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Apple has announced a Repair Program for iPhone 6 Plus models that exhibit screen flickering or Multi-Touch failures:

Apple has determined that some iPhone 6 Plus devices may exhibit display flickering or Multi-Touch issues after being dropped multiple times on a hard surface and then incurring further stress on the device.

If your iPhone 6 Plus is exhibiting the symptoms noted above, is in working order, and the screen is not cracked or broken, Apple will repair your device for a service price of $149.

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Microsoft’s new desktop has drawn a lot of attention, and some reviews went up earlier today.

The Verge’s Tom Warren thinks the large touch screen and pen support are going to tempt current Mac users:

The fact that Microsoft is even being considered an alternative to Apple’s line of machines for creatives is not something anyone, not even Microsoft, was expecting for the Surface devices. The Surface Studio won’t take over Mac-focused design houses just yet, but that it’s even a possibility is remarkable. The Studio is special because it knows exactly what it is and who it’s for — and it’s largely spot on. If Microsoft keeps developing its strengths here, some of Apple’s most loyal customers might well be tempted to switch camps.

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Yikes.

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Dan Moren is traveling the world, so I sat in with Jason Snell on this week’s Clockwise:

This week we offer a panoply of adapters, and horror stories about bad password etiquette, then discuss Apple’s new self-publishing venture and the utility of pressure-sensitive computer interfaces.

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In the Brushed Metal Diaries, we take a look at one of Apple’s most unique — and most hated — user interface paradigms.

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I’ve written about the awful Brushed Metal user interface theme a bunch over the years, but OS X isn’t the only place this scourge on design has left its mark.

Here are some other places where Brushed Metal (or one of its cousins) have popped up over the years:

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This MacBook Pro is very different from the one without a Touch Bar: it has a second fan, exhaust vents and the speakers don’t line up with the grilles on either side of the keyboard.

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In the wake of this morning’s news, I thought it would be worthwhile to talk a little bit about how Apple treats its past.

There’s no doubt that Steve Jobs didn’t like to look back. He donated Apple’s historical library to Stanford:

“The Apple collections, gathered by Apple’s impressive library and archival staff, reflect what amounts to the Apple crusade, as led by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Mike Markkula and John Sculley,” said Michael A. Keller, Stanford university librarian, director of Academic Information Resources and publisher of HighWire Press. “Stanford is proud to have received this well-organized and complete record of the Apple story to date.”

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This week on Connected, Federico and I talk about Apple’s new book, the Touch Bar’s potential and Snapchat possibly paving the way for future Apple glasses.

My thanks to our sponsors:

• Casper: Because everyone deserves a great night sleep. Get $50 off with the code ‘CONNECTED’
• Mailroute: a secure, hosted email service for protection from viruses and spam. Get a free trial and 10% off, for the lifetime of your account.

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I’m happy to announce that I’m going to be doing some writing over at MacStories. Up first, a look at some weird “in-between” Macs Apple has released over the last couple of decades:

Every transition in technology brings a period of time in which less-than-optimal decisions have to be made. Price, features and timelines are always at war with one another.

It’s the first time the G4 Cube has been written about on MacStories. I know my strengths.

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John Vorhees at MacStories:

In connection with announcement, Jony Ive was interviewed by Japanese design website Casa Brutus. Ive describes the motivation behind the creation of Designed by Apple in California, but also has a lot to say about Apple’s design process.

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The opening of this kbase article reads like a sad poem:

The Power Mac G4 computer screen is black. The boot tone is not present, the drive does not operate, the fan is running, and LED is lit.

This article is a rare one, in that it wasn’t originally mean for the public, as Apple states:

This article covers repair procedures for authorized service providers on selected Apple products, but we have published them in the Knowledge Base for the general public for educational purposes.

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Apple has announced a new product I did not see coming:

Apple today announced the release of a new hardbound book chronicling 20 years of Apple’s design, expressed through 450 photographs of past and current Apple products. “Designed by Apple in California,” which covers products from 1998’s iMac to 2015’s Apple Pencil, also documents the materials and techniques used by Apple’s design team over two decades of innovation.

I’m more into this stuff than almost anyone, and I find this odd. Even after last year’s “40 Years in 40 Seconds” video, something this retrospective feels weird.

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