This week on The CultCast: Apple has powered up the new iPad so much, it’s hard to resist! We’ll tell you why we’re so excited. Plus: What you need to know about iOS 11.3; everything Apple revealed at its “field trip” event; a reliable report says Apple Watch Plus is incoming; and you asked, we […]
(via Cult of Mac – Tech and culture through an Apple lens)
March 31, 2010: The world gets its first sense of how the iPad measures up, as the first reviews hit the internet. The consensus? That there’s no Flash, no USB, no multitasking — but that it’s a whole new computing experience all the same. As USA Today writes, “The first iPad is a winner.” Getting […]
(via Cult of Mac – Tech and culture through an Apple lens)
“We have always made the parts here,” Cook said. “People just look at where the final product is assembled.” In a global world, he explained, manufacturing and assembly needs to be done in a variety of places.
Components manufactured in the U.S. are shipped abroad, with devices assembled by suppliers like Foxconn and Pegatron in China.
Cook said “political pressure” doesn’t push Apple to add U.S. jobs, as it’s something the company is already doing. As Cook often says, Apple could “only have been created in the United States,” and Apple wants to give back. “Businesses should be more than just building revenues and profits,” Cook said. “They should be building people.”
“We know that Apple could only have been created in the United States. We know that. This company would not have flourished in any other country in the world. We love this country. We are patriots. This is our country and we want to create as many jobs as we can in the U.S. We don’t need any political pressure for that.”
Apple in January outlined a five-year plan to contribute $350 billion to the U.S. economy through job creation, existing investments and manufacturing, and new investments. Apple has established an Advanced Manufacturing Fund, for example, to invest in U.S. manufacturing. Apple has thus far invested $200 million in Corning and $390 million in Finisar.
On the topic of job creation and automation, Cook said that it’s important to “get comfortable” with “the notion that education is lifelong.” Jobs, he says, will be “cannibalized over time and replaced by others.” Continuously learning is important, which is why Apple puts such a focus on teaching students of all ages to code. “The jobs of tomorrow are heavily software based,” he said.
“There’s an element of what each of us do, which will be automated over time. That’s not bad. But we need to think about training for the jobs for tomorrow, which will be software-based.”
He said he does not believe the narrative around “doom and gloom” is correct, but he does believe government and businesses need to work together on job retraining and creation for industries that are being automated. “We should not all sit around waiting for government to tell us what to do,” he said.
Tim Cook’s full interview will air on MSNBC on Friday, April 6 at 5:00 p.m. in a segment titled “Revolution: Apple Changing the World.”
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What Matters Most is Luck. Not!
During my battle-tested career, I have always heard, “Krach, you are just so lucky.” I look down at the ground and shrug my shoulders and say, “Yah, I guess I’m just lucky” or, “I was just at right place, right time.”
I am certainly blessed. Born into a loving family, growing up in the heartland of this great country in a simpler time and humble manner. I learned to appreciate the value of hard work and I grew up with an earnest desire to make a difference in the world. I’ve spent a lot of time in my life thinking about the concept of luck and what that word really means. Is it flipping a coin at a fork in the road or being dealt the right card at the right moment? Whether you choose to believe it’s karma or a blessing, there are divine moments that protect and shape us. But most of the time, I believe that we make our own luck. Luck is self-propelling and a magic that we can generate and magnify. I believe the definition of luck is when preparation meets opportunity. The harder you work, the luckier you get. I call it the Frank Wilson Theory.
When Frank Wilson joined our basketball team in 7th grade, I thought he was the luckiest guy I had ever met. He immediately emerged as the star of our squad, scoring on average a sparkling 18 points a game. I was baffled though. He could barely jump, let alone dribble, and his jump shot was extremely ugly (sorry, Frank). He was a lefty and he would awkwardly short-arm the ball toward the hoop. I just couldn’t understand how this guy could score so many points. I figured he was just lucky.
Then one day, the father of one of our teammates brought a 16-millimeter video camera to shoot one of our games. We played well and won the game, thanks to another game-winning shot from Frank. The next day at practice, the coach invited us all to watch the tape of the game. While everyone else followed the action of the game, I kept my eyes focused on Frank the entire time. As the tape played, it hit me like lightning. What Frank could do better than all of us was what he did when he didn’t have the ball. The act of getting in the right position at the right time was what mattered most. He would use his smallish frame to duck around picks and slide into open positions just under the hoop and in the corners where, when someone passed the ball, he could hit his little duck-shot with perfect accuracy.
I began to see Frank in a new light. I also began to watch him at practice. While the rest of the team was lobbing up half-court trick shots and goofing around, there was Frank running drills, by himself. What I realized, it wasn’t that Frank wasn’t lucky when it came to playing basketball—he was prepared. When the opportunity presented itself, Frank was right there, ready to make his own “luck.” That was how Frank taught me a profound lesson:
What matters most in life is what you do when nobody is looking.
Thanks to Frank, I now have a deep conviction of the importance of preparation and constantly sharpening the saw. One of the most tangible examples I can share relates to how I approach public speaking. Whether it’s for a commencement address or a quick TV appearance that will generate a mere sound bite, I will spend hours preparing for a delivery that will take just a few minutes. There have been times when my team has witnessed me spend an entire 90-minute car ride getting ready for a short 3-minute after-dinner speech. I prepare for any question that could come my way. People might applaud me for my great improvisational speaking skills without realizing how much work actually went into making it look casual and spontaneous. So if it looks like I put my foot in my mouth, there is a chance that I meant to put it there.
Similarly, anytime I go to a conference or attend an event, I take the time to memorize the LinkedIn profile of the attendees. There is no better way to meaningfully connect than jumping to the heart of finding something in common with people you “just happened” to meet. I’m fairly confident that if Dale Carnegie were still around to write an update to his classic book How To Win Friends And Influence People, he would have certainly included a chapter on memorizing not just names, but LinkedIn profiles as well (you’re welcome, LinkedIn.)
As Thomas Edison so aptly put it: “Opportunity is missed by most people because it’s dressed in overalls and looks like work.” So, Frank, if you are reading this, I’m sorry I ever thought you were lucky. Your example taught me one of the greatest lessons in life—what matters most is what you do when nobody is looking—and that is a wisdom that I have shared with many. So Frank, wherever you are in this world, I thank you. And I wish you all the luck in the world, knowing full well you don’t need it.
The post The True Definition of Luck: aka “The Frank Wilson Theory” appeared first on ReadWrite.
A new treatment for the chronic and debilitating disease multiple sclerosis (MS) has doctors throwing around phrases like “game changer.” Newsweek said it could “revolutionize care for one million Americans.” Alphr called it a “breakthrough.”
There are just a few problems, however: The experimental procedure is under scrutiny from regulators, the experiment’s web site may have overstated the effectiveness of the not-yet-proven treatment, and patients have to foot the bill.
Oh, and no one has seen the study yet.
MS causes the immune system to attack a person’s nerve cells. According a press release, the treatment combats the disease by using chemotherapy to suppress their immune system, then “resetting” it with an injection of their own stem cells taken from the blood and bone marrow.
The trial involved over 100 patients with relapsing remitting MS, in whom the disease oscillates between attacks and periods of remission. Patients were recruited from cities all over the world— Chicago, United States, Sheffield, United Kingdom, Uppsala, Sweden, and Sao Paulo, Brazil.
For at least one patient, it appears to have worked. The BBC met a now symptom-free patient who was once bedridden but is now living free of MS, she says. After the treatment, the 36-year-old woman from Rotherham in the U.K. says she was healthy enough to carry and give birth to her first child — something she thought she would never be able to do.
After a year, only one patient had relapsed in the stem cell group, compared to 39 on the standard treatment, the BBC reports. After three years, the stem cell treatment was ineffective in 6 percent of patients, versus 60 percent in the standard treatment group. The patients who underwent the stem cell transplant saw their symptoms improve overall.
Sounds good, right? But press releases and media reports don’t provide nearly enough information to call something a “breakthrough.”
The study with all the details to answer these questions has not yet been published, nor has it been peer-reviewed. Richard Burt, the chief of immunotherapy and autoimmune diseases at the Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and lead researcher on the study, plans to submit the study for publication sometime in May, a press officer from Northwestern University told Futurism.
The results reported in the BBC piece are just the preliminary findings. And that leaves a number of questions still unanswered — are these results permanent? What are the risks? Who isn’t suited to have their immune system wiped out through aggressive chemo?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also flagged some serious issues in the study’s protocol. If that sounds boring and bureaucratic, think of it this way: for a few months, the lead investigator somehow forgot to report a number of nasty side effects of the treatment, including chest infection and the worsening of conditions as diverse as vertigo, narcolepsy, stuttering, and hyperglycemia, among others.
One thing we know for sure? It’s real expensive. The BBC noted it cost patients £30,000 ($ 42,000) to receive the experimental treatment, but biomedical scientist and science writer Paul Knoepfler, who has been following the trial since last year, says it ran some patients between $ 100,000 and $ 200,000.
Clinical trials are expensive, so it’s not totally uncommon for some of the cost to be passed on to patients that want to enroll, as long as they are clear about what they are getting.
But it’s patients’ expectations where things get a little murky. In his article, Knoepfler notes how the trial’s homepage, now password-protected but still visible through Wayback Machine, seems to overpromise: the homepage indirectly references the word “cure” in several places, showcasing headlines that mention it (though in an interview Burt said he wouldn’t use that word). Overall the page makes some awfully big claims for an experimental treatment, Knoepfler notes.
And for people who decide to fork over the astronomical sum needed for the treatment, there’s a handbook offering some helpful fundraising ideas. Options include: “call your local media including the news stations, TV stations, newspapers and radio. Encourage them to do a special feature or human interest story for the cause.” Selling one’s private life to the media seems to benefit the researchers a bit more than the person desperately trying to raise funds for what they see as a life-changing treatment.
And if the treatment does become approved by regulators, those “helpful fundraising ideas” will be even more necessary for patients. In the U.K., Susan Kohlhaas, director of research at the MS Society, told the BBC that the stem cell transplant “will soon be recognized as an established treatment in England — and when that happens our priority will be making sure those who could benefit can actually get it.” That’s great for British patients that have the country’s National Health Service footing the bill. What about the U.S., where healthcare is not public and definitely not for all?
The preliminary results of the study are exciting, no question. But calling the treatment a “game changer” is, undoubtedly, premature. Until the study is properly peer-reviewed and published, patients looking for a breakthrough intervention for MS should proceed with caution. And keep their personal stories, and their hard-earned cash, to themselves.
The post That “Game Changer” Treatment for MS Is Too Good To Be True — Really appeared first on Futurism.
Apple’s huge lead over Samsung in mobile facial recognition won’t be threatened anytime this year. Samsung is supposedly working on adding a 3D mapping facial recognition sensor to its next flagship smartphone, but according to a report from Asia, the supplier won’t have it ready until 2019. Israeli startup Mantis Vision is allegedly collaborating on […]
(via Cult of Mac – Tech and culture through an Apple lens)
Samsung launched a smartphone with face-recognition ahead of Apple, but its efforts to date have been far from impressive as they are only 2D. Even the latest Samsung iteration can be fooled by both photos and videos, but that may be set to change …
One of the coolest gadgets I saw CES, according to myself, my friends, and my family, was the Pionears Wireless Earbuds ($ 69.99) from Origaudio. At first glance, it looks like an oversized Zippo lighter (about the size of a deck of playing cards), but it’s really a charging case for two remarkably tiny earbuds. And the lid snaps open and closed (thanks to magnets) just like a lighter, but for a much healthier use case! The storage case itself has a 4,400mAh battery; and what is really cool is that it slips into a charging dock with integrated A/C wall plugs, so no cables are needed.
Related: Top 10 Bluetooth Speakers for Wireless Listening at Home and on the Go
The unit is sold in Silver or Silver with Black, but I think the all-silver version looks the best. The compact earbuds can be adorned with several sizes of ear tips. They only get three hours of battery life; but when it’s that fun whipping out your charger, maybe that’s part of the charm.
The earbuds list for $ 119.99, but as I write this, they are on sale for $ 69.99. Origaudio is generous with sales and discounts, so check its website often.
If you don’t want to be a sheep with boring earbuds, check out the Pionears Wireless Earbuds from Origaudio.
iPhone Life articles by all authors about iPhone and iPad
True Tone works by adjusting the color temperature of a device’s screen to match the surrounding ambient light, so that images on the display appear more natural and are less apt to contribute to eyestrain.
If you stand in a dimly lit room illuminated by a table lamp, for instance, a True Tone display appears warmer and yellower, much like a piece of paper would in the same light. Stand outside on an overcast day, however, and the same display looks cooler and bluer, as would the same piece of paper.
In this article, we’ll run through how to quickly enable or disable True Tone from within Control Center as well as via the Settings app. We’ll also explain how to tweak your device’s color settings to help acclimatize you to True Tone’s warmer extremes, which some users find too intense under certain conditions.
Continue reading How to Control and Tweak a True Tone Display on iPhone and iPad
The cellular-connected laptop for consumers has arrived
