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Apple re-hires Flipboard co-founder for healthcare push

Good news for Apple and I hope it’s not bad news for Flipboard. Apple has made a lot of hires and moves in the field of health care. It’s going to be really interesting to see what fruit it bears.

Atop the Golden Gate Bridge

I tell my photography students to find different angles for things that have been photographed to death. These pics definitely show a different angle of the Golden Gate Bridge.

The forgotten greatness of air hockey

I know it’s a low bar, but this may be the most well-written article on air hockey you’ll ever read. It was always my favorite game in any arcade I visited. At one point, I was the Air Hockey World Champion (Among Students From Capilano College in North Vancouver Who Hung Around One Particular Arcade). I’m quite proud of that achievement.

You can now talk to President Obama using Facebook Messenger

This seems like using technology just for technology’s sake and not because it’s a better or more efficient way to do something. Plus, in the political climate we find ourselves in right now, I wouldn’t want to be the intern who has to read those messages.

Deputies searching for suspects in burglary at Apple building in Cupertino

Anyone know where the guys at Gizmodo were this morning? If I read the news report correctly, the burglary didn’t happen at “Apple’s headquarters” at 1 Infinite Loop but at an ancillary building. Hopefully, the bad guys weren’t dumb enough to think they could steal the iPhone 7 prototypes.

Making a record with Duke Ellington

Here’s a priceless film from 1937 that shows Duke Ellington in the studio recording, and the process of making a vinyl record release afterwards. There’s a lot to notice in the video that will make you appreciate the recording process from back then.

This is absolutely fascinating. Certainly a truer sound than what we get today.

Pokemon Go eludes cloning attempts

Nearly a dozen executives at companies from Sony Corp (6758.T) to Angry Birds-creator Rovio said Pokemon Go would be a tough act to follow, and some even said a challenge would not be worth it. Gamers should not expect the quick release of a rival app anytime soon, some said.

I think this is a good thing. We’re not looking for clones, we’re looking for innovation in markets, including gaming. Instead of trying to figure out a way to clone a successful product, figure out how to make one yourself.

Netflix and the future of entertainment

Ben Bajarin on binge watching:

TV networks are, in my opinion and analysis, not well positioned for this shift given their business model. Due to their advertising focus, they are incentivized to release content over long periods of time due to how they structure ad deals. Netflix, HBO, and Amazon are not subsidizing these shows by ads but by my consumer dollars, so I’m paying for these stories as a service.

I don’t mind paying for services like Netflix because I can watch as much as I want, whenever I want. The ad focused model has to change at some point, whether the networks want it or not. I would have thought the DVR would have done more to change it already—I don’t watch anything live anymore, just so I can skip commercials.

Apple releases beta updates for tvOS, watchOS, macOS

In addition to release a new beta update for iOS 10 this morning, Apple issued updates for tvOS, watchOS, and macOS as well. All of the updates are for developers, and should be used with caution on a secondary device. The updates can all be downloaded from the device, if you have a previous beta installed, or from your developer account.

Apple releases iOS 10 Beta 5

Apple released iOS Beta 5 to developers this morning. If you have iOS Beta installed, you can download the update by going to Settings > General > Software Update.

It should go without saying, but you should only install betas on a secondary device. Although Apple betas are really good, like most betas, things may not work as expected.

Apple details iOS security at Black Hat conference

Apple engineer Ivan Krstić spoke on far more than Apple’s new bug bounty program at the Black Hat security conference, and delved into the inner workings of iOS hardware and software security features both in iOS 9 and the forthcoming iOS 10.

Security is such an important issue these days. It’s a great move for Apple to speak publicly about what they are doing to make its products secure.

Apple rejects iPhone price-fixing allegations in Russia

Apple, in emailed comments, said it did not oblige Russian resellers to fix prices for its products.

“Resellers set their own prices for the Apple products they sell in Russia and around the world,” the company’s press office said.

It just doesn’t make any sense that Apple would be involved in price fixing.

Vulnerability affects 900 million Android phones

Check Point today disclosed details about a set of four vulnerabilities affecting 900 million Android smartphones and tablets that use Qualcomm chipsets. The Check Point mobile threat research team, which calls the set of vulnerabilities QuadRooter, presented its findings in a session at DEF CON 24 in Las Vegas.

Be safe Android people. There is a safer way.

September sponsorships available

I just opened up sponsorships for September on the site, at a lower price for a limited time. If you want to get your product in front of The Loop readers, get in touch.

The incredible benefits of being bilingual

One of my biggest schooling regrets is not sticking with French in junior and high school. So many of us in Canada and the United States don’t speak a second language. To this day, I wish I could speak French or Italian. I’m working on the rudiments of Portuguese in preparation for a trip I hope to take next April.

The Berlin Wi-Fi Project

The short story – For the past year and a half I’ve collected wi-fi names that caught my attention all around Berlin. Click on the green markers on the map to read the wi-fi names exactly where I found them, along with my unrequested comments/interpretation/research on their meanings.

Some of these are funny—the comments certainly make a big difference in understand the names.

AT&T pays FCC fine for allowing scam

AT&T has settled with the FCC over a “cramming” investigation that found the carrier allowed scammers to place unauthorized charges onto customer bills, and collected a fee from the sham companies involved in the scheme.

And carriers wonder why we don’t trust them.