Posts in Linked

AppStories, Episode 3: App Camp for Girls with Jean MacDonald and Grey Osten→

On this week’s episode of AppStories, we invited Jean MacDonald and Grey Osten, co-founders of App Camp for Girls, to talk about their organization and the goals of the program. App Camp for Girls, now at its fifth year, helps middle-school age girls get started with app development, and, for the first time, there will be a Camp in Chicago later this year.

Sponsored by:

  • Working Copy – a powerful Git client for iOS.
  • Narwhal – fast, gesture-based Reddit browsing.

You can listen to the episode below.

https://www.macstories.net/podcasts/appstories/episodes/3/embed/

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Connected, Episode 139: Artisanally-Raised, Hand-Crafted Yaks→

Casey Liss comes to set Federico straight about Plex in a new segment called Follow-on. Then, Stephen and Federico talk about Apple’s recent environmental push, the changes coming to the iTunes Affiliate Program and AppStories, Federico’s new podcast and website.

On this week’s Connected, Casey tells us why managing media in a Plex library isn’t so complicated and we also discuss the recent launch of AppStories. You can listen here.

Sponsored by:

  • Incapsula: Secure and accelerate your website. Connected listeners get one month free.
  • Blue Apron: A better way to cook. Get three meals free with your first purchase, and free shipping.
  • TextExpander, from Smile: Multiply your team’s productivity.
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AppStories, Episode 2: Setting Up a New iOS Device→

On this week’s episode of AppStories, we discuss setting up a new iOS device, whether we do a clean install with new iOS releases, the first apps we install, and we share some tips and tricks to make the process easier.

Sponsored by:

  • Streaks – The to-do list that helps you form good habits.
  • Where To? – Find the best places around you – wherever you are.

You can listen to the episode below.

https://www.macstories.net/podcasts/appstories/episodes/2/embed/

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The Talk Show with Apple’s Lisa Jackson→

Special guest Lisa Jackson — Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives — joins the show for an Earth Day discussion of the state of Apple’s environmental efforts: climate change, renewable energy, responsible packaging, and Apple’s new goal to create a “closed-loop supply chain”, wherein the company’s products would be manufactured entirely from recycled materials.

I enjoyed John Gruber’s interview with Apple’s Lisa Jackson on the company’s approach to various environmental initiatives. It’s a fascinating, eye-opening discussion. Take an hour of your time to listen to it. It’s obvious that some incredibly smart and talented people are working on these issues at Apple.

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Live Photos Can Now Be Embedded on the Web→

Apple’s developer site details a new API that makes it possible to embed Live Photos on the web:

This new JavaScript-based API makes it easy to embed Live Photos on your websites. In addition to enabling Live Photos on iOS and macOS, you can now let users display their Live Photos on the web.

Live Photos were first introduced in September 2015 alongside the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. Since then, their adoption across major social media platforms and other parts of the web has been slow.

Today’s news is welcome, as it will hopefully help expand the reach of Live Photos beyond the sandbox of photo apps on iOS.

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Apple Sets Goal of Making Products Without Mining the Earth→

Arielle Duhaime-Ross writes for VICE News about an ambitious new goal for Apple:

Apple has one of the most aggressive sustainability and recycling programs in tech, but it still pulls plenty of metals and toxic rare-earth materials out of the ground to make iPhones, iPads, Macbooks and other products.

That’s about to change. The company is set to announce a new, unprecedented goal for the tech industry, “to stop mining the earth altogether.”

The announcement, part of Apple’s 2017 Environment Responsibility Report released Wednesday, will commit the company to making devices entirely from recycled materials such as aluminum, copper, tin, and tungsten. But there’s one hiccup: Apple doesn’t know exactly how it’s going to make that happen.

Setting ambitious goals seems to be part of Apple’s culture, but speaking about such goals publicly before the team has reached them – or before they even know how to reach them – is very different from the company’s norm.

VICE's photo of AirPods and Apple Watch cases in artificial sweat.

VICE’s photo of AirPods and Apple Watch cases in artificial sweat.

Aside from this announcement, the piece also features interesting details about some of Apple’s other environmental efforts. One of the stranger tidbits is that Apple soaks certain products in synthetic human sweat to test their durability over time – a fact also highlighted in the company’s new environmental videos.

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Apple Improves Maps in Europe with EV Charging and Bicycle Rental Data→

Nate Lanxon reports for Bloomberg on some welcome updates to Apple Maps in Europe:

Apple Inc. is expanding the capabilities of its Maps app in Europe to help users charge their electric vehicles or find bike rental hubs.

The company has added the locations of the U.K.’s electric vehicle charging stations by incorporating data from Munich-based Cirrantic’s Moovility service, which lists re-juicing points for cars made by Tesla and Nissan, among others.

It has also added public bicycle rental and drop-off points to maps of London, New York and Paris in a catch-up to long-time mobile navigation leader Google, which has listed such stations in multiple countries for some time.

Last December Apple added ChargePoint integration to Maps to help users in the U.S. find electric vehicle chargers, so it’s nice to see something similar come to Europe.

The bicycle rental information is also welcome as Apple Maps continues branching out from simply providing directions to now being a central hub for various modes of transportation, such as ride sharing and now bicycling.

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