Apple and Fitbit are about to lose a competitor because Jawbone is ready to shut down its consumer fitness tracker business. The company is shifting to devices for health care providers.
Jeff Gamet
Jeff Gamet is the Mac Observer’s Managing Editor, and co-host of the Apple Context Machine podcast. He is the author of “The Designer’s Guide to Mac OS X” from Peachpit Press, and writes for several design-related publications. Jeff has presented at events such as Macworld Expo, the RSA Conference, and the Mac Computer Expo. In all his spare time, he also hosts TMO’s Daily Observations podcast, co-hosts The iOS Show podcast, and makes guest appearances on several other shows, too. Jeff dreams in HD.
Articles by Jeff Gamet
Apple and the Broken FaceTime Lawsuit - TMO Daily Observations 2017-02-06
Apple is facing a class action lawsuit over claims it intentionally broke FaceTime to force users to upgrade to iOS 7. John Martellaro and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to look at the case and decide whether or not they think it has any merit.
Apple Among 97 Companies in Filing Against Trump's Immigration Ban
The White House immigration executive order has faced harsh criticism and now it faces even more opposition now that 97 companies, including Apple, have filed an amicus brief with the Federal Courts. The document, which leaked last week, is harshly critical of Mr. Trump’s order and says immigrants are an important part of our society and economy.
Lawsuit Claims Apple Broke FaceTime to Force iOS 7 Upgrades
What happens when you don’t want to upgrade to a new version of iOS on your iPhone, but you’re sure Apple is forcing you to anyhow? Lawsuit! Apple is facing a class action lawsuit for just that where the plaintiffs allege the company intentionally broke FaceTime in iOS 6 to force upgrades to iOS 7 all to save some money.
Tim Cook's Newseum Free Expression Award - TMO Daily Observations 2017-02-03
Apple CEO Time Cook is receiving a Newseum Free Expression Award for free speech. Dave Hamilton and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to share their thoughts on CEOs speaking out on social and political topics.
Steve Savoca Leaves Spotify for Apple Music
Steve Savoca, Spotify’s former vice president of Content, is now part of the Apple Music team. He joined Apple in January and is serving the in same role for Apple Music.
Apple Working on Custom Mac Chips to Cut Reliance on Intel
Apple is reportedly working to scale back its reliance on Intel for MacBook and MacBook Pro chips by designing its own ARM-based processor. The Apple-designed chip will handle low power functions such as Power Nap, and could be a step towards abandoning Intel at some point in the future.
Ebook Sales Take a Hit, Apple Watch Battery Band Patent - TMO Daily Observations 2017-02-02
Ebook sales are down, tablet and ebook reader sales are down, and there may be a correlation. Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to look at the state of ebook sales, plus they weigh in on an Apple patent for an Apple Watch battery wristband.
Federal Court Blocks Part of Trump's Immigration Executive Order
The controversial executive order blocking immigrants and refugees from seven middle eastern countries from entering the United States has been partially shut down. A Federal Court Judge granted a temporary restraining order stopping the government from refusing entry for people with valid immigrant visas, but didn’t address the fate of refugees or tourists.
How to Install ddrescue and Recover Files for Free
Recovering files from a failing hard drive is stressful and it can be pretty expensive, too. Reliable backups can help with the stress part, and ddrescue can help with the rest because it’s good at recovering files, and it’s free. The catch is that it requires a little command line mojo, but we’ve got you covered. Follow along to learn how to install and use ddrescue, plus we’ll show you how to give it a graphic interface, too.
The iPhone's Future, Prince and Streaming Music - TMO Daily Observations 2017-02-01
Apple made truck loads of money during its first fiscal quarter for 2017, but that wasn’t the only news from yesterday’s earning report. John Martellaro and Kelly Guimont join Jeff Gamet to share their thoughts on Tim Cook saying the iPhone hasn’t reached maturity yet, plus they look at the news that Prince’s music is coming to Apple Music.
Prince Coming to Apple Music, Spotify
It looks like Prince may be streaming on Apple Music and other services soon. An industry insider says deals are in place for the iconic artist’s work to stream on more than just Tidal starting on February 12.
Apple's Services Business Hits Fortune 100 Level
Apple is a hardware company, a media company, and now it’s a serious services company, too. Company CEO Tim Cook said the company’s services business is on track to reach the size of a Fortune 100 company in 2017, and the goal is to double the division’s growth over the next four years.
Iconfactory Gets iPad Sketch Apps Right with Linea
The Iconfactory is jumping into the iPad sketch app market with its brand new Linea app, and based on our tests, it’s pretty cool. Linea is going for drawing and sketching, not digital painting, and it has the right tool set for the job. It comes with four pen tips an dan eraser tool, support for five layers, blending and transparency modes, graph paper grids, and one of my favorite features: tap a swatch on the color palette to see several shades for that color. It also includes Apple Pencil support and offers pretty flexible image export options. Linea is priced at US$9.99, and it’s one of the few sketching apps that gets to stay on my iPad Pro.
Apple and Worker Visas, HomeKit Falls Behind in the Smarthome Game - TMO Daily Observations 2017-01-31
Work Visas for the tech industry may be changing thanks to an executive order that’s said to be coming from the White House. Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to look at the draft order and the impact it could have on Apple and other Silicon Valley companies. They also have some thoughts on the rapidly changing smart home market and Apple’s apparent lagging position.
watchOS 3.2 Developer Beta Gives Us Our First Look at Theater Mode
Apple released watchOS 3.2 as a beta for developers Monday afternoon. The update gives us the first real look at Theater Mode, and opens SiriKit on Apple Watch to developers, too.
Sorry, Apple Didn't Patent a Vape Pen
We have the iPhone, the iPad, and the iPod, and based on a recently published patent, some are saying the iVape is coming next. Apple’s patent describes something that sounds a lot like the vaping pens you use when you’re sitting on the couch getting baked while watching Scooby-Doo, except that using this design would probably kill you.
Goodbye iPhone Activation Lock Checker, Presidential Immigration Ban and Apple - TMO Daily Observations 2017-01-30
Apple shut down its iPhone Activation Lock Status checker without any explanation, which raises a few questions. Bryan Chaffin and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to look at what may be behind Apple’s decision, plus they look at what impact the presidentail executive order banning immigration from certain countries could have on Silicon Valley companies such as Apple.
Apple Shuts Down Activation Lock Checker, Makes Buying Used iPhones More Risky
Apple is making it harder to tell if the used iPhone you want to buy is stolen. The company recently shut down its Check Activation Lock Status webpage, which was a handy tool for checking to see if an iPhone was open for activation and not still locked to another user’s iCloud account.
Dropcam Founder Greg Duffy Joining Apple Could be a Smart Home Boost
Dropcam founder and Next executive Greg Duffy has a new gig at Apple, but no one is saying what he’s doing. Considering his inner drive to create cool new things, it’s a safe bet Apple brought him on board for a very interesting project, like the rumored Echo competitor.
Apple's Clean Energy Efforts, Partnership on AI - TMO Daily Observations 2017-01-27
Apple is expanding its solar farms, and that’s a good sign for clean energy in the United States, according to John Martellaro. He joins Jeff Gamet to explain how Apple is setting an example for other companies, plus they look at Apple’s just announced involvement in the Partnership on AI.
Apple Joins Partnership on AI as a Founding Member
Apple’s commitment to the artificial intelligence community is even stronger now that it’s officially a founding member of the Partnership for AI. The organization was created to help shape the future of artificial intelligence technology in an open way.
How to Enable Night Shift in macOS 10.12.4
Night Shift—the feature that slowly shifts your display color temperature as the sun sets–has been available on the iPhone and iPad for a while, and now it’s coming to the Mac. Apple added Night Shift support to macOS 10.12.4, which is currently available as a beta. It’s easy to activate, so follow along to learn how.
HBO Go Gets TV App, Single Sign On Support
HBO is finally going all in with Apple’s TV app thanks to a just released update for its HBO Go app. The new version adds TV support, just like the HBO Now app already had, so you can search for HBO content and keep track of what you’re watching in Apple’s app.