macOS Catalina will bring with it a lot of changes, one of which is that a lotof older apps and related hardware won’t work. Dave and John answer your questions and share your tips about how to navigate these waters ahead of time… to avoid surprises. In addition, your archives are only as good as the method and medium you use. It’s time to talk about data safety and reliability. Plus, your other questions need answers, and that’s what happens here on Mac Geek Gab: everyone learns at least five new things!
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An Example of How Robots Will Augment Not Replace Jobs
From FastCompany: “A hospital introduced a robot to help nurses. They didn’t expect it to be so popular”
That means nurses don’t even have to remember certain tasks that used to be part of their daily job, which is a meaningful way to reduce their cognitive load. “They don’t have to think about telling the robot to do things,” says [Vivian] Chu, who has a PhD in robotics from Georgia Tech.
This kind of optimized offloading will help workers focus on being even more productive. That is, if employers figure that out. [Image credit: FastCompany.]
Director, Vatican Observatory Br. Guy Consolmagno - TMO Background Mode Interview
Br. Guy Consolmagno earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Planetary Science from MIT and his Ph.D. in Planetary Science from the University of Arizona. He’s been at the Vatican Observatory since 1993 and is currently the director there where his research explores connections between meteorites, asteroids, and the evolution of small solar system bodies. Br. Guy has co-authored two astronomy books as well as popular books such as Would you Baptize and Extraterrestrial?” He is a Jesuit Brother.
We chatted about Br. Guy’s post-graduate work, how he came to be at the Vatican Observatory—and then become the director. He explained why the Vatican has an observatory and how the Catholic Church is not anti-science. Actually he is just part of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences that advises the Pope. And there was much, much more.
Leak Claims 2019 iPhone Will Have Rectangular Logic Board
The iPhone X and XS had an L-shaped logic board and battery. A leak claims to show that the 2019 iPhone will move back to a rectangular shape. This could mean bigger batteries.
Sadly we can’t gain any information from the PCB design. Questions about the iPhone XI’s port of choice are still looming. We already know what the iPhone XI and XI Max will look like, but hardware info is rather limited at this point.
40,000 Households in Kentucky Don't Have Internet Access
A study of data from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the U.S. Census Bureau shows internet access across America. Kentucky is the worst state with 40,000 households without internet access. America’s Internet Divide The data is from 2017, which is the most recent information. Income and education both played a role in…
Apple Texas Hold'Em App is Back for 10 Year Anniversary
In celebration of the 10 year anniversary of the App Store, the Apple Texas Hold’em game is back. Apple Texas Hold’em Apple released its game in 2006 for the iPod and eventually the App Store. Now it’s back: Apple’s Texas Hold’em is back! To celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the App Store, we’ve brought…
Do Smarter Genius Fit Band (Black): $55
We have a deal on the Do Smarter Genius Fit Band, a fitness tracker that tracks your steps, calories, sleep, and activity. It will also track menstrual cycles and features reminders. Check out the details in the deal listing—you can get this device through our deal for $55.
DNS Over HTTPS, New iCloud Login Method – TMO Daily Observations 2019-07-08
Andrew Orr and Bryan Chaffin join host Kelly Guimont to talk new DNS security from Mozilla, and Apple’s new login system coming to iCloud.
Huawei CEO Says Apple is His Model for Privacy
Huawei CEO and founder Ren Zhengfei says he takes inspiration from Apple, saying his company won’t share user information with others (via CNBC). Huawei’s Privacy Mr. Zhengfei says that users control their data, not his company: Data is owned by our customers, not us. Carriers have to track every user, otherwise no phone calls could be…
Bill Gates Said Steve Jobs Was a Master of 'Casting Spells'
In an interview, Bill Gates talked about Steve Jobs, saying he was a master at “casting spells” to keep Apple from dying. Kind of odd to see a businessman like him use language like “casting spells” but I guess that’s analogies for you.
While it’s really easy to imitate the bad parts of Steve, Gates said, “I have yet to meet any person who in terms of picking talent, hyper-motivating that talent,” who could match him. “He brought some incredibly positive things along with that toughness.”
Jobs was a singular case, Gates said, where Apple was on a path to die and goes on to become the most valuable company in the world. There aren’t going to be many stories like that, he said.
Apple Tests Biometric Login for iCloud.com
Apple is testing biometric login for iCloud.com. If you’re a beta tester for iOS 13, iPadOS, or macOS Catalina, you can go to beta.icloud.com and login with Face ID/Touch ID. Web Login So far, iPhone and iPad users haven’t been able to access iCloud web apps. If you navigated to the website you couldn’t use…
Huawei Working With UK Mobile Providers Rolling Out 5G Network
Huawei’s presence in the UK 5G network has long been controversial. The Observer reported that mobile operators are ignoring security fears and working with the Chinese firm.
The Observer understands that Huawei is already involved in building 5G networks in six of the seven cities in the UK where Vodafone has gone live. It is also helping build hundreds of 5G sites for EE, and has won 5G contracts to build networks for Three and O2 when they go live. The decision to use Huawei in the “non-core” parts of their networks – chiefly the radio systems allowing wireless communication – is a gamble for UK telecom operators. They may be left counting the cost if the government bans the Chinese company from any involvement with 5G.
Creators, Influencers, And How They Apologise
I’m fascinated by the rise of creators and influencers. Such people dominate platforms like YouTube, Twitch, and Instagram. However, sometimes they get called out for doing something wrong. The Verge published an interesting look at how people like Dr. Disrespect go about apologizing.
Apologies can be a big deal for creators. They’ve become a staple in YouTube’s beauty community, with personalities like James Charles and Tati Westbrook pulling in millions of views for videos responding to controversies. By using their main channels to post apologies, those creators confront their issues head-on and show a willingness to accept responsibility for whatever happened. But other creators may not want their core fans to see them apologize. Posting on alternate platforms allows creators like Paul and Beahm to acknowledge an issue and say they’ve addressed it while largely sweeping things under the rug.
BBC Sounds Gets CarPlay Support
BBC Sounds has been updated with CarPlay compatibility, giving users access to podcasts, music mixes, and radio whilst driving.
British Airways Set For £183 Million GDPR Data Breach Fine
The UK Information Commissioner intends to issue a £183.39 million to British Airways for a data breach involving 500,000 users.
UK ISPA Hates Mozilla's DNS Over HTTPS Privacy Tool
If you use your internet service provider’s default DNS, they can see everything you do on the web. It comes as no surprise that ISPs don’t like privacy tools like Mozilla’s DNS over HTTPS (DoH) technology in Firefox. The UK Internet Services Providers’ Association (ISPA) declared Mozilla a 2019 Villain, alongside President Trump.
ISPA Internet Villain
Mozilla – for their proposed approach to introduce DNS-over-HTTPS in such a way as to bypass UK filtering obligations and parental controls, undermining internet safety standards in the UK
Sony is Working on a Rollable Phone
While Samsung is stilling working to get its foldable phone released, others are trying to find new form factors. Techradar reported on rumors that Sony is developing a rollable phone.
Considering the lack of solid evidence to back up these claims, we wouldn’t bet your house on them just yet. They are, however, an intriguing hint about where Sony and the rest of the industry might head next. We’ve previously seen patents from Sony detailing how rollable (and foldable) phone screens could work. We also know that LG – tipped to be supplying Sony with flexible screens – has the expertise to make displays that roll up. Add in the news that the likes of LG and Samsung are apparently busy developing rollable smartphones of their own, and this new rumor about a Sony device starts to sound a lot more credible.
Apple Joins Other Major Tech Firms to Celebrate London Pride
Apple’s London flagship store got a rainbow makeover as the city celebrated Pride, with a number of major tech firms joining the parade.
Happy U.S. Independence Day
We here at The Mac Observer are taking Thursday and Friday to spend with our friends and families while we celebrate Independence Day here in the USA.
Because I love the way perspective skews each of our individual realities, I’ll share this related anecdote: three years ago – to the day – Billy Beefeater wished me a “Happy Treason Day” while giving us a tour of the Tower Of London. I wanted to quote Game of Thrones and point out it would only be treason if we had lost, but I figured maybe that was better left unsaid… at the time.
In any event, happy Independence Day to everyone in the USA, and wishing a glorious weekend to everyone everywhere!
We’ll return on Monday, July 8th, resuming not only our news, tips, and Cool Stuff Found, but also publishing episodes of three of our podcasts: Background Mode, Daily Observations, and Mac Geek Gab. See you Monday!
![A Very Understandable Primer on Blockchains [with Video]](https://www.macobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Blockchain-primer.webp)
A Very Understandable Primer on Blockchains [with Video]
BBC News has published a very readable/viewable explanation of biockchains. (Something you should know about.)
Enthusiasts say blockchain could become as disruptive as the internet, comparing the technology to the World Wide Web in the 1990s. At that time, many people were clear it would become important – but few really understood it, or foresaw its potential and limitations.
Amazon Alexa Voice Recordings are Stored Indefinitely
In a letter to U.S. senators Amazon said it keeps your Alexa voice recordings indefinitely unless you manually delete them.
In the letter to Coons, Amazon noted that for Alexa requests that involve a transaction, like ordering a pizza or hailing a rideshare, Amazon and the skill’s developers can keep a record of that transaction. That means that there’s a record of nearly every purchase you make on Amazon’s Alexa, which can be considered personal information.
Apple 2019 Revenue Up 15% at $39 Billion From App Store
Apple 2019 revenue for the first half of this year is up 15% from last year, topping US$39 billion from the App Store.
According to a new report from Sensor Tower, the iOS App Store and Google Play combined brought in $39.7 billion in worldwide app revenue in the first half of 2019 — that’s up 15.4% over the $34.4 billion seen during the first half of last year. However, at that time, the $34.4 billion was a 27.8% increase from 2017’s numbers, then a combined $26.9 billion across both stores.
Catalina and the Future of Storage – TMO Daily Observations 2019-07-03
Dave Hamilton and John Martellaro join host Kelly Guimont to talk about APFS and the new ways files will be managed by macOS in Catalina.
Engineer Yi-Chi Shih Faces Prison for Smuggling US Military Chips to China
Yi-Chi Shih, an electrical engineer, faces up to 219 years in prison for smuggling U.S. military chips to China.