Anthony Kay:
But with Apple things are different. They don’t just use an ugly cardboard box with their logo and a few stickers slapped on it. They actually give a great deal of thought to the design of the box itself. They think about what it looks like on the shelf, how it presents the contents to the purchaser, and what the experience will be like when you open it.
Exactly right. The Apple experience begins at the store when the product is still on the shelf.
Joseph Valente:
Essentially it turns around Apple’s complete willingness to destroy its own revenues. It built a phone that destroyed it’s major source of revenue, the iPod. It built Macbook Airs that have now disrupted another major source of revenue, their Macbook Pros. It built the iPad, which is already beginning to disrupt the Macbook itself.
Apple also killed off the iPod mini at the height of its popularity and introduced the iPod nano in its place. That completely disrupted the competition because at that time they were all trying to copy the mini.
The disease is a designer killer. It’s a skills killer and most importantly it’s an imagination killer. Like the chicken pox, the “user design” disease is something we all need to get in order to become healthy, happy designers.
Aaron Souppouris for The Verge:
A team of researchers from Purdue University and Microsoft has discovered that up to 75 percent of app-related battery drain in Android can be caused by ad-serving processes.
The study further contends that the ads don’t have to use up that much battery life, they’re just coded poorly.
Wow. Android is awesome.
On Monday morning Apple told the world what they plan to do with its almost $100 billion in cash – later this year, Apple will begin paying dividends and will buy back shares.
You can listen to streaming audio from the conference call now from Apple’s site.
Alli Houseworth, for New Beans:
He [Mike Daisey, creator of “The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs”] insisted that “This is a work of non-fiction” be printed in playbills. … So to the producers of the American theatre, I urge you to boycott this work. Boycott Mike’s gorgeous, amazing piece of theatre that is based on a true story. Boycott it until you get the apology that you deserve and do not ever, ever re-mount it or produce a work of his again until you know for sure what is true and what is not so your audiences are never ever mislead again. Stand by your desire to uphold the truth and value of art, of what you work so enormously hard for day in and day out, until you get an apology from the man who calls himself one of you, who is our field’s “leading man” in the fight for theatre as truth and activism.
A powerful commentary from one of Daisey’s peers in theater saying clearly and unequivocally that what Daisey did was wrong, in no uncertain terms, and that he’s a liar who lies again and again without compunction. (Via Glenn Fleishman on Twitter)
I’m not a big QR code user, but I can see how this would be useful for some people.
Having knowledge on how to create an effective landing page can increase the number of site visitors that take the desired action of the web page. Lets discuss factors and considerations that can lead to a better landing page design.
Smithsonian:
The April, 1935 issue of Everyday Science and Mechanics included this nifty invention which was to be the next logical step in the world of publishing. Basically a microfilm reader mounted on a large pole, the media device was supposed to let you sit back in your favorite chair while reading your latest tome of choice.
Don’t show this to Michael Dell. He might think it’s a good idea and start making them.
The BB2 wireless speaker fuses Japanese urban design with mobile audio in a truly portable package. All Boombots are rechargeable, loud as &@*%, and durable enough to withstand the abuse of your lifestyle, guaranteed.
Screens VNC for iOS and Mac. It just works.
Jenny Blumberg:
We’ve been asked before what our business model is, and honestly there isn’t one in place yet. We’re looking into a freemium model. I posted an answer on Quora that goes into more detail here. A business model that relies on targeted advertising doesn’t jive with our culture at Sepia Labs. We’d rather add amazing new features that people would be willing to pay us for, because they enjoy Glassboard so much.With that in mind, we’d love for you to use Glassboard, and with a tear in your eye, trembling lips… utter the words “You complete me.”
Sepia Labs is Brent Simmons new company. Love these guys and their honesty.
Update: The original headline of this story was “No business plan,” when in fact, it should have read “No business model.” Sepia Labs clearly has a business plan.
Apple on Monday said that it had sold more than 3 million iPads since it launched last Friday.
“The new iPad is a blockbuster with three million sold―the strongest iPad launch yet,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Customers are loving the incredible new features of iPad, including the stunning Retina display, and we can’t wait to get it into the hands of even more customers around the world this Friday.”
AT&T’s Seth Bloom tweeted this morning.
More transparency about Apple’s overseas operations.
Corporate philanthropy for the first time in years.
A dividend and stock buyback program.
Oh, and continuing to roll out amazing products one after the other.
Let no one say Tim Cook isn’t putting his own mark on Apple.
Subject to declaration by the Board of Directors, the Company plans to initiate a quarterly dividend of $2.65 per share sometime in the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2012, which begins on July 1, 2012.Additionally, the Company’s Board of Directors has authorized a $10 billion share repurchase program commencing in the Company’s fiscal 2013, which begins on September 30, 2012. The repurchase program is expected to be executed over three years, with the primary objective of neutralizing the impact of dilution from future employee equity grants and employee stock purchase programs.
Behold Travis Chambers, self-identified “digital marketing professional.” In this video he markets himself as eager to humiliate and ridicule his wife in front of the entire world.
PR pro tip: probably not the best message you want to be sending to potential clients and future business partners.
At least you’ve recorded good documentation for the marriage counselor.
Foxconn said on Monday it had no plans to take legal action although the programme had hurt its reputation.“Our corporate image has been totally ruined. The point is whatever media that cited the programme should not have reported it without confirming (with us),” said Simon Hsing, Foxconn’s spokesman.
Apple:
Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, and Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO, will host a conference call to announce the outcome of the Company’s discussions concerning its cash balance. Apple® will not be providing an update on the current quarter nor will any topics be discussed other than cash.Apple will provide live audio streaming of its conference call using Apple’s industry-leading QuickTime® multimedia software. The live webcast will begin at 6:00 a.m. PDT on March 19, 2012 at www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/call31912.
Short version: “We have a buttload of cash. Here’s what we’re going to do with it.”
CNET:
The iPhone and iPad are truly elegant designs, but they are the rare exceptions in the rather drab world of consumer electronics. Most cameras, printers, computers, home theater receivers, and speakers are pretty sedate, but there is one product category that stands out: turntables. I’ve picked a choice selection that represents remarkable achievements in industrial design, and they’re highly functional, exquisitely engineered products.
If you have to check Wikipedia to find out what a “turntable” is, please ignore this article.
Apple posted a support document on how to setup AirPlay Mirroring.
BBC:
Europe-based software writers have posted hundreds of comments on the company’s forums, saying their February fees had not been received on 7 March as scheduled.
Oops.
A person at Goldman Sachs Group Inc, who has not been identified or charged in a broad U.S. insider-trading probe, was caught on a wiretap leaking secrets about Intel Corp and Apple Inc, a lawyer for accused former Goldman board member Rajat Gupta said in court on Friday.
Many thanks to Oomph Software with Sidekick for sponsoring this week’s RSS feed on The Loop.
Sidekick is a stealth little Mac app that automatically updates laptop settings based on where you are. It takes care of annoying tasks so you can focus on what you need to do.
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Try Sidekick 4.0 for free. It’s super powerful and very easy to use.
Use the coupon code THELOOP to save 20% on Sidekick.
Reuters:
As Apple’s third-generation iPad went on sale on Friday, accompanied by the now traditional scenes of fans queuing round the block , Dell’s chief commercial officer Steve Felice said the tablet market was still wide open.
I kid you not, I actually laughed out loud reading this. How many times does Apple have to lay the smackdown on Dell before they finally go away.
Marco says it’ll be ready in 7-10 days.
Colin Crawford talking about IDC’s predictions for iPad and Android tablet growth:
While I’ve a lot of respect for IDC’s ability to identify key market trends, especially in the Enterprise IT market…
Wait for it…
…but I’m not convinced they have their finger on the pulse of the Apple iPad market nor Apple’s iOS strategy.
Translation: Ass clowns.
Not ready for mass adoption yet, but still.
Web Designer Depot:
Don’t be mistaken though, CSS3 and CSS can’t do everything but, ironically enough, I doubt most of us are aware of its limitations or what pushes the very edges of its possibilities.Well, today we are here to find that out. So let’s dive right in to what certainly will be an interesting and fascinating journey of discovery for all of us that are fans of CSS3 and CSS.
Rob Schmitz for American Public Media:
Apple got a lot of attention recently over conditions in the Chinese factories that make its iPhones and iPads. The public radio show “This American Life” aired an electrifying account of one man’s visit to several factories. The man was Mike Daisey, a storyteller who is widely credited with making people think differently about how their Apple products are made.…Daisey told This American Life and numerous other news outlets that his account was all true.But it wasn’t.
Mike Daisey is a goddamn liar.
This is a bombshell, and if it gets more than slight coverage compared to the stories about Apple’s supposed exploitation of Chinese workers, I’ll be surprised.