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Mac Bundle: Few bucks (currently $13 & rising) gets you Screens, Flux 6, Aftershot Pro and 10 more apps
9to5Toys Specials has a solid ‘pay what you want’ bundle today that is only around $13 if you get in early (it keeps going up the longer you wait).
The line-up includes Owlet, an intuitive app for giving your 3D models a photo-realistic finish, and Flux 6, which lets you build beautiful responsive websites with drag-and-drop controls. AfterShot Pro 2 is a speedy alternative to Lightroom, with non-destructive RAW photo editing and organization… more…
Filed under: iOS Devices
Report: Apple slowing down recruiting efforts as it dismisses over 100 recruiters, some employees
Apple appears to be making some cuts in its recruiting department. According to a new report from VentureBeat, Apple recently has been letting go of all of its contract recruiters, as well as some of its in-house full-time recruiters. In total, these cuts affect more than 100 people and there are no signs of them being replaced.
Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: Apple, recruiting
After retail store launch, Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Program is now available online
Alongside the announcement of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus last year, Apple announced a new program designed at encouraging users to upgrade their device every year, as opposed to the traditional two-year cycle. At launch, the iPhone Upgrade Program was oddly only available to customers shopping in Apple Stores. Today, however, Apple has expanded the program to the online store so all customers can now take advantage of it.
Filed under: iOS Devices Tagged: Apple, iPhone, iPhone upgrade program
Annual lunch with Tim Cook + Apple event tickets charity auction already at $110,000
Fundraiser site Charitybuzz is currently running a charity auction for lunch with Tim Cook valued at $100,000. The lunch with the Apple CEO will take place at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, and accommodates two people. Lunch is covered, but paying for travel and stay is up to the winning bidder.
Filed under: iOS Devices Tagged: Tim Cook
Opinion: Cellular Apple Watch in time, sure, but these issues need love too
I touched on my thoughts on a cellular Apple Watch 2 briefly when detailing WSJ’s report, but I want to expand a bit further and think out loud about the possibility. In short, I think an untethered Apple Watch with built-in cellular connectivity is inevitable, but in the short term there are other problems I suspect will be solved first. That’s not to say that Apple couldn’t introduce cellular and fix other issues, but having an embedded data connection is low on my list of requests this year.
Filed under: Apple Watch, Opinion Tagged: Apple watch
Review: OWC’s Aura PCIe flash storage lets you upgrade the storage capacity of your Mid-2013 and later MacBook
As an owner of a Late 2013 MacBook Pro with Retina Display, it’s slowly beginning to show its age. However, I find that this machine, an i7-powered rig with 16GB of RAM, is still plenty powerful for the applications that I run on a day-to-day basis. For example, with Final Cut Pro X, it’s not the fastest machine in the world (it lacks dedicated graphics), but it’s still plenty competent when it comes to editing and exporting 4K videos.
The biggest bottleneck that I’ve encountered with this computer is its storage capabilities, and that’s something I’ve been trying to deal with since the day I purchased it. With only 256 GB of flash storage, space has been hard to come by since day one. That wouldn’t be so bad if there was a way to upgrade the amount of internal storage, but sadly there has been no upgrade solution…until now.
Back in early March, OWC made a splash by announcing the very first flash storage upgrade solution the MacBook Pro as far back as the Late-2013 product cycle, and the MacBook Air, as far back as the Mid-2013 product cycle. Yes, finally! MacBook Pro and MacBook Air owners with qualifying machines can come out of the storage dark ages with OWC’s new Aura PCIe flash storage upgrade.
more…
Filed under: Mac, Reviews Tagged: Aura PCIe Flash Storage, Flash storage, how to, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, OWC, PCIe, PCIe SSD, Upgrade, video
Facebook reportedly developing standalone camera app w/ live streaming features
The Wall Street Journal reports Facebook is working on a new camera app separate from its main offerings that the company hopes will encourage increased sharing of photos and videos. The still in-development app in its current form opens immediately to a camera mode and there are plans to offer live streaming video functionality as well, according to the report:
Filed under: Apps Tagged: app, Camera, Facebook, live, video
Latest iPhone 6s ads recruit Neil Patrick Harris, highlight 4K camera & Touch ID features
After focusing heavily on Earth Day in its last round of YouTube uploads, Apple today has shared a pair of new iPhone 6s ads that each highlight a different feature of the device. First ad is entitled “Fingerprint” and focuses on what Touch ID enables users to do, while the second ad is entitled “Onions” and highlights the 4K camera capabilities of the device.
Filed under: iOS Devices
Report: Faster Apple Watch 2 may feature built-in cellular connectivity
Apple Watch has been on the market for a year now, and The Wall Street Journal has a new report in which it compares the product’s estimated sales to the original iPhone’s in its first year. Apple has never released hard Apple Watch sales numbers as it does for iPhones, iPads, and Macs, but WSJ says twice as many Apple Watches have been sold during the first year as iPhones during its first year. Apple sold 192.3 million iPhones during its first four quarters on the market.
Obviously that’s not an apples to apples comparison, but it’s one way to paint Apple Watch positively as iPhone has taken off with quarter after quarter growth until now. Tomorrow Apple is scheduled to release its quarterly earnings report covering the January through March period where Tim Cook is likely to reflect on the first year of Apple Watch in some degree.
Looking forward, the WSJ’s report includes one nugget about what to expect about the Apple Watch 2 likely to launch later this year:
Filed under: Apple Watch Tagged: Apple watch
9to5Toys Lunch Break: 13” MacBook Air from $700, Beats Pill+ $166, Onkyo 4K 5.1-Ch. Receiver/Speaker Bundle $300, more
Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
TODAY’S CAN’T MISS DEALS:
Apple 13-inch MacBook Air 1.6GHz/4GB/128GB (early 2015) from $700 shipped w/ .edu (Orig. $999)
Beats Pill+ Portable Bluetooth Speaker w/ Lightning charging: $166 shipped (Reg. $230)
Onkyo 5.1-Channel 4K Home Theater Receiver/Speaker Package w/ Bluetooth $300 shipped (Reg. $400)
Best Buy 4-Day sale: Apple Watch w/ Stainless Steel casing $200 off, deals from $349 shipped
MacBook Air: 13-inch 1.6GHz/4GB/128GB $800 (Orig. $999), 11-inch 256GB from $875 (Reg. $1,099), more
App Store Free App of the Week: Readdle’s Calendars 5 for iOS goes free for the first time in years (Reg. up to $7)
Upgrade Your Mac with 3 Great Apps: Scapple $9 (Orig. $15), STAMP Premium $5 (Orig. $10), Ghostnote $7 (Orig. $10)
Apple offers Day One 2 iOS journal app for free ($10 value)
The best accessories for Apple’s 12-inch MacBook: USB-C cables, hubs, flash storage, more
Apple drops the price on refurbished 12-inch MacBooks, now start at $929 shipped
MORE NEW GEAR FROM TODAY:
UE Roll Bluetooth Speaker in Black or Blue: $55-$59 shipped ($70 new)
- Daily Deals: Brother Mono Laser Printer w/ AirPrint $170, more
- Seagate Backup Plus Slim 4TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive: $110 (Reg. $130), more
- Gift Cards up to 20% off w/ email delivery: AMC Theatres, Regal Movies, much more
- AUKEY Bluetooth Speaker $26, Trainium iPhone 6/s Clear Case $2, more
- Games/Apps: Trine 3 for Mac hits its lowest price yet $6, more
- The entire Lifeline text adventure trilogy for Android is down to $0.10/ea. (Reg. $3)
- Amazon Gold Box – Strategy board games up to 40% off: Risk $16, more
- Mother’s Day Gift Guide: top-picks your mom will love to unwrap this year
- Sun Joe Yard Tools up to 44% off: 16″ Cordless Lawn Mower $199 (Reg. $300), more
MORE DEALS STILL ALIVE:
Best Buy 4-day sale: Beats Studio Over-Ears $150 or Wireless $250, Powerbeats2 Active Collection $130, Roku HDTVs from $170, more
Dock your iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch with this Rosewood Desk Stand for $20 Prime shipped
- Amazon Kindle e-Readers from $60 shipped, Paperwhite $100, more
- Ultra HD 4K Displays: Panasonic 50-inch 60Hz Smart TV $500 (Reg. $600+), more
- Logitech 75 watts 5.1 Surround Sound Speakers (Refurb) $35 shipped (Reg. $60)
- Limited edition Moto X Pure designed by Jonathan Adler down to $300 (Reg. $475)
- Audio-Technica ATH-M40X Over-Ear Headphones + FiiO E6 Amp: $82 ($105 value)
- Adonit Jot Pro Fine Point Stylus for iPad, iPhone & Android devices: $22 (Reg. $30)
- LG ChromeBase 22″ 1080p All-in-One Cloud Desktop: $229 shipped (Reg. $300)
- Apple iPad Air 16GB Wi-Fi in Space Gray or Silver $249 shipped (Orig. $399)
- Amazon adds new color options and storage to its insane $50 7-inch Fire Tablet lineup
- Fashion- 20% off dresses by Adrianna Papell, Donna Morgan & more
- Green Deals: Miracle-Gro AeroGarden LED w/ Seed Kit $70 (Reg. $100), more
- Seagate 2TB USB 3.0 Expansion Portable Hard Drive $60 shipped (Reg. $84)
- Green Deals: Leviton 12-ft. 5kw Electric Vehicle Charger $350 (Reg. $400), more
- LeapFrog Reading and Writing System $17 Prime shipped (Reg. $27+), more
- Home: Philips Electric Toothbrush w/ glass charger $170 (Reg. $200), more
- Sennheiser HD 600 Open-Back Pro Headphones + $150 Amazon gift card: $400 ($550 value)
- PSN Digital Games up to 60% off: GTA Trilogy for PS4 from $19, more
- Harman Kardon 7.1-Ch. 4K A/V Receiver w/ AirPlay: $298 shipped (Orig. $800)
- Green Deals: Philips 100W A21 Dimmable LED Lightbulb $13 Prime shipped (Reg. $22), more
- Fashion: Banana Republic 50% off sale items, more
- Gift Cards up to 20% off: Babies/Toys R Us, Old Navy, CVS, more
Review: Are these third-party $11 Apple Watch Sport bands any good? Turns out, they aren’t too bad.
NEW PRODUCTS & MORE:
Ilumi extends its line of Bluetooth-connected smart lightbulbs to outdoor spaces
- SanDisk’s new iXpand Flash Drive for iPhone & iPad sports a fresh design and speed boost
- Bang & Olufsen’s new A1 Bluetooth speaker brings 24-hour playback and USB-C charging
- Edelkrone wants to replace your tripod with its slick new camera stand
- VIZIO introduces the new M-Series with an updated design and 4K HDR displays
- DJI’s new professional-grade drone is incredibly powerful and intelligent
- Samsung goes big with the “world’s first” bezel-less curved 4K Ultra HDTV
- LEGO reveals a massive 1,600 piece Minecraft set loaded with zombies, more
- Improve your kitchen skills with the best under $10 utensils
- Some of the best SNES games of all-time hit Nintendo’s 3DS eShop
- Amazon’s new $290 Kindle Oasis is a slim, luxury e-reader with months of battery life
Filed under: Tips and Tricks Tagged: 9to5Toys, Amazon, app deals, Beats Pill, Best Buy, Daily Deals, free apps, Gold Box, MacBook Air, Onkyo, video games
Home, one of the best HomeKit apps for iOS, gains 3D Touch shortcuts + design tweaks
Apple doesn’t include a Home app for HomeKit like it does a Health app for HealthKit, but Matthias Hochgatterer’s Home app is a worthy solution for anyone diving into Apple’s Siri-controlled home automation platform. In testing various HomeKit-compatible smart accessories, Home for iOS has been a critical piece of the puzzle in making everything work correctly and reliably.
Siri controls HomeKit, but third-party apps from various accessory makers are needed for creating scenes and triggers that really make home automation come to life. Eve does the best job of making one app for all HomeKit accessories, but a dedicated HomeKit app with excellent support for all accessories is ideal. Home, which costs $14.99 but is available for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, is a rather essential purchase for having a good experience with Apple’s HomeKit.
Last week we shared the latest HomeKit app on the market, Hesperus, which features an approachable design and customization options at no cost but lacks iPad and Apple Watch apps and Notification Center widgets for now. I mentioned Home for iOS, which is obviously pricier up front, and noted how its Settings-like design can feel cold in comparison. Over the weekend, however, Home for iOS reached version 1.6, which includes tweaks to how accessories are organized plus some nice iconography that I think really enhances the overall design.
Review: The Dux for iPad Pro is a lightweight, rugged case with a handy Apple Pencil holster
Ever since the iPad Pro came out, it seemed like an obvious third-party accessory would be a case that could also hold a Pencil. However, six months on, the number of iPad Pro cases with good Apple Pencil compatibility is still pretty small.
The Dux ($59.95) is a solid attempt at such a case, a lightweight 12.9-inch iPad enclosure providing some protection against drops and bangs, with an Apple Pencil holster on the side. Its simplicity is refreshing, but that brings with it some shortcomings. Read on for my review.
Filed under: AAPL Company, iOS, iOS Devices, Reviews, Tech Industry Tagged: Apple, Apple Pencil, iOS, iPad, ipad case
Sketchy rumor suggests iPhone 7 could feature flush touch-sensitive Home button, waterproof and dustproof casing
The iPhone 7, expected to debut later this year, is not believed to be a major design overhaul from the iPhone 6s, but that doesn’t mean it won’t include some substantial exterior changes, at least according to one sketchy Chinese rumor site. The reports indicate that the iPhone 7 could feature a digital touch-sensitive Home button, essentially making the iPhone front completely flush, replacing the current physical clicky hardware button. This would help make the iPhone 7 completely waterproof and dustproof, via Storm …
Filed under: AAPL Company, iOS, iOS Devices Tagged: Apps, home button, iOS, iPhone 7, rumors
Apple features Prince collection of albums, songs, & more on iTunes
In honor of the passing of musician Prince, Apple is featuring a collection of albums, songs, movies and more on iTunes.
Filed under: Apple Music Tagged: Apple, collection, discography, iTunes, Prince
Teardown shows new Apple’s 12-inch MacBook adds tamper-evident screws, very minor improvements
Our friends over at iFixit are doing their ritual teardown of Apple’s new 12-inch MacBook, and while the new device is essentially the same as the previous generation save for some updated internals, the repair guide site also noticed some tweaks as far as repairability goes.
Most notably, Apple replaced a tri-wing screw with a much more common Phillips screw, which is always a plus for allowing for easier repairs, although it continues to use its proprietary Pentablobe screws on the exterior of the case. That might be the only new positive for the updated MacBook, however, as iFixit also notes that it discovered hinge screws for the device are “filled with some sort of substance that disintegrates when you insert a screwdriver.” The site speculates that it appears to be an Apple effort at “tamper-evident screws,” which in theory could allow the company to know if a third-party or DIY repair attempt has been made voiding warranty. Or as iFixit put it, “make you feel like a hoodlum for repairing your own machine.”
Filed under: Mac Tagged: 12-inch, MacBook, repair, screws, teardown
Microsoft releases Word Flow keyboard for iPhone with one-handed mode, custom backgrounds
Microsoft is bringing its predictive Windows Phone keyboard, called Word Flow, to the iPhone. The third-party keyboard is now available for free in the US App Store. The keyboard features traditional keycap input as well as the popular swiping-between-letters gesture input method popularized by Swype.
Filed under: Apps, iOS, iOS Devices, Tech Industry Tagged: App Store, Apps, iOS, iPhone, keyboard, Microsoft, Windows Phone
How to Get Unstuck in Your Career
“I feel stuck. Where should I go from here?”
It’s not uncommon to feel like there’s no obvious next step in your career. It’s hard work to guide yourself, especially when you’re walking into the unknown.
So what do you do when you feel stuck? Do you jump ship? Apply for a new role within your company? Or just stick it out? In the right context, any of those options could work out just fine. But how do you know which direction is right for you?
If you’re in marketing or a part of a big team, chances are you work with individuals with many different skill sets. Maybe you sit next to a woman named Tracie who’s a jane of all trades. It seems like there’s nothing she can’t do! Your other co-worker, Seth, might be the go-to-guy for all things analytics and reports. Sometimes he even holds team workshops on metrics and reporting tools.
Despite their differences, both Tracie and Seth are most likely equally valued by the company. Their roles represent two common directions an employee might pursue in one’s career, depth and breadth, and both are excellent paths to get yourself unstuck.
What’s the Difference Between Depth and Breadth?
While both directions are hugely valuable, there are some key differences worth explaining. Let’s take a closer look …
- Seeking Depth: This path requires you to be constantly innovating and learning to strengthen your specialty. Perhaps you’ve set a goal to one day become one of the top 1% in the world who knows how to do what you do — until there’s no one left who can teach you. You are the thought leader on this subject, and thus you are extremely valuable to any company who needs this skill.
- Earning Breadth: A person who pursues this direction will gain experience in many different areas of his or her industry. After getting good (ideally great) at your job, pursue another area. The more experience you have in different facets of marketing (or other business), the better you understand how the pieces fit together. It also means you can advise others on multiple areas of marketing. This could be helpful in both future management roles and strategic leadership roles.
Ideally, most teams will have healthy mix of people pursuing both depth and breadth. People may also choose to switch between the two over time in order to have a wide skill set as well as a particular area of expertise. In the past, this has been referred to as a “T-shaped” person.
To figure out what’s right for your own career development, let’s dive into the values of each direction and how to know which could be right for you.
How to Get Unstuck in Your Career by Finding Depth or Breadth
How to Achieve Mastery via Depth
If you want to figure out if finding depth is the right path for you, the first piece to consider is whether you’ve truly gotten all the developmental value you can out of the role you have today.
This could be a hard question to ask, especially if you’re so burnt out it seems like there is nothing left to learn. That can be dangerous. In that case you need to ask yourself, “Is there no more learning opportunity, or is there no more obvious learning opportunity?”
Why is this so important? It’s really easy to mix up moments when you’re tapped out of learning, and moments when you’ve simply plateaued. In fact, they can often look exactly the same.
Think about it: What makes a topic advanced? It’s not obvious. It’s difficult to understand. Very few people understand it. It takes serious skill, effort, and brainpower to acquire that advanced knowledge. And without a significant foundation, you wouldn’t have the opportunity to learn it.
In other words, becoming “stuck” is an instance in which you’re actually approaching mastery. Seth Godin goes into this idea in his book The Dip. The key point it shares is that as one progresses toward mastery, the individual often first hits a “dip,” or a point when continued learning now requires significant effort and time — much more than it took to begin learning the skill in the first place.
The reality check? This is the obstacle that’s in front of everyone who strives to move past general proficiency. It’s valuable to expect this dip, if only as a way to recognize the difference between a natural obstacle in your progression (when learning becomes more challenging) vs. a lack of learning opportunities overall. If you mistake the former for the latter, you could be keeping yourself from a valuable opportunity for advancement.
The other piece that makes achieving mastery so challenging — and thus so valuable — is the fact that as you progress, there will be fewer and fewer people who can teach you and help you improve. You’re valued for the very fact that the level of mastery you possess is uncommon and rare.
Now you are the one that can advise others. People will come to you to better understand this skill or learn it for the first time. If anyone needs an expert in this area, they will come to you.
How to Build a Foundation via Breadth
Another equally valuable path is pursuing breadth. By holding many different roles over time, you’ll get a wide context that serves as an investment for the long term. In fact, moving around horizontally could eventually become your strategy to move up.
Think about it: Have you ever made a structure out of popsicle sticks — perhaps in grade school or summer camp? Pretend you want to build a structure that can reach four or five feet high. What do you need to build first before you can start building up? A wide foundation.
Take it back to marketing: A wide foundation that includes strong business context and breadth of marketing skills could be the very thing that helps you expand up into a strategic leadership role. When you have experience doing many different pieces within your industry, you’ll be much more likely to understand how all the pieces fit together. That’s the type of context that supports a person in strategic decision making, program management, and more.
Interested in going into management one day — perhaps to lead a big team? It can be smart to hold off on management until you have that wide foundation. That wide context you get from having multiple roles might be extremely helpful in being able to manage and mentor people of various expertise down the line, as well as make it easier to move around within leadership roles long term. After all, it’s easy to train someone who has a job you once had.
Sounds great? Before you act, let’s discuss the downside as well.
When going for breadth, you risk walking away with shallow knowledge for each area. For example, it’s easy to get excited about the next thing before you’ve gained substantial knowledge in the role you have now. Don’t let feeling stuck be what forces you to move to a new role prematurely. Get all the value you can first.
Similarly, if you’re good at everything and great at nothing, you also may be missing out on an opportunity to differentiate yourself. It’s a good idea to pick one of your skills to be your top skill, and invest the most time in that area.
If this feels like the right path for you, the best way to pursue breadth is through a corporate mobility program. It may be a formal program, or it may be casual. Either way, understand the process you should pursue to be considered for a new role on the team. Then, make yourself an obvious candidate. In other words, do your best to demonstrate some of the skills needed in the new role while in your current role.
Evaluating an internal candidate is nearly exactly the same as an external candidate. The hiring manager needs to make the case that you will be a fit, so you need to give her a dozen reasons for why you are.
So how can you get that early experience? Here are a few ideas:
- Do a side project. This is a great way to show early value, as well as demonstrate that you will be successful at the new role’s activities by doing a few of them now.
- Get to know the team. Shadow some meetings. Get to know who the people on the new team are, how they like to work, and what they would be looking for from you in the new role. Put together a plan.
- Think through what you want to achieve in the first 30-90 days. Based on that, outline the strategy you would take if you were to earn the new role. Now the manager can visualize the impact you could have.
Ready to Own Your Career?
Regardless of your path, there’s always one element that’s going to be the biggest factor in your career no matter what you do: the unknown.
You never know how your team or company will change over time, whether will it grow, shrink, or change priorities. You never know if there will one day be a new role you’ll go after that takes you in a new direction. You never know if one day you’ll fall in love with an area of expertise.
As long as you stay in the driver’s seat of your own career, you’ll be able to roll with the punches and make the best decisions for you in the moment. Defining something as ambiguous as a career path means to pick the best path that works for you today.
Feeling stuck in your career? Register now for HubSpot’s new career growth assessment and we’ll notify you when it’s ready.
Reporters allowed inside Pegatron iPhone assembly factory for the first time
Over the weekend, Bloomberg posted an exclusive report of Pegatron’s iPhone plant in China. Although Foxconn is Apple’s primary assembler, Apple has moved more of its iPhone assembly contracts to Pegatron in recent years to diversify its supply chain.
The Bloomberg report describes how the factory is managing its workforce, tracking hours via automated systems, and tackling labor issues like overtime. This is the first time Pegatron has allowed official press to photograph the insides of the factory, where 50,000 people work on the floor.
Filed under: AAPL Company, iOS, iOS Devices, Tech Industry Tagged: Apple, Foxconn, iOS, Pegatron, Working conditions