512 Pixels

The developers of f.lux, responding to Night Shift, the iOS 9.3 feature that’s … uh … very much like their app:

Today we call on Apple to allow us to release f.lux on iOS, to open up access to the features announced this week, and to support our goal of furthering research in sleep and chronobiology.

As we continue to innovate and improve upon our ideas, we remain hopeful that we will have the opportunity to offer our best, new work to everyone who wants it. We’ve learned that people’s lives, biology, and everyday routines are incredibly, wonderfully different, and these differences must be embraced. There is not one right answer for everyone, so we are committed to making software that’s ever more adaptive and responsive to each individual’s needs.

In many ways, this f.lux/Night Shift thing is pretty similar to other examples of Apple moving into a space defined by a third-party utility: Reading List vs. Instapaper; Dashboard vs. Konfabulator; Sherlock vs. Watson.

In each of these examples, Apple introduced a system-level feature that duplicated (to varying degrees) the functionality of a third-party app.

The big difference is that f.lux can’t operate on iOS. Night Shift will be the way users can change their screens’ color temperature at night because it’s the only option. In that sense, I don’t think f.lux has been Sherlocked, at least in the traditional sense of the word.

I don’t think that’s going to change, and it doesn’t really hurt f.lux. If anything, this may help the app. Users who fall in love with Night Shift and look for it on their computers. F.lux can be there, waiting with open arms.

At least until Night Shift comes to OS X. Then everyone will be playing hardball. It’s not hard to see that the makers of f.lux want in on iOS as a hedge against being Sherlocked on the Mac.

My wife and I recently bought a Sonos PLAY:1 to put in our kitchen, replacing a Bluetooth speaker that’s been acting up.

If you aren’t super familiar with Sonos, in a nutshell, the company sells a range of Wi-Fi equipped smart speakers that can be used individually or together.

Instead of relying on a Bluetooth connection or AirPlay, Sonos built their own app, which can be used from any smartphone or computer to stream music from the device over Wi-Fi. While the bigger speakers have a line-in port, the PLAY:1 we bought doesn’t have one, so I’m not able to route audio to it except via the Sonos app.

(On the iPhone, it can play podcasts downloaded within Apple’s own Podcasts.app. I’d like to see this expanded in the future, as I can play shows from my podcast app of choice, Overcast.)

It doesn’t take long to realize the whole thing is very Apple-like in many ways. The whole thing — from hardware to software — is well done. The speaker looks and sounds great, the app works well and even the set up process is well thought out.

While I don’t think Apple would scoop up Sonos, the question in my mind is this: Why isn’t Apple in the home audio space?

According to sources, Beats had a Sonos killer in the works when Apple bought the company, but that the product never saw the light of day:

The product was supposed to be introduced in time for the holidays last year, but was effectively killed post acquisition. Some of the engineers working on the project have since left the company, while others have been shuffled to other projects, according to sources as well as information available on Linkedin and elsewhere.

[…]

Insiders say that the company ran into numerous problems, switching chipset vendors along the line, and postponing the project’s launch date more than once. Given these issues, Apple made the call to scrap the project, according to some sources, while another source close to Apple said it was put on hiatus due to a joint decision of executives at both Beats and Apple.

Even before Apple bought Beats, the company had dabbled in the space, most recently with the iPod Hi-Fi.

Today, however, Apple’s noticeably absent from the home audio market. Yes, the Apple TV can be the center of a family’s TV experience, and yes, the AirPort Express can be used an AirPlay bridge, but both devices are basically smart inputs.

There’s no doubt that Apple could build something attractive that sounded great, so my assumption is that the company just doesn’t think this is an area worth of focusing on right now. With an expanding product portfolio, I think that’s okay, but if Apple does make a move here, Sonos is going to be tough competition.

If you need more than what iOS’ built-in Contacts.app allows you to do, Greg Pierce’s new app piece of wizardry is for you:

Interact empowers you and your contacts to get more done in less time, with features like group management, one-tap contact creation, and more you won’t find in the built-in iOS Contacts app.

I was able to beta test this app, and it really is amazing what you can do with your contact data right from an iPhone with this app. Go check it out.

On LEGO’s corporate blog:

Previously, when asked to sell very large quantities of LEGO® bricks for projects, the LEGO Group has asked about the thematic purpose of the project. This has been done, as the purpose of the LEGO Group is to inspire children through creative play, not to actively support or endorse specific agendas of individuals or organizations.

However, those guidelines could result in misunderstandings or be perceived as inconsistent, and the LEGO Group has therefore adjusted the guidelines for sales of LEGO bricks in very large quantities.

As of January 1st, the LEGO Group no longer asks for the thematic purpose when selling large quantities of LEGO bricks for projects.

Nothing about the Apple IIc this week; I’ve chosen something somewhat useful to today’s Mac user:

Learn more about using USB 3 ports and devices on Mac computers.

Holy install numbers, Batman!

iOS overtook Windows last year, as expected. pic.twitter.com/5LgnZsxWaL

— Horace Dediu (@asymco) January 12, 2016

This is a guest post written by my friend and Newton aficionado Thomas Brand.

---

The PowerBook G3 Series was Apple’s most upgradable portable computer ever! It weighed 7.8 pounds, and cost anywhere between $2,299 to $7,000 fully loaded. Codenamed “Wallstreet” the PowerBook G3 Series was the second line of Macintosh portable computers to include a PowerPC G3 processor, and the oldest portable Macintosh capable of running Mac OS X ¹.

image via Shrine of Apple

Compared to the svelte lines of a wedge-shaped MacBook Air, the Wallstreet more closely resembles the bulky profile of a New York City paving stone. The PowerBook G3 Series initially came with one of three different processor configurations, 233, 250, and 292 MHz; with a fourth 300 MHz configuration added later that year. Early PowerBook G3 Series computers had the option of two different system bus speeds depending on processor frequency ², and three different screen sizes using either Passive or Active Matrix TFT technology ³. The abundance of configurations gave customers a greater amount of choice, but all of the available options were causing havoc for Apple’s supply lines. In September of 1998, Apple streamlined the production of PowerBook G3 Series by standardizing the bus speed at 66 MHz, and dropping the number of display options down to a single 14.1" configuration. ⁴

In addition to all of the available built-to-order options, the Wallstreet also offered an impressive array of expandability. The PowerBook G3 Series included two hot swappable docking bays on either side. The left hand bay could accommodate a battery, a 3.5" floppy disk, a Iomega Zip drive, a third-party magnetic optical drive, or even a secondary hard drive. The right hand bay was larger and could accommodate all of the above plus a full size 5.25" optical drive. A small internal nickel-cadmium battery allowed swapping of the main batteries while the computer was asleep, and with two batteries installed at the same time the PowerBook G3 Series could last up to seven hours on a single charge. A maximum of 4 MBs of graphics memory limited the PowerBook G3 Series’ 3D performance, but an optional PCMCIA hardware controller made the Wallstreet the first Apple portable capable of DVD playback.

In addition to two CardBus slots, and two hot swappable bays, the PowerBook G3 Series shipped with an extensive array of ports. 10BASE-T Ethernet, ADB, Serial, VGA, S-Video ⁵, Infrared, and Audio in and Out were all standard. Although the PowerBook G3 Series had no built-in WiFi to speak of, but it did have an optional 56K Modem, and HDI-30 SCSI connector for fast 5 megabit connections ⁶! (USB, FireWire, Bluetooth, and WiFi were all available upgrade options via the Wallstreet’s two CardBus slots.)

The PowerBook G3 Series was a no-compromise machine built with all of the expandability and build-to-order customizability of a desktop computer. Its removable processor card, user replaceable parts, and wide array of ports made it the most upgradable Macintosh Portable ever constructed. It was big, heavy, expensive, and prone to overheating. The wide variety of build-to-order options made keeping parts in stock difficult, and supporting the vast number of possible configurations frustrating. In the end PowerBook G3 Series customers got the most future proof laptop money could buy, but no matter the number of hot swappable bays, or CardBus slots, technology moved on ⁷.

The Wallstreet was the last PowerBook with an Old World ROM, and this combined with a low memory ceiling of 512 MBs kept it from running versions of Mac OS X past 10.2.8. Discontinued in May 1999, the PowerBook G3 Series would be the last Apple computer ever to use the rainbow-colored Apple logo, and the last Mac to support Apple’s 1.44 MB Superdrive. It was replaced by the PowerBook G3 “Bronze Keyboard,” which was 20% thinner, two pounds lighter, and easier to produce at half the price.

Today’s MacBooks may not be upgradable, and are certainly not future proof, but nothing in technology ever is. For those looking for a more upgradable laptop, might I suggest last year’s model. Tomorrow’s devices will always be, thinner, faster, lighter, with less bays, and fewer ports.

On this week’s Connected, we were joined by Fraser Speirs to talk about the iOS 9.3 preview.

My thanks to these sponsors:

• Igloo: An intranet you’ll actually like, free for up to 10 people.
• PDFpen, from Smile: The Swiss Army Knife for working with PDFs.

Benjamin Mayo at 9to5Mac:

With the new Apple TV tvOS 9.2 beta, Apple has added a whole host of new features to the tvOS platform. This includes support for pairing Bluetooth keyboards, Folders organization for apps on the home screen, a new App Switcher UI and a native Apple Podcasts app.

There are also some enhancements to Siri and other improvements. Apple has added support for two new Siri languages: US Spanish and French Canadian.

I’m liking the aggressive release cycle tvOS is currently seeing, but it does feel like Apple is still playing catch up with the old model in places.

Big iOS news today. Apple is previewing iOS 9.3 on its website. The update will bring some interesting goodies, such as a F.lux-like “Night Shift” feature:

Many studies have shown that exposure to bright blue light in the evening can affect your circadian rhythms and make it harder to fall asleep. Night Shift uses your iOS device’s clock and geolocation to determine when it’s sunset in your location. Then it automatically shifts the colors in your display to the warmer end of the spectrum, making it easier on your eyes. In the morning, it returns the display to its regular settings. Pleasant dreams.

Notes will gain TouchID protection, News.app will be better and predicting stories that will interest you and the dashboards in Health.app are getting a lot more useful, too.

iOS 9.3 doesn’t have a public release date, but there’s a lot more to the release than the features listed above. It’s coming with a full suite of Education-only tools for using and managing iPads in the classroom:

Technology can reshape education. And iPad, with its powerful features and apps, opens up new, more engaging ways of learning. With the iOS 9.3 beta, you’ll find a preview of new features that will make it even easier for schools to put devices where they’ll have the greatest impact — in the hands of students.

This preview of an upcoming version of iOS has four major features:

Shared iPad for Students

Here’s how Apple explains this feature:

When a 1:1 student-to-iPad ratio isn’t possible, Shared iPad offers an elegant solution that lets students enjoy the benefits of having their own iPad in whatever classroom they’re in. They simply log in to any iPad, and their content is ready to go.

I have a million questions about this. My assumption is that the students’ “home folders,” to borrow a Mac phrase, are being loaded onto the iPad on-demand, but it’s unclear at this point from the public webpage. I’m sure Caching Server is playing a big role here.

I’d love to see some of these features be available on iOS in a broader way, especially the multi-user support.

In my house, my wife’s iPad Air 2 is often handed to one of the kids, and I know we’d both feel better about it if we knew her apps, email and more were safely out of the reach of our seven year old who likes to push buttons to see what they do.

If this does come to iPads not tied to a school, I’m sure the accounts would need to be local on the disk, not being fed from a server, so I’m not holding my breath quiet yet.

Classroom.app

Apple Remote Desktop and VNC clients have allowed teachers with Macs control of multiple computers at once for years, but iOS has lacked similar tools until now. Classroom.app will allow teachers to force-launch apps on all their iPads, and guide students to the correct content.

In addition to this, other tools are present, including the ability to AirPlay any iPad’s screen to an Apple TV and the option to reset forgotten passwords from the teacher’s iPad.

Apple School Manager

Apple School Manager is a web(!) tool for teachers and administrators to create and manage AppleIDs, build courses and manage MDM server information for all the school’s devices. Volume purchasing is here, too.

Managed Apple IDs

This one may see the least exciting, but having worked with school IT folks, I can tell you its a big deal:

Apple School Manager offers something completely new: Managed Apple IDs. Like any Apple ID, they allow you to store documents in iCloud, enroll in iTunes U courses, and more. But Managed Apple IDs are designed just for schools, so you can easily reset passwords, audit accounts, create IDs in bulk, and create customized roles for everyone in the district.

For many schools, Google’s been leading the way with account tools, and while I’m not sure this will match what Google Apps offers, it sounds like a big step in the right direction.

There’s a new game coming to Steam and the Ouya tomorrow:

An immersive narrative video game that retells Joel Green’s 4-year fight against cancer through about two hours of poetic, imaginative gameplay that explores faith, hope and love.

Go pre-order this game and support a family that’s been through a life-shattering tragedy. It looks amazingly beautiful.

We’re excited to announce two new shows on Relay Fm today: Remaster and Canvas.

Remaster is replacing Virtual, and is a podcast about playing and making games. Federico Viticci and Myke Hurley are joined by Shahid Kamal Ahmad a veteran of the industry. Shahid has been wonderful to work with over the last few months planning this show, and we’re honored to have him as part of the network.

Canvas is an all-new podcast about working on iOS. Hosted by Viticci and Fraser Speirs, each episode of Canvas will be full of real-world examples of workflows and tips to making working from an iPad or iPhone an easier and more powerful experience.

Go check them out!