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Apple Offers Fix For macOS Monterey Bug Bricking Some T2 Macs

Charlotte Henry ·

When macOS Monterey was rolled out, an issue arose whereby some Macs with T2 chips were bricking. 9to5Mac reports that this has now been resolved.

Now, Apple says it has identified an issue affecting the T2 security chip that caused this problem and is rolling out a fix to prevent it from happening in the future. In a statement, Apple explained (via Rene Ritchie): We have identified and fixed an issue with the firmware on the Apple T2 security chip that prevented a very small number of users from booting up their Mac after updating macOS. The updated firmware is now included with the existing macOS updates. Any users impacted by this issue can contact Apple Support for assistance. To prevent this problem from occurring to additional users, Apple has rolled out an updated version of the bridgeOS firmware that runs on the T2 security chip. Users already impacted by the problem are instructed to contact Apple Support for assistance.

Meet ‘Actions’ a New App to Add More Actions to Shortcuts
Cool Stuff Found

Meet 'Actions' a New App to Add More Actions to Shortcuts

Andrew Orr ·

Actions is a new app for Shortcuts, and it adds actions that Apple doesn’t provide. So far there are 25 actions with more planned in the future. There are actions such as Generate UUID, Get File Path, Trim Whitespace, Remove Emoji, Random Date & Time, and more. I’m most excited about the Get File Path action. It should be useful in a particular shortcut I have that creates a “changelog” of new files I need to remember to back up to my SSD.

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Investor Roger McNamee Calls for Imprisoning Executives for Criminal Charges

Andrew Orr ·

Roger McNamee is calling for criminal probes into Facebook and imprisonment for executives. Specially, he believes investigations into six areas should happen, such as:

The US Securities and Exchange Commission should look at Facebook’s failure to disclose information about its business. Facebook allowed human trafficking on its platform and was “paid to enable it to happen.” Facebook’s management was “complicit” in the “Stop the Steal” campaign which led to the January 6 insurrection on Capitol Hill.

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Apple Fitness+ Chief Hints at Content in More Languages

Charlotte Henry ·

Apple Fitness+ became available in 15 new countries earlier this week. The executive running the service, Jay Blahnik, has also hinted in an interview with O GLOBO, spotted by 9to5 Mac, that it could offer content in a wider range of languages in the future.

Jay Blahnik says that Apple is “open to the possibility of investing in Portuguese content with Brazilian professionals”…Whether English could be a problem for non-natives, Blahnik says they “talked a lot with users and I think people are really looking forward with the ability [to try] these practices and meditations in the instructor’s language. People want to hear their voice intonation and not a dubbed version.”

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Rare Apple-1 Going to Auction With US$20k Starting Bid

Charlotte Henry ·

A rare Apple-1 computer, hand-built by Steve Wozniak, is up for auction, AppleInsider reported. The sale will happen later this month, with bids opening at US$200,000.

The Apple-I, which is being put up for auction by John Moran Auctioneers and Appraisers, was hand-build by Steve Wozniak. The specific model in question is known as the “Chaffey College” Apple-I because it was purchased by an electronics professor at the school in 1976 and sold to a student. According to the auction listing, the computer is made up of an original “NTI” motherboard sporting Sprague 39D capacitors, original power regulators, and rare “Circle D” ceramic capacitors. In addition, the lot includes an Apple Cassette Adapter and is housed in an original ByteShop Apple-1 koa wood case with a Datanetics Keyboard, the connecting cable and power supply, a 1986 video monitor.

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iPhone Game Controller 'Backbone One' Announces Subscription for New Users

Andrew Orr ·

Backbone One is a game controller for iPhone that plugs into the device’s Lightning port. The company announced new features, which includes a subscription service called Backbone+.

Backbone+ gives players access to: Exclusive perks, like free months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, other service free trials, in-game items, and many more perks to come. Access to the revamped Backbone app, including the trove of new features above as well as future ones.

All new users will also automatically receive 1 year free of Backbone+ membership with their purchase of Backbone One. It renews after 1 year at $4.17/mo billed annually (about the cost of a latte).

Silly millennials, it’s only one coffee a month!

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M1 Mac mini vs. Mac Pro: a Surprising Outcome

Jeff Butts ·

Tech video blogger Max Tech decided to test how well the 2020 M1 Mac mini could stand up against a 2019 Mac Pro. The results are astounding, considering the Mac Pro costs $15,000 compared to the $899 Mac mini. While the Mac mini is beat out on most benchmarks, it held its ground in real-world tests. In fact, the Mac mini outperforms the Mac Pro in compiling Xcode projects. It’s also faster at HEVC video stabilization. When viewing and processing Canon R5 10-bit video footage, the M1 Mac mini blows away the Mac Pro. It’s also slightly more responsive in Lightroom Classic despite having to run the app through Rosetta. The Mac Pro does beat the M1 mini in many Final Cut Pro tasks, but it has much higher memory specs. In the end, Max Tech says, “For most video editors, the M1 is just fine in Lightroom.”

Update for Menu Bar Organizer ‘Bartender’ Supports MacBook Pro Notch
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Update for Menu Bar Organizer 'Bartender' Supports MacBook Pro Notch

Andrew Orr ·

Bartender 4.1.12 has been released as a test build and it adds support for the notch on the 2021 MacBook Pro. “If you are using a MacBook Pro Notch, I recommend you use the Bartender Bar, as this removes the limit of the notch on the number of menu bar items you can have, you could also use Small menu bar item spacing to gain more room. You can update to the latest Test Build by clicking the button below, or from Bartender Prefercnes > Advanced, Check to Update your Test Builds then click the Check for Updates button.”

‘NordPass’ Update Brings Improved Autofill for Passwords
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'NordPass' Update Brings Improved Autofill for Passwords

Andrew Orr ·

The latest NordPass update introduces improvements to one of its key features — autofill. Its form-detecting algorithm recently became more efficient. Before the update, developers had to manually improve the form-detecting algorithm. Now, it is based on machine learning technology.

The part of the autofill algorithm responsible for detecting the type of form now operates with vastly improved performance compared to its previous static iteration. The algorithm is now trained using artificial neural networks to be as accurate as possible. According to NordPass developers, the current accuracy of the algorithm is 99.6%.