Opinion

Apple killed the disc drive, but it’s for your own good

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2016

Apple is no stranger to abandoning features it thinks are heading for the graveyard of technology. I guess you could say the company invented it. The new iMac without a built-in optical drive is the perfect epitome of such forward-thinking that, however, isn't without its pitfalls.

With the revamped all-in-one desktop, club Cupertino risks alienating the old-fashioned types by inconveniencing their daily computing, at least until the rest of the industry catches up. Then again, every Apple customer has always been an early adopter in every sense of the word.

The question is, will other makers follow suit and remove rotating medias from their products? More importantly, what exactly does the new iMac tell us about a Tim Cook Apple?

iPod touch 5th generation review

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

I never planned on purchasing a new iPod touch, but the impulse bug got me. I bought one last year for testing purposes. But despite that justification, I still had buyers remorse soon afterwards. That's how bad the iPod touch 4th generation was. It lacked power, had a terrible screen, and the design was, well, disgusting.

But when Apple showed off the new iPod touch hardware last month, my interest was piqued. Still reeling, though, from the 4th generation product, I kept myself from getting too excited about it.

Unfortunately (thankfully?) I struggle to control myself when it comes to Apple product purchases. But that lack of control allowed me to witness first hand a marvelous turnaround to the iPod touch line. Yes, the iPod touch 5th generation shares little with the previous generation hardware, and that's a good thing.

Indeed, the new iPod touch is — wow — it's actually good. I mean, it's really good. If you haven't yet seen it in person, you owe it to yourself to check out this review...

Why Square buying design shop 80/20 matters

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 6, 2018

News made rounds earlier today that Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey's another startup, Square, just snapped up design shop 80/20. Square makes an awesome iPhone and Android payment solution based on a credit card dongle and it recently teamed up with Starbucks on micro-payments.

Headquartered in New York, 80/20 is renowned for its design work on user interfaces. They did a dashboard for the electric vehicle company Better Place and a sexy fitness-tracking watch for Google's subsidiary Motorola.

Here's why Square and 80/20 are a natural fit, why the deal makes in a greater scheme of things and why you should care...

Initial thoughts on the iPhone 5

Cody Lee ∙ September 16, 2012

Designing and developing a new iPhone every year has to be one of the most difficult things Apple does. Essentially, it has to take the world's most popular smartphone, not to mention its biggest money-maker, and make it different enough so people will buy it, but not so different that it messes up the obviously-winning formula.

That's a tall order. And it was probably even tougher this year due to seemingly higher expectations and stiff competition from Samsung, and others.

So was Apple able to pull it off?

An interesting case for why Apple may call it the iPhone 5

Cody Lee ∙ August 14, 2012

While it seems we know just about everything there is to know about Apple's next smartphone — looks, features, launch date — there is one thing that still remains a mystery: what's Apple going to call it?

According to our poll we conducted last month on the topic, the two most likely candidates are "the new iPhone" and the "iPhone 5." And if you think that Apple would never call it the iPhone 5, read this...

3 reasons to get excited about this year’s iPhone

Cody Lee ∙ July 16, 2012

It's October 4th, 2011, and Apple is hosting its highly anticipated iPhone event. SVP of Marketing Phil Schiller is on stage, and after about 5 minutes of discussing changes to the iPod line, he utters the words that everyone has been waiting to hear: "Next, iPhone."

A sense of disappointment spread throughout the tech world as Schiller went on to unveil a familiar-looking iPhone 4S. Where was this teardrop-shaped iPhone 5 that we had been hearing so much about? With the bigger screen, and LTE? What about all of those leaked cases?

Of course, the 4S would go on to be a huge hit for Apple. But the whole experience has left a lot of consumers with low expectations for this year's iPhone release. Well it's time to raise them. There are actually a few reasons why you should be excited about Apple's next handset...

Why Apple absolutely MUST respond to Amazon and Google with iPad mini

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 13, 2016

I just read this argument how anyone that thinks Apple might do an iPad mini because of the Kindle Fire or Nexus 7 should be banned from writing about Apple. Seriously? I'd wager it's the other way round. Apple absolutely cannot afford to sit on the sidelines while Amazon and Google take over its prospective customers on the low-end and lock them into their ecosystems.

Yes, Apple knows all too well that Google's $199 Nexus 7 is a game-changer. Tim Cook understands this thing is gonna be big and you can bet he'll do something about it. Why else do you think Apple has started alerting the press that it's been working on a seven-inch competitor...

Thoughts on the rumored 7-inch iPad

Cody Lee ∙ June 29, 2012

It was inevitable that after Google's Nexus 7 announcement, the "iPad Mini" rumors would start surfacing again. The 7-inch Asus-branded tablet has garnered quite a bit of attention this week.

Apple has long been believed to be working on its own 7-inch slate, with reports coming from both Apple-insiders and news outlets alike that such a product exists. But will we ever see it?

Apple’s anti-Big Brother patent could help with de-Googlification of iOS

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 24, 2012

It's virtually impossible to find a business that doesn't mine data on its users, be it your local grocery store or an online-only outlet which carries digital warez. And it doesn't matter whether you're a prospective buyer browsing a collection of books on Amazon or a repeat customer using your credit card to purchase intangibles.

One way or another, you're getting profiled. It's happening all the time and all around us, insofar as we don't even pay notice though we should. Even searching the web leaves valuable data in server logs that can and is being traced to your anonymized profile. What you're getting in return is a more personalized experience and certain businesses like social networks (Facebook, Google+ and so forth) literally depend on this idea.

Apple begs to differ. Suggesting the practice is getting out of hand, the company scored a huge patent win for techniques that could make data profiling more difficult and the iOS ecosystem a place devoid of aggressive advertising...

On iPad not being for working and learning

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 22, 2012

Notebook vendors are clinging their hope to a fall launch of Windows 8 and Intel's Ivy Bridge chips, thinking it'll help reinvigorate interest in notebooks. Now, notebooks and portables in general have seen modest, single-digit growth in the past two years because a portion of the consumers' budget has been absorbed due to iPad demand. So, what gives?

Apple’s most underrated WWDC announcement

Cody Lee ∙ June 14, 2012

Looking back at it, there was no shortage of announcements during Apple's WWDC keynote on Monday. An all-new MacBook model, major updates to its desktop and mobile operating systems, and a new Maps app — not bad for an afternoon.

But amongst all of the oohs and ahhs of the new products and updates, there was one particular announcement that sort of flew under the radar. According to Apple, it now has more than 400 million active credit card-linked iTunes accounts...

Why iOS devices are easier to hack and customize than Android ones

Cody Lee ∙ June 9, 2012

I've always tinkered with my devices, regardless of their OS. I remember installing leaked versions of RIM's OS 6 on my old BlackBerry Bold, and rooting my Android handsets to install the latest ROMs.

But out of all of those experiences, I can honestly say that hacking devices, customizing them and installing tweaks, is much easier to do on iOS than it is on any other platform — even the "open" Android...