Apple is now offering services in more countries than ever before, including the rollout of Apple Music into 52 new countries.
Programmer, Author, Podcaster Rosemary Orchard - TMO BGM Interview
Rosemary Orchard describes herself as a geek, nerd, and programmer. She works full time as a developer of web applications, but her real loves are automation and productivity. She’s also a book author and podcaster.
Rosemary told me the story about how she started with computers and programming. After a bad experience with a Toshiba notebook and Windows Vista, she bought a MacBook Air for her university work—and loved it. At this point, she was still pursing human languages, but in time gravitated towards, instead, creating computer software that would make peoples lives easier. And she never looked back. We talked about her Web app development, her books (one on Shortcuts) and finished with how she learned to podcast. Today she does two. You’ll enjoy hearing how Rosemary’s career has developed.
Disagreement Over How to Proceed with European Coronavirus Contact Apps
Apple and Google have teamed up to help build contact-tracing apps, aimed at helping reduce the spread of coronavirus. However, there is disagreement in Europe over how to progress, Reuters reported.
Scientists and researchers from more than 25 countries published an open letter on Monday urging governments not to abuse such technology to spy on their people and warning of risks in an approach championed by Germany. “We are concerned that some ‘solutions’ to the crisis may, via mission creep, result in systems which would allow unprecedented surveillance of society at large,” said the letter that gathered more than 300 signatures. Tech experts are rushing to develop digital methods to fight COVID-19, a flu-like disease caused by the novel coronavirus that has infected 2.4 million people worldwide and been linked to 165,000 deaths.
Xcode for iOS Might Mean You Can Write Software on Your iPhone
Developers may soon be able to code on their iPhone or iPad with Xcode on iOS/iPadOS 14. I don’t imagine many people are going to settle down to a big coding session on their iPhone, but I can imagine them doing it on an iPad. If Xcode does come to iPadOS it would cement a move we already saw with the latest iPad Pro – Apple is blurring the lines between a laptop and a tablet. Cult of Mac took a look at the latest rumors.
This report comes from Jon Prosser, founder of YouTube channel Front Page Tech, who recently correctly predicted the launch date of the 2020 iPhone SE. On Monday, Prosser said via Twitter “XCode is present on iOS / iPad OS 14. The implications there are HUGE”… Whenever anyone suggests that iPads have become as powerful as MacBooks, someone always asks, “Does it do Xcode?” The implication is that iPads are just toys — only Macs are real computers. But if Prosser is correct, then devs will be able to use iPad or Mac, whichever they prefer.
Facebook Publishes First COVID-19 Maps
Facebook has released the first maps built using COVID-19 data collected from a survey distributed across the social network.
Leaks Claim AirTags Will Have Speakers, Activation Lock, Work With Non-U1 Devices
A report today claims that Apple’s rumored AirTags product will have speakers and will work with devices that don’t have the U1 chip. They will also require activation lock as a security measure.
Alongside the speaker, Fudge also says that the AirTags will come with an accelerometer, which detects motion. Fudge does not elaborate on this, so we don’t know entirely what it is for.
The most recent thing Fudge announced was that the AirTags may come in multiple different colours, which could be really cool. However, if AirTags are anything like AirPods, colours might not ever arrive.
I’m glad to know that they won’t require a U1 chip. It’s a “claim” by this leaker but if Apple required a chip for the tags to work, this would lock out a significant portion of its user base, so that part seems likely to me.
eBay Now Supports Sign In with Apple
eBay recently updated its iOS app to version 6.0.0 and the major feature it adds is Apple’s private Sign In with Apple option.
Sony Announces 8K And 4K TVs With HomeKit And AirPlay 2 Support
Sony announced a new range of 8K and 4K televisions that come with support for HomeKit and AirPlay 2, as well as Alexa and Google Assistant.
Mac Screenshot Tips, New iPhones – TMO Daily Observations 2020-04-20
Charlotte Henry and John Martellaro join host Kelly Guimont to discuss quick tips for screenshots on macOS, and the new iPhone release.
Bendy Suction Phone Mount: $23.99
We have a deal on a very interesting smartphone mount. It’s bendy and it has suction pads on it, which makes its name appropriate: Tenikle 2.0. It’s essentially modeled after a three-tentacled octopus with suction pads on each of those limbs. You can then wrap one or two of the limbs around whatever you need—or use them as feet—and use the suction pads on the third limb to hold your iPhone (or Android device). And you can roll it into a ball for storage and portability. Tenikle 2.0 is $23.99 through our deal.