App Store Sees Record-Breaking Numbers

Apple has announced that its App Store had a fantastic run in 2017, especially during the holiday season leading up to the new year.

App Store customers around the world made apps and games a bigger part of their holiday season in 2017 than ever before, culminating in $300 million in purchases made on New Year’s Day 2018. During the week starting on Christmas Eve, a record number of customers made purchases or downloaded apps from the App Store, spending over $890 million in that seven-day period.

Apple says that it paid out $26.5 Billion to iOS developers, an increase of over 30 percent compared to 2016. Since its launch in 2008, the App Store has made $86 Billion for iOS developers around the world.

The new App Store introduced in iOS 11 got a lot of things right, and Apple knocked it out of the park with their approach. I’m loving the curation on the US App Store — I just wish I had landed that App Store Editor job I had applied for at Apple India.

January 5, 2018 ✚ Permalink

A Look at What the T2 Chip Does in the iMac Pro

The new iMac Pro that went on sale last month includes a new custom chip built by Apple that the company is calling the T2. Jason Snell, writing for Macworld, has an interesting look at all the various functions and responsibilities that the custom T2 Chip handles in the iMac Pro.

[…] this new Mac is completely different from all past Mac models.

The iMac Pro may be an outlier today, but in the future we’ll probably look back on it as the start of a new era for the Mac, all because of the Apple-built T2 chip it carries inside.

January 4, 2018 ✚ Permalink

Apple Developer Program Membership Fee Waivers

We’re pleased to announce that Apple Developer Program membership is now available at no cost for eligible organizations. Nonprofit organizations, accredited educational institutions, and government entities based in the United States that will distribute only free apps on the App Store can request to have their annual membership fee waived.

If you’re a nonprofit organization, accredited educational institution, or government entity based in the United States and plan to distribute only free apps on the App Store, you’re eligible for this fee waiver. You have to apply and wait for Apple to review your request and approve it.

I hope this comes to other countries as well.

January 4, 2018 ✚ Permalink

A Tear Down of the new iMac Pro

The folks at MacSales.com got their hands on a new iMac Pro and of course got down to tearing it down to reveal what’s on the inside.

The iMac Pro is a gorgeous machine on the outside, but as this video shows, it’s far more beautiful on the inside too. The tight integration of components in the little available space is handled incredibly well by Apple.

December 28, 2017 ✚ Permalink

Three Video Essays about David Fincher’s Work

I’ve recently started watching and appreciating David Fincher’s work in TV Shows and Films. Of course, I’ve watched and liked Fincher’s work in the past, but lately, I’ve started noticing the little touches, the attention to detail, the use of VFX at atypical places and have started to greatly appreciate his work and his craft. The Social Network is one of my favorite films, not because of the subject matter, but because of the way Fincher has presented the subject matter on screen.

Here are three video essays that will help you appreciate Fincher’s work in greater detail:

How David Fincher Hijacks Your Eyes

David Fincher: Invisible Details

David Fincher – And the Other Way is Wrong

December 5, 2017 ✚ Permalink

Ars Technica Reviews the Pixel Buds by Google

Sam Machkovech, reviewing the Google Pixel Buds for Ars Technica:

[…] the best thing we can say about the Pixel Buds is that you’re less likely to lose them than Apple’s wireless product.

????

November 21, 2017 ✚ Permalink

WD My Passport Wireless Pro Review

Over on SharpShutter.co, I posted my review of the WD My Passport Wireless Pro — a stellar portable storage device from Western Digital.

I’ll go ahead and say it. The WD My Passport Wireless Pro Hard Disk Drive is not just an essential tool to carry around for photographers and cinematographers, it is also one of the best backup and storage options out there to have in your toolkit today. WD has knocked it out of the park with this product and having spent about a month reviewing this product, I can confidently say this is by far my favorite WD product ever.

The WD My Passport Wireless Pro is priced as follows in India:

1TB model: Rs. 11,000
2TB model: Rs. 14,500
4TB model: Rs. 18,500

October 27, 2017 ✚ Permalink

Twitter Announces it will “Off-board” Advertising from RT and Sputnik

Twitter has made the policy decision to off-board advertising from all accounts owned by Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik, effective immediately. This decision was based on the retrospective work we’ve been doing around the 2016 U.S. election and the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusion that both RT and Sputnik attempted to interfere with the election on behalf of the Russian government.

Hmm.

Also,

Twitter has also decided to take the $1.9 million we are projected to have earned from RT global advertising since they became an advertiser in 2011, which includes the $274,100 in 2016 U.S.-based advertising that we highlighted in our September 28 blog post, and donate those funds to support external research into the use of Twitter in civic engagement and elections, including use of malicious automation and misinformation, with an initial focus on elections and automation.

Wow!

October 26, 2017 ✚ Permalink