Apple plans to open a new research and development center in China before the end of the year, according to company CEO Tim Cook. The facility will be a first for Apple in China, and will be another way to help Apple shore up its presence in the country.
TMO Daily Observations 2016-08-16: Apple's China R&D Center, Microsoft's iPad Pro Dig
Apple plans to open a research and development center in China before the end of the year. Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to explore why Apple is opening the center and how that fits into the company’s plans in the country. They also look at Microsoft’s clever iPad Pro slam.
Tim Cook on Being CEO After Steve Jobs (Video)
Apple CEO Tim Cook had to step into some enormous shoes taking over from Steve Jobs. Much has been written and said on the topic, but Tim Cook hasn’t often spoken publicly about it himself. In his new interview with The Washington Post, Mr. Cook did talk about Steve Jobs, and the newspaper posted a video snippet on the topic. In it, Mr. Cook talks about Steve Jobs being a heat shield for Apple, and how he thought the media would lose interest in Apple after Mr. Jobs passed. If you let the video below play through, you’ll get a second snippet from the interview. If you let it keep playing, you’ll get videos unrelated to Tim Cook’s interview.
How to Tell Which Leaked iPhone Photos are Fake
As September 7th’s iPhone 7 launch looms ever closer we’re seeing more and more leaked photos showing what claim to be photos of Apple’s soon to be announced next generation smartphone. Those photos may be fun to see, but there’s a good chance they’re fake and it doesn’t take much to suss them out when you know what to look for.
Cool Stuff Found
Warren Buffett Buys 5.41 Million Shares of $AAPL
Warren Buffett bought some 5.41 million shares of Apple during the June quarter, according to regulatory filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The investment cost more than half a billion dollars, and represents a 55% increase in Berkshire Hathaway’s stake in Apple.
Mophie Powerstation XL External Battery (Manufacturer-Refurbished): $39.95
We have a deal on a manufacturer-refurbished Mophie Powerstation XL External Battery. This beefy battery holds 12,000mAh, and delivers current in either 500mAh, 1A, or 2.1A, depending on the device you’re charging. It has two USB ports for simultaneous charging, and is itself charged with a standard Micro-USB port. You can get this device through our deal for $39.95.
TMO Background Mode: Interview with Managing Editor of the Backblaze Blog Peter Cohen
Peter Cohen is the managing editor of the Backblaze blog. Previously, he’s written for Macworld, The Loop and iMore. Peter talked about how, as a kid, he had a TI-99/4A with bit-mapped graphics. He drew images on graph paper, converted the patterns to Hexadecimal codes and wrote to the display with Basic. The result was color graphics of spaceships shooting at each other. When he first saw the 1984 Macintosh with MacPaint, “it was like the top of my head blew off.” In the second segment, Peter and I chat about how Tim Cook is doing, Apple and its desktop Macs, whether the iPad Pros can replace the Mac and robotics. Peter is very much tuned in and speaks with wisdom on all these subjects. You’ll want to tune in too.
There Ain't No Such Thing as Free TV (TANSTAFTV)
The science fiction writer Robert Heinlein reminded us that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. (TANSTAFL). The same applies to TV. If you watch TV over the air, there will be commercials. Lots. If you subscribe to cable, most channels will also have commercials. If you stream or buy content that doesn’t have commercials (Blu-ray or the OTT services) you will pay what the industry sees fit for you. While cord cutting looks to be appealing cost-wise, for now, the industry is never going to settle for decreased revenues in the long run. A recent Hulu decision proves that.
TMO Daily Observations 2016-08-15: Apple Pay's Failing Competitors, Augmented Reality
Contactless mobile payment platforms are pretty much a mess right now. John Martellaro and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to look at the state of Apple Pay and its competitors, and who may be the real winner in the contactless payment game. They also look at Apple’s push into augmented reality.
Apple: We're Seriously into Augmented Reality
Apparently it’s big news that Apple is working on augmented reality projectsâor more accurately, Apple CEO Tim Cook stripped away enough of his code-speak and made it very clear his company is seriously pursuing AR technology.