Tim Hardwick, MacRumors:

In macOS Monterey, you can use an animated Memoji as your Mac user profile instead of a standard static image. Of course you could always use a still photo of yourself to welcome you at startup and on the Lock Screen, but where’s the fun in that?

And, once you’ve made the change:

Next time you login to your Mac, you’ll see your animated Memoji avatar there to welcome you. And if you get your login password wrong a few times, just watch the expression on their face go from mildly irritated to thoroughly irate.

I followed Tim’s instructions, made the change, can confirm the various “wrong password” interactions. Fun!

iFixit:

Normally we get to the battery last because, well, they suck to remove. But as we peer into the guts, we notice something we haven’t seen in a long time in a MacBook Pro, three words that make our hair stand on end: battery pull tabs.

Even better, it appears the battery isn’t trapped under the logic board. That could mean battery swaps without removing all the brains first—a procedure we’ve been dreaming about for a while.

And:

The four outer battery cells have easily-noticeable pull tabs, which are the typical thin white strips we know and love from the iPhone and MacBook Air. But wait, we don’t see any pull tabs on the middle cells. Are we screwed—or, worse, glued?

Not entirely! We removed the trackpad and, lo and behold, there are cut-outs to access the pull tabs that hold the middle battery cells in place.

And:

We’ve still got a long way to go with disassembly, but this new MacBook Pro has, at the very least, the first reasonably DIY-friendly battery replacement procedure since 2012.

Great news! I’m looking forward to the detailed teardown.

Variety:

Comcast struck a deal with Apple that will bring the Apple TV app, which includes access to the Apple TV Plus subscription service, to the cable giant’s Xfinity X1, Flex, XClass TV and Sky Glass platforms, CEO Brian Roberts announced on the company’s Q3 earnings call.

That’s already big news, with the Apple TV app coming to Comcast set top boxes, much in the way the Apple TV app is available on Roku devices, but with a far more massive reach. This feels like a mighty domino, with the potential to bring Apple TV (and Apple TV+) to other major cable providers. A tipping point for cord cutters, as well.

But there’s more:

In turn, under the pact, Comcast’s Stream app will be launching on Apple TV set-top boxes, Roberts said. A Comcast rep said the Apple TV app would launch on Comcast video platforms in “the coming months” but didn’t have specific dates.

This is great news for Comcast subscribers who own Apple TVs. Interesting news for the Apple TV device itself. More and more TVs are being sold with the Apple TV app built right in. This feels like it will shrink the demand for actual Apple TV boxes.

PlayStation blog:

PS5 offers seamless integration with the Apple Music streaming service with background music and music video playback, so players can listen before, during, or after their gameplay session.

How’s it work?

PS5 users can either start the Apple Music app before hopping into a game, or during gameplay by pressing the PS button on the DualSense wireless controller to access the Control Center and select the Music Function card.

And:

From there, Apple Music subscribers can find recommendations that match the game they are currently playing, or choose from a playlist in their library or other Apple Music-curated playlists for gaming.

This is far more integration than I was expecting when I first heard about this. What about Xbox?

From Digital Music News:

You can listen to Spotify, SoundCloud, and Pandora on Xbox using an official app – but not Apple Music. However, that’s not to say you can’t enjoy the service using your Xbox Series X console. A third-party application called “AirServer” hooks into AirPlay and allows Apple Music content to be remotely cast to an Xbox device from an iPhone or iPad.

The PlayStation Apple Music integration is head and shoulders better.