“Would you like to stream this movie?” my Apple TV asks. “Or, would you like to purchase it? How about renting it? We know you can’t commit. And if you’d like to rent it, would you like a standard-definition or high-quality stream, which will cost you one extra dollar, yet display a negligible difference between the two? Ooh, want to stream this horror movie on Shudder? We can see that they have it ready. Come on over! Just kidding, they actually don’t, you idiot. But it’s available on Prime Video to stream, you will just have to watch a four-minute series of advertisements in the middle of your movie, which you won’t know until you start it. It’s fine, that character who got shot just before the ad break won’t get any deader by the time you’ve finished watching this ad for Cymbalta, which you’re going to need after getting so depressed on this sojourn that you just want to give up and watch YouTube videos.”
“Streaming seemed like such a good way to democratize movies so that anyone could see anything. Instead, we ended up with a system that requires so many subscriptions, searching and effort. It’s turned art into work.”
At Emory Hillandale Hospital in Lithonia, Georgia, Apple products are now the standard, marking a first-of-its-kind technology transformation for clinicians and patients. Propelled by the availability of Epic Systems on Mac, Emory Healthcare has introduced Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch across Emory Hillandale Hospital, enabling clinicians to work more efficiently and stay connected with their teams, from anywhere.
Rode has announced a firmware update for its Wireless Micro microphone system introducing a new feature called Direct Connect that allows the mic to directly connect to iOS devices over Bluetooth. Previously, you needed to use the company’s USB-C dongle receiver.
While you could certainly outsource all this work to a professional, there are a handful of user-friendly apps perfect for the DIY designer. From mapping out a scaled floor plan to assembling a scheme of colors and patterns, these tools will help you ace your design decision making. And most of them are simple enough for a beginner to use.
Radar maps are available on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac versions of Mercury Weather; they offer a couple of different map styles and a legend that explains what each color on the map means.
Mozilla is shutting down Pocket, the handy bookmarking tool used to save articles and webpages for later. The organization announced that Pocket will stop working on July 8th, 2025, as Mozilla begins concentrating its “resources into projects that better match their browsing habits and online needs.”
I would never buy another car without CarPlay, because even when it’s flakey, or Siri bumbles something, it’s handling my media and my personalized navigation better than any car can. I can’t say the same thing about CarPlay Ultra, which feels more like applying an iOS-styled WinAmp skin to the speedometer. For CarPlay Ultra to succeed, Apple needs to do more than woo reluctant automakers. It needs the discipline to address the long list of existing CarPlay annoyances. A rising tide lifts all boats. Er, cars. You get what I’m saying.
So Apple executives recognize the threat. The question is, can they generate the youthful perspectives, energy, and enthusiasm needed to keep Apple relevant?
After directing dozens of documentaries over his 60-year career, legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese will now have his own life chronicled for Apple TV Plus. In its announcement, Apple says the five-part Mr. Scorsese documentary series will explore how themes like “the place of good and evil in the fundamental nature of humankind” have shaped Scorsese’s filmography as far back as his student work at New York University.
AI, and whatever Jony Ive is working on, definitely seems to be the least of Apple's problems right now. Or anyone's problems, for that matter.
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Thanks for reading.