Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth's Weekly Web Wrap-up for Sunday 11/13/16

13-inch MacBook Pro review: Too many tradeoffs

The entry-level 2016 MacBook Pro—the one without a Touch Bar—compromises on graphics, ports, and RAM speed.

http://www.macworld.com/article/3139597/macs/13-inch-macbook-pro-review-too-many-tradeoffs.html



2016 MacBook Pro Sales Defy Critics: Tops All New Laptops With Shoppers

In the first five days of availability, US online shoppers spent more on the new MacBook than any other laptop in 2016.

Interesting chart.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/brookecrothers/2016/11/08/new-2016-macbook-pro-sales-defy-criticism-initial-revenue-strong-says-market-researcher/



How Successful Is Apple's New MacBook Pro?

In its first five days on sale, Apple’s MacBook Pro has outsold the total sales of every major Windows-powered laptop.

The MacBook Pro has sold almost four times as many units as Microsoft’s Surface Book, nine times as many units as the Asus Chromebook Flip, and ten times the Lenovo Yoga 900.

Well played, Apple.

All of the indications are the future sales are assured, at least in the medium term.
Short- and medium-term prospects look rosy. Long-term will be a question for another day.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ewanspence/2016/11/09/apple-macbook-pro-sales-figures/#19b368b26bf0



Early adopters seem to like the new MacBook Pro Touch Bar

Apple’s new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar notebooks swiftly surpassed sales of almost every other decent quality notebook in the first five days availability.

http://www.computerworld.com/article/3140885/apple-mac/early-adopters-seem-to-like-the-new-macbook-pro-touch-bar.html



The MacBook Pro is a lie

Apple’s new MacBook Pro laptops are not designed for professional use.

Apple’s 2016 MacBook Pros carry on the Pro moniker dishonestly. At least we should all hope that's the case — because if Apple actually believes that these new laptops are suitable and sufficient for intensive professional needs, then the company's long and happy relationship with creatives may be heading toward a calamitous breakup.

http://www.theverge.com/2016/11/7/13548052/the-macbook-pro-lie



What the New MacBook Pro Means for the Future of iOS

The Touch Bar demystifies the concept of shortcuts for repetitive tasks and provides fast access to all types of functions within applications that will support it. This is why the Touch Bar matters. Once people start using it, Touch Bar will be viewed as a logical next step in UIs for laptops.

http://www.pcmag.com/commentary/349343/what-the-new-macbook-pro-means-for-the-future-of-ios



Easily Remove Geotag Data Using Mac’s Preview

If you’re using Mac OS X Yosemite, your Preview app has some new EXIF scrubbing capabilities. Simply open up your photo in Preview, go to Tools in your menu bar and select Show Inspector, hit the (i) icon for the info panel, select the GPS sub tab, and you’ll see a “Remove Location Info” button.

http://petapixel.com/2015/01/24/tip-easily-remove-geotag-data-using-macs-preview-windows-properties/



Steve Jobs Knew Tim Cook Would Kill Apple’s Innovation By Focusing on Sales and Marketing

In 2011, Apple lost more than Steve Jobs. They lost their unique, rebellious nature. With Steve in charge, they had a win-at-all-costs attitude, that went against business norms and the expectations of their investors and board.

By letting systems for optimization and heavy focus on profits lead the company, a lot of the creativity dies. Instead, they are more focused on incremental improvements to their existing devices.

Quite frankly, Apple’s time as the world’s foremost innovator may be over.

Steve Jobs knew this would happen when he appointed Tim Cook as CEO. In a video, Jobs talks about sales and marketing people taking over companies and pushing the creative, product oriented people out of the decision-making forums. He goes on to say, “As a result, the companies forget what it means to make great products.”

Innovative connections aren’t made through systematic processes. Innovation stems from controlled chaos.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/steve-jobs-knew-tim-cook-would-kill-apples-innovation-terry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AxZofbMGpM



Your iPhone has a hidden signal strength meter

http://www.zdnet.com/article/your-iphones-has-a-hidden-signal-strength-meter/



Apple now sells refurbished iPhones

Apple already sells refurbished Macs, iPads, MacBooks, and Mac accessories, among other products, but this is the first time the company’s putting refurbished phones up for sale.

http://www.theverge.com/2016/11/8/13567010/apple-refurbished-iphone-online-store-sale



How to find my phone: How to track a phone - locate a lost Android, lost iPhone or lost Windows Phone

If you've lost your phone it's not necessarily gone forever. But don't wait until you lose your phone to prepare: you'll need to configure it now to enable you to find a lost Android, iPhone or Windows Phone. Here's how to set up phone tracking and how to find your phone.

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/mobile-phone/how-find-my-phone-locate-lost-android-iphone-or-windows-phone-track-update-3610199/



11 paid iPhone apps on sale for free for a limited time

http://bgr.com/2016/11/11/best-free-iphone-apps-ipad-nov-11-ios/



Comparing three top smartphone cameras: Google's Pixel, iPhone 7 Plus, Moto Z

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20161112/business/161119790/

Become more productive with music scientifically designed to help you focus

not all music is created equal.

Brain.FM is an audio streaming service that's been created with the help of neuroscientists to provide music that's scientifically designed to boost your productivity and help you focus - whether you're trying to study, sleep, or simply relax.

http://www.sciencealert.com/become-more-productive-with-music-scientifically-designed-to-help-you-focus



In firing human editors, Facebook has lost the fight against fake news

In January 2015, Facebook updated its news feed to “reduce the distribution of posts that people have reported as hoaxes”. The problem is that people are easily fooled by fake news, and a plethora of tricky-to-distinguish fake news sites have emerged.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/aug/29/facebook-trending-news-editors-fake-news-stories



Google punishes web backsliders in Chrome

When Google flags sites for hosting malicious code or unwanted software, or running some kind of scam, users see warnings in Chrome and other browsers. The alerts appear as long as Google believes the site poses a threat.

But after making changes to align their sites with Google's "Safe Browsing" terms, webmasters may ask Google to lift the virtual embargo.

Not surprising, some took advantage of the mechanism for lifting the warnings. Sites would cease their illicit practices, but only long enough to get back into Google's good graces. Once Google gave the all-clear, the once-dirty-then-clean site would have a serious relapse and again distribute malware or spew phishing emails.

Google now punishes repeat offenders with a 30 days penalty before lifting the virtual embargo.

http://www.computerworld.com/article/3140227/web-browsers/google-punishes-web-backsliders-in-chrome.html



Programming human beings to build a hate-free Internet

How do we minimize certain types of speech without also quashing the free flow of ideas and creative collaboration that this radically democratized system of mass communication can unlock?

Some social networks are discovering that they can use their code to “program” people to do the right thing, that when their customers are prompted to reflect on antisocial behavior they tend to check themselves. Perhaps people aren’t inherently selfish and rude, after all. They just need a reminder, and perhaps a carrot or two.

… an algorithm that delivered rewards and penalties to individual players whenever it flagged certain behavior, along with a pop-up window explaining why the chosen words were or weren’t conducive to successful teamwork.

It proved to be a remarkably successful case of Pavlovian conditioning. Reports of verbal abuse at League of Legends immediately dropped by 40%.

Facebook and Twitter … have tended to rely on centrally controlled censorship as the go-to weapon against abusive behavior.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/facebook-twitter-want-stop-abuse-should-study-how-two-michael-casey