July 2014 - apple-list - University of Manitoba Mailing Lists

FYI: MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update
by Wayne Billing 31 Jul '14

31 Jul '14

...from: http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1756?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US [Download icon] MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update 2.9.1 Download<http://support.apple.com/downloads/DL1756/en_US/MacBookAirEFIUp2.9.1.dmg> This update replaces EFI Firmware Update 2.9 and is recommended for MacBook Air (Mid 2011) models. This update addresses an issue where systems may take longer to wake from sleep than expected and fixes a rare issue that may cause fans to run at full speed after waking from sleep. Post Date: Jul 30, 2014 File Size: 4.3 MB System Requirements * OS X 10.9.2 and later * MBA41.0077.B11

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INTEREST: BLOOMBERG: Microsoft May Announce Largest Number of Job Cuts
by Wayne Billing 17 Jul '14

17 Jul '14

Summary: - Microsoft expected to cut 4 - 5 % of global work force within weeks - main reductions in areas that overlap with acquired Nokia units and marketing areas such as XBOX - Microsoft trying to refocus company from "the worldwide leader in software, services, and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential" to mobile devices and cloud-computing ...from: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-15/microsoft-said-to-announce-job-cut… Microsoft to Announce Job Cuts as Soon as This Week By Dina Bass Jul 15, 2014 4:39 PM CT [cid:7C54FC1E-39DF-48BE-AF1D-ABAC933B6E99] July 15 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg’s Betty Liu reports that Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella is preparing for the biggest round of job cuts at the company since 2009. She speaks in today’s “Movers and Shakers” on “In The Loop.” Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)<http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/MSFT:US> is planning its biggest round of job cuts in five years, as the software maker looks to slim down and integrate Nokia Oyj’s handset unit, people with knowledge of the company’s plans said. Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella said in an interview last week that he has preparing to make sweeping changes at Microsoft. The reductions will probably be in engineering, marketing and areas of overlap with Nokia, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans aren’t public. The restructuring -- which may be unveiled as soon as this week -- may end up being the biggest in Microsoft history, topping the 5,800 jobs cut in 2009, two of the people said. Some details are still being worked out, two of the people said. Related: Microsoft, Intel to Benefit as Businesses Upgrade PCs<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-15/microsoft-intel-to-benefit-as-busi…> Nadella, who took over from Steve Ballmer<http://topics.bloomberg.com/steve-ballmer/> in February, said in the interview that Microsoft would have to become more focused and efficient. The CEO issued his first company mission statement last week, calling for greater emphasis on mobile devices, cloud-computing and productivity software as consumers and businesses buy fewer personal computers to check e-mail, browse the Web and access data and software. [cid:CDBDF246-F6E2-49F8-8706-A34B7E440DF5]<http://www.bloomberg.com/photo/uploaded-by-uuid-7953017-at-7-14-2014-11-05-…>Source: Microsoft Corp. via Bloomberg Microsoft employees listen as Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft... Read More<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-15/microsoft-said-to-announce-job-cut…> “Nothing is off the table in how we think about shifting our culture,” Nadella said in the interview. Nadella, a Microsoft veteran who joined in 1992, was promoted to speed up a turnaround at the software maker after Ballmer failed to deliver hit products that could take on smartphones and tablets from Apple Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. and other technology rivals. 127,104 Employees While Microsoft has undergone smaller, intermittent job cuts in individual businesses -- for example trimming a few hundred positions in advertising sales and marketing in 2012 and some marketing jobs across the company earlier that same year -- the company has only undertaken a companywide restructuring impacting thousands of workers once before, in 2009 at the start of the recession. Over the course of that year, the company cut 5,800 jobs, or about 5 percent of its workforce at the time. Microsoft shares rose less than 1 percent to $42.45 at the close in New York<http://topics.bloomberg.com/new-york/>, and are up 13 percent this year. Peter Wootton, a spokesman for Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft, declined to comment. Some of the job cuts will be in marketing departments for businesses such as the global Xbox team, said the people. The European Xbox team is based in Reading, U.K. [cid:9685DB6D-3DDA-454D-B00F-671D189FBF52]<http://www.bloomberg.com/photo/microsoft-corp-ceo-satya-nadella-/-izrWUMFLV…>Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg Satya Nadella, chief executive officer at Microsoft Corp., holds a Nokia Lumia 930...Read More<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-15/microsoft-said-to-announce-job-cut…> The company had 127,104 employees as of June 5, after adding about 30,000 in its acquisition of Nokia’s handset unit. Cloud Methods When Microsoft agreed to acquire Nokia’s mobile-phone business in September, the software maker pledged $600 million in annual cost savings in the 18 months after the deal closes. Meeting that commitment will probably involve job cuts in areas where the two companies overlap, said the people. Other job cuts may result from changes Nadella is making to the engineering organization, people with knowledge of the matter said last week. Engineering teams have traditionally been split between program managers, developers and testers. Yet with new cloud methods of building software, it often makes sense to have the developers test and fix bugs instead of a separate team of testers, Nadella said in the interview last week. Some of the cuts will be among software testers, said one of the people. Nadella declined to say in the interview whether the changes will result in job cuts and said he would provide more detail on the implications of his memo when Microsoft reports fiscal fourth-quarter earnings<http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/MSFT:US> on July 22. Cost Cuts Microsoft is the latest technology company seeking to reduce costs by trimming jobs. Hewlett-Packard Co. in May announced more cuts after an 11th-straight quarter of declining sales. CEOMeg Whitman<http://topics.bloomberg.com/meg-whitman/> has said she will eliminate as many as 16,000 jobs on top of 34,000 already cut. Separately Microsoft is in talks to acquire Israeli security firm Aorato, a maker of firewall software backed by Accel Partners<http://topics.bloomberg.com/accel-partners/>, said one person familiar with the discussions. The talks are at an early stage and Aorato may also be negotiating with other parties, the person said. To contact the reporter on this story: Dina Bass in Seattle at dbass2(a)bloomberg.net<mailto:dbass2@bloomberg.net> To contact the editors responsible for this story: Pui-Wing Tam at ptam13(a)bloomberg.net<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-15/mailtspantam13@bloomberg.net> Reed Stevenson, Ben Livesey

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FYI: Apple and IBM Forge Global Partnership
by Wayne Billing 16 Jul '14

16 Jul '14

[cid:DB386B97-933D-4328-ACC2-13FF7E647899] ...from: http://www.ibm.com/mobilefirst/us/en/?lnk=ushpls1 http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2014/07/15Apple-and-IBM-Forge-Global-Partne… Apple and IBM Forge Global Partnership to Transform Enterprise Mobility CUPERTINO, California and ARMONK, New York—July 15, 2014—Apple® and IBM (NYSE: IBM<http://www.ibm.com/investor/>) today announced an exclusive partnership that teams the market-leading strengths of each company to transform enterprise mobility through a new class of business apps—bringing IBM’s big data and analytics capabilities to iPhone® and iPad®. The landmark partnership aims to redefine the way work will get done, address key industry mobility challenges and spark true mobile-led business change—grounded in four core capabilities: * a new class of more than 100 industry-specific enterprise solutions including native apps, developed exclusively from the ground up, for iPhone and iPad; * unique IBM cloud services optimized for iOS, including device management, security, analytics and mobile integration; * new AppleCare® service and support offering tailored to the needs of the enterprise; and * new packaged offerings from IBM for device activation, supply and management. The new IBM MobileFirst for iOS solutions will be built in an exclusive collaboration that draws on the distinct strengths of each company: IBM’s big data and analytics capabilities, with the power of more than 100,000 IBM industry and domain consultants and software developers behind it, fused with Apple’s legendary consumer experience, hardware and software integration and developer platform. The combination will create apps that can transform specific aspects of how businesses and employees work using iPhone and iPad, allowing companies to achieve new levels of efficiency, effectiveness and customer satisfaction—faster and easier than ever before. As part of the exclusive IBM MobileFirst for iOS agreement, IBM will also sell iPhones and iPads with the industry-specific solutions to business clients worldwide. “iPhone and iPad are the best mobile devices in the world and have transformed the way people work with over 98 percent of the Fortune 500 and over 92 percent of the Global 500 using iOS devices in their business today,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “For the first time ever we’re putting IBM’s renowned big data analytics at iOS users’ fingertips, which opens up a large market opportunity for Apple. This is a radical step for enterprise and something that only Apple and IBM can deliver.” “Mobility—combined with the phenomena of data and cloud—is transforming business and our industry in historic ways, allowing people to re-imagine work, industries and professions,” said Ginni Rometty, IBM Chairman, President and CEO. “This alliance with Apple will build on our momentum in bringing these innovations to our clients globally, and leverages IBM’s leadership in analytics, cloud, software and services. We are delighted to be teaming with Apple, whose innovations have transformed our lives in ways we take for granted, but can’t imagine living without. Our alliance will bring the same kind of transformation to the way people work, industries operate and companies perform.” Apple and IBM’s shared vision for this partnership is to put in the hands of business professionals everywhere the unique capabilities of iPads and iPhones with a company’s knowledge, data, analytics and workflows. Specifically, the two companies are working together to deliver the essential elements of enterprise mobile solutions: - Mobile solutions that transform business: The companies will collaborate to build IBM MobileFirst for iOS Solutions—a new class of “made-for-business apps” targeting specific industry issues or opportunities in retail, healthcare, banking, travel and transportation, telecommunications and insurance, among others, that will become available starting this fall and into 2015. - Mobile platform: The IBM MobileFirst Platform for iOS will deliver the services required for an end-to-end enterprise capability, from analytics, workflow and cloud storage, to fleet-scale device management, security and integration. Enhanced mobile management includes a private app catalog, data and transaction security services, and productivity suite for all IBM MobileFirst for iOS solutions. In addition to on-premise software solutions, all these services will be available on Bluemix—IBM’s development platform on the IBM Cloud Marketplace. - Mobile service and support: AppleCare for Enterprise will provide IT departments and end users with 24/7 assistance from Apple’s award-winning customer support group, with on-site service delivered by IBM. - Packaged service offerings: IBM is introducing IBM MobileFirst Supply and Management for device supply, activation and management services for iPhone and iPad, with leasing options. Announced at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in June and available later this year, Apple’s iOS 8 is the biggest release since the launch of the App Store℠, giving users incredible new features and developers the tools to create amazing new apps. For enterprise, iOS 8 builds on the new IT model for a mobilized workforce by improving the way users are informed of how their devices are configured, managed or restricted, with expanded security, management and productivity features. Apple designs Macs, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad. IBM’s 5,000 mobile experts have been at the forefront of mobile enterprise innovation. IBM has secured more than 4,300 patents in mobile, social and security, that have been incorporated into IBM MobileFirst solutions that enable enterprise clients to radically streamline and accelerate mobile adoption, help organizations engage more people and capture new markets. IBM has made a dozen acquisitions in security in the past decade, has more than 6,000 security researchers and developers in its 25 security labs worldwide that work on developing enterprise-class solutions. IBM has also established the world’s deepest portfolio in Big Data and Analytics consulting and technology expertise based on experiences drawn from more than 40,000 data and analytics client engagements. This analytics portfolio spans research and development, solutions, software and hardware, and includes more than 15,000 analytics consultants, 4,000 analytics patents, 6,000 industry solution business partners, and 400 IBM mathematicians who are helping clients use big data to transform their organizations. For more information regarding the new Apple and IBM solutions, please visit www.ibm.com/MobileFirstForiOS<http://www.ibm.com/MobileFirstForiOS> or www.apple.com/ipad/business<http://www.apple.com/ipad/business>. Press Contacts: Edward Barbini IBM barbini(a)us.ibm.com<mailto:barbini@us.ibm.com> (914) 499-6565 Natalie Kerris Apple nat(a)apple.com<mailto:nat@apple.com> (408) 974-6877

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INTEREST: Goole search now flagging FLASH page results
by Wayne Billing 16 Jul '14

16 Jul '14

...from: http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.ca/2014/07/promoting-modern-websites… Promoting modern websites for modern devices in Google search results<http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.ca/2014/07/promoting-modern-websites…> Posted: Monday, July 14, 2014 Tweet<https://twitter.com/share> Webmaster level: all A common annoyance for web users is when websites require browser technologies that are not supported by their device. When users access such pages, they may see nothing but a blank space or miss out a large portion of the page's contents. Starting today, we will indicate to searchers when our algorithms detect pages that may not work on their devices. For example, Adobe Flash is not supported on iOS devices or on Android versions 4.1 and higher, and a page whose contents are mostly Flash may be noted like this: [cid:1611829B-5A94-4760-9F2B-F4F98E240FE7] Developing modern multi-device websites Fortunately, making websites that work on all modern devices is not that hard: websites can use HTML5 since it is universally supported, sometimes exclusively, by all devices. To help webmasters build websites that work on all types of devices regardless of the type of content they wish to serve, we recently announced<http://googledevelopers.blogspot.com/2014/06/web-fundamentals-and-web-start…> two resources: * Web Fundamentals<https://developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/?utm_source=wmc&utm_medium=b…>: a curated source for modern best practices. * Web Starter Kit<https://developers.google.com/web/starter-kit/?utm_source=wmc&utm_medium=bl…>: a starter framework supporting the Web Fundamentals best practices out of the box. By following the best practices described in Web Fundamentals you can build a responsive web design<https://developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/layouts/?utm_source=wta&utm_…>, which has long been Google's recommendation<https://developers.google.com/webmasters/smartphone-sites/> for search-friendly sites. Be sure not to block crawling of any Googlebot of the page assets (CSS, JavaScript, and images) using robots.txt or otherwise. Being able to access these external files fully helps our algorithms detect your site's responsive web design configuration and treat it appropriately. You can use the Fetch and render as Google<https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/158587?hl=en> feature in Webmaster Tools to test how our indexing algorithms see your site. As always, if you need more help you can ask a question in our webmaster forum<https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!categories/webmasters/mobile>. Posted by Keita Oda, Software Engineer, and Pierre Far<https://plus.google.com/+PierreFar/posts>, Webmaster Trends Analyst

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