Apple's latest product launch will be in a setting that holds a special place in its history, signaling how big this event is for the company.
The Sept. 9 launch, which is expected to feature a larger iPhone and possibly a computerized watch, will be in the same Silicon Valley venue where Apple's late co-founder, Steve Jobs, took the wraps off the original Mac computer 30 years ago. That machine was hailed as a major breakthrough that helped bring personal computing to the masses.
These events have become an annual rite since the 2007 release of the iPhone, but this year's may be the most highly anticipated since the iPad came out in 2010.
A "smartwatch" or other wearable technology would mark the company's first foray into a new product category since the iPad came out.
True to its secretive nature, Apple Inc. isn't giving any clues about what's on the Sept. 9 agenda. "Wish we could say more," Apple said in a succinct white invitation mailed Thursday to reporters and others.
The company scheduled the event at an auditorium about 3 miles from its Cupertino, California, headquarters. It seats about 2,300 people, a far larger capacity than the places that Apple usually uses to show off its new products.
Apple watchers expect an iPhone with a larger screen than the 4-inch display on the previous two generations of the device. The iPhone 6 is expected to feature a 4.7-inch screen to make it more competitive with larger smartphones made by Samsung Electronics and other rivals relying on Google Inc.'s free Android software. There also has been speculation that Apple may release another iPhone model with a 5.5-inch screen.
A bigger-screen iPhone could unleash a surge of sales among Apple fans who own iPhones with smaller displays. Some analysts think Apple could sell at least 70 million units of the iPhone 6 within the first few months after the device hits the market.
Although the iPhone is Apple's biggest moneymaker, much of the intrigue around this year's event surrounds the possibility that the company may release a long-awaited smartwatch that could help monitor people's health and serve as control center for Internet-connected appliances and electronics in the home.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has indicated that he is intrigued with wearable technology devices, but hasn't provided any concrete clues about what the company is working on. Cook has only said he is excited about what Apple's latest inventions, a sentiment echoed by one of his top lieutenants, Eddy Cue, who earlier this year hailed the company's product pipeline as its best in 25 years.
Apple has just been redesigning and adding features to its iPhones, iPads, iPods and Mac since the release of the iPad, raising concerns among investors that the company had run out of new ideas after the October 2011 death of Jobs, who served as its chief visionary.
Those worries have subsided during the past four months as the excitement has built for Apple's new products. Apple's stock hit a new high of $102.78 in Thursday morning's trading before falling back to close at $102.25, up 12 cents for the session. The shares have risen 25 percent in 2014.
Not sure what to do after getting a non-descript error message in Google Play? Check out these errors and their solutions to get everything working again.
Google Play will provide a pop-up error message when there is an issue installing or updating your apps. Unfortunately, the error message text is very brief and doesn't explain how you can fix it. For example, error 921:
"Unknown error code during application install (921)."
Thanks to XDA member mohamedrashad, there's a thread with the error codes and what they mean, along with ways to fix each issue. Here's a sample of that list with some of the most common error codes:
Error 403
Solution: This issue usually comes up on devices with multiple accounts. Make sure you're accessing the Google Play Store from the correct account. Next, uninstall the app you were trying to update, then re-download from the correct account.
Error 491
Solution: Remove your current Google account, re-add the account, and then clear data from the Google Services app (Settings > Application Manager > Google Services).
Error 495
Solution: Delete the data from both the Google Play and Google Services Framework apps (Settings > Application Manager > Google Play and Google Services). Next, remove your Google account, restart the device, and then re-add your Google account.
Error 919
Solution: Your device has run out of storage space. You can clean your cache, remove unused apps, or delete photos and videos.
Error 921
Solution: Delete the cache from the Google Play app (Settings > Application Manager > Google Play). If you are still seeing an error, delete the data from the Google Play app (Settings > Application Manager > Google Services). Finally, if issues persist, delete your Google account and then re-add it.
A powerful earthquake rattled through Northern California early Sunday morning, leaving dozens wounded and thousands without power. It is the strongest temblor to hit the Napa Valley area in nearly 25 years. VPC
NAPA, Calif. — A strong earthquake that rocked Northern California's scenic Napa wine country early Sunday injured more than 100 people, sent brick and concrete tumbling from historic buildings and triggered fires and power outages.
Officials said at least 15 buildings were left uninhabitable, and many more awaited further evaluation. State transportation officials inspected highways and bridges and declared them safe for travel.
The magnitude-6.0 earthquake struck around 3:20 a.m.. For some residents, the temblor revived memories of the last big quake to strike the San Francisco Bay Area 25 years ago, which did major damage.
(Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images)
Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Napa, Solano, and Sonoma counties. Schools in Napa Valley were ordered closed Monday.
Mike Parness, city manager, said 15 or 16 buildings in the central downtown were "red tagged" after inspectors found damage left them too dangerous for people to enter. Several dozen other buildings were awaiting further evaluation.
"We've got a lot of workers out checking out homes and buildings,'' Parness said.
In the city's downtown section, a 10-foot chunk of brick and concrete was shaken from the corner of the old county courthouse building. Big pieces of rubble littered the lawn and street in front of the building.
Largest Napa quake since Loma Prieta
The quake was centered near American Canyon about 6 miles southwest of Napa, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. It's the largest quake to hit the Napa Valley region near San Francisco since the Loma Prieta temblor in 1989.
At least three people were reported in critical condition following quake injuries, officials said. One of them, a 13-year-old boy injured by a falling fireplace, was airlifted to the University of California-Davis hospital for surgery.
Jack LaRochelle, public works director of the city of about 77,000 people, said 30 water mains were broken and requiring repairs.
After the initial shock wore off, an almost festive air prevailed in the city with tourists on rented bicycles riding through closed streets. At one point so many people were sending photos from their mobile phones that cellular systems were overwhelmed.
Most of the heavily damaged buildings were in the older, central area of town. Newer homes and buildings away from the center of city city suffered less damage, but many were without power, officials said.
That lack of power meant some residents who rely on well water were unable to get water.
John Furtado headed into Napa to look for water. "But we're doing fine overall. It's just some minor damage. A couple bottles of wine broke,'' he said.
Many injured during clean-up
Kelly Huston, a deputy director with the California Office of Emergency Services, said there were no reports of fatalities, but dozens were taken to local hospitals. Most injuries, he anticipated, would be from falling objects and debris.
Napa's local hospital, Queen of the Valley Medical Center, treated 172 patients Sunday and admitted 13, CEO Walt Mickens said. Most were treated for cuts and bruises, while at least three were admitted for broken bones and two for heart attacks.
"Now it appears we're treating people (injured while) cleaning up," hospital spokeswoman Vanessa deGier said Sunday afternoon.
As Napa, California business owners look over the damage, they say this is worse than the 1989 earthquake that hit the area. A magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit the Napa Valley early Sunday morning.
Huston said several fires were burning in the area of the quake and that the state was dispatching urban search and rescue teams "much like we would on a wildfire." He said state officials would do a flyover shortly to assess damage. Further inspections could reveal more damage, he warned.
Six structure fires were reported, John Callanan, Napa fire chief, said. In one of those fires, four mobile homes were destroyed.
64,000 without power
At least 64,000 people were without power at some point, state emergency officials said. By evening power had been restored to all but 17,000 customers, according to Pacific Gas & Electric, the largest power provider in the area.
Firefighters in the Napa Valley worked fast to slow home fires after arriving on scene to find water main breaks had damaged their ability to get water on the fires. VPC
Napa Police Capt. Steve Potter said the area's 911 system was briefly overwhelmed by calls that came in shortly after the quake, but the system quickly came back.
There were no reported highway blockages, though Huston said there was a report of a buckled offramp on state Highway 72 at Sonoma.
Napa is a picturesque town known for its lush vineyards, robust wines and rolling hills. There was no electricity downtown early Sunday as residents walked looking fordamage. On Second Street, the masonry, wires and girders that make up the corner of the roof of a three-story historic building hung precariously over the sidewalk. A gaping hole was left where the masonry used to be. On the ground below a pile of bricks and rubble littered the sidewalk. Falling concrete damaged trees.
The historic Napa Valley Courthouse lost a portion of its roof, and police blocked off sections of the downtown to keep crowds away from the debris. Two other historical buildings — the Sam Kee Laundry, the Goodman Library — were also damaged.
The state has not requested federal assistance, as it was still evaluating the damage, Brad Alexander, chief of media relations for California's Office of Emergency Services, said.
"My Office of Emergency Services has been on full activation since early this morning and is working closely with state and local emergency managers, first responders and transportation officials to respond to impacts to residents and critical infrastructure," the governor said in a statement. "These public safety officials are doing all they can to help residents and those living in affected areas should follow their guidance and instruction."
Douglas Edwards, 27, Napa resident, said the earthquake woke him up from a sound sleep.
'It was just flash, flash, flash'
"It was shaking so hard I was barely able to get myself and my daughter out," he said. "When I stood up, the floor moved so much, I fell back down again. I ran outside and you could see the transformers exploding in the sky. It was just flash, flash, flash."
Napa County Supervisor Bill Dodd inspected damage at the Napa County administration building Sunday morning.
"It's devastated in there," he said. Ceilings collapsed, furniture scattered and file cabinets were upturned and on the floor. Dodd said normally the building would have been the site of emergency services coordination, however, because of the damage, emergency operations were moved to the sheriff's office in the southern part of the county.
"It'll be some time before we can go back to work in there," he said.
Dodd said the historic three-story Winship building, which lost a corner of its roof, looks to be a total loss. He said it had been completely renovated 10 years ago, and the renovation included a seismic upgrade, which is supposed to make buildings able to withstand an earthquake.
In the city of Sonoma, west of Napa, police and fire officials reported no significant damage or injuries from the earthquake, officials said on the city's website. It said they had no information from PG&E about when power would be restored to those homes and businesses experiences outages.
The quake — which occurred at a depth of just less than 7 miles — was felt as far north as Sacramento and as far south as Santa Cruz and was immediately followed by a series of small aftershocks.
9 million feel shaking
According to USGS, nearly nine million people were estimated to have been exposed to varying levels of ground shaking.
It remains too early to provide a specific economic or insured loss estimate at this time, according to Aon Benfield, a reinsurance firm. However, the USGS's automated economic loss software predicted that there was a 27% chance that economic losses will end up beyond $1 billion, and a 35% chance that economic losses will top $100 million.
The USGS said the quake is likely to produce 30 to 70 small aftershocks with magnitude 3 to 5 within the next week. The probability of a strong and possibly damaging aftershock with a magnitude of 5 or greater in the next week is 54%, the USGS said.
The quake is the strongest temblor to hit the USA outside Alaska this year, according to USGS. About five quakes of this magnitude or stronger hit the USA each year, many in or near Alaska.
Contributing: Greg Toppo, Donna Leinwand Leger, Katharine Lackey, Marisol Bello and Doyle Rice from McLean, Va.; Catalina Camia from D.C.; William M. Welch from Los Angeles; Laura Mandaro from San Francisco
SHANGHAI: China could have a new homegrown operating system by October to take on imported rivals such as Microsoft Corp, Google Inc and Apple Inc, Xinhua news agency said on Sunday.
Computer technology became an area of tension between China and the United States after a number of run-ins over cyber security. China is now looking to help its domestic industry catch up with imported systems such as Microsoft's Windows and Google's mobile operating system Android.
The operating system would first appear on desktop devices and later extend to smartphone and other mobile devices, Xinhua said, citing Ni Guangnan who heads an official OS development alliance established in March.
Ni's comments were originally reported by People's Post and Telecommunications News, an official trade paper run by the ministry of industry and information technology (MIIT).
"We hope to launch a Chinese-made desktop operating system by October supporting app stores," Ni told the trade paper. Some Chinese OS already existed, but there was a large gap between China's technology and that of developed countries, he added.
A man walks past a Microsoft sign outside a Microsoft office building in Beijing, on July 31, 2014. (Getty Images file photo)
He said he hoped domestically built software would be able to replace desktop operating systems within one to two years and mobile operating systems within three to five years.
In May, China banned government use of Windows 8, Microsoft's latest operating system, a blow to the US technology firm's business which raised fears China was moving to protect domestic firms. Microsoft is also under investigation for anti-trust violations.
In March last year, China said that Google had too much control over China's smartphone industry via its Android mobile operating system and has discriminated against some local firms.
A Chinese flag flies next to the Google company logo outside the Google China headquarters in Beijing, on March 22, 2010. (Getty Images file photo)
Mutual suspicions between China and the United States over hacking have escalated over the past year following revelations by Edward Snowden that US intelligence planted "backdoor" surveillance tools on US-made hardware.
The US justice department, meanwhile, indicted five Chinese military officers in May on counts of extensive industrial espionage.
Ni said the ban on Windows 8 was a big opportunity for the Chinese sector to push forward its own systems, but that the industry needed further development and investment.
"Creating an environment that allows us to contend with Google, Apple and Microsoft — that is the key to success," he added.
Some iPhone 5 units have faulty batteries, check yours here
Anyone who has had to repeatedly charge their phone throughout the day knows that battery life is a key measure of a smartphone’s quality. The iPhone 5 has a decent battery life—except, perhaps, if you happen to have bought yours at the wrong time.
Some iPhone 5 devices sold between September 2012 and January 2013 have a battery problem leading to a shorter battery life, Apple said Friday. Users experiencing battery issues may have bought one in a series of iPhone 5 devices that were affected by charging problems.
“Apple has determined that a very small percentage of iPhone 5 devices may suddenly experience shorter battery life or need to be charged more frequently,” Apple said in a note.
Owners of the iPhone 5 who are having issues can input their phone’s serial number on Apple’s page and see if they qualify for a free battery replacement. The replacement is available in the U.S. and China as of August 22, and in other countries as of August 29.
