Tech journalism is not an oxymoron
My newest Macworld article covers some of the new features in Safari for Mac OS X Yosemite and how the could potentially impact your security. To Apple’s credit, each of these features can be controlled by the user. I’ll show you what’s shared, with whom, how to change the default settings — and why you might not want to.
The full article is on the Macworld website.
Dan Frakes compiled a list of his favorite new features in iOS 8. You may already know most of these, but having them all together in one place is very helpful, and some features may have slipped your notice.
I completely agree with Dan about the usefulness of the new “Hey, Siri” feature. I wasn’t expecting much from it, but I use it in my car all the time — it’s turned my car into a voice-activated command center.
Dan’s article is available on his website.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said he is “proud to be gay” in an article for Bloomberg Businessweek. Cook said that while he never denied his sexuality, his desire for personal privacy made him reluctant to discuss it publicly.
At the same time, I believe deeply in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, who said: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” I often challenge myself with that question, and I’ve come to realize that my desire for personal privacy has been holding me back from doing something more important. That’s what has led me to today.
Cook said he views being gay as “among the greatest gifts God has given me” and that it’s given him a “deeper understanding of what it means to be in the minority and provided a window into the challenges that people in other minority groups deal with every day.”
It’s a thoughtful, beautifully written piece by an extremely classy guy.
With the announcement that Macworld Expo is going on an indefinite hiatus (more on that later), I thought I’d wax a little nostalgic and take a look back at my first Macworld — “The Show” — back in 1999. Although RandomMaccess had gotten press credentials before, this was the first time the show’s location made it practical for our little publication to attend.
This piece is undated, but was first published around July 27, 1999. –Ed.
Somewhere between Faith Healing Revival and Grateful Dead Concert you get Macworld Expo NY ’99: a rollicking joyride of new product intros, gee-whiz technology demos and the legendary Jobs “Reality Distortion Field.”
by Chuck La Tournous
I’ve said it before: although I’d never been to a Macworld Expo before, I’m an old hand at conferences and exhibits at the Jacob Javits Center in New York. But the sight of would-be attendees lined up around a New York City block stopped me dead in my tracks.
Something’s wrong, was my first thought; they haven’t opened the doors yet. But closer inspection revealed that the doors were indeed opened. They were opened because that’s where the line around the block snaked its way into the center. And across the entrance hall. And through the registration queue.
I’ve seen crowded shows and long lines at Javits, but I’ve never seen anything like this. What was even stranger was the fact that no one seemed to mind standing in a line that must surely still be winding through the hall as I write this — some 10 hours later.
Thank goodness for press credentials, I think, as I pass them all and follow the signs to the Keynote speech.
In an interview with CNNMoney, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt responded to Apple CEO Tim Cook’s message on privacy, saying Google’s systems are “far more secure and encrypted than anyone else, including Apple.”
“They’re catching up, which is great,” Schmidt said, saying Google works hard to protect customers’ information from other companies, the government, and hackers.
The organization notably missing from that list is Google itself, which is of course the point of Cook’s message. While Google uses customer information as its business model, Apple goes to great lengths to point out that it doesn’t ever know your information, locking it away from not only the government and other companies, but itself.
The interview is embedded below; the article is available on the CNNMoney website.
Pebble’s new website seems to have been, um, inspired by the introduction of the Apple Watch. Trying to denigrate Apple’s offering seems unwise and unnecessary. At their respective price points, it seems like there’s plenty of market room for both.
(via Daring Fireball)
Apple released an update to its iOS operating system, just a day after it pulled a faulty iOS 8.0.1 updater. The new iOS 8.0.2 update addresses the same issues as the previous version as well as the Touch ID and cell connection issues the update introduced.
This release contains improvements and bug fixes, including:
- Fixes an issue in iOS 8.0.1 that impacted cellular network connectivity and Touch ID on iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus
- Fixes a bug so HealthKit apps can now be made available on the App Store
- Addresses an issue where 3rd party keyboards could become deselected when a user enters their passcode
- Fixes an issue that prevented some apps from accessing photos from the Photo Library
- Improves the reliability of the Reachability feature on iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus
- Fixes an issue that could cause unexpected cellular data usage when receiving SMS/MMS messages
- Better support of Ask To Buy for Family Sharing for In-App Purchases
- Fixes an issue where ringtones were sometimes not restored from iCloud backups
- Fixes a bug that prevented uploading photos and videos from Safari
For information on the security content of this update, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222
Early reports say the updater works as advertised, but as for me — I’ll wait until tomorrow to try it.
Following reports of Apple’s iPhone 6 plus bending in users’ pockets, the company issued a statement to media outlets (via The Loop):
“Our iPhones are designed, engineered and manufactured to be both beautiful and sturdy. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus feature a precision engineered unibody enclosure constructed from machining a custom grade of 6000 series anodized aluminum, which is tempered for extra strength. They also feature stainless steel and titanium inserts to reinforce high stress locations and use the strongest glass in the smartphone industry. We chose these high-quality materials and construction very carefully for their strength and durability. We also perform rigorous tests throughout the entire development cycle including 3-point bending, pressure point cycling, sit, torsion, and user studies. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus meet or exceed all of our high quality standards to endure everyday, real life use.
With normal use a bend in iPhone is extremely rare and through our first six days of sale, a total of nine customers have contacted Apple with a bent iPhone 6 Plus. As with any Apple product, if you have questions please contact Apple.”
It’s still unclear whether the phones are being bent while in users’ pockets or under more unusual conditions, but fans of competitor Samsung have apparently jumped on the issue with an ad that shows the iPhone literally bending down before the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. (The ad has frequently been attributed to Samsung itself, but a spokesperson said he had no knowledge of the ad and pointed out that the company would be more likely to promote its upcoming Note 4 than its existing 3.) And, from a marketing perspective, that would be a risky move for the company if its phone shows a similar proclivity.
Sure, Apple lets you choose your own keyboard in iOS 8, but it doesn’t mean they made it easy to see how. In my latest post over at The Mac Observer, I guide you through installing a third-party keyboard on your iOS device, and even give you a suggestion on a free keyboard to take for a spin.
Apple’s iOS 8 update will be released tomorrow (as I write this) and if history is any indication, millions of iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users will hit that update button en masse.
I think that’s fine; the “Gold Master” (GM) version of iOS 8 seems very stable, and while many of the update’s best features won’t really come into play until the release of iOS’s desktop cousin Yosemite, it’s got enough nice new features to make it worth using.
But it’s that very partnership with Yosemite that makes it an extremely good idea not to upgrade your iOS device to iCloud Drive when prompted. That’s because iCloud Drive isn’t compatible with Mavericks, Apple’s current desktop operating system. Nor is it yet compatible with current versions of the many apps that use iCloud (sans the “Drive”) to do things like store information, sync data and do various other things that you are very likely to miss when they suddenly stop working.
Our friends over at TidBITs have more information, but for the time being suffice it to say you should just hold off on iCloud Drive until Yosemite is released and app developers release iCloud-compatible versions of their wares.
You’re welcome.