Apple unveils Everyone Can Create curriculum

Everyone Can Create is a range of free learning resources and teaching guides that help teachers easily weave drawing, music, filmmaking or photography into any lesson, topic or assignment. The curriculum gives students different ways to express themselves and helps them to discover and develop new skills.

Developed in collaboration with educators and creative professionals, Everyone Can Create includes teacher and student guides, lessons, ideas and examples to help teachers bring creativity and new communication skills into their existing subjects like English, math, science and history. For example, students can use the built-in camera in iPad to learn about fractals or they can use Apple Pencil and apps like Tayasui Sketches to learn about symmetry.

And

Schoolwork is a new app that helps teachers create assignments, view student progress and bring the power of apps to the classroom in exciting new ways. Schoolwork features Handouts, an easy way to create and send assignments with almost any type of content, from web links to PDFs and documents.

With Schoolwork, teachers can take advantage of the power and creativity of apps available on iPad. They can easily assign a specific activity within an app and direct their students directly to the specific point within the app. Popular education apps like Nearpod, Tynker and Kahoot are already integrating support for Schoolwork.

I love the fact that teachers can assign specific activities within the app. There is a lot of good things in here.

Apple updates Pages, Numbers and Keynote

For the first time, users will be able to draw, sketch or write with Apple Pencil directly in the Pages, Numbers and Keynote apps. With Apple Pencil, advanced yet easy-to-use tools allow all users, from students to professionals, to bring their documents to life with drawings, illustrations, diagrams and more. Apple Pencil can also be used to easily and precisely add color, texture and more to any drawing.

And my favorite feature:

Smart Annotation, launched today in beta, is an innovative new tool in Pages that allows users to easily give, receive and incorporate feedback in a document using Apple Pencil. With Smart Annotation, comments and proof marks will dynamically anchor to text. And as a user integrates feedback and the document changes, remaining annotations will stay with the text they were attached to.

I really do love that feature.

Apple intros new iPad with Apple Pencil support

Apple today updated its most popular iPad with support for Apple Pencil plus even greater performance, starting at $329. The new 9.7-inch iPad and Apple Pencil give users the ability to be even more creative and productive, from sketching ideas and jotting down handwritten notes to marking up screenshots. The new iPad is more versatile and capable than ever, features a large Retina display, the A10 Fusion chip and advanced sensors that help deliver immersive augmented reality, and provides unmatched portability, ease of use and all-day battery life.

Apple is selling the new iPad to its education customers for $299, plus $99 for the Apple Pencil. For the regular consumer, the new iPad will cost $329, plus $99 for the pencil. This seems like a really nice offering for education customers.

Zuckerberg will not appear before UK lawmakers

Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg will not answer questions from British lawmakers over how millions of users’ data got into the hands of political consultancy Cambridge Analytica as the company faces further pressure on both sides of the Atlantic.

Zuckerberg will instead send his Chief Technology Officer Mike Schroepfer or Chief Product Officer Chris Cox to appear before parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee.

I know this is a hot topic right now, but it makes sense to send the person who is best able to answer the questions. I don’t think that’s Zuckerberg.

The Loop Bash at WWDC 2018

I’m pleased to announce The Loop Bash will take place again this year at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference. The Party will be held at The Ritz, a nightclub around the corner from the San Jose Convention Center, on June 4, 2018 from 8:00 pm to 12:00 am.

We will have live music at the event too. The Houserockers, one of the best bands in the Bay Area, will be on hand to help you rock the night away.

Beer and wine will be provided for free during the party hours and you can buy mixed drinks if you would rather have those types of drinks.

Tickets for the party are free, but you will need to RSVP in order to get into the event. I’ll make an announcement on how to RSVP for the party as we get closer to WWDC. Once you register for The Loop Bash, your ticket can be stored in your Apple Wallet—just show up and your ticket will be scanned at the door. Having a ticket does not guarantee entry into the party, but we always do our best to get everyone in.

I can’t wait to see you all there!

Apple and mobile gaming

Apple VP Greg Joswiak:

“We bring a very homogenous customer base to developers where 90% of [devices] are on the current versions of iOS,” says Joswiak. Apple’s customers embrace those changes and updates quickly, he says, and this allows developers to target new features and the full capabilities of the devices more quickly.

That is such an important point for Apple—its customers update hardware and software quickly, which allows developers to take advantage of new APIs and technologies in their apps. That, in turn, leads to more sales for developers and Apple, all while keeping the customers happy and engaged.

Jimmy Iovine transitioning to “consulting role” at Apple

While Iovine was the public face of Apple Music and held meetings with employees and artists in Los Angeles, in recent years “most of Apple Music’s operations” had been designated to Robert Kondrk and Jeff Robbin, overseeing business and engineering sides respectively. Cue is said to now be deciding on whether to continue divvying up responsibilities between Kondrk and Robbin, promoting one to a more public role, or hiring someone outside of Apple to become the new Iovine.

I’m not really surprised with the move, whether it’s Jimmy or Apple that made the decision. Jeff Robbin is a trusted and longtime Apple employee that already has a lot of responsibility in Apple’s media business, so it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see Eddy Cue lean on him a bit more.

Amazon is now second most valuable U.S.-listed company, behind Apple

Amazon.com became the second most valuable publicly listed U.S. company on Tuesday, surpassing Google parent Alphabet Inc for the first time.

These numbers change all the time and we don’t post about it every time they change, but this is significant for Amazon. They only trail Apple at this point.

WhatsApp co-founder tells everyone to delete Facebook

In 2014, Facebook bought WhatsApp for $16 billion, making its co-founders — Jan Koum and Brian Acton — very wealthy men. Koum continues to lead the company, but Acton quit earlier this year to start his own foundation. And he isn’t done merely with WhatsApp — in a post on Twitter today, Acton told his followers to delete Facebook.

“It is time,” Acton wrote, adding the hashtag #deletefacebook.

Damn.

Universal Audio releases the Neve Preamp Plug‑In

The Neve mic preamp is an undisputed audio masterpiece, adding genuine Neve sheen, richness, and thick musical detail to any signal that passes through it. The pinnacle of Neve preamp design is the classic 1073 module with EQ, but Neve also briefly produced the 1290 module — a rare, preamp-only version of the 1073.

Now, you can get the clarity, grit, and harmonically complex class‑A saturation of this amazing mic preamplifier in a simple two-knob plug-in that’s perfect for UA Audio Interface owners.

This release is huge. Being able to put the Neve Preamp into your chain using Universal Audio’s Unison technology will change the way your music sounds. There is a video and some sound clips on the UA Web site that you should listen to when you get a chance.

Landlord of Apple’s Chicago store puts building up for sale

Walton Street Capital purchased the 20,000-square-foot Apple Store, a 35-story office building, and a retail building next door for $370 million in 2017, and is now planning to sell the store and 10,000 square feet of retail space for $175 million while holding on to the office building.

The biggest surprise to me in this story was that Apple didn’t already own the property.

Save $500 on this collection of 10 top Mac apps for $19.99 feat. BusyCal 3

Thanks to StackSocial for sponsoring The Loop this week. StackSocial has curated a collection of ten top apps to help you get the most out of your Mac in 2018. Highlighted by BusyCal 3, HoudahSpot 4, and the toolbar app used at Google and Facebook, uBar 4, The 2018 Mac Essentials Bundle will give your Mac (and you) a productivity overhaul. Get it now for less than $2/app — it’s just $19.99 (Orig. $525). The 2018 Mac Essentials Bundle includes the following:

  1. BusyCal 3 ($49.99 Value) – Customize calendar views to meet your needs
  2. Cargo VPN ($79.99 Value) – Protect your Mac while surfing public WiFi, bypass geo-restricted content, and more
  3. HoudahSpot 4 ($29.00 Value) – Find just about any file (documents, photos, emails) on your Mac
  4. uBar 4 ($30.00 Value) – Customize your Mac’s dock
  5. Cisdem DuplicateFinder ($39.99 Value) – Free up space on your Mac by easily deleting any duplicate files
  6. RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 ($19.99 Value) – Construct and manage your own very theme park
  7. Systweak Anti-Malware ($117 Value) – Detect and remove malware on your Mac
  8. Concealer ($19.99 Value) – Keep sensitive files safe
  9. Movavi Photo Editor ($39.95 Value) – Edits photos on the fly hassle-free
  10. Flip PDF for Mac ($99 Value) – Easily batch PDFs into Flash & HTML5

Grab these 10 apps for just $19.99 at 96% off.

Get an exclusive collection of 10 Mac productivity apps for less than $2/each [Sponsor]

StackSocial has curated a collection of ten top apps to help you get the most out of your Mac in 2018. Highlighted by BusyCal 3, HoudahSpot 4, and the toolbar app used at Google and Facebook, uBar 4, The 2018 Mac Essentials Bundle will give your Mac (and you) a productivity overhaul. Get it now for less than $2/app — it’s just $19.99 (Orig. $525). The 2018 Mac Essentials Bundle includes the following:

  1. BusyCal 3 ($49.99 Value) – Customize calendar views to meet your needs
  2. Cargo VPN ($79.99 Value) – Protect your Mac while surfing public WiFi, bypass geo-restricted content, and more
  3. HoudahSpot 4 ($29.00 Value) – Find just about any file (documents, photos, emails) on your Mac
  4. uBar 4 ($30.00 Value) – Customize your Mac’s dock
  5. Cisdem DuplicateFinder ($39.99 Value) – Free up space on your Mac by easily deleting any duplicate files
  6. RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 ($19.99 Value) – Construct and manage your own very theme park
  7. Systweak Anti-Malware ($117 Value) – Detect and remove malware on your Mac
  8. Concealer ($19.99 Value) – Keep sensitive files safe
  9. Movavi Photo Editor ($39.95 Value) – Edits photos on the fly hassle-free
  10. Flip PDF for Mac ($99 Value) – Easily batch PDFs into Flash & HTML5

Grab these 10 apps for just $19.99 at 96% off.

The Dalrymple Report: Apple Home Automation with Josh Centers

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Josh Centers joins me this week to talk about home automation and all the different things you can do with. We also discuss some of the limitations and the products he’s using in his home with Apple’s iOS.

Take Control of Apple Home Automation

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Siri and our expectations

I love Siri and what it can do for me, when it works properly. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen with every device. The more devices I use Siri with, the more I’ve come to realize that maybe it’s my expectations of Siri that allows me to enjoy it on certain devices more than others. […]

Amazon figured out what’s making Alexa laugh

“In rare circumstances, Alexa can mistakenly hear the phrase ‘Alexa, laugh,’ the company said in a statement to GeekWire. “We are changing that phrase to be ‘Alexa, can you laugh?’ which is less likely to have false positives, and we are disabling the short utterance ‘Alexa, laugh.’”

Hmmmm, from some of the reports I saw, I’m not sure if this is it or not.

Google Maps allows businesses to identify as owned, led, or founded by women

This year, celebrate International Women’s Day by supporting a women-led business. Starting this week, businesses can now identify as owned, led, or founded by women, by enabling the women-led attribute from their Google My Business dashboard. Attributes appear on a business’s Google listing on Maps and Search and give customers more details like “Has Wi-Fi” and “Outdoor seating” to help them decide where to go.

Great idea from Google.

Amazon working on a fix for Alexa’s creepy laugh

Over the past few days, users with Alexa-enabled devices have reported hearing strange, unprompted laughter. Amazon responded to the creepiness in a statement to The Verge, saying, “We’re aware of this and working to fix it.”

Thankfully it’s being fixed.

Logic Pro X 10.4.1

There are a ton of fixes and improvements in the latest update. If you have Logic Pro X 10.4 installed, you can go to the Mac App Store to download the update.

“Out of their goddamn mind”

John Gruber on publication LittleThings shutting down:

Any publisher that is dependent on Facebook, or that trusts Facebook, is out of their goddamn mind.

Gruber is absolutely right.

How to make a bootable macOS High Sierra or Sierra installer drive

Dan Frakes:

I’ve long recommended creating a bootable installer drive—on an external hard drive, thumb drive, or USB stick—for the version of macOS you’re running on your Mac.1 It’s great for installing the OS on multiple Macs, because you don’t have to download the ~5GB installer onto each computer, and it serves as a handy emergency disk if your Mac is experiencing problems. 2 Here’s this year’s version, for both macOS High Sierra (10.13) and macOS Sierra (10.12), of my annual how-to guide.

It’s never a bad idea to have one of these.

Ratt and Marvin Gaye mashup

This is just so funny and well done. Thanks to my good friend Peter Cohen for sending this to me.

Take Control Book: Apple Home Automation

If you’re an Apple user who’s interested in joining the smart home revolution—or adding even more smarts to your existing setup—this book is the ideal guide.

I had a look through this book this morning. HomeKit isn’t as complicated as I thought it was after reading a few sections of the book.

Marketcircle to focus on Daylite and Billings Pro with Cloud service

Alykhan Jetha (AJ), CEO of Marketcircle:

An important lesson I’ve learned as CEO of Marketcircle is that as a business, it’s critical to evolve or you get left behind. In order for us to stay competitive in our market, to continue innovating, and to provide you with excellent products and services, we have to focus on Cloud. With 87% of our revenue coming from Cloud, it doesn’t make sense to continue working on a platform that splits our resources and is decreasing in demand. If we continue to support both platforms, both will suffer.

The company announced end of life for Daylite Server and Billings Pro Server, but it is a wise decision considering where things are going, and have been going for many years. It just makes no sense to try to keep both products going.

The Dalrymple Report: Cord Cutting with Josh Centers

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Josh Centers has looked at all of the options we have to cut the cord from traditional cable and satellite TV companies, so I had him on the show to talk about what he likes and doesn’t like about the choices. We talk about Hulu, Direct TV, YouTube TV, and others as we try to find a solution.

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YouTube TV, adds sports, Turner

Less than one year after launching YouTube TV, the company is increasing its pricing to $40 per month from $35 per month as it adds Turner’s channels, which include TNT, CNN and TBS, and soon will be adding MLB Network and NBA TV, the company said.

I don’t care much about the $5 a month increase, but if I’m going to try this, I need to have Discovery and ID. They don’t have those yet.