Accessories-maker Twelve South has released a SuitCase for the MacBook. This rather stylish case has a thermoformed hardshell case covered by a quilted, textile exterior and a leather handle. It has room for paperwork and cables, so you can just have one bag if all you need is your laptop. The SuitCase fits a 13-inch MacBook Pro or Air ($69.99) and a 16-inch Pro ($79.99).
iPhone Health Records Available in Canada, UK
Over 500 institutions in the U.S. support iPhone Health Records and customers in Canada and the U.K. can now make use of this feature, too.
Brydge and Otter Partner on Mobile Accessories
Brydge has partnered with Otter Products to combine their expertise of creating high quality Apple products in a new venture.
Speaker Speculation and 5G School – TMO Daily Observations 2020-10-06
Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro join host Kelly Guimont to discuss Apple speakers and 5G, and how it all ties into the coming Apple Event.
Apple Orders Fashion Documentary ‘The Supermodels’
Apple has ordered documentary series “The Supermodels” with interviews from Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington.
Set a Reminder for Apple's iPhone 12 Event
Apple has revealed that an event, expected to be an announcement of the iPhone 12, will take place on October 13. To make sure you don’t miss anything, obviously, keep it here on The Mac Observer. However, you can also set a reminder for the event on Apple’s YouTube channel by heading to the video and tapping ‘Set Reminder’ button.
CleverFiles Releases Disk Drill 4 Mac Data Recovery Software
CleverFiles released Disk Drill 4 on Tuesday, which Andrew will be reviewing in the next few weeks. It’s data recovery software
Apple Announces Date of iPhone 12 Event - 'Hi, Speed'
Apple (finally) announced the date of what is expected to be the launch event for the iPhone 12 – it will take place on October 13.
Apple Watch SE Review - High-Quality, Fitness-Focused Wearable For a Hard to Ignore Price
There will always be excitement towards the top end products, but the lower-cost Apple Watch SE feels far from a compromise.
More Details on the Mac T2 Security Chip Jailbreak
Catalin Cimpanu shares more details of the T2 chip jailbreak I wrote about last week.
The attack requires combining two other exploits that were initially designed for jailbreaking iOS devices — namely Checkm8 and Blackbird. This works because of some shared hardware and software features between T2 chips and iPhones and their underlying hardware.
Unfortunately, since this is a hardware-related issue, all T2 chips are to be considered unpatchable. The only way users can deal with the aftermath of an attack is to reinstall BridgeOS, the operating system that runs on T2 chips.
Apple Stops Selling Earphones and Speakers From Rivals Ahead of Expected New Product Launches
Apple has stopped selling earphones and speakers from third-parties that rival its own, ahead of the expected launch of new audio products.
Best Selling Science Writer Steve Silberman - BGM Interview
Steve Silberman is an award-winning science writer, award-winning book author, public speaker, TED talk speaker, sometime record album producer, and a life-long Mac user. His writing on science, culture, and literature has been collected in a number of major anthologies including The Best American Science Writing of the Year and The Best Business Stories of the Year.
Early in his life, Steve fell in love with science fiction, especially the works of Ray Bradbury. Later, he studied under poet Allen Ginsberg and learned about both effective research and the power of language. We chatted about his early writing at Wired and The Well, and that led him to discover the deeper story of autism. The result was a major, influential article at Wired, then his important, award-winning book NeuroTribes .
John McAfee Arrested for Tax Evasion
John McAfee, founder of the McAfee antivirus company, has been arrested in Spain, facing extradition to the U.S. over tax evasion and fraud.
The DOJ’s charges against McAfee are a bit dry but detail 10 counts against the entrepreneur. McAfee faced 5 counts of tax evasion, which each carry a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison, as well as 5 counts of “willful failure to file a tax return,” each carrying a maximum penalty of 1 year in prison.
And here I thought he was already in prison.
'The Morning Show' Restarting Filming Season Two, Steve Carell is Back
The Morning Show season two is slated to restart filming on October 19, and Steve Carell looks set to return.
Apple Could Have Multi-billion-dollar Payment Businesses
Payment services like Apple Pay and Apple Card could be the company’s next multi-billion-dollar businesses as the fintech sector grows. That’s according to a note to investors from Cowen analyst Krish Sankar, seen by AppleInsider.
“While Apple has portrayed these digital services as complementary to its mobile hardware platforms, we believe future scaling out of these services globally coupled with increasing depth and sophistication of them could position Apple as an emerging contender in the fintech space,” Sankar writes. Within Apple’s fintech segment, the analyst expects Apple Pay to remain the cornerstone. The platform could see increasing acceptance at U.S. retailers, and Sankar predicts that the contactless payment service will be the largest revenue driver over the next few years, with an expected $800 million in growth annually. Sankar sees Apple Pay growing at an 18% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2023, and markets such as Asia and Europe could allow for even further expansion.
The Features That Could be Missing From an iPhone 12 Mini
There have been rumors that amongst the iPhone 12 lineup will be a ‘mini’. Macrumors looked at the compromises this might involve and the features that might be missing. Most significantly, this includes reduced battery life.
As the smallest device in the iPhone 12 lineup, the iPhone 12 mini is also expected to have the smallest battery. Certifications have suggested that the battery capacity of the iPhone 12 mini is 2,227mAh. Apple’s current smallest flagship iPhone, the 5.8-inch iPhone 11 Pro, has a battery capacity of 3,046mAh battery, making the iPhone 12 mini’s capacity 819mAh smaller. Although the A14 Bionic processor and OLED display are likely to improve energy efficiency, the fundamental limits of battery size in the iPhone 12 mini are likely to result in an overall smaller battery life.
tvOS 14.0.2 Now Available
Apple has released the latest version of its tvOS software, with version 14.0.2 is now available for users to download.
Apple Updates Leadership Page, Moves Greg Joswiak and Phil Schiller
Apple has updated its leadership page and now lists Greg ‘Jos’ Joswiak as its Senior Vice President, Worldwide Marketing.
Watch a Preview of Bruce Springsteen’s “Letter To You’
Apple announced on Friday a Bruce Springsteen documentary, and you can see a preview of it that will be released Friday, October 23. It captures Mr. Springsteen recording live with The E Street Band for the first time in 35 years. Both the album and companion documentary include recently written Springsteen songs side by side with legendary but previously unreleased compositions from the 1970s. Throughout the documentary, Springsteen shares his thoughts and feelings behind “Letter To You,” and puts the new music into the context of his entire body of work. In that way, it’s the next piece in the autobiographical series that began with the memoir “Born to Run,” continued with “Springsteen on Broadway” and advanced through his film “Western Stars.”
Bruce Springsteen ‘Letter to You’ Documentary Premieres October 23 on Apple TV+
A new documentary called “Bruce Springsteen’s Letter to You” premieres on Apple TV+ Friday, October 23, the same day his album of the same name launches.
Hands-on with Watch SE, TV App Expansion – TMO Daily Observations 2020-10-05
John Martellaro and Charlotte Henry join host Kelly Guimont to discuss Charlotte’s new Watch SE, and the TV app coming to gaming consoles.
Tim Millet Talks About iPad Air 4 A14 Apple Chip in Interview
Tim Millet, Apple’s Vice President for Platform Architecture, spoke to The Star about the A14 Apple chip found in the iPad Air 4.
Some Disney Movies are Available in 4K Via iTunes
Some movies from various Disney-owned franchises are available in 4K via iTunes, including things like Marvel and Star Wars content.
When Will The Targeted Advertising Bubble Burst?
A large part of the web is free because of targeted advertising, but former Google employee Tim Hwang argues that it doesn’t even work.
He notes that while “some digital and social media messaging is quite effective,” it’s common for platforms and media agencies to triple (at least) its apparent value by wrongly crediting digital ads for purchases that consumers would have made anyway. Aral calls this “the most widely used shell game in business today.”
Or, as Hwang puts it: “The whole edifice of online advertising is, in short, bunk.”