This is a really interesting move, in keeping with Apple's recent trend towards health. I can't help but wonder if Steve Jobs's own liver transplant inspired this feature.
Facebook has been encouraging organ donation since 2013, and just a day after they launched that functionality, Johns Hopkins reported a 21-fold uptick in interest. I can only wonder what impact Apple's feature will have on increasing awareness. Either way, I applaud them for their continued commitment to such noble causes.
I've been a fan of wireless charging for a couple of years now. First Duracell Powermat and now the open Qi standard. It's pretty easy to find cases or case inserts that make your iPhone compatible with wireless charging pads, and of course many Android and Windows Phones come with wireless charging built in. Apple is rumored to be considering this for the next iPhone, but in the meantime, Mophie is adding it to their battery cases.
This strikes me as a very smart move on Mophie's part for a couple of reasons. First of all, accessory manufacturers have flooded the market with battery cases, driving down the prices consumers are willing to pay. Mophie needed to do something to differentiate their premium-priced products. Secondly, it seems to me that if Apple does add wireless charging to the next iPhone, this is a great way to bring that feature to iPhone 6/6s owners.
All in all, I say bravo, Mophie. It's not clear whether this case is compatible with the existing Qi standard, but that would make me seriously consider picking up one of these bad boys.
Mophie's new iPhone cases let you charge wirelessly | Mophie
If this is essentially SlingTV without all the downsides, it could be very compelling. More than anything, though, I would love to see one of these services allow users to authenticate online and access each network's individual web video and set-top box video offerings. If I could log into FX and HBO and HGTV to access their apps through my Hulu account the way many people do with their Xfinity accounts, for example, I'd be perfectly content.
“Hulu hasn’t set a price for its planned service but Sanford C. Bernstein media analyst Todd Juenger estimated that it would likely cost around $40 a month. An executive close to Hulu said that figure was in the ballpark.
The service will likely also offer a cloud-based digital video recorder and a way for viewers to watch past episodes of shows on-demand, as they can do on many cable and satellite TV services. Hulu is planning on having targeted advertising in its service, according to the people familiar.”
Hulu Is Developing a Cable-Style Online TV Service | Wall Street Journal
Federico Viticci's annual iOS wishlist landed today with a splash. This year's edition is bigger and more robust than ever, and it is accompanied by a concept video. Great stuff here. If Apple announced even half these features at WWDC this summer, we'd be lucky.
Concept by Federico Viticci and Sam Beckett. Read the article: https://www.macstories.net/stories/ios-10-wishes/ Discuss this video: https://twitter.com/viticci 'Making Of' coming exclusively to Club MacStories members: https://club.macstories.net Special Thanks Sam Beckett John Voorhees Myke Hurley Stephen Hackett Graham Spencer Alex Guyot TJ Luoma Silvia Gatta CGP Grey
iOS 10 Wishes and Concept Video | MacStories
As it turns out, the Echo was originally named the Amazon Flash, and it was part of a secret augmented reality project, but ended up being a sneaky success all on its own.
The Real Story of How Amazon Built the Echo | Bloomberg
As much as podcasts are rapidly gaining popularity, audio still has to fight an uphill battle against video content on Facebook.
“Trust me, this is really, really great even though you don’t know who’s talking and there’s nothing to look at and I’m asking you to focus for 40 seconds!”
Can audio go viral on Facebook? Here’s what happened when NPR ran an experiment for a month | NiemanLab
Science rules. That is all.
Here's the landing. Wow. Just wow. #SpaceX pic.twitter.com/GBYrFtrBE3
— Miriam Kramer (@mirikramer) April 8, 2016
Fifth time's the charm: SpaceX finally lands on its drone ship in the ocean | Mashable