NYT claims Apple has dallied with investing ‘hundreds of millions’ in Twitter

Twitter expanded tweets on iPhone with New York Times

Apple has been on a social networking kick lately, what with Twitter's footings in iOS 5 and OS X Mountain Lion as well as Facebook's upcoming presence in iOS 6. From what the New York Times hears, that fascination could become more of a fixation. The company has reportedly chatted with Twitter in past months about the possibility of investing money on the scale you'd normally expect from a later-stage venture capitalist: the newspaper is talking "hundreds of millions" of dollars based on Twitter being valued at more than $10 billion. Any such deal would be less about funding (Twitter purportedly has $600 million-plus in the bank) and more about getting cozy in a social world where Apple still has some learning to do. Apple might equally want to dissuade competitors from getting any ideas, we'd add. Neither side will comment, and the negotiations aren't even supposed to be active at present. Regardless, that Apple might have even toyed with a social networking investment could represent a major change in tack for a company that's not always known for playing well with others.

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NYT claims Apple has dallied with investing 'hundreds of millions' in Twitter originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 23:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google acquires Sparrow, the Apple-focused email app maker

Google aquires Sparrow, the Applefocused email app maker

Well, we can't exactly say we saw this one coming. Sparrow, maker of popular email apps for iOS and Mac OS X, has just announced that it's been acquired by Google. Expectedly, details on the acquisition are being kept under wraps at the moment, but company CEO Dom Leca has confirmed in a blog post that Sparrow will be joining the Gmail team at Google to "accomplish a bigger vision." Fans of the company's apps will be glad to know, however, that the team will "continue to make Sparrow available and provide support for our users" while also working on new things at Google. That does sound like most of their attention will be focused elsewhere, though. You can find Leca's full statement on the matter at the source link below.

Update: The Verge was able to get some notion of a cost for this deal, with "under $25 million" being a figure assigned to this, a figure that wasn't inflated due to a bidding war. (That should answer those wondering if maybe Google bought this out from under Apple.)

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Google acquires Sparrow, the Apple-focused email app maker originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jul 2012 12:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple sunsets a few 64-bit Macs with Mountain Lion, video drivers likely the culprit

OS X Mountain Lion About This Mac

Apple is well-known for wanting a close spread in hardware requirements with OS X upgrades, having dropped PowerPC like a hot potato when Snow Leopard arrived just three years after the Intel switch. Whether or not you're a fan of that policy, it's certainly carrying forward with Mountain Lion. When the newly-finished OS hits the Mac App Store, it will rule out the very first wave of 64-bit Macs: certain MacBook Pros, Mac Pros and other early systems will be denied a taste of 10.8. Some sleuthing from Ars Technica suggests that it's a matter of graphics drivers rather than capriciousness on Apple's part, as the Macs excluded from the mix are using 32-bit drivers that won't play nicely with Mountain Lion's 64-bit Utopia short of a wide-scale conversion effort. It's little consolation to those who dropped a pretty penny on certain Macs just a few years ago. That said, Apple is still going the extra mile to support some systems -- if you're reading this on an original aluminum iMac, you're sitting pretty.

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Apple sunsets a few 64-bit Macs with Mountain Lion, video drivers likely the culprit originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jul 2012 11:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft details Windows 8 File History, takes us through a Time Machine

Microsoft details Windows 8 File History, takes us through a Time Machine

Microsoft is still determined to explore every nook and cranny of Windows 8 on its way to the newly official October launch, and now it's swinging its attention towards File History, its revamped approach to preserving our data. The new component supplements Windows Backup, which Microsoft admits is "not a very popular" app, and is more than a little transparent in bringing OS X's set-it-and-forget-it Time Machine strategy to the Windows crowd. Not that we're complaining: the same basic philosophy of getting an automatic, version-aware backup of all our personal files is convenient on any platform, especially when we can get a temporary internal safeguard while we're on vacation. The differences in platforms have equal rewards and drawbacks, however. File History provides more control over backups than its Apple counterpart, including frequency (finally!) and backup age, but it can't be used to backup whole apps like with a Time Machine drive. As always with these in-depth Windows 8 explorations, there's much more to see at the source, so click on through if you've ever been worried about deleting a file by accident.

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Microsoft details Windows 8 File History, takes us through a Time Machine originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jul 2012 13:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VLC 2.02 adds Retina display support, ditches font cache interruptions

VLC 202 adds Retina display support, ditches font cache

The latest version of everyone's favorite file-type-friendly media player has been updated on both Windows and OS X, although the Apple iteration gets the most major addition -- playback support on the new MacBook Pro's Retina display. Alongside sharper menus, VLC's latest update extends functionality to the video itself, maintaining crispness on smaller viewing windows and even fully-blow 4K video. Good news on all platforms though, as the developers have now nixed that grating "building font cache" pop-up window. Smaller changes include support for Growl and the return of the "keep aspect ratio" option. Hit up the changelog for a full run-down of the other changes.

VLC 2.02 adds Retina display support, ditches font cache interruptions originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 06:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple releases Mountain Lion Preview 4 and iOS 6 for developers, iTunes 10.6.3 for everyone else

Apple releases Mountain Lion Preview 4 and IOS 6 for developers, iTunes 1063 for everyone else

Looking to tame Apple's Mountain Lion? Step right up, Cupertino's latest build of OS X is ready for consumption -- assuming you're a registered developer, of course. Following WWDC's reveals and teases, Apple has released an updated preview of its desktop and mobile operating systems, serving up Mountain Lion Preview 4 and an iOS 6 beta to developers. The rest of us will have to console ourselves with iTunes 10.6.3, which adds support for the mobile and desktop OS' those fancy devs are getting their hands on. Don't worry, the updated music management software will be able to make full use of Mountain Lion next month, but you'll have to wait until this fall to sync with iOS 6. Hit the source link below to get your update.

Apple releases Mountain Lion Preview 4 and iOS 6 for developers, iTunes 10.6.3 for everyone else originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jun 2012 01:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OS X Mountain Lion: arrives on Macs next month, priced at $20

OS X Mountain Lion: arrives on Macs next month, priced at $20

You got it. The latest version of Mac OS X is coming in a matter of weeks, and will set you back just shy of twenty bucks. If any of those new beastly, Ivy Bridge-decked machines made you reconsider your bank balance, breathe a (small) sigh of relief -- you'll be treated to a free upgrade if you decide to buy one before Mountain Lion arrives in July.

For more coverage of WWDC 2012, please visit our event hub!

Continue reading OS X Mountain Lion: arrives on Macs next month, priced at $20

OS X Mountain Lion: arrives on Macs next month, priced at $20 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jun 2012 14:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple introduces Power Nap OS X feature that updates your Mac while it’s sleeping

Apple introduces Power Nap, updates your Mac while it's sleeping

Apple just introduced a new OS X feature here at WWDC 2012 called Power Nap. It lets your Mac update email, notifications and photos in the background, as well as back itself up while charging. Whether or not Apple ever drops the word "Ultrabooks" (and trust us, it won't), this addition is a clear retort to all those Windows-based ultraportables that promise to keep web-based apps up to date. In addition to the new MacBook Pros announced today, the feature will work with the second-generation Air, which makes us think all other legacy Macs might be excluded. Supposedly, too, the technology goes easy on the battery and won't stir up the fans, though Apple claims they're quieter on the new Macs anyway.

For more coverage of WWDC 2012, please visit our event hub!

Myriam Joire contributed to this report.

Apple introduces Power Nap OS X feature that updates your Mac while it's sleeping originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jun 2012 14:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple: 26 million copies of Lion OS sold, 66 million Mac users

Apple: 26 million copies of Lion OS sold, 66 million Mac users

As we try to get to our feet after that tidal wave of hardware announcements, Apple's moved onto Mac OS, quoting with some impressive new figures. Over 26 million copies of OS X Lion have now been sold, making it Apple's "best-selling release ever." Meanwhile, Mac users now total over 66 million -- that's three times the number in 2007.

For more coverage of WWDC 2012, please visit our event hub!

Apple: 26 million copies of Lion OS sold, 66 million Mac users originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jun 2012 13:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Approved Mac OS app boasts ‘Retina graphics’

Approved Mac App boasts 'Retina graphics'

As if there wasn't enough speculation already, what with WWDC just around the corner, bets are already being placed on the possibility of "Retina Display" Macs. So, when an app turns up in Mac App store mentioning "Retina graphics" under the new features list, eyebrows are understandably going to rise. Of course, this isn't the first such tease we've seen, but it's not the least convincing either. So, we're still not ready to put our money down on a retina-reveal next week just yet, but those odds do seem to be getting ever shorter.

Approved Mac OS app boasts 'Retina graphics' originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Jun 2012 06:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Next Web  |  sourceMac App Store  | Email this | Comments