Myke has caused a chain-reaction of purchases, Stephen talks about the PowerPC transition and Federico tries some apps.
My thanks to this week’s sponsors:
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Details Matter on Campus 2 Project⇢
[Steve Jobs’] last work – Apple Inc’s sprawling new headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. - will be a fitting tribute: a futuristic campus built with astonishing attention to detail. From the arrangement of electrical wiring to the finish of a hidden pipe, no aspect of the 2.8 million-square-foot main building has been too small to attract scrutiny.
But constructing a building as flawless as a hand-held device is no easy feat, according to interviews with nearly two dozen current and former workers on the project, most of whom would not be named because they signed non-disclosure agreements.
The Best WordPress Client for macOS⇢
Yours truly, over on The Sweet Setup:
If you’re like me and would rather use a desktop application than a web app to manage your WordPress site, MarsEdit is the best route. It’s full of features, easy to use, and feels right at home on macOS.
Vizio Caught Mining Consumers for Data⇢
Lesley Fair, writing on the Federal Trade Commission’s website:
Starting in 2014, Vizio made TVs that automatically tracked what consumers were watching and transmitted that data back to its servers. Vizio even retrofitted older models by installing its tracking software remotely. All of this, the FTC and AG allege, was done without clearly telling consumers or getting their consent.
What did Vizio know about what was going on in the privacy of consumers’ homes? On a second-by-second basis, Vizio collected a selection of pixels on the screen that it matched to a database of TV, movie, and commercial content. What’s more, Vizio identified viewing data from cable or broadband service providers, set-top boxes, streaming devices, DVD players, and over-the-air broadcasts. Add it all up and Vizio captured as many as 100 billion data points each day from millions of TVs.
RSS Sponsor: HoudahSpot — Advanced File Search for Mac⇢
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Hal vs. Pentium⇢
Speaking of Hal and Apple…
‘Dave, Do You Remember the Year 2000?’⇢
I used to devote hours to feverishly writing up my annual Super Bowl ad review. And then, one day, the thrill was gone.
Between the lack of surprise (so many spots are released early now) and the general mediocrity, it became more chore than fun.
That said, I refuse to lose my Big Game spirit. So — how about a little story from Apple’s Super Bowl past?
What follows is the tale of HAL: Apple’s 1999 Super Bowl commercial starring the malevolent computer from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Apple Launches Pro App Bundle for Education⇢
The new bundle includes Final Cut Pro X, Logic Pro X, Motion 5, Compressor 4 and MainStage 3. It is avaible for teachers, students and K-12 institutions. It runs $199, which is a steal.
It’s never too early to teach your kids how to respond to Logic destroying their podcast files, I suppose.
Hybrid Questions⇢
Jason Snell, on the whole ARM+Intel thing:
If you were to list Mac functions that might be offloaded to an ARM processor, Power Nap would be a good place to start, especially if macOS were tuned to be more aggressive about putting the system to sleep.
What would an ARM-Intel hybrid Mac look like? Would whole segments of the operating system run on the ARM processor, allowing the more power-hungry Intel chip to be put to sleep except when it was absolutely needed? There are a bunch of big questions here, most notably the identity of the code that would run on the ARM processor and where it came from. Would Mac apps include extensions or plug-ins that would be designated to run on ARM? Would Mac apps provide two separate sets of program binaries so that the system could switch them between processor architectures at will?
Google, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft Drafting Letter on Trump’s Refugee Ban⇢
Kara Swisher has posted a draft of the letter:
Since the country’s birth, America has been the land of opportunity — welcoming newcomers and giving them the chance to build families, careers and businesses in the United States. We are a nation made stronger by immigrants. As entrepreneurs and business leaders, our ability to grow our companies and create jobs depends on the contributions of immigrants from all backgrounds.
Good.
Report Claims Intel/ARM Hybrid Macs Coming⇢
Apple Inc. is designing a new chip for future Mac laptops that would take on more of the functionality currently handled by Intel Corp. processors, according to people familiar with the matter.
The chip, which went into development last year, is similar to one already used in the latest MacBook Pro to power the keyboard’s Touch Bar feature, the people said. The updated part, internally codenamed T310, would handle some of the computer’s low-power mode functionality, they said. The people asked not to be identified talking about private product development. It’s built using ARM Holdings Plc. technology and will work alongside an Intel processor.
The Story Behind the Ill-Fated ‘Apple Cafes’
Apple had a lot of whacky ideas in the 1990s, but the weirdest one may be the Apple Cafe concept. 
Apple Cafes were announced in late 1996, and were set to open in Los Angeles, New York, London, Tokyo and beyond the next year.
Here’s Jeff Pelline, writing for CNET:
“The time is right,” said Satjiv Chahil, senior vice president of marketing for Apple, in a telephone interview. “Cybercafes are in. The technology finally is reaching out to ’the rest of us.’ This will be a place to showcase our products in the real world.”