CNET: I took our Space Gray iPhone X out to the sidewalk in front of CNET’s San Francisco offices: a place where many screens have met their doom. Is it just me or are these kinds of “tests” utterly ridiculous? … Continued
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Dogs in space: Meet the Soviet Union space programme’s unsung heroes
alphr: Today is the 60th anniversary of Laika – a Moscow stray – being blasted off Earth to become the first dog in space. In honour of the occasion, here is Duncan Geere’s piece on the full history of the … Continued
Apple Store iPhone screensaver
I saw this tweet and checked out the linked graphic
The 37 best photography accessories
Got a photographer in your life you need Christmas gift(s) for? This is a varied list with all kinds of price points on some cool accessories for your shooter.
How much does a kilogram weigh?
These stories have always fascinated me. I bet most people don’t realize the “official” kilogram is an actual physical object.
15 products that totally flopped from the new Museum of Failure
I don’t know that I’d visit this museum and I’ve never heard of “Coke II”.
This is what photos from a $63,000 camera look like
This may be blasphemous to professional photographers (or it may be because I’m looking at the images via a web browser) but the composition of the sample images (and the images on the video) is kind of boring and you can’t really see where the $63,000 value is.
Used car commercial for a 1996 Honda Accord
The video has gone viral and is one of the top trending videos on YouTube, and the car’s price has already exceeded $20,000 on eBay with over 80 bids and nearly a week remaining. If you find someone who loves … Continued
iPhone user guide
Apple has updated their online User Guide for iPhones with info about the iPhone X. A good read while you wait for UPS to arrive.
Differential Privacy paper from Apple
This is a really interesting paper from Apple describing how they gather data from users but anonymize that data. Of course, all you’re going to read from most media outlets is “Here are the most popular emoji!” And people wonder why Apple “dislikes” the media.
The Dalrymple Report: iPhone X with Rene Ritchie
Rene Ritchie and I discuss our thoughts of the iPhone X after having it for a few days to do reviews.
Scents from a mall: The sticky, untold story of Cinnabon
Lobster. Cinnabons. Those are the only two foods I find absolutely irresistible…
How to get the iPhone X’s exclusive new ringtone on your older iPhone
Sounds like a great idea but is their methodology not working for anyone else? Trying to drag the new ringtone into iTunes for me doesn’t get me anywhere.
Apple reports fourth quarter revenue of $52.6 billion
Apple on Thursday posted quarterly revenue of $52.6 billion, an increase of 12 percent from a year ago. Quarterly earnings were up 24 percent, the company said. […]
Photographer barely avoids crashing rally car
This is why, any time you photograph action, stay focused on it. You never know what might happen.
Apple posts tips for iPhone X: “Welcome to iPhone X”
There are a few helpful tips on the page to help users get used to the new buttons and how to do some of the basic iPhone tasks.
Wireless charging explained: What is it and how does it work?
Another good explanation of what the future holds for many of our devices and gadgets.
Final Cut Pro X, Swift among fastest-growing skills for freelancers
Upwork, the largest freelancing website, today released its newest quarterly index of the hottest skills in the U.S. freelance job market. The Upwork Skills Index ranks the site’s 20 fastest-growing skills and is part of a quarterly series that sheds light on new and emerging skills freelancers are providing. This comes on the heels of the “Freelancing in America: 2017” study, the most comprehensive measure of the U.S. independent workforce, which found that 57.3 million Americans (36 percent of the U.S. workforce) freelanced in the past year and also predicts that the majority of the U.S. workforce will freelance within a decade.
This is pretty interesting data because it comes from a freelance website. Demand for Final Cut Pro grew more than 200 percent year-over-year, while Swift grew 100 percent.
Read quick fiction on your commute with the Shortly app
I use Pocket for my non-fiction stuff but this is a great way to get quick hits of some very good fiction.
The story behind that iconic portrait of Steve Jobs
It’s a great photograph and it has a great story behind it.
Macphun unveils Luminar 2018 to take on Adobe Lightroom
This is a very steep hill to climb and I wish Macphun all the best in the attempt. More competition/software is good for users.
Apple financial results for Q4 2017
As usual, Apple will announce a metric buttload of profit and sales. And, as usual, expect a lot of unanswered and stupid questions from the assembled analysts on the call.
240 new emojis out now in iOS 11.1
I use four emojis. This is overkill for me.
Photo enhancement is starting to get crazy
Petapixel: As the worlds of artificial intelligence and digital photography collide, we’re starting to see some mind-blowing technology emerge. The latest research in turning low-resolution photos into high-definition photos may drop your jaws — it’s starting to cross into the … Continued
The GOAT vs MOTOBOT Ver.2
Racing against Yamaha’s MOTOBOT Ver.2, an autonomous motorcycle, is an interesting test.
Apple releases GarageBand 2.3 for iOS
Apple on Wednesday released a major update for GarageBand, bringing compatibility with the iPhone X, new instruments, sounds, and a brand-new Sound Library. […]
The era of easily faked, AI-generated photos is quickly emerging
Dave Gershgorn, Quartz:
Three years ago, after an argument at a bar with some fellow artificial intelligence researchers, Ph.D student Ian Goodfellow cobbled together a new way for AI to think about creating images. The idea was simple: one algorithm tries to generate a realistic image of an object or a scene, while another algorithm tries to decide whether that image is real or fake.
The two algorithms are adversaries—each trying to beat the other in the interest of creating the final best image—and this technique, now called “generative adversarial networks” (GANs) has quickly become a cornerstone of AI research.
The term GAN is worth remembering. It is one of the new shinys in AI research.
But more importantly, jump to the article and scan through the images, watch the embedded video. The generated images are remarkably good. I cannot tell the difference between generated images and real ones.
This is fascinating and scary, all rolled into one.
First Look: iPhone X
I’ve had my iPhone X from Apple for less than a day, so it would be irresponsible of me to call this a review—instead I’ll give you my first impressions of a few of the main features, and then follow-up with more details later this week or next. […]
Auction of Steve Jobs’ 2000 BMW Z8
Sothebys: >While not known to be a car enthusiast per se, Steve Jobs did have a penchant for German automobiles and design, owning BMW motorcycles, as well as Mercedes-Benz SLs. According to legend, Jobs was convinced to buy the Z8 … Continued
iPhone X now shipping – here’s how to get tracking info early
It didn’t work for me here in Canada. Maybe you’ll have better luck.