We finally have the winner of our iPhone 16 Pro international giveaway! Congratulations to Oliver T., and a huge thank you to everyone who participated.
Networking Fun and Naughty Macs — Mac Geek Gab 831
It’s time to get your geek on, and John and Dave are right there with you. Today your two favorite geeks dig into some networking issues, aiming to solve your problems, and help make sense of them so you understand even if you’re not a networking geek!
Of course, there’s plenty of time left for your Apple/Mac/iPhone questions, too. Press play and enjoy! And send your questions in to [email protected].
Glenn Fleishmann Introduces Free Book ‘Take Control of Zoom Essentials’
Glenn Fleishman has released a free version of his book called “Take Control of Zoom Essentials” as well as updated the paid version called “Take Control of Zoom”. Take Control shared the news in a blog post:
Yesterday, we released two Zoom-related books by Glenn Fleishman: a new, free book called Take Control of Zoom Essentials and a gigantic version 1.1 update to the comprehensive Take Control of Zoom. We know a lot of people are using Zoom for work and school, and we hope you find these books helpful.
Zoom usage has skyrocketed now that more people have been working and learning from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Consider these books to know everything you want to know about using the video sharing platform.
Mintegral Denies Malware Allegations
The software development company says the malware allegations against its advertising kit are false, and that even Apple agrees.
News Publishers Join Facebook in Worry Over iOS 14 Anti-Tracking Feature
Many news publishers are joining Facebook in worrying about an iOS 14 anti-tracking feature that could affect advertising.
Security Friday: Malware, Ad Tracking, also Bill and Ted – TMO Daily Observations 2020-08-28
Andrew Orr joins host Kelly Guimont for the latest Security Friday news from ad network hijacking to Facebook (with a side of Bill and Ted).
How Scribble and Smart Selection Improve Apple Pencil
Two of the features I’m really looking forward to with iPadOS 14 are Scribble and Smart Selection. They are designed for the Apple Pencil, but the Logitech Crayon (which I have,) will support Scribble too. Cult of Mac has a good rundown of how they help improve productivity.
With iPad, Scribble allows you to write with the Apple Pencil in text-entry fields all over iPad. Whether it’s in the search bar of Safari, an iMessage conversation or the Spotlight search box, Scribble lets you enter text with your handwriting… The second huge improvement to Apple Pencil is Smart Selection in the Notes app. This feature allows you to take fully handwritten notes, and keep them in their original handwritten form, but easily share them as text by highlighting and sharing the “text.”
Apple Silicon : Power PC to Intel Transition Gives us Timeline Hints
We’re at the start of the Intel to Apple Silicon transition. William Gallagher at AppleInsider has an editorial on how previous Apple processor transitions can give us some indication release dates.
That new Intel Mac was released 43 days after Apple Silicon was announced. For comparison, the first PowerPC Mac to come out after the Intel announcement was the Power Mac G5 dual core 135 days later. You can argue that this is one measure of how different Apple is today, that it’s got the resources to move quicker. What you can’t argue, though, is what happened next. “We’ve got some great PowerPC products still to come,” repeated Jobs during the 2005 transition announcement. But they hadn’t. That Power Mac G5 dual core was the last PowerPC Mac to be released and the sole one to come out during that transition. We’re not saying Jobs lied and we’re definitely not saying Cook did, but both men unquestionably knew what they needed to say — because of the Osbourne effect. Apple today isn’t going to fall over if everyone stops buying Macs while they wait for Apple Silicon, but it was different in 2005.
Epic Blames Apple For Latest Version of Fortnite Not Being Available
Epic Games has continued its PR campaign against Apple, emailing Fortnite players blaming the company for updates no longer being available.
Tim Cook Backs Sports Boycott After Jacob Blake Shooting
Tim Cook said “we stand with those who refuse to accept the status quo,” backing basketball players who refused to take the court this week.
Apple AI/ML Residency Program Invites Experts to Collaborate
Apple has launched an AI/ML residency program that invites experts to build machine learning and AI powered products and experiences.
Apple TV+ Film 'On The Rocks' to Premiere at New York Film Festival
Apple TV+ movie ‘On The Rocks’, from Sofia Coppola and starring Bill Murray and Rashida Jones, will premiere a the New York Film Festival.
Apple, Google Blocked Facebook Update With Message About App Store Fees
Facebook revealed on Thursday that Apple blocked an update to its app that displayed a message to users about App Store fees.
US Teen Wrote 27,000 Wikipedia Entries in Language he Doesn’t Speak
Consider this filed under “wacky Friday news”. A teenager in the U.S. created or edited 49% of the Scots language Wikipedia, despite having no understanding of the language.
[…] Michael Dempster, the director of the Scots Language Centre based in Perth, takes a more ameliorative approach and says he is now in conversation with the Wikimedia Foundation about the prospect of properly re-editing the teenager’s contributions.
“We know that this kid has put in an incredible amount of work, and he has created an editable infrastructure. It’s a great resource but it needs people who are literate in Scots to edit it now. It has the potential to be a great online focus for the language in the future.”
macOS Troubleshooting Checklist Part II
Dr. Mac is back with more things to try when good Macs go bad…
Walmart Enters the TikTok Purchase War
Why would a retail giant want to purchase a short-form video site? Perhaps the hundreds of millions of consumers at stake have something to do with it. Whatever the reason, Walmart is joining Microsoft to beat out Oracle in the TikTok purchase war.
AR Game ‘The Witcher: Monster Slayer’ Announced
An AR game called “The Witcher: Monster Slayer” is coming in the future. Evocative of Pokémon Go, this exploration game challenges you to become an elite monster hunter. See the world around you transformed into the dark fantasy realm of The Witcher, and explore once-familiar locations now infested with dangerous beasts as you start on the path as a professional monster slayer. A release date has not been announced but you can sign up to be notified via email.
AirPod Sales to Grow, But Apple Likely to Lose Market Share
Apple is likely to lose some market share in the true wireless (TWS) space this year, despite sales of AirPods being projected to increase.
Apple Original Series ‘Invasion’ Resumes Filming After Pause
Apple original series “Invasion” has resumed production after pausing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Monitors and Macs and 4K – TMO Daily Observations 2020-08-27
John Martellaro and Dave Hamilton join host Kelly Guimont to discuss monitors and 4K and how newer resolutions can inform buying decisions.
Apple Exec Lisa Jackson Appearing at Major Australian Sustainability Summit
Apple environmental supremo Lisa is set to speak at the inaugural Sydney Morning Herald Sustainability Summit on September 7.
Apple Seeds watchOS 7 Public Beta 3
Apple has released watchOS public beta 3 for testers, only a couple of weeks after initially releasing beta 1 earlier in August.
Having Apple Gear in Dating Profile Photos Gets You More Matches
Owning Apple products has lots of advantages, but there is another, perhaps unexpected one. Having items like an iPhone or AirPods in your dating profile photos can land you up to 76 percent more matches, according to data from Comparemymobile.com, reported by 9to5 Mac.
Here’s the impact of having Apple kit visible in your dating photos, where the percentage is the increase in matches with the product visible in the photo: iPhone, +76% Apple Watch, +61% AirPods, +41%. The only positive impact seen with any other brand of smartphone was Samsung, with a 19% increase. All other brands tested had a negative effect.
Tim Cook: 'I’ve Never Been More Hopeful'
Tim Cook says that he’s “never been more hopeful than I am right now.” Writing in the September issue of Vogue, he highlighted the determination to tackle racial inequality and communities coming together in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic as reasons for his positivity.
I think you have to look back 60 years to find an equivalent. You have to look back to the late John Lewis marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Or fast-forward a few years, and you have Stonewall. Both of these were key moments that kicked off a sudden change—for African Americans and for the LGBTQ community. And I think this is an exciting and hopeful time because as a nation we have struggled with racial equity for our whole existence—and it feels good to be at a point where there’s going to be significant, massive, positive change. The other thing I would say is that this pandemic is a crisis that we’re all facing. And if you look around, there are lots of good things happening: There are neighbors helping neighbors again, which was sort of a lost art for a while.
A Quarter of Netflix Subscribers Also Have Apple TV+
Around 25 percent of Netflix subscribers also have Apple TV+, while 91 percent of Apple TV+ subscribers have Netflix.