Category: Apple

I’ve had my Apple Watch for a month now and feel like I’ve settled into a routine with it. I deal with the handful of notification types I allow to show up on my wrist. I don’t use many third-party apps, and — unlike some people I know — actually use and like Glances.

In this pre-SDK era, third-party Glances are pretty simple, so I’m only using a couple of them. However, Apple’s can be interactive, and by mixing them with the couple of critical third-party ones, Glances have become a quick way for me to know what’s going on with my devices and jump into the apps I use most.

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I love when people get something old to work with something new.

Apple Watch to Mac 512K

Apple II to Cinema Display

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Jeff Williams, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Operations, spoke at the Code Conference today. It’s an interesting read about the Watch, among other things.

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Benjamin Mayo:

The discoveryd process has been subject to much criticism in recent months as it causes users to regularly drop WiFi access and causes network shares to list many times over, due to bugs. Many developers, such as Craig Hockenberry, have complained about the buggy software and workarounds have been found to include substituting the older system (called mDNSResponder) back into Yosemite.

discoveryd would cause random crashes, duplicate names on the network and many other WiFi-relate bugs. In the latest beta, Apple appears to have applied the same fix as the enthusiasts by axing discoveryd completely.

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Stephen Fry, in a wonderfully-written essay about Apple’s design boss:

Until now, Ive’s job title has been Senior Vice President of Design. But I can reveal that he has just been promoted and is now Apple’s Chief Design Officer. It is therefore an especially exciting time for him.

Inside the fabled design studio (cloths over the long tables hiding the exciting new prototypes from prying eyes like mine) Jony has two people with him. They too have been promoted as part of Ive’s new role.

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Alfred is my go-to app launcher on my Macs. Anything task I do or workflow I need more than about 3 times a week, I try to automate using it.

With my newest series here on 512, I’m searching Apple’s support site more than ever. With Alfred’s custom search functionality, this can be done very quickly.

In the app’s preferences, under Features, you can add a new Web Search. You can add a keyword, label and — most importantly — the URL Alfred will need to pass to the browser to fire your search results:

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Rene Ritchie at iMore:

Imagine instead, like the Apple Watch, the iPad ran its own distinct version of iOS: iPad OS. Rather than a stripped down version for smaller screens and batteries, imagine it ran an amped-up version that really took advantage of bigger screens and batteries, with a Home screen, interaction methods, and capabilities optimized for a tablet.

The iPad runs an OS designed for the smartphone; thinking about what it could do if Apple would break that link (feature-wise, at least) is really interesting.

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Nate Barham:

On first impression, the MacBook states its design goals clearly to the user. This computer is thin and light. It aims to do more with less. Weighing a half-pound less than even the smallest MacBook Air, there is literally less machine, less matter, less physical object. It is thin enough to make even the “fits in an office envelope” trick of the original Air seem mundane and unimpressive.

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The 15-inch MacBook Pro now ships with a Force Touch trackpad, better internals and a bump in battery life. The high-end model is now shipping with an updated AMD video chipset. One of these will be my next Mac. Update: It looks like these machines are still powered by Haswell-class chips, not Broadwell. I will probably roll the dice and wait for new chipsets and hope the MacBook keyboard isn’t added at the same time.

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“Should I buy an Apple Watch?” “Will it be as big as smartphones?” “Can it do anything my phone can’t do?”

If you — like me — are asked those questions about Apple Watch, I think David Chartier’s answer is pretty good:

Apple Watch feels like an extension of convenience, though certainly with more of an element of luxury. I don’t think everyone will need a smartwatch the same way they need broadband in the 21st century (or rather, it should be a fundamental right) and some kind of computing device, be it a phone or basic PC. But if you have the money and a busy life, Apple Watch is a tremendously stylish, worthwhile way to simplify some of it and spend more time with the things that matter. As with any platform, if Apple Watch grows, our time spent with things that matter will hopefully grow with it.

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I’ve been wearing my Apple Watch for a couple of weeks, and while I’m still churning on my review, I wanted to share my thoughts on the ten watch faces that come with the device. While having so many options is great, many of the faces have frustrating limitations in the ways they can be customized or used.

Editor’s Note: Don’t judge me for my Activity Rings. My Watch was on the dresser most of the day, as I didn’t want to smash it while moving rocks around in the yard.

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This is very different than Steve Job’s speech at Stanford a decade ago, but that’s fine. This speech is Tim Cook, through and through. It’s well worth a watch. Cook’s story and passion for social justice is something I truly admire.

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