June 13, 2013
Written by Peter Cohen
I don’t usually link to my Angry Mac Bastards podcasting work because it’s not everybody’s cup of tea (NSFW by intent, lots of swearing). But this one’s important, because we talk about App Camp for Girls, a non-profit that we feel very strongly about. We felt strongly enough to put our money where our mouths are on this one – AMB is very proud to be a contributor to this project.
I couldn’t care less if you listen to the podcast. But give App Camp for Girls money if you can and if you think the cause is worthwhile.
June 11, 2013
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Congrats to all the winners this year.
June 10, 2013
It’s been an interesting few years for Apple. Despite high sales numbers for its products, Wall Street has been beating on the company and analysts as a group have wondered if Apple has lost its mojo. Today’s keynote should put that nonsense to rest.
One thing that became very clear to me early on in today’s keynote is that Apple was having fun again. They were really enjoying themselves.
One of the highlights of the keynote address was whenever Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering, took the stage. He was jovial and interacted with the crowd very well, often cracking jokes about the lack of skeuomorphic elements in the new design.
It was light-hearted and Federighi would laugh right along with the crowd. It helped put the crowd at ease about a slew of important announcements that would come throughout the event.
To me, the fun was coming from the confidence Apple had in the products they were announcing. It’s not hard to enjoy yourself when you know the products you are going to introduce will be accepted and applauded by the people you’re releasing them for.
The announcements, like the design changes to iOS 7, were certainly not a sure thing. There was wild speculation on what exactly Apple would do, scaring a lot of people into thinking that iOS 7 could end up as flat as Windows 8. Of course, that didn’t happen.
Let’s not forget Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, joking with the crowd about giving a sneak peek of the new Mac Pro to 5,000 of his closest friends. And then in a remark that will surely go down in keynote history, Schiller said after introducing the Mac Pro, “Can’t innovate anymore, my ass.”
Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, was all smiles as he introduced iTunes Radio and talked to attendees about the new service. This was especially true when he revealed the ad-supported service would be ad-free for people who purchase iTunes Match.
Of course, you can’t talk about the keynote without mentioning Apple CEO, Tim Cook. Tim looked relaxed during his portion of the keynote and didn’t linger on a lot of needless numbers. He exuded confidence.
The entire Apple executive team looked confident in their products and judging from the reaction inside the keynote room today, the developers responsible for making apps for the platforms seemed confident in Apple.
That’s great news for consumers.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
I don’t think there is any surprises with the new version of OS X. Some desktop improvements and deeper integration with iOS. That continues a move Apple began with the last version of OS X in bringing the two OSes together in a way that makes it easy for users to sync and share data. Maps, Notifications, iBooks and iCloud Keychain are all going to be great additions to OS X.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
The idea of the Thermal Core on the Mac Pro reminds me a lot of the Cube. I wonder how much of that technology Apple looked to for the Mac Pro. Overall, this looks like an incredible system—lots of power and expandability is just what the pros were looking for.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
There is no doubt that iOS 7 is a great looking operating system. In fact, I liked everything that I saw, except the icons on the home screen. I don’t know what it is, but they seemed kind of odd to me.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Apple will stream the WWDC keynote live today so everyone can watch. Clearly this is the best way to stay up-to-date on the event, so I won’t be doing a live update myself. I will post my thoughts on any announcements after the keynote.
June 9, 2013
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Thanks for sponsoring The Loop’s RSS feed. MindNode is an easy to use and elegant mind mapping app for iOS and OS X. Whether you’re brainstorming for your next project, organizing your life, or taking notes during a meeting, MindNode lets you collect, structure, and expand your ideas. And integrated iCloud sharing means you always have your mind maps with you.
You can learn more about MindNode here.
June 8, 2013
Mark Zuckerberg posted the following statement regarding PRISM, the NSA program that allegedly taps into user data mined from major Internet companies like Facebook:
I want to respond personally to the outrageous press reports about PRISM:
Facebook is not and has never been part of any program to give the US or any other government direct access to our servers. We have never received a blanket request or court order from any government agency asking for information or metadata in bulk, like the one Verizon reportedly received. And if we did, we would fight it aggressively. We hadn’t even heard of PRISM before yesterday.
When governments ask Facebook for data, we review each request carefully to make sure they always follow the correct processes and all applicable laws, and then only provide the information if is required by law. We will continue fighting aggressively to keep your information safe and secure.
We strongly encourage all governments to be much more transparent about all programs aimed at keeping the public safe. It’s the only way to protect everyone’s civil liberties and create the safe and free society we all want over the long term.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
First, we have not joined any program that would give the U.S. government—or any other government—direct access to our servers. Indeed, the U.S. government does not have direct access or a “back door” to the information stored in our data centers. We had not heard of a program called PRISM until yesterday.
Given the way Google lies, this could be seen as confirmation of PRISM.
The Obama Administration has announced a new initiative called ConnectED, its goal to see 99 percent of schools across the nation outfitted with high-speed Internet access within the next five years.
In this case, “high speed” is defined as at least 100 Mbps, with 1 gigabit being the goal. Other aspects of the initiative include training teachers to help use technology and having schools deploy “feature-rich educational devices” to provide “college and career-ready” content.
The announcement has absolutely no legislative teeth, of course, because the Executive branch of the U.S. government can’t do that. But Obama is calling on the FCC to leverage its E-Rate program, which provides telecommunications and Internet access discounts to schools and libraries.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Apple lawyer Orin Snyder questioning Thomas Turvey, Google’s director of strategic partnerships in the e-book trial:
Things went downhill from there. Under Snyder’s questioning, Turvey acknowledged that he couldn’t remember a single name of any of the publishing executives who had told him Apple was the reason the publishers were switching their business model. He conceded that the publisher’s move to the agency system was important to Google’s own business, yet Turvey couldn’t remember any details about the conversations with publishers. By the end of the interview Turvey had gone from saying the publishers had told him directly, to saying they had merely told people on his team, to finally saying the publishers had “likely” told someone on his team.
Oh Google.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
It’s interesting when you use something that’s really well designed—it just becomes part of what you’re doing. However, use something that’s poorly designed and all you notice is the poorly designed tool. It takes away from the experience.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
“As a culture we have moved into a realm where the consumption of news is a near-constant process,” says Richard Gingras, Senior Director, News & Social Products at Google. “Users with smartphones and tablets are consuming news in bits and bites throughout the course of the day — replacing the old standard behaviors of news consumption over breakfast along with a leisurely read at the end of the day.”
So Google moved to the more creepy Google Now and Google Plus. No thanks.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Great article by John Kirk that looks beyond market share numbers.
Adam Christianson of the Maccast podcast asked me some WWDC questions on this week’s show. He also talked with Bart Buschotts, Katie Floyd and David Sparks.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
In this issue, actor Matthew Modine talks about his short movies, Luis Pérez highlights the importance of accessibility, Eva Giselle looks at the future of design, Dave Addey goes outside his comfort zone and Harry C. Marks investigates his heritage.
You can download The Loop Magazine on the App Store and get a seven-day free trial when you subscribe.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Vesper is a simple and elegant tool for collecting notes, ideas, things to do — anything you want to remember. Use tags to group related items into playlist-like collections. Vesper imposes no system; organize and curate your notes whatever way comes naturally to you. Eschewing complications, Vesper’s focus is on how it feels to use it.
Great looking app from John Gruber, Brent Simmons and Dave Wiskus.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Dan and Jim discuss what could be announced at Apple’s 2013 Worldwide Developers Conference next week in San Francisco. Later they discuss the risk of malicious, hacking iPhone chargers, the importance of an external power source for your phone at events like WWDC, Apple and Samsung’s US market rivalry, The White House’s war on patent trolls, and more.
Sponsored by Hover (use code DANSENTME for 10% off), Shutterstock (use code DANSENTME6 for 30% off), and Squarespace (use code DANSENTME6 for 10% off).
June 5, 2013
Written by Jim Dalrymple
According to VCs, without VCs we wouldn’t have Silicon Valley.
Venture capital is the lifeblood of our industry; the jet fuel in our Gulfstream; the saliva in our 23andme test. If it weren’t for free and easy capital, Instagram and Tumblr and {insert your employer’s name here, you unit-test-skipping, standup-meeting-lying bullshit artist} would have had to come up with a pesky business model.
He’s at it again—and it’s funny.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Eddie Van Halen is absolutely amazing. Having the tracks isolated, you can really hear him play.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
This was a fascinating read.
A new posting on Intel’s blog from Dan Snyder talks about Thunderbolt 2 – the next generation of Thunderbolt technology that will be coming to market in 2014.
Known up to now by its Intel code-name, Falcon Ridge, Thunderbolt 2 doubles Thunderbolt’s bandwidth to 20 Gigabits per second. Intel says this is enough to do 4K video file transfer and display simultaneously (4K is so-called “Ultra HDTV”). The connection is DisplayPort 1.2, so it’s backwards-compatible with today’s cables and connectors.
Intel already revealed that Falcon Ridge was due to go into production before the end of the year, and this news reiterates that. Things will be ramping up next year, so mark 2014 as the year of Thunderbolt 2.
