Remember the recent rumor that said Apple was going to lower the price of the $999 MacBook Air? It seems that another piece of the Mac puzzle is coming into view, thanks to Digitimes:
Apple is preparing to release a new entry-level MacBook at the end of the second quarter with a price tag expected to be about the same level as that of the existing MacBook Air or slightly higher, according to Digitimes Research.
Apple, in a rare acquisition announcement:
Texture brings over 200 of the world’s best magazines to life, providing an easy way for users to read high-quality stories and entire issues of their favorite titles. With Texture, users enjoy the magazines they know and love, while discovering new content that fits their passions and interests.
“We’re excited Texture will join Apple, along with an impressive catalog of magazines from many of the world’s leading publishers,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “We are committed to quality journalism from trusted sources and allowing magazines to keep producing beautifully designed and engaging stories for users.”
This week got away from me, so here’s a bunch of stuff I found this week that I wanted to share with you:
wget these things real bad.As spotted by The Verge, Apple has filed a patent for a keyboard designed to be resistant to crumbs and other debris:
The patent describes two different ways that a keyboard can keep dirt out, either by sealing gaps off or having a membrane beneath each key that would blow out air every time a key is pressed, pushing out unwanted debris.
From the figures shown in the patent, it’s clear that Apple is considering many different approaches and alternatives to create a crumb-resistant keyboard.
Stephen’s family staged a HomePod intervention, Myke names his favorite Apple Watch apps, Apple kills off iTunes LP and Federico has some news.
My thanks to our sponsors:
Over the past few days, users with Alexa-enabled devices have reported hearing strange, unprompted laughter. Amazon responded to the creepiness in a statement to The Verge, saying, “We’re aware of this and working to fix it.”
As noted in media reports and a trending Twitter moment, Alexa laughs without being prompted to wake. People on Twitter and Reddit reported that they thought it was an actual person laughing near them, which can be scary when you’re home alone. Many responded to the cackling sounds by unplugging their Alexa-enabled devices.
I’ve long been fascinated by blue boxes, small devices built in the 1960s and 70s to hijack the old analog phone systems for free calls.
The underground group of hackers and tinkerers behind this were dubbed phone phreaks. One leader of this group operated by the handle of Captain Crunch, as it was discovered a plastic toy whistle included in the cereal could generate a tone used to trick the phone system into allowing long-distance calls.
Craig Hockenberry has pointed out that today marks a decade since Apple first published the iPhone SDK for download by developers:
I don’t think it’s an understatement to say that this release changed a lot of people’s lives. I know it changed mine and had a fundamental impact on this company’s business. So let’s take a moment and look back on what happened a decade ago.
This blog post was a real joy to explore.
This week’s Ungeniused is creepy:
Today, we all know vampires are fictional, but in the late 1800s, many believed they inflicted disease on their still-alive family members.
My thanks to our sponsor:
Over on the YouTube channel, I’ve taken a look at the AlphaSmart, a keyboard-based computer first developed in the 1990s by a couple of former Apple engineers:
The machine was sold mostly to schools for writing, educational content and typing lessons, but in recent years, they’ve been adopted by writers who want a minimal writing environment. I find the device super interesting, and I hope you will, too.