Physicists detect gravitational waves ⇢

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Dennis Overbye:

A team of physicists who can now count themselves as astronomers announced on Thursday that they had heard and recorded the sound of two black holes colliding a billion light-years away, a fleeting chirp that fulfilled the last prophecy of Einstein’s general theory of relativity.

That faint rising tone, physicists say, is the first direct evidence of gravitational waves, the ripples in the fabric of space-time that Einstein predicted a century ago. And it is a ringing (pun intended) confirmation of the nature of black holes, the bottomless gravitational pits from which not even light can escape, which were the most foreboding (and unwelcome) part of his theory.

Don’t miss the video explaining how this all works.

NASA’s 2017 ⇢

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Jason Snell, writing for Yahoo Tech:

While the give and take between NASA and Congress is sure to go on — with the election of a new president later this year as a complicating factor — the fact is that NASA has a $19 billion budget for 2016 and a $19 billion budget proposed for 2017. Here’s some of what the agency is planning on doing with that money.

RSS Sponsorship: Obscura ⇢

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There’s always a better camera than the one you have with you.

Obscura is the simplest, most comfortable way to take great photos. Obscura’s controls are always within in easy reach of your thumb, as are tasteful filters that make getting the perfect photo quick and easy. And with the latest update, Obscura now (finally) supports the iPad too!

Obscura has everything you’d expect from a pro camera app, like custom exposure controls, grids and a spirit level. But Obscura goes even further with unique features like a unique way of locking settings, and focus peaking.

Obscura has been on my homescreen for a while now, and has become my go-to camera app. It’s fast, fun and powerful. Go check it out.

Apple opens REP for Mac Pro ⇢

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Joe Rossignol at MacRumors:

Apple has determined that graphics cards in some late 2013 Mac Pros, manufactured between February 8, 2015 and April 11, 2015, may cause distorted video, no video, system instability, freezing, restarts, shut downs, or may prevent system start up.

Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider will repair eligible Mac Pro models affected by the video issues free of charge. Customers can book an appointment with the Genius Bar at an Apple Store or visit an Apple Authorized Service Provider to determine if their Mac Pro is eligible for coverage.

Filed under: “it’s about time.”

Happiness is a podcasting family ⇢

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Myke Hurley, writing at iMore:

The fact that we have computers in our pockets now — on our person at all times — means that we are all just a tap away from each other. And since we have hosts who live all over the world, there’s someone online at practically any time of the day or night. That’s powerful, and that’s why I love my Apple devices. They not only help me do my work in a practical sense; they also help me stay connected to the people that are most important in my life.

Having my co-founder six time zones and 4,300 miles away isn’t as hard as it may seem. With things like iMessage, FaceTime, Skype and Slack, Myke and I can communicate with each other and our hosts no matter where we are. Relay FM wouldn’t be possible without the technology we use everyday. We do deeply enjoy the handful of times we see each other a year but it hasn’t stopped us from running a growing business from different continent.

The best part is that you’d never know it looking at what we’ve been able to accomplish. Our company could only exist in the 21s century, and I think that’s pretty cool.

Remember the Milk gets giant overhaul ⇢

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Remember the Milk was the first task manager I ever used. Like Gabe, I used Remember the Milk for years. I upgraded to their Pro service way back on July 24, 2008 and have close to 6,000 completed tasks logged there.

The service fell behind, though, and I moved on, but now, it’s back with a huge update. With an all-new look and new apps, the service offers features found in other systems, including start dates, task sharing, subtasks and more. Remember the Milk had things like plain-English parsing and amazing search operators well before anyone else, and these have been updated as well.

Even with these updates, I’m not sure Remember the Milk is powerful enough to handle my task needs, but I’d be lying to say I’m not tempted to give it a run.

Apple launches broken iPhone upgrade program ⇢

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Mark Gurman at 9to5 Mac:

The Apple Store Reuse and Recycle iPhone trade-in program currently allows a customer to bring in an older iPhone model and trade it in for credit toward the purchase of a new iPhone model. The main exception since the launch of the program is that this does not apply toward older iPhones with cracked displays, or broken cameras and buttons. That’s about to change …

Starting this week, the updated program will allow Apple Stores to give credit for iPhone 5s and iPhone 6/6 Plus units with damaged displays, cameras, and buttons within reason. Apple believes that this new program will encourage new iPhone upgrades versus a standard iPhone screen repair.

We’ve all seen people out in the world, using phones smashed to smithereens. Maybe there’s some clear tape involved to hold the glass together.

In fact, here’s an iPhone 6 I broke about a year ago:

(It fell down a flight of stairs in a parking garage. Whoops!)

I’m sure money is the main reason people will live with a shattered phone. Repairing a broken iPhone can be expensive, and I think people with broken older phones will just live with until they can upgrade again.

This new program from Apple takes aim at that with the goal for people to upgrade to a newer phone. Before this, a broken iPhone was basically worthless in terms of trade-in, and this will change that. More people may be able to upgrade via this system than before, which will those sales numbers from sliding. Seems like a win-win at this point.

‘This darkest of narratives’ ⇢

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Jason Snell:

I’d like to say that the iPad will settle in at an average rate of 12 million units per quarter, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. I suspect iPad sales will be down for at least one more quarter, and then may stabilize as people upgrade to the iPad Air 3.

But I have to admit, that’s my optimism talking. I’ve come to love the iPad and I don’t think Apple will abandon it. In fact, the company now seems committed to improving it at a pitch that was lacking during its first few years of existence. Perhaps this couple of years in the doldrums will end up being the thing that turns the iPad around.

Or perhaps I’m kidding myself, and in the end the iPad will be small niche product, an outsized iPhone accessory. As someone who loves his iPad, the idea that I might be part of a tiny enthusiastic minority in a largely uncaring world is heartbreaking. But looking at the numbers, it’s entirely possible that this darkest of narratives is, in fact, the right one.

Until the iPad settles out, it’ll be hard to tell, but I think it’s going to be more of a sibling to the Mac, not its replacement, at least on a macro level.