Linked List: February 3, 2017

Friday, 3 February 2017

The Making of Apple’s HAL Commercial for the Super Bowl ★

A long, detailed, fascinating story involving Stanley Kubrick, Steve Jobs, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and the Super Bowl? Yeah, pretty good odds I’d link to this.

An Extra Week ★

Interesting post from Jeff Johnson:

Apple stated that Q1 FY2017 was an all-time record for quarterly revenue. The media dutifully and mostly uncritically spread this “great” news for Apple. But the headlines were fake news. Technically the claim is true, the revenue was an all-time record. True but misleading. Although Apple didn’t lie as such, you might say there was a sin of omission, and a definite spin of the facts. Most Apple fiscal quarters are 13 weeks long. Once in a while, however, they need a 14 week quarter. You might call it a “leap quarter”. There was a good explanation of this financial practice a few years ago in Slate. Apple’s Q1 2017 was a 14 week quarter, for the first time since Q1 2013.

Adjusted for the extra week, Apple actually had another down quarter. I’m surprised I didn’t hear more about this when results came out. I don’t think it’s quite right to ding the quarter by a full 8 percent — the entire last week started with Christmas day — but surely some sort of correction is necessary for year-over-year comparisons.

Update: Jason Snell on the “leap” week:

But, for better or for worse, the window we get into Apple’s finances is based on its financial statements — and that means the quarters as Apple defines it. This was a record quarter for Apple. But it’s also fair to point out that Apple’s definition gives it a one-time windfall, an extra week of sales that it won’t get again for another few years. And it’s a windfall that next year’s year-over-year holiday-quarter comparison will have to overcome in one fewer week.

Gordon Mah Ung Goes Deep Testing the Battery Life of the New MacBook Pros ★

Simply exceptional deep dive into the battery life of the new MacBook Pros. Must-read piece. Very fair, and very thorough.

Should iOS 10.3’s App Store Rating Prompts Be Notifications Instead of Alerts? ★

Supertop’s Oisin Prendiville has an interesting proposal:

I believe that the notification pattern could improve the effectiveness of the rating feature.

An app requests that the user be prompted.

iOS decides based on policy whether it is appropriate to show a request.

If iOS decides to show the request, the interface slides down from the top of the screen like a notification.

I’m on the fence about his idea. There’s no question that the current design in the 10.3 betas (the modal alert) is more intrusive. But developers get to decide when it appears. That means, if they’re hoping for positive reviews, it’s in their own interest to show it after the user has done something, not while they are doing it. I’d bet that Apple considered something pretty much exactly like what Prendiville is suggesting.

LG Has Redesigned Its 5K Mac Monitor So It Can Handle Being Placed Near a Wi-Fi Router ★

Ina Fried, writing for Recode:

LG has found a fix for a problem that left its high-end Mac monitor unable to work properly when placed within a few feet of a router. An LG spokesman told Recode that the company is adding additional shielding to newly manufactured models. […]

Existing models will be able to be retrofitted with the enhanced shielding, which will allow the monitor to be placed near a router.

That’s a lot of fun, packing up a 27-inch display, shipping it to LG, and waiting for it to come back. Not a great start to Apple’s “let’s count on someone else to make the external displays for Macs” plan.

U.S. Government Reveals Over 100,000 Visas Revoked Due to Travel Ban ★

Rachel Weiner, reporting for The Washington Post:

Over 100,000 visas have been revoked as a result of President Trump’s ban on travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries, an attorney for the government revealed in Alexandria federal court Friday.

Don’t let anyone tell you this affects only a small number of people.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick to Leave Trump Advisory Council After Criticism ★

Mike Isaac, reporting for the NYT:

The tension over continuing to work with Mr. Trump reached a breaking point at Uber because Mr. Kalanick was, until Thursday, one of the most vocal proponents among tech chiefs of engaging with the president. As recently as Saturday, Mr. Kalanick had publicly said in a blog post that the best route forward was to have “a seat at the table.” He had added, “We partner around the world optimistically in the belief that by speaking up and engaging we can make a difference.”

Outside of the internal pressure, Uber faced other fallout from Mr. Kalanick’s stance. More than 200,000 customers had deleted their accounts.

Protests can work. I’m sure the internal objections from employees helped, but losing 200,000 customers in a week or two is going to get any CEO’s attention.

Elon Musk remains on the board, and issued this tepid statement.