Maccast 2014.07.24 - Show #495
Links
V Opening
V Opening Music
* Music is Say Anything by Manda and the Marbles
V Sponsor: Lynda.com
V Lynda.com
* lynda.com helps you learn and keep-up-to-date with your software, pick up brand-new skills, or explore new hobbies with easy to follow video tutorials.
V They have over 2,400 courses taught by industry experts and more added weekly
* I just noticed they have a new web course on Twitter Bootstrap 3, so I’ll be checking that one out.
* And these are high quality videos with great production value. Great audio, great video, and screencasts you can actually see.
* The courses also cover all level, whether your an advanced user wanting to expand your skills or a novice wanting to get up to speed on a new app.
V I’ve used Lynda.com to learn new web development skill and brush up on my techniques. I also find inspiration in some of their creative and workflow videos.
* Another thing I really like is how structured the videos are.
* Plus they are broken down into sections and you can track your progress.
* So you can go straight through a course or jump in for a bit at a time and then come back.
* The premium plans also let you download project files and practice along with the instructor.
* One low monthly price of $25 gives you unlimited access to the entire lynda.com library
* Maccast listeners also can get a free trial with access to the entire course library. Just go to lynda.com/maccast (L-Y-N-D-A.com/maccast) to try it out. You’re gonna love it.
V News
V iPhone 6 launch Apple’s biggest?
* The Wall Street Journal reports Apple is asking suppliers to produce between 70 million and 80 million 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 models by the end of December.
* The launch numbers of the iPhone 5s and 5c combined were 50-60 million units
V They also want suppliers to ready enough component to make 120 million iPhones by the end of 2014
* According to the report the large number is to compensate for possible display failures
* Suppliers are reportedly having issues with yields due to the in-cell display technology on the new 4.7 and 5.5-displays
V These numbers could dispute or confirm theories about the sapphire glass display
* On one hand if they all have sapphire glass then the capacity of the plant would have to be more near the 60 to 70 million unit range
* On the other had it could still mean that not all iPhone 6 models will be created equal and some may have sapphire while others have the existing Gorilla Glass technology.
* Cockamamy report from Digitimes that Apple is staggering the iPhone 4.7 and 5.5 inch releases so the two won’t compete against each other for sales.
V Apple’s 3Q earnings
* For it’s third fiscal quarter of 2014 Apple once again announced record revenue.
* The company raked in earnings of $7.7 billion on revenues of $37.4 billion
* Apple saw growth in iPhones, Mac sales and services.
V iPhone sales were up 12.6 percent for the same quarter last year at 35.2 million units sold.
* Amazing considering that rumors of the iPhone 6 are strong and many consumers are waiting to upgrade
V Macs saw year over year quarterly growth of 17.6 percent on unit sales of 4.4 million.
* Also amazing since over all PC sales are struggling as more and more consumers use tablets and smartphones while delaying computer upgrades
* Sales from iTunes, software, and services increased 12 percent to $4.485 billion. And iTunes revenue was up to $2.6 billion
V International sales and growth continue to be a big win for Apple
* In China for example Mac sales were up 39 percent
* Revenue in China was up 28 percent year over year and in Europe revenue saw 6 percent year over year growth.
V It was not all rosy though
* iPad sales came in at 13.3 million, down 9.2 percent
* It was the second quarter Apple saw a decline in iPad sales.
V Cook commented on this quarters decline in iPad sales citing customer anticipation for new iPads in the Fall. I’m not sure I buy it.
* Frankly I think the issue is that iPads are just too good. An iPad 2 still performs amazingly well. The devices are stable and trouble free, so many don’t feel they need to upgrade.
* Cook even cited 97-100 percent customer satisfaction rates for iPad. To show the product was a hit with consumers, but I think that also just proves my point.
* Apple seems to be looking to the IBM deal and enterprise to help alleviate some of the iPad sales decline. They are also focusing on education and developing markets, where in many cases iPad sales were actually up for the quarter.
* iPod sales were down 36% year over year at just 2.9 million units sold
V Looking forward Apple’s guidance to investors was, as always, conservative. They did project a 3 percent quarter over quarter growth which some says could be due to Apple feeling positive about the future success of iPhone 6 sales.
* While you might expect that to be bigger remember that with new product launches expenses go up and margins shrink.
* Plus Apple is always EXTREMELY conservative when giving investors their predictions for the upcoming quarter.
V Other interesting notes
* R&D expenses were up 36 percent or 4.2 percent of net sales. Last time R&D expenses for Apple represented that much of net sales was 2006 when Apple launched the iPhone.
V OS X Yosemite Public Beta
* If you signed up for the public beta you can now get your copy from Apple. Maybe.
* You’ll need to visit and log in to the Apple Public Beta site to get you’re redemption code if you signed up for the program.
* The site did go down due to load, but should be OK now.
* Some reported getting a "already used" redemption code message, just refresh to fix that.
V Disable TRIM support on any 3rd party SSDs before installing (thanks to TMO).
* OS X Yosemite Beta will not load modified kernel extensions (kext files).
* The software is BETA and has a list of know issues. You don;t want this on your production machines.
* Don’t whine and complain, file bug reports.
* 9to5 Mac claims Yosemite will launch in October. A month AFTER the release of iOS 8 (and the iPhone 6).
V Sponsor: Smile
V PDFpen for OS X
* It's easy to edit PDFs using PDFpen
V Example editing tasks:
* Apply an image of your signature to a contract
V Fill and save PDF forms
* Even create "real" forms from "fake" ones
* Correct typos in a PDF for which you don't have the original document
* Export in Microsoft Word format for comprehensive editing
* Remove a cover page, or make a new PDF from a chapter of a larger document
* Scan and OCR documents to create a paperless workflow
* PDFpen is also available for iPad and iPhone
* PDFpen Scan+ brings mobile OCR to iPad and iPhone
V Feedback, commentary, opinions
V iPhone 6 Roulette
* Ken Ray - Mac OS Ken
* Paul Wheatley - The Gamer Show & The Pocket Show
* Jeff Gamet - The Mac Observer
* Dan Benjamin - 5by5
* David Sparks - Mac Power Users
* Erfon Elijah - The CultCast
V Closing
V Podcast Marketplace
V Thanks to my sponsors
* Smile
V Gazelle
* Gazelle. The fast and simple way to sell your used gadgets! Find out what your used iPhone, iPad and other Apple products are worth at Gazelle.com.
V Lynda.com
* lynda.com helps you learn and keep-up-to-date with your software, pick up brand-new skills, or explore new hobbies with their easy to follow video tutorials.
* Get a free trial by going to lynda.com/maccast
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