Made this LEGO BB-8 model a few months ago, and I’m just finally getting around to putting out a guide for it. I got all the parts from “Pick-a-Brick” on the LEGO online store. (Be warned, they’re very slow about shipping, because all orders are hand picked). It’s a pretty quick and fun build if you can’t afford the new Sphero BB-8 droid.
Seems to work similar to the “Recently Deleted” folder in Photos on iPhone, which has been great. Anything that helps us avoid data loss is a win in my book.
Fresh food grown in the microgravity environment of space officially is on the menu for the first time for NASA astronauts on the International Space Station. Expedition 44 crew members, including NASA’s one-year astronaut Scott Kelly, are ready to sample the fruits of their labor after harvesting a crop of “Outredgeous” red romaine lettuce Monday, Aug. 10, from the Veggie plant growth system on the nation’s orbiting laboratory.
Apple.com got an update yesterday. The separate store site is no more, may the “we’ll be back soon” sticky note rest in peace. Removing the store must have been a very big undertaking, but to the unaware, the changes are subtle.
It’s been said before, but I think apple.com is one of the best examples on the Internet of design iteration. The overall layout of the site has gotten to where it is today very slowly in moderate steps. You can check it out on archive.org and see that the DNA of the current design has been around for more than a decade.
YouTube has added support for full-screen playback of vertical videos in their latest iOS app update.
Listen to Viticci. If 90% of people are going to view this video on a mobile device, and the intent of the video is not to display some grand artful vision, I’m better off if you don’t make me:
</rant>
The writing was on the wall as soon as a HomeKit compatible thermostat surfaced.
“The platform is ready and it rocks,” said one source.
The rumors around this continue to coalesce. It didn’t happen at WWDC, so that makes it a pretty sure bet for the fall, right?
As someone who has already “cut the (cable) cord,” I’m pretty excited about the potential here.
Update: And now this: NFL ‘Game Pass’ With On-Demand Game Broadcasts Coming to Apple TV
I’ve long been envious of the form factor of the iPod touch when compared to its iPhone contemporaries, and I still feel like the larger iPhone 6 screen doesn’t serve me as well as the 4-inch from all varieties of iPhone 5.
But I’m also unlikely to buy a 6C at this size if it is missing new or crucial features that exist in the newer phone. I’m finally “used to” the size of the 6, and I don’t want to feel a generation or more behind just to get the form factor I find more comfortable.
This is the final post on Minimal Mac. This project contains what I believe in when it comes to a mindful and intentional approach to technology.
Minimal Mac helped inspire my interest in how technology can be both beautiful and human. It will be missed. Here’s to what’s next for Patrick!
John Gruber published his review of the Apple Watch earlier this week. He had many observations in common with other reviewers. But here are a couple quotes that piqued my interest.
The Sport Band is a downright revelation — I’d go so far as to call it the most comfortable watch band I’ve ever worn. I’ve rolled my eyes at Apple’s use of fluoroelastomer in lieu of rubber to describe the material of these bands, but it truly does have a premium, richly supple feel to it.
My preferred watch band choice was initially the link bracelet, the most expensive option. However, after trying my Nixon Quatro on again, I remembered having often removed it while typing on my laptop to prevent metal on metal scratches. This quote makes me look forward to the sports band where I previously expected to be at least somewhat dissatisfied with it.
Scroll to the end of a list and Apple Watch has a rubber band “bounce” animation, much like iOS. But on Apple Watch, the rubber band animation coincides with haptic feedback that somehow conveys the uncanny sensation that the digital crown suddenly has more tension. It feels like you’re stretching a rubber band.
This is one of the details I’m excited to feel for myself. I haven’t yet tried the new Force Touch trackpad, but given the responses I’ve heard from others, it seems there’s reason to believe Apple has been able to pull off some extremely subtle experiences with haptic feedback that are now the state of the art.
The general take away of the reviews I’ve read is that the Apple Watch is definitely a first-generation product. That’s an amazingly mundane conclusion, given that it’s factual.
The iPhone was once a first-generation product too, with which we had our gripes. It didn’t have copy and paste for crying out loud. The screen was too small. No removable battery. No keyboard. No expandable storage. But we ended up doing way more with that 3.5″ screen than we ever could have imagined in January 2007.
We can tally up a list of faults against the Apple Watch as well. But what I find the most interesting is the promise in the new form factor. How much has technology changed our lives since we shifted from a computer on our desk to a computer in our backpack, to walking around with a computer in our pocket. It’s naive to think we’ve even begun to realize what impact could come from walking around with a computer on our wrist.
Mac Rumors just posted photos of a new mockup of an iPad Pro:
…a recent rumor from The Wall Street Journal pointed towards the the possible inclusion of USB 3.0 ports on the iPad Pro, potentially allowing the device to connect to a keyboard or mouse.
This is an absurd statement. If Apple includes USB on a future iPad Pro, it won’t be for “allowing the device to connect to a keyboard or mouse.” iOS devices can already all connect to keyboards and mice via Bluetooth, and the idea that any iPad would have a connector for that purpose is coming from someone who clearly doesn’t know much about Apple.
The maker of Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, which has long resisted any suggestions that it put its games on smartphones and tablets, said today that it would team with DeNA, one of Japan’s leading mobile game companies, to create games using its popular franchises for mobile devices.
This is an action many of us thought they would never take. Their looming problem (which I’ve written about before) as a game console manufacturer has been this:
What’s happening here is that Nintendo is falling victim to digital convergence. Go ask the big players in point and shoot cameras, GPS navigation, netbooks, and feature phones what happened to their markets. If they don’t all give you the same answer they’re lying, or potentially oblivious.
Of all the potential paths that Nintendo could take in this scenario, releasing software on other platforms seemed to be the most unlikely. Developing new hardware platforms has always been part of their DNA. They are on the short list of companies that exemplify the old Alan Kay quote: “people who are really serious about software should make their own hardware.”
This is encouraging news for fans of Nintendo. There is immense value in their gaming franchises, and I’m looking forward to the first game announcements.
My big wish in light of this news is that we one day see official Nintendo controllers for iOS. They were first behind most of the standards in game controllers we have today, and they could make amazing controllers to the spec laid out in iOS 7.
This might be a little exaggerated, but I definitely have felt the same way at times:
Maybe its just me, but the only time I want to talk to a device is when I’m in the car driving and can’t look at the screen.
— Paul Haddad (@tapbot_paul) January 21, 2015
Since Siri came out, there has been a weird tension surrounding when I’m comfortable having a conversation with my phone. There have been many times where I wished I could just type out my request.
Spotlight exists for typing in search requests, but it’s far more limited that what Siri can accomplish. These two systems seem to have some level of overlap, and some minor tweaks to Siri could obviate the need for Spotlight as a separate feature. Siri could also benefit from a lower impact gesture while using your phone, such as Spotlight’s swipe down on the homescreen, as opposed to a long press on a physical button.
The requirement for spoken requests could be holding back Siri, and I’d personally love to see it become more accessible.
Much has been said about the protruding camera lens of the iPhone 6. The focus is often on how hard Apple pushes the quality of its camera. Absolutely, Apple wants to stay near the top of the camera list, but I doubt that was the only conversation Apple had about the issue.
My phone was case-less for quite some time, along with the geekier of my peers. However, since the iPhone 4, it seems that a cased iPhone is easily the norm with average users. Prior to the iPhone 6, among close family, only 2 or 3 of us were usually case-less, out of 14 iPhones. Those of us with the iPhone 6 now all have cases. I would imagine Apple has more comprehensive data on this point, and if the percentage is as high as my anecdote suggests, it leads to two thoughts:
On top of the aforementioned notion that a well performing camera is a critical part (if not the zenith) of the iPhone as a device, a high percentage of case purchasing users could have been a lock for the camera bump. Not to mention a mere ~$40 revenue bump from each iPhone 6 customer who opts for a first-party case from the get-go.