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The Off-the-Grid Edition Thursday, July 25, 2019

Adapting iPhone And Apple Watch To A 3-day Power Outage, by Michael Steeber, 9to5Mac

It’s easy to dismiss how reliant a modern lifestyle is on the ability to constantly charge batteries and consume large quantities of data over WiFi. Even minor interruptions to internet and electrical services can be frustrating inconveniences, but how do iPhones, Apple Watches, and Macs fare during an extended period off the grid? I unexpectedly found out this week.

Fast Software, The Best Software, by Craig Mod

I love fast software. That is, software speedy both in function and interface. Software with minimal to no lag between wanting to activate or manipulate something and the thing happening. Lightness.

Software that’s speedy usually means it’s focused. Like a good tool, it often means that it’s simple, but that’s not necessarily true. Speed in software is probably the most valuable, least valued asset. To me, speedy software is the difference between an application smoothly integrating into your life, and one called upon with great reluctance. Fastness in software is like great margins in a book — makes you smile without necessarily knowing why.

Stuff

Apple Music Names DJ Khaled As First 'Artist-in-Residence', by Juli Clover, MacRumors

Khaled says that as Artist-in-Residence, he will be taking over "the biggest playlists on the platform" every month while also debuting new artists.

New Powerbeats Pro Ad Highlights Battery Life During Lengthy Icelandic Relay Race, by Mitchel Broussard, MacRumors

The new commercial spotlights the accessory by showing how seven runners from the Paris Running Club joined a 280km relay in Iceland.

New Cognixion App Gives Voice To The Voiceless, by Tyler Hayden, Independent

Speakprose Pro+ utilizes the latest iPhone and iPad eye-tracking technology to allow users with limited mobility to navigate the screen with their eyes and select letters or words by blinking or holding their gaze. It also leverages facial recognition software to pick up on smiles and other muscle movements.

Notes

‘Lovefrom Jony’ Trademark Filed As Ive Exits Apple, by Chance Miller, 9to5Mac

Last month, Apple announced that Jony Ive would be leaving the company to form his own independent design firm. Now Ive has taken the initial public steps toward officially launching that firm, offering our first look at the “LoveFrom” brand and logo.

Streaming Killed 'Greatest Hits' Records, So Why Do They Keep Getting Made?, by Drew Schwartz, Vice

For Lombardi, there's a unique value to an official, artist-approved greatest hits compilation. As opposed to a Spotify playlist auto-generated by an algorithm, albums like Everything Hits at Once come from the bands: Spoon hand-picked the track list, and sequenced the record themselves. "It’s their greatest hits," Lombardi said—not some giant corporation's data-driven, machine-assisted determination of what matters most in an artist's catalog.

The question is whether or not listeners actually care about the difference.

Bottom of the Page

If the idea of an album still exists after so many years of the 99-cents-a-song, why not the greatest hits album too?

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Thanks for reading.