All of the Apple Articles

I looked at my Instapaper queue this morning and realized that articles about Apple's latest version of OS X, Mavericks, and about the new iPads, were beginning to pile up. I scrolled down further and realized that I still hadn't posted the articles I'd saved from around the time of the release of the iPhone 5S/5C. When I saved them, the plan was to do 3-4 Apple-y links a day over the course of two days. But time passes and other deadlines pile up and well, here's a bunch of Apple-related articles that are either really interesting, really cool, or both:

-Making the all-new Mac Pro

At the Apple event on Tuesday, among the talk of Mavericks and new iPads, the Mac Pro was finally given a shipping timeframe and a price. This high end machine certainly isn’t something I would need, but the video that details how it is machined and assembled? That’s for everyone. Amazing stuff.

-Two Minutes, Fifty-Six Seconds

Ben Thompson is the new Tech Blogger To Read and this piece about the iPhone 5S/5C event and why the 5C isn’t cheaper is a great example why.

-The iPhone's Secret Flights From China to Your Local Apple Store

Apple sold 9 million iPhone 5Ss and 5Cs the first weekend that they were available. It’s kind of easy to overlook just what a massive undertaking that is. This quote, I think, puts it somewhat into perspective:

Before Apple's formal unveiling on stage, iPhones are shipped to distribution centers around the world, including Australia, China, the Czech Republic, Japan, Singapore, the U.K. and the U.S., said one of the people with knowledge of the matter. Security personnel are with the devices every step of the way, from truck depots, airports, customs and storage warehouses until the product is finally unveiled, two people said.
 
 FedEx ships Apple handsets to the U.S. mainly using Boeing 777s, according to Satish Jindel, a logistics-industry consultant and president of SJ Consulting Group. Those planes can make the 15-hour flight from China to the main U.S. hub for freight shipments in Memphis, Tennessee, without refueling, Jindel said. The 777s can carry about 450,000 iPhones and cost about $242,000 to charter, with fuel accounting for more than half the expense.

-Jony Ive: The Man Behind Apple's Magic Curtain

Imagine, for just one day, being able to see what this guy sees?

-And Then Steve Said, ‘Let There Be an iPhone’

This is probably the best of the narrative pieces in this collection. It’s an inside look at the lead-up to the unveiling of the first iPhone. Love him or hate him, no one will ever be able to deny Steve Jobs’ leadership abilities. And it’s because of stories like this.

-The Top 5 iOS7 Ringtones

I’m a huge fan of the new iOS 7 ringtones. But The Awl—they needed to take—we’ll call it a closer look.

First, Boil the Water →

Danielle Stracci, writing for Fairfield County Moms Blog: 

I am always on a constant quest for new ways to eliminate products from my life. I’m a huge fan of having a few basic ingredients around the house that are all-purpose, inexpensive, and environmentally-friendly. This started about two years ago when we moved into our home. The first thing I did was make my own laundry detergent using a recipe similar to this.  My best friend gave me a really great recipe for an all-purpose cleaner. She is my partner-in-crime on this quest to eliminate the uni-tasker cleaning items in our homes. Not only is using the basics healthier for us and the environment, it is also much cheaper.
 
My husband often busts my chops for trying all of these different things. He knows they are better for us. That being said, we still have a few “regular” cleaning products.
 
 Then came Luna.

While I'm certainly biased, I think the spirit of this post by my wife about homemade baby wipes can be appreciated by all. It really does amaze me how many things we purchase at the supermarket that can be made at home, for cheap, and with minimal effort.

High School Waterboy with Down Syndrome Scores Touchdown →

Just when you thought the world was totally and irreversibly in the shitter—along comes the Little Chute Mustangs and their honorary captain/waterboy.

/via Bleacher Report

I'm All Caught Up! →

Nick Mickowski, writing for McSweeney's Internet Tendency: 

Guys, I did it. I did it! I’m caught up! I experienced every show, movie, webisode, album, book, webcomic, podcast, video game, Twitter feed, Tumblr, Instagram, Reddit AMA, and op-ed you guys were telling me I had to check out. Now we can talk about them and I won’t feel like such an outcast when we hang out. So let’s get to it. What do you want to talk about?

Story of my fucking life. 

Mental Floss' Exclusive Interview with Bill Watterson

Jake Rossen, writing for Mental Floss: 

There is a tendency to rehash and regurgitate properties with sequels and remakes. You had an idea, executed it, then moved on. And you ignored the clamor for more. Why is it so hard for readers to let go?
 
Well, coming at a new work requires a certain amount of patience and energy, and there’s always the risk of disappointment. You can’t really blame people for preferring more of what they already know and like. The trade-off, of course, is that predictability is boring. Repetition is the death of magic.

Like everything else Calvin and Hobbes/Bill Watterson-related, this interview glimpse leaves me simultaneously proud to be a fan—and disappointed in confirming, yet again, that the end was really the end.

 /via WIRED

'All city-Mcdonalds'

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What you see before you is a sculpture entitled 'Shoeshine' dating from the summer of 2013, depicting the powerful figure of Ronald McDonald waitng impassively as his ridiculously oversized clown shoes are buffed to a fine shine. Ronald was adopted as the official mascot of the McDonald's fast food corporation chain in 1966. Fiberglass versions of his likeness have been installed outside restaurants ever since. Thus, making Ronald arguably the most sculpted figure in history after Christ. For this piece, the artist has reproduced Ronald McDonald in perfect detail, singlehandedly. If, by perfect detail, you mean 'roughly', and by singlehandedly, you mean with two people helping. The result is a critique of the heavy labor required to sustain the polished image of a mega-corporation. Is Ronald's statuesque pose indicative of how corporations have become the historical figures of our era? Does this hero have feet of clay and a massively large footprint to boot? But, take a closer look and you may notice something familiar about this clown. His face is that of the Greek god Hermes, carved by Praxiteles in 340 BC. Is this a wry, oblique reference to Greek mythology? Or did the artist have such difficulty trying to sculpt the face he simply pronged on the nearest replica bust he could find? We will never know. (whispered) It's the second one!

/transcript via Erin Jackson 

Iconic →

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Introducing the ultimate tribute to Apple innovation and design.

With a breathtaking collection of unique photography, Iconic: A Photographic Tribute to Apple Innovation takes the reader on a tour of the most visually stunning and important products produced by the world's most innovative company — Apple®. Follow Apple's journey through a photographic collection of their most important desktops, portables, peripherals, prototypes, iDevices (iPad, iPod and iPhone) and packaging.

Maybe someone will buy this for me for Christmas.

Dear Mr. Watterson →

Dear Mr. Watterson (Trailer) 

/via Devour

Refine →

Craig Mod: 

Refinement is hard because it requires faith. Faith in the thing you’re refining — that the process of refinement will yield greater value; or faith that there is any value in the thing to begin with. To refine is some parts hubris, other parts humility, all parts vulnerability.

Mod is one of my favorite writing thinkers and this small piece—compared to others he has published—is no exception.

Banksy's 'Tribeca' →

The October 15th piece in Banksy's month-long New York City residency, 'Better Out Than In.' Also—be sure to read the interview he did with the Village Voice.

 
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