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ExtraBITS for 1 September 2014

This week in ExtraBITS, Managing Editor Josh Centers appears on The Tech Night Owl podcast to discuss iPhone 5 battery replacements and the iWatch, the man behind AnandTech heads to Apple, The Atlantic reveals Google’s secret delivery drone plans, Marco Arment compiles an epic headphone review, and John Siracusa talks to the Columbia Journalism Review.

Josh Centers and The Tech Night Owl on iPhone Batteries — Managing Editor Josh Centers once again joined the Tech Night Owl podcast to discuss his recent odyssey to replace his iPhone 5 battery, his growing annoyance with planned obsolescence, and the one thing that will keep him from buying an iWatch.

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Anand Shimpi Goes to Apple — Anand Lal Shimpi of the respected hardware review site AnandTech is retiring from tech publishing at 32, but he’s far from done with the tech world. Shimpi is reportedly heading to Apple, but it’s not yet known in what capacity. AnandTech will continue on, with Ryan Smith as editor-in-chief.

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Google’s Secret Delivery Drones — Google has revealed its previously secret drone delivery program to Alexis Madrigal of The Atlantic. The program, dubbed Project Wing, has been in development for two years by the company’s Google X research lab. Google is “cautiously optimistic” that it will be able to work something out with regulators, who have so far shot down the idea of delivery drones, likely to preempt citizens from shooting down the actual drones. Regardless, Madrigal’s story is a fascinating look into the technical
issues faced by Google and delivery drone programs from Amazon and others.

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Marco Arment’s Mega Review of Portable, Closed Headphones — Overcast developer Marco Arment wants to find the perfect pair of headphones, and in the service of that quest, he has acquired and reviewed 19 pairs of portable, closed headphones to identify the best in that category. Surprisingly, the oft-derided Beats Studio, which Arment credits for popularizing high-end headphones, wasn’t the worst of the lot. The winner in both sound quality and comfort might surprise you, as it was one of the least expensive models tested.

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The Columbia Journalism Review Interviews John Siracusa — John Siracusa sat down for a Q&A session with the Columbia Journalism Review to discuss his nearly fourteen years of annual Mac OS X reviews for Ars Technica. Siracusa talks about how Apple’s interactions with the press have changed, and what drives him to be so hypercritical.

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