Soulection Radio - Episode 221 Replay

I don't have much appointment listening. Soulection Radio on Beats 1 is quickly become that for me. If you have yet to check it out Soulection is a weekly show on Beats 1 that goes live on Saturday nights, 10:00 - 12:00 PM EST. I've had a really hard time putting my finger on what genre to call this collective of talented producers and DJ's so I will just leave it up to them and the listener. Get your week started with the most recent episode streaming below.

Soulection is a record label, radio show and niche collective of creative music makers and programmers worldwide. Based in Los Angeles, CA, Soulection curates timeless music from around the world and increases visibility for The Sound Of Tomorrow™ through weekly Soulection Radio broadcasts, traditional releases, live events and curated visuals.

As a trusted resource and global platform pushing forward honest music, Soulection aims to inspire and a cultural shift in music consumption that values the artistry of music and discovery.

Weekend Vibes #2

Stro Elliot - Soul II Stro

I had never heard of Stro Elliot until I was introduced to him on Soulection Radio episode number 208.  Joe Kay dropped this track halfway through the episode and I damn near fell off my chair. Soul II Soul's Back to Life holds a special place in my heart and whenever I hear a remix of it I am all ears. 

I'm not sure if anything will ever touch the reconfigured version of Back to Life from the movie Belly. DJ Clue asked Mary J Blige to provide updated vocals for the remix. Hype Williams ultimately went with the updated beat but used the original acapella. 

Check out Stro Elliot and download his incredible beat LP Stro's Old Beat Farm.

Have a great weekend.

Interesting Links

Here are some interesting links I aggregated this week. Check them out below.

• Following up on the news that The Dead Weather have a release date set for their next LP is a new track off the album called "I Feel Love (Every Million Miles) with an accompanying video. Pitchfork has the details.
• ODESZA released a new track in collaboration with Little Dragon called Light. We can also expect a deluxe edition of In Return September 18th which will include live takes and an instrumental version of the album.
• Macworld has some details on what to expect from the next Apple TV including a touchpad remote, Siri support and an App Store.  
• Techcrunch has a fascinating piece of audio where Kim Dotcom discusses a potential deal between Universal Music Group (UMG) and Megaupload. The audio is pretty revealing in showing how much control lawyers actually have on the music industry.
• Dee Barnes, the well known host of the 90's show Pump It Up!, provided some detailed insight on Gawker into why she was left out of the N.W.A. Biopic Straight Outta Compton.
• RIP Sean Price.  The Boot Camp Clik rapper died in his sleep two weeks ago. Today, his new EP is available on iTunes and Apple Music. 
• The long rumored "iPad Pro" is getting closer to reality. According to AppAdvice Apple's large slate will apparently ship with iOS 9.1 and that the 2,732 by 2,048 resolution tablet has already been spotted in online logs. 

Opinion - The Future of Force Touch on iOS

What exactly is Force Touch? To most not familiar with the new Macbook or Apple Watch it probably sounds like a move out of Luke Skywalker's playbook. Force Touch is a technology that Apple developed in which a tap is detected on a track pad or other surface (such as an Apple Watch screen) and responds differently to variations in pressure. In other words you can invoke different options, actions or menus based on the amount of pressure you use with your finger.

Force Touch is a welcome addition to the Apple Watch and is a necessary feature for a device that has limited screen real estate and few hardware buttons. The ability to pull up a menu "hidden" behind the screen offers an added layer of functionality to even the basic Apple Watch app. Force Touch is supposed to make its way to the rumored "iPhone 6s" this fall and may actually be the signature feature for this iteration of the iPhone. As always 9to5Mac broke the rumor about Force Touch's inclusion in the new iPhone along with how it will function.

According to sources, the iOS version of Force Touch is known internally as “Orb.” Instead of opening up a large window of extra controls that did not fit on the screen, as is done on the Apple Watch, Force Touch on the iPhone is designed to skip existing lists of options or button presses. “There is consistent usage of Force Touch across the operating system to ‘shortcut’ actions,” rather than present new options like with the Apple Watch, according to a source.

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On the surface Force Touch sounds like an exciting feature I would welcome to iOS. The fact is I'm on the fence. On one hand Force Touch will solve some issues such as apps that have too many options with nowhere to put them. A perfect case is Apple's very own Music app which was recently updated in iOS 8.4. When using the ellipsis menu to access options for a song or album you are presented with a lengthy pop up list of choices which not only is confusing but takes a few looks just to figure out what you are looking for. This problem could easily be solved by using Force Touch technology. Long pressing on an individual song could add it to the up next queue or present you with a share sheet to choose between sharing options. In a perfect world the Force Touch options would be customizable per user so you can choose what each function will offer based on what you use the most. Typically this kind of customization is something Apple does not provide out of the box but adds down the line once enough demand for the feature is felt. To make Force Touch user friendly a section within Settings to customize each apps' Force Touch options would be ideal and welcomed.

How Do You Use This Thing?

In order for Force Touch to be successful it has to be user friendly. Which is the reason I'm on the fence about it. As a power user I will adapt and figure out all the ins and outs of the technology and eventually learn everything the same way I did with all the gestures that came with each new version of iOS and OS X. I worry a feature such as Force Touch, which may wind up being the signature feature of the "iPhone 6s", will fall short of expectations for a new device. I can already hear the complaints about the lack of innovation due to simply moving a feature from the watch into the phone. In a world where innovation is required with every new phone, the common user of the iPhone may not even realize Force Touch is part of the new device.

Whenever a new capability or API is introduced into iOS developers can get a little design and feature happy. I'm afraid this is going to happen with Force Touch and a bevy of features will be hidden from users who have no idea how to access them. Pressing buttons and swiping levers on a screen are obvious ways of UI and UX interaction but remembering to press harder may not be a natural way of interacting with a device for most people.

Force Touch may also have an awkward feel when using it with an iPhone. The great thing about Force Touch on the Apple Watch is you have your wrist as a "platform" for your watch to lean on while applying pressure. You receive the haptic feedback on your arm while using Force Touch to let you know it's activated. Force Touch on iOS is expected to provide a physical feedback that feels "nice" and "consistent" across the OS. 

What Else To Expect?

The details on Force Touch and it's functionality are still rumors. One can expect shortcuts and faster actions all across iOS 9. According to Mark Gurman at 9to5Mac a few examples of what to expect from Force Touch is the ability to look up points of interest in the maps app and force touching on the location to immediately start navigation directions to Force Touching a track in the Music app to access a deeper set of options such as adding to the up next queue. 

My concerns may be nitpicking and I'm sure I'll look back at this article and laugh. Apple always has a way of making what at first seems like non-essential features as key, commonly used features down the line that will make me say "how did I live without this before". 

I'm holding out hope Apple isn't relying on Force Touch to sell the next iPhone and it's just one medium sized feature among many. If Apple was smart, they would keep the focus on camera upgrades and use Force Touch as a complementary feature not meant to sell the device.

Playlist Hunt - Download or Share Your Best Playlists

Really cool discovery I made when looking for playlist aggregators. Playlist Hunt helps you discover the best Apple Music and Spotify playlists. You can submit your own playlists or browse the database of available lists. 

The purpose of the site is to build a platform where everyone can share their playlists and will be grouped by date and upvotes. I've already discovered a handful of lists which I added to my Apple Music account. Hit the source link below to check it out.

N.E.R.D. - Locked Away (Unreleased Track)

Other than the song "Squeeze Me" which N.E.R.D. released last year for the Spongebob Squarepants movie we haven't heard much out of the supergroup. This is a damn shame. OTHERtone is one of my favorite shows on Beats 1 at the moment which features Pharrell and guests going through a variety of genres and topics.

Over the weekend Tyler the Creator joined Pharrell and Scott Vener to discuss an assortment of weird crap. The most important highlight of this show was Pharrell liberating an unreleased track called Locked Away. Locked Away is a funky track with killer synths. Hopefully we get more unreleased N.E.R.D. material via OTHERtone. Check out the track below.

Just the Tips - Photo Sharing and Email OS X

Just the Tips is a new feature that will provide a useful computer or phone related tip to help speed up your workflow or just solve a pesky problem. If you have any problems you were looking to resolve get in contact with me.

I was presented with an interesting issue this weekend when trying to export a few photos from the new Photos app on OS X Yosemite. OS X has a nifty sharing menu which is similar to the share sheet in iOS. When trying to export one or multiple images from the new Photos app you're presented with various options, one which should be your mail app. After taking a look at my friends computer I realized he does not have an option to use Mail as a sharing source for his photos but is presented other options such as Twitter, Facebook, iCloud Photo Sharing and Messages. Mail is not even a selectable option in System Preferences, but Outlook is.

It turns out my friend uses Outlook as his default mail client. Interesting thing is while Outlook is a selectable mail client in the sharing menu options, when trying to utilize Outlook it does not appear as a choice during the sharing process. Very odd. Even more there is no choice whatsoever to use Apple Mail in either the preferences nor the share sheet itself. Bug, glitch, OS X not liking Outlook? I was puzzled.

After some tinkering I found the solution. Turns out that in OS X Yosemite one must use the Apple Mail app as the default mail program in order to share photos. You can leave Outlook installed but must have Mail set as the default. This Apple support document will assist you in changing your default client. 

I'm assuming this will be fixed in Office 2016 for Mac but I have not updated my suite yet to verify. The odd thing is that you get the choice to use Outlook or at least set it up in your preferences but are never presented the option to use it in action. This may be just a case of software from a different vendor not keeping up with operating system updates. 

Hopefully this is fixed in El Capitan or in a future update for Outlook. If someone is running the El Capitan beta and confirm this please let me know in the comments.

Thundercat - Them Changes (Live on Why? With Hannibal Buress)

"Uh oh, looks like someone's got a case of the Mondays!" 

To start off your week enjoy some smooth funky vibes from Thundercat, performing live on Why? With Hannibal Buress. Check out his EP The Beyond / Where the Giants Roam which I rated as one of my top albums of 2015 so far.

Why? with Hannibal Buress
Get More: Comedy Central,Funny Videos,Funny TV Shows

Weekend Vibes #1

Mac Miller - 100 Grandkids

Starting a new Friday weekly feature here on the blog. Every week I discover a new track that I can't get out of my daily rotation. I figured I would share what I am vibing to lately and what could be a possible soundtrack for your weekend.  

Mac Miller - 100 Grandkids is the first track off Miller's upcoming album, GO:OD AM, which is set for release on September 8th. Mac has a bit of an old school Eminem vibe on this track and feels like one of his more mature pieces of work to date.

Enjoy your weekend. 

Interesting Links

End of the week is finally here. Check out some of the links I found interesting from this week below.

• According to MacRumors the most recent iOS 9 beta added WiFi calling options for AT&T customers. The feature is working for a limited number of subscribers and may be undergoing testing prior to a public release with iOS 9.
• One of my favorite podcasters, Jason Snell, spent some time on the road with the iOS 9 version of Apple Maps during his trip to Seattle. He recaps his experience over on Six Colors.
• Mark Gurman from 9to5Mac broke some juicy details on how Force Touch will work in the next iteration of the iPhone. I plan on addressing some of my opinions on Force Touch in a blog post next week. 
• Check out my buddy Roger's breakdown over on Phins or Die of the Miami Dolphins offensive line and his reasoning on why it might not be so bad afterall.  
• Over on Quartz there is an interesting article diving into some stats on Beats 1. They wanted to get a sense of the station's tastes and habits and analyzed data on over 12,000 songs played on Beats 1 for a month.
• Pitchfork has an interesting behind the scenes look at the making of Dr. Dre's Compton Soundtrack which was released exclusively on Apple Music last week. This is definitely not the album Dre had been promising to deliver to the industry for the last 16 years.
• Google dropped a bombshell on Monday as they announced Alphabet as the new parent company of Google. Check out the press release for more details.