Podcast

The Mac Observer Co-founder Dave Hamilton - BGM Interview

John Martellaro · · Add Comment

Dave Hamilton is the co-founder of The Mac Observer, publisher, and co-host of the legendary Mac Geek Gab (MGG) podcast, having done over 800 shows with our John Braun. He’s an Apple—and router—guru.

Dave and I opened the show with an extensive discussion of Apple succession planning. Who would replace CEO Tim Cook on an emergency basis? Who might succeed him when he retires? Who on the executive team is qualified? In segment II, Dave explained Wi-Fi 6 and its presence (and lack thereof) on various Apple products. That got us into new routers that support Wi-Fi 6. Finally, we looked at the ever-changing UI of Apple OSes, discoverability of features and the continuing need to remain practiced with each OS. As with his MGG, Dave is both informative and entertaining.

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Mark Zuckeberg Fights European Regulators

Andrew Orr ·

In a court filing in Dublin, Ireland, Facebook says if a decision by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission is upheld, the company would have no choice but to abandon Europe because of its bad business practices.

If the decision is upheld, “it is not clear to [Facebook] how, in those circumstances, it could continue to provide the Facebook and Instagram services in the EU,” Yvonne Cunnane, who is Facebook Ireland’s head of data protection and associate general counsel, wrote in a sworn affidavit.

The decision Facebook’s referring to is a preliminary order handed down last month to stop the transfer of data about European customers to servers in the U. S., over concerns about U. S. government surveillance of the data.

TMO Deals

AirBeamTV Screen Mirroring from Mac to Smart TV: $18.99

Bryan Chaffin ·

We have a deal on AirBeamTV, a screen mirroring platform for streaming from your Mac to smart TVs. This Mac app package includes 14 different Smart TV screen mirror apps so you can cast your screen to different TV brands. With AirBeamTV’s screen mirroring apps, you can cast your MacBook, Mac, or iMac to the smart TV of your choice. All you need is one of the apps and to have your computer connected to the same local network as your TV and you’re ready to start mirroring. A lifetime subscription is $18.99 through our deal.


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AT&T Wants You to be Impressed by its ‘6G’ Claim

Andrew Orr ·

The 5G 2020 iPhone hasn’t even been launched yet, but AT&T wants you to think that 5G isn’t good enough and you should be looking forward to 6G. AT&T Communications CEO Jeff McElfresh doesn’t want you to forget about his company.

I do believe that you will see many of the iPhone subscribers move to upgrade to the device […] I think customers, based on the pressures of the economy that we’re all facing today, will make a calculated decision as to what they want to do. And we’re going to be there to offer them any device that Apple launches here shortly.

McElfresh added that AT&T already has engineers working on next-generation 6G networking, noting that it will take years before the technology fully materializes. No further details were shared about these efforts.

Why a company would be bragging about their nonexistent 6G network is beyond me, unless of course there’s money involved somewhere. It has to be about money, because not only does AT&T plan to give you a paltry $10 for an ad-subsidized plan, AT&T CEO John Stankey wants more taxpayer money, aside from the US$400 billion dollars the telecom industry already squandered.

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How the United States is Ensuring Votes are Secure

Andrew Orr ·

Max Eddy writes an examination of election engineering and how the U.S. can ensure voting security. The part I think is fascinating is the work of Sam Curry, CSO of cybersecurity company Cybereason. His team has been simulating election attacks to figure out how best to protect our elections.

He’s observed numerous strategies and has advice on how best to protect an election. The people playing the role of defenders, usually given the role of law enforcement, “must create open lines of communication between government departments and also media sources and social media companies,” said Curry. Knowing who to call and when to call them and having a reliable back-up system in case one fails (or is intentionally sabotaged) are all critical.

Podcast

iOS 14 Quick Tips and More — Mac Geek Gab 834

Dave Hamilton & John F. Braun · · Add Comment

We’ve got first-run Quick Tips for iOS 14, iPadOS 14, watchOS 7, and tvOS 14 for you right here. You know those things that surprise and delight your friends when they see you do them? That’s what Quick Tips are! Come and learn at least five new things as John and Dave talk through Quick Tips plus answer your questions about everything Mac, Apple, iPhone, and more. Press play and enjoy hanging out with your two favorite geeks!

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The Trait Steve Jobs Believed Indicated High Intelligence

Charlotte Henry ·

Steve Jobs provided all sorts of insights into people and leadership during his lifetime. Inc shared the trait he believed revealed high intelligence.

“A lot of [what it means to be smart] is the ability to zoom out, like you’re in a city and you could look at the whole thing from the 80th floor down at the city. And while other people are trying to figure out how to get from point A to point B reading these stupid little maps, you could just see it in front of you. You can see the whole thing,” Jobs says in the talk.  That’s a fascinating conception of smarts, but it raises an inevitable question: How do you develop the ability to get a bird’s eye view of a situation in this way? The answer, Jobs goes on to say, is to be an intellectual omnivore, exploring the world in unique and unexpected ways.  “You have to not have the same bag of experiences as everyone else does, or else you’re gonna make the same connections and you won’t be innovative. […] You might want to think about going to Paris and being a poet for a few years. Or you might want to go to a third-world country–I’d highly advise that. Falling in love with two people at once. Walt Disney took LSD,” he says.

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EU May Force Apple to Give Rivals Access to Apple Pay Tech

Charlotte Henry ·

Apple may have to open up its Apple Pay technology rival providers. That’s according to a EU document due to be published next week, seen by Bloomberg News.

The report is set to be unveiled next week by the European Commission as part of a package of policy proposals. It includes a footnote to a competition case launched by the European Commission’s antitrust arm in June, which is seeking to assess whether the iPhone giant unfairly blocks other providers from using the tap-and-go functionality on its smartphones. “In parallel with its ongoing and future competition enforcement, the Commission will examine whether it is appropriate to propose legislation aimed at securing a right of access under fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory conditions, to technical infrastructures considered necessary to support the provision of payment services,” the EU says in the document.

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iOS 14 Reveals Facebook Spying on Your Camera Through Instagram

Andrew Orr ·

Facebook is being accused of accessing peoples’ cameras through Instagram, thanks to a iOS 14 feature that tells you when your camera is active.

Facebook denied the reports and blamed a bug, which it said it was correcting, for triggering what it described as false notifications that Instagram was accessing iPhone cameras.

In the complaint filed Thursday in federal court in San Francisco, New Jersey Instagram user Brittany Conditi contends the app’s use of the camera is intentional and done for the purpose of collecting “lucrative and valuable data on its users that it would not otherwise have access to.”

Facebook: “It’s a bug because you weren’t supposed to know we were doing this.”