Trent Reznor on Apple, Music, Tech, and Nine Inch Nails

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Apple Music exeuctive Trent Reznor recently granted a rare(ish) interview to Vulture magazine. Topics covered included Apple, Apple Music, streaming music, tech “stars,” and Nine Inch Nails. It’s a very interesting interview, and Mr. Reznor talks about how the idea of tech rock stars is “bull$%&@,” how the modern culture doesn’t value artists properly (including the music industry), and how having access to all of the music ever made has both good sides and down sides. I’m a big fan of Mr. Reznor (YMMV), and very much enjoyed reading this interview.

Trent Reznor on Apple, Music, Tech, and Nine Inch Nails

Apple Wants to Responsibly Manage 1 Million Acres of Forest (Video)

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Apple has a new video in its series of Earth Day cartoons explaining the company’s environmentally-oriented accomplishments. The new one—Can an apple grow a forest?—talks about how a dinner meeting with Senior VP Lisa Jackson led to the decision to buy or grow a forest. The result, according to the video, was an effort to put 1 million acres of forest under responsible management by 2020. “At this point, more than  99% of the papers and fibers we use are responsibly sourced or recycled,” Connie Yang, product and packing design, said. Which is remarkable—all the more so when you’re talking about the world’s most profitable company.

A-ha's Take On Me Recreated with ARKit is Frakking Awesome

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Loads of cool videos showing how compelling iOS 11’s ARKit is are popping up and the latest comes from Trixi Studios. They recreated the hand sketched style from the 1980’s A-ha “Take On Me” music video, but instead of working with a series of drawings they let ARKit do the heavy lifting. The result is a real-time version of the video you can walk through and watch as other people switch from themselves into drawings. It’s yet another example of the huge potential in ARKit.

Stickbox is an iPhone Case with a Built-in Selfie Stick

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Check out the Stickbox, an iPhone case with a built-in selfie stick. I just took a vacation where I took a ton of photos, and I’d loved to have had one of these for the trip. The selfie stick itself folds into a rectangle that fits in a recessed panel on the back of the case. A hinge on the end allows you to fold your iPhone out for taking pic. There’s a Bluetooth trigger built into the handle for triggering your camera, and the case has a kickstand mode, too. Hey, the whole thing is a clever idea. Originally funded on Kickstarter in 2016, Stickbox is available in Black, White, and Rose through the company’s site and on Amazon for $39.99.