The gradient is a powerful design technique, and with great power comes great responsibility. When used improperly, gradients spell out a design disaster. They can muddle a layout, distract the user, and ruin an interface’s entire aesthetic. In this article (with the help of my trusty team of UX designers), we reveal the secret to crafting a gradient that elevates your interface to the next echelon, rather than remind the user of 1997.

It’s so true—a proper gradient is very pleasing, but when done wrong, you just cringe.

Vinnie Paul, drummer and founding member of the metal band Pantera, has died, the band announced on Facebook.

“Vincent Paul Abbott aka Vinnie Paul has passed away,” the band said.

So sad. R.I.P brother.

Apple on Friday said it is launching a Keyboard Service Program for customers of the MacBook and MacBook Pro computers. Apple told me that the issue was affecting only a small percentage of these units. [,,,]

The United States Supreme Court issued a ruling on June 22 stating that police must first get an official warrant before they can use cell tower data to track someone’s location.

This is an interesting development for law enforcement, one I’m sure they’re not happy with.

The safety driver behind the wheel of a self-driving Uber car in Tempe, Arizona, was streaming a television show on her phone until about the time of a fatal crash, according to a police report that deemed the March 18 incident “entirely avoidable.”

Vasquez could face charges of vehicular manslaughter, according to the report, which was released late on Thursday in response to a public records request.

It’s amazing to me that people continue to watch video, text or otherwise cause themselves to be distracted while driving a vehicle.

Apple on Thursday released a significant update for GarageBand, adding free Artist Lessons, new drummers and new loops. […]

In the suit, originally filed in late 2011, a group of consumers accused Apple of monopolizing the market for iPhone apps by not allowing any other way of purchasing such apps, and therefore engaging in anti-competitive practices. The suit alleges that since the App Store’s launch, Apple “illegally monopolized the distribution of iPhone apps, and that the commissions charged to app developers inflate the prices consumers ultimately pay for apps.”

I just don’t agree with this at all. Apple is providing a safe place for developers to sell apps, and for consumers to buy apps without wondering about malware and all of the other scams that go on out there.

Apple today announced a unique, multi-year content partnership with Oprah Winfrey, the esteemed producer, actress, talk show host, philanthropist and CEO of OWN.

Together, Winfrey and Apple will create original programs that embrace her incomparable ability to connect with audiences around the world.

Winfrey’s projects will be released as part of a lineup of original content from Apple.

Apple is making its moves in the entertainment business and they seem very different than what competitors like Netflix are focused on.

My thanks to Bare Bones Software for sponsoring The Loop this week. Do you sling code or compose with words? Whether you’re an app developer, web developer, systems admin or just want a powerful writing tool that stays out of your way, BBEdit is worth checking out.

BBEdit is crafted in response to the needs of writers, web authors, and software developers, providing an abundance of high-performance features for editing, searching, and the manipulation of text.

Back in the 90s, we built our Web sites from scratch, so we used BBEdit to hand-code everything we needed to get the site up-and-running. We didn’t just use BBEdit for building and maintaining the Website, we also used it as our default word processing tool. Every word written for the stories we posted was done in BBEdit.

Now, as BBEdit celebrates its 25th anniversary, I can still say I am a proud user. Congrats to the crew at Bare Bones Software and thanks for making such a great product.

To celebrate BBEdit’s 25th Anniversary, Bare Bones Software is creating commemorative apparel. Learn more!

BBEdit 12 is 64-bit ready. Download and try it today!

You can make the beautiful game even more beautiful. Just follow these tips and techniques to take your photos and videos to the next level.

With the start of the World Cup today, Apple made all of the new videos soccer focused. Regardless of the sport, these tips are always useful when you’re learning about your iPhone’s camera.

To get us started, we turned to Manhattan audio guru Chuck Zwicky, a platinum-selling producer, engineer and mastering ace who’s worked with Prince, Soul Asylum and Nine Inch Nails, Zwicky has helped create numerous UAD presets for the MXR Flanger/Doubler, Lexicon 224 Digital Reverb, Pure Plate Reverb, and, today’s focus, the acclaimed Manley VOXBOX Channel Strip plug‑in, which Zwicky played a key role in refining during its early stages.

This is a new series from Universal Audio called “Producer Presets Unpacked”. It is absolutely fascinating.

My thanks to Bare Bones Software for sponsoring The Loop this week. Do you sling code or compose with words? Whether you’re an app developer, web developer, systems admin or just want a powerful writing tool that stays out of your way, BBEdit is worth checking out.

BBEdit is crafted in response to the needs of writers, web authors, and software developers, providing an abundance of high-performance features for editing, searching, and the manipulation of text.

Back in the 90s, we built our Web sites from scratch, so we used BBEdit to hand-code everything we needed to get the site up-and-running. We didn’t just use BBEdit for building and maintaining the Website, we also used it as our default word processing tool. Every word written for the stories we posted was done in BBEdit.

Now, as BBEdit celebrates its 25th anniversary, I can still say I am a proud user. Congrats to the crew at Bare Bones Software and thanks for making such a great product.

To celebrate BBEdit’s 25th Anniversary, Bare Bones Software is creating commemorative apparel. Learn more!

BBEdit 12 is 64-bit ready. Download and try it today!

My thanks to Bare Bones Software for sponsoring The Loop this week. As it happens, BBEdit was launched during the 6th WWDC. After 25 years, it’s good to know you can always count on BBEdit!

For the last 25 years, Bare Bones Software’s BBEdit has made getting work done easier (and faster!) for people who write, app developers, web developers and system admins.

BBEdit is crafted and continuously refined in response to meet the needs of writers, web authors, and software developers, providing an abundance of high-performance features for editing, searching, and manipulation of text. All in all, BBEdit is a powerful editor with an interface that stays out of your way, and well worth checking out.

To celebrate BBEdit’s 25th Anniversary, Bare Bones Software is creating commemorative apparel. Learn more!

BBEdit 12 is 64-bit ready. Download and try it today!

I wanted to take a day to mull over everything that happened at Monday’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote before making any comments on the event. I think this was a tough keynote for Apple, but not for the reasons you might expect. […]

My thanks to Bare Bones Software for sponsoring The Loop this week. As it happens, BBEdit was launched during the 6th WWDC. After 25 years, it’s good to know you can always count on BBEdit!

For the last 25 years, Bare Bones Software’s BBEdit has made getting work done easier (and faster!) for people who write, app developers, web developers and system admins.

BBEdit is crafted and continuously refined in response to meet the needs of writers, web authors, and software developers, providing an abundance of high-performance features for editing, searching, and manipulation of text. All in all, BBEdit is a powerful editor with an interface that stays out of your way, and well worth checking out.

To celebrate BBEdit’s 25th Anniversary, Bare Bones Software is creating commemorative apparel. Learn more!

BBEdit 12 is 64-bit ready. Download and try it today!

Red Dragon Cartel guitarist Jake E Lee sat down with Charvel to discuss what initially inspired him to want to play guitar (any guesses?) as well as some of his favorite features on his Charvel USA Signature Blue Burst guitar.

I have a lot of respect for Jake and I absolutely love Charvel guitars.

I agree with Lory’s thoughts on these two news apps—a lot of it comes down to personal preference. I have been enjoying the local news and Boston Bruins stories in the Google app, but there’s a lot to like about Apple’s app as well.

Earn points each day, from Sunday, June 3 at 12:00 a.m. to Thursday, June 7 at 11:59 p.m., by wearing your Apple Watch and closing your Activity rings. Simply download the Challenges app on iPhone and allow Challenges to access Health app data, which includes data from your Activity rings. Work as a team of four with fellow WWDC18 attendees to earn as many points as you can. If everyone on your team closes their rings that day, you’ll get team bonus points (in addition to individual bonus points). Individuals who earn 200 points or more during the challenge will receive a reward on Friday, June 8 at McEnery Convention Center.

This is a great idea.

Make the most of the 2018 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference with the WWDC app. Even if you can’t join us in San Jose, you can still follow along each day on iOS and tvOS, and watch videos on demand throughout the year. And because the WWDC app experience extends to Apple Watch, favorite session information is available right on your wrist.

Everything you need to know about WWDC in one app.

Brent Simmons:

Lately I’ve been trying to learn to play delta blues. I’m not ever going to play like Robert Johnson — nobody ever will — but I’d like to learn it as well as I can. Well enough so that, if you like the blues, and you heard me at a coffee shop, you’d enjoy it.

First, Robert Johnson is the most amazing Bluesman I’ve ever listened to in my life. If you talk to any guitarist, the conversation will eventually make its way back to Johnson and what he did. I can attest to Brent’s difficulties with learning the Delta Blues because I’ve tried it before too. I’ve had the pleasure of strumming a few songs with Brent and he’s a great guitarist, but this type of blues is something really special.

“Due to a sharp decline in tourism and visitors to the area, we have made the difficult decision not to extend our lease,” an Apple spokesman said in a statement. “We are offering all of the store’s employees other jobs within Apple and we look forward to serving our Greater Atlantic City customers through our other southern New Jersey, Delaware Valley, and Greater Philadelphia area stores.”

The realities of retail affect everyone.

A special “Decade Collection” range of Beats Headphones are currently being promoted by online retail merchants ahead of scheduled availability on June 4, suggesting Apple will officially announce the collection during its keynote at the Worldwide Developers Conference.

I’ve never been a big fan of Beats—I just don’t think they sound good.

My thanks to Marketcircle for sponsoring The Loop this week. Are you looking for a better way to manage the relationships you build with customers? What about organizing your workload better? Is closing more deals vital to your business? If any of these sounds like you, then you seriously need to give Daylite a try.

Daylite is the app built for small businesses that want to grow on the Mac, iPhone & iPad. More than just a CRM, Daylite integrates with Apple Mail on the Mac, helps you track all your leads, and share your projects and customers all in one place. Even more, it scales with you as you grow.

Never let anything slip through the cracks again no matter how much you have on your plate. Daylite also allows you to create powerful integrations with your favorite apps through Zapier so you can save time and get more done.

Need a better way to stay on top of your customer relationships, accomplish more, and close more deals?

Try Daylite free for 30 days! No credit card needed.

Mention you heard about Daylite on The Loop and get 10% off your first month subscription.

According to KIRO 7 News, an Echo Dot recorded the private conversation of a husband and wife in Portland, Oregon and sent it to the husband’s colleague all the way in Seattle. The colleague then called Danielle (the woman involved) … Continued

Samsung must pay Apple $539 million for infringing five patents with Android phones it sold in 2010 and 2011, a jury has found in a legal fight that dates back seven years.

Good, now pay up.

Obscura is designed to make it fast and easy to capture stunning images. Whether you’re shooting in portrait or landscape, the Control Wheel fits into your hand perfectly. You won’t be fumbling around trying to capture a photo when you’re in a hurry – everything is accessible with one thumb. Finely tuned haptic feedback gives the devices a sense of physicality, so you can feel every adjustment.

This is a great app.

Apple has signed a deal with Volkswagen to use Volkswagen vans as self-driving shuttles designed to transport employees around its various campuses and office buildings in the San Francisco Bay Area, reports The New York Times.

Apple has been working on developing the shuttle program, called “PAIL” or Palo Alto to Infinite Loop, since last summer. At the time news of Apple’s work on the program first surfaced, the company was said to be planning to install its own self-driving software in a commercial vehicle from an automaker, which has turned out to be Volkswagen.

I never expected Apple to do this. Despite rumors that the company’s program is having problems, Apple must be very confident about its self-driving technology.