Making affiliate links for App Store apps is a pain, but Blink makes it fast and easy on iOS. With a nice set of URL schemes, this is going to be part of my mobile writing workflow from now on.
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Follow-up on the Watch and the Store⇢
We know a little bit more what Apple’s going to do with the Stores and Apple Watch. Here’s Mark Gurman:
Each Apple Store will be provided with a special-hands on table filled with Apple Watch demo units, as Apple announced at its keynote earlier this month. Most stores will be provided one table with at least 10 surrounding Apple Watch try-on stations, while some Apple Stores will be given more tables to meet demand. Apple Stores will begin setting up the Apple Watch tables on April 9th and 10th during special overnight sessions for employees. Employees will also begin a few hours of more extensive Apple Watch training in the coming days, a follow-up to secretive training some employees received before the Spring Forward event at locations in Cupertino, Los Angeles, Austin, and Atlanta.
Connected 31: They’re My Clapping Phones⇢
On tonight’s episode of the podcast, we talk about Apple Watch apps, Force Touch Trackpads, the Apple Store and Apple’s past (and possible future) moves in television.
Oh, and Teletext.
My thanks to these companies and products for making it possible:
- lynda.com: An easy and affordable way to help individuals and organizations learn. Free 10-day trial.
- Igloo: An intranet you’ll actually like, free for up to 10 people.
- PDFPen 7 for Mac, from Smile: Take control of PDF’s on your Mac.
The original butterfly keyboard⇢
Apple may boast about their new keyboard design, but this ThinkPad is something else.
Google Play apps now reviewed by humans⇢
Eunice Kim, Product Manager for Google Play:
Several months ago, we began reviewing apps before they are published on Google Play to better protect the community and improve the app catalog. This new process involves a team of experts who are responsible for identifying violations of our developer policies earlier in the app lifecycle. We value the rapid innovation and iteration that is unique to Google Play, and will continue to help developers get their products to market within a matter of hours after submission, rather than days or weeks. In fact, there has been no noticeable change for developers during the rollout.
What Apple Watch can do⇢
Clayton Morris:
Apple Watch won’t save us from shitty behavior but it will limit our distractions. Think of the Watch as a seive through which only the most relevant information lands on your wrist. Your interaction with that information is also whittled to nearly a few contact points: read, respond, or reachout.
On the surface the Apple Watch is limited and direct with the most useful information pushed to the top. A text comes in from one of my VIP contacts and I can immediately read it and respond without being dragged four layers deep inside my phone. To respond I can only use voice dictation or tap one of the prefilled fields such as “On my way”. An Uber notification that my car is two minutes away. Great, nothing more to see here. A Dark Sky notification that a massive thunderstorm is set to strike. I think I’ll head inside. A phone call from my wife, “Hello?”. No more fumbling for the phone inside the car, the backpack or pants pocket. My phone could even be plugged in three floors away, on the same WiFi network, and I can receive a call on my wrist.
The 512 Guide: ‘What MacBook should I buy?’
Apple is currently selling a lot of notebooks, and its more than a little confusing. Long gone are the days of a more simple product matrix, when the line between what was for consumers and what was for professionals was more clear.
Three out of the five portable machines on this page sport a 13-inch screen. The new MacBook is thinner and lighter than the MacBook Air. The MacBook Pro and MacBook Air actually have ports, but the Air doesn’t come with a Retina display like the MacBook Pro and MacBook.
Dinosaur’s Pen⇢
My new favorite tumbleog.
I’ll miss MagSafe⇢
Glenn Fleishman:
But how likely is a cord-tripper to yank a new MacBook off a surface versus the USB-C cable coming out first? My calculations, vetted by Mack and a variety of engineers, show it’s almost certain the MacBook will move a bit or a lot unless all your stars perfectly align.
Hold on! Some math’s coming, but it’s worth it.
Connected 30: To America and Back⇢
This week on Connected:
On the heels of Apple’s Spring Forward event, the boys talk about Federico’s trip to San Francisco, the new MacBook, the Apple Watch and more.
It was made possible by:
- Swift Summit: A two day conference on the State of Swift.
- Hover: Simplified Domain Management. Use code ‘TIMEZONES’ for 10% off your first purchase.
- Sanebox: Clean up your inbox and spend less time on email.
Apple App Stores currently down⇢
As of this writing, the iOS and Mac App Stores are down, as well as the iBook and iTunes Stores. Yikes.
Update: Apple has isssued a statement on the matter:
BREAKING: Apple apologizes to users for outage that took down iTunes & other services. http://t.co/61NJWHH7pY pic.twitter.com/yZGQCRudYl
— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) March 11, 2015
How I Became an Independent Podcaster⇢
My very beardy Relay FM co-founder recently gave a talk at the Covent Garden Apple Store on his podcast career. Check it out.