Review: Ulysses for macOS and iOS

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Ulysses gets what matters most to writers. Getting stats like word count and character information is available with one button click. Exporting to popular document formats like .doc and .docx is readily available. 

There's no perfect writing application for all types of writers. I've made a living the past 20 years on Microsoft Word on the Mac and on the PC. At its core, Word is the most universal writing tool there is, but even after decades of use, I can't say I've memorized 80 per cent of its functions.

There's been a steady list of writing apps that have tried to get us back to the purity of writing. Much like staring at a blank sheet of paper on a typewriter, the idea is to remove the clutter and allow the writer to simply focus on writing.

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The Apple Beat: The iPhone reaches 1 Billion units sold

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Apple's iPhone has reached a major milestone. The company has confirmed that there have been 1 billion iPhones sold.

“Last week we passed another major milestone when we sold the billionth iPhone. We never set out to make the most, but we’ve always set out to make the best products that make a difference. Thank you to everyone at Apple for helping change the world every day," Apple CEO Tim Cook said earlier today.

This achievement is rare in consumer technology, most specially in mobile phones since manufacturers usually launch various new models each year. The iPhone has been, Apple's singular mobile handset since 2007 and really represents one product that has been painstaikingly refined and iterated on a yearly basis.

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Window quickly closing for free Windows 10 upgrades on eligible PC's

Microsoft reminds us that we have two more days to update eligible Windows Windows 7 and Windows 8 machines to the free Windows 10 update.

This Friday, July 29^th marks the one-year anniversary of the launch of Windows 10. In the year since launch, consumers and businesses have installed Windows 10 on more the 350 million devices worldwide. It is also the end of the free upgrade grace period. Microsoft has given the world a whole year to upgrade and that window closes for good on the 29th.

Windows 10 users who have already upgraded and are enjoying the new features of the OS are getting the biggest update in a few days. The Windows 10 Anniversary update officially available August 2^nd, will bring all new features to Cortana, Microsoft Edge, Windows Ink, Windows Hello and to compatible devices. 

Windows users can visit Windows.ca to learn more or click on “Upgrade now” in the “Get Windows 10 app” on their PC to upgrade today.

Apple posts Q3 revenue of $42.4 billion and quarterly net income of $7.8 billion

Apple held its third quarter earnings call and reported revenue of $42.4 billion and quarterly net income of $7.8 billion, or $1.42 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $49.6 billion and net income of $10.7 billion, or $1.85 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter.  A 15 per cent decline. Gross margin was 38 percent compared to 39.7 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 63 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

Apple's big earner was its services with the App Store growing in sales by 19 per cent, reflecting an all-time record. The shrinkage is expected to continue, despite a lot of anticipation for the upcoming iPhone refresh, the company projects its fourth-quarter sales between $45.5 billion and $47.5 billion, compared with $51.5 billion this period last year.