Apple Music surpasses 10 million paid subscribers

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Apple Music has surpassed 10 million subscribers across iOS, Mac, PC, Android and Apple TV in just six months, a milestone that took its largest rival Spotify around six years to accomplish.

Yep, this sounds right to me.

Apple is getting out of the ad sales business

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While iAd itself isn’t going anywhere, Apple’s direct involvement in the selling and creation of iAd units is ending. “It’s just not something we’re good at,” one source told BuzzFeed News. And so Apple is leaving the creation, selling, and management of iAds to the folks who do it best: the publishers.

I think this is good news. Ads are just not where Apple’s focus should be.

Blue Lola headphones review

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After having a runaway hit with the Mo-Fi Headphones (check out our review here), Blue is back at it again with a new pair of passive, closed-back isolation headphones. The Lola headphones promise to deliver much of what is loved about the Mo-Fi model, but at a more budget-friendly price and without compromising on some of the forward-thinking design features. I used Lola for a few weeks to see if they were able to live up to the promise.

I enjoyed this review by Matt Vanacoro.

The Dalrymple Report with Merlin Mann: Power Nipple

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Jim an Merlin discuss finding new music, using an iPad for ‘real work’, and rock star cameos.

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Tesla limits autopilot in Model S

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The function will now be restricted on residential roads or roads without a center divider, meaning the car cannot drive faster than the speed limit maximum plus five miles (8 km) per hour.

I don’t know how I feel about this whole thing. On one hand they are keeping if off the freeways, but the residential areas is where kids play, right?

When Autopilot launched in October, Musk cautioned the hotly anticipated function was in beta mode, or a test phase of development, with full ‘hands-off’ driving not recommended.

Is this really the type of technology we want to launch in beta mode?

BusyMac: Take control of your calendar and contacts in 2016 [Sponsor]

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Organize your calendar and contacts this new year and save $49.99 with this limited time Two-for-One offer from BusyMac!

More thoughts on Apple’s headphone jack

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Peter Kirn writing for Create Digital Media:

There are two common misunderstandings of the news. One reading (from Apple critics) assumes this locks you into proprietary Apple headphones. It doesn’t. The other (from Apple fans who don’t know that much about audio) assumes higher audio fidelity from “digital” headphones. It probably doesn’t mean that, either (there are some benefits to putting the digital-to-analog converters off the device, but no indication yet that will necessarily mean better sound). First, let’s consider why Apple would do such a thing.

I still don’t see the downside to making this change.

Igloo Software: What if you could get 5% of your day back?

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Thanks to Igloo Software for sponsoring The Loop this week.

What if you could get 5% of your day back? What would you do?

You already have enough work to do today and shouldn’t have to waste time looking for the things you need to do your job.

Igloo makes it easy to find what you need, when you need it. And it’s not just for locating your traditional intranet stuff like HR policies and expense forms. It also helps you find experts, talk about problems and share content with your team. So stop digging through your inbox for that file from 3 months back and give yourself the tools you need to do your best work.

Try it yourself or send your IT guy to investigate Igloo, an intranet you’ll actually like.

Everything Google is working on for the new year

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Ars Technica:

It’s that time of the year again—welcome to the Google Tracker! This is a bi-annual series where we recap every ongoing project (that we know about, at least) inside of Google’s sprawling empire.

This is a long, long list.

Apple in talks to stream NFL London games

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The National Football League is planning to live-stream all three games scheduled to be played in London next season, and Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc subsidiary Google are among the technology companies in talks to buy the rights to conduct the streams, said two sources familiar with the situation.

This will be a big win for whoever gets the streaming rights. It’s interesting that the NFL deemed streaming this year with Yahoo a success, but Yahoo isn’t mentioned anywhere as being a contender for next year’s games.

U.S. Marshals raid hoverboard booth at CES

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The maker of the Onewheel electric skateboard called in federal marshals to shut down the booth of a company making a similar product.

The guy tried to deal with the company and ask them to stop stealing his product—they wouldn’t even respond. I think they’re listening now.

Safari turns 13

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Steve Jobs unveiled the “Fastest Web Browser Ever Created for the Mac” this day back in 2003, introducing the Safari web browser that four years later would power a new kind of mobile browsing experience on iPhone.

I was there when Safari was introduced. It’s been quite a run for Safari on Mac and iOS.

The iPhone headphone jack

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There have been a lot of rumors surrounding a change to the headphone jack in an upcoming version of the iPhone. Basically, Apple is working with its supplier to use the iPhone’s Lightning port for audio and get rid of the traditional headphone jack. […]

Pete Townshend and his console

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There is just nothing better than hearing someone like Pete talk about how he uses his console to write and record.

Apple buys startup that reads people’s emotions

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Apple Inc. has purchased Emotient Inc., a startup that uses artificial-intelligence technology to read people’s emotions by analyzing facial expressions.

Fascinating technology. There are a number of uses for it, including advertising, but I don’t think that’s what Apple will use it for.

Doctors also have tested it to interpret signs of pain among patients unable to express themselves, and a retailer used it to monitor shoppers’ facial expressions in store aisles, the company had said.

Both of those options seem viable to me, especially the medical angle, given Apple’s foray into helping the medical profession recently.

The Dalrymple Report with Merlin Mann: Super Eastern Time

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Jim and Merlin talk New Years and what they hope to see in the year ahead. Also, Motorhead and preparing for presentations.

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GM invests in Lyft, plans self-driving cars

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General Motors Inc (GM.N) said on Monday it will invest $500 million in Lyft Inc and laid out plans to develop an on-demand network of self-driving cars with the ride-sharing service.

The biggest single Detroit-Silicon Valley crossover deal to date comes as automakers work out how to respond to the rush of technology companies such as Apple, Alphabet and Uber – Lyft’s biggest rival – to control cars of the future and likely reshape the global auto industry.

I see why GM invested in Lyft, but I’ll be honest, I don’t trust the quality of GM cars or technology. I’d feel much better if it were Mercedes.

Yahoo faces class action lawsuit over unsolicited texts

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Yahoo Inc was ordered by a Chicago federal judge on Monday to face a class action lawsuit accusing the Internet company of sending unsolicited text messages to Sprint Corp cellphone users in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

I hate unsolicited texts.

Samsung warns of tough 2016

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South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said it expects a difficult business environment in 2016 due to weak global economic conditions and heightened competition in key businesses including memory chips and smartphones.

In a statement on Monday, Samsung said Chief Executive Kwon Oh-hyun told employees in a New Year’s address that low global growth will persist this year, with greater uncertainty stemming from issues such as financial risks for emerging countries.

No need to really say anything about this.

Igloo Software: What if you could get 5% of your day back? [Sponsor]

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What if you could get 5% of your day back? What would you do?

You already have enough work to do today and shouldn’t have to waste time looking for the things you need to do your job.

Igloo makes it easy to find what you need, when you need it. And it’s not just for locating your traditional intranet stuff like HR policies and expense forms. It also helps you find experts, talk about problems and share content with your team. So stop digging through your inbox for that file from 3 months back and give yourself the tools you need to do your best work.

Try it yourself or send your IT guy to investigate Igloo, an intranet you’ll actually like.

Happy New Year and Thank You

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I want to take a minute to thank you all for your support over the last year. The sponsors, the members of the site, The Deck Network and every reader of what we write—we appreciate you all so much.

I’d like to thank Dave Mark and Shawn King for the work they do on the site. They bring another level of expertise and fun to The Loop that has helped the site continue to grow.

I hope you all have a great New Year’s Eve. Please be safe if you’re going out tonight. I want to see you all back here tomorrow, safe and sound.

Jim