Yearly Archives: 2015

Om Malik wrote a great piece on the iPhone 6 Plus and also reflected on the upcoming Apple Watch and thoughts on Apple Pay:

It looks like Apple is going to ride the iPhone wave for a while, perhaps right through the launch of the Apple Watch, which I suspect is going to provide the big lift.

Agreed.

That said, I am not bullish on the watch, mostly because when I saw it, the software looked incomplete by a mile. It lacked that usual Apple software pop!

There is no doubt that when Apple introduced the watch, the software wasn’t ready. It’s ready now.

I wish Apple had spent more time making Apple Pay realize its true potential, because it could change how we purchase and thus define a new era for the company.

I believe they are, in the background. Typically, Apple will release something slowly and then it takes off. This is exactly the strategy I see Apple taking with Apple Pay—under promise, over deliver.

If you haven’t read the first 10 stories or so on Daring Fireball, you have to do it now. It’s some of the greatest “claim chowder” ever.

When I first read this, I thought they were crazy, but this is pretty cool.

Apple Inc has taken the number one luxury gifting spot in China from designer goods maker Hermes International SCA, according to a Hurun luxury report on Thursday, reflecting the iPhone maker’s recent hot streak in the country.

Apple’s strategy for China is on fire.

iTunes U is a great Apple resource. This particular one is Stanford University’s iOS programming course.

Samsung Electronics reported overall Q4 operating profits of 5.29 trillion won ($4.9 billion)—a 36 percent year-over-year drop—but its Mobile division suffered a 64.2 percent drop in profits, falling from $5 billion in the year ago quarter to $1.8 billion in the December quarter.

Clearly there’s nothing wrong with the market since Apple just sold 74.5 million iPhones, so maybe people are finally seeing through Samsung’s shit.

Jim, Shawn and our Special Guest, Dave Mark, talk Apple earnings, Swift programming, NAMM and “digital music”.

In the ad, the lost puppy returns home only to find that his owners have sold him using a website made with GoDaddy.

So now puppy mills are okay with GoDaddy. What’s wrong with this company?

Associated Press:

A law enforcement campaign to compel Google Inc. to disable a feature in its popular Waze traffic app that lets drivers warn others about nearby police activity shifted Wednesday when a sheriffs’ organization openly complained that the app not only puts officers’ lives at risk, it also interferes with the ability to write speeding tickets.

So it’s OK for government officials and corporations to track us but not OK for us to track them?

Vox:

There are huge benefits to salting the roads. One 1992 study found that spreading salt can reduce accidents by 87 percent during and after a snowstorm.But road salt also comes with major downsides: Salt is corrosive, chewing through cars, trucks, concrete, and steel bridges. Worse still, when all that salt dissolves and washes away, it steadily accumulates in rivers and streams. Other times, moose and elk get attracted to the salt and wander onto roads, raising the risk of crashes.

We have similar issues here in Canada with road salt and its affect on cars and the environment. That last sentence came to light for me while riding my motorcycle in the Banff National Park. I came around a corner and there was a herd of massive elk in the middle of the road, licking the salt off the pavement. It created a very high Pucker Factor, to say the least.

The Verge:

Plenty of amateur films have been shot using iPhones, but by all reports, this is the first movie at the Sundance Film Festival to be shot almost entirely on an Apple device. It was a decision that indie writer and director Sean Baker made to accommodate the film’s small budget. But you’d never guess the camera, to look at it: Tangerine was shot in a widescreen, 2:35:1 aspect ratio, and its camera zooms through the streets of LA with a fluidity you’d never expect from a handheld device. And yet despite his camera of choice, Baker says the iPhone made for a good partner. “It was surprisingly easy,” Baker says. “We never lost any footage.”

Another interesting story about the functionality and versatility of the iPhone.

OK, now I want to test drive a Tesla.

Mic:

The league, in partnership with the anti-domestic violence organization NO MORE, recently released an ad that will air live Sunday during the Super Bowl. Based on a real 911 call, the ad pans over the wreckage of a domestic dispute while the audio of a chilling emergency call plays in the background.

Powerful and chilling. Thanks to my friend JennS for the link.

Medium:

The whole Tsukiji experience is comparable to strolling through the fish section of Whole Foods early one morning when the LSD kicks in and the store suddenly turns into JFK Airport and a monster bike rally is starting and a marathon walk is ending and all the cars have Jersey plates and valet service is provided by Hell’s Angels. You are the outsider at the fish anarchist’s ball.

One of my Bucket List items was/is to visit this market. Looks like I’ll have to hurry.

Techcrunch:

Until today, Russia’s Gazprom (the largest natural gas extractor in the world) held the record at $16.2 billion in a quarter.

Apple now holds the record: $18.04 billion in profit, fiscal Q1 of 2015.

For reference, that means Apple makes around $8.3 million dollars per hour in profit (24 hours a day).

This was a company written off as all but dead less than 20 years ago.

Ars Technica:

Apple CEO Tim Cook dropped a rare bit of product news on the company’s Q1 2015 earnings call: the Apple Watch begins shipping in April.The Apple Watch will start at $349 for the aluminum Apple Watch Sport model, though starting prices for the more expensive stainless steel and gold models haven’t yet been revealed.

About the time frame we expected. As we get closer to a sales date, I find it interesting how many people I hear are at least interested in seeing the Apple Watch with an eye towards buying it.

Apple on Tuesday recorded a record first quarter profit of $18 billion on $74.6 billion in revenue. These results compare to revenue of $57.6 billion and net profit of $13.1 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Apple said iPhone unit sales of 74.5 million also set a new record.

A new iOS update is available for download. Apple lists five bugs that have been fixed, including reducing the amount of storage needed to do an update. iOS 8.1.3 is a 247MB download that you can get by going to Settings > General > Software Update on your iOS device.

TUAW:

The free iFixit app is a handy little app that gives your Do-It-Yourself repairs a big boost. This app comes from the teardown experts at iFixit, who delight in exploring the inner secrets of your favorite tech (or not-so-techie) hardware. The iFixit app helps you repair just about anything from toilets to garage door openers, cameras, cars, and of course, PCs and Macs.

As dumb as some of their whining about “repairability” is, their repair and upgrade guides are second to none.

iMore:

Password manager 1Password has been updated, for the Mac as well as the iPhone and iPad. The iOS update focuses on making 1Password more powerful with tools like a new login creator and one-time passwords, while 1Password for Mac receives a lot of important updates to syncing, as well as other additions.

My favourite password manager keeps getting better.