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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.

Bloomberg:

Stanford University researchers were stunned when they awoke Tuesday to find that 11,000 people had signed up for a cardiovascular study using Apple Inc.’s ResearchKit, less than 24 hours after the iPhone tool was introduced.

“To get 10,000 people enrolled in a medical study normally, it would take a year and 50 medical centers around the country,” said Alan Yeung, medical director of Stanford Cardiovascular Health. “That’s the power of the phone.”

As the article points out, there are some concerns regarding the people who would get involved but, overall, the research community seems very excited about the present and future possibilities.

With these timeless thoughts in mind, we crafted The Luxury Pocket Stand for Apple Watch, The Luxury Travel Kit, Travel Pouch and The Roll Up Kit for Apple Watch. A gorgeous celebration of ageless craftsmanship and appreciation for the beauty found in natural resources.

They took inspiration for the Pocket Stand from Brian’s grandfather and the pocket watch he used. I’m a big fan of the quality of products this company makes.

Jim, Shawn and Dave talk through the Apple Watch Event details!

Sponsored by Squarespace (use code GUITARS for a free trial and 10% off).

Apple Watch is bringing people to their keyboards in droves, writing opinions and asking questions about Apple’s newest device. That’s a great thing—unless you represent many of the world’s larger luxury watchmakers and you write a purely negative article about Apple Watch for The Guardian. […]

Robservatory:

I am fascinated by this new business Apple’s going into; the sheer number of products and prices is pretty amazing: By my count, Apple will be shipping 38 separate models of watches. There’s a gallery page at Apple’s site where you can page through all of the watches, and get the details on each specific model. You can also view the watches in the store, where you can find pricing info.

Both of these solutions, though, require lots of paging and scrolling to get all the details. I was curious as to how all the watches compared, so I pulled data from those sources and made one massive spreadsheet

Rob Griffiths has done the work so you don’t have to.

I’ve seen some comments over the past couple of days from people wondering what the “killer app” for the Apple Watch will be. I’m pleased to tell you that it’s here—it’s called iPhone. […]

So great seeing the guys back at it.

I’ve been using Field Notes memo books for years. I have one sitting beside me right now and another in my computer bag, ready to go.

Macworld:

With the new 12-inch MacBook, Apple has gone all in for all-in-one, using USB-C to provide power, display output, and USB connections. Thunderbolt is gone. The SD card slot is gone as well.

The upside is compatibility, and thus lower costs and more options. USB-C is also a unifying and universal standard that doesn’t involve a single company acting as a licensing gatekeeper, the way Apple protects Lightning cables and adapters. USB-C would seem to have a lot to offer, but first we have to get over the hump of newness.

Typical story of “short term pain for long term gain” but it means I don’t see this particular machine as my next laptop.

About 24 hours ago I was sitting in a room with Apple executives with an Apple Watch on my wrist, flipping through the different screens and options. I was immediately more impressed with the watch than I was when the device was first introduced in September 2014. […]

Re/code:

OK, Comcast: Your move.

That’s the message HBO CEO Richard Plepler was sending yesterday to the cable giant and the other big pay-TV distributors, when he announced he was going to start selling subscriptions with Apple.

HBO’s plan to sell a standalone version of the service — HBO Now, for $15 a month — using Apple as its exclusive digital launch partner is big news. Remember, though, that it’s only half of the story: Plepler wants to use his new digital service to create a new revenue stream, and perhaps a life raft. But he also wants to use it as a lever to get more money out of his existing business with the pay-TV companies, which generated $5.4 billion last year.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. HBO exclusivity with Apple is for a rumored three month time frame.

The Wall Street Journal:

Apple Inc.’s huge gravitational pull on mall traffic is distorting the market for mall rents, winning the iPhone maker sweetheart deals and putting upward pressure on other tenants’ leases.

Apple draws so many shoppers that its stores single-handedly lift sales by 10% at the malls in which they operate, according to Green Street Advisors, a real-estate research firm. That gives Apple the clout to negotiate extremely low rents for itself relative to its sales, while creating upward pressure on prices paid by mall neighbors who might not benefit from the traffic.

No surprise and a big change from the early days of Apple Retail when Apple was “forced” to sign long term leases because mall operators were worried about the company’s long term viability.

Ars Technica:

Apple has published their second major security roll-up package of the year, Security Update 2015-002, which contains fixes for multiple version of OS X stretching from Mountain Lion 10.8.5 to Yosemite 10.10.2. These updates mitigate threats from several different vulnerabilities, but the most notable is a fix that will inoculate Safari users against the so-called “FREAK” SSL/TLS exploit.

Good to see Apple extending this patch back to Mountain Lion.

Fortune:

In an exclusive interview with Fortune, Apple’s human resources chief Denise Young Smith said the company is partnering with several non-profit organizations on a multi-year, multi-million-dollar effort to increase the pipeline of women, minorities, and veterans in the technology industry—and, of course, at Apple.

Good to see Apple doing more on this issue. There’s lots more to be done though and Apple can’t do it all alone. This has to become an industry-wide effort.

Like most people that attended Apple’s event on Monday, I was waiting for news of the Apple Watch, but I was distracted early on by another, incredibly important announcement: ResearchKit.