iOS 12.1 is currently being beta tested by both developers and the public, and new emojis include animals, people, food, and objects.
Bryan Chaffin
Bryan Chaffin is the cofounder of The Mac Observer and currently serves as Afternoon Editor. He has contributed to MacAddict and MacFormat magazines, and co-authored the last two updates of iPad and iPad Pro for Dummies with Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus and Ed Baig. You can find out more about Bryan at his personal site, GeekTells, or find his Twitter link below.
Articles by Bryan Chaffin
Laptop and Monitor Stand with Built-in USB-C Hub: $154.99
We have a deal on a very cool device called the ProBASE HD USB-C laptop and monitor stand—with a built-in USB-C hub. That hub has one USB-C input, as well as output ports for 4K HDMI, USB 3.0 (x3), and USB-C DATA. That makes this device pretty close to a docking station with a built-in stand, and it will even look good with your Apple gear. It’s $154.99 through our deal. Check out the promo video.
Inflatable, Solar-Powered, and Completely Waterproof Portable iPhone Charger
We have a deal on the LuminAID PackLite Max 2-in-1 Phone Charger. This device is inflatable, solar powered, and waterproof, and it’s part lantern, part portable battery for charging your iPhone and other devices. The lantern puts out 150 lumens, while the battery has a capacity of 2,000mAh. It’s $39.95 through our deal. Check out the promo video.
AWS4 Love, Design Meets Science, Apple's PG TV Dreams - ACM 481
Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet can’t get enough of Apple Watch Series 4, even though Jeff is wrong about the Infograph Watch Face. They also find it interesting that a designer got recognized by the world of science, and they weigh whether or not Apple’s plan to avoid sex, violence, and politics with its original TV shows will hurt its streaming service.
Apple Releases watchOS 5.0.1, a Minor Maintenance Release
This is a minor maintenance release that addresses three issues affecting some users.
BusyCal 3: $19.99
We have a deal on BusyCal 3, one of our favorite utilities at TMO. This Calendar replacement is designed for power users, giving you far more control over your Calendar and events. Custom categories, icons, graphics…this app gives you all the things you wish Apple would put into Calendar, all while using your Apple calendar database, so you don’t worry about syncing. You can get it for $19.99 through us, 60% off retail.
Sir Jony Ive 2nd Person to Be Awarded Stephen Hawking Fellowship
Sir Jony Ive—Chief Design Officer at Apple—was named as the second recipient of the Professor Hawking Fellowship from Cambridge University. This award is an honorary scholarship developed with Stephen Hawking before his death. It was designed to recognize contributions to both STEM fields and social discourse, according to Varsity (via 9to5Mac). And Sir Jony is expected to deliver an address when accepting the award. From Varsity:
At the announcement, Connor speculated that Ive’s lecture in Michaelmas term would include “reflection on his career, split with a more general reflection on technology and design as a whole”.
Microsoft Demos Surface Hub 2 [Video]
Microsoft demoed the Surface Hub 2 this week, and Tom Warren of The Verge posted the video (below). My initial take is a mix of “Huh?” and “Huh.” I don’t give regular, live presentations, but I can the value of a device like this for those who do. On the other hand, I can’t see the value of the bit at the end where someone wanders by, sees some data you put together, and then wants to drop that data into her own PowerPoint stack. Get your mitts off my computer, hey? And manipulating everything seemed really slow, or maybe it was just Excel that was slow, as someone commented on YouTube. All that said, I absolutely see the value of a large, touch screen device for creative work. It doesn’t look like Microsoft has made such a device that really works yet, but this is a company that usually required multiple iterations before nailing it. In any event, it’s a little over 2 minutes long. Check it out.
The Complete iOS 12 and Swift Developer Course: $10.99
We have a deal for developers called the Complete iOS 12 and Swift Developer Course. It includes more than 40 hours of training led by Rob Percival. You’ll cover Swift 4 and Xcode 12, build your own apps, work with ARKit, and a lot more. Check out the details in the deal listing. This course is $10.99 through us.
MacSentry VPN 2-Year Subscription: $29
We’ve got a deal on a 2-year subscription to MacSentry VPN. This service is based in Belize, i.e. not in an “Enemy of the Internet” or “14 Eyes” country. It features AES-256 to 4096 bit handshake encryption, unlimited bandwidth, and you can use it on up to five devices, including Android, Windows, and Linux. The 2-year subscription is $29 through our deal.
NOVA True Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds: $49
We have a deal on a pair of NOVA True Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds. They support Bluetooth 4.1 and come with a charging case. And, you can use that charging case to charge your other devices in a pinch. You can get them for $49 through our deal.
Apple Releases tvOS 12.0.1 for Apple TV 4/4K
The release notes are essentially mum on new features, and this release is likely a minor bug fix release or related to macOS Mojave, which was also released Monday.
The iPhone XS Giveaway
Our friends at Stack Commerce have put together a giveaway for an iPhone XS! To enter, all you have to do is sign up for our deal newsletter, which you should do anyway. If you’re already signed up, you can simply click the “Enter to Win” button. You can get extra entries by sharing the giveaway on social media, too. This is a 512GB Space Gray model, so get on it!
Apple Watch Series 4 and iPhone XS Available in Apple Stores Friday at 8 AM Local
Apple issued a press release reminding customers that Apple Watch Series 4, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max are available in stores starting at 8 AM on Friday, September 21st.
Audible Brings Its Audio Books to Apple Watch
Amazon’s Audible added support for Apple Watch to its iOS app. With version 3.0 of the Audible app for iOS, users will be able to sync their audio books to their Apple Watch, and play them back over Bluetooth without having their iPhone handy. You’ll be able to rewind, pause, and set a sleep timer from your Apple Watch, too. The company also announced that monthly subscribers get two Audible Originals and one audiobook per month included with their subscription. Version 3.0 of the Audible app is on the App Store now. It’s a free download.
Math Nerds: Researchers Found a Pattern in Seemingly Random Distribution of Prime Numbers
I’ll be the first to note that much of this article was over my mathematical head, but it’s super cool. The short version is that some sciency-math folks decided to treat prime numbers like they were atom-like particles. Their model showed what could be a pattern in the distribution of prime numbers, something previously considered random. Motherboard has an article on it, and here’s a snippet:
Together with his student Ge Zhang and number theorist Matthew de-Courcy-Ireland, Torquato computationally represented the primes as a one-dimensional string of atoms and scattered light off them. The result, published in the Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment last week, was astounding: not only did they create a quasicrystal-like interference pattern, but it was a type of fractal pattern that has never been seen before. Torquato told Quanta Magazine that this implies prime numbers “are a completely new category of structures” when considered as a physical system.
Become a Maker with 12 eBooks on 3D Printing, CNC Routing, and More: $19.99
Get your inner Maker on with today’s deal with The CAD & 3D Printing eBook Bundle By Make. This bundle of 12 ebooks covers 3D printing, CNC printing, designing, 3D carving, and more. Each book in the bundle is described in the deal, and you can get the whole thing for $19.99.
Memoji Fun, Siri Shortcuts and Suggestions, Password Ease - ACM 480
In this episode, Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet talk about the fun they’re having with Memoji in iOS 12. They also talk about Siri Shortcuts and Siri Suggestions, and just how cool it is that iOS 12 can integrate y our password manager at the system level.
Pagico 8 Task Manager for Mac: $19
We have a deal for you on Pagico, a one-stop app that helps turn all of your tasks, notes, and projects into beautiful interactive flowcharts. There’s more info in the deal listing, and you can get this app through us for $19.
The Long Oral History of Apple's Infinite Loop
Just in case you missed it in iOS 12 Release Mania, Wired has a great piece on Apple’s Infinite Loop campus. That’s the first Apple campus, the one before Steve Jobs’s and Jony Ives’s stunning Apple Park. It’s a great piece stitched together from Apple employees who worked at Infinite Loop over the decades. It’s long, but I think it’s a very good read. From the introduction:
For more than a year I’ve been interviewing Apple employees, past and present, about their recollections of Infinite Loop. In their own words, edited for clarity and concision, here is the story of a plot of land in Cupertino, California, that brought us the Mac revival, the iPod, iTunes, the iPhone, and the Steve Jobs legacy.
Force Flyers DIY Building Block Drone: $42.99
Check out this Force Flyers DIY Building Block Drone, a drone you can build yourself. It’s “building block compatible,” by which you can read LEGO and the other block systems that work with LEGO. The kit includes a 6-axis gyro and auto-stabilization, and because it’s customizable, it will teach you things like the importance of aerodynamics and weight distribution. It’s $42.99 through our deal.
Apple Updates Pages, Numbers, and Keynote for macOS and iOS - Dark Mode, Recordings, More
The new Mac versions of Pages, Numbers, and Keynote add support for macOS Moajave’s Dark Mode, the ability to record right in the apps, support for Continuity Camera; the iOS updates include animation features, annotation tools, support for Dynamic Type, and more.
How to Unenroll Your iPad or iPhone from the iOS Public Beta Program
Fortunately, it’s easy to take your iOS device off Apple’s beta program, and Bryan Chaffin walks you through the steps.
Apple Releases Safari 12 for High Sierra and Sierra, Combats Ad-Tracking and Increases Security
It adds several new features, including more advanced password management, web icons in tabs, improves security, and ups Apple’s battle against cross-site ad tracking.