Uber has announced that it will be sending location-based AMBER alerts to its drivers across all 180 U.S. cities in which it operates, following a successful trial in Colorado.

AMBER alerts provide information on missing children, including description and last known location, so that the public can be on the look out for them. Since the launch of the scheme in 1996, a total of 722 children have been safely found as a direct result of an AMBER alert.

Robert Hoever, director of special programs at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, described the Uber program as “an incredible asset.”

The AMBER Alert program’s success is built on the ability to reach the right people at the right time with these potentially life-saving messages. Uber’s presence in communities all across the country will be an incredible asset and we are proud to team up with Uber to increase the reach of the AMBER Alert program and help bring more missing children home safely.

Apps have proven a powerful addition to the AMBER alerts program, with mobile apps from Facebook and Waze already supporting them.

Via The Verge

Filed under: Apps Tagged: AMBER, amber alerts, children, Uber

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With most Macs these days, soldered memory chips mean that whatever RAM you want, you have to buy it from Apple when you order the machine. But the new 27-inch iMac still uses plug-in RAM, so you’re free to add your own RAM after purchase. And while Apple limits you to a maximum of 32GB, OWC (just like in years past) has just announced that it will shortly offer upgrade kits for 48GB and 64GB RAM … 

Adding RAM is usually one of the best ways to boost the real-life performance of a Mac, though you’d probably need to be doing some pretty heavy-duty work to take advantage of 64GB. It won’t, however, be cheap: the 48GB kit will cost $729, while the maximum 64GB will cost a cool $1195. But if the price doesn’t put you off, check out our how-to guide to see just how easy it is to do.

Laughably, the upgrade option means that your brand new iMac could actually end up with more than twice as much RAM as it has flash storage.

Sadly the new 4K 21.5-inch iMac uses soldered RAM, so unless you’re extremely handy with a soldering-iron, you’re stuck with 8GB or 16GB, depending on the spec you buy.

Filed under: Mac Tagged: 27-inch iMac, 27-inch iMac with 4K Retina Display, 27-inch iMac with Retina Display, 4k, Do it yourself, iMac, OWC, RAM, RAM upgrade iMAC

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Pangu has today released the first public untethered jailbreak for iOS 9, which can be installed on iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. This includes the latest iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus and every public version of iOS 9 (iOS 9.0, iOS 9.0.1 and iOS 9.0.2), meaning its now technically possible to reach beyond what’s possible in the Apple App Store on Apple’s latest devices. The jailbreak software is available for free, but right now there’s only a Windows installer available. Mac support will probably follow in the future but a date has not been announced.

As with all unofficial unsupported software for iOS, 9to5Mac would advise proceeding with caution before installing the jailbreak. Make sure to backup your devices in case of data loss and remember that jailbreaking will void your warranty, if Apple repair staff detect it has been used. We have confirmed that the jailbreak does work but results may vary so be sure to keep backups.

As with all software of this ilk, there are a few gotchas to keep in mind. The Pangu FAQ recommends disabling Find My iPhone and passcodes to maximise the success rate of the jailbreak process. The jailbreak process also clashes with the iOS system OTA updater. If you find the iOS 9 jailbreak failing repeatedly, try doing a full restore of the iPhone firmware through iTunes before attempting a jailbreak again. Check out the Pangu website for more details.

The importance of jailbreaking iOS devices has gone way down as Apple gradually implements many of the key jailbreak apps in the OS, especially with the inclusion of stuff like extensibility and Notification Center widgets. However, there are still some definite benefits you can get from access to an unmonitored, unregulated app store. Steve Troughton Smith this morning showed a proof-of-concept hack to get split-screen iOS 9 multitasking working on an iPad Air via the Pangu jailbreak. You can grab the code for this from GitHub.

Filed under: Apps, Developers, iOS, iOS Devices, Tech Industry Tagged: Cydia, iOS 9, jailbreak

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As Apple continues its efforts to break into the fashion scene, it was today announced that the company will sponsor the 2016 Met Gala. For those unfamiliar, the Met Gala is an event held every year in New York to benefit the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute. Each year has a different theme and the 2016 theme will be “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology,” with Apple sponsoring the event and Jony Ive serving a co-chair alongside Taylor Swift.

Vogue explains that the event will focus on the “dichotomy between handmade haute couture and machine-made fashion.” Andrew Bolton, curator of the Custom Institute explained that the line between the two spectrums has become increasingly blurred over recent years:

“Traditionally, the distinction between the haute couture and prêt-à-porter was based on the handmade and the machine-made. But recently this distinction has become increasingly blurred as both disciplines have embraced the practices and techniques of the other.”

Apple’s Chief Design Officer Jony Ive will serve as a co-chair for the event, alongside other moguls such as Taylor Swift, Idris Elba, and Anna Wintour. Karl Lagerfeld, who wears an Apple Watch with a gold Link Bracelet, will serve as an honorary chair.

The 2016 Met Gala will showcase more than 100 pieces of fashion, both haute couture and ready-to-wear. The event will also showcase 3D printing and give attendees the opportunity to see who the designers take shape.

It makes perfect sense for Apple to sponsor the 2016 Met Gala. The company has had a growing interest in the fashion market since the announcement of Apple Watch. The device was available at launch from a variety of high-end fashion retail locations. The device was also showcased by Vogue two separate times.

The 2016 Met Gala will take place on May 2nd.

Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: Apple, Apple watch, met Gala, Taylor Swift

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Apple today has further expanded the retail availability of Apple Watch, making the device available to purchase online and in stores from B&H Photo. The New York-based retailer currently is stocking 20 variants of the device in both the 38mm and 42mm models and only charges sales tax at time of purchase to customers in New York State.

Much like Target, Best Buy, T-Mobile, and Sprint retail locations, B&H is stocking the recently announced gold and rose gold Apple Watch Sport variants. In addition to the Sport models, B&H is also offering the stainless steel variant in 38mm and 42mm models. As far as straps go, the retailer has the steel model with the Milanese Loop in stock, as well as the Sport Band. The Classic leather and Link Bracelet bands are not available.

The Space Black stainless steel model is also available through B&H, although it comes with a black Sport Band, not the traditional black Link Bracelet. The Space Black Apple Watch is also only currently available in the 42mm size from B&H, with the 38mm size listed as out of stock. Finally, B&H is also stocking standalone OEM charging cable for Apple Watch.

Apple has been aggressively rolling Apple Watch out to more retailers as the holiday season approaches. The device became available from Best Buy over the summer, while T-Moblie and Sprint began carrying the device at the end of last month alongside the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. Target has also recently announced that it will begin carrying Apple Watch in all of its stores by October 25th, with some locations already stocking the device.

Apple has not yet announced how many Apple Watches it has sold since the device’s launch in April, but expanded retail availability as we head into the holiday shopping season will surely help bolster sales. Apple also recently unveiled a new ad campaign centered around Apple Watch that should also improve sales.

Customers can purchase Apple Watch from B&H Photo by either visiting a retail location or via the retailer’s iOS app. It’s important to note that if purchased via the app or online, only New York residents have to pay tax, making B&H a great option for those looking to save a few bucks on their Apple Watch purchase.

Filed under: Apple Watch Tagged: Apple, Apple watch, B&H Photo

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A jury today in Madison, Wisconsin has found Apple guilty of using technology owned by the University of Wisconsin without permission. According to a report from Reuters, Apple used chip technology owned by the university in its A7, A8, and A8X processors, which are found in the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, and several iPad variants.

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation originally sued Apple over the issue in January of 2014, saying that Apple infringed on its 1998 patent that handed improving chip efficiency. Apple has argued that it did not infringe on the patent and also that the patent is invalid to begin with. It asked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to review the validity of the patent, but its request was denied.

Now, Apple could be liable for up to $862.4 million in damages thanks to the jury’s ruling. U.S. District Judge William Conley, who is presiding over the case, has scheduled the trial to proceed in three phases: liability, damages, and whether Apple willfully infringed on the patent. Should Apple be found to have willfully infringed, the damages it owes could increase.

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation isn’t stopping there, however. The foundation last month launched a second lawsuit against Apple arguing that the A9 and A9X chips found in the iPhone 6s, 6s Plus, and iPad Pro infringe upon the same patent.

WARF sued Intel in 2008 on similar grounds, although the case was settled out of court the day before the trial.

Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: a7, A8, A8X, Apple Inc, iPhone, Patent, University of Wisconsin

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If you’re one of the many excited buyers chomping at the bit to get one of Apple’s latest-gen Retina iMacs, you might want to take a second to consider the specs on the new models. According to Apple’s website, the 1 TB Fusion Drives used in the new all-in-ones have seen a significant decrease in the amount of included flash storage.

How significant? The new drives ship with less than one-fifth of the previous flash storage.

A Fusion Drive, as most readers will likely recall, combines the cheap, vast storage of a traditional hard drive with the speed and efficiency of flash storage, with OS X automatically and intelligently moving files from the hard drive to the flash storage as needed to make those files more easily accessible.

In previous versions of the Fusion Drive, Apple has included 128 GB of flash storage—enough to store a lot of large apps and files that you use frequently. In the new iMacs with 1 TB Fusion Drives, however, that number has been cut to an insanely small 24 GB.

See for yourself on this excerpt from Apple’s iMac spec page:

Apparently Apple somehow thinks this is acceptable. Thankfully, for users who actually care about putting that flash storage to good use, there are two options that include the full 128 GB of flash. You’ll just need to spend a little extra to buy the 2 TB or 3 TB variety if you want to get that—an extra $200 or $300, respectively.

Filed under: Mac Tagged: Fusion Drive, Retina iMac

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Following a similar outage yesterday, some iTunes users are continuing to experience service disruptions as Apple confirms the downtime. Apple recently updated its system status page tracking issues with its services, stores and iCloud to note the ongoing problem with the iTunes store for some users:

“Users are experiencing a problem with the service listed above. We are investigating and will update the status as more information becomes available.”

The outage has been affecting some users since around 12pm ET, according to Apple, and is yet to be resolved.

Yesterday a number of users reported experiencing issues with Apple’s online services but Apple didn’t detail the problems on its status page.

We’ll update here if Apple confirms the problem as resolved.

Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: App Store, downtime, icloud, iTunes, ITunes Store, outage, system status

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As an aside to today’s release of new Retina iMacs, Apple granted an atypically personnel-driven set of interviews to Steven Levy, formerly of Newsweek. Levy spoke with Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller and several members of the company’s Input Design Lab, notably discussing several topics of interest to Mac and iPad users:

• Although it continues to seek improved screen performance, Apple considered and passed on using Quantum Dot screen technology, which some have called a natural successor to the IPS LED screens found in most Apple products. According to Levy, “Apple rejected [Quantum Dot] because it required cadmium, a toxic element,” but developed an LED alternative “that got [Apple] everything [it] wanted without the environmental downside.”
• Apple is continuing to define a space for Macs, particularly desktop computers, in an increasingly phone- and tablet-dominated world. Pointing out that Tim Cook last month called the iPad “the clearest expression of our vision of the future of personal computing,” Levy asked Schiller why desktop Macs should continue to exist. According to Schiller, the desktop’s “job is to challenge what we think a computer can do and do things that no computer has ever done before, be more and more powerful and capable so that we need a desktop because of its capabilities. Because if all it’s doing is competing with the notebook and being thinner and lighter, then it doesn’t need to be.” Big-canvased Retina iMacs achieve that, the article suggests.
• Schiller reaffirmed Apple’s previously-stated position that OS X and iOS are not being merged together, despite increasing similarities between the two operating systems. “iOS from its start has been designed as a multi-touch experience… Mac OS has been designed from day one for an indirect pointing mechanism. These two worlds are different on purpose, and that’s a good thing — we can optimize around the best experience for each and not try to mesh them together into a least-common-denominator experience.”
• Acknowledging Microsoft’s announcement of Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book devices last week, Schiller suggested that Microsoft’s push into hardware has confirmed Apple’s longstanding hardware and software development approach as correct. “It’s amazing that one event validated so much of what Apple does, and held us up as the gold standard. And that’s flattering.”

The full article, discussing the new P3 Retina displays and Magic accessory details such as the runners on the bottom of the Magic Mouse 2, is available here.

Filed under: Mac Tagged: iMac, iPad, Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2, Magic Trackpad 2, Quantum dot, Retina 4K iMac, Retina 5K iMac

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