First things first, I appreciate this video bringing me up close and personal with the new Z Flip foldable phone.
But jump to 2:16 into the video and check out the scratch resistance test. Fascinating.
From the looks of things, the cost of foldability is screen durability. The reviewer casts doubt on Samsung’s claims that the screen is a glass screen, showing that it scratches like a plastic screen. Watch, judge for yourself.
Wesley Hilliard, AppleInsider:
Apple Maps and Google Maps have both recently undergone major updates. AppleInsider takes a look at both, and examines which changes might shift which platform you want to use.
Terrific side-by-side comparison. The one thing that keeps me using Google Maps is its crowd-sourced reviews, vs Apple Maps’ Yelp tie-in. Other than that, Apple Maps is my go to, at least in the US.
Alex Kantrowitz, Buzzfeed:
Ali Alzabarah was panicked. His heart raced as he drove home from Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters in the early evening on Dec. 2, 2015. He needed to leave the country — quickly.
Earlier that day, Twitter’s management accused the unassuming 32-year-old of accessing thousands of user profiles without authorization to pass their identifying information — including phone numbers and IP addresses — reportedly to Bader al-Asaker, the head of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s charity and private office. When the conversation concluded, management seized Alzabarah’s laptop, put him on administrative leave, and escorted him out of the building.
This is a sensational story, just begging to be made into a movie.
MacRumors:
As discovered in the first beta of iOS 13.4, Apple is working on a new “CarKey” feature that will allow an iPhone or an Apple Watch to unlock, lock, and start NFC-compatible vehicles.
Very excited about this feature. Use my AppleWatch to unlock and start my car? Sold. But there’s more.
CarKey “keys” live in the Wallet app and as we found in the first beta, can be shared with other people so you can allow others temporary access to your car. In the second beta of iOS 13.4, there’s updated wording concerning sharing, which makes it clear that digital car keys will be able to be sent to people using the Messages app.
So I can Message my key to someone granting them temporary access to my car (think a valet or loaning the car to a friend without having to hand them my physical keys).
Not clear if and when this will roll out in a public release, but I do like the concept.
The video embedded below addresses two issues. It shows how easy Amazon’s #1 best selling lockbox product is to break into (really, really easy).
But more importantly, it shows that the $20 product comes with a $10 Amazon gift card, which you can only use if you leave a five-star review.
And written on the back of the gift card:
Please DO NOT talk or post images about this rebate activity in your review content, otherwise it is invalid.
Assuming this video is accurate, is Amazon aware of this practice? Is this condoned?
Microsoft:
A few months ago, we introduced a new mobile app called Office—a whole new experience designed to be your go-to app for getting work done on a mobile device. It combines Word, Excel, and PowerPoint into a single app and introduces new capabilities that enable you to create content and accomplish tasks in uniquely mobile ways to help you achieve more. Today, we’re proud to announce the Office app is out of public preview and now generally available worldwide for anyone on Android and iOS phones.
If you use Office, follow the headline link for the details on what’s new.
Interesting to see how the market has shifted. It used to be all about the Mac versus Windows, with Mac Office lagging behind new Office releases. But with iOS gaining such prominence, the new release story is much more about iOS and Android, with both getting simultaneous releases.
UPDATE: According to a few folks weighing on in Twitter, and verified here, there’s no native iPad support for the new Office app. Rather, the optimized for iPad experience is more a zoomed in iPhone app. Not the same thing.
Frontline:
One of the largest companies ever, headed by the wealthiest man in the world, Amazon has evolved from an online bookstore to a commerce giant. Not only can you find nearly anything on Amazon, through Amazon Web Services, it provides the backend of a massive amount of the internet. The nearly-ubiquitous Alexa device and services like Ring extend Amazon’s reach into your home in an effort to integrate into your daily life.
Frontline looks at Amazon’s rise, the human cost of same-day shipping, and an always-online life.
This PBS Frontline documentary is available on Youtube but only for US viewers.
Vintage Everyday:
A Futuro house is a round, prefabricated house designed by Matti Suuronen, of which fewer than 100 were built during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The shape, reminiscent of a flying saucer, and the structure’s airplane hatch entrance has made the houses sought after by collectors. The Futuro is composed of fiberglass-reinforced polyester plastic, polyester-polyurethane, and poly, measuring 4 meters (13 feet) high and 8 meters (26 feet) in diameter.
By the mid-1970s, the house was taken off the market. From the beginning, it had been met with public hostility. The first Futuro that was erected near Lake Puulavesi in Finland elicited public protest because it looked too unnatural for the rustic environment.
What an odd, silly looking design for a house.
The Washington Post:
Surgeons removed a brain tumor from violinist Dagmar Turner’s head while she played violin during the procedure. Doctors woke her up mid-procedure so she could play to “ensure the surgeons did not damage any crucial areas of the brain that controlled Dagmar’s delicate hand movements,’’ the hospital said in a statement. “We knew how important the violin is to Dagmar, so it was vital that we preserved function in the delicate areas of her brain that allowed her to play,’’ said Prof. Keyoumars Ashkan, her neurosurgeon. “We managed to remove over 90% of the tumor, including all the areas suspicious of aggressive activity, while retaining full function in her left hand.”
This is simultaneously really creepy and utterly amazing. Thanks to my friend Mike Rose for the link.
Word.tips:
Hello! Nĭ hăo! Namaste! Hola! Bonjour! There are so many ways we as human beings can express ourselves, as one can see in our list of most-spoken languages. Around the world, there are more than 7,000 regularly spoken vernaculars, but we decided to show off the top 100 most common languages in our linguistic infographic.
World languages list varied origins, with some branching off from the same ancient roots and some having a history all their own. We’ve illustrated each one with its language origin tree, so you can trace their roots.
This is a fascinating look at the top 100 languages and their origins from other languages. I figured Japanse wouldn’t have any branches but I was surprised to see Hungarian didn’t either.
Setapp:
Setapp wrote a book. The longest of our long reads. The biggest collection of Mac tips we’ve ever had in one place. No, we’re not switching to a book publishing business. In fact, we’re not going anywhere but Setappwards. The idea behind creating the book is to share our complete vision of using a Mac effectively. And here’s why you might need it.
Since we want the book to be useful for different audiences — from Windows switchers to seasoned Mac users — it pretty much describes the full journey. If you have a specific Mac problem to solve, you can jump right into it. Every chapter has a detailed table of contents for easy navigation
I’ve been a big fan of Setapp since it launched. If you know of a new(ish) user of a Mac, this would make a great gift to help them navigate the ins and outs of their new computer. And even if you’re an old hand, at only $10 for the Kindle version, it’s not a bad thing to have on hand as reference material.
We do seem to agree that this is purely about “the marketing effect.” And for some, that’s a dismissive admission. They see that marketing is not core to defining or implementing technology. Some folks the CSSWG have argued this would take up a lot of time to figure out, and add little value to CSS itself.
On the other hand, if web developers are hesitant to adopt new technology, defining and implementing it is wasted time. How Authors perceive change, and judge when is the best moment to invest time to learn new technology — this has a huge impact on adoption.
Spaceflight Now:
Building on development for NASA’s commercial crew program, Space Adventures announced an agreement Tuesday with SpaceX to fly up to four paying space tourists on a standalone mission aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft in late 2021 or 2022 that could reach an altitude two-to-three times higher than the International Space Station.
The mission would not dock with the space station, but would instead fly into an orbit above the station’s altitude of about 260 miles (420 kilometers) above Earth, according to Space Adventures. “Dragon in this profile allows up to 5 days,” Eric Anderson, chairman of Space Adventures tweeted. “3 days is probably ideal, 40-50 orbits or so.”
Anderson said the Crew Dragon could fly two or three times higher than the space station, reaching altitudes where humans have not flown since the Gemini and Apollo missions of the 1960s and early 1970s.
If you had the money, would you go? I would in a New York minute.
Adobe:
Today is Photoshop’s 30th birthday! For 10,950 days, artists, designers, photographers and many others have inspired the world with their imaginations using the practical magic of Photoshop.
We honor our long-standing collaboration of artists and engineers, where working together and with your feedback and inspiration we have built a tool that enables you to make the world a more beautiful place.
In celebration of this birthday, today we also release many great new features in both versions of Photoshop – on the desktop and on the iPad. Happy birthday, Photoshop! We will keep the magic rolling.
Love it or hate it (there are arguments for both), there’s no denying Photoshop is one of the most powerful pieces of software many of us will ever use. But it’s also one of the most complicated and dense. I’ve been using Photoshop since v1 (Adobe used to give it away for free when you bought a scanner) and, while I’ve never been an expert at it, I’m always amazed by its possibilities.
Malcolm Owen, AppleInsider:
Apple is taking legal action against former german App Store manager Tom Sadowski and publisher Murmann Verlag to stop circulation of a book about his work, under allegations it reveals confidential “business secrets” that the author wasn’t allowed to disclose.
And:
Released on Tuesday in Germany, the book “App Store Confidential” by Sadowski is said to be a behind-the-scenes view of how the App Store works from the former manager’s viewpoint. The book details Sadowski’s journey into Apple, his personal experiences in working inside the App Store, and his meetings with Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Is it possible the author did their work for Apple without signing an NDA? If there was an NDA, was the publisher aware of it? Can’t speak to German publishing contracts but, in the US, every publishing agreement I’ve ever signed included a clause that made me responsible for ensuring that I had the right to publicize the contents of the published work.
I’ve got a feeling this is not going to end well for the author or the publisher.
But the book has shipped, the toothpaste is out of the tube, no putting it back. Best Apple can do is limit the spread.
They never figured out how the ring got to Finland. Wish it had some sort of GPS to track its journey. Curious story.
Can’t speak to the correctness of this data, but the site is definitely a fascinating rabbit hole.
Follow the headline link, which should center you at Apple Park (if not, you can easily pinch in, slide over, or just reload the page).
Make your way around the world (pinch in and out, slide around) and you’ll see a bunch of locations marked on the map. Tap/click on a location, you’ll see a location number. Tap the number, you’ll go to a page for that location, which gives you a name and company details.
Not saying this is useful. Just interesting, at least to me.
Ryan Christoffel, MacStories:
Apple Music has debuted a small, but valuable new feature that makes it easier to find the exact album version you’re looking for. As discovered by our Federico Viticci, when alternate album versions are available, they’re now listed in a dedicated Other Versions section underneath an album’s track list.
Follow the headline link for the details. Nice add, Apple Music.
Keoni Everington, Taiwan News:
Apple has begun to move the production of a number of its top gadgets set to launch in the first half of 2020, according to a report by am730, which cited DigiTimes. The products listed in the report to be shifted to Taiwan include AirPods Pro Lite, iPads, and Apple Watches.
Taking this with a grain of salt. First, the Taiwan News headline did not have the word “some”. Subtle point but, to me, that original implied that all production was moving.
Add to that that the source of this is several sites removed, not direct reporting. Did a little digging, found this article on DigiTimes from a week ago, with this quote:
Apple is mulling shifting more assembly orders for its new models slated for launch in the first half of 2020 to factories in Taiwan mainly to diversify production risks associated with the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, according to industry sources.
Not clear if there’s a newer article (please ping me if you know of a newer, more definitive article). The DigiTimes article uses the word “reportedly”.
Interesting that the list specifically includes the unannounced “Airpods Pro Lite”.
New York Times:
Employees at the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter voted on Tuesday to unionize, the first well-known technology company to take the step toward being represented by organized labor.
And:
Kickstarter’s employees will be affiliated with the Office and Professional Employees International Union and begin negotiating a contract with management over equal pay and inclusive hiring practices.
And:
Its employees’ unionization drive began in earnest last year, after Kickstarter found itself embroiled in a debate over whether to cancel a fund-raising effort on its site for a comic book that included images of people punching Nazis. Workers pushed the company to allow the project to continue, which it did. The episode sparked discussions among employees about formalizing their voice in the workplace.
Is this a one-off? Or a crack in the foundation, a movement that will see unionization spread to other tech companies?
Kickstarter is relatively small, 145 employees, but has a big, recognizable brand. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out, both for Kickstarter’s financial stability, and for the impact it has on other unionization efforts.
TidBITS:
We think of “the cloud” as an amorphous space without limits. That may be true in the aggregate, but each of our personal cloud storage accounts has limits, and in comparison to the terabyte-sized drives in our Macs, our cloud accounts are often quite small. Nevertheless, you can usually go for years without bumping into their limits. I certainly did.
But when you do run out of space, it can be a major problem, since files may stop syncing, email could get rejected, and all sorts of other havoc could ensue. I recently hit this problem with iCloud, Dropbox, and Google.
As the tech guy for our family of 12 macOS and iOS connected devices, I’m the one charged with managing all the storage, backup, and maintenance details. What a PITA.
New York Times:
…his siblings and their mother gathered around him, and a brother-in-law took a family photo using his smartphone.
“We couldn’t think of a time when all of us had been together with Mom,” Ms. Musser, 34, said. “So we had the conversation. Did Mom want a photo with all seven of her children and was it morbid that one of them was dead?”
There ended up being several photographs. They are startling and beautiful. Mr. Alexander looks peaceful and regal.
In a collision of technology and culture, of new habits and very old ones, we are beginning to photograph our dead again.
Many of us have complicated feelings about death and dead bodies. Personally, I wouldn’t want to do this but I understand why some would.
I tried out some "fake bakes" that have clocked up millions of views on YouTube, but don't actually work! featuring @howtocookthat pic.twitter.com/jl54RuKcNi
— Chris Fox (@thisisFoxx) February 17, 2020
Chris Fox:
I tried out some “fake bakes” that have clocked up millions of views on YouTube, but don’t actually work!
I’m a “beginner cook” so I love little tips and tricks of cooking and baking. I’ve seen these “food hacks” all over Facebook and Twitter and many of them seemed suspect to me. Turns out, according to Chris Fox and Ann Reardon of @HowToCookThat, the vast majority of those hacks won’t work and some are even dangerous.
Bare Bones Software, makers of BBEdit, is one of my favorite software companies — in fact, I’ve been using BBEdit for more than 20 years. BBEdit has been updated to version 13, and is available in the Mac App Store as a subscription! Same great features. Same user experience. You can subscribe in the Mac App Store or purchase perpetual licenses directly from Bare Bones Software. Also, you can still get great merch, including Classic and Rebus T-shirts, enamel pins, and more in their merch store!
Steven Spielberg is a great storyteller. Think of all the iconic stories he’s laid at our feet, from the varied adventures of Indiana Jones, to ET, from Back to the Future to Saving Private Ryan and Schindler’s List. There are some clunkers, for sure, but Spielberg is a master of visually laying out a ripping yarn.
Set your reminder for March 6th, when the first episode of Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories reboot drops.
Slowly but surely, Apple’s catalog is growing. I am bullish on Apple TV+. All Apple needs here is time.
This reminds me of the rollout of Samsung’s Galaxy Fold.
Early days still, but I’ll go out on a limb and say Samsung has learned some hard lessons from that release and, I suspect, the Galaxy Z Flip will fare better than the Fold. Making a foldable phone is no easy thing, and Samsung is mastering (presumably) a technology that will give them an edge on newcomers to the market.
Two things:
If the answer to the first question is yes, then I’d wager that Apple knows this and is quietly developing foldable expertise in a lab somewhere, choosing not to reveal their mistakes and strategy in public.
Steve Streza:
Over the years, Apple has built up a portfolio of services and add-ons that you pay for. Starting with AppleCare extended warranties and iCloud data subscriptions, they expanded to Apple Music a few years ago, only to dramatically ramp up their offerings last year with TV+, News+, Arcade, and Card. Their services business, taken as a whole, is quickly becoming massive; Apple reported $12.7 billion in Q1 2020 alone, nearly a sixth of its already gigantic quarterly revenue.
All that money comes from the wallets of 480 million subscribers, and their goal is to grow that number to 600 million this year. But to do that, Apple has resorted to insidious tactics to get those people: ads. Lots and lots of ads, on devices that you pay for.
We’ve all seen the wave of ads, seemingly everywhere you turn. Especially if you have not subscribed to a particular service.
Follow the headline link to Steve’s post, scan through the images. You’ve no doubt encountered ads like these, especially if you’re using social media.
I get it. Apple’s market is maturing, and shareholders demand growth. Apple has turned to services for that growth and these ads are a necessary evil. To me, the fault lies in the mechanisms of capitalism, in the self-defeating motivations placed on any publicly traded company.
Bradley Chambers, 9to5Mac:
Over the years, I’ve dabbled with using Spotify instead of Apple Music. Both platforms offer users access to millions of songs and offer a wealth of personalization options. The one thing that has always kept me coming back and sticking with Apple Music is iCloud Music Library. iCloud Music Library is a feature that allows you to upload your own music and have it live right alongside your Apple Music content. It’s a feature that I use frequently, and it’s something Spotify can’t match.
And:
A perfect example of the usefulness of iCloud Music Library is when artists hold new albums off streaming platforms for a few weeks/months after the release. Recent examples were Taylor Swift’s Reputation album and Adele’s 25 album. Both of these albums were massively popular, but neither were available on Spotify or Apple Music for months. Apple Music users could buy it from iTunes or Amazon MP3, add it to iCloud Music Library, and it would appear with their existing albums. Spotify users were out of luck getting it imported into their Spotify library on mobile.
With so much music available on both sides, features are what distinguish one service from the other. This one is a clear win for Apple Music.
Now if only I could get Apple to stop replacing the version of a song I added to my library with a version they have in theirs.
Leo Kelion, BBC News:
I submitted a subject data access request, asking Amazon to disclose everything it knows about me
Scanning through the hundreds of files I received in response, the level of detail is, in some cases, mind-bending.
One database contains transcriptions of all 31,082 interactions my family has had with the virtual assistant Alexa. Audio clips of the recordings are also provided.
And:
Clicking on another file reveals 2,670 product searches I had carried out within its store since 2017. There are more than 60 supplementary columns for each one, containing information such as what device I’d been using, how many items I subsequently clicked on, and a string of numbers that hint at my location.
One spreadsheet actually triggers a warning message saying it is too big for my software to handle. It contains details of the 83,657 Kindle interactions I’ve had since 2018, including the exact time of day for each tap.
This great read is the story of how this all evolved. Chock full of detail, chock full of links. Well done Leo.
Ron McElfresh, Mac360 founder:
A few years ago I came down with an odd neuromuscular disorder that has slowly become debilitating. After 18 months of tests with a dozen different doctors I was referred to Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. More doctors and extensive tests confirmed a preliminary diagnosis of ALS. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Think of it as a slow-motion death sentence where muscles begin to waste away and tasks as simple as tying shoelaces or buttoning a shirt or standing become major accomplishments.
And:
My spirits are high (most of the time). I’ve led a good life, worked hard, and appreciate the loving support from family and friends, but I know– and feel– the end is near.
That means I can no longer continue to run Mac360 and the Apple Villagers websites as they are today.
Damn.
Here’s a link to a GoFundMe to help defray Ron’s medical expenses.