Apple can always do more but they have made great strides in the areas of accessibility for any number of its customers. And accessibility offers benefits to all users, disabled or not.
Uncategorized
The Dalrymple Report: Mac Pro and Apple Maps
Dave and I talk about the release of the Mac Pro this week and my annoyance with some complaining over the price. We also discuss Apple Maps and how it could learn from the way we use it.
Brought to you by:
Linode: Instantly deploy and manage an SSD server in the Linode Cloud. Get a server running in seconds with your choice of Linux distro, resources, and choice of 10 node locations. Get a $20 credit when you use promocode dalrymple2019 at https://linode.com/dalrymple/.
This Christmas commercial is warming hearts across the internet — and it only cost $130 to make
OK now I want to go to Rhayader, Wales just to meet this little guy.
Watch every fire on earth this year in this blazing visualization
I didn’t even know about the massive fires throughout much of Africa.
Brilliance at night: “The Americas in Darkness”
Check out the free eBook from NASA titled “Earth at Night.”
Merry Mixmas 2019
I love and grab this eclectic and odd collection of “Christmas” music from DJ Riko each year.
Why every website wants you to accept its cookies
It’s not just your imagination. It’s definitely gotten worse.
World’s first fully-electric commercial aircraft completes test flight
This happened in my “backyard.” If you’ve ever visited Vancouver and seen seaplanes landing and taking off from the harbour, this is likely one of the companies whose planes you saw. Congratulations to them for this amazing accomplishment. Would you fly on an electric plane?
Would you eat a sandworm pancake?
I’m a very adventurous eater and I’d have no problem trying this. How about you?
I’m going to tell you about the voice at Embankment Tube station
I don’t want to ruin the story but how much would you pay for this?
Apple TV+ series ‘The Morning Show’ nominated for several SAG Awards
I take the SAG Awards more seriously than the Golden Globes in general but also specifically when it comes to the particular categories where they overlap. SAG has more than 160,000 potential voters while the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Golen Globes are voted on by a minuscule 90 people.
Apple Arcade review: Mobile gaming gets a massive upgrade for $5 a month
While there is some valid criticism of Apple Arcade, there’s no doubt that for most game players, it’s an incredible value.
The thermodynamics behind the Mac Pro, the hypercar of computers
Really interesting technical discussion about the innards of the Mac Pro.
The secret history of the Motorola Razr, the first great phone of the millennium
I absolutely loved my Razr. It still might be the phone that is the most tactile and the most fun to absentmindedly play with and spin in your hands like a fidget spinner.
U.S. senators threaten Facebook, Apple with encryption regulation
This is a battle that is far from over and one I fear these companies will lose if only because of the ignorance of the members of Congress and the population in general.
Apple’s new Mac Pro can cost $52,000. That’s without the $400 wheels
While know-it-all pundits avail themselves of the opportunity to take potshots at Apple over being “out of touch,” almost every one of them seem to be oblivious to the fact that this is not a consumer-level machine. It is a high-end machine for professionals and is priced accordingly.
I personally know two scientists and one video guy who are salivating over this machine. They’ll be maxing it out and happy to do so because they know they can work faster and better and make more money over the next 12 months than they would otherwise. Saying, as Macworld does, “A maxxed-out Mac Pro costs more than a 2020 Corvette convertible!” is utterly ridiculous. Lots of things cost less than a maxxed-out Mac Pro. But lots of things cost more as well.
Pundits should take some time to talk to Apple’s target market for this machine. Few of them blink at the price. They just want to know, “Does it work as advertised? Yes? I’ll buy it.”
Linea Sketch 3.0 will move to a subscription model
I hate the subscription model as much as anyone but given this blog post, I completely understand why Iconfactory, a well respected and trusted Mac/iOS developer, feels it needs to go this route. The best news is the subscription for Linea Sketch 3 will only be $10/year. And, if you buy/bought the app in 2019 (it’s only $5), you’ll get a year of the new version for free.
Netflix could lose four million subscribers in 2020
Needham analyst Laura Martin, who downgraded the California-based tech giant to “underperform”, believes Netflix will have to add a lower priced service to compete with competitors including Apple Inc’s Apple TV+ service and Walt Disney Co’s Disney+.
I don’t buy it. If all Netflix did was show old re-runs of shows, then this analysis would make some sense, but that’s not the only thing Netflix does. It’s original programming is among the best in the industry right now. Apple, Disney, and Amazon are add-ons to Netflix and I don’t see that changing in the next year.
Randy Rhoads items recovered after burglary
A number of items that were stolen from the family of Ozzy Osbourne’s late guitarist Randy Rhoads were recovered early Sunday when an Eyewitness News viewer spotted them in a dumpster.
Someone had broken into the Rhoads family music school in North Hollywood on Thanksgiving night and stole irreplaceable instruments, memorabilia and photos.
I’m so glad the family got these items back. Randy was one of the great guitarists of our time.
How William Gibson keeps his science fiction real
When I was a kid, I loved Isaac Asimov’s view of the future. As an adult, I understand and expect Gibson’s brilliant writing to be more representative of it.
The biggest tech product flops of the 2010s
Great list. Hard to argue with many of them.
Apple’s Safari privacy features are “stunningly effective”
Two years ago, Apple unveiled Intelligent Tracking Prevention for Safari which aimed to protect users of the browsers from unwanted tracking. It was yet another in a long-running move towards more privacy on behalf of the company for its customers, and this technology, in particular, seems to be having a major impact on the advertising industry.
The ad industry has hated Apple’s implementation of privacy features for its users from the very beginning. To be absolutely clear, the only reason we needed these types of features in the first place is because of the slimy way the ad industry tracked us in the first place.
Swiss company’s alternate Apple TV remote
Apple’s Siri Remote has always been a bone of contention for Apple TV users. And with Swiss fiber TV company Salt giving Apple TV 4K boxes to its subscribers it was only a matter of time before they complained. And when they did, Salt made an alternative.
It’s cool, but for my uses right now, the ATV remote seems to work fine.
Apple to release Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR on December 10
I saw this email and thought, “Oh cool!” Then I realized I’d have to sell significant body parts to afford one.
IoT devices need built-in security standards, UL says
I’m betting nothing actually gets done until there is a major security breach.
The Dalrymple Report: Billie Eilish, Activation Lock, and MacBook Pro
Thanksgiving is over and Dave and I are back at it. From Billie Eilish to MacBook Pros shutting down, we talk about a variety of topics and have our usual amount of fun doing it.
HairLove
#HairLove, an animated short film from @MatthewACherry, tells a touching story about a father learning to do his daughter’s hair for the first time. pic.twitter.com/g18uHroJwK— Sony Pictures Animation (@SonyAnimation) December 5, 2019 I’m not crying. You’re crying.
Apple’s use of Location Services data tied to UWB management & federal guidelines
As is so often the case, the media set its hair on fire over this issue instead of simply waiting for a reasonable response from Apple.
Introducing “The Deep Sea” – an interactive visualization of the ocean
Agarwal has done it again – created a website that compels you to keep clicking and clicking and clicking. Great stuff.
Here’s how we made our car invisible to cops
The New York to Los Angeles Cannonball Record is now an insane 27.5 hours. Now, there’s no way any of us would ever condone doing such a thing but that’s still pretty “cool” in a completely illegal kind of way.