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Mariah Carey Earns AAFCA Innovator Award

Charlotte Henry ·

The African American Film Critics Association has chosen to present Mariah Carey with a special achievement award. CEO and President Gil Robertson told Variety why, and the reasons include offering the kind of positivity projected in her Apple TV+ Christmas special.

Though the multitalented superstar had a big year with the release of her memoir “The Meaning of Mariah Carey” and her “Magical Christmas Special” on Apple TV Plus, Robertson says it was the songstress’ mix of positivity and longevity that led to the the special recognition. “Given a career of her magnitude, we really could have done it anytime. At this point, she’s more than earned the right to be recognized at some point,” he explains. “When members spoke about the impact of her videos and how much they meant to them, we thought ‘Let’s recognize her because she’s always projected a lot of positive energy, which we definitely need now during the pandemic and coming out of the last four years.’” “She’s also presented opportunities behind the camera for a lot of Black technicians and creatives; it’s all about being able to open the door for others and she’s certainly done that and provided job opportunities to Black crews and other Black creators,” he says.

Microsoft Launches All-In-One Office App for iPad
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Microsoft Launches All-In-One Office App for iPad

Andrew Orr ·

Microsoft’s Office app for iPad and iPhone has officially launched. It combines Word, Excel, and PowerPoint and adds new capabilities. You can use it without a Microsoft 365 subscription, although having one will unlock the full app. Some features that work with your device camera: Snap a picture of a document and turn it into an editable Word file with the press of a button. Transform a picture of a table into an Excel spreadsheet so you can work with the data. Design a PowerPoint presentation by simply selecting the pictures you want to use from your device. Create automatically enhanced digital images of whiteboards and documents with Microsoft Lens features.

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Microsoft Testing xCloud For Web, Opening up to iPhone and iPad

Charlotte Henry ·

Microsoft has started testing its xCloud game streaming service through a web browser, according to The Verge. This opens up the possibility it will work on iPhones and iPads.

Sources familiar with Microsoft’s Xbox plans tell The Verge that employees are now testing a web version of xCloud ahead of a public preview. The service allows Xbox players to access their games through a browser, and opens up xCloud to work on devices like iPhones and iPad. Much like how xCloud currently works on Android tablets and phones, the web version includes a simple launcher with recommendations for games, the ability to resume recently played titles, and access to all the cloud games available through Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Once you launch a game it will run fullscreen, and you’ll need a controller to play Xbox games streamed through the browser.

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‘For All Mankind’ Official Apple Podcast Launches

Andrew Orr ·

In a video uploaded to YouTube, Apple has announced its first original podcast in the form of “For All Mankind.” In For All Mankind: The Official Podcast, the space race continues. Fans of the series and its themes can hear host Krys Marshall (Commander Danielle Poole) discuss what really goes down beyond our atmosphere with guests from the series, space experts, and former astronauts — plus never-before-heard audio that shows how astronauts achieve the impossible.

Steve Jobs Job Application up For Auction
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Steve Jobs Job Application up For Auction

Charlotte Henry ·

A job application by Steve Jobs from 1973 is up for auction. Spotted by 9to5 Mac, the item is being auctioned by Charterfields. On the document, the Apple co-founder highlighted his experience with “computers and calculators” and said he had special abilities in “electronic tech or design engineer – digital.” The document is thought to have been completed close to when he dropped out of Reed College in Portland, Oregon. A full-size JPG is available here.

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Avoiding the Duck — Mac Geek Gab 857

John F. Braun & Dave Hamilton · · Add Comment

We promised Wi-Fi and we delivered Wi-Fi. That’s how it works here at Mac Geek Gab: your two favorite geeks answer your questions and help solve your problems. But it’s not only Wi-Fi, of course. Lots of you asked other questions, and we’ve got that covered, too, including helping to tame that ducking autocorrect feature. Press play and listen as John and Dave help you learn at least five new things!

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Pandora Announces ‘Artist Takeovers’ With Guest Artists

Andrew Orr ·

Pandora announced a new feature for its music stations called Artist Takeovers. It features music handpicked by a different artist with special audio commentary.

The new Artist Takeover series began rolling out in recent months with Shawn Mendes, Chris Stapleton, and more. Artist Takeover Modes are a pop-up experience on stations, and selections from each carry over into Pandora Stories playlists for continued listening.

Artist Takeovers are an extension of Pandora Modes, a feature allowing you to customize your listening experience on favorite Pandora stations by offering a set of selectable “modes” that give more control over the kinds of songs that are played.

I think this sounds like a great feature. It brings to mind guest stars on Apple Radio 1.

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David Goyer Hopes ‘Foundation’ Will Have 80 Episodes on Apple TV+

Andrew Orr ·

Lovin Malta has interviewed writer and show runner for “Foundation” David Goyer about the upcoming series on Apple TV+. After discussing using Malta as the basis for a water world in the show, he also drops a tidbit: “The audience is changing. The way that we’re consuming stories is changing. Game of Thrones was really the first of these big, giant novelistic shows, and now with Foundation we can tell the story hopefully over the course of 80 episodes, 80 hours, as opposed to trying to condense it all into two or three hours for a single film.” It makes sense given the enormous scope of Isaac Asimov’s trilogy. Sounds like they hope to give justice to the saga spanning one thousand years.

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Is There Any Point in the Apple TV Anymore?

Charlotte Henry ·

I’ve long been skeptical about the ongoing value of the Apple TV in a smart TV world. Over at Six Colors, Jason Snell pondered the same thing and looked at where, if anywhere, the box can go next.

For a long time, the killer feature of the Apple TV was that it did things that no other streaming device could do. It supported AirPlay and screen mirroring, for beaming video right from Apple devices to the big screen. And most importantly, it was the only box that supported movies and TV shows rented or purchased from Apple. But over the past couple of years, most of those distinctions have faded away. First, the arrival of the Movies Anywhere service has allowed most iTunes film (not television) purchases to migrate to other devices. Then in advance of the arrival of Apple’s TV streaming service, Apple made deals with the makers of TV sets and streaming boxes to add support for AirPlay, an Apple TV app, or both.

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Apple Should Not Make an iPhone Mini Ever Again

Charlotte Henry ·

The (very) small pool of people that I know who have one love it, but various bits of data indicate that the iPhone 12 mini is not selling well. Ed Hardy at Cult of Mac wrote that this relative failure indicates Apple should not make a 5.4′ iPhone again. Ever. I think it gets to the heart of the debate about your smartphone is for – making calls and replying to emails, or content consumption/creation.

Apple’s top-selling models aren‘t its smallest. On the contrary. The 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max — the largest ever — experienced a stronger launch than any iOS handset has in years. The 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro has since emerged as the top seller, not the tiniest version. This is because of the way we use our phones. They’re personal computers we carry everywhere. With them, we communicate with each other. Take pictures. Shop. Play games. Watch videos. And a bigger screen makes all of these better. “Wish I had a smaller display to watch this TikTok,” said no one ever.