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I think it’s good that Google has an app review process—at least it can slow down the wild west of apps on its store. Ratings are always a plus too.

I’ve only tried the Zagg and a Logitech, but there are a few other interesting ones on the list.

In each of these polls, more than 40 percent of the voters said they were not getting an iPad. Five years on, and Apple has sold more than 200 million of them. A simple majority might not be shockingly impressive, but it is absolutely overwhelming when scaled to the global population. Keep that in mind as you check out the next set of polls, which asks readers to chime in on whether or not they’ll be purchasing Apple Watch when it launches at the end of next month.

Abdel Ibrahim nailed this one.

Twitter is cutting off Meerkat’s ability to port people’s social networks over from Twitter to its own service — the so-called social graph. That means when new users come on board, they will no longer be automatically connected to the other people they are already following on Twitter. This comes not long after Twitter purchased a competing live-streaming service, Periscope, and just as the South by Southwest festival is getting underway in Austin.

No surprise.

Ireland is definitely on my bucket list of places to visit. I have a weakness for Irish whiskey, beer and women.

CBC News:

Vancouver is the best place to live in North America, according to Mercer’s latest Quality of Living Rankings.

The top ranking for 2015 went to Vienna, followed by Zurich, Auckland and Munich.

Vancouver was followed by Toronto at 15, and Ottawa at 16. The highest ranking U.S. cities trail behind with San Francisco at 27, Boston at 34 and Honolulu coming in at 36.

Vancouver, like most “world class” cities, is insanely expensive to live in, has its own host of big city problems and has difficulties resolving “what it wants to be” but there’s no doubt it deserves inclusion on lists like these. What I found interesting, when you look at the entire list, is how high many European cities rank and how low many other world class cities, like New York and Tokyo are – they didn’t make the top 35.

The New York Times:

On cliffs where even elite climbers employ complicated rope systems, the free-soloist wears only shorts, a T-shirt, a pair of climbing shoes and a bag of gymnast’s chalk to keep the hands dry.

Honnold has free-soloed the longest, most challenging climbs ever, including the 2,500-foot northwest face of Half Dome in Yosemite Valley, where some of the handholds are so small that no average climber could cling for an instant, roped or otherwise. Most peculiar of all, even to elite rock climbers, Honnold does this without apparent fear, as if falling were not possible.

I’ve read a bunch of stories about this guy and watched dozens of videos. He absolutely fascinates me and every time I watch a video, I literally get queasy watching him free solo these mountain faces. He’s truly amazing.

CreativeLive asked eight Photoshop experts to use Photoshop 1.0—the results are hilarious.

Wall St Journal:

Apple Inc.’s lofty plans to build an online television service are coming into sharper focus.

The technology giant is in talks with programmers to offer a slimmed-down bundle of TV networks this fall, according to people familiar with the matter. The service would have about 25 channels, anchored by broadcasters such as ABC, CBS and Fox, and would be available on Apple devices such as the Apple TV, they said.

For now, the talks don’t involve NBCUniversal, owner of the NBC broadcast network and cable channels like USA and Bravo, because of a falling-out between Apple and NBCUniversal parent company Comcast Corp., the people familiar with the matter said.

Take this news with a lot of salt. The only details come from the always suspicious “people familiar with the matter” and one of the story’s writers is Daisuke Wakabayashi – not exactly an unimpeachable source of accurate Apple news.

As I sat and watched through the keynote video, one thing which became pretty obvious — Apple’s number one focus going forward is China.

China is a huge market for Apple.

Under the new Apple Global Volunteer Program, Apple is offering employees a way to receive training and tools to help them create and publicize local volunteer events to better their communities. The program, currently available in the United States, Sydney, and Cork, also aims to help employees find activities to volunteer for.

It’s nice to see Apple giving back, and helping its employees give back to their communities.

The SecuTABLET, based on Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S 10.5 and being presented by BlackBerry unit Secusmart at tech fair CeBIT 2015 in Germany

< Crickets >

I find this stuff fascinating.

Tim Bajarin:

When Apple introduced the Apple Watch last fall, I talked to people in the high-end watch market to get a sense of whether they viewed it as a threat in any way. What I heard was a bit surprising. They said Apple has created a completely new paradigm in watches, which will define what a “watch” will be and can do in the future. Most importantly, these sources told me that even the ultra high-end watchmakers are taking note. But they are struggling with how to respond given that the Apple Watch is not as much a watch as it is a wrist computer that could shift the role a timepiece plays in people’s lives.

Even though the watch may not sell as well as the iPhone, Apple did the same thing in that industry—it made the incumbents nervous because they were offering something completely new and different.

Looking for a special gift for that mega Apple enthusiast in your life? How about the newest edition of an absolutely stunning coffee table book that features lush, beautiful photographs of Apple devices? ICONIC: A Photographic Tribute to Apple Innovation is Iconic uses vivid color and detail to document Apple’s journey in design, form and function—and looks back at over 35 years of Apple innovation. Four years in the making, the author captured over 150,000 photos of nearly every product Apple has made, including rare prototypes and even packaging. With a foreword from Steve Wozniak and The Loop’s own Jim Dalrymple and hundreds of amazing quotes from other Apple pundits—ICONIC is the ultimate coffee table book for every Apple fan, and the perfect gift for any Apple owner who ever wanted to explore and discover the true roots of their favorite iMac, iPod, iPad, or iPhone. With free global shipping, see the different editions and use the coupon code THELOOP on checkout for 10% discount.

Outside:

No matter your destination, you will, at some point in your research, visit TripAdvisor. The company, with the humble mantra “real hotel reviews you can trust,” has become—on a rising tide of 200 million user reviews and counting—a travel-industry Goliath, able to turn obscure hotels into sold-out hot spots, carry new flocks of visitors on digital word of mouth to quiet destinations, even rewrite the hospitality standards of entire nations. For travelers the impact has been equally profound.

For all the power of the service, it raises deep questions about travel itself, including, most pressingly, who do we want—who do we trust—to tell us where to go?

I travel a lot less than I used to (hope to do more soon!) but wherever I go, I check TripAdvisor first.

iMore:

Want to be able to unlock your Mac using Touch ID? Now you can. What’s more, it’s free for the next two days.

Beginning March 16th, the MacID iOS app is free, but only for 48 hours. It’s normally $4. It’s an app for your Touch ID-based iOS device, and it works in conjunction with a second app that you install on your Mac. MacID lets you lock your Mac with a swipe of the finger on your Touch ID-equipped iPhone or iPad.

Doesn’t work with my 2011 Macbook Pro but should work on Macs that are capable of using Bluetooth LE.

iMore:

I’m grateful to have witnessed changes like Title IX in my lifetime, but it’s not over yet. Today, we have many programs that support girls and women in technology fields, including my own project, App Camp For Girls. People recognize that discrimination in tech exists, and they’re taking action to level the playing field. As with Title IX, they offer support and encouragement specifically to girls and women so they can participate in this field to their fullest potential.

Discrimination still exists in this field and likely will exist for some time. But I don’t get discouraged by the terrible stories circulating in the news on harassment and workplace discrimination. I don’t get frustrated with well-meaning but clueless commenters who think the status quo reflects innate gender differences. Instead, I’m spurred on to redouble my own efforts to make the future better.

A good article by Jean MacDonald, formerly of the Mac developer Smile Software and the founder of App Camp for Girls.

Thanks to HelloTalk for sponsoring The Loop this week. Finally, learning and practicing a new language is easier and more intuitive than ever before. Introducing HelloTalk, the language app where your teachers are native language speakers from around the world. You just pick the language you want to learn—there are over 100 from which to select—and almost instantaneously you’ll be in touch with native speakers of that language … and you’ll start learning and practicing immediately.

HelloTalk isn’t a course you strictly follow; rather, you learn and practice at your pace and in the manner that best meets the way you learn. Practice foreign languages with people around the world. Simultaneously speak and type the language you’re learning. Record your voice before speaking to your HelloTalk friends and compare your recording to standard pronunciations. Change your friends’ audio messages to text for better understanding, and receive help to improve your grammar. Easily translate whenever you don’t understand, and so much more.

With HelloTalk, you’ll discover learning a new language is fun … and fast. Download your copy for iPhone or Android today.

Google leaked the complete hidden whois data attached to more than 282,000 domains registered through the company’s Google Apps for Work service, a breach that could bite good and bad guys alike.

Nobody should have as much information about us as Google. Who knows what’s next.

CNBC:

Mad Money host Jim Cramer receives a surprise phone call from Apple CEO Tim Cook, who talks about innovation, Bar San Miguel, the company’s paranoia, and what it’s like to follow Steve Jobs as CEO.

I don’t think it was a “surprise call” at all but a good video to watch nonetheless.

“This is the most personal device we have ever created.” – Apple CEO, Tim Cook.

That quote from Tim Cook speaks volumes to me, and I believe it to be true. Apple has never created a device that can be personalized like Apple Watch, but it goes much deeper than that. The intricacies of Apple Watch are more complex than switching out a Sport Band for a Milanese Loop, and it’s not about learning to use Apple Watch, but how you will use it. […]

Atomic Delights:

This walkthrough is a detailed narration of what we see in Apple’s Watch Craftsmanship videos. Of course, we only get to see a mere fraction of the process; I’ve tried to provide plausible explanations for the likely steps taking place between the processes shown on film, but these are assumptions and are included only to provide a more satisfying and complete narration.

Hey Samsung. Good luck copying this.

This is the funniest thing I’ve seen in a long time.

I decided to take a look on Amazon for Apple Watch and see what they had. I was shocked with all of the watches that were listed on the site. Although there were no Apple Watches, there are a few copies.

Looking back through history, beard styles often follow particular eras. In fact, you can roughly identify a historical period by its facial hair.

That’s true. I wonder what period of history I’m defining.

A great looking new book by Khoi Vinh.

Donovan is just amazing with the things he can build in CSS.

John Gruber’s takedown of the WSJ’s “people familiar with the matter.” I love the last line the most.

TidBITS:

The Intercept’s piece was mostly a condemnation of government tactics, but failed to address what matters to Apple’s customers — whether Apple’s products remain secure and safe to use. Overall, the information is quite optimistic, but the article highlights the complexities of modern security, privacy, and intelligence gathering. We are still in the early days of what is likely to be a generational issue as society continues to adjust to the digital age.

As always, Mogull has a well thought out, well written, and well reasoned piece with none of the hysteria you see in other articles about this subject.