[VIDEO] Apple introduced two new ads, both voiced by Lake Bell. The first one focuses on Live Photos (listen for the line: “Time travel is dangerous”). The second one features Parks and Recreation’s Aubrey Plaza with a focus on the peeks and pokes of 3D Touch.
Media
The most satisfying video in the world
[VIDEO] That soulful soundtrack alone made the video work for me. Interestingly, the band is called Macintosh Plus.
Great books for designers to read in 2016
Some of my favorite books are on this list, including the highly recommended Creativity, Inc., by Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull.
Sonos and Apple Music joint ad
The ad first hit on Sunday, but was a prominent spot on last night’s Grammy Awards.
The very first issue of Macworld magazine
Complete, browsable copies of Macworld, Compute!, Byte, all via Archive.org.
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.
11.22.63
Based on the book by Stephen King and starring James Franco, 11.22.63 is an eight part series about time travel and the assassination of John F Kennedy. On Hulu, starting now.
How Woz brought Comic-Con to Silicon Valley
Feels like a return to its roots.
Video filmed in zero gravity, with people, balls, and lots of paint
[VIDEO] OK Go makes great videos. This one was filmed in zero gravity, at least for much of the time. Fantastic.
The Independent to shut down its print edition
Another print edition bites the dust.
My next truck
This Russian truck is simply incredible. Watch the embedded video to get a sense of the crazy turning radius, watch it climb in and out of the water. Great engineering.
Meet the most powerful woman in Hollywood
Meet Kathleen Kennedy, read the Vanity Fair interview. Great read.
Beatboxing with Siri
[VIDEO] Ask Siri to “beatbox” and you’ll get one answer. But there’s a much more interesting way to get Siri to beatbox.
John Lasseter looks back on 30 years of Pixar
[VIDEO] 30 years of greatness.
Rare video from 1936: AT&T explains the brand new rotary dial telephone
[VIDEO] Imagine this scenario. All the telephones in the US operated without dials, all depended on a human operator connecting your call by hand. No phones had dials.
City by city, AT&T had to roll out new equipment, giving rotary dial telephones to everyone. They put out the word via a newsreel shown in the town’s movie theaters. See the video in the main post.
Apple relaunches “Shot on iPhone 6” campaign for 6s and 6s Plus
Fire up your cameras!
Apple’s Spaceship Campus: latest drone footage
[VIDEO] So much progress!
Groundhog Day and karma
Interesting take on the movie Groundhog Day, one of my all time favorites.
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.
Billboard top 10 rap/hip hop, from 1989 to the present, all in real (sort of) time
No matter your musical tastes, this is just damn fun.
San Francisco Chronicle finds treasure trove of legendary concert photos
This is a set of 43 photos from The Last Waltz concert from 1976. Brilliant find.
Interview with Apple Employee #4 (the man who introduced Jobs and Woz)
[VIDEO] This is an interview steeped in history, both in terms of the beginnings of Apple and the early days of Silicon Valley.
The slow death of the TV channel
“The few networks that survive outside the comfort of a bundle will be the ones that mean something to people, that have built up a recognizable point of view. HBO did it first and best.”
Anywhere but Medium
Dave Winer, with his thoughts on the dominance of Medium and his efforts to keep blogging/Tumblr posting alive and well
Apple’s official list of Apple TV content providers
By my count, the list shows 85 different content providers. That’s amazing.
Complete list of Oscar nominations
Here’s the list. Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress nominations for Steve Jobs.
What Netflix said about fighting proxies/unblockers that bypass country restrictions
From their blog, Netflix lays out their logic in fighting proxies that let you watch content in regions not allowed by the content’s license.
Steve Jobs, Bill Gates musical-comedy headed to Broadway
Well, this should be interesting. Brought to you by a team from Robot Chicken.
Jimmy Fallon, Billy Joel, J. K. Simmons impromptu doo-wop during commercial break
[VIDEO] Billy Joel and J. K. Simmons were both guests on The Tonight Show. During one of the commercial breaks, they got together with host Jimmy Fallon, house band The Roots, and some other folks for an improvised doo-wop rendition of The Longest Time, embedded in the main post.