As of iOS 8, apps will only update automatically when the phone is plugged in to charge and connected to WiFi.
1,778 karma · joined March 6, 2012
Except the only quote we have from Ive was "It took ages to solve". He didn't talk about his genius, about how it was an innovation. It's all just a mix of what the reporter said and your personal biases.
I also don't think that ThinkPads on the ISS is a particularly good indicator of anything, besides perhaps the difference in the vendor's willingness to work with third parties on radiation hardening?
He was involved in the design of the new Apple Watch display tables[1] that have arrived in Apple stores, as mentioned in the fairly recent interview with Ive in The New Yorker, so I don't see any reason why he wouldn't be involved in store design, too.
Regarding aesthetics, clearly that's subjective, but many traditional watch enthusiasts (such as Benjamin Clymer of Hodinkee and Ariel Adams of aBlogToWatch) have had a number of good things to say about the hardware design.
From Hodinkee's fantastic Apple Watch piece[1]: "Apple got more details right on their watch than the vast majority of Swiss and Asian brands do with similarly priced watches, and those details add up to a really impressive piece of design"
Finally, to address your initial point, I see no evidence that his software taste is less refined, nor that his hardware work is getting lazy. iOS 7, which I suspect is what you're referring to regarding his software taste, received some negative feedback when first unveiled but has since become well liked, albeit with a few lingering usability concerns, especially since they refined it with iOS 8. The Apple Watch bands alone are incredibly well designed, with a number of improvements over traditional watch bands that the Swiss ought to be ashamed they hadn't invented yet[2]. I'll give two examples.
1. If you've ever changed a leather watch band, you'll know how much of a pain it is. Most people go to a watchmaker to change them. Apple Watch bands are easily interchangeable. How obvious, right? Yet nobody else does this.
2. If you've ever bought a watch with a metal link bracelet, you need to have it adjusted for you at the store. Why? Because you need a specialist tool to do it. If you ever need to change the size, you need to go into a store to get it readjusted[3]. Again, incredibly obvious to make this user interchangeable, yet nobody else did it.
If Ive was as lazy as you say, he would have been happy to use traditional watch bands, the type that every other watch and smartwatch uses, and require users to go into an Apple Store to change them or to adjust them. Two examples of great design, off the top of my head, just for watch bands - I can't imagine how you think he's lazy.
[1] http://www.hodinkee.com/blog/hodinkee-apple-watch-review
[2] And this isn't due to a lack of innovation. The Swiss (and watchmakers of other countries too) spend a lot of time sweating the details on watch straps, buckles and deployant clasps, e.g. http://www.rolex.com/about-rolex/bracelets.html
[3] In addition, the tools for this often proprietary or vary by brand. Check out the variety of tools that are available for adjusting watch bracelets: http://www.ofrei.com/page237.html Leather watch strap spring bars (the little bit of metal that attaches the band to the lugs) are also often proprietary.
http://www.hoptroff.com/collections/atomic-timepieces
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/846511652/the-worlds-fi...
I haven't used it myself but I've heard a lot of cocktail enthusiasts rating it very highly. Seems crazy to me but then I do ridiculous things for coffee, so I can't really judge :-)
That said, I'd always recommend an iMac over a MacBook if you're going to be in one place. An iMac plus the new MacBook or an iPad for travel is my ideal setup.
For the most part, I wouldn't worry about specs when buying Apple hardware. There will be some cases where you still have to think about it (gaming, say) but overall, the lineup is pretty clear. Get the MacBook or MacBook Air if you travel, get the MacBook Pro if you travel and need performance, get the iMac if you want a desktop and the Mac Pro if you want a performance desktop. And don't get the Mac Mini. Then, configure whichever you pick to be as powerful as your budget will allow. I can't remember how fast the CPU in my iMac is, nor what type of RAM it uses - and that's how it should be. Pick your computer based on what you'll use it for, not specs, then forget about it and get to work.
That said, I can't say I blame them. The Apple Watch got so much stuff right and was so fantastically well designed (not just in terms of aesthetics but in terms of how it works). It isn't just better than other watches in its price range, the build quality matches Swiss watches in the sub-$3000 range. The link bracelet, for example, is considerably better than some extremely high end watches.
I listened recently to a watch podcast where Ariel Adams of aBlogToWatch - a very popular watch enthusiast website - spoke about how he has trouble taking his Apple Watch off and that his traditional mechanical watch doesn't have quite the same feel now. If Apple is convincing watch enthusiasts to wear it, they're doing well. He also compared it to a Ressence watch (~$15,000) and said that, whilst the Ressence is different in many ways, the build quality and smoothness of the case was very close. This is significant and the Swiss low-end should definitely be worried. Version 1 of a product and they're doing better than many traditional brands.
One of the reasons I feel that Apple Watch has been embraced by watch enthusiasts (although many still dislike it, it has been a much warmer greeting than I would have assumed) is that the Watch is so clearly horologically influenced, with things like calling the widgets on the dial "complications", or the way the back of the watch has information about its materials and manufacture ("316L Stainless Steel - Sapphire Crystal - 38mm case", etc - you wouldn't see that on an iPhone). Apple clearly understands watches, and so they should: the team behind the watch are prolific collectors. Ive has worked with Jaeger LeCoultre, Phil Schiller is often seen wearing a Patek Philippe Nautilus (which, coincidentally, seems to have influenced the hands of the watch faces). Marc Newson co-founded Ikepod, a high end Swiss watch company, and the influences from Ikepod are clear. Bob Mansfield is known for his love of watches too, although I'm not sure what his preference is. This watch was made for regular people, of course, but it will also be worn by Apple execs. And they clearly made something that they knew could replace their Pateks.
Finally, you mention app support - all indications seem to show that Apple Watch is seeing more attention from major/important app developers. Luckily, now that the smart watch category has been validated, Android Wear should pick up too.
Let me also address your final points regarding specs of phones. Comparing the iPhone based on specs is missing the forest for the trees. The specs of an iPhone don't matter, this isn't a PC. What matters is how well it runs, how smooth scrolling is, whether there is lag, how good the camera is in low light, etc. There will always be Android phones with better specs in particular areas, but the iPhone is an overall great phone and that's all that matters. Even if the iPhone had triple the specs of the best Android phone, would you get it? You don't need to worry about specs and stats. (Also, your point about OS upgrades is flat out wrong - Android is well known to stop updating sooner).
Please don't claim that down votes are due to "fanboyism". It's insulting. Whilst I disagree with some of your points, I'm not going to imply you're basically a mad fan: I assume you have reasoning behind your thoughts, even if I don't agree with it.
If you haven't read the Hodinkee Apple Watch review, I recommend it: http://www.hodinkee.com/blog/hodinkee-apple-watch-review
Regarding improvements, I don't really have any specific examples. Just keep at it and I'm sure that, over time, you'll refine it until it's perfect. It's really great as it is.
Not a lawyer though.
Here's what I do with a Chemex. I put the Chemex on the scales, add the filter and hit tare (so it's now weighing 0g). I add the 22g coffee and hit tare. Then I add 300g of hot water (same as 300ml). It produces the same cup of coffee every time - exactly how I like it. Obviously, if I ever change the coffee I get (or the coffee I get now - currently an espresso blend which is blended for consistency - changes significantly), then I might need to experiment a bit and see whether 24 grams of coffee is now my preference, for example.
I'm sure most of the tools have alternatives on Windows, I don't think it'll be anywhere near as good, however. Examples include software by the OmniGroup and Panic, which make some of the best desktop software I've ever used.
1. Get a pair of digital scales (learn to use the tare button) and spend half an hour making coffee of different strengths. Decide which you prefer and then always use that coffee to water ratio when you make it.
2. Get some decent coffee. You can get a grinder if you want, but it won't make as much of a difference as just getting it from a good source. It can be freshly roasted, freshly ground, whatever - just get it from a good place, not from a supermarket. Personally, I buy a kilogram of coffee beans from http://liminicoffee.co.uk/ once a month. I used to buy it weekly from http://pactcoffee.com/ but I found it's more convenient and just as tasty to get it delivered monthly.
Optional third improvement:
3. Get an Aeropress or a Chemex (my preference is a Chemex - even easier to clean up than an Aeropress, can make multiple cups and can be kept warm if you have a hotplate, although I wouldn't recommend that). This is a good step but won't make as much of a difference as picking good coffee and measuring the amounts you're using.
There are so many optimisations you can do. Most of them won't have too much of an effect. I do them anyway - I have all of the equipment, have a fairly expensive grinder, spend time letting the coffee bloom (I swear that's rubbish) and am planning to roast my own beans soon - but they're by no means necessary. Do those two things first and then stop to see if you're satisfied.
The same is happening on iOS really. It's becoming more and more boring - in a good way. It's reached a point where it's pretty much complete and now they're just tweaking bits, adding a few new features as things become possible, etc.
Windows 8, on the other hand, was really exciting - but not in a good way.
Also, I think that point was less about Sublime and more about the other development tools that are Mac only.
A perfect situation I feel would be if Lyft concentrated on the affordable end and Uber went high end. Immediately, there'd be no more Lyft vs Uber nonsense and Lyft would get all of the aggression from the taxi industry instead of Uber, as Uber would no longer really be competing with taxis.
Honestly though, my problem isn't with the occasional awful ride, but the far more frequent slightly annoying rides. The ones where the driver won't stop talking or asking about local women or good bars in the city or the latest football gossip. I can't complain about that (nor do I really have the right to) but it's a huge reason why I prefer the Uber service.
Agreed. I'm not saying that I'm proud that I supported them. Previously, I bought into the "taxi mafia" story that Travis spun. I was at a talk he gave and, well, he was convincing. I think at the time, he was probably telling the truth: there probably was a lot of corruption in the taxi industry (and probably still is). But now, after he's used it time after time to justify treating drivers and customers poorly (fighting against insurance, for example), I feel like a fool for believing him.
> so, uber is basically 100% BroTaxi
I don't think he was using the term "baller" seriously, it was most likely a joke. UberExec/Lux certainly doesn't feel like it's for "bros", it feels like it's for professionals.
For a while, it seemed like Uber was about the high-end - as Travis himself said, he created Uber to have a more "baller" way to travel around San Francisco - but then they started to care more and more about being seen as affordable and UberX is now clearly the company's top priority. And as prices drop and margins are squeezed, articles like this are the end result. People will complain that luxury isn't important (and they might be right) but Uber had a really good service that was different. Now they're just like all the other ride sharing companies.
I really, really wish they would shut down UberX. I know they won't. But I want to love Uber again - but with all of these stories, almost all regarding UberX drivers - I feel obnoxious if I use them. I don't want to support them.
Love the service, hate the company.
[1] I was recently in a taxi where the taxi driver said a number of very racist things, directly insulted me, my fellow passenger and pretty much anyone he came into contact with during the ride (other cars, pedestrians, etc) and swore repeatedly. This isn't the first time I've experienced this (although it was the worst). I'm somewhat shy and find taxis to be, on occasion, somewhat intimidating. I've never felt that way in an Uber.
Highcharts was the first library I found where, even when I assumed what I wanted to do would be impossible, it could do anything I threw at it. The number of settings and formatting options is incredible. Such a fantastic library.
(By the way, for maps, there's Highmaps. It's an additional license fee but it integrates nicely and provides a bunch of cool choropleth map features, etc).
Not only does it cover the various features of Rails, in it you build a real life app: a simple Twitter clone. Once you've finished the Hartl tutorial, you'll know how to build an app in Rails, how to write tests, how to use version control and how to deploy it to Heroku. It covers everything to build a web app with nothing missing. All in all, if you don't know much about software development (as opposed to programming, which I know you're experienced at) then I can't put enough emphasis on how great this tutorial is.
Others have suggested Django (a great framework that I've used too and love) as you know Python. That does make sense. If you're really confident in Python, perhaps you should pick Django. But Ruby won't take long to pick up either and I can assure you - the tutorial is worth it.
Finally, there are lots of other new frameworks, including client-side frameworks, that might be helpful too. I'd wait though for a bit. For the moment, you just can't go wrong with Rails. Years later, there's still just as much a demand as ever for Rails developers and it's a solid base that, once learnt, should serve you well for many years, whether you're building small projects for fun or large projects professionally.
I would expect that at this stage Stripe ought to be pulling away from VC money, as their profits hopefully increase. There are, of course, valid reasons to take VC money at a late stage - fuelling expansion is the main reason. But does Stripe really need the money to expand? I would hope that they could support their expansion themselves.
Normally I wouldn't care much, such as when Uber raised a bunch of money recently, but Stripe is different because they're so central to my business. I really need them to be rock solid. It would be a huge pain if I had to switch payment providers, especially with all of the subscription logic that Stripe provides.
I suspect the main thing that will limit Apple's streaming service is availability: iTunes Radio is only available in the US and Australia. I think they're being punished a bit by the record labels, after Apple took over the digital downloads market, much to their displeasure.
That said, if Apple's streaming service comes to the UK, I know I'll drop Spotify in a heartbeat. I couldn't be more disloyal to Spotify: I only use them because they're the only service with the exact combination of features I need (besides Rdio, who I don't use because their desktop app is - incredibly - even worse than Spotify's).
It's also spamming. Harvesting email addresses from people contributing to open-source isn't cool. I'm glad to hear you'll be changing that.
I know it's competitive out there but your app looks good, let it speak for itself. You don't need to stoop this low.