Apple Park Now Has a Rainbow Stage In The Middle

Drone videographer Duncan Sinfield uploaded his latest footage of Apple Park Wednesday. Most noticeable is a new rainbow stage right in the heart of the company headquarters. I wonder if Apple plans to host gigs or events there? The stunning 4K video also gives you a sense of the sheer scale of the location. Mr. Sinfield started filming Apple Campus 2 in August 2015, when construction was still ongoing.

Will Marzipan Apps Be Locked to the Mac App Store?

Dave Mark brought up a good question regarding Jason Snell’s article, which is about how the Mac won’t be locked down like iOS with the introduction of Marzipan apps.

Will I be able to download a Marzipan app from a developer’s site and just run it on my Mac? Or will Marzipan restrict apps to the Mac App Store?

I have a feeling they will be restricted to the MAS. If Mark Gurman is right, Apple plans to merge iPhone, iPad, and Mac apps into a single download. After that, the two App Stores could be merged. Locking Marzipan apps would be the logical first step down that road.

In Semiosis, You Have to Watch out for Alien Plants

Semiosis by Sue Burke has an interesting premise: When you land on another planet, what if instead of worrying about alien life forms or animals, you had to keep an eye on the plants? It’s a wholly unique book that I had fun reading. Instead of following the same characters, we’re presented with a new cast in every chapter. We start with the original colonists as they land on Pax, then follow each subsequent generation as they have to deal with the land, the flora, and the actions of the previous generation. Will the children of the Parents adhere to the rules, or will they rebel? I thought the book was great, and look forward to the second book coming later this year. Apple Books: US$9.99 | Kindle: US$9.99

How to Break Into an iCloud-Locked iPhone

Hackers, thieves, and independent repair companies can find ways to break into iCloud-locked iPhones.

The iCloud security feature has likely cut down on the number of iPhones that have been stolen, but enterprising criminals have found ways to remove iCloud in order to resell devices…Making matters more complicated is the fact that not all iCloud-locked phones are stolen devices—some of them are phones that are returned to telecom companies as part of phone upgrade and insurance programs.

TL;DR: Phishing, mugging, and social engineering are methods. You can even remove the CPU and reprogram it by stealing an unused IMEI.

Get Apple News Original URLs Using This Shortcut

A Mac app called StopTheNews has been making the news rounds lately. It lets you open Apple News original URLs directly in Safari. I wanted to share a shortcut that does the same thing on iOS.

Share an Apple news article to this shortcut, and get the original URL back. Prompt at the end lets you pick between copying the URL to your clipboard or sharing it somewhere else.

Unlike macOS, you can open an Apple News article in Safari on iOS. Then from Safari you can copy the URL. But this shortcut removes that step, so you can share the article to the shortcut, then copy the URL to the clipboard or share it elsewhere.