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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.

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.

I use four emojis. This is overkill for me.

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

Racing against Yamaha’s MOTOBOT Ver.2, an autonomous motorcycle, is an interesting test.

Apple on Wednesday released a major update for GarageBand, bringing compatibility with the iPhone X, new instruments, sounds, and a brand-new Sound Library. […]

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.

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. […]

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

It didn’t work for me here in Canada. Maybe you’ll have better luck.

For us oldtimers, this double standard is nothing new. I’ve often wondered if, in their heart of hearts, this pisses off Apple executives. I’ve asked them but, publicly, they would admit no such thing.

Sad but not at all surprising, given the content of the video. Dad should have known better.

The Gold Wing sets the standard for luxury touring motorcycles so it’s no great surprise they would be the first to include CarPlay.

This is amazing. A little weird maybe but the commitment is still amazing.

Do not mess with hippos.

The first inclination is, “Oh, those old cars were built like tanks!” but its quickly apparent that the myriad safety features found on newer cars are literally lifesaving.

What a great story of a small studio helping to create a huge hit.

This is another in a line of these kinds of stories and a direct result of the work Apple and IBM have been doing in the enterprise market.

Fstoppers did a review of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro geared specially to photographers.

This is amazing.

I couldn’t wait to get the Kinect and thought it was a pretty cool use of the tech. But there was never much further direct development of it (it lives on in HoloLens) and the games that used it never seemed to make advancements or be compelling enough.

Interesting survey on dialects and what words mean depending on where you live in the US. Apparently, as a Canadian, I talk like people from Spokane, Boise, and Salt Lake City.

One thing Apple does know, though: It doesn’t want them to feature sex. Or violence. Or any of the mature stuff you can find in hit TV shows like “Game of Thrones,” “Breaking Bad” or “The Walking Dead.”

…Apple wants comedies and emotional dramas with broad appeal, such as the NBC hit ‘This Is Us,’ and family shows like ‘Amazing Stories,’” the show Apple has already agreed to fund.

I suspected this would be the case. I’m not sure how I feel about it, to be honest—if the company is hiring talented people, they can probably put together whatever kind of show Apple wants. However, most of the biggest hit shows these days are not from traditional network TV stations. Apple could fall further behind Netflix, Amazon, and others before it even gets started.

Apple has very quickly sent out a press release refuting the rumor.

I get the convenience factor of this (having missed many deliveries due to not being at home) but I can see a lot of people reticent about allowing this kind of internet-connected (and, therefore, hackable) lock on their home. I would much rather a system where the delivery driver calls or texts that they are outside and then you would unlock the door.

Vox: When you watch a baseball game, you’re also listening for the hum of the crowd and the crack of a baseball bat. People like Andrew Stoakley make that happen. He mixes audio for teams like the Toronto Blue Jays, … Continued

Brooke Peterson went to visit her dad, who is apparently an Apple employee, on the company’s Cupertino campus. While there she took a video of her using his new iPhone X, with her father’s permission.

Well Brooke, I hope you enjoyed your trip to Apple because you probably cost your father his job by posting this video.

Om Malik:

I was in Tuscany, Italy recently and had a chance to put the new iPhone 8+ through the paces. While I made a lot of photos with my Leica SL, I wanted to take a moment and share some of the fantastic photos that came out of the iPhone.

Amazing.

Chuq does a good job of describing what happened and how it affects various constituencies of users. For the vast majority of people, little will change immediately. But, if you’re a professional Lightroom user, be prepared for a different future.

They look like they’re having a blast!