Business

Amazon Prime delivery delays are now as long as a month

Written by

Jason Del Rey, Recode:

Amazon announced earlier this week that it would start prioritizing the most in-demand essential items in its warehouses, as the e-commerce giant struggles to keep up with customer demand during the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Now the other shoe has dropped.

To be clear, there are definitely long shipping delays on certain items, but most Prime items I checked (as of this writing) still deliver in a few days. This is about demand and Amazon’s attempts to keep essential goods flowing.

One thing to keep in mind: Some delays don’t show up until checkout. On the product page, it might say 2 day shipping, but verify the arrival date on the checkout page before you complete your purchase.

Apple Books offers ‘stay at home’ collection of free read-alongs for kids, cozy mysteries, and audiobooks

Written by

Bradley Chambers, 9to5Mac:

Earlier today, the Apple Books app sent out a push notification offering a free Apple Book to users. The notification mentioned read-alongs for kids, cozy mysteries, and audiobooks for the whole family.

Welcome timing and worth checking out.

To get a sense of what’s free (limited time or not):

  • Fire up the Books app on your iOS device
  • Tap the Book Store tab
  • Side scroll that first section to find “Free books for everyone, from kid…” (that’s what it says on my iPhone)
  • Tap the image to take you to the Free Books collection
  • Scroll down for other free content

Bill Gates AMA on coronavirus

Written by

Fascinating read. Be sure to click the “View Entire Discussion” button, then focus on Bill’s responses, labeled with the user name thisisbillgates.

Gruber: How to correctly use a computer

Written by

John Gruber, referring to this new ad Apple released with their new iPad Pro:

It’s impossible to miss that MacBooks are just as much the butt of the jokes as any PC. “Do not touch the screen.” “Your computer comes with a standard arrow cursor.” “You must stay within reach of a Wi-Fi signal.” “It does not have a camera; to connect one, refer to your instruction manual.”

And:

I get it, all of these are things that make iPads fun and useful. The Mac can take it — it’s the mature workhorse platform. But it’s a little incongruous coming on the same day Apple launched its best-ever MacBook Air.

Fair point. Until Apple releases their version of the the Microsoft Surface that replaces both the Mac and iPad (a mighty big if), they could have kept some distance between the MacBook Air and iPad Pro releases. Odd choice to have that ad drop on the same day as the new MacBook Air.

Apple finally admits Microsoft was right about tablets

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Well, no, Apple never said any such thing.

The Verge article paints the path that Microsoft took to bring the touch screen Surface to market, while Apple maintained the chasm between the Mac and iPad.

That chasm has been bridged, first by enabling a mouse on the iPad via Accessibility settings, and now by the trackpad support in iPadOS 13.4.

But, to me, rather than being an admission that Microsoft was right all along, the 13.4 addition of trackpad support is more like the emergence of Apple Watch (and a very different approach than the glued on feel of mouse support via Accessibility). As they do, Apple took their time bringing Apple Watch to market, creating something different than the rest of the electronic watches in the market. And, as history has proven, Apple got it right.

Microsoft Surface is, in effect, a touch-screen laptop, with little UI difference between mouse on the tablet and the mouse on a laptop or desktop. To me, the finger is a second class citizen on the Surface and in Windows 10. Apple took a different path here.

With your finger, the elements on your screen are passive. Until you tap on an element, the screen waits for input, with no sense of where your finger is, or is going, until it makes contact with the screen.

With a trackpad, there is context. As you slide the trackpad cursor, and it approaches an element, the cursor animates to give you a sense of context, and the object being approached by the cursor might animate as well. This is a hybrid approach. While it might not be ready for prime-time (time will tell), this shows how carefully Apple is considering this problem, how much they care about creating something that works well, without losing responsiveness.

Looking forward to watching this new hybrid model evolve. Also wondering if the new hybrid model will cross the chasm as iPad apps make their way to macOS via Catalyst.

Is this a cat?

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A fun little machine learning exercise. Upload an image, the site will tell you if it’s a cat (a la the hot dog identifying app from a few years ago on HBO’s Silicon Valley).

The story of Steve Jobs Xerox PARC demo that changed everything

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[VIDEO] Click over to the main Loop post, jump to about 30:32 in, and listen to Larry Tesler tell the story of taking Steve on the tour that led to Macintosh, and the deal that gave Apple access to some pretty important Crown Jewels.

And if you have the time, the whole video is worth watching.

Apple updates Mac mini with double the storage

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Pointed out by Michael Potuck, 9to5Mac, this was tucked at the end of Apple’s MacBook Air announcement:

Mac mini Also Updated Today

Whether they are using it as a desktop computer, a music and movie storage hub for the family, or as a code compile server for Xcode, customers love Mac mini. The standard configurations of Mac mini now come with double the storage capacity. The $799 configuration now comes standard with 256GB, while the $1,099 configuration features 512GB of storage, and every Mac mini is made from 100 percent recycled aluminum.

Good to know.

Apple posts two new iPad ads

Written by

[VIDEO] First up, “Your next computer is not a computer”, followed by the sly, “How to correctly use a computer”. Apple is clearly all-out pushing the new iPad Pro as the computer for the masses. Both are embedded in the main Loop post.

Apple unveils new iPad Pro with Ultra Wide camera, LiDAR Scanner, and trackpad support, starting at $799

Written by

Apple:

With iPadOS 13.4, Apple brings trackpad support to iPad, giving customers an all-new way to interact with their iPad. Rather than copying the experience from macOS, trackpad support has been completely reimagined for iPad. As users move their finger across the trackpad, the pointer elegantly transforms to highlight user interface elements. Multi-Touch gestures on the trackpad make it fast and easy to navigate the entire system without users ever lifting their hand.

This feels like a huge leap to me, beyond the trackpad experience on any existing computer. Makes me wonder if we’ll see a change to the Mac trackpad support to bring some of this new experience to macOS. This seems logical to me, especially for iPad apps ported to the Mac via Mac Catalyst.

As to LiDAR:

The breakthrough LiDAR Scanner enables capabilities never before possible on any mobile device. The LiDAR Scanner measures the distance to surrounding objects up to 5 meters away, works both indoors and outdoors, and operates at the photon level at nano-second speeds. New depth frameworks in iPadOS combine depth points measured by the LiDAR Scanner, data from both cameras and motion sensors, and is enhanced by computer vision algorithms on the A12Z Bionic for a more detailed understanding of a scene. The tight integration of these elements enables a whole new class of AR experiences on iPad Pro.

The stage is set for AR. This feels like a deflection point to me, Apple introducing key new technology that will mark a sea change to future user experiences.

And no small thing, Apple also delivered an amazing new keyboard case, the Magic Keyboard. Comes with a built-in trackpad, smooth laptop-like viewing angle adjustment, and a USB-C port (which charges the iPad Pro) built into the hinge. The case is pricey, $299 for the 11 inch, $349 for the 12.9 inch.

The line between iPad and Mac has never been more blurred. Will Apple port Xcode to iPad, give iPad users the ability to build apps on device?

Apple announces new MacBook Air, starting at $999

Written by

Apple:

Apple today updated MacBook Air, the world’s most loved notebook, with faster performance, the new Magic Keyboard, twice the storage and a new lower price of $999, and $899 for education.1 The new MacBook Air delivers up to two times faster CPU performance2 and up to 80 percent faster graphics performance,3 letting customers breeze through daily activities and play more games. Now starting with 256GB of storage, MacBook Air allows customers to store even more movies, photos and files. With its brilliant 13-inch Retina display for vivid images and sharp text, Touch ID for easy login and secure online purchases, spacious trackpad, and all-day battery life combined with the power of macOS Catalina, it’s the best MacBook Air ever made.

And:

MacBook Air now features the new Magic Keyboard, first introduced on the 16-inch MacBook Pro.

And:

MacBook Air now starts with 256GB of storage, double that of the previous generation, so customers can store even more movies, photos and files. And for those who need even more storage capacity, MacBook Air offers up to a 2TB SSD, double the previous maximum storage.

Comes with a T2 Security Chip, Thunderbolt 3 ports, and support for up to a 6K external display.

Here’s a link to Apple’s MacBook Air page. And a link to Apple’s trade-in page in case you have a computer or phone you want to trade in, even if it’s not made by Apple.

Pixar founders win million dollar Turing prize

Written by

New York Times:

On Wednesday, the Association for Computing Machinery, the world’s largest society of computing professionals, said Dr. Hanrahan and Dr. Catmull would receive this year’s Turing Award for their work on three-dimensional computer graphics. Often called the Nobel Prize of computing, the Turing Award comes with a $1 million prize, which will be split by the two pioneers of what is often called C.G.I., or computer-generated imagery.

Ed Catmull is the former president of Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Catmull did foundational work in computer graphics at the University of Utah and, after getting his PhD, teamed up with a group of computer scientists, including co-winner Pat Hanrahan, to create RenderMan, the technology that would make Toy Story, and the Pixar movies that followed, possible.

Apple: “Our retail stores are closed until further notice.”

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Follow the headline link, check out the banner on Apple’s front page. Apple’s previous statement was that stores would be closed until March 27th. This statement seems more realistic.

It ends with:

We look forward to seeing you soon.

Me too.

Amazon to hire 100,000, give raises to current staff in response to coronavirus demand

Written by

Amazon blog:

Company will invest over $350 million globally to increase pay by $2/hour in the U.S., £2/hr in the UK, and approximately €2/hr in many EU countries for employees and partners who are in fulfillment centers, transportation operations, stores or those making deliveries so that others can remain at home.

And:

We also know many people have been economically impacted as jobs in areas like hospitality, restaurants, and travel are lost or furloughed as part of this crisis. We want those people to know we welcome them on our teams until things return to normal and their past employer is able to bring them back.

No matter what you think of Amazon, the company is playing a critical role here, getting goods and food to people who cannot/should not be out and about. Amazon delivery people are on the front lines, much like postal and retail workers. To me, those raises are hazard pay.

The 12 Days of Apple Stores

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This is day 2 of the 12 Days of Apple Stores, brought to life by the prolific coverer of all things Apple Store, Michael Steeber.

Each day, Michael explores an unusual or favorite Apple Store, with background and links of interest. Nicely done.

Apple A14 in ‘iPhone 12’ said to be as fast as the iPad Pro

Written by

Wesley Hilliard, AppleInsider:

Apple improves on their A-series processors every year for each new iPhone release, so a successor to the current iPhone 11 A13 chipset is expected in the fall of 2020. Each year as the iPhone flagship release approaches, benchmark scores for said to be from the new processor in the device start to populate popular benchmark tools, like Geekbench.

And:

New Geekbench testing, purporting to be from the A14 processor shows the first A-series processor to cross the 3.0 GHz mark.

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro has an A12X chipset with 8 cores and scores 1110 on a single core, and 4568 on the multi-core. The scores for the alleged A14 go beyond even that.

Single core performance of the device shows a 1658 score, with a 4612 multi-core score. This indicates a huge gain in its overall performance and will make multitasking and navigating apps smoother than ever.

Just for comparison, I went to the Geekbench browser and looked up Apple’s latest, the 2019 16″ MacBook Pro. The single-core score is 1122 and the multi-core score is 6993. Not exactly an apples to apples comparison, but amazing to see how far the Arm chipset has come.

Apple fined a record $1.2 billion by French antitrust authorities

Written by

CNBC:

French antitrust authorities ordered Apple on Monday to pay a 1.1 billion euro ($1.23 billion) fine for anti-competitive behavior.

The French competition authority said the iPhone-maker was guilty of creating cartels within its distribution network and abusing the economic dependence of its outside resellers.

And:

“Apple and its two wholesalers agreed not to compete and prevent distributors from competing with each other, thereby sterilizing the wholesale market for Apple products,” said Isabelle de Silva, president of the French Competition Authority.

Apple’s response:

“The French Competition Authority’s decision is disheartening. It relates to practices from over a decade ago and discards 30 years of legal precedent that all companies in France rely on with an order that will cause chaos for companies across all industries. We strongly disagree with them and plan to appeal.”

Hard to imagine this fine standing as is.

What if Apple Delays the iPhone 12?

Written by

Kirk McElhearn:

Major events continue to be cancelled around the world, due to the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak.

The first major event was the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, scheduled to be held in late February. Since then, Google and Facebook announced the cancellation of their developer conferences, and other smaller events have been cancelled as well. Yesterday, the London Book Fair was cancelled. And today, the news says that both Apple and Netflix have pulled out of SXSW, the annual everything festival in Austin, Texas, due to start in about a week.

And:

So what if Apple does delay the iPhone 12? I’ve long felt that the annual upgrade cycle for mobile phones is artificial and unnecessary. In the early days, there were big changes from model to model, but now we see tiny incremental changes, mostly affecting the devices’ cameras. What if Apple decided to move to a two-year cycle, starting with the next model?

Makes me wonder if coronavirus is going to change some basic behaviors. Simple things, like the normalcy of shaking hands. More complex things, like building a conference with the goal of putting thousands of people into the same room, and into the same room with key company personnel.

And, as Kirk points out, might coronavirus change events that depend on precise timing, as the yearly rollout of new iPhones depends on the stability and timing of the worldwide supply chain.

Anthony Levandowski ordered to pay $179 million to Google

Written by

Kirsten Korosec, TechCrunch:

An arbitration panel ruled in December that Levandowski and Lior Ron had engaged in unfair competition and breached their contract with Google when they left the company to start a rival autonomous vehicle company focused on trucking, called Otto.

And:

Ron settled last month with Google for $9.7 million. However, Levandowski, had disputed the ruling.

Wow. In hindsight, that seems a mind-bogglingly poor decision. Levandowski has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Apple honors International Women’s Day with Behind the Mac video

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[VIDEO] The video, embedded in the main Loop post, features the women listed below, all backed by Beyoncé’s ***Flawless (feat. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie):

  • 00:01 — Malala Yousafzai: The youngest Nobel laureate for her work on girls’ education.
  • 00:02 — Ava Duvernay: Director known for “Selma” and “When They See Us.”
  • 00:04 — Marie Kondo: Tidying expert, bestselling author and Emmy-nominated television star.
  • 00:07 — Greta Gerwig: Director known for “Lady Bird” and “Little Women.”
  • 00:09 — Gloria Steinem: Women’s rights activist who helped start second-wave feminism.
  • 00:11 — Lady Gaga: GRAMMY®️ & Oscar winning artist and founder of the Born This Way foundation.
  • 00:13 — Megan Rapinoe and Shannon Boxx: World Cup champions fighting for equal pay.
  • 00:15 — Olivia Wilde: Actor and director known for her feature debut “Booksmart.”
  • 00:17 — Diane von Furstenberg: Fashion designer and founder of the DVF Awards.
  • 00:19 — Elizabeth Banks: Actor and director of “Pitch Perfect 2” and “Charlie’s Angels.”
  • 00:21 — Alicia Keys: GRAMMY®️ winning artist, touching hearts and inspiring the world through her art.
  • 00:23 — Lilly Singh: The first woman to host a network late-night talk show in 30 years.
  • 00:25 — Audrey Gelman: C.E.O and first visibly pregnant woman featured on a business magazine cover.
  • 00:27 — Black Mamba: South Africa’s women-run anti-poaching unit.
  • 00:30 — Victoria Monét: On-the-rise artist and GRAMMY®️ nominee, known for her hit songwriting.
  • 00:32 — Tarana Burke: Founder of The ‘me too.’ Movement.
  • 00:34 — DJ Switch: A 12-year-old DJ and founder of the DJ Switch Foundation for education.

Apple TV+ has the widest gap between audience and critic scores on Rotten Tomatoes

Written by

Buried in the Flixed study of the major streaming services is a chart titled, “How much do critics and audiences like what’s on?” If you want to look at the chart, follow the headline link and scroll about 3/4 of the way down.

The chart shows average Rotten Tomatoes scores across each services’ original content (which is all of Apple TV+, obviously).

Amazingly, the highest average Rotten Tomatoes audience rating belongs to Apple TV+, at 87%. At the same time, Apple TV+ owns the lowest average critic score, at 69%.

Draw your own conclusions here, but if I was running Apple TV+, I’d be more concerned with what the audience thinks, not so much what the critics think. And I’d weave that top audience average score into my marketing.

Twitter testing Fleets, Tweets that disappear after 24 hours

Written by

Kayvon Beykpour, Product Lead at Twitter (and founder of Periscope):

https://twitter.com/kayvz/status/1235248857308487682

The test is being run in Brazil and appears to be an experiment. Meaning, if Fleets do make their way to the mainstream, the form and process might be quite different.

As is, the value proposition doesn’t click for me. A big part of Twitter is the interaction, the follows, replies, retweets, likes and dislikes. The Twitter model tends to be a stream of consciousness, where your action is scroll, read, scroll, read.

With Fleets, it sounds like you have to tap out of that model and seek them out. In effect, you have to leave your feed to move to a non-interactive world.

And with the Snapchat-like vanishing tweet model, I worry that people will be emboldened to say some pretty terrible things, then vanish into the void, paying zero social cost for their misdeeds. And I worry that this system will be ripe for misadventure, with money poured into bots streaming lies, with the goal of disrupting elections and worse.

Granted, it’s not a new concept, so there’s the argument that this is just Twitter keeping up with Snapchat, Facebook et al. But I feel we should be moving towards solving the bot/misinformation problem, not expanding their reach.

What happens if (and when) Apple cancels WWDC 2020?

Written by

Jason Snell:

Facebook, Microsoft, and Google have now cancelled major conferences in the face of the spread of the coronavirus. Apple’s annual developer conference, WWDC, usually takes place in early June—and all eyes will now turn to Apple to see how the company will respond.

And:

Perhaps the best reason to cancel conferences is not to stop the spread of the virus, but to slow its spread, because our existing health infrastructure will be under intense pressure, and if a huge spike of patients happens, the hospitals will be overwhelmed.

From the Google I/O cancellation announcement:

Due to concerns around the coronavirus (COVID-19), and in accordance with health guidance from the CDC, WHO, and other health authorities, we have decided to cancel the physical Google I/O event at Shoreline Amphitheatre.

All guests who have purchased tickets to I/O 2020 will receive a full refund by March 13, 2020. If you don’t see the credit on your statement by then, please reach out to [email protected]. Guests who have registered for I/O 2020 will not need to enter next year’s drawing and will be automatically granted the option of purchasing an I/O 2021 ticket.

This seems a reasonable policy. The risk of public exposure, of Google high level management, marketing, and engineering team exposure, way too high. Prudent caution.

Will Apple follow this lead? Google I/O was originally scheduled for May 12-14. Apple’s WWDC would normally occur about a month after that, which gives Apple some time to formulate their approach to this problem.

Do they cancel altogether? Produce the first-ever remote WWDC? One thing I can’t imagine is WWDC going on in the normal way, in person and as scheduled.

Coronavirus is throwing a monkey wrench into everything.