Arquette has won multiple Emmys, multiple Golden Globes (one win Sunday night), and an Oscar. A great and storied career, and arguably at the peak of her game. Solid get for Apple.
Apple
When touching a key wakes your Mac, how do you clean your keyboard?
A friend of mine has been away from the Mac for a long time (living on an iPad), just bought a new MacBook Pro.
As he went to wipe down his keyboard, he discovered that pressing a key or the trackpad woke his computer. With his Apple Watch set to unlock his computer, he found himself wipe-typing, not something he wanted. He asked for the best way to disable this behavior.
In the old days, you could shut down your Mac, do your wiping, carefully avoiding the power on button. But with the introduction of the 2018 models, Apple made a change to both MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, so they turn on when you touch any key or the trackpad.
You can read all about that behavior in this technical note.
I brought this up on Twitter yesterday, got a number of suggestions (along with some expressions of frustration at this change).
My favorite idea is to select Lock Screen from the Apple menu. This puts you in the lock screen, but will not use your Apple Watch to unlock your Mac. So wipe away, just don’t wipe-type your password and you’ll be fine.
Another approach is this tool, which uses a specific keypress to lock your keyboard so you can clean your keyboard and screen. Type the key, clean away, then type the key again to unlock.
Happy cleaning.
Ricky Gervais roasts Apple at last night’s Golden Globes [VIDEO]
Last night’s Golden Globes felt unmoored, Ricky Gervais in full, uncontrolled roast mode. Tim Cook was there, along with Apple TV+ stars such as Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Jason Momoa.
Take a look at the video (quick, before the video is DMCA’d) in the embedded tweet for the double-edged take on The Morning Show and “sweat-shops in China”.
https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1213998800852795392
Ouch.
Apple now allowing AirPods charging cases to be engraved with emojis
To be clear, you can select one from a limited set of emoji, or go with text, one or the other.
Emoji engraving available on all three AirPods case choices (original, original charging case, or AirPods Pro).
Twenty years in the making, a Microsoft insider’s take on Internet Explorer’s port to Mac OS X
Jimmy Grewal, former Program Manager for Microsoft’s Mac Internet Explorer efforts, celebrates the twentieth anniversary of IE 5 and the port to the brand new Mac OS X, with pictures, videos, and a few Steve Jobs mentions, all rolled into a 25-part Twitter thread.
Linus Tech Tips: I was wrong about the iPhone 11 Pro camera
[VIDEO] If you are interested in the iPhone camera, this is worth watching (video embedded in main Loop post). Not so much for the “I was wrong” part, but for the explanations and examples. Well done.
Apple Music tips, one in particular
Bradley Chambers pulled together some Apple Music tips for folks new to the service. But there’s one in particular that I think everyone should know about:
If you are traveling for the holidays, you might want to keep your entire library downloaded to your iOS devices. Of all the Apple Music tips I am sharing today, I’ve used this one the most often. I wish Apple had a simple option here, but you have to trick it with a playlist.
Read the article for the details, but the trick is to create a smart playlist that matches every song in your library, forces it to download on your device.
I definitely appreciate the trick, but can’t help but wish for a simpler way to accomplish this. Maybe a shortcut that force downloads everything in your library? Or a setting that does the same? Does such a thing exist? If you know of a better way, ping me.
The source of iPhone 11 Pro’s Midnight Green is an Apple ink supplier in Japan
Nikkei Asian Review:
In an interview, Cook told Nikkei that Seiko Advance is the “reason” Apple was able to release its top-of-the-line iPhone 11 Pro in a new color called Midnight Green.
And:
Midnight Green is not the only color Seiko Advance provides for the iPhone 11 Pro — it is also behind the Gold, Space Gray and Silver models. “We are the sole supplier of colors for the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max,” said Kabe.
But, in my mind, Midnight Green is notable, noticeable, an evolution in metal iPhone colors.
Interesting article. Turns out, Seiko Advance has been an Apple partner since 2011. A relatively tiny company, doing an important job for Apple.
Apple rolling out Slofie campaign
[VIDEO] Apple rolled out a series of Slofie videos. They’re all pretty good. Videos embedded in main Loop post.
As a reminder, Slofies arrived with the iPhone 11 back in September. This one, posted back then, remains my favorite, especially with the sound on.
Apple’s AirPods Pro are sold out online ahead of the holidays
It’s true. Spent some time roaming the big box stores on-line: Costco, Target, Walmart, Amazon, all sold out.
And on the Apple Store itself? Shipping pushed out until February 2020.
Amazing.
Motherboard: We tested Ring’s security. It’s awful
Joseph Cox, Motherboard:
From across the other side of the world, a colleague has just accessed my Ring account, and in turn, a live-feed of a Ring camera in my apartment. He sent a screenshot of me stretching, getting ready for work. Then a second colleague accessed the camera from another country, and started talking to me through the Ring device.
Earlier today, we posted about the Apple, Amazon, Google alliance designing an IoT open standard. I’d love to see Amazon close up these security holes.
Until then, I’ll limit my video doorbell candidates to those who sign up for HomeKit Secure Video.
Mac Pro 2019 added to Geekbench, comparing against the top-of-the-line iMac Pro
There’s been a lot of Twitter griping about the new Mac Pro Geekbench results not being that much better than the 2017 iMac Pro, essentially making the point that the Mac Pro is not worth all that extra money.
If you check out the Geekbench scores, you’ll see that the lowest model of the new Mac Pro scores worse than the top end 2017 iMac Pro.
I priced out the top-end iMac Pro (256GB RAM, top video card) at $13,299. That does include a display, obviously.
I priced out a base model new Mac Pro (went up to 384GB RAM) at $11,999. More RAM, no display.
The pricing seems reasonable to me. And one is the top of its line, the other the absolute bottom of its line. Close enough.
Studio Ghibli movies available on iTunes digitally for the first time
First things first, the headline link takes you to a 6-movie Studio Ghibli collection. Appears to be US only. $100 for all six. A great deal if you are a Studio Ghibli fan.
That said, there are other Studio Ghibli movies in the iTunes Store that are not part of the collection. It’d be nice if you could type Studio Ghibli in one of the many search fields (iTunes Store, TV app on Mac, Apple TV, etc.)
For example, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is a great movie, not part of the collection, worth exploring.
UPDATE: Zac Hall, 9to5Mac, pulled together links for all the Studio Ghibli films. Nice job, Zac!
Amazon, Apple, Google, Zigbee Alliance to develop open standard for smart home devices
Apple:
Amazon, Apple, Google, and the Zigbee Alliance today announced a new working group that plans to develop and promote the adoption of a new, royalty-free connectivity standard to increase compatibility among smart home products, with security as a fundamental design tenet.
This has huge potential. It will be interesting to see if Amazon opens up their Ring doorbell protocol. All the Ring doorbell hacking stories, true or not, are hurting their brand, and likely hurting the overall product category trustability.
Would love to see a path where Apple forces stronger privacy/security, rather than a weaker standard that allows all entrants to play.
Here’s the link to the main alliance page. Note that Apple’s name (all the way at the bottom) is plain text, no logo. Odd.
Rene Ritchie: 10 years of Apple in 10 minutes
[VIDEO] This is absolutely brilliant work. Amazing to me how much research must have gone in to the making of this video. Prepare for waves of nostalgia. Video embedded in main Loop post.
iFixit: Mac Pro 2019 teardown
Been looking forward to this teardown. The most repairable Apple device, by far, though replacement parts might be expensive/hard to find.
How to activate and use Hot Corners on the iPad
[VIDEO] Peter Cohen, Harris Craycraft, iDownloadBlog:
iPadOS 13.3 adds Hot Corners, a new feature that works with a Bluetooth mouse. You can set up the corners of your iPad screen to automate actions just like you can on the Mac. Learn how it works in this short video.
Great feature, nicely detailed in the video embedded in the main Loop post.
The Rewound app made your iPhone look like an iPod. Apple killed it.
Rewound:
We launched an App that let you customize your iPhone to look like a 2000s era MP3 player. As Rewound grew exponentially across the world from Japan to China to Iran to Russia and the rest of mainland Europe, Apple KILLED it.
Amazing how quickly this app spread. The power of nostalgia. Why did Apple kill it?
- Copying iPod Design
- Charging for Apple Music features
- People would mistake it for Apple product
The company behind Rewound is floating a campaign to fund a new web-based version of the app. Not the same.
Also:
We can’t update the app to get it re-approved without breaking the app for all 170,000+ users.
An interesting feature of the App Store. Apple takes an app down, but they do not take the app off your device.
Apple releases new firmware for AirPods 2 and AirPods Pro
MacRumors:
Apple today released a new firmware update for the AirPods 2 and the AirPods Pro, though there is no word on what’s new in the refreshed firmware.
AirPods Pro were previously using firmware version 2B588, while AirPods 2 were previously using 2A364. Both AirPods Pro and AirPods 2 run firmware version 2C54 following the update.
As far as I know, there’s no way to force a firmware update, but it’s delivered, at some point, over-the-air, when you connect your AirPods to your iOS device.
To check your firmware version#:
Settings > General > About > [Your AirPods Name]
Note that your AirPods won’t appear in the list until they are connected.
Time: The ten best gadgets of the 2010s
Interesting that 3 of the 10 are from Apple. And iPhone (2007) did not qualify. Can you predict what those 3 are?
Any important gadgets that should have made the list?
Apple is offering free genetic tests to all its Silicon Valley employees
CNBC:
Apple employees in Silicon Valley can now get free genetic screenings for diseases from their on-site health clinics, thanks to a pilot partnership with Color Genomics.
And:
The idea is to move health care at Apple’s clinics from reactive to proactive, as genetic tests can offer a window into health risks down the line. In some cases, patients can take preventative steps to reduce their likelihood of getting a disease.
This raises the question, would you want to know what genetic testing can reveal? For me, certainly I’d want to know if there was any disease that I was highly prone to that was preventable.
But if I knew I was certain to develop a non-preventable terminal illness at a specific age, not so sure I’d want to know what was coming for me. And when.
That said, there’s far more to genetic testing than this. Interesting article.
Apple Arcade now available with $49.99/year subscription option
This saves about $10 a year. No brainer if you like games.
Does make me wonder if we’ll eventually see a services bundle from Apple, as rumored.
Apple Podcasts now available on Echo devices
Amazon blog, Friday:
Beginning today, Alexa customers in the U.S. will be able to listen to more than 800,000 podcasts available through Apple Podcasts on their Alexa-enabled device.
Definitely cool, especially if you’ve got the Amazon ecosystem in your house. Be sure to make Apple Podcasts your default podcast app so you don’t repeatedly have to tell Alexa where to find your podcasts.
Whether you’re listening at home or on the go, you don’t need to worry about losing your spot. Link your account in the Alexa app using your Apple ID, and you can seamlessly pick up where you left off listening on the Apple Podcasts App or your Alexa device.
Would you “link your account in the Alexa app using your Apple ID”? This strikes me as a potential risk. Am I overworrying?
iPhone SE, $60, includes free year of Apple TV+ [BACK IN STOCK]
This seems like an impossibly great deal, especially if you are considering plunking down cash for Apple TV+. Even without a plan, you’ve got an iPod (fill it with songs for that long plane trip), a first phone for the kids, and a cheap entre into Apple TV+.
UPDATE: Now sold out. Hope you got one.
UPDATE: Back in stock. Seems like it goes in and out of stock, so try again if you saw sold out
Why Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video is a big deal for privacy
Mike Goril, Gadget Hacks:
In iOS 13, Apple added an important new feature to its HomeKit smart home ecosystem called HomeKit Secure Video. With it, you have a secure, private way to store and access recordings from your smart home IoT cameras.
And:
Now that we have HomeKit Secure Video, supported cameras can offer private and encrypted videos available in the cloud, viewable right from the Home app on your iPhone. You will also get object detection, with all analysis of videos performed locally on a HomeKit hub such as an iPad, and activity notifications — all without uploading any video to someone’s server.
And:
If you would like to store recordings in the cloud, you’ll also need an iCloud storage plan. The 200 GB plan is needed to store recordings from one camera, and the 2 TB plan will support up to five cameras. Recordings don’t count against your storage allotment and are saved for ten days. If you just want to stream the video, however, no plan is needed.
That last bit is important, recordings don’t count against your storage allotment.
I am in the market for a video doorbell but have been put off by the stories I’ve read about Ring/Amazon and privacy. This seems a solid path. Certainly, the article is worth reading. Lots of detail.
Apple Arcade launches “Ultimate Rivals”, licensing stars from NHL, NBA, NFL, MLB, WNBA and US Women’s National Soccer Team
[VIDEO] Apple:
Apple today revealed “Ultimate Rivals” from Bit Fry Game Studios, Inc., a new sports game franchise that brings together athletes across hockey, basketball, football, baseball and soccer into a single officially licensed video game, a first in sports and gaming.
And:
In “Ultimate Rivals: The Rink,” the first title in the franchise, players choose from more than 50 superstar athletes to compete in exciting two-on-two hockey matches. Players can combine, for instance, Alex Ovechkin and Alex Morgan against De’Aaron Fox and Jose Altuve or Skylar Diggins-Smith and Wayne Gretzky.
This is a pretty big step for Apple Arcade, supporting a complex, cross-sports, licensing deal with some of the most prominent athletes in the world.
Watch the video embedded in the main Loop post to get a sense of the action.
Apple avoids $150-per-iPhone levy after U.S., China reach deal
Mark Gurman, Bloomberg:
Apple Inc. avoided 15% tariffs on its most important products, the iPhone, iPad and MacBooks, after U.S. President Donald Trump signed off on a trade deal with China.
The new import duties were due to kick in Dec. 15 and could have added about $150 to the price of iPhones during the crucial holiday shopping season, according to Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives.
Can’t help but think the $150 per iPhone dump of cold water on Apple’s holiday sales were the primary driver for this deal with China.
Apple Watch has overtaken “peak iPod”, AirPods about to
Start off by following the headline link, check out the graph at the top of the article, showing quarterly iPod and wearable revenues. In 2007, Q4, iPod revenue hit a historic high of about $4 billion. Now read on.
Horace Dediu, Asymco:
My [Apple] Watch revenue estimate was $4.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018. This conclusion was confirmed by statements from the Company.
And:
Looking forward to the next quarter, I am expecting a 51% increase y/y for Wearables and 24% growth in Watch. This results in a Watch revenues about $5.2 billion and non-Watch $5.7 billion. Now if we assume $1.7 billion for non-Watch-non-AirPods (i.e. Apple TV, HomePod, Beats, iPod, other) then this quarter AirPods will have overtaken peak iPod.
Apple Watch and AirPods have both reached historic levels for Apple. I suspect AirPods will be the new benchmark to which all future products will be compared.
Mac Pro: All that power, and one amazing display stand
[VIDEO] This look at the new Mac Pro in the studio is a lot of fun (video embedded in main Loop post). Watch as the engineers try to stress the Mac Pro, adding more tracks, loaded with stacks of effects, all to no avail. The playback is smooth as glass.
But my favorite part is right at 3:06, when they attach the display to the stand. Cool to see, and that’s one solid stand. Also, don’t miss the display pivot which follows.
Apple files DMCA to take down Tweet with iPhone encryption key, then backtracks
Motherboard:
On Sunday, a security researcher who focuses on iOS and goes by the name Siguza posted a tweet containing what appears to be an encryption key that could be used to reverse engineer the Secure Enclave Processor, the part of the iPhone that handles data encryption and stores other sensitive data.
And:
Two days later, a law firm that has worked for Apple in the past sent a DMCA Takedown Notice to Twitter, asking for the tweet to be removed.
And:
Apple confirmed that it sent the original DMCA takedown request. The company said that it retracted the request but Twitter had already complied with it and had taken the tweet down. Apple then asked Twitter to put the tweet back online.
Interesting. Here’s the original tweet. Apparently, this is a firmware decryption key specific to an iPhone XR running iOS 13.4 beta 4. Not sure the value of this tweet, but clearly it got Apple’s attention.
Why do this? Is this the path to jailbreaking iOS 13? The fact that Apple backed off, asked for the tweet to be restored, makes it seem like there’s no real issue here. Much ado about nothing?