Disney CEO Bob Iger recalls close working relationship with Steve Jobs

Disney CEO Bob Iger recalls close working relationship with Steve Jobs: "Late Apple cofounder Steve Jobs found a 'true partner' in Bob Iger, according to a new profile of the Disney chief executive, with Jobs going so far as to hand-pick Iger to succeed him on Apple's board of directors. "

High praise from on high.

5 trends to watch for in 3D printing in 2015 | VentureBeat | Gadgets | by Zack Schildhorn, Lux Capital

5 trends to watch for in 3D printing in 2015 | VentureBeat | Gadgets | by Zack Schildhorn, Lux Capital: "It’s been a fast-paced year for 3D printing, with more capital, more companies, and more big ideas than ever. Behind the scenes, we’ve witnessed no fewer than 50 new ventures raising money in the 3D printing sector."

A bizarre and exciting field.

Review: Olloclip 4-in-1 Lens for iPhone 6/6 Plus hangs wide-angle + macro lenses from your neck | 9to5Mac

Review: Olloclip 4-in-1 Lens for iPhone 6/6 Plus hangs wide-angle + macro lenses from your neck | 9to5Mac: "Olloclip isn’t the only maker of lenses for iPhone cameras, but after testing options from a dozen vendors, it’s the one I’d call the best at delivering reliably good combinations of quality and practicality. Its latest accessory is the 4-in-1 Lens for iPhone 6/6 Plus ($80), an updated continuation of its longest-running and most popular series of iPhone lenses."

Pretty cool.

Watch the full BBC documentary on iPhone factory working conditions while you can | 9to5Mac

Watch the full BBC documentary on iPhone factory working conditions while you can | 9to5Mac: "The program alleged that Pegatron factories were breaking ‘standards on workers’ hours, ID cards, dormitories, work meetings and juvenile workers.’ Workers are filmed sleeping at their workstations, with one worker claiming he hadn’t been allowed a day off in 18 days."

Woe is the successful electronics company!

Anti-censorship group sees Apple's, Steam's control over expression in apps and games as 'dangerous' | GamesBeat | Games | by Jeff Grubb

Anti-censorship group sees Apple's, Steam's control over expression in apps and games as 'dangerous' | GamesBeat | Games | by Jeff Grubb: "We have no laws preventing corporations from banning or prohibiting certain kinds of speech, and the National Coalition Against Censorship says that’s turning into a problem for free expression."

Land of the free and home of the brave. Let's make the planet Disney-fied.

Movie studios and the MPAA created a secret plan to combat Google, dubbed ‘Project Goliath’ | 9to5Google

Movie studios and the MPAA created a secret plan to combat Google, dubbed ‘Project Goliath’ | 9to5Google: "New emails uncovered by the Verge from Sony’s stolen files have revealed that the company, along with several other studios and executives at the MPAA, worked together to create a plan of attack against Google, which they see as one of the biggest enemies Hollywood has."

Hmmm.

More leaked Sony emails reveal possible locations for Steve Jobs biopic | 9to5Mac

More leaked Sony emails reveal possible locations for Steve Jobs biopic | 9to5Mac: "Those locations were included in an email sent from screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, who, along with director Danny Boyle, will be taking the film to Universal Pictures for production after working with Sony on it for several years."

Ooh-tah.

Aaron Sorkin originally wanted Tom Cruise to play Steve Jobs in upcoming biopic | 9to5Mac

Aaron Sorkin originally wanted Tom Cruise to play Steve Jobs in upcoming biopic | 9to5Mac: "While it has ultimately been decided that Michael Fassbender will be cast as Steve Jobs in the upcoming biopic about the late Apple co-founder, a leaked email exchange reveals that writer Aaron Sorkin originally had a more prominent actor in mind for the role: Tom Cruise."

You're in a maze of twisty passages, all alike.

Universal eyes Jeff Daniels to play former Apple CEO John Sculley in Steve Jobs movie | 9to5Mac

Universal eyes Jeff Daniels to play former Apple CEO John Sculley in Steve Jobs movie | 9to5Mac: "The Wrap reports that Universal Pictures is eyeing The Newsroom (and Dumb & Dumber) star Jeff Daniels to perform as former Apple CEO John Sculley in the upcoming Steve Jobs movie by Aaron Sorkin. Daniels would be reunited with Sorkin and Scott Rudin, executive producers of The Newsroom, starring alongside Michael Fassbender as Steve Jobs and Seth Rogen as Steve Wozniak."

Hmmm.

Ex-Apple supply chain manager fined, sentenced to 1 year in prison for kickback scheme

Ex-Apple supply chain manager fined, sentenced to 1 year in prison for kickback scheme: " Devine received the funds into multiple bank accounts in the U.S. and South Korea, including some opened under a shell company called CPK Engineering."

O Daeng!

Why VMware absolutely had to adopt Docker and its trendy containers | VentureBeat | Cloud | by Jordan Novet

Why VMware absolutely had to adopt Docker and its trendy containers | VentureBeat | Cloud | by Jordan Novet: "VMware announced that it has succeeded in integrating Docker containers, a technology that’s currently hot among developers, into its own widely used vSphere server-virtualization software."

I think docker is great. Who wants to be stuck in a server platform you can't get out of?

Chromecast cruises by Apple TV and nears Roku in latest home streaming market share numbers | 9to5Google

Chromecast cruises by Apple TV and nears Roku in latest home streaming market share numbers | 9to5Google: "Google’s diminutive and cheap Chromecast is making strong headway against its competitors according to a report today by Parks Associates. Priced at $35 but now going for just over $20, the dongle, which is controlled by Apps on iOS and Android devices rather than a traditional remote has passed the almost forgotten Apple TV and is closing in on the king of streamers, the Roku.  "

Just add Google Fiber for an all-in-one "the way it should be" experience.

9to5Mac: Apple iPhone, Mac and iPad News Breaking All Day

9to5Mac: Apple iPhone, Mac and iPad News Breaking All Day: "Now the LAUSD has decided to scrap the entire plan for good just as the Federal Bureau of Investigation has started taking a closer look at the deal."

I believe Cyndi Lauper said it best "Money Changes Everything"

Netflix 'fast lanes' make it a net neutrality hypocrite, FCC commissioner says | VentureBeat | Media | by Mark Sullivan

Netflix 'fast lanes' make it a net neutrality hypocrite, FCC commissioner says | VentureBeat | Media | by Mark Sullivan: "Federal Communications Commissioner Ajit Pai sent a letter to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings today suggesting that while Netflix advocates loudly for network neutrality and openness, the video giant has taken steps to create some Internet ‘fast lanes’ of its own."

A proprietary compression standard is probably about reducing piracy of streams.

Steve Wozniak is about to become a reality TV show | Cult of Mac

Steve Wozniak is about to become a reality TV show | Cult of Mac: "Steve Wozniak has played a lot of roles over the last three decades – engineer, Apple co-founder, Segway polo champion, and university professor – but Steve is about to jump into an all new realm: Realty TV show host."

The most interesting man in the world!

Microsoft raids App Store for popular cross-platform email app | Cult of Mac

Microsoft raids App Store for popular cross-platform email app | Cult of Mac: "News of the Acompli acquisition was posted today on Microsoft’s company blog, with VP of Office, Rajesh Jha, saying the company plans to integrate the app into the Outlook redesign his team is currently working on."

Shows that iOS is an important platform to the software-mostly company.

Über -> Flywheel Taxi hailing App

: "Uber’s controversy involving reporters and privacy violations spawned calls for boycotts and switching to alternative on-demand car service options. And now, in addition to Lyft’s claim of seeing a huge bump in number of rides in the past week, Flywheel has seen a 300 percent increase in app downloads, the company told VentureBeat."

Flywheel Taxi hailing instead of Ubering.

Natalie Portman rumored for troubled Steve Jobs biopic

Natalie Portman rumored for troubled Steve Jobs biopic: "A second major Hollywood star could soon join the Aaron Sorkin-penned Steve Jobs biopic, according to a Wednesday report, with actress Natalie Portman said to be in discussions with Universal over a role in the film."

Wot? Wot. Wot!

After losing Apple's iPad business, Intel has bled $7 billion while heavily subsidizing cheap x86 Atom Android tablets

After losing Apple's iPad business, Intel has bled $7 billion while heavily subsidizing cheap x86 Atom Android tablets: "Over the last two years, Intel's mobile chip division has lost $7 billion while heavily subsidizing the manufacturing costs of Android Atom tablet makers. It now plans to phase out those generous incentives, which will make it more expensive for iPad competitors to dump cheap tablets into the market. "

Obviously a market leader needs to strike a balance between leading and pricing. Unfortunately, the ARM SOC competition is at a whole different price point and if these low power chipmakers ever add x86 instructions, could spell trouble. 8086 __asm forever!

Revel Works With Apple Pay - Revel Systems | iPad POS System | Retail and Restaurant POS

Revel Works With Apple Pay - Revel Systems | iPad POS System | Retail and Restaurant POS: "A new player has just entered the mobile payment industry, setting the stage for exciting possibilities in the point of sale space. Apple Pay will enable users to make payments from their iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, without having to share credit card or other personal information. Mass adoption of Apple Pay technology is already underfoot, with franchise giants like McDonald’s, Subway, and Panera on board, along with major retailers like Target, Whole Foods, Macy’s, and Bloomingdale’s."

Pad Pay.

Disney announces Disney Infinity 2.0 mobile built w/ Metal, new ESPN app, and more during today’s special event | 9to5Mac

Disney announces Disney Infinity 2.0 mobile built w/ Metal, new ESPN app, and more during today’s special event | 9to5Mac: "Disney Infinity 2.0 released earlier this fall on consoles, but until today Disney had been mum on its plans for an updated mobile version. Now it’s official. Disney Infinity 2.0 for mobile devices will be released this holiday season."

Hmmm. Metal!

Apple's plan to penetrate enterprise involves dedicated sales team, partnerships with software developers

Apple's plan to penetrate enterprise involves dedicated sales team, partnerships with software developers: "Apple is looking to grab a bigger portion of the corporate software and solutions business with dedicated sales teams tasked with wooing big-name corporations, while at the same time working with software developers already entrenched in the enterprise sector."

IMHO the platform is changing too fast to be a viable enterprise solution for custom development. No corporation wants to do 3 months of development every year in response to whatever new wingy-dingy that Apple has added to iOS to defend against Android or whatever new UI candy is in fashion.

You know what's in fashion for enterprise? Applications that run for 25 years without rebooting the hardware. Read about it in Fortress Rochester.

Aaron Sorkin talks Steve Jobs biopic, provides more plot details in Bloomberg interview | 9to5Mac

Aaron Sorkin talks Steve Jobs biopic, provides more plot details in Bloomberg interview | 9to5Mac: "Aaron Sorkin sat down with Bloomberg’s Emily Chang for an interview and talked about a variety of topics including his upcoming Steve Jobs biopic. The film has been in the works for several years now, with at least three different actors reportedly having been considered or confirmed to play the Apple co-founder at some point."

It amuses me that there is speculation about the plot of this movie.

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 could have insane 5.9-inch 4K Ultra HD display | 9to5Google

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 could have insane 5.9-inch 4K Ultra HD display | 9to5Google: "While only a small but growing number of users have even upgraded their desktop computer with a 4K monitor, a new report from PhoneArena claims that Samsung will start mass-producing a 5.9-inch 4K Ultra HD Super AMOLED display in August. Conveniently, that is around the time Samsung might begin manufacturing its Galaxy Note 5."

Personally, I think Apple should ignore MS on the desktop, keep Mac OS X stable and clean and tighten up iOS, which is going bloaty. I use Dolphin on the Nexus 7 and actually prefer it to Chrome on the desktop for most tasks.

Apple Pay pays off for Google Wallet too: users double and payments grow by 50%

: "While Apple Pay has grabbed all the attention in the mobile payment field, with the Google Wallet service launched back in 2011 having failed to make the same kind of splash, it appears that Google may be benefiting from the publicity generated by Apple."

Always thought Google Wallet was under-marketed.

Xiaomi to seek funding round that could value smartphone maker at up to $50 billion | 9to5Google

Xiaomi to seek funding round that could value smartphone maker at up to $50 billion | 9to5Google: "Bloomberg on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter, reports that Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi is in talks to hold a funding round that could value the smartphone maker at between $40 billion to $50 billion. The news arrives just days after it was reported that Xiaomi overtook LG to become the world’s third-largest smartphone maker."

China is a world unto itself.

Seth Rogen to play Steve Wozniak alongside Christian Bale's Steve Jobs

Seth Rogen to play Steve Wozniak alongside Christian Bale's Steve Jobs: "Actor Seth Rogen, famous for comedic roles in hits like 'Superbad' and 'Knocked Up,' will reportedly appear in the upcoming Steve Jobs biopic written by Oscar winner Aaron Sorkin, and is set to take on the role of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak."

Thought Josh Gad did a great job in the Steve Jobs movie.

iPad Pro rumored specs: smaller 12.2-inch display, 7mm thickness, Left/right stereo speakers | 9to5Mac

iPad Pro rumored specs: smaller 12.2-inch display, 7mm thickness, Left/right stereo speakers | 9to5Mac: "The Japanese website compares the iPad Pro to Microsoft’s Surface implying that the preferred method of use will be landscape instead of portrait which has been the default iPad orientation since its 2010 inception. "

So many competitors.

Apple announces 27-inch iMac with Retina display, 5,120-by-2,880 pixel resolution

Apple announces 27-inch iMac with Retina display, 5,120-by-2,880 pixel resolution: "Compared to a 4K display, Retina 5K has 67 percent more pixels, or seven times the pixels of a normal HD display. The pixel-dense panel is shoehorned into a chassis that is only 5mm thick at its thinnest edge. "

Lookin' good iMac.

Oscar winner Christian Bale to play Steve Jobs in upcoming biopic

Oscar winner Christian Bale to play Steve Jobs in upcoming biopic: "Sony's high-profile biopic of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs will have plenty of award winning pedigree behind it, as Oscar winning actor Christian Bale will reportedly play the lead on the project, which also features an Academy Award winning director and screenwriter."

Interesting choice. I liked Ashton Kutcher.

Surging Mac sales put Apple among top five global PC vendors for first time, IDC says

Surging Mac sales put Apple among top five global PC vendors for first time, IDC says: "Mac shipments were up an estimated 8.9 percent in the third quarter of calendar 2014, IDC reported on Wednesday, to nearly 5 million total units. That was enough to overtake Asus and place Apple in the No. 5 position with a 6.3 percent share of the total worldwide market."

That's what I like to hear! Mac forever.

Apple's Macs rack up more than 1/4 of back-to-school PC sales in 2014

Apple's Macs rack up more than 1/4 of back-to-school PC sales in 2014: "The Mac's share of the lucrative back-to-school shopping season continued its upward trajectory this year, as data released on Wednesday indicates that some 26.8 percent of the personal computers sold in the U.S. between Independence Day and Labor Day bore Apple's logo."

Yay for us! Goods news!

As iPhone 6 units are smuggled in 'Twinkie boxes,' Chinese government says regulatory approval coming soon

As iPhone 6 units are smuggled in 'Twinkie boxes,' Chinese government says regulatory approval coming soon: "Currently, the iPhone 6 is selling for about $1,900, while the iPhone 6 Plus is said to be going for around $3,250 U.S. The most popular colors are gold and space grey, which according to Yoon are commanding up to a $500 premium in unauthorized sales."

A fun little story.

First iPhone 6 & iPhone 6 Plus teardowns reveal high-capacity batteries, reworked innards

First iPhone 6 & iPhone 6 Plus teardowns reveal high-capacity batteries, reworked innards: "Apple's new A8 SoC is easily spotted just above the phone's nano-SIM reader, while a Hynix NAND flash module resides on the flip side. Other notables include Qualcomm's MDM9625M LTE-Advanced modem with support for carrier aggregation, two baseband chips from Avago, Triquint amps and silicon from usual players Skyworks and Broadcom."

Who can repair these things? iFixit?

Tim Cook visits Palo Alto Apple Store for iPhone 6 launch as Angela Ahrendts welcomes Sydney | 9to5Mac

Tim Cook visits Palo Alto Apple Store for iPhone 6 launch as Angela Ahrendts welcomes Sydney | 9to5Mac: "Apple CEO Tim Cook has been spotted at the company’s local Apple Store in Palo Alto, California, to be a part of the crowd and watch the new iPhone debut. Cook reportedly joked with the crowd saying he got the new iPhone several months ago. As evident by Twitter, the Apple CEO has shared in the excitement by taking selfies with the crowd."

He walks among the common man.

9to5Mac: Apple iPhone, Mac and iPad News Breaking All Day

9to5Mac: Apple iPhone, Mac and iPad News Breaking All Day: "Ars Technica has done some field tests using an iPhone 4s running iOS 8. Although the operating system runs decently, there are definitely some drawbacks that might stop iPhone 4s users from hitting update right away."

The real question is how much the working set for the OS has increased which will impact all 3rd party applications in unexpected ways.

Panasonic’s Lumix CM1 stuffs a 1-inch sensor into an Android-powered smartphone | 9to5Google

Panasonic’s Lumix CM1 stuffs a 1-inch sensor into an Android-powered smartphone | 9to5Google: "Perhaps taking a play out of Samsung’s playbook, Panasonic has announced its new Lumix CM1, a device that comes off as a point-and-shoot camera that also happens be a smartphone. Referred to as a ‘connected camera,’ this hybrid gizmo features a 1-inch MOS sensor capable of capturing 4K video and 20-megapixel still shots."

Wowsers!

Analyst who cried sapphire takes another swing, despite whiffing on iPhone 6 predictions

Analyst who cried sapphire takes another swing, despite whiffing on iPhone 6 predictions: "Margolis's explanations come after months of claims that GT Advanced Technologies would be producing massive amounts of sapphire for Apple — enough to create display covers of the hardened material for iPhone 6 units to be sold this year. The analyst's confident predictions didn't pan out, though. In fact, none of Apple's iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus models feature sapphire screen covers. Apple has said this year's models feature 'ion-strengthened' glass."

Sapphire en route, delayed by storm.

Microsoft is buying Minecraft, according to rumor | GamesBeat | Games | by Jeff Grubb

Microsoft is buying Minecraft, according to rumor | GamesBeat | Games | by Jeff Grubb: "The publisher is in discussions to snatch up Minecraft developer Mojang for $2 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. We are working to verify the story, but we cannot confirm the rumor at this time — although WSJ has a history of getting these things correct. The report claims that the deal could go through as early as this week. If Microsoft does seal the deal, it will own an indie-gaming phenomenon. Minecraft has players building Lego-like structures with simple-looking 3D blocks, and it has caught on with players of all ages."

Microsoft knows a good thing. Unlike the worthless acquisitions that the valley seems to favor, I am still amazed that Google/Apple let them get Skype.

Apple's massive fall lineup reportedly causing shipping delays for other manufacturers

Apple's massive fall lineup reportedly causing shipping delays for other manufacturers: "Apple is reportedly securing dates for its upcoming fall shipments, expected to include new iPhone and iPad models, and the number of devices coming out of China is so large that major shipping companies are delaying orders from other device makers."

That's a lot of ship.

Meet The Young YouTubers Changing The Way British Media Stars Are Born

Meet The Young YouTubers Changing The Way British Media Stars Are Born: "The 24-year-old Zoe is the original star in the family. With 5.7 million subscribers, she has been billed by The Telegraph as ‘arguably the biggest star on the British YouTube scene’."

YouTube killed the TV star.

Someone assembled their own iPhone 6 using leaked parts (Video) | 9to5Mac

Someone assembled their own iPhone 6 using leaked parts (Video) | 9to5Mac: "Following photos that surfaced this morning showing much more subtle antenna breaks on the back of a supposed production model iPhone 6, a video of a device based on the upcoming flagship has surfaced thanks to Feld & Volk, an association of designers and engineers who create luxury custom versions of Apple’s most popular handsets. But what’s interesting about this device is that it seems to actually be built from working parts, and can be seen booting and asking the user to connect to iTunes."

Secrecy ain't what it used to be!

Apple announces Sept. 9 event for expected 'iPhone 6' & 'iWatch' unveiling: 'Wish we could say more'

Apple announces Sept. 9 event for expected 'iPhone 6' & 'iWatch' unveiling: 'Wish we could say more': "In a change from years past, Apple's 2014 September event will be held at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts in Cupertino, Calif. Apple typically holds its annual iPhone event at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, but this year's venue is closer to the company's corporate headquarters and can also accommodate three times as many people."

Yay!

9to5Google: Beyond Good and Evil

9to5Google: Beyond Good and Evil: "Included with the lemonade stand image and ‘don’t copy’ caption is another Schmidt line on originality and competition. ‘Playing catch-up with the competition will never help you get ahead by creating something new,’ Schmidt says. Google would be the ‘hard’ boozy lemonade to the competitions’ fresh lemonade. In the case of Google Plus, the booze could be the hangouts or perhaps the photo editing features or integration with other Google products."

Some fireside musings from the chief Googly guy.

Amazon buys Twitch for $970M, pushes into video streaming market

Amazon buys Twitch for $970M, pushes into video streaming market: "Twitch started life in 2011 as an offshoot of former live Internet broadcast site Justin.tv, itself cofounded by Shear in 2007, and was recently rumored to be in acquisition talks with Google and Yahoo. Over the past three years, Twitch has amassed a huge following that the company recently pegged at 55 million active users. "

This is cool but it's relatively easy for YouTube to add this functionality.

TSMC expected to begin 16nm volume production for Apple’s A9 chip in early 2015 | 9to5Mac

TSMC expected to begin 16nm volume production for Apple’s A9 chip in early 2015 | 9to5Mac: "next generation iPhone rumors, Apple watchers, as a report from Chinese publication Economic Daily News (via Digitimes) shares that TSMC, or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, plans to ‘advance volume production on its 16nm process’ during the beginning of 2015 ‘with monthly output of 50,000 wafers’ to deliver Apple’s A9 system-on-a-chip."

It's only wafer-thin!

Android v. iOS Marketshare

: ""

Having witnessed firsthand the trouncing of MacOS by Windows 95 in the early 90s, this is all looking mighty familiar.

FCC chairman slams Verizon's 'all the kids do it' defense to data throttling

FCC chairman slams Verizon's 'all the kids do it' defense to data throttling
Today's comments were made in response to a rebuttal letter from the telecom's SVP of Federal Regulatory Affairs Kathleen Grillo, who defended "network optimization" by saying the "practice has been widely accepted with little or no controversy."

Ultimately I think the free market will take care of this problem. Even if means that Google fiber is everywhere and free.

Apple details 'Siri for Mac' desktop virtual assistant in new patent application

Apple details 'Siri for Mac' desktop virtual assistant in new patent application: "While Apple's Siri has been an iOS staple since 2011, the tech has yet to make the jump to OS X. An exhaustive new patent filing, however, details a very similar desktop version of the virtual assistant that can perform dictation, high-level system commands and even act as a 'third hand' for Mac users. "

Here's one: Siri, why don't you stay on the iPhone so the Mac OS can reduce it's bloat and get back to basics.

Samsung and Apple agree to end all patent disputes outside of the United States | 9to5Mac

Samsung and Apple agree to end all patent disputes outside of the United States | 9to5Mac
Samsung and Apple just announced that they have agreed to drop all patent suits against each other in countries outside the United States, Bloomberg reports. The two companies will drop suits against each other in Australia, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Netherlands, the U.K., France and Italy.

Looks like some genius took the settlement amounts and deducted the cost of litigation and had an epiphany.

How to get the lowest prices on Apple's mid-2014 MacBook Pros with instant coupons

How to get the lowest prices on Apple's mid-2014 MacBook Pros with instant coupons: "Apple's much-anticipated 2014 family of MacBook Pros introduced Tuesday are on their way to the company's largest authorized resellers, and AI has teamed up with a pair of them to offer the lowest prices anywhere on not only the five standard retail configurations but over two dozen custom configurations, including those that come with 3-Years of AppleCare. "

If you're going to get the world's best personal computer, get it at the world's best price!

Apple Stores unify employee shirts as major customer service enhancements planned | 9to5Mac

Apple Stores unify employee shirts as major customer service enhancements planned | 9to5Mac: "Apple is taking a small-step to unifying the attire of its U.S.-based Apple Store employees this upcoming week: the black shirts worn by Apple Store Business Team members for several years will be going into retirement, and all Apple Store employees will begin wearing the same, classic blue t-shirts as normally seen on the store sales floors. "

This is easily the most important news I read today.

Google’s acquisition of Twitch for $1 billion reportedly confirmed | 9to5Google

Google’s acquisition of Twitch for $1 billion reportedly confirmed | 9to5Google
According to VentureBeat, citing sources familiar with the matter, Google has reached an agreement with Twitch to acquire the live streaming video platform for $1 billion. While the deal appears to have been finalized, the two companies have yet to make a formal announcement regarding the acquisition. Google’s YouTube division is reportedly in charge of the acquisition. 

This ain't yo mama's TV channel.

New Samsung ad says ‘we’ve had it for two years’ to those anticipating iPhone 6′s larger screen | 9to5Mac

New Samsung ad says ‘we’ve had it for two years’ to those anticipating iPhone 6′s larger screen | 9to5Mac: "Samsung is continuing its approach of pushing anti-iPhone ads on its YouTube channel. Today’s ad showcases two friends, an iPhone user and a Galaxy S5 user, speaking to each other about the upcoming iPhone 6′s larger screen."

Some might say, the second-mover advantage falls to the maker of the most popular smartphone. Only time will tell.

4.7-inch iPhone production to start third week of July, 5.5-inch second week of August as Foxconn confirms hiring of 100K workers | 9to5Mac

4.7-inch iPhone production to start third week of July, 5.5-inch second week of August as Foxconn confirms hiring of 100K workers | 9to5Mac: "Apple is set to begin mass production of the next-generation iPhone next week, the Economic Daily reported today. According to the report, the smaller 4.7-inch model will enter production in the third week of July, while the larger 5.5-inch variant will enter production in the second week of August. The bigger of the two models is said to be facing production setbacks that could lead to a much later launch date than its smaller cousin."

The phat lady cometh.

Rethink that $TWTR buy: Federal Reserve says social media stocks are overvalued | VentureBeat | Business | by Jon Christian and Ruth Reader

Rethink that $TWTR buy: Federal Reserve says social media stocks are overvalued | VentureBeat | Business | by Jon Christian and Ruth Reader
Social media and biotechnology firms may be overvalued by investors, warned the Federal Reserve today.

Yeah, you should invest in American blue chip stocks like AIG. Because that little SF startup that started the Arab spring is of no real consequence in the physical world.

MIT working with Google’s Boston Dynamics to develop shapeshifting robots | 9to5Google

MIT working with Google’s Boston Dynamics to develop shapeshifting robots | 9to5Google: "A team of eggheads at MIT are working with Boston Dynamics to develop next-generation shapeshifting robots built from simple materials like wax and foam. Not quite like Shang Tsung from Mortal Kombat, these pliable contraptions possess the ability to squish into smalls spaces, while maintaining their durability. "

Eggheads. The source of everything egg citing.

All hail the king: iPhone 5s is the world’s most popular handset | Cult of Mac

All hail the king: iPhone 5s is the world’s most popular handset | Cult of Mac: "According to new research from market intelligence firm ABI Research, the iPhone was the world’s most popular smartphone in Q1 2014, leaving competitors in the dust as the top-selling handset globally."

It's good to be the king. Except that everyone wants to kill you so they can be the king. Long live the king!

Apple begins receiving shipments of A-series processors from TSMC - report

Apple begins receiving shipments of A-series processors from TSMC - report: "Whispers that TSMC had begun manufacturing so-called 'A8' chips for Apple's next-generation iPhones and iPads surfaced in March. Those processors are though to be quad-core models, doubling the dual-core setup of the current-generation A7. "

Diversification in this regard can only be a good thing.

Sapphire 4.7″ iPhone 6 display put through its paces with knife and keys in new scratch test video | 9to5Mac

Sapphire 4.7″ iPhone 6 display put through its paces with knife and keys in new scratch test video | 9to5Mac: "Earlier today we got a quick look at a flexible iPhone 6 display, but a new video from YouTuber Marques Brownlee (embedded below) takes the supposed next-gen screen through a more complete durability test."

Apparently sapphire and aluminum are one of the most plentiful substances on earth.

City Ride helps Google Glass users find Citi Bikes in New York City | 9to5Google

City Ride helps Google Glass users find Citi Bikes in New York City | 9to5Google
The arrival of the bike sharing system Citi Bike aims to solve that problem, but New Yorkers still need to be able to track down these bikes for the program to be useful. Enter City Ride for Glass, an upcoming app that aims to be a simple and effective way of finding Citi Bikes using Google Glass.

This is such an inspiring image, I wanted to share it.

VirtualEyez - 3 Channel Video Switcher with Chroma-Keying for Mac

b-l-a-c-k-o-p™ - Mac Free Download | webcam Live Streaming Video Mixer | Graphic | Design | Art | Apple: Introducing VirtualEyez 2.0 - 3 Channel Video Switcher with Chroma-Keying for Mac - Free Download Apple/Mac/OSX
We're proud to present this new version of VirtualEyez for Intel Macs. It runs on all modern Macs with 10.6.8 and higher. The CMIO virtual camera driver is compatible with Mavericks and Safari, and the VDIG camera driver spans compatibility backwards to QuickTime(tm) camera apps. For this version of VirtualEyez, we wanted to distill the app down to its most valuable features and make those features as fast as possible. We ultimately dispatched with CoreImage in exchange for its faster and more primitive cousin, OpenGL.

If you're an iMovie fanatic like I am, you might want to check in to this live streaming app for the Mac that makes it possible to create a virtual set environment (like most desk-based comedy / news shows) and then broadcast the whole kaboodle live as a Google Hangout or direct upload to YouTube.

As far as I can tell it works with all the webcam apps that I use, including Flash streaming apps embedded in Safari.

Review: Transcend’s JetDrives add whopping 240-960GB SSD to MacBook Air at a great price | 9to5Mac

Review: Transcend’s JetDrives add whopping 240-960GB SSD to MacBook Air at a great price | 9to5Mac: "See that little $190 daughter card up there^? It houses 240GB of Transcend SSD and it could replace the 64GB or 128GB SSD that came in your MacBook Air in as little as 5 minutes. Even better, Transcend just released larger versions in 480GB and 960GB sizes to blow your SATA III MacBook Air or Pro into new worlds of space. "

The future is quite speedy and getting larger all the time.

GM and Philips nearly bought Pixar, but deal's collapse allowed Steve Jobs to invest

GM and Philips nearly bought Pixar, but deal's collapse allowed Steve Jobs to invest: "'We'd known from the outset that entering into a relationship with GM and Philips would likely put an end to our dream of making the first animated feature film, but that was a risk no matter who we joined up with,' he wrote."

Wonderful example of hindsight 20/20. Failure is not always a failure, it's a blessing.

With Aperture development ending, Adobe says ‘rich roadmap’ of Lightroom, Creative Cloud products ahead | 9to5Mac

With Aperture development ending, Adobe says ‘rich roadmap’ of Lightroom, Creative Cloud products ahead | 9to5Mac: "Today, Apple announced they will no longer be developing Aperture in light of their new photography app for OS X. If you are an Aperture or iPhoto customer looking for change, check out our new Creative Cloud Photography plan announced last week, or our standalone Lightroom app for your desktop as alternatives."

I suppose they will switch to Lightroom. But then if they switch to Lightroom, why would they buy a $2K MBP when they can buy a $500 Asus?

Bloomberg: Two iPhone 6 models will go into mass production in July, will go on sale at the same time | 9to5Mac

Bloomberg: Two iPhone 6 models will go into mass production in July, will go on sale at the same time | 9to5Mac: "Last night we noted a report from a Taiwanese news outlet which claimed in part that Apple would be putting the next-generation iPhone into production next month. Now, Bloomberg has confirmed that the company will indeed be starting production on two different models of the upcoming smartphone in July."

It's a Phablet from Cupertino.

Apple's iWatch will reportedly sport multiple designs and over 10 sensors | VentureBeat | Gadgets | by Devindra Hardawar

Apple's iWatch will reportedly sport multiple designs and over 10 sensors | VentureBeat | Gadgets | by Devindra Hardawar: "Additionally, the WSJ notes that the iWatch will include more than 10 different sensors, including some for health and fitness tracking. Apple basically showed its hand at its developer conference a few weeks ago, where it announced a new Health app for iOS 8 but didn’t announce any hardware that could send health data to that app."

Arguably, it was primarily the sensors (including GPS), that make the iPhone a revolutionary device. Because it synergized that functionality and made it accessible to 3rd party developers. Endless innovation.

Yeah, I'm an expert in UX

My favorite peeve about HTML "programmers" is how they turn email addresses into non-editable HTML fields, eliminating irrelevant use cases such as editing for proper capitalization, correcting misspellings, and platform specific selection/copy/paste.

Let me be clear: you're not better at UI than Apple or even Microsoft. But go ahead and keep believing that.

Amazon officially unveils much rumored 3D Fire Phone, coming to AT&T July 25 for $199/$299 w/ contract | 9to5Mac

Amazon officially unveils much rumored 3D Fire Phone, coming to AT&T July 25 for $199/$299 w/ contract | 9to5Mac: "After several months of speculation, Amazon has just unveiled its own smartphone, dubbed the Fire Phone on stage at an event in Seattle, Washington. As expected, the device features the much rumored a 3D display."

Suddenly, everyone's got your number.

Here’s a quick look and how to enable an early version of OS X Yosemite’s new dark mode | 9to5Mac

Here’s a quick look and how to enable an early version of OS X Yosemite’s new dark mode | 9to5Mac: "Although the dark mode for OS X Yosemite that Apple previewed onstage at WWDC two weeks ago hasn’t officially made it into any build of Yosemite as of today, developer Hamza Sood has figured out a Terminal command which will let you get a taste of OS X’s dark mode"

Dark mode. Sounds like an episode of Dr. Who.

Photos: Purported physical mockups of black and gold 5.5-inch iPhone 6s compared to 4.7-inch model | 9to5Mac

Photos: Purported physical mockups of black and gold 5.5-inch iPhone 6s compared to 4.7-inch model | 9to5Mac
This fall, Apple is expected to unwrap two next-generation iPhones with larger displays: a 4.7-inch model and a 5.5-inch higher-end “phablet” variant. While the 4.7-inch model has had physical mockups floating around the web for the past few months, parts or shells for a 5.5-inch model have not been seen until now.

Bigger and better.

Dockercon Day 1: Keynote Highlights | Docker Blog

Dockercon Day 1: Keynote Highlights | Docker Blog: "The first day of Dockercon started early, with sleepy attendees and manic marketing people milling about a big breakfast spread of fruit, pastry, an oatmeal bar and, because this is San Francisco after all, breakfast burritos."

A very interesting new technology.

Skype for iPhone gets ground-up redesign; top designer talks future iPad & iOS 8 updates | 9to5Mac

Skype for iPhone gets ground-up redesign; top designer talks future iPad & iOS 8 updates | 9to5Mac
A few years ago, Skype was the rockstar of the messaging world, but now with smartphones and mobile messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and iMessage, Skype’s iPhone feature-set and application have begun to stagnate.

Skype still rules for international calling. There really is no other option.

Dylan's Desk: Watch this multi-billion-dollar industry evaporate overnight | VentureBeat | Media | by Dylan Tweney

Dylan's Desk: Watch this multi-billion-dollar industry evaporate overnight | VentureBeat | Media | by Dylan Tweney
In one study, a tiny 6 percent of scientific findings in cancer research were reproducible. In my opinion, if their research isn’t reproducible, then the other 94 percent is essentially worthless.

Whodathunkit? Aaron Schwartz you are in my thoughts tonight...

Mobile app developers get whipsawed by rising marketing costs in April | VentureBeat | Mobile | by Dean Takahashi

Mobile app developers get whipsawed by rising marketing costs in April | VentureBeat | Mobile | by Dean Takahashi
Oh, the agony of mobile marketing costs. App marketing costs rose in April as mobile app developers poured more money into acquiring new users on mobile devices, according to a report by mobile marketing firm Fiksu.

In a goldrush, the hardware stores make the money. The gold miners go broke.

iPhone 6 rear shell reportedly on display in new leaked photo | 9to5Mac

iPhone 6 rear shell reportedly on display in new leaked photo | 9to5Mac: "Australian blog MacFixIt has gotten its hands on a photo of what it says is a rear shell from the upcoming iPhone 6 that allegedly comes from sources inside the supply chain. This is reportedly the 4.7″ model, which is one of two planned for release this fall. The larger 5.5″ version has yet to be leaked, though."

It's quite leaky.

Berlin's Google-backed Factory startup hub opens in June | VentureBeat | Entrepreneur | by Richard Byrne Reilly

Berlin's Google-backed Factory startup hub opens in June | VentureBeat | Entrepreneur | by Richard Byrne Reilly: "The Factory is a 16,000-square meter technology campus and incubator in the Bernauer Strasse district of Berlin. It’s largely housed in a former German brewery, and numerous IT heavyweights like Zendesk, Soundcloud and 6Wunderkinder are already working out of the space."

Das ist Google!

Apple to live stream ‘exciting’ WWDC keynote for everyone to watch | 9to5Mac

Apple to live stream ‘exciting’ WWDC keynote for everyone to watch | 9to5Mac: "Apple has updated its website to announce that it will be live streaming next week’s WWDC Keynote address for all to watch. As per usual, the event will be available on Macs running Safari 4 or later, iOS Devices running iOS 4.2 or later, Windows machines running Quicktime 7, and via an application on the Apple TV."

Yayzers. Can watch it on my PowerPC G4.

‘No man’s land’: How a bigger iPhone 6 will require developers to rethink their app designs | 9to5Mac

‘No man’s land’: How a bigger iPhone 6 will require developers to rethink their app designs | 9to5Mac
When I first upgraded from my iPhone 4 to the iPhone 5s, I immediately noticed an incredible upgrade in the clarity and sharpness of the larger 4-inch Retina display, but also some usability issues that plagued my iPhone usage experience...

Supporting more than the 3 existing display configurations has nightmare written all over it. Pretty soon, developers will be using a HTML style flow layout instead of trying to use native controls and absolute positioning. I mean, the NIB model was never designed with this kind of complexity in mind.

13th anniversary of first Apple Store: risky gamble to most profitable retail space in the world | 9to5Mac

13th anniversary of first Apple Store: risky gamble to most profitable retail space in the world | 9to5Mac: "Businessweek ran a story entitled Sorry Steve, Here’s Why Apple Stores Won’t Work and TheStreet.com agreed"

I guess the summary here: don't trust business "experts".

Too sensitive: Apple prohibits masturbation game from App Store | GamesBeat | Games | by Jeff Grubb

Too sensitive: Apple prohibits masturbation game from App Store | GamesBeat | Games | by Jeff Grubb: "She will instead move forward and build the game on HTML5 and Javascript, which will enable it to work on any phone through a browser. She will also take that version and release it as an app for Android."

Apparently, she's never heard of Apportable which would allow her to port to Android quickly and freely.

German Apple Store staff being blocked from September vacations | MacNN

German Apple Store staff being blocked from September vacations | MacNN: "German Apple Store workers are being blocked from taking vacation days in September, according a source for local website iFun. The reason for the restriction hasn't been made public, but since September/October is typically when Apple releases new iPhones, that's believed to be reason why. It is however unusually early for a such a window to be imposed; normally Apple and other vendors will only institute blocks a few weeks in advance of a product launch."

I think it's safe to say a new iPhone comes September.

Cue health tracker brings molecular-level testing to iOS

Cue health tracker brings molecular-level testing to iOS: "The culmination of four years of research and development, Cue's eponymous device is a small, modular, noninvasive hardware solution that unlocks key health information previously available only from specialized diagnostics laboratories. "

The NeXT wave of health care reform. Ready or not, here I come!

Facebook yanks Poke and Camera standalone apps in bid to consolidate titles

Facebook yanks Poke and Camera standalone apps in bid to consolidate titles: "The removal of Facebook's widely panned Poke and Snapchat rival Camera came without warning and little fanfare. Facebook confirmed the apps' removal to The Verge, but declined on commenting on the matter.

It's that old thing about brand-line extension that nobody ever believes.

Apple reportedly nearing $3.2B acquisition of Beats Electronics

Apple reportedly nearing $3.2B acquisition of Beats Electronics
In a somewhat surprising move, Apple is rumored to be in talks with Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre's Beats Electronics that could see the audio accessories and music streaming service acquired for $3.2 billion."

It's not surprising. In urban environs, beats products are EVERYWHERE. They are the de riguer for DJs and musicians. Kind of like Macs are.

GT Advanced provides update on Apple Arizona partnership in latest earnings results | 9to5Mac

GT Advanced provides update on Apple Arizona partnership in latest earnings results | 9to5Mac
Apple struck a deal with GTA last year to manufacture the sapphire displays that are expected to appear in the next-generation iPhone at a new plant in Mesa, Arizona. Earlier this year the plant was outfitted with enough sapphire crystal furnaces to create an estimated 100-200 million displays. "

Looks like the iPhone6 will be big and indestructible.

Coding bootcamps will graduate 6,000 people in 2014 -- 3x as many as last year | VentureBeat | Dev | by J. O'Dell

Coding bootcamps will graduate 6,000 people in 2014 -- 3x as many as last year | VentureBeat | Dev | by J. O'Dell - That’s almost three times as many graduates as last year, and it’s one-tenth as many graduates as will emerge from undergraduate computer science programs.

And you'll need three times as many coders to maintain that ever-expanding mass of spaghetti otherwise known as spazware.io.

$899 MacBook Air taps Apple into massive $63B-per-year notebook market

$899 MacBook Air taps Apple into massive $63B-per-year notebook market
With the launch of its updated MacBook Air models on Tuesday with a new, lower entry price of $899 for the 11-inch model, Apple has firmly placed itself in that massive segment of the notebook industry. The 13-inch variety of the MacBook Air has also dropped to $999, and both new models sport slightly faster Intel Haswell processors boasting all-day battery life."

Yay! Was hoping this would be a refresh with Retina, but whatevs.

NBC's 'Today' offers rare look inside Apple's iCloud data center in feature on environment

NBC's 'Today' offers rare look inside Apple's iCloud data center in feature on environment
In a brief news package for Today, NBC chief environmental correspondent Anne Thompson gave a rundown of Apple's green initiatives, including the company's huge solar panel installation at its iCloud data center."

It's a catchy little phrase "Apple Farm"

Nike to reportedly exit wearables market, fires bulk of FuelBand team [u]

Nike to reportedly exit wearables market, fires bulk of FuelBand team [u] - Citing people familiar with the situation, CNET reports Nike is looking to quickly spin down its Digital Sport division, which is responsible for products like the FuelBand SE, Nike+ sportwatch and other connected devices.

I hope they keep the little thing that goes in the shoe.

Closer look at alleged 'iPhone 6' front panel suggests 5.1" screen with 16:9 ratio

Closer look at alleged 'iPhone 6' front panel suggests 5.1" screen with 16:9 ratio
A photo revealed earlier Tuesday purports to show an "iPhone 6" front panel next to the 4-inch display of an iPhone 5s. AppleInsider reader Steven from East Coast Pixels — makers of the iOS photo editing app PhotoToaster — took a closer look at the alleged Apple part in an effort to determine its dimensions."

Here we go rumors, here we go!

Windows Phone 8.1 update lets users add Passbook cards to Microsoft Wallet | 9to5Mac

Windows Phone 8.1 update lets users add Passbook cards to Microsoft Wallet | 9to5Mac
While the Microsoft Wallet app will be able to load the various coupons and loyalty cards usually reserved for Passbook, it’s still a little unclear exactly what’s going on behind the scenes. Microsoft appears to be allowing users to download the Passbook files and rendering its own card for Microsoft Wallet, but the report speculates Windows Phone won’t be able to tap into the push notifications Apple’s uses to update cards like on iOS."

I suppose one way of looking at this is that the only annoying feature of Passbook is the notifications. I especially dislike the Starbucks geofence but that might be a feature of the Starbucks app as opposed to Passbook.

Can't wait to try my Nokia 925 which arrives any day now.

Samsung calls on Android exec in patent trial to prove certain features were created by Google, not Apple

Samsung calls on Android exec in patent trial to prove certain features were created by Google, not Apple
The testimony was designed to prove some phone features Apple is suing Samsung over were already a part of the Android operating system used in certain devices, like the Galaxy Nexus.

I watched the movie RUSH on DVD last night. Which probably tells you where I am on the adoption curve of streaming video. In Rush, Niki Lauda explains that a fierce competitor does more for someone than a sea of sycophants. Such would be the case here with Google, Apple and Samsung.

Could Apple buy Square to accelerate its mobile payment plans? | 9to5Mac

Could Apple buy Square to accelerate its mobile payment plans? | 9to5Mac
Re/code is reporting that both Apple and Google have considered making acquisition offers for payments company Square, with CEO Jack Dorsey said to favor a sale to Apple."

Could be a good fit as many Square merchants I visit are using the iPad as a cash register.

Digitimes: iWatch circuit board samples being delivered to Apple in preparation for September reveal | 9to5Mac

Digitimes: iWatch circuit board samples being delivered to Apple | 9to5Mac According to the new report, three different firms have supplied Apple with samples of flexible circuit boards that will be integrated into the iWatch for a fall release.

Will be interesting to see what GPS-like sensors are included in this puppy.

New Steve Jobs email a treasure trove of information about Apple TV, Google ‘holy war,’ and behind-the-scenes strategy | 9to5Mac

New Steve Jobs email a treasure trove of information about Apple TV, Google ‘holy war,’ and behind-the-scenes strategy | 9to5Mac - As we’ve previously noted, Jobs referred to 2011 as a year of “holy war” against Google, but this document goes above that and describes how exactly Apple planned to wage this war.

WingMakers - Angels must be confused by war. Both sides praying for protection, yet someone always gets hurt. Someone dies. Someone cries so deep they lose their watery state.

Confused.

This is Healthbook, Apple’s major first step into health & fitness tracking | 9to5Mac

This is Healthbook, Apple’s major first step into health & fitness tracking | 9to5Mac - Healthbook has sections that can track data pertaining to bloodwork, heart rate, hydration, blood pressure, physical activity, nutrition, blood sugar, sleep, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, and weight.

I'm hoping this is fairly automatic so you don't have to enter all these data points yourself.

Pixar president recalls a 'transformation' undergone by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs

Pixar president recalls a 'transformation' undergone by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs - Catmull also revealed that Jobs would give advice at Pixar in a humble fashion, noting up front that he was "not really a filmmaker" and that people could choose to "ignore everything" that he said. When Jobs's take was sought, he would focus on the problems rather than the filmmakers.

Terrific article.

Amazon takes on Apple TV with new $99 fireTV streaming & gaming set-top box

Amazon takes on Apple TV with new $99 fireTV streaming & gaming set-top box - Amazon unveiled the fireTV, its new 1080p HDTV accessory at a media event in New York City on Wednesday, boasting that with a quad-core CPU and 2 gigabytes of RAM, it's three times as powerful as existing devices on the market, all while being about as tall as a "piece of popped corn," the company said.

Personally, I don't own a television. Not without irony. However, the Android wins just keep stacking up. Google, Amazon and Samsung. 3 powerhouses behind one runtime environment with (rapidly improving) development tools.

If only Android dev tools were as good as Xcode.

Purported iPhone 6 pictures show protruding camera, rounded edges | 9to5Mac

Purported iPhone 6 pictures show protruding camera, rounded edges | 9to5Mac - a considerably thinner profile than the current iPhone 5s.

Hard to imagine "considerably thinner than iPhone 5" as a descriptor for

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella points to Office for iPad’s early App Store success | 9to5Mac

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella points to Office for iPad’s early App Store success | 9to5Mac - Sure, you could argue that Microsoft’s shiny new Office apps for iPad are only ranking so well because they’re freemium apps since they’re listed for free but require a subscription to fully function, but they are taking up the top four spots nonetheless.

I must confess to being slightly wistful at the thought of Word for Windows source code being open sourced at the same time Office for iPad makes it's debut.

This is the room where the iPhone was born | 9to5Mac

This is the room where the iPhone was born | 9to5Mac - Ahead of the latest Apple-Samsung trial, Apple is sharing some of the details regarding the creation of the iPhone with the WSJ. As an aside, Apple also shared a shot of the secret windowless room where the original iPhone meetings took place. 

Such humble beginnings.

Apple engineer Greg Christie discusses the process of creating the original iPhone | 9to5Mac

Apple engineer Greg Christie discusses the process of creating the original iPhone | 9to5Mac - When the team found itself floundering and unable to settle on how the phone should work, Christie was told that his team could either figure it out over the next two weeks or be moved to another project so someone else could solve the problems.

Nothing like a good deadline to motivate!

How Scopely is building a hit factory, one mobile game at a time (interview) | GamesBeat | Games | by Dean Takahashi

How Scopely is building a hit factory, one mobile game at a time (interview) | GamesBeat | Games | by Dean Takahashi - But Scopely has figured out how to market and distribute the games that its developers are making, and the results are showing. The Los Angeles publisher of mobile games has grown revenues 300 percent in the past year and tripled its staff.

Neat article. Could be a winning model for mobile developers. They don't discuss the revenue split.

Non-poaching emails show Jobs was warring with Google long before iPhone was launched | 9to5Mac

Non-poaching emails show Jobs was warring with Google long before iPhone was launched | 9to5Mac - The damage had been done, however. Two years later Apple would unveil the iPhone, and just one year after that Google would go public with its own competitor. Jobs decided enough was enough, and a rivalry was born.

Since it's not possible to build an iPhone competitor in a year, it is safe to assume that Android only became an iPhone competitor when the iPhone emerged. Prior to that, it was a Symbian and Windows Phone competitor.

The Day Twitter Music Died - Digits - WSJ

The Day Twitter Music Died - Digits - WSJ - A big indication of the troubles facing the product was perhaps the departure of Kevin Thau, the business development executive who led the project. Thau left shortly after the #Music was launched to join Jelly, a company started by Twitter co-founder Biz Stone.

Lack of commitment. Twitter itself took years to gain traction. Why would any other app be different? And why is it a separate app?

The future of Silicon Valley may lie in the mountains of Afghanistan | VentureBeat | Gadgets | by Richard Byrne Reilly

The future of Silicon Valley may lie in the mountains of Afghanistan | VentureBeat | Gadgets | by Richard Byrne Reilly - Sony Energy Devices Corp. invented the lithium-ion battery in 1994. It was hailed as a breakthrough, providing longer battery life and without the “memory effect” that gradually reduced the effective capacity of previous types of batteries.

You don't hear Sony blabbing about how they invented the lithium battery without getting due accolades from the fan-boys.

9to5Mac: Apple iPhone, Mac and iPad News Breaking All Day

9to5Mac: Apple iPhone, Mac and iPad News Breaking All Day - When you do genuine like-for-like comparisons with truly equivalent products, the Apple premium shrinks considerably.

While I think the reasoning behind this post is sound, I'm not sure the facts are correct. For example, the Google Nexus 7 has a very high build quality and retina-type display. It's about half the price of an iPad.

I have a lot of Apple devices. The Nexus is just as good as any of them.

9to5Mac: Apple iPhone, Mac and iPad News Breaking All Day

9to5Mac: Apple iPhone, Mac and iPad News Breaking All Day - The Wrap is reporting that David Fincher is eyeing Christian Bale as his ‘first choice’ to play Steve Jobs.

I enjoyed Jobs. Looking forward to this.

Medium launches on iOS as read-only app focused on content curation

Medium launches on iOS as read-only app focused on content curation - Unlike its Web counterpart, Medium for iOS is read-only, making it more of a consumption app than a tool for production. Instead, the app plies Medium's clean and easy-to-use user interface to mobile content aggregation and discovery.

If I am not mistaken, blogger, twitter and medium. Let's see if three's the charm.

Check out some more of the best pitches in our 30-second video pitch contest | VentureBeat | Business | by Kia Kokalitcheva

Check out some more of the best pitches in our 30-second video pitch contest | VentureBeat | Business | by Kia Kokalitcheva - VentureBeat’s 30-second pitch contest, Win30s, is back for another year. And we’ve extended the deadline, so there’s still time to enter for a shot at $100,000 in prizes and investment and of course, eternal glory and immortal awesomeness.

Yet another example of how Hollywood culture and Silicon Valley culture mirror each other. Let's put on a dog and pony show to beg for some money. And just as a script written from a vacuous pitch results in a crappy movie, so it is with blah-blah-blah from suits with biz degrees creating moronic dot coms -- wait, dot jay-ess-es.

Google launches Android Wear: A new project to bring Android to wearables like smartwatches | VentureBeat | Gadgets | by Harrison Weber

Google launches Android Wear: A new project to bring Android to wearables like smartwatches | VentureBeat | Gadgets | by Harrison Weber - Currently, Android Wear is only available in the form of a developer preview.

I love the Nexus platform. Except for those pesky in the background updates that throw off my practical use of the device.

Unlocked, SIM-free iPhone 5s now available from Apple's online store

Unlocked, SIM-free iPhone 5s now available from Apple's online store - Unlocked versions of Apple's new flagship iPhone 5s have been available since the model's launch in September, but previously came preinstalled with a T-Mobile SIM card. The iPhone 5c, in contrast, has been available in an unlocked, SIM-free configuration the entire time.

Curiously costs about the same as a MacBook Air.

9to5Mac: Apple iPhone, Mac and iPad News Breaking All Day

9to5Mac: Apple iPhone, Mac and iPad News Breaking All Day - Apple’s former Vice President of Marketing Allison Johnson talked about her time at Apple during the U99 conference, as reported by Cult of Mac. Johnson now works with companies like Jawbone and Anki.

Cool, courtesy of http://www.cultofmac.com/.

How Android lost global open market share to Apple's integrated iOS

How Android lost global open market share to Apple's integrated iOS - This All Happened Before

Another way of looking at this is that the iPhone is about to go the way of Symbian. I see large screened phones everywhere I look. Those are Samsung phones. The phone market completely turns over ever 3 years.

Review: DJI Phantom 2 Vision, a high-end iPhone-compatible flying camera drone

Review: DJI Phantom 2 Vision, a high-end iPhone-compatible flying camera drone - The Phantom not only handled snow and wind with ease, but it even fared impressively when we tested it in more extreme conditions: -25 Fahrenheit while in the mountains of Banff in Alberta, Canada. Exposed to these temperatures, our iPhone completely shut down and made us lose control of the camera, and yet the DJI Phantom 2 Vision kept right on flying with no troubles (though we kept it close by, just in case).

Live drone from Banff. Times have changed.

Notification overload: Why I'm turning off my phone alerts ... at least until my apps know me better | VentureBeat | Mobile | by Andy Hickl, A.R.O.

Notification overload: Why I'm turning off my phone alerts ... at least until my apps know me better | VentureBeat | Mobile | by Andy Hickl, A.R.O. - That’s right — I’ve officially opted out of the mess that is smartphone notifications. No more chimes reminding me that I’m scheduled to attend a meeting in 20 minutes. No more winking LEDs teasing the promise of an email. No more Google Now cards. Nothing.

More is not always better.

New Jersey Becomes Third State To Ban Tesla’s Direct Sales Model | TechCrunch

New Jersey Becomes Third State To Ban Tesla’s Direct Sales Model | TechCrunch - Today the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission passed a rule that will end Tesla’s direct sales of cars to consumers. Tesla, a manufacturer of all-electric cars, does not lean on dealerships to sell its vehicles as other car companies do.

This will be a surprise to anyone that isn't watching Boardwalk Empire. Another victory for the Nucky Thompsons of our era.

How USC built one of the top video game schools in the country | GamesBeat | Games | by Dean Takahashi

How USC built one of the top video game schools in the country | GamesBeat | Games | by Dean Takahashi - Mike Zyda, the founding director of the University at Southern California’s interdisciplinary game program, has counted the number of games that have been shipped by alumni from his school’s game program

Education, education, education!

Apple adds support for new, previously-unknown iPad models in iOS 7.1

Apple adds support for new, previously-unknown iPad models in iOS 7.1 - In addition to updates for the company's latest iPhones and iPads, Apple's download server plays host to iOS 7.1 bundles targeted at iPads with model identifiers iPad4,3 and iPad4,6. As first noted by iClarified, those identifiers have not been seen before in the wild.

Sneaky leaky!

Apple mistakenly aired Nokia licensing terms while sanctioning Samsung for doing the same

Apple mistakenly aired Nokia licensing terms while sanctioning Samsung for doing the same - In a court filing late Tuesday, Samsung revealed that Apple publicly disclosed details of its patent licensing terms with Nokia, as well as NEC, on the PACER electronic court records system, while at the same time seeking damages from the Korean tech giant for leaking that very information.

Let me be the first to say "Whoopsy doodle!"

Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer joins board of directors at Goldman Sachs

Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer joins board of directors at Goldman Sachs - Oppenheimer will be a member of the Audit, Risk, Compensation and Corporate Governance, Nominating, and Public Responsibilities committees at Goldman Sachs. He will be one of 10 independent directors on the company's board.

Or as they say in a good movie, the beginning of the end.

Google launches Scraper Report to report scammy sites, gets reported as best example | VentureBeat | Business | by John Koetsier

Google launches Scraper Report to report scammy sites, gets reported as best example | VentureBeat | Business | by John Koetsier - Dan Barker, an e-commerce and digital marketing expert, pointed out via a simple screenshot that Google scrapes vast swathes of the Internet, especially Wikipedia.

This is hilarious. And telling.

Institutional ownership of Apple stock reaches new 5-year low

Institutional ownership of Apple stock reaches new 5-year low - Other potential opportunities for Apple cited by Huberty include mobile payments and advertising services. She sees Apple's Touch ID fingerprint sensor and 64-bit A7 processor, along with the company's nearly 600 million App Store accounts and 380 million Bluetooth Low Energy devices on the market, as having laid the groundwork for such services to debut in the future.

While fingerprint sensors are cool, I personally prefer email that works reliably. And not having to spend months rewriting fully debugged code to respond to some fashion trend. If I had to make a prediction: that both Google and Apple would underestimate the Microsoft-Nokia confluence. Point in case is the AT&T goPhone / Nokia 520.

Apple's failure to pay for favorable media coverage flies in the face of Samsung's payola

Apple's failure to pay for favorable media coverage flies in the face of Samsung's payola - Reuters reporter Joseph Menn concocted the now familiar take of crafting a sensational headline scathingly touting the idea that Apple had admitted the presence of a flaw in its software.

Let's remember the purpose of media: to sell advertising. To manipulate public opinion with the aim of affecting market movements.

Apple's holiday Mac shipments outpaced PC growth by largest margin in 5 years

Apple's holiday Mac shipments outpaced PC growth by largest margin in 5 years - While some pundits speculate that Mac lineup could be on the way out in favor of the iPad, Apple's traditional notebooks and desktops outpaced the overall PC market by nearly 25 percent last quarter, representing the largest margin separating the two in five years.

I love how these numbers are derived! Fancy!

9to5Mac: Apple iPhone, Mac and iPad News Breaking All Day

9to5Mac: Apple iPhone, Mac and iPad News Breaking All Day - A report published in Taiwan’s Economic Daily News, via Mac Otakara, reiterates the flurry of previous reporting that Apple will release two new iPhones this year with larger displays, around 4.7 and 5.6 inches respectively.

Woop! Woop!

Apple gained overall share as smartphones outsold feature phones for first time in 2013

Apple gained overall share as smartphones outsold feature phones for first time in 2013 - Apple accounted for 8.3 percent of the 1.8 billion handsets sold worldwide last year, up from 7.5 percent of the market in 2012, as buyers snapped up a greater number of smartphones than feature phones for the first time ever in a full year. The numbers were revealed in market research firm Gartner's final analysis of 2013.

These numbers are a lot like the PC vs Mac numbers from the early 90s.

The DeanBeat: The new golden age of gaming | GamesBeat | Games | by Dean Takahashi

The DeanBeat: The new golden age of gaming | GamesBeat | Games | by Dean Takahashi - Now we have the Unity engine and the App Store. We can build games with small teams. We’re entering an age where the cost of building games will go down.

Geez, time to invest in Unity. What an incredible vote for the platform.

Judge denies Samsung new trial despite 'troubling' Apple appeal to prejudice

Judge denies Samsung new trial despite 'troubling' Apple appeal to prejudice - Samsung also pointed to other instances of racially charged comments, such as Apple's reference to "Samsung Korea" instead of "Samsung."

That strategy might backfire. After all, Psy is from Korea. And everyone loves Psy. Let's face it: South Korea is doing American style better than America.

Why Canada is where smart VC money is going in 2014 | VentureBeat | Business | by Katherine Barr, Mohr Davidow Ventures

Why Canada is where smart VC money is going in 2014 | VentureBeat | Business | by Katherine Barr, Mohr Davidow Ventures - What makes many Canadian technology startups so attractive to investors is that the companies have sustainable business models, with real revenue and a focus on solving very large, albeit sometimes unsexy, problems.

Oh Canada, our home and native land. Where Apple ]['s once grew in every school.

Goran Kukurin - Google+ - Hello everyone! I wanted to share with you my story, maybe…

Goran Kukurin - Google+ - Hello everyone! I wanted to share with you my story, maybe… - I wanted to share with you my story, maybe it will help somebody to prevent removal of your app by Google, without any notice, from Google Play. Google has decided to remove my app, Worldscope Webcams, from Google play store in the moment the application had 4.4 rating based on more than 11,000 user reviews and just a bit before the application reached one million downloads and after being available on Google play for four years.

More egg sucking.

Apple sued by University of Wisconsin over A7 chip at heart of iPhone, iPad

Apple sued by University of Wisconsin over A7 chip at heart of iPhone, iPad - The lawsuit was necessary, the foundation alleges, because "Apple has stated that it is the policy of the company not to accept or consider proposals regarding licensing from outside entities like WARF for any purpose."

A curious case.

Adobe VideoBite, a bite-sized video editor for iPhone, now allows titles, photos & music | 9to5Mac

Adobe VideoBite, a bite-sized video editor for iPhone, now allows titles, photos & music | 9to5Mac - Adobe VideoBite, an iOS app designed to make video editing as quick and easy as possible, has been updated to allow titles, photos and music to be added, turning it into a fully-fledged editor while retaining its simple user-interface.

Very cool. Downloading now.

Apple looking to ramp production of new 'critical' sapphire component in U.S. by Feb.

Apple looking to ramp production of new 'critical' sapphire component in U.S. by Feb. - Apple and manufacturing partner GT Advanced Technologies are pushing to open an advanced sapphire production facility in Arizona by the end of February, which will handle a new "critical subcomponent" to be incorporated in a future Apple product.

Aluminum oxide and aluminum in general are fascinating materials and plentiful.

Google ordered to pay as much as $1 billion to patent troll Vringo | VentureBeat | Business | by Eric Blattberg

Google ordered to pay as much as $1 billion to patent troll Vringo | VentureBeat | Business | by Eric Blattberg - In 2011, the company purchased two patents involving the ranking and placement of ads in search results from Lycos, an old search engine, which it used to sue Google.

I'm not sure why this is being described as a patent troll. If Google had paid Lycos what was due, they might still be in business. Patent trolls, to my mind, are companies that patent non-working, overly broad designs and then use the legal system to harass companies that make actual products. Lycos was an actual product. I used it extensively back in the 90s.

Imagine if you were the team that created Lycos. Wouldn't you want Google to pay on infringing designs?

Amazon is making itself more and more indispensable to mobile game developers | GamesBeat | Games | by Dean Takahashi

Amazon is making itself more and more indispensable to mobile game developers | GamesBeat | Games | by Dean Takahashi - Amazon won’t say if it will be making an Android-based gaming device beyond its Kindle tablets. But it is certainly pushing hard to create tools for game developers so that they can be successful on the company’s various app platforms.

That KindleFire is a sleeper, mark my words.

Nancy Pelosi: 'I'm in awe' of the maker movement

Nancy Pelosi: 'I'm in awe' of the maker movement - Hatch and many of his fellow makers at TechShop manufacture their products in California or neighboring states, rather than China.

It's Nancy Pelosi!

Apple's Macintosh has forced the world to change for 30 years

Apple's Macintosh has forced the world to change for 30 years - The arrival of the Macintosh wasn't a surprise; it was actually two years behind its originally expected ship date. Apple had hoped to ship the Macintosh by 1982.

Happy Birthday to Mac. When born, I was using the Apple ][e.

VLC for iOS gets Google Drive downloads, Dropbox streaming in update

VLC for iOS gets Google Drive downloads, Dropbox streaming in update - On the surface, VideoLAN's VLC for iOS version 2.2.0 gives the media player a new look with multitouch gestures, a revamped interface and a new startup tutorial. Behind the scenes, the app gets a few key functionality tweaks and additions many users have been waiting for.

The most significant of these changes is Google Drive integration and Dropbox streaming.

Unless Dropbox has invested in edge servers a la Akamai, I'm not sure how the streaming would work.

Review: Looxcie 3 social media video recorder | Electronista

Review: Looxcie 3 social media video recorder | Electronista - The Looxcie 3, a small video recorder, streams video through a smartphone and posts the feed straight to Facebook.

You might want to delay that by 5 minutes.

Apple's Schiller 'unfollows' Tony Fadell and Nest after Google acquisition

Apple's Schiller 'unfollows' Tony Fadell and Nest after Google acquisition - Schiller, who follows 114 people on Twitter and posts to the service about four to five times a month, removed Fadell and Nest from his list on Friday.

This is an obsessive amount of detail. Who has time to scrutinize this?

Microsoft considering Ericsson CEO to replace Steve Ballmer

Microsoft considering Ericsson CEO to replace Steve Ballmer - a longshot because of Microsoft's current interest in competing with Apple and Samsung in the consumer electronics space. But Vestberg is said to be on the radar of Microsoft's board of directors, according to Bloomberg.

Hard to imagine an outsider with no experience with Windows running Microsoft.

Briefly: Aaron Sorkin reportedly finishes script for Steve Jobs biopic

Briefly: Aaron Sorkin reportedly finishes script for Steve Jobs biopic - The upcoming movie will be the second attempt at a Steve Jobs feature after indie film "Jobs," the ill-received Ashton Kutcher vehicle released in 2013.

I enjoyed this movie. I'm glad they included the relationship-defining scene where Jobs cheats Wozniak on the Atari contract. If karma is the cyclical heightening of repeated circumstances, the story unfolds logically.

Google buys Nest for $3.2B -- its key to the connected home | VentureBeat | Deals | by Devindra Hardawar

Google buys Nest for $3.2B -- its key to the connected home | VentureBeat | Deals | by Devindra Hardawar - Nest has been one of the most interesting startups to launch over the past few years. It’s run by Tony Fadell, who notably spearheaded development of the iPod at Apple, and it’s one of the few connected home gadget makers to have found a modicum of success.

Curious.

Nokia's leaked Android UI: an interesting mix of Windows Phone and Asha | VentureBeat | Business | by Ricardo Bilton

Nokia's leaked Android UI: an interesting mix of Windows Phone and Asha | VentureBeat | Business | by Ricardo Bilton - Today, serial leaker Evleaks posted images of the Nokia phone’s interface, which is reportedly running off a forked version of Android (with an app store separate from Google Play)

I suppose one might say it's best not to think of Nokia as dead. After all, Apple was pronounced dead in 1997 and they seem to be doing OK.

Apple hits snags in 'iWatch' production, loses director of iPod software to Nest

Apple hits snags in 'iWatch' production, loses director of iPod software to Nest - the as-yet-unannounced wearable may incorporate bio sensors and other "quantified self" technology.

Soon everyone on Facebook will know your heart rate and blood sugar level.

Apps no longer differentiator in iOS vs. Android war, services next battleground

Apps no longer differentiator in iOS vs. Android war, services next battleground - The app ecosystem has transitioned to where it no longer matters how many apps each OS has, but rather the satisfaction the user gets out of them

News to my ears.

Apple gives away MacBook Airs, iPads, iPods in Japan 'Lucky Bags'

Apple gives away MacBook Airs, iPads, iPods in Japan 'Lucky Bags' - For its annual New Year's Fukubukuro "lucky bag" promotion in Japan, Apple gave away products valued much higher than the package's $340 cost, with 2014's special gifts including 11-inch MacBook Airs, iPads and iPods.

Are you feeling lucky, punk?