We’ve permanently removed the “enable/disable” toggle for ads in the Apps for Education Administrator console. This means ads in Apps for Education services are turned off and administrators no longer have the option or ability to turn ads in these services on.
Administrators no longer have the ability to turn ads on? Damn. That was my favourite feature.
We’ve tested the Website Card with a handful of brands like Citrix and Betabrand, whose campaigns saw significant decreases in cost-per-click (CPC) compared to campaigns that used an image and URL to drive website traffic. Betabrand’s CPCs were reduced by up to 85%, and Citrix saw a 92% decrease in CPC. In addition, UK-based mobile company Three saw a 26% higher Engagement Rate as well as a 64% increase in URL clicks when utilizing Website Cards.
Those are some insanely high engagement rates.
Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2014 second quarter ended March 29, 2014. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $45.6 billion and quarterly net profit of $10.2 billion, or $11.62 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $43.6 billion and net profit of $9.5 billion, or $10.09 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 39.3 percent compared to 37.5 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 66 percent of the quarter’s revenue.
Earnings were good. iPad performance is an ongoing concern, despite Cook’s assurances that it’s still on fire. There was some hints about some new stuff coming for iPad (i.e. iPad maxi), but it didn’t sound imminent.
The most interesting stuff this time around is what is traditionally the most boring stuff. The numbers. The investor crap. Apple is announcing a seven-to-one stock split, beginning in early June. The last time they did a stock split was two-for-one in February 2005.
At current prices, this would set Apple stock at about $80. The whole point of splits is to make it easier for smaller institutions to buy stock. The downside is this attracts speculative investors who are largely driven by the potential of turning short-run profits than long-term investments.
In fact, thinking about it, the company juiced their stock in pretty much every way possible this quarter. They announced the split, increased share buybacks by $30 billion, increased dividends to $3.29 per share and pledged to increase dividends on an annual basis. If that doesn’t improve Apple’s P/E ratio, I don’t know what will.
Don’t worry. Despite all of this additional capital expenditure, it still has $150 billion in cash. No big deal.
Koskinen said the IRS could scrutinize more returns - and collect billions more in revenue - with more resources. The president’s budget proposal says the IRS would collect an additional $6 for every $1 increase in the agency’s enforcement budget.
Koskinen said he makes that argument all the time, but for some reason, it’s not playing well in Congress.
Governments are weird.
So with 8.1, users now have the ability to basically skin the Tiles by overlaying an image of their choice. That’s not entirely accurate though as what is really happening is some Tiles are becoming transparent, with the user image showing through the Tile.
How it works is if an app uses the ‘Iconic design’ for its Live Tile, it will show the image behind it. If the tile uses a ‘Flip layout’, any area of the background that is transparent will show the background image. As a result, some apps will have a ‘see through’ ability with the new background images, while others will remain a solid, preselected color e.g. Facebook.
As long as all your tiles support the appearance, the effect is really really slick. By contrast, iOS 7’s parallax wallpapers feels gimmicky and cheap. I’m really happy to see Microsoft experimenting here.
The importance of wallpaper customisation cannot be understated. Users love setting images of their pets or loved ones as their background. A common iPhone behaviour is for users to put all their apps into one folder, just to maximise the amount of wallpaper they can see.
Unfortunately, apps like Facebook or Twitter (which currently stick to their own branding regardless of user options) spoil the illusion somewhat. It’s particularly disorientating when you scroll; there is a visual clash between the static backgrounds and the one that tracks the panning.
Apple could be looking to health insurance companies to help subsidize its rumored iWatch fitness bands in the same way that wireless carriers subsidize the cost of smartphones.
That speculation comes from Timothy Arcuri, an analyst with Cowen & Co. He raised the possibility on Friday in a research note that discussed possible product launches, including the iWatch, later this year from Apple.
“We continue to believe it is possible the product (iWatch) is backstopped by some sort of insurance subsidization model similar to the carrier subsidization model for iPhone,” he wrote.
Do you think Apple likes the subsidy model for iPhones? Apple was basically forced down that route with the iPhone because the market was already entrenched such that subsidies were expected. If the market was a clean slate, I don’t believe that Apple would have wanted to instate a relationship in the market that was so reliant on the carrier.
Therefore, in the watch/band market, I think subsidy models are the last thing in Apple’s mind. If Apple can ship the product for a reasonable price without any strings attached, then that’s what they are going to do.
Dealing with middlemen is too much complexity and frustration. As an outsider, the concept of collaborating with health insurers sounds messy. I would hate to organise something like that and I don’t think Apple would like it either.
Down the line, perhaps there is the potential for health insurance rebates but that can’t be the the primary go-to-market strategy. It just can’t be.
Under the plan Apple proposed to Comcast, Apple’s video streams would be treated as a “managed service” traveling in Internet protocol format—similar to cable video-on-demand or phone service. Those services travel on a special portion of the cable pipe that is separate from the more congested portion reserved for public Internet access.
This is the kind of arrangement Apple would just love to make happen. A dedicated portion of the cable pipe just for them. The connection should be much more reliable than normal internet services. It would also mean that Apple TV content would not count towards users’ download caps.
Thieves dug a 50ft tunnel under a building to steal thousands of pounds from a cash machine.
Police believe the gang spent months digging the ‘complex’ structure from nearby wasteland to get at the cash at a Tesco store in Eccles, Greater Manchester last Friday, March 14.
The elaborate heist has been linked to the so-called ‘mole-in-the-wall’ gang, who are believed to have carried out three similar plots in the city since 2007.
If this story wasn’t fantastic already, the police said to lookout for people acting suspiciously “possibly covered in soil”. So good.
Tim Cook may have called the Haunted Empire book ‘nonsense’, but the derisive comments about the book from Apple executives do not end there. Personally, I found the pen-throwing anecdote too funny and decided to ask Cue whether it was true or not. I wasn’t really expecting a reply, but to my surprise he actually did.
I normally avoid linking to my own 9to5 stuff here, but I have to make an exception for this. Not only is it hilarious in its own right, but the bluntness of the response is spot on. Cue implies agitation without explicitly saying anything. Also, there’s a rather childlike reaction in me to see Yukari Kane’s story fall apart through a one sentence email and a measly three word reply.
Cue could be lying, of course. Based on the countless denials of other stories in Haunted Empire, it’s extremely hard to give her the benefit of the doubt.
So, is this a real working product right now?
It is a very real product. I am wearing it on my hand as we speak and have been using it for the last few weeks. It’s very, very real, I promise. I am touching it right now.
Is it really going to ship? Is there any reason to be worried about that given the Lenovo acquisition?
Yes, this is going to ship this summer.
If it is a real product, why not just show it off to Stern right there? Despite much fanfare, this device exists only as Photoshopped mockup images so far.
Each category of functionality is a card in the Healthbook. Cards are distinguished by a color, and the tabs can be arranged to fit user preferences. As can be seen in the above images, Healthbook has sections that can track data pertaining to bloodwork, heart rate, hydration, blood pressure, physical activity, nutrition, blood sugar, sleep, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, and weight.
The scope of this project is insane. Apple isn’t starting small with this one. Although it is currently unknown where Healthbook sources this vast array of data from, I have to think it’s an Apple wearable. Apple is a selfish company; they only spend significant effort on stuff that directly benefits themselves. Healthbook will only be useful if it gets a constant stream of reliable data backing it — the only way for Apple to guarantee that is by making a device it controls.
By way of an overseas regulatory agency, similar to our very own FCC, we continue to hone in on the elusive Amazon media streamer. As the story goes, a fall launch was delayed with the Roku Apple TV competitor now looking quite likely for March or April. Netflix and Hulu appear to be confirmed, as does a forked Android build – similar to what Amazon has done with their line of Kindle Fire tablets. Which makes gaming out of the box quite likely.
Let’s be frank here: it doesn’t look good. Plasticky and boxy and just generally not nice. I wouldn’t want to use that. Hopefully, Amazon will support third-party controllers over Bluetooth.
Sheldon and Leonard will be geeking out on CBS for years to come thanks to a mega three-season renewal pact that CBS has struck with Warner Bros. TV for “The Big Bang Theory.”
Deal for primetime’s No. 1 comedy runs through the 2016-17 season, shoring up a cornerstone of CBS’ schedule. “Big Bang” has logged its highest ratings to date this season, its seventh, averaging 19.79 million viewers and a 6.1 rating/19 share in adults 18-49.
I like Big Bang Theory and I’m glad to see they are getting renewed. Whether they can sustain three more seasons worth of content is uncertain, of course. The current cast’s story lines are progressing rapidly. The current season, whilst still enjoyable, is not their best work.
I also doubt they’ll be able to keep all seven leading actors on the show for three more years. Although, maybe they need some fresh blood to open up some new story lines.
The Cupertino company is now testing iTunes Radio as a standalone application with iOS 8, according to sources briefed on the plans. iTunes Radio first arrived as a feature within the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch operating system’s Music application. As a tab in the already-existing Music app, iTunes Radio has not received a promoted presence on iOS, and this likely has deterred growth for the service in terms of advertising revenue and usage.
I have conflicting opinions about this change. iTunes Radio is a big draw for customers and probably deserves to be given some more prominence on iOS. Equally, though, I think the Home Screen suffers from enough ‘application creep’ as it is.
Apple should put a hard line on how many first-party apps it puts on the Springboard now. If it wants to make iTunes Radio standalone, it needs to choose another app to cull.
- 77% of respondents could not identify what SEO means. SEO stands for “Search-Engine Optimization”
- 27% identified “gigabyte” as an insect commonly found in South America. A gigabyte is a measurement unit for the storage capacity of an electronic device.
- 42% said they believed a “motherboard” was “the deck of a cruise ship.” A motherboard is usually a circuit board that holds many of the key components of a computer.
- 23% thought an “MP3” was a “Star Wars” robot. It is actually an audio file.
- 18% identified “Blu-ray” as a marine animal. It is a disc format typically used to store high-definition videos.
- 15% said they believed “software” is comfortable clothing. Software is a general term for computer programs.
- 12% said “USB” is the acronym for a European country. In fact, USB is a type of connector.
It’s hard to tell whether these surveys are at all reliable, but they are nonetheless hilarious.
They finally did it, just 16 days after starting. Whoever thought this up was a genius. It got coverage online, in newspapers and on national TV news … a true internet phenomenon.
Apparently, they are going to do the Silver/Gold generation next.