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Andrew Orr

Since 2015 Andrew has been writing about Apple, privacy, security, and at one point even Android. You can find him most places online under the username @andrewornot.

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Articles by Andrew Orr

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Expensive Apple Hardware Isn't New. Remember the Lisa?

Andrew Orr ·

The 2018 iPhones were fairly expensive, and this isn’t a new Apple strategy. The company has been down this road before with the Lisa computer.

Named for Saint Steve’s daughter, the Lisa project kicked off in 1978, finally making an appearance on 19 January 1983. It was pitched as a graphical competitor to the tiresome text-based computers dominating the marketplace.

Aside from all the snark the author pumped into the article, it’s a nice blast from the past. As Battlestar Galactica says, “All of this has happened before and all of this will happen again.”

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iPhoneographers: New Shot on iPhone Challenge

Andrew Orr ·

Apple is holding a new Shot on iPhone challenge that will run from January 22 to February 7. A panel of judges will review worldwide submissions and select 10 winning photos.

Post your best photo taken on iPhone to Instagram or Twitter with the #ShotOniPhone hashtag to participate in the the Shot on iPhone Challenge. Weibo users can participate as well using #ShotOniPhone#. In the image caption, note which model was used. Alternatively, you can also submit the photo in its highest resolution to [email protected] with the file format ‘firstname_lastname_iphonemodel.’

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iPhone XS Max DxOMark Score Ranks it Fourth

Andrew Orr ·

The iPhone XS Max DxOMark score causes the iPhone to rank fourth in the list. With a score of 82 it barely edges out the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus.

Achieving a DxOMark front camera score of 82, the Apple iPhone XS Max puts in a solid performance for both still and moving images during our tests, and is a nice improvement over its predecessor, the iPhone X. For still photos, the device boasts some great strengths for selfie shooters, including excellent HDR, bokeh shots, and detail at close range, which are among the best results we’ve observed for front cameras.

Raised issues include noise, white balance, and skin rendering.

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Google Hopes No One Notices it's a Digital Oil Baron

Andrew Orr ·

A day after the company got fined over privacy and consent practices, Google CFO Ruth Porat says data is more like sunlight than oil.

Most people know the phrase “data is the new oil,” a theory about how the world’s most valuable resource is information rather than petroleum. Speaking at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday morning, Google chief financial officer Ruth Porat said: “Data is more like sunlight than oil … It is like sunshine, we keep using it and it keeps regenerating.”

Google wants to ride the coattails of alternative energy instead of being associated with those nasty old oil barons in the hope that no one will notice similarities. Also the phrase “We keep using it and it keeps regenerating” underscores the belief that data can be collected from people and used for free.

Book Sale: Fossils, Finches, and Fuegians for $1.99
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Book Sale: Fossils, Finches, and Fuegians for $1.99

Andrew Orr ·

Fossils, Finches, and Fuegians is a narrative account of Charles Darwin’s four year voyage on the Beagle to South America, Australia and the Pacific in the 1830s that combines the adventure and excitement of Alan Moorehead’s famous (and now out of print) account with an expert assessment of the scientific discoveries of that journey. The author is Charles Darwin’s great-grandson. No biography of Darwin has yet done justice to what the scientific research actually was that occupied Darwin during the voyage. Keynes shows exactly how Darwin’s geological researches and his observations on natural history sowed the seeds of his revolutionary theory of evolution, and led to the writing of his great works on The Origin of Species and The Descent of Man. Apple Books: US$1.99

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AMD Radeon Navi GPU Support Coming to macOS

Andrew Orr ·

AMD Radeon Navi GPU support is coming to macOS. Code for four graphics cards is present, referring to Navi 9, Navi 10, Navi 12, and Navi 16.

The new device ID is 0x73101002. We need to keep our eyes on this kext development for more news and support as its getting close to the “Navi-dad”. we saw similar code in Sierra prior to the Vega release. Navi in 6 months?

Feliz navidad everyone!

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Police Looking for WalMart iPhone Thieves

Andrew Orr ·

Police are looking for WalMart iPhone thieves who stole US$40,000 worth of iPhones and Apple Watches across multiple states.

The suspects are identified as James J. Jordan, 42, and Jahmir Andre Mitchell, 19, both from Philly. They remain at large, but face felony charges of participating in a corrupt organization, receiving stolen property and retail theft and a misdemeanor conspiracy charge.

Sounds like these guys are suspects in multiple cases. Hopefully they will be caught.

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5 Drawing Apps for iPad Pro and Apple Pencil

Andrew Orr ·

Michael Calore’s list is a good follow up to my article of apps that put the pro in iPad Pro. If you’re an artist, here are five drawing apps to look out for.

Whether you’re a casual scribbler or seasoned illustrator, the iPad Pro, paired with its Pencil, can be a serious artistic tool.

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Google Investigation Shows Apple Was Right About Face ID

Andrew Orr ·

Take this with a grain of salt because this tweet is all I’ve seen about this. But David Ruddock of AndroidPolice mentioned a Google investigation trying to determine if certain types of fingerprint sensors are secure.

Another CES Story: I’ve heard Google is currently investigating whether current optical fingerprint sensor designs are secure enough to be used for TrustZone auth (mobile payments, banking apps, etc). There is real concern optical FPRs may be too easy to spoof.

Although facial recognition came to Android first, it was there for convenience as a way to unlock your device. But Apple added it for security, and it looks like they bet on the right horse.

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A List of macOS Touch Bar Apps

Andrew Orr ·

The Touch Bar on recent Macs doesn’t seem to get a lot of love, but David Nield writes about macOS Touch Bar apps that do make use of it.

We’re only going to limit ourselves to mentioning one Apple app in the list, but dig around, and you’ll find that pretty much every native macOS program includes some Touch Bar shortcuts you might find useful.

Personally I’m of the opinion that the feature is gimmicky and doesn’t add much functionality to Macs.

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Some Guidelines on how to Spot Bad Science

Andrew Orr ·

Recently I wrote a PSA on Wi-Fi and cancer, and a lot of people disagree with me by sending me links to studies and other news that also disagree. That’s fine, but at the same time a lot more effort goes into scientific research than cherry picking Google results. I don’t claim to know better than these studies, but a scientific study needs to be taken into context of the field as a whole. John Oliver had a good segment on studies and how they can be misunderstood. Compound Interest has a rough guide to spotting bad science and red flags to watch out for. I’ve made use of this guide for some time, and I think it’s helpful.

This graphic looks at the different factors that can contribute towards ‘bad’ science – it was inspired by the research I carried out for the recent aluminium chlorohydrate graphic, where many articles linked the compound to causing breast cancer, referencing scientific research which drew questionable conclusions from their results.

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Thoughts About an iPad-First Workflow

Andrew Orr ·

Ryan Christoffel writes about key things to think about if you want to adopt an iPad-first workflow.

Software limitations aside, the iPad clearly has a lot going for it; the iPad Pro is a more attractive Mac alternative than ever before. But moving to the iPad still involves some growing pains. The longer you’ve used a traditional computer, the harder an iPad transition can be. There are a few key things, however, that can help make your iPad adoption a success.

I’m not fully iPad-first yet because I still need to get a keyboard for it. But once that happens then my transition will be complete.