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Surprise, Apple's iPad Mini With Retina Display Now On Sale Starting At $399
Nov 12, 8:08AM
The Apple Store has come back online after a surprise outage this evening and the previously announced iPad mini with Retina display is now on sale. The sale data had not been announced previously, Apple had only specified ‘November’. Springing a release out like this unannounced is somewhat of a surprise for many, who will wake up tomorrow morning likely with slipping ship dates. The pricing begins at $399 for the 16GB WiFi model and $529 for the 16GB LTE model. The top of the range is the 128GB with cellular connectivity for $829. As of time of publish, shipping times were 1-3 business days for the 16GB and 32GB WiFi models and 5-10 business days for the cellular models. Some are seeing delivery times anywhere from November 19th through December 5th. Though Apple CEO Tim Cook used the phrase ‘it’s going to be an iPad Christmas’ on its earnings call, he also acknowledged that not everyone who wanted an iPad mini would be able to get one before the year was out due to supply constraints. So if you must have one, you should probably hop to it. Though a leaked internal document showed a small sampling of countries would be able to order the device today, we’re seeing countries outside of those few (which included Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and the US) able to order. If you’ve got some curiosity about the new iPad Mini with Retina display left over, you can check out our full hands-on here. Apple released its iPad Air, which we’ve had a chance to review and opinionate on. And which has already marked up 5x the adoption rate of the iPad 4.
Steve Jobs Inducted Into Bay Area Business Hall of Fame, Eddy Cue Gives Heartfelt Acceptance Speech
Nov 12, 8:03AM
Steve Jobs was posthumously inducted into the Bay Area Business Hall of Fame last Thursday, and a video was posted of the ceremony a couple of days ago. Apple SVP Eddy Cue tweeted a link to the video, and was present at the ceremony to accept the award and to give a speech about his former leader and friend. The video presented a montage of Steve’s greatest hits, overlaid with narration by the man himself. Former Apple VP of Marketing Bill Campbell, who now serves on the company’s board of directors (and as a CEO coach of some renown) speaks briefly about Jobs, his relationship with his wife and kids and his legacy. Cue then speaks for a few minutes about his relationship with Jobs and gives an anecdote about the introduction of the Bondi Blue iMac. “He was a colleague, but most important, he was my friend. We talked every day, we talked about everything,” Cue says. “Even in my darkest days, he was there for me. When my wife had cancer, he was there for us. He helped me with the doctors and the treatments, he told me a lot about what he was going through, and her. And in many ways, she’s here tonight because of him, so thank you, Steve.” Cue then goes on to tell a little story: He taught me many things but none more important than ‘do what you love’. That’s what he did every day. It wasn’t about fame, it wasn’t about fortune, it was about creating great products. And not accepting anything less than perfection. As I was coming in today, I was trying to remember a story of the first time I learned that from Steve. We were launching the iMac, in Bondi blue…we were doing this at the Flint center in Cupertino. Unfortunately we couldn’t get the venue, Stomp was there the night before, we were launching it the next day and we could only get in at midnight. So we come in at midnight, we were going to do rehearsals…one of the things we wanted to do was have the iMac come out from the stage as he was introducing it. And we’d shine some lights. I was sitting out in the crowd…and the iMac comes out and the light comes on it and I said “wow, that is so cool!” Steve stops the whole thing and says
"It's Just A Big iPod Touch"
Nov 12, 7:10AM
Over the weekend, I got two emails from my mother. The most interesting aspect of them was the sign-off at the bottom: “Sent from my iPad”. This stood out to me for two reasons: First, I’ve now been using the iPad Air for the past couple of weeks, and thinking a lot about the state of the product. Second, this is my mother using an iPad. An iPad! Regularly! On a scale of 1 to 10 when it comes to tech savviness, I’d generously give my mother a 2. Sorry mom — but I think she’d (reluctantly) agree. Some of my earliest childhood memories revolve around “fixing” the television for her. “Fixing” here often meaning selecting the correct input or making sure the power was in fact on. Later, I would put the same work into the VCR. Then the computer. She certainly doesn’t hate technology, but it doesn’t seem to get along too well with her. And I know that the rapid pace of change in tech has been a source of frustration for her throughout the years. Just when she learns how to use one thing, the entire world changes. I completely understand her reluctance to embrace any new technology. So again, imagine my amazement when I saw the telltale sign of iPad usage: that email signature. To be clear, I’m the one who gave her the iPad. About a year ago, I gave her an iPad 2, knowing her computer (my old, old, old computer) was likely on its last legs. And while I gave her a walk-through of how to use the new device, I didn’t expect it to stick. After all, not only was she not an iPhone user, she wasn’t even a smartphone user. The idea of “apps” was a foreign one to her. I’m guessing the only times she was regularly using a touchscreen was at an ATM. And yet, “Sent from my iPad”. So I did what any fascinated tech blogger would do: I emailed my mother a series of questions about her usage of the iPad. Her response was illuminating: So yes, I like the iPad, but I miss a keyboard. I don’t like this touchpad. But I use it now in place of my old computer. I go on Pinterest. But I am having a few issues (as usual). It just shuts down and the Apple appears on the black
CustomInk Nabs $40 Million In Funding From Revolution Growth, Adds Ted Leonsis To Its Board
Nov 12, 5:00AM
Custom apparel company CustomInk just raised a whole lot of money, bringing on $40 million from Revolution Growth, the investment fund from Steve Case, Ted Leonsis, and Donn Davis. Along with the funding, Leonsis will join the company's board as it seeks to expand and go after new opportunities.
Pinterest Launches Japanese Version 18 Months After Rakuten Investment
Nov 12, 3:58AM
The Japanese version of Pinterest is now live as the site ramps up its global expansion. The launch comes 18 months after Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten became an investor in Pinterest. For the first time ever, with Japanese Pinterest, Rakuten login is available on a non-Rakuten product. Japanese users can log onto the site using Rakuten Connect, its version of Facebook Connect which gives access to Rakuten's online store and other services. Rakuten has 80 million members, compared to Pinterest's current base of 70 million users.
Microsoft's Windows Store Averaged 1.7M Daily Downloads In October, Up Nearly 40% From June
Nov 12, 2:44AM
According to information Microsoft provides to developers, the Windows Store marketplace for applications on Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 racked up roughly 1.7 million daily downloads, both free and paid, in October, a 38.56% increase since June. Microsoft's dataset, located on the company's developer portal, indicates that around 51.2 million applications, again free and paid, were downloaded during the month-long period. While that figure represents growth for Microsoft, the company lags steeply behind its classic rival Apple.
The PUC Crowdfunding Project Comes To A Close, Bringing MIDI To All The Things
Nov 12, 1:04AM
The PUC by Zivix is a clever little device that converts older MIDI systems into wireless powerhouses, allowing you to connect to iPads and the like with one small disc of electronics. Zivix, the maker of the Jamstik, is closing their crowdfunding campaign with $28,000 in the bank. 
Apple, The Hyperion Ion Cannon And Why Future iPhones Could Have A Sapphire Screen
Nov 12, 12:41AM
Late last week we published a piece about why Apple would want to build a factory to manufacture sapphire crystal, and why it might want to own over $570M worth of that production up front. Today, by connecting a few more dots, we can piece together how it could overcome the pricing and production volume barriers in order to use the material in smartphone screens. Let's start back in March of 2012, when a company called Twin Creeks came out of relative stealth to talk about a new production system it had created to manufacture photovoltaic (solar) cells that were cheaper and thinner, called Hyperion 3. The manufacturing process for most solar panels involves manufacturing a block of sapphire or other crystalline silicon and then slicing a .2mm-thick sheet off of it with a wafering saw. Twin Creeks' hydrogen ion particle accelerator (basically an ion cannon) allowed them to place wafers around the edges of the device and smash them with hydrogen ions. Here's a description of the process from Extreme Tech: A particle accelerator bombards these wafers with hydrogen ions, and with exacting control of the voltage of the accelerator, the hydrogen ions accumulate precisely 20 micrometers from the surface of each wafer. A robotic arm then transports the wafers to a furnace where the ions expand into hydrogen gas, which cause the 20-micrometer-thick layer to shear off. The process, when applied to solar, is then followed up by backing the sheets with flexible metal. The result is a huge reduction in thickness of sheets without the use of saws. This results in a big reduction in costs. Why do we care about a cool, but esoteric manufacturing process for solar panels? Well, jumping back to our piece from last week, you may recall that Apple is going in on a manufacturing deal with a company called GT Advanced Technologies. The deal will see Apple building a factory in which GT Advanced will make sapphire glass in high volumes. The only problem with the high-volume production of sapphire for smartphone screens is that most analysts will tell you that it's simply not cost-effective. A report in the MIT Technology Review early last year quotes analyst Eric Virey of research firm Yole Développement as saying that a sapphire display could cost around $30 or fall to around $20 in 'a couple of years'. Gorilla Glass, by comparison, runs less than
Microsoft Didn't Get Its Math Wrong In That Excel Billboard
Nov 11, 11:08PM
Yesterday, AppleInsider pointed out that Microsoft appears to have made a calculation error in a billboard touting the fact that its Surface tablets ship with the Office productivity set of applications. A math typo in Excel while shouting that Excel is bundled with your new hardware? That would be embarrassing.
Nathan Richardson Departs AOL, '770 Live' Program Put On Hold
Nov 11, 11:03PM
Nathan Richardson, who joined AOL as the president of Live from AOL (the company's live video initiative) just a few months ago, has departed, according to a report in Politico. A spokesperson for AOL, which owns TechCrunch, declined to comment on the status of individual employees, but he confirmed another aspect of the Politico report, that the 770 Live From AOL program (not the broader live video effort, which Richardson was presumably in charge of) has been put on hold: "We have decided to pause on launching 770 Live From AOL to ensure we are building a platform that will deliver across the board for consumers, partners and for AOL." 
This Is Apple's New Mothership Of An HQ
Nov 11, 10:39PM
The most realistic and detailed images yet of Apple's new spaceship headquarters have just been published in an awesome piece on Wired. The latest images of the 2.8 million square-foot campus show an expansive cafeteria, an underground parking garage, and a subterranean auditorium where forthcoming Apple products will be unveiled to the media. 
Confirmed: Fab COO To Exit As Company Looks To Winnow Down 'Top Heavy' Management Structure
Nov 11, 9:58PM
Fab.com, the design-oriented e-commerce site, is indeed seeing the departure of its chief operating officer Beth Ferreira, a person with knowledge of the situation has confirmed to TechCrunch. Ferreira will be transitioning out of her role at the company in the coming weeks, and is slated to depart at the end of the calendar year. Word of Ferreira's departure was first reported today by Bloomberg's Sarah Frier, citing an email reportedly sent by Fab CEO Jason Goldberg to the company's board. 
Humble Bundle Goes Head To Head Against Steam With The New Humble Store
Nov 11, 9:37PM
Slowly but surely, Humble Bundle is expanding its offering to cover all your indie gaming needs. After the indie bundles and the smaller weekly bundles, the startup just opened the Humble Store. As the name suggests, the new store allows you to purchase individual games just like you would on Steam or gog.com — but there’s a twist. There are only nine games currently available on the store. Every 24 hours, you will get a brand new set of games from the company’s catalog. All of these games are on sale with a fixed price that is between 50 and 75 percent off. Humble Bundle has always been about indie games. Even though the company released a couple of bundles with major publishers like EA, small developers and publishers are still on center stage. The first titles on the Humble Store include Don’t Starve, Prison Architect and Rogue Legacy. Before today, Humble Bundle had already partnered with hundreds of developers through the Humble Widget. The company provided a tiny embeddable all-in-one store for the official game website. Then, Humble Bundle handles payment processing and downloads in exchange for a 5 percent fee. So the Humble Store provides a central location to see some of the games already available through the Humble Widget. Yet, developers will only get 75 percent of the revenue through the new channel, while charities, such as the American Red Cross, Child’s Play Charity, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, World Land Trust and Charity Water, will receive 10 percent of the proceedings — Humble Bundle keeps 15 percent. While the Humble Store keeps the flash sale aspect of the Humble Bundles, Humble Bundle has never been so close to competing directly with Steam. As always with Humble Bundle games, in addition to DRM-free downloads, you often get a Steam key. From the outside, Valve and Humble Bundle are still partners, but it looks a lot like asymmetric competition after today’s update. If the Humble Store becomes more popular, the relationship between the two companies could change at the same time.
Print-On-Demand Network Print.io Debuts Hellopics, A Shutterfly Alternative That Competes On Price And Selection
Nov 11, 9:30PM
Bootstrapped startup Print.io has been quietly serving as the print supplier for a number of larger companies for a year now, including Fast Labs Inc. (now rebranded “Twenty20″), and others. But today the company is breaking out on its own with a new consumer-facing application called Hellopics, which will serve as both a testbed and demo for what Print.io has to offer in terms of print-on-demand products. The app allows users to order custom printed items, like iPhone and iPad cases, canvas wraps, posters, photo books, coffee mugs, and much more, all emblazoned with your own photos from the iPhone Camera Roll, Facebook, Instagram, Dropbox, Picasa, or Flickr. At launch, there are around five products live, and several more listed as “coming soon.” In time, the company will scale the service up to over 100 different product lines and thousands of SKU’s. According to Print.io founder Austen Bernstein, the plan is to launch five to ten more products each week leading up to the holidays, all of which can be shipped worldwide. Bernstein, who says he’s always had an interest in art and photography as well as having an entrepreneurial spirit, founded Print.io after previously working in growth stage capital at Tiger Global Management, and Insight Venture Partners in New York. With Print.io, his goal has been to build the largest international print network, and then offer that as a service to developers who could then integrate the print-on-demand option in their own applications as a tool to help them monetize. While companies like Angry Birds maker Rovio can generate a hundred million dollars through product merchandising, smaller development teams don’t have the manpower or resources to build those same networks on their own. “What we allow is to give them the plugin for their mobile app on iOS or Android or their website, and they can choose to sell t-shirts or mugs with their characters on it,” explains Bernstein. “And there’s a huge use case for that.” To date, Print.io has shipped to over 40,000 customers in 110 countries, says Bernstein. “We realized very early on that we’d prefer to go the Aviary model, where they had…a lot less friction to get to where they now have almost 5,000 partners. And that’s the kind of partner base we’re looking to have,” he says, referencing Aviary’s photo editing toolkit, which developers can integrate in their apps. Today, Print.io has a “fairly comprehensive beta list of
itBit Raises $3.25 Million To Launch A New Global Bitcoin Exchange For Institutional Investors
Nov 11, 9:00PM
There are a number of Bitcoin exchanges out there today, but itBit seeks to differentiate from many of the more consumer-focused exchanges out there by providing a higher level of security and compliance than some other options. The hope is that by doing so, it will be able to attract interest from traditional financial organizations, in addition to a growing number of retail investors.
American Express Teams Up With Mightybell To Connect Small Businesses With Each Other Locally
Nov 11, 8:00PM
While there are plenty of opportunities for small businesses and merchants to advertise, market and even sell online, there aren't many platforms that allow them to actually communicate with each other by neighborhood and share best practices. Mightybell, the platform that allows communities to learn and share together in groups, has scored a major partnership this morning that hopes to change this for small businesses across the country.
Easy Drum Machine App Keezy Lets You Tap To Record, Tap Again To Play
Nov 11, 7:49PM
With Keezy, making music doesn't require a lot of work, know-how, or talent. This dead-simple drum machine app lets you hold down one of its eight buttons to record a sound with your device's microphone, and tap that button again to play it. "Beatbox with your fingers" on the free new Keezy app to create fun little jingles, harmonize with yourself, or add effects over a DJ set.
Senator McCain Calls For The Resignation Or Firing Of the NSA's General Alexander
Nov 11, 7:34PM
Sen. John McCain is a stalwart of the Senate, a former candidate for president, prisoner of war and fighter pilot. As such, his voice is among the most prominent of the American Congress, and when he speaks, foreign powers listen in order to get a feel of the wind of our political climate.
On Xbox One, SkyDrive Will Put On A Show With Your Stored Videos And Photos
Nov 11, 7:20PM
Today Microsoft announced that SkyDrive, its online file storage product, will display user photo and video content onto their televisions via the new Xbox One console in a more attractive fashion than on the preceding Xbox 360 devices. SkyDrive already has a presence on the Xbox ecosystem, with an application that did allow for the viewing of photos and the like on the current Xbox 360. On the Xbox One, Microsoft is lashing the SkyDrive ecosystem more closely to the new console, better uniting one of its most popular services – SkyDrive has over 250 million users – with its new device. Previously, the SkyDrive experience was basic on Xbox. The new app will allow for deep zooming into high-res photos, so that you can get as far into an image as you want. And, of course, you can ‘snap’ SkyDrive inside of Xbox One to allow for two apps to be run at the same time, as with Windows 8.1. Also, new slideshow options have been added to prevent an overload of what the company name-checks as “the Ken Burns effect.” The update is small, but matters as it again underscores how Microsoft is aligning its consumer experiences. This improved integration, by the way, is another example of why Microsoft might not want to sell the Xbox unit – it’s part of its larger services and devices play that is so important to the company’s business model. Top Image Credit: Flickr
Email Productivity Startup Yesware Makes Its First Acquisition, Buys San Francisco-Based File-Sharing Service Attachments.me
Nov 11, 7:00PM
Yesware, an email productivity startup for salespeople, which just this fall raised an additional $13.5 million in Series B funding, has made its first acquisition. The company is acquiring the email file-sharing startup Attachments.me, which is also officially shutting down as of today. The entire five-person team from Attachments.me is joining Boston-based Yesware, but will remain in San Francisco, effectively establishing a new office for the company in the area, where Yeware reports a growing customer base. 
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