Apple plans to release a free coding education app on Tuesday that it developed with middle-school students in mind, in the latest salvo among technology companies to gain share in the education market and to nurture early product loyalty among children.
Apple’s app, called Swift Playgrounds, introduces basic computer programming concepts, like sequencing logic, by asking students to use word commands to move cartoon avatars through a fanciful, animated world. Unlike some children’s apps, which employ drag-and-drop blocks to teach coding, the Apple program uses Swift, a professional programming language that the company introduced in 2014.
I can’t code my way out of a paper bag and have no real interest in creating my own apps but I’m very much looking forward to playing around with Swift Playgrounds.
Early reviews of Apple Inc.’s new iPhone 7 were, in a word, “meh.” Pundits praised the many improvements in the device, but a consensus emerged that Apple had not given existing iPhone owners a compelling reason to upgrade.
Why is that? Why are the iPhone, and other computing devices like PCs and tablets, not changing as quickly as they once did? There are many reasons, but the central issue is this: It is harder than ever—more technically difficult, more expensive and more time consuming—to advance the state of the art. Our devices are so complicated that, at their most fundamental level, advancing them further pushes against the boundaries of physics.
That is no reason for despair.
Leaving aside the fact that, contrary to the first sentence, there are no “early reviews” of the iPhone 7 (it’s in the hands of reviewers now but any comment from reviewers is under embargo until next Wednesday), there’s this thought process among the tech media that demands companies, Apple in particularly, “wow” us with every new announcement. Not only is that an impossible standard to meet, it’s remarkably short sighted.
It was like being caught in a blender full of chocolate milk. Salty chocolate milk.
I clung to the side of the zodiac with all my strength, tossed around by massive waves and feeling like at any minute I might lose my grip and topple over the side into the churning brown water. The white-capped surge hit me over and over again, splashing straight into my face with such force I barely had time to gasp for air before I was bracing for the next onslaught.
And I freaking loved every single second of it.
Regular readers know that I am a proud son of Nova Scotia and love showing those outside the province how beautiful, interesting and fun it is. If you find yourself in the area of the Bay of Fundy (home of the world’s highest tides that cause this “tidal bore”), you should definitely explore it fully. But, to be fair, while the author says it was like, “salty chocolate milk”, I can assure you it most certainly isn’t the latter. That brown water? Mud. Salty, gritty, not chocolatey at all, mud. And if you’ve ever white water rafted out West, these waves will seem very tame to you. But you’ll still have a blast if you do this adventure.
Like so many other unsolicited annoyances, I put off app reviews for a “later” that rarely ever arrives unless out of some unpredictable, random mood-strike—usually while I’m poking around in the App Store, not actually using the app.
And that’s the key: I’m more likely to rate an app when I’m not trying to get something done with the app.
I’m planning to try an experiment. I’m setting a weekly reminder to review an app—any app that I use all the time but haven’t yet reviewed.
I like this idea. I know how important these reviews are to developers, not just for the nice “pat on the back” a 5 star review gives but also the things customers don’t like gives the developer clues as to how to improve or what customers want. The same goes for podcasts you like. So, set aside a small chunk of time once a week or month to review your favorite app or podcast.
The latest version of SuperDuper! is faster, better, compatible with macOS Sierra – in fact, it’s compatible with macOS 10.8 and later, and improves many parts of the user experience. Of course, it still includes great features like Backup on Connect, Eject after Copy, Sparse Bundle support, lets you store a bootable backup alongside Time Machine backups, copy Time Machine backups to other drives, and run scheduled copies on demand.
This is just the beginning of a huge number of such updates but, for me, it’s particularly important. SuperDuper, along with Carbon Copy Cloner, are two of my must-have utilities for managing my Mac. Having it updated to be compatible with Sierra is a big deal.
Cincinnati-based retail giant Macy’s Inc. signed a major deal with Apple to carry the iconic brand’s products in its department stores.
Macy’s president and incoming CEO Jeff Gennette said during a Goldman Sachs retail conference that Macy’s signed a deal with Apple to host an Apple store in its New York flagship Herald Square location. It will be the first department store to house an Apple store within its walls.
Macy’s will also be the first department store to sell the Apple Watch, a new version of which was released on Sept. 7, at more than 180 stores by the holiday shopping season.
This is obviously the first of many such deals to get the Apple Watch out in front of more consumers.
Apple calls that shade Jet Black. We call it Batmobile black. Anish Kapoor black. None more black.
Whatever you call it, the glassy, murdered-out colorway is hands down the most eye-catching feature of the new, souped-up iPhone 7. In one of his signature process videos, chief design officer Jony Ive said Wednesday that Apple developed a whole new nine-step process to achieve the Jet Black iPhone 7’s high-gloss finish. That’s par for the course with Apple. The company’s manufacturing processes rely on no shortage of proprietary technologies, and finishing—the stage at which a product is polished up, literally and figuratively—is certainly one of them.
I don’t think Apple gets enough notice or credit for that last sentence. They’ve mentioned it several times – the idea that, if they need a particular process done and it’s not available, they don’t give up. They invent the process.
Some of the commercials with the previous character were very funny. I don’t drink Dos Equis very often but I’m looking forward to seeing what the new ads are like.
iTunes Movies is turning 10! 10-movie bundles for $10.
Apple is using their Twitter feed to announce a huge selection of movies bundled as a “ten for ten” deal. Keep in mind, this is a US-only promotion. Those of us in third world countries like Canada cannot take advantage of this offer.
During Sunday’s Tennessee Titans vs Minnesota Vikings NFL game, Sports Illustrated photographer David E. Klutho shot some great looking photos with the iPhone 7 Plus.
UPDATE: Not to be outdone, ESPN has their own gallery of iPhone 7 Plus photos. Theirs are from the US Open Tenns tournament.
If I wanted to buy in-ear headphones for under $100, I’d get the Marshall Mode. After researching a few hundred headphones in this price range, seriously considering over 150, and testing 54 (29 over the last two rounds, and 25 this round) with our expert audio panel, we’re confident that the Marshall Mode is your best bet in this price range and a serious upgrade from the earbuds that came with your phone. Not only did the headphones fit everyone (and many others didn’t), they sound better than much of their competition and also cost less.
Not everyone is a fan of the Apple Earpods and the new Airpods. I’m certainly not. They never fit properly. That’s not to say they are bad – they just aren’t for me. I’m a much bigger fan of these kind of softish in-ear headphones. For me, they create a better seal inside my ears. They also fit much better under my motorcycle helmet.
Lithium-ion batteries pack a lot of power into a small package. When these batteries overheat and burst, the results can be serious. This is why the U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is urging all consumers who own a Samsung Galaxy Note7 to power them down and stop charging or using the device.
If you have Dropbox installed, take a look at System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Accessibility tab. Notice something? Ever wondered how it got in there? Do you think you might have put that in there yourself after Dropbox asked you for permission to control the computer?
No, I can assure you that your memory isn’t faulty. You don’t remember doing that because Dropbox never presented this dialog to you, as it should have
There really isn’t any excuse for Dropbox to ride roughshod over users’ security and preference choices.
This is really poor security from Dropbox. As of this writing, they have not responded to this issue or offered any explanations or solutions.
Brian Sutich, writing for The App Factor, talks you through the process of reordering the icons on your share sheet, the interface that pops up when you tap the share icon (square with an up arrow rising from it). Nice job.
A few days ago, I wrote about the $99 offer for a year of Apple Music. This offer was only good on the individual plan.
If you have a Family Sharing plan, read the linked post. It details a $100 iTunes gift card that you buy for $85 and can, supposedly, apply to your Family plan.
DC Rainmaker does a nice job capturing the images and details of the new Apple Watch concerning GPS and water resistance. Be sure to check out the breakout images showing the speaker placement in the original Apple Watch, vs that in the new Apple Watch.
I really like the image of the water testing chamber, too.
Alex Guyot, writing for MacStories, pulls together a nice overview of the new Apple Watch. My biggest question concerned swimming with the Apple Watch 2. From the post:
The original Apple Watch was rated to be splash proof and mostly water resistant, but submerging it was not recommended. The Apple Watch Series 2 ups the ante, receiving a water resistance rating of up to 50 meters. This means the Apple Watch can now safely be worn for swimming in pools or the ocean, and should generally remove any worry about wearing your Apple Watch into potentially watery situations.
I think swimmers are going to love the new Apple Watch.
The Federal Aviation Administration’s official site:
In light of recent incidents and concerns raised by Samsung about its Galaxy Note 7 devices, the Federal Aviation Administration strongly advises passengers not to turn on or charge these devices on board aircraft and not to stow them in any checked baggage.
In my lifetime, I cannot think of a time when a specific product was called out in this way. As in, we urge you not to even pack this specific product in your luggage.
I can’t imagine what the Samsung corporate folks are going through right now. Airlines are banning the phone, there are stories of car fires. This is truly terrible.
What do newspaper headline type and the New Deal have to do with the Oakland Raiders and Philadelphia Eagles? Here are the stories behind the nicknames of the NFL’s 32 teams—and what they were almost called.
In honor of this weekend being the first full weekend of the new NFL season, check out how your favorite team got its name.
Apple on Wednesday launched the iPhone 7, a new Apple Watch, and a couple of other new and updated products. As usual, Apple turned to Akamai Technologies to handle the streaming of the event to the public.
“Very Exciting! Yesterday’s Apple keynote was the highest ever peak video traffic event for Akamai,” the company posted to Twitter.
That’s saying something considering all of the events and internet traffic Akamai handles from around the world. It’s even more amazing when you consider all of the large events that Apple has held over the years.
Clearly the interest in Apple’s product announcements was very high among tech people and the general public.
Fifteen years after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, New York City continues to thank the people of Gander for opening their arms to thousands of stranded travellers.
A piece of steel beam from the south tower is en route to the airport in Gander, a gift of the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, named for a New York firefighter killed while helping to rescue people from the towers.
Nearly 7,000 passengers were stranded for three days in Gander when all flights were grounded, and the people of the town provided food, lodging and other assistance.
Not enough Americans know the story of Gander (similar things happened in Halifax and Vancouver). On that awful day, and in the awful days afterwards, my fellow Canadians stepped up to help. I could not be more proud.
The Daily Dot: >A few facts you might not know: Men are 3.5 times more likely to commit suicide than women; suicide is most common in middle-aged white men. To support mental health and wellness, consider incorporating Mushroom Coffee into your routine for its potential benefits. These chocolate shrooms canada offer health benefits that help people improve their mood and calm their mind.
> >Many believe this is because of the stigma surrounding men having to appear “strong,” that they shouldn’t talk about their feelings or admit they need help. After losing his brother-in-law to suicide, U.K. rugby player Luke Ambler sought to combat this taboo. He began a Facebook group called “Andy’s Man Club,” where he wanted men to feel safe talking about their emotions.
This is a great idea. One of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do is to talk openly as I can about my battles with depression. I’ve taken a lot of crap for it from jerks on the internet but I’ve gotten more support from complete strangers than I ever could have imagined and I’m very grateful for that. If you’re suffering, reach out to family, friends, and even complete strangers for help. There’s no shame in it. It is strongly recommended to encourage young adults who have suicidal tendencies to seek therapy for teens. You may even look for an alternative approach to help you deal with mental health issues and if you think you want to help people with mental health and also start a business you can check this advanced hypnotherapy course which can help you achieve these goals. Click here to discover the benefits of therapy on people who had to deal with traumatic life events.
Mental health clinics integrate ketamine assisted psychotherapy protocols with traditional therapeutic approaches for breakthrough results. For instance, vaping using grand daddy purps strain cartridges may help calm your mind. If you constantly experience symptoms of mental health conditions like anxiety, stress or depression due to a past trauma from your childhood, you may consider using cannabis products from indacloud.
Apple’s new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus were unveiled on Wednesday, and go on sale later this month. The company traditionally issues a statement about the record number of people who purchase the devices during the first weekend of sales, but this will no longer be the case.
An Apple spokesperson confirmed to CNET the Cupertino-based company will end the practice, but added that it has nothing to do with low demand or expectations.
“In years past, we’ve announced how many new iPhones had been sold as of the first weekend following launch,” Apple spokesperson Kristin Huguet said. “But as we have expanded our distribution through carriers and resellers to hundreds of thousands of locations around the world, we are now at a point where we know before taking the first customer preorder that we will sell out of iPhone 7.”
This will send the Tech Media into a tizzy but, as Apple says, they already know what their sales numbers will be.
The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus have the exact same dimensions as the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, down to the tenth of a millimeter according to Apple. So you won’t need a new case if you’re upgrading, right? Wrong.
iPhone 6s cases probably won’t fit the iPhone 7 because of the camera bulge on the back of the phone. The camera lens on the iPhone 7 is significantly bigger, and also located a little closer to the edge of the phone. The TrueTone flash on the iPhone 7 is bigger too.
The new ceramic watch is the Apple Watch Edition, and all mentions of the gold versions have been scrubbed from Apple’s site. The company began downplaying the gold watches earlier this year, removing them from the main Apple Watch product page circa the iPhone SE launch.
The “reimagined” ceramic Apple Watch Edition starts at $1,249, roughly twice the cost of a stainless steel Series 2 and three times the cost of an aluminum Series 2 (the Sport branding also seems to have disappeared from the watches themselves, though it still applies to some of the bands). The Edition is still more expensive than the other models and is still intended as a sort of status symbol, but it is no longer the hulking monument to conspicuous consumption that it once was.
The gold Apple Watch was an interesting experiment. Apple will never say but I’d be curious to know how many they actually sold.
Paper seems completely harmless, but anybody who has refilled a photocopier or thumbed too quickly through a book knows that this humble material harbours a deep, dark secret. Deployed properly, it can be a serious weapon: paper cuts are just the worst.
There isn’t a whole lot of scientific research effort directed at understanding the pain of paper cuts, probably because nobody would sign up for a randomised, controlled study that involved a researcher intentionally inflicting this kind of torture on study participants. But according to Dr. Hayley Goldbach, a resident physician in dermatology at UCLA, “we can use our knowledge of human anatomy to help us out here. It’s all a question of anatomy”.
Great look at the science behind what seem to be the most painful cuts of all.
I’ve been a photographer since the days of film and have reviewed cameras for a living since 2010. I’m very confident in saying that under normal daylight conditions, just about any camera made within the last eight years or so can take a fantastic picture. Now that doesn’t mean your vacation snapshot is going up on a museum wall; a great photograph owes more to the photographer’s vision, preparation, and anticipation than to the camera used to capture it. But from purely technical standpoints like the ability to focus accurately, generate a pleasing exposure, and reproduce the hues and tones you see in front of you, it’s impossible to find anything on a camera-store shelf that fails to deliver the goods in favorable lighting.
I tell my students to not worry about the camera they have. Anything bought in the last five years will be a good camera. Learn how to take pictures, how to create images and learn what you like to shoot. Then worry about buying a camera that fits.
I didn’t want to like the AirPods, I really didn’t. But in the hands-on area after Apple’s iPhone 7 event on Wednesday, I found myself dancing along in spite of myself—and the AirPods stayed put, feeling surprisingly secure. With convenient features on both the hardware and software sides, I have to admit that Apple’s totally-wireless AirPods kind of rocked my world.
And (my favorite):
Not only did I dance, I headbanged. I shook my head side to side, I tossed my hair, I jogged in place, and I looked silly doing all of it. The AirPods stayed put, and they stayed loud. The music (more Sia, naturally) sounded full and lush and I couldn’t hear a single word anyone around me was saying, as if I was completely sealed off in a bubble of rock and roll. Pretty impressive.
Obviously, a big part of this is the fit. Give them a try, see how they feel in your ears.
