AgileBits announced Tuesday the release of 1Password 6.5 for iOS. This release offers device syncing through 1Password.com and gets the iOS version up to date with 1Password 6.5 for Mac. The company also made the Apple Watch app native, which should mean it will be much faster (you can read more about that in the AgileBits blog). In addition to being faster, the native app allows you to access entries to any vault, including vaults stored in 1Password.com—previously, you could only access items in your primary vault. You can download the update through the App Store.
A Drone Big Enough to Pull a Snowboarder? Yes Please
Drones are pretty cool, but a drone big enough to pull a snowboarder? Now that’s really cool. Casey Neistat enlisted the help of some friends to build a drone powerful enough to pull him on his snowboard up hill, and even take him on short flights off snow jumps and ramps. He zips through a ski town to show off his drone boarding skills, and it’s frakking awesome. Check out the video to see Casey’s drone boarding adventures—and don’t try this with your own drone. Casey is a professional crazy man with a custom built drone.
The First AI-Written Christmas Song Is More Soul-Crushing than Fruitcake
Gather ye around the yule log, so festive, warm, and bright! Listen to this song of Christmas cheer written and composed by an AI. And hold on to your loved ones as said tune sucks the soul from your very bones and leaves you quivering in the naked fear not that the morrow will not come, but that it will come and you will be forced to endure another day contemplating the futility and hopelessness of life! “I’ve always been there for the rest of our lives. A hundred and a half hours ago. I’m glad to meet you. I can hear the music coming from the hall.” Now that, dear friends, is the Christmas stuff of nightmares, as HowStuffWorks put it. And yes, I am dying, both from laughter and abject fear. This “song,” such as it is, was the result of a neural network project from The University of Toronto. They fed in 100 hours of holiday music, a bunch of holiday photographs with captions, and said, “Now you do it.” The song below was the result. Put another way, score ones for the humans.
Blade Runner 2049 Teaser Trailer Hits the Web
Blade Runner was an epic dystopian future movie that really shined once Ridley Scott was able to re-edit it and undo the damage the studios inflicted on us. Now we’re getting our first taste of the sequel, Blade Runner 2049, in a teaser trailer that promises even more epic dystopian awesomeness. The movie stars Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling, and if the teaser is any indication, this time the studios aren’t screwing it up. Blade Runner 2049 opens on October 6, 2017, so you have plenty of time to clear your schedule.
Super Mario Run Collects $5 Million in Coins in 24 Hours
Super Mario Run has garnered as many as five million downloads and US$5 million in revenue in just the first 24 hours since the game launched. VentureBeat rounded up estimates from three third party app metric services, with two of the three offering estimates in that range. If accurate, it would represent a 20% conversion rate of people who have download the free-to-download game. Nintendo gives users access to three levels, plus a tiny taste of the boss level, in the free download. For $9.99, users can unlock the whole game. $5 million is not a lot of money to a company like Apple—and Apple’s cut would be roughly $1.5 million—but it’s likely to be significant for any gaming company. Especially in the first 24 hours. Mobile gaming is big, and Apple has been pushing Super Mario Run hard (as Jeff and I discussed in Friday’s Daily Observations). It would seem that Apple’s user base is responding well to that push. Just for fun, the game’s trailer is below.
Firewatch Comes to Mac App Store
When Firewatch launched on Steam back in February the internet pretty much went crazy over the game, and now it’s available as a native Mac title. The game tasks you with solving a mystery while working as a firewatcher in Wyoming. The graphics are beautiful, the story is intriguing, and the only help you get comes from another firewatcher talking over your portable radio. Firewatch costs US$19.99 on Apple’s Mac App Store, and if you haven’t played it yet get ready to have a very unproductive weekend.
Turn Your iPhone into an Amazon Echo with Astra
Amazon’s Echo and Echo Dot are pretty cool, but what if you don’t have one yet—or aren’t home to use yours? That’s where Astra comes in. It’s an iPhone app that links to your Amazon account so you talk talk to Alexa just as if you’re right in front of your own Echo. The app lets you do pretty much everything your Echo or Echo Dot can handle, except for music playback or reading audio books. You can also remotely control your Echo-aware smarthome devices with your voice, which is worth the app’s US$0.99 price tag all by itself. You can get Astra at Apple’s App Store.
Apple Support App for iPhone, iPad Comes to US App Store
The Apple Support app for the iPhone and iPad is now available in the U.S. App Store, making it easier for Apple product users to schedule Genius Bar appointments and get other help. The app lists all of the Apple products registered to you, offers tips and suggestions, schedule repair appointments, schedule support calls, and more. The app is a free download at the App Store and in addition to helping you out it’s a shocking reminder for how may Apple products we’re buying.
Play Pac-Man on your MacBook Pro Touch Bar
The Touch Bar on the new MacBook Pro may be functional, but it can be fun, too. Henry Franks makes that point perfectly with his Pac-Man clone, called Pac-Bar, for the Touch Bar. It’s just like the classic arcade game, complete with Pac-Man and his “wokka-wokka” munching sound, ghosts, and music. The maze is a little limited since you can only go left or right, although the intersections do jump you to either end of the Touch Bar. You’ll need to use your MacBook Pro’s arrow keys to play—sorry, no touch controls here. Click the Clone or download button on Henry’s Github page get Pac-Bar.
Turn Your MacBook Pro Touch Bar into a Piano
Turning your new MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar into a piano may not be practical but it is pretty cool, and that’s exactly what Touch Bar Piano does. The app lets you choose between 128 different instruments, and you can play chords, too. Touch Bar Piano is a free download, and while it isn’t the same as using an actual piano, it’s a cool example of the creative ideas developers are finding for the Touch Bar.
Apple Posts 4 New Commercials for Apple Watch Series 2
Apple has four new commercials for Apple Watch Series 2 (AWS2): Apple Watch Series 2 — Go Play, Apple Watch Series 2 — Go Run, Apple Watch Series 2 – Go Dance, and Apple Watch Series 2 – Go Out (below). Each has a theme of “go” do something, and each features Apple Watch being opened as a present. It’s a sharp, fast, double jab of a message. The ads also feature music with aggressive beats, and they’re probably aimed at a younger audience. Unlike other recent branding spots, these ads feature a lot of shots of AWS2 being used to do something. Play music, buy with Apple Pay, activity tracking, Breathe, receiving iMessages, and more. For those keeping score at home, my favorite song in the four spots is Realligator by MagnusTheMagnus.
Shigeru Miyamoto Playing Super Mario Bros Theme is the Coolest Thing this Week
If you don’t know the Super Mario Bros. theme, odds are you’re in one of those South American tribes that hasn’t ever had contact with modern man, which also means you’re missing out on one of the most awesome thing of this week: Super Mario Bros. creator Shigeru Miyamoto playing the game’s theme song. He teamed up with The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon’s band, The Roots, and it’s more fun than a bag full of Koopas. Check it out, and if you aren’t smiling along with Shigeru then you’ll probably fail the Voight-Kampff test, too.
Colin Furze Built a Giant Star Wars AT-ACT in His Backyard
YouTuber colinfurze did what any Star Wars fan would do: he built a 5.5 meter (18 feet) high AT-ACT in his back yard. I love all the projects this nut job builds—he’s awesome—and this one is truly spectacular. It’s a scale model of a scale model on the outside, and on the inside it’s a Star Wars fan club house. In the video below he gives us a great tour, and he also has a behind-the-scenes video of how he built it.
Find Everything You Want to Read on NPR's Book Concierge List
Staying on top of all the great books coming out is pretty hard, which is why we’re glad when NPR’s Book Concierge list comes out each year. The 2016 list is out with more than 300 titles worth checking out. The book suggestions are divided into categories such as Biography & Memoir, Eye-Opening Reads, Kids Books, Funny Stuff, and more. Be sure to check out Staff Picks for a great go-to list of book suggestions. Each title includes iBooks and Amazon, local library, and independent book store links so you don’t have to go hunting. Links to previous Book Concierge lists are there, too, in case you want even more suggestions.
Super Mario Run Demo in Apple's Stores Today
Super Mario Run launches next week on December 15, but you can try it out in Apple’s retail stores now. A demo version is running on iPhones and iPads in the stores starting Thursday morning so you can get a sneak peek before it hits the App Store. Nintendo made the announcement on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and he got to play a level on the show. Super Mario Run is the first mobile game to feature Mario. It’ll cost US$9.99 and you can sign up on the App Store to be notified when it’s available.
GoPower Plus Battery Space Gray Has Built-in Charging Cable
The Kanex GoPower Plus Batter Space portable battery. What I like about it is that it has a built-in charging cable. The main cable is a microUSB cable for Android users. But it comes with a Lightning adapter that slips over that microUSB plug, and both just tuck away in the body of the battery. It comes in Space Gray or Gold and has a capacity of 8,000mAh. It’s $59.95.
Amazon Snowmobile is a Giant Truck That Can Move 100PB to the Cloud
Amazon’s servers provide the backbone for much of the Web, and while upload speeds are improving, what happens when you need a few dozen petabytes backed up to the cloud? Enter Amazon Snowmobile, literally a giant truck with a mobile data center capable of physically moving up to 100 petabytes of your data to Amazon’s cloud servers. The concept is the evolution, both in name and function, of the company’s “Snowball” service, which ships customers data units with capacities up to 80TB. As for price, it’s in the “if you have to ask…” category, although Amazon says it aims to make the Snowmobile cheaper than any network-based data transfer which, even at gigabit speeds, would take a while.
Latest Apple Campus 2 Drone Shot Looks Star Trek
Apple’s spaceship campus is looking more impressive as construction gets closer to wrapping up, and TMO’s latest drone pic really drives that home. Taken Wednesday, our intrepid drone pilot’s flying skills let you see the roof solar panels are nearly all installed, landscaping is starting to come together outside the massive building, and the giant courtyard in the building’s center is taking shape, too. The building really looks like something from JJ Abrams’ Star Trek. Apple Campus 2.0 isn’t finished yet, but is moving along well enough that the company will likely start moving in some time in 2017.
How about a Computer Keyboard or Trackpad Made of Wood?
I have no idea how practical these products are, but they’re gorgeous. Check out the Orée Board and Orée Touch Slab, a keyboard and trackpad made from wood. The Board is portable and can connect via USB or Bluetooth. It’s designed to work with macOS and iOS, or Windows and Android. Each is made from a single piece of wood, making individual units unique. The Touch Slab is a multitouch trackpad that can also be used as a numeric keypad. Look closely and you’ll see the keypad outlined on top. It’s Bluetooth only, and works with macOS, and Windows 7 or 8. The Board is priced at US$129, while Touch Slab is $150. I haven’t tested them, but they totally caught my eye.
Turn $1 Into an Augmented Reality Tour of the White House
Forget Pokémon. A really cool use for augmented reality on your iPhone is an animated 3D model of the White House, complete with an audio tour of its importance and history. The new app 1600, released this week by the White House Historical Association, uses AR to build a fully animated 3D model of the White House on a $1 bill while White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest narrates a miniature history lesson. Users can also tap on various parts of the model to reveal additional information and a few hidden secrets. Check it out now for free on the iOS and Android app stores.
Watch Nature Rage and Man Sprawl with Google Earth Timelapse
Google Earth Timelapse is “a global, zoomable video that lets you see how the Earth has changed over the past 32 years.” It’s not exactly new, but the project was just updated this week with new data and improved historical images. Head over to the Timelapse website, zoom into your favorite location, and watch the path of rivers change, glaciers melt, and cities spread from 1984 through 2016. It’s an incredible way to view the immense library of Google Earth’s satellite imagery.
Here's Why Computers Screw Up Color Blending
Blending colors on your computer typically doesn’t give the results you expect, meaning where they overlap ends up being some weird dark color. That’s because most apps take shortcuts with the math. MinutePhysics put together an awesome video explaining exactly what’s happening and why—and it’s totally worth watching. The downside is now all of the blur effects that are done wrong will really stand out. You’re welcome.
New Apple Campus 2.0 Flyover in 1080p
Check out the latest flyover video of Apple Campus 2.0, posted by Sexton Videography. It’s an HD tour of the so-called Spaceship HQ that shows just how far the architectural masterpiece has come. Complete with labels letting you know what you’re looking at, you can see side buildings, parking structures (with solar panels installed), landscaping, and how much of the main building has taken shape. It’s labeled “December 2016 Update,” but the video was posted November 25th. It’s a great tour. Adjust the resolution up to 1080p, as desired.
StallDesk on Kickstarter, Standing Desk Below $200
Check out StällDesk on Kickstarter. This project is for a standing desk made from high-quality—and very attractive—plywood called ApplePly. The retail price for this desk will be $199, but there are currently early bird funding options left at $129 that will get you one. The thing that first grabbed me about this desk is that it’s gorgeous. The shape is sleek and elegant, and the finish is beautiful. It’s adjustable, and you assemble/disassemble it without using screws. It’s also very strong, courtesy of ApplePly. Check out the project’s page for images of people standing on it. Also check out the closeup images of the StällDesk itself to see the fit and finish. The company is raising $20,000 for custom runs of ApplePly and new tooling, and the desks are being made in Colorado.