Crowdfunding for journalists ∞
This is very interesting. It’s kind of like a cross between Kickstarter, but with a writing platform like Medium. It would be very nice if something like this worked.
This is very interesting. It’s kind of like a cross between Kickstarter, but with a writing platform like Medium. It would be very nice if something like this worked.
From the Mac App Store update page:
The Safari 7.0.3 update is recommended for all OS X Mavericks users and contains improvements to compatibility, stability, and security. This update:
• Fixes an issue that could cause the search and address field to load a webpage or send a search term before the return key is pressed
• Improves credit card autofill compatibility with websites
• Fixes an issue that could block receipt of push notifications from websites
• Adds a preference to turn off push notification prompts from websites
• Adds support for web pages with generic top-level domains
• Strengthens Safari sandboxing
• Fixes security issues, including several identified in recent security competitions
Here’s a link to the details of the security contents of the upgrade.
When the Mac Pro was first introduced, there was a lot of discussion about the potential for user upgradeability. Back in January, Other World Computing (OWC) confirmed that they were able to upgrade a Mac Pro in-house. Now they are making processor and memory upgrades available to the rest of us.
From the OWC press release:
Other World Computing today officially introduced Intel Xeon processor and OWC memory turnkey upgrades for the latest AppleMac Pro 2013. Options include 8-Core, 10-Core, and 12-Core models. The processors are fully compliant with Apple technical specifications and power requirements and are fully tested, qualified, and guaranteed to meet or exceed the processors available from Apple.
Note that the install is done by them, not via a kit:
The OWC Turnkey Upgrade Program includes professional installation and testing by OWC’s Apple Certified technicians, shipping both ways, and options to upgrade memory, add Thunderbolt technology external storage solutions to your order and extend the included OWC one-year limited warranty to three years.
Interestingly, if you order a Mac Pro from the Apple Store, the expected ship time is 5-6 weeks. That’s for the US store, not sure what the delay is outside the US. This is not much different than the ship time we reported back in February.
It’s been suggested that the delay is due to the high percentage of customized orders. That may be, but it doesn’t click for me. I think the long lead time is a combination of high demand and (my speculation) delays in the manufacture of a critical component. It is what it is. The Mac Pro has been well received and, I suspect, demand has been even higher than anticipated.
Still on the stand, Schiller is getting into slightly new ground as he is asked to think back to his first reaction to the first Samsung Galaxy.
“It looked so much like an attempt to copy the iPhone,” Schiller said.
Competition is not the problem here. Blatantly stealing and copying Apple is the problem.
Good story from Hayley Tsukayama looking at the HTC M8.
“The total damages are high,” said Harold McElhinny, a lawyer for Apple. “But I hope you understand the reason the damages are high is because the scope of Samsung’s infringement is massive.”
Samsung should be made to pay every penny.
Big day for iWork. The updates can all be downloaded from their respective App Stores.
iWork on the Mac
– Delete, duplicate, and reorder sections using the page navigator in Pages v5.2
– Set margins and create headers and footers in print setup in Numbers v3.2
– Enhanced presenter display options and new transitions including Droplet and Grid in Keynote v6.2
iWork for iOS
– Improved support for bi-directional text in Pages v2.2
– Progress indicator for calculations in Numbers v2.2
– New remote feature lets you control slideshows on other devices in Keynote v2.2
iWork for iCloud beta
– New “view only” setting lets you share documents you want others to view but not edit
– Updated design in document editor
– Open documents directly from iCloud Mail
Did you know that when a hockey player winds up for a slap shot they’re not trying to hit the puck?
Duh. I’m Canadian.
Such a great song. I’ve been listening to it over and over.
The first single from Zakk’s upcoming album, “Catacombs of the Black Vatican,” which will be released on April 8.
Lots of great Mac games here from Aspyr.
Jim Dalrymple and Dan Benjamin talk about the evolution of a small business, making things you like instead of what the audience wants, wearable tech, guitar modeling vs. the real thing, and more.
From Microsoft’s MSDN blog:
Consistent with our previously announced commitment to match Amazon on prices for commodity services, we are cutting prices on compute by up to 35% and storage by up to 65%. We recognize that economics are a primary driver for some customers adopting cloud, and stand by our commitment to match prices and be best-in-class on price performance.
First Google announced their price cuts, then Amazon followed suit. Took a while, but that third domino finally fell.
Welcome to the cloud commodities market.
Has it been another year again?! Because, really, reading the work of these pundits, it seems like it’s been a lot longer. But catalog the atrocities we must! For history must know … that … uh …
Ladies and gentlemen, the Macalope.
If you know the difference between the Apple A6 and the A7, and if the term ARMv8-A means anything to you, then this read will likely bring you great joy. Anand Lal Shimpi is one smart guy.
So very great. From The Verge’s post:
There’s one particularly interesting shot around two minutes into the video that shows Obi Wan Kenobi being run through by Darth Vader’s lightsaber. In Lucas’ cut of Episode IV, the blade passes through an ethereal Obi Wan; in the early shot, it rips through his cloak, leaving a trail of fire and the aging Jedi’s upper body hanging in the air as his lower body slumps to the floor.
[Via The Verge]
Your first clue that something is amiss is the hair. The hair and the music. Oh, and the electronics. WiFi? What’s that?
Slide Rule is a terrific resource, a collection of online courses of all stripes.
Education is changing, with great educators from around the world increasingly putting their amazing courses online. We believe we are in the early days of a revolution that will not only increase access to great education, but also transform the way people learn.
SlideRule is our way of contributing to the movement. We help you discover the world’s best online courses in every subject – courses that your friends and thousands of other learners have loved.
Many of the courses are free, some are gathered from places like Lynda.com and have an associated fee. If you have any interest in moving into a new field or just stretching yourself, spend a few minutes to browse the course catalog. Some great stuff here.
For the UN’s International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action taking place on April 4, New Museum in New York City will host an exhibit that uses iBeacons to simulate a virtual minefield and let anyone experience the danger of land mines.
Fantastic use of iBeacons.
Time:
If you wanted to pick a single date to mark the beginning of the modern era of the web, you could do a lot worse than choosing Thursday, April 1, 2004, the day Gmail launched.Scuttlebutt that Google was about to offer a free email service had leaked out the day before. But the idea of the search kingpin doing email was still startling, and the alleged storage capacity of 1GB—500 times what Microsoft’s Hotmail offered—seemed downright implausible. So when Google issued a press release date-stamped April 1, an awful lot of people briefly took it to be a really good hoax. (Including me.)
Gmail turned out to be real, and revolutionary. And a decade’s worth of perspective only makes it look more momentous.
I still remember getting that Google press release and thinking, “This is the stupidest April Fool’s Day prank ever.”
Speaking as an amateur photographer, I think Allyson Kazmucha did a great job with this comparison. Looking at the pics, I don’t think the panoramas were a tie—the iPhone 5s won that.
“Mozilla’s new CEO, Brendan Eich, is an opponent of equal rights for gay couples,” the message said. “We would therefore prefer that our users not use Mozilla software to access OkCupid.”
“What Google have done thus far, I wouldn’t be seen dead wearing. It really looks pretty stupid,” he said.
Indeed.
[Via Om]
Great news for China.
Johnny Cash is one of the best ever. I wish I could have met him.
One of Elton’s best songs.
This is so incredibly cool.
Steven Aquino:
So often, the tech commentariat — and a few of my Android-loving friends — disparage Apple for a perceived “lack” of innovation, arguing that Cupertino has failed to deliver to market anything truly innovative and revolutionary since introducing the original iPad in 2010.
The problem with exclusively tying innovation to hardware is that it misses, obviously, the innovation that can be made in terms of software. More specifically, I contend that an underrated aspect of Apple’s ability to innovate is the strides made by Apple’s Accessibility efforts, particularly on iOS.
What a great article.
VintageZen:
I’ve collected print ads from Apple, from their earliest days in the late 1970s to the present, which illuminate their continued focus on simplicity in design. In the first part of this two part series, I’ll look at Apple’s first twenty years of advertising.
We often think about Apple’s TV commercials when we talk about their advertising but for many years, it was all about print ads. How many of these do you remember?