If you’re the type of person who wants to protect your iPhone while also keeping its elegant appearance, the Vaja Grip Case for iPhone has you covered.
Tim Cook: “People Have Left Crying” After Meetings With Apple CEO
A new profile of Tim Cook reveals the good and bad about the Apple CEO’s time at the top of the company after succeeding Steve Jobs.
Audio Tips, Cool Stuff Found, Rural Broadband, and More! — Mac Geek Gab 828
The summer heat hasn’t stopped your two favorite geeks — or you, with your questions — and this week’s episode shows all of that and more. You’ve had a ton of questions about audio devices and podcast management lately, so John and Dave dig into that first to re-open the doors on that conversation. Then it’s on to tips and Cool Stuff Found, with a couple of return entries in the latter, including the very, very first Cool Stuff Found to ever have been mentioned! Press play, and enjoy watching (or listening) as you learn five new things.
Apple Gains Some Repairability Points for 2019 iMac Models
iFixit, which regularly provides readers with hugely helpful teardowns, has praised Apple for making available (deliberately or otherwise) repair manuals for the 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMacs released in 2019. It even upgraded the repairability score for the devices. This is interesting, given it recently emerged that flash storage cannot be removed from the logic board in the latest 27-inch iMac, surely reducing its repairability.
But with publicly available repair manuals, however painful the actual procedures can be, this device offers a greater sense of long-term service potential. It’s a tricky thing, providing this recognition to Apple. The company puts a significant amount of effort into lobbying against Right to Repair bills that would, among other things, make all such internal manuals available to the public. And we know, by way of emails provided to Congress, that the release of the iMac repair manuals was an aberration. Since then, Apple has simultaneously produced its most repair-friendly device in many years, the Mac Pro, and chosen not to release any more manuals for its other devices. Still, this tiny revelation feels like the first signs of spring after a long winter. Apple published service manuals and the world didn’t end.
3.3 Foot Supercord 3-in-1 Charging Cable: $19.99
We have a deal on the Supercord, a 3.3-foot charging USB charging cable with three interchangeable connectors: Lightning, USB-C, and microUSB. The sleeve of the cable is braided with kevlar, and it’s $19.99 through our deal.
Trump’s China App Ban Will Affect Apple Due to WeChat
President Trump’s ban on Chinese apps, in particular WeChat, is going to affect Apple, writes Michael Kan.
Forty-five days from now, the White House can begin punishing US companies and individuals for making “transactions” that are related to WeChat. That means Apple will likely need to pull the product from the iOS app store.
“For Apple, it would be all iPhone sales in China will go to zero because no one in China will buy a WeChatless phone,” tweeted podcaster Carl Zha.
As I understand it, WeChat is THE most popular app in China. It’s what Facebook aspires to be with Messenger. It’s used for everything like messaging, mobile payments, a hub for businesses, etc. Like Mr. Kan notes, it won’t affect Google because apps can be sideloaded on Android. But the App Store is the single repository of iOS apps.
Government Contractor ‘Anomaly Six’ Used SDK to Track Phones
A U.S. government contractor called Anomaly Six used its SDK embedded in over 500 apps to track people. Which apps have this SDK is unknown.
Users Cannot Remove Storage From Logic Board in New 27-inch iMac
Flash storage cannot be removed from the logic board in the new 27-inch iMac – some models have flash storage expansion.
Security Friday - Intel, LastPass, Clario – TMO Daily Observations 2020-08-07
Andrew Orr and Jeff Butts join host Kelly Guimont to discuss Security Friday news, and a new headphone option coming with iOS 14.
iPhone 12 Camera Lenses Encounter Quality Control Problems
Camera lenses set for the iPhone 12 have encountered problems, according to a note from analyst Ming Chi Kuo, seen by 9to5 Mac. However, it could save Apple some money.
The problem was spotted during a high-temperature, high-humidity test designed to ensure that the cameras can cope with use in tropical climates… The issues occurred with the camera modules destined for the non-Pro 5.4-inch and 6.1-inch models, with units made by Yujingguang. It’s not yet known whether the company will be able to fix the problem in time for the launch. While Apple will undoubtedly not be impressed by the failure in the iPhone 12 camera lenses, there may be an upside to it. Kuo believes that the lens supplier will be forced to offer Apple a substantial discount on the agreed price in order to win back the business.
New Executive Orders Target WeChat and TikTok
U.S. President Donald Trump has signed Executive Orders banning transactions with Chinese companies behind WeChat and TikTok.
Apple to Donate to Beirut Relief Efforts
Apple is to make a contribution to relief efforts in Beirut, following the devastating blast in the Lebanese city this week.
Apple and T-Mobile Give 1 Million iPads to California Students
Apple and T-Mobile are partnering with the California Department of Education to give up to one million iPads to students in need.
Facebook Gaming App Launches on iOS... With no Games
Facebook hit out at Apple’s App Store policies as it launched its Facebook Gaming app on iOS… without any games.
‘Have I Been Pwned’ Database Now Open Source
Troy Hunt is making his Have I Been Pwned database open source. He says it’s already a community project with companies like Cloudflare providing free services to HIBP.
The single most important objective of that process was to seek a more sustainable future for HIBP and that desire hasn’t changed; the project cannot be solely dependent on me. Yet that’s where we are today and if I disappear, HIBP quickly withers and dies.
Facebook to Continue WFH Until July 2021
Facebook has joined Google in extending its work from home plans. Staff will not return to the office until July 2021, Techcrunch reported. Apple is hoping to have employees return in early 2021.
“Based on guidance from health and government experts, as well as decisions drawn from our internal discussions about these matters, we are allowing employees to continue voluntarily working from home until July 2021,” a spokeswoman told the Reuters news agency. Facebook also said it will provide employees with an additional $1,000 to spend on “home office needs”… Earlier this month, Facebook secured the main office lease on an iconic building in New York, for example — adding 730,000 square feet to its existing 2.2 million square feet of office space.
Meeting The Cast of 'Little Voice' on Apple TV+
In a new video, the cast and creators of Apple TV+ show Little Voice discuss their time on set and how they set about showing young New York life. They talk about the characters and the diversity that makes the series what it is.
Twitter Pushed iPhone Update Notes on Limiting Who Can Reply by Mistake
Twitter pushed an iPhone release suggesting that the ability to limit who replies was being rolled out more widely than it currently has been. However, The Verge found out that the release notes came out by mistake.
Twitter has been experimenting with this feature since May, and yesterday pushed an update to the iPhone version of its mobile app suggesting the feature would be more widely rolling out. A Twitter spokesperson now tells The Verge it accidentally pushed incorrect release notes; the feature is not in fact more widely rolling out, for now. “In May, we tested a new way to have a chat with exactly who you want, so you can create and consume more meaningful changes,” read the update text on the App Store. “Now, everyone can try this new feature and choose who can reply to their tweets.” A Twitter spokesperson says the misconception was due “to some accidentally pushed release notes,” and that “the ability to limit replies on tweets is not currently available to everyone.”
Shot on iPhone - Academy Award Winner Damien Chazelle Creates Vertical Cinema
Apple released a new ‘Shot on iPhone’ video in which Oscar winner Damien Chazelle took famous cinematic styles and flipped them on their side.
20GB Intel Data Leak Spread on Twitter Includes Source Code
An anonymous leaker took to Twitter to leak 20GB of Intel data and says more is coming soon.
The poster encourages downloaders to look for mentions of ‘backdoors’ in some of the Intel source code, and even provides a sample clip of one such listing, but we aren’t sure of the intentions behind the listings in the code.
Hitting Command + F to look for mentions of backdoors, because such backdoors would conveniently be labeled as such, right?
Snapchat Voting Tools to Appear in September
Snap Inc plans to gradually roll out Snapchat voting tools for users and we can expect to start seeing them in September.
Amazon Alexa App on iPhone Gets Major Revamp
The Alexa app for iPhone is getting a revamp, offering increased personalization and a greater focus on first-party features.
macOS Big Sur Public Beta Now Available
Apple released iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 for public beta testers in July, and on Thursday launched the macOS Big Sur public beta.
Stars Head to TV+, Apple Music Goes Gaga – TMO Daily Observations 2020-08-06
Charlotte Henry and Andrew Orr join host Kelly Guimont to discuss Apple’s newfound appeal with stars, and the latest Apple Music radio show.