These are some great lists. There’s truly something here for everyone: Great music, apps, movies, games, iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
I’m bopping to the Song of the Year, I Like It by Cardi B, and downloading the Mac Game of the Year (The Gardens Between) and the iPhone Game of the Year (Donut County).
[VIDEO] Apple:
Step into the world of decotora, Japan’s lavishly decorated trucks, where drivers’ livelihood and passion meet in one extravagant machine. Shot on iPhone XS.
Interesting that Apple commissioned this work. I love the video. Embedded in main Loop post.
A few tricks you can try:
Spin your Apple Pencil (can you go more than twice around?)
Flip your iPad Pro and keyboard case on its back to get a 15° drafting angle
All of these are folded together in this video by Chris at DailyTekk. Nice.
It’s May, 1985. Jean-Louis Gassée is Apple’s newly appointed VP of Product Development.
May, 1985: Apple ][ sales are falling; the Mac has yet to take off. We need to make some changes, pronto, that will attract new customers and keep the old ones coming back.
This is Jean-Louis’s take on the path from the Apple ][ and the early Mac to the first open Mac, the Macintosh II.
Zac Hall, 9to5Mac:
Despite Apple’s strict review process for software distributed through the App Store, it’s still possible for malicious actors to take advantage of loop holes in the system to scam customers.
The latest example is a rather sophisticated and devious trick used by an app that claims to read your heart rate through your fingertip using Touch ID. In reality, the app (which is currently on the App Store) uses your fingerprint to authorize a transaction for $89.99 while dramatically dimming the screen to fool you.
And:
Apple requires approval for in-app purchases during app review, but not for changing the amount (from 99¢ to $89.99, for example). The malicious app may also be flying under the radar as it largely targets Portuguese speaking customers, but does support English as well.
The app has been removed, but you have to wonder how the app made it past the app review process. Even if the app charged 99¢, to me that’s no less devious. This feels like it slipped through the cracks.
I’m assuming Apple will refund any fraudulent charges and will use this example to harden that review process.
A Reddit poster was considering buying an Apple Watch and posted this question. The response was very interesting, with useful tidbits to pass along when you get asked that question.
A few highlights, all from one comment (sort comments by “best” and this should rise to the top):
There are a lot more, not to mention the people who are now exercising regularly thanks to Apple Watch.
New York Times:
Just a few years ago, Microsoft was seen as a lumbering has-been of the technology world.
It was big and still quite profitable, but the company had lost its luster, failing or trailing in the markets of the future like mobile, search, online advertising and cloud computing. Its stock price languished, inching up 3 percent in the decade through the end of 2012.
It’s a very different story today. Microsoft is running neck and neck with Apple for the title of the world’s most valuable company, both worth more than $850 billion, thanks to a stock price that has climbed 30 percent over the last 12 months.
So what happened?
Interesting analysis. In a nutshell, this is a combination of Satya Nadella’s vision when he came on board in 2014 (dump the old stuff that wasn’t working, hyper focus on the new, like cloud computing) and Apple’s iPhone-sales-centric valuation.
Lots of detail on the re-invention of Microsoft. Terrific read. Wonder if Intel can find this path.
That headline is from Amazon’s blog post. Just a few weeks away:
We’re excited to announce that Apple Music will be available on Echo devices beginning the week of December 17.
Strong motivation to spur a wave of Echo purchases for the holidays.
Interesting to see Amazon embrace Apple Music. Feels like they’ve given up trying to compete with their music offerings. Smart, and good for both Amazon, and Apple.
Matthew S. Smith, Digital Trends:
Differences do appear when you dig deeper. Here’s the big one; Windows 10’s dark mode only applies to Universal Windows Platform apps. It doesn’t change older, legacy interfaces. That includes Explorer, Task Manager, and all the old Control Panel menus, some of which still don’t have their function replicated in Windows 10’s Settings Menu.
And:
We must again nitpick Microsoft’s approach, though, for a reason that’s as simple as it is silly. Edge opens an MSN home page by default. It’s a web page, not part of the application interface, so it doesn’t get the dark mode treatment. This also applies to the “blank” page that you can choose to select instead of MSN. You’ll always be greeted with a grayish-white page in Edge, unless you manually change the home page to a website with a dark background.
Safari has no such problem. Its default new tab page, which has a list of featured websites, will change its background to slate gray when dark mode is turned on.
Attention to the tiny details. When done right, it does show.
Fascinating piece by David Barnard that, in part, lays out ways that bad actors game the iOS App Store, making life harder for indie developers to make a living.
Here’s a taste:
Find a keyword that drives a decent amount of organic search traffic. Obvious ones are keywords like “weather”, “calculator”, “solitaire”, etc, but those keywords are so competitive, and the rest of the tactics so powerful, you could get away with 2nd tier keyword targets. Now go to App Store Connect and name your app that exact keyword. “Weather” is already taken, and Apple doesn’t allow duplicate app names, so you’ll need to add a symbol. Let’s go with “Weather ◌”.
And:
The App Store search algorithm gives a massive boost for an exact match to what the user searched, and the algorithm ignores symbols, so “Weather ◌” will get a huge search advantage, which will help to drive organic instals of the app.
That one example, the “Weather ◌” app, has more than 9,000 ratings. And the “Calculator'” app has more than 86,000 ratings.
Read the article. There’s just so much more.
CNBC:
Google Fi (formerly known as Project Fi) is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), which means that instead of just using one of the “big four” carriers, it automatically jumps between several cellular networks depending on which has better service. Fi hops between Sprint, T-Mobile, and US Cellular, and also favors Wi-Fi whenever possible, including for calls and texts.
And:
It costs $20 for unlimited calling and texting, and $10 per gigabyte of data. Users get money back for whatever data they don’t use, and data usage over 6 GB is free (though Google will throttle speeds after users hit 15 GB). It also has no roaming fees in more than 170 locations.
This something Apple could do? Is there some contractual agreement that prevents this? Interesting development.
Rebecca Keegan, Hollywood Reporter:
In a Viacom earnings call on Nov. 16, Paramount Pictures CEO Jim Gianopulos described a new, multipicture deal his studio had set — not with a producer or star, but with Netflix.
And:
Movie studios are no longer making films just for themselves, but for the deep-pocketed technology companies that have become Hollywood’s latest conquistadors.
Fascinating article. Makes me wonder if this will be the undoing of the traditional studio model, one where the studios choose the people to make into stars, then feed the distribution system that provides revenue for movie theaters.
Will Netflix, Amazon and, eventually, Apple, be the new movie star makers? Will movie theaters be shut out of this new supply chain, forced to watch as people consume content without them?
From the complaint:
Apple’s computers, including its iMac desktops and MacBook laptops (“Computers”), contain a critical defect that has led to at least two deficiencies in the performance of the Computers (the “Filter Defect”). The components in Apple’s Computers generate a great deal of heat during use, and Apple installed fans and vents to cool them down. But Apple did not install any filters for the vents. As a result of this Filter Defect, the fans suck in dirt and debris that get stuck behind the screen, causing a permanent dark smudging to appear in the corners of the screens. If brought in for repair outside the warranty period (or if Apple refused to honor the warranty), Apple told customers that they must pay upwards of $600 to replace the entire screen. In reality, there is a simple and cheap fix for many of the Computers: the screen can be removed by a suction cup, and then cleaned with a soft rag. Despite the existence of this inexpensive fix, Apple continues to charge non-warranty customers $600 to replace the entire screen.
One part of this is the design decision, a “lack of filters”. But another part is charging $600 to remove and clean a screen. That second part seem egregious, if true.
Looking forward to seeing Apple’s response on this.
Andrew O’Hara, Apple Insider:
There are two primary issues with the port on the new iPad Pro — one that can be at least partially overlooked, and the other is going to be a show-stopper.
And:
The biggest criticism of the case was the requirement of having a full back cover that added unnecessary bulk and weight on an otherwise slim device. I’d have preferred a two-piece design that allows for a removable keyboard with an optional back cover.
As it stands, you are stuck with both a keyboard and a back cover, or neither. If you wanted to remove the keyboard but keep the back, sorry, that’s too bad.
And:
Second is the poor adoption we’ve seen from outside companies, which the shift will not help. Apple touted at launch that third-parties could make use of the port, and they even reiterated strong support with products in the pipeline just last year. Now that the port has completely moved, anything in the works based on the previous port location is dead-on-arrival.
Tough investment for a peripheral company to deal with a complete redesign of a hardware interface. Not just moving a port/connector, but completely changing the way it works.
And I’d add to this issue the problem of putting any sort of case over the Apple Pencil magnet/charger. You have to find a way to convey that functionality with your case, no easy task. And, given the likelihood that Apple is not done innovating here, it may be some time before the functionality of these ports stabilize.
Wholesale change is tough business for a peripheral maker.
[VIDEO] Yesterday, we posted a video interview of top music producer Henny Tha Bizness and top audio engineer Ken Lewis talking about the value of using an iPad to produce music.
This video (embedded in the main Loop post) goes a bit deeper, actually showing the iPad screen as Henny teaches Ken the basics.
Lots to love here, but my favorite is watching their heads bob in unison as soon as the music kicks in.
Juli Clover, MacRumors:
When you go through the normal trade-in process on the trade-in site, Apple offers $150, but if you use the trade-in option during the checkout process of purchasing a new iPhone XR or XS, the bonus trade-in credit is displayed.
See the chart in the article for specifics. Nothing you need to do to get this bonus trade-in money, but if you are considering whether to sell your old phone or trade it in, this will help with the math.
Craig Silverman, BuzzFeed:
At its peak, 3ve involved about 1.7 million PCs infected with malware, an array of servers that could generate mountains of fake traffic with bots, roughly 5,000 counterfeit websites created to impersonate legitimate web publishers, and over 60,000 accounts with digital advertising companies to help fraudsters receive ad placements and get paid. The indictment also alleges the fraudsters created their own advertising networks to help facilitate the fraud.
And:
It’s rare for perpetrators of ad fraud schemes to face criminal charges or serious consequences. That’s one reason why ad fraud is on pace to be eclipsed only by the illicit drug trade in terms of annual revenue.
And:
After just a few months, the once-small botnet began to grow quickly. Google and White Ops investigators said they realized this was more than a simple botnet when it began to evade efforts to filter and contain its traffic. Each time they tried to implement measures to filter the traffic out of advertising systems, the ad fraudsters would adapt.
Fascinating story.
Michael Tsai gathered some thoughtful takes on the App Store antitrust case.
Reminder, this is all about “standing”. That is, does an App Store consumer have the right (the standing) to sue Apple under antitrust statutes.
This tweet from Mike Rundle struck a nerve:
https://twitter.com/flyosity/status/1067108399169576962
This happens to me all the time. I’m in an app that’s attached to my home WiFi and I walk (or drive, as a passenger) away from my house. As I move further from my house, the signal gets progressively weaker and whatever app I’m in just hangs, stuck waiting for a reply from my home WiFi that’s never coming.
If you follow down the Twitter thread, you’ll see this response:
I’ve been using Shortcuts for that. Shortcut that drops wifi, calculates time to destination (Home), texts wife the ETA and then re-enables wifi (after x amount of seconds).
While I do applaud this effort, this feels like a kluge to me, a hack that should just not be necessary.
My preference? Set a threshold that automatically drops WiFi when my signal drops and I am getting further away from my WiFi router. The key is the word “automatically”.
This could be a setting, since this might not be an issue for everyone. But given the enthusiastic response to the Shortcut, it’s certainly an issue worth addressing.
UPDATE: Some time ago, Apple added the setting Cellular > Wi-Fi Assist (scroll down below that long list under CELLULAR DATA) that someone suggested might help with this, though I believe the intent was to help with poor WiFi, not specific to this problem. As it turns out, this is on for me. Does not make a difference.
Merrit Kennedy, NPR:
At a press conference, Kinam Kim, president and CEO of the company’s Device Solutions Division, gave a low bow as part of the apology.
“Beloved colleagues and families have suffered for a long time, but Samsung Electronics failed to take care of the matter earlier,” Kim said, according to Yonhap News Agency. “Samsung Electronics also did not fully and completely manage potential health risks at our chip and liquid-crystal display production lines.”
And:
One of the instigators of the push was Hwang Sang-gi, whose daughter Yu-mi contracted leukemia and died after working at a Samsung factory.
“No apology would be enough when considering the deception and humiliation we experienced (from Samsung) over the past 11 years, the pain of suffering from occupational diseases, the pain of losing loved ones,” Hwang said at the news conference, according to The Associated Press. But he added that he views the apology as a vow to improve safety conditions.
Damn.
[VIDEO] Nice find from Cult of Mac’s Charlie Sorrel. The video in the main Loop post is an interview with Grammy award-winning music producer Henny Tha Bizness and is his take on the iPad’s place in professional music production.
The whole video is interesting but, at the very least, jump to 6:28 into the video when Henny asks producer Ken Lewis about his take on using an iPad rather than a Mac.
Insightful take on the switch from analog (knobs and sliders) to a mouse interface, and back to analog (knobs and sliders that you touch directly). It’s all about feel.
Yesterday, we posted about the Apple, App Store antitrust case that just went before the Supreme Court. A few more details and useful links:
This case is about the ability of an App Store customer to sue Apple for antitrust violations. This case is not deciding whether or not Apple has violated any antitrust laws but, rather, whether a previously dismissed case against Apple can go forward in a lower court.
Here’s a link to a transcript of yesterday’s hearing. It’s actually pretty interesting to follow along as the Supreme Court justices apply their legal minds to the mechanics of the App Store.
If you are interested in following the case, bookmark this Oyez page. It has a nice summary of the case, some useful links and, if you check in periodically, displays the status of the case.
Denny Bonavita:
My son Greg, now age 41, has Down syndrome. He now lives in a group home in Warren, preceded by 10 years in DuBois. I live outside Brookville. Greg’s brothers and sisters are scattered throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia.
Usually, I call him once a week. Siblings also call, perhaps weekly, perhaps less often, as we all tend to our own busy lives. If Greg wanted to call any of us via phone, he needed the aid of a group home staff member.
That all changed a month ago.
We got Greg an iPad for his 41st birthday.
Beautiful story.
Dr. Drang wrote about a Federico Viticci shortcut he modified (link to that post) and included a screenshot that showed all the shortcut steps.
The thing is (jump to the post to see this yourself), the screen shot was elongated to show all the shortcut steps. The article was interesting, showed how to edit a shortcut you got from someone else, but the screenshot itself did a beautiful job framing all the steps that make up the shortcut.
So the good doctor wrote a second post explaining how that pic came to be. Nice work.
Ryan Christoffel, MacStories:
Google released an exciting update for its Assistant iOS app today, bringing support for Siri shortcuts and, for the first time, opening lines of communication between the two competing assistants.
And:
With the latest update, you can set up a shortcut in iOS to immediately, via Siri, trigger any command you’d like to give Google’s Assistant.
To me, this is yet another sign of the game-changing nature, of the great value Shortcuts brings to the table.
Reuters:
When iPhone users want to edit blemishes out of their selfies, identify stars and constellations or simply join the latest video game craze, they turn to Apple Inc’s App Store, where any software application they buy also includes a 30 percent cut for Apple.
That commission is a key issue in a closely watched antitrust case that will reach the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday. The nine justices will hear arguments in Apple’s bid to escape damages in a lawsuit accusing it of breaking federal antitrust laws by monopolizing the market for iPhone apps and causing consumers to pay more than they should.
Major implications here for Apple and the App Store.
From the Supreme Court document summarizing the case:
Electronic marketplaces such as Apple’s App Store present a new wrinkle on this doctrine, because the marketplace sponsor (e.g., Apple) interacts with and delivers goods “directly” to consumers, but as an agent on behalf of third party sellers.
And:
Whether consumers may sue for antitrust damages anyone who delivers goods to them, even where they seek damages based on prices set by third parties who would be the immediate victims of the alleged offense.
Gonna keep my eye on this one.
[VIDEO] Luna Display is a small hardware dongle you plug into any modern Mac, including the new Mac mini, that wirelessly turns your iPad into a touch display for your Mac.
You can see Luna Display in action in the video embedded in the main Loop post. I love this idea, and it seems a perfect solution for the Mac mini.
Beyond that, it feels like a missing link, that hybrid of macOS and iOS. My sense is that it supports Apple Pencil, but without pressure sensitivity. But that aside, this seems like a wonderful solution if you already have an iPad Pro and have a need for a Mac mini.
Chance Miller, 9to5Mac:
In my time with the new iPad Pro so far, I’ve found Face ID to be a bit more forgiving here than it is on the iPhone. It seems more likely to try to authenticate you multiple times on its, as well as better at different angles. For instance, I can have my iPad Pro laying flat on my desk, and Face ID is still able to recognize me. This is something that isn’t possible on the iPhone XS, at least reliably.
And:
For everything it excels at, however, Face ID on the iPad Pro is not perfect, and the different use cases and overall size of the iPad present a couple of unique issues.
For instance, at my desk I like to use my iPad Pro with this Viozon stand. Face ID, however, is somewhat unreliable in this use case as it common displays a warning saying “Face is too far away.” I think I’ve been able to find the sweet spot in terms of how far is too far, but distance is definitely something I’d like to see Apple focus on with future iterations of Face ID.
Most people hold their iPhone in a reasonably predictable fashion, at a predictable angle, and a predictable distance from their eyes. The iPad itself, not so much.
As Chance points out in that last paragraph, people frequently place their iPad on a stand, sometimes flat on a desk, sometimes as a driver for an external display. True, the iPhone often lives in those spaces but, I’d argue, is far more likely to be held in typical phone fashion. Face ID on iPad just has more edge cases.
Ultimately, the best thing about Face ID on the iPad Pro, much like on the iPhone, is how passive it is. Unlocking is made even better by the double-click keyboard option, while things like accessing passwords, logging into apps, and more all work with no interaction at all.
I love that you can unlock your iPad by double-tapping any key on the keyboard. So smart, so easy.
John Gruber unpacks a lot of detail on USB-C to Lightning cables, the MFi program, and his take on the likelihood of USB-C making the move to iPhone.
This is a terrific, put your feet up, grab a hot beverage, chock-full-of details read.
TechCrunch:
The exposed server belongs to Voxox (formerly Telcentris), a San Diego, Calif.-based communications company. The server wasn’t protected with a password, allowing anyone who knew where to look to peek in and snoop on a near-real-time stream of text messages.
And:
Worse, the database — running on Amazon’s Elasticsearch — was configured with a Kibana front-end, making the data within easily readable, browsable and searchable for names, cell numbers and the contents of the text messages themselves.
And:
Often, app developers — like HQ Trivia and Viber — will employ technologies provided by firms like Telesign and Nexmo, either to verify a user’s phone number or to send a two-factor authentication code, for example. But it’s firms like Voxox that act as a gateway and converting those codes into text messages, to be passed on to the cell networks for delivery to the user’s phone.
Interesting to see how those two-factor requests are outsourced and where those text messages come from. Check out those sample searches in the article. A database like this is searchable in real time, making it easy for someone to monitor changes, steal accounts. A serious point of vulnerability.