How Apple Built 3D Touch⇢

Josh Tyrangiel at Bloomberg’s article about the new iPhone is a dense read, but this part jumped out at me in particular:

Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, says that at most software companies the designers decide what they want and the engineers respond with what’s easy to build. “Every single feature becomes this unholy compromise,” says Federighi, who began his career at Apple and spent a decade at Ariba, a maker of financial management software, before returning in 2009. “With [3D Touch] it was only at the moment where we finally got a design experience that’s like, ‘Yes! This is what we want!’ that we [asked] how hard it’s going to be to make.”

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Kbase Article of the Week: iTunes 8.2.1 for G3⇢

For a while, Apple kept a version of iTunes around just for Macs with G3 processors:

iTunes is the best way to enjoy your digital music and video with your PC, iPhone, iPod and Apple TV. iTunes 8.2.1 for Mac OS X is designed to work with G3 Mac systems.

To use iTunes for Mac OS X with an Intel, PowerPC G5, or G4 processor visit http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/ to download the latest iTunes version.

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Construction begins on new Apple Store in Memphis

Memphis’ new next-gen Apple Store is on its way. The new design calls for lots of glass and natural light, but the location at 2031 West Street in Germantown, TN has a brick facade currently.

That brick is on its way down as construction begins:

The new store faces east, and as the parking lot has little in the way of tall trees, I bet its going to be bright in there in the mornings. The render given to the city of Germantown includes two trees directly in front of the store, assumedly to help with the sunlight.

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A year of Six Colors⇢

Jason Snell:

It’s a big week this week. In many ways, the biggest week on the Apple calendar, with the annual fall iPhone event scheduled for Wednesday.

For me it’s a milestone in a few other ways, too. This week marks a year since I left IDG, and it’s also week 52 of the existence of this site. Next week will be the first anniversary of Six Colors.

Jason is working on ways for “readers the ability to support the site,” which is great. I can’t wait to pitch in to help support one of my favorite sites.

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‘I will build you a shrine’⇢

For the month of September, I’m donating my RSS sponsorship spots to St. Jude.


The history of St. Jude is quite interesting:

As a young man, Danny Thomas had a simple goal: to entertain people and be successful enough at it to provide for his wife and family. But work wasn’t easy to come by.

As he and his family struggled, his despair grew. He wondered if he should give up on his dreams of acting or find a steady job. He turned to St. Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint of hopeless causes. “Show me my way in life,” he vowed to the saint one night in a Detroit church, “and I will build you a shrine.”

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My Podcasting Setup

EDITOR’S NOTE: This post is now outdated. Visit my gear page for a more current setup.


I get asked about my podcasting gear from time to time, and as I posted a picture of my at-the-office-where-I-record desk online earlier today, I thought I could write up what I’m using.

I would like to note that this is in no way the gear you have to use for your show. I’ve built up my equipment over time, and as both of my shows generate income, I’ve felt like I can justify the expense.

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