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Full video of Eddy Cue and Jimmy Iovine's Code Conference interview now available
Just hours after Apple announced its $3 billion acquisition of Beats Electronics, Eddy Cue and Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine sat down with Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher at the inaugural Code Conference to discuss a wide range of topics, though the conversation naturally focused on music. The full interview lasts about an hour and is well worth checking out, if only because it's not too often we get to see Apple employees talk so freely and candidly. What's more, the Code Conference was the first time we've seen Eddy Cue really step up in the public spotlight in an arena outside of an official Apple media event. Check it out below. Your browser does not support iframes.
Weekend Poll: What would you have asked Tim Cook at All Things Digital?
On Tuesday, Tim Cook took the stage at D11: All Things Digital. Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg spent nearly an hour and a half asking Cook about Apple's future plans and directions, questions he evaded with dignity and forbearance. Topics included wearable tech, Apple's potential foray into television sets, and diversification of Apple's iPhone line. As we sat and watched here at TUAW central, we shook our heads at what we perceived as wasted opportunity after wasted opportunity. Anyone could have guessed that Cook would not reveal Apple's internal development secrets. Here, they had Cook, a man sitting at the forefront of mobile and desktop development, and, frustratingly, asked him product questions they knew he wouldn't answer instead of exploring the man's insights. As one anonymous TUAW blogger put it, "It was 81 minutes of 'I can't tell you.' It gave me a headache" So where was the philosophy? How is user interaction developing over the next few years? What is the future of the desktop? What trends are pushing the evolution of accessible computing? What role does design language play in Jony Ive's interface refresh? What lessons is Apple taking from the Surface -- what did Microsoft get right, and what did they get wrong? It's been a year since "Toaster Fridge", looking back did you have it right? We were bursting with questions like these, ones we felt that Cook could have openly addressed. Of course, Monday morning quarterbacking is easier than being in the hot seat ourselves -- especially with such well respected interviewers. But surely, Mossberg and Swisher would have gone into their discussion with an agenda they'd discussed and considered. We're just befuddled by the questions they chose to prioritize. What did you think of Cook's D11 interview? Valuable as is? Or would you have ran things differently? You tell us. Join in this poll and then tell us in the comments what questions you would have asked. %Poll-82712%
Full video from Tim Cook's D11 appearance now available
Our staff has been pushing out articles about Tim Cook's D11 appearance last night, and now the complete video is available courtesy of AllThingsD. The one-hour, 21-minute video is fascinating, not for any announcements that were made or not made by Cook, but for the constant pressure from hosts Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher to get him to spill the beans. For details, check out the following posts: Executive change-up at Apple has been great; Jony has been "really key" to iOS 7 design Apple has already acquired nine companies in 2013 More breakout posts will be forthcoming later today.
uBeam developing "Wi-Fi for energy" to enable wireless charging
The day when we don't have to plug in our consumer electronics is getting closer, thanks to a new startup named uBeam that has developed a safe way of beaming power to your devices. Rather than using inductive charging, which has a very short effective range and usually requires that the charger and device be in close proximity to each other, uBeam uses an ultrasonic transducer to convert power from your wall socket into inaudible sound energy. On the device side, there's a battery adapter that converts the sound energy back into power to charge your batteries. The ultrasonic frequency used is well above the range that can be heard by humans or dogs. uBeam wants to develop wireless charging units for home and commercial use, with the idea that businesses like Starbucks could install a transducer on the ceiling of each coffee shop to provide power to gadget-happy customers who have a uBeam battery adapter. The product idea was developed by two recent University of Pennsylvania graduates, and they demoed a proof of concept device made from off-the-shelf parts for Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher at the D9 conference. Check out the video below for more information about the technology and the plans uBeam has for making your future even more wireless.
Steve Jobs: Facebook had "onerous terms" for Ping
Steve Jobs was surprisingly candid with All Things Digital's Kara Swisher yesterday -- he reportedly told her that both Facebook and Apple had spoken about integrating more closely with the new iTunes social network Ping, but Facebook asked for "onerous terms that we could not agree to" regarding Facebook friends connecting on Ping. He didn't elaborate, obviously, but you can see in Facebook's public documentation that Apple probably wouldn't have appreciated handing any more of its network over to Facebook than it did. All Ping seems to be at this point is a system of "liking" certain content (specifically on the iTunes Store, to the frustration of many of us who want to do it directly from our personal library of music), and if Facebook required that all of the "like" buttons went their way, you can see why Jobs wouldn't agree. Turns out that even after Ping's launch, things got even more fractious between the two companies -- Apple did kick off Ping with the option to add friends with Facebook Connect, but Facebook blocked access when it was discovered that Apple wasn't playing by the rules. It's actually an open service, unless Facebook decides that it isn't, and apparently Apple's Ping network was an unwelcome guest with a lot of traffic since Apple didn't come to terms with FB ahead of time. Apple removed the service from Ping, but you'll still see some notes around suggesting you can bring in friends from Facebook. So. Looks like Ping is already making a splash with much larger social networks. If Apple can build up its network without using Facebook's services, it seems much less likely that they'll find a way to share users in the future. As you can see above, Facebook is still implemented on iTunes, in the form of sharing albums and songs that you like, but it's completely separate from what's been built for Ping. Despite the sour start to the social mixup between Ping and FB, Engadget suggests that conversations between the two companies are still ongoing. It may not be long before all this is a hearty laugh between friends.
Reminder: Steve Jobs on stage at the D conference -- we'll be there!
That's right, readers: Apple's main man Steve Jobs is going to be on stage in just a few short hours at the 8th All Things Digital conference, also known as D8. You never know what's going to happen at D, and we do not have a full schedule of events yet, but our esteemed colleague Joshua Topolsky has touched down in beautiful Los Angeles, and he'll be liveblogging the Jobs interview right here. We hope Walt and Kara have an awesome list of questions (they usually do) -- and remember -- we'll be on hand for plenty of other events too, including an interview with Microsoft mad man Steve Ballmer. Tune in, right here. We'll see you on the other side! Things kick off around 6PM PT (or 9:00PM ET), so check out our liveblog landing page right here for the main event.
Live from All Things D at CES 2010
We're live at the All Things D event at CES 2010. We're slated to see conversations with Jon Rubinstein, Reed Hastings, and Andy Rubin, so stay tuned -- we start at 3:30PM PT!
Fullpower demos the MotionX Recognition Engine, forces its intern to run around like a crazy person
Among the excitement, the glamor, and the danger at D7 (what, didn't you see Woz roll in on his Segway?) was a tech demo delivered this morning by none other than Philippe Kahn and the gang from Fullpower. The company was on hand to talk a little bit about its MotionX Recognition Engine, a system designed to study "how you move, as opposed to reading to it." The first device on display was a headset that utilizes said engine, the company's trademark "TapTap" and "ShakeShake" commands, an accellerometer, and a GPS for things like answering the phone and accessing spoken updates to the user's location. According to the company, the same technology used in the headset can be embedded in phones and other devices. Also on hand was the company's new imaging tool, which supplies image stabilization to cameraphones. As you're no doubt aware, the fun is just beginning... stay tuned for all sorts of D7-related craziness, right here.
Engadget arrives at D7!
You know you're at the D conference (hosted by Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher of All Things D) when you're chilling in the lobby of the Four Seasons and Woz and his wife peel up on tandem Segways. Yeah, it's going to be that kind of party. We're live on the ground at D7, and you can expect some pretty interesting coverage from us this week, including liveblogs of keynotes from Palm's Jon Rubinstein, Steve Ballmer, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo of Nokia, and Mike Lazaradis from RIM. For now, though, we're going to soak in some of these beautiful rays and try to get a game of Segway polo going. A few more pics after the break.
Video interview with Bobby Kotick, Activision Blizzard CEO
Here's a short interview with the CEO of (now) Activision Blizzard Bobby Kotick with an official inside view on the merger that recently combined the Guitar Hero company with the Diablo and WoW company. He's definitely still speaking from an Activision viewpoint (he disses Rock Band, which would be unacceptable if he wasn't actually publishing their main competitor-- Rock Band is awesome), but he lays out how the deal was a great idea for both companies and how Activision is looking toward the future of game publishing.It's also interesting to hear him talk about the three major innovations in gaming recently-- interface innovations (such as the Wii controller or the guitar for Guitar Hero), social innovations (not just in MMOs but in terms of tournament and organized play), and production value, which is definitely something both Activision and Blizzard know about. The woman interviewing needs to learn how to interview rather than interrupt, but as a CEO, Kotick sounds like he knows what he's talking about. For now, anyway, Activision Blizzard seems to be in good hands.[Via incgamers]
