Thursday, October 10, 2024
Archived Post

AWT News Update: June 9, 2017

Clouds, tips and inspiration — that’s what we have for this Friday afternoon on the AWT News Update podcast:

  • Dropbox plans to not only offer support for the iOS 11 Files app, but extend file capabilities for Dropbox system-wide
  • Apple will now allow developers to build “tip boxes” into apps, as long as the company gets its 30 percent cut
  • Inspiring words from Apple CEO Tim Cook, who was the commencement speaker at MIT today

Our thanks to Tick, the sponsor of Apple World Today this week. Tick provides straightforward time management software to improve your bottom line. 

The text version of the podcast can be viewed below. To listen to the podcast here, click the play button on the player below. Apple News readers need to visit Apple World Today in order to listen to the podcast.

Text Version

This is Steve Sande for Apple World Today, and you’re listening to the AWT News Update for June 9th, 2017. Although she never listens to this podcast, Happy 38th Anniversary to my wife, Barb.

Dropbox today announced that it will not only offer support for Apple’s new iOS 11 Files app, but that it’s going to add other features as well. Dropbox said that “it will extend file capabilities system-wide. You’ll be able to access files in your Dropbox account from third-party apps just as if they were stored on your iPhone or iPad. This integration will even work with Dropbox-specific features for teams, like commenting and viewer info, letting you collaborate on files from any app that supports file browsing.” We’re hoping we hear from other cloud storage providers in the near future.

Remember a few weeks ago when we had a story about Chinese developers that were building “tip” capabilities into their apps, allowing users to pay for an app or other content after using it for a while? Apple was not happy with that, and now we know why. They’re changing an App Store policy that forbids the practice, now allowing developers to build in a tip box, as long as 30% of the tip goes to Apple. There’s still bound to be some pushback from developers who want to keep the entire tip to themselves, but they will likely find themselves thrown out of the App Store if they resist.

Apple CEO Tim Cook was the commencement speaker at MIT today, and started his talk pondering what the purpose of his life is. To quote Cook, “I tried meditation. I sought guidance and religion. I read great philosophers and authors. In a moment of youthful indiscretion, I might have experimented with a Windows PC. And obviously that didn’t work.” Cook then went on to mention that after going to work at Apple in 1998, he learned the answer from Steve Jobs — living his life to answer the question “How can I serve humanity?” His closing words brought that point to an inspiring conclusion: “As you go forward today, use your minds and your hands and your hearts to build something bigger than yourselves. Always remember there is no idea bigger than this: as Dr. Martin Luther King said, we are all bound together in a single garment of destiny. If you keep that idea at the forefront of all that you do, if you choose to live your lives at that intersection between technology and the people it serves, if you strive to create the best, give the best, and do the best for everyone—not just for some—then today all of humanity has good cause for hope. Thank you very much.”

Our sponsor this week is Tick, providing straightforward time management software to help you improve your bottom line. Perfect for solo freelancers or large project teams, Tick provides a way to track time against a budget, capturing that time from anywhere using iOS, Android, Apple Watch and desktop timers. Add Tick to your existing project workflows through integration with hundreds of web apps, and get instant feedback on project status at any time. There’s a 30-day free trial of Tick waiting for you today.

That’s all for today and for this week; I’ll be back Monday afternoon with another edition of the AWT News Update.

Steve Sande
the authorSteve Sande
Steve is the founder and former publisher of Apple World Today and has authored a number of books about Apple products. He's an avid photographer, an FAA-licensed drone pilot, and a really bad guitarist. Steve and his wife Barb love to travel everywhere!