Some movies from various Disney-owned franchises are available in 4K via iTunes, including things like Marvel and Star Wars content.
When Will The Targeted Advertising Bubble Burst?
A large part of the web is free because of targeted advertising, but former Google employee Tim Hwang argues that it doesn’t even work.
He notes that while “some digital and social media messaging is quite effective,” it’s common for platforms and media agencies to triple (at least) its apparent value by wrongly crediting digital ads for purchases that consumers would have made anyway. Aral calls this “the most widely used shell game in business today.”
Or, as Hwang puts it: “The whole edifice of online advertising is, in short, bunk.”
Remembering Steve Jobs on The Ninth Anniversary of His Death
Monday, October 5, 2020, marked the ninth anniversary of the passing of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who suffered from pancreatic cancer.
Battery Life, Network Tweaks, and Cool Stuff Found — Mac Geek Gab 836
Has iOS 14.0.1 hurt your battery life? We might have a fix for you. Networking is always top-of-mind, and your two favorite geeks share some answers to your related questions. Then it’s Cool Stuff Found, where John and Dave share all the cool things you and they have discovered in the past week. Press play and enjoy learning five new things, folks!
Security Friday, Widgets, and You – TMO Daily Observations 2020-10-02
Andrew Orr joins host Kelly Guimont for Security Friday news and updates, and a discussion about iOS 14’s widgets and what they can/can’t do.
Facebook Doesn’t Like Netflix Documentary ‘The Social Dilemma’
Facebook has published criticism of “The Social Dilemma” a Netflix documentary that reveals how social platforms use algorithms as addiction.
“Rather than offer a nuanced look at technology, it gives a distorted view of how social media platforms work to create a convenient scapegoat for what are difficult and complex societal problems,” Facebook said.
However, one issued raised in the movie is that Facebook’s algorithms learn more specific things about users, like their preferred political party, and shows them news it think they will agree with. That problem doesn’t happen on the services Facebook compares itself to.
Difficult and complex societal problems that you monetize.
Sci-Fi Authors Comment on Apple TV+ Series ‘Foundation’
Although “Foundation” won’t appear on Apple TV+ until 2021, science fiction authors Anthony Ha, Abby Goldsmith, and John Kessel talk about the books behind the series from author Isaac Asimov. John Kessel on psychohistory:
[Asimov is] basically saying if you have enough human beings—you have 100 million worlds, all inhabited by human beings—that psychohistory can predict the mass behavior of human beings, without being able to predict any individual human being’s behavior. That’s a cool idea.
I can’t wait until for the Apple TV+ series.
YouTube Restores iOS 14 Picture in Picture to Mobile Website
YouTube initially blocked iOS 14’s picture in picture function on its mobile website. However, Macrumors reported that the capability has now returned.
This is an apparent reversal of a change that YouTube explicitly made following the release of iOS 14 which blocked such behavior. At that time, YouTube would only allow that capability for users with Premium accounts. Tonight’s change means that any YouTube visitor can use Picture in Picture in Safari. iOS 14 introduced native Picture in Picture capability to the iPhone for the first time, however, apps have to explicitly support the feature. YouTube’s native app has never supported Picture in Picture for any of its users even though iPadOS has offered the capability for some time. There have been reports that YouTube has been testing this feature, but there have been no announcements.
Some Historians Don't Like Digital Upscalers Making History 4K
So-called ‘digital upscalers’ have turned grainy footage from bygone eras into high-quality 4k clips. However, Wired reported, some historians are not very happy about it.
Digital upscalers and the millions who’ve watched their work on YouTube say they’re making the past relatable for viewers in 2020, but for some historians of art and image-making, modernising century-old archives brings a host of problems. Even adding colour to black and white photographs is hotly contested. “The problem with colourisation is it leads people to just think about photographs as a kind of uncomplicated window onto the past, and that’s not what photographs are,” says Emily Mark-FitzGerald, Associate Professor at University College Dublin’s School of Art History and Cultural Policy.
The iPod Nano is Now Officially Vintage
The 2015 update of the 7th generation iPod nano has now joined the list of products Apple regards as vintage.
App Revenue Soars, Especially on the iOS App Store
Revenue from in-app purchases, subscriptions, and premium apps climbed to $19 billion on Apple’s App Store in the third quarter of 2020.
'The Snoopy Show' Coming to Apple TV+ February 2021
Apple TV+ already has Snoopy in Space, and there is going to be even more of Charlie Brown and his beagle on the streaming service.
Oprah Winfrey’s Talk With Isabel Wilkerson Premieres Today
Oprah’s Book Club is premiering an episode on Friday with Isabel Wilkerson and her book “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.”
Find Compostable iPhone 12 Cases With Pela
Pela makes smartphones cases like many other companies, but they have a feature that stands out from the crowd: Compostable iPhone cases.
Apple Q4 2020 Earnings Release Scheduled for October 29
Apple has scheduled its Q4 2020 earnings call for Thursday, October 29 at 2PM PT / 5PM ET. You can listen to the conference call on its website.
New ‘LAX Order Now’ Food Ordering Website Supports Apple Pay
The Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) launched its mobile food ordering platform called LAX Order Now, supporting Apple Pay.
New York Launches its COVID-19 Contact Tracing App
COVID Alert NY is the official app of New York State that will hook into Apple’s exposure notification system you can find in Settings > Exposure Notifications. It alerts you if a sick person spends 10 minutes or more within six feet of you, and will do the same for others if you test positive. Using the app you can also contact a health advisor to request a conversation. The app’s source code is open source and has been vetted by privacy and security experts. The only personal information it collects is your phone number, but that’s only if you explicitly share it if you want a health advisor to call you back.
This Developer Made Over $100k Selling Custom App Icons
Developer “Traf” wrote a blog post saying he made over US$100,000 in six days selling custom app icons that can be used on iOS 14.
As soon as I noticed the hype, I put together some icons in my own style, downloaded some widgets, and tried it all out. I thought it looked cool, so I shared a screenshot of it on Twitter. Right away, people started asking about the icons in the screenshot. So I quickly packaged them, uploaded them to Gumroad, and embedded them on a Notion site using Super. All of this took about two hours.
It’s cool to see all of the customization people are doing on iOS 14, but I wonder if this developer could get into legal trouble by making money off of companies’ icons.
Apple Fills Cast for Upcoming Musical Comedy on Apple TV+
An upcoming music comedy on Apple TV+ starring and produced by Cecily Strong has the rest of its cast filled.
‘The Pathless” Arrives on Apple Arcade November 12
Annapurna Interactive’s newest game “The Pathless” is coming to Apple Arcade on November 12, as well as PlayStation 4/5, and PC. We saw a glimpse of the game when Apple Arcade first launched (it’s the ninja with the eagle). The Pathless sees players take on the role of the Hunter, a master of archery who travels to a mystical island to dispel a curse of darkness that grips the world. The Hunter must forge a connection with an eagle companion to hunt corrupted spirits, in turn being careful to not become the hunted. Players will explore misty forests full of secrets, solve puzzles in ancient ruins and be tested in epic battles. The bond between the Hunter and eagle and the fate of the world hang in the balance. This is one game I’m looking forward to playing once I can subscribe to Apple One.
New Apple Maps Version Comes to Ireland and UK
Apple announced on Thursday that its new version of Maps is now available for customers in Ireland and the United Kingdom.
GaN Chargers and Why You Care – TMO Daily Observations 2020-10-01
Andrew Orr joins host Kelly Guimont to discuss Gallium Nitride chargers and what makes them interesting as a new way to power devices.
AMC+ Arrives on Apple TV, No Cable Subscription Needed
The AMC+ streaming service has expanded to Apple TV Channels and Amazon, and you won’t need a cable subscription to use it.
Apple Suing Firm For Allegedly Reselling Devices it Was Meant to Recycle
Apple is suing a Candian firm, Geep Canada, alleging it resold around 100,000 devices which it had received to strip down and recycle, AppleInsider reported. The companies have been working together since 2014.
According to The Logic, Apple estimates that Geep Canada stole around 100,000 iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches that it had been hired to recycle. Geep does not deny the thefts, but has filed a counter suit claiming that they were conducted by three “rogue” employees without the knowledge of the company. Apple argues that these employees were in fact senior management at the firm. Although the case has only now been publicly revealed, Apple filed its suit in January 2020 while Geep filed its countersuit in July. Seemingly, Apple discovered the alleged thefts at the end of 2017 or start of 2018, and at some point after that ceased working with Geep. In September 2019, Geep Canada merged with other firms to form Quantum Lifecycle Partners