Episode 279 — Subscriptions

Michael and Michael are back together for some fun filled fourth festivities, much of which is centered on the theme of subscriptions, hence the catchy episode title! 

Starting off with a recap of Michael R’s experiences at the virtual WWDC, the team switches gears to the 2020 Apple Design Award winners, and marvel at the StaffPad app’s ability to convert handwritten sheet music into digital form.  This spurs a fun conversation about one of Apple’s latest iPadOS innovations called “scribble” and the similarities & differences with graffiti, the data input technique made popular by the PalmPilot family of personal digital assistants.  Later in the show, the subject of design resurfaces with the iconic ThinkPad TrackPoint II pointing device.

The co-hosts then go deep into the topic of subscription, dealing with car features that could be enabled or disabled based on the user’s subscription.  This reminded them of the recent story about the used car marketplace, and how this monetization concept could be used as a car passes from one owner to another.  The idea of micro transactions for heated seats did not exactly sit well with the pair, and they turned the corner to another topic: D&D! 

Roll20 is an online RPG management system that you can subscribe to — a digital representation of the tabletop discussed way back in 2018.

After news of the Google acquisition of AR glasses company North, Michael and Michael punch their ticket to the Lost Horizon Festival and enjoy some of the festivities there.

This was the weekend to subscribe to Disney+, as #Hamilfilm was streamed on 3 July.  What an amazing story, and while seeing it on the small screen is a different experience than seeing it on the big stage, it was moving evening on such an engaging story with amazing music.

Give this episode a listen and ask your friends to subscribe, like and share!  

Selected Links

Random Thoughts blog: WWDC 2020 – Day 1 — http://michaelrowe01.com/index.php/2020/06/22/wwdc-2020-day-1/ 

Techcrunch article: Apple reveals its 2020 Apple Design Award Winners — https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/29/apple-reveals-its-2020-apple-design-award-winners/

StaffPad — https://apps.apple.com/us/app/staffpad/id1442074103/ 

Apple Insider article: Testing Scribble on iPad with Apple pencil in iPadOS 14 — https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/06/27/testing-scribble-on-ipad-with-apple-pencil-in-ipados-14 

Palm Pilot’s Palm OS Grafitti — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graffiti_%28Palm_OS%29 

Techcrunch article: BMW wants to sell you subscriptions to your car’s features — https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/01/bmw-wants-to-sell-you-subscriptions-to-your-cars-features/ 

iDropNews article: BMW is Getting Ready for Apple Car Key, But It Could Require a Subscription — https://www.idropnews.com/news/bmw-is-getting-ready-for-apple-car-key-but-it-could-require-a-subscription/138812/ 

Games At Work episode 260: 1984 Tesla for Sale — https://gamesatwork.biz/2020/02/10/episode-260-1984-tesla-for-sale/ 

Ars Technica article: How to move your role-playing game nights online — https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/06/how-to-move-your-role-playing-game-nights-online/ 

Roll20 — https://roll20.net 

Games At Work episode 199: Augmented GDPR Reality — https://gamesatwork.biz/2018/05/28/episode-199-augmented-gdpr-reality/ 

Techcrunch article: Google acquires smart classes company North, whose Focals 2.0 won’t ship — https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/30/google-acquires-smart-glasses-company-north-whose-focals-2-0-wont-ship/ 

PYMTS article: Google Buys Smart-Glasses Maker North For A Reported $180M — https://www.pymnts.com/news/partnerships-acquisitions/2020/google-buys-north-smart-glasses-maker/ 

Lost Horizon Festival — https://www.losthorizonfestival.com 

Beatport Live for Lost Horizon Festival — https://www.twitch.tv/beatportofficial/squad 

Circuit Breaker article: The ThinkPad TrackPoint tried to build a better mouse — https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2020/6/30/21292182/thinkpad-trackpoint-mouse-nub-button-trackpad-challenges-design-user-input 

3D Printing Industry article: Researchers Publish Open-Source Lower Cost Design for 3D Printed Robot Dog — https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/researchers-publish-open-source-lower-cost-design-robot-dog-172877/ 

The Verge article: This pokemon engagement ring has gone terribly wrong — https://www.theverge.com/21309879/pokemon-engagement-ring-design-pikachu-pokeball 

Pokemon rings — https://www.pokemoncenter-online.com/?main_page=product_list&keyword=wedding_ring&pc_top=banner 

The Verge article: Disney’s deep fakes are getting closer to a big-screen debut — https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/29/21306889/disney-deepfake-face-swapping-research-megapixel-resolution-film-tv 

Hamilton on Disney+ — https://disneyplusoriginals.disney.com/movie/hamilton 

Slashfilm article: ‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Hits CBS All Access This August; See Teaser Art Here — https://www.slashfilm.com/star-trek-lower-decks-release-date/ 

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