“5300 years ago Asmodeus wrote a book that people can summon his demons. If you defeat the demons, all earthly lust and pleasure are yours. In 2021 we found that book.” The Book of Asmodeus is an “interactive horror book and game” that involves using the augmented reality capabilities on your iPhone. The Kickstarter page lists it as an upcoming project, but the team’s Medium post shares the details. In the game it sounds like you “summon” AR demons and defeat them, all while writing your own story. It sounds like one of those Choose Your Own Adventure books. The book in question looks really cool. The team says it’s handmade with a 3D printed/polymer clay cover, with pages showing original artwork. There will be a PDF version for US$49 and a super early bird Kickstarter reward for the hardcover-US$79.
Apple Music Lossless Audio Doesn't Work on AirPods, Not Even Wired AirPods Max
It turns out that no AirPods will be able to play lossless audio when the feature arrives on Apple Music. This includes the US$549 AirPods Max, even when they are using a wired connection, The Verge reported.
“Lossless audio is not supported on AirPods, any model,” an Apple spokesperson said by email. “AirPods Max wired listening mode accepts analog output sources only. AirPods Max currently does not support digital audio formats in wired mode.” It makes complete sense that the AirPods and AirPods Pro have no way of playing lossless audio. They’re totally wireless, and Apple supports the AAC codec over Bluetooth. AAC sounds plenty good, but it’s nowhere near the bit rate of CD-quality or high-resolution tracks. To do any better, Apple would need to come up with some new wireless codec — its own version of Sony’s LDAC, sort of — or make these things play music over Wi-Fi instead of Bluetooth. None of that is happening today or by June when Apple Music will start offering lossless. Things are a little more complicated with the AirPods Max, which can be plugged into audio sources with a cable. However, it turns out that even if you have Apple’s $35 Lightning-to-3.5mm cable plugged into a device that’s streaming lossless Apple Music tracks, you’re not going to hear the full audio fidelity of the source.
EU Apple Pay Probe 'Quite Advanced'
The EU’s investigation into Apple Pay is “quite advanced” according to the bloc’s antitrust chief, Margrethe Vestager.
Apple Releases watchOS 7.5 Release Candidate
In addition to its other operating systems, Apple has released watchOS 7.5 release candidate, which includes several major features.
macOS Big Sur 11.4 Release Candidate Released
On Monday Apple released macOS Big Sur 11.4 release candidate. This has appeared a couple weeks after 11.4 beta 3.
Martellaro Monday with the Dream Team – TMO Daily Observations 2021-05-17
Charlotte Henry and John Martellaro join host Kelly Guimont to discuss accessibility needs on macOS, and (as usual) what we’re watching.
Wirelessly Charge AirPods, Apple Watch, iPhone at the Same Time: $32.99
We have a deal on the 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Pad. With 3 wireless charging coils, you can can charge you Apple Watch, AirPods, and iPhone at the same time (or any Qi-enabled phone). It’s powered through USB-C, and it’s $32.99 through our deal.
iOS 14.6 Developer Release Candidate Includes Apple Card Family and Podcast Subscriptions
Apple pushed a release candidate for iOS 14.6 to developers which includes Apple Card Family and Podcast subscriptions.
'Charlie Bit my Finger' to be Auctioned as an NFT... Then Deleted
The ‘Charlie Bit my Finger’ video joining the NFT action, The Verge reported. One of YouTube’s most famous and popular videos, it will be deleted after the auction. (The title of the clip has even changed to reflect this.)
At the end of the auction, which will begin on May 22nd, the original video will be deleted from YouTube forever, according to a press release, where it currently has over 880 million views. The auction will kick off on the video’s 14th anniversary. Since NFTs exploded onto the cultural landscape earlier this year, we’ve seen plenty of early-to-mid 2000s memes being sold on the blockchain, with many of them fetching higher prices than I would’ve ever have imagined… Seeing these numbers, some people (including myself) have snidely said something along the lines of “why would you pay that much for something that’s not actually scarce? I can see Nyan Cat on the internet whenever I like.” Deleting one of the most well-known videos from YouTube does at least somewhat solve that argument, since whoever ends up with the NFT will actually be able to lay claim to something scarce.
Inside The Episode Four of Apple TV+ 'The Mosquito Coast'
The latest ‘Inside the Episode’ video for episode of The Mosquito Coast was released over the weekend. In it, cast and creators, including Justin Theroux, discuss the various characters’ motivations.

