First look: macOS Big Sur public beta

I hadn’t thought of Big Sur as being the “end of OS X” but I guess it is. Whether that is truly significant remains to be seen.

Wireless charging is a disaster waiting to happen

The energy loss from wireless charging shouldn’t come as a surprise. But convenience will always outweigh the disadvantages for most people. But, as wireless charging becomes more ubiquitous, the issues raised in this piece become more apparent.

“The Way I See It” trailer

Souza is an incredible photographer with a unique ability to capture the formal and informal images of the POTUS. But, along the way, he has also become a political voice of change.

Why is printer ink so freaking expensive?

My family has very little need for a printer any more. We have a workhorse Brother B&W laser printer for printing off documents but, because of the rip-off that is the cost of inkjet printers, we’ll likely never buy another one.

SoundSource 5 brings a streamlined interface and more

I was a beta tester for SoundSource 5 and it works as advertised. I really like the ability to send sound to different apps at different volumes and audio quality. NOTE: SoundSource 5 is NOT yet compatible with the macOS Big Sur beta but Rogue Amoeba promises an update prior to the public launch of Big Sur.

Phil Schiller’s greatest stunt

In honour of his semi-retirement, I wanted to post this from Macworld Expo in New York City in 1999. I was in the audience when it happened and while we recognized it as a stunt, it was still pretty impressive. You have to remember that, even though WiFi was available, it was generally only in a corporate environment at the time and was hellaciously expensive. Apple, Schiller, Jobs, and the iBook democratized that and brought it to the huddled masses – and we broke free.

Apple TV+ unveils first look at “Long Way Up,” a new original unscripted series starring Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman

Many motorcyclists are big fans of McGregor’s other series, “Long Way Round” and “Long Way Down.” I’m less impressed if only because they had a support crew of many, many people to assist – the trips weren’t “solo travelers testing their mettle.” I still enjoyed them enough to want to watch this series if only to see how they managed it on electric motorcycles.

Apple demands 50% rent cuts for UK stores

I don’t know if Apple has actually “demanded” these discounts as the headline posits but I imagine it’s going to be awfully hard for a company that announced 55 billion pounds in profit last year to get any significant discounts from landlords who are “struggling” just as much.

Apple confirms iPhone 12 launch delayed

This is definitely significant. Apple is loathe to speak about “future products” and they never confirmed a late September launch so they could have said nothing and gone about their business. But I think this is an admission from Apple that, if the usual September announcements didn’t happen, the rumour mills would run even wilder than usual.

Where to watch tech industry CEOs testify before the House Judiciary Committee

The House Subcommittee will question Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Apple’s Tim Cook, Google’s Sundar Pichai, and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerburg about anti-competitive behavior. The execs will give virtual testimonies on Wednesday beginning at noon ET. They’ll also be questioned by committee members.