Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth's Weekly Web Wrap-up for Sunday 10/9/2016

Apple iPhone 7 Review: Ready Or Not, This Is The Future

After using the new devices for a week, what’s most remarkable is that Apple managed to change things up without completely ruining the iPhone’s trademark polish. In fact, let’s get it out of the way right now: The new iPhones are good.

Aesthetics aside, the real changes begin with the home button. Apple has swapped its iconic physical home button for a solid-state sensor.
I don’t love the button, but I do think it prepares us for a future where the button is embedded in the screen.

The twin cameras are a big improvement.

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2016/10/iphone-7-review-ready-or-not-this-is-the-future/



Life after death for Apple’s Xserve
Some of our readers still get use out of hardware Apple left behind.

Apple put the final nail in the Xserve’s coffin in January 2011 when it officially stopped selling rack-mounted servers. Instead, the company started pushing server customers toward Mac Pros and Minis. On Sept. 20 of this year, Apple lowered that coffin into the ground when macOS Sierra dropped software support for the systems. And while Xserves running El Capitan will keep getting security updates for a couple of years and the current build of the macOS Server software still runs on El Capitan, the hardware will soon be completely buried.

Apple's X-serve computers had some advantages that don’t exist any other computers — even Apple’s latest computers.
To some corporate users, those advantages are so important that they will have to buy non-Apple computers
to replace any X-serve computers they are forced to retire over the next two years.

http://arstechnica.com/apple/2016/10/life-after-death-for-apples-xserve/



How to stop Apple from automatically downloading new software for your Mac

There are reasons why you might not want to upgrade your operating system — to keep compatibility with certain software, for example.
Or to delay upgrading a fews days.  There have been a few instances when Apple pulled an upgrade back a few days after release due to users experiencing the effects of a flawed upgrade.

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-macos-sierra-how-to-turn-off-automatic-updates-2016-10



Steve Wozniak: Apple was right to drop iPhone 7 headphone jack

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has changed his opinion of Apple dropping the headphone jack on the iPhone 7, revealing he now thinks Apple was right to make the move to using the Lightning port for audio.

This contradicts how Wozniak previously felt,

http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/steve-wozniak-apple-was-right-to-drop-iphone-7-headphone-jack-1330152



4 reasons why you should choose iPhone over Android

One reason is guaranteed software updates for years.
For example, the latest iOS 10 even works on the iPhone 5, which launched four years ago.

Android phones rarely get that kind of support.

http://www.businessinsider.com/why-to-choose-iphone-over-android-2016-10



Video:
iPhone 7 vs. iPhone 6s Speed Test Video Shows How The A10 Fusion Chip Compares To The A9 Processor In Performance And Speed [Video]

AW comment:  I had to watch the video twice to understand it.

The video shows an iPhone 7 and an iPhone 6s side by side, both performing the same series of tasks.

In the beginning, they are performing tasks simultaneously but, as the video progresses, the iPhone 7 completes each task faster.
Near the end of the video, the iPhone 6s is still working on tasks that the iPhone 7 completed some 30 seconds earlier.

http://www.techtimes.com/articles/181497/20161009/iphone-7-vs-iphone-6s-speed-test-video-shows-how-the-a10-fusion-chip-compares-to-the-a9-processor-in-performance-and-speed-video.htm



Good Video:
Apple Watch Series 2 vs Series 1: Which One to Choose?

If you want GPS, get Series 2, as Series 1 doesn’t have that.

For running and swimming, the Series 2 is likely justified regardless of the venture. If you're simply utilizing it for getting notifications on your wrist and experimenting with consistent Apple Watch applications, you will be okay with a Series 1.

http://www.mobilenapps.com/articles/19650/20161008/apple-watch-series-2-vs-1-one-choose.htm



The Apple Watch 2 could change the way you swim

The Apple Watch Series 2 is water resistant to 50 meters [but not the Series 1].

This article discusses how the Watch, and how two new apps for it, can help you keep track of the details of all the swimming you do.
Swim.com already has tens of thousands of users tracking their swim workouts.

http://www.si.com/tech-media/2016/10/08/apple-watch-series-2-water-resistant-myswimpro



Video:
The Apple Watch Series 1 is just as fast as Series 2

https://9to5mac.com/2016/10/04/is-apple-watch-series-2-faster-than-series-1-video/



Two Videos:
Apple’s spaceship glows to life at Campus 2 in latest drone flyovers

https://9to5mac.com/2016/09/30/apple-campus-2-construction-oct-lights-flyover/



Video:
Apple unveils new store design in Indianapolis

http://www.indystar.com/story/money/2016/10/07/apple-unveils-new-store-design-indy/91739650/



Four years and one embarrassment later, Apple Maps is genuinely worthy of challenging Google Maps

Apple Maps is finally at a point where you can ignore Google and not totally feel like you’re missing out. It’s a robust, convenient, and delightful little app.

Crucially, it’s also accurate (unlike the first version).

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-maps-review-ios-10-google-maps-2016-10



The FBI wants to crack another iPhone after Minnesota stabbings

FBI special agent Rich Thorton confirmed that the agency is trying to crack an iPhone belonging to Dahir Adan, a 20-year-old Somali immigrant who stabbed 10 people in a Minnesota mall last month.

That iPhone is a newer model than the iPhone used by Farook (the San Bernardino shooter), and it will be difficult, if not impossible for the FBI to access the data in it.

It's unclear at this point how much progress the FBI has made -- only time will tell if it'll try to force Apple to help somehow, or how Apple will response if the government comes knocking.

https://www.engadget.com/2016/10/07/the-fbi-wants-to-crack-another-iphone-after-minnesota-stabbings/

https://www.wired.com/2016/10/fbi-wants-crack-another-dead-terrorists-locked-iphone/



FBI statement raises prospect of second legal battle with Apple over locked iPhone

We don’t yet know which iPhone model is involved, nor which version of iOS it is running, both factors that would play a significant part in determining how easy or difficult it is to crack. But given the history, we’re expecting this case to fade quietly away as the FBI finds a way to access the phone without Apple’s assistance …

https://9to5mac.com/2016/10/07/fbi-san-bernardino-minnesota-mall-stabbings/



As latest govt surveillance on Yahoo revealed, end-to-end encrypted Facebook Messenger chats now available to all

While some have questioned the need for strong encryption to protect simple chats between friends, the continuing revelations of mass surveillance by governments does make the issue a matter of principle for some. Just yesterday it was revealed that Yahoo likely allowed the government to scan all of its users’ emails. And, as I’ve argued before, we all have perfectly innocent things to hide.

Facebook began testing Secret Conversations – Facebook Messenger chats protected by end-to-end encryption – back in July, promising a wider rollout later in the year. The company has now told Wiredthat the rollout is complete.

https://9to5mac.com/2016/10/05/facebook-messenger-secret-conversations-end-to-end-encryption/

Reader Comment:
Thanks to this article, I finally understand why the messages on each Apple device are separate copies. It always annoyed me, ie if I delete a message on my phone, it's still on my Watch. But it makes perfect sense now.

Reader Comment:
No matter the encryption they say they have, I will never trust Facebook or Google with my privacy.

Reader Comment:
Unfortunately, Google is almost impossible to avoid. They can track your web usage simply through ads that appear on pages that you visit. They can harvest personal data on you even if you do not have a Google account via your friends that communicate with you through the Google services they use. This is why Google getting into the data transmission business is extremely scary; ISP in some areas, just announced WiFi routers, etc.