Isabel Wilkerson’s Caste is the latest pick for Oprah Winfrey’s book club, and it “might be the most important book I’ve ever chosen.”
H.S. Principal Dr. Amy Fast - BGM Interview
Amy Fast is a high school principal in the McMinnville School District in Oregon. She holds a Ed.D. degree. Previously, she’s been an elementary teacher, instructional coach, and assistant principal. She is also an education commentator and author of the book, It’s the Mission, Not the Mandates.
After a brief overview of Amy’s career and a discussion of her book, we dug into the issues facing educators amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. We covered planning for remote vs. in-person classes, the technology of remote classes, teacher concerns about in-person class safety, funding for cleaning, effectiveness of remote teaching, mental health issues, and long-term changes to education in the post-pandemic era. Parents with schoolchildren and educators will find this interview enormously helpful.
Troubleshooting Space X iPad Difficulties
We’ve all needed to do some iPad troubleshooting from time to time. However, we don’t normally need to do it whilst also helping a spacecraft land. However, that’s what happened on the latest SpaceX trip, reported Space Explored.
The communication started with Astronaut Behnken explaining that he had an issue with something before communication dropped out momentarily. A few seconds later, the astronaut read out an error message presumably from the custom SpaceX application created for the iPad. “A timeline application on my tablet, uh, gives me a error message that says Safari cannot open the page, and then it’s got a HTML address because your iPad is not connected to the internet,” Behnken reported. “Can you confirm that Wi-Fi is off and AirPlane Mode is on,” asked Menon. Then the NASA astronaut improvised with a go-to troubleshooting step. “Yes, uh, Wi-Fi is off and AirPlane Mode is on. If you have the display cameras up, I’ll try to show it to you,” Behnken suggested. “We will take that,” Menon replied. “We’re coming up on a ground station pass and we have the display camera up.”
Warren Buffett's AAPL Stake Worth Over $100 Billion
Recent market moves have made Warren Buffett’s AAPL holding worth over $100 billion after tripling in value. Business Insider broke it down.
250 million Apple shares between 2016 and 2018, according to his 2019 shareholder letter. Buffett has cashed out some of that holding since then, and owned 245 million shares at last count. The position is currently worth more than $104 billion. Apple’s third-quarter earnings sent its stock price up 10% to an all-time high of $425 on Friday, lifting its market capitalization to north of $1.8 trillion, and making it the most valuable company on the planet. Apple stock has climbed about 42% this year, boosting the value of Buffett’s stake by $30 billion in the past seven months alone.
Apple Asks for UK Store Rent to be Cut by 50%
Apple has reportedly asked for reductions for its UK stores of as much as 50% along with a rent-free period.
Today at Apple Sessions Restart in Mainland China
A number of Today at Apple sessions have returned in mainland China, although they are limited in scope and number.
Apple Silicon Pricing, Oprah's Conversations – TMO Daily Observations 2020-08-03
Charlotte Henry and John Martellaro join host Kelly Guimont to discuss rumors of Apple Silicon pricing, and The Oprah Conversation’s debut.
American Airlines Gives Apple TV+ For Free
American Airlines gives Apple TV+ free on its flights now, a great option if you’re traveling and want to enjoy Cupertino’s original shows.
Apple Boosts App Store Security With New App Attest API
Apple is introducing a new security measure for the App Store called the App Attest API and it will be used in iOS 14 and later.
Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman Get Back on Their Bikes For New Apple TV+ Series
Apple TV+ has unveiled Long Way Up, a new motorcycle travel series, starring and executive produced by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman.
PIQO Powerful 1080p Mini Projector: $279.99
We have a deal on the PIQO HD 1080p Projector, a small projector that projects to 240″. It features a 200 lumen LED bulb and built-in Hi-Fi speakers. It also has a built-in battery with up to 5 hours of playback time for portable use. You can use Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to cast from your device to the projector, too. It’s $279.99 through our deal.
iOS 14 Apple Translate Bridges the Language Barrier
Within iOS 14, Apple Translate is a highly useful app for anybody who needs to talk or text in a language they don’t speak well or at all.
Computer Mouse Co-Creator Bill English Passes Away Aged 91
Bill English, the man who helped create the computer mouse, passed away age 91, BBC News reported. It came out of an idea created by his colleague, Doug Engelbart.
Bill English became the first person to use a mouse when he built the prototype at Mr Engelbart’s research project at the Stanford Research Institute. The idea was Mr Engelbart’s, which he described as only being “brief notes” – but the creation was down to Bill English. His first version was a wooden block with a single button – and underneath, two rolling wheels at 90-degree angles that would record vertical and sideways movement. “We were working on text editing – the goal was a device that would be able to select characters and words,” Mr English told the Computer History Museum in 1999.
Apple Card Guide: All of the 3% Cash Back Merchants
Apple is treating Apple Card as a service, not just a physical product, and will continue to add merchants to its 3% Daily Cash program.
Panera Apple Pay Now Gives You 3% Cash Back
Panera announced today that it will offer Apple Card customers 3% cash back when they use Apple Pay in its app, website, and stores.
'The Oprah Conversation' on Apple TV+ is a Hard But Worthwhile Watch
The first two episodes of ‘The Oprah Conversation’ on Apple TV+ are a difficult, but worthwhile watch, as Emmanuel Acho talks racism.
Chinese AI Company Shanghai Zhizhen Sues Apple for $1.4 Billion
Shanghai Zhizhen Network Technology Co. said today it’s suing Apple for US$1.43 billion, claiming Apple violated its patent with Siri.
Geek Challenges, Quick Tips, and Your Network Questions Answered — Mac Geek Gab 827
John and Dave take a few deeper dives today to solve your peskier problems… Geek Challenges, we like to call them (though sometimes we call them “Stump the Geeks!”). Listen as your two favorite nerds talk through creatively increasing your broadband speeds, diagnosing those CPU spikes, managing battery life, Wi-Fi issues, and more. Of course, your favorite Quick Tips are here, and maybe even a few more surprises. Press play and watch while you learn five new things!
Apple Acquires Mobeewave to Create iPhone Payment Terminals
Apple has acquired startup Mobeewave Inc. which uses technology to let people tap their phone on another phone to process a payment.
These 5 Shortcuts Help Me Automate My Digital Life
Andrew uses these five shortcuts nearly every day to help him automate his digital life, like a web clipper for Apple Notes.
Superb Apps You Won’t Find in the Mac App Store
Dr. Mac says, “If you only buy apps from the Mac App Store, you’ll miss out on many useful, reasonably priced, and effort-saving Mac apps.
Compact Apple Accessory Organizer with Wireless Charging Cover, 8-Port Hub, and Storage Compartment: $99.99
We have a deal on the BentoStack PowerHub 5000, an accessory organizer with a 5,000mAh charging cover, Type-C hub, and a storage compartment, all in one minimalistic stackable case. The charging cover has a Qi wireless charger, and the hub has 8 different ports in it. This device is $99.99 through our deal.
Apple Only Smartphone Maker to Grow in Last Quarter
Apple was the only smartphone maker that grew over the last quarter. That’s according to researchers at Canalys, with Cult of Mac break down the data.
“Apple defied expectations in Q2,” said Canalys analyst Vincent Thielke. “Its new iPhone SE was critical in the quarter, accounting for around 28% of its global volume, while iPhone 11 remained a strong best-seller at nearly 40%. iPhone SE will remain crucial to prop up volume this year, amid delays to Apple’s next flagship release. In China, it had blockbuster results, growing 35% to reach 7.7 million units. It is unusual for Apple’s Q2 shipments to increase sequentially. As well as the new iPhone SE, Apple is also demonstrating skills in new user acquisition. It adapted quickly to the pandemic, doubling down on the digital customer experience as stay-at-home measures drive more customers to online channels.” What’s particularly impressive to me about Apple’s success during the quarter is how many potential pain points it needs to navigate.
Going Cold Turkey on Apple, Amazon, Google,Microsoft, and Facebook
Kashmir Hill stopped using the ‘big five’ tech giants, one at a time. For the final week, she stopped using them all. She relayed her experience for Gizmodo.
I went through the digital equivalent of a juice cleanse. I hope I’m better than most dieters at staying healthy afterward, but I don’t want to be a digital vegan. I want to embrace a lifestyle of “slow Internet,” to be more discriminating about the technology I let into my life and think about the motives of the companies behind it. The tech giants are reshaping the world in good and bad ways; we can take the good and reject the bad.
[Update: August 3] The quote above and main link (below) is from the first time Ms. Hill conducted this experiment, in 2019. She has since reflected on it for The New York Times.