On top of Siri’s ever-widening vocabulary, blind users say the new iPhone 6s’ “3D-Touch” feature can dramatically speed the hassle of navigating through apps in Apple’s new iOS 9 mobile operating system.
“For the blind market, iOS absolutely dominates — there’s no comparison,” says Winston Chen, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Voice Dream Reader, a popular mobile app available in in both iOS and Android versions that reads written text aloud.
Business professionals on the hunt for a capable image-editing platform possessing a small footprint that doesn't break the bank should check out Pixelmator.
Of course, if you’re somewhat well-versed in classical music, you’ll know what’s coming already. If not, you need to understand that Fugue Machine isn’t trying to propel your musical output back in time by several centuries; instead, it’s all about taking advantage of (very) tried and tested techniques, to help you create mesmerising, hypnotic music.
I often hear VCs say that they don’t back products, they back platforms. I find that logic backwards and in many ways dangerous for founders. Platforms can provide a durable competitive advantage, and it’s easy to understand why startups would want to create one. But great platforms are nearly always born from companies first creating great products with narrow, but compelling use cases.
Founders have a hard time accepting this advice, because they hear that VCs only want to back businesses with unicorn potential. They have difficulty imagining that a niche point solution could fit the bill. So they dream up a story of how their startup could become a platform and lose focus on the problem they’re solving.
There are plenty of potential downsides to becoming an Apple supplier. First, Apple has a habit of using its weight as bargaining leverage, and often negotiates substantial volume discounts that inevitably put a pressure on the supplier's margins. Even if the supplier grows its relationship with Apple, it then faces customer concentration risk. If Apple finds a better supplier, or if the component becomes commoditized, or decides to change technologies, among other potential switching reasons, that initial supplier might have a lot to lose even if times were good for a couple of years.
My house guest is not happy. This may be because my three-year-old is looping purple plastic necklaces around his neck while ordering him to dance. Or possibly due to the baby hurling toys at his head.
I know he is not happy because a high-tech tablet stuck to his chest informs me of his discontent, listing a string of emotions he is currently feeling – confused, insecure, irritated. Not to mention the fact that he has just grunted.
Welcome to the world of 21st century household robots. For the humanoid standing uncomfortably in the middle of my living room is Pepper, the world’s first robot with a “heart”.
Not too bad! Any black hole that humanity might ever create is very unlikely to harm anyone who doesn’t try to eat it.
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Thanks for reading.