This week: some pundits are fed up with Apple music, but you know what? We’re not. Plus: Apple’s Back To School promotion is finally unveiled; Apple Watch topples expectations, gets an insane satisfaction rating; iOS devices cross a major threshold; plus we answer your questions on an all-new #CultCastQnA.
Our thanks to lynda.com for sponsoring this episode. Learn virtually any application at your own pace from expert-taught video tutorials at lynda.com.
Show notes ahead. Bon appétit.
If you have young children, the last question you want to hear on any long journey is, “Are we there yet?” It’s never asked just once; it’s asked again and again and again until you angrily threaten to turn around and go home, or you plow into a tree.
The question is so infuriating that even Google Maps can’t take it. Ask the maddening question a few times while navigating and you’ll get the angry response you deserve.
When Tony Fadell was put in charge of Google Glass earlier this year, we wrote that the father of the iPod had been “tasked with saving Google Glass from extinction.”
According to a new interview with the Nest co-founder, that’s not entirely accurate, though. Fadell says that rather than being saddled with the project by Google, he actively asked for it.
“It wasn’t handed to me and said, ‘Tony clean it up,'” he explained. “I offered. I remember what it was like when we did the iPod and the iPhone [at Apple]. I think this can be that important, but it’s going to take time to get it right.”
What vaulted Apple from its humble Silicon Valley origins to the absolute top of the business world? From its first desktop computer in 1976 to today’s category-crushing Apple Watch, the company is intensely focused on creating technology that will delight the masses.
That vision is best exemplified by Apple’s five most important products, which I’ve rounded up in this week’s edition of Kahney’s Korner. Some made the list for reasons that might surprise you.
In my mind, the original iPod basically came out yesterday. Which is why it’s more than a little surreal — yet strangely amusing — watching kids who weren’t even born in 2001 react to it like they’re archeologists uncovering the relics of a bygone civilization.
Does it make calls? Does it have external speakers? And surely it’s got to have a touchscreen somewhere, if you can only work out which button to press. No, no, and no are the answers, as these grade school kids learn over the course of an amusing video. Check it out below:
We hope that the designer of this cute Apple Watch stand doesn’t get an adorable little cease-and-desist letter in the mail.
The WatchMe stand bears an uncanny resemblance to the stars of some despicable memes scattered across the Internet like salt, but it isn’t a complete rip-off. They don’t have arms, after all. And luckily, the Apple Watch, which the stand wears like a monocle, isn’t round.
So it’s a toss-up, really.
If you have plans this weekend to saunter into your local Apple Store and pick up a Nest thermostat for your increasingly connected home, we have bad news for you: The company is no longer offering the device for sale in either its retail or online stores.
But could Apple interest you in an Ecobee?
The iPhone 6s is likely to be revealed within the next two months, which means the leaks are starting to flow out of the supply chain like toxic fumes pouring out of Foxconn factories. We got our first look at a purported iPhone 6s rear shell last week, and now a new set of pictures of an alleged iPhone 6s front panel have leaked online.
Get ready to spend your time chomping dots and eating ghosts with this amazing version of arcade classic Pac-Man, one of the most recognizable games of the past 35 years.
Designed by the original Pac-Man creator Tōru Iwatani, Championship Edition (CE) came out for the Xbox 360 in 2007, and it was the best ever remake of the arcade original.
Now Pac-Man CE DX, an improved version of the game that released onto Xbox 360 in 2010, is here for your iPhone or Android smartphone, and I’m betting you’ll spend some serious time playing it.
When it comes to the App Store and the Mac App Store, the two software dispensing platforms are not treated equally.
Not only do top 10 Mac App Store apps make a whole lot less than the chart toppers on iOS, but developers are noticing that Apple’s not even giving Mac app developers some of the same critical tools their counterparts enjoy on the App Store.
If you’ve been using iCloud to back up your iOS devices for a while like I have, chances are you’ve got a few older backup files crufting up your iCloud storage space.
If you want to maximize the space on your iCloud account, you might want to delete some of these older iCloud backups to make room for more.
Here’s how to do that.
“What you don’t know won’t hurt you” is a common phrase that unfortunately does not apply to the apps on your phone. It turns out that thousands of apps on Android and iOS secretly have ads in them that you can’t see, and they very well might be what’s causing a number of problems that plague smartphones today.
It’s iPhone rumor season which means concept artists are busting out their best guesses as to what Jony Ive’s next smartphone design changes might entail. We’ve already seen some super thin iPhone redesigns, but concept designers Ivo Marić and Tomislav have taken a different approach.
Instead of changing the iPhone’s form factor, the designers’ iPhone 7 concept looks just like an iPhone 6. It comes with all the features we’d expect to see — sapphire glass, an A10 processor, 16 Megapixel camera sensor, QHD Retina display — but the duo have dreamed up a super special wireless dock that does a lot more than just wireless charging.
Check it out:
In an effort to outlaw discrimination against LGBT people under federal law, members of congress introduced the historic Equality Act of 2015 today, and they’ve got the biggest company in tech on their side.
By ensuring people can no longer be discriminated against due to sexual orientation or gender identity, the sweeping legislation would extend these rights to LGBT people in the 31 states that don’t offer those protections to LGBT citizens. The new bill already has 150 co-sponsors, plus Apple’s official endorsement.
Despite launching a few months ago, the new MacBook hasn’t gotten a tremendous amount of love from accessory makers so far. Above the Fray, a company based in Thailand, noticed a glaring omission for a 12-inch MacBook cable manager so the team took it upon themselves to create one.
Amid continuing rumors that it might be building an electric car, Apple revealed that is has boosted its research-and-development spending by $1.5 billion this year.
While Apple is dumping more money into R&D, it’s been able to trim costs in other areas. In its Securities and Exchange Commission filing for the fiscal quarter that ended June 27, Apple lowered its capital-spending projections for the year by 8 percent, which could amount to $1 billion in savings.
The E1 camera is so small, there is barely any room on the body for its two-character name.
This is only a slight exaggeration for the slight camera with large ambitions and an impressive list of specs that could make it legitimate competition for GoPro, the reigning king of the Point of View camera market.
Startup camera company Z says its E1 is the world’s smallest Micro Four Thirds 4K video camera with interchangeable lenses.
Looks like Samsung and Apple pretty much own the smartphone market, though there are some scrappy contenders starting to make headway.
According to International Data Corporation (IDC), handset makers shipped a total of 337.2 million smartphones worldwide in the last quarter of 2015 (Q2). This is up 11.6 percent from last year, an amazing bit of growth considering how many smartphones are already on the loose.
From Photoshop to Flash, Adobe’s software products are a key part of the digital media ecosystem. Mastering a set of tools as wide ranging as theirs takes a lot of time, which is exactly what the Lifetime Subscription to Adobe Training Videos offers. For $89, you’ll get literally as much time as you need to absorb thousands of lessons on the countless facets of Adobe and web design.
Apple has launched its “Back to School” promotion for 2015, and this year’s is… kinda “meh” to be honest.
Instead of the gift cards Apple offered in 2014 and 2013, this year students who buy a new Mac will be eligible to receive a pair of Beats Solo2 On-Ear Headphones or Beats Solo2 Wireless On-Ear Headphones for their trouble.
John Spinello stuck a safety pin in a light socket. He was 3 and never forgot how the shock “flipped me over backwards.”
As an adult, he turned that moment of mischievous curiosity into a board game that shaped the lives of millions of kids around the world.
Any “dopey doctor” who has played Operation knows the loud buzzing sound when you’ve botched your attempt at removing the patient’s funny bone. It first went off 50 years ago this year. Kids today play the game, adults still hear the buzzer from their childhood and some actually credit it with their pursuit of a career in medicine.
Apple could opt to include a Touch ID fingerprint sensor in its new Apple TV remote, according to a patent application published today.
Unlike the iPhone and iPad, however, this sensor wouldn’t be used for unlocking your device, but rather quickly making it aware of who is watching at any given time — thereby letting Apple’s long-awaited TV configure volume, screen brightness, and suggested channels on a person-by-person basis. Smart, eh?
It was inevitable that the success of Apple Music was going to have some people screaming about anti-competitive practices, and that’s exactly what happened. Yesterday, senator (and former SNL alumni) Al Franken threw his hat into the ring by writing a letter requesting that the Justice Department take the matter seriously.
The overwhelming majority of mobile podcast listening is done on an iPhone, most of it on Apple’s own Podcasts app, which is why it’s no wonder Apple would be interested in figuring out a way to monetize the service if it can.
In a patent application published today, Apple describes how in the future it could interrupt podcasts with targeted personalized advertisements, by way of Apple’s iAd platform.
Apple’s plans for HomeKit to become the de facto platform for the connected home is taking longer than expected to happen because of the company’s obsession with security, according to a recent report.