An ongoing list put together at AppAdvice.

Another mega-post from Christian Zibreg for iDownloadBlog. Terrific collection.

Just after the September 7th iPhone event, Farhad Manjoo wrote a piece for the New York Times titled, provocatively, “What’s Really Missing From the New iPhone: Cutting-Edge Design”.

An aside: I complained about the Times coverage of that event here.

In his direct response, Gruber walks a very reasoned line, focused on the meaning of design. A fascinating read.

At its core:

Here’s the genius of the black and (especially) jet black iPhones 7. In a very seductive way, they look like something new and desirable. And at the same time, they are instantly recognizable as iPhones. That is what Manjoo and similar-minded I’m-bored-with-Apple’s-designs don’t get. With a highly successful product and brand, new versions need to strike a balance between familiarity, the foundations of the brand, and hot newness. The bored-with-Apple crowd just wants the hot newness.

Absolutely right. Iconic design requires recognizability. A Porsche, an Eames lounge chair, and an iPhone are all iconic designs, all instantly recognizable.

That jet black finish is hot newness, but wrapped around an iconic design.

Read Gruber’s post. It resonates.

Jason Snell and Dan Moren pulled together a terrific walk through of macOS Sierra.

One tiny nit, concerning Siri:

Activating Siri brings up a floating window with an audio waveform, and then displays the results of your query in that same window. (You can choose what microphone Siri uses, and whether Siri speaks its results aloud, in the new Siri pane in the System Preferences app.)

When Siri returns answers to your requests in that floating window, that’s not the end of the story. You can drag and drop, or copy and paste, results into other apps, Many results also come with a plus icon in the top right corner, allowing you to pin them to the top of the Today view inside Notification Center.

And:

This leads to a few uncomfortable situations. Even Apple’s demos show off that if you say something like, “search the web for pictures of old computers,” it will provide you with an awesome collection of images—any of which you can drag anywhere and drop into something like a document or presentation.

My 2 cents here, this is a web issue, not an Apple issue. You could make the same issue with a simple Google Images search. Your copyright obligations have not changed.

Note also that Jason did have sporadic issues unlocking his Mac using his Apple Watch. Not sure if other folks are having this problem but, for me, the Apple Watch unlock has been bulletproof. The only time it fails is when I turn Bluetooth off on my phone or my Mac, both of these BT connections are required for this chain of unlock to work.

But I digress. Read the review. It’s worth your time. Jason and Dan are terrific writers and the review is both informative and incredibly easy to absorb.

With the teaser headline, What happens next? Click and hold to find out!, Tumblr brought Apple’s Live Photos format to the web.

Whenever you see that famous Live Photo icon, click and hold to make them swing.

Tumblr was the first third-party app to support Live Photos—you could even GIF ’em. Now we’re the first to support them on the web. And! We’re open sourcing the javascript library for any webmaster to use: GitHub and npm.

Also interesting:

We’re also working on an Android version for you.

Mihăiță Bamburic talks you through the process of downloading the installer from the Mac App Store and either using Disk Utility and Terminal to create a bootable Sierra USB drive, or using 3rd party utility DiskMaker X to do the same. Worth having one of these drives around.

Macrumors:

While the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus launched last week, the usual trend of demand outstripping supply has resulted in limited availability of the smartphones around the world. Fortunately, prospective buyers can easily check stock at their local Apple Stores using the website iStockNow.

iStockNow uses Google Maps to visualize the real-time status of iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus availability at Apple Stores in the U.S., Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.K., likely based on Apple’s reservation system backend.

May the odds be ever in your favor.

Worldwide Photo Walk:

Each year, photographers around the world gather on the same day to explore, photograph, share photos with one another, make new friends, and be a part of a great cause. The Worldwide Photo Walk supports The Springs Of Hope Kenya Orphanage, an organization that feeds, houses, educates and empowers young orphans so that they can grow up to not just survive but succeed. We’re asking each person who participates to donate to help make a difference in these kids lives. Every dollar counts.

I’ve been a Walk Leader for several years and have always had a lot of fun. I love the idea that thousands of my fellow photographers of all levels of ability and experience are all shooting on the same day. Check the web site to see if there is a walk in your area and, if not, apply to be a Walk Leader and create your own walk. It’s easy to do and there are prizes available for both leaders and shooters. Plus, it’s for a good cause.

The Wirecutter:

Apple is changing its desktop operating system’s name from Mac OS X to macOS, but in most respects macOS Sierra is still the same Mac you’ve been using for years. Unlike with watchOS 3 or iOS 10, you won’t miss any huge interface changes or performance improvements if you wait to update. But some new features can make a big difference depending on how you use your Mac and on how many other Apple products you have. Now that we’ve been using Sierra for several months, here are the changes that have actually mattered to us.

Very few of the additions to macOS Sierra will make a lot of difference to me except for the better “universality” of the Mac with my iOS devices. Looking forward to testing that out.

TidBITS:

For those struggling to free up space, particularly on a notebook Mac with relatively little internal flash storage, Optimized Storage sounded great, at least if you don’t mind paying for online storage in iCloud Drive. And while it could be a great boon for such people, it turns out to be a somewhat confusing collection of seemingly unrelated features, burdened by one of the stranger interfaces that Apple has produced in recent years.

Plus, although we haven’t had time to test all the possibilities, I recommend care when it comes to Optimized Storage in general, and extreme caution with one of its settings. That isn’t to say you shouldn’t enable all its features, but that you should understand the possible implications before doing so.

“Optimized Storage” sounds like another one of those things that would be great – in theory. But, in practice, I’d be very careful about using it.

Apple® today announced that macOS™ Sierra, the latest major release of the world’s most advanced desktop operating system, is now available as a free update. macOS Sierra brings Siri® to the Mac® with intelligent and helpful features users know and love from iPhone® and iPad®, along with all-new capabilities designed specifically for use on the desktop. Features like Universal Clipboard, iCloud® Desktop and Documents, Auto Unlock and Apple Pay® on the web help your Mac work even better with other Apple devices. And Photos gets an update with a new Memories feature that automatically creates curated collections of your favorite photos and videos.

I’ve been using Sierra since mid-summer and it’s been very solid, and improving over time. This is a great update for macOS.

Be sure to check out our earlier post on things to do before you install.

Mental Floss:

The movie industry has always pushed the limits of technology to create those incredible visual effects we see on the big screen. Specially designed cameras, state-of-the-art computers, and meticulous animatronics are just a few of the tools at the disposal of directors looking to bring their vision to life. But over the years, some of the most iconic effects have been completed using much more modest means, including a little paint, some simple prosthetics, and … a sock? Check out how some of Hollywood’s most memorable special effects shots were created.

I love these behind the scenes secrets of film productions.

“Apple is committed to running on 100 percent renewable energy, and we’re happy to stand beside other companies that are working toward the same effort,” said Jackson. “We’re excited to share the industry-leading work we’ve been doing to drive renewable energy into the manufacturing supply chain, and look forward to partnering with RE100 to advocate for clean-energy policies around the world.”

Apple has made some incredible strides in the environment over the past decade.

Ultimate? No. But interesting? Yes. I found a few of these questions to be challenging. And one of the answers was just plain wrong. See if you can spot the error. It’s me being picky, but I think you’ll agree the proffered answer is technically wrong.

Update: There are actually two errors. One was obvious and current, and one goes back a ways. Head over to the comments for the reveal.

Juli Clover, writing for MacRumors:

Many customers who pre-ordered a Jet Black iPhone 7 Plus received shipping estimates ranging into October and November, but it appears Apple is working hard to overcome supply constraints and get shipments out earlier than expected.

Starting this morning, MacRumors began hearing reports from customers who originally had deliveries scheduled for a month or two out but will now be receiving their devices over the course of the next few days.

No early delivery love for my iPhone 7 Plus, at least not yet. Holding out hope, though. Glad to see this bit of news.

Andrew Leavitt, writing for 17 Orbits:

Starting in 2010 Mobile Me enabled you to hunt down your missing iPhone (or iPad) with the Find My iPhone app. In 2011 OSX Lion added ‘Find My Mac’ to the mix. Beginning this week watchOs 3 enables iCloud to locate your misplaced Apple Watch.

And:

Until now real-time geolocation was only possible if your missing Apple Watch and iPhone were in Bluetooth range or on the same WiFi network. Since the watch does not have its own cellular signal that would seem to limit location tracking to within 10 meters or your home WiFi. Once out of range, however, iCloud now kicks in and reports the watch’s present location by GPS or WiFi triangulation. If the watch is turned off the last known location is reported. Accuracy is enhanced because the Apple Watch can still connect to previously known WiFi on its own (even when phone is physically far away).

Read the post and give it a try. You can track your Apple Watch (along with all your other Apple devices) and play a never ending (until you tap Dismiss) sound on your Apple Watch. Great for finding it when it slid between the couch cushions or when you are challenged, unwillingly, to a morning game of find your gear.

Serenity Caldwell digs into the iOS 10 Maps app, focusing on the new look, search improvements, directions, and finding your parked car. Definitely worth a read.

Jean-Louis Gassée, writing for Monday Note:

For months, tech bloggers declared that the upcoming iPhone 7 would be boring, lacking creativity, a flop waiting to happen. “So unless something crazy happens in the next few months, the iPhone 7 will look and feel a lot like the 6s.”

Steve Kovach, The iPhone 7 is going to be boring, Tech Insider

And:

Unprayed for but a godsend nonetheless, the months of deprecation lowered expectations for the unborn iPhone 7. One could say that the pundits did for Apple what the company should have done on its own: Underpromise as an easy path to overdelivery.

With this response to Steve Kovach:

Yes, something crazy did happen, and it was right under your nose: The widely rumored dual camera. Apple did underpromise and overdeliver, after all…

Great piece by Jean-Louis, covering Steve Jobs’ rollout of the original iPhone, the resulting devastation of the camera market, and other musings.

This is absolutely hilarious.

The issue, which I’ve also experienced a few times while testing the iPhone 7, happens after you’ve left the EarPods plugged into the iPhone 7’s Lightning port for a few minutes. Audio continues to play, but the volume control dongle stops working, meaning you can’t adjust the volume, activate Siri, or answer calls.

Photography Life:

If Apple shows that the iPhone is good enough to capture beautiful images through those massive billboard-size “Shot on iPhone” campaigns, why wouldn’t people believe? Such powerful marketing works and we know it does, because the world has already purchased a billion of those iPhones and the iPhone constantly dominates top photography charts in terms of the most used camera capture tool.

So camera manufacturers now have a tough dilemma – unless the world is educated about things like sensor size and optics, they will continue to lose out in selling their lower-end offerings to that same crowd.

To answer the question in the headline – hell yes. Especially the point and shoot segment. As long as smartphones continue to offer not only “good enough” images but, with the latest crop including the iPhone, offering “really good” images, the vast majority of people will not look to buy another camera of any description. The point and shoot market, except for some very niche needs (underwater and adventure, for example), is well on the way to dying off. The DSLR market will continue to shrink but won’t disappear entirely as long as there is a significant (but no longer a majority) of buyers who want even better images or more creativity or more lens options.

As a photographer, I’m excited about what the iPhone 7 brings if only because it will push other manufacturers to do more with less. Of course, there may (will?) be a tipping point where the market is unsustainable for the Nikons and Canons of the world. I hope that day never comes though.

Samsung execs on hearing there would be no major design of the iPhone 7:

So the top brass at Samsung Electronics Co., including phone chief D.J. Koh, decided to accelerate the launch of a new phone they were confident would dazzle consumers and capitalize on the opportunity, according to people familiar with the matter. They pushed suppliers to meet tighter deadlines, despite loads of new features, another person with direct knowledge said.

Safe to say that it didn’t work out so good for them. Still it’s hard to tell if the battery problem would have been caught even without the tighter deadlines.

The Verge:

Tweets are holding steady at 140 characters, but a variety of additions to your tweets will no longer count against that limit. As The Verge reported last week, Twitter said today it was rolling out expanded tweets around the world. Media attachments including images, GIFs, videos, and polls will no longer count against the 140-character limit. Neither will links to quoted tweets.

Twitter has a lot of major problems but removing the pain point of this (relatively) minor problem is a nice little perk.