If you bought one of the new iPhones, you may have noticed that your skin looks smoother, like a beautification feature that some Android phones have. But that’s not what is going on.
Manage Color Palettes on Your Mac with Swatch
Bit Lasso just released Swatch to make it easier to manage the color palettes on the Mac. The app lets you import colors from multiple sources, add colors with Apple’s Color Picker, and by entering color values. You can organize palettes, export colors and palettes, and more. Swatch lives in your menu bar for quick access. The app requires macOS High Sierra or Mojave and is available on Apple’s Mac App Store for US$9.99.
Here's What You Need to Know About the Presidential Alert Test
The Federal Emergency Management Agency and Federal Communications Commission are testing the Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts on Wednesday, October 3rd. Here’s what you need to know.
macOS Mojave: How to Disable All Automatic Updates
One of the changes Apple made in macOS Mojave is that software updates work a bit differently. If you want to disable automatic updating for either your App Store apps or your system, you can do that from two different sets of preferences if you want to! Melissa Holt has the scoop in today’s Quick Tip.
Apple's Student ID in Wallet Feature Now Available at 3 Universities
Apple’s Student ID feature in iOS 12’s Wallet went live on Tuesday with three universities.
iPhone XS Tests Far Better Than iPhone X in LTE Speeds
At PC Magazine, Sascha Segan has compared LTE speeds of the iPhone X to XS, and the latter is substantially faster. “The new iPhone XS and XS Max use an LTE modem that we’ve never seen used anywhere else: the Intel XMM7560. The 7560 is Intel’s first modem to support all four US wireless carriers, letting Apple drop Qualcomm, the world’s dominant high-end modem supplier.” However, ” … it still doesn’t quite match the Qualcomm X20 modem used in the Samsung Galaxy Note 9.” This is good stuff.
TMO Background Mode Interview with Former Apple Software Engineer James Dempsey
James Dempsey worked at Apple for fifteen years before setting out on his own in August 2011. As a software engineer at Apple, he worked on iOS, Aperture, and macOS releases Leopard through Lion, including half a decade on the Cocoa frameworks team. He’s the founder of Tapas Software, developer of iOS and Mac software. We talked abut his “aha” moments in life starting with his college roommate’s Mac Plus in 1986. His dream to work for Apple was eventually fulfilled in 1996, and James described what it was like to be an Apple evangelist in those days. But James is also an accomplished comedian, vocalist, ukulele player and has a published album. He’s also routinely written special songs for WWDC each year. If you ever wanted to work for Apple, this show is must listening.
California Just Passed an Internet of Things Law
California Governor Jerry Brown has signed an Internet of Things law covering cybersecurity. California is the first state with a law like this.
Starting on January 1st, 2020, any manufacturer of a device that connects “directly or indirectly” to the internet must equip it with “reasonable” security features, designed to prevent unauthorized access, modification, or information disclosure. If it can be accessed outside a local area network with a password, it needs to either come with a unique password for each device, or force users to set their own password the first time they connect. That means no more generic default credentials for a hacker to guess.
If only it affected all IoT devices, instead of ones created two years into the future.
After 15 Years FBI Solves Fruitfly Mac Malware Case
The FBI has solved the Fruitfly Mac malware case after fifteen years. It was created by a man from Ohio who was arrested in January 2017.
iPhone XR Instagram Update Available Now
The iPhone XR Instagram update is now available. The social networking app was recently updated with support for iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR. Before version 65—the latest—Instagram displayed a scaled up version of the iPhone X app version. The update doesn’t affect the iPhone XS because it has the same resolution as the iPhone X. But the iPhone XR and iPhone XS Max have bigger displays, and get the most out of the optimization. You won’t noticed much; instead the update is subtle. UI elements will be a bit smaller, and this means that a little more content can fit on the larger displays.
