iPad goes to war

Ukraine recruits Apple tablets to launch missiles.

Steve Jobs was horrified when he discovered that Apple’s computers were being used in weapons systems.

In a famous 1985 interview with Playboy, the Apple co-founder revealed his feelings when he discovered the Pentagon used Apple IIs to target nukes.

“I saw a videotape that we weren't supposed to see,” he said. “It was prepared for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. By watching the tape, we discovered that, at least as of a few years ago, every tactical nuclear weapon in Europe manned by U.S. personnel was targeted by an Apple II computer. Now, we didn't sell computers to the military; they went out and bought them at a dealer's, I guess. But it didn't make us feel good to know that our computers were being used to target nuclear weapons in Europe.”

Which makes you wonder how he’d feel about this fascinating story that the Ukrainian military is using iPads to launch missiles from its aging fighter jets.

I suspect he’d be conflicted.

Although, at the end of the quote above, Jobs added this little quip: “The only bright side of it was that at least they weren't [using Radio Shack] TRS-80s! Thank God for that.”

Also in today’s newsletter:

  • Amazon just kicked off a big sale on AirPods Pro 2, Apple Pencil 2, Studio Display, Apple Watch and more, with prices that match historic lows.

  • Talking of low prices: Apple refreshed the Beats lineup with new Solo Buds that start at just $79. It also refreshed its bestselling headphones line with the Solo 4 (eight years after the Solo 3!). Details here.

  • If your iPhone wake-up alarms haven’t been going off recently, you’re not going crazy. It’s a bug, and Apple’s working on it.

  • Upcoming Matt Damon/Casey Affleck action-robbery-comedy flick The Instigators sounds promising.

  • According to yesterday’s poll about the European Union labeling iPad as a “gatekeeper” device, readers of this newsletter have a clear viewpoint on the situation. See yesterday’s poll results and comments below.

— Leander Kahney, EIC.

A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team

A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team

Tweetz o’ the day

One more thing ...

“Some people are saying that we ought to put an IBM PC on every desk in America to improve productivity. It won't work. The special incantations you have to learn this time are 'slash q-zs' and things like that. The manual for WordStar, the most popular word-processing program, is 400 pages thick. To write a novel, you have to read a novel -- one that reads like a mystery to most people. They're not going to learn slash q-z any more than they're going to learn Morse code. That is what Macintosh is all about.”

— Steve Jobs, 1985 from the same Playboy interview.

Today’s poll

How would Steve Jobs feel about Ukrainians using iPads for war?

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Results from yesterday’s poll: Is the EU going too far, or not far enough, as it moves to regulate iPads?

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