Elton John’s Apple Music show ‘Rocket Hour’ showcases a wide variety of artists. It has now hit 300 episodes! The pop icon joined Zane Lowe to celebrate reaching that milestone.
Latest iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and watchOS 8 Betas Allow System Update Installations With Just 500 MB of Available Storage
The latest beta versions of iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and watchOS 8 are out now. As 9to5 Mac spotted, they allow system updates to be installed with under 500 MB of storage available.
In the release notes for the latest build of iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and watchOS 8, which can be found on the Apple Developer website, the company says that today’s updates fix an issue that could prevent users from installing system updates with low available storage on the device. Here’s what Apple says: “Software Update: Resolved in watchOS 8/iOS 15 beta 3: You can now update your device using Software Update if less than 500 MB of storage is available. (78474912)” There aren’t many details about what has been changed or how this will work since some updates actually come in large files, but the release notes claim that system updates can now be installed on the iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch even when “less than 500 MB of storage is available.”
Apple, YouTube, Spotify, Face The Music - UK Lawmakers Called for 'Complete Reset' of Streaming
UK lawmakers want a “complete reset” of music streaming, including fair payment to artists and a code of conduct for services like Apple Music.
Thursdays with Bob: Bands on a Budget – TMO Daily Observations 2021-07-15
Once again Dr Mac joins Kelly for Thursdays with Bob. Bob loves his Apple Watch, and loves watch bands. But not the bands (and prices) from Apple.
Health and Fitness Siri Commands For Apple Watch
Apple Watch is a great tool for improving and monitoring health and fitness and there are a few Siri commands to help you close your rings.
Photography Software ‘Capture One’ Coming to iPad in 2022
Here is some news from last month that I missed. Capture One is a popular software for photo editing and it will come to the iPad in 2022.
This is the beginning of the roadmap and the possibilities it opens up for us in terms of devices and networking is really fantastic. I’m looking forward to getting this out the door, but really looking forward to what this looks like for the future of Capture One and for the future of photography software.
Incipio Group Releases Kate Spade New York MagSafe Case
Incipio Group has released two MagSafe cases for the iPhone 12, including a Kate Spade New York hardshell case.
Fjorden iPhone Camera Grip Launches on Kickstarter
Fjorden is a professional, pocketable iPhone camera grip. It’s compatible with MagSafe iPhones like the iPhone 12 series, and there is a case for non-MagSafe iPhone 11 models. Here are some of its features: Two-Stage Shutter Button – Just like your real camera: Half-press to focus, full-press to capture the image. Customizable Control Dial – Easily adjust exposure, shutter speed, ISO, portrait mode aperture, manual focus, and other parameters without changing your hand position. Multi-Function Button – You choose what it does: Trigger portrait mode or selfie mode, select flash mode, or switch between other custom settings. Zoom Lever – Quickly switch between iPhone lenses, or smoothly zoom in and out.
Linksys Wi-Fi 6 Velop AX42000 Adds HomeKit Support
Linksys released its Wi-Fi 6 Velop AX4200 mesh routers in October for US$250, and recently the company added support for HomeKit.
‘SolarWinds’ Hackers Used iOS Zero Day Against Government Officials
The Russian hackers behind the SolarWinds attack used an iOS zero day to steal credentials from Western European governments.
Attacks targeting CVE-2021-1879, as the zero-day is tracked, redirected users to domains that installed malicious payloads on fully updated iPhones. The attacks coincided with a campaign by the same hackers who delivered malware to Windows users, the researchers said.
Google published a blog post about zero-days here, and you can read coverage from Ars Technica at the link below.
Netflix Moving Into Games is a New Challenge For Apple
Netflix announced the hiring of Mike Verdu as vice president of game development, on Wednesday, Bloomberg News reported. The potential move into this new area increases the competition between the streamer and Apple, with its Arcade service.
Video games give Netflix another way to lure new customers and also offer something none of its direct competitors currently provides. Walt Disney Co., AT&T Inc.’s WarnerMedia and Amazon.com Inc. all have access to live sports, but they don’t have gaming within their main video services. Ultimately, the move may make it easier for Netflix to justify price increases in coming years. Games also serve the purpose of helping market existing shows. Many of the largest tech companies do sell gaming options in addition to their video services. Apple Inc. has a platform called Arcade for games — as well as a TV+ service for original video projects. But it charges extra for the gaming.
![Apple TV+ Earns 35 Emmy Nominations, With 20 for ‘Ted Lasso’ [Updated]](https://www.macobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/ted-lasso-title-graphic.jpg)
Apple TV+ Earns 35 Emmy Nominations, With 20 for 'Ted Lasso' [Updated]
Apple TV+ has scored a number of 2021 Primetime Emmy Awards nominations, thanks largely to Ted Lasso, but with other shows also recognized.
This Week in Antitrust – TMO Daily Observations 2021-07-14
Bryan Chaffin and Charlotte Henry join host Kelly Guimont to talk about some of Apple’s current legal proceedings and consider some outcomes.
Amazon Launches Pay-To-Read Serial Novels in ‘Kindle Vella’
Amazon has launched a service called Kindle Vella that introduces pay-to-read serialized books. In this case, “pay-to-read” means that these books offer the first three ”episodes” for free, with later episodes offered through “Tokens” that can be purchased in bundles.
We designed Kindle Vella as a mobile-first experience because we know readers are becoming more and more interested in stories that can be read quickly on their phones. At the same time, readers want the connection that you get from reading a story or author for a long period of time.
TikTok Becomes First Non-Facebook App to Hit Three Billion Downloads
TikTok is the first non-Facebook app to hit three billion global downloads across the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
Spotify’s Top Lawyer Leads the Monopoly Campaign Against Apple
Spotify’s top lawyer, Horacio Gutierrez, is a key player in the monopoly accusations against Apple.
The landscape looks a lot different than it did when Gutierrez first began talking about Apple. His actions “have spawned a lot of the other Apple-related activity across the globe,” says Thomas Vinje, who’s worked with Gutierrez on antitrust issues in Europe. “It’s a snowball Spotify got rolling.”
Image credit: Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg
You Could Run New Windows 365 OS on iPad
Microsoft revealed a new OS on Wednesday called Windows 365. It’s a cloud-based operating system designed to run in a browser. As Mr. Ortolani points out this means you could run it on an iPad.
The new service is only available for businesses at first, but given Microsoft’s emphasis on cloud platforms, it is highly likely that it will become available for consumers at some point in the future. Microsoft is offering Windows 365 for businesses of all sizes, whether you are a one-person show or a giant organization.
Windows 365 will be available on August 2.
Visible Introduces ‘Bring a Friend’ Program for Cellular Service
Visible has launched a program called Bring a Friend that aims to reduce customers’ phone bills while bringing new people to the service.
Is Jason Sudeikis Actually Like Ted Lasso?
Jason Sudeikis (pictured above) is the August cover star for GQ. In the accompanying feature, he reflects on “landing like an Avenger” following upset in his personal life and his time on SNL. He also reveals how his castmates think he is similar to Ted Lasso.
After a while, every time he tried to wave off Ted, fellow castmates or old friends of his would correct him to say: “No.” They’d say: “No, that is you. That is you. That’s not the best version of you.” It’s not you on mushrooms, it’s not you hanging off a boat, it’s just…you. One of Sudeikis’s friends, Marcus Mumford, who composed the music for the show, told me, “He is quite like Ted in lots of ways. He has a sort of burning optimism, but also a vulnerability, about him that I really admire.” Hearing people say this, over and over again, Sudeikis said, “brought me to a very emotional space where, you know, a healthy dose of self-love was allowed to expand through my being and made me…”
Court Rules ‘Memoji’ Trademark Owner Created App to Sue Apple
On Tuesday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the developer of the Memoji app created it solely to sue Apple over trademark infringement.
iOS 15: How to Add Two-Factor Authentication Codes to Passwords
A welcome feature in iOS 15 is the ability to add two-factor authentication codes to your passwords. Here’s how to set it up.
How to Draw Yourself as a Peanuts Character
In a new video, The Snoopy Show storyboard artist Krista Porter and Anthony from Today at Apple provide a guide on how to draw yourself as a Peanuts character. To follow along, viewers need an iPad or iPhone and the Pages app, with the Apple Pencil optional. Share your efforts in the comments below!
It's Never 69 Degrees on the Apple Weather App
Apple’s native Weather app won’t ever give the temperature as 69 degrees, The Verge reported. Yes, it’s worth a giggle, bu there’s a couple of explanations as to why this might be.
It’s not clear if this is a bug or an intentional attempt from Apple to cut down on 69-related humor. The rounding is only visible in the weather app itself: clicking through to Apple’s source data from Weather.com will show the proper temperature, as do Apple’s home screen widgets. But the iOS weather app will refuse to show 69 degrees anywhere in the forecast, whether it’s for the current temperature, the hourly forecast for the day, or the extended forecast. A possible explanation for the issue (as pointed out by several people on Twitter) is that Apple may be sourcing data for its iOS Weather app in Celsius and then converting it to Fahrenheit. For example, 20 degrees Celsius converts to 68 degrees Fahrenheit, while 21 degrees Celsius converts to 69.8 degrees Fahrenheit — which rounds up to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The app appears to have similar issues with temperatures like 65 degrees (where 18 degrees Celsius converts to 64.4 degrees Fahrenheit, while 19 degrees Celsius is 66.2 degrees Fahrenheit).
Rumored ‘Apple Pay Later’ Would Introduce Installments for Purchases
A report on Tuesday claims that Apple is working on a feature called Apple Pay Later that would let people pay for purchases in installments.