$10 Billion ⇢

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Apple PR:

Apple today announced that customers spent over $10 billion on the App Store in 2013, including over $1 billion in December alone. App Store customers downloaded almost three billion apps in December making it the most successful month in App Store history. Apple’s incredible developers have now earned $15 billion on the App Store.

“We’d like to thank our customers for making 2013 the best year ever for the App Store,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “The lineup of apps for the holiday season was astonishing and we look forward to seeing what developers create in 2014.”

Apple posts Mac Pro Environmental Report ⇢

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Apple:

Apple believes that improving the environmental performance of our business starts with our products. The careful environmental management of our products throughout their life cycles includes controlling the quantity and types of materials used in their manufacture, improving their energy efficiency, and designing them for better recyclability. The information below details the environmental performance of Mac Pro as it relates to climate change, energy efficiency, material efficiency, and restricted substances.

Land of the Hungry ⇢

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In 2012, my brother and a small team flew halfway across the globe to document the genocide taking place in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan.

His new short film — Land of the Hungry — shows that over a year later, through the combined use of bombings and starvation, Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir continues his work of systematically killing these refugees. All of this despite an arrest warrant for him being issued by the International Criminal Court in March 2009.

That warrant was issued after al-Bashir allowed the genocide at Darfur to take place.

His terror is almost as unbelievable as the world’s relative disinterest in what happens to these people.

The End Nuba Genocide Coalition is a group of non-profits and activists trying to stop this horrific tragedy. Supporting them and my brother’s work at Operation Broken Silence can help the hungry and dying of the Nuba Mountains.

Bring on the Future

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As the world looks forward to another new year, many words have been written about the trends technology may follow in 2014 and beyond.

As with most things in life, the best way to look forward is to look back.

Once upon a time,1 using a computer meant handing a punchcard to a technician who would run the program for you, and report back with the results.

Over time, using the mainframes became slightly more direct, but there was still a big disconnect between the hardware used to program and the hardware used to execute.

With the personal computer revolution in the 1980s, the computer landed right on the desk, giving to the masses what used to be reserved for the few. Notebook computers only sped up the process of making the computer personal.

Starting with the iPhone in 2007, the keyboards and mice that helped define personal computers started being replaced with sheets of touch-sensitive glass. In a world with pocketable computers, desktops and notebooks started to feel just as cold and distant as mainframes once did.

From mainframes locked away in secure rooms to iPhones in our pockets, computers have gotten ever-closer to us. They are more intimate and more approachable than ever.

We can already see the next steps. There’s no doubt that looking down at a glowing sheet of glass isn’t ideal in many situations. While the wearables currently on the market may have some issues, the history of consumer electronics is littered with misfires on the way to greatness.

I say bring on the future.

  1. We recently talked about this on The Prompt with Dr. Drang. ↩