Live Science:

A stunning new video has captured a huge fire hose of lava streaming into the ocean at Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. The stream of lava is currently pouring into the ocean from a sea cliff near Kamokuna on the Big Island of Hawaii, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). When this massive lava chute hits the cool seawater below, the result is explosive steam.

Seeing this in person is definitely on my bucket list. Until then, watch the video and marvel at the power of nature.

Time:

Every year, companies spend millions of dollars for just a few seconds of airtime in hopes of getting consumers attention—and then, maybe, their money. Whether funny, sad, self-referential or downright weird, Super Bowl ads have become a spectacle and tradition in their own right.

This weekend is the proverbial “Big Game”. It’s no secret that a large number of people are more interested in the advertising than they are the football. We all know which one is number one, right?

Engadget:

Snapseed doesn’t see quite the amount of updates that other Google-owned products do, but each one lately has been pretty significant. The name of the game for the latest is the addition of curves. Essentially, what this new feature does is allow manipulating things like contrast, brightness and color intensity in a given image. Oftentimes, it’s one of the easiest and most dramatic ways you can edit a photo.

I have literally dozens of image editing apps on my iPhone to adjust photos but Snapseed remains my favorite.

Inspired by a typewriter—I think this will certainly have its fans when released.

I had no idea there was a firmware update available for the AirPods, but I followed the instructions on TidBITS and sure enough it updated. To be clear, the way the update is done, you’ll eventually get the update, but I did it manually anyway.

The New York Times:

Our objective in making this film was something of a psychology experiment: We sought to capture people facing a difficult situation, to make a portrait of humans in doubt. We’ve all seen actors playing doubt in fiction films, but we have few true images of the feeling in documentaries. To make them, we decided to put people in a situation powerful enough not to need any classic narrative framework. A high dive seemed like the perfect scenario.

I still remember my first jump off the ten meter (approx 33 feet) tower at a public pool. I was ten years old and I was utterly terrified.

Tesla Motors Inc changed its name to “Tesla Inc” as Chief Executive Elon Musk looks to transform the Silicon Valley firm from an electric car maker to a diversified energy products company.

It’s weird, I never really considered Tesla as just an automobile company. I always just referred to it as Tesla, knowing that the company had its fingers in a lot of different tech.

Say it ain’t so, Justin Long. Say it ain’t so.

One down point in Apple’s numbers was reported iPad sales. Jason Snell:

Apple sold half as many iPads for the 2016 holiday quarter as it did in 2013.

And:

Meanwhile, average selling price sagged, after a brief buoying caused by the release of the 9.7-inch iPad Pro—a sign that during this sluggish holiday period, iPad sales were largely comprised of older, cheaper models.

I chalk this up to iPad maturity. My iPad is more than a year old, and I don’t have any sense that it is slow, outdated. I use it regularly, and have no performance complaints. Sluggish performance is a major factor that would drive me to replace my iPad.

Jason again:

The iPad has 85 percent of the market of tablets priced over $200. The important facts here: Apple’s not interested in selling a sub-$200 iPad, and so that means it’s doing spectacularly well in the market.

If there’s a problem, it’s that Apple built a product that does what it is supposed to do and does it so well that it does not bear replacement. And that’s not a problem for me.

Rene Ritchie pulls together quotes from Apple’s earnings call, tweets from Apple watchers, and sales estimates, to make the case that Apple Watch is not only a success, but a critical part of Apple’s ecosystem.

My 2 cents: I agree wholeheartedly. At the very least, the Apple Watch is a reliable, elegant, affordable timepiece.

Add in the most basic of its capabilities, the ability to receive a steady stream of notifications, and the Apple Watch is a no-brainer. If you then layer in fitness tracking, calendar management, and the ability to run third party apps, the Apple Watch climbs onto its own worthy perch in the ecosystem.

Trip Mickle, Wall Street Journal:

Apple Inc. is weighing legal action and continuing to press the Trump administration to reverse its executive order on immigration, Chief Executive Tim Cook said in an interview.

Mr. Cook said hundreds of Apple employees have been affected by the order, which suspended entry to the U.S. for refugees and travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations. He added that he continues to contact “very, very senior people in the White House” and impress on them why repealing the executive order is important not only for Apple but for the country.

“More than any country in the world, this country is strong because of our immigrant background and our capacity and ability as people to welcome people from all kinds of backgrounds. That’s what makes us special,” said Mr. Cook. “We ought to pause and really think deeply through that.”

And:

Mr. Cook declined to elaborate on Apple’s possible legal options, except to say that “we want to be constructive and productive.” He said that since the order was signed, he’s received numerous emails from Apple employees with “heart-wrenching stories” about how the order will affect friends and family. One employee who’s expecting a child said the future grandparents have Canadian and Iranian citizenship and won’t be able to visit to meet their new grandchild.

“These are people that have friends and family. They’re co-workers. They’re taxpayers. They’re key parts of the community,” Mr. Cook said.

And:

In recent days, Apple employees have been increasing their contributions to refugee relief funds, which Mr. Cook said the company will match on a 2-to-1 basis. The contributions come a year after Apple gave $2.5 million to refugee relief.

Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica:

Beta builds of iOS 10.3, the first of which was issued last week, generate warning messages when you try to run older 32-bit apps. The message, originally discovered by PSPDFKit CEO and app developer Peter Steinberger, warns that the apps “will not work with future versions of iOS” and that the app must be updated by its developer in order to continue running. The apps still run in iOS 10.3, but it seems likely that iOS 11 will drop support for them entirely.

Apple planted the seeds for this a few years ago when they mandated that all new apps be 64-bit compatible. Then, last summer, warning alerts appeared when 32-bit apps were run, reminding the user that using the app “may affect overall system performance”. So this is simply the next step in the progression.

Jason Snell pulled together a terrific series of charts breaking down Apple revenues, units shipped, sales growth, and more, all broken down quarter by quarter.

Serenity Caldwell does her usual amazing job transcribing the call for our reading, searching, and quoting pleasure.

All of us know that animals respond to music (my cats Roger and Chloe love to hang with me when I mix), but are there certain genres that they like better? A new study by the University of Glasgow in conjunction with the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals found out that shelter dogs definitely had some music preferences.

My dogs loved Ozzy.

DIYZ:

DIYZ gives you the information and guidance you’ll need to tackle any DIY home improvement project with confidence.

No matter what your skill level, DIYZ puts the power of money-saving, soul-satisfying DIY home projects right in the palm of your hand.

I am completely incompetent, almost dangerous, when it comes to using tools. I wouldn’t even attempt a DIY project without a lot of handholding. This might be just that kind of service, except for the fact it’s not available in Canada.

[Via Darby Lines]

A group of technology companies plans to meet on Tuesday to discuss filing an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit challenging U.S. President Donald Trump’s order restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, said a spokesperson for a company organizing the gathering.

Vance Powell is a friend and an amazing audio engineer. He’s worked with some of the best artists in the music industry over the years and at NAMM, he gave a session on how he recorded a project. He goes over the mic choice and even placement of the amps. This is well worth watching.

Lifehacker:

If you’re on the lookout for a digital painting tool and Photoshop is too expensive, Krita is a fast, free, and open source art tool that was developed by artists looking for something that met their needs without a ton of bloat or overhead. Plus, it’s completely cross-platform.

When we say “photoshop alternative,” we don’t strictly mean an alternative tool to help you manage photos, color correct them, resize them, and get them ready to share. Sure, you could probably do those things with Krita, but the tool is really designed for artists looking for a painting application to create original digital art, web and print comics, concept art, and more.

As the article said, this won’t replace Photoshop completely but if your needs are specific and you don’t require the full power of Photoshop, this might be a good alternative for digital artists.

Greg Barbosa, 9to5Mac, lays out the voice commands that work for your AirPods, even if you don’t have internet access. This requires you to switch your iOS “Press to Hold and Speak” Accessibility settings from Siri to Voice Control.

Not something you’ll want to do on the fly, but quite helpful if you frequently use your AirPods in an area without net access.

Nice find, Greg.

This Apple knowledge base page (via 512 Pixels) has beautifully detailed pictures of each Apple Watch band style, along with instructions on properly fastening each band type, as well as tips on getting the best fit.

What I found fascinating about the page was the pair of warnings at the bottom:

Apple Watch, the space gray and rose gold aluminum Apple Watch Sport, the stainless steel portions of some Apple Watch bands, and the magnets in the watch and bands contain some nickel. However, they all fall below the strict nickel restrictions set by European REACh regulation. Therefore, while nickel exposure is unlikely to be a problem, you should be aware of the possibility in case you’re susceptible to nickel-related reactions.

And:

The Apple Watch case, the Milanese Loop, Modern Buckle, and Leather Loop bands contain trace amounts of methacrylates from adhesives. Methacrylates are commonly found in many consumer products that come in contact with the skin, including adhesive bandages, but some people may be sensitive to them, or develop sensitivities over time. Methacrylate exposure from Apple Watch and the bands listed above is unlikely, but customers with known methacrylate allergies should be attentive when wearing the bands until they can determine they are not experiencing an allergic reaction.

The page was published last September, so this is likely old news, but this is the first time I’ve encountered these warnings.

Christian Zibreg, iDownloadBlog, on Apple Watch theater mode:

Activated via a brand new toggle in Control Center, Theater Mode puts your wearable device into silent mode while keeping the screen dark until you tap it or press the Digital Crown or the Side button.

Read the post for all the details, including some nice screen shots and a video that shows theater mode in action.

In a nutshell, you drag up on your Apple Watch screen to bring up control center. Tap the theater mode icon (orange, with two theater masks) to bring up a splash screen with a theater mode button. Tap the button and theater mode is enabled.

In theater mode, your watch screen will not light up in response to notifications or a wrist flick. You’ll need to tap the screen or press the Digital Crown or side button to turn it on.

Two things:

1. Not sure we need the splash screen button press to enable theater mode. Hopefully, this is a temporary extra step. I turn airplane mode on and off without the confirming splash screen. Works just fine.

2. Does the UK interface say “Theatre Mode”? Just curious.

UPDATE: And the answer is, Theater Mode in the US and Cinema Mode in the UK. [H/T Vincent Ritter]

Rich McCormick, The Verge:

Twitter’s vice president of engineering, Ed Ho, has promised to make changes to the service to combat harassment as soon as this week. Speaking on Twitter, Ho said that the company would be rolling out a number of product changes “in the days ahead,” including “long overdue fixes to mute/block” features, and new measures designed stop serial abusers from creating new accounts.

Ho said that making Twitter safer was the company’s primary focus at the moment, and acknowledged its failures in the past to protect users from threats, insults, and other harassment. “We heard you, we didn’t move fast enough last year,” Ho wrote in a threaded series of tweets. “Now we’re thinking about progress in days and hours not weeks and months.”

Here’s a link to the start of Ed Ho’s twitter thread.

And here’s Jack Dorsey’s clarifying retweet:

We’re taking a completely new approach to abuse on Twitter. Including having a more open & real-time dialogue about it every step of the way

We shall see.

Jean-Louis Gassée, writing for Monday Note:

Here in the Valley tech CEOs are taken to task for their timid protests against the latest bout of xenophobia. ‘It’s not a policy we support’, or ‘this is not the best way’, or ‘we’re concerned’.

I don’t think this is the right perspective. We’ve seen how a Trump tweet can hurt a company and its shareholders. A responsible CEO shouldn’t expose his constituents to irrational wrath. We’ve seen, during the transition, how Trump berated and threatened media executives in off-the record exchanges. Imagine the scenario I saw on Twitter (but can’t find for proper attribution — update: it was @counternotions). Someone calls Brian Roberts, CEO of Comcast, and in a heavy mafia voice tells him ‘Nice little bidness you have here, be a shame if anything happened to it’. This because Comcast owns NBC and NBC runs Saturday Night Live and its sharp Trump parodies. They hurt their target’s needy ego — because they do what caricatures do, give relief to a truth.

Jean-Louis is not suggesting tech CEOs should lay down. Far from it. Read the post. A thoughtful perspective.

Want to listen in? The call will be live streamed here.

Want a bit of detail on what’s expected, what’s at stake? Joe Rossignol pulled together this post for Mac Rumors that does a nice job laying everything out.

As the Super Bowl countdown begins, Siri is gearing up for the Big Game. For the first time, Apple TV users can now ask Siri to tune in live to the Super Bowl just by saying, “Watch the Super Bowl.” Whether you’re at home, at a local sports bar or at a friend’s party, Siri is available everywhere you are and provides even more football insights including team rosters, player comparisons, historical stats, season records and more.

What a great idea by Britain’s Royal Mail.

An Argentine prosecutor asked a judge on Monday to jail local executives of ride-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc and a court ordered the company’s mobile application to be shut down following protests from taxi drivers’ unions.