Kickbacks are outs if you catch them
According to the San Jose Mercury News, Paul Shin Devine, “A midlevel Apple manager was arrested Friday and accused of accepting more than $1 million in kickbacks from half a dozen Asian suppliers of iPhone and iPod accessories in a federal indictment unsealed and a separate civil suit.”
When I first read that, I thought it said a “medieval ” Apple manager was arrested, which would probably have made a better movie, but this rare taste of Apple espionage is still pretty juicy. Apparently Devine’s MO was to use his position as an Apple Global supply manager to leak info on upcoming Apple products to various Asian suppliers in order to help them secure more favorable contracts with Apple.
I’m actually dying to know how that would go down, exactly. Does Devine find out Apple’s making an iPad with a 9.7-inch display, and say, “Hey LG, next time you’re in Cupertino, try to casually mention that you are dying to make touchscreens in the 9.6 to 9.8-inch range, and are wondering if Apple has heard of anyone who might be interested?
Ultimately the really interesting thing will be to see if Apple actually drops any suppliers over this, instead of just singling out Devine. Apple’s official response so far has been Spokesman Steve Dowling’s statement that “Apple is committed to the highest ethical standards in the way we do business. We have zero tolerance for dishonest behavior inside or outside the company.”
So will any big names fall? According to the indictment, Devine received about $1 million over the course of “several years”, and while a million bucks is nothing to sneeze at, somehow I feel like we’ll see Apple shopping for a new company to make the cleaning acid the iPods are dipped in more than we’ll see them dropping a big name like LG.
Oh, and I of course would be remiss if I didn’t at least acknowledge that Paul Devine is one of the best names ever, and he probably could have commanded $1 million a month in Las Vegas doing SOMETHING. What a waste.
Review: Words with Friends – Buy it and then come kick my ass
What’s more fun than playing Scrabble? EVERYTHING! Which is why it’s so odd that I am so thoroughly addicted to playing Words With Friends.
Above: While the iPad was MADE to play this game, it works surprisingly well on the iPhone too.
Words with Friends is about as close to a Scrabble clone as you can get – so close in fact that I’m not sure exactly why it’s allowed to be sold (maybe the Scrabble copyright has expired?), but it appears to be thriving. It is currently available in 3 different flavors for your handheld enjoyment: a free iPhone app (with annoying ads), a $1.99 add-free iPhone app (on sale)
, and a $1.99 HD/iPad version (also on sale this week)
. If you happen to buy a version for both the iPhone and the iPad, you can switch seamlessly between the two, so you can play on your big iPad screen when you get home, and you can play on your iPhone when you are in the can at work.
These are pretty much the only letters I get…
So, what’s so cool about it? Well, for me the big thing Read more
Is Apple destroying Flash just to make Adobe cheaper to buy?
Filed under: Apple Bashing, Apple Fanboyism, News, Opinion, Rampant Speculation
Rumors of Apple buying Adobe have been around almost as long as rumors of Sony buying Apple. The only difference is the Adobe rumors are actually financially possible. Now, I’m not going to go into whether or not it makes financial and strategic sense for Apple to acquire Adobe, but what I would like to do is indulge one of my favorite pastimes – conspiracy theories.
It’s no secret that starting with the original iPhone a few years back, Apple has begun a slow and steady campaign of dissing Flash. From the iPhone to the iPod touch to the iPad, Apple has declared Flash to be “battery life kryptonite” for mobile devices. Apple’s official stance appears to be that Flash is buggy on the Mac, a battery drainer for mobile devices such as the iPhone and iPad, and more or less an unnecessary evil since HTML 5 can handle much of the annoying interactivity that makes Flash so special. While some of this is true to a degree, the fact that Flash (or at least a variant of Flash) is running on a number of mobile phones and operating systems would seem to imply that if Apple wanted a stable version of Flash on the iPhone, it would be there.
So why all the anti-Flash sentiment coming out of Cupertino? Well, Apple certainly has Read more
I honestly can’t tell if this is cool or not
Every once in a while I see something that I can’t tell whether I want it because it’s cool, or just because I want everything.
Behold the upcoming Desk Phone Dock for iPhone, a new iPhone dock that promises to turn your iPhone into… a landline?
That’s right, if you’re looking for a way to charge your iPhone AND remove all of its portability, this might be the accessory for you.
Actually all kidding aside this could be pretty cool, as these days more and more people like the idea of dropping their landlines in favor of the mobile phones, yet talking for extended periods of time on the smaller handsets can be painful, and forget about trying to do the “hold the phone with the shoulder and type” thing. The Desk Dock for IPhone could solve those problems, while adding two stereo speakers, microphone, volume control, instant Mute, USB and AC power dual sources.
Of course you could just use the earbuds you already have for free, but where’s the geek factor in that?
[via wootmag]
Rumor roundup: iPad to ship March 43rd, HDMI coming to some Macs, Netflix coming to iPad/iPhone
I don’t normally comment on rumors, but I really can’t find anything else to wrtie about at the moment, so here’s my 2¢ on a couple of the latest rumors swirling around the interwebs.
iPad to ship March 43rd
Yes, the rumor mill is now predicting Apple will perhaps miss its March shipping deadline by a couple weeks. Apple has had more than a couple delays in shipping products in the past, and usually for big ones it pre-announces months in advance, so this would not be surprising. However I tend to agree with those who think the iPad will indeed begin “technically” shipping in March, with a very limited supply – although I would not rule out a scenario where Apple begins accepting online pre-orders in late March, for an April 8th delivery, just so that it FEELS Like they made their March deadline.
On a side note, how cool would it be if Apple stopped pre-announcing all their stuff 4 months before it shipped, and just one day you woke up, checked Apple.com, and saw there was something called an iPad, and it was available?
HDMI coming to some Macs
This rumor seems to particularly be attached to the Mac mini, and I can understand why it might be, as the Mac mini is really not good for anything other than being what the Apple TV SHOULD be, so it would make sense. But Apple only fairly recently began trying to force the mini dsiplay port down the world’s throat, and I think they still have about 2 years before they admit defeat. I would not entirely rule out that a new Mac mini ships with BOTH a mini display port and HDMI, but Apple seems to like its customers to buy adpaters, so I am not holding my breath on this one.
The upside to this rumor though, if true, might imply that the Apple TV would die, and the Mac mini would get a blu-ray drive, thus finally becoming something you can hook to your TV and replace a couple other gadgets. That is, assuming Apple either allows (or doesn’t purposely block) Netflix streaming from running.
Netflix streaming coming to iPad/iPhone
Speaking of Netflix, there is now a rumor of Netflix streaming coming to the iPhone/iPad, based on a new survey Netflix has sent out to gauge interest in such a thing. Even if you don’t have Netflix, an iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad, if you have a shred of decency, I implore you to take the survey and tell them YES WE WANT NETFLIX, if for no other reason than you know some lame tablet from HP or Toshiba or something is going to offer it and make us look bad. Plus I loves me my Mystery Science Theater re-runs on demand. A similar survey came out a few months back about PS3 Netflix demand, and we all know what happened there.
“The 12 Days AFTER Christmas” Giveaway: Day 42 – An Epson Workforce 610 All-in-One Printer
Filed under: Awesomeness, Free Stuff, News, contests
This contest is closed. Congrats to faithful Macenstein reader Chad.
On the Forty-Second Day After Christmas, Macenstein gave to you (or, more accurately, gave you a chance to win…) An Epson Workforce 610 All-in-One Printer !
I’m actually reviewing one of these at the moment, and let me tell you, this thing is pretty damn impressive. It prints, scans, copies, faxes… hell, it even prints out graph paper! And it’s wicked fast too, which is great for when you really need some graph paper fast!
Features and Benefits
* Increase your productivity – up to 2x faster than leading competitive ink jets, when printing laser quality text
* Speed through critical documents – maximum print speeds of 38 ppm black/color; laser quality speeds of 15 ppm black, 9.3 ppm color
* Protect important documents – instant-dry ink for smudge, fade and water resistant prints; highlighter-friendly too
* Dependable – engineered for reliable paper feeding
* PC fax – save paper by faxing documents directly from your computer1
* Easily share – Wi-Fi for wireless connectivity, and Ethernet for wired networking
* Print three times as much – get about 3x more prints than with our standard 69 ink cartridges, when using the included 97 Extra High-capacity ink cartridge
* Small footprint – takes up less space on your desk
* Save energy – uses up to 70% less power than a laser printer
* Save paper – save up to 50% of your paper supply with manual, two-sided printing
* Get more done – 30-page Auto Document Feeder to quickly copy, scan or fax stacks of originals
* High-speed faxing in black and color – as fast as 3 sec per page; speed dial storage up to 60 numbers; fax memory up to 180 pages
* PC-free, borderless photos in a snap – 2.5″ LCD and memory card slots for easy transfer of files
* Individual ink cartridges – replace only the color you need
* Product protection you can count on – 2-year limited warranty; phone support, without charge, for the life of the product; plus, access to exclusive templates, tutorials and offers with product registration
To enter: Since the Epson Workforce 610 is pretty much the fastest thing on the planet, we’d like to know, What’s the ONE THING you wish took less time than it does? Winners will be picked randomly 7 days later and notified (kind of like in The Ring, only with less killing… we hope). Open to US readers only. Good luck, and thanks for reading Macenstein! (Oh, and be sure to enter ALL our “12 Days AFTER Christmas” Giveaways!)
Please note: Comments may take a while to show up, please do not double-post. Thanks!
Repair site already offering to repair your 4G iPhone
Filed under: News, Rampant Speculation, Rumors, That's Weird..., iPhone
While conventional wisdom tells us we’re still 5 months away from the next iPhone, that hasn’t stopped iPhone repair site Mission:Repair from announcing it is ready to fix your broken 4G iPhone.
“4G iPhone Repair and Upgrades! Are you looking for a 4G iPhone repair service? You’ve come to the right place. “
Apparently Mission:Repair is hoping there’re some early iPhone 4G beta testers out there with a case of the butter-fingers looking to get theirs repaired before the folks at Apple find out.
Thanks to faithful Macenstein reader Matthew for the tip!
“The 12 Days AFTER Christmas” Giveaway: Day 27 – AKG K 313 Earbuds
This contest is closed. Congrats to faithful Macenstein reader Chris.
On the Twenty-Seventh Day After Christmas, Macenstein gave to you (or, more accurately, gave you a chance to win…) A set of AKG K 313 Earbuds!
Sure, we all love our iPods and iPhones, but let’s face it, the stock earbuds are not exactly the best-sounding or most comfortable things around. Lucky for you, we’ve got you covered with the AKG K 313 earbuds, a noticeable step up in quality.
Larger drivers for richer sound.
The new AKG K 313 semi-open headphones feature 13mm drivers for wide-spectrum, high-output sound from virtually any portable device, anywhere your travels may take you. Available in a choice of colors with an included carrying pouch, K 313 lets you enjoy a private listening space in any public environment.
To enter: Since the K 313’s have awesome new drivers, we were wondering if money was no object, what’s your dream car? (whoops, we accidentally left the driving record question in there from last time- if you already answered don that don’t worry. We just need a comment.) Winners will be picked randomly 7 days later and notified (kind of like in The Ring, only with less killing… we hope). Open to US and Canadian readers only. Good luck, and thanks for reading Macenstein! (Oh, and be sure to enter ALL our “12 Days AFTER Christmas” Giveaways!)
Please note: Comments may take a while to show up, please do not double-post. Thanks!
“The 12 Days AFTER Christmas” Giveaway: Day 3
This contest is closed. Congrats to faithful Macenstein reader Fernando.
On the Third Day After Christmas, Macenstein gave to you (or, more accurately, gave you a chance to win…) A Hello Kitty MIMOBOT!
Yes, everyone loves MIMOBOTS, those super cool USB2 thumb drives that not only make moving data fun, but also let the world know you can’t let go of your childhood (I’ve personally got a Domo and a StormTrooper model). If I know my readers (and I think I DO) you all dropped the ball BIG TIME this year when it came to giving that special girl in your life a gift. (I know I did). So now’s your chance to make up for it by giving her this adorable 4 GB Hello Kitty “Apple” (get it?) MIMOBOT!
To enter: simply leave us a comment below letting us know who is your favorite cat of all time? (Of course the correct answer is Cheetara from Thundercats, but we’ll entertain others). Winner will be picked randomly 7 days later and notified (kind of like in The Ring, only with less killing… we hope). Open to all readers world-wide. Good luck, and thanks for reading Macenstein! (Oh, and be sure to enter ALL our “12 Days AFTER Christmas” Giveaways!)
Please note: Comments may take a while to show up, please do not double-post. Thanks!
Privacy be DAMNED! This holiday season, Background Check App is the ultimate party game
Filed under: Apple Fanboyism, Awesomeness, Free Stuff, News, Product Reviews, iPhone
We’ve all been there: you’re young, hanging out with your friends, high on Mountain Dew, and then someone yells out “Hey! Let’s run some guns down to Cuba!” Flash forward 10 years, and you’re SURE that 5-year stint in the Federal Penitentiary will never come back to haunt you. But then you end up at a Christmas party with me, and I have the Background Check App (free) on my iPhone. You’re Busted.
Yes, Background Check App is getting a lot of hype, and it totally lives up to it. The free app allows you to run a background check on virtually anyone in a matter of seconds, and while it doesn’t give you a terribly deep (or sometimes even accurate) look into someone’s past, more often than not it gets the big stuff right. And it’s addictive. Read more
