BMW Backtracks on Charging for Apple CarPlay

According to the British specialized AutoCar website, BMW has reversed its decision to charge for the use of CarPlay. Until now, customers could try the service free for 12 months when buying a new BMW car. After that, they would pay $80 a year in the US or £85 in the UK. A BMW spokesman said that the fee will no longer be charged for all cars that run the latest version of the ConnectedDrive infotainment system.

It was completely foolish in my mind for BMW to even charge for Apple CarPlay when other vehicle manufacturers that are much lower in cost don’t even think about charging their customers. As I have stated in the past, this is one of the reasons why my family will no longer own a BMW; aside from the multitude of mechanical failures.

It’s important to note that Apple claims not to charge manufacturers any fees for using CarPlay, as the system only depends on a paired iPhone to work. The decision to charge customers for this feature is taken by the car companies itself, and BMW was the first to do so.

Shameful…

Pixar’s Toystory 4 Camera Style

This is simply amazing. The fact the Director of Photography would go through the lengths to make sure that the animation and view angles mimic real camera lenses and then later use a dioptic lens filter… this is definitely setting the bar high! On top of that, Disney+ launches today!!!

Disney+ Offer -- Sign up now!

If you haven't signed up for Disney's D23 General Membership, you need to do it today, or at the latest tomorrow, so that you can take advantage of their current offer to save over 33%. The one caveat is that you have to prepay for 3 years. But again, you get Disney + Pixar + Marvel + Star Wars + National Geographic. Do it... you're going to do it anyways.

This promotional offer of $46.99 per year, if accepted, entitles the bearer to a one-time discount of $69.00 off the regular price of a three-year subscription to Disney+ ($209.97)

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"There is No Room for Demons"

All along the way, she was open about her struggles and mental health in a way that few dared — and she was funny while she did it. You don't have to look any further than her Twitter bio — "there's no room for demons when you're self-possessed" — to understand exactly who Carrie Fisher was.

One of the best tributes to Carrie Fisher.

Walt Mossberg on Sorkin's 'Steve Jobs'

Unlike Mr. Sorkin, I did know the real Steve Jobs, for about 14 years — the most productive and successful 14 years of his career running Apple, Inc. I spent scores of hours in private conversations with him over those years, and interviewed him numerous times onstage at a tech conference I co-produced. And the Steve Jobs portrayed in Sorkin’s film isn’t the man I knew.

Sorkin chose to cherry-pick and exaggerate some of the worst aspects of Jobs’s character, and to focus on a period of his career when he was young and immature. His film chooses to give enormous emphasis to perhaps the most shameful episode in Jobs’s personal life, the period when he denied paternity of an out-of-wedlock daughter.

Unfortunately, this is yet another Steve Jobs movie that I'll be skipping. I had high hopes but alas, the book was good enough for me.

"When Marnie Was There" Out Today! [Official Trailer]

Studio Ghibli use to keep on releasing awesomeness and today is no exception. "When Marnie Was There" is set to be the last film from the studio after the retirement of Hayao Miyazaki and it's reviews are nothing less than stellar. Hitting select theaters today, check out the official trailer below or better yet, go watch it!

If you want to read plot spoilers and reviews, I'd recommend NPR's take.