Amazon to Acquire eero

Amazon Press Release:

Amazon […] and eero today announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Amazon will acquire eero. eero’s home mesh WiFi systems set up in minutes and blanket every room of a customer’s home in high-performing, reliable WiFi. eero is already delighting Amazon customers with its products and services, as indicated by eero’s 4.6-star product rating on Amazon.com.

eero makes one of the best mesh networking products available in the market today, so there’s no doubt that this is a killer acquisition for Amazon. But it begs the question, “What the fuck is Apple up to”?

Eero was started by ex-Apple employees, and their product language screams the Apple design language and experience. I just cannot fathom how Apple chose to exit this market right as it was heating up, and for a company that screams that privacy is a right, not having a product that handles the home network is a real shame.

February 12, 2019 ✚ Permalink

Office 365 Comes to the Mac App Store

Apple’s Press Release on their Newsroom:

Today, Office 365 is available for the first time on the Mac App Store, making it easier than ever for Mac users to download Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and the whole suite of Microsoft’s popular apps. Users can also purchase a subscription for Office 365 from within the apps, so they can get up and running instantly.

This was announced at WWDC in June last year. I wonder how much of a cut from the subscriptions is Apple getting from this.

My bet? Not a lot.

January 25, 2019 ✚ Permalink

The Twitterrific Ad Network

Gedeon Maheux, writing for The Iconfactory:

Now you can advertise your app, website, product or service directly on Twitterrific’s expansive network of tech-savvy users for just $100 a month. For that price we guarantee 1,000 tap-throughs – not impressions but actual visits – to your App Store page or website. What’s more, we take care of creating the ad for you ourselves and even provide App Analytics for iOS or Google Analytics for websites.

Twitterrific is one of the most lovingly crafted apps out there, and the folks at The Iconfactory are a bunch of incredibly passionate folks. The ads in Twitterrific are actually something you want to see and work as refreshing change from the usually clutter spreading like a parasite across the web.

If you’re an app developer, you should go check out The Twitterrific Ad Network here.

January 23, 2019 ✚ Permalink

Newest T2 Macs Include Better Built-In Audio Devices

Paul Kafasis from Rogue Amoeba has posted about this pretty interesting little improvement in the new Macs with the T2 chip that Apple currently ships:

On older Macs, the headphone jack and the internal speakers are essentially separate ports on a single output device, and only one of these ports is allowed to be active at a time. Because of this, audio can be sent to either the built-in speakers, or the headphone jack, but not to both. As well, if anything is connected to the headphone jack, the OS shuts off the built-in speaker completely.

With these new Macs, there are actually two distinct output devices. The headphone jack and the internal speakers are separate devices, completely independent from one another.

I’m not sure how practically useful this is, but it sure is interesting. I wonder if I can enable two simultaneous audio outputs, where one output is the built-in audio jack and the other is a USB-C to 3.5mm dongle.

November 12, 2018 ✚ Permalink

Airtel Opens Pre-Orders for iPhone XR in India

Airtel India has today launched pre-orders for the new Apple iPhone XR on the Airtel Online Store. The phones will start shipping on October 26th, just in time for the Diwali festivities.

The iPhone XR can be purchased from the Airtel Online Store in two ways — either at Full Price or in Easy Installments with an Airtel Postpaid connection.

If you opt for Easy Installments, you can grab the 64GB iPhone XR model with a one-time down payment of ₹14,999 and then monthly payments of ₹3499. This takes the effective price of the phone to almost ₹99,999. As part of the Postpaid connection, you get:

  • 100 GB Data per month
  • Netflix for 3 months
  • Amazon Prime
  • Free Handset Damage Protection
  • Unlimited Calling

If you are looking to purchase an iPhone XR this year, but are unable to purchase one using your banking finance options, this is a good option for you to consider. Unfortunately, though, the pricing set by Airtel is much higher compared to the other phone models available on the Online Store.

October 19, 2018 ✚ Permalink

macOS Mojave is Now Available

macOS Mojave — Apple’s newest version of its operating system for Macs is now available for download from the Mac App Store.

I installed it on my 2016 15″ MacBook Pro and the whole process took around 60 minutes. The performance hasn’t changed, and the new features are seemingly nice, though I have mixed feelings about the Dark Mode feature. It looks fantastic, but the light text on dark background is a hit-or-miss in many areas, especially in third-party apps.

September 25, 2018 ✚ Permalink

GitHub Desktop

GitHub has introduced a new Desktop app for macOS and Windows platforms today.

Extend your GitHub workflow beyond your browser with GitHub Desktop, completely redesigned with Electron. Get a unified cross-platform experience that’s completely open source and ready to customize.

If you visit the page, the H1 tag on it reads “The new Native“.

If GitHub starts pushing for Electron apps as “native”, what hopes do we have left?

April 25, 2018 ✚ Permalink

Apple Refused to Fix Their Broken iMac Pro

Linus from Linus Tech Tips explains how Apple refused to fix their iMac Pro, even if they were ready to pay for getting it fixed.

What Apple has done here is to release a brand new platform that they are unwilling and/or unable to provide support for.

This sure works as a great ad for your brand new “Pro” offering, especially when you’ve gone above and beyond to ensure that all your other “Pro” offerings are nowhere close to being Pro-level machines in reality.

April 18, 2018 ✚ Permalink