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Tim Cook: Finally, I want to be absolutely clear that we have never worked with any government agency from any country to create a backdoor in any of our products or services. We have also never allowed access to our servers. And we never will. That's almost like a dare to the FISA courts: “Try…
Tim Cook:
Finally, I want to be absolutely clear that we have never worked with any government agency from any country to create a backdoor in any of our products or services. We have also never allowed access to our servers. And we never will.
That's almost like a dare to the FISA courts: “Try us, and you'll see what the $100 billion in the bank is for.” I love it.
John Moltz: As it turns out, Apple’s product image for the iPod touch also omits the bump.
John Moltz:
As it turns out, Apple’s product image for the iPod touch also omits the bump.
Dustin Curtis: The reason current voice interfaces suck is because they force the speaker to consciously enter a “voice” mode and then create context around the action they want the computer to perform. This makes no sense; the computer should just always be listening for potential commands within the context of whatever the user is…
Dustin Curtis:
The reason current voice interfaces suck is because they force the speaker to consciously enter a “voice” mode and then create context around the action they want the computer to perform. This makes no sense; the computer should just always be listening for potential commands within the context of whatever the user is doing.
While out of town this weekend I was talking with Shawn Blanc about the new design here. He mentioned that one frustration he has is there is nothing to indicate that he is logged in. Technically this is not true, the menus change when you are logged in, but practically this is true. I added…
While out of town this weekend I was talking with Shawn Blanc about the new design here. He mentioned that one frustration he has is there is nothing to indicate that he is logged in.
Technically this is not true, the menus change when you are logged in, but practically this is true. I added a bit of welcome text to the header of the site, so if you are logged in you will see that, if you are not, then you will not see the text.
If you hit the link, you should be taken to your profile. If you want to change what displays just follow the link and change the ‘Display Name’ dropdown to what you want to be read. (It populates that drop down from: username, First name, Last name, nickname.)
Why the iPhone went big, and why it was a long time coming.
The larger iPhones bring two things to mind when I think about what changed: these are going to be great to use, but are going to be terrible to carry.
So I wondered why Apple might make this change. It occurs to me that designing a phone is hard when it comes to the need to carry the device, as the push and pull between carrying and using seems opposed. The two main things a phone must accomplish are:
The first is really easy to achieve: design small phones with few sharp angles and you are set. (Small both as footprint and volume.) The second item is also very easy to achieve: great software, fast hardware, and a great screen to do everything on and you are set.
Apple sure tries hard to hide that camera bump.
I watched the sporadic keynote for the iPhone 6, and I read a bit about it afterwards. The one thing that I didn’t really catch is that the new iPhones have a bump out where the camera resides. Apple fans have long chided Android for making thin phones with insane bump outs.
I had no clue until Garrett Murray, the Founder and Creative Director at Karbon, tweeted about it today (after I ordered mine).
Stephen Hackett: The question is if this is a problem for Apple. Myke isn't alone in thinking that the iPhone 6 Plus could be his only device. Clearly, there is a segment of the consumer market that may forgo buying an iPad and instead carry just the 5.5" iPhone. Apple likely made the 6+ knowing…
Stephen Hackett:
The question is if this is a problem for Apple. Myke isn't alone in thinking that the iPhone 6 Plus could be his only device. Clearly, there is a segment of the consumer market that may forgo buying an iPad and instead carry just the 5.5" iPhone.
Apple likely made the 6+ knowing that people who are buying it are looking at the 6+ as their main device and possibly only device.
And I have to say, it is a compelling idea. If I thought I wouldn't be annoyed everyday by the lack of pocket-ability of the 6+ I would get one.
Either way Apple knows all of this and are fine with it.
A bunch of new camera gear from Fujifilm, which I think is worth some attention. A new X100T which is probably one of the best cameras you can get (the X100S which it replaces was universally heralded). Can't wait to try one out. The highly anticipated XF 50-140mm f/2.8 lens. Something that many pro users…
A bunch of new camera gear from Fujifilm, which I think is worth some attention.
Some really great stuff for everyone. (All links above are affiliate.)
Remember when Apple didn’t have many screen sizes to design for? That’s no longer a strength.
Apple designers/developers used to mock Android developers over how fragmented the displays sizes are, as comparatively Apple had very few screen sizes to work with: iPad, iPhone 3.5”, and iPhone 4”. Today, Apple added in two more screen sizes, but created a much bigger design challenge.
It’s early, and we don’t know much, but the one thing that worries me is the design overhead in designing for the iPhone with these new phone sizes. Prior to today it was easy: design for the 4” display, and let iOS trim the content section of the app for the smaller display. And this works fairly well because the width of the devices was/is the same.
But that changes today.
Even small tablets are too big, but phones are too small to feel productive.
With a seemingly immenent announcement of larger screen iPhone, there has been a lot of talk about device sizing. What is ideal: smaller tablets, or bigger phones?
In addition to all of this we are seeing tablet growth slow, as presumably fewer people are upgrading and fewer people are buying. ((No, shit, right?)) Both of these thought patterns are related, and one common thing I have seen is that the laptop isn’t being replaced by tablets, it is being replaced by phones.
It seems crazy, as a person with a high-end Mac, an iPad, and an iPhone, that people would be using the iPhone (or like devices) as their computer. But, is it really that crazy? Not when you stop and think about it.
Luka Mathis: That’s why phone size is such a difficult topic. It depends on you, and it depends on what you do with it. I’m glad that Apple is about to introduce a larger phone,6 but I also still believe there are people who would benefit from an additional phone that’s even smaller than the…
Luka Mathis:
That’s why phone size is such a difficult topic. It depends on you, and it depends on what you do with it. I’m glad that Apple is about to introduce a larger phone,6 but I also still believe there are people who would benefit from an additional phone that’s even smaller than the 4S.
David Kravets reporting on Comcast injecting ads on top of webpages when connected to their public wifi hotspots: “We think it's a courtesy, and it helps address some concerns that people might not be absolutely sure they're on a hotspot from Comcast,” Douglas said. Now they will know, and can promptly make the wise decision…
David Kravets reporting on Comcast injecting ads on top of webpages when connected to their public wifi hotspots:
“We think it's a courtesy, and it helps address some concerns that people might not be absolutely sure they're on a hotspot from Comcast,” Douglas said.
Now they will know, and can promptly make the wise decision to get the hell off your wifi.
These unwanted JavaScript injections are terrible. I've been told serving your site over SSL can stop this, which is why (in part) I serve this site over SSL. (Even though it is tremendously slower.)
Mustapha Hamou: If you choose to follow a blog, no company like facebook can decide whether or not you can read its posts Except for when you go to share the blog post. I think that Twitter is going to cause quite a stir the moment they start filtering timelines (and they will). Good thing…
Mustapha Hamou:
If you choose to follow a blog, no company like facebook can decide whether or not you can read its posts
Except for when you go to share the blog post. I think that Twitter is going to cause quite a stir the moment they start filtering timelines (and they will). Good thing we have RSS and the old reliable blog and email system. There's a lot to be said for decentralized systems.
What a great tip. Love it.
What a great tip. Love it.
Don’t be a dick, it’s really not worth it.
You have probably read more than one thing I have written where I was a dick, either on purpose or incidentally. I likely wasn’t trying to be a dick at the outset, but yeah, I ended up being a dick. It could have been a review chastising an app solely for the color of their icon, or snark about Google tracking everything we do — it could have been just about anything.
Whatever the case, I have become well-known for being a dick. It’s ok, you can agree — I do.
Longer episode than normal, but a lot of fun courtesy of Garrett Murray and his thoughts on my Twitter bio. Thanks to Macminicolo.net and Rego for sponsoring.
Longer episode than normal, but a lot of fun courtesy of Garrett Murray and his thoughts on my Twitter bio.
Thanks to Macminicolo.net and Rego for sponsoring.
Let’s stop blaming victims and companies for the illegal actions of others.
Over the long US holiday weekend several celebrities had their privacy violated and less than desirable photos were shared of them around the web. The mainstream media has made a spectacle out of it by either shaming the celebrities for daring to live their lives as they want, or Apple for doing something. ((Or perhaps, for the lack of doing something.))
The truth of the matter is far more complex, and we have yet to get the clearest picture. There are though a few things we can take away from this which I think are worth repeating.
In honor of the seventh major design revision to the site, I am now offering quarterly memberships (for a limited time) at just $7 every three months. The plans are live, and remember you can switch plans if you want. The plans are now: $7 every three months $40 a year $4 a month The…
In honor of the seventh major design revision to the site, I am now offering quarterly memberships (for a limited time) at just $7 every three months. The plans are live, and remember you can switch plans if you want.
The plans are now:
The best value is quarterly. I’d love it if you became a member.
Clive Thompson: Because, as Ms. Deal found in her research, endless email is an enabler. It often masks terrible management practices.
Clive Thompson:
Because, as Ms. Deal found in her research, endless email is an enabler. It often masks terrible management practices.
Just a boring post about the where and why of the new design.
I know it can be boring to read about a blogger’s new site design, and truly there’s nothing revolutionary here, but at some point you may wonder why I made the changes I made — and that’s what this post serves to answer. An answer to ‘why’ for both of us. (Sometimes I forget too.)
Unlike every other redesign that I have done I first sat down and figured out some clear goals for the new design.