Samsung…Samsung. Yo, dudes. We gotta talk, like, for reals. Listen and Ima give it to you straight. You have a problem, Samsung. And it’s time for some change.
PDF Expert 2.0 for Mac for $24.99 One Day Only
Readdle’s PDF Expert 2 is a great PDF reader and editor that goes far beyond OS X’s Preview app at a price that doesn’t put the squeeze on your pocketbook. The app lets you edit text, images and links in PDF files, annotate documents, merge files into a single PDF, complete PDF forms, add document passwords, and more. PDF Expert is regularly US$59.99, but Stack Commerce put together a one-day sale for just $24.99.
Samsung Discontinues Galaxy Note 7 Manufacturing and Sales
This just in: Samsung has officially discontinued manufacturing and sales of the Galaxy Note 7. With repeated incidents of the devices—and replacement devices—catching fire, the company announced on Tuesday it would cease making and selling them.
TMO Background Mode: Interview with Writer and Raconteur Bob 'Dr. Mac' LeVitus
Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus is a writer, book author and raconteur. He writes for the Houston Chronicle and The Mac Observer, and he specializes in the “Dummies” books about Apple products like the Mac, the iPad and iPhone. But Bob wasn’t always a writer. Early on, he wanted to work in a recording studio and it just so happened, in high school, he had a good friend, Jermaine Jackson. That resulted in Bob touring with the Jackson 5. Later, he became a roadie with Shaun Cassidy. (Bob tells a secret.) Bob’s also worked in advertising, a story in itself, and also as the official evangelist for Power Computing in the 1990s. Speaking of Apple, he said “We were their worst nightmare.” Does Bob know how to tell stories? Oh, yes.
TMO's Jeff Gamet Talks iOS 10, macOS Sierra at MacinTech Tuesday Oct 11
The Mac Observer’s Managing Editor, Jeff Gamet, will be speaking at Denver’s MacinTech Macintosh User Group on Tuesday evening, October 11th, in Centennial, Colorado. Jeff will be diving into iOS 10 for the iPhone and iPad, along with macOS Sierra.
iOS: How to Convince Ducking Autocorrect You Don't Mean Duck
Our iPhones are great at making our lives easier, but sometimes autocorrect just gets it wrong. So ducking wrong, in fact, that it’s really ducking annoying. Turns out there’s a workaround that lets you trick your iPhone or iPad into leaving the word you really typed instead of changing it to “duck.”
Apple AirPods: a Strategy of Ambience and Scarcity
UBS financial analyst Steve Milunovich has presented an interesting theory about Apple’s Ambient strategy: “…different input/output methods that can be flexibly utilized depending on the situation (sitting, walking, running, driving). Collectively these devices offer the capability of earlier products … delivered as a seamless user experience.” In addition, the notion of created and evolving scarcity punctuates the Apple strategy. Particle Debris page 2 explains it.
USB Kill: The $55 Gadget That Will Fry Most Devices
There’s a device out there called USB Kill 2.0 that can fry an electronic device with a USB port. While it looks like an every day USB flash drive, rather than memory, these devices have capacitors that can store up juice being transmitted over the USB bus and then discharge at once. The result is a high-voltage attack on your PC, Mac, smartphone, or other device that can fry the electronics.
TMO Daily Observations 2016-10-10: Samsung's Ongoing Note 7 Fire Issues, Robot Sex
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 battery problem isn’t going away and some replacement units are catching on fire, too. Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to discuss Samsung’s burning product failure, plus John schools Jeff on the perils of robot sex.
GeeFi Mobile Hotspot on Kickstarter Provides Unlimited 4G Data in 100 Countries
Check out the GeeFi on Kickstarter. It’s a mobile hotspot its makers say provides unlimited 4G data in 100-plus countries. It will support up to 10 devices at a time, and it does this without you having to change out SIM cards are worry about local contracts. When the device is turned on, it displays a local wireless network with a password. Plug that into your laptop, smartphone, or tablet, and you’re good to go. They also say it provides 150 megabits down and 50 megabits up—for $10 per day. The data plan is separate from the cost of the device. Funding options that get a GeeFi currently start at $120. They’ve already raised $141,000 dollars out of a $20,000 goal, with two weeks to go.
UK Prime Minister Bans Apple Watch from Cabinet Meetings
Wearing your Apple Watch to a UK Cabinet meeting is off the table over concerns Russians are hacking smartwatches to spy on foreign governments. The ban comes from UK Prime Minister Theresa May who is extending the scope of the smartphone ban put in place by her predecessor David Cameron, and most likely has banned other smartwatches, too.
SunVolt Water-Resistant Dual-USB Solar Charger: $19.99
It’s a portable charger that’s water resistant, charges via solar cells, and it has a built-in 5000mAh of reserve battery power. You can charge two devices at once. And we have it for $19.99. Get it.
Samsung Tweet Suggests Note 7 Stalling Tactics, Suspends Note 7 Sales
Over the weekend, Samsung accidentally tweeted a callous message to a Note 7 victim, a message that reveals just how hated and cynical the IP-stealing, politican-bribing company can be. That was followed by reports Samsung was finally suspending sales of the Note 7.
MGG 626: Lightning Struck my Switches
Quick Tips start this episode, including topics like macOS Sierra’s picture-in-picture videos, auto-logout, Sierra upgrade hints, macerror, cleaning up your Keychain, printing to PDF on any iOS 10 device, Apple Watch battery life and more. Then it’s on to questions about macOS Sierra’s network login changes, running a mixed macOS and OS X household and, finally, a discussion about lightning strikes and how to recover. Enjoy!
Samsung Has to Pay $120M for Apple's Unlock Patent After All
Samsung’s on-again-off-again fine for infringing on Apple’s slide-to-unlock patent is back on again. A U.S. Federal Appeals Court overturned its own ruling on Friday that Samsung didn’t have to pay the fine, so now the smartphone maker owes Apple US$119.6 million for infringing on the unlock and autocorrect-related patents.
Artificial Intelligence Research, Unintended Consequences and Sex
Research into Artificial Intelligence will evolve into many more applications than asking Amazon’s Echo how many teaspoons are in a tablespoon. Or driving an autonomous car. As the technology expands in its capabilities and applications, we’ll be confronted with massive social change. How will Apple, for example, both serve us and meet competitive challenges?
Phish's "Big Boat" Contains a Song Recorded Entirely on an iPhone
Today Phish released “Big Boat,” their 13th studio album, and it turns out one of the songs was recorded entirely on keyboardist Page McConnell’s iPhone. From Alan Paul, writing for the Wall Street Journal:
[Producer], Bob Ezrin gave the band members specific instructions: Learn and play 10 folk songs, then start writing, beginning with a folk song. Mr. McConnell’s effort, “Things People Do,” not only made the final cut, but the version included is his demo. Phish made multiple versions of the song before agreeing that nothing topped the original low-fi version, recorded on Mr. McConnell’s iPhone, sitting atop a Wurlitzer piano in his living room.
You can listen to “Big Boat” and, more specifically, “Things People Do” on Apple Music, of course.
Legit Jetpack Testflight Filmed with iPhone 6s
OK, we don’t have flying cars yet, but jetpacks seem to be closer than ever. Check out this video from JetPack Aviation showing CEO and Chief Test Pilot David Mayman testing out the company’s JB10 jetpack. The flight took place on October 1st in Monaco. Come on, how cool is that? The firm said it was filmed on an iPhone 6s, too.[Via Digg]
TMO's Apple AirPods Earbud Alternatives Roundup
Apple’s AirPods wireless are set to ship some time in October, but that doesn’t mean you have to wait to get your hands on—or ears in—fully wireless earbuds. The Mac Observer found some options worth checking out, and they’re all available today.
TMO Daily Observations 2016-10-07: DJ Remixes on Apple Music, Listener Comments
The streaming music market just changed because now Apple Music and Spotify can give us DJ remixes. John Martellaro and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to look at the implications bringing remixes to the two big music services will have on the market and on SoundCloud. They also respond to listener comments from Wednesday’s discussion on Yahoo helping intelligence agencies scan our email.
