April 26, 2017
This supercar collection is worth millions
This is, without a doubt, the oddest place to display cars worth millions of dollars you have ever seen.
Using an Apple Watch without an iPhone
I recently switched to the gorgeous new iPhone 7 Plus (PRODUCT)RED, but one thing I didn’t do is setup my Apple Watch with the iPhone. It was a simple oversight, but I realized very quickly how much I’ve come to rely on the Apple Watch/iPhone combination in my daily life.
I’ve said before that using my Apple Watch has changed the way I use my iPhone. I receive notifications of emails, messages, phone calls, reminders, use Apple Pay, and a host of other things.
With my Apple Watch on my wrist, I only needed to make sure my iPhone was somewhere nearby to get all of these alerts. If it was something I needed to deal with, I could grab the iPhone and do it. Otherwise, the notification was enough to keep me up to date on what was happening.
Because I used the Apple Watch and relied on those notifications on my wrist, I turned off the sound and vibrate on my iPhone long ago. There was no need for it. Unless you don’t pair your watch to your phone.
I learned how much I relied on the combination of those two devices. I began missing calls and messages because my watch wasn’t getting the notifications from the phone. I would eventually see them when I grabbed my iPhone, but obviously that isn’t what you want.
Instead of immediately syncing my watch to fix the problem, I decided to turn on the vibrate feature of the phone just to see how that might change things. (Because pairing the watch would have fixed the problem immediately, but apparently I like to punish myself). The end result was that I began to use my phone like I did before the watch was released.
I would always have the iPhone with me and I checked it all the time—every vibrate meant checking my phone to see what was going on, and that often led to a trip down the rabbit hole. If I check one thing, I might as well check everything else. It was more disruptive to my work than what I ever realized.
I missed other things too. I sat down at my iMac and waited for it to unlock automatically, which it didn’t do because my watch was no longer authorized. I’m sure I must have looked like an idiot sitting there waiting for the Mac to unlock.
When I used Maps, my watch wouldn’t vibrate as I neared a turn. Not a big deal since Siri gives you turn-by-turn directions, but it’s surprising how much I relied on the watch to alert me to an upcoming turn.
Other simple things that I take for granted were gone too. I had a playlist synced to my watch for my walks so I didn’t have to bring my phone with me when I exercised. That doesn’t work without a connection to the iPhone.
I love my Apple Watch and my iPhone 7 Plus. I love the combination of the those two devices even more. Using the two devices is a very efficient way to keep up with everything in your life.
I paired my Apple Watch to my iPhone yesterday and I’m much happier.
The Onion: Metallica Board Of Directors debate new riff ∞
The Onion is just brilliant sometimes.
Amazon’s Echo Look takes outfit photos and suggests the best styles for you ∞
Ars Technica:
It was a simpler time, back in early 2015, when Amazon’s Echo first came out as a speaker with a voice assistant inside. Now, the evolution of the Echo family and Alexa have brings us a device designed specifically to make you look good. The new $199 Echo Look is the first iteration of Echo that has a camera, and the device uses it to evaluate your outfits, take outfit-of-the-day photos for you to share, and suggest which styles look best on you.
There has never been a product less suited to me. That being said, I think Amazon will sell a lot of these to budding and wannabe fashionistas.
Blue Jays player scores with unbelievable flying dive over catcher ∞
Among the various sports, baseball players aren’t particularly noteworthy for their athleticism, but what Toronto’s Chris Coghlan did Tuesday night was certainly noteworthy.
Wow.
The web’s best hidden gems ∞
Lots and lots of great links to explore.
A Fitbit helped police arrest a man for his wife’s murder ∞
BuzzFeed:
A Connecticut man was charged with murdering his wife after police analyzed the woman’s Fitbit and found the device recorded her movements after the time the man told investigators she was fatally shot by a home intruder.
Imagine the shock on this guy’s face when they laid this out for him. Like an episode of Elementary.
CNBC: Fluent survey shows “Customer excitement for the Apple Watch has plateaued” ∞
CNBC:
According to a new survey, individuals who did not already own Apple’s smartwatch were unenthusiastic about buying one anytime soon, while just 8 percent of those surveyed said they planned to make the purchase.
A total of 1,339 consumers were polled by consumer marketing firm Fluent for the survey.
“Customer excitement for the Apple Watch has plateaued since hitting the market in 2015. Only current owners think it’s a great product, but nearly half of them don’t plan on upgrading,” a Fluent spokeswoman said in an email.
I think it’s hard to draw these sorts of conclusions about a market that is so young and still growing, still finding its way. Add to that that the Apple Watch is a secondary device, designed to augment the iPhone, at least for most people. Apple Watch sales are gravy for Apple, enhancing iPhone sales numbers, helping add value to the ecosystem.
As to upgrading, I’d say give that time, time for the Apple Watch and watchOS to evolve, to give people a reason to upgrade to the latest and greatest. Currently, a faster processor doesn’t mean much for most Apple Watch users. But over time, as watchOS gains capabilities, that need will change.
The Fluent survey may be factually correct, but I don’t agree with the tone of the analysis. Personally, I see a lot of headroom for Apple Watch growth and I do plan on upgrading in the next cycle.
Video shows expressions on one person transferred onto another
Watch the video below and notice that the person on the left is not moving, is relatively expressionless. The person on the right is moving their face.
Now switch your gaze to the two screens in the video. Note that the video of the person on the left has the expressions of the person on the right.
Like the post from Monday where an AI was used to speak using someone else’s voice, this has potential badness and chicanery written all over it. [Via OverSpill]
Apple’s newest Middle East Apple Store, Apple Dubai Mall, opens tomorrow ∞
Check out the images in the press release. I love the animated GIF toward the bottom of the release that shows the “solar wings” opening and closing. Apple Stores sometimes seem, to me, like sculptures.
April 25, 2017
The Dalrymple Report Podcast: With TechCrunch’s Matthew Panzarino
This week TechCrunch’s Editor-In-Chief, Matthew Panzarino, joins me to talk about his many sneakers and the incredible aftermarket for them. We also delve into what it’s like writing, planning articles, and covering Apple in today’s world.
Everything you need to know about ejecting from a fighter jet ∞
Popular Mechanics:
The last thing a fighter pilot wants to do is eject, and it’s not just because they’re abandoning the ship to a fiery demise. The turbulent process of ejecting puts pilots at serious risk of injury. Once those rockets fire under the seat, they blow a person up and out of the cockpit with enough force to seriously bruise both shoulders on the harness straps and possibly break collarbones. And you better tuck in your knees and elbows, because if anything hits the side of the cockpit on the way out, it’s coming off.
Not that any of us would ever be in this situation but it’s still fascinating. The post includes some incredible video of pilots ejecting, including one from a plane already on the ground.
Can you spot the snake? ∞
Mashable:
It’s like a real life Where’s Waldo or I Spy, except this one can kill you.
While most people walking through the woods are on the lookout for wildlife, this photo from a snake expert proves that you should be super cautious if you’re walking in an area with venomous snakes.
Somewhere, lurking in this photo, is a snake ready to strike.
I can’t see it and this perfectly encapsulates why I don’t go into the woods.
Uber expects flying taxis by 2020 ∞
The company expects to deploy its flying taxis in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, and Dubai by 2020, Chief Product Officer Jeff Holden said at the Uber Elevate Summit in Dallas on Tuesday.
Fuck no!
Low Rider: Cheech and Chong
I was just out for a drive and this song came on Pandora. I absolutely love this song, but I also remembered one of the funniest movies ever made—Cheech and Chong “Up in Smoke”. This is the opening scene of the movie.
Is every speed limit too low? ∞
Priceonomics:
Traffic engineers believe that the 85th percentile speed is the ideal speed limit because it leads to the least variability between driving speeds and therefore safer roads. When the speed limit is correctly set at the 85th percentile speed, the minority of drivers that do conscientiously follow speed limits are no longer driving much slower than the speed of traffic. The choice of the 85th percentile speed is a data-driven conclusion — as noted Lt. Megge and speed limit resources like the Michigan State Police’s guide — that has been established by the consistent findings of years of traffic studies.
Yet most speed limits are set below the 85th percentile speed.
Last Sunday, I decided to see what kind of gas mileage I could get on my motorcycle. I drove 90 minutes into downtown Vancouver, keeping to the speed limit the entire time (except for the 30 seconds I didn’t and this happened). I got passed by everybody. Semis, minvans, old men in Buicks. Even thought the speed limit was 100kph (about 60mph), literally no one was doing the speed limit.
Angela Ahrendts talks Apple store makeover, why Tim Cook hired her ∞
CBS News:
“So we call the software of the store that we are launching the end of May – we call that Today at Apple.”
That “software” will roll out across Apple’s nearly 500 stores, many of which will be changed literally overnight. Ahrendts calls it all an effort to create “town squares” where customers engage with their devices and their communities.
“A lot of the big online guys have said they’re opening stores. Amazon’s investing in stores. Google’s investing in stores. … Starbucks figured it out, you know? Being a gathering place for – right? ‘Meet me at Starbucks,”’ Ahrendts said. “And you know, I’ve told the teams, ‘I’ll know we’ve done a really, really great job if the next generation, if Gen Z says, “Meet me at Apple. Did you see what’s going on at Apple today?”’”
It’s interesting that Apple is going back to what they used to focus on – in-store demonstrations and training.
“Today at Apple” ∞
Apple today announced plans to launch dozens of new educational sessions next month in all 495 Apple stores ranging in topics from photo and video to music, coding, art and design and more. The hands-on sessions, collectively called “Today at Apple,” will be led by highly-trained team members, and in select cities world-class artists, photographers and musicians, teaching sessions from basics and how-to lessons to professional-level programs.
Sounds like an expanded version of what they used to do at the stores. I like it.
Songwriting podcast, well worth your while ∞
Into the craft that is songwriting? Check out Song Exploder, a podcast that invites artists to explain their process.
My 2 cents, the best place to start is with the latest episode, where Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo talks through his approach to writing the song Summer Elaine and Drunk Dori.
The whole thing was fascinating, from the backstory of the song’s inspiration, to the mechanics Rivers uses to bring together chord structures. Lots to learn here.
Wannabe songwriter? Give it a listen.
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales launches Wikitribune, a large-scale attempt to combat fake news ∞
Laura Hazard Owen, Neiman Lab:
Good things can happen when a crowd goes to work on trying to figure out a problem in journalism. At the same time, completely crowdsourced news investigations can go bad without oversight — as when, for example, a group of Redditors falsely accused someone of being the Boston Marathon bomber. An entirely crowdsourced investigation with nobody to oversee it or pay for it will probably go nowhere. At the same time, trust in the media is at low and fact checking efforts have become entwined with partisan politics.
So what would happen if you combined professional journalism with fact checking by the people? On Monday evening, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales launched Wikitribune, an independent site (not affiliated with Wikipedia or the Wikimedia Foundation) “that brings journalists and a community of volunteers together” in a combination that Wales hopes will combat fake news online — initially in English, then in other languages.
Here’s a link to Wikitribune. The site has been deluged with traffic, so don’t be surprised if you have trouble getting in. Early reviews have been nitpicky, focusing on typos and broken links. Me, I say give it time to find its feet. I love Wikipedia and have high hopes that Jimmy Wales can make this work.
From the Wikitribune front page:
Facts can be presented with bias, taken out of context and most recently a lot of facts are just plain…made-up. Supporting Wikitribune means ensuring that that journalists only write articles based on facts that they can verify. Oh, and that you can see their sources. That way you can make up your own mind.
Amen.
Apple mines NASA’s JPL for AR and autonomous car projects
Two articles kind of collided for me.
From the Dow Jones Newswires:
In a permit issued April 14 by the state of California, obtained Friday through a public-records request, Apple identifies six employees, including roboticists who worked at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, who will be in the front seat of three Lexus sport-utility vehicles outfitted with technology to make them autonomous.
More specifically:
The permit also names three engineers who worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Paul Hebert, who has designed a robot that could unlock a door; Jeremy Ma, who focused on algorithms for detecting three-dimensional objects; and Victor Hwang, who has worked on motion-planning algorithms for robots, according to their LinkedIn pages, which list them as working at Apple.
Then comes this Bloomberg article:
Apple Inc. has gone to space to find additional talent for its augmented reality efforts. The iPhone maker has hired Jeff Norris, a specialist in the new technology from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, to help build future products, according to people familiar with the matter.
And, more specifically:
Norris founded the Mission Operations Innovation Office of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, where he led efforts to create new ways to control spacecraft and robots in space with virtual and augmented reality, according to his website.
One article focused on autonomous vehicles, the other on augmented reality. Is this simply a coincidence of mining a rich vein for employees, or are the two efforts more deeply connected? Opinions welcome.
Apple delays release of first original series ‘Carpool Karaoke’ ∞
Reuters:
A premiere party for “Carpool Karaoke” scheduled for March in Los Angeles was postponed without explanation days before it was to take place. This week, the company again postponed its launch party, which had been rescheduled for Monday.
To me, this is not original content that will make or break Apple’s approach to a cable cutting alternative. Perhaps they are pushing this back to somehow intersect with WWDC.
April 24, 2017
Apple cuts affiliate commissions on apps and in-app purchases ∞
Macstories:
Today, Apple announced that it is reducing the commissions it pays on apps and In-App Purchases from 7% to 2.5% effective May 1st. The iTunes Affiliate Program pays a commission from Apple’s portion of the sale of apps and other media when a purchase is made with a link that contains the affiliate credentials of a member of the program. Anyone can join, but the Affiliate Program is used heavily by websites that cover media sold by Apple and app developers.
While the percentage remains at 7% for movies, music, and books, this does nothing but hurt small publishers, some of who rely on these revenues from Apple’s affiliate program. It means some sites may not be able to continue or will be forced to increase the number of affiliate links to make up the difference. Apple still takes their 30% from developers (affiliate revenues came out of Apple’s share), so this means Apple makes more money and users of affiliate links make significantly less.
Letter Opener: Open Winmail.dat, MSG and XPS files ∞
My thanks to Letter Opener for sponsoring The Loop this week.
Working together with Windows users shouldn’t be problematic at all. Still, some email messages can not be natively read by the Mac and are packed into Winmail.dat or MSG files that have to be extracted and displayed somehow. Letter Opener for macOS does that with a simple double-click!
The plugin to stop the Winmail.dat file flood for good.
If Winmail.dat files are a reoccurring problem, Letter Opener for macOS Mail is the solution. Installed into Mail it opens and displays the files directly inside Apples Mail application, so the user can forget about Winmail.dat files entirely.
You won’t need a pilot’s license to fly this flying car and here’s its first video ∞
BoingBoing:
If you live near a lake in the US, you’ll soon be able to zip across it in this Kitty Hawk Flyer. According to their site, the “ultralight aircraft,” which is financially backed by Google co-founder Larry Page, will be available by the end of 2017. You won’t need a registration or pilot’s license to fly it, and the Flyer only takes minutes to learn how to operate it.
I’d fly this.
Watch the world’s biggest animal lunge for its dinner ∞
National Geographic:
When you weigh 200 tons, even the smallest body movements require a lot of energy. That’s why blue whales, Earth’s largest animal, are picky eaters.
Stunning new drone footage shows exactly how these massive mammals maneuver to feed on only the most nutritious patches of krill—providing insight on how they make these choices.
Fascinating that the blue whale is, possibly by necessity, picky about the size of krill patch it eats.
Video of Steve Jobs’ 2006 visit to the Cupertino City Council
This is amazing to watch. My imagination, or do they keep calling him “Mr. Job”? Remember, this was before the iPhone. Steve was there telling the Cupertino City Council about Apple’s purchase of a huge parcel from HP due to their explosive growth. Again, before the iPhone.
Five years later, Steve went back to the council to talk about the idea of the Spaceship campus. They got his name right this time.
Can’t help but note the difference in Jobs, both in physical appearance and in his voice, from that first video (below) and his Spaceship campus pitch.
Watch all the trains in Tokyo moving in real time ∞
This is fascinating, mesmerizing. [H/T Robert Walter]
More on updating your old Mac Pro as a capable VR and gaming platform
Last week, we linked to a post from Daniel Pasco on updating a 2009 Mac Pro:
I turned a 2009 Mac Pro I picked up off of Ebay for $1300 into a superb professional workstation, gaming, and VR platform, simply by adding an SSD drive and a new video card.
Here’s a follow-on post with all the detail on the build, really well written with lots of pictures. Thanks for this Dan, a real service to the community.