I don’t I’d agree with the “struggling” part of the story but it’s still an interesting look at Apple’s AI efforts.
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The Apple exec who stole the show at WWDC explains why she will now be the face of Uber
This is a big deal and a loss for Apple but if that’s Uber’s goal, they have zero chance of achieving it with or without her.
Apple adds advanced editing features to Photos app in macOS High Sierra
I’m still not giving up Lightroom for Apple’s Photos app but it’s great to see the added features in the native app.
The new App Store
Apple today unveiled the all-new App Store, designed from the ground up to make discovering apps and games easier than ever before. The beautifully redesigned App Store is packed with original stories and editorial, updated daily in a new Today tab, as well as new Games and Apps tabs. Compelling stories, in-depth interviews, helpful tips and collections of must-have apps and games will showcase Apple’s unique perspective and aim to inform, help and inspire customers every day. App Store customers have now downloaded more than 180 billion apps and Apple has paid out over $70 billion to developers since the store launched in 2008, making it the most vibrant software marketplace in the world.
Two things I like with this update. First, games have their own tab so those of us that don’t game won’t have to scroll through them all the time. Second, the Today page may just help discovery.
iMac Pro
Apple today gave a sneak peek of iMac Pro, an entirely new workstation-class product line designed for pro users with the most demanding workflows. The all-new iMac Pro, with its gorgeous 27-inch Retina 5K display, up to 18-core Xeon processors and up to 22 Teraflops of graphics computation, is the most powerful Mac ever made. Featuring a stunning new space gray enclosure, iMac Pro packs incredible performance for advanced graphics editing, virtual reality content creation and real-time 3D rendering. iMac Pro is scheduled to ship in December starting at $4,999 (US).
It’s pretty safe to say Apple is serious about the Mac.
iOS 11
Apple today previewed iOS 11, a major update to the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, bringing new experiences and hundreds of features to iPhone and iPad this fall. iOS 11 is the biggest software release ever for iPad, with powerful multitasking features, the Files app and more ways to use Apple Pencil. Augmented reality is coming to hundreds of millions of iOS devices with a new platform for developers to build apps that let users place virtual content on top of real-world scenes. CoreML gives developers on-device machine learning capabilities so they can easily make apps that will predict, learn and become more intelligent. Additional features include the ability to pay friends using Apple Pay, Do Not Disturb while driving to help users stay more focused on the road, even more intelligence and a new voice for Siri and new professional capabilities to Photos and Camera. iOS 11 is available as a developer preview today and will be a free software update for iPhone and iPad this fall.
There is a lot to love about iOS 11, much of it centered around the iPad.
Apple unveils the 10.5-inch iPad Pro
Apple today introduced an all-new 10.5-inch iPad Pro and a new 12.9-inch iPad Pro, featuring the world’s most advanced display with ProMotion technology and incredible performance with the new A10X Fusion chip. The new 10.5-inch model reduces the borders by nearly 40 percent to fit into an incredibly compact package that still weighs just one pound. Combined with powerful new iPad features in iOS 11 coming this fall, like the all-new Files app, customizable Dock, improved multitasking and deeper integration of Apple Pencil, iPad Pro gives users the ability to be even more productive and creative.
The 9.7-inch is my favorite because of the screen technologies, but I do use the larger one sometimes just because of the size. It’ll be interesting for me to try the 10.5-inch and see if that’s the perfect combination of both.
Apple introduces HomePod
Apple today announced HomePod, a breakthrough wireless speaker for the home that delivers amazing audio quality and uses spatial awareness to sense its location in a room and automatically adjust the audio. Designed to work with an Apple Music subscription for access to over 40 million songs, HomePod provides deep knowledge of personal music preferences and tastes and helps users discover new music.
My first thought was the iPod HiFi speaker, but this is so much more. I’m looking forward to trying this out.
The Greatest, at rest
As sad as it is, this is a wonderfully written piece about Ali. I was lucky enough to meet him years ago during an Apple Masters presentation at Macworld Expo. I had tears ion my eyes when I met him and those tears returned reading this article.
Alex Honnold has become the first climber to free solo Yosemite’s 3,000-foot El Capitan wall
I’ve been an admirer of this guy for years, even if what he does utterly terrifies me. This is an incredible feat. I don’t know I could run 3,000ft on flat ground in under four hours.
The immortal life of John Tesh’s NBA anthem “Roundball Rock”
When I saw the headline, I had no idea what it was about. I’ve never associated Tesh with anything in the NBA.
Waze Carpool expands throughout California
Beginning June 6, users of the Waze Carpool app will be able to find rides from Waze drivers already going their way – and vice versa – throughout the state, expanding on a service only available to date in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Sadly, my first thought was to be careful of who you drive with. However, it is an interesting experiment.
Adobe Scan turns documents into editable PDFs
For those of you who need to do this kind of stuff, this might be just the ticket.
Developer earnings from the App Store top $70 Billion
Apple today announced that its global developer community has earned over $70 billion since the App Store launched in 2008. The App Store is home to the most innovative apps in the world and in the past 12 months alone, downloads have grown over 70 percent.
“People everywhere love apps and our customers are downloading them in record numbers,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Seventy billion dollars earned by developers is simply mind-blowing. We are amazed at all of the great new apps our developers create and can’t wait to see them again next week at our Worldwide Developers Conference.”
Those numbers are just insane to think about. The types of apps being developed have become more complex in recent years, allowing us to do so much more with our iPhones and iPads. Having powerful hardware is very important, but having a thriving ecosystem of apps to run on the hardware is important too.
Hands on with Halide, a new gesture-based iPhone camera app
While much of the Mac Tech Media have raved about Halide from Chroma Noir LLC, I really appreciate DPReview’s hands-on description that includes the pluses and minuses, helping me to make a better buying decision.
Chevy Bolt review: an affordable long-range electric car you can buy now
The video isn’t hugely interesting (it’s not Top Gear after all) but it does point out the challenges of an all-electric vehicle for those who don’t live in a major city. Would you buy a Chevy Bolt?
Apple adds robot, drone and instrument support to Swift Playgrounds
Apple on Thursday will announce some great new features for Swift Playgrounds, the company’s educational coding app for iPad. With version 1.5, being released on the opening day of its Worldwide Developers Conference on June 5, Swift Playgrounds will feature support for robots, drones and musical instruments. I sat down with Apple executives and a couple of educators to talk about the news.
Fireflies
A fascinating, interactive firefly simulation.
Uber posts $708 million loss
Uber’s first-quarter loss, excluding employee stock compensation and other items, was $708 million, narrower than the $991 million reported three months earlier, the Journal said.
And the company’s head of finance quit. Damn!
The complete, untold history of Halo
I’m not much of a gamer but Halo was so incredible, I bought an Xbox just so I could play it.
Alien recut as a comedy
This…this ain’t right.
How the trendiest grilled cheese venture got burnt
When I first heard of this “grilled cheese restaurant’ in 2011, I predicted it would be a failure.
How tap dancing was made in America
I have the proverbial “two left feet” but I love watching tap dancing.
Carpool Karaoke debuts August 8
Apple today announced Carpool Karaoke: The Series will be available to Apple Music subscribers starting Tuesday, August 8. The show will feature many of today’s biggest names in music, television, film, sports and pop culture buckling up and belting out their favorite songs for a road trip filled with comedy, conversation and music.
I’m hoping they can pull this off because what James Corden did was really special.
Google Street View’s 10th Birthday
Street View started out as Larry Page’s far-fetched idea to create a 360-degree map of the world. Today, 10 years after the first imagery was published in Street View, people can scale mountains, dive into the depths of the ocean, scout out ramen spots, and walk through museums in far corners of the world.
That was a pretty far-fetched idea, but it is cool.
Uber fires former Google engineer in self-driving car case
Uber has long denied the accusations. But when Mr. Levandowski was ordered by a federal judge to hand over evidence and testimony to that end, he asserted his Fifth Amendment rights, seeking to avoid possible criminal charges, according to his lawyers. Uber has been unable to convince Mr. Levandowski to cooperate.
Oh boy.
Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google lobby against Texas “bathroom” bill
Always fascinates me to see major corporations get involved in politics and to see which causes they try to throw their weight behind.
Ridley Scott explains the original Alien chestbuster scene
This scene never gets old. Listening to Scott talk about its creation is a great joy and the reason why I love Director’s Commentaries on movies so much.
Origins of the Porsche crest
I do love the crest, cars and everything about the driving experience.
Here’s a great name for a tablet: iPad
Ryonghung, a North Korean technology company, recently announced a new tablet. It looks a lot like the weird, firewalled computers the country has produced in the past, with the addition of one curious new feature: the name. It’s called… the iPad.
I have no idea how Apple is even supposed to fight this one.