This is posted by Xerox, so take the choices with that in mind. That said, this is a pretty solid list, an enjoyable read. I only wish there was a bit more depth (or a “read more here” link) for each one.
Politico:
Apple CEO Tim Cook will host a fundraiser with House Speaker Paul Ryan next week as the iPhone maker tries to strengthen its relationships with key Republicans — despite its decision to pull support for the GOP convention because of its distaste for Donald Trump.
Cook will help generate cash for Ryan at a private breakfast on June 28 in Menlo Park, Calif., along with Gary Wipfler, the company’s treasurer, according to an invite obtained by POLITICO on Monday. The money benefits not only the speaker but a joint fundraising committee aimed at helping to elect other House Republicans.
And:
Cook is hosting the fundraiser on his own accord, as Apple does not have a corporate political action committee like Facebook, Google and other tech giants in Silicon Valley. Still, the move reflects Apple’s desire to court Republican and Democratic officeholders alike, even at a time when it has serious reservations about Trump, the GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee.
This is a delicate dance, Apple saying no to Trump, but continuing to lend support to both sides of the aisle.
MacRumors:
Over the weekend, a Reddit user discovered a few lines of code within the framework of Apple’s beta of the macOS Sierra Photos app, possibly detailing both the specific facial expressions that the app recognizes and every single searchable object users can find in both Sierra and iOS 10.
In a more detailed Medium post, Redditor vista980622 explained that Photos will be able to “recognize and distinguish” 7 total facial expressions after the app scans a user’s library and forms a “faceprint” for each individual in a picture. The expressions include greedy, disgust, neutral, scream, smiling, surprise, and suspicious.
If you are interested in the specifics, here’s a link to the Medium post that lists both the facial expressions and the objects Photos can recognize. I can only imagine this is just the beginning.
Apple Insider:
As detailed by Apple at a session during its Worldwide Developers Conference last week, games will have access to new tools for inviting friends to multiplayer games via the Messages app.
Apple told developers that those already using existing Game Center invitation APIs won’t need to make any code changes for iOS 10. Messages-based invites will automatically replace the old method of inviting friends to play, and anyone can be invited via the Messages app and iCloud.
This is an interesting left turn for Game Center and the Messages app. Messages looks to be a delivery mechanism for a richer set of iOS-specific messages. And given that Messages also runs on the Mac, those messages will be available cross-platform. I look forward to seeing how this evolves over time.
MacNN:
From when the company was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy and irrelevance, to the crowning of Apple as the most valuable and influential tech company in the world, MacNN has been there. As of July 1, Apple will carry on — but MacNN will not, we’re sorry to say.
Damn.
Stephen Hackett presents the list of Macs that can run macOS Sierra out of the box, with an unofficial option if your machine just falls off the list.
Hayley Tsukayama, writing for The Washington Post:
[Apple] is arguably in a unique position among tech companies to take big political stands. Not only does its size insulate it against some backlash, but it is also protected because expressing political opinions does little damage to the reputation of its products.
That’s not true for many other tech titans.
On Facebook:
Facebook learned emphatically this election cycle that the appearance of impartiality counts. After the controversy with “Trending Topics” and accusations of conservative censorship — accusations, it should be said, Facebook denies — it makes sense that the firm would tread lightly to maintain a sense of neutrality. So, despite the fact that chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has taken a pretty clear and public swipe at Trump, Facebook itself is sticking to the central path.
On Google:
Google is in a similar position with its search engine. The firm has strenuously denied reports that it biases its search engine results to favor Hillary Clinton. Google will provide the technology to live-stream the Republican and Democratic conventions, but has not commented on whether it plans to sponsor events or make other donations.
Interesting.
Vimeo:
Witness the magic of moviemaking and journey into the little known world of Foley Artists, who bring films to life with their perfectly-timed sound-effects.
You may not know what “foley” is but you’ve likely heard it in every live-action movie you’ve seen in the past 100 years. It’s a fascinating but unfamiliar job on a movie, one that is critical to the “realism” of what we see on screen. This video does a great job of showing the work that goes on behind the scenes with foley artists.
Petapixel:
The LR/Instagram plugin does exactly what you think it does: it lets you post images to Instagram directly from Lightroom. No need to export and use some third party Web client or get the photo onto your smartphone.
I’ve only just started to use Instagram more seriously. The “need” to post from the iPhone was a real pain. If you use both Instagram and Lightroom, this $10 donationware plugin will really come in handy.
TidBITS:
I have no doubt that many people find change of any sort unsettling, but I’d like to encourage some calm and understanding. To go farther, can we have some optimism for the future? The only way our experience as Apple users will improve is if Apple and its community of developers are excited to make things better. Not every change makes a positive difference, but just as with evolution, a lot of changes must be tried before we can benefit from the successes.
With that in mind, let me address three common myths and misconceptions.
It’s sadly typical that, with anything Apple announces, there’s always a segment who will rend their garments and cry to the heavens about how much they hate whatever it is Apple is doing. The reaction to macOS Sierra is no different. As Adam points out, no one is forcing you to use macOS Sierra or any of its newest announced features.
Yahoo:
On Monday June 13th 350 seniors from Virginia’s Freedom High School class of 2016 in their school’s graduation ceremony at George Mason University as their friends and family looked on with pride.
At the same time 3,000 miles away in San Francisco, Apple CEO Tim Cook was showing off the latest updates to the company’s iOS and macOS software at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference.
And among the crowd of thousands packed into the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, decked out in her graduation cap and gown, was Freedom High School’s own Anusha Khan. A recipient of a coveted Apple scholarship, Khan skipped her own high school graduation after being selected to attend WWDC by the technology giant for her work on her app RemindM.
What a great story. I wish this young lady much success in her programming career.
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I knew it was illegal to copy money. I just had no idea there was a special symbol built into money that told photocopiers not to copy it. And, apparently, there’s a newer secret device that makes copying even harder.
I just learned that there is a simplified version of each Wikipedia page. Thought you might find this useful.
In a nutshell, take your existing Wikipedia link and replace the language code with the word “simple”.
As an example, here’s the Wikipedia link for Apple, Inc.:
Now replace the English language code, “en”, with the word “simple”, and you get this link:
Take a look at both pages. One is a simplified version of the other. When all you want is the basics, the simple Wikipedia page might be the way to go.
Howard Yu, writing for Fortune:
In 1965, Intel co-founder Gordon Moore made a bold prediction about the exponential growth of computing power. He observed that the number of transistors could be doubled every two years by shrinking their size inside of a microprocessor. And since transistor density correlates with computing power, computing power correspondingly doubles every two years. Intel has since delivered on that promise and immortalized it in the name of Moore’s Law.
Take an imaginary letter-size paper. Fold it in half, then fold it a second time, and then a third. The thickness of the stack doubles exponentially every time. If you are skillful enough to fold the same piece of paper 42 times, you will have a tower that stretches to the moon.
And:
Just four months ago, Intel disclosed in a regulatory filing that it is slowing the pace in launching new chips. Its latest transistor is down to only about 100 atoms wide. The fewer atoms composing a transistor, the harder it is to manipulate. Following the existing trajectory, by early 2020, transistors should have just 10 atoms. At that scale, electronic properties will be messed up by quantum uncertainties, making any devices hopelessly unreliable. In other words, engineers and scientists are hitting the fundamental limit of physics.
The end of Moore’s Law will bring changes to the computing industry and, hopefully, a wave of innovation that takes us beyond the standard silicon model. Interestingly, Intel just announced [Caution: Autoplay ad] that Apple will be using Apple Inc.’s next iPhone will use Intel chips in some of the next generation of iPhones:
Apple Inc.’s next iPhone will use modems from Intel Corp., replacing Qualcomm Inc. chips in some versions of the new handset, a move by the world’s most-valuable public company to diversify its supplier base.
Apple has chosen Intel modem chips for the iPhone used on AT&T Inc.’s U.S. network and some other versions of the smartphone for overseas markets, said people familiar with the matter. IPhones on Verizon Communications Inc.’s network will stick with parts from Qualcomm, which is the only provider of the main communications component of current versions of Apple’s flagship product. Crucially for Qualcomm, iPhones sold in China will work on Qualcomm chips, said the people, who asked not to be identified because Apple hasn’t made its plans public.
I can only imagine that this first venture into mobile is a bit of a lifeline for Intel.
Wall Street Journal:
Three months ago, Steven Howse struggled to pay rent. Now, the 32-year-old developer is trying to keep his hit videogame running smoothly as it pulls in more than $100,000 in revenue daily.
In “Slither.io,” snakelike creatures compete to gobble up food. The free multiplayer game leapt into the top 10 most-downloaded apps alongside stalwarts such as Facebook and YouTube soon after launching March 25 on iOS and Android, fueled by word-of-mouth from social gamers.
“Slither.io” has been downloaded more than 68 million times across mobile devices and averages 67 million daily players on web browsers, Mr. Howse said.
This is a pretty impressive story. The game is as simple as can be, and is free. You can play on the web here. Eat the food, avoid the worms. Move your mouse to steer.
Dan Moren, writing for Macworld:
To me, the big message to take away from Monday’s presentation is that Apple is all too happy for the Mac to share features and technologies where it makes sense, but to still let it stand on its own two legs and be the best version of itself.
And:
Given the rapid success of iOS in the last almost decade, more than a few folks were worried that Apple might decide to shift the Mac towards a stronger resemblance to its mobile sibling. The company’s fall 2010 event was even described as “Back to the Mac,” the main thrust of which was bringing features from iOS to OS X, most notably a new Mac App Store and the changing of the scroll direction. That spurred fears of forced convergence among Mac fans, who didn’t want the peanut butter of iOS infesting the chocolate of their Mac experience.
This is a good thing. And a terrific read.
Times of India:
It seems Apple CEO Tim Cook’s India visit didn’t go in vain. Decks have cleared for the setting up of Apple stores in India with the government announcing sweeping reforms to rules on foreign direct investment.
Apple is expected to be a beneficiary of a three-year relaxation India is introducing on local sourcing norms with an extension of up to five years possible if it can be proven that products are “state of the art”.
Solid news for Apple.
From the Wall Street Journal:
Truck driving is one of the most common occupations in America today: Millions of men and women make their living moving freight from coast to coast. Very soon, however, all those jobs could disappear. Autonomous vehicles will cover those same routes in a faster, safer and more efficient manner. What company, faced with that choice, would choose expensive, error-prone human drivers?
An excellent article, very readable. About machine learning, deep learning, and what’s coming.
Over the weekend, Apple sent out a wave of emails promoting Search Ads. Search Ads allow you to bid to place ads that appear when a user searches the App Store.
Here’s the text Apple sent out:
Search Ads, coming to the U.S. App Store for iPhone and iPad with iOS 10, is an efficient and easy way for you to promote your app directly within App Store search results, helping customers discover or reengage with your app while respecting their privacy.
Opt in to the Search Ads beta to see ads for your apps in action. Participation in the beta is free. There is no setup, budget, or bidding required by you. While there will be no data provided or access to the Search Ads Campaign Management and Reporting UI during the beta, your app may receive downloads as a result of your participation.
Search Ads are based on relevance and a second price auction. Your ad must be relevant to the search the user is performing. If not, it won’t appear, no matter how high your bid. To get into the action, you place a bid, telling Apple how much you are willing to pay for each tap (you only pay if the user taps on your ad, pay nothing if they see your ad but don’t tap on it). Your bid is a maximum, sort of like eBay. Your actual price is determined by the maximum bid of the nearest competitor (the “second price”).
There’s an excellent video on this process here.
To me, the big question is, does this help indie developers, does this even the playing field, make it easier for the indie developer to find their audience and for their audience to find them?
I’m not seeing it. While I can see using this mechanism to raise awareness of my app, I don’t see anything that prevents a larger competitor from outbidding me on a regular basis. Bigger pockets trumps smaller pockets. And by definition, that means a playing field tilted towards larger developers.
Am I missing something obvious? Something that will, indeed, help make earning a living feasible for the smaller developer?
The Guardian:
Rolls-Royce has unveiled its first driverless vehicle, a concept car that promises to help its owner announce their importance to the world. The Vision Next 100 is an autonomous vehicle aimed at “the most discerning and powerful patrons in the world”. It has no steering wheel and a silk “throne” from which its occupants can watch the world go by.
Rolls-Royce said the zero-emission model, codenamed 103EX, showed the company “rejects the notion of anonymous, utilitarian and bland future modes of mobility”.
This thing is quite literally the ugliest car I’ve even seen. If this is the future of “luxury driverless automobiles”, I hope I’m dead before I see this abomination on the road.
Daring Fireball:
Recorded in front of a live audience in San Francisco, John Gruber is joined by Phil Schiller and Craig Federighi to discuss the news from WWDC: WatchOS 3, MacOS 10.12 Sierra, iOS 10, and more.
Gruber sits down with the Apple executives to talk about all the news Apple announced at the keynote.
Politico:
Apple has told Republican leaders it will not provide funding or other support for the party’s 2016 presidential convention, as it’s done in the past, citing Donald Trump’s controversial comments about women, immigrants and minorities.
Unlike Facebook, Google and Microsoft, which have all said they will provide some support to the GOP event in Cleveland next month, Apple decided against donating technology or cash to the effort, according to two sources familiar with the iPhone maker’s plans.
Trump has trained his rhetorical fire on the entire tech industry, but he’s singled out Apple for particular criticism — calling for a boycott of the company’s products, and slamming CEO Tim Cook, over Apple’s stance on encryption.
It’s unclear how the company plans to handle the Democratic convention in Philadelphia this summer.
Not a huge surprise given some of the things Trump has said about Apple at the very least.
Petapixel:
According to a new report published in the Journal of Science Advances, one third of humanity and approximately 80% of North Americans can no longer see the Milky Way from where they live due to light pollution.
For night sky photographers, the need to escape your city (or even your small town) to catch a real glimpse of the Milky Way is no surprise, but to hear that light pollution is affecting so many people is disheartening. If you’ve never seen the Milky Way with your naked eye, you’re probably not alone; it seems your chances are few and far between.
As a photographer, this makes me sad. I still remember the first time I saw the Milky Way as a kid. I was walking up the long driveway on my dad’s farm in Nova Scotia and was struck by how bright it was. I looked up and my jaw literally dropped. I stood there for at least 30 minutes, staring at all the amazing stars I had never seen when I lived in the city.
Good follow up on this morning’s Beijing regulator orders Apple to stop sale of iPhone 6/6+, Apple has right to appeal post:
“IPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus as well as iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus and iPhone SE models are all available for sale today in China,” Apple said in a statement Friday. “We appealed an administrative order from a regional patent tribunal in Beijing last month and as a result the order has been stayed pending review by the Beijing IP Court.”
[H/T Loop reader Lane Watson]
MY thanks to DxO for sponsoring The Loop’s RSS feed this week. The DxO ONE is a miniaturized pro-quality camera that can be used standalone, or attached directly to your iPhone (or iPad) via a patented Lightning connector. When connected, it turns your Retina display into the camera viewfinder and provides full control over aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and more via a companion iOS app. With a large 1” sensor and fast prime lens, the DxO ONE provides 10x the sensitivity of the iPhone camera which allows it to capture gorgeous portraits and stunning low-light images that rival those from a DSLR — only these images can be shared instantly via every service supported by iOS.
Editor’s Note: I’ve been using a DxO ONE for months and love the camera. I take it on every trip I go on to get better pictures.
CBC:
The final concert of the Tragically Hip’s upcoming summer tour will be broadcast and streamed live on CBC. The Kingston show will begin at 8:30 p.m. ET on August 20th and will be broadcast and streamed — commercial free — on CBC Television, CBC Radio One, CBC Radio 2, cbcmusic.ca and CBC’s YouTube channels.
The Hip are a great Canadian band that, sadly, most Americans have never heard of. If you live near the Canadian border or have access to the CBC feeds, I’d encourage you to watch what will undoubtedly be a bittersweet concert.
Alyssa Bereznak, writing for The Ringer:
You’ve definitely heard an Apple rumor before. Like, maybe there won’t be a headphone jack on the next iPhone? Or that iTunes is getting a major overhaul. Or that Craig Federighi has been seen hotboxing Apple cars on Apple’s forthcoming spaceshipesque Cupertino campus. (I made that one up. That’s allowed, you see, because it’s a rumor.) Today, most every media company — from The New York Times to BGR — traffics in leaked information about upcoming Apple products. They come from “unnamed,” “well-placed,” “reliable” sources who are “familiar with the company’s thinking,” or a blurry factory photo of unknown origin. And rest assured, prior to an Apple event, they will hit a fever pitch. Rumors are every bit as important to piquing interest in the company as its Taylor Swift commercials.
A sardonic look at the Apple rumor industry.
Conrad Stoll:
The App Launcher, or Honeycomb / Home Screen, wasn’t mentioned in the keynote or subsequent discussion about how users interact with Apple Watch. The subtext is clear. I don’t think Apple intends or expects people to interact with their watch by launching apps from the Honeycomb any more than we do.
And:
It’s been clear for several months that complications truly are the best app launchers. That’s why the new ability to easily swipe between watch faces is absolutely game changing for Apple Watch despite not being something I was expecting. Next to the flashy new Dock it’s an easy thing to miss, but I think it will have the biggest impact in how I interact with apps on my Apple Watch.
By far, the biggest change that needed to be made to watchOS is to improve app launch speed/responsiveness and it looks like that has been done. The second change involves the actual application launch process itself. And that’s more of a complication (sorry).
Good take by Conrad Stoll.
[Via MacStories]
Kirk McElhearn:
Apple has released developer previews of iOS 10 and macOS 10.12. There are major changes to Apple Music, and they show up in both iTunes and the Music app on iOS. It’s worth noting that Apple can roll out these changes whenever they want in iTunes; they don’t need to actually update the app. Elements such as the iTunes Store and Apple Music are merely web pages that display in iTunes, so, while the iTunes app hasn’t changed, the new display of Apple Music is visible.
Nice overview, take a look.