Report: Google is the default iPhone search engine because it paid Apple $1 billion →

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Caitlin McGarry, writing for PCWorld:

"Apple has admonished Google for violating user privacy with practices like mining emails for keywords to generate ad revenue. Now we know that Apple financially benefits from Google’s ad-targeting practices."

This quote (and  the article's headline) strikes me as bothersome. First-- Google has a revenue sharing agreement with Apple on search ad revenue. They didn't cut Apple a check for $1 billion up front to exclude other search engines. The arrangement is performance-based. It doesn't seem as if there's any sort of barrier to MS's Bing outbidding Google for the same arrangement. 

As for the quote-- this statement simply doesn't ring true. In fact, Apple's making money on search ads-- ads that have context based not on scanned emails but on terms that users input to a search engine for the purpose of receiving a contextually relevant response as output. The ads they receive are based on the search terms, not on scans of email or browser tracking.

Disappointing.

Stern takes on the Universal Remote →

Joanna Stern recently published a piece in her personal technology column over at the Wall Street Journal that details her frustration with television remote controls in the age of increasingly complex set-top-box and audio set-ups. 

In typical awesome sauce Stern fashion, she surveys the best available products on the market and gives the user a recommendation- if one's warranted. 

Her conclusions however, throw me off. While the Ray Super Remote is impressive, it lacks something essential to a great experience-- tactile buttons for all of the major functions. The problem with the thing is that except for strange volume buttons the device is all screen, meaning that one has to look at IT rather than the content, when one wants to change an aspect of the viewing experience. God forbid that experience is taking part in a dark room, and suddenly you've got white LEDs shooting light at your face, violently throwing you out of your cinematic experience, along with anyone who may be sitting beside you. That's a problem. With any such device, one's fingers should be able to do the talking without their eyes having to get involved.

More problematic is the Ray Super Remote's $250 price. And old iPhone 5 or 5S does nearly everything the Ray Super Remote does and you've already paid it off and can easily power it since you've likely got chords lying around. If Ray made a Lightning-based IR dongle that would make more sense; which is why the Peel route seems the most proper for the touch-screen approach.

Still, you're forced to deal with a screen, which is less than ideal.

I'll extend that criticism to one of my fav devices, Google's Chromecast. As Stern rightly points out, the idea that I've got to unlock my device to get it to the remote function is a pain.

It may be that right now, Apple has the right of it with the Apple TV 4's remote. The touch -based navigation surface, tied to buttons is impressive. Voice is likewise impressive but frankly, talking is the last thing I want to do when I'm enjoying something in front of me. I also have to admit that I suffer from feeling a little silly talking to a computer in front of anyone but my cats.

Unlike most consumer technologies, there may not be a "winner take all" product in this category yet. Preference is everything here, so screens have their proponents. Some of those proponents aren't even watchers-- rather they're marketers hoping that the second screen, be it phone, tablet or remote, can be a place to grab eyeballs for advertisements in an age of increasingly ad-free digital streaming.

At the end of the day, this space is suffering from the frustration that many consumers are feeling in the connected home. These devices need a shared protocol not unlike ZigBee or zWave with which to communicate with one another. Are the speakers on or off? Set to the right input? Output? One thing is clear. The next generation of home theatre peripherals should incorporate that sort of communication functionality in order to make life much easier for the consumer. It would also represent a paradigm shift that would engender sales.

Griffin's BreakSafe Magnetic USB-C adapter →

I've recently been in the market for a new laptop. The Macbook seemed attractive at first because it's thin, light, and sufficiently powerful for a daily driver.

But then one notices that it's missing the one thing that convinced me that Apple's laptop hardware was thoughtful, all those years ago when I started my romance with their products: Magsafe. 

For all the tradeoffs that a general purpose computer could have, this one boggles my mind the most. The statement that one port on a computer makes is... big. But making that big statement while taking away a truly key feature is.... bizarre. We would ooo and ahh about the awesome new keyboard, the thinness, lightness, power, and battery life fine and not at all begrudge that port sitting next to a MagSafe power cord. 

If this Macbook truly indicates where Apple is taking it's laptops, I'd feel compelled to pop it on the list of Apple's questionable design choices for 2015. 

And I don't care what Stern says, that battery case is yuck. Not iPhone 4 's line-breaks-on-the-antenna-that-I-could-get-used-to-yuck. Just yuck.

The Verge has some more info on how accessory maker Griffin has hacked or dongled their way into getting MagSafe on the new Macbook. It's ugly, but it could literally save your Mac from a fateful crash from atop a coffee table.

PEN American Center Awards Free-Speech Prize To J.K. Rowling →

"The free-speech organization PEN American Center says it is giving its 2016 PEN/Allen award to author J.K. Rowling. The prize honors "a critically acclaimed author whose work embodies its mission to oppose repression in any form and to champion the best of humanity."

I'm not sure I see all that in Rowling's work. If looking for it is an excuse to read Harry Potter again, and more closely and deeply, then I'm all for it.

The New Yorker on the The Oscar Whiteness Machine →

Richard Brody writing for the New Yorker:

"The underlying issue of the Academy’s failure to recognize black artists is the presumption that baseline experience is white experience and that black life is a niche phenomenon, life with an asterisk. Many of the great classic jazz and blues recordings were marketed as “race records.” To this day, the Academy proceeds as if movies about black experience were race movies. The result is that only narrow and fragmentary views of the lives of African-Americans ever make it to the screen—and I think that this is not an accident. If the stories were told—if the daily lives and inner lives, the fears and fantasies, the historical echoes and the anticipations of black Americans were as copiously unfolded in movies as are those of whites—then lots of white folks would be forced to confront their historical and contemporary shame. They’d no longer be able to claim ignorance of what they’d like not to know—which includes their own complicity in a rigged system."

Remember Cool Runnings? Certainly not Oscar worthy, but certainly proof 20+ years ago, that diversity can be sold universally. Fast forward to the commercial success of the Fast and Furious franchise and the recent record-breaking Star Wars film, and it's clear that films do fine-- lo they do better than fine-- with multi-racial casts... Which is why there should be more of them, allowing for more $$$ and more representation across all genres of features.

Such action will inevitably lead to more roles for actors (of all types) in more prestigious films. The idea that accident of birth is the hallmark of talent is absurd. Access to opportunity is all that's needed to for the talented to rise. A walled garden in this respect keeps the entire art of cinema from achieving it's most impressive and vibrant expression.

The X Files - Abridged →

When the show was being produced in the 1990s, I was busy watching Babylon 5. By the time that it was the sole attraction on Friday night, I wasn't really watching TV on Friday night anymore. Time is a huge expense and this guide is just what I've been looking for when it comes to joining my fellow geeks in what's clearly a (now) decades-old cultural phenomenon.

"That said, skipping all the nonessential episodes might not be in your best interest. Because, let me tell you, there are some treasures and some stinkers, but I think we can all agree a lot of character development happens outside the mythology episodes."

 

Audi & Autopilot

The auto industry is in flux. Not chaos, not mayhem, but flux. Change. The reason? According to Scott Keogh, President of Audi, USA, it's because of three fundamental technologies that are coming to the car: connectivity, batteries, and autonomy. When looked at respectively, the implementation of each of these fundamental technologies is more difficult than the other. Most drivers understand connectivtity at a high level because they have access to smartphones. Batteries, are a different story. They're expensive, heavy, and, as of this writing, can present significant infrastructure challenges. The nuts and bolts of autonomy are harder to implement than the first two-- by a mile. And while autonomy means pretty much the same thing to everyone, it's the middle ground-- the assistive technologies that can hold subtle and perhaps confusing differences for both onlookers and consumers. 

At the high end, Audi offers recently developed technologies like adaptive cruise control and blind spot monitoring. Competitors like Tesla disallow the piecemeal approach to autonomous features, instead opting for an all-encompassing solution like "Autopilot," which combines the previously mentioned Audi technologies with others that allow for semi-autonomous driving. In an age where millions of Millennials care little for understanding the details of the technology they use, opting to choose devices that "just work," I wondered why the two approaches were so different. Deos Silicon Valley's approach represent something new and different in the space that the traditional automakers can't see or don't appreciate? Or is there something else at work here?

The fact is, that Tesla's not the first to bundle a series of in-demand techs together. As Keogh points out, what were once considered disparate features (Bluetooth audio, smartphone integration, navigation) has all come together in Audi's Connect system is virtually unchanged from the entry level A3 all the way through to the A8. Keogh breaks it down:

"I'm going to touch on three things: pricing complexity and buyer...  Let's go to the Connect system. I think that's an example in my mind that's a universal want and a universal desire which is why we have basically the same package as you work your way from A3 and work your way up to a Q7 and everything else. But if you go to something like adaptive cruise, which has a great penetration on the A6 and A8, but if you go to an A3 that's a $34,000.00 car, there's no way you're gonna get those kind of penetration levels on that thing, which is why from a marketing point of view, I think you do have to have different offerings because you have to different products going to different buyers, different customers. But if you look at Tesla, truth be told, it's the 4th car [they've developed], which is a nice thing, the average transaction price is $110-$115,000.00 and the average household income is $500,000.00. That's a good place. It's a nice, homogenous place where you can do a big bundling operation like you have since you're buyers are the same and everything's lined up. But for instance it's a whole different world to go from an A3 to that, which is why we do what we do...you homogenize to the extent possible. People want maps, they want connectivity, they want smartphones, it's a universal."

Where some see complexity, other see options. Options that make your car yours alone- in terms of affordability, and usability, etc. We'll have to see if Tesla offers Autopilot on its cup coming vehicle, the Model 3. If Keogh is right, the spread in the customer demographic may well change the way Musk and Co. need to market their newest device. 

One more thing struck out as interesting during the conversation: the use of the word "pilot".  For the Audi crew, the term autopilot seemed reserved for the type of functionality that would allow a driver to let go teh wheel and look away from the road-- decidedly NOT what Tesla is offering with their use of Autopilot, which assists the driver in various important ways but still requires direct control and road attention.

With a similar demographic at the high end, we'll see which strategy wins out, or, whether each of these auto companies will move their tech and marketing toward the middle, as cars like the E-tron consolidate an audience while cars like the Model 3 stratify it. 

DriveWise is Kia's Autonomous Driving Solution

CES, Las Vegas 2016--

Without so much as a model vehicle on stage, Kia Motors laid out a vision for the future of automobiles that was at once mundane and sobering, but yet reeked of truth. Reeked because all too often in technology press events, companies focus on so-called "wow" moments which depict would-be leaps in progress virtually overnight. Such dreams smell sweetly. Embracing the fact that for a traditional auto company to move forward with vastly complex techonlgies that stand up to the scrutiny of regulators across more than 100 countries around the world can smell pretty awful to the tech dreamers and optimists that demand all tech move as fast or faster than mobile. Kia eschewed that approach, instead delivering one of the dryest auto presentations of the season, Kia Motors delved into detail about their upcoming DriveWise system, alongside their plans for automating not only their luxury offerings, but all of their vehicles by 2030.

The Korean automaker's presentation, in lacking nearly all manner of glitz (there was a concept video), delivered hard facts, opting instead to deploy their lead researcher, Dr. Seung Ho Hwang, to lay out their vision for autonomous and connected cars: The Connected Car Trilogy;

The system begins with ADAS, the Advanced Driving Assistance program which focuses on assisting drivers in their current activities rather than fully automating them. 

From there the Kia team breaks down the various bits of their trilogy:

With Kia and Hyundai entertaining what some have called a strange relationship, there's no telling how much of these systems are unique to Kia, or re-branded versions of existing Hyundai technologies. What IS clear, is how Kia intends to implement driverless/autonomous vehicles over the next 24 years. If that timeline feels slow, that's because you've no doubt heard about Tesla Motors Autopilot program, which was deployed in late 2015 via an over-the-air update, or Google's driverless vehicle, which is undergoing testing right now and can be found live on the streets of silicon valley. 

Still, what was impressive about Kia's conference was the way in which the automaker deliberately laid out a path to action, and did so with the confidence of an automaker several decades its senior. Likewise impressive was the way that Kia's plan focus on delivering what auto experts agree is great value-- autonomous vehicles for everyone that wants them. Whether that idea is novel in 2030 is a different story. Fourteen years is a long time. To illustrate, try and remember what you thought would be impossible back in 2001, when having a standard audio jack in a car was considered a rare pleasure.

Samsung Introduces Powerful Smarthome Devices

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Despite a growing consensus that today's households are saturated with human-interaction diminishing screen-time, Korean-based Samsung has decided that the solution to meaningful family interaction involves MORE screens, rather than less. Enter their new line of connected home devices:

1) The Samsung Activewash (TM) clothes washer includes a deeper and wider sink than last year's model, allowing users to pre-treat a load right on top of their washer rather than having to locate the unit near a sink. For Front-loading machines, Samsung has added a portal-like feature that allows one to pause the cycle and subsequently shove anything from a sock to a towel or pair of jeans through to add it to the wash. Both of these devices include new controls that are set in the middle of the lid rather than in the "difficult-to-reach" rear of the machine. But wait-- what abou the screens? Both types of machines feature wifi that allows them to connect to users' phones for notifications about cycle duration and status, as well as command and control of the machines. 

2) For centuries, the kitchen has been the heart of technology in the home. We've shoved fire, ice, and water into the room and today take for granted that each appliance is something of a testament to both our oldest and newest food processing technologies. Taking that paradigm to a new level, Samsung has introduced a new version of it smart fridge. With its wifi-connection, apps and HUGE 21.5" screen, Samsung's smart fridge includes not only connectivity, but collaboration and interactivity. Citing the way the recent trend in stainless-steel finishes has removed the family's ability to use the refrigerator as a billboard for childhood art, important announcements, and novelties like magnets, Samsung has created several apps that allow families to use their smartphones to post not only images, but notes and other information on the fridge. In addition, the refrigerators can now mirror the content displayed on a user's Samsung Smart SUHD television set, so that they don't have to miss that critical moment of the Big Game while getting up to retrieve a drink or some snacks. 

Not only does the fridge watch TV, it also contains robust grocery-shopping functions, that are designed to help contemporary families save money and time when it comes to keeping their homes stocked with food. 

The most straightforward of these tactics is the fridge cam. Samsung have developed a system in which every time the users closes his or her refrigerator door, the machine take a photo of the contents of the cold Box. Users can gain access to the fridge's photos through the available Samsung app and use the image to determine what they need for the next week's stores,

At first glance there's a "who cares" reaction but apply a little thought and you begin to realize how much money (over time) you'll be able to save by checking the fridge before you buy. It's something we should all be doing before going to the store, but let's be frank-- the vast majority of us forget to. When you consider the fact that Amaricans throw out something like 45% of food, it's clear that we've got too much of it lingering in our fridges-- and some of that is from over-buying. 

The second trick that this fridge has in store for its users is deep integration with MasterCard's vendor partners like FreshDirect. Through the fridge, you can buy groceries and have them delivered to your door. No word on what the delivery cost might be, but it's an interesting way to make good on Samsung's promise to deliver technology which provides convenience by saving both time and money. 

3) The Smart TV got smarter. A lot smarter. Not only has Samsung added a complimentary USB dongle enabling support from their mid-2014 purchase of Smart Things, but the company has retooled the Smart TV interface to support a number of new and intuitive interactions. 

The Smart Things dongle enables users to vocally command any device compatible with the Smart Things hub. With the device properly installed inserted into the side of the television set, the functionality seems to mirror Amazon's Echo, which also connects to various connected home devices platforms, including Smart Things. 

The the interface update is perhaps more exciting. The Smart TV places content directly in front of users, rather than the typical app-enabled paradigm of having to click into an app in order to gain access to its content. Rather than opening Amazon Video and browsing the app, the Smart TV can lay out the trending content from Amazon or ESPN or any other connected service right as soon as the user selects that source of content. 

Further more, the television is equipped with technology that empowers it to learn various remote functions quickly and easily so that your Samsung remote can easily become your only remote. On top of all thins functionality is Samsung's ability to quickly access devices attached to the Smart TV without having to focus on changing inputs. The television seamlessly move the user over to an Xbox One or, a Time Warner's cable system. That last bit's a boon to anyone who's ever wanted to hide or get rid of their clunky cable box. 

 

On their own, all of these devices, with their robust feature sets and well honed interfaces would be compelling to even lead in their respective categories. working together, Samsung has put together a suite of devices that work well together and are accessed by the same app in a phone. This means users can just look for the Samsung brand on any of these electronics and assume that it's going to play nicely with their other Samsung devices. 

Among other items mentioned were wifi connected... 

...Which belies a significant marketing pain point: why aren't all of these devices protected under the very same brand. We've got the Galaxy phone and the Smart TV. The wifi-enabled stove and oven are all named with disparate brands. Would that I were in charge of marketing, it might be fun to rebrand the line of products to just read "Galaxy." This way phone owners would recognize immediately that this washer or TV, or other device was compatible with their phone.

But that would make too much sense. 

Apple Watch-- watch out.

Las Vegas-- CES 2016:

 

Samsung's Tizen-based Gear S2 watches will be coming to iOS in 2016. During their press conference this afternoon, Vice President of Product Marketing Alanna Cotton relayed the news that Samsung would be the second mass-market company (after Pebble) to come to Apple's iconic smartphone platform with an operating system that's native to the embedded device format.

Korean-based Samsung further announced two new versions of the Gear S2 Classic--platinum and rose gold. Notable is the fact that the format of the Gear S2 Classic hasn't changed meaning that it's unclear if females with smaller wrists will find them selves attracted to the device-- especially with the recent female-focused watches from Huawei competing for the wearable computing attention of the fairer sex.

Where are they? →

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"Hong Kong’s chief executive Leung Chun-ying said that it was “not acceptable” for Chinese police to operate independently in Hong Kong, but Leung, a Beijing loyalist, said there was “no indication” this was what had happened.

But pro-democracy lawmakers said it appeared likely Lee had been kidnapped by Chinese police, and expressed shock, anger and fear.

If confirmed, lawmakers said, Lee’s abduction would be a serious violation of the 'One Country, Two Systems' principle and the Basic Law framework that has defined Beijing’s relations with Hong since the 1997 handover from British rule."

Worrisome. Is there an official investigation?

Just Tap Ten Times →

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Ever since iOS 9 showed up, my App Store app has been acting funny. Before upgrading my phone (due to certain reports, I waited until 9.1 arrived)  the App Store would often display "Cannot Connect to App Store" on every screen but the update page. After upgrading.... Same thing.

Today, the page is just blank and it's been that way for a bit. But Quartz reported on a trick worth trying: "Tap on the tab bar of any item 10 times." They report that tapping on any item in the App Store navigation bar should clear the app's cache and get it working again. Further, this is apparently a fix for other Apple App's with caches, like iTunes and  Watch's included app. 

Why not allow users to clear caches in the app's settings page, which is clearly the most obvious place to put the tweak?

"Don't Count Fitbit out Yet" →

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 "Fitbit, an eight-year-old company, went public in June amid a wave of skepticism about the impact that Apple's new smartwatch might have on its business.

Yet Fitbit has consistently beaten Wall Street's earnings estimates in the second half of the year. On a conference call with analysts in November, Fitbit's CEO said the Apple Watch had "no material impact" on its business. And now Fitbit is proving to be one of the most popular gifts over the holiday season, a key period for gadget shopping.

Translation: Don't count Fitbit out yet."

While some may be surprised, Fitbit's resilience actually makes a lot of sense. The fact is that Christmas has always been about kids and kids today care about the one huge experiential offering that (1) Fitbit has focused on and (2) that Apple's never been able to get their products to properly exploit: Social.  

Hop into the Fitbit app and one of the first things you'll notice is that the bottom navigation bar has four items. Two of them-- Challenges and Friends are not only in the Center, but they're easy to tap on because of that location. Challenges allows you to compete against specific friends for the day, weekend or week and friends is a more casual way to see what life is like on the leaderboard. As Apple's Watch is somewhat an "all things to all people" device, the lack of focus on that Fitness component is to be expected. But it's also something that Apple may be able to overcome. 

Let's get back to kids. Kids are relatively irresponsible compared to their adult counterparts since they're still being raised. Parents factor this into their gift decisions. A) They break things. Which means if you're a parent that wants to support your post-Millennial, Generation Obesity child, and you can choose between an indestructible watch+fitness band for 

B) They're forgetful so battery life matters because they always want to play with their device. The Apple Watch lasts about 20 hours with moderate use. The Fitbit HR counts battery life in DAYS. Sleeping over at a friends for the weekend and forgot your Fitbit charger? You'll be fine. Not so for Apple Watch. 

C) Price is also a thing parents are concerned about. At $147 for the Charge HR (Amazon as of this writing) , a couple with two tweens or teens can get each of them a robust fitness device without breaking the bank. 

D) Finally, the most important thing-- interaction. The Apple Watch is wonderfully compelling. For children, that's an issue. While a Fitbit HR quietly does its thing all week long; allowing youngsters to wear it in class with little to no distractions or associated drama, the Apple Watch, like all Apple products, wants you to play with it and to pay attention to it. This isn't because it's the One Ring or anything nefarious like that but because that's what happens when devices have touch screens-- users are compelled to touch them. To a teacher, that touching, no matter how meaningful, is fiddling with a distraction. 

this isn't to say that Apple didn't have a strong showing this Christmas with their wearable. It's safe to say that they've trounced the Pebbles and Galaxy Gears and even Android Wear devices sales numbers this holiday. That's probably the more important target...not Fitbit.

 "Instead, some industry watchers now believe there are enough wrists out there for both Fitbit and Apple to succeed — at least for this holiday season."

These devices -- especially the base models are inexpensive enough to own more than one. And in 2016, that's probably what's going to happen for a lot of interested consumers; especially when the second version of the Apple Watch debuts.

Who knows? Maybe they'll buy Pebble and become the "independent wearable company." 

Quartz - More Americans are relying exclusively on their phones for Internet access →

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The cost of home broadband is just too high.

And paradoxically, we can't afford for it to be too high since:

(1) our economy requires rich connectivity to support its entertainment, software, and services-based sectors and

(2) young people need regular, cheap and abundant access to the Internet in order to become the workers and innovators of tomorrow.

The solution is simple: The broadband market must be made more competitive. Congress, in league with the FCC and the FTC can and should make this a priority.