Well-informed KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has in the past proved accurate in predicting Apple’s moves, estimates Apple Watch preorders will exceed 2.3 million units, though production bottlenecks relating to the device’s haptic vibrator and advanced OLED screen are restricting rollout.
And:
Existing limitations could hinder accelerated manufacture, however. Currently, Apple is seeing restricted supply of vibration motors from Hong Kong-based manufacturer AAC and flexible AMOLED screens from LG Display, which is said to be Watch’s sole display supplier. Powering Apple Watch’s Taptic Engine, AAC’s motors must meet stringent operating requirements that require a smaller form factor than iPhone vibrators, while being more accurate. Technical hurdles for LG include AMOLED panel color accuracy and life span.
Several celebrities like Katy Perry, Drake, and Pharrell Williams have been spotted with the gold Apple Watch Edition ahead of the device’s launch, but Apple gifted designer Karl Lagerfeld with something even more special — a custom gold Apple Watch with a gold Link Bracelet.
I checked and FedEx didn’t leave one of these at my door.
Jim and Dan talk about the meaning behind the WWDC announcement, why Jim got three Apple Watches, the evolution of music (from vinyl to tapes to cd’s and now streaming), beginning guitar without an amp, and more.
I used to like iTunes Radio, but it seems like the crew has abandoned ship and the service is crashing hard. It’s actually gone from questionable song choices to downright maliciously stupid. I swear it just tries to upset me.
My parents were in town for a visit recently and while we were driving, I thought I’d put on some 70s music for them. You know, classic rock songs that they would know.
I tried iTunes Radio and this is what I got:
This song was released in 2008. The rest of the selection from iTunes Radio was no better.
Jon B.: They Don’t Know (1997) Anthony David: 4evermore (2011) Conya Doss: Ain’t Giving Up (2005) Eric Roberson: Picture Perfect (2011)
Clearly none of these are in the genre Apple listed them under in iTunes Radio.
So I fired up Spotify, Rdio, Pandora, and iHeart Radio. Each of those services delivered some nice 70s music like I wanted.
Maple acoustic guitars haven’t been known for their warm, rich tone. Until now. Taylor master builder Andy Powers has poured his expertise into revoicing Taylor’s maple 600 Series, and the results are stunning. From specially aged spruce tops that produce a played-in sound from day 1 to custom-calibrated bracing that unleashes more volume, low-end warmth and sustain, Taylor’s new 600s give players a multi-dimensional musical voice that responds wonderfully to every playing style.
Americans hate filing tax returns, but they love getting refunds. More than three in four taxpayers get refunds, and the average amount they get back is close to $3,000, according to IRS data. That means that for many Americans, their annual refund is the biggest single check they’ll get all year.
But if you’re among the millions expecting a payout from the IRS this spring, make no mistake: That money was yours all along. Getting a refund means you paid too much in taxes last year and the government is paying that money back — without interest.
I’m no tax expert but I’ve always told people they should work their taxes so they get the smallest refund possible. Otherwise, you’re just giving the government an interest free loan of your money.
Back in the day, it was easy to get tickets to WWDC. You and your friends could all count on getting in, so planning was easy, which made WWDC a truly social experience.
As Apple’s fortunes improved, WWDC tickets become harder and harder to get. Things reached a point where Apple had to institute a lottery for tickets. You no longer could guarantee yourself a ticket, but if you were going with a friend or a workmate, you could both try your luck and, if one of you didn’t get in, you could cancel your ticket. Bad luck, but no harm.
The problem (and the reason we just can’t have nice things anymore) is that people took advantage of Apple’s refund policy. Large companies would sign up to buy every single ticket they could, then cancel tickets once they knew how many they had won the rights to purchase.
This year, Apple will charge you for a ticket the second you are eligible to purchase it. And that charge is non-refundable. No more cancellations. Which means a fairer distribution of tickets, as people (and companies) are only signing up if they have a true intent to go to the conference.
The down side of this policy is that it wrings a little bit more of the social from the conference. Two friends can no longer make tentative plans to go to the conference if they both get in. True, they can go solo, but that’s not the same thing, especially for people who only see each other at dev conferences like WWDC.
I do understand that the core purpose of WWDC is to get your head wrapped around what’s new in iOS and OS X and to network with Apple engineers and other developers. But I still miss the old days when the social was on an equal footing with the learning/business side.
Samsung Electronics Co. created a standalone team of about 200 employees working exclusively on screens for Apple Inc. products as the world’s biggest technology companies strengthen business ties, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The team at Samsung Display Co., which provides screens for iPads and MacBooks, helps develop products and is only allowed to share information about Apple business within the group, the people said, asking not to be identified because the details aren’t public. The team formed April 1 and also helps with sales, the people said.
Samsung continues to hedge its bets. The screen and chip manufacturing side of the company definitely knows where their bread is buttered.
LinX develops and markets miniature cameras for tablets and smartphones. Using an array of sensors that capture multiple images at the same time and proprietary algorithms, LinX says its cameras can gauge depth and create three-dimensional image maps.
Last year, the company said its tiny camera modules allow for better-quality pictures in low light and faster exposure at standard indoor conditions. It said the technology offers single-lens-reflex (SLR) camera image quality without the need for a bulky device.
Its technology, according to the company’s news releases, can open the way to features like automatic background removal, 3-D object modeling and face recognition.
Will mobile cameras pass the SLR quality threshold with the next wave of releases? That would be something.
I’ll be honest, I like my iPad better, but a lot of people really like the Kindle. They dropped the price, so if you were waiting for that, here’s your chance.
I suspect that Steve Jobs would not be thrilled with Becoming Steve Jobs, a new business biography by Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli. While it’s a worthwhile book filled with previously unheard stories and insightful industry analysis, Steve would have disliked it because of the persistent negative spin it applies to the first half of his career.
That’s why it’s puzzling to see Apple throw their considerable weight behind it.
Interesting comments from Hertzfeld, a guy who was there in the beginning. While he acknowledges his own biases, he does bring up some interesting questions about the descriptions of the early part of the book, the lack of interviews of the people involved in those early days and why Apple threw considerable weight behind this book.
He does say the book is interesting and still worth a read. Like most biographies, it takes several versions and editions to get a complete picture of the subject and even then, you are looking through a foggy window to do so.
The Defiant Tour Documentary is a never before examination of the finances of a touring band and what it takes to go on the road.
We’ve all seen big bands show up to gigs in their limos, but what does it take for an indie band to tour the U.S.? LoNero wants to show you with this new documentary. I’m supporting this one.
What blew me away was the exceptional attention to detail. The way you can slide the bands on and off from the watch is smooth and slick. And you don’t need any special tools: A tiny bit of pressure does the job, and the sliding has the smoothness of silk.
It’s interesting that some of Om’s thoughts completely contradict Mike Rundle’s thoughts, which we posted earlier today. This truly is a personal product.
Apogee’s MetaRecorder is the first two-channel audio recording app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch to offer intuitive multi-take recording, tagging and file organization for any field recording scenario.
Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. June 8-12, San Francisco.
Apple’s renowned developer community will come together at WWDC to learn about the future of iOS and OS X.
WWDC features more than 100 technical sessions, over 1,000 Apple engineers, hands-on labs, and the Apple Design Awards.
Developers can apply for tickets to attend WWDC and millions worldwide will be able to watch sessions streamed live.
WWDC Scholarships are available to students and members of participating STEM organizations around the world.
As to tickets:
The opportunity to buy tickets to WWDC 2015 will be offered by random selection. Register by Friday, April 17, 10:00 a.m. PDT for your chance to attend. We will let you know your status by Monday, April 20, 5:00 p.m. PDT.
May the RNG gods be with you (good luck in the ticket lottery).
Traditional watch expert Rani McSpeddon spent a week with a prerelease Apple Watch. Follow this link and watch his video take or follow this link for a more detailed written review.
Mike Rundle tried on an Apple Watch and came away with three disappointments:
The Apple Watch is smaller than he expected
He didn’t like the leather band
He thought the screen was not as bright/responsive as he had hoped
I think Mike is a smart guy, has deep Apple cred, and lays out his complaints with great logic.
That said, I would read his piece, but I would not let these points stop you from checking out Apple Watch for yourself. That’d be like letting IMDB make all your movie watching decisions. Read his review, keep those points in mind, then make an appointment to check the Apple Watch out for yourself.
SpaceX is taking another kick at the can, launching a multi-stage rocket into orbit, with the intent, after separation, of landing the first stage on a drone platform in the Atlantic Ocean.
If SpaceX can succeed here, this effort will change the nature of space travel. A reusable rocket will cut the cost of a launch from $200 million to about $50 million.
If you are brand new to HTML and web development and want an easy introduction, this free eBook is worth a look. It is well written, uses lots of pictures, and the price is right. Did I mention that it is free?
I can’t comment on the book’s technical accuracy, so keep an eye on the comments. If there are major flaws here, I suspect our readers will suss them out.
IBM today announced its Health Cloud and Watson cognitive computing capabilities will support health data entered by customers in iOS apps using Apple’s ResearchKit and HealthKit frameworks. The move, which complements IBM’s new Watson Health business unit, will arm medical researchers with a secure, open data storage solution, as well as access to IBM’s most sophisticated data analytics capabilities.
And:
Apple’s HealthKit enables developers to create consumer health apps designed to give users a more comprehensive way to manage their health and fitness, and ResearchKit is an open source software framework that gives medical researchers the tools to accelerate medical studies. HealthKit can be used to create apps that monitor health behaviors and help encourage users to adhere to their treatment plan. Participants who opt-in to apps using ResearchKit can also contribute their health information to medical research/science/medicine.
IBM will de-identify and store health data in a secure, scalable cloud system that enables researchers to access and share data in an open ecosystem environment, as well as have access to IBM’s data-mining and predictive analytics capabilities. Health and fitness app developers and medical researchers will be able to draw on data at a scale that until now has never been available. For apps using HealthKit and ResearchKit, IBM will provide a delivery platform through Health Cloud to easily store, aggregate and model data, combining it with other data sources and types to enrich research findings and identify the next frontiers of medical discovery.
This is a perfect partnership. Apple puts products in people’s hands to help gather the health data, then IBM steps in with analytics via Watson.
Interesting use of the word de-identify. I’ve not heard that word before, but from context I assume that means IBM will strip out all identifying information from the health data. That’s a tough thing to do. There are the obvious things like name and ID, but sometimes the health data itself can be used to identify someone. The combination of traits can act like biometric markers, in a manner similar to fingerprints. Data miners long ago figured out how to reverse engineer a specific set of browser habits into a specific identity, all without an IP address.
