OmniOutliner now comes in two editions: Pro and Essentials. The Pro edition has all the power that we’ve always brought to OmniOutliner, with support for multiple columns, attachments, focus, automation, and so on—and for version 5 we’ve added even more, with advanced filtering, word count, typewriter mode, customizable keyboard shortcuts, and so on.

For the new Essentials edition, our goal was to introduce the joys and benefits of outlining to a much broader audience than our core Pro customers. Our focus for this edition was on making OmniOutliner much simpler, and much more affordable.

Ken Case and the folks at Omni are just great people and developers.

As you would expect, I laughed loudly.

Here are the main features:

• Live TV streaming from ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and popular cable networks

• Cloud DVR with no storage limits

• 6 accounts per household included

It costs $35 a month and there are a lot of other stations available, but they are still missing some big ones. Not having storage limits on the cloud DVR is a great feature.

“I’ve never seen a record this strong in 42 years,” [U.S. District Judge William] Alsup said. A hearing on Waymo’s request for an injunction on Uber’s self-driving program is scheduled for May.

Waymo sued ride services company Uber earlier this year, claiming that former Waymo executive Anthony Levandowski downloaded over 14,000 confidential documents before leaving the company to join Uber. Waymo said Uber benefited from those documents and has sued for damages and to stop Uber from using the technology Levandowski allegedly stole.

Wow.

Ars Technica: >For over 60 years, Formula 1 teams have developed, tested, and built the fastest and most technologically impressive cars the world has ever seen. An almost unending list of superlatives can be ladled onto F1 cars: they can accelerate from 0 to 190mph in about 10 seconds, fling around a corner at such speeds that the driver experiences g-force close to that of an Apollo astronaut during Earth re-entry, and then decelerate by 60mph in just 0.7 seconds thanks to strong brakes and massive downforce—the same downforce that stopped the car from spinning out around that corner. > >But the bit that’s really impressive is that these machines are designed and built from scratch every year.

Each Formula 1 car is made up of around 14,500 individual components*, and every item is bespoke, with Computer Aided Design (CAD) used to develop the parts and Computer Aided Manufacture (CAM) or hand processing to build them.

From 2022, cars must run certain ‘standard’ parts and ‘prescribed’ parts such as wheel aerodynamics, wheel hubs and the front floor tea tray, which teams must build to a set design. There are also ‘transferable parts’ such as gearboxes and clutches, which can be bought and sold between teams.

The technical regulations define ‘rule boxes’ that limit the teams’ designs. That includes setting specific dimensions for wings and bargeboards, defining no-go aerodynamic areas and banning certain high-cost alloys in engines.

Unlike many racing series, cars are completely unique to each team – as opposed to F2, which has a standard car, or even Formula E, which has a standard chassis – but there has been a trend towards some parts like this Cummins Holset turbocharger in stock.

As a MotoGP motorcycle racing fan, I find Formula 1 to be sometimes boring from a racing point of view but these kinds of technical details are fascinating.

Google: >Your own personalized solar savings estimator, powered by Google Earth imagery. We use Google Earth imagery to analyze your roof shape and local weather patterns to create a personalized solar plan.

Solar power has rapidly evolved, both in terms of affordability and ease of installation. Technological advancements, along with government incentives, have made solar energy more accessible and cost-effective than ever. As energy costs continue to rise, many homeowners are realizing the long-term benefits of investing in solar energy. With lower upfront costs and the ability to tap into renewable energy, switching to solar can significantly reduce monthly utility bills and provide environmental benefits. In fact, just like the roofing company in Stirling, many local experts can help homeowners integrate solar panels with their roof systems, making the transition seamless and efficient.

If you’re located in the US, this Google-powered tool will help you understand the financial implications of going solar in your area. Whether you’re considering solar for the first time or evaluating the potential for your existing home, this estimator takes the guesswork out of the equation. By calculating your potential savings, it allows you to make an informed decision about whether solar energy is the right choice for your home. Whether you want to lower your carbon footprint or save money, this tool offers a convenient starting point for exploring solar power options.

I dug into Christoph Kabisch’s new iBook with zero expectations. A look back at the original iPhone? How good could this be?

As it turns out, the book was a fascinating read with lots of detail, both in word and images. I owned the original iPhone, was there when it was announced and rolled out. I thought I remembered the details, but this book made it clear how much slipped out of my memory.

When you read it, be sure to tap on each image. Some move to a larger frame, others are 3D models that rotate.

The book is only 99 cents. Here’s a link. Worth it for the pictures alone. A terrific journey back in time.

UPDATE: Don’t miss the iPhone OS simulator on page 40. Incredible.

Patently Apple:

In the future, if Siri doesn’t recognize the voice of the owner of the device, accessing Siri or the computer associated with it will be impossible.

And:

Today a user will say “hey Siri” and Siri will respond. In the future, the command to call up Siri may be customized to your voice. For instance, a user sets up Siri to recognize the phrase “Hey there, Boss.” The customized phrase and the voice must match what’s in Siri’s database before the digital assistant will respond. The customized phrase is technically referred to in Apple’s patent filings as a “Lexical Trigger.”

And:

In the future, in order to access Siri, a person will have to know a passcode, use a fingerprint or be recognized by the system via face recognition. Unless your iDevice recognizes you on multiple security levels, Siri will remain unresponsive to commands or requests.

As long as I can turn this off via a setting, this seems like a natural evolution.

MIT News:

MIT Professor Tim Berners-Lee, the researcher who invented the World Wide Web and is one of the world’s most influential voices for online privacy and government transparency, has won the most prestigious honor in computer science, the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) A.M. Turing Award. Often referred to as “the Nobel Prize of computing,” the award comes with a $1 million prize provided by Google.

Tim Berners-Lee changed the world as much as anyone else in the computing or business world. Folks like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk etc. all changed the world, no doubt. But all of them became incredibly wealthy in the process. Nice to see this announcement.

On a related note, here’s an interview with Tim where he discusses the Turing Award and what’s become of his beloved brainchild, the web.

Wall Street Journal:

The National Football League has reached a deal to stream 10 Thursday night games with Amazon.com Inc., the online retailer that is aggressively trying to position itself as a premier source of entertainment content.

The one-year agreement is valued at around $50 million, according to people familiar with the matter. That price tag represents a fivefold increase over the NFL’s agreement with Twitter Inc. for the same number of games last season.

To me, this deal makes much more sense than last year’s Twitter deal. The Twitter deal seemed like dipping a toe in the waters, an experiment with no real end goal. With Amazon, the deal seems more practical, a move to drive traffic, to increase Amazon Prime signups. Note that the games will still be available on TV via CBS and NBC.

Not sure this kind of move would ever make sense for Apple, unless buying an Apple TV was the only way you could watch Thursday Night Football.

Like the iOS version, Apple Music for Android features a bolder, cleaner look with reorganized sections: “Library,” “For You,” “Browse,” and “Radio.” Also included are iOS 10 features like song lyrics and a revamped For You recommendation section, plus with the redesign, there’s more of a focus on album art.

I could say something sarcastic like “I wonder if Android gets the iTunes Match feature that doesn’t work, or is that an iOS-only feature.”

But I won’t.

Music streaming service Spotify said on Tuesday it had signed a deal with Universal Music Group that lets artists release new albums exclusively on its paying premium service for two weeks.

And

The multi-year license agreement with Universal Music could make Spotify more attractive to Universal Music’s artists, who include Taylor Swift, Adele, Lady Gaga, Coldplay and Kanye West.

A couple of notable Apple favorites in there.

Krebs on Security:

Once you understand how easy and common it is for thieves to attach “skimming” devices to ATMs and other machines that accept debit and credit cards, it’s difficult not to closely inspect and even tug on the machines before using them. Several readers who are in the habit of doing just that recently shared images of skimmers they discovered after gently pulling on various parts of a cash machine they were about to use.

I’ve gotten into the habit of doing this at ATMs I go to. Luckily, I haven’t found any skimmers but better to be safe than sorry. I also rarely have any money so skimmers won’t get much out of me regardless.

Apple today began sending out emails to customers who purchased popular automation app Workflow in the last few weeks, letting them know that they’ll be receiving a refund for the purchase price of the app.

Apple is handing out refunds because following its recent acquisition of the Workflow app and team, it made the Workflow app free to download and removed some key functionality.

Respect, Apple.

Want to know what your sales or marketing team is working on without having to interrupt them? Now you can get a quick overview of what each team is working on with Team View in Daylite on Mac.

Daylite is a Mac CRM & Project Management app that helps teams work better, together. Now with Team View, you can see each team’s appointments, tasks, and project deadlines for today and the next seven days – all in one place.

“This new feature is an easy way to get a big picture view of how my teams are doing. It makes it easy for me to delegate tasks, check on task status, compare work loads for individuals/teams, and creates a continuity for me between individuals and teams.”

– Libby Flores, COO of E.L. Achieve

Team View is another way Daylite makes managing projects and clients easier as a team. Want to learn more? Visit marketcircle.com/daylite and start your free 30-day trial.

LifeHacker:

Apple added a few new things in the iOS 10.3 update, and one of those is a tool to identify 32-bit apps that may be rendered obsolete in the next version of iOS.

SensorTower compiled a list of the nearly 200,000 incompatible apps in the App Store and the bulk seem to be games or education apps.

Go to the linked web site to see how to check for iOS 11 incompatible apps. I’ve got several dozen apps that will break and some are ones I still use regularly.

Twisted Sifter:

Vantablack® is a super-black coating that holds the world record as the darkest man-made substance. It is the darkest material ever measured by the UK’s National Physical Laboratory, reflecting only 0.036% of the light that strikes it (measured at 700nm). It is currently available in two versions, either directly applied to surfaces using vacuum-deposition technology or by spraying and then post-processing.

Vantablack is not a black paint, pigment or fabric, but is instead a functionalized ‘forest’ of millions upon millions of incredibly small tubes made of carbon, or carbon nanotubes. Each nanotube in the ‘Vantablack forest’ has a diameter of around 20 nanometres (that’s about 3,500 times smaller than the diameter of the average human hair), and are typically from around 14 microns to 50 microns long. A surface area of 1 cm2 would contain around a billion nanotubes.

So how dark is it really?

This stuff is fascinatingly weird.

Ars Technica:

If you want to get a fitness tracker, you have to decide is if you want one that’s compatible with a heart-rate monitor. Learning your heart-rate patterns, both during a workout and during daily activity, can show you a lot about your health. According to Harvard’s Health blog, your resting heart rate is a key factor to determining your overall current and future health, and monitoring heart-rate changes over time can give you more of the information you need to lead a healthy life.

Chest straps and optical heart-rate monitors are the two most common types of pulse trackers available for modern wearables, and they both use similar methods to measure your pulse. However, their key differences in methodology and design will dictate which device you choose when picking a workout companion.

I’ve been looking for an “all day” heart-rate monitor for a while now. This article helped narrow down my choices.

Business Insider:

Apple employees will begin moving into a new campus in Cupertino, California this month. The new Apple headquarters, named Apple Park, is a single ring, about a mile in circumference, set in a large campus that will be covered in plants and trees. Late Apple CEO Steve Jobs once said that the new campus was “a shot at building the best office building in the world.”

It will house 13,000 employees on over 2.8 million square feet of office space. Apple employees will enjoy fruit trees, a massive fitness center, and a workspace that’s been carefully overseen by Jony Ive, Apple’s chief design officer. The Apple HQ has been compared to a UFO and the Pentagon — and after about $5 billion in costs, according to Apple CEO Tim Cook, it’s ready to open.

Here’s a look at Apple Park over the past five years, and what still needs to be done

There are some great photos here and some details I hadn’t read before.

The Walrus:

Several well-publicized studies have shown that the fillets served up on restaurant plates often don’t match what’s listed on the menus. Oceana, a United States–based environmental advocacy group, recently compiled the findings of 200 studies and determined that out of 25,700 seafood samples from fifty-five countries, one-fifth were mislabelled—for instance, in many cases, the salmon labeled as “wild-caught” was in fact farmed.

A Canadian study in 2011 showed that in a sample of more than 200 seafood items obtained from various fish retailers and restaurants in cities including Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, 41 percent were misidentified.

As a native Nova Scotianer, I love to eat anything that comes out of the ocean. And, even after reading this scary article, that won’t change. But I’ll definitely be more mindful.

Marco Arment supplements his wired headphone review with this for Bluetooth headphones:

My criteria for this review is what someone seeking good all-around headphones today probably wants:

• Bluetooth
• Closed-back for isolation, ideally with active noise cancellation (ANC)
• Portable enough to fit in a small bag; suitable for listening at a desk, bringing on an airplane, and wearing outside
• Definitely under $500, and ideally under $300

Bookmark this, pass it along.

I found the whole article fascinating, but this part in particular grabbed my attention:

Macrae and Curran’s arcade route – a series of machines they owned and operated both for their own profit and for the benefit of students – quickly expanded to three dorms, but they soon had trouble with declining revenues as people began to master the games. As arcade operators themselves, they had a direct financial stake in making the games more interesting. So they did what any clever MIT student would do in that situation: confront the problem with mathematical precision.

And:

At this point in the video game world there were these kits called speed-up kits or enhancement kits that were being sold directly to arcade owners. The first really successful one was for Asteroids because people learned how to beat Asteroids, and they could play forever on a quarter. So somebody game up with a little circuit that you could clip on, and wow, it made the game much more difficult.

I had no idea that was a thing. Amazing little nugget of video arcade history.

Peter Kafka, Recode:

Apple isn’t done trying to sell you pay TV.

Here’s Apple’s latest proposal: It wants to sell consumers a premium TV bundle, which combines HBO, Showtime and Starz.

Apple already sells each of those channels individually. But it has approached the three networks about rolling them up into a single package, as conventional pay TV operators sometimes do.

No value in a bundle unless it is cheaper than the sum of its parts. And that’s been a tough thing for Apple to achieve, at least so far.

Jean-Louis Gassée offers a state of the union on the iPad past and near future, and the potential for the iPad to take more business from the Mac and PC. Very interesting read.

Imagination Technologies:

Imagination Technologies Group plc (LSE: IMG, “Imagination”, “the Group”) a leading multimedia, processor and communications technology company, has been notified by Apple Inc. (“Apple”), its largest customer, that Apple is of a view that it will no longer use the Group’s intellectual property in its new products in 15 months to two years time, and as such will not be eligible for royalty payments under the current license and royalty agreement.

That is a major blow to the company. Their stock dropped about 60% on the news, shaving hundreds of millions off the market value in just one day.

But Imagination will not go quietly:

Apple has used Imagination’s technology and intellectual property for many years. It has formed the basis of Graphics Processor Units (“GPUs”) in Apple’s phones, tablets, iPods, TVs and watches. Apple has asserted that it has been working on a separate, independent graphics design in order to control its products and will be reducing its future reliance on Imagination’s technology.

Apple has not presented any evidence to substantiate its assertion that it will no longer require Imagination’s technology, without violating Imagination’s patents, intellectual property and confidential information. This evidence has been requested by Imagination but Apple has declined to provide it.

Seems clear that Apple is going its own way, that this is more of a license fee negotiation to avoid a complex and costly lawsuit. Though a custom GPU is no trivial task, Apple owns enough chip design experience and can hire any additional GPU-specific expertise they need to make this work.

Note that Apple owns 8% of Imagination and was reportedly in talks to buy the entire company in March 2016 but the talks are said to have ended without an offer. This does smell a bit like a hardball negotiating tactic, with Imagination going public they way they did. Apple’s long advance notification could be the first step in the dance to lower royalties.

Legal issues aside, if Apple and Imagination do part ways, this seems a positive move for Apple, a chance to control even more of the stack, reduce their fabrication costs, and add more graphics power across the product line.