Ford tested an early Telsa prototype. “It’s not refined but man, it’s fun,” he said. He told Eberhard, “I think your technology is great, but there is a difference between being a tech company and an auto company, and some of the trivial things about being a company. auto company that you might not find … Read more
Barack Obama has a good legal mindset. But he probably didn’t use it when he talked about encryption last week. POTUS at SXSW.Occasionally, President Obama takes off his Professor of Law hat and the I Get Terrifying Briefings Every Day hat. Last week at SXSW, giving general remarks on the coding debate, he tried sounds … Read more
Yes, Apple Music uses a recommendation algorithm – it tracks how we behave while using the app and so it can determine what kind of playlist we like, what new music it shows us. And I assume, which album would show up in the “For you” section between those playlists. (I really like this option, … Read more
On July 30, 2014, Siri has had a brain transplant. Three years ago, Apple was the first major tech company to integrate a smart assistant into its operating system. Siri is a corporate adaptation of a standalone application they bought, with the team that created it, in 2010. The initial reviews were great, but for … Read more
Could machine learning outweigh human surveillance in Apple Music? (Bloomberg / Getty Images)Hello, National Backchannel. Steven here. Have fun at the end of the summer (though who is happy about that?). This week I wrote about Apple and AI. If you’ve followed Backchannel, you know we covered it closely the proliferation of machine learning, as … Read more
This week, Apple announced the expansion of mobile payments to more countries. But to really grow, Apple Pay needs to do more than just replace credit cards. Subscribe Friday is our attempt to put news into context. Once a week, we’ll call out a recent headline, provide updates and explain why it’s important.On September 9, … Read more
Hello, the people of Backchannel. Steven at your service. There was a rare instance of this week when two competitors were old but still active, launching their products consecutively. On Wednesday, Microsoft – formerly the heavyweight champion of the personal computing world on its software platform – actually introduced its first desktop computer. Studio Surface … Read more
While I had Schiller, I asked him what Apple did to get more excited when the MacBook Pro switched to the new Thunderbolt USB-C connector, which didn’t include a retro port so everyone could use the device. current without using the dongle. Schiller considered this an unrelated issue. According to him, Apple is making this … Read more
Why make a phone? I asked Steve Jobs ten years ago today. Onstage at the Moscone West hall in San Francisco, the CEO of Apple just revealed what will become the most transformative product since the PC. Jobs clearly feels good about that. But the iPhone is a strong departure from anything else – with … Read more
However, Apple Music continued to distract. Apple Pay, too, the mobile payment service and the virtual wallet launched in China in February 2016. Neither of them have the success of the kind that could leave Chinese or mainstream competitors. The Chinese government pays much attention. (To be fair, though, iTunes Movies and iBooks weren’t a … Read more
