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I know some people like to read up on the security content on Apple’s updates, so here you go:

This web site is really cool. You can listen to radio stations from around the world.

I admit to loving Williams-Sonoma stores, primarily for the gadgets, but this rant about the catalog is hilarious and definitely NSFW.

Apple on Tuesday released a significant update for macOS Sierra, fixing a number of issues users had with the Mac operating system. […]

The rumor mill is going crazy with the reasons behind these issues but the bottom line is Apple is having a hard time with its earphone products and it’s getting a little embarrassing for them.

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Apple today announced AirPods are available to order online now from Apple.com and will start delivering to customers and arriving at Apple Stores, Apple Authorized Resellers and select carriers next week.

This is great news. I’ve been using these since they were announced in September and you will love them.

From a source close to Trump’s transition team:

Those items, said the source, are U.S.-focused job creation, and how these tech firms can work with government to improve efficiency.

Among those attending the meeting will be Apple CEO Tim Cook, Alphabet CEO Larry Page and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg.

According to Apple’s System Status page, the iTunes Store, the iOS App Store, and the Mac App Store are currently unavailable for some users, making it impossible to do things like purchase new apps and download app updates.

I’m affected by this. I’m also getting a message that says iTunes can’t process purchases right now.

More people are switching from Macs to Surface than ever before. Our trade-in program for MacBooks was our best ever, and the combination of excitement for the innovation of Surface coupled with the disappointment of the new MacBook Pro – especially among professionals – is leading more and more people to make the switch to Surface, like this. It seems like a new review recommending Surface over MacBook comes out daily. This makes our team so proud, because it means we’re doing good work.

Microsoft has come out with things like this in the past for products competing with Apple, including a mock funeral for the iPod years ago—the number of times they’ve done that makes it hard for me to believe them. However, if this is true, Apple has a problem.

Benjamin Mayo:

Apple is rolling out a fix for the iCloud Calendar spam issue that has plagued users over the past few weeks. On iCloud.com, the company has added a new Report Junk feature. This lets users remove spammy invites from their calendar and reports the sender to Apple for further investigation.

The feature is currently only available on Apple’s iCloud.com Calendar web app but it is likely to roll out to the iOS and Mac native Calendar in a future software update.

Great, great, great!

This is a fascinating article on WSJ. It profiles a new service called Music Aficionado that caters to getting the older crowd to pay for music.

Although older, wealthier fans raised in the age of record stores make up the demographic that is most comfortable with the idea of paying for music, they’ve been among the most reluctant groups to pay for monthly streaming subscriptions, which offer ad-free access to up to tens of millions of songs.

I’ve seen this myself. People with millions of dollars that are using free services or just using their own music, instead of paying for a service. I pay for Pandora, Apple Music, and Spotify, but I’m not sure any of them really talk to me as a long-time music buyer and listener. Pandora is probably the best, followed by Spotify, but it feels like Pandora’s new service may have an edge in this next year because their new service will be tailored around what you listen to and like instead of pushing the music the service wants you to listen to.

While older consumers can generally be slower to adopt new technology, there are other factors at play. Streaming companies have been primarily built by young techies and generally use what Mr. Penn calls a “DJ model” to cater to a younger audience, promoting pop-heavy playlists that serve primarily as soundtracks for activities such as partying, exercising and “chilling.” Record companies, meantime, haven’t rushed to convert their album buyers to subscribers, since physical music sales are still highly profitable and accounted for nearly 40% of the recorded music industry’s global revenue last year.

The over-50 “demo is largely being ignored in the digital world even though these folks are the most passionate about music because they lived all of it the first time around,” said Fred Goldring, a 58-year-old veteran music lawyer.

Agreed. This is why I think Pandora has a chance—they’ll show me what I want to see as a music listener.

When I open up Apple Music and see the newest Pop/Hip Hop in my “For You” section, one of two things is happening: Either Apple’s “Love” feature doesn’t actually work, or they are pushing these albums to all users regardless of their choices. Either way, it’s not good for the user.

Apple released the next major update for iOS this morning. You can download iOS 10.2 by going to Settings > General > Software Update on your iOS device.

“Just seeing how defenses are playing me, playing us,” James told cleveland.com. “Kind of watching and paying attention to the minutes I was in, so at the last three minutes of the first quarter when I come out, I can watch and see from when I was in. Then I go back in for the second, and I get it once again at the six minute mark of the second quarter. Just trying to stay above the curve and see how i can help.”

James is the only one using the iPad on the Cavs at this point, but he’s using it wisely. Studying how the other team is playing him on the court and seeing if he can come up with ways for the Cavs to counteract that.

Oh, to be a fly on the wall of this meeting.

Being a session guitarist is a vastly different gig than being a member of a band in the studio. Session guitarists are a great breed of musicians that can be very helpful on a project if asked.

Along with the “Wilhelm Scream“, probably one of the most recognizable, and therefore annoying, sounds in movies today.

Example number eighty gazillion of how cool science is.

There are some really cool and really expensive potential gifts on this list.

The Mac App Store works for those who want more of a hands off approach but I’ve always preferred to buy direct from the developer. This piece does a good job of laying out the pros and cons of each method.

While the exact reason for the delay remains unclear, a person familiar with the development of AirPods told The Wall Street Journal that Apple’s troubles appear to be related to its “efforts to chart a new path for wireless headphones,” in addition to resolving what happens when users lose one of the earpieces or the battery dies.

I’ve been using the AirPods since they were introduced at the event and I love them. I’ve had a couple of very minor issues over the last couple of months, but nothing significant. These things are going to sell really well.

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Friday that a software update for Galaxy Note 7 smartphones will be released mid-December in the United States preventing them from charging and functioning as mobile phones, rendering them useless.

Good, they are dangerous to the general public.

However, Verizon Communications Inc said it would not take part in the update because of the added risk this could pose to Galaxy Note7 users that do not have another device to switch to.

Are you kidding me? These things have caught on fire mid-flight!

I get why Nintendo is doing this but it makes the game less functional for a lot of people. Not everyone has a solid internet connection or unlimited data plans on their iOS devices.

No surprise to me. I’m from Nova Scotia, a large tree farming area. I won’t allow a fake Christmas tree in my home for aesthetic and economic reasons.

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While I wouldn’t call it the “greatest Christmas song of all time”, it is a great song and the article does a good job of describing its power.

Mesh networks have become the “new cool thing” for tech blogs to talk about and the article does a good job explaining what they are. But it also points out they are really only useful in very specific situations. It’s why I don’t think, hope and rumor to the contrary, Apple is intending to replace their wireless products with mesh networking ones.

Many of us (non-religious) people know of the Advent Calendar but do you know its origins? When I was a kid, it was just a way to get more chocolate.

My grandmother was of this era and loved these musicians so I heard a lot of them when I was a kid and still have a soft spot for this music. These two albums, “The Savory Collection, Vol. 1: Body and Soul: Coleman Hawkins & Friends” and “The Savory Collection, Vol. 2: Jumpin’ At the Woodside: The Count Basie Orchestra featuring Lester Young“, are part of a legendary private trove of nearly 1,000 recordings that haven’t been heard by the general public since the 1930s.

The former Marine and US Senator is best known for circling the earth in 1962 aboard a space capsule dubbed Friendship 7.

Please 2016, go away.