Typically, a doom and gloom article is much hand-wringing and overstated worry. But I’ve been watching this happen all around me. Om Malik, who is quoted several times in the article, lived through the demise of Gigaom last year.

“With each turn of the screw, people began to realize, viscerally, that this is what it feels like to not be in control of your destiny,” said Scott Rosenberg, a co-founder of Salon who left the company in 2007.

And:

In 2014, Gawker Media’s founder, Nick Denton, wrote a memo to his staff that admonished them for giving in too fully to the influence of platforms, which drove many of his company’s most popular stories. “We — the freest journalists on the planet — were slaves to the Facebook algorithm,” he wrote.

A disturbing read. Publishing is being pulled into Facebook’s orbit.

Glenn Fleishman, writing for Macworld:

Apple has blind spots when it comes to encryption. It encrypts the synchronization of contacts, calendar entries, and other information across its iCloud service, but with the exception of Keychain entries, that information is stored in a way that Apple can access, and provide access to law enforcement. Apple could shift to a method used by other companies, including AgileBits with the cloud side of its 1Password ecosystem, where data is always encrypted, and client software (including Web apps) handles the decryption locally. They could built this into iOS and OS X so that third-party apps would be able to handle data seamlessly for sync.

And:

Apple hasn’t kept up with the best practices now understood to achieve the goal of preventing outside parties from gaining access to messages and audio/video sessions.

I find the disparity between the deep protection of the Secure Enclave and the much more accessible iCloud approach puzzling. Is this intentional? Due to a lack of resources?

Ben Bajarin, writing for Tech.pinions:

Prior to Touch ID for example, many organizations required eight, and sometimes longer, PIN numbers. Imagine entering that many numbers every time you pick up your smartphone. To emphasize this point, Apple shared a great statistic: their average users unlocks their phones 80 times a day.

Imagine typing your PIN every time you want to unlock your phone. Touch ID is a real boon and a testament to Apple finding the balance between usability and security.

Apple shared that 89% of their users with a Touch ID-capable device have set it up and use it.

I’m actually surprised that it is that low.

In a Mac, running software designed by Apple but using a main CPU and GPU made by Intel/AMD/Nvidia, they have put security measures in place including encrypting the entire storage disk. However, with the custom A-series processors, custom designed secure enclave co-processor, and custom designed iOS, Apple is able to encrypt every single file on your iOS device, not just the entire disk.

An important distinction. Terrific read, Ben.

From Apple’s official press release:

Apple® today updated MacBook® with the latest Intel processors, improved graphics performance, faster flash storage and an additional hour of battery life, making the thinnest and lightest Mac® better than ever. Featuring an all-metal unibody enclosure, MacBook is now available in four aluminum finishes — gold, silver, space gray, and for the first time on a Mac, a gorgeous rose gold. With a stunning 12-inch Retina® display, highly responsive full-size keyboard, Force Touch trackpad, versatile USB-C port and all-day battery life in a design that is just 2 pounds and 13.1 mm thin, MacBook is the future of the notebook.

And:

The updated MacBook features sixth-generation dual-core Intel Core M processors up to 1.3 GHz, with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.1 GHz, and faster 1866 MHz memory. New Intel HD Graphics 515 deliver up to 25 percent faster graphics performance, and faster PCIe-based flash storage makes everyday tasks feel snappier.

It’ll be interesting to see the benchmarks on this new version. I’d love a cheaper machine that can handle smaller Xcode builds and lightweight rendering.

And now with up to 10 hours of wireless web browsing and up to 11 hours of iTunes® movie playback, MacBook is the perfect notebook for all day, on-the-go computing.

Here’s a link to Apple’s official MacBook Learn More site.

Interestingly, as of this writing, the Buy link leads to a page with this message:

The page you’re looking for can’t be found.

I suspect that will change soon.

The Buy link is now up.

From Apple’s official press release:

“With four innovative operating systems and a new, intuitive programming language powering over 1 billion devices worldwide, there has never been a more exciting time to bring our developer community together,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “WWDC 2016 is going to be a landmark event for developers who are coding in Swift, and building apps and products for iOS, OS X, watchOS and tvOS. We can’t wait for everyone to join us — in San Francisco or through the live stream.”

Live stream? Of the keynote? Of sessions?

Worldwide Developers Conference sessions will be streamed live throughout the week via the WWDC website (developer.apple.com/wwdc/live/) and through the WWDC app, giving developers around the world access to the week’s news and events.

Sweet!

The 100th annual Pulitzer Prizes were handed out on Monday, bringing honors to the AP for a series that freed thousands of slaves, a Washington Post database that tracked the number of deadly police shootings in the U.S., and a hip hop Broadway musical about Alexander Hamilton.

The opportunity to buy tickets to this year’s conference will be offered by random selection. Register now through Friday, April 22 at 10:00 a.m. PDT for your chance to attend. We will let you know your status by Monday, April 25, 5:00 p.m. PDT.

Go!

Whether true or not, this is a fascinating read. I’m convinced that it’s something Apple is at least looking into.

Appleinsider:

After an 11-year run, QuickTime for Windows is no more. Apple has confirmed it will no longer issue updates or patch security holes for the PC version of its multimedia software, meaning those who continue to use the software do so at their own risk.

Last week software security outfit Trend Micro disclosed the discovery of two new flaws in QuickTime 7 for Windows, saying Apple was informed of the security threats in November. At the time, Apple said it had no plans to issue a patch, adding the software “would be deprecated on Windows and the vendor would publish removal instructions for users.”

I don’t know what this means for Mac users (hopefully, nothing) but it’s sad to see the demise of what, for Apple, was supposed to be its next great platform. Myself and others were encouraged directly by Apple (but behind the scenes) to develop and use QuickTime. Apple sent me a QuickTime Streaming Server (back in the days when there was such a thing) in order for me to broadcast my show using QuickTime 4. But, over the ensuing years, it became obvious that Apple was losing interest in developing QuickTime much further. This issue is yet another sign of that.

Bill Campbell — who garnered the name “The Coach” for the sage advice and counsel he gave numerous tech leaders from Apple’s Steve Jobs to Google’s Larry Page to Amazon’s Jeff Bezos — has died.

My condolences to his family and friends.

Great post from Mac Kung Fu. Just understanding where the mics are is a big help.

Jason Snell used the TapTyping app to measure his typing speed using the two iPad Pro keyboards, the soft keyboard, and the 12.9″ Magic Keyboard.

Read the post for the results, but one takeaway is that Jason’s experience with the 9.7″ Smart Keyboard was barely faster than the soft keyboard. I find that a bit shocking, but that could just be me being a terrible typist on a soft keyboard.

Greg Bensinger, writing for the Wall Street Journal:

Amazon.com Inc. is firing a shot across the bow of Netflix Inc. by attempting to become a primary destination for streaming video.

The Seattle online retailer said Sunday it will begin offering its video-streaming service as a stand-alone option for the first time. A monthly subscription will cost $8.99, a dollar less than the most popular plan from Netflix.

The move pits the Seattle online retailer more directly against Netflix, which also happens to be one of the biggest customers of Amazon’s cloud-computing services. For years, the two have worked to one-up each other with exclusive content deals and original series like Netflix’s “House of Cards” and Amazon’s “Mozart in the Jungle.”

Build an Apple TV app and I will gladly pay for the service. Without it, zero interest.

There a rumor flying around about Apple making a deal with Austrian Canadian car parts maker Magna to do the actual building of Apple’s first car.

True? False? No matter, follow the link and read the Google translated German-to-English version of the article, conclusion draw your own do.

Elly Parsons, writing for Wallpaper Magazine:

Apple’s chief design officer Sir Jony Ive has created something new: a one-of-a-kind accessory collection for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

Ive has a long history with the Design Museum, which is due to close its Shad Thames location in May, and reopen in Kensington at the end of November. He won their inaugural Designer of the Year award in 2003 for the iMac, and he also showed a prototype of a mobile phone at the museum way back in 1990.

His new accessory collection includes an iPad Pro housing, which has been anodised with a custom dye; a blue, suede-lined ‘Smart Cover’, crafted from supple French leather; and an orange cover for the Apple Pencil, created from fine grain Italian calf leather.

Ive’s new products are in single editions, designed exclusively for the Design Museum event. To prove it, ‘Edition 1 of 1’ has been laser etched on the back surface of the iPad and the interior surface of the ‘Smart Cover’.

Put me in for one of each, please.

[Via MacRumors]

Jean-Louis Gassée, writing for Monday Note, with a caustic take on the Burr Feinstein encryption bill:

This is dangerously delusional. You can’t protect privacy and security when you have all of these encryption keys floating around. Pretending otherwise shows ignorance, delusion, or dishonesty, and it ignores very recent history: Recall that the Office of Personal Management that couldn’t protect the privacy of 18 million government employees. Even the hypersecretive NSA couldn’t keep some of its own secrets.

Furthermore, the bill does nothing to stop bad actors from using freely and openly available unbreakable cipher technology, nor can it prevent them from using clever ways, such as steganography, to make their communications invisible. (One US Attorney came up with a novel idea for fighting unbreakable encryption: Just ban the import of Open Source encryption. So ordered!)

The bill’s greatest danger, however, is its disregard for the dire consequences of putting US tech companies at a competitive disadvantage in World markets. How does a company export communication technology that contains a US government backdoor? Overseas customers will balk.

These arguments have all surfaced before, but they cannot be stated enough. I have yet to hear a well crafted response to these arguments from the government personnel crafting the legislation.

Jean-Louis does a terrific job. The whole post is right on, top to bottom.

Observer:

One of the staples of many hit shows is its theme tune. As soon as those opening sounds start we get into gear for our favorite show, and perhaps even hum along. And, if it’s really good, we might even tap a toe.

But there’s an even finer art to the theme song; not theme tune. Some television shows out there dare to be brave and hit the audience over the head with an actual song with singing and lyrics to kick off proceedings. So let’s have a seat, and take a listen to the finest theme songs since time began.

I’m sorry but I’d have to put the Spider-Man theme number one if only because it was the only song my brothers and I ever sang at the top of our lungs every time it played. Drove my mother nuts.

Business Insider:

Some of these features are incredibly useful and make its products more enjoyable, while others are purely cosmetic. Regardless of the value they add to the overall experience, it’s fascinating to learn about the lengths Apple goes to when it comes to design and product development.

Here are 21 of our favorite examples of Apple’s obsession with detail.

Apple has always had this obsessive attention to detail. I love that some of these are so subtle you’d never notice them but Apple went to the effort to create them anyway.

“The government has utterly failed to demonstrate that the requested order is necessary to effectuate the search warrant, including that it exhausted all other avenues for recovering the information it seeks,’’ Apple argued in the new filing to U.S. District Judge Margo Brodie. “Before the government demands that Apple do the work of law enforcement, the government must offer evidence that it has performed an ‘exhaustive search’ and that it remains unable to obtain the data it seeks without Apple’s assistance.”

The New York Times:

Sea-Monkeys were von Braunhut’s most lucrative toy (and still are: In 2006, according to the filings in this lawsuit, sales were $3.4 million). Part of what made Sea-Monkeys successful was a scientific breakthrough Harold von Braunhut claimed he achieved in the early years. In 1960, after observing the success of Uncle Milton’s Ant Farm, von Braunhut first started shipping Instant Life — simple brine shrimp that could travel in their natural state of suspended animation.

How many of you had “sea monkies” when you were a kid? I remember seeing the ads in the back of almost every comic book I read but not believing for a second they looked as pictured. Sure enough, some kid in our neighborhood managed to convince his parents to let him buy the package and they were just as disappointing as I had imagined they would be.

Vancouver Sun:

It’s the end of an era stretching back three decades and 45 Commodore Ballroom appearances: Spirit of the West is playing its final three shows at the Vancouver landmark Thursday through Saturday.

The band, formed in 1983 by John Mann, Geoffrey Kelly and J. Knutson, has gone through many members over the years and faced its share of hardships but kept at it and became one of Canada’s favourite Celtic-tinged rock acts.

Spirit of the West was/is one of my favorite bands. I saw them often when I was in college here in Vancouver and they were very approachable, often sitting with us after gigs and chatting. The song, “The Crawl”, was seen as a challenge to us college boys. We wanted to hit all the pubs in the song in one evening. We tried many times but my friends didn’t have my Nova Scotia stamina for heavy drinking. And check out one of their most well known songs, “Home for a Rest”. Very sad to hear of their myriad of health issues and even sadder I won’t get to see them one last time.

Ars Technica:

Researchers have long known that warm hand dryers can launch bacteria into the air—compared to dabbing with paper towels, which unleashes virtually none. But new jet air dryers, made by Dyson, are significantly more problematic—they launch far more viruses into the air, which linger for longer periods of time and reach much farther distances, researchers recently reported in the Journal of Applied Microbiology.

I absolutely hate these blast dryers. Now there’s scientific evidence for my hatred.

Kotaku:

There’s a new world record for beating Super Mario Bros. quickly—and it may be the fastest possible time that a human can achieve. That’s why Darbian, the man behind the new record, is now hanging up his hat.

The record was achieved on an actual console, which was rigged to a stream that displays Darbian’s heart rate as he plays. As you might expect, Darbian’s heart starts racing as it becomes clear that he’s on a record pace. At the end of the run, Darbian’s heart rate reaches a high of 172 beats per minute.

This is such a bizarre and useless accomplishment but, having wasted countless hours on this game, I can certainly appreciate the effort.

I used the hell out of iTunes allowances, but Family Sharing is a great way to share content.