homepod
Google Assistant adds Muti-User Support for Netflix
Google Assistant now supports voice match for multiple Netflix profiles
For Netflix, if you have a personal profile on a Netflix account, you can link your personal profile and set up Voice Match to play content where you left off.
This is something Google has a major lead on the HomePod (at least for now)
We Find Ourselves Here, at the (professional) Turn
Back in 2016 the narrative around Apple was that they don’t care about professional users anymore. They had become a consumer-only company and their message to professional users felt at times to be “deal with it, we’re Apple.” I don’t think things were as dire as some in the industry, but
homepod
Smart People Seem to Agree, HomePod is an Echo and Home Competitor
Daring Fireball: HomePod’s Priorities
The difference between HomePod and Amazon Echo isn’t that they’re in different product categories. They’re in the same category. No one other than a gadget reviewer is going to put both a HomePod and Echo in their kitchen. They’re going to have one. It is, most
Links
The Apple Watch as a Stepping Stone to the Future
Above Avalon: Apple Watch Is a Bridge to the Future
Close to 20 million people bought an Apple Watch in 2017 because the device has become a bridge between the present and future. By including a screen, Apple Watch retains the familiarity found with smartphones, tablets, and laptops/desktops. At the same time, Apple Watch
Links
Why I Could Be Wrong About the HomePod
HomePod, the iPod for your home - AppleInsider:
Despite all the logically-reasoned chat about why it couldn't possibly fool buyers into paying more for a better device that made them happier than the cheapest knockoff or a previous, clunkier version of technology, Apple's iPod found a base of enthusiastic users--even
podcast
The BirchTree Podcast #50: HomePod Eve
We're t-minus 8 hours from HomePod pre-orders and I did an impromptu episode of the show to get some of my thoughts about how odd this release is for Apple. I still have so many questions about it that are not answered and I can't remember the last time
Game
State of the Game Industry 2018 Results
The Game Developer Conference does a survey of thousands of game developers every year and I always find it interesting as a way to get a pulse on the industry overall. You can get the report yourself here, but I’ve picked out some of the highlights below.
60% of devs are currently working on
ios
The iOS "Spring Edition" is Coming Soon (developer beta likely coming today)
Apple is continuing their tradition of having feature-packed spring updates to iOS:
In addition to horizontal surfaces like tables and chairs, ARKit can now recognize and place virtual objects on vertical surfaces like walls and doors, and can more accurately map irregularly shaped surfaces like circular tables.
This is a really cool addition to
Links
Tim Cook on What Sets the HomePod Apart
Tim Cook’s visit to Shopify all about augmented reality, as Apple CEO praises ‘profound’ emerging technology | Financial Post
“We think one thing that was missing from this market was a quality audio experience, a very immersive audio experience,” Cook said. “Music deserves that kind of quality as opposed to some kind of squeaky sound.
Android
A Few Months Later: Benchmarking the iPhone 8 Plus and Pixel 2
There has been a lot of talk recently about smartphone performance lately, and whether or not one company is slowing down their phones. For my part, I happen to have an iPhone 8 Plus and Google Pixel 2 in front of me, both of which have been heavily used and each of which I benchmarked
Apple HomePod to Go On Sale February 9, Pre-Orders Begin This Friday
The Verge:
Apple has announced it will release the HomePod on February 9th and that pre-orders for the device will start this Friday, on January 26th.
Here we go folks, Apple’s smart speaker is coming. This is the first new Apple product I can remember that is launching without any real stage demos
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DuckDuckGo Updates Their Extension and Browser, Complete with Privacy Grades
DuckDuck Go on their company blog:
Today we're excited to launch fully revamped versions of our browser extension and mobile app, extending DuckDuckGo's protection beyond the search box to wherever the Internet takes you.
I don’t know if I’ll use their iOS/Android browser, but I’ve already installed
ios
Apple Trying to Get MacBook Down to $999. Maybe They Should also Try One with iOS.
Apple Said to Release New Entry-Level 13-inch MacBook This Year, Likely Replacing MacBook Air - Mac Rumors
Apple's next entry-level MacBook will likely replace the 13-inch MacBook Air, Apple's lowest-cost notebook starting at $999. Apple's long-term aim was for the 12-inch MacBook to
podcast
The BirchTree Podcast #49: iPad and RSI Issues
The iPad has helped me a ton with some minor RSI issues I’ve had recently. It may not be true for everyone, but for me it’s an absolute godsend.
Subscribe to The BirchTree Podcast here.
goodie
Another Few Textured Wallpapers
I’ve added a few more wallpapers to my “texture” collection, which began with the Asphalt wallpaper from last week. All 3 of these were shot on an iPhone 8 Plus and look pretty darn good on any phone or tablet. As with the last textured image, these are very high res (50% larger than
Links
Sundar Pichai Does Not Regret Firing That One Idiot
Google CEO Sundar Pichai says he does not regret firing James Damore - The Verge
“I regret that people misunderstand that we may have made this for a political belief one way or another,” Pichai said. “It’s important for the women at Google, and all the people at Google, that we want to make an
Links
My Goodness, my State is Unhappy!
This Map Shows Which States Are 'The Worst Possible State To Live In' - Digg
According to this map from Gallup, 21-25% of the population living in states like Illinois, Connecticut, and Rhode Island characterize their states as "the worst possible state to live in."
Those numbers are just shocking to
Links
Why OnePlus’s Credit Card Data Breach is Particularly Bad
The other shoe dropped today forOnePlus, who announced they had determined as many as 40,000 customers’ card information had been compromised.
According to the internal investigation, a malicious script was running on one of the company’s payment processing servers and was able to capture customer’s full credit card numbers, expiration dates, and