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Apple Watch Series 3 with cellular now available

On September 22, Apple Watch Series 3 with built-in cellular and Apple Watch Series 3 with GPS went on sale around the world at 8 a.m. local time. The new Watches add powerful health and fitness enhancements, a faster dual-core processor, a new wireless chip and watchOS 4.

Enjoy folks, I’m loving mine.

iTunes rentals increase from 24 to 48 hours

Apple: You have 30 days to start watching a movie after you rent it. After you start watching the movie, you have 48 hours to finish it. You can watch the movie as often as you like until it expires. … Continued

This is how Apple prepares for “iPhone Day”

BuzzFeed: How does Apple ship iPhones around the world on launch day? We got a behind-the-scenes look with head of retail Angela Ahrendts. It’s a superficial look but has some interesting details like the UPS sorting facility in Kentucky. Don’t … Continued

Uber London loses licence to operate

Uber will not be issued a new private hire licence, Transport for London (TfL) has said.

TfL concluded the ride-hailing app firm was not fit and proper to hold a London private hire operator licence.

I really don’t understand this decision. Uber and Lyft and wonderful services for the consumer and should be supported.

Top iOS 11 augmented reality apps

Good video showing these apps in real world use. Many are limited functionality right now but you can see some amazing potential.

Taiwan motorcycle advertisement

This is an old video but what a wonderful, poignant ad celebrating lifelong friendships and motorcycles. I’m honestly jealous of these guys.

iPhone 8 Plus and me: A 72-hour quest for beautiful images

As a (supposed) professional photographer, I’m really interested in the improvements and features of the new iPhones’ cameras and the advancements Apple is making in photography. They are helping “average users” to create beautiful, compelling images.

Apple admits to Apple Watch LTE problems

While writing my review of the Apple Watch Series 3 with LTE capabilities, I experienced notable connectivity issues. The new Watch appeared to try to connect to unknown WiFi networks instead of connecting to cellular, when I was out and about without my phone.

Within the first couple days of experiencing this, Apple replaced my first review unit with a second one, but that one proved to be problematic, too.

Eventually, the company issued an official statement, acknowledging the issue. “We have discovered that when Apple Watch Series 3 joins unauthenticated Wi-Fi networks without connectivity, it may at times prevent the watch from using cellular,” an Apple spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “We are investigating a fix for a future software release.”

I’m not sure what’s going on here, but I never had this issue with my Apple Watch. Every time I tried to do something, it worked just fine.

Perhaps Gruber explained it:

I suspect one reason I haven’t run into this is that I generally avoid using unauthenticated Wi-Fi networks. They’re a security risk, and at least in my experience they generally offer slower, less reliable connectivity than LTE.

I don’t do that either, so that could be it. Whatever the reason, Apple needs to get it fixed and they will.

Review: Apple Watch Series 3 with cellular

When Apple released the Apple Watch Series 3 at its event last week, it added a few really big new features, including cellular capabilities to the device. I’ve been testing out a cellular model with an iPhone 8 for about a week. […]

Review: iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus

Apple introduced the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus during a special event at its new Apple Park campus last week. While many people were focused on the launch of the iPhone X, the iPhone 8 is an incredible piece of hardware that features many improvements over its predecessor. I’ve been testing both the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus for about a week.

Apple’s new file system won’t work with Fusion drives

When macOS High Sierra is released to the public next week, the new Apple File System (APFS) feature will be limited to Macs with all-flash built-in storage, which means it won’t work with iMacs that include Fusion Drives.

iMacs with Fusion Drives were converted to APFS during the beta testing process in the first macOS High Sierra beta, but support was removed in subsequent betas and not reimplemented.

iOS 11 available tomorrow

Starting Tuesday, iPhone and iPad customers around the world will be able to update their devices to iOS 11, a major update to the world’s most advanced mobile operating system and the biggest software release ever for iPad.

Field Notes “Dime Novel” Edition

I’m a huge fan of Field Notes notebooks. Anyone that’s seen me at an Apple event will know that I take one with me all the time. I love that they went back in time for the latest design.

Hullo: Stop Flipping, Folding and Fluffing That Pillow

Thanks to Hullo for sponsoring the Loop this week. Your pitiful old squishy pillow needs constant readjustment. It’s invariably too thick, too thin, sometimes just too warm. Flipping, folding and fluffing are getting in the way of your rest. You … Continued

Apple responds to ad group’s criticism of Safari cookie blocking

Apple introduced a new technology to intelligently block browser cookies in Safari, which brought criticism from a number of advertising organizations. Apple believes in privacy with every product it makes, and the advertising groups want to track everything we do so they can sell ads. […]

iTunes rolling out 4K HDR content

Ahead of next week’s launch of the new Apple TV 4K with HDR support, Apple has begun releasing 4K HDR content on iTunes in the United States and other countries.

I love Apple’s commitment to getting this content out now, so people who purchase the new Apple TV 4K can start to enjoy it.

Alphabet considers Lyft investment

Alphabet Inc. has held conversations with Lyft Inc. about a potential investment in recent weeks, signalling strong support for Uber Technologies Inc.’s main U.S. competitor, according to people familiar with the matter.

An investment of about $1 billion in Lyft may come from Google or CapitalG, Alphabet’s private-equity arm, said some of the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private.

This makes perfect sense for both companies. Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving car division, signed a deal with Lyft to test that technology. The strange part is that Alphabet is also an investor in Uber, but Waymo is suing them for allegedly stealing their self-driving car technology.

BMW says car keys may be replaced by mobile phone apps

BMW (BMWG.DE) is reviewing the necessity of car keys, Ian Robertson, the company’s board member responsible for sales told Reuters.

The fact that customers now all carry a smartphone and the availability of a BMW App which allows customers to unlock their vehicle, has made old fashioned keys less relevant.

Yes and no. I get where they’re going, but there are some obvious situations where you may need a key. What if your phone runs out of battery or you lose it—now you can’t even get in your car.

Jackasses of the week

Second, what kind of sociopaths are these people that they want to put mom-and-pop corner stores and bodegas out of business?

Yeah, “fuck these guys.”