Apple

SAN JOSE -- The iPad mini, the long-rumored smaller tablet from Apple, has made its debut. Apple launched the 7.9-inch tablet computer at an invitation-only media event Tuesday morning, telling a crowd of reporters that the device is as thin as a pencil and weighs .68 pounds. Price for the iPad mini starts at $329. "It's as light as a pad of paper," said Apple's marketing chief Phil Schiller. PHOTOS: Apple unveils iPad mini The iPad mini will be available for pre-order on Friday.

Apple announced a new version of iTunes on Wednesday. The Cupertino tech company said its music program and the iTunes Store have both been redesigned and given new features. Now users can click on albums to expand them in place, and artists can now also share photos with users. A new feature called "Up Next" that lets users see a pop-up window with a list of songs coming up on their playlist has also been added. The new iTunes will launch next month. The store itself will look more like the new version of the iOS iTunes Store, which is set to launch with iOS 6 later this month.

This post has been updated. Back in December, while I was writing a story about the extraordinary volatility of Apple's stock, one trader used the term "Apple slingshot" to describe the ups and downs of its shares.  Basically, the idea is that the stock experiences such wild fluctuations for such a huge stock. Each time it dipped to a new low over the past several years, it then rocketed back even further to a new all-time high. Like pulling back on a slingshot and then releasing it.  PHOTOS: The top smartphones of 2013 It just takes a strong stomach to hold on.  With the stock on a strong run the past week, I wonder: Are we seeing the latest Apple slingshot?

  Total time: 1 hour, 45 minutes, plus cooling time for the cake Servings: 9 to 12 Note: This cake contains no dairy products and thus is suitable for a kosher meal that includes meat. If you're serving the cake on another occasion, you can serve it with sour cream instead of making the sauce. 2 1/4 cups (9½ ounces) flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves 3/4 cup mild olive oil or vegetable oil, divided 1 cup dates, such as Deglet Noor (about 5½ ounces)

The latest version of Apple's music player, iTunes 11, which was expected this month, won't be available until the end of November, the company said. The update is to add several features, change some portions of iTunes' design and, most important, better integrate it with iCloud, the Cupertino-based company's cloud-computing service. But Apple failed to meet its late-October deadline for the update, telling CNET this week that it hopes to release iTunes 11 next month. "The new iTunes is taking longer than expected, and we wanted to take a little extra time to get it right," Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr told CNET . "We look forward to releasing this new version of iTunes with its dramatically simpler and cleaner interface, and seamless integration with iCloud, before the end of November.

One of the great new features on iOS 6 and the iPhone 5 is a new app called Passbook, but for a lot of people who updated their devices with the new operating system, the app simply won't work. In theory, Passbook will let you keep digital passes in one location. When you open the app, you get a screen saying you can use Passbook to store digital copies of flight boarding passes, event tickets and coupons. Target on Thursday announced it would support mobile coupons on Passbook.

CUPERTINO, Calif. - A dock connector may not seem like a controversial feature, but for some consumers it could be the difference between buying the new iPhone 5 or not. Apple Inc. unveiled the new iPhone on Wednesday and said it was losing the 30-pin connector that has been the standard on the smartphone since the original iPhone was introduced five years ago. It's adopting a new eight-pin connector called Lightning, saying a smaller connector is...

Yoshie Tachiki of Los Angeles wrote to the SoCal Garden Clinic to ask: We have a Fuji apple tree that has a white, cotton-like substance on the limbs. Is it a fungus? What can we use to get rid of it? For an answer, we turned to Yvonne Savio, manager of the UC Cooperative Extension's Common Ground Garden Program for Los Angeles County. She oversees the training of master gardeners. Savio said: The cottony fuzz is from woolly apple aphids. Wash it off with a stiff spray from the hose, making sure to get into the crevasses to dislodge the bug. Do this early in the morning, so the sun can dry off the bark by sundown.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The iPhone 5 is finally here. After months of rampant rumors and hype, Apple debuted its latest smartphone Wednesday in front of a packed house at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, claiming it is the world's thinnest. The iPhone 5 features a larger screen and weighs 112 grams, or about 4 ounces, which is 20% lighter than the iPhone 4S. It is also 18% thinner, Apple's marketing chief Phil Schiller said. It has an improved A6 processor that is twice as fast as its predecessor, high-speed 4G LTE connectivity and a widescreen aspect ratio.