In the film industry, there’s a lot of pressure to appeal to the broadest possible audience. Make sure the movie isn’t too niche, conventional wisdom says. Take care not to alienate men, and to include characters that will connect with a mainstream audience.

But at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, many creators are ignoring this advice. They’re telling more personal stories for more specific audiences—making movies about women and people of color. And best of all, these decisions are paying off. More and more, the strength of an authentic story is beating the conventional formula. It’s a theme that came up frequently at the “Power of Story: Culture Shift,” a panel presented by Dropbox. Here are some of the most powerful moments from the panel.

Issa Rae goes her own way

Issa Rae got a dose of conventional wisdom when she was making Insecure—a show about modern-day black women in Los Angeles. She was told the script needed to do more to appeal to a white audience, but she rejected the advice. “It’s more important to be authentic,” she said. The show was “born out of my frustration of not seeing my friends, people like me [on TV].” Issa stuck to her instincts, and wrote a show specifically for her own friends and family. Today, Insecure is one of HBO’s most popular series.

Octavia Spencer finds depth in Oscar-winning role

Like Issa, fellow panelist Octavia Spencer faced her own share of pushback after starring in The Help (2011). When she took on the role of Minny Jackson—a black maid in the 1960s American South—some felt her talents would have been better served playing a different part. Wouldn’t a black woman playing a doctor or lawyer be better, the critics argued, than the stereotype of a housemaid?

Octavia believes these critics were missing the point. She said there was a depth and truth to Minny, that even if maids didn’t have a high status on paper, Minny was part of a group who “held the country on their backs.” The role had a quiet, undeniable strength. The film would go on to receive four Academy Award nominations, including a best supporting actress win for Octavia.

Megan Smith highlights how far we still have to go

Panelist Megan Smith—former U.S. chief technology officer and CEO of shift7—highlighted a giant study of more than 2,000 high-grossing films. The journal broke down just how much more representation men receive in film compared to women. In 82% of the movies in the study, men had the majority of the dialogue. And in hundreds of those films, women hardly spoke at all. As a result, it’s become easy to find examples of mostly male, successful films, while the number of mostly female films—successful or not—is much, much lower.

Niche projects are reaching broad audiences

What “The Power of Story” panel showed, however, is that these so-called risky projects haven’t suffered from their specificity. Issa says she regularly hears from older white men who love Insecure, something she didn’t expect. Panelist Christine Vachon—an industry veteran and award-winning producer—has seen similar success with bold films like Carol and Still Alice.

Everyone has a unique flavor of creative energy

The panel served as a good reminder that we all bring different talent to our work, and different stories to our projects. It’s when we respect this diversity that we do our most meaningful, effective work. That’s why when we talk about creative energy at Dropbox, we know that for some, that means “curious energy;” for others, “introverted energy;” and still others, “feminist energy.” Here’s to the individual creators at the Sundance Film Festival who know exactly the stories they need to tell. Let’s keep the independent energy flowing.

Watch highlights from the panel:

More Sundance:
Why we’re proud to celebrate independent filmmaking.
Eight ways to use Dropbox when you make your next film.

I talk about 90-second fact-checks and I think people think I’m a bit unhinged sometimes. What can students possibly do in that short amount of time that would be meaningful?

A lot, actually.

For example, this press release on some recent research was shared with me today:

Now I want to re-share this with people, but I’d like to be a good net citizen as well. Good net citizens:

• Source-check what they share
• Share from the best source possible
• Provide source/claim context to people they share with when necessary

To do that in this case we need to get to the source of the press release, on a site controlled by the American Psychological Association directly, and share that version of this. We also need to check that the American Psychological Association is the credible organization that we think it is. How long will this take?

Literally thirty seconds, if you know how to do it:

• Select the headline, search on it.
• First result up is from apa.org, that looks promising
• Go there, look to make sure it’s the same release
• Search Wikipedia for the site address. Find the article on the APA.
• Check to make sure the APA is a real organization.
• Check to make sure the APA web address matches

And you’re done. That may sound like a lot of steps, but each one is simple, fast, and fluid. Here are those steps executed in real time (video intentionally silent). I really encourage you to watch the video to see how ridiculously easy this is for someone with some training.

There’s really no excuse not to do this for things you share. It not only allows you to share from a more authoritative source, which is good for society and the economics of publishing, but it allows you provide your readers helpful context. Compare this:

To this:

I used to focus on students on writing longer research pieces on issues, and we still do that in various classes we work with. But just this behavior alone improves the world:

• Check what you share
• Share from the better source
• Provide a context blurb to share your own source verification with others

You don’t need to write an essay. And most any student (or teacher!) can learn the techniques. Think of it as information hygiene, the metaphorical handwashing you engage in to prevent the spread of misinformation.

Learn the skills and make the world a better place. There may be good excuses for not doing this, but time is not one of them.

(Oh, and here’s that APA press release — it’s really interesting!)

Something has changed inside Apple Retail stores. On a recent trip to my local Apple Store on a Sunday afternoon, it was actually difficult to get up close to the Apple Watch tables. People were looking at and buying various Apple Watch models and bands. It brought back memories of the early hoopla found when trying out iPad for the first time. Just two years ago, the lack of crowds around the Apple Watch tables led people to wonder if the Apple Watch was a misfire. Something is changing when it comes to the way people are thinking about Apple Watch. 

Sales Momentum

My recent Apple Store observation is not an isolated incident. More people are buying Apple Watches these days. During the three quarters leading up Apple's FY1Q18, Apple Watch unit sales have been up at least 50 percent year-over-year. From a unit sales perspective, this works out to Apple Watch sales trending at a little less than 20M units on an annual basis. In what will come as a surprise to most people, Apple Watch likely outsold Amazon Echo during the holidays despite Apple Watch selling for nearly 10x more money. 

Based on unit sales, the Apple Watch business is currently about the size of the Mac business. When considering that the Apple Watch is less than three years old, for the product to be nearly outselling Mac on an annual basis is quite the achievement. As seen in the chart below, assuming Apple is able to maintain Apple Watch sales momentum, the sales gap between Apple Watch and iPad will continue to narrow.

There is currently no legitimate wrist wearables market. Instead, there is only an Apple Watch market. Android Wear continues to be a nonfactor. Samsung and Fossil haven't been able to put all of the pieces together. Garmin has been able to carve a nice niche for itself in the endurance sports space, but there is no obvious path for the company to take to broaden its appeal. Meanwhile, the former leader of wrist wearables, Fitbit, is quickly fading away.

A Bridge

Why is Apple Watch sales momentum growing? My theory is that consumers are starting to see a place for Apple Watch in their lives. While Apple's revised Apple Watch marketing campaign around health and fitness has led to a clearer sales pitch, I think the health and fitness messaging ends up being Apple's way to get its wrist in the door. People aren't buying and using Apple Watch just for its health and fitness monitoring features. There is something more at play here.

Close to 20 million people bought an Apple Watch in 2017 because the device has become a bridge between the present and future. By including a screen, Apple Watch retains the familiarity found with smartphones, tablets, and laptops/desktops. At the same time, Apple Watch is giving wearers a glimpse of the future by introducing new ideas around how artificial intelligence, voice, digital assistants, and smart sensors can come together to produce a new kind of experience. 

A Revolution

We are witnessing nothing short of a revolution with Apple Watch. The device holds the potential to become more disruptive to the current computing paradigm than even Apple may want to acknowledge. This potential is becoming easier to see as time goes on. 

Apple Watch is designed to initially pick the low hanging fruit from the iPhone and iPad trees in terms of handling relatively simple use cases like receiving notifications, checking the time and weather, and tracking our daily activity. The device handles these tasks by approaching touch screens in a unique way. Apple Watch is designed for glances instead of prolonged viewing or watching.

For companies with business models based on grabbing as much of our attention as possible, Apple Watch does not represent a preferred revolution. This is likely one reason why Android Wear has failed to amount to much for Google. There just isn't much incentive for Google to put Android on the wrist. Apple Watch will also likely end up being quite disruptive to Apple's existing ecosystem. Apple management doesn't mind this future. Instead, they are embracing the unknown.  

The same can't be said for a segment of the iOS developer community that ranges from indies to multinational companies. This group is becoming nervous about Apple Watch because it's not clear how the device will support the existing app ecosystem. In fact, this explains why a small portion of the Apple community has been so dismissive of Apple Watch from the start. News of major companies backing away from Apple Watch support has led this community to think that Apple Watch is in trouble. In reality, this is backwards. The current app ecosystem, not Apple Watch, is in trouble.

While Apple sees what the Apple Watch can become, management likely isn't sure of the exact path that will be taken to get there. For example, the honeycomb pattern of apps on Apple Watch is likely based too much on the present state of technology. Meanwhile, Apple's ongoing quest to figure out what to do with the Apple Watch side button is another sign of the company trying to capture the genie in the bottle in terms of how we will use apps on the wrist. 

The reality is that Apple Watch likely won't support the same kind of ecosystem that we are accustomed to with iPhone and iPad. Apple Watch ends up being designed more for what may come after the App Store. Instead of relying on a collection of apps on my wrist, most of my interactions with services and features on Apple Watch end up being through the Siri watch face and various cards featuring glanceable amounts of information and data chosen for me by a digital assistant. These cards are personalized for me based on the time of day and my schedule. The implications of this computing experience are immense. We move away from pulling data from various apps and getting pushed mostly useless notifications to being pushed a curated feed of data that is always changing and tailored to the day at hand. Every app developer will be impacted by this dynamic. 

Betting Big

Given how Apple Watch is playing such a crucial role in Apple's product vision, one assumes the product is gaining importance and priority within Apple. A closer look at Apple's product strategy confirms Apple Watch's growing influence within the company. 

The Apple Watch-centric feel to Apple's recent product strategy is becoming hard to miss. While AirPods are a pair of wireless headphones that work with a plethora of devices, including iPhone, Apple is positioning them as an Apple Watch accessory more than anything else. The subtle references to AirPods in the following ad make it difficult to know if it's an Apple Watch or AirPods ad. (It's actually an Apple Watch & Apple Music ad, and it's pretty great.) The ad is meant to highlight the ability to listen to music on the go with Apple Watch and AirPods.

New accessories for Apple Watch won't stop with AirPods. Apple's upcoming stationary speaker, HomePod, will likely turn into a useful Apple Watch accessory as Watch wearers get additional music controls on their wrist. In one of the animated videos on Apple's HomePod website, the only Apple product shown in the room other than HomePod is Apple Watch. There is no iPhone, iPad, or Mac in sight. For some companies, this can be brushed off as a simple oversight, but not for Apple. It's intentional. 

Vision

When it comes to thinking of a product or feature that may one day serve as a legitimate iPhone alternative, there is a small but passionate group who thinks a paradigm around voice is the answer. In this voice world, screens and keyboards still exist, but their value will have been greatly diminished. Everything from hardware to the app ecosystem is expected to be disrupted in this voice-centric world. Meanwhile, there is another group who doesn't think it's a good bet to assume screens will lose value in our lives. While voice may be a useful input mechanism, screens and user manipulation on screens will remain a valuable way to consume data for the foreseeable future.

Apple has a vision for how we will use the combination of voice and screens in the future. Unlike Amazon and Google, who are desperately trying to position voice as a way to leapfrog over the current smartphone/tablet and app paradigm, Apple is approaching things from a different angle. Instead of betting on a voice interface that may push some information to a stationary screen, Apple is betting on mobile screens that are home to a digital assistant. Apple is placing a bet that consumers will want the familiarity of a touch screen to transition to a future of greater AI and digital assistants. In addition, Apple thinks user manipulation via screen (fingers, hands, and eyes) will remain a crucial part of the computing experience for the foreseeable future.

Priorities

Here are Apple's priorities for Apple Watch in order for the device to become a more desirable bridge between the present and future:

1. Independency from iPhone. Apple Watch's largest new features since launch have been related to achieving greater independency (GPS in 2016 and cellular connectivity in 2017). The writing has been on the wall since 2014. Apple Watch will eventually become completely independent of iPhone. We will likely be surprised at how quickly this independency will be achieved.
2. Powerful screen. The most useful and powerful screen in our lives will be the one that is on us. For most people, that screen is currently our smartphone. In the future, Apple Watch and a pair of AR glasses will have a good chance of holding that distinction.
3. Powerful camera. The most useful and powerful camera in our lives will be the one that is on us. For most people, that camera is currently found in our smartphone. In a world where we may begin to leave iPhone behind, there is logic found in giving Apple Watch a selfie camera with Face ID.
4. Superb health monitoring. It's difficult to think of another device that will be on our body as much as a wristwatch. According to Apple, the Activity app is the most used Apple Watch app. This doesn't come as a surprise given the wide range of notifications and reminders delivered to Apple Watch wearers throughout the day. 
5. Home to our digital assistant. Creating a device that can both listen to our voice and provide visual context is a powerful way to quietly place a digital assistant in our lives. The Siri watch face on Apple Watch is the embodiment of this intelligent assistant. Apple believes an intelligent assistant that is always on you, and comes with a screen, is more powerful than one that is just confined to four walls. Amazon's urgency to bring its voice assistant, Alexa, to wearables adds validity to Apple's stance.

The Big Question

One question facing Apple is how the company plans on taking the app ecosystem that turned iPhone and iPad into juggernauts and use it to push Apple Watch and future wearables (i.e. Apple Glasses). Apple's product strategy has been receiving criticism given Amazon's push to get Alexa into as many third-party products as possible. Even if Amazon's advantage is in perception only, which I think there is truth to, such perceived notions can prove to be a danger to Apple. 

It appears that Apple's strategy of building a new wearables ecosystem consists of two overarching themes. The first is establishing a platform of first-party hardware, software, and services. For example, AirPods and Apple Music will end up being great marketing tools for Apple Watch (and vice versa). The same will likely be said about HomePod.

Apple also has invested significantly in getting the health, fitness, and medical industries to embrace Apple Watch. Items like GymKit allow Apple Watch wearers to pair their device with fitness equipment. Third-party products like AliveCor's KardiaBand, which takes a clinical grade EKG, are literally being built for Apple Watch. Meanwhile, the list of medical and heath devices that work with Apple Watch is growing while ResearchKit and CareKit gain influence in the health and medical industries. This is where Apple's sheer dominance in wrist wearables helps the company appeal to third parties looking to offer health and medical services. 

Later this year, there will be more than 40 million people wearing an Apple Watch on a daily basis. As competition for our attention moves away from smartphones and tablets, it will soon become evident that Apple holds immense power in being the largest wearables software provider in the world. This power will manifest itself in Apple's digital assistant occupying a growing role in hundreds of millions of users' lives. Apple Watch is becoming Apple's bridge to this new world. 

Receive my analysis and perspective on Apple throughout the week via exclusive daily updates. To sign up, visit the subscription page. 

mkalus shared this story from Price Tags.

As reported by Matt Robinson in the Vancouver Sun: “A shiny, new $75-million destination pool is something most city residents would positively yearn for.But not in Kitsilano, where some locals are decrying proposed plans for such a facility in Connaught Park on West 12th near Arbutus. For these residents, the problem is two-fold: not only has the city’s park board failed to adequately consult people about the idea, but to go ahead with construction would do irreparable harm to a key piece of the community. Rebecca Lockhart is among many who have developed a strong affinity for the Kitsilano Community Centre. The well-appointed centre, located at the southwest corner of Connaught Park, boasts a fitness centre, ice rink, community garden, preschool and children’s water park, among other amenities.

By Lockhart’s read, all that could be lost or permanently altered if a big, brash sport training pool designed to attract a major influx of residents from across the city were built at the location.Recent park board documents related to its proposed VanSplash aquatic services strategy — up for consideration by commissioners on Jan. 29 — are not clear on whether the community centre as a whole or in part would need to be overhauled to make way for the pool, but they do raise such a possibility. Either way, Lockhart believes it would fundamentally disrupt the cozy, community centre feel to the area.…“This is about more than pools. This is about people having a right to know when big changes are coming and about being given a say — a real say, a legitimate say — so that people in positions of power, like these park board commissioners, can make decisions in good conscience, knowing that they actually have an idea of what people think”.

The park board had held five open houses, and conducted focus groups and online surveys. This work was part of a new strategy to shift away from neighbourhood pools to destination type of pools, and two local pools would be closed if the new Connaught Park pool proceeds. But it appears that destination pools, just like the ‘Not in My Back Yard” and “Yes in My Back Yard” factions for higher  residential density require good public process, mutual consensus and clearly shared development objectives. You many want to take a look at the comments on the Vancouver Sun page about this potential project.

Photograph: Suki Dhanda for the Observer

Fuchsia Dunlop, the wonderful explorer of various Chinese cuisines. I’m making her Dan Dan Noodles tonight.

Update: 2018-01-24 – Here’s those Dan Dan Noodles.

Hajra Rahim, The Telegraph, Jan 26, 2018

This is a fairly decent article that summrizes some of the major streams of thought regarding innovation." Innovation means creating value from ideas," says John Bessan. People often confuse innovation, which requires the creation of value, with ideation, which is the process of thinking of new products or processes, he says. "If I have a great idea for a heart valve, I will need a long time to refine the idea, take on board other people's input and knowledge to develop it, and require users to test it." This characterization isn't new by any means, but I liked the way it captured the idea in an introductory fashion.

Choosing the path of entrepreneurship is no easy feat. You’re often met with critics, dubious looks, and parents inquiring about how you’ll pay your bills (I can live off ramen, mom!). But you know when you’ve got a solid business idea and plan in mind – so take the leap! The most challenging tasks are often the most rewarding, and in the case of being your own boss and building something you’re passionate about, nothing can be more true. Despite the challenges faced by deciding to go it alone, there are ample opportunities provided to entrepreneurs in this great city of Toronto. So, give it a go!

Co-Working Spaces

Toronto is full of awesome co-working and shared office spaces – each with their own unique services and setting. On nearly every street in the core you can find a great shared office space to rent a desk, an office, or a meeting space, with minimal fees. We absolutely love the innovation and sense of community that comes out of entrepreneurs brainstorming together. If you’re a University of Toronto student or grad looking for a place to work on your business, U of T offers a large facility called ONRamp right at University and College. The wi-fi is fast, the coffee is free (and so is the facility, but the coffee matters most, let’s be honest), and there is typically always a seat available.

Psst… Hover will be partnering up with some really awesome co-working spots downtown to show you how they push you to succeed and how they promote the entrepreneur community. Keep an eye on our social media and blogs to see our features. We want to find the perfect place for you! Got an awesome co-working hub we just need to check out? Post it in the comments below.

Education

While this specific education is online and can technically be absorbed anywhere, it comes right from Toronto’s own MarsDD. Mars Discovery District, best known for being a non-profit innovation hub, launched their Entrepreneurship 101 course to help set you on the right path towards achieving your goals. You can’t beat the stellar continuing education courses available at University of Toronto, Humber, and Ryerson – their certificate majors are always growing to offer courses applicable to emerging fields. However, certificates are not always within an entrepreneur’s budget. If that’s the case, check out the Canada Business Network or TD Bank’s small business online workshops to cover your basics and the hot topics.

Grants & Pitches

You have to know where to look, but once you’ve made note of the yearly grants and prizes available to individuals with new business ideas, you’ll be kicking yourself for not finding them sooner. If you’re a University of Toronto student or a new grad with a start-up you’re looking to launch, apply for RBC’s Prize Competition. Go to a hackathon, such as Hackernest’s Fishackathon and spend the weekend innovating and winning prizes. Ignite Capital, a Toronto non-profit helping Ontario entrepreneurs, has an annual competition that has you compete in one of four categories (women, immigrants, youth, and Start Me Up) to win up to $25,000 in funding. TELUS Pitch is another annual competition, offering $100,000 and a chance to have your idea judged by some brilliant Canadian business minds. Wrack up the nerve to take your awesome pitch to the big leagues and present it to people who want to invest in you!

Networking Events

Toronto is full of events, and professional networking ones can be found nearly every night of the week. Search through Meetup or Eventbrite to find free or inexpensive events near you – some even have food and drinks included. The sense of community found in these is astounding – it’s always important to hear others’ triumphs and struggles as they navigate the uncertain world of launching their own business. One of our monthly favourites? Tech Toronto. Not a techy? No worries! There are professional events specific to all verticals, or even general social ones. At networking events you have the incredible opportunity of connecting with potential clients, business partners, and investors. Spice up your boring Wednesday nights and put yourself out there!

You’ve got the idea, you’ve got the guts – now get out there and build your business. You can find a place to work and to collaborate with your team or other entrepreneurs, you’ve got the ability and know-how to source contests and funding, and you’ve got a year of networking events to plan. You can launch your business idea – and Toronto is one of the greatest cities in the world to do it!

In this post I describe the dslabs package, which contains some datasets that I use in my data science courses.

A much discussed topic in stats education is that computing should play a more prominent role in the curriculum. I strongly agree, but I think the main improvement will come from bringing applications to the forefront and mimicking, as best as possible, the challenges applied statisticians face in real life. I therefore try to avoid using widely used toy examples, such as the mtcars dataset, when I teach data science. However, my experience has been that finding examples that are both realistic, interesting, and appropriate for beginners is not easy. After a few years of teaching I have collected a few datasets that I think fit this criteria. To facilitate their use in introductory classes, I include them in the dslabs package:

install.packages("dslabs")

Below I show some example of how you can use these datasets. You can see the datasets that are included here:

library("dslabs")
data(package="dslabs")

Note that the package also includes some of the scripts used to wrangle the data from their original source:

list.files(system.file("script", package = "dslabs"))

##  [1] "make-admissions.R"                   
##  [2] "make-divorce_margarine.R"            
##  [3] "make-gapminder-rdas.R"               
##  [4] "make-murders-rda.R"                  
##  [5] "make-na_example-rda.R"               
##  [6] "make-outlier_example.R"              
##  [7] "make-polls_us_election_2016.R"       
##  [8] "make-reported_heights-rda.R"         
##  [9] "make-research_funding_rates.R"       
## [10] "make-weekly_us_contagious_diseases.R"
## [11] "save-gapminder-example-csv.R"

If you want to learn more about how we use these datasets in class, you can read this paper or this online book.

data("murders")
library(tidyverse)
library(ggthemes)
library(ggrepel)

r <- murders %>%
  summarize(pop=sum(population), tot=sum(total)) %>%
  mutate(rate = tot/pop*10^6) %>% .$rate

ds_theme_set()
murders %>% ggplot(aes(x = population/10^6, y = total, label = abb)) +
  geom_abline(intercept = log10(r), lty=2, col="darkgrey") +
  geom_point(aes(color=region), size = 3) +
  geom_text_repel() +
  scale_x_log10() +
  scale_y_log10() +
  xlab("Populations in millions (log scale)") +
  ylab("Total number of murders (log scale)") +
  ggtitle("US Gun Murders in 2010") +
  scale_color_discrete(name="Region") 

data("gapminder")

west <- c("Western Europe","Northern Europe","Southern Europe",
          "Northern America","Australia and New Zealand")

gapminder <- gapminder %>%
  mutate(group = case_when(
    region %in% west ~ "The West",
    region %in% c("Eastern Asia", "South-Eastern Asia") ~ "East Asia",
    region %in% c("Caribbean", "Central America", "South America") ~ "Latin America",
    continent == "Africa" & region != "Northern Africa" ~ "Sub-Saharan Africa",
    TRUE ~ "Others"))
gapminder <- gapminder %>%
  mutate(group = factor(group, levels = rev(c("Others", "Latin America", "East Asia","Sub-Saharan Africa", "The West"))))

filter(gapminder, year%in%c(1962, 2013) & !is.na(group) &
         !is.na(fertility) & !is.na(life_expectancy)) %>%
  mutate(population_in_millions = population/10^6) %>%
  ggplot( aes(fertility, y=life_expectancy, col = group, size = population_in_millions)) +
  geom_point(alpha = 0.8) +
  guides(size=FALSE) +
  theme(plot.title = element_blank(), legend.title = element_blank()) +
  coord_cartesian(ylim = c(30, 85)) +
  xlab("Fertility rate (births per woman)") +
  ylab("Life Expectancy") +
  geom_text(aes(x=7, y=82, label=year), cex=12, color="grey") +
  facet_grid(. ~ year) +
  theme(strip.background = element_blank(),
        strip.text.x = element_blank(),
        strip.text.y = element_blank(),
   legend.position = "top")

library(RColorBrewer)
data("us_contagious_diseases")
the_disease <- "Measles"
us_contagious_diseases %>%
  filter(!state%in%c("Hawaii","Alaska") & disease ==  the_disease) %>%
  mutate(rate = count / population * 10000 * 52 / weeks_reporting) %>%
  mutate(state = reorder(state, rate)) %>%
  ggplot(aes(year, state,  fill = rate)) +
  geom_tile(color = "grey50") +
  scale_x_continuous(expand=c(0,0)) +
  scale_fill_gradientn(colors = brewer.pal(9, "Reds"), trans = "sqrt") +
  geom_vline(xintercept=1963, col = "blue") +
  theme_minimal() +  theme(panel.grid = element_blank()) +
  ggtitle(the_disease) +
  ylab("") +
  xlab("")

data(polls_us_election_2016)
polls_us_election_2016 %>%
  filter(state == "U.S." & enddate>="2016-07-01") %>%
  select(enddate, pollster, rawpoll_clinton, rawpoll_trump) %>%
  rename(Clinton = rawpoll_clinton, Trump = rawpoll_trump) %>%
  gather(candidate, percentage, -enddate, -pollster) %>% 
  mutate(candidate = factor(candidate, levels = c("Trump","Clinton")))%>%
  group_by(pollster) %>%
  filter(n()>=10) %>%
  ungroup() %>%
  ggplot(aes(enddate, percentage, color = candidate)) +  
  geom_point(show.legend = FALSE, alpha=0.4)  + 
  geom_smooth(method = "loess", span = 0.15) +
  scale_y_continuous(limits = c(30,50))

data("heights")
heights %>% 
  ggplot(aes(height, fill=sex)) + 
  geom_density(alpha = 0.2)

data("reported_heights")
reported_heights %>% filter(is.na(as.numeric(height))) %>% select(height) %>% .$height 

## Warning in evalq(is.na(as.numeric(height)), <environment>): NAs introduced
## by coercion

##  [1] "5' 4\""                 "165cm"                 
##  [3] "5'7"                    ">9000"                 
##  [5] "5'7\""                  "5'3\""                 
##  [7] "5 feet and 8.11 inches" "5'11"                  
##  [9] "5'9''"                  "5'10''"                
## [11] "5,3"                    "6'"                    
## [13] "6,8"                    "5' 10"                 
## [15] "Five foot eight inches" "5'5\""                 
## [17] "5'2\""                  "5,4"                   
## [19] "5'3"                    "5'10''"                
## [21] "5'3''"                  "5'7''"                 
## [23] "5'12"                   "2'33"                  
## [25] "5'11"                   "5'3\""                 
## [27] "5,8"                    "5'6''"                 
## [29] "5'4"                    "1,70"                  
## [31] "5'7.5''"                "5'7.5''"               
## [33] "5'2\""                  "5' 7.78\""             
## [35] "yyy"                    "5'5"                   
## [37] "5'8"                    "5'6"                   
## [39] "5 feet 7inches"         "6*12"                  
## [41] "5 .11"                  "5 11"                  
## [43] "5'4"                    "5'8\""                 
## [45] "5'5"                    "5'7"                   
## [47] "5'6"                    "5'11\""                
## [49] "5'7\""                  "5'7"                   
## [51] "5'8"                    "5' 11\""               
## [53] "6'1\""                  "69\""                  
## [55] "5' 7\""                 "5'10''"                
## [57] "5'10"                   "5'10"                  
## [59] "5ft 9 inches"           "5 ft 9 inches"         
## [61] "5'2"                    "5'11"                  
## [63] "5'11''"                 "5'8\""                 
## [65] "708,661"                "5 feet 6 inches"       
## [67] "5'10''"                 "5'8"                   
## [69] "6'3\""                  "649,606"               
## [71] "728,346"                "6 04"                  
## [73] "5'9"                    "5'5''"                 
## [75] "5'7\""                  "6'4\""                 
## [77] "5'4"                    "170 cm"                
## [79] "7,283,465"              "5'6"                   
## [81] "5'6"

the_title <- paste("Correlation =",
                round(with(divorce_margarine,
                           cor(margarine_consumption_per_capita, divorce_rate_maine)),2))
data(divorce_margarine)
divorce_margarine %>%
  ggplot(aes(margarine_consumption_per_capita, divorce_rate_maine)) +
  geom_point(cex=3) +
  geom_smooth(method = "lm") +
  ggtitle(the_title) +
  xlab("Margarine Consumption per Capita (lbs)") +
  ylab("Divorce rate in Maine (per 1000)")

There has been a lot of back and forth about industrial development in Delta.  There is the MLA for Delta South who is still double dipping as a member of Delta Council. He’s insisting he represents farm interests but in the same breath advocates single mindedly for an overbuilt multi billion dollar  ten lane bridge to replace the Massey tunnel. Such a bridge would further industrialize that part of the Fraser River and ensure adjoining lands are  permanently removed from any future agricultural consideration.  And then there’s Ivanhoe Cambridge, the real estate arm of a Quebec pension fund  who have developed a whopping 1.2 million square foot mall with 6,000 parking spaces on what was the most arable Class 1 farmland in Canada, land that is controlled by the Tsawwassen First Nation.

It is refreshing to hear from someone who is not trying to facilitate the paving over of prime agricultural lands for industry with things like an $18 million dollar parking lot for port bound trucks and port expansion. As the Vancouver Sun’s Larry Pynn writes there are people who are very concerned about the loss of “prime” (the best in Canada) farmland in South Delta. As farmer Rod Swenson states ““Delta is just getting hacked and torn apart by everything — roads, industry and the First Nations treaty.”

The map above shows Brunswick Point north of Deltaport which has 250 hectares of potentially arable lands. Four families farm this area under provincial Crown leases that are due to expire. Mr. Swenson would like to see the lands designated in perpetuity for agriculture and wildlife. This area of Delta is on one of the big migratory flightways on the continent.

Without this designation, this land could be developed for industry through the Tsawwassen First Nation which has the first right of refusal.Even though this land is in the Agricultural Land Reserve, the First Nations do not need to abide by that designation should they control the land. The Tsawwassen First Nations have already extensively developed their lands for two large shopping malls, housing and industrial warehouses related to the port.

Here is where it gets sticky~how important is agricultural land? Will new farming techniques mean that this land can be more intensively used in the future? And should the Province be keeping this land as agricultural for future generations? The trail along the Brunswick Point dike is also a birdwatching area where the spring migration of hundreds of thousands of western sandpipers can be viewed. Is this a resource that should be protected? Or should the local industrial based economy take precedence?

As reported by Matt Robinson in the Vancouver Sun: “A shiny, new $75-million destination pool is something most city residents would positively yearn for.But not in Kitsilano, where some locals are decrying proposed plans for such a facility in Connaught Park on West 12th near Arbutus. For these residents, the problem is two-fold: not only has the city’s park board failed to adequately consult people about the idea, but to go ahead with construction would do irreparable harm to a key piece of the community. Rebecca Lockhart is among many who have developed a strong affinity for the Kitsilano Community Centre. The well-appointed centre, located at the southwest corner of Connaught Park, boasts a fitness centre, ice rink, community garden, preschool and children’s water park, among other amenities.

By Lockhart’s read, all that could be lost or permanently altered if a big, brash sport training pool designed to attract a major influx of residents from across the city were built at the location.Recent park board documents related to its proposed VanSplash aquatic services strategy — up for consideration by commissioners on Jan. 29 — are not clear on whether the community centre as a whole or in part would need to be overhauled to make way for the pool, but they do raise such a possibility. Either way, Lockhart believes it would fundamentally disrupt the cozy, community centre feel to the area.…“This is about more than pools. This is about people having a right to know when big changes are coming and about being given a say — a real say, a legitimate say — so that people in positions of power, like these park board commissioners, can make decisions in good conscience, knowing that they actually have an idea of what people think”.

The park board had held five open houses, and conducted focus groups and online surveys. This work was part of a new strategy to shift away from neighbourhood pools to destination type of pools, and two local pools would be closed if the new Connaught Park pool proceeds. But it appears that destination pools, just like the ‘Not in My Back Yard” and “Yes in My Back Yard” factions for higher  residential density require good public process, mutual consensus and clearly shared development objectives. You many want to take a look at the comments on the Vancouver Sun page about this potential project.

Jarrett, an international consultant in public transit planning and policy, continues his role as one of the adults in the room:

… transit agencies are not businesses. They are not monopolizing a profitable business and preventing others from entering. They are running an unprofitable service for reasons unrelated to profit: the functioning of a dense city, the liberty of its citizens, and connecting disadvantaged people to opportunity. Nobody has proposed a way for the private sector to deliver, profitably, on all of those goals. …

Private firms are muscling-in on the elite end of the business. Uber and Lyft may be responsible for about a 6 percent shift in ridership away from transit. But they are also unprofitable, which means they may be unsustainable, even while charging fares that most citizens could not afford for routine travel. To argue that these firms should replace transit is to argue that everyone who can’t afford those fares should be “left behind,” even if our cities had room for the resulting explosion in car traffic. Not even Lyft and Uber make this argument.  Both are eager to partner with transit agencies rather than replace them.

Once we have wide uptake of full automation—sometime between 2020 and 2100 (or never), depending on who you ask—labor cost goes away and driverless taxi fares theoretically get cheaper. But labor cost of fixed transit also goes away. Labor is the dominant element of transit’s operating cost, so driverless buses and trains could be vastly more abundant. Driverless rail has already proven this point. Do you want a train every 4 minutes, even at midnight on a Tuesday? Vancouver’s driverless rapid transit system has been doing this for over 30 years.

So when making comparisons between private and public sectors around automation, you must assume automation on both sides. At that point, the most important issue becomes the efficient use of space: More people in fewer vehicles—high capacity transit—will always be the key to using limited space to liberate the lives of great numbers of people. 

You work up your courage, take a deep a breath, and say it: “I think I’m losing myself in this relationship.” Your smartphone stares back blankly. You forge ahead with your list of concerns: losing touch with your goals and passions, sacrificing sleep and other basic needs, no longer feeling fully in control of your life. “I do not understand the question,” responds your virtual assistant. But the answer is already clear: It’s time you and your tech took a much-needed break.

You’re not alone in feeling like your love affair with devices has soured. According to a recent survey on stress, 65% of Americans feel taking a break from technology is important for their mental health—a belief backed by studies linking compulsive internet use to anxiety and depression. Even if your devices aren’t making you unhappy, their distractions sap time and energy away from the work and people that matter.

A digital detox—a temporary period without electronic devices—allows you to step away from our always-on culture and rethink your relationship with tech. Consider it a way to carve out a calm space, one where you can objectively reflect on which digital connections are meaningful—and which are mindless.

Ready to give it a shot? Here are five steps to making your digital detox a success:

1. Share your plan to unplug

Worried that your willpower will waver once you start craving cat videos? Make your intention to go tech-free public and harness the power of accountability. According to a study on goal achievement, participants who shared their goals had a 70% success rate, versus only 35% for those who kept their goals private. The more specific your plan, the better: Instead of vague promises to “avoid the evil internet,” get clear on exactly how long your detox will last and which devices and activities are verboten.

Inviting friends and family to join your digital fast will only increase your chances of resisting the screen’s siren song. Just like training for a marathon, having a detox partner or tech-free teammates gives you a chance to commiserate over challenges and celebrate successes, ideally face-to-face. Such camaraderie provides the momentum needed to complete your detox—and sets up an ongoing support network that can help prevent a relapse.

2. Rethink your surroundings

One of the most enjoyable ways to make a detox successful: Pair it with a much-needed getaway. Whether it’s a remote eco-lodge or a mountain cabin, a complete change of scenery takes you out of your device-reliant routine and helps short-circuit compulsive impulses.

Take your escape a step further by signing up for a retreat that’s tailor-made for unplugging. Look for off-the-grid getaways such as Camp Grounded, which bills itself as a device-free “summer camp for adults,” or Time to Log Off, which offers digital detox retreats centered around yoga and mindfulness. Hotels and resorts are also joining the tech-free trend, offering digital detox packages, encouraging guests to hand over devices, even equipping rooms with WiFi–proof walls.

Even if you can’t swing a far-flung escape, spending time outdoors is an easy, inexpensive way to switch up your surroundings. Whether you’re full-on forest bathing or just perched on a park bench, Mother Nature’s slower rhythms act like a balm for brains overtaxed by multi-tasking. For creative types, the benefits can be big. One study of nature and creativity found that backpackers who spent four tech-free days immersed in nature increased their creative problem-solving abilities by 50%.

Keep your creative energy flowing with Dropbox

3. Get physical

Feel like your body is just a vehicle for moving your brain between devices? Consider your detox a chance to step outside your virtual world and reestablish your mind-body connection. Whether it’s salsa dancing, rock climbing, or a friendly game of bubble soccer, physical activity has been proven to benefit areas of the brain responsible for memory, problem-solving, and planning. Studies show that even short walks increase creative output by 60%.

Re-engaging your five senses can also spark new ways of thinking—an idea that has inspired multisensory office designs at companies from Google to Airbnb. Try it out during your detox: Put on stirring music, sink your fingers into wet clay, or taste-test a new recipe. You may be surprised to find that novel sensory input sparks fresh ideas and unexpected solutions to stubborn problems.

4. Make space for nothing

When was the last time you sat completely still? Or experienced boredom for longer than a second? One of the defining features of our tech-addicted existence is constant activity—and it comes with a price. Without periods of silence, stillness, or solitude, we simply can’t hear our internal voice. We drown out our own unique ideas and insights—and then struggle to add something original to the conversation.

During your detox, resist the temptation to fill the vacuum left by tech with other busywork. Instead, set aside blocks of unscripted time to follow your thoughts and serendipitously make connections. If staring up at cloud formations for an hour feels uncomfortably unproductive, know that daydreaming has been linked to innovative thinking. Or use your down time for focused meditation, which improves mindfulness—an essential tool for perceiving the ways your behavior around tech may be holding you back.

5. Stick the landing

Once you’ve reconnected with your pre-internet self—that grounded, well-rounded human who can thrive without constant external validation—why go back to business as usual? Take the wisdom and perspective you’ve gained from your detox and use it to rewrite your tech relationship on your own terms.

Like someone identifying allergens after an elimination diet, slowly reintroduce digital tools one by one. Ask yourself: Is this important and essential? Does it promote meaningful, sustaining work or does it distract and drain?

Don’t be afraid to draw firm boundaries and unfriend those old apps and activities that left you feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. After all, this your new tech relationship. Why not make it one you’ll love?

Today Apple released the latest version of iOS, 11.2.5, which includes compatibility with Apple's upcoming HomePod, arriving February 9. Today's update also brings new playback controls for external audio sources, a fix for the recently discovered "chaiOS" Messages bug, and various other bug fixes and improvements.

Besides adding compatibility with HomePod, the primary user-facing feature of today's release is a new set of controls for audio playback on external devices. When viewing Control Center on your iPhone or iPad, if you open the expanded audio playback tile (either by tapping the signal icon in the top-right corner, or by using 3D Touch or a long press), compatible external audio sources now display as separate UI tiles underneath the main audio tile. As seen above, the Apple TV is a supported audio device. Opening one of the additional audio tiles allows you to control playback on an external device while having separate playback controls from what's playing on your iOS device. In my testing, I could set an album in Apple Music to play on my Apple TV while listening to a podcast in Apple Podcasts on my iPhone.

Apple also mentions in the 11.2.5 release notes that Siri can now read the news by being asked, "Play the news." This feature actually became available recently to users running 11.2.2, but it has not previously been highlighted in iOS release notes. U.S. users can choose from four news sources – NPR, CNN, Fox News, and the Washington Post – which play their daily news podcasts upon your request. You can also ask for news specific to Sports, Business, and Music.

Amid the various bug fixes included in iOS 11.2.5 is one pertaining specifically to Messages. Discovered last week, the "chaiOS" bug would cause your iOS device to freeze or crash if you received a certain string of text in an iMessage. The bug was particularly dangerous because it required no user interaction to affect a device; once you received the text, your device would begin having problems.

iOS 11.2.5 is joined today by companion releases on Apple's other major platforms, including tvOS 11.2.5, watchOS 4.2.2, and macOS 10.13.3.

Support MacStories Directly

Club MacStories offers exclusive access to extra MacStories content, delivered every week; it's also a way to support us directly.

Club MacStories will help you discover the best apps for your devices and get the most out of your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Plus, it's made in Italy.

After 20 hours of new research and testing, we found that the best external desktop hard drive for most people is Western Digital’s 4 TB My Book. The My Book is reliable, fast, and less expensive than the other desktop drives we tested, plus it has enough space for your future storage needs and a long, three-year warranty.

After testing more than 20 new and updated microSD cards, we’ve found that the SanDisk MicroSDXC card for Nintendo Switch (128 GB) is the best for most phones, tablets, and, yes, Nintendo Switches, but there are several other cards that work fine. The hard part is finding a real one; the online marketplaces are flooded with counterfeits.

After spending 30 hours researching and testing the top five contenders, we found that the Microsoft Surface Book 2 is the best laptop for creative professionals. The Surface Book 2 had some of the fastest 4K rendering speeds we tested, and it has an excellent keyboard and trackpad and a healthy variety of ports. Its 4K display is the most accurate of the Windows laptops we tested this year, though it isn’t accurate enough for video color grading or print production work; if you do those things, pick up the 15-inch Apple MacBook Pro.

After more than 120 hours of research—spanning six years, with over 90 bottles tested—we think the Hydro Flask 21oz Standard Mouth is the best bottle for almost any thirst-quenching need. But because there are so many good water bottles, we’ve chosen six other favorites from over half a decade of testing, in a number of materials and styles, so you’re sure to find something that works for you.

After 40 hours researching and testing 11 flash drives, we found that the 64 GB Kingston DataTraveler Elite G2 is the one to get. It is fast, reliable, and inexpensive, and has a textured metal case that makes it easier to insert or remove from your USB port than the slippery plastic cases of most flash drives.

In February, Netflix Canada is set to launch new films Ghost in the Shell and Apollo 13, as well as highly anticipated series Altered Carbon.

Here’s a full list of all of the television shows and movies coming to Netflix Canada this February:

February 1st

• 42 Grams (available for download) 
• About Time (available for download) 
• American Fable  (available for download) 
• Apollo 13 (available for download)
• Being John Malkovich (available for download) 
• Blue Crush (available for download) 
• Chef (available for download) 
• Damnation: season 1 [Netflix Original] (available for download) 
• Friday Night Lights (available for download) 
• Ghost in the Shell (available for download) 
• How the Beatles Changed the World (available for download) 
• How to Be Single
• In Good Company (available for download) 
• John Mellencamp: Plain Spoken (available for download) 
• Liberated: The New Sexual Revolution (available for download) 
• Limitless (available for download) 
• Lovesick (available for download) 
• Moon (available for download) 
• Nightcrawler (available for download) 
• Oculus (available for download) 
• Paint it Black (available for download) 
• Powder: season one (available for download) 
• Ray (available for download) 
• Rolling Stones: Crossfire Hurricane (available for download) 
• S.W.A.T (available for download) 
• Secret in Their Eyes (available for download) 
• Serie Noire: season 1 (available for download) 
• Take Me Home Tonight (available for download) 
• The Danish Girl (available for download) 
• The Mermaid (available for download) 
• The Nutty Professor (available for download) 
• The Strange Name Movie (available for download) 
• The Theory of Everything (available for download) 
• The Transporter Refueled (available for download) 
• Under Arrest: season 8
• Z Nation: season 4 (available for download) 

February 2nd

• Altered Carbon: season 1 [Netflix Original] (available for download) 
• Coach Snoop: season 1 [Netflix Original] (available for download) 
• Homefront (available for download) 
• Kavin Jay: Everybody Calm Down! [Netflix Original] (available for download) 
• Luna Petunia: Return to Amazia: season 1 [Netflix Original] (available for download) 
• On Body and Soul [Netflix Original] (available for download) 
• The Mindy Project: season 6 (available for download) 

February 5th

• 24: Legacy: season 1

February 6th

• Fred Armisen: Standup For Drummers [Netflix Original] (available for download) 
• Sharknado 5: Global (available for download) 

February 7th

•  Most Violent Year (available for download) 
• Fun with Dick & Jane (available for download) 
• Imposters: season 1 (available for download) 
• Midnight Special
• Queer Eye: season 1 [Netflix Original] (available for download) 

February 9th

• Baywatch (available for download) 
• Fate/Apocrypha: part 2 [Netflix Original] (available for download) 
• First Kill (available for download) 
• My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman: George Clooney: part 2 [Netflix Original]
• Seeing Allred [Netflix Original] (available for download) 
• The Ritual [Netflix Original] (available for download) 
• The Trade (Sovdagari) [Netflix Original] (available for download) 
• When We First Met [Netflix Original] (available for download) 

February 12th

• Safe (available for download) 

February 13th

• Trophy (available for download) 

February 14th

• Greenhouse Academy: season 2 [Netflix Original] (available for download) 
• Love Per Square Foot [Netflix Original] (available for download) 

February 15th

• 2 Guns (available for download) 
• Deep Undercover Collection: Collection 2 (available for download) 
• Django Unchained (available for download) 
• Machine Gun Preacher (available for download) 
• Re:Mind: season 1 [Netflix Original] (available for download) 
• Snitch (available for download) 
• The Heart of Man (available for download) 
• The Intouchables (available for download) 
• The Vatican Tapes (available for download) 
• Unleashed (available for download) 

February 16th

• Dreamworks Dragons: Race to the Edge: season 6 [Netflix Original] (available for download) 
• Everything Sucks!: season 1 [Netflix Original] (available for download) 
• First Team: Juventus FC: season 1 [Netflix Original] (available for download) 
• Irreplaceable You [Netflix Original] (available for download) 

February 17th

• Blood Money (available for download) 

February 18th

• The Final Year (available for download) 
• The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale [Netflix Original] (available for download) 

February 19th

• Dismissed (available for download) 
• Fullmetal Alchemist [Netflix Original] (available for download) 
• Mama (available for download) 

February 20th

• Bates Motel: season 5 (available for download) 
• The Frankenstein Chronicles: season 1-2 [Netflix Original] (available for download) 

February 21st

• Forgotten [Netflix Original] (available for download)
• The Bachelors (available for download) 

February 23rd

• Marseille: season 2 [Netflix Original] (available for download) 
• Mute [Netflix Original] (available for download) 
• Seven Seconds: season 1 [Netflix Original] (available for download) 
• Ugly Delicious: season 1 [Netflix Original] (available for download) 

February 26th

• Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
• Begin Again (available for download) 
• People You May Know (available for download) 
• The Heyday of the Insensitive Bastards (available for download) 
• The Rift: Dark Side of the Moon (available for download) 
• Winnie (available for download) 

February 27th

• Derren Brown: The Push [Netflix Original] (available for download) 
• iZombie: season 4 new episodes weekly (available for download) 
• Marlon Wayans: Woke-ish [Netflix Original] (available for download) 

February 28th

• Big Bear (available for download) 
• Burnt (available for download) 
• Paw Patrol: season 4 new episodes weekly (available for download) 

Last Chance programming

• Eddie the Eagle (02/01/2018)
• The Man from U.N.C.L.E (02/01/2018)
• Tron: Legacy (02/01/2018)
• Wayne’s World  (02/02/2018)
• Mission Impossible (02/09/2018)
• Saving Private Ryan (02/16/2018)
• The Intern (02/22/2018)

The post Here’s what’s coming to Netflix Canada in February appeared first on MobileSyrup.

The latest public versions of Apple’s various operating systems — iOS 11.2.5, watchOS 4.2.2 and tvOS 11.2.5 — are now available to download.

In terms of the iPhone and iPad’s operating system update, iOS 11.2.5 solves a recently uncovered malicious link bug that caused iMessage to instantly crash and freeze.

iOS 11.2.5 also reveals some of the HomePod’s functionality, including the ability to create custom scenes, as well as support for muting the smart speaker’s “Hey Siri” feature. Apple has revealed that its $349 USD (about $434 CAD) HomePod is set to launch in the U.S. on February 9th, but a Canadian release date has not appeared yet.

In the update’s notes, Apple says that “iOS 11.2.5 includes support for HomePod and introduces the ability for Siri to read the news (U.S., U.K. and Australia only).”

watchOS 4.2.2’s update notes mention that the latest version of Apple’s wearable operating system “includes improvements and bug fixes.”

tvOS 11.2.5 focuses on performance improvements and bug fixes as well, according to the update’s notes.

MobileSyrup can confirm that updates for all of Apple’s operating systems should now be available to all Canadians.

The post iOS 11.2.5, watchOS 4.2.2 and tvOS 11.2.5 are now available to download appeared first on MobileSyrup.

On Monday, Apple CEO Tim Cook spent the day in Toronto.

The surprise trip marked Cook’s first visit to Canada as CEO of Apple, and the first time an Apple CEO has visited the country since Steve Jobs came here in the late 1980s.

By all accounts, it was a whirlwind day in which the tech executive had a jam packed schedule that saw him travelling across the city’s downtown core.

Cook started his day with a visit to the Eaton Centre, the city’s busiest shopping mall. There he went to the mall’s Apple Store to take part in workshop where Grade 7 students from Scarborough learned how to program robots to dance using the company’s Swift programming language.

The following day, Cook also visited a class of fourth year programming students at Sheridan College. Like their Grade 7 counterparts, the Sheridan College students were learning how to program with Swift.

Congrats and best of luck to these year 4 students at @SheridanCollege, kicking off their app development projects built with Swift. / Félicitations et bonne chance à ces étudiants de 4e année du @SheridanCollege, qui lancent leurs projets de développement d’app avec Swift. pic.twitter.com/2oqrpe9I18

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) January 23, 2018

While at the Eaton Centre, friend of the SyrupCast and freelance tech journalist Josh McConnell interviewed Cook. Speaking to Canada’s app development ecosystem, Cook told McConnell, “Canada is an extremely important market for us. We have a great team in Canada.”

He went to add: “I want to do everything I can do to highlight their innovation, their companies and their work, because it is a critical part of the entire user experience. I wanted to come say thank you.”

Just a normal Monday at the office with @tim_cook #lifeatshopify pic.twitter.com/rYipJps4E3

— Liz Bertorelli (@liznlbee) January 22, 2018

To that end, Cook then made his way to Shopify’s Toronto office, located near the corner of King and Spadina. At Shopify, he met the company’s CEO, Tobias ‘Tobi’ Lütke.

In a tweet sent from his official Twitter account, Cook thanked Lütke, in both English and French, for showing him what Shopify is doing with augmented and virtual reality. While Apple was slow to publicly embrace VR and AR, Cook has been bullish on the latter technology for a while.

For instance, during the company’s Q4 2017 earnings call, Cook said, “I view AR as profound. Not today, not the app you’ll see on the App Store today, but what it will be, what it can be, I think it’s profound, and think Apple is in a really unique position to lead in this area.”

Thanks @tobi and @Shopify for showing me your latest work with AR and VR. Great to be back in Canada! / Merci @tobi et @Shopify de m’avoir montré votre plus récent travail en RA et en RV. Content d’être de retour au Canada! pic.twitter.com/0scTP3PsBb

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) January 22, 2018

After his visit to Shopify, Cook met Oshawa-born R&B artist Daniel Caesar.

The 22-year-old is nominated in two categories at the upcoming 2017 Grammy Awards — Best R&B Performance and Best R&B. If you need an introduction to Caesar, look no further than his incredible duet with Chance the Rapper, “First World Problems.”

We got to chop it up with #TimCook today I was very shook but also very honoured. + shoutout @apple for the new gear pic.twitter.com/vfIfsgf6mS

— Daniel Caesar (@DanielCaesar) January 22, 2018

Of course, at almost every stop, Cook was asked to take a selfie with those with whom he met. If Twitter is any indication, he was a good sport throughout.

Had a great written-exclusive interview with a CEO today in Toronto. I’m not usually one for selfies but thought I’d make an exception. Story coming this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/AsByk2ANnB

— Josh McConnell (@joshmcconnell) January 22, 2018

To finish his day, Cook went to the Air Canada Centre to watch the Maple Leafs play the Colorado Avalanche. The team, unfortunately, lost the game four to two.

Thanks @MapleLeafs and @RealKyper for an exciting night of hockey! Tough Loss. #GoLeafsGo / Merci aux @MapleLeafs et à @RealKyper pour une soirée de hockey enlevante! Ce n’est que partie remise. #GoLeafsGo pic.twitter.com/tYdqQH1RAo

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) January 23, 2018

At the end of it all, Cook thanked the city, saying in a tweet, “Thank you, Toronto, for showing me your culture, your passion, and your creativity! Hope to see you again soon.” In short, it looks like the CEO had a pleasant trip to Toronto.

Thank you, Toronto, for showing me your culture, your passion, and your creativity! Hope to see you again soon. / Merci, Toronto, de m’avoir montré ta culture, ta passion et ta créativité. À bientôt, j’espère. pic.twitter.com/YBwFJSZuXx

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) January 23, 2018

Back in December, Apple’s CEO also had kind words to describe his meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the Fortune Global Forum in China.

Header and inline image courtesy of Apple.

Source: Canadian Press, Twitter (1), (2), (3), (4), (5)

The post Apple CEO Tim Cook makes surprise Toronto visit appeared first on MobileSyrup.

Last week, some Instagram users around the world were reporting that they could add GIF stickers to their stories.

Now, the social media giant has confirmed the feature’s rollout to all users.

When tapping a photo or video in stories to add a sticker, you’ll now see an option to add GIFs. Through GIPHY integration, hundreds of thousands of stickers will be featured in the Instagram app, ranging from animals, food, superheroes and celebrities like Toronto-born rapper Drake.

Once the GIF is placed, you’ll then be able to make it smaller or larger, as well as move it around in the story.

GIFs are now available in version 29 of the Instagram Android and iOS app.

In the coming weeks, Instagram says it will also add support for photos and videos of any size to be added to stories. Previously, parts of pictures or videos that were too big for stories would be cut off to allow the media to fit.

With the upcoming update, your pictures and videos can be shared in their original dimensions, be they in a square, portrait or landscape format. Any leftover room will be filled with a custom colour gradient that matches the media being shared.

Source: Instagram

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Now that the iPhone X has been on the market for a few months, naturally consumer attention is beginning to point towards the inevitable next iterations of Apple’s smartphone line.

Once again, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (whose analysis was originally reported by MacRumors) has revealed details regarding what to expect from Apple’s 2018 line of iPhones. Kuo says that Apple plans to release an updated version of the iPhone X that features a 5.8-inch OLED display, as well as a larger 6.5-inch OLED ‘Plus’ model, and surprisingly, a new mid-range model that’s set to feature a 6.1-inch screen.

The more affordable option is set to borrow features from the iPhone X and the iPhone 8/iPhone 8 Plus, according to Kuo. This iteration of the iPhone is also tipped to feature an aluminum frame similar to the iPhone 8, rather than stainless steel like the current iPhone X, as well a standard logic board and rectangular battery. The iPhone X currently features more integrated internals, making it notoriously difficult to repair.

Kuo says that this device will include an LCD display instead of OLED, but also mentions that it will feature the same nearly bezel-less design as other 2018 versions of the iPhone. This upcoming mid-range iPhone will also only feature one rear camera instead of a dual shooter system, 3GB of RAM rather than the 4GB Kuo says will be included in the updated 2018 iPhone X models, and perhaps most interestingly, no 3D Touch functionality.

Given that many iPhone users don’t even know 3D Touch exists despite the fact that the feature has been around since the iPhone 6s — with the iPhone SE being the one exception — this likely won’t be a big loss for the average user.

These are still really early rumours given that the next versions of the iPhone won’t be officially announced for a number of months, but Kuo’s reports have a history of being accurate.

The last mid-range smartphone Apple released was the well-received iPhone SE. The device featured the internals of an iPhone 6s with a lower screen resolution and 4-inch display.

Yesterday, another analyst report from Kuo surfaced indicating that Apple has plans to wind down iPhone X production this summer in preparation for the launch of 2018’s iPhones.

Via: MacRumors

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