Screens VNC: Remote Access to your desktop computer

Screens is a beautiful, yet powerful Screen Sharing and VNC client that lets you connect back to your Mac, Windows or Linux PC from the comfort of your living room, the corner coffee shop or anywhere in the world.

I do love this app.

Auction: Enjoy lunch with Tim Cook

Bid now on this opportunity to have lunch with Apple CEO Tim Cook on campus in Cupertino, California, and to be his guest at an Apple keynote event!

Tim, we should really do lunch sometime soon.

Apple hires Box veteran

Appleton announced that she was leaving Box in a Medium post last week. Today she said on Facebook that she had joined Apple, but didn’t elaborate on the nature of the job. “Officially an Apple employee. Excited for this adventure!” she wrote.

Good move.

Jim Dalrymple and iMore present Beard Bash 2016 at WWDC

The Beard Bash has become an annual event at WWDC, and it has been wildly successful for the last four years. This year, in conjunction with iMore, we are building on that success and we’re stepping it up a few notches.

First, we’ve moved the party to The Mezzanine in San Francisco, one of the city’s finest live music venues. We will also have two bands this year. The party will kick off with a San Francisco staple of rock music, The Department of Rock. This band is a lot of fun and they have an incredible setlist.

The party’s headlining band will be familiar to many of you: Airplane Mode, an indie rock band from New York City. Known for their heavy use of Apple products on-stage, founding members (Dave Wiskus and Joe Cieplinski) have strong ties to the iOS developer community.

The party will be on Monday, June 13, 2016 from 8:00-11:00 pm and we will have free beer and wine available. You must be 21 to attend, and you will be asked to show ID at the door.

Unlike previous years, we will not be sending out invitations for the party. Instead, we will be opening up the invite list to everyone. You will have to RSVP and show that at the door. So, if you’re attending WWDC and want to attend the party, you’re welcome to come. We’ll be opening the RSVP list later this week, so be prepared to sign-up quickly.

We have a couple of great sponsors for this years Beard Bash including Pixelmator, along with MacPaw, and of course, iMore. We thank them for their support for this fun event.

We hope you’ll attend the party and enjoy a few of the surprises that are in store for you.

Low end mix trick

I thought this was a cool trick to get your kick drum and bass together in the mix. I’m going to try this out.

Questions over who controls Prince’s music catalog

Since Prince’s sudden death, speculation has mounted over the trove of unreleased music he left behind: how much of it there really is, when it may emerge and who will get to make decisions about what happens to it.

But nearly as much uncertainty hangs over his existing body of work, which has been largely unavailable on many of the most popular online services, including Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.

I wonder what the person who ultimately has control will do.

Department of Justice drops New York iPhone case

On Friday, the Department of Justice said in a filing that it would no longer seek a court order to compel Apple to help it unlock a Brooklyn drug dealer’s iPhone.

In a letter sent to Judge Margo K. Brodie of the Eastern Distict of New York, who had been considering the government request, U.S. attorneys said that an unnamed individual had provided the device’s pass code and that “the government used that pass code by hand and gained access to the iPhone.”

Still not over.

China’s roadmap to self-driving cars

In the race to develop self-driving cars, the United States and Europe lead in technology, but China is coming up fast in the outside lane with a regulatory structure that could put it ahead in the popular adoption of autonomous cars on its highways and city streets.

I’m not surprised at all. This is going to be an interesting battle over the next 5 years or so.

Dio: The Last in Line

This is one of my favorite Dio songs. Such a simple beat, but damn this song rocks.

Microsoft, Google agree to drop complaints against each other

“Microsoft has agreed to withdraw its regulatory complaints against Google, reflecting our changing legal priorities. We will continue to focus on competing vigorously for business and for customers,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in an email.

Google, in a separate email, said the companies would want to compete vigorously based on the merits of their products, not in “legal proceedings”.

Streaming Comcast on TV may become a reality

Dan Moren:

But. My chief frustration—and what keeps me from using more of the service’s functionality—is that the only way to get at the features is via my computer or iOS apps. I can’t stream any of this content where I watch most things: my TV.

That may be changing, though.

I read Dan’s piece with a lot of interest. This could be a great app for a lot of people on Apple TV. Comcast seems to want to do something to get the FCC off its back, and this could be it.

On paid App Store search

Marco Arment:

While a good search-ad system could benefit the App Store, customers, and many of us, nothing in Apple’s track record suggests that they’re willing or able to do this well.

But a bad search-ad system, on top of bad search, will only further damage the App Store, funnel more of our already slim margins back into Apple like a massive regressive tax, and erode customers’ confidence in installing new apps.

I’ll be honest: I can’t imagine a scenario where this would go well.

Apple infighting

The paywalled report claims that the fighting is holding back Apple from fixing “technical problems that have plagued iCloud and iTunes,” while at least one key engineering manager is said to have departed the company over the ongoing conflict.

Political infighting is the worst.

Apple moves earnings call to April 26

FY 16 Second Quarter Results Apple’s second quarter earnings announcement has been rescheduled to Tuesday, April 26, at 2:00 p.m. PT/5:00 p.m. ET out of respect for the friends and family of Bill Campbell, whose memorial service will be held Monday. Apple executives and employees will be attending the service to remember Bill and his many years of friendship and service to the Apple community.

Very classy.

MacBook reviews like this piss me off

Reviews in the tech industry are hit or miss at best—we can all agree on that. Sometimes a review comes out that I just don’t get at all. Mashable’s review of the latest MacBook is one such review for me.

Microsoft’s profit misses expectations

Microsoft Corp’s quarterly adjusted profit missed analysts’ estimates as a continued slump in personal computer sales hurt the company’s core Windows business, sending its shares down 4 percent in extended trading.

Bad day to report earnings.

FBI paid more than $1.3 million for iPhone hack

Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey said on Thursday the agency paid more to get into the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino shooters than he will make in the remaining seven years and four months he has in his job.

According to figures from the FBI and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Comey’s annual salary as of January 2015 was $183,300. Without a raise or bonus, Comey will make $1.34 million over the remainder of his job.

I have no issue with that.

Prince dies at 57

Legendary musician Prince has died, the Associated Press reported Thursday.

So sad.

Behind the scenes at Coachella

Each April thousands of music fans flock to the Southern California desert for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Now in its 17th year, the event has expanded to eight booming stages and tents where musicians perform. We visited on the first of the event’s two weekends—the second weekend kicks off on Friday—for a look at the personal effects and habits of musicians and others helping to make the festival happen.

This was a fun article by Leah Latella at WSJ. Lots of pics too.

Khoi Vinh on the Apple Pencil

I’m still having a lot of fun with Apple Pencil and Adobe Illustrator Draw (see what I made with them last week). Here’s a new drawing, of a young Elvis Costello. I’m not sure if I got the likeness really right, as portraits are not really my thing. But I do know I had a lot of fun doing it.

Khoi is a talented guy and I have a lot of respect for him.

Apple: Inspiration for Teachers

Tips, lesson materials, stories, and other resources to help you get the most out of your Apple products and bring fresh ideas to your classroom.

I love the sites Apple puts together for education. It’s so important to help teachers integrate technology into the classroom.