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The Enhance-Naturalness Edition Thursday, December 19, 2019

How Apple Strives For The Perfect Sky And Revives Cities, by Thomas Schielke, ArchDaily

Since Steve Jobs opened the first Apple Store in 2001, the brand has changed its store and lighting design concept five times. Thereby change appears as a central factor when a brand grows and expands internationally. For each period Apple developed sophisticated details and has strived for the perfect sky in their store - a smart strategy to enhance naturalness and sustainability.

The Buzz Around AirPods, by The Economist

Apple has the clout to make the industry more profitable. It could use its strong position with AirPods, Apple Music, podcasts and Siri to create a swirl of audio content around the iPhone—an ecosystem in the jargon—and take the lion’s share of advertising. For the time being, though, it appears to be more focused on creating video content, in its battle for eyeballs with Netflix. That is lucky for Spotify. It gives it a bigger opening in the audio market. It is good for listeners, too. The last thing anyone wants is a Big Tech behemoth controlling the next best thing to a brain implant.

Photo Roulette, The Hot App That Makes Teens Cringe And Parents Fret, by Julie Jargon, Wall Street Journal

It isn’t surprising that Photo Roulette got through the vetting process of Apple and Google’s app stores: Just as with messaging apps, the images shared with Photo Roulette aren’t made public outside the group and aren’t necessarily the responsibility of the developer to police.

Develop

Apple Open-sources HomeKit Accessory Development Kit To Spur Adoption, Grow New Standard, by Andrew O'Hara, AppleInsider

Apple has published an open-source version of its HomeKit Accessory Development Kit, allowing more users to experiment with the development of HomeKit accessories. The release is designed to accelerate development of a new universal smart home standard created by a consortium of companies including Apple, Amazon, Google and the Zigbee Alliance.

IBM Has Abandoned A Plan To Make Apple's Swift Programming Into A Big Enterprise Technology, by Julie Bort, Business Insider

IBM will no longer be working on Apple's Swift programming language in 2020, the Swift organization said last week.

IBM's departure puts a cloud over work that was supposed to turn Swift into a powerhouse technology for corporate app development.

Notes

Former Apple Store Genius Bar Staffer Sues Apple For Inadequately Supporting His Disability As Required By Law, by Jack Purcher, Patently Apple

As Apple opens a new 'flagship' store in Canada a 33-year-old person with a disability who was employed for more than eight years as an "Apple Genius" working at an Apple Inc. store in Ontario is claiming that he was dismissed by the computer giant because he requires a wheelchair and is suing for lost wages and damages.

Robert Shaw alleges in a Statement of Claim that Apple repeatedly refused to work on an individual accommodation plan with him, opting instead to provide piecemeal solutions to his disability.

Ikea 2.0: Inside The Furniture Giant's Big Bet On The Smart Home, by Thomas Ricker, The Verge

I am in Sweden to meet with Block and his team to better understand the extent of Ikea’s smart home ambitions. What I discover is a company that’s aware of its missteps, with a clear understanding of how it wants to improve and expand. Ikea believes its advantage in the smart home stems from what at first looks like its greatest disadvantage: Ikea is not a tech company. As a furniture maker, Ikea has a thorough understanding of life at home and a unique ability to marry technology with ordinary furniture. Ikea’s unimaginable scale matches up well with Big Tech. And historically speaking, it’s been a formidable and ruthless competitor in every segment it focuses on. Ikea is now focused on the smart home.

The digital transformation of Ikea could improve the lives of billions. At stake is the democratization of the smart home — intelligent homes that improve the daily lives of everyone, not just the resident geeks who can already afford them.

Westpac Joins Rivals In Rolling Out Apple Pay, by Clancy Yeates, Sydney Morning Herald

Westpac is the final big four bank to allow its customers to make tap-and-go payments with their iPhones, announcing plans to roll out of Apple Pay across its various brands by mid-2020.

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