This week on my podcast about spaaaaaaaaace with Jason Snell, we gush over more Pluto photos and wish some Mars hardware a happy birthday before interviewing Rachel Binx from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
This was a really fun interview, and I think it turned out great. Go check it out.
September is winding down, and currently, my fundraising page for St. Jude is sitting at just over $18,000.
Which is awesome.
Apple PR:
Apple today announced it has sold more than 13 million new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus models, a new record, just three days after launch. iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus will be available in more than 40 additional countries beginning October 9 including Italy, Mexico, Russia, Spain and Taiwan. The new iPhones will be available in over 130 countries by the end of the year.
I guess we shouldn’t underestimate the attraction of the S models, or the power that the two-year contract still holds. Just check out the jumps in launch weekend sales in S years:
I’ve enjoyed my iPhone 6 Plus since first realizing #MykeWasRight and trading in my small, junky iPhone 6 for a nicely-sized, amazing iPhone 6 Plus back in the spring.
Like many of you, I pre-ordered a phone a couple of weeks ago, and today it came: a 64GB Space Gray iPhone 6S Plus. There’s a lot I haven’t done with this new phone yet, but I’ll be taking notes for a review. Here are some initial impressions until then:
1. It’s a tad heavier. While only 20 or so grams heavier than the model it replaces, the 6S Plus is noticeably heavier in the hand. I gave both to my wife and asked her what the differences were between the two devices, and the weight was the first thing she said.
That’s not a complaint, mind you. The 6S Plus feels really nice to hold; the touch of extra weight helps it feel more solid, somehow. While I know this impression will fade over time, it’s something I noticed the second I pulled it from the box.
2. It’s a tad grippier. Like the weight thing, the new phone seems slightly more grippy. It’s still a crazy-slippery device with those rounded edges, but the metal seems a little more tacky now. I hope its a sensation that sticks around and doesn’t wear off over time.
3. 3D Touch is awesome. As goofy as the names “Peek” and “Pop” are, this new level of interaction is really nice. I haven’t accidentally triggered anything; like the Watch, the force these touches require is something you have to apply deliberately. It’s great in apps, but it’s really great on the homescreen. I can’t wait until all my apps provide shortcuts here.
4. Taptic Motor > Old Vibrate Motor. It now no longer sounds like a bomb going off if I get a notification and my phone is sitting flat on my wood desk.
5. It’s fast. After the initial post-restore churn settled down, I quickly noticed how fast this phone is. Apps launch quickly, multitasking is smooth and TouchID is so fast, I never see the lockscreen. I’ll need to change my habit of bumping the home button with my thumb to turn on the screen; now it just logs me into the phone instantly.
According to this growing Reddit thread, Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Plan is struggling to keep up with demand. Customers are being denied, and it seems that Apple Retail employees’ hands are tied, waiting on Citizen’s system to recover. (Citizen is the company Apple is using to finance the iPhone purchases.)
Reading this reminded me of the giant cluster that was the iPhone 3G launch. Clearly, this issue with Citizen is nowhere as bad, but I’m sure its still frustrating for everyone involved.
Loren Grush at The Verge:
This weekend, the Moon will provide a big, bloody show for those looking up into the night sky. A total lunar eclipse — sometimes referred to as a blood moon due to the Moon’s dark red glow — is scheduled to begin at 10:11PM ET on Sunday.
But this eclipse is particularly special, because it’s happening on a night when the Moon will also be a supermoon. That’s when a full moon occurs on the same night of the Moon’s perigee, or the time when the Moon is closest to Earth.
I’m looking forward to heading out to see if I can get any decent photos Sunday night.
Apple:
We always recommend developers use the free, secure tools we provide them — including Xcode — to ensure they’re creating the most secure apps for App Store customers. Some developers downloaded counterfeit versions of Xcode that have been infected with malware and created apps that were just as infected.
Becuase of speed issues through China’s Great Firewall, some developers were downloading Xcode from a third-party site. Apple says they are working on ways to make these downloads faster. As to how bad the breach was, Apple says:
We have no information to suggest that the malware has been used to do anything malicious or that this exploit would have delivered any personally identifiable information had it been used.
We’re not aware of personally identifiable customer data being impacted and the code also did not have the ability to request customer credentials to gain iCloud and other service passwords.
As soon as we recognized these apps were using potentially malicious code we took them down. Developers are quickly updating their apps for users.
Malicious code could only have been able to deliver some general information such as the apps and general system information.
Martin Winterkorn:
I am shocked by the events of the past few days. Above all, I am stunned that misconduct on such a scale was possible in the Volkswagen Group.
As CEO I accept responsibility for the irregularities that have been found in diesel engines and have therefore requested the Supervisory Board to agree on terminating my function as CEO of the Volkswagen Group. I am doing this in the interests of the company even though I am not aware of any wrong doing on my part.
This isn’t a huge surprise given the mess the company is in after the Environmental Protection Agency discovered the company illegally rigged their vehicles’ pollution-control systems to run cleaner during emission testing.
This whole story is terrible for lots of reasons, but is interesting as well. It’s fraud on such a large scale, it’s hard to grasp. I think VW will survive this, but it’s going to be painful for the company, as it should be.
Since the Blue and White G3 has been on my mind, I thought it’d be fun to see what’s going on with that machine on Apple’s support site. I stumbled across an FAQ, which includes this information:
What is USB? Is it the same technology used in iMac?
The USB (Universal Serial Bus) implementation in the Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White) is the same as iMac. USB is a standard for attaching peripheral devices to a personal computer, delivering higher performance (up to 12 megabits-per-second) than previous serial port connection methods. USB is used to connect devices such as keyboards, mice, trackballs, modems, printers, scanners, and joysticks. You can plug in and unplug USB devices without restarting the system. Maximum cable length is 5 meters. Up to 127 USB devices can be attached to the computer simultaneously.The Power Macintosh G3 system ships with two USB ports. Apple also provides a USB keyboard and USB mouse with each system. The Apple USB Keyboard includes a built-in, bus-powered hub with two additional USB ports. The Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White) also includes an Apple keyboard extender cable that increases the length of the Apple USB Keyboard cable and gives you the option to place the system either on the desktop or on the floor.
The article then points users to this page on Apple’s site about USB:
The Universal Serial Bus (USB) combines all of the advantages of a multiplatform standard—including decreased cost, increased compatibility, and a greater number of available peripherals—with the more specific advantages of a very Apple-like blend of advanced functionality and flair.
John Gruber, at the end of his iPhone 6S review:
New-number iPhones (4, 5, 6) are about showing off Apple’s design prowess. The S models are about showing off Apple’s engineering prowess. Storage capacities and battery life are unchanged from last year’s iPhones. Everything else — the materials it’s made from, the performance of its custom CPU/GPU, the quality of the cameras, the smoothness of the user interface — is noticeably, tangibly improved.
I like this way of framing Apple’s annual phone releases. If you buy every other year like a normal human being, I think the S cycle is probably the one to be on at this point.
This week on Connected: the birth of follow-in, more thoughts on iPad Pro apps and a discussion of the new Apple TV.
My thanks to these sponsors:
If you need Microsoft’s Office programs but don’t want to pay a monthly subscription fee, the company now has the new version for a one-time price of $149.