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The Miserable State of UI, HomePod Under Achieving, and Future Man - Pop.0 ep.21

Bryan Chaffin ·

We’ve had more than 30 years of mainstream GUI computer systems, and somehow user interfaces are still miserably bad. Bryan Chaffin and John Kheit also talk about Bloomberg’s report that said HomePod will focus on music even though the world is clamoring for an Apple home voice assistant. This week’s look at pop culture includes Future Man, a Hulu original they both like. (WARNING NSFW: PROFANITY & RANTS)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lGHZ5NMHRY
Cool Stuff Found

Apple Taps Sam Smith in 'Sway' Holiday Commercial for AirPods

Bryan Chaffin ·

Apple has a new holiday commercial out called Sway. The spot channels the feeling of Christmas without overtly mentioning that specific holiday, with a sound track by Sam Smith (“Palace”). It’s a subtle promotion of AirPods featuring two young dancers who meet and metaphorically fall in love. She gives him one of her AirPods, and they then dance and sway through the snow sharing the same song. The tag line is “move someone this holiday.” What do you think?

Podcast

TMO Background Mode Interview With Mac Observer's Editor-in-Chief Bryan Chaffin

John Martellaro · · Add Comment

Bryan Chaffin is the Editor-in-Chief of The Mac Observer. He was born and raised in Texas, and it was in Austin where he met Dave Hamilton. In 1997, Bryan was writing for a website named Webintosh. Later, Bryan bought a half-intest in the publication. Soon he realized he needed someone to run the business side of the website, so he sold his half to Dave Hamilton and they rebranded it as The Mac Observer, launching on December 28, 1998. We reminisced about how an invitation from Bryan led to my first article at the Mac Observer in October, 1999. In the second segment, we chatted about two of Bryan’s notable, recent articles, iPhone encryption and Apple’s tax situation. We finished with a discussion of Bryan’s books, both technical and science fiction. Great stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvb49-Csq1o&feature=youtu.be
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Watch Apple's 2 Minute Video on Inclusion and Diversity Called 'Open'

Bryan Chaffin ·

Apple has a new video out called “Inclusion & Diversity — Open.” It’s a two-minute tribute to the value that an open and diverse workplace can bring to a company like Apple, and it features “68 employees revealing who we are.” In the YouTube description, Apple said, “At Apple, ‘open’ isn’t just a word. It’s our culture. One that embraces faiths, disabilities, races, ages, ideologies, personalities, and differences. Because humanity isn’t singular. It’s plural.” Under CEO Tim Cook, Apple has made a big push to increase the diversity of its work force and executive team. Like other Silicon Valley companies working on this same issue, Apple remains overwhelmingly white and male, even with recent progress. This video is, in part, a sales pitch for people of diverse backgrounds to work at Apple, and it’s a pretty good pitch.