Posts in Linked

MotionVFX Team Joins Apple→

Source: MotionVFX.

Source: MotionVFX.

Earlier today, MacRumors reported that MotionVFX was acquired by Apple. Based in Poland, MotionVFX has been a go-to resource for YouTubers and other creators for years with its highly-regarded plugins, templates, and tools for Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve, and other apps.

According to MotionVFX’s note:

For over 15 years, we’ve been on a mission to create world-class, visually inspiring content and effects for video editors. From the very beginning, we’ve been all about quality, ease of use, and great design. These are also the values that we admire most in Apple’s products, and we’re thrilled to be able to embrace them together.

This is exciting news for anyone who uses Final Cut Pro. My hope is that the acquisition will result in MotionVFX’s plugins making their way into Creator Studio and being extended to the iPad. For the Mac, that would add a lot of value to Creator Studio. For the iPad, it would add plugin support for the first time, a feature I expected Apple to have shipped by now.

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“This Is Not The Computer For You”→

I loved this essay by Sam Henri Gold on the MacBook Neo but, really, about where the “wrong” computer in your life can take you:

There is a certain kind of computer review that is really a permission slip. It tells you what you’re allowed to want. It locates you in a taxonomy — student, creative, professional, power user — and assigns you a product. It is helpful. It is responsible. It has very little interest in what you might become.

The MacBook Neo has attracted a lot of these reviews.

The consensus is reasonable: $599, A18 Pro, 8GB RAM, stripped-down I/O. A Chromebook killer, a first laptop, a sensible machine for sensible tasks. “If you are thinking about Xcode or Final Cut, this is not the computer for you.” The people saying this are not wrong. It is also not the point.

Nobody starts in the right place. You don’t begin with the correct tool and work sensibly within its constraints until you organically graduate to a more capable one. That is not how obsession works. Obsession works by taking whatever is available and pressing on it until it either breaks or reveals something. The machine’s limits become a map of the territory. You learn what computing actually costs by paying too much of it on hardware that can barely afford it.

(The MacBook Neo is a lovely computer that feels futuristic despite its specs. I was about to return mine, then decided to keep it because there’s something special about it. You can listen to the latest episode of Connected to hear my take on it.)

Sam’s story resonated with me because I’ve been there, not as a kid, but as a 24-year-old who needed to get work done from a hospital bed and chose to do so with an iPad. I stuck with it after that, despite a lot of people telling me it was the wrong computer for me.

Sometimes the “wrong” computer is the right obsession for you. You never know where that can take you. Go read Sam’s full story if you need a reminder of why specs don’t ultimately dictate someone’s creativity.

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Apple Is Working on an AI Music Tagging System→

Music Business Worldwide (via MacRumors) is reporting that Apple is rolling out a voluntary metadata system for identifying AI-generated content on Apple Music called Transparency Tags. Introduced by Apple in a newsletter sent to music industry partners, Transparency Tags is:

a system of disclosure labels that record labels and music distributors can begin applying to content delivered to Apple Music immediately, and will be required to use when delivering new content in [the] future.

According to Music Business Worldwide, the tagging system covers artwork, tracks, composition elements such as lyrics, and music videos. The publication quotes Apple’s newsletter as explaining that it views Transparency Tags as part of an initial effort toward giving the music industry what it needs to develop AI policies.

Although there are currently no consequences for failing to properly tag AI-generated music, Transparency Tags are a step in the right direction. The music industry and other creative industries are all grappling with how to deal with a flood of AI-generated content in a rapidly evolving environment. I don’t expect to see one approach sweep across industries any time soon, but it’s encouraging to see Apple taking a lead in pushing the conversation forward.

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David Pogue Tells the Origin Story of the iPhone in Wired’s Excerpt of His Upcoming History of Apple→

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

David Pogue’s Apple: The First 50 Years is set to be published in a week, but today, Wired has an excerpt about the origins of the iPhone. It’s a fascinating story that I’m sure most readers know, but Pogue’s excerpt contains a wealth of details and quotes from those who were there that does an excellent job of putting the events in context.

One of my favorite parts covers the prototyping of multi-touch years before the iPhone was released:

In late 2003, Apple commissioned FingerWorks to build a bigger version of their multi-touch pad: 12 x 9.5 inches, a better approximation of a computer screen’s size. Kerr’s team set up a test rig in the design studio of Infinite Loop 2. They mounted an LCD projector on a tripod, shining directly down onto the trackpad. They taped a sheet of white paper over it so that the projector’s image—generated by a nearby Power Mac—would be bright and clear. Then the fun began: developing ways to interact with the on-screen elements. You could slide a finger to move an icon in the projected image. You could spread two fingers apart to enlarge a map or a photo. Using both hands, you could tap, move, and stretch objects. It was magical.

If Wired’s excerpt today is any indication of the rest of the 600-page book, it should be a great read.

David Pogue’s Apple: The First 50 Years is set to be released on March 10, but it can be preordered now in the Apple Books app, from Amazon, and from other retailers.

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The Steve Jobs Archive’s Letters to a Young Creator→

Source: Steve Jobs Archive.

Source: Steve Jobs Archive.

The Steve Jobs Archive has published a collection of Letters to a Young Creator featuring reflections from luminaries in a wide range of fields answering questions posed by SJA Fellows.

Contributors include Tadao Ando, Paola Antonelli, Mario Bellini, Larry Brilliant, Anders Byriel, Ed Catmull, Jon M. Chu, Lee Clow, Tim Cook, Brunello Cucinelli, Es Devlin, Pete Docter, Mickey Drexler, Lord Norman Foster, Davis Guggenheim, Jenny Holzer, Bob Iger, Jimmy Iovine, Jony Ive, Rashid Johnson, Alan Kay, David Kelley, Marc Newson, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Ben Okri, Dieter Rams, Alice Rawsthorn, Arthur Rock, Ruth Rogers, Samuel Ross, Cindy Sherman, Mona Simpson, and Anna Deavere Smith, as well as an introduction by Laurene Powell Jobs.

Released on the anniversary of what would have been Steve Jobs’ 71st birthday, Powell Jobs explains:

To live a life of creativity and curiosity, one must constantly ask questions. Steve thrived by seeking out people who could offer new knowledge and fresh perspectives, and he surrounded himself with diverse voices—musicians, artists, scientists, designers, engineers, writers, and humanitarians. He would often pose a thought and then pause to listen, understanding that learning and growth can only come from having the courage to challenge our limits and broaden our horizons.

I’ve only scratched the surface of the collection, but I can tell that this is my sort of catnip. Powell Jobs captures the essence of the collection well:

This is a time to live your questions. The beauty of answers, when they do come, is that they allow us to ask new and better questions. Life is learning how much we have yet to learn.

Letters to a Young Creator is available online, from Apple Books, and as a downloadable EPUB file.

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Apple Announces a March 4th Press Event→

Source: MacRumors.

Source: MacRumors.

Apple has invited members of the press to what it’s calling a “special Apple Experience” that will take place on March 4th at 9:00 am Eastern U.S. time in New York, London, and Shanghai, according to MacRumors. There’s no word yet on whether the event will be livestreamed.

With several products rumored to be getting updates in 2026, it’s hard to guess what’s planned, although in the past, Apple has launched or refreshed products like the iPhone 16e, iPads, and the MacBook Air around this time of year. It’s also notable that Apple is planning the event for multiple locations around the world. That certainly makes it more accessible than a single event in Cupertino, which is good to see.

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OpenClaw Creator Peter Steinberger Joins OpenAI→

Peter Steinberger, the developer behind OpenClaw that was launched and took off barely a month ago and has already had three names, is joining OpenAI. In addition, OpenClaw is moving to a foundation where it will remain an open-source project.

As Steinberger explains on his website:

It’s always been important to me that OpenClaw stays open source and given the freedom to flourish. Ultimately, I felt OpenAI was the best place to continue pushing on my vision and expand its reach. The more I talked with the people there, the clearer it became that we both share the same vision.

The community around OpenClaw is something magical and OpenAI has made strong commitments to enable me to dedicate my time to it and already sponsors the project. To get this into a proper structure I’m working on making it a foundation. It will stay a place for thinkers, hackers and people that want a way to own their data, with the goal of supporting even more models and companies.

The AI world has been talking about agents for more than a year, but it wasn’t until Steinberger’s project came along that we got software that put the idea of agents to practical use. OpenClaw may have only been just a few months old, but it captured the imaginations of users, including Federico, who has an uncanny knack for spotting the next big thing very early.

It will be interesting to see where OpenAI’s apps go next. I’ve been impressed with Codex, and with the Sky team and Steinberger on the company’s roster, I have high hopes for what they’ll do next.

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Tim Cook Attended an Exclusive Weekend Screening of the Upcoming ‘Melania’ Documentary→

The Hollywood Reporter broke the story over the weekend that an early screening of an Amazon-backed documentary about Melania Trump was held at the White House. According to reporter McKinley Franklin’s sources, the event was attended by Apple CEO Tim Cook as well as other CEOs and VIPs:

The event, which has not been promoted or advertised, is taking place in the White House on Saturday. Guests include director Brett Ratner; Queen Rania of Jordan; Zoom CEO Eric Yuan; Apple CEO Tim Cook; New York Stock Exchange CEO Lynn Martin; AMD CEO Lisa Su; Mike Tyson; socialite and Fiat heiress Azzi Agnelli; self-help guru Tony Robbins; and photographer Ellen von Unwerth, who shot the movie poster for the film.

Earlier that day, a Minneapolis man was shot and killed by federal agents. I’d like to think that in the face of such a tragedy the screening would have been called off or that attendees, including Cook, would have been no-shows, but according to Rolling Stone editor Marlow Stern, Cook and others did attend.

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