Apple

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The Four Products Apple Should Drop in 2022

Jeff Butts ·

For me, these are the four products Apple should discontinue from its lineup. I do believe they’re lost in time and any customer that bought one right now would be disappointed with the general experience.

I agree that it’s high time for Apple to discontinue the iPod touch, Watch Series 3, and Beats Solo3 Wireless. These products just aren’t reflective of the best Apple can offer anymore. Some might say the Apple Watch Series 3 is still a good choice. I’d argue most would be better off with the SE model. It’s only $70 more expensive and much more robust. But the Intel-powered Mac mini? I can’t really buy into this idea, simply for the sake of anybody who still needs to dual-boot Windows and macOS.

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Apple's Policies Force Tumblr to Ban Certain Tags for iOS Users

Andrew Orr ·

Tumblr has been banning a host of tags from its iOS app in an effort to comply with Apple’s app review policies.

Some of the banned tags make sense for a platform trying to scrub itself of sensitive content — “porn,” “drugs” and “sex” are banned, for instance. Others are incomprehensible (or troubling if you think about them for too long), like the aforementioned “Tony the Tiger” and “Eugene Levy.” Even tags with the numbers 69 and 420 are banned.

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Streaming Music Today, Using iPads, NFT Comic Books, with Jeff Gamet - ACM 565

Bryan Chaffin · · Add Comment

Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet talk about the practical realities of listening to music int he age of streaming music services. They also talk about how they use their iPads, and the ways in which that has changed. They cap the show with a practical use case look at NFT graphic novels, which Bryan says is one way of bringing collectibility back to the comic book world.

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Dutch Regulator to Force Apple to Change App Store Policy for Dating Apps

Jeff Butts ·

It’s interesting that the focus of this order is on dating apps, when other assaults on Apple’s App Store payment policies approach different genres, or all apps as a whole. The decision comes on the heels of the tech giant agreeing to change its payment policies for “reader” apps and the ongoing Apple v. Epic dispute. It could be one more nail in the coffin of Apple’s monopoly on collecting payment for apps. The Cupertino-based company has, of course, appealed the decision.

Some app providers are dependent on Apple’s App Store, and Apple takes advantage of that dependency. Apple has special responsibilities because of its dominant position. That is why Apple needs to take seriously the interests of app providers too, and set reasonable conditions. That is what we are forcing Apple to do with this order.

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Budget Issues Could Delay DoJ Probes Into Apple And Google

Charlotte Henry ·

U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) probes into Apple and Google could be delayed until spring 2022. Politico reported that the delay is due to ongoing budget issues.

Now the decision on going to court is likely to come in March or later because of continued discussions about where to file and who will make the call, the two people told POLITICO. They spoke anonymously to discuss internal DOJ deliberations. Another major concern for the department is the likely expense of a court battle with the two companies, each of which has a market value exceeding $1 trillion. That issue became more fraught this week when Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) torpedoed Democrats’ Build Back Better package, which would have given DOJ a $500 million boost for antitrust enforcement.

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Steve Jobs Returned to Apple 25 Years Ago

Charlotte Henry ·

This week marks a major landmark in Apple history. It’s 25 years since the company acquired NeXT and Steve Jobs returned. MacRumors has a good reflection on the episode.

“With this merger, the advanced software from NeXT will be married with Apple’s very high-volume hardware platforms and marketing channels to create another breakthrough, leapfrogging existing platforms, and fueling Apple and the industry copy cats for the next ten years and beyond,” said Jobs. “I still have very deep feelings for Apple, and it gives me great joy to play a role in architecting Apple’s future.” Jobs initially returned to Apple as an advisor, making his first appearance at Macworld San Francisco in January 1997 to announce details of how Apple planned to incorporate NeXT technology into future releases of Mac OS. Jobs went on to replace Amelio as the company’s interim CEO just nine months later, and he ended up dropping the interim title and remaining CEO until stepping down in August 2011 due to health issues.