Looks like Microsoft has today all to itself -- after launching Windows 8 in New York City last week just ahead of Hurricane Sandy, the company now heads to San Francisco for its big Windows Phone 8 launch, which Google had hoped to steal some thunder from with an Android event scheduled for the same day. Unfortunately, even the mighty search giant couldn't predict what Mother Nature will do, so we'll have to get a dose of updated Android hardware after things calm down in NYC.
New York City is definitely not the place to be right now as Hurricane Sandy bears down on the East Coast -- and it's already claimed at least two tech events before it's even come ashore. The Verge reported Saturday afternoon that Google had cancelled its Android event for today, which was expected to unveil a new Nexus 4 smartphone along with a rumored Nexus 10 tablet. With NYC ordering evacuations of many parts of the city, the approaching storm also affected D: Dive Into Mobile, the latest AllThingsD tech conference which was scheduled to kick off today. Both events will be rescheduled once the storm has passed, so stay safe and keep your eyes out for those future dates.
Who's ready for an all-new version of Evernote for the Mac? On Friday, the company teased just that on its website, promising a beta version coming this week. "Our team of developers and designers have spent the better part of the last year building a completely redesigned Evernote for Mac," the company teased. "We added over a hundred new features and capabilities that make the app better, faster and smarter for our current users, while also making Evernote more accessible to new users." Simply can't wait to find out what's new? Then head over to the Evernote website and have a peek.
Time's Techland published an interview with Apple Senior VP of Worldwide Product Marketing Phil Schiller on Friday in which the veep discusses where the Mac stands in Apple's product lineup. While the whole piece is worth a read, the most noteworthy chunk is about the iMac losing its optical disc drive with the new model -- and why Blu-ray never made the cut. “Blu-ray has come with issues unrelated to the actual quality of the movie that make [it] a complex and not-great technology," Schiller explained. "So for a whole plethora of reasons, it makes a lot of sense to get rid of optical discs in desktops and notebooks." Schiller also confirmed that Mac customers have long ago stopped asking about Blu-ray support, given the push for 1080p HD content with iTunes.
Curious how Amazon is faring in the wake of last week's iPad mini unveiling? According to a report published Friday by AllThingsD, business is good. “Wednesday was the $199 Kindle Fire HD’s biggest day of sales since launch and up 3x week over week,” the e-tailer told the website, referring to sales the day after Apple made its $329 (and up) junior iPad a reality. The Kindle Fire HD is $130 cheaper than Apple's iPad mini, and it appears consumers may be choosing with their wallets -- not that it's affected Cupertino one little bit, given how iPad mini preorders completely sold out over the weekend for all models, with "available to ship" dates now showing two weeks.
MacRumors reported Sunday that the yacht commissioned by Steve Jobs prior to his death is finally ready to set sail. According to One More Thing, "Venus" officially launched from the Netherlands with the late Apple co-founder's widow Laurene Powell Jobs and their three children present at the christening. The yacht was designed by Frenchman Philippe Starck, and includes seven 27-inch iMacs in the wheelhouse which help keep Venus running. Starck stirred up the curiosity of Apple fans earlier this year when he reportedly spilled the beans on a top-secret new project he had worked on with Jobs prior to his death, which turned out to actually be this yacht and not some cool new Apple product.
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