Nate Barham:
On first impression, the MacBook states its design goals clearly to the user. This computer is thin and light. It aims to do more with less. Weighing a half-pound less than even the smallest MacBook Air, there is literally less machine, less matter, less physical object. It is thin enough to make even the “fits in an office envelope” trick of the original Air seem mundane and unimpressive.
The 15-inch MacBook Pro now ships with a Force Touch trackpad, better internals and a bump in battery life. The high-end model is now shipping with an updated AMD video chipset. One of these will be my next Mac. Update: It looks like these machines are still powered by Haswell-class chips, not Broadwell. I will probably roll the dice and wait for new chipsets and hope the MacBook keyboard isn’t added at the same time.
In my ‘Kbase Article of the Week’ series, I highlight a random Apple support document — old or new — that is interesting or odd. Maybe I need a hobby besides this stuff.
Article HT201181, named “Mac notebooks: Key placement and functions” opens with this:
Over time the layout and placement of special keys on the Mac notebook’s keyboards have changed. Learn about the key placement and functions on Mac notebook computers.
“Should I buy an Apple Watch?” “Will it be as big as smartphones?” “Can it do anything my phone can’t do?”
If you — like me — are asked those questions about Apple Watch, I think David Chartier’s answer is pretty good:
Apple Watch feels like an extension of convenience, though certainly with more of an element of luxury. I don’t think everyone will need a smartwatch the same way they need broadband in the 21st century (or rather, it should be a fundamental right) and some kind of computing device, be it a phone or basic PC. But if you have the money and a busy life, Apple Watch is a tremendously stylish, worthwhile way to simplify some of it and spend more time with the things that matter. As with any platform, if Apple Watch grows, our time spent with things that matter will hopefully grow with it.
I’ve been wearing my Apple Watch for a couple of weeks, and while I’m still churning on my review, I wanted to share my thoughts on the ten watch faces that come with the device. While having so many options is great, many of the faces have frustrating limitations in the ways they can be customized or used.
Editor’s Note: Don’t judge me for my Activity Rings. My Watch was on the dresser most of the day, as I didn’t want to smash it while moving rocks around in the yard.
This is very different than Steve Job’s speech at Stanford a decade ago, but that’s fine. This speech is Tim Cook, through and through. It’s well worth a watch. Cook’s story and passion for social justice is something I truly admire.
Dante D’Orazio:
The third-party iOS keyboard brings the past to life, and is complete with authentic iPod scrolling sounds. Fancy. Now you, too, can scroll through one letter at a time as you compose your next great tweet. Even better, the keyboard includes all of those hundreds of emoji included in iOS 8.3. Just keep on scrolling, you’ll find those dancing sisters eventually.
This keyboard is kind of the opposite of this idea:
Turns out, the PowerPC G3 chips that powered Macs for years are still powering hardware, albeit in space:
The RAD750 is a radiation-hardened single board computer manufactured by BAE Systems Electronics, Intelligence & Support. The successor of the RAD6000, the RAD750 is for use in high radiation environments experienced on board satellites and spacecraft. The RAD750 was released in 2001, with the first units launched into space in 2005.
As Thomas Brand points out, the RAD750 can be found in all sorts of cool missions include the Deep Impact comet chaser, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Kepler space telescope and Mars Curiosity rover.
The best way to journal on your Mac or iOS device just got a new, first-party sync option:
Day One Sync is a fast and reliable alternative to iCloud and Dropbox for backing up and synchronizing your Day One journal between all of your devices.
Beyond syncing, this service is vital to the future of the Day One platform. It lays the foundation for numerous features in the future, including:
- Multiple journals
- Web-based version of Day One
- Shared journals
- Multiple photos
- Journaling via email
- API and IFTTT integration
I switched over to it, and I have to say, it’s way faster than Dropbox was. I love Day One, and am excited to see it gaining more powerful features.
Jason Snell:
They’re going to collide eventually. iOS is on track for version 9 this year, and if Apple continues incrementing OS X versions, we’ll be heading for 10.11. And, again barring any change in philosophy, in the summer of 2016 we’ll be talking about iOS 10 and OS X and things will get weird.
But this is an era where Apple appears to be amenable to change on many fronts. Tacking the lowercase letter i on the front of product names appears to be a thing of the past—hello, Apple Watch. (And while it would be bold for Apple to change the name of iOS to Apple OS, I can’t see it—it’s powering the iPhone and iPad, and those names aren’t changing anytime soon.)
This week, we talk about the state of the Mac App Store and our hopes and dreams for iOS 9.
This episode was made possible by:
This morning, news broke that Verizon is purchasing AOL. Here’s Peter Kafka:
Earlier this year, AOL CEO Tim Armstrong said there was no truth to reports that he was selling his company to Verizon. It’s a different story now: The telco is buying the Internet publisher and subscription service for $4.4 billion.
Verizon, which will pay $50 a share for AOL, says the deal will help its “wireless video and OTT (over-the-top video) strategy.” Verizon says the transaction should close this summer.