In Observance of Memorial Day

In honor of Memorial Day, a U.S. holiday, The Mac Observer will be taking the day off. We will resume our regular coverage of the Apple Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch world on Tuesday, May 26th. Please stay safe.

The Butterfly Keyboard May Still Return

Just when you thought it was safe to start typing again…. the Butterfly Keyboard could be on its way back. That’s according to one Apple leaker, whose claims Cult of Mac reported on.

Despite it vanishing from Apple’s MacBook line, Apple hasn’t given up on its controversial (read: hated) butterfly keyboard design, claims Apple leaker L0vetodream. In a Friday tweet, L0vetodream said that Apple is “trying to improve on the structure, and solve the [issues]” faced by users. Should it manage to do so, “we might see it comes back again in future”… L0vetodream’s tweet suggests that, fundamentally, Apple still thinks the idea is a solid one. The company never came out and said that the butterfly keyboard had been a disaster; it only moved forward with new models without it. This is, of course, only a rumor. L0vetodream does not cite their sources when it comes to this rumor. But they have reported a number of previous Apple rumors — and had some of their messages supported by Apple leaker-of-the-moment Jon Prosser.

Leaked Version of iOS 14 Has Been Circulating Since February

A report from Motherboard today finds that a leaked version of iOS 14 has been circulating around the hacking and security community since at least February. Sources claim someone bought a development iPhone 11 running iOS 14 from a Chinese vendor in December 2019.

“That sucks,” said a current Apple employee, who didn’t have knowledge of the leak. Another current Apple employee told Motherboard that they spoke to other employees referencing the leaks. Both employees asked to remain anonymous as they were not allowed to talk to the press. A source in the cybersecurity industry said, his team has this leaked version of iOS 14, and they are studying it.

Like Will Strafach, I too feel bad for whomever Apple rains fire upon.

How to Dig Into the Apple Photos SQLite Database

Now here’s a cool article I found last night. Simon Willison found the SQLite database that Apple Photos uses. It contains photo metadata as well as the aesthetic scoring system that the machine learning uses. Further, there are numeric categories used to label content within photos. For example, Category 2027 is for Entertainment, Trip, Travel, Museum, Beach Activity, etc. I think the quality scores are particularly interesting. There are scores for noise, composition, lively color, harmonious color, pleasant lighting/pattern/perspective, and a bunch more. I bet Apple’s acquisition of Regaind contributed to this.

The Care19 Contact Tracing App Gives Your Location Data to Foursquare

Care19, a contact tracing app used by North and South Dakota, violates its own privacy policy. Notably, the creator of the app, ProudCrowd, made sure that location data from the app is shared with Foursquare, although it claims it’s not used for commercial purposes. It’s a violation of its privacy policy because users are told their location data is private:

This location data is private to you and is stored securely on ProudCrowd, LLC servers. It will not be shared with anyone including government entities or third parties, unless you consent or ProudCrowd is compelled under federal regulations.

Some Online College Exams Don’t Support Apple’s HEIC Format

Apple’s HEIC photo format isn’t widely supported and that causes problems when students upload photos during online exams.

But the testing portal doesn’t support the default format on iOS devices and some newer Android phones, HEIC files. HEIC files are smaller than JPEGs and other formats, thus allowing you to store a lot more photos on an iPhone. Basically, only Apple (and, more recently, Samsung) use the HEIC format — most other websites and platforms don’t support it. Even popular Silicon Valley-based services, such as Slack, don’t treat HEICs the same way as standard JPEGs.

I wish more websites would support HEIC/HEIF. It should be a no-brainer since the file size is smaller than JPG and supports a wider color gamut.

Preorder Adobe Photoshop Camera Today

Adobe Photoshop Camera is available to preorder today on the App Store. It’s a new app from the company that gives you cool effects powered by machine learning. Add tons of filters and lenses inspired by famous artists and influencers. You’ll get content-aware recommendations, portrait controls, and social network sharing built in. “Photoshop Camera is packed with amazing AI-powered features that help you take gorgeous selfies, food and scenery shots, and more. Quick fixes like auto-tone and portrait control mean you can create high-quality photos with a simiple tap or swipe of your finger.”

Spotify Employees Can Work From Home Until 2021

Spotify became the latest company to tell employees they can work from home until 2021, Music Business Worldwide reported. It joins other major tech firms in taking such a decision.

MBW understands that a memo went out earlier today (May 21) explaining that SPOT is following local guidelines on the re-opening of its offices during the current pandemic, and will be taking a “phased approach” on the matter. As part of this strategy, the company has informed its employees that they can individually decide with “full discretion” whether or not to return to company workspaces before next year. According to its latest annual fiscal report, Spotify employed 4,405 people on a full-time basis worldwide in 2019, with 2,121 in the United States and 1,437 in Sweden.

Apple’s Privacy Stance Both Helps and Hinders it

Apple regularly pushes its stance on privacy, working to turn it into a competitive advantage. In the latest in a series of pieces on the company, Wired looks at how its approach to privacy both helps and hinders the company.

Apple is able to do this because its business doesn’t rely on advertising. “Apple doesn’t have that need to have access to data,” independent security researcher Robin Wood says. Google, on the other hand, is one of the world’s biggest advertising companies and can sell ads for greater sums if it knows more about users and their interests. “Because Apple doesn’t have to have the data, they can put the effort into not having it,” Wood says. One such example is found in Apple Maps. Apple says it doesn’t collect detailed journey information: when you travel from home to work, for example, it breaks up the journey into small chunks. This way, it doesn’t hold a complete record of your route (from which it would be easy to identify you). It has also introduced a new technique it calls “fuzzing”: when you search for a destination on your phone, Apple will change the location information it stores to be less precise 24 hours later, meaning it can’t be used to identify where you have been.