On Tuesday Apple reported selling a record number of Macs and iPads. However, the company's stock dropped because Apple "only" sold 17 million iPhones, less than the 20-22 million units Wall Street pundits had predicted.

Does that make sense? Of course not. And let's be clear: iPhone sales were up 21% year-over-year. Despite this, Apple's stock fell more than US$28, or almost 7%. Brian Marshall, an analyst with the International Strategy and Investment Group was correct when he called this a "knee jerk" reaction."

"The question everyone's asking is, 'What happened to three-to-four million iPhones?' " Marshall told "Computerworld" (http://macte.ch/IQIUS). "The problem is that this update was delayed by several months, and exacerbated the transition to the iPhone 4S. Is their share declining? No that the sales that would have otherwise been in the third quarter simply shifted into the current period, with...

An Apple patent (number 20110258254) for method and apparatus for updating and synchronizing information between a client and server has appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office. It seems to involve the new iCloud service, as well as Apple's (or at least the late Steve Jobs') preference of HTML5 over Flash.

The invention provides a method and apparatus for integrating applets running on a client with the application logic for applications running on a server. According to Apple, the mechanism of the present invention provides two significant advantages over the prior art: the synchronization of state, and the recognition of user actions in the browser including the invocation of the appropriate application logic in the server. Instead of using the FORM element available in HTML, individual active applets are available and may be created that obtain user input (e.g. a checkbox, textbox, button, etc.).

"A hidden applet called the Applet Group Controller is...

Those pundits who have declared that Apple is losing interest in the Mac, especially the desktop line, might think again.

In Apple's latest fiscal quarter, Apple, as CEO Tim Cook noted, gained significant share in its computer business. Approximately 4.89 million Macs were sold during the quarter. That beats the previous record by about 750,000.

The MacBook Air and MacBook Pro were the top sellers for the company with the laptop line accounting for 74% of Mac sales. However, the desktop line -- mainly the iMac -- moved almost 1.3 million units. That's a record for Mac desktop sales.

The Mac is, as usual, outgrowing the computer industry as a whole. By more than six times, per the latest data from the IDC research group

As far as tablets replacing traditional computers, it appears the iPad is taking away SOME Mac sales, but a lot more PC sales.

Cook said it best during a conference call with analysts: "Remember, the Mac had its best quarter by far...

It's very disappointing to see how Apple has not handled the multiple Apple ID issue. An Apple ID is the email address you use as a login for just about everything you do with Apple, including using iCloud to store your content, buying songs from the iTunes Store, and downloading apps from the App Store.

As you have probably discovered if you've tried to move from MobileMe to iCloud, if you have more than one Apple ID, you should be very, very, very careful. As an example, I couldn't find how to change the Apple ID that is on my iOS device. So if you put the wrong one in, it will not be part of your other devices' eco-system.

In September, it seemed Apple was working on a solution to allow users to merge multiple Apple IDs into one. The news came from a phone call from Apple's executive relations team saying that they were aware of the issue and seemingly working on it, as noted by "MacRumors" (http...

More good news for Apple: tablets and smartphones are redefining the retail shopping experience and will be a US$5 billion market per year by 2015, according to a research study released today by analyst firm IHL Group (http://www.ihiservices.com).

According to the study, "Mobility: A Gutenberg Moment for Retail, A Threat to POS," the release of the Apple iPad and Amazon Kindle Fire have created price points and form factors for mobile devices that are finally allowing retailers to arm their associates with tools that will transform the in-store experience.

"The advent of mobile devices is a Gutenberg moment that is revolutionizing many aspects of the shopping experience," says Greg Buzek, president, IHL Group. "A complete transformation of the customer experience will occur at clothing and department stores over the next three years. Store personnel will be able to greet shoppers with their...

Hollywood is getting ready to launch UltraViolet, a cloud-based movie storage solution that the industry is betting (or at least hoping) will convince consumers to buy movies instead of renting them.

How? The "digital locker" solution purportedly keeps copies of films you've bought on remote servers for viewing any time on various devices. Starting this month, consumers can buy the first film discs offered with UltraViolet.

With a "buy once, play anywhere" message, studios hope consumers see more benefits to owning movies, notes "Reuters" (http://macte.ch/nuAuz). Backers are pitching flexibility for multiple devices, the promise of owning rights to a movie for a lifetime, and the advantage of a cloud-stored copy not hogging hard-drive space, the article adds.

UltraViolet offers "more value for digital ownership. You can stream wherever you are," John Calkins, executive vice president of global...

Two new patents at the US Patent & Trademark Office show that Apple may be getting into the avatar editing business.

Patent number 20110248992 is for an avatar editing environment that that allows users to create custom avatars for use in online games and other applications. Starting with a blank face the user can add, rescale and position different elements (e.g., eyes, nose, mouth) on the blank face. The user can also change the shape of the avatar's face, the avatar's skin color and the color of all the elements. In some implementations, touch input and gestures can be used to manually edit the avatar.

Various controls can be used to create the avatar, such as controls for resizing, rotating, positioning, etc. The user can choose between manual and automatic avatar creation. The avatar editing environment can be part of a framework that is available to applications. One or more elements of the avatar can be animated. The inventors are Marcel...

Three new patents at the US Patent & Trademark Office show that Apple is working on ways to offer better content and file protection.

Patent number 20110252233 is for a system and method for backing up and restoring files encrypted with file-level content protection. The patent describes systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for initiating a backup, backing up encrypted data, and restoring backed up encrypted data. The method for initiating a backup includes sending a backup secret to a backup device having an encrypted file system, receiving from the backup device a backup ticket created based on the backup secret, and storing the backup ticket.

The method for backing up encrypted data includes receiving a backup ticket and a backup secret, retrieving an escrow key bag containing protection class keys, decrypting the protection class keys with the backup ticket, generating a backup key bag containing new protection...

Here's a good reason for Apple to concentrate on its iBookstore (and make it Mac compatible): by 2017 the world e-readers market is expected to achieve unit shipments of nearly 54 million a year, according to a new research report available from the Companies and Markets research group (http://www.companiesandmarkets.com).

Despite difficult trading conditions during the recession, the e-reader market endured and is one of the most popular technological innovations in recent years. The first e-readers were available in the early part of the last decade, but consumer interest didn't pique until Amazon’s 2007 Kindle launch, which allowed users to download books wirelessly, without having to connect to a computer. Market expansion has been rapid, with many companies vying for a slice of Amazon’s success -- such as Apple.

The e-reader market is still in its infancy, holding a tiny...

An Apple patent (number 8037220) for techniques for providing audio for synchronized playback by multiple devices has appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office. The invention relates to synchronizing audio with multiple devices and, more specifically, to handling the communication of audio information between applications and multiple devices.

The patent involves an audio system communicates with an aggregate device that includes multiple audio devices. When providing audio data for playback, the system compensates for presentation latency differences between the various audio devices. In addition, the system adjusts for device clock drift by selecting a master device and resampling the audio data provided to the other devices based on the difference between the device clock of the master device and the device clocks of the other devices. The inventors are Jeffrey C. Moore, William G. Stewart, and Gerhard H. Lengeling.

Here's Apple's background and summary of...

Perhaps the most gotta-have-it feature of the iPhone 4S and iOS 5 is Siri. Let's hope it comes to the Mac.

Siri on iPhone 4S lets you use your voice to send messages, schedule meetings, place phone calls, and more. Apple says that you can ask Siri to do things just by talking the way you talk. I haven't tried it, but Apple says Siri understands what you say, knows what you mean, and even talks back.

What differentiates Siri from competing technologies is its ability to not only recognize words spoken in a normal tone of voice, but its capacity to pick up on the contextual meaning of a phrase. It looked great during the demo at Tuesdasy's "Let's Talk iPhone" event, but then demos at such events usually do. (You can see a video at http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/siri.html .)

So what about Siri for Mac OS X? It could have a variety of uses,...

Posted by Greg Mills

RIM's server network has crashed and is currently out of service in much of the world. It is unknown how long RIM phones and devices will be out of service. RIM runs its phones through a unique system that encrypts data for security reasons and thus there might be some complications with that. Only RIM devices are affected.

As the news of the RIM service disruption are in the tech news, another interesting statistic has just come out. News reports are that Apple sold 200,000 iPhone 4s units in the first 12 hours they were available online, as pre-orders. Actually, that has been revised today to at least 1,000,000 iPhone 4s sold in the first 24 hours.

To put that in perspective, RIM sold into the retail channel 200,000 PlayBooks in the first quarter they were on the market. That is not sold retail to consumers, as is the one million Apple iPhones, it is 200,000 PlayBooks sold wholesale to stores. While RIM tablet...

By Greg Mills

Apple finally condescended to grant Sprint the iPhone in a deal that rocked Wall Street. Sprint is betting the farm that selling the iPhone will pull the third string US carrier out of the dumps and back into the big time. Apple and Sprint both seem to be quite confidant that simply having iPhones available for its customer base will turn the company around.

That might be true if the company lasts that long. Sprint is stone broke and mismanaged, running in all directions at once. They need a firm hand at the helm and don't have one. Making an agreement with Apple to buy 30,500,000 iPhones over the next four years at a cost of US$20 billion is rather rich considering the current market cap for Sprint is only $7 billion. Not only is the Apple deal too rich for Sprint, they recently announced that they intend to build out a new LTE G4 network that will cost them money they just don't have. Confidence in Sprint's management is the problem...

Remember the "Think Different" ad campaign Apple launched in 1997? It was one of the most brilliant ad campaigns ever conceived -- and I'd love to see a one-off revival to honor Steve Jobs.

The "Think Different" slogan was created by the Los Angeles office of advertising agency TBWA\Chiat\Day. It was used in a TV commercial, several print advertisements and a number of TV promos for Apple products. Shortened versions of the text were used in two television commercials, known as "Crazy Ones," which had a voiceover by actor Richard Dreyfuss. (There was also an unaired version featured the voice of Jobs himself.)

A one-minute commercial featured black-and-white footage of 17 iconic 20th century personalities: Albert Einstein, Bob Dylan, Martin Luther King, Jr., Richard Branson, John Lennon (with Yoko Ono), Buckminster Fuller, Thomas Edison, Muhammad Ali, Ted Turner, Maria Callas, Mahatma Gandhi, Amelia Earhart, Alfred Hitchcock, Martha Graham, Jim Henson (with Kermit the...

As noted by "AppleInsider" (http://www.appleinsider.com) one of the last patents to bear Steve Jobs' name (along with Timothy Wasko) as inventor was patent number 201000281415 for a "three state icon" for a computer.

A three state icon for a computer is disclosed. The icon prevents inadvertent starting of an operation on a computer. Per the patent, the icon has a first state that conceals a second state. Upon selection of the first state with a computer pointing device (i.e., mouse), the icon will change to the second state.

Upon selecting the icon in the second state, the operation on the computer will start. Accordingly, only upon selecting the icon in the first state and then the second state, the operation will commence on the computer thereby preventing accidental startup of the operation. Once the second state has been selected, the icon will change to a third state which indicates...

By Greg Mills

Steve Jobs drew strong opinions about himself and his ideas. He knew what he knew and come hell or high water, he stuck to his opinions. The taste and marketing wisdom he espoused led entire industries that correctly followed his lead or suffered for it. Confidence based on true genius has great value, and Apple is the result of a series of Steve's visions that resulted in "insanely great products" and the world's most valuable company.

Steve Jobs learned the concept of focusing on a few important things and letting the mundane issues take care of themselves with crisp detailed orders to subordinates. Reportedly, you made Mr. Jobs repeat himself to your own injury. He didn't suffer fools very well.

The flap over the recent "disappointment" over the iPhone 4S was, in my opinion, subconsciously in the public mind due to not having been pitched by Steve Jobs. Steve could have said, "If you think iPhone 4S is no big deal, consider...

Posted by Greg Mills

The Apple rumor mill, which we at MacTech contribute to, tends to build expectations for Apple product launches that sometimes go over the top. Had Apple called the iPhone 4S the iPhone 5, there would have been a very bad buzz in the press that the update was insufficient to get the name iPhone 5. The rumors that seek to fill the information void that Apple intentionally creates, generate expectations that each product launch is the end all, do all electronic bunker-buster of all time.

Sometimes, technology in chip development, for example, holds up an Apple product. Some analysts are speculating that the LTE G4 chips available today are just too big to fit the iPhone's slender form factor. Cost is also a consideration when you are planning on building 75 million of anything. Apple has gross margins to kill for, just ask any competitor forced to sell things at a loss to be competitive with them.

The roll out of the...

Apple has been granted three patents by the US Patent & Trademark Office. Following is a summary of each.

Patent number 8032181 is for a server provider activation with subscriber identity module policy. Systems and methods for activating a mobile device for use with a service provider are described. In one exemplary method, a mobile device having a currently inserted SIM card may be prepared for activation using a signing process in which an activation server generates a signed activation ticket encoded with SIM policy data that corresponds to the combination of the device and one of a number of SIM cards belonging to a set of SIM cards defined by the SIM policy data.

The activation ticket is securely stored on the mobile device. In another exemplary method the mobile device may be activated in an activation process in which the device verifies an activation ticket against information specific to the device and SIM card in accordance with the...

By Greg Mills

The high tech miracle, a true cosmic wonder (pictured in the brown jacket), has officially been rendered obsolete. Actually, the high tech wonder on the right is the now obsolete item, Microsoft's Zune Music Player. Bill Gates, also wearing a brown jacket, shown on the left, is still alive and doing his best to spend his money well, as Ballmer is doing his best to run Microsoft further into the ground. I wonder if Gates will relent now and allow his kids to own an Apple iPod now that the Zune is dead?

The history of Microsoft's Zune is similar to a street with so many pot holes the notion of it ever having been blacktop is long forgotten. The Zune was to be the Microsoft carbon copy of Apple's iPod and allow Microsoft to make a lot of money selling Zunes and music on-line. The Zune never really took hold in the market place. Microsoft could clone the electronics, but not the Steve Jobs sizzle, the chemistry that made everyone want an...

A recent Cisco Systems survey found that video systems and interaction are taking an increasingly larger portion of a person’s day and overall life.

Workplace chaplains employed by Marketplace Chaplains USA are finding that while everything is changing, becoming more efficient and moving faster, some things don't change. Personal chaplain interaction with employees is the best solution for helping each one with the many personal problems hindering workplace progress and efficiency.

In the Cisco survey, Senior Vice President Marthin De Beer, said most people and employees use video technology to access essential and professional services.

"Video is happening and it’s happening today," he said in his report. By comparison, more than 2,500 Marketplace Chaplains in 43 states serving more than 2,400 client locations report most employees still seek out chaplains for face-to-face discussions about the hurts, joys and hopes of life.

"The fact a chaplain has...

A new rumor underscores what I've suspected for some time: the iPod classic and iPod shuffle are coming to an end.

The former -- though the very best value in iPods (160GB for US$250) -- uses a hard disk drive -- and Apple's current, true love in storage is sold state drives. As for the shuffle, it's basically an iPod nano without a screen.

I'll miss the iPod classic. It bears the most resemblance to the original iPod. It goes back about 10 years and has seen six generations. So take a bow, iPod classic, you've served us well.

As for the iPod shuffle, I've never owned one and never seen the point. I like my digital music players to have screens, so I can have more options. The shuffle debuted in 2005 and has gone through four generations.

If you're a shuffle fan, feel free to scoop some up before (assuming I'm right) they disappear. As for me, well, sorry, iPod shuffle, but I hardly knew you.

-- Dennis Sellers

Patent number 20110238699 at the US Patent & Trademark Office shows that Apple is working on head-to-head comparison features for its online stores.

The invention provides a comparison of a set of similar items includes: receiving from a first member of an online community a selection of a stored prior comparison created by another online community member of a set of similar items; providing to the first member a template for the comparison, the template being at least partially pre-populated using data from the stored prior comparison created by the other online community member; and receiving from the first member a submission of the comparison, wherein the comparison includes one or more modifications as made by the first member to the template. The inventors of the patent are Kenneth N. Chang, David A. Koski, Pedraum R. Pardehpoosh and Ralph E. Zazula.

Here's Apple's background and summary of the invention: "In the context of online stores, a user or...

Apple is working on ways to lessen wireless interference on devices such as the iPhone, per a new patent (number 20110237246) for "Wireless Interference Mitigation" has appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office.

The patent involves mitigating interference in a mobile wireless communication device by using an estimation of the performance impact of interfering signals generated by a wireless cellular transmitter and received by a co-located wireless local area network receiver. Wireless local area network frequency band usage is modified based on the performance impact estimation and the state of the wireless cellular and wireless local area network connections.

The estimation accounts for properties of the wireless cellular transmitter and wireless local area network receiver as well as operational characteristics of the wireless cellular and wireless local area network connections. Indranil Sen is the inventor.

Here's Apple's background and summary...

By Greg Mills

The web is loaded today with Kindle Fire news stories, some suggesting the dread iPad killer has landed ... Not really, not for a lot of reasons. A souped-up book reader that can also run a version of the Android OS, but has a small screen and lackluster features isn't comparable to the iPad.

As Steve Jobs noted, the smaller size screen reduces actual square inches of usable surface on an inverse squared. Smaller screen sizes were tested at Apple and rejected. Keep in mind, there are rumors that the new iPhone will sport a larger screen and sort of fill-that-gap in the product line defined by the Kindle Fire. I submit that the next direction screen sizes will go is up, not down.

Apple will also introduce retina iPad screens sooner than later. The higher resolution doesn't mean much until you compare regular TV to HDTV. Wow, what a difference it makes.

Remember a year ago when the electronics shows were full of iPad...