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Apple Perspective Video

I don't like it.

You're selling products, people. You're not really making the world a better place for war-torn countries, starving infants, cancer patients, etc. Let's not get so full of ourselves that we make stupid videos like this.

Seriously, yuck. This is not how Apple got to where they were. This is not "Think Different" all over again. That had a time and a place, and a tone. This one misses the mark.

Margins Matter

Let's talk about margins. Book margins, mind you…

Now's as good a time as any to point out that Lowest Score Wins – Shoot Lower Scores on the Golf Course NOW has one-inch margins set throughout, and is printed on 70# paper with 12pt covers.

Common App Rejections

Common App Rejections - App Store - Apple Developer

I like the "Top 10 reasons for app rejections during the 7‑day period ending August 28, 2014." section.

2% - Guideline 2.9: Apps that are "beta", "demo", "trial", or "test" versions will be rejected

Duh.

Apple’s Live Stream Failure

Inside Apple’s Live Event Stream Failure, And Why It Happened: It Wasn’t A Capacity Issue

Unlike the last live stream Apple did, this time around Apple decided to add some JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) code to the apple.com page which added an interactive element on the bottom showing tweets about the event. As a result, this was causing the page to make refresh calls every few milliseconds. By Apple making the decision to add the JSON code, it made the apple.com website un-cachable.

Read the comments on the article above for more depth. Some people don't agree with the theories espoused in the article. For example, one starts off:

I would not give the author any credibility here. He speaks as if he understands dynamic web applications, but fails to understand the difference between JSON, JavaScript and AJAX.

Another:

Quick question then. If the problem was with the code on the webpage, how come this happened on every platform? Meaning, even on the Apple TV.

Another:

The web stream, after about half an hour, started to work flawlessly. Unless you claim that Apple completely rewrote the web page code in that time, I don't see how your theory could possibly be correct. And as others here have noted, the AppleTV feed also had issues, although the faulty page coding you blame was not part of it.

In other words, the article is junk, but the comments are gold.

P.S. My stream worked after about 30 minutes as well.

Summary of Apple Announcements

iPhone 6: Will buy immediately (wife gets my 5S, child gets her 5). Might even get Space Grey (white). Buying outright, contract-free.

Watch: Would have bought instantly at $99. Would have considered buying it at $199. $349 is probably the best pricing they could offer, so… it would have been impossible to get one on my wrist (unless someone gifts one to me, and I'm not asking…).

Pay: Cool. But here in BFE (Erie is the "E" :-D), I'm not sure I'll get a chance to use it very much.

P.S. When something goes on sale on "Friday," what time zone is that?

One-Handed Mode on iPhone 6?

Laugh It Up, Fuzzball

Brian X. Chen:

To deal with concerns that a bigger phone will make typing with one hand difficult (the current iPhone has a four-inch screen), some changes to the design of the iPhones’ user interface will allow people to type or use apps with just one hand; there will be a one-handed mode that can be switched on and off, two employees said.

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, Oh, that can’t be. Samsung tried that and it was ridiculous. Haha, the New York Times got punked.

The thing is, I’m not laughing. You wanted Apple to make a 5.5-inch iPhone? This is what you get.

Johny Ive and Marc Newsom on Charlie Rose

Watch Charlie Rose: Jony Ive & Marc Newson Online | Hulu

Apple’s Media Mastery

Seeing Through the Illusion: Understanding Apple’s Mastery of the Media by 9to5Mac is a long but interesting piece on Apple's mastery of the media.

The Keyboards are Coming…

The keyboards are coming…

I've only recently begun using TextExpander. But, I've been using keyboard expanders for a long, long time now. Heck, my use pre-dates Mac OS X.

So, TextExpander is coming to iOS 8 via a keyboard.

The keyboards are coming…

Find my iPhone Attempt Rates Not Limited

If you saw Jennifer Lawrence naked recently, it may be because of a simple security hole that Apple has since fixed: This could be the iCloud flaw that led to celebrity photos being leaked (Update: Apple is investigating).

Update: never mind.

Update 2: Nik Cubrilovic - New Web Order » Notes on the Celebrity Data Theft

Ransomware

Android Phones Hit by 'Ransomware'

You are guilty of child porn, child abuse, zoophilia or sending out bulk spam. You are a criminal. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has locked you out of your phone and the only way to regain access to all your data is to pay a few hundred dollars.

That message — or variations of it — has popped up on hundreds of thousands of people's Android devices in just the last month. The message claims to be from the F.B.I., or cybersecurity firms, but is in fact the work of Eastern European hackers who are hijacking Android devices with a particularly pernicious form of malware, dubbed "ransomware" because it holds its victims' devices hostage until they pay a ransom.

Things That Will Last on the Internet Are Not Owned

inessential: Waffle on Social Media

I’ve heard blogs classified as a type of social media. Maybe that’s true, and maybe not — I don’t care.

Read the rest, though. It's short, and I almost blockquoted the whole thing, but that just felt wrong.

/me favorites Brent's post

Least Fascinating

The Most Least Fascinating Profile You’ll Ever Read About a Guy and His Boring Startup

FIFY

GateKeeper Changes in 10.9.5

Michael Tsai - Blog - Major Changes to Gatekeeper in Mac OS X 10.9.5

I'd share the results of the script but I'm not sure it did much to work, as Safari 7.1 shows version 1, along with every other application.

Our application, Analyzr, should be ready.

Apple University

Inside Apple’s Internal Training Program

In a class at the company’s internal training program, the so-called Apple University, the instructor likened the 11 lithographs that make up Picasso’s “The Bull” to the way Apple builds its smartphones and other devices. The idea: Apple designers strive for simplicity just as Picasso eliminated details to create a great work of art.

Steven P. Jobs established Apple University as a way to inculcate employees into Apple’s business culture and educate them about its history, particularly as the company grew and the tech business changed. Courses are not required, only recommended, but getting new employees to enroll is rarely a problem.