Tag: apple
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My interpretations of announcements by Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Twitter
Apple pre-announcing something: “We’re excited to get this in customer’s hands late next year”. My interpretation: “We never pre-announce things. Why are we doing this? We’re terrible at it. In fact, we make fun of other companies for doing it! Steve Jobs would never allow this! (mostly) We must be doing this because some group…
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Thoughts on Apple’s March 2019 Media Event
I’m writing this for posterity’s sake. For my own recollection. So please feel free to skip the reading of this post. I can’t imagine the amount of money or resources Apple has invested to get to the point where they were able to announce all of those services in a single day.
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Spotify takes Apple to court in the EU
Daniel Ek, CEO of Spotify: It’s why, after careful consideration, Spotify has filed a complaint against Apple with the European Commission (EC), the regulatory body responsible for keeping competition fair and nondiscriminatory. Good. After reading through his post and their website – especially if it all is true – they have quite a good case.…
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The Sony of the PC industry
Jessica Williams (presumably no relation to whom this post is about) writing for Times News regarding Jeff Williams, COO of Apple, speaking to students and faculty at Elon University , regarding Steve Jobs’ new plan for Apple in the late-90s: Apple would become “the Sony of the PC industry.” It would make computers fashionable, and…
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The Mac is turning less Pro
skywhopper, on Hacker News, commenting on a thread relating to Mark Gurman’s scoop on Apple’s (supposed) plan to have apps running on iOS and macOS using the same (or, similar) code bases by 2020: And then the Mac is losing what should be its primary audience through unwanted innovations and otherwise stagnant hardware, and a…
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Best of 2018
This year I’m taking a slightly more comprehensive approach to my “best of” list. I’ve taken a look at previous year’s lists: 2008, 2009, 2017 and comprised a slightly more complete set. Again, this is only the things I came across this year and can remember. I don’t keep a list throughout the year but…
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Andrew Kim goes to Apple
Andrew Kim, who I mentioned back when he rebranded Microsoft and eventually was hired by them, has moved again — this time to Apple. Somehow I missed that he was at Tesla. Jon Porter for The Verge: After three and a half years at the company, Kim moved to Tesla, where he contributed to the…
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Becky Hansmeyer on iPad Pro
Becky Hansmeyer: There’s a lot more to like about the iPad Pro, especially if you’re upgrading from an iPad Air 2 like I did. The display is top-notch, ProMotion is one of those things you don’t understand how you lived without, and the Apple Pencil is downright magical. It’s much heavier than the Air, of…
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Google Pixel Night Sight on a Google Pixel 2 XL compared to iPhone Xs
My wife has a brand-new iPhone Xs and I have a one-year-old Google Pixel 2 XL. We always compare photos in a variety of situations. When she had the iPhone X my Pixel 2 XL would win handily in a variety of situations. Her new iPhone Xs wins here and there (e.g. in Portrait mode…
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The iPad is Apple’s best product
Faruk, of iPhonedo, on iPad: iPads are Apple’s best products. They almost never get old. They work for years. I agree. The iPad is a good investment as a product. Whatever you end up spending on them you get that back and much more. I’m still using my 4+ year old iPad Air 2 and…
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Snapthread is now free to try
Becky Hansmeyer: You can use all of the app’s features for free with only two limitations: a watermark in the lower left corner and a 30-second limit for video exports. I’ve mentioned Snapthread in the past. I’m not on iOS anymore, but if I were, I’d use and buy Snapthread in an instant. Looks great.…
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How to transfer photos from iPhone to Windows 10
Occasionally I will have need to transfer photos from Eliza’s iPhone X to my Windows 10 laptop. I’ve found the process of transferring the photos to be excruciatingly slow, unreliable, and frustrating. That is, until I figured out a better way. Most tutorials, including Microsoft’s own, will recommend you plug the phone into your computer,…
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Photos for Mac isn’t a long term photo library option
Bradley Chambers, writing for 9to5Mac, about his photo library backup strategy: If there is one thing I am obsessed with when it comes to technology, it’s my pictures. I keep them extremely organized and culled. He then goes on to say, regarding his use of iCloud Photo Library as a sort of backup: This service…
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Spotify vs. Apple Music
Sean Wolfe, compares Spotify vs. Apple Music for Business Insider: The subscription prices are generally the same, there isn’t much disparity in the music that’s available, and on the surface the services all appear pretty similar. But there are some important differences that will decide which music app is right for you. This is a…
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My experience buying a Windows laptop
After 16+ years working, writing, playing, making, listening, watching on a Macintosh, I’m switching back to Windows. Within a few days from today I will no longer be a Mac user. In fact, the only Apple product I will be using regularly will be my 2014 iPad Air 2 which I plan to replace soon.…
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Om Malik on Google Photos vs Apple Photos
I’ve finally found some time this morning to read Om Malik’s post on Google Photos vs Apple Photos – a post that has been sitting in my Unmark queue since the day he published it. Om Malik: The improvements in Google Photos and lack of magic in Apple Photos sometimes make me wonder if I…
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John Carmack’s stories of Steve Jobs
John Carmack: I wound up doing several keynotes with Steve, and it was always a crazy fire drill with not enough time to do things right, and generally requiring heroic effort from many people to make it happen at all. I tend to think this was also a calculated part of his method.
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Rob Shecter on switching from iPhone to Pixel 2
Robb Shecter: Notifications are far better than what I’m used to. They’re are so good, it’s maybe the killer feature for me This may be more of an observation of Android than of the Pixel 2. But I can say that my experience has been similar to Robb’s. I really, really like my Pixel 2 XL…
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iPhone X sales
John Gruber: Starting to sound like iPhone X sales really are falling short of expectations. He is referring to this report by Bloomberg. There have been other reports and rumors too but this one seems legit. I have no idea if the iPhone X is selling well or not. I have only seen a few…
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We’re in phase one of Augmented Reality
Apple just published a page dedicated to Augmented Reality in the latest versions of iOS. It is a good page overviewing some of the use cases we’re already seeing with AR. This is just the beginning. I’ve written about AR many times, so I won’t reiterate everything today. But look at these use cases and…
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Technology Dogmatism
Are you dogmatic about the companies you will buy technology from? Are you an Apple fanboi? Or, perhaps you’ll only run Windows and Apple sucks at everything because reasons. I try not to be that guy. I try to look at the entire field of offerings in every category; hardware, software, cloud services, home entertainment…
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The Siri pause
John Gruber, under “miscellaneous” in his review of HomePod: People seem to naturally think they need to pause between saying “Hey Siri” and issuing the command or query, but in my experience you don’t need to. In this review, I’ve been punctuating directives with a comma after “Hey Siri”, but verbally you can speak without…
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A review of the Google Pixel 2 XL and Android 8.1 by a longtime iPhone user
After 10 years of using iOS as my primary mobile platform I’ve decided to give Android more than just a casual try. This post is my review both of the Google Pixel 2 XL and Android 8.1 as well as a few comparisons I’ve drawn between iOS and Android ecosystems. I’ve been an Apple fan…
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Trey Ratcliff switches to Windows 10
Trey Ratcliff, professional photographer (via the aforementioned Stammy): I converted to Apple over 5 years ago when it was clear to me Apple made the best products for creative professionals. I loved Apple and became a hardcore fanboy. I was all-in. Now, I’m switching back to PCs. The new line of MacBook Pros are not-that-awesome.…
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Paul Stamatiou switches to Windows 10
Paul Stamatiou, long, long-time online friend, designer at Twitter, and a hobbyist photographer: I decided it was time to upgrade to something a bit more powerful. This time I decided to build a PC and switch to Windows 10 for my heavy computing tasks. Yes, I switched to Windows. The shift of professionals needing to switch to…
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Microsoft Office now shares a common codebase
Erik Schwiebert: Mac Office 2016 version 16 is now live! For the first time in over 20 years, Office is again built out of one codebase for all platforms (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android)! MSFT is dog fooding big time with this latest release of Mac Office. I’ve been enjoying my work within their frameworks and…
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Universal Apple apps
Mark Gurman, for Bloomberg: Starting as early as next year, software developers will be able to design a single application that works with a touchscreen or mouse and trackpad depending on whether it’s running on the iPhone and iPad operating system or on Mac hardware, according to people familiar with the matter. Remember the many times…
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Repost: Cabel Sasser re: Apple update caching
👉 Cabel Sasser on Twitter: macOS 10.13 Tip: have lots of iOS / Mac devices in your house? And a Mac that’s usually on? Turn on "Content Caching" in Sharing prefs, and updates will be downloaded to all your devices from your Mac, saving time and bandwidth. LINK
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An original iPhone shot – November 2009
An original iPhone shot – November 2009 The short story behind this photo that I’ve recently stumbled across is that Eliza and I were on a cruise in late-2009. I took my iPhone and she was still lugging around her DSLR. We both snapped a photo at the same time. But, I had never thought…
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macOS High Sierra security vulnerability
Dan Moren, reporting on this tweet from Lemi Orhan Ergin: Unsurprisingly, that news has quickly rippled through the Apple community as many people—including yours truly—have verified the claim. You can test it for yourself by going to any locked System Preferences pane, trying to unlock it, and entering username rootwith no password. (The number of…
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Horace Dediu on Apple Watch revenue
Horace Dediu: From a revenue point of view, I believe next year’s fourth quarter will see the Watch generating higher revenues than the highest quarter for the iPod. Let that sink in. Amazing. Some flop.
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Apollo for reddit
Apollo: Apollo is built by a former Apple employee with feedback from thousands of Redditors to sculpt the best client possible. It features a beautiful, native iOS design, smooth, customizable gestures, fast loading pages, a supercharged Media Viewer experience, a powerful, full Markdown editor, a Jump Bar for lightning-fast navigation, and so much more. You…
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iOS shelf apps
Des Paroz: One of the great things about iOS 11 is the multitasking capability, and with it the emergence of so-called ‘shelf’ apps. I had never heard of the term "shelf apps" until I read Des’ post.
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Repost: Daman Rangoola on Twitter
👉 Daman Rangoola: Random iOS 11 bug: type 1+2+3 quickly in the stock calculator app, see what happens. Bet it won’t say “6”.
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Apple picking – October 2017
Apple picking – October 2017 Eliza and I did some apple picking last weekend. We ate as many as we could while picking and then she made apple butter with our take.
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Micro.blog for Mac beta
Micro.blog: Mac users can use the native Micro.blog for Mac app. It’s a free download and supports most of the same features as the iOS version. You can see a short video of it on Manton’s blog. You’ll even notice a rather handsome avatar make an appearance. Unfortunately I cannot give this a spin yet…
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Spotify’s Discover Weekly Playlist
Sophia Ciocca: This Monday — just like every Monday— over 100 million Spotify users found a fresh new playlist waiting for them. It’s a custom mixtape of 30 songs they’ve never listened to before but will probably love. It’s called Discover Weekly, and it’s pretty much magic. I’ve mentioned Spotify’s playlists before. They are incredible. They are…
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The Apple Watch is less obtrusive than a phone
Jeremy Keith: I’m always shocked when I’m out and about with someone who has their phone set up to notify them of any activity—a mention on Twitter, a comment on Instagram, or worst of all, an email. The thought of receiving a notification upon receipt of an email gives me the shivers. Me too. I…
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SnapThread
SnapThread by Becky Hansmeyer: Portrait video compilations made easy—that’s what SnapThread is all about. Like SnapChat without the network. I’ve long held that SnapChat and Instagram have the best UIs but it is a shame they aren’t just an app. Apple tried to solve this with Clips but that is only square-crop. This app could…
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Microsoft releases Edge on iOS and Android
Joe Belfiore: Introducing Microsoft Edge for iOS/Android and Microsoft Launcher for Android, two apps designed to make it easy to move what you’re working on between your phone and PC. Great move. Likely tons of Surface users that also have iPhones and definitely have Android devices. The Launcher is an interesting move. I’m anxious to…
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Ryan Lau on iOS 11’s inconsistencies
Ryan Lau: The unfinished feeling in iOS 11 mostly comes from UI and animation. UI elements in iOS are quite inconsistent, mixing a variety of UI elements, which might look quite similar but introduce a disconnected feeling for UX. The inconsistency of those elements majorly stems from those UI element updated in iOS 11, such…
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Dave Mark on Apple Music
Dave Mark, writing for The Loop: To me, the biggest issue with Apple Music is the depth of the user experience. For example, with For You, the on-boarding is primitive, at best. I never felt steered towards my deepest musical tastes. And as I listened to music, even as I diligently favorited my best loved…
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Browser struggle
In the opening scene of It Might Get Loud, Jack White fashions himself an instrument from a single guitar string, a glass Coke bottle, a piece of wood, and a few nails. He goes on to describe how he appreciates an instrument that he has to physically struggle with in order to force it to…
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First day with Apple Watch Series 3 (audio)
Recorded on September 22, 2017. I’ve been writing a lot about the Apple Watch Series 3. So, of course, you want to hear me yack about it. Enjoy. Download
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Apple Watch sales so far
Horace Dediu, doing what he does best: Overall, about 33 million Apple Watch units have been sold since launch and they generated about $12 billion in sales. Coupled with a 95% customer satisfaction score, altogether, this has been a great success story. But only 2.5 years in, it’s still act one. An incredible beginning for…