Countdown to WWDC! What can you expect?

WWDC begins in 4 days!

Taking place in San Francisco’s Moscone building, Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference will kick off with a 2 hour keynote speech headed by Tim Cook at 10AM PST, Monday the 2nd of June!

Are you psyched?

So here’s the deal as far as we know it.

Apple hasn’t announced the content of a lot of their WWDC sessions and they have been given names such as: “To be announced” “No comment”,”Shhh, can’t tell you” “This one is sealed”, and “You’ll never guess”.

Click on these sessions and Apple says: “The title and description of this session will be revealed after Keynote on Monday June 2. Check back to view the updates schedule.”

Sneaky and exciting.

We have been told that we can expect updates to iOS and OSX. We can most likely expect at least a mention of Beats By Dre and the deal they have made with Apple, and probably a cameo by the good Dr Dre himself. We can expect Jony Ive in his loveliness explaining awesome things (via video), and Tim Cook excitedly talking about inspiration and the future of technology and Apple’s role in making your world a better place.

We suspect that it is likely that we may see new ways to make mobile payments, as well as an introduction to the much rumored ‘Healthbook’, built into the updated iOS with health measuring and reporting capabilities.

The announcement of the iPhone 6 ( more than one? Bigger screen? No more bezels? Made of unicorn’s tears?) and the iWatch ( will it ever come!?) are also possibilities that a lot of people are eagerly anticipating- both of which, particularly the iWatch, would need a fair amount of time for the developers to create apps for them before their release. A lot of people are, however, skeptical that either, especially the iWatch will be mentioned at WWDC.

The Financial Times has recently reported that Apple could be introducing a way for you to certain functions in your home with Apple Devices, perhaps  in combination with Apple TV. Functions that could be controlled from your iPhone or iPad could include lighting, security, temperature control  and connected appliances like television and sound. These would all be controlled centrally, incorporated into the iOS, instead of through 3rd party apps.

And then we have this, beautifully phrased from the Apple Sauce direct:

Ooooooh. Well we’re excited. Stay tuned folks, we’ll be bringing you all the news and mysteries unraveled direct from the great city of San Francisco as it happens!

Images courtesy of Apple. & Quickmeme

Social Measures and Innovation over profit

A couple of days ago a pretty awesome meeting happened between Apple shareholders and Apple’s board of directors. It was an annual shareholders meeting which is normally pretty routine- the CEO, Tim Cook, fills everyone in on the progress of the company and everyone talks about the general outlook for the foreseeable future.

This one, however, played out a little differently. This time, a representative from the National Center for Public Policy Research or NCPPR (a conservative think tank) asked the company to disclose the costs of its sustainability programs, such as solar energy facilities, and how they affected their profits. He then said that Apple should be cutting climate change programs in order to  focus on profits above everything else.

Mr Cook did not like that, he didn’t like it one, itty, bit.

He said that there are many things Apple does because they are right and just, and that a return on investment (ROI) was not the primary consideration on such issues.

“When we work on making our devices accessible by the blind,” he said, “I don’t consider the bloody ROI.” He said that the same thing about environmental issues, worker safety, and other areas where Apple is a leader.

Finally, Cook looked at the questioner and said “if you want me to do things only for ROI reasons, you should get out of this stock.”

The shareholders, thank god, agreed with him. Apple is a company that rates social measures, innovation and advances in technology above all else, and that would be how it will remain.

Following the meeting, the NCPPR and the man behind the questions from them, a Justin Danhof, released an a press release that is heavily critical of Cook, saying that shareholder value is destroyed in favor of efforts to combat climate change in particular.

“Here’s the bottom line: Apple is as obsessed with the theory of so-called climate change as its board member Al Gore is,” Danhof said. “After today’s meeting, investors can be certain that Apple is wasting untold amounts of shareholder money to combat so-called climate change.”

Well, we wish we were shareholders in Apple, and we would be really proud of ourselves if we were. Well done, Mr Cook, Well done, Apple Shareholders. Proud ‘a you.

We’re not crying, it’s just been raining on our face.

Images courtesy of Businessinsider.com, Thehollywoodnews.com, macrage.com & Quickmeme.com

The iPhone 6!

Are we excited for the iPhone 6? Huh? Huh? Duh! Rumors about the upcoming 9th generation iPhone to be released by Apple are running rampant already, and we couldn’t be more excited.

Here’s a rundown of everything we know about the iPhone 6. And what we think we know. And what we think other people might be potentially correct on what they think. And some things that probably aren’t true but some people think they are. Etc. All photos in this article are not real and are representations of what people believe the iPhone will be, or photos or purported prototypes.

Most people agree that one if not two new iPhones will be released this year, and following Apple’s recent naming system one of them more than likely will be called the iPhone 6. The main hardware difference that most people are solid on is that the new iPhone(s) will be thinner and slimmer, just like your New years resolutions!

Tim Cook has revealed that 2014 is a big year for Apple product releases, and people are optimistically expecting the release of the iWatch, possibly the iTV, and the next iPhone update(s!). These possible new product releases alongside other factors such as the possibility of dual iPhone releases will obviously affect when and exactly how fancily updated the new iPhone(s) will be.

Some people are speculating that the iPhone 6 will be, in fact, the iWatch and the current mobile iPhone will only get a new iOS update.

The more trusted and reliable thought is that the iPhone 6 will be its own separate hardware update, and because of the rumored new product releases set most likely for the Fall, it will be released early this year; think sometime in the 2nd quarter, June, or early Summer.  This is certainly a possibility – Apple released the first four generations of iPhone in June, before moving to an September/October launch schedule.

The other line of thought is that the iPhone 6 will follow the more recent iPhone release schedule and released in the Fall, leaving the Apple team plenty of time to make sure everything is perfect.

A lot of analysts believe that Apple will continue with their new 2 phone release model, this time featuring 2 differing size options. The sizing rumors range from 4.5 inches waaaay up to 5.7 inches. There is additional speculation that Apple will minimize or completely eradicate the bezels (the part bordering the screen) on the iPhone 6.

Arguments against the bigger screen sizes are backed up by Apple’s hard stance on one handed mobile use and their reluctance to provide a bigger screen at a loss to function just to compete with other smartphone companies. Tim Cook said this in April of last year:

“My view continues to be that the iPhone 5 has the absolute best display in the industry. We always strive to create the very best display for our customers. Our competitors have made some significant trade-offs in many of these areas in order to ship a larger display, we would not shop a larger-display iPhone while these trade-offs exist.”

Two new hardware components that are rumored to be allowing the iPhone to be thinner, lighter and more durable are Sapphire Glass and Liquidmetal.

Apple has exclusive rights to Liquidmetal, but have done for quite a long time. However, in November, five new Apple patents relating to Liquidmetal were published. Liquidmetal is a very strong and very durable material, which, if used, could make the iPhone 6 stronger and thinner as less material would be needed in comparison to Aluminum. According to some reports, the iPhone 6 could be just 6mm thick compared with the iPhone 5s’s 7.6mm. Below is a purported prototype from Sonnydickson.com

Sapphire glass is the material currently used on the iPhone 5S’s Touch ID Home Button the cover of the iPhone’s rear-facing camera. It’s more than twice as durable than Corning’s Gorilla Glass, and is “extremley scratch resistant. Apple has apparently spent $578 million to enter into a multi-year agreement with manufacturers GT Advanced Technologies to provide sapphire materials from a huge new Apple facility in Arizona.

The iPhone 5s incorporates a 64-bit A7 28-nanometer chip manufactured by Samsung. Apple’s iPhone 6 will reportedly incorporate a 20-nanometer A8 chip from TSMC, which will be both smaller and more energy efficient.

Samsung will continue to be involved in the production, alleviating some of TSMC’s manufacturing workload. The A7 chip marked a 31 percent improvement over the A6 in the iPhone 5, and it is likely that the leap to a 20-nm A8 chip will offer similar increases in performance.

Apple’s next-generation iPhone should, and may support the 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard that first began appearing in Apple products in 2013. 802.11ac, or “Gigabit” Wi-Fi offers speeds up to three times as fast as existing 802.11n wireless networks, reaching speeds over 1 Gigabit per second. It’s though that Apple have been waiting for external technology to catch up before they update their iDevices with the Wi-Fi Technology.

Wireless Charging is something that has been tossed around in the great big salad bowl of rumors, but we don’t think it’s coming- yet. Curved Glass is also a feature many are looking forward to- and would be be beautiful on the iPhone 6, but we wouldn’t be betting the house on it.

Holographic keyboard is the magic  feature everyone quietly and slightly unreasonably hopes for with each update. Will it be this year that their hopes are fulfilled? We think not, but there’s always a little hope. Meanwhile- they actually currently exist as an iPhone and iPad accessory.

According to a reports from The China Post, Apple will not be upgrading the resolution of the rear camera for the iPhone 6 later this year. Citing analysts from Nomura Securities, they indicate that while the iPhone 6 will have some camera improvements like enhanced optical image stabilization, it will continue to use an 8-megapixel sensor rather than a higher-resolution sensor in the 12-16 megapixel range.

Some people think that the Touch ID introduced on the iPhone 5S last year will be removed from future iPhone updates – we think this is pretty categorically not going to happen.  What we think will  happen is that Apple will, this year, introduce new payment methods using the touch ID.

Apple recently purchased PrimeSense, a firm specializing in the development of three-dimensional sensors for home appliances and mobile devices. This technology is similar to the gesture-detecting sensors of the Xbox’s Kinect controller. This purchase could certainly hint at a move to include gesture control on the next generation of Apple devices, although unlike Samsung, they would want to have it perfected before they release anything with gesture control.

The iPhone 6(s) will run on iOS 8. Yay!

So that’s it – so far. Everyday there are new rumors and people certain they know exactly what the iPhone 6 will be like. In actual fact, there’s very, very few people in the world who knows exactly what it will be like. This guy is one of them.

So if you see him, can you guys ask him for us?  Thanks.

Images courtesy of Unitedcats, dailymail.co.uk, bgr.com, Officetoocean.blogspot.com, sonnydickson,  usatoday.com, geeky-gadgets.com, pcadvisor.co.uk, Coolistuff.com, 9to5mac.com, & mashable

Tim Cook’s end of year letter to Apple employees

Thanks to 9to5Mac, we have the full letter that Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, sent to his employees. The letter reflects on the last year, cements the ideals of the company and looks forward to 2014.

Team,

This holiday season, tens of millions of people around the world, from all walks of life, are experiencing Apple products for the first time. Those moments of surprise and delight are magical, and they’re all made possible by your hard work. As many of us prepare to celebrate the holidays with our loved ones, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on what we’ve achieved together over the past year.

First and foremost, we introduced industry-leading products in each of our major categories in 2013, showing the breadth and depth of innovation at Apple. We extended our lead in the smartphone market with iPhone 5s; launched iOS 7, an extraordinarily ambitious project; released OS X Mavericks for free to our customers; introduced the iPad Air and the iPad mini with Retina display; and this week began shipping the Mac Pro from a manufacturing facility in Austin, Texas. We also marked our 50 billionth download on the App Store – a milestone no one could have predicted we would reach so quickly.

Together we’ve shown the world that innovation at Apple goes beyond our products to the way we do business and how we give back to our community. This year, Apple raised and donated tens of millions of dollars for important charities and relief efforts like Red Cross aid to typhoon victims in the Philippines, and we continue to be the largest contributor to (PRODUCT)RED, supporting the Global Fund in its fight against the spread of AIDS in Africa. Just a few weeks ago, Jony Ive led an unprecedented effort that brought money and awareness to eliminating the transmission of AIDS from mother to child.

And finally, Apple is standing up for what we believe is right. We know that equality and diversity make our company and our society stronger, so we’ve urged the U.S. Congress to support workplace protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. We are also laser focused on our contribution to several environmental initiatives and we will increase our efforts even more in this area in the future.

We have a lot to look forward to in 2014, including some big plans that we think customers are going to love. I am extremely proud to stand alongside you as we put innovation to work serving humankind’s deepest values and highest aspirations. I consider myself the luckiest person in the world for the opportunity to work at this amazing company with all of you.

Happy Holidays,

Tim

Makes you feel all kinds of goo inside, right? in 2014 we as customers can look forward to a bunch of new and updated software and hardware releases such as the iWatch, iTV, iPhone 6 and a larger iPad.

We’ll be going into the ins and outs of everything we can look forward to early in the new year. It’s very exciting!

Meanwhile, it’s Christmas eve eve! We hope your holiday season is everything you guys could have wished for so far, and is set only to get better!

We wished for a kitten wearing a santa hat and drinking eggnog, as well as a bunch of stinky old iPhones, so things are going excellently!

Images courtesy of qz.com and Efunlist.com

New products coming in 2014!

GUYS GUYS GUYS!

There are still more products coming our way right from the magical world of the Apple production line! Next year! That’s like only a few tomorrows away!

A couple of days ago Tim Cook confirmed to members of the press, that Apple is definitely planning on introducing new product categories in 2014. Categories baby! That’s like, things we’ve never seen before. Woop.

According to Cook, Apple believes that it can use its skills building software, hardware, and services to create “great products” in categories that Apple does not participate in today. “We’re pretty confident about that,” said Cook.

Woop!

Things to look forward to  (probably) include the iWatch, the iTV and a little baby unicorn that makes all your dreams come true.

Probably.

Images courtesy of  Cheezburger & Playdom

OS X Mavericks – What you need to know.

We would have suggested OS X Liger (rawr!), but Apple went ahead without consulting us, starting over with the naming process for system upgrades and leaving the big cat names behind.

Announced back in June at WWDC and coinciding with their new ‘Designed by Apple in California’ ads and the announcement that the Mac Pro will be built solely in America, Apple started a new naming scheme for their operating system based on locations in California.

Mavericks is a surfing location particularly well known for its dangerous big wave riding in Northern California, just north of the town of Half Moon Bay.

Now, it’s also the new Apple operating system. Is it as cool as beach with big wave breaks? Well, kinda? We may have trapped ourselves in that comparison- it might not be that cool, but it is very cool.

Here’s the double rainbow of coolness for you guys;

New Finder Tabs.

Just like in your Internet browser, you can now have independently controlled tabs in your finder windows. You can merge these finder windows and take the finder full screen.

Tagging.

Filed under ‘I wouldn’t have though of this, but now that you did, it looks really freakin useful’ is tagging.

With Mavericks you will be able to ‘tag’ documents and media – save it, tag it as sports, home, to do, etc. and it catalogues these under their tags in the side bar of the finder.

You can tag documents with multiple tags, create new tags on the go, and the best part? Searching using tags. For instance, searching for ‘iphone stuff’ and ‘the best’ will naturally take you directly to your saved iPhone Antidote Wallpaper.

Multiple Displays

Users will now be able to access the menu bar and dock separately on each screen with multiple display support. You will also be able to load separate and independent applications on each screen, and drag them from screen to screen.

Apple TV is not forgotten here either, as it can now be a fully powered OS X display, with access to menu bar dock and independent applications also.

Extended Battery Life

There is a heap of new processing elements included in Mavericks to extend your battery life and reduce CPU utilization by up to 72%.

We particularly like a new feature called app nap, which figures out what applications and web pages are in use, and which are not. The system will then simply stop giving power to the web pages and applications that you’re not currently looking at.

Compressed memory pretty much does what it says, compressing inactive memory to provide spare memory to running applications when needed.

Timer Coalescing groups low end operations together , creating tiny periods of time when your computer can enter into an idle, low power state, which in turn saves your battery.

Safari

Safari is updated with Mavericks, starting with an all-new homepage with top sites and a sidebar with your bookmarks and access to your reading list. This will also include shared links from people you follow on Linkdin and Twitter.

Safari uses less energy in this update and includes accelerated, smoother scrolling and one click bookmarking.  In your readin list, you will be able to scroll continuously through all of your articles, one after the other.

iCloud keychain

Cross device safe keeping of all your passwords and credit card information starts with iCloud Keychain.

This new feature will store all your passwords, across all your devices, so you don’t have to think about them ever again. Sounds pretty good right? The keychain will even suggest new passwords for you, and then will go ahead and put it in the cloud, encrypted.

With your credit card information, when shopping online, the keychain will offer the last four digits of all the cards you have stored, and you can pick one when paying and be done with it.

Although this sends little tiny shivers of scariness up the security part of our spine, it also sounds super useful and convenient.

Notifications

You can now get all your notifications, from all your devices, on your computer.

What’s also pretty great about this is you will have a number of new options for action within the notification when it appears on your screen.

You can respond directly to most notifications, (by replying to email, declining Skype calls etc.), within the notification banner when it appears.

Once you have actioned a notification, you won’t see it again on any of your other devices, and they will all be updated with your response to the original notification.

When the computer is awoken from sleep, all the alerts you may have gotten when it (and you!) were asleep will be listed.

Calendar

The calendar app has been updated in a really cool way- where now if you have appointments scheduled, the app will give you a ton of information you might need for them.

The calendar will now provide you with weather in the spot where your appointment is scheduled, as well as suggestions for restaurants etc if you require them.

We particularly like that the calendar will work out and tell you the travel time to and from your appointment, and will even add it to the calendar so you cant double book the time when you’re supposed to be on your way!

You will also get notifications of when you need to leave on your phone and/or computer.

Maps

Maps hits the computer with Mavericks! You can now access street maps, 3D flyover data and info cards. You can also push turn-by-turn directions to our iOS device straight from your computer.

iBooks

iBooks will be on your computer by Fall with this system update. Now you can access all the books in the iTunes store as well as your stored books and bookmarks, and read them full screen on your computer screen.

But what is really cool is for the educators and the learners amongst us.

iBooks for Mavericks will come with interactive textbooks, which feature videos and other media embedded within the normal text. You will also have the ability to highlight and make notes, and learn using study cards made from the material.

Sounds pretty awesome huh?

OS X Mavericks is available RIGHT NOW for FREE in the Mac App store.  Download it here now.

All images courtesy of Apple.

iPad mini with Retina Display

Along with the iPad Air, Apple also gave us a shiny new iPad Mini. With Retina display. Yeah, we all knew this was coming, but it’s still awesome. Because Retina is Awesome. D’uh.

The new Mini has the same 7.9-inch display BUT with the retina display the screen now has four times the pixels, with a full 2048 x 1536 resolution.

It’s ever so slightly heavier and thicker to compensate, but the good guys out there who have held it say that it’s not really noticeable.

The other extra on the upgraded iPad Mini? It also comes with the new A7 chip seen in the iPhone 5S. The super fast & super powerful 64-bit A7 processor makes scrolling and everything else notably faster and smoother.

The Mini with Retina comes with an improved 5-megapixel camera and the front FaceTime camera comes in HD with larger pixels to help in low light, and duel microphones. It also comes with Multiple-input and Multiple-output tech that gives the device faster Wi-Fi capabilities. It maintains it’s 10 hour battery life.

HOW MUCH??

The Fancy Retina Screen comes at a price, beginning at $399. BUT it is now being offered at 16Gb, 32Gb, 64Gb AND 128Gb.

iPad Mini with Retina Display with Wi-Fi – $399 for the 16GB model, $499 for the 32GB model, $599 for the 64GB model and $699 for the 128GB model.

iPad Mini with Retina Display with Wi-Fi + Cellular – $529 for the 16GB model, $629 for the 32GB model, $729 for the 64GB model and $829 for the 128GB model.

You can still get the original iPad Mini at  LOWER price, with the 16Gb starting at $299 for Wi-Fi and $429 for Wi-Fi + Cellular.

They will be available in Space Grey and Silver.

WHEN?

It will be at some point in November.

Also: There are expert analysts who say that the iPad mini with Retina Display will be really hard to get your hands on until early next year (These guys don’t really have a lot to do with Apple themselves, except that they study them and have secret sources and stuff).

So, if you’re planning on getting one as a Christmas Present, you better get your best Christmas Present Getting Boots on early, and on well!

Images courtesy of Apple, TodayIFoundOut, KnowYourMeme & Cactuscreekdaily.com

Apple crediting iWork & iLife purchases!

Did you purchase a new iOS device after September 1st, but just before Tim Cook announced that all new iOS devices purchased would come with iWork and iLife apps for free?

Did you buy apps from iLife or iWork and then kicked an Apple voodoo doll cos you felt ripped off?

Were you perhaps confused about it all and bought the apps anyway not thinking they were actually going to be given out for free?

GOOD NEWS!

Apple have begun to send out emails to eligible users that did any of the above letting them know not to worry kiddies, their iTunes accounts will be credited for the money they spent on the apps that were supposed to be free!

If you think that you should have received an email and you haven’t yet, you get right on that phone and call Apple! 800-275-2273

Here’s the official email from  Apple.

Dear iTunes Customer,

On September 10, 2013, Apple announced that iPhoto, iMovie, Keynote, Pages, and Numbers iOS apps are now available as a free download on the App Store for qualifying iOS 7 compatible devices activated on or after September 1, 2013.

Our records indicate that you purchased one or more of these apps on or after September 1, 2013 so we have provided you with the iTunes code below in the amount of $5.34.

This credit can be used towards the purchase of any content on the iTunes Store, App Store, or iBooks Store. Detailed instructions for redeeming the code can be found at http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1574.

Code: [redacted]

Thank you and we hope you enjoy using this credit towards your next purchase on iTunes.

Regards, iTunes Customer Support

For full iTunes Terms and Conditions click here:http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/ww/

Apple courtesy of Macrumors. Image courtesy of Appleinsider.

Next Apple Event October 22nd!

Thanks to AllThingsD, we’ve got a date of the next Apple event! With announcements of new products and upgrades and wheeee!

(so far unconfirmed by Apple, but that’s pretty normal.)

Pencil it in kids: October 22nd, 2013.

The event will most likely focus on all things iPad, although Mavericks OS X and the new Mac pro will also probably get a look in.

The fifth gen iPad is expected to be announced, with more than a passing resemblance to it’s little bro the mini, with a thinner, lighter design and smaller side bezels ( the bits beside the screen).

It is also expected to have  a 64-bit A7 processor and an improved 8-megapixel camera.

Sahweet!

According to up and coming tech leaker Sonny Dickson – these are leaked pictures of the 5th Generation iPad next to the current gen.

The mini is expected to have a nice little upgrade, with similar 64-bit chip and camera improvements as it’s big bro as well as a retina display. FANCY.

Just a word of warning- According to some, the iPad mini won’t have much availability once it is released. Because it’s fancy, ya see.

There have been leaks (unconfirmed) that the upgraded iPads MIGHT come in the gold color seen in the much sought after in the iPhone 5S, and/or equipped with the Touch ID also seen on the iPhone 5S.

Both the 5th generation iPad and the upgraded iPad mini should be offered in Silver & Space Grey, if not Gold as well.

With the announcement looking like it’s 99% on October the 22nd, we’ll probably be seeing the launch of the upgraded products on November 1st.

In the tech world, the date of Apple’s fall event coincides with both Nokia’s Innovation Reinvented showcase, and the retail debut of Microsoft’s new Surface 2.

What do you guys think, are you excited about the announcement or over it for the year?

Will you get a new iPad or iPad Mini?

Image courtesy of iftodayisyourbirthday.com , Sonny Dickson & Zazzle.

Thanksgiving yaya!!

Brace yourselves: Thanksgiving is coming!

You guys probably don’t really need to brace yourselves though, cos thanksgiving means yummy foods and cool leaves and family (maybe brace yourselves a bit).

It also means holidays! And this year, like many in the past, Apple employees are in for extra special thanksgiving- with extra days off to be thankful for!

Thanks Tim Cook! (Is what we’d say if we were given days off for thanksgiving. And we worked for apple).

Apple employees all over the world get the entire week of thanksgiving off WITH pay. WHHHOOOOOOOP!

Peeps who work in retail and customer service, as well as those for whom thankgiving means, well, not a lot, i.e. those in other countires, can take those paid days leave at other, convenient, staggered times.  Whoop.

Here’s the email Tim Cook Sent to his loved and thankful staff regarding the extra paid days off, thanks to 9to5mac.

Team-

It’s been an exciting summer. For the first time, we’ve launched two new iPhone product lines. iOS 7 was created from a deep collaboration between our design and engineering teams, bringing to our customers a stunning new user interface and amazing new features. We unveiled OS X Mavericks and the most powerful Mac ever. The App Store celebrated a new milestone — 50 billion downloads. And we continued to express our love for music with iTunes Radio and the iTunes Festival.

I had the opportunity to visit a few of our stores during the iPhone launch. There is no better place to see and feel why Apple is special. The best products on Earth. Energy. Enthusiasm. The best customers in the world. Passionate team members focused on enriching people’s lives. Innovative products that serve humanity’s deepest values and highest aspirations.

And I am proud to tell you that Apple is also a force for good in our world beyond our products. Whether it’s improving working conditions or the environment, standing up for human rights, helping eliminate AIDS, or reinventing education, Apple is making a substantial contribution to society.

None of this would have been possible without you. Our most important resource is not our money, our intellectual property, or any capital asset. Our most important resource — our soul — is our people.

I realize many of you worked tirelessly to bring us this far. I know it required great personal sacrifice. In recognition of your incredible efforts and achievements, I’m happy to announce that we’re extending the Thanksgiving holiday this year. We will shut down with pay on November 25, 26, and 27 so our teams can have the whole week off.

Retail, AppleCare and a few other teams will need to work that week so we can continue to serve our customers, but will receive the same number of days off at an alternate time. Please check with your manager for details. Our international teams will schedule the vacation days at a time that is best suited for their specific country.

I hope you find the extra time restful and relaxing. You deserve it. Details will be available on AppleWeb soon. I am exceedingly proud of all of you. I am in awe of what you’ve accomplished and couldn’t be more excited about the future.

Enjoy the time away!

So that’s cool. But hey, even if we’re not Apple employees and aren’t getting more full paid days off over Thanksgiving, at least we’ve got Captain Halloween to look forward to.

And, if you guys are anything like us, lots to be thankful for.