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Another lovely, touching ad from Apple for the holiday season.

At only 57, early-onset Alzheimer’s disease took him far too soon but he is finally “home for a rest.”

Ignore the (possibly mistranslated) headline, this is an article that, at the very least, reminds us that seniors have different needs, wants, and desires from technology than “young people” do and there is a market for developers to cater to them.

Thanks to BBEdit for sponsoring The Loop this week. Bare Bones Software, makers of BBEdit, is one of my favorite software companies — in fact, I’ve been using BBEdit for more than 20 years. BBEdit has been updated to version 13, and is available in the Mac App Store as a subscription! Same great features. Same user experience. You can subscribe in the Mac App Store or purchase perpetual licenses directly from Bare Bones Software. Also, you can still get great merch, including Classic and Rebus T-shirts, enamel pins, and more in their merch store!

Dave and I kicked off this week talking about cooking, but moved into how people are using GarageBand on iOS and Mac. We also discussed autocorrect on iOS and whether or not the AirPods Pro leave any room for competition.

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Explains why Cook engages Trump the way he does.

This could be hugely damaging to the film and might kill it altogether.

For those of us who don’t want to spend the money, your iPhone (all versions) already have a “physical camera button” – the volume control buttons on your iPhone also work as a camera shutter. Watch out for fingers in the way of the lens though.

I’m a big fan of AltHistory stuff so I’m enjoying For All Mankind. It helps that it looks great with an interesting storyline and good acting.

Guilherme Rambo:

Like I mentioned before, the problem began in August. So far I’ve tried every possible private communication channel before deciding to make this story public. It’s worth mentioning that I didn’t get any e-mail or call from Apple warning about any sort of action being taken against my developer account. Apple always says that “running to the press doesn’t help”. Unfortunately, they haven’t responded in any way, even when I tried reaching out through internal contacts that I have. So the only option I have left now is to “run to the press”.

I have to agree with Gruber on this one. If there is something wrong with his account, at least give him an explanation.

Bare Bones Software, makers of BBEdit, is one of my favorite software companies — in fact, I’ve been using BBEdit for more than 20 years. BBEdit has been updated to version 13, and is available in the Mac App Store … Continued

This is just going to be an “event” for Apple’s usual “Best of…” award winners.

There are definitely “better” cards but I wouldn’t say the Apple Card “sucks.” I don’t have one so I can only go by the rewards and features offered. Some features of the Apple Card are much better than what others offer but it falls short in other ways as well.

I love “chill out” games and I agree “Patterned” is a great example. But I disagree about “Word Laces.” That’s just a stupid game, IMO.

It’s also an admission, tacit or otherwise, that Apple made a mistake with the butterfly keyboard. Rest assured, this “new” design will be in all future Apple laptops.

If you’ve ever taken underwater photos, you’ll know the results are generally pretty disappointing. This technology could change that.

OK, this is just crazy talk. Justified was one of the best TV series ever and we’re only two episodes in to The Mandalorian. Make no mistake – I loved Justified and I mildly enjoyed The Mandalorian but it will take quite a bit more for the latter to match up to the former.

I’m always suspicious of “sources say…” stories but this rings true. Ignoring the stupidity of that last sentence (News+ works just fine on Macs too, you morons), News+ is not a “must have” or even a “this would be nice” product from Apple. It feels half-baked and, at this point, pretty much ignored.

Dave and I talk about the new MacBook Pro that Apple released this week, looking beyond the fixed keyboard. We also look at Disney+ and the extraordinary start the the streaming service.

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Funny story about an unfunny subject. The last time I was in Times Square, these fake mascots really put me off.

I’ve been playing around with the app for the past 24 hours. I like it overall but it needs more stations and selection.

This is yet another example of Apple’s efforts to further increase its lead and presence in the field of personal health. Sadly, it’s US only.

With Apple Music Replay, subscribers will get a playlist of their top songs from 2019, plus playlists for every year you’ve subscribed to Apple Music, retroactively. These can be added to your Apple Music Library, so you can stream them at any time, even when offline. Like any playlist, your Apple Music Replay can also be shared with others, allowing you to compare top songs with friends, for example, or post to social media.

This is a great idea. My Replay lists haven’t shown up yet, but I’m looking forward to seeing them.

If you asked anyone about the MacBook Pro yesterday, the topic would inevitably come around to the keyboard. If you ask someone today, you will get the same topic, but the sentiment has shifted 180 degrees in that 24 hours. […]

Disney’s new streaming service, Disney+, has already seen 10 million sign-ups since launching Tuesday, the company announced Wednesday.

Okay, that is impressive. Even more impressive when you consider that many people had issues signing up for the service. Disney’s service is the one that will attract more families than any other on the market today and I don’t see that changing any time soon. They have as a close to a monopoly on family content as you will see.

The challenge, says Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller, was taking the best of the Magic Keyboard, an accessory designed for desktop computers such as the upcoming Mac Pro, which launches in December, and adapting and evolving it for the new notebook.

“People sometimes underestimate how much work goes into a keyboard, and that’s why most keyboards in the industry don’t change for 10 or 20 years,” Schiller said in an interview. “We decided that while we were advancing the butterfly keyboard, we would also — specifically for our pro customer — go back and really talk to many pro customers about what they most want in a keyboard and did a bunch of research. The team took the time to do the work to investigate, research, explore and reinvent.”

It’s always good to hear about these things directly from execs at Apple. I haven’t tried the new keyboard yet, but I’m looking forward to it. For what it’s worth, I’m one of the people that has had no issues with the butterfly keyboard design.

Apple on Wednesday released its newest laptop, a 16-inch MacBook Pro, with features all pro users will love.

This is interesting but not “news.” Even back when I worked at Apple in the late 90s, Apple knew enterprise Return on Investment (ROI) was significantly higher than Windows in “mixed-use” environments.

Disney’s back catalog advantage can’t be overestimated.

Ask four-time Grammy-winning producer and engineer Vance Powell (Jack White, Chris Stapleton, Danger Mouse), a question about mic placement, and you’re just as likely to get an answer about the final mix. See, for the laconic Missouri native and former front-of-house engineer, selecting and setting up microphones, and arranging how and where the players will stand during a session is all part and parcel of creating a virtual soundstage that’ll go on to form the basis of a song’s sonic image.

Vance is one of my favorite engineers. I’ve had the opportunity to speak with him on a number of occasions and his commitment to getting things just right is impressive.