Yearly Archives: 2015

Peter Kirn takes the new “Hifi” streaming service for a test.

Panama and Runnin’ with the Devil

A new live album with Dave and Eddie playing Van Halen’s greatest.

The new York Times:

For one week in March, this glittering watch and jewelry show (which ran March 19 to 26), attracts 150,000 industry insiders, collectors and fans, emerging from the digital mists of the 21st century like Brigadoon. It is a village unto itself with its own language, values and celebrities.

And a curious village it is. In an iPhone-toting era, where millions go out in public every day flaunting naked wrists, this is one corner of the globe where the wristwatch — that centuries-old feat of micro-engineering once considered as obsolete as the rotary phone — is the only personal productivity device, status symbol and idea on earth that seems to matter.

Interesting how an article about watches can be written this day without ever mentioning the Apple Watch by name. The reporter must have had to twist himself into knots to not get a single relevant quote from any of the assembled “150,000 industry insiders”.

SnapPower’s Charger — the power outlet cover plate that your home should’ve been built with. A no-hassle, wire-free install that takes just seconds. A flush, 1-amp USB charging port for smartphones, phablets, and tablets. An unbridled sense of joy from never having to hunt for a wall wart ever again. Available now on Kickstarter.

Ars Technica:

If you have AT&T’s gigabit Internet service and wonder why it seems so affordable, here’s the reason—AT&T is boosting profits by rerouting all your Web browsing to an in-house traffic scanning platform, analyzing your Internet habits, then using the results to deliver personalized ads to the websites you visit, e-mail to your inbox, and junk mail to your front door.

In a few select areas including Austin, Texas, and Kansas City, Missouri—places where AT&T competes against the $70-per-month Google Fiber—Ma Bell offers its own $70-per-month “GigaPower” fiber-to-the-home Internet access. But signing up for the deal also opts customers in to AT&T’s “Internet Preferences” program, which gives the company permission to examine each customer’s Web traffic in exchange for a price that matches Google’s.

If users don’t push back on this AT&T “service”, you better believe every other ISP that has the capability will do the same “deep packet inspection”. The worse part of it is the surcharge to opt-out of this service. It will disproportionately affect those who can’t afford to protect themselves from AT&T’s snooping.

The Washington Post:

Jobs himself didn’t often weigh in on political issues, and rarely had Apple do so as a company. Cook has stepped up Apple’s philanthropic efforts (he’s also said he’s going to give a majority of his wealth to charity after his death, but hasn’t said to which charities.) But, generally speaking, Cook hasn’t deviated much from the Jobs playbook — and has received harsh criticism when he has.

That makes the timing of this op-ed all the more interesting.

While I agree to a certain extent with the premise of the article, I don’t think there’s anything to be read into the timing. The writer conflates this issue with the release of the Apple Watch:

To be willing to stir the pot even a little bit and risk distracting from that focus shows that this means a lot to Cook and that he’s fairly confident that Apple, the world’s most valuable company, can weather whatever controversy his view might throw its way.

I can be fairly certain in saying Cook isn’t worried about weathering a storm. He’s doing what he feels is right for Apple and damn the consequences. If you don’t want to buy Apple products because Tim Cook is standing up for what he believes in, he has no problem with that.

Like you, we were very excited about the event. However, Ozzy is having surgery, scheduled for May, following his South American tour. He requires at least four weeks of recovery time. We are very disappointed that we need to cancel.

I hope Ozzy is okay.

Tidal, the high-definition music streaming service acquired by rapper and music mogul Jay-Z, is gearing up for its official relaunch under new ownership later today, and it will be doing so by reportedly making a move to snag new releases by some of the biggest musicians of the moment including Kanye West, Madonna and Daft Punk, ahead of rival services like Spotify and Beats.

The streaming business is getting pretty crowded. Apple is late to the game, but they could still make its mark in the industry with a redesigned Beats.

Handpicked Pros. Upfront Prices. Happiness Guarantee

This is a really interesting move by Amazon. They invite pros to be part of the network and vet them for you. Amazon has a great brand, so this has a lot of potential for them.

Elon Musk tweeted this morning that a major new product line was coming, but it is not a car. I can’t wait to see what it is.

Huffington Post:

A four-month contest to reward Canada’s most dedicated hockey players could only end in a place like this.

The lucky winners of Molson Canadian’s #AnythingForHockey campaign were flown by helicopter this month to a professionally built rink on a glacial B.C. lake to play an epic game of shinny.

These ads have been all over Canadian TV for months and, while you couldn’t pay me to drink Molson Canadian, their ad campaigns have always been wonderful examples of what it can mean to be Canadian and what hockey means to us. Now, excuse me. After watching that video, I’ve got some dust in my eyes I need to get a tissue to wipe out.

The Next Web:

The desire of so many to just bang the drum for these companies without asking too many questions. Technology writers shouldn’t be carnival barkers for startups and their VC backers. They shouldn’t be so easily seduced by a nicely designed interface and the opportunity to indulge their narcissism.

Periscope and Meerkat have flooded our social streams with hours of awful new content, just like Snapchat and Vine before them. Very few people stop to think whether their thoughts are worth sharing. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

I have been doing live streaming video for over ten years. The only thing new about Periscope, Meerkat and others is the app – the tech has been around for the average person for years – and it has never really caught on for the masses. I don’t believe this latest round of hype for these apps will change that.

Washington Post:

America’s business community recognized a long time ago that discrimination, in all its forms, is bad for business. At Apple, we are in business to empower and enrich our customers’ lives. We strive to do business in a way that is just and fair. That’s why, on behalf of Apple, I’m standing up to oppose this new wave of legislation — wherever it emerges.

Another example of Tim Cook making Apple a company in his own image. And that’s a good thing.

How far would you have to travel to reach the Earth’s core? And what would you see along the way? Discover what lies beneath…

The BBC did a great job with this.

This is just great.

Michael Mulvey on Samsung’s decision to price its Galaxy S6 higher than the iPhone 6 in the UK:

Premium pricing only works if your brand is perceived at premium and this perception is controlled by people who buy your products, not the company making them.

That pretty much sums up my thoughts. Does anyone see Samsung as anything other than a bunch of copying bastards?

In a sign of how important Beats is in reshaping Apple’s digital music, the company has made a musician a point man for overhauling the iPhone’s music app to include the streaming music service, as opposed to an engineer. Trent Reznor, the Nine Inch Nails frontman who was the chief creative officer for Beats, is playing a major role in redesigning the music app, according to two Apple employees familiar with the product, who spoke on the condition they not be named because the plans are private.

I’ll be honest—I love Apple, but they really missed the boat on the whole streaming music market. iTunes Radio is hit or miss at best.

Thanks to IK Multimedia for sponsoring The Loop with iRig 2, a guitar interface I’m using all the time. Now everyone can plug in their guitar, bass or other instrument and enjoy killer tone on their iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or Android device — with the release of iRig 2, the world’s most popular guitar interface is now better than ever before. Revolutionize the way you make your music while on the go!

A digital rig with physical presence

With iRig 2, you’ll be able to enjoy IK’s full range of AmpliTube apps (the #1 app for guitar and bass players). It’s ready to go right out of the box. It comes with a powerful cross-platform suite of apps and software that includes free versions of AmpliTube for iOS, Android and Mac/PC. To use, just download your preferred version of AmpliTube for iOS from the App Store or for Android from the Google Play Store or from Samsung GALAXY Apps. Then plug your guitar or bass into iRig 2, plug your amplifier or headphones into your device and launch the app.

iRig 2 includes:

• 1/4” instrument input for use with guitar, bass and other line level instruments
• 1/4” amplifier output for use with an external amplifier without an adaptor
• 1/8” TRRS output for use with iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac and Android
• 1/8” headphone output
• Compact and lightweight design
• Selectable dual-mode switch: FX and THRU
• Input gain thumbwheel for easy signal control
• Comes with microphone stand Velcro strip
• Comes with AmpliTube FREE and a full suite of powerful IK applications and software

Jim’s Note: I am a longtime user of IK Multimedia’s hardware and software. In fact, I have iRig 2 and I’m a big fan.

Uproxx:

Twenty years later, though, you can mention NewsRadio in a conversation about the best shows in TV history and faces light up. But we wanted to go straight to the heart of the WYNX studio, so we talked to some of the show’s stars — Dave Foley, Stephen Root, Maura Tierney and Khandi Alexander — as well as writers Brad Isaacs and Joe Furey, to find out how they feel about this series two decades later.

It really was an amazingly good television show.

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The latest issue of The Loop Magazine is available on the App Store for both iPhone and iPad. I took a different approach with this issue, focusing entirely on Apple’s forthcoming Apple Watch. You can download the app free and preview each of the articles at no cost. You can purchase a monthly subscription, and get access to all issues for just $1.99 a month. You can also purchase a single issue for $1.99.

Among the articles in this issue are:

Thoughts On Apple Watch: I had some hands-on time with the watch after the event ended on March 9. I run through my observations and thoughts.

The Apple Watch Will Save My Life. Here’s How: Peter Cohen has a very revealing story on his health issues and how he expects Apple Watch to play a big part in monitoring and controlling them in the future.

Should You Buy An Apple Watch?: This is a question on everyone’s mind right now. It’s a personal device and will be a personal decision.

How The Apple Watch Will Be Your Personal Trainer: Rene Ritchie has a look at some of the features on the fitness side of Apple Watch and how they work.

Apple Watch’s Chances Of Success: This is a brand new category for Apple, so they are definitely taking a risk. What are the chances it will be successful and how do we measure success?

Lifecycle of Apple Watch: Misunderstanding of product lifecycle is something that plagues iPad, so how will it go for Apple Watch.

Apple Watch’s “Killer App”: There can only be one killer app for Apple Watch right now.

ResearchKit Brings A New Level Of Respect for Apple: ResearchKit is an amazing technology that Apple brought to the masses to help research diseases. It’s already having a huge affect.

Fortune:

Since replacing the legendary Steve Jobs, Cook has led the iBehemoth to even greater financial success. Along the way he’s changed the culture of the company—and found his public voice as a leader.

Another profile on Cook. I like reading these because he seems to be more open about things than Jobs was.