Congressman Ted Lieu, the only computer scientist / lawyer in Congress, weighs in on the Apple vs the FBI issue. Smart words.
Business
German coal and power giant buys 1,000 iPads to help shave costs
Perfect use case for the iPad and a sign of the fruitful nature of the Apple/IBM alliance.
Apple’s elephant in the room
Is Apple software quality declining? I think not.
Sonos and Apple Music joint ad
The ad first hit on Sunday, but was a prominent spot on last night’s Grammy Awards.
Grammy protest: “Isn’t a song worth more than a penny?”
Recording Academy president Neil Portnow and rapper Common both spoke out against streaming music at last night’s Grammy Awards.
BBC to axe television and radio divisions
The BBC is taking the bull by the horns, reinventing television broadcasting.
Apple’s first scripted TV series, “Vital Signs”
Apple’s first foray into exclusive content is said to be heavy on the sex and violence. Doesn’t sound like an Apple project to me.
Apple offering replacements for faulty MacBook USB-C charge cables
Got a MacBook? Check to see if your cable is eligible for replacement.
Kanye pleads for Tidal survival, big response
Kanye pleads for fans to subscribe to Tidal, app quickly jumps to number one in the App Store.
My notebook dilemma
Choosing a Mac laptop is no easy task. The simple is gone.
The Independent to shut down its print edition
Another print edition bites the dust.
The iPhone reality distortion field
The iPhone is one of the most successful products in history. Hard not to judge the rest of Apple’s products, from now through forever, through that lens.
Five things Twitter just promised
Twitter’s priorities for the coming year. Note especially their commitment to developers. Here’s hoping that’s true.
Why Apple doesn’t sell televisions
Robert X. Cringely rightly points out that TVs have long been commoditized, focusing instead on where Apple should set their sites to dominate this market. Very interesting read.
New bill would kill New York, California encrypted smartphone bans
A new bill trying to stop the madness, introduced by someone with Computer Science and Law degrees.
Apple Watch vs other products
This chart from Wristly shows the relative importance of Apple Watch versus other products, things like your iPhone, iPad, sunglasses, jewelry, etc.
Jean-Louis Gassée: Surface Pro 4 vs iPad Pro vs retina MacBook
Jean-Louis Gassée, writing for Monday Note, takes us along for the ride as he ambles to his local Microsoft Store to purchase a Surface Pro 4, then compares it to his iPad Pro and MacBook.
Breakdown of iPhone usage
MixPanel lays out the adoption numbers for the various iPhone models. There are still plenty of smaller screen iPhones out there, just ready for upgrades.
The Mac’s worm has turned
Dan Moren, writing for Macworld, on the Mac’s slow and steady growth after all these years. Will iPad knock the Mac out of it’s central position in the Apple ecosystem?
SwiftKey founder traded his share of $250m for a bicycle
Ouch.
Why the iPad fell and one thought on how it will get back up again
Jason Snell gives his theory on why iPad sales have fallen. I give my take on what it will take to get those sales back up on their feet.
Apple Pay and usability syndrome
Do Apple device users use their stuff more than Android users? An interesting argument.
The ticking time bomb of Parse shutting down
What happens to apps that are dependent on Parse when Parse shuts off its service for good? There are a LOT of apps in this category.
Apple Pay now accepted in more than two million retail locations
The Business Times:
Apple Inc said its mobile-payment service is now available in more than 2 million retail locations, with merchants such as Crate & Barrel, Chick-fil-A and Au Bon Pain rolling it out in stores.
Solid progress.
Lynn University distributes iPad Pro to all faculty, undergraduates
University adoption is an important step for the iPad Pro, an important part of the overall sales cycle.
Apple eyes March 15 event for iPhone 5se, iPad Air 3 & Apple Watch updates
The Ides of March. Interesting choice of dates.
Open that set top box
Jean-Louis Gassée lays out the upcoming war between the cable companies and the FCC regarding our right to attached our own set top box (say, one made by Apple) rather than being forced to rent one from our cable provider.
Alphabet passes Apple (in after hour trading) as the world’s most valuable company
If nothing else, historically interesting.
Facebook shutters Parse, pulls the rug out from under about 600,000 apps
You might not be familiar with Parse, but you no doubt make use of it every day. Facebook is shuttering the service and that means a lot of apps will either have to reinvent the wheel or shut down.
Angela Ahrendts on Apple retail’s corporate culture
Angela Ahrendts talks about retention rates and the culture of the Apple Store.