Facebook has a scary new patent application that Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet say “is so Zuck.” They also talk about how Apple might position and price its streaming original content, and there are a lot of possibilities. Plus, Apple’s long-running patent fight with Samsung is over. What does that really mean?
Apple's Media Bundle Plans, Drinking with Captain Kirk - TMO Daily Observations 2018-06-28
Kelly Guimont and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to discuss the possibility of an Apple Music and television show streaming bundle, plus they talk about Captain Kirk’s whiskey.
New Apple Cotai Central Store has a Bamboo Forest Inside
The Apple Cotai Central store has a grand opening on June 29. It’s the second Apple store in the Chinese district of Macau.
Watch Out Borg: the Apple Hive Mind May Be Real
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.
Today Only: 512GB MacBook Discounted to $1000
Today only, Woot is offering the previous generation 12-inch 512GB MacBook for US$1000.
Grand Unified Theory of the Apple Media Platform
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
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.
How to Install macOS Mojave System Updates
In macOS High Sierra and earlier operating system updates show up in the Updates tab in the App Store, but not so in macOS Mojave.
Facebook is Patenting Spying On Us Through Our Smartphones
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.
Apple Considering an All-in-one Apple Music, TV, and Magazine Subscription Package
Apple is reportedly looking at an all-in-one subscription package for Apple Music, its upcoming TV show lineup, and magazines.