The first beta for iOS 12’s Shortcuts app is available, but only for developers, because it’s buggy and feature-limited.
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Everything Apple Announced at WWDC Is Free - Here's a Complete List
SAN JOSE – Here’s something you may not have noticed about Apple’s WWDC keynote: everything Apple announced will be free—here’s the complete list of new products and features Apple announced during the WWDC 2018 keynote.
Apple Announces iOS 12: Siri Skills, Performance, Improved Communication, Enhanced Augmented Reality
SAN JOSE – The next major update for the company’s mobile platform focused on Siri skills, performance, improved communication, enhanced augmented reality tools, and addiction controls.
How to Install NetBeans to Write and Debug HTML on Your Mac for Free, Part II
NetBeans is a very useful IDE that supports many languages on the Mac. In the first article, John explained how to do the install. Here, in Part II, he shows how to get started writing and learning HTML.
How to Enable SQM on Your eero WiFi Mesh Network
eero added SQM, or Smart Queue Management to its WiFi mesh routers to help your network run more efficiently. Here’s how to enable the feature.
The Charm of the Chime – Mac Geek Gab 709
You have questions, Dave and John have answers. Today’s topics include malfunctioning AirPods, setting Apple Pay addresses, restoring a Recovery Partition, email and iMessage encryption, and much, much more. Download, press play, enjoy, and learn!
Dear Overlords of MacLand – Mac Geek Gab 708
It’s always something, and thankfully John and Dave are always here to help. This week we share some advice about geotagging your photos when shooting with a non-geo-smart DSLR camera. Then some talk about how to format Flash drives, and lots, lots more. It’s always a blast and you always learn at least 5 new things each and every time you get together with John and Dave.
Synology RT2600ac and RT1900ac: Your Apple AirPort Extreme Replacement
These days, many Apple users are looking to improve and update their home Wi-Fi connections. With Apple seemingly having abandoned any true hardware updates to their AirPort router line, Apple users are looking to third-parties to fill the gap for an AirPort Extreme replacement. To that end, Synology is among the cream of the crop in the standalone router market and provides many features never found in Apple’s offerings. Updated April 18, 2018 with lowered prices on Amazon. The RT2600ac is now available for less than an AirPort Extreme, with a lot more features and range.
TMO Background Mode Interview with Gravitational Wave Astrophysicist Dr. Chiara Mingarelli
Dr. Chiara Mingarelli is an astrophysicist currently working at the Flatiron Institute’s Center for Computational Astrophysics where she’s a Flatiron Fellow. Chiara received her Ph.D. from the University of Birmingham (UK) in 2014, and her specialty is the study of gravitational waves: ripples in spacetime born of a cataclysmic collision of distant, super-massive objects. She’s been a Marie Curie International Fellow at Cal Tech and has worked at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy. We chatted about her early years, how she was inspired by the night skies of her hometown in Canada and her early years studying mathematics and physics. There were definitely some challenges in her early career, but her mathematician father nurtured her through. If you’re curious about gravitational waves and Pulsars, this is the show for you.
macOS 10.13.4: Sorting Safari Bookmarks by Name
The newest version of Safari has a handy-dandy way to sort bookmarks by name (or by URL), and we’ve got the scoop on how to do it…and how to undo it if you want to. (At least temporarily.) Come on in and read all about it!
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.
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.
Alexa is Laughing at You and it's Creepy AF
The idea of having a voice assistant device in your home is already creepy for some people, and now it’s even worse because Amazon’s Alexa is spontaneously laughing.
Here's Why I'm Tired of Saying 'Hey Siri'
Saying “Hey Siri” is an awkward way to invoke Apple’s voice assistant platform. It’s time to drop the “Hey” and make talking to Siri feel more natural, like Amazon’s Alexa.
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 VP of Marketing for Mayfield Robotics Chris Matthews
Chris Matthews is the VP of Marketing for Mayfield Robotics. They make the companion robot called Kuri that was recently shown to our Jeff Gamet at CES 2018. Having been a very interested observer of emerging robot technology, I invited Chris to be on the show. We talked about how Mayfield Robotics was formed, the founders, how the company got its name, the human and engineering design principles behind Kuri, what mistakes were avoided, how Kuri protects family privacy and security, the nuances of Kuri’s physical design, how Kuri communicates with the family, its processing power, the price and the shipping status. Kuri is probably going to be my first family robot, so tune-in as Chris explains how Kuri works in fascinating detail. You may want one too.
AirPlay 2 is Gone in iOS 11.3 DB3, but that Doesn't Mean it's Dead
When Apple released iOS 11.3 developer beta 3 on Tuesday, one feature that had plenty of testers excited was missing: AirPlay 2.
Apple's First Shareholder Meeting in the Steve Jobs Theater Set for this Morning
Apple’s annual shareholder’s meeting scheduled to start at 9AM pacific time Tuesday morning, and this will be the first time it will be held in the Steve Jobs Theater on the Apple Park campus.
Evil Address Records of Death ... and Files! – Mac Geek Gab Podcast 695
There’s always a theme, and this week it’s Files. Sure, your two favorite geeks talk about a LOT more than that, but Files are always there. The Files app in iOS, looking at your files on macOS in new ways, finding files that can be deleted, and time files when you’re having fun. What? Just listen and enjoy. It’s easier that way.
Here's What's Coming in The Next Version of macOS
June’s WWDC is not far away, so it’s not too early to start talking about what Apple may have in store for the next version of macOS.
iOS 11.3 Announced with Battery Management, New Emoji, Health Records, More
iOS 11.3 for the iPhone and iPad is coming this spring and it’ll included the promised power management for worn out batteries feature, along with new Animoji characters, Health Records management, and more.
CES - Modpack Is a Battery Pack, But It's Also a Customizable Electronic Utility Device
LAS VEGAS – Moduware demonstrated at CES its Modpack, portable battery pack that lets you build your own electronic utility device with replaceable modules.
CES - Who Invited the Aflac Duck to CES?
John F. Braun meets with the Aflac team, and learns how they are working with a technology partner to battle childhood cancer.
CES - Flo Technologies Helps You Monitor, Control Your Water
LAS VEGAS – John F. Braun gets to check out Flo, a water monitoring and control system that can help you save money through conservation and preventing water damage.