On Wednesday, Apple Inc. (AAPL) acquired HTML5 web app company, Particle. AAPL has acquired other companies in the past in order to develop a key part of one of their projects or create an entirely new one. CNET initially reported that Apple acquired the San Francisco based startup and that they acquired the company for its talents in the industry as opposed to any specific project that they were working on.

The company has done HTML5 work for Google, Motorola, Amazon, Yahoo, Sony, and Apple. The group has also created some “labs” projects including Intervue.me, an asynchronous video interviewing project. […]

The deal went through late last month, though not all its less than a dozen employees stayed on to work at Apple. Those who did are listed as “creative technologists” as well as one “user interface engineer,” according to their public LinkedIn profiles.

The report goes on to mention that Apple’s new employees will be put to work specifically on projects such as Apple’s website, iAd, and iCloud.com. Apple may also utilize the company for other projects, such as bringing more of the iTunes software over to the web, similar to iTunes Preview.

It appears Apple has already brought a few employees from Particle onboard already, with TechCrunch noting that several Particle employees have changed their employees on LinkedIn as early as September.

{Via MacRumors}

Earlier this year, in February, Apple promised its iAd developers that they would increase their payouts later on in the year. This would give the developers who use the iAd service a 10% increase from the current 60% of total earnings. Apple’s decision to raise the payouts isn’t all that surprising, when considering that Apple currently pays its iOS app developers 70% of the total revenue, 30% of which Apple keeps for themselves.

Now, the iAd platform is on the same level of iOS development in terms of profit for both the developers and the Cupertino based company. During iAd’s initial launch, it gained only a small network of advertisers willing to put up with Apple’s higher than usual prices, and a number of restrictions by which they must comply. The minimum buy-in for the mobile ad platform was decreased by Apple from $1 million to $100,000 since its launch in July 2010 with iOS 4.

This new price is down from a $300,000 minimum which took effect last July. AdMob is the leading mobile ad service of choice, particularly on the Android platform, because of its abilities to support multiple platforms at once, and with its substantially higher adoption and usage than Apple’s iAd. With this increase in payouts, Apple may increase the number of developers in its iAd program, however, the company still has much improvement before the service experiences increased adoption.

{via iMore}

Apple has been experiencing high sales volume for the iPhone 4S, since its release late last year, in October. Apple, after releasing in the United States, began the roll out of the popular device in international markets, including China, however, after scalpers caused many problems in recent months, and a near riot in Apple’s Sanlitun retail store in Beijing, the Cupertino company has decided to halt sales of the device in-store “until further notice”.

Reuters reported early Friday that Apple stopped in-store sales after police restrained a massive crowd, causing riot behavior and unsafe conditions for both customers and employees. Scalpers are very common in Chinese Apple Stores, buying up iPhone and iPad stock, causing limited availability of the device, and then selling them at higher than suggested retail prices.

This illegal activity has caused tensions in Apple Stores which consistently run low on stock iOS devices and has also caused a major headache for police who must manage crowds of angry people on a regular basis.

“The demand for iPhone 4S has been incredible and our stores in China have already sold out,” an Apple spokeswoman said.

“Unfortunately, we were unable to open our store at Sanlitun due to the large crowd. And to ensure the safety of our customers and our employees, iPhones will not be available in our retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai for the time being,” she said.

Apple’s decision to halt in-store sales is a smart one, because of the negative press that they would receive by allowing a riot in one of their retail stores. With sales halted, online sales will be increasing, which could possibly lead to a number of crashes and errors on the Apple Online Store. It’ll be interesting to see how Apple’s PR team will handle this situation as the days progress and the announcement of an iPad 3 gets closer and closer.

It seems a visit to Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference at San Francisco’s Moscone Center wasn’t enough work for the company’s CEO this week, with Steve Jobs also attending a council meeting to present proposals for a new Apple campus in Cupertino.

To be built on the 150 acre old HP campus Apple bought earlier this year, the new home would house 13000 employees, up from the just less than 10000 currently housed at 1 Infinite Loop.

What stands out the most about the proposed building is its design. One large circular building, the proposed campus would be four floors-tall and feature its own under-ground parking to enable the surrounding areas to become home to newly planted trees and greenery.

Jobs called the structure a ‘spaceship’ and few looking at the designs would disagree.

When he offered to field questions, Jobs was faced with a councilor asking for free WiFi to be provided to Cupertino residents as part of the deal. A quick-thinking Jobs offered to provide such facilities if Apple were no longer required to pay taxes. We’re fairly sure which way that one will go!

If Apple’s plans get the go ahead they plan to begin construction next year and move into their new home in 2015. Now we know where all that money goes!

Check out the full 20 minute video for a insight into just what Apple has planned for its lucky employees and to witness yet another celebrity-style reception for the Apple co-founder and CEO.

{Source: 9to5 Mac}

The first big news is iOS scroll bars and scrolling behavior are coming to OS X. That means you’ll have to say goodbye to the current Aqua scroll bars and get ready for a more minimal look. Also, the “rubber band” elastic scrolling iOS is famous for is making its first appearance on the desktop, and we’re told it “works really well and feels natural”. Basically, it works like the current inertial scrolling, but when you hit the top or bottom of a scroll view it “rubber bands” down like iOS devices do.

If we consider Apple’s minimalist approach in designing its software then it is certainly possible that we’ll be seeing much cleaner design for Mac OS X version 10.7 and better integration with iOS devices.

TUAW reports the head of the US Army’s Research, Development, and Engineering Command, Major General Nick Justice (I couldn’t make that name up if I tried), recently met with the collective in Cupertino. The American military, like most armies worldwide, depend on custom-built electronics that are often overpriced and outmoded before they reach the battlefield. Major General Justice’s command is interesting in exploring the application of off-the-shelf technology to US Army needs. Instead of military developed technology flowing to the private sector (as was the case with the Humvee), commercial tech would flow into the military.

It’s interesting to see the American military conferring with Apple on this matter but it makes perfect sense for a number of reasons. Firstly, Apple is the acknowledged leader in mobile technology. I don’t think there is one person left in the technology sector that wouldn’t acknowledge the versatility and ease of use of the iPhone platform. Military technologies are usually highly focused, highly specialized products. The versatility of the platform would be very enticing to an organization looking for a powerful mobile computing system that can perform many different tasks. The ease of use of the iPhone platform would also be inviting in that most recruits would be familiar with systems operation from their civilian life, freeing instructors to focus on teaching the actual applications.

Secondly, budgetary constraints have forced the military to look at inexpensive solutions to their information technology needs. The iPhone, even at the retail price of $300 – $400 USD per unit, would be a bargain for the US Army. It could take the place of a mobile communications system, battlefield information system, and IFF beacon to name but a few uses. Who knows how much they’re spending on just these three systems alone? And after the initial hardware investment, the only other expense would be in training a corps of developers.

Although in this instance it was the American military talking to Apple, I imagine similar discussions are going on in boardrooms and bunkers throughout the Free World. When viewed as a mobile computing platform, the iPhone represents such a leap forward that it can’t be ignored in either the commercial, corporate, or military space. This convergence and multiplicity of purpose has, in my opinion, permanently put Apple at the forefront of the mobile computing market as they continue to expand their presence in it.

What do you think of the US Army’s move to enlist the iPhone? Do you think corporate and military adoption of Apple’s products are the future? Leave us a comment and let us know.