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OK, now I want to test drive a Tesla.

Mic:

The league, in partnership with the anti-domestic violence organization NO MORE, recently released an ad that will air live Sunday during the Super Bowl. Based on a real 911 call, the ad pans over the wreckage of a domestic dispute while the audio of a chilling emergency call plays in the background.

Powerful and chilling. Thanks to my friend JennS for the link.

Medium:

The whole Tsukiji experience is comparable to strolling through the fish section of Whole Foods early one morning when the LSD kicks in and the store suddenly turns into JFK Airport and a monster bike rally is starting and a marathon walk is ending and all the cars have Jersey plates and valet service is provided by Hell’s Angels. You are the outsider at the fish anarchist’s ball.

One of my Bucket List items was/is to visit this market. Looks like I’ll have to hurry.

Techcrunch:

Until today, Russia’s Gazprom (the largest natural gas extractor in the world) held the record at $16.2 billion in a quarter.

Apple now holds the record: $18.04 billion in profit, fiscal Q1 of 2015.

For reference, that means Apple makes around $8.3 million dollars per hour in profit (24 hours a day).

This was a company written off as all but dead less than 20 years ago.

Ars Technica:

Apple CEO Tim Cook dropped a rare bit of product news on the company’s Q1 2015 earnings call: the Apple Watch begins shipping in April.The Apple Watch will start at $349 for the aluminum Apple Watch Sport model, though starting prices for the more expensive stainless steel and gold models haven’t yet been revealed.

About the time frame we expected. As we get closer to a sales date, I find it interesting how many people I hear are at least interested in seeing the Apple Watch with an eye towards buying it.

Apple on Tuesday recorded a record first quarter profit of $18 billion on $74.6 billion in revenue. These results compare to revenue of $57.6 billion and net profit of $13.1 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Apple said iPhone unit sales of 74.5 million also set a new record.

A new iOS update is available for download. Apple lists five bugs that have been fixed, including reducing the amount of storage needed to do an update. iOS 8.1.3 is a 247MB download that you can get by going to Settings > General > Software Update on your iOS device.

TUAW:

The free iFixit app is a handy little app that gives your Do-It-Yourself repairs a big boost. This app comes from the teardown experts at iFixit, who delight in exploring the inner secrets of your favorite tech (or not-so-techie) hardware. The iFixit app helps you repair just about anything from toilets to garage door openers, cameras, cars, and of course, PCs and Macs.

As dumb as some of their whining about “repairability” is, their repair and upgrade guides are second to none.

iMore:

Password manager 1Password has been updated, for the Mac as well as the iPhone and iPad. The iOS update focuses on making 1Password more powerful with tools like a new login creator and one-time passwords, while 1Password for Mac receives a lot of important updates to syncing, as well as other additions.

My favourite password manager keeps getting better.

Go Mic Connect features a custom, compact design that clips to the top of your laptop or computer monitor, as well as internally shock-mounted dual microphone capsules and a headphone output for zero-latency monitoring. Go Mic Connect combines studio-quality sound and “next-level” technology for exceptional VoIP, podcast, speech-to-text and YouTube audio.

Really nice looking portable mic.

MacObserver:

Right now…companies like Neil Young’s Pono are telling people that audio files encoded at a bit-depth of 24-bits or a sample rate of 192kHz sound better than the 16-bit, 44.1kHz versions of the same audio on playback.

This difference between 16-bit/44.1kHz audio and anything greater than that has been tested (a lot… in double-blind tests) and we have yet to find any human that can reliably notice that difference.

Now just sit back and wait for the audio geeks to refute this article.

Backblaze:

It was one year ago that I first blogged about the failure rates of specific models of hard drives, so now is a good time for an update.

At Backblaze, as of December 31, 2014, we had 41,213 disk drives spinning in our data center, storing all of the data for our unlimited backup service. That is up from 27,134 at the end of 2013. This year, most of the new drives are 4 TB drives, and a few are the new 6 TB drives.

Wow. That does not look good for Seagate.

Vox:

The death of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has brought considerable debate over whether he should be remembered as a “reformer” or the very opposite of one; whether his legacy will be that he preserved Saudi Arabia’s future or limited its present.But as this story from a former British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia makes clear, there is one thing he will never be: as much of a stone-cold badass as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

My Queen is definitely a bad ass.

TSA:

2,212 firearms were discovered in carry-on bags at checkpoints across the country, averaging more than six firearms per day. Of those, 2,212 (83 percent) were loaded. Firearms were intercepted at a total of 224 airports; 19 more airports than last year.

There was a 22 percent increase in firearm discoveries from last year’s total of 1,813.

The TSA has often been rightly derided as “security theater” but this catalog of various weapons confiscated from traveler’s carry on luggage is a little bit terrifying. And I will likely read too much into the fact that, out of the top ten airports for gun catches, eight of them were in the South.

The video is kind of stilted but his archery skills are pretty incredible.

The Daily Dot:

Terrible news for anyone who has ever been bored on an airplane: the company behind SkyMall, that in-flight catalog you disdainfully flip through after you’ve suffered through all the available episodes of The Big Bang Theory, has announced its inevitable bankruptcy filing.

Why do we say “inevitable”? Because SkyMall is packed full of actually useless garbage that no human being would conceivably buy, even in a late-capitalist boom cycle. Thankfully, a legion of loyal Internet fans has done the noble work of archiving these inexplicable items:

Proof that air travel makes you crazy – I read that catalog many a time and thought, “Hey – I should buy that!” only to get on the ground, regain consciousness and never buy a damn thing from their catalog.

Tomorrow, Apple opens another store in China and they have posted this video explaining the Chinese poem on the outside of it.

Samson’s new Synth 7 raises the standard for premium UHF wireless performance. Available in five unique configurations (Handheld, Guitar, Headset, Earset, Presentation), the Synth 7 system features rugged all-metal construction, as well as dynamic LCD setup and monitoring options. Together with advanced system features and flawless operation, Synth 7 is the future of professional wireless.

There’s a little something for everyone here. They have a Web page set up for each category, so you can see how you can use it.

Samson’s Meteor M2 Multimedia Speaker System is the ideal sound solution for desktops, laptops and tablets. Through the use of premium components, innovative sound design and custom digital signal processing, the full metal Meteor M2 breathes new sonic life into your favorite music, movies and games.

I haven’t seen these yet, but I’m going to try to stop by today.

The new 600 Series guitars elicit the best of the inherent tonal properties of maple. In 2014, Master Builder Andy Powers began to experiment with how far bracing, thickness, finish, and new seasoning processes like torrefaction, a wood roasting method, could enhance maple’s tone profile.

I played one of these yesterday and the tone was so warm. I’d definitely buy one of these.

VanCity Buzz:

In her attempt to pursue the Universe’s crown, Miss Universe Canada Chanel Beckenlehner of Caledon, Ontario has certainly captured the world’s attention as her flamboyant, hockey-inspired costume has gone completely viral.

The 26-year-old strutted out on the stage Wednesday night wearing a costume that may have very well been designed by Lady Gaga, Hudson’s Bay Company and Roots. Altogether, the costume is said to have a weight of 25 pounds.

This is how much Canadians love hockey.

iMore:

Apple detailed the earnings of its top executives in the filing. Apple CEO Tim Cook – $9.2 million. Eddy Cue and Jeff Williams – $24 million each. Angela Ahrendts – $73 million.

Apple also announced board member Millard Drexler will be retiring after the company’s annual shareholder meeting on March 10 and that it managed to generate a staggering $182.8 billion in sales over the course of 2014.

Nice gig if you can get it.

Whether you’re attending the Super Bowl in person or watching it on TV like me, there are apps supporting Pay to make your life easier. I’ve said since its release that Pay is one of the best technologies Apple brought out in years—I use it nearly every day. […]

I’ve listened to a lot of headphones over the years, from high-end models to in-ears, but none have sounded as good as the Mo-Fi. The Mo-Fi are made by Blue Microphones, a company that I’ve respected for a long time, but I had no idea there headphones would be so good. If you’re in the market, you have to try these out. You’ll thank me.

Usually when I write about Yamaha at NAMM, I’ll talk about new guitars or keyboards, but today the company introduced a new mixer it said was designed specifically for webcasting, podcasting, gaming and music production. […]

I’ve made no secret about my love of Universal Audio products. For years, they have been my go to company when recording and mixing audio. Today things got even better. […]

Contrary to legend, it didn’t play just once. It is still considered by many as “the greatest television commercial ever” and is the genesis of all the “Super Bowl Event Advertising” we see today.

There are a ton of new features and licensing options available in the new version. Good day for Pro Tools users.

Avid today unveiled Pro Tools | First, a free version of the industry-standard Pro Tools that offers many of the same music creation capabilities used by top artists and recording studios worldwide. Delivering on Avid Everywhere and built upon the Avid MediaCentral Platform, Pro Tools | First is simple enough for beginners to learn, yet sophisticated enough for the experienced musician. Pro Tools | First enables anyone to experience the industry’s most trusted digital audio workstation at no cost, so they can turn their musical ideas into fully realized, professional productions that stand out from the crowd.

What a smart move from Avid.

The Firehawk FX multi-effect processor combines world-class tone with intuitive app-based editing, so you can get the perfect sound faster than ever before. The Firehawk Remote app for iOS and Android gives you the power to sculpt great tone, right in the palm of your hand. Choose from over 200 legendary amps and effects—including 50 HD models—and wirelessly control every detail of your sound. You get access to 128 internal presets plus a massive online tone library, making it easy to find the right sound for any recording session, rehearsal or gig. With 1/4” and Variax Digital (VDI) inputs, two outputs, FX loop, USB connectivity and ultra-low latency, Firehawk FX is also an ideal guitar recording interface for PC, Mac and iOS.

I love that Line 6 is going after the entire market here—mobile and desktop. I haven’t tried the Firehawk, but it’s reminiscent of an HD500, but with more color and options.