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Every Final Fantasy Soundtrack Now on Apple Music

Andrew Orr ·

Square Enix has released every Final Fantasy soundtrack on Apple Music and Spotify. Search for “Final Fantasy original soundtrack.”

There’s been no mention of it on Square Enix’s social media channels, even the Final Fantasy-specific one. But it likely has to do with a special concert being given this week for FF VII, the remake of which is almost certain to appear at E3. I’ve listened to a few tracks and it all seems legit. The only thing is that many of the titles are in Japanese — so it might be difficult to pick out your favorite character’s theme or what have you if you don’t, you know, speak that language.

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Sign in With Apple Should Be Above Other Options, Say Guidelines

Charlotte Henry ·

Apple wants developers to make its new Sign In with Apple feature more prominent that rival sign-in options.  MacRumors reported on the change to the company’s Human Interface Guidelines.

One detail in Apple’s updated Human Interface Guidelines is raising eyebrows – Apple is asking developers to position its Sign In With Apple button more prominently by putting it above all other rival sign-in options. The guidelines are regarded as suggestions about how developers should build their apps, rather than mandatory requirements. Even so, many developers believe that following the guidelines give their apps the best chance of passing Apple’s approval process. Curiously, Apple is also asking developers to place its Sign In with Apple button above other options on websites, an area over which it wields no review power.

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Mac Pro's $1000 Monitor Stand is Ridiculous

Charlotte Henry ·

There were many standout moments during the WWDC 2019 keynote. Not least when Tim Cook unveiled a new Mac Pro. However, it was not just the machine that drew gasps. Apple asking nearly $1000 for the Pro Stand for the computer’s new monitor certainly attracted attention too. At Wired, Sophie Chara argued the Pro Stand’s price is indefensible.

We could try to mount a defence. An Apple Watch Series 4 costs $399 (we’re sticking with dollars, as there’s no UK price for the stand, display or Mac Pro yet)) and the new Pride Watch strap is $49: that’s 12 per cent. The new iPad Air is $499, the 2nd gen Apple Pencil is $129 and the Smart Keyboard is $159: that’s 25 per cent and 31 per cent respectively for the iPad accessories. Suddenly, $999 – or ten/twenty per cent – isn’t so outrageous. Only it very much is. Apple itself is known for commanding high prices, but even compared to its own kit, the Pro Stand seems to have created a class of its own in terms of the Cupertino excellence mark-up.

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Maine is Close to Stopping ISP Pay For Privacy Schemes

Andrew Orr ·

The Act to Protect the Privacy of Online Customer Information has been approved by Maine’s state House of Representatives and Senate. Now it only needs the governor’s signature. It would put a stop to ISP pay-for-privacy schemes by limited access to data.

If signed, the bill would provide some of the strongest data privacy protections in the United States, putting a latch on emails, online chats, browser history, IP addresses, and geolocation data collected and stored by ISPs like Verizon, Comcast, and Spectrum. The bill goes further: Unlike a data privacy proposal in the US and a new data privacy law in California, the Maine bill explicitly shuts down any pay-for-privacy schemes.