Apple expands educational offerings to new countries ⇢

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Apple PR:

Apple today announced iBooks Textbooks and iTunes U Course Manager are expanding into new markets across Asia, Latin America, Europe and elsewhere around the world. iBooks Textbooks bring Multi-Touch textbooks with dynamic, current and interactive content to teachers and students in 51 countries now including Brazil, Italy and Japan; and iTunes U Course Manager, available in 70 countries now including Russia, Thailand and Malaysia, allows educators to create and distribute courses for their own classrooms, or share them publicly, on the iTunes U app.

While 5-10 years ago, Apple’s educational products were discounted iMacs and notebook one-to-one programs, with iOS, the company has been doing a lot more on the software end. It’s not a part of the business Apple talks about much, but I think it’s still as close to the heart of the company as it ever was under Steve Jobs.

Fadell on Nest data and Google ⇢

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Casey Johnston at Ars Technica:

During an interview at the DLD Conference in Munich on Monday, Nest CEO Tony Fadell said that the company will make all future privacy policy changes under Google opt-in and that it will be transparent about those changes. Fadell’s statement follows Google’s acquisition of Nest, a smart home products company, for $3.2 billion, which has raised some questions about how Google might put the company—and its data—to use.

“The data we collect is all about our products and improving them,” Fadell said, reiterating a statement he issued about the company’s smart thermostat and smart smoke detector following the announcement of the acquisition. “If there were ever any changes whatsoever, we will be sure to be transparent about it, number one, and number two, for you to opt in to it.”

I think I’m giving Fadell the benefit of the doubt, for now at least.

Viticci Seal Of Quality ⇢

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This week, Myke and Federico explore the possibility of an iPad pro and the different routes Apple could take to build this mythical product. They also discussing Polygon’s Game of the Year awards and what games they guys have been playing recently.

Sponsored by Squarespace (use code TALLYHO1 for 10% off)

Thinking about an iPad Pro ⇢

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Federico Viticci has strung together all the rumors about a bigger iPad, and thought about what a bigger tablet from Apple could offer.

In his article, Mr. Smooth Hands outlines two possible ways Apple could define a “pro” tablet:

  • Making the iPad bigger
  • Making software or hardware changes, including adding things like more RAM, better inner-app communication and a window manager

While I do think Apple will probably ship a larger iPad at some point, I don’t think that the company would add substantial software features to it that would be exclusive to the form factor.

Over time, Apple has shifted the iOS product lines from single devices to families based on size, just like it does with desktops and notebooks. OS X on the 27-inch iMac is the same OS X found on the 11.6-inch MacBook Air. While the iMac can do things faster, it can’t do more things than the MacBook Air. I don’t see that pattern being broken anytime soon by the iPad.

On Geekdom ⇢

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John Siracusa:

Geekdom is not a club; it’s a destination, open to anyone who wants to put in the time and effort to travel there. And if someone lacks the opportunity to get there, we geeks should help in any way we can. Take a new friend to a meetup or convention. Donate your old games, movies, comics, and toys. Be welcoming. Sharing your enthusiasm is part of being a geek.

Anyone trying to purposely erect border fences or demanding to see ID upon entry to the land of Geekdom is missing the point. They have no power over you. Ignore them and dive headfirst into the things that interest you. Soak up every experience. Lose yourself in the pursuit of knowledge. When you finally come up for air, you’ll find that the long road to geekdom no longer stretches out before you. No one can deny you entry. You’re already home.

‘I don’t want to retire’ ⇢

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Tony Fadell, in an interview with Nilay Patel:

Our privacy policy stays exactly our privacy policy, that doesn’t change, and at this point any production integration or anything, that’s totally premature. There’s all kind of HSR and legal implications. There are no plans. Like I said, iOS and Android, we’re going to be committed to both platforms.

I sure hope that remains the case. I will say this: after reading this interview, I’m less worried about Nest disappearing.

Google to acquire Nest ⇢

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Google is buying Nest for $3.2 billion:

Larry Page, CEO of Google, said: “Nest’s founders, Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers, have built a tremendous team that we are excited to welcome into the Google family. They’re already delivering amazing products you can buy right now–thermostats that save energy and smoke/CO alarms that can help keep your family safe. We are excited to bring great experiences to more homes in more countries and fulfill their dreams!”

Tony Fadell, CEO of Nest, said: “We’re thrilled to join Google. With their support, Nest will be even better placed to build simple, thoughtful devices that make life easier at home, and that have a positive impact on the world.”

Obvious Apple fanboy joke: I can’t wait until people in my Google+ circles can change how warm it is in my house.

Seriously though, I really thought Nest had a future, and now I’m worried that my smart thermostat is going to be mothballed far earlier than it would have been otherwise. I would hate seeing a successful, innovate company like Nest get absorbed and never be heard from again.

Apple’s Verse

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Earlier today, Apple released a new ad, which shows the iPad being used in a wide range of situations and places.

The voiceover has gotten a lot of attention, as it’s from a scene of Dead Poets Society.

Here’s the quote, courtesy of IMDb:

We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, “O me! O life!… of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless… of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?” Answer. That you are here — that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?

Past the quote, the new ad is pretty typical of what we’ve seen from Apple. Here are some other iPad ads that the company has aired over the years that are in the same vein:

And some iPhone ads:

Of course, there’s “Making a difference. One app at a time.” There’s the iOS 7 introduction video and the one about building the Mac Pro. Don’t forget about the ad about switching to Intel.1

All of these videos are meant to be emotional. They are meant to highlight the connections we can enjoy with each other thanks to what Apple’s products can do.

Every time Apple posts an ad like this, Apple fans post the link to Twitter, Facebook and their blogs. While I’ve done it in the past, every time it happens, I ask myself why.

I don’t pretend to fully understand marketing at this level, but it’s clear to me that at least part of these ads are for the Apple community. Seeing iPads being used to save lives in African clinics or helping children learn their letters or being used under the ocean to save endangered fish reinforces that we chose the right team to be on.

This is in stark contrast to videos like some of the original iPhone ads which introduced and demoed the product in 30 seconds.

Today, everyone knows what the iPhone is. Apple’s gone from talking about features to talking about the impact of those features.

I fear that Apple’s technique is growing a little stale, however.

The ad is fine, but it’s an extension of what Apple’s been doing for the last couple of years. While the Your Verses campaign is clever, and the New Depths page is simply stunning, it’s nothing we haven’t seen before.

I’m not suggesting that Apple’s stalling or doomed, but I’d sure like to see the company branch out a bit with these things.

  1. Remember this? ↩

Review: Command-C brings cross-platform copy and paste into the iOS 7 era

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Sharing things between the Mac and iOS devices has never been as easy as it should be. Even Apple’s own AirDrop can’t cross the platform boundary.

Pastebot used to be the go-to application for slinging text and images from the iPhone to the Mac, and back again.

However, Tapbots seems to have forgotten about the app. While it’s still for sale, Pastebot hasn’t been optimized for the iPhone 5’s taller screen, and its website still boasts iOS 4 compatibility.

Enter Command-C.

Command-C is a $3.99 universal app that takes what Pastebot did, updates it for the iOS 7 era, and adds some new tricks.

After downloading the iOS app, you’ll need to grab the free Mac app, which sits in your computer’s menu bar.

The initial act of setting up is easy. The iOS devices prompts you to download and open the Mac app, and the software takes it from there.

The apps talk to each other via Bonjour. There’s no Bluetooth required, so the hassle of pairing devices and remembering to keep Bluetooth on is non-existent.

With iOS 7’s new multi-tasking, you don’t have to worry about making sure the iOS app is awake before invoking a command from the Mac. Since it uses push notifications, Command-C is woken up automatically, on demand. Gone are the Pastebot-era days of opening the app, sitting your phone down, using the Mac app, and going back to the phone.

To send something from iOS to the Mac, simply copy the content and tap on the computer’s name from within the app, and the content will be shared automatically:

Instantly, the Mac app will show a push notification. In this case, I shared a photo:

Clicking on the notification will open the image in Preview (or whatever app is your default for .PNGs), while hitting CMD+V will paste the image itself, as Command-C content is automatically be placed on your Mac’s clipboard.

If text is sent to the Mac, the notification will show a preview of the text, which can then be pasted anywhere.

Sending data from the Mac is easy, too. If launched at login, the app sits, waiting for a key command — by default, it’s Command+Shift+X. Once triggered, the app will show a pop-over, and the arrow keys can be used to select the target device. Pressing Enter sends the content, and a push notification is fired:

In the Mac app’s settings, you can tell it to show a local notification that the content has been received.

If you’re a power user, Command-C offers a nice set of x-callback-url actions.

Command-C can even send and receive data between iOS devices. While iOS 7’s AirDrop can do this, I’ve found myself reaching for Command-C as it’s faster, and doesn’t require an app’s share sheet.

Command-C is yet another app in a long list of examples of third-party developers not only filling in the gaps between Apple’s offerings, but taking advantage of iOS 7 to disrupt a once-settled category.

In short, if it can be copied, Command-C can share it.