It’s important to unpack a couple things: What’s your quantification of success? Is it money or something else? This is nothing against somebody who has a great idea and wants to get funded — more power to you. That’s a cool new economy, and coding is an incredibly creative and artful medium. But if success is purely measured in how high on some Forbes list you are, then by all means, go make a new app. I’m biased: Music or film or writing or journalism — things that inspire emotional connections are so much more important to me than things that only have utilitarian ends. I’m glad someone figured out a food-delivery service. That’s made my life a little bit better. But that’s not that interesting to me. A good song can become part of my soul. So this whole nonsense about tech rock stars is farce. What else were we saying about tech world?
Developers have been creating some impressive augmented reality apps and games with Apple's upcoming ARKit API, and the latest proof-of-concept video reimagines the video accompanying A-ha's 80s hit "Take On Me."
Shortly after Google’s Sundar Pichai sent out a tweet today thanking transgendered members of the military for their service with the hashtag #LetThemServe, Tim Cook has also done the same. In a simple message Cook shared his gratitude for all who serve, and said that discrimination holds everyone back.
Streaks helps you set personal goals and stick them using a combination of reminders and tracking. One of the hallmarks of the app, and what undoubtedly won it an Apple Design Award in 2016, is its obsessive attention to ease-of-use.
If you’re looking for a way to lose a few hours later today, you could do a lot worse than Groovebox, a free music-making app for iPhone and iPad. It’s simple enough to start making music as soon as you launch it, but offers enough depth (and enough in-app purchases) to keep you going for quite a while.
Email by EasilyDo has been my favorite email application for iOS and Android for a while now, thanks to its lightning-fast speed, clean design, and useful features. Now it’s getting a few more nice additions.
Up in the mountains west of me, a decade and a half ago, the commercial internet service providers weren’t bringing high-speed connectivity to residents, so a group of neighbors banded together and created their own internet cooperative. Big providers love making their jobs sound so complicated that nobody else could do it, but these people set up their own wireless network, and they still maintain it.
Of course, their service remains pretty rudimentary; the same can’t be said of Longmont, Colorado, a city 20 minutes from where I live in the opposite direction. There, the city-owned NextLight fiber network provides some of the fastest connectivity in the country for a reasonable price. In Longmont, all the surveillance and anti-neutrality stuff simply isn’t relevant.
In a simpler time, when mainstream media were more broadly trusted, Apple’s refusal to confirm the president’s claim might backfire on him and undermine rather than bolster his credibility. But these days, liberals and conservatives largely have their own separate sources for news. By allowing Trump’s claim to go unchallenged, Apple is ensuring that half the country will be told only his side of the story. In essence, it’s handing him the political win while also permitting him to act as its de facto spokesman.