is going to risk his or her good graces with the corporate security team for the sake of being able to run SplatCam or Cycorder on the iPhone?
The post tries to tie the rather innocuous task of filling an open job posting to an attempt by Apple to try to shut off the jailbreak world -- which, if it is doing, isn't necessarily about covering corporate requirements. As long as there are people who want to jailbreak their phones or unlock and move them to a different GSM carrier, hackers will find a way to do it. To us, it appears that Apple is just trying to maintain and improve security for the iPhone platform, something that will benefit all iPhone owners.TUAWHiring a new sheriff: Apple clamping down on jailbreaking to soothe corporate angst? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Nvidia CEO loves Apple, possesses mysterious alien device
Filed under: Hardware, Rumors, Graphic Design
Talk about burying the lead -- Shufflegazine did a piece on Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Hwang during a visit to Dubai recently, in which he talks about how much he and his family love their Macs, and Apple's machines add value, and in his house it's just "Mac, Mac, Mac," and OH MY GOD, what is that SITTING ON THE TABLE in front of him? OK, it's probably notdefinitely not an Apple tablet (yet), as there's no clear Apple logo on it, but man that's a nice looking tablet device, and even Engadget says they have no idea what it is.
The thing is, this picture just appeared with Shufflegazine's piece, and while Hwang did go on and on about how much he loves Apple stuff (and yes, the two companies have a long history of sharing some hardware), there's not word one about that tablet or anything like it in the piece, no hint of any other hardware or partnership announcement. It could be a prototype, it could be another tablet we're just not recognizing, or yes, Hwang could have just thrown it down on the table during the interview, and Shufflegazine could have just completely missed it. [They didn't. -Ed.]
Though if that last one is true, we have no idea how it happened. How do you cover Apple and their gadgets and avoid being drawn to that tablet. It's so... thin and well-designed. We'll be honest, if we were in the room, we might have licked it then and there to claim it as our own.
Thanks to Nemanja for the tip.TUAWNvidia CEO loves Apple, possesses mysterious alien device originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Congressional caricatures on the App Store: The nays have it
Filed under: iPhone, App Store
Let's face it, America: if you're looking for "obscene, pornographic or defamatory" content, you can pretty much count on the US Congress to satisfy your jones. Put those representatives into cartoon bobble-head form, however, and stack them up with contact and district info in a handy-dandy iPhone app... well, that's just not cricket, according to the App Store review team.
Cartoonist & MAD magazine contributor Tom Richmond was commissioned to produce said caricatures for the iPhone app in question, and unfortunately they've run afoul of clause 3.3.14 of the developer agreement, the 'Apple's reasonable judgment' rule regarding potentially objectionable content. Richmond is scratching his head trying to figure out what about his caricatures could possibly be considered reasonably offensive, compared to some of the other fine entertainment apps already gracing iPhones worldwide. Still, it's at least consistent with Apple's previous rejections of things that are funny.
On some level it's unsurprising that an app filled with congressional bobbleheads is finding it a bit of a slog getting through review; that's a lot of potential angry phone calls for Apple to take.
[That's Dennis Kucinich over there.]TUAWCongressional caricatures on the App Store: The nays have it originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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