That all changed back in June when Lanier started playing around with an iPad with the help of her tutor Morgan Tyner.

“The first thing she said was “hi, thank you for releasing my voice”, and there was something about the power of being able to express her voice, her thoughts. It’s really priceless” says Morgan and the next thing Lanier typed out was “Tell my mother I love her.”

According to Leslie “I have never heard her say I love you and later that same day she wrote, tell my dad I love him and that he’s my hero.”

If this doesn’t bring a tear to your eye, nothing will.

My thanks to SnapPower for sponsoring The Loop this week. 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.

During Samsung’s Galaxy S6 launch, the company had a good time making jokes at Apple’s expense. […]

Liz Gannes:

A who’s who of leaders from companies such as Yelp, Square, Twitter, Lyft, Airbnb, eBay, PayPal and others signed their names to a petition today urging legislatures to forbid discrimination or denial of services to anyone, saying, “Discrimination is bad for business.” Petition leader Max Levchin, a PayPal co-founder and currently CEO of finance startup Affirm, told Re/code: “I am asking all CEOs to evaluate their relationships and investments in states that do not specifically protect LGBT people from discrimination.”

That’s great and even admirable, except that here on the home front, Silicon Valley has its own very obvious discrimination problems. Gender is a big one. Race is another.

Good read.

After successfully introducing a vending machine that dispensed MacBooks for 24-hour student use, Drexel University in collaboration with the Free Library of Philadelphia is introducing an iPad vending machine. Located in the University’s Dana and David Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships, the kiosk will make a dozen iPads available to local residents and Drexel students.

I love seeing organizations using iPad in unique ways. This is a great program.

Apple couldn’t have asked for better news: Sales of iPhone in urban China accounted for 27.6 percent of the smartphone in that country, according to new data released by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. […]

Jim and Dan talk about the MacBook Pro, the legacy of FireWire and Thunderbolt, updated thoughts on the Apple Watch, podcast recording gear, and more. Also Jim is still in his car.

Sponsored by lynda (Visit the link to get a free 10 day trial and access to their 3,000+ courses).

This looks like a great app from Adobe, although it does remind me a lot of Storehouse.

I really like AltConf and everything they do during WWDC.

The Commission is concerned that Apple would use it size, influence and relationships to get music labels to abandon rivals such as Spotify, which rely on licensing with music companies for their catalogue, the FT said.

I don’t understand why regulators are so concerned about Apple, when they are so far behind in the streaming race.

I woke up this morning to see that The Loop Magazine was no longer available for download on the App Store. This comes at a time when I’m trying to get the magazine back on track, and it was working. The magazine was climbing the charts on Newsstand and was No. 1 in downloads and No. 3 in grossing for the Computers and Internet section. We’re trying to track down the problem.

Worse, some subscribers were sent the following letter today. All I can ask is for you to check your subscription and make sure it’s active. For a publication that doesn’t offer any ads, I rely on the subscriptions to pay for it every month. I appreciate the support.

Farhad Manjoo for The New York Times:

The S6 phones are made out of aluminum and glass rather than the plastic in Samsung’s older phones. Both the S6 and S6 Edge strongly resemble Apple’s iPhone. The S6 in particular looks like Apple’s brother from another mother. Samsung has also co-opted many of the design ideas for which its fans have long criticized Apple. The new Galaxys no longer offer a removable battery, for example, or a slot for add-on storage cards, and unlike the Galaxy S5, the S6es aren’t waterproof.

And

But if the new phones are beautiful and functional, they are still something of a pain to use. The S6 and S6 Edge run Samsung’s modified version of Google’s Android operating system. Despite Samsung’s engineers’ efforts to clean up the software, the phone’s interface is a hodgepodge of odd design decisions and overly complicated functions.

Hot for Teacher, Eruption/You Really Got Me and if you were wondering why Dave has a bandage on his nose

For almost two years, Apple Inc. ’s efforts to go green have been the responsibility of Lisa Jackson, who was hired to oversee the company’s sustainability initiatives after she stepped down as head of the Environmental Protection Agency.

She sat down with Jeffrey Ball, contributing editor at The Wall Street Journal and scholar-in-residence at Stanford University’s Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance, to discuss Apple’s commitment to renewable energy and why a recently announced solar deal is a good one for shareholders.

Apple is one of the few companies that is transparent about its environmental commitment. Sadly, this is the reason that the press goes after Apple more than other companies—Apple makes all the information available, while the others hide it.

Joanna Stern:

A better camera, sharper display and faster charging put Samsung’s new flagship phones ahead in the smartphone race.

Since the dawn of the smartphone wars, there have been basic truths about Samsungs: They’re made of flimsy plastic, their cameras can’t keep up with the iPhone’s, and their modified Android software is ugly and intolerably cluttered.

With the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, which arrive at U.S. carriers on April 10, none of that is true anymore. I am not afraid to say it: I love Samsung’s new phones, maybe even more than my own iPhone 6. Like a child who just found out that Santa isn’t real, I have spent the past week questioning everything I know.

I like Joanna and respect her opinion a lot. I still don’t like the way Samsung does business though.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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.

Marco Arment:

No sensible developer should be worried about angering “Apple” by fairly expressing legitimate criticism.

Agreed.

There is no single “Apple” to anger, as the company comprises thousands of people across many different departments, all of whom can think for themselves. I’m sure some of them can’t take criticism well and may be vindictive — any large group of people will contain almost every personality type — but that’s not the attitude of any of the Apple people I’ve interacted with.

This has been my experience as well.