CultCast #259 - Secret Apple project stalling Mac updates?

The CultCast - A podcast by America's favorite Apple Podcast - Fridays

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Technology

This week: is a secret Apple project stalling Mac updates?  It wouldn’t be the first time… Plus: Apple teases Black Friday deals; Airport routers are dead, and the Mac Pro might be next;  the future of Time Machine; why iPad should be iOS/OS X hybrid; and Jony Ive’s new role designing Apple itself.

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We also want to give Kevin MacLeod at incompetech.com a  thanks for the great music you hear on today's show.
 
On the show this week
 
  • Apple is teasing a one-day shopping event for Black Friday that could bring tasty discounts on its latest products.
  • Apple chose not to participate in Black Friday sales last year, so fans were forced to look elsewhere for price cuts on Apple products.
  • In 2014, Apple took a different approach to Black Friday, offering free gift cards with certain purchases instead of cutting prices. Customers got up to $150 for buying a Mac, up to $75 with an iPad, and up to $50 with an iPod.
  • It’s also worth remembering that over the holiday period, the company offers free two-day shipping on almost all online purchases, while its retail stores are open longer.
 
  • According to Bloomberg, Apple has disbanded the division dedicated to developing its Airport wireless routers.
  • The product line — which spawned the AirPort Express, AirPort Extreme, and AirPort Time capsule, which Apple continues to sell — hasn’t been updated since 2013.
 
  • He’s killing ports and headphone jacks left and right. The latest MacBooks value form over function. He’s designing gold watches for the 1 percent.
  • And now his glossy new photo book, Designed by Apple in California, looks like a $300, linen-bound ego trip.
  • "I see why some people think Designed by Apple in California could be Ive’s goodbye to Apple. But it feels to me like Ive’s heartfelt goodbye to his best friend and colleague, five years gone. I don’t think Jony Ive is going anywhere."
 
  • Having previously been announced as the co-designer (with BFF Marc Newson) of the Christmas tree at London’s famous Claridge’s hotel, Ive’s creation was unveiled over the weekend, and — surprise — it’s a plain tree with no decorations, set on a white background.
  • “There are few things more pure and beautiful than nature, so that was our starting point, layering various iterations of organic forms with technology,” Ive and Newson said. “Our aim was to create an all-enveloping magical experience that celebrates our enormous respect for tradition while recognising our excitement about the future and things to come.”