Facebook wants an official end date for all Flash support In a post on Twitter Mr. Stamos said, It is time for Adobe to announce the end-of-life date for Flash and to ask the browsers to set killbits on the same day. He added that setting an official end date for all Flash support would…
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
OS X El Capitan Beefs Up Security with New Two-factor Authentication System
OS X El Capitan, iOS 9 get new two-factor authentication system Apple's operating system-level two-factor authentication system will kick in whenever you sign in on a new device or Web browser with your Apple ID. You'll have to enter a six digit code along with your password as a way to help keep unauthorized people…
Does Your Device Support Apple Music DRM?
Not every Apple device supports Apple Music. Does yours? Computers Mac On the Mac you'll need iTunes 12.2 for Apple Music, which doesn't seem too bad because Apple supports that all the way back to OS X 10.7.5. But for Apple Music support you need OS X 10.9.5 or newer, which means you need to…
3 Free iPhone Apps for Tracking the International Space Station
Track the International Space Station from your iPhone with these apps Sputnik! The Sputnik! app shows exactly when the ISS will pass over your current location and even includes a countdown clock so you'll know when to look up. The app shows where to look, lets you save favorite locations, includes Facebook and Twitter sharing,…
iCloud Music Library and DRM: Now with Slightly Less Disaster
Turns out iCloud Music Library's DRM is confusing, not draconian iCloud Music Library is Apple's online music storage and streaming service included with Apple Music. It'a like iTunes Match, but not exactly the same. iTunes Match pulls songs from the iTunes Store when it can instead of uploading from your library, while iCloud Music Library…
iTunes 12.2 and iCloud Music Library: A Disaster for Your Music Collection
Thinking about trying iCloud Music Library? Don't. It's a bag of hurt. iCloud Music Library's problems start showing up after installing iTunes 12.2 on your Mac or Windows PC. Apple's forums are full of comments from users saying their album art, song names, and album titles get jumbled. The Who's Quadrophenia album art, for example,…
How to Request Songs on Beats 1 Radio
Beats 1 has its own request show and you can call in your favorite songs Request lines for Beats 1 are available in several countries including the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Japan, Mexico, Australia, and more. Apple also has a world-wide phone number listeners can call. Here's the current phone number list for…
iOS 8.4 Coming Tuesday at 8AM Pacific Time Ahead of Apple Music Launch
Apple releasing iOS 8.4 an hour before Apple Music launches Apple Music is Apple's new streaming music service, Internet radio station, and social platform for artists. Full access costs US$9.99 a month, although you can listen to streaming music and Beats 1 radio for free. The service officially kicks off at 9AM pacific time tomorrow,…
Ireland Residents Critical of New €850M Apple Data Center
Apple's planned Ireland data center meets with local resistance The concerns stem from Apple's environmental impact statement, which details the company's plans to generate its own power for the 24,505 square meter (about 263,769 square feet) facility, new trees, landscaping, and an amenity walkway. It also notes Apple plans to build an outdoor classroom for…
600M Samsung Android Devices Open to Critical Security Threat
Samsung follows Apple with major Galaxy smartphone security flaw The security flaw was discovered by NowSecure security specialist Ryan Welton. He found that SwiftKey is getting language pack updates via unencrypted server connections in plain text. In other words, it's about the most unsecure way Samsung could've found for installing an update. Mr. Welton found…
Instacast Podcast App Shuts Over Financial Issues
All of Vemedio's app pages, including Instacast, now say “discontinued” In an email to subscribers, developer Martin Hering said, I am sorry to inform you that Instacast andin fact all of Vemedio's products have been discontinued. I will cancel your upcoming membership payment shortly. We'll keep the servers running as long as we can. Instacast…
iOS 9 Gets a Taste of the Finder with iCloud Drive App
iOS 9 includes an app to view what's on your iCloud Drive The iCloud Drive app lets you view the contents of the folders on your iCloud Drive account, plus you can tap documents to open them in the apps that created them. You can't, however, create new folders in the iCloud Drive app. For…
Which Macs Support OS X El Capitan's Metal?
Metal is coming to the Mac, but not all models Based on the driver software developers have found so far, it looks like support is there for graphics cards from Nvidia, Intel, and AMD. Here's the unofficial requirements based on netkas.org research: Nvidia GeForce GTX 400 series and newer Intel HD4000 and newer (Ivy Bridge…
Continuity Breaks Free from WiFi in iOS 9
iOS lets you answer calls from your iPad or Mac when you forget your iPhone at home Freeing devices from being on the same WiFi network adds a new flexibility to the devices we take out of the office or our homes. Currently, our iPhones are a sort of communication nexus or hub, but only…
Your iPhone is about to Become Your Sex Tracker
iOS 9's Health app lets you track your sex life We already knew Health would include menstrual cycle tracking. Now that the beta version of iOS 9 is available, we're seeing what else that includes: basal body temperature, cervical mucus quality, ovulation test results, sexual activity, and spotting. Sexual activity also lets you track whether…
Apple Confirms Mystery Camera Cars are for Maps
Apple Maps vans: Coming to a city near you Apple now has a webpage showing where its Maps vans will be between June 15 and June 30, which includes parts of Ireland and England, as well as cities in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Texas, Utah, and Washington. Apple…
iOS 9 Includes Android Migration Assistant
iOS 9 makes it easier to move from Android smartphones to iPhone Apple describes Android Migration like this: Just download the Move to iOS app to wirelessly switch from your Android device to your new iOS device. It securely transfers your contacts, message history, camera photos and videos, web bookmarks, mail accounts, calendars, wallpaper, and…
Sony CEO Says Apple Announcing Streaming Music Service at WWDC
Sony says Apple unveiling music streaming service at WWDC Mr. Morris was very clear on when Apple would unveil its new Beats Music-based streaming music service. “It's happening tomorrow,” he said, meaning Monday. He also said Apple's entrance into the Spotify and Pandora's market will be a tipping point for streaming music services. He said,…
Fantastical 2.3 Brings a Proper Event and To-do View to Apple Watch
Flexibits released Fantastical 2.3 for the iPhone with support for Apple Watch on Wednesday, and Apple could take some cues from their efforts. The update brings the Calendar alternative to your wrist, complete with schedule views, notifications for upcoming events, and a Glance view that shows a quick overview of your day. Fantastical also plugs…
Recycling Center Scores Rare Apple I Computer
Recycling center has $100,000 for mystery Apple I donor Employees at Clean Bay Area said a woman dropped off a few boxes filled with old electronics parts in April to clear out space garage space after her husband passed away. She apparently had no idea what she was leaving at the recycling center and didn't…
Pebble Time Ships, Apple Watch Comparisons Coming Soon
Pebble's new Time smartwatch is shipping now Pebble said the first 10,000 Pebble Time rewards will ship this week, and all Kickstarter backers should have their shipping notifications by mid June. Everyone else can place an order starting on June 22. Time is Pebble's newest smartwatch. It's about 20 percent thinner than the original Pebble…
Yosemite 10.10.4 Beta Dumps Discoveryd to Fix Network Issues
Apple Kills Yosemite Network Bugs with Mavericks Code Network-related issues cropped up for many Mac users as soon as they installed OS X Yosemite 10.10, and have persisted through every update so far. Rolling back to mDNSResponder most likely means Apple hasn't been able to find a way to resolve the issues introduced with discoveryd.…
Firefighters Take on Blaze at Apple's Former Sapphire Glass Factory [Update]
Firefighters work to contain a blaze at Apple's Mesa, AZ former sapphire factory Apple purchased the structure and then leased it to GTAT for sapphire glass production. The company failed to produce the glass needed and ultimately filed for bankruptcy protection while leaving Apple without the material it needed for watch and phone surfaces. Apple…
Apple Buys GPS Company Coherent Navigation
Apple buys precision GPS navigation company Coherent Navigation Instead of the usual 3 meter accuracy typical GPS services offer, Coherent says its system is accurate within a few centimeters. That accuracy comes from using a mix of high altitude GPS satellites and lower orbit voice and data satellites from Iridium. Terms of the deal haven't…