Logitech's clever iPad stylus, Crayon, which autopairs and feels more comfortable than the Apple Pencil, was originally an education-only product, targeted at owners of the latest iPad released earlier this year. I used one over the summer and loved it. Well, good news: Crayon is now available for any iPad owner to buy, starting September 12.
There is one bit of bad news, though: it now costs more.
The Logitech Crayon is based on Apple Pencil Technology, but it’s not just a rebranded Apple Pencil — this is a different device, with a less advanced feature-set that’s primarily aimed at note-taking and markup situations.
That’s not to say that the Logitech Crayon can’t be used to make art, because it can. Before Apple Pencil pressure-sensitivity, styli existed for making art, and the Crayon can be used to do so as well; you’ll just have to work within this major limitation. The Crayon also supports tilt functionality, which allows for thicker or thinner lines based on the angle of that you rest the tip on the iPad’s screen. I find the Apple Pencil better for tilt functionality just in the way the stylus is physically designed.
In the first 20 minutes of the event, pay attention to the pacing. A breakneck pace with a lot of traditional categories covered in a slide or two is a signifier that Apple is packing the keynote with content. If you’re holding out hope for an iPad Pro announcement or, dare to dream, some new Macs, you want to see Tim Cook blow through the early part of the keynote without any long digressions.
On the other hand, if the opening salvos of the event are leisurely strolls through WWDC announcements and Apple Store programs and Apple TV demos, that’s a sign that the keynote agenda is light. Don’t expect iPads and Macs in this case. And gird yourself, because the augmented reality and gaming demos are going to be coming.
Motion sensors certainly aren't the flashiest of HomeKit accessories, but they can add a lot of options to HomeKit installations. Fibaro makes the best out there with not just motion detection, but two other sensors packed into its slightly quirky body.
Rather than viewing procrastination as a character flaw and something to be squashed, we ought to look at it as a natural desire we all have to diversify our work and interests.
When we can re-frame it this way, it becomes much easier to harness procrastination and channel it to productive ends.
“After thoroughly analyzing Shazam’s user and music data, we found that their acquisition by Apple would not reduce competition in the digital music streaming market,” EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.
Part of me is naturally delighted that this huge data brokerage has no clue who Dan Cooper really is. Through some combination of genius, trickery or luck, I have avoided becoming a cog in the Man's Machine. I've hidden in plain sight, and these companies don't know me, my lifestyle or my purchasing habits. Then again, the fact that Acxiom failed to get facts right that are a matter of public record is pretty concerning. Perhaps that's the reason why the company declined to participate in this story.
But then, I also wonder how far this information will travel and to what ends it will be used, especially in light of what's going on in other parts of the world.
Antitrust crusaders have built up serious momentum in Washington, but so far, it’s all been theory and talk. Groups like Open Markets have made a strong case that big companies (especially big tech companies) are distorting the market to drive out competitors. We need a new standard for monopolies, they argue, one that focuses less on consumer harm and more on the skewed incentives produced by a company the size of Facebook or Google.
Someday soon, those ideas will be put to the test, probably against one of a handful of companies. For anti-monopolists, it’s a chance to reshape tech into something more democratic and less destructive. It’s just a question of which company makes the best target.
One week before Apple announces (perhaps) larger-screen iPhones, the Crayon is out for the public. Could there also be a crayon for the iPhones?
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Thanks for reading.