Google revamps Maps

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Eight years after Google launched Maps as a beta product, the search giant is reinventing the map for a new data rich web that lives on fast broadband, and runs on computers with oomph to spare.

Glad to see it.

Tim Cook to testify at US Senate on taxes

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Statement by Apple spokesman Steve Dowling:

“Apple is one of the largest taxpayers in the United States, having paid $6 billion in federal corporate income tax in fiscal 2012,” Dowling said in a statement. “We also help create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the U.S. by keeping our R&D in California and creating category-defining products like the iPhone, iPad and the app store, which has generated billions of dollars in sales for software developers.”

If they are going to ask Apple about its offshore money, they should ask the politicians too.

Apple: 50 billion apps downloaded

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The 50 billionth app has been downloaded from Apple’s App Store. The winner hasn’t been announced yet, but we’ll update the info when it comes out.

Google’s All Access subscription music service

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Jon Seff for Macworld:

Like Spotify and its ilk, All Access offers millions of tracks (although Google didn’t say how many millions, or which music labels for that matter) for streaming on Android phones and tablets, as well as from a Web browser. And in the process, Google has also taking a big swing at its Android app partners like Spotify, Rdio, and Rhapsody.

It seems suspicious to me that Google won’t tell us which music labels they have or how many songs they have. That immediately leads to the assumption that it’s not that good.

I’m not at all surprised that Google is taking a swing at its competitors. The third-party app developers and services are making money from Google’s operating system and users — it makes sense that Google would want to cash in on some of that.

Google shows off Chrome improvements

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Turning back to the browser, Pichai said that Chrome now has 750 million active monthly users—an increase of 300 million users from last year. Much of that growth is happening on phones and tablets: Chrome works on both Android and iOS, and Pinchai stressed that its goal is to “move the mobile Web forward.”

It will be interesting to see what Google is going to do with Chrome, but I did see it as an operating system alternative right now.

Beard Bash at WWDC 2013

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Last year’s party at WWDC went so well, I decided to have another one this year. This is an invite-only event and I do ask that you RSVP. Invitations will be emailed out today.

Mobile malware exploding… for Android

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Daniel Eran Dilger:

Malware targeting mobile devices is rapidly growing in both the number of variants found in the wild and in their complexity and sophistication, but the only platform being actively targeted is Google’s Android, which researchers now say is resembling Windows on the desktop PC.

Perfect.

Ghost blogging platform

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I supported this. It’s always nice to see what how people can move things forward.

Truth in design

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Ive is making the point that whilst embellishments (like skeuomorphic design elements) can be perceived as clutter, that’s not the core problem. The actual issue is that such designs focus on analogy rather than essence: a paper book itself, rather than the novel inside.

This is a great article from Matt Gemmell.

Google’s Larry Page explains his rare vocal chord ailment

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The 40-year-old co-founder of the world’s No. 1 Internet search engine said that doctors have been unable to identify a cause for the “very rare” nerve problems affecting his vocal cords, but that he has been making progress in his recovery and is “fully able to do all I need to at home and at work,” he wrote on his Google+ page on Tuesday.

I hope he gets better soon.

Apple adds Samsung Galaxy S4 to patent suit

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In a court filing on Monday, Apple extended its ongoing litigation struggle with Samsung, adding the company’s recently released Galaxy S4 to the list of devices Apple says infringe on its patented designs.

Limelight for iPhone

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Limelight is a new way to browse and organize your movie library. Become a movie critic and share your library with friends for only 99¢.

This is a cool looking app.

The Loop Magazine updated and an apology

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When The Loop Magazine shipped last week, I had high hopes for delivering readers the best content available on Apple’s Newsstand. Unfortunately, the app shipped with a subscription bug that caused errors when trying to read the magazine on multiple devices.

In our efforts to fix the bug, we released an update over the weekend that actually made the situation worse.

Tonight, we released The Loop Magazine 1.0.2, which does fix the subscription bug once and for all. If you download the magazine on a second device, you just tap the “Restore” button and it will recognize your subscription and activate the magazine for that device.

In addition to the subscription bug, we also fixed App.net sharing, we added the ability to share selected text and fixed a crash on launch bug.

You deserved a better experience than what we delivered, and we expected more from ourselves. Please accept my apology and know that we are working hard on delivering a great app for you.

World 1-2 videogames-inspired music album

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My thanks to World 1-2 for sponsoring The Loop. World 1-2 is a new videogames-inspired music album by Koopa Soundworks, directed and produced by Mohammed Taher. It hosts a number of famed superstars as well as rising indies, including Austin Wintory (of Journey), Akira Yamaoka (of Silent Hill), Manami Matsumae (of Mega Man), Chipzel (of Super Hexagon), and a lot others.

Get it on either Bandcamp or iTunes.

Learning to become a failure

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Robyn Morris:

Being a good designer means having a spirit of exploration and being OK with the reality that things may not always end up how you planned.

That can be applied to many professions.

The Name Your Own Price Adventure Gamer Bundle

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StackSocial, the web’s leading digital commerce platform, has partnered with six gaming publishers to launch the Name Your Own Price Adventure Gamer Bundle. Get 6 top adventure games for Mac. Donate to charity. Name Your Own Price. Purchase and enter … Continued

The Loop magazine for iPhone and iPad released

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On New Years Eve last year I said that I had some big plans for The Loop in 2013. The biggest of those plans is The Loop magazine for iPhone and iPad, which is available from the App Store today. […]