AnandTech does their typical great job digging into the details. In this case, Brandon Chester keeps the focus on the 9.7″ iPad Pro display, looking at things like DCI-P3 gamut support and the underpinnings of True Tone.

New York Times:

Last week, Apple’s iBooks Store and iTunes Movies were shut down in China, just six months after they were started there. Initially, Apple apparently had the government’s approval to introduce the services. But then a regulator, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, asserted its authority and demanded the closings, according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

“We hope to make books and movies available again to our customers in China as soon as possible,” an Apple spokeswoman said in a statement.

This is troubling. Apple needs China for growth, and they need an entire intact ecosystem to keep customers coming back for more. Hopefully, this is a short term political disagreement that can be solved through negotiation.

Dan Moren:

But. My chief frustration—and what keeps me from using more of the service’s functionality—is that the only way to get at the features is via my computer or iOS apps. I can’t stream any of this content where I watch most things: my TV.

That may be changing, though.

I read Dan’s piece with a lot of interest. This could be a great app for a lot of people on Apple TV. Comcast seems to want to do something to get the FCC off its back, and this could be it.

Marco Arment:

While a good search-ad system could benefit the App Store, customers, and many of us, nothing in Apple’s track record suggests that they’re willing or able to do this well.

But a bad search-ad system, on top of bad search, will only further damage the App Store, funnel more of our already slim margins back into Apple like a massive regressive tax, and erode customers’ confidence in installing new apps.

I’ll be honest: I can’t imagine a scenario where this would go well.

The paywalled report claims that the fighting is holding back Apple from fixing “technical problems that have plagued iCloud and iTunes,” while at least one key engineering manager is said to have departed the company over the ongoing conflict.

Political infighting is the worst.

FY 16 Second Quarter Results Apple’s second quarter earnings announcement has been rescheduled to Tuesday, April 26, at 2:00 p.m. PT/5:00 p.m. ET out of respect for the friends and family of Bill Campbell, whose memorial service will be held Monday. Apple executives and employees will be attending the service to remember Bill and his many years of friendship and service to the Apple community.

Very classy.

Microsoft Corp’s quarterly adjusted profit missed analysts’ estimates as a continued slump in personal computer sales hurt the company’s core Windows business, sending its shares down 4 percent in extended trading.

Bad day to report earnings.

Google’s parent Alphabet Inc reported a first-quarter adjusted profit that was lower than analysts’ estimates, as cost per clicks fell.

I believe this is only going to get worse.

Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey said on Thursday the agency paid more to get into the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino shooters than he will make in the remaining seven years and four months he has in his job.

According to figures from the FBI and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Comey’s annual salary as of January 2015 was $183,300. Without a raise or bonus, Comey will make $1.34 million over the remainder of his job.

I have no issue with that.

NFL:

“I want you to know it’s raining.”

“Yes it’s raining.”

“Are you okay?”

“Can you make it rain harder?”

Right on.

In my opinion, the single greatest, most electrifying Super Bowl halftime show ever performed.

Legendary musician Prince has died, the Associated Press reported Thursday.

So sad.

I’ve been waiting for this! I’m a Les Paul guy, but I think I’m going to try something different and go with the Warhammer Pelham Blue FR this time.

Jason Koebler, writing for Motherboard:

You may have seen a viral headline floating around over the last few days: Apple recycled $40 million worth of gold last year, which was extracted from iPhones. Almost none of what was reported is true.

A bold claim. But he backs it up with some pretty solid reasoning.

Federico Viticci, writing for MacStories:

Every year, I put together a list of the changes I’d like to see in the next version of iOS. I’ve been doing this for several years now. This year, I wanted to prepare something bigger. The tenth version of iOS due to be released later this year will be a major milestone for Apple and iOS users. It only felt appropriate to celebrate the occasion with a different take on my annual iOS wish list.

For the past few months, I’ve been collaborating with Sam Beckett (author of a fantastic Control Center concept we linked to a while back) to visualize my iOS 10 wishes with a professional concept video and static mockups. Sam and I discussed my ideas for a couple of months, and he was able to visualize2 what I would like to have in iOS 10 – both for the iPhone and iPad – with a style and attention to detail I’m extremely happy with.

Below, you’ll find a collection of my iOS 10 wishes, organized in tentpole features (the ones also shown in the video) plus additional sub-sections. Some of these wishes have been on my list for years; others are a consequence of the features Apple shipped with iOS 9.

I absolutely love this piece. Take a minute to watch the video, embedded below. Federico and Sam Beckett did an amazing job visualizing iOS elements that do not exist in real life, making them seem as if they did exist. Incredible.

As you watch, keep in mind that these are just some of Federico’s concepts. The article lays them all out. What a mind.

From the Reserve Strap blog:

In recent WatchOS releases, Apple made the decision to remove all functionality from Apple Watch’s accessory port thereby blocking Reserve Strap’s ability to charge the Apple Watch. This was a deviation from how the port functioned in all previous WatchOS releases and appears to have been a deliberate effort to block development of third party smartbands.

This action was surprising given that prior to this WatchOS update, Apple had been an advocate of our product–going as far as inviting us to Cupertino to show them early prototypes as well as placing pre-orders for many Reserve Straps. Additionally, Apple continues to run old versions of WatchOS on their in-store kiosks in order to utilize the functionality of the accessory port.

Wow.

This is an old anecdote, but it’s been making its way around the internet the past few days and it’s the first time I’ve seen it.

Tomas Higbey:

I worked at NeXT the summer of 94. I was in the break room with 2 colleagues when Jobs walked in and started making a bagel. We were sitting at a table eating ours when he out of the blue asked us “Who is the most powerful person in the world?” I said Mandela since I had just been there as an international observer for the elections. In his confident fashion he stated “NO!…you are all wrong…the most powerful person in the world is the story teller.” At this point I was thinking to myself “Steve, I love you but there is a fine line between genius and loco..and I think I am witnessing this right now”. Steve continued, “The storyteller sets the vision, values and agenda of an entire generation that is to come and Disney has a monopoly on the storyteller business. You know what? I am tired of that bullshit, I am going to be the next storyteller” and he walked out with his bagel.

The story takes place in 1994. Toy Story was released in 1995. Is this true? Apocryphal? No matter, it is a good story.

Quincy Larsen digs into the results from the O’Reilly 2016 Salary Survey of 5,000 developers.

Perhaps the most important takeaway:

Not only are women grossly under-represented among developers, but they are grossly under-paid.

Women earned on average $13,000 less than their male counterparts.

Even when you control for location, title, and years of experience, women still get $5,000 less per year than men.

I suspect one thing that would make this change is if this sort of data was exposed on a company by company basis.

Read the whole thing. There’s a lot of good data here.

Bob Iger, Disney Chairman and CEO, wrote the appreciation piece for Tim Cook:

Apple is known for elegant, innovative products that change the world by transforming how we connect, create and communicate, as well as how we work, think and act. Its continued success requires a leader of great courage and character who demands excellence, upholds the highest ethical standards and routinely challenges the status quo, including encouraging vital conversations about who we are as a culture and a community.

Tim Cook is that kind of leader.

Behind his soft-spoken demeanor and Southern manners is a focused fearlessness that comes from deep personal conviction. Tim is committed to doing the right thing, in the right way, at the right time and for the right reasons. As CEO, he’s led Apple to new heights, and he continues to build a global brand that is universally recognized as an industry leader and widely respected for its values.

This is all fine but, to me, does not come close to expressing the kind of appreciation that Tim Cook deserves. Not being critical of Iger or Time. It’s just hard to capture, in so few words, the kind of person Tim Cook is.

Film School Rejects:

The NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoffs are upon us, and every hockey fan’s favorite time of year is here. Hockey is a sport that’s been often misunderstood and much maligned by those who don’t follow it, but, despite its underdog status in the North American hierarchy, it’s been the basis of some of the best sports movies ever made. In honor of the toughest championship to win in all of sports, here are the 10 best hockey movies to get you in the right mindset for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

All of Canada is in mourning because none of our NHL teams managed to make the playoffs this year. You can sooth the pain with some of these. The number one movie is obvious but I highly recommend the surprisingly sweet “Goon”, shot partially in my hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Each April thousands of music fans flock to the Southern California desert for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Now in its 17th year, the event has expanded to eight booming stages and tents where musicians perform. We visited on the first of the event’s two weekends—the second weekend kicks off on Friday—for a look at the personal effects and habits of musicians and others helping to make the festival happen.

This was a fun article by Leah Latella at WSJ. Lots of pics too.

I’m still having a lot of fun with Apple Pencil and Adobe Illustrator Draw (see what I made with them last week). Here’s a new drawing, of a young Elvis Costello. I’m not sure if I got the likeness really right, as portraits are not really my thing. But I do know I had a lot of fun doing it.

Khoi is a talented guy and I have a lot of respect for him.

Tips, lesson materials, stories, and other resources to help you get the most out of your Apple products and bring fresh ideas to your classroom.

I love the sites Apple puts together for education. It’s so important to help teachers integrate technology into the classroom.

Ergonis:

Ergonis Software today announced the release of Typinator 6.9, a new version of their popular text expander. The new version offers improved import of TextExpander snippets, an extended DOuble CAps exceptions set, support for the Sogou input method for Chinese, and more.

If you order a Typinator license from the Ergonis Online Store during April 2016 and enter the coupon code “TE1604P”, you get Typinator at 25% off. All Typinator purchases made from now on include the major upgrade to Typinator 7 (scheduled for later this year) for free.

For those of you thinking about making the switch, this may help. Typinator is a well regarded piece of software.

I feel so bad for Brian.

I thought this was a great article. I’ll give this a try later today.

Steve Lambert, writing for Elektrek:

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has an affectionate nickname for Apple: The ‘Tesla Graveyard‘. “They have hired people we’ve fired,” Musk said. “We always jokingly call Apple the ‘Tesla Graveyard.’ If you don’t make it at Tesla, you go work at Apple”.

And:

Electrek, in collaboration with our sister-site 9to5Mac, has exclusively discovered and confirmed respectively that Apple hired former Tesla Vice President of Vehicle Engineering and former Aston Martin Chief Engineer, Chris Porritt, to work on “special projects”, and we know that “special projects” is where Apple’s Titan car project lives.

Hard to say this hire fits in with the Tesla Graveyard analogy.

Porritt was a former Chief Engineer at Aston Martin (DB9 anyone?), said to be a favorite car brand of Sir Jony Ive.

Peter Yang, writing for Wired:

Amid the low gray cubicles, clustered desks, and empty swivel chairs, an impossible 8-inch robot drone from an alien planet hovers chest-high in front of a row of potted plants. It is steampunk-cute, minutely detailed. I can walk around it and examine it from any angle. I can squat to look at its ornate underside. Bending closer, I bring my face to within inches of it to inspect its tiny pipes and protruding armatures. I can see polishing swirls where the metallic surface was “milled.” When I raise a hand, it approaches and extends a glowing appendage to touch my fingertip. I reach out and move it around. I step back across the room to view it from afar. All the while it hums and slowly rotates above a desk. It looks as real as the lamps and computer monitors around it. It’s not.

This is a massive peek inside the current state of Virtual Reality and Magic Leap’s so-called Mixed Reality. I found the whole thing fascinating, especially the insider info on how VR tricks your brain into believing what you are seeing is really happening.