Apple released macOS Sierra 10.12.1 Monday (in addition to iOS 10.1). The first new feature that jumped out at me was “Improves reliability of Auto Unlock with Apple Watch,” a feature I love but is inconsistent. It also includes auto smart album of photos that use the newly unlocked Portrait Camera feature on iPhone 7 Plus, and some bug fixes.
TMO Daily Observations 2016-10-24: DDOS Attacks, Internet of Things, and HomeKit Security
Last Friday we all learned first hand what happens when hackers decide to target DNS hosts with a distributed Denial of Service attack. Dave Hamilton and The Maccast’s Adam Christianson join Jeff Gamet to look at Friday’s attack and how the Internet of Things played a major role in the incident. They also talk about how HomeKit devices may also be susceptible to hackers.
Apple Releases iOS 10.1 with Portrait Camera for iPhone 7 Plus, Replay iMessage Effects, More
Apple released iOS 10.1 to consumers on Monday. The update includes beta support for Portrait Camera on iPhone 7 Plus, as well as the ability to replay iMessage bubble and full-screen effects. There are also new features for Apple Watch, transit-related features in Maps, and other improvements to camera functionality and the Photos app.
AT&T to Buy Time Warner in $85.4B Deal
AT&T is about to get a lot bigger because the communication company struck a deal to buy Time Warner for about US$85.4 billion. The two companies hope to close the deal by the end of 2017, but are already facing scrutiny over the impact a combined AT&T and Time Warner.
Shimo VPN Client for Mac: $19
We have a deal for you today on Shimo, VPN management software for the Mac. You can manage and connect all of your VPN accounts through Shimo. It supports all the major VPN protocols, and you can establish multiple connections at the same time. It’s $19 through our deal.
How to Fix Apple Watch Contact Syncing Problems
Some people are experiencing problems with Contacts on their Apple Watch, or with initiating phone calls with Siri on your Apple Watch. The problem may be that your Contacts aren’t properly syncing, and Mac Geek Gab listener Bill wrote in (MGG 626) with the skinny on resetting it.
MGG 628: Cool Stuff Found and The DNS Achilles Heel
Cool Stuff Found includes how to keep Safari from opening iTunes automatically, a new USB circuit tester, bluetooth stereo speaker, a better way to backup your iPhone and more. Then it’s on to your questions, including a segment on managing your iPhone from the new Console app in macOS Sierra. Plus, your two favorite geeks talk through this week’s DNS outage and how they got around it. Download today and enjoy!
Apple Pay Used to Buy $1M Aston Martin DB5 Luxury Car
Turns out you can buy more than groceries and iPhone accessories with Apple Pay—like a crazy expensive car, for example. British car auctioneer Coys of Kensington just sold a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 for £825,000, which is a little over US$1 million. That’s the single largest Apple Pay transaction to date.
Perpetrator of Friday's Internet Outage Comes Clean
OMG…gasp…can’t stop…gasp…omg…the laughter…
I SORRY ABOUT DDDoSS THE INTERNAT I KEPT PUSH REFRESH BCAUSE I THOUGT I’M WOULD GET REFRESHMENTS I SORRY DONT WIKILEAK ME
— birdsrightsactivist (@ProBirdRights) October 21, 2016
macOS Sierra: Disable Auto-Logout if Sierra Enabled It
Some people have reported weird rebooting/logging out problems on their Macs after upgrading to macOS Sierra. Mac Geek Gab listener Ken was one of those folks, and he traced it to an auto-logout preference Sierra appears to have changed for him. Fortunately, resetting it is an easy fix. Bryan Chaffin shows you how.