It's Tuesday, October 16, 2018. Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.  We’ll start with a look back at the life and legacy of Paul Allen, who passed away yesterday at 65. Also, we’re taking a peek at Palm’s new form factor and digging into reviews for the Pixel 3 family and Microsoft’s Surface Pro 6.
(View in browser.) Leaving a legacy that extends well beyond his software roots.  The tech pioneer had been grappling with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma for years and received treatment for it in 2009, but he announced on October 1st it had returned. He's best known for creating Microsoft alongside Bill Gates in 1975 and is credited with coming up with the name. More importantly, he landed the fateful deal that would make Microsoft a tech giant: He bought Tim Paterson's Quick and Dirty Operating System in 1980, helping Microsoft supply DOS for IBM's first PCs.
He also had an effect well beyond the usual technology sphere. He founded Allen Institutes for Artificial Intelligence, Brain Science and Cell Science to advance computing and medicine, and the Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group has backed cutting-edge bioscience concepts. Exploration has been a major focus, including the funding of SETI's Alien Telescope Array and multiple shipwreck-recovery missions. He has backed environmental and anti-Ebola initiatives. And, of course, Allen's cultural footprint looms large: He owned the Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle Seahawks, partly owned the Seattle Sounders and established the Museum of Pop Culture, among other feats. | | Can a smartphone company find success when all it aims to do is build a sidekick?  Unlike Palm circa 2010, the new team operating under its name isn't trying to go up against the iPhones and Galaxys of the world. Instead, its first smartphone -- known simply as the Palm -- is a minuscule device you're meant to carry around when you don't want to bring your main iPhone or Galaxy along. The Palm packs a 3.3-inch LCD display that's surprisingly sharp -- it has a 445 PPI pixel density, putting it in the same ballpark as devices like the iPhone XS Max where clarity is concerned. It runs Android 8.1, though Palm was careful to paint over it with a clean interface full of big, round app icons, which is more than a little reminiscent of the Apple Watch's. | | Is it time to upgrade?  The Pixel 3’s gorgeous new display and exquisite build make your photos, videos and games look so good you won’t mind the $150 price hike. Meanwhile, the Pixel 3 XL is a long-lasting, powerful flagship with a brilliant display, capable cameras and the best of Google’s software smarts -- if you can get past its polarizingly deep notch. | | Will hardcore PC users always prefer traditional computers?  Just like last year’s model, the Surface Pro 6 is fast, light and has a great keyboard cover. The only real issue is deciding if this is the right hybrid for you, or if you might be able to live with Microsoft’s cheaper (and also well-executed) Surface Go as a companion to a larger computer. | | Still whips the llama’s ass.  Parent company Radionomy is planning to reboot it as an all-in-one app that pulls podcasts, playlists, streaming radio stations -- basically any sound you can fill your ears with -- into a single platform. According to TechCrunch, after a small bugfix for the current setup, a larger update is due out in 2019. | | But wait, there's more... | |
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