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The Quiet-Revolution Edition Friday, December 21, 2018

The 'Future Book' Is Here, But It's Not What We Expected, by Craig Mod, Wired

Yet here’s the surprise: We were looking for the Future Book in the wrong place. It’s not the form, necessarily, that needed to evolve—I think we can agree that, in an age of infinite distraction, one of the strongest assets of a “book” as a book is its singular, sustained, distraction-free, blissfully immutable voice. Instead, technology changed everything that enables a book, fomenting a quiet revolution. Funding, printing, fulfillment, community-building—everything leading up to and supporting a book has shifted meaningfully, even if the containers haven’t. Perhaps the form and interactivity of what we consider a “standard book” will change in the future, as screens become as cheap and durable as paper. But the books made today, held in our hands, digital or print, are Future Books, unfuturistic and inert may they seem.

In Revamped Transparency Report, Apple Reveals Uptick In Demands For User Data, by Zack Whittaker, TechCrunch

The report found Germany as the top requester, issuing 13,704 requests for data on 26,160 devices. Apple said that the figures were due to the high volume of device requests due to stolen devices. The U.S. was in second place with 4,570 requests for 14,911 devices.

Apple also received 4,177 requests for account data, such as information stored in iCloud — up by almost 25 percent on the previous reporting period — affecting some 40,641 accounts, a four-fold increase. The company said the spike was attributable to China, which asked for thousands of devices’ worth of data under a single fraud investigation.

Lacking and Wanting

Germany To Ban Some iPhone Sales Following Qualcomm Patent Case Ruling, But Apple Can Still Appeal, by Lauren Feiner, CNBC

In a statement, Apple said it plans to appeal the ruling. Under this condition, judge Matthias Zigann told the court earlier Thursday, the ruling would not go into immediate effect. However, Apple said that throughout the appeal process, iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 models would not be sold in its 15 retail stores in Germany. Its newest models, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR will still be sold in those stores, Apple said in the statement. All iPhone models will still be sold through carriers and other third-party retailers in Germany, Apple said.

Qualcomm Blocked Evidence In German Apple Suit That Previously Led To Non-infringement Finding In US, by Daniel Eran Dilger, AppleInsider

"It's all because Qualcomm alleged something and Apple couldn't deny it without violating Qorvo's secrets," Mueller stated. "I am shocked that Qualcomm's procedural gamesmanship — firstly conducting discovery in the U.S. for the stated purpose of presenting chipset schematics in the Munich court, then making an about-face and asking the German court to rule, and the court-appointed expert to opine, on a basis that's lacking and wanting — has been rewarded.

"If they have the law and the facts on their side, they deserve to win, but here they wanted--and disconcertingly obtained--a ruling on a basis that I've previously called 'evidentiary minimalism' and which would be totally unimaginable in the United States with its far-reaching discovery regime."

Stuff

This AR App Hops Into 'Spatial Storytelling' With Cartoon Bunnies, by Joan E. Solsman, CNET

Wonderscope, an augmented reality app for Apple devices, has added a new story to its library of immersive, interactive digital miniplays. Called "Wonder's Land Ringmaster Wanted," the story makes the user a central character interacting with an exasperated white bunny known as Wonder. The app and the new story are free.

Develop

Instagram For iPhone XR And XS Max No Longer Optimized? Here’s Why, by Guilherme Rambo, 9to5Mac

From what we’ve been able to gather from sources, the Facebook team had to distribute the app with an older version of Xcode because of a common crash that can occur with apps compiled using the iOS 12 SDK but running on iOS 9, a system version which a large number of users of Instagram are still running.

Notes

Magnets: A Common Apple Magic Trick, by Stephen Hackett, MacStories

The MagSafe adaptor is perhaps the most well-known use of magnets to Mac users. First introduced with the original MacBook Pro way back in 2006, MagSafe promised a future where simply tripping over a power cable wouldn't guarantee a massive laptop repair bill.

The Cost Of Living In Mark Zuckerberg’s Internet Empire, by Brian Phillips, The Ringer

From Zuckerberg’s perspective, the whole point of Facebook has always been to bring people together. Well, nothing brings people together like an empire. Talk about engagement with a platform! The question, for those of us who would prefer to remain barbarians (and who hold out hope of someday sacking Rome), is how does he imagine an empire expands its borders? Who is Facebook making war on, if not us?

Bottom of the Page

I am of the generation that grew up with the notion that computers and magnets are not supposed to mix.

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Thanks for reading.