Steven Brust is a popular science fiction author with 31 novels to his credit. He’s known for the Vlad Taltos series as well as the Khaavren romances. He’s also a musician: drummer, guitarist and banjo player, and he has a solo record out, A Rose For Iconoclastes. Like many writers, as we pondered on the show, he has a cat. We chatted about his early career as a computer programmer and the life-changing event that launched him into writing science fiction. Steven’s career has been filled with a fortunate series of happenstances, «luck,» both in the cover art of his novels and his choice of themes. Inspired by Roger Zelazny’s Lord of Light, Steven writes what he’d love to read himself, and that has worked amazingly well. You’ll enjoy our chat about all things science fiction.
Free App Trials From Apple's Perspective
Drew McCormack took to Medium to write a post on trying to understand Apple’s perspective when it comes to free app trials. Developers aren’t happy about the move, because some argue that the changes to In-App Purchase guidelines aren’t true free trials.
So why does Apple…not offer a more formal version of free trials? Most developers seem to assume they are deliberately ignoring their protests, for no good reason, or that they simply are not willing to dedicate the resources to solve the problem. I doubt both of these assumptions. I think Apple have probably thought long and hard about it, and concluded that the options they have introduced are actually better than the free trials developer’s are requesting.
The AI Threat, Video Game Addiction - TMO Daily Observations 2018-06-25
John Martellaro and Andrew Orr join Jeff Gamet to look at the potential problems artificial intelligence systems could pose, plus they look at video game addiction.
Mondly Lifetime Subscription: $69.99
We have a deal on a lifetime subscription to Mondly, the language-learning platform. Mondly uses speech recognition and only gives positive feedback if you speak clearly and correctly. You can choose 5 of 33 languages to learn in your own native tongue. A lifetime subscription is $69.99 through our deal.
Apple Facing Small Claims Court Case in Canada Over Scratched Apple Watch
Apparently the best solution for accidentally scratching your Apple Watch face is to sue the company because that’s exactly what Dean Lubaki did. He claims Apple’s advertising is misleading because his mode, the ceramic Edition, is called «brilliantly scratch-resistant.» Turns out his Milanese Loop band scratched the display surface when he took off his watch. Lubaki’s small claims court filing says his local Apple Store blew him off, so now he wants to stop Apple from «lying to customers on their website by falsely claiming that a product ‘won’t scratch'» and to stop «lying to customers to their face and in store.» Bonus: When Apple offered him a new watch and free accessory he said no so he can move forward with his case. Call it a hunch: Lubaki is really pissed off right now.
Just In Case...Sensitivity – Mac Geek Gab Podcast 715
APFS is still quite young, and both the market for it and our experience with it are evolving at a rapid pace. There’s plenty more to learn about it, and your two favorite geeks dig in a little today. But that’s not all! Some questions from the forums, some questions from the email, and more round out the show. Press play and enjoy!
High-end AirPods, New HomePod Coming in 2019
Apple plans to introduce a new HomePod, higher-end AirPods, and studio-quality over-the-ear headphones in 2019. Details are slim on the new HomePod, but sources did tell Bloomberg a little about next year’s AirPods refresh:
The Cupertino, California-based company is working on new AirPods with noise-cancellation and water resistance, the people said. Apple is trying to increase the range that AirPods can work away from an iPhone or iPad.
The over-the-ear headphones will be higher quality than Apple’s Beats line and compete with high-end models from Bose and Sennheiser. This all follows an AirPods refresh coming later this year with hands-free Siri support and a wireless charging case. Apple seems to be staying busy in the audio market.
Set The 'Days Without a Facebook Privacy Breach' Counter to Zero
Really, I just loved the first line of this piece by Josh Constine at TechCrunch, enough so I needed to make a nice graphic for it. It’s all about how Facebook leaked a bunch of app data meant for app owners (bad enough IMO) to app testers. Oops. It’s cool, though, bro, because Facebook fixed it. TechCrunch has the details.
Set the “days without a Facebook privacy problem” counter to zero. This week, an alarmed developer contacted TechCrunch, informing us that their Facebook App Analytics weekly summary email had been delivered to someone outside their company. It contains sensitive business information, including weekly average users, page views and new users.
Some of the Best Tech Ads in Last 35 Years
This is far from a comprehensive list of the best tech ads in the last 35 years, but it’s a quick trip back in time to some of the best. Writing for TechCrunch, Sarah Wells offers thoughts and the videos for several Apple spots; the annoying (but definitely successful) «Dude, you’re getting a Dell» spot; Sprint’s «Can You Hear Me Now?» spot; and a compelling Google spot.
With stunning visuals (most of which were not CGI) and captivating choreography, Jonze breathes life into a product that got mixed reviews after its release in February. This made us think, what other tech commercials have grabbed our attention in the last 35 years and transformed how we think about technology?
Analysis: Amazon's Plans for a Family Robot
Back in April, we learned that Amazon is working on a family robot. Now, LoupVentures has gone into considerable detail in its analysis of this project. In part: «Amazon’s robot could open up new market opportunities. According to The Information, Amazon has considered offering home insurance. By having real-time monitoring of homes, the Amazon robot could monitor and notify a human in instances of theft, fire, or in-home hazards (i.e. an infant wondering near stairs), thereby mitigating the cost of a claim and lowering premiums. Lastly, Amazon has highlighted they want to deliver packages to your home when you are not there. We feel consumers would be more comfortable letting couriers into their homes if a robot could monitor the drop-off.» Are you ready?
