The guys at Algoriddim do a great job with their software.
IK Multimedia releases UltraTuner for iPhone and Apple Watch
UltraTuner is the most precise digital tuner available for iOS, providing precision down to .01 (yes, that’s 1/100th) of a cent. UltraTuner is 10x more precise than mechanical strobe tuners, which are generally considered the “gold standard” of precision tuners, and they typically don’t fit into your shirt pocket.
This looks very cool. The screenshots of it on the Apple Watch are just great.
BIAS FX for iPad
BIAS FX turns your iPad into a world-class, guitar amp-and-effects processor. It gives you an endless collection of insanely great-sounding guitar pedalboards, ultra-high definition stereo rack effects, dual amps and dual signal chain. You can share and download users and artists signature guitar pedalboards from the cloud.
Yes. Download!
Decoding Eddie Van Halen’s “Little Guitars”
Alex Vollmer is a very talented guitar player and he’s come up with an explanation and video of how to play Eddie Van Halen’s “Little Guitars.” It’s great.
Amplified: I Smashed The Watch
Jim and Dan talk all about the Apple Watch.
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HelloTalk: Learn a new language on your iPhone [Sponsor]
Finally, learning and practicing a new language is easier and more intuitive than ever before. Introducing HelloTalk, the language app where your teachers are native language speakers from around the world. You just pick the language you want to learn—there are over 100 from which to select—and almost instantaneously you’ll be in touch with native speakers of that language … and you’ll start learning and practicing immediately.
HelloTalk isn’t a course you strictly follow; rather, you learn and practice at your pace and in the manner that best meets the way you learn. Practice foreign languages with people around the world. Simultaneously speak and type the language you’re learning. Record your voice before speaking to your HelloTalk friends and compare your recording to standard pronunciations. Change your friends’ audio messages to text for better understanding, and receive help to improve your grammar. Easily translate whenever you don’t understand, and so much more.
With HelloTalk, you’ll discover learning a new language is fun … and fast. Download your copy for iPhone or Android today.
Apple reports $13.6 billion profit for second quarter
Apple on Monday posted revenue of $58 billion and quarterly net profit of $13.6 billion, for the company’s second fiscal quarter. These results compare to revenue of $45.6 billion and net profit of $10.2 billion in the year-ago quarter. […]
Oh Samsung
Some people might not care. Like painting the back of the fence or finishing the underside of the cabinet, it’s a detail that only people who take tremendous pride in craft really care about. And, of course, people who look for just exactly that kind of quality.
Quality matters. Lining up ports matter. The details matter.
Unread 1.5
Unread is a really nice RSS reader for iPhone and iPad. I have it on my devices.
Release Notes Conference
You need more than technical chops to succeed as an independent developer. You need business sense as well. So this October, join some of the most experienced entrepreneurs and leaders in our community as they gather to talk about the business of iOS and Mac development.
This is going to be a great conference. I’ll be speaking, but I’m also looking forward to hearing the other speakers and meeting some new people.
Bushel: Free easy-to-use cloud-based tool for Apple devices
My thanks to Bushel for sponsoring The Loop this week. For some people, IT is a task and not a career. Bushel is a simple-to-use cloud-based tool that anyone can leverage to manage the Apple devices in their workplace. Bushel allows you to easily set-up and protect all of the Apple devices that you distribute to your team, or those that your team already has. Provide access to company email accounts, automatically install work apps to every device all at once, and separate and protect your team’s personal data from company data. And if a device is ever lost or stolen, you can even remotely lock it or wipe company data completely. Do all of this and much more, without any help from IT. All wrapped into one seamless interface so you can manage those Apple devices when you want, wherever you are. Bushel makes the complex simple, so you can focus on what matters most, all while taking back your nights and weekends. Your first three devices are free forever, and each additional device is just $2 per month with no contracts or commitments. Learn more at Bushel.com.
Billings Pro on Apple Watch
There are a ton of apps coming out for Apple Watch, but if you’re a business user, you might want to take a look at Billings Pro.
App Store for Apple Watch is live
You can now see what apps are available for the Apple Watch, even if you don’t have one of the devices. Just open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone, which comes with the latest iOS update, and you can browse the available apps. Currently there are over 3,000 apps for Apple Watch. I expect that to increase very quickly.
Apple senior director Natalie Kerris retires
Natalie Kerris, who spent the last 14 years at Apple in corporate communications, announced her retirement from the company on Wednesday in a Twitter post.
Man fires 8 gunshots into his Dell
“I just had it,” Lucas Hinch, 38, told The Smoking Gun (via Ars Technica). Apparently the PC had thrown up one too many blue screens of death in recent months, so Hinch took it into an alley, loaded up a 9mm Hi-Point pistol that he’d purchased on Craiglist, and let the bullets fly.
Priceless.
Apple is also transforming air travel
From checking flight status to being in the cockpit, Apple is changing the air travel industry. It’s amazing when you think about how many industries Apple has transformed over the years—music, movies, phone, tablet, etc. The list goes on and on.
Apple Watch custom faces
John Gruber:
I just can’t see Apple ever allowing these sort of watch faces for Apple Watch — that’ll be left for the jailbreak crowd. A few weeks ago I thought third-party watch faces would be like third-party apps were for the iPhone — something that wasn’t there at the launch, but which came sooner rather than later.
That’s what I thought too. John has some interesting thoughts on custom watch faces and why we won’t see them.
Control what you see in Health app on iPhone
If you haven’t used the Health app on iPhone, it’s something you just consider doing. Here’s a good article on how to easily show the information you’re looking for without overwhelming you.
Apple details Apple Watch’s heart rate monitor
Learn how Apple Watch measures your heart rate, and get tips for a more accurate reading.
Great information from Apple.
Bushel: Free easy-to-use cloud-based tool for Apple devices [Sponsor]
For some people, IT is a task and not a career. Bushel is a simple-to-use cloud-based tool that anyone can leverage to manage the Apple devices in their workplace. Bushel allows you to easily set-up and protect all of the Apple devices that you distribute to your team, or those that your team already has. Provide access to company email accounts, automatically install work apps to every device all at once, and separate and protect your team’s personal data from company data. And if a device is ever lost or stolen, you can even remotely lock it or wipe company data completely. Do all of this and much more, without any help from IT. All wrapped into one seamless interface so you can manage those Apple devices when you want, wherever you are. Bushel makes the complex simple, so you can focus on what matters most, all while taking back your nights and weekends. Your first three devices are free forever, and each additional device is just $2 per month with no contracts or commitments. Learn more at Bushel.com.
Iconic: A Photographic Tribute to Apple Innovation
My thanks to Iconic for sponsoring The Loop this week. Looking for a special gift for that mega Apple enthusiast in your life? How about the newest edition of an absolutely stunning coffee table book that features lush, beautiful photographs of Apple devices? ICONIC: A Photographic Tribute to Apple Innovation is Iconic uses vivid color and detail to document Apple’s journey in design, form and function—and looks back at over 35 years of Apple innovation. Four years in the making, the author captured over 150,000 photos of nearly every product Apple has made, including rare prototypes and even packaging. With a foreword from Steve Wozniak and The Loop’s own Jim Dalrymple and hundreds of amazing quotes from other Apple pundits—ICONIC is the ultimate coffee table book for every Apple fan, and the perfect gift for any Apple owner who ever wanted to explore and discover the true roots of their favorite iMac, iPod, iPad, or iPhone. With free global shipping, see the different editions and use the coupon code THELOOP on checkout for 10% discount.
Jim’s Note: In addition to writing the foreword for this book, I also own two and love them!
Duluth Trading Co. apologizes to Don Henley
Don Henley will not take it easy when there’s a product being sold that references both his name and career with The Eagles, and now everyone knows: After filing a lawsuit against a Wisconsin clothing company that emailed an ad telling customers to “don a henley and take it easy” last October, the two sides have settled the case, with the company issuing an apology to both Henley and his fans for trying to be too clever.
I really like Duluth Trading Co. and their ads, but they did go too far this time.
Apple highlights Apple Watch accessibility
As with every product we make, we want as many people as possible to enjoy using Apple Watch. That’s why it’s designed with assistive technologies and features that make it easy for people with disabilities to use. Accessing them is also simple, either through Settings on the device itself or through the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.
I love that this is a priority for Apple.
Google presents “Inside Abbey Road”
This is exceptionally great!
Goldman Sachs surveys potential Apple Watch buyers
We surveyed a group of over 1,000 nationally representative consumers on 4/11, the day after the preorder window for Apple Watches opened. Our key insights include: (1) encouraging initial demand, with +11% of iPhone users “very likely” to purchase an Apple Watch this year, (2) regular watch wearers are among the most likely to order an Apple or other smart watch, suggesting high displacement rates for traditional watches from smart watch adoption, (3) young consumers are substantially more likely to buy an Apple Watch than older consumers, and (4) those likely to buy a smart watch most often indicate Fossil, Seiko, Casio, Rolex, Timex, and TAG Heuer are the watch brands they wear today.
I find it very interesting that regular watch wearers are among the most likely to order an Apple Watch. I would have thought they would be more reluctant to move from analog to a smartwatch. The brands listed in No. 4 have a lot to worry about in the next year or so.
Glide: Beautifully simple, professional app creation
Create stunning mobile apps simply by placing text, images and movies in a Dropbox folder. Professional results to rival major apps.
This is the platform The Loop magazine is built on. Glide is now ready for the public, so let’s support them.
iOS users dominate music festival Coachella
Gopi Sangha, Director of Technology for Coachella said three-quarters of attendees are using the Coachella app and 90 percent of those are using iOS. […]
Designer Karl Lagerfeld gets Apple Watch Edition with gold link bracelet
Several celebrities like Katy Perry, Drake, and Pharrell Williams have been spotted with the gold Apple Watch Edition ahead of the device’s launch, but Apple gifted designer Karl Lagerfeld with something even more special — a custom gold Apple Watch with a gold Link Bracelet.
I checked and FedEx didn’t leave one of these at my door.
Amplified: I sleep nude
Jim and Dan talk about the meaning behind the WWDC announcement, why Jim got three Apple Watches, the evolution of music (from vinyl to tapes to cd’s and now streaming), beginning guitar without an amp, and more.
iTunes Radio is being maliciously stupid now
I used to like iTunes Radio, but it seems like the crew has abandoned ship and the service is crashing hard. It’s actually gone from questionable song choices to downright maliciously stupid. I swear it just tries to upset me. … Continued