Ahead of its release on Apple TV+ on March 12, there is a new video about Cherry in which the film’s stars provide an inside look. Tom Holland and Ciara Bravo talk about the self-destructive love story their two characters go on. (Cherry is already available in theaters that are open.)
Watch the Trailer for New Series ‘Calls’ Coming to Apple TV+
“Calls” is a unique series coming to Apple TV+ told through a 12-minute phone calls. Based on the French series of the same name (Apple ordered an English adaptation in 2018), Calls is an immersive television experience that masterfully uses only audio and minimal abstract visuals to tell bone-chilling stories. Launching in a binge model worldwide, all nine 12-minute episodes are told through a series of phone calls that use sharp writing, compelling voice talent and graphics to aid in transcribing the darkly dramatic conversations onto the screen. These relatable scenarios transport the audience into familiar situations that quickly become surreal with thrilling and frightening moments. Featuring Lily Collins, Rosario Dawson, Mark Duplass, Pedro Pascal, and others. It arrives March 19.
Run Virtual Machines on M1 Macs With ‘UTM’
UTM is an app I recently discovered that lets you run virtual machines on M1 Macs. It uses Apple’s Hypervisor virtualization framework to run ARM64 operating systems on Apple Silicon at near native speeds. On Intel Macs, x86/x64 operating system can be virtualized. In addition, lower performance emulation is available to run x86/x64 on Apple Silicon as well as ARM64 on Intel. For developers and enthusiasts, there are dozens of other emulated processors as well including: ARM32, MIPS, PPC, and RISC-V. Under the hood of UTM is QEMU, a decades old, free and open source emulation software that is widely used and actively maintained. While QEMU is powerful, it can be difficult to set up and configure with its plethora of command line options and flags. UTM is designed to give users the flexibility of QEMU without the steep learning curve that comes with it. Mac App Store Link
Relive the Billie Eilish: 'The World’s A Little Blurry' Premiere Event
There was a premiere event for the Billie Eilish documentary The World’s a Little Blurry ahead of its launch on Apple TV+. If you didn’t get a chance to watch it live, or wanted to wait until you had seen the film, you can now catch up with it on YouTube.
M. Night Shyamalan Explains 'Servant' Episode 206
Creator M. Knight Shyamalan guides viewers through episode six of season two of Apple TV+ show Servant in a video that landed Wednesday. He encourages those watching to go beyond rational explanations through the characters’ experiences and consider who they really believe.
Disney+ Now Has More Content With Addition of Star
Disney+ subscribers users in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Europe now have more content after the Star brand launched Tuesday. (The service has launched in Singapore on the same day with the added content.) Shows like Grey’s Anatomy are now part of a subscription, and there will be originals too. The cost of a subscription is going up though (it’s £7.99 per month not £5.99 in the UK.)
New Apple TV+ Spring 2021 Preview
A spring 2021 preview for Apple TV+ dropped on Friday. It highlights new shows, seasons, and movies coming to the streaming service, as well as some high-profile existing content. It included the newly announced Physical and The Mosquito Coast.
Behind Episode 205 of Servant With M. Night Shyamalan
The latest Servant ‘Behind the Episode’ video is now on the Apple TV+ YouTube channel. In it, creator M. Night Shyamalan begins to reveal Leanne’s childhood and looks at how the relationship with her mother also affects her relationship with Dorothy. Episode five of the second series of Servant is now available to Apple TV+ subscribers, with episode six set to land Friday.
‘Clean Text’ From ApiMac is the Closest Tool to TextEdit for iOS
I believe Clean Text is the purest expression of plain text editing for iPhones and iPads, like TextEdit on Mac. I’ve been gradually transitioning my notes into plain text. I still use Apple Notes for its rich text and support for images. But plain text is a great backup solution. Clean Text doesn’t try to force you into its own note-taking paradigm; in fact it’s not a traditional note-taking app at all. Unlike other note-takers I’ve used, Clean Text, as the name suggests, cleans your text. It has tools to fix line breaks, join paragraphs, remove empty lines, replace tabs with spaces, and lots more. When you’re done you can copy the text to another app or export it to Files. One note at a time without a subscription or in-app purchase. One up front purchase of US$0.99. I created a shortcut that copies text from the input (share a plain text file to it) and opens Clean Text where you can paste it. Good for quickly editing a text file from Files.
Microsoft Launches All-In-One Office App for iPad
Microsoft’s Office app for iPad and iPhone has officially launched. It combines Word, Excel, and PowerPoint and adds new capabilities. You can use it without a Microsoft 365 subscription, although having one will unlock the full app. Some features that work with your device camera: Snap a picture of a document and turn it into an editable Word file with the press of a button. Transform a picture of a table into an Excel spreadsheet so you can work with the data. Design a PowerPoint presentation by simply selecting the pictures you want to use from your device. Create automatically enhanced digital images of whiteboards and documents with Microsoft Lens features.
‘For All Mankind’ Official Apple Podcast Launches
In a video uploaded to YouTube, Apple has announced its first original podcast in the form of “For All Mankind.” In For All Mankind: The Official Podcast, the space race continues. Fans of the series and its themes can hear host Krys Marshall (Commander Danielle Poole) discuss what really goes down beyond our atmosphere with guests from the series, space experts, and former astronauts — plus never-before-heard audio that shows how astronauts achieve the impossible.
Steve Jobs Job Application up For Auction
A job application by Steve Jobs from 1973 is up for auction. Spotted by 9to5 Mac, the item is being auctioned by Charterfields. On the document, the Apple co-founder highlighted his experience with “computers and calculators” and said he had special abilities in “electronic tech or design engineer – digital.” The document is thought to have been completed close to when he dropped out of Reed College in Portland, Oregon. A full-size JPG is available here.
David Goyer Hopes ‘Foundation’ Will Have 80 Episodes on Apple TV+
Lovin Malta has interviewed writer and show runner for “Foundation” David Goyer about the upcoming series on Apple TV+. After discussing using Malta as the basis for a water world in the show, he also drops a tidbit: “The audience is changing. The way that we’re consuming stories is changing. Game of Thrones was really the first of these big, giant novelistic shows, and now with Foundation we can tell the story hopefully over the course of 80 episodes, 80 hours, as opposed to trying to condense it all into two or three hours for a single film.” It makes sense given the enormous scope of Isaac Asimov’s trilogy. Sounds like they hope to give justice to the saga spanning one thousand years.
'For All Mankind' - A First Look at Season Two Coming to Apple TV+
A new featurette provides a first look at season two of For All Mankind, the alternative space race drama on Apple TV+. It will air on February 19, with the storyline resuming in 1983. The full first season is available now.
Apple TV+: ‘Servant’ S2E4 With M. Night Shyamalan
Apple shared a video on its YouTube channel with M. Night Shyamalan discussing the latest episode of his series “Servant.” In this special episode directed by M. Night Shyamalan, the audience is introduced to a new area of the Turner house: the attic. As the brownstone reaches new heights, will the family dynamics change along with it? “Servant” follows a Philadelphia couple in mourning after an unspeakable tragedy creates a rift in their marriage and opens the door for a mysterious force to enter their home.
M. Night Shyamalan Discusses His Influences And 'Servant'
In a video released by Apple, M. Night Shyamalan reflects on his career and influences. He discusses the role of his father, growing up with George Lucas and Steven Spielberg movies, and then going back to the likes of Stanley Kubrick and Alfred Hitchcock. He also details how this helped shape the Apple TV+ series Servant.
Watch Second Trailer for ‘Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry”
Apple has uploaded a second trailer for its upcoming documentary called “Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry.” It tells the true coming-of-age story of the singer-songwriter and her rise to global superstardom. From award-winning filmmaker R.J. Cutler, the documentary offers a deeply intimate look at this extraordinary teenager’s journey, at just seventeen years old, navigating life on the road, on stage, and at home with her family, while writing, recording and releasing her debut album “WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?”
‘SimpleLogin’ is an Open Source Alternative to Sign in With Apple
Sign In with Apple lets you create accounts with your Apple ID for apps that support it. Its “Hide My Email” feature protects your email by forwarding emails to your actual email. SimpleLogin does the same; it lets you create random email aliases that forward emails to your true email address. This open source alternative to Sign In with Apple helps you keep your email safe from newsletters, websites, and more. It’s free to download and use and there is an optional subscription for advanced features like custom domains, unlimited aliases, or a catch-all alias.
This Person Hacked His iPod to Stream Spotify Using Raspberry Pi
Guy Dupont recently hacked an old iPod to stream Spotify. He used a Raspberry PI Zero W and a custom UI built using Python. Additionally, he fitted a 1000 mAh batter into it, a motor for haptic feedback, and a 2-inch LCD Adafruit display. “My mother-in-law recently gifted me a bag of the family’s retired iPods. I had forgotten how good it feels to hold and use one of these things. Naturally, I decided to modify one. I wanted to supply some modern features (streaming, search, Bluetooth audio, etc), while paying homage to the amazing UX that Apple originally released almost 20 years ago.”
Apple Privacy Exec Jane Horvath Discusses ‘False Dichotomy’ of Free Services
Apple’s senior director of global privacy Jane Horvath took part in a roundtable discussion at the CPDP2021 conference Thursday. She discussed a variety of topics, including why Google is still the default browser on iPhone. She followed CEO Tim Cook, who took aim at Facebook during a speech earlier in the day at the same event.
Preorder Otterbox Gaming Accessories That Ship in February
Known for its smartphone cases, this year Otterbox presented a range of gaming accessories for mobile gamers. I was privy to the company’s video presentation at virtual CES and was impressed with these new products. Otterbox partnered with Microsoft and several of these accessories are made for the Xbox controller. However, they did inform us in the video that the mobile gaming clip is compatible with all console game controllers. You can preorder them today and they start shipping mid-February.
A First Look at ‘Palmer’, Coming to Apple TV+ February 29
A new featurette looking at forthcoming Apple TV+ movie Palmer was released Monday. The films stars Justin Timberlake, who plays a former high school football player who has left prison and ends up making an unlikely friend – a boy called Sam. It will be available from February 29.
This New App Brings iMessage to Android and Windows
Beeper is a new chat app that combines 15 different messaging platforms into one interface. One of those messaging apps includes iMessage and there’s “some trickery” involved, as Eric Migicovsky says. You can install the Beeper Mac app to act as a bridge for iMessage. If you don’t have a Mac, Beeper will send you a jailbroken iPhone with the Beeper app installed to act as a bridge. “Just in case you thought Beeper was joking, in a followup tweet, Migicovsky said that he currently has 50 old iPhone 4S’s at his desk, ready to be upcycled for use with Beeper.”
MindNode Update Adds Editable Outlines
MindNode updated its mind mapping app recently with a feature many users have wanted. Along with editing maps, outlines can also be edited. Nodes can be added, removed, indented/outdented, and reorganized directly. Other features include: Improved color pickers in the Inspector; Improved support for files from other apps that use Markdown; Fixed an issue where the Inspector would close when the icon of the open section was clicked. The update is currently available for the Mac app, but updates to MindNode for iOS/iPadOS are sure to follow.