Linked

How to Create Safari Pinned Tab Icons →

December 22, 2015 · 08:00

Craig Hockenberry:

The recent release of Safari 9.0 brought a great new feature: pinned tabs. These tabs are locked to the lefthand side of your tab bar and stay in place, even when you open a new window or relaunch the browser.

The default behavior is to display the first letter of the site’s name on a color from the site’s theme. If you work on a site with a strong branding element, you’ll want to customize the icon on the pinned tab. Anthony Piraino and I have been working on one for the Iconfactory and would like to share some of the things we learned.

Personally, I went with John Siracusa’s approach and it worked fine. I had to use Affinity Designer though, Illustrator did not output a compatible file for some reason. I really should get around to making one for this site…

‘Consumers… Well… We’re Fucking Stupid’ →

December 21, 2015 · 23:21

Don Melton:

Anyway, Netflix is talking about the bitrates for their 1080p videos soon being as low 2000 Kbps for the simple stuff. That’s down from the 4300-5800 Kbps range they’re using now. And I’m sure they can do that on the low end without any perceivable loss of quality while streaming.

But can Apple and Amazon sell 1080p videos — averaging about 5000 Kbps now — at bitrates as low as 2000 Kbps — less than half that average size — without a perceived loss of value?

I don’t know. It’s hard to predict because consumers… well… we’re fucking stupid.

A very insightful and technical post about video and audio encoders, bitrates, and the future for Netflix, Apple and others.

An example would be TIDAL and their HQ uncompressed format, or whatever they’re calling it. I’m sure it’s great if you have the right equipment, young enough ears, and the ability to tell the difference. I still can, but just barely, and quite frankly the added overhead in terms of size (amongst other hurdles) is just too much of a hassle for me. The current iTunes/Spotify/pick-your-vice formats are more than enough, and if they flipped the switch overnight without telling anyone, I doubt many would notice. I know I wouldn’t.

Apple on ’60 Minutes’ — Full Transcript →

December 21, 2015 · 08:50

Charlie Rose:

Tim Cook: Because it would cost me 40 percent to bring it home. And I don’t think that’s a reasonable thing to do. This is a tax code, Charlie, that was made for the industrial age, not the digital age. It’s backwards. It’s awful for America. It should have been fixed many years ago. It’s past time to get it done.

Charlie Rose: But here’s what they concluded. Apple is engaged in a sophisticated scheme to pay little or no corporate taxes on $74 billion in revenues held overseas.

Tim Cook: That is total political crap. There is no truth behind it. Apple pays every tax dollar we owe.

A few interesting tidbits inside for those of you who are interested in what goes on behind the scenes, including Tim Cook seemingly slightly frustrated over the constant accusations.

As a user, I’m glad he’s fighting our battle for privacy.

BB8 Ringtones, Ready for iTunes →

December 19, 2015 · 11:15

David Sparks:

In my post-Star Wars bliss, I spent some time in Logic today creating a set of BB8 Ringtones from various BB8 audio snippets I found on the web. These are formatted for iTunes and ready to go. Enjoy.

This is awesome! You can find the zip file on David’s site.

Tom Warren Blasts Microsoft Lumia 950 XL in Review →

December 19, 2015 · 10:59

Tom Warren:

There’s no easy way to say this, but like the smaller Lumia 950, the Lumia 950 XL design is simply boring. It’s uninspired, plasticky, and looks like any other low-end Lumia that Microsoft has been churning out over the past year. If you’re someone that believes Windows Phone is dead, this is the casket you’d bury it in. It looks like a developer device, and feels like whatever talent was left at Microsoft from Nokia just gave up on designing anything pretty.

Ouch.

Jeff Williams Named COO, Phil Schiller’s Role Expanded and More →

December 17, 2015 · 16:35

Apple:

Apple today announced that Jeff Williams has been named chief operating officer and Johny Srouji is joining Apple’s executive team as senior vice president for Hardware Technologies. Phil Schiller, senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, will expand his role to include leadership of the revolutionary App Store® across all Apple platforms. Apple also announced that Tor Myhren will join Apple in the first calendar quarter of 2016 as vice president of Marketing Communications, reporting to CEO Tim Cook.

“We are fortunate to have incredible depth and breadth of talent across Apple’s executive team. As we come to the end of the year, we’re recognizing the contributions already being made by two key executives,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “Jeff is hands-down the best operations executive I’ve ever worked with, and Johny’s team delivers world-class silicon designs which enable new innovations in our products year after year.”

Cook continued, “In addition, Phil is taking on new responsibilities for advancing our ecosystem, led by the App Store, which has grown from a single, groundbreaking iOS store into four powerful platforms and an increasingly important part of our business. And I’m incredibly happy to welcome Tor Myhren, who will bring his creative talents to our advertising and marcom functions.”

Alex Gollner Talks to Randy Ubillos About Final Cut X, Steve Jobs Mentioned →

December 17, 2015 · 11:00

Alex Gollner:

My idea was that Final Cut 7 should stay exactly as it was for about a year, and every time you bought a copy of X you got a copy of 7. They didn’t want to hear it. I knew 16 months before the launch that I was going to have a bunch of arrows in my back. I was going to be blamed for this big transition. It’s the Apple way of doing things: ‘Feet first, jump in!’

The very last conversation I had with Steve Jobs was right after the launch of Final Cut Pro X. I was getting ready to get on a plane to go to London to record the second set of movie trailers – we’d hired the London Symphony Orchestra [to perform the music that was going to be bundled with the next version of iMovie] – and Steve caught me at home: “What the heck is going on with this Final Cut X thing?” I said “We knew this was coming, we knew that people were going to freak out when we changed everything out from under them. We could have done this better. We should have. Final Cut 7 should be back on the market. We should have an FAQ that lists what this is all about.” He said “Yeah, let’s get out and fund this thing, let’s make sure we get on top of this thing, move quickly with releases…” and he finished by asking: “Do you believe in this?” I said “Yes.” He said “then I do too.”

Geohotz Built a Self-Driving Car in His Garage →

December 17, 2015 · 09:51

Ashlee Vance:

With Hotz still holding the wheel, the Acura’s lidar paints a pixelated image on the dash screen of everything around us, including the freeway walls and other cars. A blue line charts the path the car is taking, and a green line shows the path the self-driving software recommends. The two match up pretty well, which means the technology is working. After a couple miles, Hotz lets go of the wheel and pulls the trigger on the joystick, kicking the car into self-driving mode. He does this as we head into an S curve at 65 miles per hour. I say a silent prayer. Hotz shouts, “You got this, car! You got this!”

The car does, more or less, have it. It stays true around the first bend. Near the end of the second, the Acura suddenly veers near an SUV to the right; I think of my soon-to-be-fatherless children; the car corrects itself. Amazed, I ask Hotz what it felt like the first time he got the car to work.

“Dude,” he says, “the first time it worked was this morning.”

George Hotz. The misfit. The rebel.

Kit Hinrichs’s Typography Calendar →

December 17, 2015 · 09:50

Terri Stone:

There are no illustrations or photos in the calendar, named 365. Type plays the starring role, with each month showcasing a different face. Numbered days of the month dominate the page, but look in the upper left-hand corner of the page and you’ll see a small block of text that quietly delivers information about the typeface, its designer, and contemporary technological influences.

Rumour: iPad Air 3 to Be Released in 1st Half of 2016, ‘unlikely to Have 3D Touch Because of Production Issues’ →

December 15, 2015 · 20:56

Seth Weintraub:

KGI’s Ming-Chi Kuo is out with a set of research notes today highlighted by ‘iPad Air 3’ forecasts. Notably, the newest 9.7-inch Apple tablet is expected to be released in the 1st half of 2016, perhaps at the March event we’ve pinned to include the Apple Watch 2 with a possible appearance of the 4-inch iPhone 6c. The bad news is that like the iPad Pro, the new iPad Air 3 isn’t likely to have 3D Touch, which is a big part of the new iPhone 6s/Plus experience, according to the analyst…

How the Star Wars Planets Stack Up Against Our Own →

December 15, 2015 · 09:10

Maddie Stone:

Chris Jones wanted to see how the planets and moons featured in the original Star Wars trilogy stack up against real planets in this galaxy. Turns out, many of them are quite comparable in size to places in our solar system. Endor is Mercury after a massive global cooling campaign, Hoth is Mars before all the water evaporated, and Bespin is a gas giant not so different in size from our Saturn. Yavin Prime seems to be in a class of its own, though—who knows—maybe it’s similar to one of those fabled brown dwarfs lurking in the far reaches of our solar system.

Skip straight to the comments below the article — gold!

John Gruber Scores Amazing Guest Interview on the Talk Show →

December 15, 2015 · 08:58

John Gruber:

John Siracusa returns to the show to follow up on Federighi’s segment on Swift. Other topics include Apple’s new Smart Battery Case for the iPhone 6/6S, and our mutual (and perhaps futile) desire to head into this week’s premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens knowing as few spoilers as possible.

Also, some guy named Craig Federighi is on before Siracusa.

Allyson Explains How to Take Great Long Exposure Photos with iPhone →

December 15, 2015 · 08:52

Allyson Kazmucha:

Long exposure photography lets you capture light trails, motion blur, and better low light shots. While the built-in Camera app doesn’t let you control shutter speed and light sensitivity, there are lots of apps available in the App Store that do

I get frustrated to no end by the fact that the iPhone can’t do real 30 second long exposures. This should be possible.

Apple Buys Former Chip Fab →

December 15, 2015 · 08:45

Nathan Donato-Weinstein:

“It’s pretty small for a fab,” said Dean Freeman, research VP at Gartner, where he leads the Internet of Things Center of Excellence. “The only thing I can think that they would be doing is potentially be saying, ‘OK, we need to do some prototyping in some way or form.’ Or they want a clean-room space to do some tweaky development. This isn’t big enough to do anything (production-wise).”

MacKeeper Leaks 13 Million Mac Owners’ Data →

December 15, 2015 · 08:42

Thomas Fox-Brewster:

Anti-virus provider MacKeeper is known for pushing the message Apple Mac owners need protection. It needed some extra protection of its own today, after a white hat hacker discovered a database containing 13 million customer records was accessible by just visiting a selection of IP addresses, no username or password required.

Do not install this crap. Ever. And delete it if already installed. It does not help in any meaningful way, and is harmful in many others.

Wildlife Portraits Captured With Camera Traps and Flashes →

December 14, 2015 · 23:05

Michael Zhang:

Photographer Jonny Armstrong‘s portfolio is filled with some of the most remarkable wildlife photos you’ll ever see: many of the portraits have a studio-like quality to them, and they’re often taken from just a few feet away.

The secret to Armstrong’s work is that he’s a master of camera trap photography, using remote cameras and triggers to catch creatures off guard when they’re going about their business.

Amazing work.

Star Trek Beyond Trailer →

December 14, 2015 · 23:02

I enjoy watching both Chris Pine and Simon Pegg perform, hence I got hooked on J.J. Abrams’ take on the Star Trek universe. The plots could of course be much improved, but since I took pleasure in his first two movies, I will definitely go see the new one.

I never did truly appreciate the Star Trek TV series from the 60’s and 80’s, but perhaps I’ll give them another try now.

UK Citizens May Soon Need Licenses to Photograph Stuff They Already Own →

December 14, 2015 · 11:46

Glyn Moody:

Changes to UK copyright law will soon mean that you may need to take out a licence to photograph classic designer objects even if you own them. That’s the result of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, which extends the copyright of artistic objects like designer chairs from 25 years after they were first marketed to 70 years after the creator’s death. In most cases, that will be well over a hundred years after the object was designed. During that period, taking a photo of the item will often require a licence from the copyright owner regardless of who owns the particular object in question.

UK laws are becoming so absurd, that they keep on reminding me to re-watch ‘V for Vendetta’.

Hotels, Drugs, and Convertibles: How I Lived Like a King
for a Month in Venezuela for Just $115 →

December 14, 2015 · 11:00

Diego Urdaneta:

What I do want to do here, however, is help my country’s tourism industry by demonstrating that you can live like a king for an entire month in Venezuela with just one €100 bank note (about $115) thanks to these strange and confusing economic controls. If you’re a local earning local money, life is tough—very basic supplies like toilet paper are in extraordinarily short supply and you’ll have to wait in line for hours just to get your hands on them. If you’re a tourist bringing over foreign currency, on the other hand, the country is your oyster.

I didn’t know it was this bad.

Oh, and Diego picked a really beautiful car to rent.

iFixit’s Smart Battery Case Teardown →

December 12, 2015 · 23:15

iFixit:

In one of the least Apple-y moves in history, Apple released the Smart Battery Case, and it’s ugly. Rumors about this unexpected accessory are flying thick and fast, let’s open this pack up to see how it works.

Great shots as usual, a lot of interesting information, and one interesting tidbit:

With 7.13 Whr (1877 mAh at 3.8 V) capacity, this battery more than doubles your iPhone 6s (6.55 Whr) capacity.

Tips for Screencasting From Brett Terpstra →

December 12, 2015 · 23:12

Brett Terpstra:

I’ve answered some questions about my own experience with creating screencasts recently. I’m not by any means the most prolific screencaster in the community, but I learned a lot creating 60 Tips with David Sparks for the iBookstore, and creating my own screencasts for Marked 2 and my blog. It seemed like the kind of info that might be of use to the world.

Many of these tips focus on my tool of choice, ScreenFlow. I’m currently using ScreenFlow 5.0.3, but a lot of these concepts can be easily ported to other applications with minor technical adjustments. There are a lot of options, from QuickTime Player to Camtasia (and many inexpensive options on the Mac App Store), but ScreenFlow’s editing capabilities are top notch and perfect for anyone doing more than just a quick screen share.

So simple. So helpful.

Why 2Do Is Federico Viticci’s New Favorite iOS Task Manager →

December 11, 2015 · 09:38

Federico Viticci:

2Do is easily the most customizable task manager for iOS. It’s a powerful app with dozens of options, and, at least initially, a steep learning curve. This article doesn’t want to be a guide to 2Do, or even a full review. Instead, I wanted to collect the features and details that have convinced me 2Do for iOS is the app for me. I’ve been using 2Do for months and I’m still discovering new aspects of it every day – I can only hope to explain how I use 2Do, not everything it has to offer.

2Do for both iOS and Mac is still on sale. Grab it after reading Federico’s short pout on the subject. Or just go grab it — it has to be at least half decent since he wrote about it at length.

★ 2Do – iOS – Productivity – €14.99 > €7.99 →
★ 2Do – Mac – Productivity – €49.99 > €24.99 →

Peter Kafka on Why Apple Walked Away From TV →

December 10, 2015 · 09:40

Peter Kafka:

Industry executives say Apple has spent much of 2015 pushing for a “skinny” bundle of TV channels — limited to perhaps a dozen core networks — delivered over the Web, which would retail for no more than $30.
So while the price of the individual channels that Apple wants to package has been an issue, it’s the composition of the package itself — which channels go in, and which don’t make the cut — that is just as important to both Apple and the programmers, according to sources.

If Apple gets its way, it means the traditional pay TV package, which averages around 100 channels, will get shrunk by nearly 80 percent. And while TV executives will say that they understand that consumers don’t want to pay for channels they don’t watch, all of them will argue that their channels are must-haves.

Emphasis mine, which ultimately highlights the problem.

My wife and I have been cable/satellite free for over three years now, relying only on our Apple TV and PS4 to watch movies or TV shows. Basically what we want is either individual apps for the channels we are willing to watch1 or a subscription for a package, but it was to be worthwhile and not bunch of crap we won’t ever turn on.

  1. We’ll pay for them individually if need be. ↩

Lauren Juliff’s Summary of This Year’s Travels →

December 10, 2015 · 09:26

Lauren Juliff:

Over the past 12 months, I travelled across eighteen countries; seven of them new. I spent time in 62 cities and slept in 35 beds. I took 15 flights and travelled 24,613 miles. I spent $20,417.83.

You could say it’s been the best year of my life; I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have received so many amazing opportunities. I wrote a book! It sold out its first print run in three months! The vast majority of the reviews have been positive! I’m a published author and it still feels incredible. This year, I lived in Spain for several months. I ran my first 5k race. I visited the Baltics, a brand new region of Europe for me. I explored Cornwall and saw for myself that there’s more to England than my London bubble. I stayed in an Italian village with a permanent population of two. I took a ferry to Finland on a whim. I spent several nights floating on a river in the jungles of Cambodia. I ate everything in Taiwan. And Vietnam. And Spain. And Italy.

And at the same time, I can’t deny this year has included some of the biggest challenges I’ve ever faced. Mental breakdowns. Panic attacks. Self-doubt. Cancelled trips. Bedbugs. Allergic reactions. Letting down friends. Losing my passport. Forgetting to apply for visas. I started the year in one of the darkest periods of my life, but end it at one of my strongest. Those terrible experiences were necessary for me to reassess my life and make the changes I’d been putting off for a while.

If you’re into traveling, or just want to read about someone who is, give Lauren’s blog a shot. She has the most insane adventures.

Even though her 2015 wasn’t quite as crazy as the previous escapades, it was pretty good. You can read about her earlier and more insane travels in her book [iBooks]. I wrote a little about it here.