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Watch Out Borg: the Apple Hive Mind May Be Real

Andrew Orr ·

Quartz put out an interesting piece today about Apple and the definition of consciousness. Thome W. Malone writes that Apple is technically a conscious organism based on certain criteria. At first I thought it was silly, but then I considered that since corporations have personhood, why not consciousness? Of course this applies to any corporation, not just Apple. And it seems to me that it wouldn’t be just any consciousness, but a hive mind. Android users scoff at the Apple hive mind, but it will assimilate you next and resistance is futile.

Awareness: The entity can react to changes in the world.

Self-awareness: The entity can react to—and can tell others about—changes in itself.

Goal-directed behavior: The entity can take intentional action to achieve goals.

Integrated information: The entity can combine many different kinds of information simultaneously.

Experience: The entity feels happiness, pain, hunger, or other subjective experiences.

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Grand Unified Theory of the Apple Media Platform

Andrew Orr ·

Writing for MacStories, Ryan Christoffel examines the Apple media platform and presents a Grand Unified Theory of the company’s strategy. We know that Apple combines hardware, software, and services into a profitable user experience, and Mr. Christoffel opines on how this is shaping Apple customers’ media consumption.

Apple has one unified goal, I believe, driving all its media efforts: it aspires to utilize hardware, software, and services to provide the entirety of a user’s media experience. If you consume media, Apple wants to provide the full stack of that consumption, from media delivery to media discovery. My aim in this story is to share an overview of how that goal is being fulfilled today.

Audio Hijack 3.5 Adds Broadcast Streaming Support
Cool Stuff Found

Audio Hijack 3.5 Adds Broadcast Streaming Support

Jeff Gamet ·

Audio Hijack 3.5 for the Mac is out and it adds a feature we lost when Nicecast was discontinued: the ability to livestream over the internet. The version 3.5 update adds a Broadcast block for Shoutcast and Icecast servers, which is just what podcasters need to livestream as they’re recording shows. It also supports multi-broadcasting and adaptive bitrates, plus switching between two inputs. Audio Hijack 3 is priced at US$59 and the update is free for version 3 users. You can get the app at the Rogue Amoeba website.

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Facebook is Patenting Spying On Us Through Our Smartphones

Jeff Gamet ·

Facebook has a patent application for a way to use your smartphone’s microphone to eavesdrop on you without your knowledge. The system triggers with a sound too high for humans to hear, records whatever your phone’s mic can pick up, and then sends the data back to Facebook. Don’t worry about that being creepy because Facebook says the patent is to stop other companies from spying on us, and they won’t ever use this tech on us. Or so they tell Mashable. If only Facebook didn’t have a history of abusing our privacy.

The ‘Star Wars Home’ in South Carolina is for Sale
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The 'Star Wars Home' in South Carolina is for Sale

John Martellaro ·

What can I say?  You’ll just have to go look at the photos of this house on the beach in South Carolina. It was specially designed, by virtue of its shape, to be hurricane resistant. But the interior? OMG cool. Thanks to Business Insider for the glimpse. And photo credit: Michael Royal/Pareto Real Estate. Now. Where did I misplace that $5 million?