February 27, 2015
Written by Shawn King
New York Times:
Leonard Nimoy, the sonorous, gaunt-faced actor who won a worshipful global following as Mr. Spock, the resolutely logical human-alien first officer of the Starship Enterprise in the television and movie juggernaut “Star Trek,” died on Friday morning at his home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles. He was 83. His wife, Susan Bay Nimoy, confirmed his death, saying the cause was end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
He was a wonderful actor in many roles but will obviously always be known for the iconic Spock. A very sad loss.
Written by Shawn King
Mic:
Some of the most mythic songs in history have never before been heard. Music has long played an integral role in literature and myth — forms that imperfectly captured the sounds described. What follows is a list of some of the most compelling songs that no living being has ever heard. These are songs that, without any music, testify to the true power of the art form
When I first read the headline, I thought it was poorly written but upon reading the story I realized they were right – there are many famous “songs” we’ve never actually heard.
Written by Dave Mark
When computers become an integral part of a movie or TV show, I usually get the feeling that the computer was force fit into its place in the writing, that the writers don’t really know the computer well, don’t get all the little details right.
I watched this all-Apple episode of Modern Family with low expectations. I loved it. The screens were captured fluidly, the content was perfectly placed, all the little details were spot-on. Kudos to the team that put this together.
You can watch this episode of Modern Family, entitled Connection Lost, on demand here (at least in the US). That link may require you to login through your cable/satellite provider.
Zac Hall, over at 9to5mac, lays out other options, like Hulu Plus, the ABC iPad App, etc., in this post. Happy viewing.
Written by Dave Mark
From the official George Washington University announcement page:
Apple CEO Tim Cook will deliver the George Washington University’s commencement address May 17 and will be awarded an honorary doctorate of public service, the university announced Wednesday night.
Mr. Cook, whose invitation was suggested by GW students during the nominating process, has led Apple since 2011.
“I am delighted that Tim Cook has accepted our invitation to give this year’s commencement address on the National Mall,” George Washington President Steven Knapp said. “I know our graduating students will be inspired and enlightened by his reflections on the lessons he has garnered from his distinguished career as a highly effective leader at the forefront of technological innovation.”
By far the best part of this is the video showing the back and forth between the school and Tim Cook. The video is so well done, I suspect that Apple made it. Take a look.
Written by Dave Mark
Apple Insider:
Firehouse joins fellow nationwide food chains Panera Bread, Subway, and McDonald’s in rolling out Apple Pay support. A number of supermarkets accept Apple Pay as well, including FoodMaxx, Harvey’s, Meijer, Save Mart, Shaw’s, Sprouts, and Whole Foods, with support from Albertsons coming soon.
Jacksonville, Fl.-based Firehouse is a rapidly growing fast casual chain with a footprint stretching across 43 states. The company plans to open more than 2,000 restaurants by 2020, making them an ideal partner for Apple’s nascent mobile payments system.
A nice win for Apple Pay.
From Reuters:
Smartflash LLC aims to make Apple pay for using the patent licensing firm’s technology without permission in devices not be included in the previous case, such as the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus and the iPad Air 2. The trial covered older Apple devices.
The new complaint was filed on Wednesday night in the same court in Tyler, where Smartflash is also based and which over the past decade has become a focus for patent litigation. Smartflash licenses its patents but does not make products itself.
“Smartflash filed the complaint to address products that came out too far into the last proceedings to have been included,” Smartflash’s attorney, Brad Caldwell, told Reuters on Thursday. “Apple cannot claim they don’t know about these patents or understand that they are infringing. A diligent jury has already rejected those arguments.”
Apple said after Tuesday’s verdict it would appeal and that the outcome was another reason reform was needed in the patent system to curb litigation by companies that make money off patent royalties instead of products.
Amen to that.
At the same time, from the Wall Street Journal:
Ericsson AB said Friday it is suing Apple Inc. for infringing 41 patents it says are critical to many aspects of the U.S. tech giant’s devices.
The Swedish networking company said Apple had declined a licensing deal and refused an offer to have a court determine fair licensing terms by which both companies would be bound, so it has filed two complaints with the U.S. International Trade Commission, and seven complaints in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
February 26, 2015
Written by Jim Dalrymple
That growth was led by Apple and its blockbuster iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which captured the overwhelming majority of the industry’s profit. Android, meanwhile, was relegated to a record-low of 11 percent global smartphone profit share during the quarter.
Apple had 89 percent and Android took 11 percent. It’s hard to argue with numbers like that.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Web-only access is a free level of iCloud service that’s available to anyone, including people who don’t own or use Apple devices. It includes access to Pages, Numbers, and Keynote for iCloud and 1 GB of free storage for any documents you create.
This is such a great idea.
Written by Shawn King
Bloomberg:
For almost a century, Kellogg defined the American breakfast: a moment when people would be jolted out of their drowsiness—often with a stupendous serving of sugar. The sales of 19 of Kellogg’s top 25 cereals eroded last year, according to Consumer Edge Research, a Stamford (Conn.) firm that tracks the food industry. Sales of Frosted Flakes, the company’s No. 1 brand, fell 4.5 percent.
Kellogg executives don’t expect cereal sales to return to growth this year, though they hope to slow the rate of decline and do better in 2016. But some Wall Street analysts say cereal sales may never fully recover. In Battle Creek, so-called Cereal City, that would be the equivalent of the apocalypse.
I haven’t sat down to a bowl of breakfast cereal in more than a decade but my favourite was always Apple Jacks.
Written by Shawn King
Ars Technica:
The Federal Communications Commission today voted to enforce net neutrality rules that prevent Internet providers—including cellular carriers—from blocking or throttling traffic or giving priority to Web services in exchange for payment. The most controversial part of the FCC’s decision reclassifies fixed and mobile broadband as a telecommunications service, with providers to be regulated as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act. This decision brings Internet service under the same type of regulatory regime faced by wireline telephone service and mobile voice, though the FCC is forbearing from stricter utility-style rules that it could also apply under Title II.
This is a big step but the fight isn’t over yet.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Apple updated its web site today confirming it will live stream the March 9 event.
Apple on Thursday sent out invites for a special event to be held on March 9, 2015. The event will be held in San Francisco at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, a venue that Apple has used many times before for special events.
It is widely expected that Apple will use the event to give more details about the Apple Watch, which was introduced last September.
There are still many details about the Apple Watch that we don’t know, including pricing of the various configurations that we could find out in March.
Two things.
First, spend a minute on this page, which Apple links to with the text “See every Apple Watch”. This is not new, but given all the discussion of what might be happening, it’s refreshing to scroll through a page of fact.
Second, there’s been a lot of discussion about the price of the highest end Apple Watch Edition, with speculation that the highest price point might hit $20,000. I struggled with this, not because I think the watch market won’t support such a price (it obviously can and does), but because existing high end watches are designed to last a lifetime. As they age, they become collectible and tend to continue to work quite well with a minimum of maintenance.
My concern was that an Apple Watch would have a limited lifespan, much like an iPhone. As the operating system becomes more sophisticated, it depends on a faster, more powerful processor to support that enhanced complexity. Add to that, the Apple Watch sensor package will certainly evolve over time as medical applications and sensor technology evolve. The Apple Watch is married to the technology it showcases.
Apple certainly will have a repair program for the Apple Watch, just as it does for the iPhone. The question for me is, will there be an upgrade path for Apple Watch, especially for a high end model? I can’t take my iPhone 4 and plug in a new set of innards to make it compatible with iOS 8. But might that be a possibility for the Apple Watch?
This sentence, taken from Apple’s Apple Watch Technology page, gives me hope that this is the case:
we found a way to integrate many subsystems into one remarkably compact module, which is then completely encapsulated in resin to protect the electronics from the elements, impact, and wear.
If you look at the picture on that page (which John Gruber pointed out a few days ago in this post), you’ve got to wonder if the upgrade path is a simple part swap out.
We’ll find out soon enough.
Written by Dave Mark
Reuters:
China has dropped some of the world’s leading technology brands from its approved state purchase lists, while approving thousands more locally made products, in what some say is a response to revelations of widespread Western cybersurveillance.
Others put the shift down to a protectionist impulse to shield China’s domestic technology industry from competition.
And:
China’s change of tack coincided with leaks by former U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden in mid-2013 that exposed several global surveillance program, many of them run by the NSA with the cooperation of telecom companies and European governments.
“The Snowden incident, it’s become a real concern, especially for top leaders,” said Tu Xinquan, Associate Director of the China Institute of WTO Studies at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. “In some sense the American government has some responsibility for that; (China’s) concerns have some legitimacy.”
Apple continues to be a favorite among Chinese consumers, so it’s not clear how big an impact this will have on Apple’s inroads in China.
Written by Dave Mark
Zac Hall, writing for 9to5mac:
it’s no secret that Final Cut Pro X, the overhauled follow up to Apple’s widely used video editing software, wasn’t exactly a hit with its users when the app was first released in 2011.
A comprehensive change in the way the software functioned and a lack of legacy features from the prior version gave the app a reputation for being “iMovie Pro” rather than a true professional desktop video editor. Soon after its launch, Apple addressed the flood of criticism with an FAQ site and a promise that more features would slowly become available in the new version.
Nearly four years later, the first Hollywood film edited in Final Cut Pro X is set to be released. To showcase the movie debut and FCPX’s role in the film, Apple has launched a microsite detailing the production.
Astonishing that there’s not been a single film edited with Final Cut Pro X to hit the theaters in the last four years.
From this USA Today article:
Focus directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa choose Final Cut for a simple reason: “We wanted to do the edit in a way that was quicker,” says Ficarra.
The move produced “a lot of eye rolling and sympathetic prayers,” he adds. But the negativity about FCPX was based on “old information,” and not informed, he says.
He says the speed of the new FCPX enabled the directors and editing team to be able to cut the film as they were shooting, instead of after production wrapped. “It’s a totally different way to look at the process.”
Maybe the likening of Final Cut Pro X to an iMovie Pro is a good thing:
Many editors called the new FCPX “iMovie Pro,” when it was released, and not ready for the big leagues, but Ficarra says he likes that FCPX is easier to use, and that it’s look and feel is akin to iMovie.
“We have a whole generation of kids learning on iMovie,” he says. “They’ll be familiar with this tool when they get into the real world.”
Here’s a link to Apple’s Final Cut Pro X Focus page.
February 25, 2015
Written by Jim Dalrymple
This is exactly what I’d expect from Apple—lots of room on the page with the focus being on the product, and not on a bunch of needless words. It speaks for itself.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Jim, Shawn and Dave talk about Steve Jobs, Apple Watch pricing and Roadie Tuner!
Sponsored by WALTR (Visit the link and use the code BIGBEARDSPECIAL for 33% off).
Written by Jim Dalrymple
I never realized how many great beard t-shirts were out there. I need to make my own beard t-shirts.
February 24, 2015
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Joanna Stern:
Without much thought, I did what most Americans do every two years: I agreed to be locked in by a multibillion-dollar wireless company. With pricey contracts and confusing add-ons, they make it incredibly hard to leave, let alone take our phones with us. I deserve to walk around with “Property of Verizon” stamped on my forehead.
I know a lot of people that are going for the unlocked phone so they don’t have to be locked in any more. It’s more expensive upfront, but sometimes the flexibility is worth it.
Rumors have been swirling since late last night that Apple acquired Instrument and effect plug-in maker, Camel Audio. I contacted Apple today to see whether or not the rumors were true.
“Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans,” an Apple representative said.
This is Apple’s typical response when they do purchase a company, so it makes sense that Apple did buy Camel. The other evidence that’s been discovered by MacRumors is pretty convincing, as well.
Camel Audio’s address has been updated to 100 New Bridge Street, which is Apple’s London address, and the company’s sole director is now listed as Apple lawyer Heather Joy Morrison…
Camel Audio closed down on January 8, 2015, which also contributed to the speculation that the popular company had been sold.
Personally, I think it’s a good move by Apple.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Broadcast television may be now facing a similar, scary phase shift. Netflix has been making inroads among U.S. consumers for years, but its impact on the key 18-to-49-year-old demographic has so far been limited. Old habits die hard and many viewers have remained mostly loyal to habit of gorging on linear television on Thursday nights.
But the most recent numbers have some scary elements that point to a possibly massive disruption in the near term. Broadcast TV consumption among 18-to-34-year-old Americans plunged by 11% in the Christmas quarter. Ominously, audiences of young-skewing cable channels like Nickelodeon and MTV are now sliding by 14 to 17% year-on-year.
I’ll be honest, I’m more excited about a new Netflix series than I am about anything on one of the big networks.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Interesting article from John Cassidy in The New Yorker. If Apple is working on a car, I think they could give the traditional car companies more of a run than Cassidy does.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Tim Cook posted this tweet today. I still miss Steve. He would have been 60 today.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
The car was from 1999, but Marc has designed a lot of transportation vehicles. Just another interesting point.
