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The Upgrade-Potential Edition Thursday, December 28, 2017

The iMac Pro Has Landed, by Jason Snell, Six Colors

It took my 2014 5K iMac 160 seconds to perform all of those tasks; it took the iMac Pro 96 seconds, meaning that the iMac Pro was able to do the job in 60 percent of the time. Isolate just the processor-intensive task of denoising three hours of audio, and the 5K iMac took 94 seconds, versus 49 seconds for the iMac Pro—a little more than half the time.

Base Model iMac Pro Teardown Sheds More Light On Its Upgrade Potential, by Jeff Benjamin, 9to5Mac

The base model iMac Pro features 32GB of RAM in a 4 x 8GB configuration. The iMac Pro features four DIMM sockets, and the 4x 8GB configuration allows it to take advantage of its quad-channel memory capability. This appears to be the same across all iMac Pro memory configs, with 64GB featuring a 4 x 16GB config and 128GB featuring a 4 x 32GB config.

How Tech Companies Woo Higher Ed (And What They Seek In Return), by Jeffrey R. Young, EdSurge

Behind these companies’ efforts to train future talent is an element of competition. There are different tools and platforms competing for users and developers, whether they’re for mobile devices (iOS versus Android) or virtual reality headsets (Daydream, Oculus, Vive). One risk that Hill raises is the desire for these companies to “lock people into their ecosystem and platform.”

Yet the reasons behind corporate efforts to get involved with higher education aren’t entirely selfish, Hill says. He doesn’t discount their altruistic motivations, but thinks their business models of keeping consumers in their ecosystem and platform is problematic, and one schools need to be careful about.

How Apple Can Get Beyond Batterygate, by Jefferson Graham,, USA Today

Gene Munster, an investor and analyst with Loup Ventures, and a longtime Apple watcher, says Apple needs to address the issue head on with an open letter to consumers.

For consumers, "this just doesn't make sense," he says. "Apple needs to acknowledge the elephant in the room, and how this is being perceived as something its not, and how the purpose is create a better performing phone, not to sell you an upgrade."

Corporate Updates

Tim Cook Now Required To Fly Private As AAPL’s 2017 Performance Nets Him $102M Payout, by Chance Miller, 9to5Mac

Another interesting detail from Apple’s proxy statement filling is that Tim Cook is now required to fly on private aircraft. This policy was implemented in 2017 and applies to Cook’s business related and personal travel. Apple’s board of directors made the call and says the policy is “in the interests of security and efficiency based on our global profile and the highly visible nature of Mr. Cook’s role as CEO.”

'The Most Important Apple Executive You've Never Heard Of' Is Now Also Apple's Second-best Paid, by Matt Weinberger, Business Insider

In 2016, Bloomberg called Johny Srouji "the most important Apple executive you've never heard of." It's a well-earned title: Apple is making more custom processors in-house, and Srouji is the brains behind that operation.

Now, a new shareholder proxy statement from Apple reveals that Srouji is officially the company's second-best paid executive, behind only Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts.

Apple And Amazon In Talks To Set Up In Saudi Arabia - Source, by Katie Paul, Reuters

Both companies already sell products in Saudi Arabia via third parties but they and other global tech giants have yet to establish a direct presence.

Stuff

Six Apps To Help You Take It Easy In 2018, by Lynsey Barber, City A.M.

There's nothing like the Christmas break to relax and unwind from the daily stresses of life. If only that feeling could last a little longer, eh?

Here are some useful apps to keep relaxed into the new year if the thought of getting back into the swing of things is proving a little daunting, or, if your new year resolution is just to take life a little easier in 2018.

Apple App Staple PCalc Celebrates 25 Years Since Scientific Calculator Debuted On Mac System 7, by Neil Hughes, AppleInsider

Short for "Programmers' Calculator," the application has always had the number 42 on its icon, in reference to Douglas Adams's "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series. Adams himself was even a beta tester of the app, which also included a "Hitchhiker's" easter egg.

Notes

How Alexa Carved Out A Place In My Siri-only Life, by Jeremy Horwitz, VentureBeat

Despite my initial reluctance, Alexa has earned a place in our house alongside Siri, which is built into many of my family’s devices, yet barely gets used due to its numerous issues. How did Amazon pull off a feat that other companies have found all but impossible: undermining Apple’s seemingly unstoppable march into every aspect of its users’ digital lives?

Bottom of the Page

So, in almost all the conversations I have had with others during the past few weeks, the X in iPhone X is almost always pronounced as "ex", and not "ten".

I can't imagine Apple not expecting this outcome after coming up with this name. And it seems Apple is okay with it. Which will make the naming of the 2018 iPhones a tad more interesting.

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Thanks for reading.