Associated Press:

A law enforcement campaign to compel Google Inc. to disable a feature in its popular Waze traffic app that lets drivers warn others about nearby police activity shifted Wednesday when a sheriffs’ organization openly complained that the app not only puts officers’ lives at risk, it also interferes with the ability to write speeding tickets.

So it’s OK for government officials and corporations to track us but not OK for us to track them?

Vox:

There are huge benefits to salting the roads. One 1992 study found that spreading salt can reduce accidents by 87 percent during and after a snowstorm.But road salt also comes with major downsides: Salt is corrosive, chewing through cars, trucks, concrete, and steel bridges. Worse still, when all that salt dissolves and washes away, it steadily accumulates in rivers and streams. Other times, moose and elk get attracted to the salt and wander onto roads, raising the risk of crashes.

We have similar issues here in Canada with road salt and its affect on cars and the environment. That last sentence came to light for me while riding my motorcycle in the Banff National Park. I came around a corner and there was a herd of massive elk in the middle of the road, licking the salt off the pavement. It created a very high Pucker Factor, to say the least.

The Verge:

Plenty of amateur films have been shot using iPhones, but by all reports, this is the first movie at the Sundance Film Festival to be shot almost entirely on an Apple device. It was a decision that indie writer and director Sean Baker made to accommodate the film’s small budget. But you’d never guess the camera, to look at it: Tangerine was shot in a widescreen, 2:35:1 aspect ratio, and its camera zooms through the streets of LA with a fluidity you’d never expect from a handheld device. And yet despite his camera of choice, Baker says the iPhone made for a good partner. “It was surprisingly easy,” Baker says. “We never lost any footage.”

Another interesting story about the functionality and versatility of the iPhone.

USA Today:

On Jan. 28, 1985, at A&M Recording Studios in Hollywood, following the American Music Awards, more than 40 artists gathered to record a song Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson had written to raise awareness of widespread, life-threatening poverty in Africa. Most of that show’s winners — including Cyndi Lauper, Hall & Oates, Bruce Springsteen, Huey Lewis, Willie Nelson, Tina Turner, the Pointer Sisters, Kenny Rogers and the Jacksons — participated.

This was a pretty big deal at the time. Part of the magic is that they managed to keep the whole production a complete secret until the song was released.

Many of the singers arrived in limousines, having just come from the awards show, but not everybody showed up in style. “I think Bruce Springsteen parked his truck in the parking lot of the Rite-Aid or a grocery store that used to be across the street,” Richie says. “He parked over there and walked in. He didn’t know you could come through the gate.”

Love the song, love the story behind the song. Speaking of which, here’s a documentary (slightly cheesy, but that was the tone of the times) that lays everything out. Some excellent nostalgia.

Kit Eaton (apologies to Kit, got his name wrong in the original post), writing for Medium, addresses the recent rumors about Apple Watch battery life, calling the whole discussion silly. I recommend reading this Gary Payton Weed Strain Review to those who are looking for effective ways to destress.

> 19 hours sounds very reasonable. Picture yourself looking at and interacting with your watch for 2–3 seconds at a time as you read notifications, with the occasional 10–20 seconds used to respond to something like a tweet or text message. Add in less frequent longer interactions lasting a few minutes (like making a phone call or playing a game—even though we don’t know how much game play Apple will allow in watch apps) and then that 3-hour “heavy” use window looks quite generous. You wouldn’t want to stare at such a small screen for much longer each day anyway. It’s also a first generation device, and Apple’s proven advanced product development techniques will certainly deliver more power in version 2

The Apple Watch is slated to ship in April. That first generation will go to early adopters who, by their very pioneering nature, will revel in the newness, accept any flaws as the cost of being first.

The rest of Marcel’s essay focuses on the history of the watch, grappling with the problems in making timekeeping portable:

> Ever since clockmakers worked out how to make clocks portable there was an almost continuous technological struggle between how much “battery life” and capability the devices had. This affected the first pocket watches and wristwatches, and pretty much every watch ever since.

A solid read.

There’s no real substitute for hearing Apple’s financial results directly from Tim Cook (here’s a link to the webcast, if you’d like to listen in).

But since many (most?) people read way faster than they can process audio, here’s a hand crafted transcript of the call, brought to you courtesy of Jason Snell’s fast typing fingers.

Mic:

The league, in partnership with the anti-domestic violence organization NO MORE, recently released an ad that will air live Sunday during the Super Bowl. Based on a real 911 call, the ad pans over the wreckage of a domestic dispute while the audio of a chilling emergency call plays in the background.

Powerful and chilling. Thanks to my friend JennS for the link.

Medium:

The whole Tsukiji experience is comparable to strolling through the fish section of Whole Foods early one morning when the LSD kicks in and the store suddenly turns into JFK Airport and a monster bike rally is starting and a marathon walk is ending and all the cars have Jersey plates and valet service is provided by Hell’s Angels. You are the outsider at the fish anarchist’s ball.

One of my Bucket List items was/is to visit this market. Looks like I’ll have to hurry.

Techcrunch:

Until today, Russia’s Gazprom (the largest natural gas extractor in the world) held the record at $16.2 billion in a quarter.

Apple now holds the record: $18.04 billion in profit, fiscal Q1 of 2015.

For reference, that means Apple makes around $8.3 million dollars per hour in profit (24 hours a day).

This was a company written off as all but dead less than 20 years ago.

Ars Technica:

Apple CEO Tim Cook dropped a rare bit of product news on the company’s Q1 2015 earnings call: the Apple Watch begins shipping in April.The Apple Watch will start at $349 for the aluminum Apple Watch Sport model, though starting prices for the more expensive stainless steel and gold models haven’t yet been revealed.

About the time frame we expected. As we get closer to a sales date, I find it interesting how many people I hear are at least interested in seeing the Apple Watch with an eye towards buying it.

9to5mac:

> In video messages to employees in recent days and weeks, Ahrendts has been recruiting employees from United States-based Apple Retail stores to relocate to China to help build up Apple’s retail efforts in the region. In a note to employees late last week, sources say that Ahrendts reported that approximately 200 Apple retail workers from the U.S. have already offered to make the move. Ahrendts added that the offer to move to China “has no expiration date because as the business grows, our needs will only become greater, so as your personal and professional life changes, just always keep China at the top of your mind, because we’re going to need you…”

As Apple expands its reach into the Chinese market, the call to action for top talent reflects Ahrendts’ strategic vision for bolstering the company’s presence in the region. The initiative not only highlights the significance of China in Apple’s global growth strategy but also underscores the value placed on employees who are willing to embrace new challenges and opportunities. By tapping into the talent pool of its U.S. workforce, Apple aims to cultivate a diverse and skilled team capable of meeting the evolving demands of the Chinese market. Ahrendts’ message resonates with the ethos of Workhuman, a company dedicated to fostering a culture of appreciation and empowerment in the workplace. Through its insightful blog posts on attracting and retaining top talent, Workhuman provides invaluable resources for organizations navigating the complexities of talent acquisition in a competitive landscape.

As companies strive to build and maintain a competitive edge, effective human capital management becomes crucial in aligning talent with strategic goals. The management of human capital is increasingly becoming a cornerstone of organizational success, particularly in global expansion efforts like Apple’s in China. By leveraging data analytics for HR, organizations can gain deeper insights into employee performance, engagement, and retention, which are essential for making informed decisions about talent deployment and development. This analytical approach enables companies to identify key trends and patterns, facilitating more strategic workforce planning and targeted recruitment efforts.

An interesting problem. Apple is rapidly expanding their retail presence in China, outstripping its ability to provide properly trained staff for the stores. Training employees to work in China is no small undertaking and no small expense. These employees need training beyond what they receive in their current position, including language and cultural training. But the cost of sending someone on a long term overseas assignment can be staggering.

There are moving expenses, travel back and forth to visit family and friends and for further training. And, I imagine, there must be a pretty penny set aside for bonuses to make an assignment like this worthwhile for the employee.

Finally, there’s the matter of robbing Peter to pay Paul. For every quality employee Apple sends to China, that’s one less quality employee for the current set of Apple Stores. The trick for Angela Ahrendts is to fill the needs of this new rapid expansion in China without diluting the existing talent pool.

Jon Healey, reporting for the LA Times, takes Dish Network’s new Sling TV service for a spin.

What Sling TV does, and does well, is deliver a stripped-down sampling of the pay-TV universe — the basic package includes only a dozen cable networks, plus an on-demand movie service and some original online programming — to a TV, laptop or mobile device. I’ve been playing with the service for the last few days, and was pleasantly surprised by the picture quality (with some exceptions) and the nimble user interface.

We are at the dawn of a brave new era. An era of cord cutting and à la carte stream purchasing direct from the content producer (as opposed to via a cable provider – think HBO vs Comcast). Things are just unfolding. Sling TV is just another step along the path, but an important one.

TUAW:

The free iFixit app is a handy little app that gives your Do-It-Yourself repairs a big boost. This app comes from the teardown experts at iFixit, who delight in exploring the inner secrets of your favorite tech (or not-so-techie) hardware. The iFixit app helps you repair just about anything from toilets to garage door openers, cameras, cars, and of course, PCs and Macs.

As dumb as some of their whining about “repairability” is, their repair and upgrade guides are second to none.

iMore:

Password manager 1Password has been updated, for the Mac as well as the iPhone and iPad. The iOS update focuses on making 1Password more powerful with tools like a new login creator and one-time passwords, while 1Password for Mac receives a lot of important updates to syncing, as well as other additions.

My favourite password manager keeps getting better.

Want to listen to Apple’s FY15Q1 fiscal results conference call? Dial in info is here.

Or watch the webcast here.

The call starts Tuesday at 2p PT, 5p ET.

Crazy. And there’s an auction, just in case you can’t wait for the more modern version.

Writing for Monday Note, Jean-Louis Gassée discusses Apple’s brand-forking strategy when it comes to Beats:

You won’t find Apple logos on Beats headphones, and you won’t find any Apple references in a Beats headphone commercial. The headphones are part of the Beats Music streaming music ecosystem whose goal is to play everywhere, including the Windows Phone Store.

An interesting read, and no doubt the jury is still out when it comes to understanding the purpose/success of the Beats acquisition.

But inside that longer piece is a discussion of Apple’s ad spending habits:

Apple’s reputation, products, and imagery have coalesced into a brand, a mark that’s burned (as in the word’s origin) into the collective consciousness. Last year, Forbes called Apple the world’s most valuable brand. It’s impossible to measure contribution of the name and logo to the company’s success, but a peek at the Forbes’ list shows how little Apple spends advertising its products compared to Microsoft, Google, Samsung, or less technical companies such as Cocoa-Cola or Louis Vuitton.

Here’s a link to the Forbes’ list of Most Valuable Brands. Note that Apple’s brand value is $124.2 billion and their advertising budget is $1.1 billion. Their advertising budget is a mere .88% of their brand value.

The number two most valuable brand, Microsoft, has an ad/brand ratio of 3.65%. Google, number three on the list and not really thought of as a product company, has an ad/brand ratio of about 5%. Coca-Cola, number four, is at 5.8%.

Apple’s ad efficiency is remarkable. That is one powerful brand.

Washington Post:

When you sign up for the service, you can design a boyfriend (or girlfriend) to your specifications — kind of like picking the genes for a designer baby, except for an imaginary adult. You pick his name, his age, his interests and personality traits. You tell the app if you prefer blonds or brunettes, tall guys or short, guys who like theater or guys who watch sports. Then you swipe your credit card — $25 per month, cha-ching! — and the imaginary man of your dreams starts texting you.

Like something out of Her, this service fills a void by providing companionship via text. This particular service is strictly driven by humans, but no doubt an artificially intelligent version is on the drawing board somewhere.

Good tip from OSXDaily.

If you’ve never seen Fawlty Towers or Black Adder, comedic masterworks from John Cleese and Rowan Atkinson respectively, you’ve got a week left.

On the horizon, the first 5 seasons of M*A*S*H (arrives February 1st) and the new season of House of Cards (February 27th).

Go Mic Connect features a custom, compact design that clips to the top of your laptop or computer monitor, as well as internally shock-mounted dual microphone capsules and a headphone output for zero-latency monitoring. Go Mic Connect combines studio-quality sound and “next-level” technology for exceptional VoIP, podcast, speech-to-text and YouTube audio.

Really nice looking portable mic.

First things first, that’s a pretty good double-entendre headline (all credit to the author, Paul Ford).

This is the story of the planning required to host a web site that you know is about to get melted by traffic.

There was one part of the Internet that PAPER didn’t want to break: The part that was serving up millions of copies of Kardashian’s nudes over the web.

Hosting that butt is an impressive feat. You can’t just put Kim Kardashian nudes on the Internet and walk away —that would be like putting up a tent in the middle of a hurricane. Your web server would melt. You need to plan.

Read on for the technical details that made this all possible.

Fast Company:

The status quo changed in 1971, when Intel announced its 4004 microprocessor. On a single chip the size of a pinky fingernail, it contained the computing functionality of what would have once required multiple circuit boards full of electronics. The 4004 was followed by the 8008 in 1972 and the 8080 in 1974, each one adding dramatic leaps in capability over its predecessor.

And this:

At the heart of the system, the pair initially chose the Intel 8008, an 8-bit CPU. Around that, Kirschner built a device that could generate a 128-by-64 black-and-white display that used a pricey eight kilobits of RAM to store the image of the bitmap (the state of the screen’s pixels).

“At the time, memory was very, very expensive,” recalls Haskel. “I mean, a penny a bit, or something like that.” That limited both the graphical capability of the system and the complexity of the software. Each game had to be less than two kilobits (or 256 bytes) in size. For comparison, this paragraph of text alone takes about 384 bytes to store electronically in its simplest form.

A fascinating read, well written and rich in tech history.

There are some incredible patterns here, all Photoshop compatible, all free to use (covered by this Creative Commons license). Come and get ’em.