Apple News

Macworld 2010: Telltale Games live in our booth

February 20th, 2010 at 08:00am Under Hot Apple News

We’re cleaning out the video files from the chaos of Macworld last week, and while we’ve already shared with you an interview that we did with Dan Connors of Telltale Games (who just recently announced that they’re bringing their whole catalog over to the Mac), his co-founder Kevin Bruner also stopped by our booth live on the show floor to chat about gaming on the Mac and why Telltale has made the leap to our side.

You can watch the interview in two parts after the link below. In addition to telling us about his company and their big Mac Revolution, Bruner also shared with us his own passion for Apple’s machines, including how he went into hock to buy a Newton on day one, and what he thinks of the iPad as a gaming device. Click on to see our chat, won’t you?

TUAW Macworld 2010: Telltale Games live in our booth originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 20 Feb 2010 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple – Macintosh – Macworld – TUAW – Telltale Games

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Doonesbury covers the tablet release

January 27th, 2010 at 01:00am Under Hot Apple News

Filed under: Hardware, Humor, Cult of Mac, Odds and ends, Apple

Cartoonist Garry Trudeau is of course no stranger to the constant expectations and travails of being an Apple fan — he famously skewered the Newton years and years ago in his comic strip Doonesbury. And with the Appleverse on high alert for what could finally be the “second coming” of a revolutionary handheld Apple computer, he’s at it again. Today’s strip lampoons Apple fans who are hoping for a religious experience tomorrow, and Trudeau will likely be posting Apple-related work all week long.

The satire is biting as always — while I’m as big an Apple fan as the next guy, it’s very true that many people are expecting a life-changing revelation, and in reality, all we’ll get at most is a brand new piece of technology. A piece of technology that might change the way we do a lot of different things, sure, but if you’re hoping for “miracles” over and above, you know, a new way to read newspapers or watch TV, I wouldn’t hold your breath.

TUAW Doonesbury covers the tablet release originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple – Cult of Mac – Doonesbury – Unofficial Apple Weblog – TUAW

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Flickr (err, Etsy) Find: Iron Mac

January 16th, 2010 at 05:45pm Under Hot Apple News

Filed under: Hardware, Humor, Portables, Apple, Macbook Pro, MacBook

Ok, so usually our Flickr Find feature is about photographic stuff, but this was so cool I had to share it anyway. Gizmodo (via SlashFilm) found this awesome MacBook sticker over on Etsy, and I think, though the Newton one is still cool, that we have a new winner for coolest MacBook sticker ever. Unfortunately, it’s sold out, but I just love the way the logo is used in a pretty awesomely defiant B&W portrait of Iron Man.

In other sticker news, Cult of Mac says the Steve Jobs sticker they found is probably the best one ever, but the funny Carmen Miranda mod on that page is excellent, too. I wouldn’t normally just put stickers on my laptop — it’s too good looking already to muddy up with other graphics. But this Iron Mac sticker would be the sure-fire exception.

TUAW Flickr (err, Etsy) Find: Iron Mac originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 16 Jan 2010 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple – Steve Jobs – TUAW – Macbook Pro – Macintosh

By Mike Schramm Continue Reading Flickr (err, Etsy) Find: Iron Mac Add comment

The Apple tablet that wasn’t

October 29th, 2009 at 10:00am Under Hot Apple News

Filed under: Hardware, Portables, Odds and ends

TechCrunch has posted pictures of what they’re calling an “unlaunched Apple tablet.” In 1990, as the story goes, Apple was supposedly working on a pen-based touchscreen tablet called the Pen Mac that was actually extremely small for the time — just about an inch thick, with a screen the same size as a Mac Portable. They were bringing a few different companies in on the deal, and apparently it worked well — ran a full Mac OS, used a pen to control or let you plug in a mouse and keyboard, and there was even a smaller version called the PenLite (bulky by today’s standards, but remember that this is 20 years ago now).

So why weren’t we all using tablet computers 20 years ago? TechCrunch blames John Sculley, who apparently thought the tablet idea was out, and the PDA idea was in, and we ended up with the Newton instead. I won’t second guess him — while it’s easy to think that anything could have beaten the Newton, would the current Apple touchscreen tablet craze even be here if it weren’t for the iPhone? And isn’t Apple’s smartphone just a hop, skip and a jump from their original PDA?

TUAW The Apple tablet that wasn’t originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple – iPhone – Mac OS – Newton – John Sculley

By Mike Schramm Continue Reading The Apple tablet that wasn’t Add comment

Apple Rehires Veteran Newton Developer

September 29th, 2009 at 04:12pm Under Hot Apple News

In an interesting and exciting development, Apple has rehired Michael Tchao, one of the developers of the original Apple Newton personal digital assistant, the New York Times reports. Tchao left Apple 15 years ago.
Most recently, Tchao has been general manager of Nike’s Techlab, finding innovative ways to get your sneakers talking to your iPod (and [...]

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Newton Developer Returns to Apple as Marketing VP

September 29th, 2009 at 02:23pm Under Hot Apple News+ Iphone

Apple has hired Michael Tchao as Vice-President of Product Marketing reporting directly to Senior Vice-President, Phil Schiller. What’s noticeable about this new hire, however, is that Tchao has worked for Apple before — he’s one of the original developers of Apple’s Newton message pad.

Apple, Tchao, and all involved are being mum on what Tchao’s specific [...]

By Rene Ritchie Continue Reading Newton Developer Returns to Apple as Marketing VP Add comment

Apple hires former Newton guru as new VP of Product Marketing

September 29th, 2009 at 09:00am Under Hot Apple News

Filed under: Apple Corporate, Odds and ends, Apple, Blast From the Past, Apple History

The New York Times Bits Blog is reporting that Michael Tchao, a member of the team that brought the Apple Newton MessagePad to market, is going back to work for Apple after a 15-year absence. In Tchao’s new job as Vice President of Product Marketing, he’ll be reporting to Apple Senior V.P. of Product Marketing Phil Schiller.

For the past 7 years, Tchao has been General Manager of Nike’s Techlab, which has been responsible for the Nike + iPod line as well as the online integration that makes nikeplus.com so powerful.

If you wanted to start doing a bit of speculating, it’s interesting to note that Tchao was part of the team that was responsible for Apple’s first tablet computer. Of course, the Newton platform wasn’t exactly a huge success during its 5 years of life, owing primarily to its high price and (at least in the first versions) less-than-stellar handwriting recognition. Tchao wasn’t in a marketing position at the time as the General Manager of Product Planning and Strategy for Apple’s Personal Interactive Electronics group, and most of the marketing fumbles of the Newton era can be laid at the feet of the Apple execs in charge at the time.

Tchao certainly has the street cred as a tablet computing expert, with 5 patents to his name during his time with the Newton team. Although we don’t know for sure at this time if Tchao has been tapped to resurrect tablet computing at Apple, his background both at Apple and Nike Techlab shows that he not only has the technical background to shepherd a new product to market, but the marketing savvy as well.

Welcome back, Mr. Tchao!

[via Mashable]

TUAW Apple hires former Newton guru as new VP of Product Marketing originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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