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Apple has said today that it expects to best last year's first-weekend iPhone sales record, mainly thanks to strong demand in China.

"Customer response to iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus has been extremely positive and preorders this weekend were very strong around the world," the company said in a statement. "We are on pace to beat last year's 10 million unit first-weekend record when the new iPhones go on sale Sept. 25."

As has been the case for years, Apple expects delays on some of the new models in some nations thanks to lack of supply (or high demand). "As many customers noticed, the online demand for iPhone 6S Plus has been exceptionally strong and exceeded our own forecasts for the preorder period," the company also wrote. "We are working to catch up as quickly as we can, and we will have iPhone 6S Plus as well as iPhone 6S units available at Apple retail stores when they open next Friday."

There had been concerns that the economic and stock downturn in China would lead to lackluster sales, but that is clearly not an issue. Both new phones have 3-4 week delays in all colors in the country.

Microsoft has confirmed that gamers in the Xbox Preview Program will be able to test out the new Xbox One dashboard update before it launches in November.

"Because this is a significant update, we are giving Preview members the opportunity to decide for themselves if and how they want to participate in helping us release the New Xbox One Experience," said Mike Ybarra of the Xbox team.

Of note, Microsoft will not roll out the preview to everyone, at least not to start. "Preview members who have historically submitted the most feedback" will be the first to receive the update, with the ultimate goal "to start with a group, get feedback, then roll out to larger groups for additional feedback over time."

If you do choose to opt in, you will get regular updates up until the official release in November.

The November update will introduce a completely re-hauled user interface, new backward compatibility with over 100 Xbox 360 titles and smaller updates to the store and OneGuide. Additionally, there is a new 'Community' section which adds a ton of social features.

The former Google CEO and now the Executive Chairman of newly found holding company Alphabet Eric Schmidt has written an op-en for the BBC about the strides artificial intelligence (AI) has made – and will make. Unlike Apple, Eric Schmidt believes in computer curated music rather than few human individuals.

Schmidt clearly pokes fun at Apple's human curated music on Apple Music, Recode reports. The former Google CEO calls human curation "elitist" since it relies on few people making the choices for you based on their own preferences.

Music curation being one of the editorial's main focuses Schmidt says that maybe a decade ago it was reasonable to use human curation but today AI has come so far that it provides better results and could "help you predict who and where the next Adele might be".

What do you think, does human curation to it better for you and/or do AI curated playlists cater the large crowds better?

Music and movie organizing software Plex is headed to the new updated Apple TV.

The software, which allows you to organize and stream your personal collections, has been popular for PCs for quite some time and is also available on consoles on set-top boxes but has been notably absent (officially) from the aging Apple TV. Now that the set-top is getting a makeover, the company has confirmed it will be on-board.

"We are very excited to have a crack at bringing our users Apple TV," says co-founder Scott Olechowski. "It's been a long requested platform and we're excited to work on it. We want it, our users want it ... and we're anxiously awaiting the tvOS developer beta info, so we can finally dig in."

The co-founder also confirmed Apple TV would be getting a fully featured app, although not likely for a few months as development is not done as the tvOS was just released.

OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei has apologized for the botched launch of the OnePlus 2, which is only now shipping "in meaningful quantities," a month later than expected.

"We messed up the launch of the OnePlus 2," said Pei, starting off a long post apologizing to consumers and partners alike.

"With the OnePlus 2, we made rosy plans. We were more confident, and prepared a lot more inventory. We told our users it would be 30-50x easier to get invites, and they needn't worry. Yet, we only began shipping in meaningful quantities this week, nearly a month after our initial targeted shipping date. You can talk all you want, but in the end, flawless execution speaks much louder than unfulfilled promises.

I'd like to apologize on behalf of OnePlus for the delay.

To our fans, sorry. We were equally excited when we saw your excitement around the OnePlus 2. We know how it feels waiting and waiting for something you really want, while being given ETAs that go unfulfilled. We appreciate the trust and support that you have given to a relatively small and unknown company like OnePlus. We know that you are rooting for us, and want nothing more than to see us succeed. Therefore, it feels extra terrible to let you down this time around, again," concluded the post.

Apple has confirmed it will shut down popular transit and directions service HopStop by the end of October.

"HopStop will no longer be available starting October 2015," reads the website, despite being used in over 300 cities. Apple acquired the service for a reported $1 billion back in 2013 to expand its Apple Maps service.

With the launch of iOS 9, Apple is adding transit directions and transit maps right into Apple Maps, so it appears that it wants to limit the service to Maps and no longer as a standalone app. At the start, the transit directions will be available in just 10 major metros.

Apple has been investing heavily in Maps as it tries to take on Google's more mature Google Maps. The company recently renewed a license with GPS mapping company TomTom and has been sending out Apple Maps cars to collect data, just like Google does for its 'Street View' service.

If you were a fan of HopStop but not Apple Maps, it may be time to try out the latter.

While Windows 10 has been generally well reviewed my users, fans of privacy are having a field day with how invasive the new operating system is.

Since the OS went into Technical Preview last year, security experts (and others) have warned that Windows 10 has a keylogger built-in and unfortunately, that keylogger is still there in the final retail version.

Microsoft, for their part, has never tried to hide it: "When you interact with your Windows device by speaking, writing (handwriting), or typing, Microsoft collects speech, inking, and typing information--including information about your Calendar and People (also known as contacts)," reads their own FAQ.

Thankfully, the keylogger can be turned off rather simply if you follow the following steps:

Microsoft is now downloading Windows 10 installation files to your PC, even if you didn't ask for it nor have enough available hard drive space for it.

Disgustingly, Microsoft is using their "automatic updates" system to download the files to eligible PCs (Windows 7 or Windows 8.1) and the installation files take up about 6GB of space. Making it worse is the fact that you will get the files even if you have not "reserved" the upgrade to the new operating system.

There are a few major problems with Microsoft's move. First, many of the people getting the files don't want to upgrade to Windows 10, free or not. Ever. Second, there are plenty of laptops out there running on SSD drives that may not be expecting an extra 6GB of space to suddenly disappear. Finally, there are still consumers out there with hard caps on how much bandwidth they can use on a monthly basis. No one wants to get their data maxed out by an unexpected download they didn't ask for.

Microsoft seems to want to make sure they can keep adding milestone numbers to their Windows 10 install figures, but this is the wrong way to go about it. Thankfully, with a little Windows know-how, you can get rid of the files. Enable hidden folders in your root folder and look for the $WINDOWS.BT folder. Your installation will be hiding out in there.

As part of the 30-year anniversary celebration of the launch of Mario, creator Shigeru Miyamoto revealed which myths about the classic games are true and which are not.

The new video, which also promotes the upcoming 'Super Mario Maker,' has Miyamoto basically shaking his head yes or no to a bunch of urban myths about Mario that have been around for years but never confirmed.

Finally confirmed is how Mario's name came to be. Nintendo of America was leasing a warehouse from a landlord named Mario Segale in the early 80s (before Donkey Kong and Mario) and actually fell behind on rent. Segale granted them extra time to pay and out of gratitude Mario the character got his name.

Additionally, it has long been speculated that Super Mario Bros. 3 was really a theatrical performance, and Miyamoto confirmed that. Finally, Miyamoto also notes the he is the mom of Bowser Jr., the son of the monstrous Bowser. How that works, who knows.

The video is short and worth watching:

According to new reports, Sony Pictures considered buying Netflix or BitTorrent back in 2006 but obviously backed out.

In fact, BitTorrent was higher on the short list of potential acquisitions by the studio, who also looked at TiVo and Starz Media.

Sony praised BitTorrent's effectiveness for downloading large quantities of online media, and Sony was actively trying to "build a substantial presence in aggregation, distribution and services businesses that complement the core business."

The company was looking to invest between $2 and $4 billion to make their goals a reality, and BitTorrent was valued at around $100 million at the time. Even Netflix, which is now the king of streaming, was only worth $1.2 billion back then and could have been purchased even at a premium. Netflix is now valued at over $40 billion.

In the end, Sony bought a large stake in Starz and purchased video streaming service Grouper which was rebranded as Crackle. Crackle offers free streaming of Sony content, with commercials and is available via set-top boxes, gaming consoles and PCs.

Microsoft has quietly acquired Double Labs, the developer behind the Android app Echo Notification Lockscreen.

The app, which has been downloaded over 2 million times, allows users to personalize the lock screen of their device, including sorting your notifications by categories of your choosing such as "social" or "priority."

Microsoft actually already has an Android lockscreen app, that is equally as popular as Echo, although aesthetically it cannot compete against Echo.

According to Microsoft Chief Experience Officer Julie Larson-Green, the new acquisition is about "[taking] productivity to the next level" and "[keeping] you in the moment." But what's wrong with the default lockscreen? "It's a list of what apps want you to know, not necessarily what's important to you," Larson-Green added.

Source:
BI

According to Apple fan Philip Elmer-DeWitt at Fortune, the new iPhone 6S and 6S Plus are already on significant back order in China.

The rose gold iPhones appear to be the most popular (or the least in stock) as around the world it has been selling out earliest.

Apple has already begun accepting pre-orders for the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Singapore, the UK, and the United States with more to come in the following weeks and months.

In the U.S., the iPhone 6S is in ample supply and available through all major carriers without any delay (shipping date September 25th) while the 6S Plus is running into large delays (unless you have AT&T for some reason).

Check availability here: iPhone Inventory

Angry Birds creator Rovio is trying its hand at puzzle games again, launching the 'Nibblers,' "a delicious new matching game with cute characters and fresh and fruity puzzle gameplay."

While it is hard to argue that game does not have cute characters (it certainly does), this is Rovio's second game of the same type in the last year. 'Jolly Jams' launched earlier this year with cute characters and matching features and so far has not been a hit despite good reviews.

The puzzle matching game lets you match fruits and your Nibblers have special abilities that can help as you advance through 200 levels.

"We're thrilled to bring a completely new IP to the mobile gaming scene," says Heini Kaihu, Head of Studio at Rovio. "Nibblers may be newly evolved creatures, but fans of our other games will recognize the Rovio touches – strong characters, beautiful visuals, and a lush soundtrack recorded with live orchestra and soloists. This will be a game you want to return to again and again."

Kabam's new 'Star Wars: Uprising' is now available for download, with the game being the "first Star Wars RPG set between Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: The Force Awakens."

The game has been teased for a few weeks for iOS and Android and so far critical reception seems mixed at best, although many appear to be having issues with installation which will likely get fixed soon.

Within the game, you get to build your own character and perform missions in well known locations (like Cloud City) and there are also co-op modes so you and buddies can take on the Empire together.

As with most games available now, Uprising is free to play but requires money to power up.

Stephen Colbert, new host of CBS's The Late Show, will have Apple CEO Tim Cook on the show next Tuesday, September 15th.

To promote the show and guest, Colbert tweeted "Siri, put Apple CEO Tim Cook on my calendar for Tuesday, Sept. 15. Oh, and come up with some questions to ask him," while dictating to an Apple Watch.

Colbert has actually promoted Apple products in the past on his previous show, The Colbert Report, so it is likely the two will discuss Apple's newly announced iPhone 6S, Apple TV and more.

The Late Show airs at 11:35PM eastern time.