Mr. Cook Goes to China, Sonos Meets Ikea, Apple Buys Pop Up Archive – ACM 440

Tim Cook took a recent trip to China, and some have accused him of endorsing Chinese censorship. Bryan and Jeff talk about how complicated doing business in China is. They also look at why Sonos and IKEA have announced a partnership, and what Apple’s purchase of Pop Up Archive might mean. Then they fall down the rabbit hole of TextArc.

Watch Apple's 2 Minute Video on Inclusion and Diversity Called 'Open'

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.

Dow Jones Fake News, Cook’s Barnstorm Tour, iOS 11 Control Center - ACM 432

Tim Cook continues to raise his profile, tweeting more publicity photos of his visits to lots of places, including a Normandy war cemetery. Bryan and Jeff reexamine the idea that Mr. Cook may be thinking of political office. They also talk about Dow Jones’s brief flirtation with publishing fake news about Apple, and how Apple has changed the way on/off buttons work in iOS.

Apple Claims Apple Watch #1 Watch in the World

Apple CEO Tim Cook said Tuesday that Apple Watch is not just the number one smartwatch on the planet, it’s now the number one watch. It would represent a huge accomplishment for Apple, and one that should scare the pants off the watch world. In the screenshot I included, Apple Watch is about to overcome Rolex to be the top brand in terms of sales.