‘SW-DL’ Shortcut Brings YouTube-DL to iOS

YouTube-dl is a command line tool that lets you download videos from websites, although it’s commonly used for YouTube as the name suggests. With a-shell, a terminal emulator I covered, it’s possible to install the downloader on your iPad and iPhone. Someone also created a shortcut for youtube-dl (Reddit post here, shortcut link below). Note that it currently crashes on the iOS/iPadOS 14 betas. It’s possible to install youtube-dl in a-shell with the command “pip install youtube-dl.” Since I’m running the betas, I’m going to tinker with using a-shell.

TMO Contributor Kelly Guimont (#12) - BGM Interview

Kelly Guimont is a long-time podcaster, Contributing Editor for The Mac Observer, the host of the Mac Observer’s Daily Observations podcast, and a tech support guru.

In her 12th appearance, Kelly and I chat about our favorite movies and TV shows of late. I open segment #1 with an extended review of the Tom Hanks movie Greyhound (Apple TV+). Next we turn to a Kelly favorite Black Monday (Showtime). I then talk about two favorite murder mystery TV shows Death in Paradise S9 (Amazon) and The Mentalist (Amazon). Kelly tells us about Romancing the Stone (DVD) and Billions (Showtime). Join us as we explore together what’s great about these shows.

Apple Supplier on List of Human Rights-Abusing Firms

The U.S. Department of Commerce added a further 11 Chinese firms to its list of those involved in human rights violations, CNET reported. Violations include attacks on Muslim minority groups. One of those, Nanchang O-Film Tech, is known to have associations with Apple.

The Commerce Department said the group of 11 companies that supported “mass arbitrary detention, forced labor, involuntary collection of biometric data and genetic analysis” targeted at Uighurs and other minority groups will face restrictions on US products, including technology. “Beijing actively promotes the reprehensible practice of forced labor and abusive DNA collection and analysis schemes to repress its citizens,” Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said in a statement Monday. “This action will ensure that our goods and technologies are not used in the Chinese Communist Party’s despicable offensive against defenseless Muslim minority populations.”

iPhone Wrapped in Tin Foil Found at Ghislaine Maxwell's Home

An iPhone wrapped in tin foil was amongst the possessions found at Ghislaine Maxwell’s hidden New Hampshire home. Ms. Maxwell is accused of being a conspirator of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The tale is amongst a collection of Apple-related crime stories rounded up by AppleInsider.

When the New Hampshire home of Ghislaine Maxwell, the ex-girlfriend and accused co-conspirator of the late mogul and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was raided last month, FBI agents found a cell phone wrapped in tin foil among her possessions. According to federal prosecutors, as cited by CNN, the phone was “a seemingly misguided effort to evade detection, not by the press or public, which of course would have no ability to trace her phone or intercept her communications, but by law enforcement.” It’s not clear if the phone was an iPhone, but Vanity Fair reported that Maxwell had an iPhone, iPad, and laptop with her during her time living incognito. Maxwell, who has been charged with federal crimes including enticing a minor to travel to engage in criminal sexual activity, has pled not guilty.

 

Motorola Smart Safe with Secure Wall Mounting: $109.99

We have a deal on the Motorola Bolt Smart Safe. It mounts to your wall using the included hardware, and it also offers a water-resistant keypad, humidity and odor control system, remote open capability, an intelligent reminder system, and other security features. It can be remotely opened via an app, and it will send the same apps alerts if it is opened. It’s $109.99 through our deal.

Repairing iCloud Syncing — Mac Geek Gab 825

Should you update? That’s always the question, isn’t it, regardless of whether it’s hardware or software or both. This week John and Dave answer your questions about both, specifically when it comes to Apple’s offerings. That’s not all, of course. Your two favorite geeks roar through a tour of your questions, tips, and Cool Stuff Found, including segments on repairing iCloud syncing, backing up your music the right way, diagnosing CPU spikes, and more. Press play, and enjoy learning at least five new things, all while remaining perfectly socially-distanced!

APHL Wants to Build Central Server for COVID-19 Data

The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) wants to build and host a national server to hold data collected from exposure notification apps. It’s partnering with Apple, Google, and Microsoft to do so.

Rather than each state and territorial public health agency bearing the burden of building and hosting its own key servers, a national server can securely host the keys of those affected users, eliminate duplication and enable notifications across state borders. APHL is also championing the effort to build and host a national key server on behalf of the public health community. This will allow users to continually benefit from exposure notifications as they travel across state lines, and help state and territorial agencies deploy their apps quickly.

Just two days ago, Trump removed control of public COVID-19 data from the CDC, and now someone wants to build a national server? What could go wrong?

Reflections From The Cast of ‘Hamilton’

On Broadway, London’s West End and other places around the world, Hamilton has long been a big deal. With its arrival on Disney+, a whole new set of people have been able to see it. In a new video, the cast and crew, including writer Lin Manuel Miranda, reflect on what the show means to them.

The Yale Economist Helping Apple and Amazon Navigate Antitrust Probes

Yale economist Professor Fiona Scott Morton has written papers about bringing antitrust cases against Google and Facebook. She’s also been hired by Apple and Amazon to help them navigate such probes (although that was not revealed in the recent papers). There’s an interesting profile of her on Bloomberg News.

Scott Morton, hailed in a 2019 article in the New Republic as an “antitrust crusader,” said she began consulting for Amazon in the last year, while her work for Apple dates back several years. She said she usually discloses her clients when speaking at conferences. The lack of disclosure on the Google and Facebook papers, she said, shouldn’t be an issue because Apple and Amazon didn’t pay her to write them. What’s more, she added, those papers didn’t focus on either Apple or Amazon.

Behind the Design of ‘Sky: Children of the Light’ Game

“Sky: Children of the Light” is an iOS game with some beautiful visuals. Apple shared the story behind the design in its latest developer update.

Early on, it was clear that Sky would be an ambitious title for Chen and the creative team. This would be their first game for a mobile device, the first that relied on touch instead of console controllers, and their first attempt at an online multiplayer experience — one that celebrated connection over conflict. The team ultimately worked for seven years before bringing Sky to life, with more than 70 people contributing to the game over its creative development.