Tripp Mickle’s Book ‘After Steve’ Covers Apple’s Rise to Trillions
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Tripp Mickle's Book 'After Steve' Covers Apple's Rise to Trillions

Andrew Orr ·

Wall Street Journal correspondent Tripp Mickle has a book coming out called After Steve with an eye-catching subtitle, “How Apple Became a Trillion-Dollar Company and Lost Its Soul.” It goes on sale May 3, 2022 and is available to preorder today. From the website: “His research shows the company’s success came at a cost. Apple lost its innovative spirit and has not designed a new category of device in years. Ive’s departure in 2019 marked a culmination in Apple’s shift from a company of innovation to one of operational excellence, and the price is a company that has lost its soul.”

Get a Wooden Photo Print With New Offering From Mimeo Photos
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Get a Wooden Photo Print With New Offering From Mimeo Photos

Andrew Orr ·

Mimeo Photos has launched three new product categories: framed prints, framed canvases, and wooden photo prints using certified sustainable maple wood. Framed Prints: Available in black or white, images are encased in a wooden frame that’s hand cut and assembled. Choose with or without matte. Framed Canvas: Images are printed on a premium-grade canvas with ¼” gap between the canvas and the frame for a floating effect. Wood Prints: Photos are printed directly on to 1/2″ thick maple wood that’s sustainably sourced and eco-friendly.

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Facebook's Failed 'Diem' Stablecoin Now Officially Over

Andrew Orr ·

Facebook had dreams of launching its own cryptocurrency called Diem (formerly Libra) but the company has called it quits (link to original PR piece here, commentary from The Verge below).

The sale of Diem’s assets marks the end of an effort that, in retrospect, was doomed from the start. Facebook, which now goes by Meta, created the apps that would have been the main way people used the token. So even though Facebook formed the Libra Association to govern the token with other companies, people were immediately fearful that Libra would make the controversial tech giant even more powerful. Plus, members of the Libra Association started to drop out, just months after the group had been announced.

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Judge Rules Developer's Lawsuit Can Proceed Against Apple

Andrew Orr ·

A judge ruled that a lawsuit from Kosta Eleftheriou can proceed against Apple. Half of the claims can move forward and Mr. Eleftheriou can amend the other claims that were dismissed.

In his own lawsuit against Apple, Eleftheriou aims to document what he alleges were an unfair series of rejections for his Apple Watch keyboard app, FlickType, from the App Store. At the time, Apple told Eleftheriou his app offered a “poor user experience” and noted full keyboard apps were not allowed for Apple Watch. But, he says, it then allowed competitor keyboard apps as well as third-party apps (like Nano for Reddit, Chirp for Twitter, WatchChat for WhatsApp and Lens for Instagram) to launch on the App Store.

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Treasury Considers ID.Me Alternatives Over Privacy Concerns

Andrew Orr ·

The Treasury Department is looking into ID.me alternatives for accessing the IRS website over privacy concerns.

CEO Blake Hall this week said that the company also used one-to-many technology, which compares selfies taken by users as part of the verification process against a larger database. The company said it maintained an internal database of selfies taken by users and compared new selfies against it using Amazon’s controversial Rekognition technology. As of January 25, 20.9 million users’ selfies had been verified against that database, the company said.