The Apple TV’s Siri remote has a nifty feature that allows you to quickly switch between letterbox and full-screen mode.
John Martellaro
John Martellaro was born at an early age and began writing about computers soon after that. With degrees in astrophysics (B.S.) and physics (M.S.), he has worked for NASA, White Sands Missile Range, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Apple. At Apple he worked as a Senior Marketing Manager, a Federal Account Executive and a High Performance Computing manager. His interests include chess, science fiction and astronomy. John is the host of the TMO podcast Background Mode.
Articles by John Martellaro
A New, Easy Way to Take Apple TV Screenshots with a Mac
Previous to tvOS 11 and macOS High Sierra it was exceptionally awkward and difficult to grab screenshots from an Apple TV. Now, it’s fairly easy.
Money Can’t Always Buy Apple's Engineering R&D Success
If all that were required for brilliant engineering solutions is oodles of cash, Apple would have flawless products that seem to have been beamed from the future. Alas, this is not possible. Particle Debris page 2 links to an illustrative article.
TMO Background Mode Interview with Ruby Receptionists CTO Katharine Nester
Katharine Nester is the CTO and Chief Product Officer for Ruby Receptionists, a virtual receptionist service. She owes early influence to her father, a computer engineer, and that led to her B.S. degree in computer science from the Univ. of Calif. at Berkeley. Her first job was as a Hewlett Packard software engineer. Katharine is an active member of Portland’s growing tech community where she advocates for more inclusive environments to support women and minorities in the field and is a benefactor of App Camp for Girls. We chatted about the founding of Ruby Receptionists, early technical decisions that were made and how it operates. Katharine tells a great story about her personal career arc as well as what it’s like to be the CTO of a company that supports 7,600 other companies.
Apple's 2019 Mac Pro Will Be Fundamentally Different
There is every indication that Apple’s 2019 Mac Pro will be fundamentally different than its predecessors. John explains.
Having Mac Display issues? Try macOS 10.13.4. Except...
Apple’s macOS 10.3.4 generally fixes some nagging display issues, but also breaks screen extenders. Here’s an update.
Here's How You Can Download Your Google Data Into an Archive
Google allows you to download an archive that contains a tremendous amount of information, for example, your bookmarks, calendars, activity, searches, requested map directions, photos and so on. The list is long. Here’s how to do it.
Windows 10 Security No Longer a Laughing Matter
After years of leapfrogging each other, Tidbits security editor Rich Mogull thinks Windows 10 security is now on par with macOS. The U.S. military agrees. Both links are on Particle Debris page 2.
TMO Background Mode Interview with Tidbits Security Editor Rich Mogull
Rich Mogull has twenty years experience in information security, physical security, and risk management. He specializes in data security, application security, emerging security technologies, and security management. Prior to founding Securosis, Rich was a Research Vice President at Gartner on the security team where he also served as research co-chair for the Gartner Security Summit. Currently, he is the security editor at Tidbits. We chatted about Rich’s career, then delved into some security issues of interest to Apple customers: the relative security of macOS vs. Windows 10, the security of iOS, whether AES-256 encryption is still “good enough,” iCloud security, and the technical feasibility of an unhackable backdoor into our iPhones for law enforcement. If you’re interested in all things security, this is the show for you.
The iPad Paradox: Why it Can't Really Teach Kids to Code
Apple’s “Field Trip” education event produced a flood of excellent articles about Apple’s standing in the education market. Here are four of the best. And one hits a hot button.
How to Visually Verify Dolby Vision Content with Apple TV 4K
There are several indicators that your Apple TV 4K is enabled for Dolby Vision, but John shows the final visual cue to look for on the TV’s screen itself.
That Time Steve Jobs Tried to Warn Mark Zuckerberg About Customer Privacy
Mark Zuckerberg was in the audience that day in 2010, at AllThingsD, when Apple’s Steve Jobs told Walt Mossberg how his company works to protect customer privacy. And here’s a link to the video.
TMO Background Mode Interview with Kelly Guimont and Jeff Gamet - Everything 4K/UHD TV
In this very special edition of Background Mode, The Mac Observer’s Kelly Guimont and Jeff Gamet joined me to continue a previous discussion we’d been having about 4K/UHD television. It all started when I published an article, an adventure actually, about my project to get all my home video components working together to achieve 4K/UHD and Dolby Vision. One TMO Daily Observations podcast wasn’t enough to answer all the questions, and so we just kept on chatting, laughing and recording. Herein is most everything you need to know about setting up a 4K/UHD TV system with advanced High Dynamic Range (HDR), especially Dolby Vision.
Three Star Trek Technologies That May Soon Be Within Reach
Rich Smith, at The Motley Fool, is enthusiastic about a new book by Dr. Ethan Siegel, a Lewis & Clark College astrophysics professor, called Treknology. In that book, Dr SIegel describes some Star Trek technologies that we could see in our lifetime. Namely, transparent aluminum (oxynitride), deflector shields and tractor beams. The book is cool and author Smith’s essay about it is also cool.
The REAL Reason Apple Dropped the Headphone Jack From iPhones
Neil Cybart at Above Avalon goes into considerable detail as he explains Apple’s strategy to control sound products. And that means, amongst other things, the dedicated headphone jack on the iPhone had to go.
TMO Background Mode Interview with Apple World Today's News Editor Dennis Sellers
Dennis Sellers is a seasoned journalist, reporter and news editor. He knew at a very early age that he wanted to become a journalist and that led to his Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Tennessee. He worked in the newspaper business for over 20 years, wrote freelance while he taught, earned his Master’s degree, signed on with MacCentral in the 1990s. After MacCentral was assimilated, he launched Macsimum News, an online newspaper covering the Mac industry and Apple news. In 2015, he joined Apple World Today as news editor. Dennis and I chatted about the state of Apple, hopes for macOS, his experience with his HomePod, Apple and education and what Apple might reveal at WWDC in June. He also explained the interesting domain his website uses.
PCalc, a Terrific Calculator App for iOS, is Apple's App of the Day
The best iOS calculator I’ve ever used is PCalc from James Thomson (TLA Systems).. By best, I don’t mean just good looks. I mean computational expertise imbued in an app that can be trusted to always get the answer right based on numerical analysis principles. PCalc is also a lot of fun, has a boatload of options in the settings, and even has an RPN mode for those who grew up with RPN on Hewlett Packard calculators. It’s Apple’s App Of The day, so head on over and get the best designed calculator money can buy. It also has watchOS support.
There Are Ways of Talking to Your AI That Are Dangerous
The subject of how tempted we are to treat artificial intelligent entities as real human beings has some up once again.
Google’s Education and Enterprise Efforts Paying Off
Google’s Chromebooks and office G-Suite are doing a good job of luring business and education away from Apple and Microsoft and into their fold. Here’s the analysis from Friday’s Particle Debris page 2.
TMO Background Mode Encore Interview with Tidbits Managing Editor Josh Centers
Josh Centers is the Managing Editor of Tidbits.com and has published several Take Control Books. His latest book is “Take Control of Apple Home Automation.” And so, I invited him to make a return appearance on Background Mode to chat about that very subject. The book is a complete guide and starts from the very beginning of the design and wiring process and the use of various hubs. Josh clearly explained how to use Apple’s HomeKit home automation platform to control smart devices in the home, such as lights, outlets, thermostats, and more. And he’s very frank about various myths surrounding home automation. We also chatted about beginner security concerns as well as the ability to maintain control and terminate any service if necessary. If you have an interest in home automation, this show is must listening.
Apple's HomePod Video Ad is in a Creative Rut
Apple’s HomePod video ad focuses on the old, tried and true. Takes few risks and is predictable. What happened?
Everything iPhone Users Need to Know About 5G Wireless
John provides a basic introduction to the coming 5G wireless technology for the curious iPhone user.
TMO Background Mode Interview with Take Control Books Publisher Joe Kissell
Joe Kissell is a writer and author with over 60 technical books to his credit. He’s a contributing editor with Tidbits, and recently became the owner and publisher of the Take Control series of eBooks. Early in his career, Joe had a strong interest in language and holds a Master’s degree in Linguistics. Along the way, however, he also got very technical with computers, and that landed him a job as a product manager with Nisus. Subsequently, Joe was a software developer for Kensington. In 2017, he accepted an offer from Adam Engst to acquire Take Control Books. Joe and his wife run that business—currently using a brand new iMac Pro. When not editing, Joe pursues T’ai Chi, cooking, walking and travel. Joe tells his career story, chock full of technical serendipity, with awesome charm.
Apple’s Annoying OS Antics
macOS is brilliant. It’s the best GUI and development environment ever put on top of a UNIX OS. So why does Apple engage in so many silly things that annoy (or imperil) users? Particle Debris page 2 looks at three.