This is a great video from Jeff Benjamin, 9to5Mac, all about the nano-textured glass offered as a $500 upgrade to Apple’s 2020 iMac.

Watch the whole video, but pay specific attention at about 1:28 in, where you see the direct comparison between regular and nano-textured glass, when it comes to reflection. If that matters to you, at least $500 worth, get the nano-textured glass. And be sure to clean it with the provided cloth.

The Verge:

Epic Games just won a temporary restraining order against Apple — at least in part. Effective immediately, Apple can’t retaliate against Epic Games by terminating the company’s Apple developer accounts or restricting use of Epic’s Unreal Engine by developers on Apple platforms.

That’s half of what was at issue. And, to the massive community of developers who depend on Unreal Engine, a critical ruling.

But in the same ruling, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers decided that Apple will not be required to bring Fortnite — which it had banned after Epic added an in-app payment system in violation of Apple’s rules — back to the App Store.

And that’s the other half. Impacting Fortnite fans, perhaps, but not much more than a tiny ripple in the ocean of iOS apps.

This battle is just beginning. A few more things to read:

• The New York Times: To Fight Apple and Google’s Grip, Fortnite Creator Mounts a Crusade, a profile on Epic CEO Tim Sweeney (thus the “Battle of the Tims” tag you might encounter).

• The legal order itself. Scroll down to the Analysis section on page 4. Key to the whole thing is the issue of “irreparable harm”. In a nutshell, the judge ruled that Fortnite would not suffer irreparable harm if it was blocked from the App Store. At the same time, the judge ruled that Unreal Engine would suffer irreparable harm if Epic’s developer account was terminated.

More to come. Much more.

Associated Press:

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who died in 2011, was a tough act to follow. But Tim Cook seems to be doing so well at it that his eventual successor may also have big shoes to fill.

Yesterday was the 9th anniversary of Tim taking over for Steve. This AP article is a short recap of Tim’s time at the helm.

One particular highlight that stands out:

Asked what the company might look like under his management, Cook said that Apple needs “to own and control the primary technologies behind the products we make.” It has doubled down on that commitment, becoming a major chip producer in order to supply both iPhones and Macs. He added that Apple would resist exploring most projects “so that we can really focus on the few that are truly important and meaningful to us.”

Good read.

In celebration of the US National Park Service’s 104th birthday, on August 25, Apple today is introducing new ways for customers to support America’s parks — in person or from home. A new Apple Pay donation program, Apple Watch Activity Challenge, and special content collections give people the chance to experience the parks and learn more about what makes them an incredible national resource. These collections will be available in the Apple TV app, Apple Music, and the App Store.

From August 24 through 30, Apple will make a $10 donation to the National Park Foundation for each purchase made with Apple Pay on apple.com, in the Apple Store app, or at an Apple Store in the US.

This is great, cheers Apple.

Colette and The Imitation Game star Keira Knightley has found her next period drama – an adaptation of Sarah Perry’s novel The Essex Serpent for Apple TV+.

The Essex Serpent follows newly widowed Cora, played by Knightley, who, having being released from an abusive marriage, relocates from Victorian London to the small village of Aldwinter in Essex, intrigued by a local superstition that a mythical creature known as the Essex Serpent has returned to the area.

I’m a big fan of period dramas, so this one interests me. Again, Apple is showing its willingness to sign a variety of shows to Apple TV+.

I have done this so many times in Photoshop. Amazing to read that I can do this in Preview. Will definitely be giving this a try.

The Ringer:

The Apple TV+ series, which is based on a character from an old NBC Premier League ad campaign, is somehow one of the most touching shows of 2020

And:

It was hard not to be skeptical when AppleTV+ first announced Ted Lasso. Even with the pedigree of veteran showrunner Bill Lawrence (Scrubs, Cougar Town, the tragically short-lived Whiskey Cavalier), there didn’t seem to be much there in terms of a series. The “character” of Ted Lasso, as one-dimensional as it was, originated from a couple of NBC promos when it acquired the television rights to the English Premier League. The idea was that an American football coach, played by Jason Sudeikis, was hired as the new manager of Tottenham Hotspur. Most of the jokes stemmed from Lasso being out of his depth, from one sport called football to another. (Ted Lasso is unaware that you can end a soccer match with a draw, among many other things.)

Let me just step in here and say, I absolutely felt the same way when I first saw this show premise. The problem, I think, was that the trailers highlighted the dumb, without the warmth, without the charm.

Ted Lasso the sitcom … seriously rules. The series has no right to be as good, funny, and moving as it is. And yet I devoured all 10 episodes in a single day while frantically messaging my editor in disbelief that this is one of my favorite new shows. As far as TV productions go, this might as well be Leicester City winning the Premier League.

I’m telling you, this might be the best Apple TV+ series. Absolutely worth your time. A bit like Scrubs, but more long arcs, less slapstick. And ignore the trailers. This is not a jokey show, this is all about character, driven by Jason Sudeikis and his pitch perfect take.

Side note to Bill Lawrence: Consider a trailer based on the box of treats Ted brings to his boss every morning. That’s a perfect example of the heart of this show. Why does this work? I don’t know. Heartstrings mixed with a bit of mystery? Whatever it is, the trailers are missing the magic part that makes this show so great.

The Marina Bay Sands Apple Store is close to ready to open. Follow the headline link, check out the mini-gallery, two pictures that show a before and after of the sphere that does, indeed, sit on the water.

And here’s Apple’s official page for the store.

Juli Clover, MacRumors:

Enterprising eBay sellers are hoping people who are desperate to play Fortnite will pay high prices for iPhones with the game installed, and there are currently hundreds of iPhone listings on eBay advertising the Fortnite app as a purchase perk.

This seems crazy to me. Can’t imagine anyone actually paying money for this. Puzzled as to what people hope to gain by putting up such outrageous asks. Hoping someone accidentally gets sucked in? Yeesh.

Inc:

Google Chrome has been the most popular web browser on both Macs and PCs for a long time. There’s really no question that compared to what came before, it was a huge step forward and made web browsing a noticeably better experience.

But, and let’s be honest here, Chrome has its problems. It sucks battery life and processing power out of your laptop and it’s definitely not the fastest web browser anymore. It also does far less than other browsers to protect your privacy and keep your data secure.

I know a lot of people who stuck with Chrome, partly for the extensions, partly for the 4K, and in spite of the battery suck.

Which brings us back to macOS 11, and the latest version of Safari, which comes with a bunch of updates that not only make browsing the web faster and safer, but more productive as well.

Make no mistake, all of these changes are a direct assault on Google’s dominance the web. There are very few things you can do online that don’t touch at least one of Google’s services, and Apple would very much like to change that.

Interesting take. Wonder if these new Safari features and efficiencies will be enough do sway users from Chrome back to Safari.

Nice write-up (with lots of clarifying screenshots) from Jeff Johnson on where Apple is going with Gatekeeper and signing on the Mac, especially with the coming of Apple silicon-based Macs.

If you are not a developer, this is still worth a look. Think about the current experience of running an app you downloaded from the internet, as opposed to from the Mac App Store. Apple is slowly tightening the screws, from the olden days of “run whatever you want” to “we highly discourage this practice”.

The sequence of pictures really tells this story.

Porsche:

From the touchscreen display in the Porsche Advanced Cockpit, Apple Music subscribers can stream over 60 million songs ad-free, thousands of curated playlists, and the Beats 1 global livestream with three-year complimentary in-car music streaming in the Taycan. This is the first-ever full integration of Apple Music in any vehicle.

That Beats 1 reference is now dated. But I digress.

Highlights of the collaboration:

• Porsche Voice Assistant: Use custom Porsche voice control to request songs, albums, playlists, or radio stations on Apple Music.
• Discover on Broadcast Radio, Listen on Apple Music: Create your own custom station on Apple Music from any song you find while listening to broadcast radio.
• Exclusive Playlists: Listen to curated playlists from Porsche, only on Apple Music.
• In-Car Streaming Data: Complimentary in-car music streaming for 3 years.
• Up to Six Months Included: New and existing Porsche owners get up to 6 months free of Apple Music.

Also:

Taycan drivers can pair a Burmester High-End Surround Sound System with Apple Digital Masters and enjoy studio-quality sound for an unparalleled listening experience in every journey. Apple Digital Masters delivers music as artists and sound engineers intend it to be heard.

Here’s the details on Apple Digital Masters.

MacObserver:

If you are currently an Apple TV+ and CBS All Access (CBSAA) subscriber, you can get SHOWTIME free. Your subscription status will automatically reflect the new bundle. However, there’s a slight trick involved.

Read the post for the details, one of those things that’s good to know, even if it doesn’t apply to you, on the off chance you know someone it’d help.

From the fine print:

With Apple TV+, add SHOWTIME to CBS All Access at no cost. Without Apple TV+, it’s $20.98/mo.

That’s a pretty penny. Check out the Showtime web site to see what they have to offer.

Some beautiful design here. Heads up, there’s a lot of motion on the page, so keep in mind if that’s an issue for you.

I particularly love the ease-in animation as you move from day to night. Watch the menu bar disappear as you hit that midpoint. Lovely stuff.

Ben Evans:

Apple changed how software development worked, and by doing so expanded the number of people who could comfortably, safely use a computer from a few hundred million to a few billion.

And, three problems Apple took on:

• Putting apps in a sandbox, where they can only do things that Apple allows and cannot ask (or persuade, or trick) the user for permission to do ‘dangerous’ things, means that apps become completely safe. A horoscope app can’t break your computer, or silt it up, or run your battery down, or watch your web browser and steal your bank details.

• An app store is a much better way to distribute software. Users don’t have to mess around with installers and file management to put a program onto their computer – they just press ‘Get’. If you (or your customers) were technical this didn’t seem like a problem, but for everyone else with 15 copies of the installer in their download folder, baffled at what to do next, this was a huge step forward.

• Asking for a credit card to buy an app online created both a friction barrier and a safety barrier – ‘can I trust this company with my card?’ Apple added frictionless, safe payment.

And:

All of this levelled the playing field. You knew you could trust Adobe or EA with your credit card, and you knew you could trust them not to abuse your PC too much. Panic, Rogue Amoeba or Basecamp have accumulated reputations that mean they get trust too, for tech insiders who’ve known about them for years. But what about a random Vietnamese developer who’s made a fun little game about a bird that flaps? The iOS software model removed trust as a problem, and as an advantage for big companies.

And:

When your product has a few points of market share you can make whatever choices you like, but when you dominate the market, other rules start applying. Apple isn’t the pirates anymore – it’s the navy, the port and the customs house. In the last few weeks, Microsoft, Google, Facebook and Epic have been stopped at customs.

Fascinating perspective. Great read.

New York Times:

The stocks of Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and Facebook, the five largest publicly traded companies in America, rose 37 percent in the first seven months this year, while all the other stocks in the S&P 500 fell a combined 6 percent.

And:

Those five companies now constitute 20 percent of the stock market’s total worth, a level not seen from a single industry in at least 70 years. Apple’s stock market value, the highest of the bunch, is nearly $2 trillion — double what it was just 21 weeks ago.

And:

“Covid was the perfect positive storm for these guys,” said Thomas Philippon, a professor of finance at New York University.

And let’s not forget about the billionaires. Jump to this Statista post and scroll down to the chart showing the massive growth in billionaire wealth since March 18th.

The App Store is designed to be a safe and trusted place for users and a great business opportunity for all developers. Epic has been one of the most successful developers on the App Store, growing into a multibillion dollar business that reaches millions of iOS customers around the world. We very much want to keep the company as part of the Apple Developer Program and their apps on the Store. The problem Epic has created for itself is one that can easily be remedied if they submit an update of their app that reverts it to comply with the guidelines they agreed to and which apply to all developers. We won’t make an exception for Epic because we don’t think it’s right to put their business interests ahead of the guidelines that protect our customers.

Good, there should not be an exception for Epic.

A funky little tip from OSXDaily. This is not how to force reboot your Apple Watch but, rather, how to force quit a misbehaving app.

This is akin to swiping up on an app on your iPhone to force quit it.

Apple:

Apple today announced two new live global radio offerings on Apple Music, now available to music fans in 165 countries. Beginning today, Beats 1, the flagship global radio station, will be renamed Apple Music 1, and two additional radio stations will launch: Apple Music Hits, celebrating everyone’s favorite songs from the ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s, and Apple Music Country, spotlighting country music.

Interesting that Apple has stepped back from the Beats brand here. Note that Apple purchased Beats on August 1st, 2014. I wonder if the Beats 1 branding was part of that contract and time just ran out on that requirement. Pure speculation on my part.

Mark Gurman, Bloomberg:

Consumers currently have a chance to sign up to the warranty-and-support program within 60 days of buying an Apple product. This subscription window is increasing to up to a year now in the U.S. and Canada.

“This gives customers another opportunity to protect their device and have access to all the AppleCare+ benefits,” Apple wrote in a memo to staff seen by Bloomberg News. The company told employees the offer is available to customers who pay for AppleCare+ in full versus monthly payments, or for those that subscribe via installments on the Apple Card credit card.

Keep that change in mind. Looks like you’ll now have up to a year after you buy Apple Hardware to sign up for AppleCare+.

AppleCare is what you get for free, AppleCare+ is what you pay for. Note that you’ll have to have your device screened by an Apple retail employee to make sure it is not damaged before they’ll let you sign up.

Nellie Andreeva, Deadline:

I hear filming on the remaining two episodes started today on the Sony lot in Culver City.

Indie studio Sony Pictures TV has been at the forefront of efforts to safely return scripted series to production. The studio’s CBS show S.W.A.T. became the first broadcast drama to start filming new episodes, Its daytime drama The Young and the Restless has been back in production for weeks, its ABC comedy The Goldbergs is eying a production restart in a week; while studio’s drama The Good Doctor is looking to get filming underway in Vancouver at the end of this month.

I’ve been reading about production on many different projects slowly ramping up, with lots of actor/crew testing, mannequins and family stand-ins subbing for other actors when filming hugs, etc.

Good to hear about more and more shows coming back to life.

Apple:

Apple has ordered its first competition series, “My Kind of Country,” a groundbreaking global search for unconventional and extraordinary country music talent that will be produced by Reese Witherspoon’s Emmy-nominated Hello Sunshine, Jason Owen and Emmy Award nominee Izzie Pick Ibarra. Emmy Award-nominated Adam Blackstone will serve as musical director of the series, which will be executive produced by Done + Dusted.

First competition series? Planet of the Apps will not be forgotten!

“My Kind of Country” will revolutionize the music competition genre with a fresh, new documentary sensibility. The hybrid series will break down cultural and musical barriers in the country music space, inviting innovative musicians to unleash their authentic voices and take center stage.

Apple TV+ continues to flesh out its offerings, expanding its reach while trying to make all shows appealing, in some way or other, to a very wide audience. Difficult road to walk, so far so good.

And if you’ve avoided Ted Lasso because you couldn’t connect to the trailers, ignore them, watch the show. It’s really good.

Apple Inc said on Monday it had expanded a program that provides parts and training to independent repair shops to cover its Mac computers.

Apple initially launched the program last year, but it only covered iPhones, the company’s biggest-selling product. Mac users previously either had to use Apple or an authorized warranty service provider to get fixes with parts directly from Apple.

This is going to make a lot of independent repair shops very happy.

Beginning today, Apple TV+ subscribers in the US can take advantage of a unique benefit — access to a bundle of CBS All Access and SHOWTIME for only $9.99 per month after a seven-day free trial. By subscribing through Apple TV channels, customers can watch content from all three services online and offline, ad-free and on demand, only on the Apple TV app. Through Family Sharing, up to six family members can share the subscriptions to Apple TV+, CBS All Access, and SHOWTIME using just their personal Apple ID and password.

I mention that this was a possibility last week and here it is. I’ll be adding this to my Apple TV+ channels today.

David Shayer, TidBITS:

It was a gray day in late 2005. I was sitting at my desk, writing code for the next year’s iPod. Without knocking, the director of iPod Software—my boss’s boss—abruptly entered and closed the door behind him. He cut to the chase. “I have a special assignment for you. Your boss doesn’t know about it. You’ll help two engineers from the US Department of Energy build a special iPod. Report only to me.”

This is an unbelievable read. But totally believable, since it’s from David Shayer, who worked as a software engineer at Apple for about 18 years. Look him up. Then follow the headline link and read the whole thing.