Give this a try. Type in a location, or zoom and drag as you like.
Once you have the location, pick a map color, then select your phone (iPhone or Android model).
Tap the Generate button, and you’ve got your wallpaper.
[Via iDownloadBlog]
Apple
Apple and the NHL partner to turn candid player iPhone pics into giant ads
Ad Week:
The Shot on iPhone campaign has long been known for highlighting the surprisingly artistic shots that can be captured by just about any caliber of photographer. Now the outdoor-focused effort is heading onto the ice and behind the scenes of the NHL to give fans a closer look at the game and its star players.
In new ads launching today on arenas across the U.S. and Canada, Apple features photos taken on the iPhone XS by some of today’s top hockey pros and featuring candid moments with their teammates.
These are some great photos. No way a fan photo can match a photo taken on the ice or in the locker room by a player.
This is a brilliant partnership. I hope it spreads to other sports.
Cellebrite iPhone hacking tool is selling on eBay for $100 — And it’s leaking data
Forbes:
The U.S. federal government, from the FBI to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has been handing millions to Cellebrite to break into Apple and Google smartphones. Mr. Balaj (Forbes agreed not to publish his first name at his request) and others on eBay are now acquiring and trading Cellebrite systems for between $100 and $1,000 a unit. Comparable, brand-new Cellebrite tools start at $6,000.
More importantly:
Rather than return the UFEDs to Cellebrite so they can be properly decommissioned, it appears police or other individuals who’ve acquired the machines are flogging them and failing to properly wipe them. Cybersecurity researchers are now warning that valuable case data and powerful police hacking tools could have leaked as a result.
This was one of the scenarios that emerged, back in late 2015, during the Congressional hearings that followed the San Bernardino shooting, asking Apple to build a golden key to allow law enforcement to unlock any iPhone on-demand. The concern then was that the golden key might get into the wrong hands, risking the data and privacy of the larger iPhone community.
Apple Watch accounts for more than half of all smartwatches sold last quarter
Apple Watch is maintaining a large lead in a market that is growing more competitive.
To give a sense of this, Samsung and FitBit, fighting for second place, have 13.2% and 12.7% of the 2018Q4 marketshare, compared with Apple’s 50.7%.
It is estimated that Apple shipped more than 22 million Apple Watches last year, compared to FitBit (5.5M) and Samsung (5.3M). That’s some difference.
Would Apple be remarkably different if Steve Jobs were still alive?
This Reddit thread is provocative, but thoughtful. Rare to see a discussion like this not devolve into opposing, trolling camps.
I value perspective on Steve because he made so many dents in the universe and had such strong vision. Lessons (both positive and negative) worth holding onto.
How to make the MacBook Pro Touch Bar more useful
If you have a Mac with a Touch Bar, take the time to read through this short set of tips. Especially useful for folks new to Touch Bar.
Apple highlights best photos shot on iPhone around the world
From Apple’s press release:
iPhone photographers around the world shared their best photos for the Shot on iPhone Challenge, capturing remarkable moments with the world’s most popular camera. The 10 selected winners will be featured on billboards in select cities, in Apple retail stores and online. The winning shots came from a range of models, from iPhone XS Max to iPhone 7, showcasing the quality of cameras across the line.
The top 10 winners came from countries including Singapore, Germany, Belarus, Israel and the US, highlighting the global community of iPhone photographers that participated. These photos capture colorful city scenery, curious animals, creative reflections, the beauty of the ordinary and more.
Our international panel of judges — Pete Souza, Austin Mann, Annet de Graaf, Luísa Dörr, Chen Man, Phil Schiller, Kaiann Drance, Brooks Kraft, Sebastien Marineau-Mes, Jon McCormack and Arem Duplessis — gave some insight on why they loved these shots.
There are some pretty phenomenal shots here. Amazing to me that these were taken by ordinary folks, and also how sophisticated our pocket cameras have become.
Apple employees actually read the letters customers send to Tim Cook, and sometimes they inspire changes
CNBC:
Sometimes people write to Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Most don’t get a response.
But they do get passed around the company, and sometimes they inspire real action inside. In particular, they’ve helped guide the company deeper into the health care field.
And not just letters to Tim. There are lots of examples out there of letters that get responses from Craig Federighi, Phil Schiller, Eddy Cue, etc.
Apple’s latest Depth Control ad
[VIDEO] First we had this one, in which a mother exclaimed, “Did you bokeh my child?”
Now we’ve got Alejandro (see the ad embedded in the main Loop post). The power of bokeh.
Apple COO Jeff Williams speaks about his early days at Apple and Apple Watch pricing
The Times News, covering Jeff Williams speech at Elon University:
The Apple of 1998 was not what it is today.
The company was coming off a series of costly failures and was nearly bankrupt. Co-founder Steve Jobs had just come back as CEO after resigning over a disagreement with John Sculley in 1985. But there was a renewed energy, and Jobs had a plan.
Apple would become “the Sony of the PC industry.” It would make computers fashionable, and it would go after individual consumers rather than big business.
“I thought, ‘This is about the dumbest strategy I have ever heard,’ and that’s one of the reasons I thought it would go belly-up,” Williams said. “I guess you could say [Jobs] may have been right.”
Despite Jobs’ questionable business plan, Williams was charmed by the “contagious, palpable enthusiasm” at Apple, so he listened to his gut and came on board as head of Worldwide Procurement.
Just a reminder. Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997. So Jeff Williams’ timing was perfect, a chance to be part of one of the greatest business renaissances in history, a chance to work closely with Steve, watch all this unfold.
When the first Apple Watch was released, the basic model cost consumers $349 — steep compared to the first Fitbit, which clocked in at $99.95. Though the Apple Watch’s design and abilities differ from those of the Fitbit, another reason for the increased cost is the research that went into developing the product.
Apple wanted to create a wearable activity tracker that didn’t just measure exercise based on arm movement, Williams explained, so the tech giant built a physiology lab, hired 40 nurses and enlisted 10,000 participants to study how best to measure the calories burned during exercise.
And:
Williams did say cost is something they’re working to address.
“It’s something we’re very aware of,” he said. “We do not want to be an elitist company. That’s not — we want to be an egalitarian company, and we’ve got a lot of work going on in developing markets.”
Interesting read.
The pros and cons of Apple News
Digiday:
Monetization on Apple News remains a slog, according to seven publishers interviewed by Digiday. Ad revenue is bogged down by advertisers’ disinterest in the ad inventory that publishers are selling directly, and by remnant ad fill rates that many publishers describe as abysmal, even after a modest improvement to start the year, sources said.
But:
But publishers contacted for this story all reported seeing steady growth in audience over the past year. For three sources, Apple News now drives more referral traffic than Facebook does. Getting featured in the product’s human-curated Top News widget inside Apple News can drive enormous boosts in traffic, sources said. Getting articles into Apple News’s content recirculation widget, which recommends stories for users to read next, can make a story one of the highest-read stories a publisher can share in a month, one source said.
This is an interesting story, worth reading. The original headline focuses on the cons, that of low revenues. Fair to point that out, but it does hide the fact that Apple News is still in its relative infancy and it has the ability to generate tremendous traffic.
Most importantly, at least to me, is Apple’s stance on privacy. Tracking users raises the value of advertising. Easier to make a buck via highly targeted user-tracking sites, since the advertiser’s results can be highly customized. But Apple offers a path that is better for users. Can publishers resist the Google/Facebook siren call?
Apple plans to close stores in Eastern District of Texas in fight against patent trolls
Joe Rossignol, MacRumors:
Apple plans to close both of its retail stores within the Eastern District of Texas in a few months from now in an effort to protect itself from patent trolls, according to five sources familiar with the matter.
Apple Willow Bend in Plano, Texas and Apple Stonebriar in Frisco, Texas, both located in the northern suburbs of Dallas, are expected to permanently close in mid April. One source said each store’s final day of business will be Friday, April 12. Employees were briefed about the plans earlier this week.
To continue to serve the region, Apple plans to open a new store at the Galleria Dallas shopping mall in Dallas, just south of the Eastern District of Texas border.
And:
The plans are significant, as U.S. law states that patent infringement lawsuits may be filed “where the defendant has committed acts of infringement and has a regular and established place of business.” By closing its stores in Eastern Texas, Apple is ending its established place of business in the district.
Oh do I hate patent trolls. A scourge. Incredible to me that this giant step is necessary. This system is broken.
Axios: Apple expected to move to ARM-based Macs as soon as next year
Ina Fried, Axios:
Although the company has yet to say so publicly, developers and Intel officials have privately told Axios they expect such a move as soon as next year.
This seems inevitable, and tied to Bloomberg’s Marzipan reporting.
From that Bloomberg post:
Later this year, Apple plans to let developers port their iPad apps to Mac computers via a new software development kit that the company will release as early as June at its annual developer conference. Developers will still need to submit separate versions of the app to Apple’s iOS and Mac App Stores, but the new kit will mean they don’t have to write the underlying software code twice, said the people familiar with the plan.
So much to chew on here. One sense I do get is that of a grand master plan unfolding, all of this leading to a new ARM-based, shared code base vision. But a vision that is not quite in focus yet. I’ll be very interested to see if Apple shares the big picture at this summer’s WWDC.
Seven handy Mac tricks you might not know
[VIDEO] There are lots of iOS and macOS tricks videos. This one rises to the top of my Mac list. All of them worth knowing, all worth passing along. Video embedded in the main Loop post.
Why Goldman Sachs sees Samsung folding phone as challenge to Apple
Lisa Eadicicco, Business Insider:
In a note published on February 20, the firm called Samsung’s newly introduced $1,980 Galaxy Fold “the main potential challenge” for Apple in the ultra-high-end smartphone market. “In terms of competition for Apple we see the Fold as the main potential challenge in the ultra high-end with a compelling form factor that only Samsung’s foldable OLED technology can deliver in our opinion,” the note said.
And:
“We see this as challenging for Apple who could find themselves with no access to the critical flexible OLED technology for which we believe Samsung has at least a two year lead over other display competitors.”
But:
Although Samsung demonstrated the device on stage, it did not allow media attendees to try the Fold after the event, which Goldman also flagged as a cause for concern.
The issue here: Samsung controls the supply of foldable OLED displays. A two year lead is formidable.
Nick Heer, from this post:
During the unveiling, Samsung emphasized the Fold’s versatility in being able to transform from an ordinary smartphone into a tablet just by opening it up. But this device — and others like it — are bad phones, and worse tablets. Every shot of the closed phone looks like it’s begging to be unfolded; its display looks narrow, uncomfortable, and cramped. It seems far better in its tablet-like configuration, but it is at best a diet version of a tablet.
Though Samsung does have a significant and protected lead, the product niche is nowhere near established. If Apple sees foldables in their future, they’re no doubt working on building the technology with another vendor, and/or working on the mechanics of building a foldable OLED display themselves.
Tabs to Links
This is a clever little Mac utility that copies all your open Safari tabs to a list of links, all organized by window.
I tend to accumulate a ton of tabs, organized by topic. So I might have one window with a bunch of Logic Pro-related pages, another with potential Loop posting topics, and another with research topics or sports or whatever.
Once your list of links is saved, Tabs to Links lets you copy the list to the clipboard, making it simple to share.
For me, Tabs to Links is a real time saver. It’s $2.99 on the Mac App Store.
Verizon will launch 5G in 30 cities this year
Jacob Kastrenakes, The Verge:
Verizon finally offered some details about its 5G launch this morning: it plans to deploy the next-gen wireless technology in 30 cities by the end of 2019. The carrier didn’t say which cities those would be, how thoroughly 5G would be deployed throughout those cities, or when exactly the launch would begin, but Verizon did say that each launch would include some deployment of super fast millimeter wave radios.
We are at the very early stages here. The 5G rollout will take time. There’s a lot of infrastructure to build.
5G is not like existing cell service, served by giant cell towers, each built to serve a large geographic area. 5G cells are the size of a city block. Obviously, that requires many more boxes. Add in the fact that 5G signals have difficulty penetrating thick walls and you can see that 5G will require antennae everywhere there is coverage.
On the other side of the equation, there’s the complete lack of 5G phones. They are coming, with the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G just announced and, I’m sure, other phones in the works.
Side note: 5G has a data transfer rate up to about 20Gbps. That’s not as fast as fast WiFi, but compared to the cellular we have now, that’s blazingly fast. And, perhaps, fast enough to be a threat, and an alternative, to cable.
UPDATE: According to Loop reader jimothyGator, the 5G transfer rate will actually be faster than the fastest WiFi. Check the comments. A real threat to cable.
Jean-Louis Gassée tells the tale of Be vs. NeXT, and Steve Jobs’ return
If you’ve not followed along, long-time Apple exec Jean-Louis Gassée has been writing his memoirs, 50 years in tech.
In the latest episode, Jean-Louis digs into the series of events leading up to porting his company’s OS to the Mac, with the lure of selling the company to Apple. And the parallel path of Steve Jobs and NeXT leading to the same end.
Riveting and important piece of Apple history, from someone who was in the room early on, and then in the room at this important juncture.
Good stuff.
5G? 5 bars? What the signal icons on your phone actually mean
Wired:
Some AT&T customers noticed a strange phenomenon earlier this year. The upper left corner of their smartphones began displaying “5GE,” ostensibly indicating their phones were using 5G technology.
As has been much discussed, this is a marketing ploy, since 5G is not rolled out publicly yet.
Even beyond 5GE, there’s a lot of confusion about what the letters, bars, and other symbols on your phone actually mean. Experts say interpreting them may only become more complicated as 5G rolls out in the coming years.
Interesting read. Especially the part about the difference between number of bars and signal-to-noise ratio. And the fact that cheaper phones frequently outperform more expensive phones in signal quality.
All the images from last October’s Apple event, high res printed and framed
Remember all those custom invites from last October’s Apple event? Each invite came with a different piece of custom artwork. Not unique, but one of many, all from a pool of art created by Apple for the event.
Mike Rundle gathered all the high resolution images, arranged them just so, then printed and framed the set.
Here’s a snippet of the original, showing the level of detail:
And here’s a very low res shot of the framed collection:
This really appeals to me. I’m looking forward to seeing the March Apple event invite when it rolls out. Will Apple follow the same pattern? Will they do something completely different?
Apple lawyer charged in insider case released on $500,000 bond
Chris Dolmetsch, Bloomberg:
A former Apple Inc. lawyer was released on a $500,000 bond after entering a not-guilty plea to insider-trading charges.
And:
Apple fired Levoff in September after placing him on leave two months earlier, according to a filing in a related lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Over his decade-long career at Apple, he was one of the most senior executives, reporting directly to the general counsel.
Amazing watching this unfold. Apple must think he’s guilty as charged. They fired him.
From the original breaking story from last week:
Levoff, who until last year was Apple’s senior director of corporate law, repeatedly traded on non-public revenue-and-earnings filings dating back to 2011, the Securities and Exchange Commission and federal prosecutors said Wednesday. The illegal investments led to about $227,000 in profits, while allowing him to avoid $377,000 of losses.
Such a small gain, relative to what he must have lost in salary and bonuses, not to mention the lost future with Apple.
Incredible.
Apple to target combining iPhone, iPad and Mac apps by 2021
Mark Gurman, Bloomberg:
The most direct benefit of the Marzipan project will be to make life easier for the millions of developers who write software for Apple’s devices. For example, later this year Netflix Inc. would be able to more easily offer a Mac app for watching video by converting its iPad app. By 2021, Twitter Inc., which has mostly abandoned the Mac, could publish a single app for all Apple customers.
And:
Despite the app merger plan, Apple has said it won’t combine iOS and macOS into a single operating system.
This latest bit on Marzipan is all according to “people familiar with the plan”.
The ability to create a single code base, with interface adjustments for all the various screen sizes (which developers do now), does seem a boon for developers.
It’ll be interesting to see how Apple accommodates the variety of input devices and the difference in targeting sizes (difference between touch with a fat finger, and precise clicks via a mouse).
We are all geniuses
iFixit:
We’ve been bred to believe that only Geniuses and Geeks can fix our stuff, but it wasn’t always this way. During the Great Depression, when resources were scarce, repair was ingrained in our culture. During the second World War, ‘Make do and Mend’ was a rallying cry and point of pride. Every new device shipped with a repair manual. And when something broke, a replacement part could likely be purchased at your local store. Repair wasn’t seen as an inconvenience—it was an expectation.
And:
Thanks to repair advocates and brave netizens around the world, the tide is starting to change. This year, Right to Repair legislation has been successfully introduced in 18 states. The movement continues to spread—and for the first time, European repair allies have introduced their own version of repair legislation.
As long time Loop readers know, I am a big fan of repairing my own gear. I do appreciate a vendor wanting to ensure that a tinkerer does no harm by improperly repairing something. But often, EULAs are created to limit right to repair to protect a repair revenue stream.
Take a minute to read the linked iFixit blog post. There’s a satisfaction in fixing your own stuff, whether it be a computer, a cracked iPhone screen, or even a household appliance. You’ll save money, learn something you can pass along, and it’s a push back against a throwaway culture.
Siri will offer Today at Apple session suggestions beginning with iOS 12.2
Michael Steeber, 9to5Mac:
Upon updating to iOS 12.2, users with the Apple Store app installed will find a new toggle located in Settings > Siri & Search > Apple Store. Apple has added a feature called “Find Interests in Other Apps,” that when enabled will offer Siri suggestions for Today at Apple sessions based on your installed applications and Safari usage.
For instance, if you use Procreate on your iPad every day, Siri could suggest an Art Walk or a drawing session. If you use a lot of workout apps, Siri might suggest the Health & Fitness Walk.
Interesting. I like the concept, glad it’s something you enable. Hoping it works with the “Saved Stores” feature, so it sends notifications for the local Apple Stores that you visit.
If you’re not familiar with “Saved Stores”, launch the Apple Store app and turn on location. Search for stores in your area, the click the bookmark icon (to the right of the store name) to add the store to your list.
And if you’ve not visited the Siri & Search settings, head to Settings > Siri & Search and check out the Suggested Shortcuts at the top of the page. Those shortcuts will change frequently, and are a good way to dip your toes into Shortcuts.
Jonathan Glazer directs epic flight commercial for Apple Watch
[VIDEO] Creative Review (via 9to5Mac):
The short film, titled Flight, will debut during this year’s Brit Awards, showcasing the Apple Watch Series 4’s cellular capabilities, which allow users to “stay connected in different environments”.
The film follows championship-winning air dancer and skydiver Inka Tiitto, a 29-year-old Finnish-American athlete known to American audiences for her involvement in Season 12 of America’s Got Talent. Here, Tiitto plays an athleisure-clad runner powering through bucolic woods and mountainsides before being flung into the sun-lit skies above.
And:
Using a wind tunnel to create a sequence that might be termed ‘aerodynamic ballet’, Glazer audaciously captures the athlete as she takes a second to acclimatise herself to her new surroundings before swooping in curlicues through the clouds, with Glazer’s camera equally mobile as it soars around her.
This is an awesome effect. Check it out for yourself, embedded in the main Loop post.
Apple Maps vehicles to begin surveying final U.S. states
MacRumors:
Apple has confirmed it will begin surveying Alaska, South Carolina, and Tennessee between March and July, according to an update to its recently revamped Apple Maps image collection website. Data collection is also set to continue in seven other states over that time.
This is part of the Apple Maps rebuild effort.
Note that the Apple Maps image collection page is not a collection of images. Instead it’s a heads up on where the LIDAR vehicles and backpack-toting pedestrians will be in the coming months.
Kermit praising the Mac
[VIDEO] For some reason, this video (embedded in main Loop post) surfaced on Reddit. Maybe someone reminiscing about Macworld Expo?
No matter, this was fun. See if you recognize the voice.
Searching your iOS Safari tabs, fast closing just the ones you find
This is a combination of two tips, both good to know, especially if you keep a lot of pages open in iOS Safari.
First, there’s this from MacRumors:
https://twitter.com/macrumors/status/1096505486604677123
In a nutshell:
- Tap the “show all pages icon” at the bottom right. This will show all your open tabs.
- Pull down to reveal a “Search Tabs” field.
- Type in the field to reduce the open pages to just those that match the search. The non-matching tabs are still open, they are just not shown in this view.
This is cool enough. But then add this tip:
https://twitter.com/mxswd/status/1097251939480350720
Press and hold the cancel button and you’ll be prompted to close all the search-reduced tabs. This is handy.
Ten years ago, Apple said goodbye to Macworld but set the stage for the future
Stephen Hackett, MacStories:
In January 2009, Apple took to the stage at Macworld Expo one final time. The company announced the change a few weeks before the show. Phil Schiller would deliver the keynote. News of Steve Jobs’ medical leave would break just weeks later, one day before the keynote.
And:
Apple leaving Macworld Expo was the beginning of the end. The show struggled for a couple of years after this, and 2014 would be the last year of the trade show.
I loved the Apple-centric Macworld Expo. The January 2009 expo definitely marked the end of an era.
At the same time, Apple pulled the plug on another relationship. Sad.
Apple plans News event for March 25
John Paczkowski, BuzzFeed:
Apple has settled on a date for its first big product announcement of 2019. Sources tell BuzzFeed News that the company plans to hold a special event on March 25 at the Steve Jobs Theater on its Apple Park campus. Headlining the gathering: that subscription news service that has been all over the news today. Unlikely to make an appearance: next-generation AirPods, or that rumored new iPad Mini.
Well this should be interesting.