6 ms·

Apple’s First Foray into Original TV Is a Series About Apps

48 points by jackgavigan 11y ago

samstave 11y ago
I'm reminded of the incredibly bad "Silicon Valley" (not the HBO one, which is amazing - but the one by Randi Zuck...) and how REALLY REALLY bad that was - I doubt Apple will fail that bad, but we will see.
mmanfrin 11y ago
Apple announced on Thursday that it was working with the entertainer Will.i.am Welp, this is going to be a trainwreck.
- themgt 11y ago
  Are you kidding? Will.i.am making a tv show about apps? 2008 pop culture won't know what hit it!
  - mmanfrin 11y ago
    /taps on i.am+ Dial smartwatch to set a reminder to DVR/
- subdane 11y ago
  Came here to write just that!
- sandworm101 11y ago
  No. It will be a blockbuster success. Apple will "buy" copies of whatever comes from this and push it to umpteen million apple products. Instant top seller. Instant award winner. Once upon a time people complained about large publishing corps owning both the content and the platform. Apple has taken it a step further by owning the content, the platform, and now even the customers. Synergy.
  - cryptoz 11y ago
    My jaw is still dropped from 2014 when Apple forced their music of choice onto every iPhone in the world and wouldn't let you delete it. http://www.wired.com/2014/09/apples-devious-u2-album-giveaway-even-worse-spam/ http://www.wired.com/2014/09/apples-devious-u2-album-giveawa...
    - threeseed 11y ago
      You can delete it from your library and it was a pretty honest mistake on their part. They "purchased" the U2 album on behalf of the users but they clearly forgot that the default was to download that album automatically in the background.
      - TazeTSchnitzel 11y ago
        I doubt they forgot that. It was a clever marketing stunt: drop the album into the library of every iTunes user. And it worked. They probably anticipated some backlash.
      - smt88 11y ago
        > they clearly forgot Forgetting is something individuals do. It's not something done by massive companies with thousands of employees, including large PR and legal teams. This decision would have been part of whatever contract was signed with U2.
        Karunamon 11y ago
        Come now - this would mean that companies never make stupid mistakes. They do. Often.
        smt88 11y ago
        Yes, they do, but mistakes are often bad decisions, not simple forgetfulness. Dozens of people working on a deal over the course of many months don't "forget" a core feature of the way their most important product works. They might make a bad decision, but they don't all suddenly come down with amnesia about how their own devices work.
- Someone1234 11y ago
  I don't follow music pop culture, can anyone explain why? Has Will.i.am been in scandle or been unsuccessful in the past?
  - threeseed 11y ago
    His smartwatch wasn't successful and some people don't like his music which translates to a lack of confidence this this show will be successful. Which is a shame because at the end of the day he is an entrepreneur and giving it a shot. Much better than most of the other artists which just sing other people's songs and look pretty.
  - smt88 11y ago
    Black Eyed Peas are considered somewhat low-brow and tacky, as perhaps all dance-y pop acts tend to be. Then there was this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deoOTqT-SMI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deoOTqT-SMI
  - mmanfrin 11y ago
    In my opinion, he's used often as a prop by companies who want to try to inject 'hip'-ness in to a product, and it screams r/fellowkids. He has tried to promote a bunch of products that have ended up complete failures (2 smartwatches so far), but is bandied about as this 'tech celebrity'. Intel made him a "director of creative innovation" for no reason whatsoever. 3D Systems made him "Chief Creative Officer". He tried to sell a $475 iphone case that added a lens and made it look like an old digital camera: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/feb/01/william-iphone-camera-accessory-macworld http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/feb/01/william-ip... Basically, he is used to confer some artistic legitimacy to stogy corporations (not to say he isn't an artist, he has done very well in music) and in return these companies confer unearned tech legitimacy upon him, creating this cycle of forced legitimacy.
- aub3bhat 11y ago
  This gem https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz2MPcsZJcM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz2MPcsZJcM http://www.theverge.com/2014/11/5/7162861/will-i-am-puls-smartwatch-is-terrible http://www.theverge.com/2014/11/5/7162861/will-i-am-puls-sma...
  - antsar 11y ago
    Well, that's 4 minutes and 51 seconds I'll never get back.
bishnu 11y ago
I find the concept of a TV show that can only be seen on certain devices and OSes to be sad. I guess we've been trending in this direction for a while (no Amazon Prime Streaming app on Apple TV, for instance).
- mmanfrin 11y ago
  Fracturing of content-delivery-devices, hooray. TV set in 2019: Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast, Settop from Cable provider, Kodi box, PS4 with Vue, all hooked in to a Roku-branded Smart TV. And also that Harmony Remote no longer works because each of those devices have proprietary APIs for their now-mandatory voice interface mics.
  - toyg 11y ago
    Or: one media center / seedbox accessing all pirated content you might ever want. Not that I have it -- I don't own TVs, they're so '90s.
    - bduerst 11y ago
      Put.io + Chromecast is pretty much all you need to view most popular content in minutes.
    - rat87 11y ago
      Why not? TV is larger then a computer monitor.
- jackgavigan 11y ago
  AirPlay from the Amazon Video app on iOS to an Apple TV works fine.
- eric_h 11y ago
  >no Amazon Prime Streaming app on Apple TV, for instance I was under the impression they were working on that, [0] seems to agree with that 0) http://exstreamist.com/when-will-amazon-prime-be-on-apple-tv/ http://exstreamist.com/when-will-amazon-prime-be-on-apple-tv...
askyourmother 11y ago
If they want ideas for shows, how about life at uni, in the us, for the year 2016. Over here in Europe, we either get the view that it is like back in revenge of the nerds movies, or worse, stuff like this: Http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-24/emory-students-scared-pain-after-safe-space-violated-word-trump-written-chalk Hopefully it is not like revenge of the nerds in 2016, and hopefully it is also not full of students crying in "safe" spaces. Might even be interesting!
- DiabloD3 11y ago
  You're getting downvoted because Trump is anti-intellectual, anti-small-business, and anti-American. Everyone should feel violated by even knowing he exists. He is everything America isn't. If he becomes President (very unlikely), say goodbye to the Valley, say goodbye to every startup scene in this country, and watch the money flee to pro-business nations. Side note, I expect to be also downvoted for my view (and for discussing politics on HN at all), but I don't really care.
  - imron 11y ago
    > Side note, I expect to be also downvoted for my view If anything, I expect you're likely to be downvoted for your statement that 'Everyone should feel violated by even knowing he exists', rather than because you don't support Trump. I don't support Trump, but I don't feel violated for knowing he exists.
    - lostlogin 11y ago
      It's hate speech. Misogynist, racist, anti-intellectual and isolationist with bonus lying and flip flopping. If you don't feel violated, do you at least feel offended?
      - imron 11y ago
        I feel offended by a lot of what he says. He is not the first, and neither will he be the last U.S. politician (or even presidential candidate) to make me feel that way. In any case, the answer to offensive speech is more speech that educates, not shrill denunciations of the person making that speech.
kingnight 11y ago
Ew. This sounds very tasteless. How about doing something creative and that's not navel gazing or better yet use this money on OS X.
- j2bax 11y ago
  Why is this tasteless? App discovery is a huge problem in the app store with the amount of apps out there. I don't know the premise of the show, but I could see it being really cool if they brought some of the small teams behind apps to light and told their stories. Who cares who the host is if he does a good job? I for one think it has the potential to be an interesting show that is different from whats out there already.
  - kingnight 11y ago
    I think this is a good counter to my gut reaction. I think that would be an interesting show to watch as well but I don't think that'd appeal to a broader audience at all and the particular host also speaks to that direction being unlikely. I'd love to be surprised.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
robertwalsh0 11y ago
Why can't Apple just stick with what it's good at?
- gearoidoc 11y ago
  Well it wasn't very good at PDAs but we got the iPhone...
- smt88 11y ago
  I'm not sure what Apple's good at anymore. Hardware, I guess? Maybe?
  - jessaustin 11y ago
    Apparently they can push FBI around like it's a little baby. The list of entities who can do that is pretty short...
johansch 11y ago
If this isn't Apple jumping the shark I don't know what it would be....
ismail 11y ago
Will.i.am got Apple boom boom pow.

48 points by jackgavigan 11y ago

I'm reminded of the incredibly bad "Silicon Valley" (not the HBO one, which is amazing - but the one by Randi Zuck...) and how REALLY REALLY bad that was - I doubt Apple will fail that bad, but we will see.

mmanfrin 11y ago

Apple announced on Thursday that it was working with the entertainer Will.i.am Welp, this is going to be a trainwreck.

themgt 11y ago
Are you kidding? Will.i.am making a tv show about apps? 2008 pop culture won't know what hit it!
- mmanfrin 11y ago
  /taps on i.am+ Dial smartwatch to set a reminder to DVR/
subdane 11y ago
Came here to write just that!
sandworm101 11y ago
No. It will be a blockbuster success. Apple will "buy" copies of whatever comes from this and push it to umpteen million apple products. Instant top seller. Instant award winner. Once upon a time people complained about large publishing corps owning both the content and the platform. Apple has taken it a step further by owning the content, the platform, and now even the customers. Synergy.
- cryptoz 11y ago
  My jaw is still dropped from 2014 when Apple forced their music of choice onto every iPhone in the world and wouldn't let you delete it. http://www.wired.com/2014/09/apples-devious-u2-album-giveaway-even-worse-spam/ http://www.wired.com/2014/09/apples-devious-u2-album-giveawa...
  - threeseed 11y ago
    You can delete it from your library and it was a pretty honest mistake on their part. They "purchased" the U2 album on behalf of the users but they clearly forgot that the default was to download that album automatically in the background.
    - TazeTSchnitzel 11y ago
      I doubt they forgot that. It was a clever marketing stunt: drop the album into the library of every iTunes user. And it worked. They probably anticipated some backlash.
    - smt88 11y ago
      > they clearly forgot Forgetting is something individuals do. It's not something done by massive companies with thousands of employees, including large PR and legal teams. This decision would have been part of whatever contract was signed with U2.
      - Karunamon 11y ago
        Come now - this would mean that companies never make stupid mistakes. They do. Often.
        smt88 11y ago
        Yes, they do, but mistakes are often bad decisions, not simple forgetfulness. Dozens of people working on a deal over the course of many months don't "forget" a core feature of the way their most important product works. They might make a bad decision, but they don't all suddenly come down with amnesia about how their own devices work.
Someone1234 11y ago
I don't follow music pop culture, can anyone explain why? Has Will.i.am been in scandle or been unsuccessful in the past?
- threeseed 11y ago
  His smartwatch wasn't successful and some people don't like his music which translates to a lack of confidence this this show will be successful. Which is a shame because at the end of the day he is an entrepreneur and giving it a shot. Much better than most of the other artists which just sing other people's songs and look pretty.
- smt88 11y ago
  Black Eyed Peas are considered somewhat low-brow and tacky, as perhaps all dance-y pop acts tend to be. Then there was this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deoOTqT-SMI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deoOTqT-SMI
- mmanfrin 11y ago
  In my opinion, he's used often as a prop by companies who want to try to inject 'hip'-ness in to a product, and it screams r/fellowkids. He has tried to promote a bunch of products that have ended up complete failures (2 smartwatches so far), but is bandied about as this 'tech celebrity'. Intel made him a "director of creative innovation" for no reason whatsoever. 3D Systems made him "Chief Creative Officer". He tried to sell a $475 iphone case that added a lens and made it look like an old digital camera: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/feb/01/william-iphone-camera-accessory-macworld http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/feb/01/william-ip... Basically, he is used to confer some artistic legitimacy to stogy corporations (not to say he isn't an artist, he has done very well in music) and in return these companies confer unearned tech legitimacy upon him, creating this cycle of forced legitimacy.
aub3bhat 11y ago
This gem https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz2MPcsZJcM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz2MPcsZJcM http://www.theverge.com/2014/11/5/7162861/will-i-am-puls-smartwatch-is-terrible http://www.theverge.com/2014/11/5/7162861/will-i-am-puls-sma...
- antsar 11y ago
  Well, that's 4 minutes and 51 seconds I'll never get back.

bishnu 11y ago

I find the concept of a TV show that can only be seen on certain devices and OSes to be sad. I guess we've been trending in this direction for a while (no Amazon Prime Streaming app on Apple TV, for instance).

mmanfrin 11y ago
Fracturing of content-delivery-devices, hooray. TV set in 2019: Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast, Settop from Cable provider, Kodi box, PS4 with Vue, all hooked in to a Roku-branded Smart TV. And also that Harmony Remote no longer works because each of those devices have proprietary APIs for their now-mandatory voice interface mics.
- toyg 11y ago
  Or: one media center / seedbox accessing all pirated content you might ever want. Not that I have it -- I don't own TVs, they're so '90s.
  - bduerst 11y ago
    Put.io + Chromecast is pretty much all you need to view most popular content in minutes.
  - rat87 11y ago
    Why not? TV is larger then a computer monitor.
jackgavigan 11y ago
AirPlay from the Amazon Video app on iOS to an Apple TV works fine.
eric_h 11y ago
>no Amazon Prime Streaming app on Apple TV, for instance I was under the impression they were working on that, [0] seems to agree with that 0) http://exstreamist.com/when-will-amazon-prime-be-on-apple-tv/ http://exstreamist.com/when-will-amazon-prime-be-on-apple-tv...

askyourmother 11y ago

If they want ideas for shows, how about life at uni, in the us, for the year 2016. Over here in Europe, we either get the view that it is like back in revenge of the nerds movies, or worse, stuff like this: Http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-24/emory-students-scared-pain-after-safe-space-violated-word-trump-written-chalk Hopefully it is not like revenge of the nerds in 2016, and hopefully it is also not full of students crying in "safe" spaces. Might even be interesting!

DiabloD3 11y ago
You're getting downvoted because Trump is anti-intellectual, anti-small-business, and anti-American. Everyone should feel violated by even knowing he exists. He is everything America isn't. If he becomes President (very unlikely), say goodbye to the Valley, say goodbye to every startup scene in this country, and watch the money flee to pro-business nations. Side note, I expect to be also downvoted for my view (and for discussing politics on HN at all), but I don't really care.
- imron 11y ago
  > Side note, I expect to be also downvoted for my view If anything, I expect you're likely to be downvoted for your statement that 'Everyone should feel violated by even knowing he exists', rather than because you don't support Trump. I don't support Trump, but I don't feel violated for knowing he exists.
  - lostlogin 11y ago
    It's hate speech. Misogynist, racist, anti-intellectual and isolationist with bonus lying and flip flopping. If you don't feel violated, do you at least feel offended?
    - imron 11y ago
      I feel offended by a lot of what he says. He is not the first, and neither will he be the last U.S. politician (or even presidential candidate) to make me feel that way. In any case, the answer to offensive speech is more speech that educates, not shrill denunciations of the person making that speech.

kingnight 11y ago

Ew. This sounds very tasteless. How about doing something creative and that's not navel gazing or better yet use this money on OS X.

j2bax 11y ago
Why is this tasteless? App discovery is a huge problem in the app store with the amount of apps out there. I don't know the premise of the show, but I could see it being really cool if they brought some of the small teams behind apps to light and told their stories. Who cares who the host is if he does a good job? I for one think it has the potential to be an interesting show that is different from whats out there already.
- kingnight 11y ago
  I think this is a good counter to my gut reaction. I think that would be an interesting show to watch as well but I don't think that'd appeal to a broader audience at all and the particular host also speaks to that direction being unlikely. I'd love to be surprised.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]

robertwalsh0 11y ago

Why can't Apple just stick with what it's good at?

gearoidoc 11y ago
Well it wasn't very good at PDAs but we got the iPhone...
smt88 11y ago
I'm not sure what Apple's good at anymore. Hardware, I guess? Maybe?
- jessaustin 11y ago
  Apparently they can push FBI around like it's a little baby. The list of entities who can do that is pretty short...

johansch 11y ago

If this isn't Apple jumping the shark I don't know what it would be....

ismail 11y ago

Will.i.am got Apple boom boom pow.