Linked List: June 26, 2018

Tuesday, 26 June 2018

Adam Lashinsky Interviews Tim Cook at Fortune’s CEO Initiative 

Really interesting interview, with Cook giving his perspective on how he views his job as CEO. (Kind of goes off the rails at the very end, when they take a few questions from the audience. Questions from the audience almost never go well — they interrupt the conversational flow.)

Jason Snell on MacOS Mojave 

Long, detailed look at Mac OS 10.14 Mojave from Jason Snell:

Personally, I’m more excited about macOS Mojave than any recent macOS beta. The new dark mode alone is a huge change in what we have come to think of as the Mac interface, and the changes to Finder have an awful lot of potential. I’m also really happy to be able to control my HomeKit devices directly from my Mac, either via the Home app or Siri.

I’m really excited about the improved Automator support in the Finder. It’s a real “This is what makes the Mac the Mac” feature.

Marzipan as a Path to ARM-Based Macs 

Gus Mueller:

Apple has dropped legacy frameworks very easily in the past though. But how exactly did that happen?

CPU changes. Once when MacOS went from PPC to Intel, and then once when MacOS went from 32 bit to 64 bit. Each time that transition happened Apple was able to say “OK, this legacy stuff just isn’t going to be there on the new architecture”. And since you had to recompile apps anyway to make them run on the new architecture, developers kind of shrugged and said “Well, yea. That’s what I would have done too”. It made sense.

So are we about to see 128 bit Intel processors anytime soon, to facilitate this change? I doubt it.

OK then, what about a new architecture?

Oh. Hello 64 bit ARM.

MacStories’s Favorite iOS 12 Tidbits 

Federico Viticci:

Previously available only on 3D Touch-enabled iPhones or with a two-finger swipe on the iPad’s keyboard, trackpad mode can be activated in a much easier way in iOS 12: just tap & hold on the space bar until the keyboard becomes a trackpad. This mode (seemingly inspired by Gboard and other custom keyboards with a similar implementation) gives owners of iPhones without 3D Touch a way to more precisely control the cursor in text fields. Those who follow Apple rumors claim this feature has been shipped in preparation for a new iPhone without 3D Touch later this year; for now, it’s just a nice way to toggle trackpad mode if you’re using an iPhone 5s, SE, or 6.

One of my favorite features in iOS — once you get in the habit of using it, you can’t go back.

Instagram Launches IGTV 

Instagram:

Today, we have two big announcements to share. First, Instagram is now a global community of one billion! Since our launch in 2010, we’ve watched with amazement as the community has flourished and grown. This is a major accomplishment — so from all of us at Instagram, thank you!

Second, we’re announcing our most exciting feature to date: IGTV, a new app for watching long-form, vertical video from your favorite Instagram creators, like LaurDIY posting her newest project or King Bach sharing his latest comedy skit. While there’s a stand-alone IGTV app, you’ll also be able to watch from within the Instagram app so the entire community of one billion can use it from the very start.

Vertical video just seems weird to me, but I wouldn’t bet against IGTV. As Kevin Systrom succinctly explained on stage at the event introducing IGTV, teenagers consume video differently, and for many, the phone is their most important screen for watching video. Instagram has built up its own universe of celebrities. It feels like Instagram is to today’s teens what MTV was to my generation.

Two Keyboards at a Bar 

Michael Lopp:

The bar is full. Two keyboards sit at the bar: APPLE EXTENDED II and MACBOOK PRO. The front door opens, TOUCHBAR looks around, sees the two keyboards at the bar, grins, and heads their direction. Skipping.

APPLE EXTENDED II sits at the bar nursing a Macallan 18. Next to him is MACBOOK PRO who has not taken a sip of his glass of water.

I enjoyed this so much.

Apple News Launches 2018 Midterm Elections Section 

Apple Newsroom:

“Today more than ever people want information from reliable sources, especially when it comes to making voting decisions,” said Lauren Kern, editor-in-chief of Apple News. “An election is not just a contest; it should raise conversations and spark national discourse. By presenting quality news from trustworthy sources and curating a diverse range of opinions, Apple News aims to be a responsible steward of those conversations and help readers understand the candidates and the issues.”

Curation has been a guiding principle across Apple News since launch, with a team of editors focused on discovering and spotlighting well-sourced fact-based stories to provide readers with relevant, reliable news and information from a wide range of publishers.

“Well-sourced fact-based stories” — that’s pretty clearly meant as a fundamental point of distinction from Facebook and Twitter’s algorithmic news feeds. I find myself using Apple News a lot, and feel like Daring Fireball is overdue to support it better.