Finding the right iPhone and iPad apps can help you get even more out of your LEGO brick collection. These are the three apps we rely on when we’re building.
Indie Publishing Platform ‘Substack’ to Accept Bitcoin Payments
Bitcoin payment processor OpenNode announced on Monday its integration with Substack, an online publishing platform. OpenNode will power both on-chain and Lightning Network Bitcoin payments.
Working together, OpenNode and Substack are starting by making instant, low cost payments available to a select group of crypto-focused publications. Readers will be able to use Bitcoin to pay for subscriptions to these select publications, and the publications will retain earnings in Bitcoin.
‘The Morning Show’ Season 2 Trailer Shows a Heartwarming Comeback
On Monday Apple uploaded the trailer for season two of The Morning Show and it reveals some aspects of the show that fans have been waiting for.
T-Mobile Offers 12 Months Free Apple TV+ After Serious Data Breach
T-Mobile has an offer for Magenta and Magenta Max subscribers. They can get a free year of Apple TV+ just days after the carrier revealed its latest data breach.
Here’s a List of Open Source Alternative Front-Ends to YouTube, Twitter, and Others
Someone on GitHub posted a project of a list that shares alternative, open source front-ends to proprietary services.
Apps and Stores and Sideloading – TMO Daily Observations 2021-08-23
Bryan Chaffin and Dave Hamilton join host Kelly Guimont to discuss new legislation around App Stores and “sideloading” of apps on iOS.
This AI Text Generator Shortcut Will Replace Our Blogger Jobs
Over the weekend, u/ryandeanrocks shared an AI text generator via the r/Shortcuts subreddit. It’s an open source version of GPT-3. Of course, how good the output it produces depends upon the input, but I’ve seen it spit out some decent things. Here’s an example; I pasted the first sentence of this piece, and here is part of the output: “You’ll notice that if you type something and then choose to send it to someone, that the chat box in the corner will turn green. In theory, that’s the easiest way to see if someone is typing something out and waiting to send it, but it can take awhile to see the difference. With real-time chatting, it’s almost instantaneous.“
WhatsApp Public Beta Comes to the Mac, iPad-native Version in the Works
A macOS public beta for the private messaging app WhatsApp is available now with features not yet available in the regular public release, and there’s also confirmation of an iPad-native app in the iPhone app code.
Get a Refurbished M1 iMac Direct from Apple
If you were in the market for an M1 iMac and do not want to pay full retail price, you now have a new option. Refurbished 24 inch M1 iMac models are now available directly from Apple. The model including 512GB SSD storage will cost you $1439, while the same model with 256GB of storage is $1269. The normal retail price of these models is $1699 and $1499 respectively. Of course, Cupertino puts plenty of testing, cleaning, and necessary repair work into its refurbished products. They are backed by a one-year warranty and free delivery and returns.
How Google Search Works: An Insider Reveals All
Google has launched a web page that aims to help people understand how Google Search works and how the team improves and designs this service.
Support US National Parks by Using Apple Pay
The US National Park Service turns 104 on August 25, 2021. In honor of the occasion, Apple has announced a donation program, a new Apple Watch Activity Challenge, and special content collections to allow you to experience the parks and learn more about what makes them the amazing national resource that we often take for granted. From August 24 to August 27, Apple will make a $10 donation to the National Park Foundation for each purchase made with Apple Pay on its website, in the Apple Store app, or inside any Apple Store in the US. In years past, Cupertino’s offered much less of a donation per purchase, so this is pretty cool.
Our national parks strengthen our connection to nature, to one another, and to the soul of our nation. We’re excited to continue building on our four-year partnership with the National Park Foundation, and to support their work to preserve our parks for generations to come.
Tim Cook, Apple CEO
The Secret Security Features in macOS Big Sur
There are security features that Apple tells us about on stage at keynotes, and then there are hidden improvements it doesn’t mention.
macOS has gradually made the UNIX security model irrelevant. For example, even the superuser is only allowed to access the private documents of a regular user with the user’s permission—permission that is given on a per-application basis, through that protector of users and bane of developers known as the Transparency, Consent & Control (TCC) framework.
Not That Kind of Dog Track — Mac Geek Gab 886
Tips about Siri, RAM, AirTags, and Keyboards are just the first few things you’ll get here in this week’s episode. Then Dave and John continue the journey by answering your questions about Mail, Wi-Fi, VPNs, Synology, and more. Press play to enjoy learning at least five new things with your two favorite geeks!
Apple’s On-iCloud or Is It On-Device CSAM Scan?
John Kheit digs into where Apple’s CSAM scanning is taking place, arguing that where Apple reads your files is super important for privacy.
Best Backup Strategies for Your Data 2021
Considering A New Backup Strategy? Find out where to start here in this video tip from Mac Geek Gab 885
Today at Apple Session Shows How to Shoot Portait Pics with Mark Clennon
Apple released a new Today at Apple video on Friday with tips on shooting portrait photos on an iPhone with professional photographer Mark Clennon. Mark is a New York-based photographer who has worked with TIME Magazine, Netflix, Esquire, Marvel, Forbes, Sony/RCA, and a long list of other companies and publications. The video has some great tips and is worth checking out.
70M AT&T Customer Records Reportedly Stolen in Breach
Personal data from some 70 million AT&T customer records has been stolen, but the company is denying the data is really theirs.
How to Enable AirPods Pro Noise Cancelling with a Siri Shortcut
It’s easy to make a Siri Shortcut on your iPhone to enable noise cancelling on your AirPods Pro, and you can make your own Siri trigger phrase. Watch our video to learn how.
VR Video Conferencing Has Arrived, With a Catch
If you’ve been looking for a more realistic experience in remote collaboration, VR video conferencing is here. You might not like it, though. It’s made by those folks at Facebook, who have proven not the most reliable when it comes to your privacy.
How Apple Lobbyists Defeated Two App Store Bills in Georgia
Politico published a report on Friday that examines how lobbying from Apple defeated two app store bills in Georgia and other states.
Apple’s aggressive lobbying efforts in Georgia, the extent of which were previously unreported, highlight a pattern that has played out with little national attention across the country this year: State lawmakers introduce bills that would force Apple and its fellow tech giant Google to give up some control over their mobile phone app stores.
Then Apple, in particular, exerts intense pressure on lawmakers with promises of economic investment or threats to pull its money, and the legislation stalls.
Apple II Manual Signed by Steve Jobs Sold for $787,484
An Apple II manual signed by Steve Jobs has been auctioned off for US$$787,484. The winning bid came from came from Jim Irsay, Owner of the Indianapolis Colts.
Security Friday: This Week In Data Breaches – TMO Daily Observations 2021-08-20
Andrew Orr and Kelly Guimont chat about the latest Security Friday news, including data breaches and ways to protect your data.
Video Editor 'DaVinci Resolve' Now 3 Times Faster on M1 Macs
Blackmagic Design announced on Friday that its DaVinci Resolve video editor is now up to three times faster on M1 Macs. It also gives customers up to 30% longer battery life.
DaVinci Resolve 17.3 also supports a new option on Mac computers with M1 for H.265 hardware encoding. Customers can choose to prioritize speed vs quality when rendering, further improving render times up to 65%. Plus, DaVinci Resolve will now decode AVC Intra files using the media engine built into the Apple M1 chip, making decoding and playback faster when working with these file formats.
Plex Apple TV App Offers Customizable UI
One of the coolest thigs about Plex is that it works on so many different platforms and devices. You can run the Plex app on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Raspberry Pi, or almost anything else. The app is very helpful in managing your media library and watching your favorite content. With the latest version of the Plex Apple TV app, you’ve got new options for how your library looks and feels. You can customize the app and home background, what artwork should be displayed, and how much of a title’s metadata shows up.
[O]ur challenge is that since Plex is used by so many different types of users (a great problem to have!), each one of you has different habits and desires and styles as well as a vast variety of TVs with different resolutions and brightness and contrast ratios.