This is not necessarily my cup of tea as an iPad stand (the angle is not adjustable), but I find the technology behind the stickum fascinating.
On code signing, and the world of difference between Android and iOS
Geoffrey Goetz, writing for GigaOM, digs into the concept of code signing and getting your app on the App Store. Bottom line, code signing shows the world of difference between iOS and Android. It’s all about security.
RadioShack files for bankruptcy, Sprint to take over some stores
Well, it’s official. Sigh. Tough watching this decline.
Another epic Danish bus ad
One of the first posts I ever did for The Loop was this epic Danish bus ad.
Well, M2Film, the team behind the Midttrafik ad, is back with a sequel. Enjoy.
Twitter, Google ink deal to show tweets in Google search results
Your tweets will soon be visible in Google’s search results in much closer to real time.
Apple’s HealthKit gaining traction at top hospitals
Reuters did a survey of top hospitals to see which ones were running a HealthKit pilot program.
YouTube bangs another nail into Flash’s coffin
Flash is no longer in the Google Play Store, and now YouTube has officially moved from Flash to HTML5 as a default.
Mom records her two kids covering Hero
There’s that moment, about 2:35 in, that just took my breath away. Worth watching just for that.
Noise canceling headphones and music quality (and a bit of history)
Kirk McElhearn’s piece on the origins of noise canceling headphones would be worth the read just for that background, but there’s some real music history here.
Apple’s product distortion field
Jason Snell, writing for Six Colors:
Even if iPhones do get replaced at a much faster pace than Macs and iPads, it’s undeniable that most iPhone users don’t have a Mac. Your average Apple customer is an iPhone user.
An excellent read.
On App Store purchases that no longer work with the latest version of iOS
Jeremy Horowitz from 9to5mac writes about apps that charge big money, but are abandoned by their developers when faced with rewrites to support a major iOS release.
How to make your iPhone dimmer than its dimmest setting
Here’s a little trick to dim your iOS device even dimmer than the normal Settings allow.
Apple commemorates New Year in its first TV spot created specifically for China
Re/code:
The ad — which is strongly evocative of Apple’s holiday campaign in the United States — celebrates the importance of family, even as it underscores the growing importance of China as a market for Apple.
Apple sells $6.5 billion worth of bonds
Why is Apple trying to raise money? Read on.
Radio Shack bankruptcy looms, sources say Amazon looking to buy, convert stores
If Radio Shack does shutter its doors, I will miss them.
Adobe is suing Forever 21 for pirating Photoshop
How the heck did Adobe find out about this? Whistleblower?
Apple, the Apple Watch, and the portability deficit
Dan Frommer, writing for Quartz, suggests that Apple made larger phones to create the need for an Apple Watch.
Apple painted in an iPhone sales corner, waiting for the next wave
M.G.Siegler draws an analogy between Apple and Big Oil. His piece is well written, thoughtful, and full of interesting links.
Marriott CEO on why they dropped plan to block guest hotspots
Marriott President and CEO Arne Sorenson explains the unexplainable.
Is Apple planning to bring eBooks back into iTunes?
Kirk McElhearn makes a pretty solid argument here.
When musicians unintentionally steal
Pacific Standard:
Imagine your favorite musician, actor, filmmaker, or painter. Undoubtedly, each one grew up idolizing—emulating, even—their artistic heroes. As such, if you pay close enough attention, it’s not hard to see those influences permeating the artist’s work. But at what point does paying homage to source material become a swindle?
Be sure to watch the Sam Smith/Tom Petty side-by-side video.
iPhone on the sidelines? In NFL, that’s not allowed
NBCNews:
The NFL experience is getting pretty high-tech — for everyone, that is, except players on the sidelines.
Russell Wilson might pick up a tablet on the sidelines in Super Bowl XLIX, but he won’t be able to use it to check his email, play “Angry Birds” or take a selfie. It’s a Microsoft Surface Pro 2 handicapped to perform one function and one function only: display photographs.
Jeff Williams, Apple’s secret ops superstar
Great piece from Above Avalon on Jeff Williams’ role in keeping the Apple machine running smoothly, and a great piece from John Gruber on CEO succession.
The developer iTunes connect snafu
Dave Verwer, writing for iOS Dev Weekly:
From what I can determine from the tweets, there was about a 30-45 minute period when people logging in to iTunes Connect were seeing other random accounts instead of their own.
The thing Apple and Microsoft do not get about Gmail
Every time I hear about a new email client that will support multiple services, I get excited. Is this finally the one that will free me from gmail’s native iOS app? And time after time, I am disappointed, all because of one missing feature.
Exploding Kittens is the most backed Kickstarter ever
If you are into board/card games, this looks like a lot of fun, and the drawings are all done by The Oatmeal’s Matthew Inman. Great idea.
AOL shutting down TUAW (The Unofficial Apple Weblog)
I get that it’s all about business performance, but still, this is sad.
Bill Gates does his third Reddit AMA
One response that stood out for me – On regret for something not done in his life.
How a Superbowl football is made
This is a surprisingly heartwarming look at the people who make their living crafting footballs that will be used in the Superbowl.
Remember when Apple was going to change the world?
Kirk McElhearn:
I’m reminded of the famous question that Steve Jobs asked Pepsi CEO John Sculley in the 1980s, in order to convince Sculley to join the company: >
“Do you want to sell sugared water for the rest of your life? Or do you want to come with me and change the world?”
Is Apple selling sugar water?