Kano just released a new version of its Raspberry Pi-based portable computer kit with a touch screen. It’s a kit that has everything to build your own portable computer with a touch screen display with easy to understand instructions that also teach you about how computers work. It takes less than minutes to build the kit and the included micro SD card has the operating system and several educational apps pre-installed. You can learn about coding, using the command line, and more. It’s a great way to learn more about computers and coding. You can get the Kano Computer Kit Touch at the Kano website for US$279.99.
iPhone XS Max and Apple Watch Series 4 Delivery Times Quickly Slip in Early Hours
As of this writing, many iPhone XS configurations can be delivered or picked up on September 21st, whereas most iPhone XS Max configurations are available as early as September 28th, and as late as October 12th. Apple Watch Series 4 slipped to the middle and end of October.
Upgrading from an iPhone X? You May Pay More than You Expect
Since iPhone X pre-orders didn’t start until the end of October you’ll have to pay off the part of your phone’s cost that’s still outstanding, which could be several hundred dollars.
The Coolest Space Images of the Week
Here are Digg’s coolest space images for the week of September 8. Notable: “Astronomers have used NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory to discover a ring of black holes or neutron stars in a galaxy 300 million light years from Earth. This ring, while not wielding power over Middle Earth, may help scientists better understand what happens when galaxies smash into one another in catastrophic impacts.”
The iPhone 'S' Year, Headphone Jacks, Siri Shortcuts - ACM 479
Reminder: this was an “s” year for the iPhone. Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet discuss what this means, and how iPhone XS is a solid “nuts and bolts” update. They also look at some listener feedback about headphone jacks, and discuss whether or not Siri Shortcuts will be a thing.
EU's Article 11 and Article 13 Approved
The EU’s Article 11 and Article 13 have been approved, and critics say they will be catastrophic.
The fallout from this decision will be far-reaching, and take a long time to settle. The directive itself still faces a final vote in January 2019 (although experts say it’s unlikely it will be rejected). After that it will need to be implemented by individual EU member states, who could very well vary significantly in how they choose to interpret the directive’s text.
What I find particularly concerning is something called a “link tax.” It means there could be a fee on sharing hyperlinks to various news articles online. This is targeted at news aggregators (mainly Google News) because it links to stories with snippets. TechDirt has more information, and there’s a website called SaveTheLink to sign a petition.
About Mojave (macOS 10.14) and 32-bit Apps
In Rants & Raves Episode 295, Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus clarifies the confusion surrounding 32-bit apps and macOS 10.14 Mojave.
Pay What You Want for the Ultimate Mac Bundle
We have a new Pay What You Want deal called The Ultimate Mac Bundle. The bundle includes 10 apps. Pay anything, even a penny, and get one of those apps. Beat the average price ($8.73 as of this writing), and you get all ten. If you beat the leader’s price, you’ll be entered into a giveaway for an electric scooter.
Need an iPhone XS Case? Just Use Your iPhone X Case
Need an iPhone XS case? The iPhone X and iPhone XS are the same size, so cases are interchangeable. The same can’t be said for the iPhone XR.
People Have Been Experiencing Disappearing iTunes Movies
I’ve been seeing reports and reading peoples’ experiences today complaining about disappearing iTunes Movies. The reason? The studio behind them is removing them from the Canadian version of the iTunes Store.
As da Silva and others have pointed out before, the “Buy” button in digital stores is, at best, mislabeled. You cannot truly buy any digital thing online; you can only rent it, and any online video store is little more than an expensive, glorified, extremely convenient Blockbuster. In conclusion, let’s go back to DVDs. We have requested comment from Apple and will update if we hear back.
The problem is that digital ownership isn’t the same as physical ownership. Despite using a “Buy” button, it can still be argued that you’re renting it. They can remove your iTunes Movies, but not your physical DVDs.