All Apple All Day

I like Slate . I really do. It's been around a long time, and it has given us some great political and pop-cultural columns. I've never gotten the idea that Slate was intentionally trying to create controversy to drive clicks. Until yesterday.

The price of an iPad Mini has been dropping rather quickly. And based on Apple's established  modus operandi , that probably means that a new version is on the way.

Well, that answers THAT question!  Mark your calendars. In total, Apple will have gone over seven months between keynotes, which is an unusually long time - almost double the "typical" wait over the last 10 years.

Slate has an article this morning noting that Apple retail sales are doing really, really well . Not just "good", but "twice as good as the 2nd place finisher", in terms of sales per square foot. (2nd place was Tiffany, 3rd place was lululemon.) The author - correctly - notes that when your revenue is that far out of line with the rest of the industry, you're leaving money on the table. Add a bunch of Apple stores, and while the average revenue per sq. ft. will drop, you'll sell more stuff and make more money overall. But Apple is a unique case. And aggressive expansion into new markets - both in retail and in low-end devices - would cause long-term damage the most profitable brand in tech. 

We've been working with our village's government in order to find out what permits we're going to need on our hardscaping project. Turns out - not very many. But, built-in fire pits are strictly prohibited. Permanent outdoor fireplaces, on the other hand, are fine. And on second thought.... they're a lot better looking, too.

There is a serious problem with iCloud at the moment - and it's not that it's boring, crashes too often or that its overall purpose is vague and difficult to understand. No.... the problem is that iCloud has a data leak. It will CONSTANTLY use your cellular data - even when the phone is sitting idle. Even when all iCloud services are turned off!

We're only a few weeks away from the next Apple keynote - and it's fair to say that there's more anticipation around THIS keynote, in particular, than usual.

One of the primary "projects" for AAAD is a home server. My iMac is currently tasked with storing and serving up all of my media, and I'm not exactly sure why.... it's just how Apple does things. So I've been shopping for a Synology Diskstation home server - as I recently posted, the newest Synology software can run Plex, an iTunes Server, and can stream media via AirPlay. That's really what I'm hoping for. But why doesn't APPLE make a home server?

Apple has had a pretty great 10 year run. Really, as I've said more than one time before, one of the best 10 year runs of any company, ever. Lately, analysts have been itching for Apple to release another "hit" product. I think that an iCloud Home Server may be the next massive success, and that it's an opportunity Apple can't afford to pass on. Here's why.

Looks like DirecTV wasn't too far off with their original "late April" estimate - people have started to receive the HR44 Genie set-top box. And based on their early impressions, it looks like DirecTV has managed to improve on the best DVR of its generation. I'm going to put in a call and see if and when I can upgrade to the new box.... not that there's anything wrong with the current HR34, of course - I'm purely interested for AAAD purposes. 

We're coming up on the one-year anniversary of our move from Chicago's Bucktown neighborhood to the Chicago suburbs.  Like many other families in our situation, we became landlords when we moved.... and not by choice, but by necessity.  I don't think our situation was particularly unique - we'd been in the city for a long time, had a school-age kid, and wanted to move away from all that excitement.  But we'd purchased in 2005 near the top of the market, were underwater (or close to it), and weren't willing to take a loss when selling our place.  In many cases, taking a loss is not an option -- frankly, bringing a big check to the sale means you won't have a down payment on the home you're purchasing . 

It's been a slow week at AAAD and with Apple news in general, but it's been an incredibly busy week for me personally. As I mentioned in my last post, I've started working for a large corporation with some tech elements, and part of my onboarding process has required me to get familiar with our social media policy.