Nice resource, if a bit ad-saturated.

Can’t wait for Season 2 of Mythic Quest, which premieres May 7th.

Also looking forward to checking out Dr. Brain. And, of course, Ted Lasso.

Chance Miller, 9to5Mac, on a report from The Information about Apple’s updated factory security guidelines:

The Information says that it obtained an internal Apple document outlining the changes. One change is that manufacturing partners with which Apple works, such as Foxconn and Pegatron, are no longer allowed to collect biometric data from Apple employees, but they are still free to collect such data from their own employees, even if those employees are making Apple products.

Tricky line to walk, one set of rules for Apple employees, different set for non-Apple employees.

The guidelines also make other changes to help crackdown on product leaks that come from the supply chain. For the first time, Apple is now requiring manufacturers to run criminal background checks on all workers. The company is also mandating that the use of surveillance cameras be increased at these facilities.

I find the chasing of leaks to be a fascinating dichotomy for Apple, a light and a dark side, championing privacy for users, requiring surveillance for workers.

Another change includes Apple increasing its focus on “movement of sensitive parts in factories.” As part of this change, if a component takes “an unusually long time to get to its destination,” an internal security alarm must be triggered.

Leaking of Apple secrets is a disrespectful act. Obviously, there’s a hunger on the part of the media and Apple fans, but it disrespects the people who work hard for that moment when their labors can be shown to the world.

Chasing leaks while respecting privacy, a tricky line to walk.

John Voorhees, MacStories:

iCloud links to shortcuts broke sometime in the past 24 hours. Instead of opening the Shortcuts app and allowing users to install a shared shortcut, tapping a shortcut link displays an alert with the message ‘Shortcut Not Found,’ explaining that the link may be invalid or the shortcut may have been deleted.

These links broke for everyone. For example:

3 years of Shortcuts https://t.co/1rxiu3BRbk URLs are broken on @macstoriesnet right now.

Beyond the 229 shortcuts in the Archive, dozens of blog posts from our Shortcuts coverage have broken links.

Like I said, I hope this is a bug and a fix is coming. pic.twitter.com/1twX70F93Z

— Federico Viticci (@viticci) March 24, 2021

Years and years of Shortcuts cut off from the community. A single point of failure, showcased.

Apple has acknowledged the issue and is on it:

We are aware of an issue where previously shared shortcuts are currently unavailable. Newly shared shortcuts are available, and we are working to restore previously shared shortcuts as quickly as possible.

The dark side of the cloud.

Jason Snell, Macworld, with a nostalgic look back at a critical transition for the Mac, one that occurred 20 years ago.

Side note: I was at Metrowerks at the time, and had the chance to play with early betas of that first new re-roll of MacOS. I remember being mystified by the completely reinvented Finder, especially the multi-column browser, lifted from NeXT’s interface. It felt like a forced fit at the time, but now I can’t imagine going back to the old version.

Interestingly, Steve left Apple and came back on September 16th, leaving in 1985, then returning in 1997.

Mercury News:

San Carlos resident Patricia Castaneda, 37, pleaded guilty to a charge of federal program theft while her brother, 36-year-old Eric Castaneda of Redwood City, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport stolen property across state lines. Patricia Castaneda worked for Stanford’s school of humanities and used her position to steal approximately 800 MacBooks from the university, prosecutors say.

You can watch the crime unfold via text messages in the plea agreement (scroll down to Appendix A, towards the end — interesting reading).

Follow the link. Fish around. This is eerie, bordering on creepy. But interesting. Feels like the seeds of a game.

There a dark side here? Some kind of malware? Ping me if you discover anything along those lines.

Om:

Photoshop was the solitary reason I owned an iMac Pro and a MacBook Pro. My models were packed with memory and top-of-the-line graphic processors, and as a result, I could breeze through my photo edits.

Lots of Intel-based Macs out there, similarly kitted out for Photoshop.

With Apple ready to switch to its silicon, I decided it was time to sell those machines. What made my decision easier was that Adobe’s Photoshop Beta was spectacularly fast.

Yup. So far, so good.

The application has garnered gushing reviews across the board. Many have been gobsmacked by the software’s performance on M1 machines. I am no different. I love the performance of M1-Photoshop.

Except for one small thing.

Here comes the kicker:

The M1-Photoshop is pretty useless for those — like me — who use third-party extensions as part of their editing workflow. For instance, I use some extensions that allow me to pursue highly granular masking via luminosity masks. Other extensions for color grading (including Adobe’s own Color Themes) and additional tune-ups are also part of my flow. And none of them work with the new Photoshop.

Read Om’s post for the details. Part of this is the low-level pains involved in moving to a brand new chip architecture. If you build an app using third party libraries, for example, until those libraries are ported to the new architecture, you might just be stuck, waiting for that port so you can fully take advantage of the M1 speeds.

Not quite what’s happening here, but the solution is likely the same. Until those critical path extensions are ported to the new architecture, Photoshop users like Om are stuck in emulation.

Yahoo!Finance:

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger is staying hopeful that the frayed relationship with former long-time partner Apple could be salvaged.

“We will pursue opportunities with Apple,” Gelsinger said on a conference call updating the company’s business plans Tuesday evening.

Intel is doubling down on chip fabrication, pouring $20B into two new chip plants in Arizona. Here’s a link to the press release with all their announcements.

In the conference call laying all these plans out, Gelsinger specifically brought up Apple. Just days after launching a campaign mocking the Mac, using Apple’s own former spokes-character (Here’s a link to those ads, in case you’ve not yet seen them).

Don’t get me wrong. I truly want Intel to succeed. Having a US-based chip fabricator would be good for the economy, and potentially help take the strain off Apple’s (and other company’s) supply chains. Those ads just seem poorly thought out. A bit of a bridge burner.

iFixit:

Like most AirPod owners, Emily Alpert found that, after 18 months, her wireless buds didn’t last, not even for one full run. Unlike most AirPod owners, Alpert, along with her best friend, got a robot to fix her problem.

That’s what started Podswap, a startup that replaces your AirPods, first or second-generation, for $60. First you get a thoroughly cleaned and refurbished pair sent to you, then you mail Podswap your dead pods. It’s like a SodaStream canister exchange, but for headphones that might otherwise be headed to a landfill.

Definitely going to give this a try. Love the concept.

Watch the video below to get a sense of the battery replacement process. Very interesting. And though the audio might be a bit annoying, I find it amazing how good artificial audio actually sounds.

[H/T, Ben LaGuire]

Years ago, when I was young and stupid, I put on my bestest hiking books and trekked over the lava flow on Hawaii’s most active volcano, Mount Kilauea.

There were ten foot tall lava tubes to climb through, and places where you could see glowing red under the massive lava boulders on which I was standing (which easily could have collapsed, the red was molten lava). There were many plumes of acrid smoke, which turned out to be flares of sulfuric acid. Thrilling, wouldn’t change it, but thinking back, how am I still alive?

Every time I see volcano coverage, I lean in. Never lost the allure. Follow the headline link for some gorgeous photos. Can’t wait until I can travel again.

Josh Centers, TidBITS:

In a Hacker News thread about Dustin Curtis’s locked Apple ID (see “The Mystery of Dustin Curtis’s Locked Apple ID,” 5 March 2021), there were several reports of iMessage accounts being disabled after other users inadvertently marked messages from them as spam during deletion (swipe left on a message and then tap the trash icon).

Follow the link for all the details. Not going to test this (something I usually try to do when I run across stuff like this, but just don’t want to fall down that sinkhole).

But worth noting:

If you regularly delete messages or conversations in Messages, read the prompts carefully before responding to them.

Awareness raised.

Adi Robertson, The Verge:

A judge has certified a class action suit against Apple for its fragile butterfly keyboard design. The suit covers anyone who purchased an Apple MacBook with a butterfly keyboard in seven states: California, New York, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, Washington, and Michigan. That includes people who bought a MacBook model dating between 2015 and 2017, a MacBook Pro model between 2016 and 2019, or a MacBook Air between 2018 and 2019.

What about people who bought an affected MacBook in other states? What if they bought the MacBook on-line, from California-based Apple?

The plaintiffs accuse Apple of violating several laws across the seven states mentioned above, including California’s Unfair Competition Law, the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, and the Michigan Consumer Protection Act. They aren’t asking for a nationwide certification at this time, but the law firm behind the suit has invited any US buyer of an affected MacBook to complete a survey.

Here’s a link to that survey. Let your voice be heard.

By far, my favorite part of this whole thing:

This suit claims Apple knew for years that its butterfly switches were defective — and that its incremental changes weren’t fixing the core problem. It cites internal communications inside Apple, including an executive who wrote that “no matter how much lipstick you try to put on this pig [referring to the butterfly keyboard] . . . it’s still ugly.”

No matter how many times I run across stuff like this, always amazed what people will put in writing.

When I bought my new desktop display (I got this one, on sale), I started my research with the headline linked article from Michael Potuck.

Michael updated the article yesterday, so if you are in the market, this is an excellent place to start.

Thank you Previs Pro for sponsoring The Loop. Benefit from previsualization and pro storyboards for your next Oscar winning project with Previs Pro for iPad and iOS. Built by multiple Apple Design Award winning team. Help them celebrate their one-year anniversary!

Mark Gurman, Bloomberg:

Apple Inc.’s HomePod mini speaker launched last November with new features such as a home intercom system. But one part of the device has remained secret: a sensor that measures temperature and humidity.

And:

The Cupertino, California-based technology giant never disclosed this component and the device currently lacks consumer-facing features that use it. The company has internally discussed using the sensor to determine a room’s temperature and humidity so internet-connected thermostats can adjust different parts of a home based on current conditions, according to people familiar with the situation. The hardware could also let the HomePod mini automatically trigger other actions, say turning a fan on or off, depending on the temperature.

And:

The part is situated relatively far from the device’s main internal components, meaning it is designed to measure the external environment rather than the temperature of the speaker’s other electronics. Many mobile devices include sensors that can trigger the device to slow performance or disable features to stop components overheating.

Is the sensor for internal use only (monitoring/adjusting to environmental conditions)? As in, nothing to see here, just some normal design, folks.

Or is there, as Mark hints, a stealth opportunity to link to HomeKit in some future iteration?

Very interesting read. No clear answer.

Apple puts their money where there mouth is, posting detailed privacy labels for every one of their iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS apps, all in one easy to navigate alphabetic listing.

Take a look. Click/tap an entry’s down-arrow for more details.

We’ve long done a series of posts with the title, “Oh Samsung”. This is the (long overdue, I think) very first “Oh Facebook”.

This started with this tweet:

Here’s some mind-blowing technology being developed by @boztank and his team for our AR glasses: wrist-based sensors that let you control devices using the same electrical motor nerve signals you use to move your handshttps://t.co/UsVsGA7tm6 pic.twitter.com/T6xZzfoEdM

— Mike Schroepfer (@schrep) March 18, 2021

That’s Facebook’s Mike Schroepfer, showing off some cool wrist-mapping interface work for Facebook’s Project Aria (AR glasses/wearables).

Watch the video, and watch this follow-on tweet video, showing a virtual keyboard that works on any surface.

This is cool stuff, very exciting. But.

On your Mac, follow the headline link to Facebook’s Inside Reality Labs page. Scroll down a bit and click play to watch that embedded video. As you may have seen in other Facebook places, you’ll immediately get this alert:

That last sentence is critical: “This will allow “facebook.com” to track your activity.

That is wildly open-ended. And if you want to watch the video, you have to agree to this. Click Don’t Allow and the video immediately shuts down. Like a honeytrap, they are luring you in with the promise of content.

Watch the video on your iPhone and a big cookie alert appears. It lets you watch the video without agreeing, but is there tracking going on behind the scenes?

Perhaps there’s nothing more nefarious going on here than a simple cookie. But how hard is it to believe that there’s more to it than that.

And I’m puzzled why the behavior is so different between the macOS and iOS treatments of this page. Facebook has a trust issue. At least for me.

Apple:

“Calls” is a groundbreaking, immersive television experience based on the buzzy French series of the same name, masterfully using audio and minimal abstract visuals to tell nine bone-chilling, short-form stories. Directed by Fede Álvarez (“Don’t Breathe”), each episode follows a darkly dramatic mystery that unfolds through a series of seemingly average, unconnected phone conversations that quickly become surreal as the characters lives are thrown into growing disarray. Featuring Lily Collins, Rosario Dawson, Pedro Pascal, Aubrey Plaza and more, “Calls” proves that the real terror lies in one’s interpretation of what they cannot see on the screen and the unsettling places one’s imagination can take them.

This series definitely comes with a twist. Or two.

First, there’s the length. Each episode is quite short. About 15 minutes long, give or take.

More importantly, each episode is us eavesdropping on a phone call, with visuals serving to narrate the call and add in a bit of visual frosting.

I kind of like the concept. Feels a bit like a well-produced podcast, or an old-timey radio show, where the reward is in the image you build yourself. Going to watch the whole thing.

Variety, on Sunday’s 73rd annual Writers Guild of America Awards:

Apple TV comedy “Ted Lasso” also continued its hot streak, taking the award for new series as well as the top comedy series kudo, which comes on the heels of its Golden Globe comedy series win earlier this month.

And:

“Keep watching TV,” enthused “Ted Lasso” executive producer Bill Lawrence as he accepted the trophy for new series.

Patiently waiting for the 12-episode Season 2 to drop. Season 1 started in August. Not looking for Season 2 any sooner than that.

John Gruber:

I’m sure some will claim to find this ad campaign to be a sick burn. I find it cringey, and kind of hard to watch. It’s neither parody nor sequel. It’s an attempt at comedy from writers who have no sense of humor. The concept isn’t actually anything beyond “Let’s hire Justin Long as our new pitchman, that’ll show them.” One gets the feeling, early on, that there was an uncomfortable phone call to Justin Long from his agent that began, “Before you say ‘no’, at least let me tell you how much money they’re offering.”

Read Gruber’s entire take. I couldn’t agree more.

And you can watch all 5 spots here.

Sarah Perez, TechCrunch:

Kosta Eleftheriou, a co-founder of the Fleksy keyboard app later sold to Pinterest in an acqui-hire deal, has been calling attention to Apple App Store issues like fake reviews, ratings and subscription scams, as well as malicious clone apps, after his own app, FlickType, was targeted by scammers. Now, the developer is taking the next step in his App Store crusade: he’s filing a lawsuit against Apple.

Kosta started the ball rolling with this widely read Twitter thread from January:

The App Store has a big problem👇

You: an honest developer, working hard to improve your IAP conversions.
Your competitor: a $2M/year scam running rampant.

1/🧵

— Kosta Eleftheriou (@keleftheriou) January 31, 2021

More on the lawsuit:

The suit, which the developer claims was filed Wednesday in California Superior Court in Santa Clara county, alleges that Apple enticed developers to build applications for its App Store — the only place iOS applications can be legally sold — by claiming it’s a safe and trustworthy place, but doesn’t protect legitimate app developers against scammers profiting from their hard work.

What’s more, the suit says, Apple is disincentivized to do so because scammers are generating revenue for Apple via their use of subscriptions, which involve a revenue share with Apple.

This is a major ramp-up from a Twitter complaint, no matter how much publicity it got. A story worth following.

Here’s a link to the lawsuit.

Disney Parks Blog:

The MagicBand, the colorful wristband guests wear at Walt Disney World Resort, makes each visit even simpler and more seamless. We’ve continued to invent and innovate, and soon, we’ll be debuting a new option: Disney MagicMobile service!

If you’ve paid a recent visit to a Disney park, you are no doubt familiar with the MagicBand, the wrist device that you wear everywhere, tapping to enter the park, or pay for food and souvenirs.

Launching in phases starting later this year, Disney MagicMobile service is a convenient and contactless way to access MagicBand features like theme park entry through the power of your iPhone, Apple Watch or other smart device.

This is such a smart idea. Disney currently has to spend a fair chunk of change designing and manufacturing the MagicBand. And even if you argue that guests pay for the MagicBand, it is a cost incurred somewhere, either as a cost you pay or folded into more expensive ticket prices.

But why incur the cost, if guests already bring their own magic band (AKA, Apple Watch) to the park. This is a great partnership, one that saves Disney the cost of making and evolving their own devices, and one that boosts the sale of Apple Watches.

Imagine if Apple created a custom Apple Watch face only available for people who go to Disney World, et al. Or a special edition Apple Watch band sold through the park. The possibilities are boundless.