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Graph Blockchain Aims to Create 3D NFTs for Augmented Reality

Andrew Orr ·

New World Inc, a subsidiary of Graph Blockchain, announced its intention to create NFTs using 3D scanning. These allow them to be viewed in an immersive environment using AR/VR.

For example, Contributors can create holograms of their favorite athlete, fabricate an unconventional piece of furniture, design a high-end piece of clothing, or create abstract pieces of art, all derived from objects in the tangible world.

Brazilian singer, songwriter, and dancer Naldo Benny is the most recent celebrity to team up with New World to create an NFT through 3D scanning. Naldo tracked his signature dance moves and mannerisms that were translated into a digital avatar by New World’s creative team and sold as an NFT.

This seems cool to me, and more of what I envision NFTs to be: Virtual representations of physical objects.

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BMW i4 Electric Vehicle Will Have Apple CarPlay Full Integrated

Charlotte Henry ·

Apple CarPlay is going to sit right at the heart of the forthcoming BMW i4 electric vehicle. MacRumors look a look at the promotional material that shows a fully integrated instrument cluster.

BMW describes the Apple ‌CarPlay‌ experience in the i4 as “even more seamless.” The i4 features two curved displays and a heads-up display. All three displays can display information from Apple ‌CarPlay‌ simultaneously. The BMW i4 features iDrive 8, which supports wireless Apple ‌CarPlay‌, turn-by-turn Apple Maps prompts in the heads-up display, and ‌Apple Maps‌ and directions in the instrument cluster.

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Apple Releases Another AirTags FirmWare Update

Charlotte Henry ·

For the third time in recent days, Apple released new AirTags firmware on Tuesday. AppleInisder reported that the software mainly contains bug fixes. It is automatically installed over the air.

It is unknown what the new firmware with version 1.0.291 (A1291e) brings, and Apple has released no documentation to support the revision. However, the update is expected to bring bug fixes and general improvements to the product. The past firmware was upgraded to the same version number but with a different build number — 1.0.291 (1A291c). The last firmware was released just five days after the previous one debuted.

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Bitcoin Becomes Legal Tender in El Salvador Today

Andrew Orr ·

El Salvador officially made Bitcoin a legal tender currency on Tuesday, September 7, the first country to do so. This move comes into effect three months after its parliament passed the vote.

The big advantage Bitcoin will have for these economies is that they will not have any debt to pay to anyone. It also means that these countries will offer excellent opportunities for the adoption of cryptocurrencies and for crypto startups. This will eventually boost taxation and can become a growth point for this country.

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Here are Steps to Take to Protect Your Privacy on Apple Devices

Andrew Orr ·

Macinstruct published a brief guide on protecting your privacy on Apple devices as a response to Apple’s CSAM detection plans.

We’re now encouraging readers to protect their privacy by disabling certain Apple features. In situations where privacy is a hard requirement, it may be necessary to consider using non-Apple hardware and software. This article provides an overview of our recommendations and your options.

It’s a decent guide except for the recommendation to disable iMessage in favor of SMS. iMessage is end-to-end encrypted, SMS is not. My advice for iMessage privacy is to prevent Messages from storing content in iCloud. When that happens, Apple has the capability to decrypt texts. On an iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > Profile Name > iCloud, and turn off the toggle for Messages. Then go to Settings > Messages > Keep Messages. Change it to auto-delete old messages after 30 days. Or, use a private messenger such as Signal.

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The H.266 Video Codec is Coming. Here’s What it Promises

Andrew Orr ·

The next codec for video compression is H.266, or Versatile Video Codec (VVC). It promises up to 50% better compression than H.265, or High-Efficiency Video Codec (HEVC).

The JVET decided to build H.266 (VVC) for applications beyond video streaming. The standard has support for beaming 4K to 8K videos seamlessly, along with support for 360-degree videos. This could be useful in VR and AR applications.

Bross mentioned that H.266 is designed in such a way that that you can access different regions of a frame directly in the bitstream. So a video streaming service could choose to streams regions that are not very important in the scence in a lower resolution to save bandwidth.

Podcast

Power Usage and iPhone Terminal — Mac Geek Gab 888

John F. Braun & Dave Hamilton · · Add Comment

Today is full of Cool Stuff Found, tips, and questions, with focuses on your charging and power usage as well as seeing behind the scenes of your iPhone. Of course, there’s always more with your two favorite geeks, including third-party AirTags, migrating email, and maintaining your Mac! Press play and join John and Dave in learning at least five new things!