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The Virtual-Objects Edition Friday, February 12, 2021

First Apple TV+ AR App Launches With 'For All Mankind' Backstory Through Mixed Reality, by Zac Hall, 9to5Mac

For All Mankind: Time Capsule takes place in the decade between the first and second season of the space drama that plays out on an alternative historical timeline. The app lets you interact with virtual objects from a box of items placed in the real world through the lens of your iPhone or iPad. The app uses sound and music to enhance the story. Through the experience, you see the world from the perspective of a teenage Danny Stevens, the son of astronauts Tracy and Gordo Stevens in the series.

Netflix Co-founder: Disney ‘Emulating' Its Streaming Playbook: 'We’re Seeing New Rules Of The Game', by Alexandra Canal, Yahoo! Finance

“If Apple spent one quarter as much time on content as they do on giveaways they really could play,” Randolph said, noting the company’s $2 trillion-plus market cap and $200 billion cash on hand.

“They have no excuse [and] they’re still not in it with both feet. They really have to do the entrepreneurial thing and walk up to the edge of the cliff and jump,” he added.

Why Does The Apple TV Still Exist?, by Jason Snell, Six Colors

I don’t know where the Apple TV hardware is going, but it can’t stand still. It either needs to evolve into something else, or die. And it might need to die anyway.

On Privacy

Apple Urged To 'Improve The Validity' Of Its App Privacy Labels By US House Committee, by Michael Potuck, 9to5Mac

Apple has been upfront that it doesn’t fact check apps’ privacy label information but rather it responds retroactively when it learns about false information. The letter today from the US House Committee conveys that the government doesn’t find that approach acceptable.

Stuff

Power-User HomeKit App Home+ 5 Adds Automation Folders, Backups, And A Fresh Design, by John Voorhees, MacStories

Home+ 5 is the perfect next-step app for anyone with a growing collection of HomeKit devices or who wants to do more with automation.

PopSockets Launches New PopMount For Taking Photos, by Juli Clover, MacRumors

The PopMount 2 Photo is a stand that attaches to the back of a PopGrip installed on an iPhone, with the PopMount then able to be attached to any tripod.

Develop

Apple Invites Select Developers To New Round Of ‘Bring Your iPad App To Mac’ Virtual Workshops, by Chance Miller, 9to5Mac

Apple is sending a new round of invitations to developers for online sessions focused on bringing iPad apps to the Mac. The email invites developers to sign up for the “Bring Your iPad App to Mac” online workshops throughout the rest of February and the first half of March.

Living Off The iPad As An Engineer, by Pierre Jacquier, Medium

The idea of moving solely to the efficient machine that is the iPad Pro was appealing for various reasons. Yet the question remained: how would I continue the work on side-projects, whether they be software or hardware?

Notes

The Two-Day Saga Of The Apple Silicon DTK Exchange Program, by John Gruber, Daring Fireball

Make few mistakes, but recognize the mistakes you do make quickly, admit to them, and fix them. That’s the recipe.

Libby Is Stuck Between Libraries And Publishers In The E-book War, by Anna Kramer, Protocol

But the Libby story is also a parable for how the best-intentioned people can build a beloved technological tool and accidentally create a financial crisis for those who need the tech most. Public librarians depend on Libby, but they also worry that its newfound popularity could seriously strain their budgets.

How America Has Always Advertised The Next Golden Age Of Computers, by Ryan Mungia, Literary Hub

The People’s Computer Company, founded in 1972 in Menlo Park, California, was one such club, whose premier newsletter stated, “Computers are mostly used against people instead of for people, used to control people instead of to free them. Time to change all that.” The Homebrew Computer Club, which met for the first time in founder Gordon French’s garage—also in Menlo Park—in 1975 was another magnet for local computer geeks, including Apple founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, who took inspiration from the club to develop the Apple I.

Bottom of the Page

If Apple gives up on the Apple TV (the hardware), it will probably be giving up on the Apple TV (the app). If Apple cannot have a successful aggregator (of channels and shows) when it is the default front-and-center app on its own platform, the chances of the Apple TV app succeeding in this aspect is probably even slimer.

The current strategy that Apple has for television is one which includes hardware, software, and service, except that the magical interception between all three components is missing.

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Thanks for reading.