A great move for Ford, a big get for Apple.
Apple
Apple: Start Something New
Last week, Apple added a new section to its web site, appropriate to the new year, entitled Start Something New.
Definitely worth a visit.
Steve Jobs’ life offstage: a photo gallery
A photo gallery of Steve Jobs with celebrities, foreign leaders, and fans. And don’t forget that tonight is CNN’s Steve Jobs movie at 9p ET
Apple II Watch
A watch with an Apple Watch emulator and little tiny floppy disks. It’s incredibly cool.
The Beatles officially start streaming, starting just after midnight tonight
Happy Crimble, everyone. Enjoy your Beatles’ stream on Apple Music.
Computerworld interview Kathryn White, IBM’s VP for the IBM/Apple Partnership
Some tantalizing opportunities to bridge the deep thinking power of Watson through the net and iPhone, all the way to the Apple Watch on your wrist.
Leave an iTunes Store page open, kill your laptop battery
Kirk McElhearn wondered why his MacBook battery kept dying so quickly. So he did some digging.
Apple offers free next day shipping through Dec 23rd
Only on in-stock items. This is a boon to you last minute shoppers.
Apple, Android competition shifting to the high end
Interesting post by Jan Dawson, founder and Chief Analyst at Jackdaw. He digs into the margins for Apple versus the margins for Android related companies. Which segment do you think is doing better?
On Apple’s Phil Schiller taking over the App Stores
Some thoughts on the politics of Phil Schiller taking over the App Stores, and the opportunity for change that comes with it.
Apple names Jeff Williams Chief Operating Officer
It’ll be interesting to see what changes Phil Schiller brings to the App Store.
A little-known panel just forced Pandora to pay millions more to artists
Pandora has to pay bigger royalties, Apple does not. Interesting.
Turn your trackpad into a tablet
This is a pretty interesting idea. An app that turns your pressure-sensitive trackpad into a tablet. It works with Photoshop and the like. And it’s cheap. Read on for details.
NFL sends request to Apple for bid on Thursday Night Football
Thursday Night Football has become a major brand, pulling even with Monday Night Football in popularity. The NFL has put both the broadcast and streaming rights up for bid in separate auctions. Enter Apple.
Apple’s refreshed business site and funky new URL scheme
Apple has long had a program specifically designed for businesses, designed to offer discounts at different purchasing tiers and a corresponding level of support. Here are the URLs and an observation about Apple’s puzzling URL scheme.
Apple TV and international distribution rights
Sarah Hendrica Bickerton, writing for AppFactor:
Netflix New Zealand can’t broadcast House of Cards. That’s right, they can’t broadcast their OWN SHOW.
Fascinating.
How to use the iPhone 6s, 6s Plus as a scale
Damn. That is really cool. While this is not really a practical substitute for a lightweight scale, if you’ve got a new iPhone, this is definitely worth trying.
Apple gifts retail employees with Apple Music subscription
Apple Music plus a set of urBeat headphones. Nice gifts!
Here’s how messed up Apple Music metadata is
Kirk McElhearn, writing for Kirkville, added the album Ultimate Sinatra to his Apple Music Library and the album metadata was all over the place. What a mess.
Why retailers are discounting Apple Watch and iPad
Interesting to see this effect. Apple product discounts used by retailers to fend off Amazon. I did some price checking too.
Pandora CFO slams Apple, Steve Jobs, then apologizes
One could argue that Pandora would not exist if it were not for Steve Jobs and iTunes. At least he walked it back.
How to remove app purchases from iTunes
Many ways to remove apps from your device, all of them cumbersome.
Samsung petitions Supreme Court to review Apple patent ruling
Samsung is petitioning the Supreme Court to hear its appeal. That’s not the same as being on the Supreme Court docket. Also, there’s a link to an article that lays out the case details.
Wallpaper from Mars
The default iPhone backgrounds for iOS 9 are actual pictures from Mars. Read on for the details.
Full transcript of John Gruber, Craig Federighi interview
Big thanks to whoever took the time to type all this in.
BBC iPlayer comes to Apple TV in the UK
The BBC announced availability of the BBC iPlayer app on UK Apple TVs. I wish they would bring the iPlayer app to the US. I’d gladly pay a monthly fee, as I do with Netflix, Hulu, and HBO.
Awesome visualization of the evolution of Swift
This is worth watching, even if you have zero interest in Swift and/or programming. It is a terrific visualization, showing the busy bunnies who created Swift, hard at work crafting a brand new programming language.
Why the iPhone doesn’t have a thicker, bigger battery
Rene Ritchie, writing for iMore, explains why Apple made the design decisions they did, keeping the iPhone light rather than adding more battery. Spot on.
Six ways to make your iPhone more secure
Matt Elliott, writing for CNET, lays out some solid tips here. See my post for one change I’d recommend to everyone.
Google Maps for iOS updated with business hours and gas prices
I’m a fan of any features that improve the usefulness of maps, both from Google and Apple. Their competitive position will push both teams forward.