The Economist:

General relativity was presented to the Prussian Academy of Sciences over the course of four lectures in November 1915; it was published on December 2nd that year. The theory explained, to begin with, remarkably little, and unlike quantum theory, the only comparable revolution in 20th-century physics, it offered no insights into the issues that physicists of the time cared about most. Yet it was quickly and widely accepted, not least thanks to the sheer beauty of its mathematical expression; a hundred years on, no discussion of the role of aesthetics in scientific theory seems complete without its inclusion.

A great article about the general theory of relativity and why it is so important even today.

Blue Apron posted mixed results for the quarter, but I think the CEO has the right outlook as he deals with pressure from Amazon:

But CEO Matthew Salzberg told CNBC that the grocery market is far from a “winner-take-all” battle between grocers, Blue Apron and Amazon.

“We admire Amazon as a company, and we take them seriously, big or small,” Salzberg said. “That being said, we are competing in a competitive and large market. … We think about ourselves very differently, I think, than Amazon thinks about themselves.”

That’s exactly right and a good way to look at the market. It’s easy to assume that he’s saying that because the quarter wasn’t great, but it is true.

Tech Crunch:

Snapchat’s powerful but hidden Story Search feature is finally making itself useful by giving us a behind-the-scenes glimpse inside Apple Park, Apple’s new spaceship-like campus that will open soon.

Typing “Apple Park” into Snapchat’s search bar will show you the Apple Park Story, which is a collection of videos taken on the property.

Tech Crunch collected some of these videos, embedding them into the video below. Can’t wait to see Apple Park firsthand.

Ben Lovejoy walks through the latest revelations from Steve Troughton Smith’s dig through the recently leaked HomePod firmware.

Here’s the first tweet:

We know some facts re iPhone 8 home button area:

• it resizes
• indicator can be hidden
• no API to change color
• tab bars extend under it

— Steve T-S (@stroughtonsmith) August 10, 2017

Note the reference to a resizable Home button. When the implementation is in software, rather than hardware, there’s ultimate flexibility. Not sure if there is actually a plan to allow the user to resize the home button, but I think a larger target would be a terrific assistive feature.

Here’s the second tweet:

These are the metrics used by the status bar on the edge-to-edge iPhone, including notch height and ear width. Designers, have fun pic.twitter.com/lPD2RbEJFA

— Steve T-S (@stroughtonsmith) August 10, 2017

Check out the mockup in Ben’s article. Looks remarkably like the iPhone 8 dummy in this post.

Wall Street Journal:

Instead of typing searches and emails, a wave of newcomers—“the next billion,” the tech industry calls them—is avoiding text, using voice activation and communicating with images. They are a swath of the world’s less-educated, online for the first time thanks to low-end smartphones, cheap data plans and intuitive apps that let them navigate despite poor literacy.

And:

A look at Megh Singh’s smartphone suggests how the next billion might determine a new set of winners and losers in tech.

Mr. Singh, 36, balances suitcases on his head in New Delhi, earning less than $8 a day as a porter in one of India’s biggest railway stations. He isn’t comfortable reading or using a keyboard. That doesn’t stop him from checking train schedules, messaging family and downloading movies.

“We don’t know anything about emails or even how to send one,” said Mr. Singh, who went online only in the past year. “But we are enjoying the internet to the fullest.”

The next billion are vital to Apple’s growth as a company. So much so, that it would not surprise me to see a new version of iOS tailored for this audience.

WorkOutDoors is a workout app that allows you to load detailed, localized vector maps onto your Apple Watch for offline use. This means you can go for a run, have detailed maps on your watch, and leave your iPhone behind. Or work out in a facility without cell/wifi service, again leaving your iPhone behind. Or go hiking in a remote location without cell service. You get the idea.

There are other solutions to this problem, but I found this one fascinating. Here’s the web site, and here’s the link to WorkOutDoors in the App Store.

Economic Times:

Riding on the ‘better-than-expected iPad and iPhone sales’, the upcoming flagship device iPhone 8 could make the Cupertino-based giant the first company to reach and sustain a $1 trillion market cap, analysts have predicted.

And:

Daryanani said that Apple’s share price would have to rise from its current level (about $160) to about $192 to $195, depending on the rate of the company’s stock buybacks, to reach the $1 trillion value.

Astonishing rise from the ashes for Apple. I remember, long ago, considering an investment in Apple stock at $12 a share (long before the 7-for-1 split, and two 2-for-1 splits) about 43 cents a share adjusted for today’s pricing).

This was in the worst of Apple doldrums, before Steve came back. The smart folks I spoke with explained to me that, at the time, Apple had enough assets to pay more than that $12 per share if they sold everything they had, including real estate, desks, inventory, everything.

That was the thinking back then. Apple stock was bargain basement. And look at them now.

Wall Street Journal:

A group of 28 Chinese app developers filed a complaint against Apple Inc. alleging antitrust violations over the company’s App Store.

The complaint accuses Apple of engaging in monopolistic behavior by removing apps from the App Store without detailed explanation and charging excessive fees for in-app purchases. The complaint also alleges Apple doesn’t give details on why apps are removed and puts local developers at a disadvantage by not responding to queries in Chinese.

And:

In a statement, Apple said that “most submissions in China are reviewed and approved to be on the store within 48 hours, or less.” It added that its App Store guidelines apply equally to all developers in every country and that if an app is rejected or removed, developers may request a review to restore the app in a timely manner.

The timing correlates with the mass removal of VPN apps from the App Store. A rock and a hard place, that.

Then, just as I was about to leave the dictionary’s Web site, I noticed something new: next to the earliest known year that a word appears in print—for “alembicated,” 1786—Merriam-Webster now offers a link to a list of all the other words that were first used in the same year. The feature is called Time Traveler…

That is so great.

Linus Edwards:

Brooklyn, Aladdin, Colt 45, Cobra, Ray Ban, Stealth, Apollo, XO, Tempest, Brazil 32, Crusader, Instatower, Kanga, JeDI, Aruba, Love Shack, Mark Twain, Excalibur, Tsunami, Phoenix, Nitro, Gelato, Dante, Q, Mach 5, Spartacus, Zelda, Yoda, Green Jade, Spock, Milwaukee, Aurora, Peter Pan, Optimus.

This is just a sampling of the rich cornucopia of Apple code names over the past 40 years. The names run the gamut from pop culture references to inside jokes — from celebrity names to just cool sounding words.

Terrific read.

Variety:

Based on tonight’s premiere episode, with Corden and Will Smith, “Carpool Karaoke” is struggling a little to find a standalone spark outside the world of “The Late Late Show.” During Corden’s late-night show, the sunny highways of Southern California provided a visual and structural break from the show’s set — and in a medium that relies on celebrity guests, “Carpool Karaoke” is a fun way to combine interview elements with an activity that performers would naturally be good at.

But on its own, “Carpool Karaoke’s” weaknesses are magnified. The segment always had a bit of overenthusiasm for celebrity; the viewer is invited into a private hangout but can’t participate, as notable names and famous faces joke and sing with each other. This is unfortunate, because at its most successful, “Carpool Karaoke” makes its participants unassuming and even relatable. Adele busting out Nicki Minaj’s verse in Kanye West’s “Monster” makes even her — a multi-platinum pop diva — as familiar as the next person in line at the drive-thru. In the premiere of the Apple Music show, Will Smith decides to skip out on traffic by directing Corden to a private helicopter. “Carpool Karaoke” on Apple Music is just another unscripted series about famous people with varying degrees of talent, in scenarios that are partly choreographed and partly staged.

Insightful review. Read the whole thing.

Benjamin Mayo, 9to5Mac:

The iPhone 8 is widely reported to feature a front-facing 3D sensor which will enable face recognition for automatic unlock (supposedly replacing the need for Touch ID entirely). Moreover, code references suggest that the new OLED iPhone will be able to use that same sensor to enable even more sophisticated features, like automatically silencing notifications if the user is looking at the screen.

This is based on the recent HomePod data leak, not a verified feature. That said, I love this idea. As a developer, I also love the idea of exposing this part of the interface, allowing me to take one action if the user is looking at their screen, another if they are not.

Sundar Pichai, responding to the memo that went viral this past week:

> First, let me say that we strongly support the right of Googlers to express themselves, and much of what was in that memo is fair to debate, regardless of whether a vast majority of Googlers disagree with it. However, portions of the memo violate our Code of Conduct and cross the line by advancing harmful gender stereotypes in our workplace. Our job is to build great products for users that make a difference in their lives. To suggest a group of our colleagues have traits that make them less biologically suited to that work is offensive and not OK. It is contrary to our basic values and our Code of Conduct, which expects “each Googler to do their utmost to create a workplace culture that is free of harassment, intimidation, bias and unlawful discrimination.”

It is crucial to work with age discrimination lawyers to create a harassment-free workplace for a safer environment for your employees. Follow the link to read the whole thing.

Walt Disney Co. is ending its film distribution agreement with Netflix for new releases in one of the boldest moves a traditional studio has taken against the leading digital platform.

The Burbank company instead will launch a new Disney-branded direct-to-consumer streaming service in 2019. The decision represents a major shift in strategy for Disney, which for years has worked with Netflix to distribute its content — including hit films and original television shows.

No, Disney, I don’t want another streaming service. I get the company has a lot of hits, but damn, the number of streaming services is getting ridiculous.

Glen Campbell, the indelible voice behind 21 Top 40 hits including “Rhinestone Cowboy,” “Wichita Lineman” and “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” died Tuesday. He was 81. A rep for Universal Music Group, Campbell’s record label, confirmed the singer’s death to Rolling Stone. During a career that spanned six decades, Campbell sold over 45 million records. In 1968, one of his biggest years, he outsold the Beatles.

So sad. Much respect, Glen.

Hollywood Reporter:

Unlike The Late Show, each hourlong episode of the Netflix series will be prerecorded and feature Letterman conducting longform conversations with a singular guest as well as exploring topics on his own — outside of the studio. A guest list has not yet been revealed.

I didn’t watch Letterman for the last few years of his last show but I’ll definitely want to check this out.

DP Review:

The entry-level DSLR segment is traditionally highly competitive, and dominated by two big names: Canon and Nikon. With Canon’s new Rebel EOS SL2 just hitting dealers’ shelves, we’ve compared it against one of its main competitors – the Nikon D3400.

Not every beginner photographer needs a DSLR but, if you do, you can’t go wrong with either of these cameras.

Lifehacker:

In the U.S., the eclipse will appear to move across the country from West to East, with the best view starting around 9:05 a.m. PDT in Lincoln Beach, Oregon, according to NASA, and moving southeast throughout the day to end around Charleston, South Carolina at 2:48 p.m EDT.

A lot of folks will be at work and likely unable to go outside to watch the eclipse.

Julian Assange has offered a job to the employee that Google fired for writing the memo on gender differences.

James Damore, the Google engineer who wrote the note, confirmed his dismissal in an email, saying that he had been fired for “perpetuating gender stereotypes.” He said he’s “currently exploring all possible legal remedies.”

I think he’ll have a really difficult time finding another job in Silicon Valley.

Bill Wyman really knows his Pink Floyd. If you are a Floyd fan, lock in your favorite tracks, then dig in, see if your faves made the top 10. Some solid commentary here.

Jeff Benjamin walks through the changes introduced with iOS 11 Beta 5. For the most part, these changes are subtle, which is a good thing, shows stability.

Henry T. Casey:

Not all of your files are meant to be seen by everyone. Your friends and family may not appreciate this truth, but that’s just the way it is sometimes. Luckily, MacBook owners can protect their sensitive files from prying eyes by password protecting specific folders.

Every Mac owner should know how to do this. I only wish Apple would offer a more direct method of password protecting a folder, one that didn’t require the creation of a separately mountable volume. But this solution works and works well.

That said, if you are trying to protect text, as opposed to a set of files, consider placing that text into a note, then locking the individual note. This has the advantage of giving you access to that protected information on your Mac and all your iOS devices.

Here’s Apple’s support doc on adding a password to your notes.

Shira Ovide, Bloomberg:

Since well before Steve Jobs died in 2011, Apple executives have been saying TV entertainment needed a wholesale reinvention and Apple was just the company to do it. Fast forward to 2017, and America’s entertainment is being reinvented. But Apple is barely involved.

And:

More than 1 million U.S. households have ditched cable TV so far in 2017, Morgan Stanley estimates. Tens of millions of people are binge-watching TV shows and movies on Netflix and Hulu without sitting through commercials. Some amateurs on YouTube are making videos that are more popular than many traditional TV series. People in and out of Hollywood are working on letting people screen new movies at home instead of trekking to the multiplex.

This evolution is big. It’s shaking up pop culture. It’s shifting how cars and diapers are marketed. It’s affecting government policy. And Apple is a fringe player in all of this.

And:

Eddy Cue, the Apple executive in charge of digital media, recently said Apple was trying to “do some different things” in entertainment. But it hardly seems that way. After 10 years, Apple TV is pretty much the same.

And:

Amazon, Netflix, Google’s YouTube, HBO, Facebook and others are spending billions of dollars on programming that people can’t watch elsewhere. Many of those newcomers quickly became entertainment powerhouses. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has an Academy Award. Apple is still dabbling in a few web video series for its Apple Music app. One of the first programs, a “Shark Tank”-like competition for app developers, was panned by many reviewers.

This is scorching criticism. Is it fair? That depends. Does Apple have a big reveal coming? The Apple Watch was late to the game and now dominates the market. Is that the sort of move that’s coming? Seems still too early to judge.

Josh Centers wanted to do a TidBITS piece on innovative uses of the MacBook Touch Bar. Things did not go as planned.

Augmented reality is slowly entering our reality. Genesis Motors (Hyundai’s luxury brand) has put their car manual into an AR app. This is just a taste of what’s coming, a nibble of how useful AR can be.