Reading List

The most recent articles from a list of feeds I subscribe to.

Tesla Is Working on CarPlay Support

Mark Gurman and Edward Ludlow, reporting for Bloomberg (paywalled, alas, but summarized by The Verge and Ars Technica)

Tesla Inc. is developing support for Apple Inc.’s CarPlay system in its vehicles, according to people with knowledge of the matter, working to add one of the most highly requested features by customers. The carmaker has started testing the capability internally, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the effort is still private. [...]

Adding CarPlay would mark a stunning reversal for Tesla and Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk, who long ignored pleas to implement the popular feature. Musk has criticized Apple for years, particularly its App Store policies, and was angered by the company’s poaching of his engineers when it set out to build its own car.

I wouldn’t call it a “stunning” reversal, but it would certainly be a reversal. And it would really show what a bonehead move it is for GM to be dropping CarPlay support.

Alphabet Inc.’s Google offers a CarPlay competitor called Android Auto for devices running its operating system. But Tesla isn’t actively developing support for it.

Like I just wrote the other day: a significant chunk of new-car buyers consider CarPlay support a dealbreaker, but, effectively no one cares about Android Auto. CarPlay support might make a difference for a company like Tesla, whose sales are in the tank. Android Auto support would not.

Mini Apps Partner Program

Apple (MacRumors, MacStories, Hacker News, Slashdot): Today, we’re introducing the Mini Apps Partner Program, which expands on the App Store’s ongoing support for apps that offer mini apps. Mini apps are self-contained experiences that are built using web technologies like HTML5 and JavaScript. This program is designed to help developers who host mini apps grow […]

Apple Developer Release Notes Tracked by Git

I’ve frequently noted my frustration with Apple’s Xcode release notes, how lately they simply don’t tell you what’s changed in a given release. Changes from multiple releases are merged together, and Apple deletes and renames old pages so that you can’t compare them unless you’d saved a copy. However, commenter F1248 has done something about […]

Messages.app Violates Tracking Number Privacy

Jeff Johnson: Today I received a shipment notification via text message to my phone number from a company unrelated to Apple. The shipped product was not ordered with my iPhone, and in fact the product manufacturer doesn’t even know that I own any Apple devices. The message included a US Postal Service tracking number. Messages […]

Joy-Joy Feelings

Via a DF reader, here’s a 20-second clip from the 1993 classic* Demolition Man that exemplifies how today’s overly effusive, ever-affirming AI chatbots were presented as elements of a profoundly dystopic future by sci-fi writers just a few decades ago.

*OK, OK — cult classic.