UK Data Spying Case Shocks and Outrages Tech Community
While much of the app development community assumes the Snowden disclosures only really applied to NSA operations in the US, the UK was also found to be conducting illegal data collection operations. From 1998 to 2015, the UK’s collection program collected massive amounts of private data including location and call records from every phone in […]
What’s better for developer productivity: music or silence?
The question of what music is best for triggering app developer productivity — if any at all — is a debate that has raged on since, if not the dawn of time, at least the introduction of the iPhone. Every developer is likely to have their own answer, but there are a few trends that […]
How and Why to Create User Personas for your App
User personas are one of the most mysterious parts of the app user experience (UX) design process for non-designers. They’re also one of the most important parts of app development, and apps that reference user personas throughout all stages from idea to launch are much more likely to succeed. Stereotypes are never a good thing. […]
How Peter Thiel’s Political Stance Affects Startups
Ellen Pao of Project Include took to Medium this week to explain why they were breaking off ties with prominent startup accelerator Y Combinator. The reason, in short: Peter Thiel’s increasingly unpredictable endorsements and behavior. While Thiel has drawn criticism from the tech community before thanks to his support of floating cities, morality-bending age extension […]
Dogtown Media Tackles Tech Education with Jikei University
In a continuation of Dogtown Media’s commitment to tech education, CEO Marc Fischer accepted an invitation last week to speak with visiting students from Tokyo’s Jikei University. During the talk, Fischer touched on the startup industry, the many ways that tech is re-shaping the international world, and how it has enabled students of this generation […]
MACRA Medicare Update Fails Patients, Doctors, and Startups
The Los Angeles app development community has been cautiously optimistic the past few weeks about the outcome of this year’s long-awaited updates to MACRA (the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act). In partnership with ACT The App Association and dozens of other leading tech companies across the country, we submitted detailed comments and research to […]
Anki’s Cozmo Shows the Humanistic Potential of AI Products
When most people think of robots, they think of the tropes played out in popular culture: Terminator war machines, job-guzzling automation devices, and other mostly negative, faceless stereotypes. Even the AI assistants trotted out by Android and Apple app developers have been met with a sense of distrust, especially when it comes to “always-listening” products […]
MedTech IoT Products Prove the Critics Wrong
A popular criticism of the Internet of things (IoT) is that it’s “just not necessary.” (Neither are running water or air travel, but I digress.) Given the poor execution and poorly thought-out market targeting of early IoT devices, it’s no surprise that consumers and critics feel this way. Yes, a cloud-connected toaster is silly and […]
Apple Backpedals on Self-Driving Car Operations
According to a report from Bloomberg, Apple is scaling back their plan to manufacture smart cars top-to-bottom similar to Tesla. Instead, the market-leading tech company and mobile app platform will focus on the software business they’re more known for, potentially building out software systems to be incorporated into vehicles from other manufacturers. The main source […]
Siri Needs an Upgrade for the Google vs Apple Mobile Battle
Google has been making serious advances into the premium-class smartphone market that Apple’s iPhone has dominated since the invention of smartphones. The Pixel phone could be a major chink in Apple’s armor, although reports that it levels the playing field are somewhat exaggerated considering Apple’s lead in upscale brand identity. Ultimately, the Apple vs Google […]