I’ve been stuck in bed for the last several days recovering from surgery on my foot, and instead of reading or meditating or something else good and useful, I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole of watching old episodes of The Computer Chronicles on YouTube.
This episode really jumped out at me, as half-way through, the Macintosh and its designer Susan Kare make an appearance.
In 1987, The Computer Chronicles did an episode all about HyperCard:
It is a fascinating watch, but a few things really jumped out at me:
Don’s miss this 2019 Ars Technica post about HyperCard, which was written by Matthew Lasar.
I remember when this company and its products were in the news a lot more, but I had no idea the story behind it all was so wild. Quinn knocked it out of the park with this one:
I’ve long been interested in Apple’s boilerplate press release text, and as it turns out, Apple Music releases have their own blurb:
Apple loves music. With iPod and iTunes, Apple revolutionized the music experience by putting a thousand songs in your pocket. Today, Apple Music takes this to the ultimate with over 60 million songs, thousands of playlists, and daily selections from the world’s best music experts, including all of the artists and hosts broadcasting daily across its Apple Music 1, Apple Music Hits, and Apple Music Country global live streams. Since 2015, Apple Music has welcomed tens of millions of subscribers in 167 countries. Streaming seamlessly to iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch, Apple TV, Mac, HomePod, and CarPlay, Apple Music is the most complete music experience on the planet.
This morning, my buddy Jason Snell is launching a new project: “20 Macs for 2020,” in which he is covering what he thinks are the most notable Macs. The list will include good, weird and even bad computers.
He’s kicking off the list with the Power Mac G5.
In addition to a new post every Monday, 20 Macs for 2020 also lives as a podcast on Relay FM. On each episode, Snell talks to a group of Mac watchers and enthusiasts about the machine in question.
Hartley Charlton at MacRumors:
Twitter user @DongleBookPro has today posted images of what seems to be a first-generation iPod Touch prototype with a 2013 Mac Pro-style glossy black finish.
The Twitter user claims that the iPod Touch prototype pictured has “the same coating as the 2013 Mac Pro.” Had the finish been selected for the final product, it would have been the first metallic glossy black finish to be shipped on an Apple device.
One of the first products you could purchase online from Apple was a set of golf balls and tees. Not a golfer? Apple also offered a puzzle in a can, a paddle game, luggage tags, and even a onesie with the classic Mac OS Trash icon screen printed on the front. These forgotten items and nearly 100 more products came from the peculiar world of AppleDesigns.com, one of Apple’s earliest online shopping projects.
Johns Hopkins Hospital recently completed a 10 month pilot project to assess the utility of the Apple MessagePad in the hands of health care case managers. The hospital developed its own software called the PD Tracker that runs on the Newton platform. Physicians and case managers using the PD Tracker and the Apple MessagePad combination have found it to be an effective replacement for their current paper-based system.
Although circumstances have unfortunately forced the upcoming 2020 Worldwide Developers Conference to be online-only, I thought it would be fun to look back 30 years to WWDC 1990, the second conference held (and the first for which a CD was published).
On May 7-11, 1990, Apple Computer held the second-ever Worldwide Developers Conference at the (then-new) San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, CA. A newsgroup post indicates that the attendance fee was $195 per day, and hotels were available for $56-135 a night.
On June 15, 2010, Apple released the Apple Store app in the App Store. The app recognized the growing importance of mobile shopping on the iPhone and elevated the in-store experience at Apple Retail Stores. On its 10th anniversary, let’s take a look back at the app’s design evolution and how it changed the way we shop.
This is really cool, and I think I miss the old glossy black buttons apps used to use for things.
I really enjoyed this interview by John Gruber of Adam Engst. It was fascinating to hear how TidBITS got started and has evolved over the years.
This anniversary snuck up on me, but thankfully plenty of other folks have put together some great content marking the date.
Of course, Rene Ritchie has a great video up:
… and here are some links worth checking out: