Former Apple Senior Director Michael Gartenberg (#7) - Background Mode Interview

· · Background Mode Podcast

Michael Gartenberg

Michael Gartenberg spent three years as Apple’s Senior Director of Product Marketing, reporting directly to Senior VP Phil Schiller. In his seventh appearance on Background Mode, Michael and I analyze Apple’s September 10, 2019 iPhone event: “By Innovation Only.”

We started with a discussion of the overall content and tenor of the event. Was the scripting more evident than usual? Is the format wearing thin? Why were there no success numbers touted as is customary? In the second segment, we looked at some of the new products announced. Michael and I also pondered whether some of the traditional inspirational and aspirational elements were in too short supply. And, crucially, why was Phil Schiller’s shirt tucked in? Michael is well versed in Apple marketing strategies and is always a delight to have on the show.

iPad 7, Apple Watch Series 5 Available for Preorder

· · Cool Stuff Found

News that might have gotten lost in the new of iPhone 11 is that the Apple Watch Series 5 and iPad 7 are available to preorder now, while we have to wait until tonight/tomorrow to preorder the new iPhones.

Apple Watch Series 5: Starting at 32GB of storage, Series 5 has an always-on display, a Compass app, and available in more finishes, colors, and materials, like titanium and ceramic. Preorder it here starting at US$399.

iPad 7th Gen: This is an updated version of what became known as the education iPad. It has a 10.2-inch display with thin bezels like the old 10.5-inch iPad Pro. The 10.2-inch Retina display has almost 3.5 million pixels, an A10 Fusion chip, and for the first time, an 100% recycled aluminum body. Preorder it here for US$329.

Both will be officially out on September 30.

New Exploit Shows We Should Just Skip to iOS 13.1

· · Link

A contacts exploit was discovered in iOS 13 that lets a person bypass Face ID / Touch ID to see an iPhone’s contacts.

Relatively little is at stake with this exploit. Beyond the inherent danger of an assailant having your iPhone, this method only allows someone to view the contacts within the target iPhone, provided that they have physical access to the target phone and can complete the VoiceOver exploit.

Little is at stake, but there have been so my iOS exploits in the news lately that we might as well go straight to iOS 13.1.

T-Mobile Offers iPhone 11 for 50% Off With a Trade In

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T-Mobile has an aggressive strategy for the iPhone 11: People who sign up for a plan and trade in an old iPhone can get the iPhone 11 for up to 50% off.

Here’s the full pricing break down from T-Mobile: Save $550 when you trade in an iPhone XS Max 64GB or 256GB; save $500 when you trade in an iPhone XS 64GB or 256GB; and save $350 when you trade in an iPhone XR 64GB or 128GB, X 64GB, 8, 8 Plus, 7 or 7 Plus.

Those are great deals, especially for people with older models like the iPhone 7.

Uber Pushes Back Against New California Contractor Law

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Uber pushed back against a new employment law in California, Wired reported. The law was designed with ride-hailing apps in mind, trying to get them classify drivers as employees not contractors.

The company’s argument rests on a premise that’s been a cornerstone since its early days: that Uber is a technology company, not a transportation one. The California law, called Assembly Bill 5, reaffirms a 2018 California Supreme Court decision that established a three-part test to separate independent contractors from employees, who are eligible for minimum wage, health care benefits, workers’ compensation, and other protections. A worker is only an independent contractor if she is not under the control or direction of the company while she’s working; if her work is “outside the usual course” of the company’s business; and if she is “customarily engaged” in the same kind of work that she does for the company. This three-part test is already in limited use in Massachusetts and New York.

Recycle Smarter With the Ecofriendly AI Recycling App

· · Cool Stuff Found

Recycling can significantly offset CO2 emissions from manufacturing – but did you know that most of the items we put in our blue bin end up in the trash if they’re too dirty?  In light of recent news stating that China will no longer accept most of our recyclable materials, we have to make sure that recycling loads contain less than 0.5% trash or else the whole load will be sent to the landfill. That’s why Ecofriendly created their app. Their computer vision technology uses a custom neural network which is trained on hundreds of examples of #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, and #7 plastic as well as other materials such as aluminum and steel cans, aluminum foil, cardboard, paper, glass, and more. Powered by the latest innovations in visual search technology, it can identify the material of the object you are trying to recycle, and let you know whether it is really recyclable or not. App Store: Ecofriendly – Free