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Alphabet’s time at the top short-lived as Apple again becomes world’s most valuable company
Following the release of its Q4 earnings earlier this week, Alphabet saw it stock prices surge to upwards of $800, increasing by 8 percent thanks to its strong earnings report. This jump on Alphabet’s part caused the company’s market capitalization to increase as well, rising to over $540 billion. This increase meant that Alphabet surpassed Apple to become the world’s most valuable company. Two days later, however, Alphabet’s stock has fallen back down, giving the crown of the world’s most valuable company back to Apple.
At close today, Alphabet was trading at $726.95, a decrease of 4.93 percent compared to yesterday, giving it a market capitalization of $499.94 billion. Apple, on the other hand, increased by 1.98 percent and was trading at $96.35 at close, giving it a market capitalization of $534.22 billion.
Apple originally became the world’s most valuable company back in 2011 when it passed up Exonn Mobile.
Alphabet’s drop today can somewhat be attributed to an overall rough day for the tech sector. Tesla, Yahoo, Netflix, Amazon, and Alphabet all closed down compared to their previous day’s performance.
This likely won’t be the last time we see Apple and Alphabet flip-flop between carrying the title of the “world’s most valuable company,” but with earnings having already been reported for the most recent quarter and investors settling in, it could be a while before Alphabet is able to capture the title back. Things could vary, however, depending on how investors react to Apple’s announcements during its upcoming March event for the iPhone 5se, iPad Air 3, and new Apple Watch bands.
(Image: AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: alphabet, Apple, Google, stock
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East Texas court orders Apple to pay $625M in damages to patent troll VirnetX
Last month, it was reported that patent troll VirnetX is seeking $532 million in damages from Apple, claiming that the company has taken its intellectual property without permission. The suit focused on a variety of VirnetX patents relating to technology used in creating Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs. VirnetX said that Apple’s own VPN technology, as well as its iMessage and FaceTime services, infringe on its patents. After another week of hearing, the East Texas Federal District Court has now unanimously ruled that Apple owes VirnetX $625 million in damages.
All the way back in 2012, VirnetX was awarded $368.2 million in damages from Apple, but an appeals court threw out that ruling and ordered a new trial. VirnetX then went into the new trial requesting $532 million from Apple. Accounting for willful infringement and royalty calculations however, the court ruled that Apple actually owes VirnetX $625 million.
The ruling was unanimous by the East Texas Federal District, with it ruling that Apple’s VPN on Demand feature, FaceTime, and iMessage all infringed on a handful of different VirnetX patents, coming out to the grand total of $625 million (via AI). The location of the court is notable as East Texas district tends to favor the patent owner in patent-related suits.
At the beginning of the trial, VirnetX explained that Apple had “not played fair” when it came to licensing intellectual property, while Apple argued that it believes in fairness and protecting IP, but that VirnetX kept “moving the boundary, asking for more and more.”
Apple has yet to comment on the ruling, but it will likely seek an appeal. This isn’t the first time Apple has fallen victim to a patent troll, though. In 2015, it was ordered to pay $532.9 million for infringing on gaming patents of SmartFlash LLC. Not satisfied with that amount, SmartFlash then came back again looking for more, saying Apple had released products too late to be included in the initial trial. In 2014, Apple voiced its displeasure with patent trolls, saying that it is the subject of more patent-related lawsuits than any other company.
Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: Apple, FaceTime, iMessage, intellectual property, patents, VirnetX, VPN
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Happy Hour Podcast 052 | Apple’s upcoming March Event
Apple’s upcoming March event has been uncovered and we’ve got all of the details you need to know. Big thanks to Harry’s for sponsoring the episode. Visit harrys.com/happyhour to get your free shaving kit. The Happy Hour podcast is available for download on iTunes and through our dedicated RSS feed.
New episodes of Happy Hour are available every Wednesday. As mentioned, you can download this podcast via iTunes or plug in our RSS feed link into your favorite podcasting app. Send an email to listenermail@9to5mac.com (or click here) and your question/comment may be featured in an upcoming episode of Happy Hour.
Note: iTunes (web interface and app) may still be propagating the new episode which could take up to 24 hours. Subscribing to the podcast feed will guarantee the latest episode is downloaded.
Hosts:
Here’s what we discussed in this episode:
- ZAGG to acquire Mophie, takeover battery, screen protection, & keyboard accessories market
- Alphabet has surpassed Apple to become the most valuable company in the world
- Apple eyes March 15 event for iPhone 5se, iPad Air 3 & Apple Watch updates
- Purported iPad Air 3 blueprint adds barely thicker design to flash & Smart Connector rumors
- Leaked iPad Air 3 case images hint at Smart Connector support, rear camera flash, and more
- Supply-chain report claims March iPad Air 3 may have 4K display, 4GB RAM, extended battery
- KGI: iPhone 7 Plus likely to feature dual-camera system for better photos using LinX tech, 2-3x optical zoom
- Report: iPhone 7 will lose camera bump and antenna lines with cleaner design
- Opinion: Could the rumored twin-lens of the iPhone 7 Plus signify the start of a real divergence between the models?
- Report: Apple developing long range wireless charging tech for iOS devices
- Report: Apple looking to produce its own exclusive TV shows as original content for iTunes
- Bank of America & Wells Fargo said to be working on Apple Pay support for ATM withdrawals
- Apple issues Mac & iOS device AC Wall Plug Adapter + World Travel Kit recall for certain customers
If you missed our 51st episode last week, you can subscribe and find every episode or start off from the previous episode here.
Remember: Subscribe on iTunes to catch all of the episodes as they go live and send in your questions/comments to listenermail@9to5mac.com.
Filed under: Happy Hour Tagged: Apple, Apple event, Apple watch, Happy Hour, iPhone 5se, March, Podcast
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Sony CFO says dual-cameras will takeoff in 2017 as iPhone 7 Plus rumored to gain feature
With the iPhone 7 Plus expected to utilize a dual-lens system for optical zoom, a new quote has emerged from Sony Corporation’s CFO discussing the future of dual-camera systems. In response to a question during their Q3 2015’s earnings call (via Xperia Blog), Sony Corporation’s Kenichiro Yoshida stated that “the takeoff of smartphone[s] with dual lens camera[s] will be in the year of 2017.” These comments add weight to claims that Apple has been testing iPhone 7 models with two cameras including KGI’s report that iPhone 7 Plus models will feature a dual-camera system.
Not giving any company names (Sony provides iPhone camera sensors), Yoshida, Sony Corporation’s CFO, also mentioned that the “high-end smartphone market is now slowing down. So, that may impact the demand or production schedule of dual-camera smartphones.”
This line echoes the worries of investors who have worried that the past quarter would have been the iPhone’s first down quarter. Whether or not any of this means that the iPhone 7 won’t have a dual-camera system until next year, or will but production demands will be impacted, still remains a question.
Apple announced record setting revenue for the quarter last week, although it projected year-over-year declines next quarter. If Apple can reach the production levels necessary to release next-generation iPhones with the dual-camera system, this may be a significant reason for customers to upgrade from older iPhones.
Ben Lovejoy, has previously discussed the benefits of potentially having a dual-camera system, which could offer optical zoom, where 95% of 9to5Mac readers expressed some interest in the technology.
(Photo via: Cameraplex)
Filed under: iOS Devices Tagged: dual camera, Dual-Lens, iPhone, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 plus, Kenichiro Yoshida, Sony, Sony Corporation
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Pebble update adds support for Health-based watchfaces, custom message reply, more
Apple Watch competitor Pebble has today announced a hefty update to its smartwatch experience. The update, which bumps the company’s Pebble Time smartphone app for iPhone to version 3.6 and the watch firmware to version 3.9, includes a variety of enhancements to Health, Messages, and more.
As far as Pebble Health goes, the company says that a new API is now available that allows watchfaces and apps to take advantage of Pebble Health stats. Watchfaces that use this new feature will be available on the Pebble app store “soon,” according to a blog post. Furthermore, Pebble says that Health tracking is “more accurate overall” and also now includes the ability to show step distance in kilometers.
In addition to the Pebble Health enhancements, version 3.9 of the firmware also adds the ability for iOS users to send custom responses to received messages, a feature that is already available to Apple Watch customers. Other enhancements include speed improvements for Pebble Time and Time Steel, as well as enhancements to the watch-only mode that stretches out battery life when your Pebble is about to die.
Furthermore, Pebble is running a sale for Valentines’s Day. The deal includes two Pebble Time watches for $359.99, which is 28 percent off the normal price of $499. A variety of color combinations are available as part of the sale, including various band and watch colors.
The full changelogs for Pebble Time version 3.9 and version 3.6 of Pebble’s iOS smartphone app can be seen below:
Pebble Time Firmware 3.9 Release Notes
- Pebble Health tracking is now more accurate and can show distance in kilometers. Toggle settings from the Pebble Time smartphone app.
- Support for apps and watchfaces showing activity data from the Pebble Health API.
- Incoming MMS messages now show descriptive icons and any text included.
- Speed improvements for Pebble Time and Time Steel, including snappier animations from Pebble Time Round.
- Improved Watch-Only Mode: keep your Pebble functioning as a watch for a few more hours when the battery is critically low. Alarms, the backlight, and softer vibration remain while Bluetooth and activity tracking shut off to save power.
- Improved low battery warnings based on time left with power instead of percentage remaining.
- Ура, дождались! Cyrillic characters are now supported in notifications and alerts. Enable from the Pebble Timesmartphone app: Menu » Settings » Watch Language » Selected Language.
- Under-the-hood fixes and stability improvements.
- To update to the latest firmware, select Menu » Support » Update Your Pebble from the Pebble Time smartphone app.
Pebble Time App for iPhone 3.6 Release Notes
- NEW Custom Text Replies: Send custom responses to received iOS Messages. Works on Pebble watches with text replies enabled from a compatible carrier.
- NEW Toggle Pebble Health settings between miles or kilometers (requires a Time-series watch running Firmware 3.9 or higher).
- Under-the-hood fixes and stability improvements
- Download 3.6 from the iTunes App Store.
Filed under: Apps Tagged: app, Health, messages, Pebble, smartwatch, update
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Lifeproof NUUD waterproof case fit for iPhone 6s & 6s Plus now available for pre-order
Lifeproof announced today that a new version of its highly durable, low profile NUUD case for iPhone is on the way. The Lifeproof NUUD for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus is available for pre-order from today.
The version for the 4.7-inch iPhone 6s goes for $89.99 while the version for the 5.5-inch iPhone 6s Plus is priced at $99.99. Lifeproof’s previous NUUD cases for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are now 10% off as well, although you can find them for half off from Amazon. Check out our review of the iPhone 6 Lifeproof NUUD here.
Because the Lifeproof NUUD cases fit the iPhones very closely, the 0.2mm change in thickness between the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s requires different versions.
Lifeproof NUUD promises four levels of protection: waterproof, dirt proof, snow proof, and drop proof.
The updated Lifeproof NUUD for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus is only available for pre-order in black for now, although you can sign up to be notified when additional colors including Avalanche White, Cliff Dive Blue, Campfire Red, First Light Pink, and Undertow Aqua are available.
If you live on the edge or just want to basically turn your iPhone into a GoPro action camera, check out Lifeproof’s full lineup.
LIFEPROOF REVEALS NUUD FOR IPHONE 6S, IPHONE 6S PLUS
SAN DIEGO, Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — LifeProof NÜÜD was designed to defy more than the elements. It defies logic itself by combining legendary four-proof protection and screenless technology to survive mountaintop missions and seaside sessions. LifeProof, the No. 1 selling waterproof case in the U.S., unveils NÜÜD for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, available for preorder today.*
“LifeProof is continuously evolving each product line in order to give you the best form and function in waterproof technology,” said LifeProof President and CEO Pete Lindgren. “NÜÜD for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus push the limits of a waterproof case by removing the display cover completely. It allows you to use your iPhone almost anywhere and forget the case is there until you need its industry-leading protection.”
NÜÜD for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus combine a slim form with an innovative design for the truest touchscreen experience. A redundant seal around the edges of the touchscreen provides protection against water up to 6.6 feet for an hour, drops to 6.6 feet, dirt and snow without interfering with device functionality.
Take LifeProof NÜÜD even further by pairing it with LIFEACTÍV accessories. From the handlebars to the dashboard and everywhere in between, LIFEACTÍV accessories mount any device right where it’s needed most with Quickmount technology.
LifeProof NÜÜD cases for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus are available for preorder on lifeproof.com and from select retailer locations. LifeProof FRĒ for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus are also available now in a variety of colors. For more information, visit lifeproof.com.
LifeProof Resources
Facebook: http://ift.tt/LerC1d
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lifeproof
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/LifeProofCases
Instagram: http://ift.tt/X6GWTx
About LifeProof:
LifeProof® encourages technology users to unleash the remarkable by taking their smartphone and tablet devices on every adventure regardless of dirt, sand, water, rocks and other environmental hazards. LifeProof premium cases boast four-proof protection for smartphone and tablet devices and provide freedom from environmental constraints. LifeProof is the No. 1-selling waterproof case in the U.S. and is committed to inspiring its customers to live an active, no-limits lifestyle.*
For more information, visit www.lifeproof.com. #LiveLifeProof
*Source: The NPD Group/Retail Tracking Service: Cell Phone Device Protection/Units Sold 9/2014 – 8/2015
The LifeProof name and LifeProof trademarks are the property of Treefrog Developments, Inc. registered in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Filed under: iOS Devices Tagged: iPhone 6s, iphone 6s plus, LifeProof, Nuud, waterproof
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9to5Toys Lunch Break: Seagate 4TB Portable HDD $120, 2-pack MFi Lightning Cables $8, JayBird Bluetooth Earbuds $58, 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:
Seagate 4TB Portable, Bus-powered USB 3 Hard Drive w/ 200GB Cloud: $120 shipped
RAVPower 2-pack of 3-ft. MFi Apple-Certified Lightning Cables for $8 Prime shipped (Reg. $15), more
Anker’s reinforced PowerLine MFi Lightning cables are extra tough & on sale: 6-ft $10 Prime shipped (Reg. $12), more
Bluetooth Headphones: JayBird BlueBuds X $58 (Orig. $170), MEE Audio Air-Fi $35 (Reg. $50), more
Apple 11-inch MacBook Air (newest version) 1.6GHz/4GB/256GB: $930 shipped (Reg $1,099), more wp.me/p1xTlR-N3t https://t.co/VXoeSwCGPT
—
9to5Toys (@9to5toys) February 03, 2016
Here are the best HDTV and Soundbar deals for Super Bowl 50
Here are some delicious snacks and fun kitchen gear to get you prepped for Super Bowl 50
App Store Free App of the Week: Piloteer goes free for the very first time ($2 value)
Award-winning iOS platformer Thomas Was Alone is now available for just $1 (Reg. $5)
Highly-rated puzzler Osmos now 80% off on iPhone & iPad: $1 ea. (Reg. up to $5)
Best USB/Jump Start batteries for your car from Bestek, Aukey, more
MORE NEW GEAR FROM TODAY:
NomadPlus turns your iPhone wall charger into a power bank: $15 Prime shipped (Orig. $40)
- Games/Apps: Flick Kick Field Goal for iOS goes free (Reg. $2), iOS freebies, more
- Daily Deals: Ivation Portable HDMI Projector $238, more
- Sprint/Virgin announces unlimited/streaming plans: $40/mo, more
- Amazon Echo speaker can order your Super Bowl Dominoes Pizza, FireTVs get updates
- Blu-ray sets w/ photo books & more up to 62% off: Lawrence of Arabia $30, more
- Free HD movie downloads via Amazon Video: Man On Fire, more
- Get a 1-year Costco Gold Star Membership + $20 Cash Card for $55 (value ~$134)
- ESPN magazine + digital Insider access 1-year subscription: $4.50 (Reg. $26+)
Aukey Clip-on SmartPhone Camera Lens Kit, 180° Fisheye/Wide Angle/10X Macro: $10 P shipped http://ift.tt/20GPVXg https://t.co/Dp8xZdurhn
—
9to5Toys (@9to5toys) February 03, 2016
MORE DEALS STILL ALIVE:
iPhone 6/s/Plus & Android Cases from $1: Wallet Style in multiple colors $3 Prime shipped, more
Motorola SURFboard DOCSIS 3.0 High-Speed Cable Modem $45 shipped (Reg. $70)
Apple TV 32GB w/ Siri Remote and HDMI Cable $126 shipped (Reg. $149+), 64GB $176 shipped – also now available in refurbished condition via Apple
- Apple iMac 21.5-inch 3.06GHz/4GB/500GB (Late 2009 Refurb): $390 (Reg. $440)
- Raspberry Pi 2 Model B Starter Kit w/ Wi-Fi, HDMI, more: $58.50 shipped (Reg. $70)
- Mpow’s best selling 3-in-1 iPhone 6/s & Android lens kit $10 Prime shipped (Orig. $17)
- The highly-rated Thomas Was Alone game for Android drops to $0.20 (Reg. $5+)
- USB Power: Inateck 36W 4-port Desktop Charger $11 (Reg. $15), more
- ALLPOWERS 10,000mAh Solar Panel Charger for $11 Prime shipped (Reg. $17)
- Rugged 10,000mAh Solar dual USB Battery w/ 2 USB lamps: $13 Prime shipped
- Apple 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro 2.2GHz/16GB/256GB: $1,700 (Reg. $1,999)
- Logitech Harmony Ultimate Touchscreen Remote: $190 (Reg. $225+)
- Chromecast (2nd gen) w/ free $10 Gift Card $35, Fire TV Stick w/ Voice Remote $40
- Gift card deals: Applebee’s $50 for $40, Regal Movies $25 for $20, more
- Philips Hue Go: $80 (Reg. $100), Hue Tap Switch: $50 (Reg. $60)
- UE Roll Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker: $70 shipped (Reg. $100)
- SanDisk 32GB USB-C Flash Drive: $34 Prime shipped (Reg. $50)
- Media: Amazon $5 Digital HD/Blu-ray Sale: How to Train Your Dragon, more
- Kindle First Books for February: The Last Girl, North of Here, more
- Amazon’s best-selling iPhone Virtual Reality kit $20 Prime shipped (Reg. $40)
- Samsung 850 EVO Solid-State Drives: 1TB $289, 2TB $570
- Switch to reusable glass water bottles w/ this Aquasana 6-pack for $19 (Reg. $40)
- Upgrade your home’s lighting w/ this 4-Pack of Philips LED Bulbs for $10 (Reg. $20)
- “The Souls of Black Folk” by W. E. B. Du Bois: free Kindle eBook plus audiobook for $1
- Prime Members: VIZIO Sound Bar w/ Wireless Sub $198 shipped (Reg. $218)
- Moe’s Southwest Grill: Buy One, Get One Free burrito promotion
- Aukey adapters: Bluetooth 4.1 Audio Receiver $11, Car FM Radio Transmitter $11
Game pre-orders for Amazon Prime members –Zelda, Far Cry Primal, FFXV: $48 ea (Reg. $60)
NEW PRODUCTS & MORE:
This guy has a built-in Google Now display in his mirror and it’s perfect
LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens is coming this summer
- ThinkGeek’s life-size BB-8 lamp brings the latest Star Wars flick to your living room
- Build your own 1:5000-scale New York City with this incredible Kickstarter project
- The CrossOver from NextDesk turns nearly any setup into a motorized standing desk
- Fluance mixes mid-century design with Bluetooth technology in its new Hi-Fi system
- Aereo’s founder is returning with a new ISP that beams gigabit speeds into your home
Filed under: Tips and Tricks Tagged: 9to5Toys, Amazon, app deals, Best Buy, Daily Deals, free apps, Gold Box, video games
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Apple Watch officially launching in Greece, Kuwait, Oman & Qatar next week
Israel is not the only country getting an official Apple Watch rollout next week. Notices on Apple websites around the world indicate that the Apple Watch will launch in Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar on February 11th, while the device will also launch in Greece on February 12th. Given that Apple does not have official stores in those regions, much like in Israel, these launches will take place through official Apple distributors.
These launches follow up on the Apple Watch becoming available at 12,000 retail locations since the initial device release in April of last year. Support for the Apple Watch in these regions has been building up over the past few major iOS releases. Last fall, Apple brought Arabic Siri support with iOS 9.2 and iOS 8 added support for Greek Siri. We’ve reported that Apple is preparing to launch additional Apple Watch models with new bands in March.
The Apple Watch’s general availability in the UAE grew when the opening of a pair of official Apple Stores in Dubai and Abu Dhabi last year. Pricing for these international Apple Watch launches is yet to be announced, but the internal Apple product prices usually come in higher than the comparative rates in the United States. If you spot any additional countries rolling out the Apple Watch next week, feel free to let us know in the comments.
Filed under: Apple Watch Tagged: Apple watch, Greece, Kuwait, Omar, Qatar
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Square’s Apple Pay Reader is now available at U.S. Apple Stores
Last year mobile payment company Square unveiled an updated version of its credit card reader that works with Apple Pay, and starting today the Apple Pay reader is being sold across the U.S. at Apple Stores.
Square first started shipping its new contactless reader to small businesses late last year. The $49 hardware lets anyone with an iPhone or iPad accept Apple Pay as well as new secure chip debit and credit cards.
The updated kit also includes the classic Square reader for swiping traditional debit and credit cards as well.
Last month we took a hands-on look at the new hardware in action. Check out our video of the new Square reader with Apple Pay below:
Before Square made its way to Apple Stores, a similar solution from PayAnywhere hit store shelves to make accepting Apple Pay a possibility for small businesses.
Square’s Apple Pay reader is available for $49.99.
Filed under: Apple Pay Tagged: Apple pay, Square
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Apple’s Back to School promotion returns to Australia and New Zealand w/ a Beats Solo2 promo
Apple’s annual Back to School program returns in Australia and New Zealand with a promotion to receive a pair of Beats Solo2 On-Ear Headphones with qualifiying Mac purchases. Customers may also alternatively choose to receive savings on a new iPad (although there is currently an error on both sites not indicating how much can be saved). Last year’s promotion in Australia and New Zealand included an Apple Store gift card up to A$100/NZ$125, so it’s nice to see them promoting the acquired Beats brand and giving away instant credit for the headphones.
When purchasing a new iMac, MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, or Mac Pro, customers can elect to receive credit towards the purchase of a pair of Beats Solo2 On-Ear Headphones or a pair of the Beats Solo2 Wireless On-Ear Headphones. It’s important to note that because the Wireless On-Ear model is more expensive, customers will have to pay the remaining difference of A$140/NZ$180.
Education pricing is available to university students, students accepted into university, parents buying for university students, teachers, lecturers and staff at all levels.
Apple notes that the Mac mini and refurbished Apple computers are not eligible for this promotion and that the qualifying purchases must be made between February 3, 2016 and March 21, 2016.
This year’s promotion in Australia and New Zealand follows a similar promotion the Back to School program Apple had in the United States last August with the Beats Solo2 headphones.
Filed under: iOS Devices, Mac Tagged: Apple, Australia, Back to School, Beats, Beats Solo2, New Zealand
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An internal 128GB iPhone storage upgrade? Only at the Shenzhen market… [Video]
You can get just about anything at the Shenzhen market in China, and that apparently includes an on-the-spot internal storage upgrade for your iPhone (in addition to a long list of counterfeit Apple products). It’s a service that, save for perhaps the most hardcore DIYers, is unheard of stateside.
Apple charges a $100 premium each time you bump up to a higher capacity iPhone, but at the Shenzhen market this third-party upgrade costs only around $60 to go from a 16GB model to 128GB. The 128GB iPhone model would normally be a $200 premium over the 16GB model retail price, and that’s not accounting for the fact you’d also have to purchase a new device.
The process takes a matter of minutes and sees a Shenzhen market employee taking apart the iPhone and replacing the device’s internal flash storage with a new 128GB chip from Toshiba. And all of the device’s storage is transferred to the new chip, so you don’t lose any data in the process and can continue using the device with everything intact from before the upgrade.
The upgrade apparently works for iPhone 6 and older devices with around 50 upgrades per day done at the Shenzhen market alone, according to the full video below courtesy of local company BeSound.
And not surprisingly, getting this type of upgrade from a third-party will completely void your warranty with Apple. But — Shenzhen aside— we aren’t holding our breath for seeing a similar service become popular stateside, as Apple will likely not be too happy about an unauthorized third-party cracking open iPhones, voiding warranties, and undercutting its lucrative margins on flash storage in the various iPhone models.
Check out the full video of the upgrade being performed below:
Filed under: iOS Devices Tagged: 128GB, DIY, Flash, how to, Huaqiang Bei, internal storage, iPhone, memory, Shenzhen market, Storage, Toshiba, Upgrade, video
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Fitbit announces fashion-oriented leather/metal fitness band, Alta
Fitbit didn’t exactly impress the market when it tried to launch a full-blown smartwatch last month, its stock price falling 11% in response to the idea of the company seemingly attempting to compete with the Apple Watch. It may have better luck with its latest offering, a fashion-oriented fitness band called Alta offering five days of battery-life. The emphasis here is on style, the $130 unit available with both leather bands ($60) and stainless steel bracelet ($100).
The Fitbit Alta will be available for pre-order from tomorrow at Amazon, Best Buy, Target, Walmart and other retail sites, with shipping in March or April, depending on configuration.
Via Engadget
Filed under: Tech Industry Tagged: Fitbit, Fitbit Alta, fitness band, Stylish fitness band
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Review: Omegon Universe2go, the iPhone enclosure that provides an augmented reality tour of the night sky
An amateur astronomy friend has a motorized telescope that allows you to tap in the name of the object you want to see – a constellation, a planet, a deep-sky object – and it automatically locates them in the sky. Universe2go offers an equally hi-tech but more casual approach to stargazing suitable for beginners – including kids.
Universe2go is an augmented reality system that uses your iPhone to do the clever stuff. In essence, it’s a more sophisticated version of Google Cardboard. You open the companion app on your iPhone, snap your phone into the plastic enclosure and then look through the goggles at the night sky. An angled mirror overlays your actual view of the sky with labels from the app.
Pause with the green pointer over a planet or constellation, and the app provides visual data and an audio commentary. Alternatively, choose an object in advance and the app uses the display to direct you to the correct part of the sky before using the augmented reality system to highlight it …
With most review products, it’s just a question of finding the time to play with them. With Universe2go, however, I also needed to wait for a time when I was outside London and the skies were clear. Which is, of course, the first issue to consider if you’re tempted to buy one. There’s little point if you live in the center of a city unless you get outside it regularly, and in a country like the UK, you may be waiting a while for clear skies in winter.
But the augmented nature of the view means that even if with some degree of light pollution, or skies a little hazier than you’d like, you can still find objects that would be difficult to identify otherwise.
Look & feel
The unit itself looks rather disappointingly low-tech at first glance. It’s just a plastic enclosure with an open front, open eye-holes at the rear, a snap-open flap for your iPhone, an angled mirrored surface and two circular mirrors above, one for each eye. It feels solid but plasticky. However, more on this later.
It is, though, reasonably compact – something you could keep in the glove compartment of a car, for example – and is lightweight, so easily carried around.
Setup
The app is a free download from the App Store. Once the app is open, you insert your iPhone into the enclosure. There are various foam cutouts for different sized phones, but really it’s held sufficiently snugly that these are superfluous. The device is suitable for any size iPhone up to the iPhone 6s, but not the Plus models. You will need to remove even thin cases.
With the iPhone installed, the app guides you through a calibration process, that aligns the stereoscopic view to the position and screen size of the phone. Calibration is achieved by tilting your head while looking through the unit. Once this is done, you choose a bright star to complete the calibration, simply holding a yellow circle over the star until it has been identified.
In use
Once set up, basic use couldn’t be easier. The app starts in Discover mode. Just look through the device and everything is automatically highlighted and labelled as you look at it. It labels all 88 constellations, as well as planets, galaxies, star clusters and nebulae.
The blend of real sky and augmented data is really well done. The augmented data doesn’t blind you to the actual stars, but the overlay helps you to spot the fainter objects. Within the first few seconds, my objections to what initially seemed like a rather high price for a piece of plastic had been somewhat allayed. It’s clear that the optical quality of the mirrors is good, and that a great deal of care has gone into balancing real and augmented views for the best possible experience. You can also adjust the brightness to match the local lighting – brighter close to towns, darker way out in the country.
Align the pointer on any highlighted object, pause for a second or two and it displays a visual data-frame with basic facts, while an audio narration tells you about the object in more detail. In the case of constellations, the narration covers both scientific facts and mythology.
Because your iPhone is locked away inside the case, you don’t have access to the touchscreen. Switching modes in the app is achieved by tilting your head. It feels strange at first, but you soon get used to it. The most useful secondary mode is Search, where you choose the type of object you want to find (star, planet, comet and so on) and then select it from an alphabetic list. The app then displays a line on the screen – follow this to the object, which it circles for you.
Mythology mode overlays a pictorial representation of the Greek figures, as well as providing the story behind the figure. A Quiz mode shows you a constellation which you then have to find in the sky.
There are two modes I would describe as pure novelty features: Deep Sky and 3D. These provide a close look at things that cannot be seen with the naked eye. To my mind, there’s really little benefit in doing this with the device rather than simply looking at images on the web.
Finally, there’s an Expert mode that allows you to tailor what is and isn’t shown on the display, as well as overlaying azimuthal and equatorial grids.
Conclusions
When I first saw the device, I had two initial responses. The first that it was a really cool idea. The second is that $99 is a lot of money for a plastic case.
Having used it, it is indeed a very cool product. As an adult now rather rusty on the little astronomy I learned as a kid, it was a great refresher. Where it will really score, though, is with kids. It provides a really fun and engaging way to learn about the night sky.
Value-wise, there is more to the unit than first meets the eye. Given the quality of the blended image it generates, I would say the price is high but probably justified. The question is whether it would be a novelty that would be used a few times then abandoned. For me, I’d have to say the answer is yes. But I can definitely see kids getting more use from it, as well as sharing it with the friends.
It does, though, need to be compared to the cost of a computerized telescope. These allow you to see way more than is possible with the naked eye – and while you can spend four figures on them, you can pick up basic ones for surprisingly little money. For example, the Celestron 127EQ is the best-seller on Amazon, and costs just $135.
Most motorized telescopes do, though, come with Windows software, so you’ll need a Windows laptop to find objects. And there’s no doubt that Universe2go is a lot more convenient as an introduction to astronomy for kids, holding off on the motorized telescopes until they get the bug. For younger kids, I think I’d go with this – with older ones, maybe go straight to the telescope.
The Universe2go costs $99 from Omegon’s Amazon store. The companion app is a free download from the App Store.
Filed under: Reviews Tagged: Amateur astronomy, astronomy, astronomy apps, Augmented reality, Star gazing, Telescope, Universe2go, Universe2go review
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The Art of Being a Great Coworker: 13 Ways to Improve Your Work Relationships
This year, you’ll likely spend more time with your coworkers than you will with your significant other, parents, best friend, siblings, cat, and … well, you get the point.
Think about it: If you work 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, that’s over 2,000 hours a year spent with the same people — give or take a vacation or two, of course. That’s a ton of time, and can often lead to a ton of silent (or not so silent) frustrations.
This makes building positive relationships with the people you work with a priority — or in some cases, a means of survival. Even if you hate the way Jim blows his nose at his desk or you cringe every time Stacy offers her opinion in a meeting, you crossed paths with these people for a reason. And it’s up to you to put your best foot forward.
There’s a lot we can learn from our coworkers, and it all starts with finding a productive way to coexist and collaborate. For tips on how to but your best foot forward at work, keep reading.
The Art of Being a Great Coworker
1) Express appreciation and acknowledgement.
When people feel unappreciated in the workplace, it becomes harder and harder for them to see the benefit in going that extra mile. If there’s no one there to recognize the work they put in, there’s little motivation to continue to do more.
That’s where you come in. Whether you’re a manager or just a grateful peer, make an effort to give credit where credit is due. This can translate to verbal recognition in a company meeting or something as simple as a thoughtful email.
“Offer little celebrations of the good things or accomplishments in their life — getting promoted, getting married, winning a race, etc. A little note or nod of congratulations is always appreciated, and reminds people they’re part of a supportive team,” explains HubSpot’s Director of Content Corey Wainwright.
2) Respond to emails or calls promptly.
Everyone has a job to do. And if your approval or feedback is required for one of your coworkers to move the needle on a project, don’t make them wait. Bottlenecking a project is not only frustrating, but it can also have a significant impact on a person’s (or an entire team’s) ability to reach company-wide goals.
If you’re unsure whether or not you’re guilty of this, ask your teammates to specify a time frame within the body of their emails to help you keep track of priorities. Or, if you don’t have time to respond immediately, my colleague Lindsay Kolowich suggests “shooting them a quick ‘I’m held up right now, but I’ll look this over this this afternoon or tomorrow’ email.”
3) Steer clear of gossip.
Ah, the office water cooler. The place where Mark goes to complain to his sales buddy about Steve’s work ethic, and Sarah and Emily gather to vent about the suspicious relationship between their two interns over a Dixie cup of the cold stuff.
While you may be tempted to eavesdrop or chime in on one these inevitable gossip sessions — it’s human nature, after all — it’s best to avoid them at all costs. Not only is engaging in office gossip both risky and unprofessional, but it can result in some pretty sticky situations.
So instead of feeding into groundless gossip, do your best to curb hurtful rumors. The best way to limit the amount of swirling hearsay? Keep lines of communication open. The more transparent and honest you and your team are with one another, the less room there is for speculation.
(Want more on this? Check out this post on how to deal with office politics.)
4) Be humble.
Being humble doesn’t translate to selling yourself short. It doesn’t mean that you’re passive or insecure. Instead, humility actually shows that you have a clear perspective and you’re self-aware — which is actually a sign of emotional intelligence.
In an office setting, this ability to recognize your own limitations and shortcomings can make it easier for you to build meaningful relationships with your coworkers. For example, knowing that you don’t have all the answers might lead you to ask others for their input. This signals to your colleagues that you’re open to other ideas, and can ultimately help you identify and solve for their specific needs. Sounds like a win-win.
5) Avoid annoying office habits.
According to a survey on office habits conducted by the office product supplier Viking, nearly 29% of participants admitted that they find it frustrating when their colleagues are regularly late. But that’s not all: Over 20% of folks dislike it when their colleagues fail to replace things that run out (coffee, printer paper, etc.), while nearly 21% admitted they have a problem with those who talk too loudly on the phone. And the list goes on …
The lesson? Be considerate of others. If you share common spaces such as meeting rooms, be sure to clean up after yourself and avoid exceeding the time you booked it for. If you have an open office floor plan, be conscious of how loud you play your music or how frequently you take long calls.
“It took me a few weeks into my first job out of college to realize just how loud my chewing was in the roomful of quiet, concentrating people. Were my coworkers wearing headphones because they liked listening to music, or because I’d been chowing down on carrots for the last 20 minutes?” jokes my colleague Lindsay. For more tips on how to be more considerate in the office, check out her article on breaking annoying office habits.
6) Reach out to new teammates.
New job nerves are the pits. You toss and turn the night before your big first day worrying about everything from your new commute to whether or not you’ll fit in to what “fun facts” you’ll share about yourself during mandatory ice breakers.
To make new team members feel at ease, make an effort to help them get situated during their first few days or weeks on the job — even if it’s just through little considerations like welcoming questions or giving them the low-down on where to grab lunch.
“It’s always awkward being the ‘noob’ walking into a room of unfamiliar people, so sit next to them at their first meeting. It’s a small gesture that will make them feel all the more welcome,” suggests my colleague Anum Hussain.
7) Share your resources.
Take a look at the people you work closely with. They’ve all been hired for a reason, right? Maybe Nathan is really great at problem-solving, while Sue can negotiate till the cows come home. There’s something you can learn from everyone.
And regardless of our unique strengthens and specific titles, it’s undeniably helpful when someone shares a resource that might benefit the team as a whole.
“Find something particularly inspiring or thought provoking? Whether it’s a blog post or intriguing design, it could be just what your neighbor needs to kickstart their big project,” insists my colleague Megan Conley.
At HubSpot, we use group Slack channels to share ideas and articles all the time, such as this post that’s recently been circulating on the concept of radical candor.
8) Be respectful of people’s time.
We’re all busy and stressed. We’re all dealing with things we don’t want to deal with. And most importantly, we all wish there were more than 24 hours in a day.
While you can’t resolve these problems with the wave of a wand, you can take small steps towards making them more manageable by respecting your coworkers’ time. Aware that 5 minutes here and 20 minutes there can add up during the day, make an effort to show up on time and come prepared.
“If a meeting ends early, don’t try to fill the time. If a meeting doesn’t need to happen anymore, cancel it. Being respectful of people’s time is appreciated,” urges Corey.
9) Bring snacks.
Remember in elementary school when you used to bring in cupcakes on your birthday? Why’d you ever stop?
This one’s simple: One of the best ways to your coworker’s heart is through their stomach. (Just be conscious of food allergies.)
10) Make valuable connections and introductions.
Heard one of your coworkers is looking for a freelancer for the project they’re working on? You know just the guy! So make the connection.
Help your coworkers achieve their goals by identifying opportunities to make introductions between folks who would benefit from knowing one another. Maybe you recommend a potential candidate for an open position on your team or connect a new hire with a tenured employee to provide them with some guidance.
“Two networks are always better than one,” insists my colleague Eric Peters.
11) Lighten their workload when they have to be OOO.
Anytime you have to miss a couple days in the office — whether it be for personal reasons, a vacation, or an illness — it’s easy to get stressed out. You worry about the emails you’re missing, the meetings you had to cancel, and the hours upon hours it’s going to take you to get caught up. It’s enough to make you sick … oh wait … you already are.
Help your coworkers avoid this vicious cycle by stepping in to lend a helping hand when and where you can. “Offer to help take over some of their work so they don’t come back to a pile of it and won’t worry about getting stuff done when they need to be away,” suggests Corey.
12) Create traditions.
At my first job out of college, every Friday — or “Fiesta Friday,” as we called it — we’d order up arguably too much Mexican food and have lunch together as a team. And when I moved to HubSpot, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they had their own (equally delicious) weekly tradition: Waffle Wednesday.
Here’s the thing about workplace traditions: Aside from being a great excuse to eat, they provide a shared experience for people to look forward to. Whether you indulge in weekly burritos, venture out on a outdoor team retreat, or just grab a few drinks for a colleague’s birthday, these gatherings can help people build stronger connections while strengthening your company’s identity and culture.
Want to be the one to bring new energy to your office? Coin a new tradition. To inspire your efforts, here are a few fun outing ideas and team building activities everyone will enjoy.
13) Just listen.
“If someone needs to vent for a bit, lend them an ear,” encourages my colleague Emma Snider.
Sometimes the most helpful thing you can do for a coworker is to give them a chance to get a few things off their chest. Active listening is empathic skill that will help you truly understand what your coworker is going through, so that you can better help them arrive at a solution.
Considering our ability to detect, understand, and feel one another’s emotions influences the way we form bonds and strengthen relationships, this small act of kindness can go along way in establishing trust and comradery.
Here’s a great post on active listening as it applies to sales, but the tips work just the same in almost any scenario.
What tips do you have for being a better coworker? Share them below.
Nintendo: Our second iPhone game will feature a ‘very familiar’ character
When Nintendo first announced that it would finally be launching an iPhone game, it’s safe to say, many of we children of the 90’s got a little excited. Sadly, excitement turned to bemusement once the company revealed it would be launching a weird game called Miitomo, which wasn’t exactly a game, but rather a social network.
Following its disappointing Q4 results, Nintendo has confirmed that its second title would include a “very familiar character”, and won’t be another social network attempt. It did, however, stop short of confirming exactly which character we’re going to see.
“The second game won’t be another communication app, and we plan to adopt one of our characters that fans are very familiar with,” Nintendo CEO Tatsumi Kimishima said.
While we can only hope that Nintendo releases iOS versions of Mario Karts, Donkey Kong and Zelda, it’s being predicted by analysts that the company’s smartphone games will tie in with its next rumored physical console. Dubbed the Nintendo NX, it’s predicted that the iPhone/iPad titles will combine somehow with the NX games, blurring the line between mobile and console gaming.
With Sony and Microsoft dominating the console sales market with their respective PS4 and Xbox One consoles, Nintendo needs to adjust its strategy, especially after seeing its profits drop a massive 36% last quarter. Bridging the gap between smartphones and consoles with a new set of mobile games could help the company create a stronger ecosystem, but it’s unlikely to directly bring in any major revenue for the gaming giant. Analysts predict Nintendo will avoid an aggressive in-app purchasing strategy in order to keep its long-standing fans happy.
Eventually, Nintendo will see mobile gaming as a ‘pillar’ of its company. But until the first true game arrives on iPhone we’re yet to see if its attempts at taking on the mobile gaming industry will be successful.
Filed under: Apps Tagged: App Store, Apps, gaming, iOS, Nintendo
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How to Keep your School Blog Interesting
Your school’s blogs are the catalyst of your inbound marketing strategy. Marketers who prioritize blogging are 13x more likely to see positive results from their marketing efforts.
The reason why blogging correlates with marketing success isn’t a mystery. SEO loves a constant stream of fresh, engaging content, so search engines love them. Blogs let you present a rich, detailed picture of your school programs and life. So human readers love them.
But all this requires your team publish that constant stream of fresh, engaging content. (Notice we said “publish,” not “produce.” We’ll get to that in a moment.)
Stocking your blog with relevant, must-read content doesn’t have to be intimidating. A little planning and a lot of focus on your personas go a long way.
Informative Blogs Attract Attention
Blogging has its greatest impact on enrollment during the awareness stage. No one decides to apply because of a blog post they read. When you address their questions in a captivating way, prospective parents and students return to your blog. They see it as a resource throughout their journey.
Which means you’ve established your school as a trusted authority they can consult. You build good will with them and strengthen your place in their minds as a potential place of interest.
Which school is more likely to make their short list for applications? A school who made valuable information hard to find? Or the school that’s been by their side, guiding them the entire way?
Focus on Your Readers, Not Your School
As always, start with your personas. Your research revealed their concerns and priorities. What are the specific questions they ask to investigate these issues? What would a prospective student want to know about after-school clubs? What would parents want to know about how parent-teacher partnerships work?
If you want prospects to come back or , it must deal with the issues they struggle with.
Use your blog to highlight the expertise your teachers have in their areas. Educate people in the same areas of study you offer students. Show them the quality of education they’ll receive once they enroll. When they feel they’re learning from you already, they’ll have confidence you can educate them for the next four years as well.
Your School is Content Rich Already
We often mention the truth that your school already has a growing library of content in our other posts. This is why we said you want “publish” frequently, not necessarily “produce.” Reduce the time and cost your team expends on new blog content by drawing on these content sources.
Look to every source of content produced. Every department has syllabi, faculty bios, program descriptions, and internal newsletters. Review all the marketing collateral you’ve created for admissions. What does the alumni relations office have; is there an alumni magazine?
Don’t forget the students themselves. What do they produce? The student newspaper, publications, blogs are content-rich sources.
When you repurpose existing content for a school blog, don’t simply copy and paste. First, make sure it’s content answers a question or need a prospect will have. Then, modify the content to provide context for a prospect. Instead of talking to someone who’s already a member of your community.
Use your deep dive into your current content sources to spark ideas for new content. You want original content for your blog, and these materials are useful starting points.
What questions does a piece of content leave unanswered? Ask this question both for popular and unpopular content. If the piece already gets high traction, you know it’s an important issue. What more important information can you add about it? Perhaps a piece wasn’t well received because the topic isn’t relevant? Or because it wasn’t informative or interesting to read? How can you re-address a relevant issue in a more educational or exciting way?
Explore The Discussions Around your Content
Many times, people will ask the questions inspired by your content. Prospects send emails to admissions officers. People post comments on blogs and discuss pertinent topics on social media. Some may even send “letters to the editor” of your school’s various publications. Pay regular attention to these sources. You’ll discover more topics to address and the language to use when discussing them.
A few other outside sources: Do some stealth competition research. Visit the blogs of other schools to get topic ideas and read their comments. Update your keyword research. Are new search terms gaining, while others are retreating?
Involve All Your School’s Communities in Topic Development
Every school has five major groups in its community. Students, faculty, alumni, program departments, and administrative departments. Each group has a wealth of content it can provide. Students can share “day in the life” videos to be posted on the blog. Interview a faculty member who’s the school’s advisor for a national student science competition. Is fundraising running a campaign to build a new field house – how will the field house improve student life?
Organizing and Planning Your Blog Topics
Okay, so you’ve gathered a lot sources you can use to generate blog topics. (If you really want one more, here’s HubSpot’s blog topic generator tool.) Now you might be feeling a bit overwhelmed about the vast scope of potential topic sources. This is where planning your blog content keeps you focused and sane.
First, avoid starting each week worrying whether you have great blog content to publish. Brainstorm with your team about the best places to start looking for topic ideas. Review your personas and talk to admissions. What are the priority questions and issues the blog should address? Who will be responsible for reviewing existing content? Who will do the social media and competitive blog research? Get people researching some of the areas listed here.
Once the groundwork is done, have a brainstorm meeting to generate specific topic ideas. Invite representatives from key stakeholder groups so their perspectives are included in the process.
Don’t end this brainstorming meeting without a list of topics to stock your blog for next 3-4 months. Based on how often you want to publish new content, set the goal topic count plus 10%. You want some flexibility based on which topics you see doing well.
The final step is to create your blog content calendar. Schedule each topic for a publication date and backfill the milestone dates from there. You can include extra, significant information about each post in your calendar. Additional information like targeted keywords, tags and categories, social media promotions.
Making Awesome Blogging a Habit
Keeping your blog fresh will be easier once you set up the framework. Your framework consists of brainstorming topics, mining existing content, and updating your calendar. Involving your wider community makes it more likely they’ll tell you straight out what they want to see on the blog.
Your blog is the hub of your inbound content marketing engine. When it motors at full speed, you’ll find it carries your entire inbound strategy.
How to Network Like a Pro: 10 Ways to Make a Long List of Meaningful Connections
My second job out of college was with an incredible startup political agency called the Glover Park Group. It’s now a much larger and more successful agency, but at the time it was just a tiny company with a huge vision.
I got the job because a woman my mother used to babysit for growing up was friends with one of the partners of the firm in New York. I was en route from a work trip at the Denver Airport when I received a call from her that’d end up changing my career path … and my life.
The job gave me a passion for working alongside scrappy, smart people, taught me how to tell a compelling story, and introduced me to some dear life-long friends. And I have one woman’s network to thank for it all — a network that likely took her a lot of time and energy to build.
The lesson? Well, this one connection taught me that casting a wider, more open network can unlock opportunities you may not even know exist from your current vantage point. And that networking is an unparalleled skill for people — both young and old — to have.
So to help you hone your own networking abilities, check out the ten tips below. (You can send us a cut of your raise and promotion later.)
10 Ways to Make Meaningful Business Connections
1) Be shockingly helpful.
HubSpot’s co-founder and CTO, Dharmesh Shah, has an expression I come back to every time I think about networking: the notion of being shockingly helpful.
Starting here will fundamentally help you rethink how you network. If you start with the intention of meaningfully helping 10 people in a month, your bar for who you reach out to and the value you offer goes up, as does the quality of the potential interaction.
Start with a list of who you can help in your immediate network, and once you’ve warmed up your shockingly helpful muscles, expand your network each week. Doing so will pay significant dividends over time.
2) Play Eventbrite roulette.
One of the challenges with the very nature of networks is that we are all inclined to self-select based on our interests and existing habits. But doing the same things to network will give you the exact same results.
To combat this, try playing Eventbrite Roulette. Search for events happening in your area in the upcoming week and attend the third event that shows up on the page (or pick your lucky number as you see fit). If you’re the more traditional sort, look at the events board at your local coffee shop or library and attend the event that represents the furthest possible departure from your current comfort zone.
Whatever you do, resolve to go, enjoy the new experience, and say hello to five new people. Sometimes the act of attending an event you wouldn’t typically otherwise gravitate to will start to open your eyes and habits to new connections and creativity you might otherwise miss.
3) Shake up your social networks.
If you look at a scatter plot of your connections on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, chances are your network lines up roughly to past jobs you have had, schools you have attended, and places you have lived.
It’s safe to say that our social networks have a significant impact on the content we consume and share on a regular basis. That said, the constraints of your existing network often create a virtuous closed loop.
Resolve to follow ten new people on Twitter and LinkedIn this week. But instead of taking the algorithm-suggested options, identify a few people who are experts in things you know nothing about. Just the act of following them will help open up your perspective and likely lead you to some adjacent people worth learning from as well.
4) Strengthen your weakest connections.
Mark Granovetter’s research on the power of weak ties revealed that a vast majority of people got their jobs through people they occasionally or rarely see — dating back to as early as 1973. While job hunting has changed significantly since 1973, the importance of passive connections has not: it’s rare that your best friend will refer you to your next job, but much more likely that an old classmate, neighbor, or friend of a friend will.
Given that, set a reminder in your calendar weekly to reach out to someone you haven’t spoken to in six months. Your outreach could be a simple hello or an invitation to coffee, but I typically find that leads to transactional emails and delayed or often canceled plans. Another — perhaps more effective — strategy? Ask folks about the best thing they have read or listened to lately. Doing so is friendly, flattering, and frankly not as boring as typical professional correspondence.
5) Rethink your event networking strategy.
I’m amazed at how many people spend events they attend entirely with people they know. After all, the whole point of leaving your office should be to meet people or learn things you might not otherwise. To ensure you always make the most of it, approach every event you attend with a plan.
To get started, search the event agenda and hashtag to identify people you’d like to meet who are attending or speaking and challenge yourself to connect with each of them. Instead of joining the packed crowds of people talking to speakers after they conclude, set up time to talk to speakers a few hours before they go on stage. Can’t snag time with them? Go the “shockingly helpful” route and create compelling blogs about their talks to help spread their message and insights more broadly.
6) Gather an unconventional group.
As humans, we collectively resist uncertainty and change. If you vaguely suggest a group outing with a bunch of people who don’t know each other well to hang out, chances are you’ll end up making plans for sometime next year.
Instead, choose an activity that is reasonably inexpensive and fun, then pick a date and time to do it. Send a personalized invite to five people to join you, none of whom have met prior to the outing, and make it clear that the purpose of the evening is to have fun and meet new people.
Chances are, you’ll find a group who never would have thought to go oyster shucking, photo walking, or art gallery gazing on their own, but who are super grateful that you put it together. In addition to planning a fun night, send an email thanking everyone after so that your loose connections get the benefit of each other’s networks as well.
7) Be fearless.
In her book, Why Not Me?, Mindy Kaling suggests that you “make a list of the people you think would make the greatest mentors and try to get close enough to steal their Wi-Fi.”
While her approach is tongue in cheek, most of us have people we admire from afar for their smarts, insight, or ambition … but we never approach them.
If you’re in this boat, I recommend checking out Jia Jiang for inspiration. Based on his experience facing rejection first hand, Jiang warns that fear or rejection leads people to ultimately say no to themselves. Don’t let the obstacle to building a large open network be your own fear or rejection. Instead, create an ambitious list of people you want to learn from and identify creative ways to make it happen.
8) Take the road less traveled.
Most often, people forget to network until external signals suggest they do so. For example, when a speech ends, we crowd the speaker to make an introduction, and then reach out on LinkedIn shortly thereafter. Or, when someone gets a new high-powered job at a great company, we send a congratulations text message. While all of these things are well and good, they rarely open up new channels or streams of communications simply because they transpire en masse.
My dad took this idea to heart early on: Rather than sending out holiday cards that’ll likely get lost in a pile, he sends St. Patrick’s Day cards instead. The lesson? Identify one creative way to take the networking road less traveled and seize the opportunity to meaningfully engage with someone new. You’ll stand out from the pack and increase your likelihood of success in the process.
9) Calendar your networking time.
If you’re like most busy people, your calendar is packed with obligations and transactions. If you have time blocked for networking, chances are it’s for a specific purpose, such as an active job hunt.
Instead of waiting for serendipity to bring new people to you, put an hour on your calendar each week specifically focused on expanding your network. Ask a friend who the most interesting person they know is and go meet them. Email a blog author whose content you love with a specific comment or question about his or her work. Reconnect with an old colleague whose work you always admired. Sometimes these conversations will lead nowhere, but many will generate new ideas, connections, and creativity, so it’s worth the break in the action from your usual busy day.
10) Think like a journalist.
Using people’s passions as an entry point to learn from them is far more likely to stick than a standard request for more information about their company or career. With this in mind, channel your inner journalist and generate questions that unleash what people know or love about a subject you know very little about.
I once connected with a reporter I wanted to chat with by citing a Mighty Ducks quote deep in his Twitter stream (Emilio Estevez helps in any networking conversation, by the way). I also made one of my best friends in Manhattan by talking to her parents about Ohio State football. The lesson? These jumping off points go beyond standard small talk about weather and politics, and help you uncover more interesting stories and takeaways from people.
Ready to Get Started?
Large, open networks have the power to create countless opportunities for connection, career growth, creativity, and collaboration. Yet most people put off networking because they view it as arduous or a waste of time.
I think it’s just the opposite. And after hearing my story, I’d hope you’re with me.
In the words of Sonia Sotomayor, “To succeed in this world you have to be known to people.” You never know who will change your career or life the most, and it’s never too late to get started. So what are you waiting for?
What’s the best networking advice you’ve ever received? Share you thoughts below.
Apple removes ‘impact resistant’ claim from Apple Watch after losing court case over cracked screen
The BBC reports that Apple has removed the phrase ‘impact resistant’ from its description of the Apple Watch after losing a UK court case over a cracked screen. The owner said that he had been influenced by the description as he is “prone to knocking things about a bit.”
Gareth Cross, 32, from Aberystwyth, [bought] his Apple Watch Sport, but spotted a crack in the glass face 10 days later. The technology giant said work to fix the watch was not covered by warranty […]
Mr Cross took the company to the small claims court in Aberystwyth for breach of the Sale of Goods Act, and has won the case after a six-month fight. The company was ordered to refund the cost of the watch and pay £429 ($620) costs. Apple has now changed the description of the watch, removing the claim it was resistant to impact.
Cross says that he still plans to buy a replacement Watch.
Accidental damage is covered for those who pay to upgrade to AppleCare+, but not for standard warranty claims. We last year detailed the visual inspection process used by Apple to accept or deny claims.
Torture tests demonstrated that the Watch is pretty tough, but not immune to damage. The sapphire screens used on the more expensive stainless steel and Edition models is far more scratch-resistant than the Sport model, but just as vulnerable to cracks.
Filed under: Apple Watch Tagged: Apple watch, Apple Watch Sport, Broken Apple Watch, court case, trial
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