The MacValley blog

 

Welcome to the MacValley blog, your first stop for all the latest MacValley news and views.

 

Tom Briant

The MacValley blog

Editor: Tom Briant

 

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Saturday, January 28, 2017

Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth's Weekly Web Wrap-up for January 25, 2017

you need to upgrade to iOS 10.2.1 because of the serious security holes found in iOS 10.2.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2017/01/25/apple-ios-10-2-1-release-should-you-upgrade/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2017/01/24/apple-ios-10-2-1-serious-security-problem-fixed/



Apple quashes bugs in iOS, macOS and Safari
Fixes new MacBook Pro's graphics problems with software update

Apple updated macOS Sierra to 10.12.3, patching 11 security vulnerabilities and addressing a graphics hardware problem in the latest 15-in. MacBook Pro laptop.

At the same time, Apple released iOS 10.2.1, an update that fixed 18 security flaws, the bulk of them in WebKit, the foundation of the baked-in Safari browser.

http://www.computerworld.com/article/3160850/apple-ios/apple-quashes-bugs-in-ios-macos-and-safari.html



Update every Apple device you have as soon as possible

Apple released updates to the operating systems behind all its most popular devices—including the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Apple computers—and although the company often updates its operating systems with minor changes or fixes, these may be more pressing.

Apple also released updates for its Safari web browser, and the Windows versions of its iCloud and iTunes software—all of which have similar security issues.

https://qz.com/893022/update-any-iphones-macs-apple-watches-or-apple-tvs-you-have-right-now-aapl/



Video:
Here's how to use one of the many apps to buy and trade bitcoin

http://www.businessinsider.com/tech-finance-coinbase-buy-sell-trade-bitcoin-app-coinbase-2017-1



Apple will soon let app makers publicly respond to reviews

Apple has informed developers that beginning with iOS 10.3, they’ll be able to reply to reviews and have those responses stay publicly visible to other users.

Currently, developers have no way of directly responding to reviews on the app stores and instead must communicate with customers via email, social media, and other means.

Apple is also trying to streamline the process of rating and reviewing apps on the user’s end. Another change coming to iOS 10.3 will let you do enter a star rating without leaving the app you’re in and being kicked over to the App Store.

http://www.theverge.com/2017/1/24/14374744/apple-app-store-reviews-developer-replies-public-update



Apple builds iPhone’s Night Shift into macOS to help you sleep

The latest developer beta of macOS Sierra is learning a trick from iOS to help you sleep a little more easily: Night shift.

The feature ... changes your screen’s color temperature by filtering out blue wavelengths of light. It basically just makes everything on your screen looks orange-yellowish.

The idea, as backed up by science, is that blue wavelengths of light tend to keep you up at night.

The feature is currently only available in the beta app, it’s only a matter of time until it arrives for more users.

http://thenextweb.com/apple/2017/01/24/apple-builds-iphones-night-shift-macos-help-sleep/



Apple's Night Shift is coming to macOS

Last year Apple added a feature called "Night Shift" to iOS.

It just popped up in the latest 10.12.4 beta of Sierra.

http://www.theverge.com/2017/1/24/14373370/macos-sierra-beta-night-shift-update-blue-light



Trying to buy a new laptop is a good reminder of what makes Apple so special

Buying a Mac is so much easier and more straightforward than buying a PC ever has been. And it's a big part of why Apple keeps growing market share in a shrinking PC industry.

http://www.businessinsider.com/buying-apple-mac-vs-windows-pc-2017-1



Man rear-ended by distracted driver blames Apple for crash

iver Julio Ceja, who lives in Orange County, claims his accident could have been prevented with lock-out technology, which disables the phone while driving.

But he accuses of Apple of purposely not implementing the patented safety feature, which he claims the company has had since 2008.

The lawsuit seeks to stop sales in California of iPhones without the lock-out technology, as well as force Apple to update the safety system on all current iPhones.

http://nypost.com/2017/01/24/man-rear-ended-by-distracted-driver-blames-apple-for-crash/

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/01/apple-sued-again-for-not-deploying-iphone-tech-to-block-distracted-driving/

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jan/24/apple-class-action-lawsuit-texting-driving-iphone-patent



Apple iOS 10.2.1 Has A Great Secret Feature

iOS 10.2.1 slams the door shut on two significant security holes.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2017/01/24/apple-ios-10-2-1-malware-security-patches/



This web page has a link, every day, to a new list of “Paid iPhone Apps on Sale For Free”.

http://bgr.com/deals/



Is Apple Still Innovative?

Apple is repeatedly misjudged in the market, because Apple is playing a different game than everyone else. This particular game is both profitable and is eating deeply into the territory which sustains its competitors.

Microsoft has long specialized in computer software, not hardware.  Google has made money mainly from advertising.

It’s worth observing that for the last two decades, Apple’s insistence on making hardware (rather than being a pure software/services company) has been heavily critiqued by investors who see hardware as archaic, and the future to be pure digital. All web and data.

So it’s ironic that we are now observing both Microsoft, Google (and to a lesser extent Amazon) pivoting into manufacturing hardware—in an attempt to secure profitability.

It’s as if Apple had it right all along.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2017/01/25/is-apple-still-innovative/



Where are Apple products made? How much does the iPhone cost to make? A comprehensive breakdown of Apple's product supply chain

And so we return to the original question: Where is an iPhone (or an iPad, or the component parts of any Apple device) made?

The answer is: everywhere. Due to the complex supply chain within each of these companies, the number of countries involved in the manufacturing and even assembly process of Apple's devices is impossibly diverse.

This all goes to show how complex and yet how successful Apple is as a logistical engine, keeping down costs and managing a vast and complicated supply chain with links around the globe.

http://www.macworld.co.uk/feature/apple/where-are-apple-products-made-how-much-does-iphone-cost-make-trump-foxconn-3633832/



RunKeeper offers suite of new features for iOS app

RunKeeper has long been known as one of the better ways to track your fitness through your smartphone.

The update will bring a number of new features, including better and easier social sharing and a simpler way to access your personal records.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/runkeeper-ios-update-social/



Video:
Apple MacBook Pro with Touch Bar (15-inch, 2016)review

https://www.cnet.com/products/apple-macbook-pro-with-touch-bar-15-inch-2016/review/



Apple's MacBook Pro Touch Bar Vs. Windows Touch Screen:
And The Winner Is

I’m going to be as fair as possible (despite my personal preference for the Touch Bar) and say, at the moment, for most laptop users the Windows 10 touch display is the winner. There are simply too many things you can do with a touch screen that you can’t do with Apple’s Touch Bar. But that assessment could change quickly. As Apple refines the Touch Bar, it has the potential to eclipse touch-screen laptops. Time will tell.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/brookecrothers/2017/01/21/apples-macbook-pro-touch-bar-vs-windows-touch-screen-and-the-winner-is/



Apple hopes Logic Pro X support will make the MacBook Pro Touch Bar sing

Two of Apple's apps for musicians and music producers, Logic Pro X for Macs and the iOSversion of GarageBand, are getting free updates that add new features.

Garage Band 2.2 is free for most iOS users, or $5, £4 or AU$7 for some older devices. Logic Pro X 10.3 is a free update for Logic Pro X users, or $199, £149 or AU$319 for new customers. Both software updates should be available on January 18.

https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-hopes-logic-pro-x-support-will-make-the-macbook-pro-touch-bar-sing/



Activating the Apple Watch SOS Emergency Calling Feature

While hopefully you’ll never need to use it, a handy Apple Watch SOS Emergency calling feature can quickly call emergency services anywhere in the world. You’ll need watchOS 3.0 or later installed on a watch.

In an emergency, push and hold the watch’s side button and then slide the Emergency SOS toggle. You’ll need to be paired to an iPhone or connected to a known wireless network with Wi-Fi calling enabled for the call to go through. You’ll use the watch’s speakerphone capability. 

No matter where you are,, the watch will automatically call emergency services.

https://appadvice.com/post/activating-apple-watch-sos-emergency-calling/722789



Afraid of being late? Here’s how you can set your Apple Watch’s time to be a few minutes ahead.

Complete instructions are in this article.

http://www.cio.com/article/3160524/smartwatches/apple-watch-how-to-set-the-time-ahead.html



Never lose your data: Here's how to back up your Apple Watch

When you back up your iPhone, all your Apple Watch data will be backed up as well. So, if you perform regular backups of your iPhone, then your Apple Watch data should already be backed up.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/how-to-back-up-apple-watch/

Monday, January 16, 2017

Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth's Weekly Wrap-up for 1-15-2017 now with clickable links!

Consumer Reports recommends MacBook Pro laptops after Apple bug fix
 
Consumer Reports reversed its decision to not recommend Apple's MacBook Pro laptops after the tech giant issued a fix to a bug that caused battery-life issues.
 
"Now that we've factored in the new battery-life measurements, the laptops' overall scores have risen, and all three machines now fall well within the recommended range in Consumer Reports ratings," Consumer Reports wrote.
 
Apple’s updated software ... will be rolled out in a full Software Update to all users in several weeks. According to Apple, the new software fixes a bug in Safari that caused the poor battery-life results in Consumer Reports testing.  

Consumers who want to download the new software right now have to sign up for the company’s Beta program.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Apple Confirms MacBook Pro Battery Problems: You're Testing It Wrong
 
The results are in, and it feels like a score draw.
 
Consumer Report has confirmed that the low battery life was due to a bug in Safari's code. This bug is only present when Safari is in developer mode, which Consumer Report has to use to disable the local cache.
 
When Consumer Report was asked to test the MacBook Pro machines using Apple's normal user settings, the laptops delivered Apple's expected battery life.
 
 
 
 
Apple Warns You When Your Display is Using Significant Energy in Latest macOS Beta
 
Apple advertises that the latest MacBook Pro models provide up to 10 hours of battery life on a single charge for web browsing and iTunes movie playback, but a user's mileage may vary based upon factors such as display brightness, which apps are running, and external devices connected.
 
 
 
 
Korg's iOS music production app is coming to Mac soon
 
Korg Gadget, an all-in-one iOS production studio, was first introduced in 2014 and now the the mobile suite is heading to Apple's desktop computers.
 
Korg promises seamless integration between the mobile and desktop versions.
 
 
 
 
 
 
The original iPhone changed phones as we knew them, but iPhone 4S was a game-changer too
 
The iPhone 4S had three features that were arguably more monumental than anything else we’ve seen in smartphones: iCloud on iOS 5; Siri, Apple’s personified artificial intelligence; and much better camera capabilities.
 
In the beginning, iCloud was flawed and is still not perfect, but it has essentially become the backbone of everything we do on our computing devices.


The iPhone 4S also ushered in the era of Siri.

 
The iPhone 4S’s new and improved camera (and all of its smartphone competitors) eventually replaced lots of cameras that weren’t phones.
 
 
 
 
How to enable the ‘dark mode’ feature hiding in your iPhone browser right now
 
There’s actually a special dark mode in Safari that most people don’t know about.
 
This article explains how to enable it.
 
It’s not the system-wide dark mode we’ve all been waiting for, but people spend a tremendous amount of time reading in Safari, so this should be a big improvement at night.
 
 
 
 
A beginner’s guide to iOS: How to get started with your new iPhone or iPad

 
 
 
Un-jailbreak Your iPhone: An Easy How-To Guide
 
Did you Jailbreak your iPhone and now regret it?
 
You can use iTunes to reverse the Jailbreak.
 
 
 
 
How To Jailbreak iPhone: Pros, Cons & How It's Done
 
Disclaimer: Jailbreaking your iOS device can go wrong, so please, follow these instructions at your own peril. We cannot be held responsible for any damage made to your phone while following these instructions.
 
 
 
 
Here’s an interesting accessory for your Apple Watch:
A re-charging stand that looks like a tiny original Macintosh computer.
When you slip your Apple Watch into it, the watch screen becomes the screen for the tiny Macintosh.
 
It’s a $15 silicone smartwatch stand that makes your Apple device look like a miniature Macintosh, equipped with a floppy drive cutout and everything.
 
It makes the Apple Watch look like it’s a display for the Mac Classic while it charges.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Watch Player Plays Podcasts From Apple Watch Directly
 
While Apple is hyping up the arrival of the Apple Watch 2, there are still very underrated apps for the former model, which people haven't discovered yet. The WatchPlayer in particular is an app extremely useful for playing back Podcast episodes.
 
The app easily allows people who own an Apple Watch to play full podcast episodes without the need of any optional gadget. As 9to5Mac reports, the app is an convenient tool for saving full episodes and saving them in the device's storage for offline playback.
 
 
 
 
Video:
WatchPlayer is a free app that allows you to transfer full podcast episodes to the Apple Watch for offline playback. That means you can leave the house without your iPhone and listen to your favorite shows while on-the-go.
 
The app isn’t the prettiest from a design perspective and podcast file transfers to the Apple Watch are slow, but it’s one of the easiest ways to play podcast episodes on the Apple Watch without an iPhone. 
 
 
 
 
Your Apple Watch is replacing your doctor - smartwatch can tell when you're falling ill
Waiting around to see your GP could see be a thing of the past with smartwatches now able to tell when you're getting sick.

Researchers have found that your wrist tech can give you a heads-up on an impending cold or illness.
They discovered that elevated heart rate and skin temperature recorded by the wearables can act as an early warning system and let you know when you might want to go see your doctor.
 
As your wearable's heart rate sensor can be used to continually track your stats, it's able to create a baseline reading for you.
Once this is established, variances are easier to spot, and patterns in these changes can be indicators of specific conditions and health problems.

Michael Snyder even used the findings to self diagnose an illness.
On a flight from the US to Norway, he notched changes in his heart rate and blood oxygen levels. These were consistent with the symptoms of Lyme disease.
Having alerted a doctor and been prescribed the appropriate medication, later tests revealed he had indeed contracted Lyme disease from a tick bite.
 
"Once these wearables collect enough data to know what your normal baseline readings are, they can get very good at sensing when something's amiss," Snyder said.

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/tech/news/578965/Your-Apple-Watch-is-replacing-your-doctor-smartwatch-can-tell-when-you-re-falling-ill
 
 
 
Digital Health: Tracking Physiomes and Activity Using Wearable Biosensors Reveals Useful Health-Related Information
 
A new wave of portable biosensors allows frequent measurement of health-related physiology.
 
First, wearable sensors were useful in identifying the onset of Lyme disease and inflammation. From this observation, we then developed a computational algorithm for personalized disease detection using such sensors.
 
 
 
 
Sharpen your iOS coding chops for next to nothing [Deals]
 
Want to learn how to create apps for your iPhone.
Here’s an inexpensive way to do it.
But this special offer is available for a limited time only.
 
 
 
 
3 iOS apps for learning to code in bite-size lessons
 
Learning to code in bite-size mini lessons is completely possible if you choose one of these three mobile apps. With lessons as short as five minutes there's always time to squeeze one in during a break, on the bus, or before bed.
 
 
 
 
This is the best WiFi router I’ve ever used
 
Apple’s Airport Extreme
 
This router gets my seal of approval because of its performance.
 
Connection strength and speed are the two most important factors when assessing a WiFi router, and the current Airport Extreme continues to pass both of those tests with flying colors.
 
The Airport Extreme's software is easy to operate and works on both PC and Mac
 
$179.99, available at Amazon.
 
 
 
 
Video:
Apple’s Campus 2 starts looking less like a construction site as it prepares for grand opening
 
 
 
 
Apple's $5 billion 'spaceship' campus is covered in mud
 
 
 
 
Apple was the manufacturer that shrunk its PC shipments the most in 2016, with its Mac laptops and desktops ceding 9.8% market share to other companies, according to a report from analyst firm IDC.
 
 
 
 
Apple and Steve Jobs Steal From Xerox To Battle Big Brother IBM
 
Jobs recalled that he and the Lisa team were very relieved when they saw the Xerox Star: “We knew they hadn’t done it right and that we could–at a fraction of the price.”
 
Xerox could have owned the entire computer industry.
 
Says Isaacson: “…there is more to it than that… In the annals of innovation, new ideas are only part of the equation. Execution is just as important.”
 
 
 
 
10 years after iPhone launch, innovation flagging at Apple
 
“If we’re measuring innovation, Apple is over,” said Steve Blank, an adjunct professor at Stanford University and a former tech executive. “They are just turning into another commodity phone company.”
 
 
 
 
These 13 online classes will help you learn something new in 2017 — and they’re all $10
 
 
 
 
The weird and spooky stories told by people who explored the internet's hidden websites
 
The "Dark Web" is a hidden corner of the internet that is home to many things people want to keep in the shadows: drugs, counterfeits, stolen items, and so on.

But there are also far stranger elements.
 
Here are some of the bizarre and creepy things you can stumble on when accessing the dark underbelly of the web, as told by the people who actually experienced them.
 
 
 
 
Artificial Intelligence Replacing Management At World’s Largest Hedge Fund
 
Bridgewater Associates, which manages $160 billion worth of assets, tasked a team of its engineers with creating AI software that can automate decision-making and eliminate emotion from financial analysis. Leading the effort is the same man, David Ferrucci, who helmed IBM’s supercomputer Watson, which became famous in 2011 for beating humans at Jeopardy!

Now Ferrucci is developing the ambitious PriOS management software that Bridgewater anticipates will make three-quarters of its decisions within just five years.
 
Futurist Zoltan Istvan previously told Anti-Media that automation will decimate the job market so substantially that a Universal Basic Income (UBI) will become necessary.
 
Istvan recommends humans get used to jobs disappearing, and not just blue collar jobs.
 
Are any jobs safe? Istvan believes artists and creatives may be uniquely situated to withstand the automation takeover. But with AI taking over the jobs of hedge fund managers and bankers, one has to wonder how long creativity will remain the sovereign territory of humans. A writers’ room of robots could save networks and studios billions.
 
 
 
 
Video:
Humans Need Not Apply
 
 
 
 
3D Printed Drone Swarms Could Give U.S. Army On-Demand Eyes In The Sky
 
the military is seeking to combine advancements in 3D printing with a trend toward drone miniaturization into a project that will offer the capability for soldiers in the battlespace to produce their own quadcopter drones within 24 hours.
 

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Using Pages as a simple text outliner

 

 

When you need to make a text outline on a Mac, what software do you use?

 

You can turn to the dedicated apps such as the Omnigroup’s OmniOutliner 4. Considering your time and budget constraints and just how sophisticated an outline you need for this project…why not use one of Apple’s own text editing tools? Apple gives new owners two editing tools, the basic TextEdit and the more capable Pages. I use Pages.

 

Unfortunately, Apple doesn’t make it easy to find out for a neophyte to figure out how to make a text outline in Pages. Type in “Outline” into the Help and you get information on outline fonts. Not a lot of help.

After some searching, I have found out how to set up Pages for a simple Harvard style text outline with up to 9 levels of depth. 

 

Here’s how to do it:

 

First, open Pages. If you bought a Mac recently, you’ll probably find Pages, along with Numbers and Keynote, in the Dock, ready for your use.

 

Figure 7 Pages in the Dock

 

Second, double-click on it to launch it. You will see a choice of templates for your writing. For our purposes, you want the blank portrait format on the top row at the left-hand side.

 

Figure 1 choose a template

 

Third, double-click on it. Depending on who’s used it before you, you may get a blank page like this one:

 

\

Figure 2 you have a blank page what to do next

 

How do you get from blank screen to Harvard outline? 

 

Click on the Format icon, which is a paintbrush, in the upper right-hand corner. I’ve put a red box around it to show you.

 

Figure 3 you clicked on the Format paintbrush icon

 

 

Now you have the Format Palette at the right-hand side. It contains the controls for formatting your page, such as choosing a font. 

Notice the three buttons below the word “Body”. 

 

You want to make sure the Style button is highlighted (darkened). It’s on the left-hand side of these three buttons.

Figure 8 you want the Style button on the left hand side

 

WHERE’ S THE FREAKING OUTLINE?!

 

 

To get to the Harvard style outline, click on the button with a default of “None” to the right of the Bullets & Lists item. A list will appear showing the choices.

 

Figure 3 you clicked on the Format paintbrush icon

 

 

 

Figure 4 Click on the lists button to see your choices

 

 

Double-click on the Harvard style  The Roman numeral I will appear on your screen in the upper left-hand quadrant. 

 

To maneuver through this outline, use these keys:

 

1. Use the up and down arrow keys to move up and down through your outline.

2. To move down in your outline, you can use either the classic MS Word style of just hitting the Tab key or use Apple’s style of Command + ]

3. If you want to move up in your outline, press the Shift+Tab keys together or press Command + [

4. If you want to add an item to your outline, position your cursor at the end of the outline item above where you want to insert the new item Now press the ENTER key.,

5. Use Tab or Shift+Tab to arrange the item in the outline’s hierarchy. I’m used to those keys, but you can use the Apple style of Command + ] and Command + [. Whatever floats your boat.

 

UP TO NINE LEVELS OF OUTLINING

 

Figure 6 the nine levels of outlining

 

Questions:


Q: I have the old Pages ’09, not the latest Pages ‘15. How do you get to the Harvard outline in Pages ’09?

A: Good question. Pages ’09 doesn’t have the Format Palette, but uses a toolbar. 

 

Figure 9 Pages  09 and where the lists are located

 

You want the toolbar button at the far right, which looks like three lines stacked on top of each other. To verify you’ve got the right button, just place your cursor on a button. Within a few moments, a tooltip will appear giving the button’s function.

 

Click on the button once or twice, and you’ll get a list of available lists. One of them is Harvard format.

 

Figure 10 Pages  09 choices of lists

 

As you see, it starts out with None, same as Pages ’15. You have to double-click on the Harvard selection to switch the list format to Harvard. 

When successful, you will see a Roman letter I appear in the upper left-hand quadrant of your screen. 

 

Q: Can I take an outline I’ve created in Pages and use it with Microsoft Word?

A: You have to export the Pages document as a Word .doc (97-2004) or .docx (2008-2016) document. But I tried exporting a simple Pages outline into Word format and it worked fine with Word 2016 on my Mac. 

 

Exporting documents from Pages is in the Files menu,  but don’t confuse it with Save As…! 

 

No, you want to save your Pages document to ensure you have a backup. Then click on the Files menu until you get to Export to

 

Figure 11 exporting from Pages

 

You can choose to export in the current .docx format or the older .doc format. 

 

Figure 12 5 export options for Pages

 

If you have more questions, please put them in the comments or e-mail me at the address at the top of the blog. 

 

Tom Briant

Editor, MacValley Blog

 

 

 

Monday, January 9, 2017

Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth's Weekly Web Wrap-up for Sunday, January 8, 2017

Apple Advertisement says iPhone 7 Plus can make you absurdly popular
 
Unlike too many Apple ads of late, this one is beautifully conceived. It enjoys perfect performances and a touching, winning atmosphere.
 
 
 
 

iPhone at ten: the revolution continues

 
January 9 marks the tenth anniversary of iPhone’s blockbuster debut. At Macworld 2007 in San Francisco, Steve Jobs introduced the world to iPhone as three products in one — “a widescreen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary mobile phone and a breakthrough internet communications device.” In the ten years since, iPhone has enriched the lives of people around the world with over one billion units sold.
 
 
 
 
Apple celebrates 10 years since Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone
 
Monday, Jan. 9, marks exactly 10 years to the day since the first iPhone was unveiled at the Macworld 2007 expo by Steve Jobs.
 
Competitors scoffed and initial sales were tepid, but by the time the formula was refined for the iPhone 3G, the iPhone quickly began to take off and ultimately defined the modern era of personal computing. Today, the iPhone is the single most important product in Apple's entire lineup.
 
 
 
 
10 years ago, Steve Jobs revealed the very first iPhone

I wasn’t present at the unveiling. At the time, I worked for PCMag.com and, though we covered Apple and its products, we didn’t always attend MacWorld (back then, Macs held just a fraction of the then critical desktop market). We were aware that Apple had smartphone ambitions, but they were entering a market dominated by BlackBerry, Palm, Microsoft and Nokia (for less-smart “feature phones”).
 
What I remember is that [months later] when I finally touched the iPhone, the earth seemed to move.
I knew that nothing in the smartphone universe would ever be the same.
 
The iPhone also turned into a category killer. People started to leave their point-and-shoot cameras at home and share far more images than they ever did with those digital, but largely disconnected, devices.

There's no question that the growth of the iPhone coincided with the fall of handheld-gaming leader Nintendo.
 
Today, virtually every new smartphone on the market is either a pale imitation of the iPhone or owes its success to the iPhone’s influence on smartphone design.
 
 
 
 
Slide Show:
The evolution of iPhone through the years
 
 
 
 
10 years of the iPhone: How Apple changed pretty much everything
 
“I think the iPhone was probably one of the most impactful pieces of technology to come into the Information Tech (IT) world since computing,” said VMware VP and chief information security officer Alex Tosheff, commenting on the 10th anniversary of the Apple iPhone, which was introduced on Jan. 9, 2007.
 
 
 
 
10 ways the iPhone changed everything
The world is a different place a decade after Apple introduced its popular smartphone -- in both good and bad ways.
 
Here are some ways the iPhone has changed the way we live:
1.   We're always on
2.   Tablets, watches and headphones
3.   The App Store made the iPhone a must-have device
4.   The iPhone replaced most people’s cameras.
5.   The iPhone can send live video via web sites.
6.   The iPhone had a “touch screen” before other smart phones did.
7.   Google Maps and Apple Maps are two of the most-used apps on the iPhone.
8.   iPhone games — such as Angry Birds
9.   Apple Pay
10. But wait -- there's more
 
 
 
 
Why Samsung Wants The Next iPhone To Succeed
 
AW comment:
This is a surprising article in view of the patent fight between Apple and Samsung.
 
Why are South Korean companies helping Apple?
 
Because Samsung is a huge, huge conglomerate with a ridiculously sprawling empire -- it's got its own baseball team and theme park, for example --  mobile phones are just a small portion of the pie.
 
While smartphone lovers such as myself, and many other tech sites, focus on mobile phones mostly and believe that Samsung and Apple are constantly at each other's throats, the reality is the big picture makes the mobile battle seem puny.
 
 
 
 
Dear Tim Cook: Letter from an American Dad, Apple iOS Parental Controls
 
Bottom line. Being a parent in a tech world isn’t easy. Being a parent to a kid with an iDevice is an order of magnitude tougher. Frankly, I need more help from Apple and I know I’m not alone. I want to let my son play with his devices and not have to make him check them in and out from me every time. I need your help to do this right, though.
 
For starters, I need to be able to lock down apps — and please let me select exactly which ones. And I need to be able to lock them down to a master time limit and maybe even a time limit of daily use per app.  I need to be able to tell my son’s Apple iPod and Apple iPad that he should only be able to use these devices and the apps on them during times I specify.
 
And that’s just for starters.
 
 
 
 
The 50 best iOS Games of 2016
 
 
 
 
Those dental floss lookalikes might just pay off for Apple AirPod lovers
 
Social media users were quick to mock Apple's AirPods when they were first unveiled back in September, calling them electric toothbrush heads and their containers, dental floss dispensers.

But who's laughing now, huh? AirPods enthusiasts, that's who. It seems that the dental hygiene similarities have an upside: Disguise.
 
 
 
 
Does the iPhone still matter? Huawei, not Apple, now drives the mobile conversation
Cupertino is a victim of its own success and is fully responsible for creating the Chinese Android monster.
 
Five big Chinese companies will become big challengers to Apple in the next few years.
 
A lot of the Asian smartphone brain trust ended up at five very large Chinese companies -- Huawei, ZTE, Lenovo, Xiaomi, and Oppo -- that leveraged much of the same manufacturing capabilities Apple effectively ceded.
 
Apple is actually a victim of its own success. It has made so much money from iPhone that it has become complacent.
 
What do you expect when you put a supply chain genius at the helm of a company known for its innovation, one that traditionally was never afraid to throw its babies out with the bathwater every five or ten years or so?
 
Unlike Tim Cook, a.k.a. Mr. Data, Steve Jobs was the Silicon Valley god of product line sacrifice ... he had an incredible ability to drive his company to do disruptive things.
 
Apple is one of the jewels of the U.S. technology industry, and it is critical to that industry's survival that Apple remains a center of innovation. 

I don't want any of our technology leaders to fail. But now that it has created the Chinese monster, Apple needs to make course changes and disrupt from within -- or all mobile industry conversations going forward will be Chinese.
 
 
 
 
iOS 10 Jailbreak Release Date News: Yalu Now Works on SE; Support for More Devices Comes Soon
 
After several months of waiting since iOS 10 was announced and went live, reports now gather that the jailbreak tool created by hacker Luca Todesco has been tweaked to work on the iPhone Special Edition. Todesco revealed that more devices will be supported soon.
 
Todesco revealed that he has no plans for a jailbreak tool on iOS 10.2. But on the brighter side, he admits that he plans to expand the list of iOS devices supported by his Yalu jailbreak tool. He said, "Yes, support for 5s and 6 will be added, but not a priority."
 
 
 
 
"My fix for the issues in the 10.1 jailbreak will be to add support to 10.2. It will however not work on iPhone 7 on 10.2, just 10 and 10.1.”
 
 
 

Apple MacBook Pro 15-Inch With Touch Bar (Late 2016) Review: Is It Worth The Price?

Reviewed: $2,399 MacBook Pro (15.4-inch) with Touch Bar.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/brookecrothers/2017/01/08/apple-macbook-pro-15-inch-with-touch-bar-late-2016-review-is-it-worth-the-price/



MacBook Pro saves life of man in Florida airport shooting

This article has a picture of his MacBook with a bullet hole in it.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/apple/macbook-pro-stops-bullet-in-florida-shooting/
 
 
 
Resurgent MacBook Pro Hobbled By Intel's New Technology
 
As expected, Intel's formal announcement of its seventh-generation 'Kaby Lake' Intel Core processors at the Computer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas has set the tone for this year's generation of high-end laptops.
 
Given the huge volume of sales that the 2016 MacBook Pro machines have achieved and Apple's desire to have a new family of machines ready for the festive period, it went for the latter.

In terms of turnover, market position, and revenue generation, Apple made the right business choice to release the MacBook Pro machines in November last year.
 
Yet the feeling of 'brand new MacBook' that millions now have is being tempered with the news that the heart of the laptop has been superseded [by Intel’s announcement], in many cases less than two weeks after finding the laptop under the Christmas tree.
 
 
 
 
Apple Watch Sales Were Way Up Over The Holidays
 
Watch sales were up 111% during November compared to November 2015. Sales of the device during December were up 55% from last year.
 
 
 
 
 
Apple, for the first time in over a decade, simply isn’t firing on all cylinders. Please don’t interpret that as “Apple is doomed” because it’s not, but there are things it’s doing a lot less well than it could — and has. Apple’s out of sync with itself.
 
Here are a few of the things I think indicate Apple has gotten itself out of kilter and is in need of some course correction.
 
1.  Missing ship dates
2.  Languishing Products — such as Airport and the Mac Pro (nicknamed Trash Can)
3.  Apple is relying on data too much
4.  Apple is getting sloppy
 
It’s been over a thousand days since The Mac Pro has seen an update. As Apple’s high end flagship, this is unconscionable. It shows a lack of respect for its high end power users that have depended on it.
 
These are signs to me that Apple doesn’t understand its users as well as Apple thinks it does, which is a huge problem.
 
Is Apple broken? Nope, not even close. It’s not firing on all cylinders, though, and it needs to do some internal thinking and realignment to get back to where it was a few years ago.
 
Apple’s always been good at is looking beyond the numbers to the things they don’t say — and I worry they’ve lost that. They need to get it back.
 
 
 
 
Russia Demands LinkedIn App Takedown, Apple and Google Comply
 
Russia has forced Apple and Google to remove the LinkedIn mobile app from their Russian application markets, the latest chapter in a months-long campaign against the professional networking site.

A recently-passed Russian law requires that any company holding data on Russians house that data within Russia. Russia began blocking LinkedIn's website last November under that law, which some critics argue is an indirect form of censorship.
 
Though some American companies have stuck to their free-speech principles when called on to censor content, that resolve could be seen as weakening.
 
 
 
 
Senator slams Apple for removing New York Times app from Chinese iPhones
 
Senator Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, slammed the company in a statement for being, in his words, "complicit in Communist censorship of an American newspaper."
 
 
 
 
This Vicious New Malware Freezes Apple Computers
 
Apple computer users should be extra diligent when surfing the web.
For the past few weeks, people have been tricked into visiting a phony website embedded with malware that can freeze Apple computers, according to a report this week by the cybersecurity firm Malwarebytes.
 
Complicating matters, the malware targeting Apple computers leaves a dummy message in either the email draft or in the iTunes player that tells people to call a fake Apple support phone number to fix the problem.
 
Those who upgraded their operating systems to the latest versions seemed to be safe from the variant of the attack that creates draft emails. The iTunes variant, however, appears to be triggered regardless of whether a person’s operating system is up to date.
 

Monday, January 2, 2017

Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth's Weekly Wrap-up for Monday, January 2, 2017

The story of how Steve Jobs saved Apple from disaster and led it to rule the world, in 39 photos
 
 
 
 
It's been nearly 10 years since the iPhone debuted — look how terrible the first one seems today
 
 
 
 
MacBook Pro review: Lovable despite the short battery life
 
I really like this laptop, even with its imperfections.  It’s the finest laptop I’ve ever used.
 
 
 
 
9 paid iPhone apps on sale for free today
 
 
 
 
5 easy ways to make your iPhone storage go the distance

With its non-expandable memory, one of the major bugbears for iPhone owners is the storage capacity. Whether you've got a 16 or 64GBer, you just know that dreaded "Storage Almost Full" message will pop up at exactly the wrong moment.
 
Here are some things you can do to at least delay the day that happens.
 
 
 
 
The 17 best Apple Watch apps (that we’re actually using)
 
 
 
 
How to fix a sticky Digital Crown on your Apple Watch
 
Apple recommends a simple and quick fix that should return it to normal.
 
Apple recommends powering off and holding the Digital Crown under lightly running, warm, fresh water from a faucet for just 10 to 15 seconds. Simply rotate and press the Digital Crown as the water runs to help push out any substances that have collected underneath.
 
There's no need to use any cleaning products, like soap, when repairing the digital crown —just water should do the trick.
 
 
 
 
Today in Apple history: Apple II gets its ‘killer app’
 
 
 
 
This New iOS Exploit Breaks the Messages App
 
There’s a new iOS exploit doing the rounds that will render the Messages app on your iPhoneunusable. Thankfully, there are a couple of workarounds allowing victims of this particular “prank” gain access to their Messages again. Unfortunately, there are no workarounds for having friends dumb enough to send you this in the first place.

This article also has instructions on how to delete an offending message.
 
 
 
 
All the ways iOS has gotten worse in recent years
 
Even Apple’s harshest critics can generally agree that there are a few areas where Apple shines brighter than most companies. The first is customer service, which is one area where Apple is without question unrivaled. 
 
Another ... is user experience. 
 
Since it was first introduced back in 2007, Apple’s iOS platform has always been the simple, streamlined alternative to more complex and overbearing smartphone operating systems like Symbian and Windows Mobile.
 
But fast-forward to 2016, and iOS 10 was the latest in a number of steps backward for many fans.
 
 
 
 
Video
Every OS Sucks — Even Mac OS — Sing it to me
 
 
 
 
Social Media & the Mob Mentality

What makes social media engage in 'bashing' and how is it different from mobs who destroy public property or beat up an innocent human being? Not much because social media has the same psychology as mobs.
 
Crowds are strange, pathological and monstrous. Members of a crowd are social actors, looking to play a part in any incident that can hurt an individual or society in general.  

 Groups have incredible effects on individuals’ behaviours, and have been an area of interest in social psychology for years.
 
Social Media groups follow Mob Psychology in general. Just think of it as a mob on the world wide web.
 
Most social media mob behaviour is headed to obscurity in a few hours. So if someone is trolling you and you are really upset just go off on a short holiday. The internet mob exhausts itself quickly, unlike the real mob, and will never be back!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
An iPhone’s Journey, From the Factory Floor to the Retail Store
 
Parts from more than 200 suppliers go into each iPhone.
 
Apple orders many of the components from global suppliers, and then sells them, en masse, to one of its contract manufacturers based in China.
 
The Chinese manufactures perform what is called F.A.T.P., or final assembly, testing and packaging.
 
After the iPhone leaves the Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou, it takes two days, on average, to get to a store in Shanghai, a 590-mile trip. It takes three days, on average, to get a store in San Francisco, some 6,300 miles away.
 
 
 
 
How China Built ‘iPhone
City’ With Billions in Perks for Apple’s Partner

A hidden bounty of benefits for Foxconn’s plant in Zhengzhou, the world’s biggest iPhone factory, is central to the production of Apple’s most profitable product.
 

 

 

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