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Opening
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Opening Music
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Music is Say Anything by Manda and the Marbles
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Sponsor
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Gazelle
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Wanna get cash for your old iPhone? Gazelle makes it easy.
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New iPad Pros and Apple TV’s are right around the corner, so now is the time to lock in your deal with Gazelle on your old device.
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It’s free and easy to get an online offer. Just answer a few easy questions, and get your instant price quote.
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And don’t worry if your phone is broken Gazelle will accept those too.
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Once you accept it Gazelle will honor it for 30 days.
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Shipping is free too and in many cases Gazelle will provide the box too.
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All personal information from the devices is removed.
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Payments are fast. Get a check in the mail, an Amazon gift card in your inbox, or a direct deposit into your PayPal account.
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Gazelle has over 1 million customers and has paid out over $200 million to it’s customers.
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Get cash for your old iPhone. Lock-in your price today and you’ll have up to 30 days to send it in, giving you plenty of time to get the new one. Go to Gazelle.com today.
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News
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Dubious claims of 256GB iPhone
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Citing typical "supply chain" sources we have a claim that the next iPhone could come with a 256GB storage option, at least on the Plus
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Comes from a Chinese site, Mydrivers.
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They have in the past claimed the original iPad mini update would be as thin as an iPad 2 and have a Sharp IGZO display
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They also seem to believe that Apple will increase the iPhone 7 Plus battery up 12 percent to a whopping 3100 mAh battery
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Last update Apple actually reduced the battery size to save thickness and weight
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The battery stayed the same because of the more efficient A9 processor
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Recent rumors of a new "composite" material for the case that could remove antenna lines
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Also said it will be waterproof
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Display will likely still be TFT-IPS and not OLED
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Apple supposedly sealing contracts with their display providers for OLED but not expected in devices before 2018
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The new displays in the iPhone 7 are expected to use in-cell display technology making them thinner.
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The iPhone 7 might be as thin as the current iPod Touch (6.1mm)
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Renewed rumors that the 3.5mm headphone jack will be replaced by the Lightning connector
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With the move to an all digital connection Apple is said to be bringing in new functionality
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One rumor claims they will add noise cancelling technology that will be in the Phone and headphones
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3rd party's will be able to add the noise cancelling features for a licensing fee
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Many are not happy about this rumor
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A site, SumOfUs.org, has a petition that claims to have over 200,000 signatures from people imploring Apple to keep the 3.5mm jack
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Apple may do some things to lessen the "sting" of the transition
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9to5 Mac claims Apple will indeed ship Lightning-connected EarPods with the iPhone 7
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There's also a rumor that Apple is developing a set of Bluetooth in ear headphones with no cord.
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They would be individual ear pieces
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Users would charge the device with a special carrying case and they could ship as an available accessory when the iPhone 7 launches.
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Apple did file a trademark application last October for a product dubbed "AIRPODS".c
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Also a rumor Apple may add wireless charging.
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What else is coming soon
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iPhone 6c
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4-inch version of the iPhone 6
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Most pointing to it having an A9 processor and 2GB of RAM
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Touch ID, but no 3D Touch.
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Priced similar to the current iPhone 5s and possibly announced in March
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Apple Watch 2
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Announcement in March with an April ship date
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More sensors like possibly skin conductivity, blood oxygen level, and blood pressure
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FaceTime camera
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Thinner designs
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Upgraded WiFi, though many would like to see cellular access and GPS (not likely)
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iPad Air 3
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Since Apple didn't update the iPad Air this fall
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Would be updated in the first half of this year
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Updated specs to bring it inline with the latest iOS devices
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Processor, RAM, cameras, etc.
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Will not get 3D Touch
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More reports of Apple slowing iPhone production
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This time from the Japanese site Nikkei, they say Apple has too much excess iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus inventory in stores
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This time of year Apple would normally slow down a bit, but these cuts are rumored to be as high as 30 percent
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The strong dollar is also not helping, especially in many of the emerging markets Apple has seen growth in in recent years
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The production slow down is seen as a correction and the production levels are expected to be brought back to normal in the April-June quarter
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In the short term the cuts do seem to be impacting some of Apple's suppliers
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Many, including Touch panel maker TPK Holding and an iPhone chassis supplier Catcher, are lowering revenue estimates
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The suppliers are citing reduced client orders for the cutbacks and many analysts believe that client is Apple.
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Gene Munster still thinks Apple will meet it's iPhone guidance during their quarterly sales call which happens on Jan. 26th
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He expects Apple will still announce year over year growth for iPhone
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Apple projects revenue between $75.5 billion and $77.5 billion, with gross margins between 39 and 40 percent
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AT&T and Sprint killing off contracts
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Depending on how you feel about carrier subsidies this might make you happy or sad
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Verizon and T-Mobile had already moved to kill off contracts
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Engadget got a hold of leaked internal AT&T documents that say after January 8th they will not longer offer subsidized phones, including iPhones.
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You will need to buy the device outright or use the AT&T Next Plans
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Apple stopped offering subsidized iPhones in their retails stores when the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus went on sale.
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If you're a grandfathered "unlimited" plan subscriber this could impact you if you don't want to pay the additional $5/mo. To keep your unlimited plan.
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AT&T also recently started rolling out limited availability of cross-carrier VoLTE (voice over LTE)
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It's in limited areas and only calls to an unnamed "other"carrier.
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And since this party is growing looks like Sprint figured they better join in too
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In a leaked internal memo Sprint tells employees they are ending their 2-year pricing options
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No more subsidies
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They will now just offer the Lease and EasyPay options according to the leaked document
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USB-C on the rise at CES
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This week is the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas
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So far I haven't seen many showstoppers, but one trend that seems to be taking shape is many products and devices that support USB-C
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Monitors from Lenovo featuring at 24-inch model with multiple ways to connect and a 27-inch model with a single USB-C cable that carries power to charge your device
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Acer also announced a line up of USB-C supported monitors and ASUS jumped in with a 15.6-inch 1080p portable model.
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The ASUS display is 1.8 lbs and gets power and display signal via the single USB-C cable
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Griffin announced their own take a MagSafe with BreakSafe.
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It's a USB-C power cable that has a magnetic connector on the USB-C side
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LaCie announced both mobile and desktop updates to their Porsche Design lines. The new drives have USB-C connections and come in 1,2 and 4TB sizes for mobile and 4, 5, and 8TB sizes for desktop.
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CarPlay also getting mixed play at CES
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Apple isn't at CES, but their presence is always felt.
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This year so far it's CarPlay that seems to be getting some buzz even if that buzz is a mix of seemingly good and bad news
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First off Ford made the big announcement that it's adding CarPlay and Android Auto to all 2017 vehicles in North America equipped with BlackBerry's QNX-based SYNC 3 platform
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Also they said that 2016 cars that have a SYNC 3 system will get an upgrade later this year to add CarPlay and Android Auto support
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Fiat Chrysler also announced it would add CarPlay support to a "select number of vehicles" in 2016
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|
They didn't give specifics, but said cars with their UConnect systems with its 8.4-inch screen, along with a select number of other cars would be supported
|
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|
Toyota on the other had has moved forward on their stated intention to dump CarPlay
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|
They were one of the early supporters, but last year announced they would not adopts CarPlay
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|
At CES they announced support for, oddly enough, Ford's SmartDeviceLink
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|
SmartDeviceLink is the open-source version of Ford AppLink platform for smartphone apps and car's that allows "customers can use apps in their vehicle through voice recognition function and operation panel."
|
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|
Sounds more like Siri Eyes Free for apps and true device integration.
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|
Developers of iOS apps can build in SmartDeviceLink support to their apps, so the technology may still integrate with some apps
|
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|
Apple Pencil is an IC bundle of joy
|
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|
There's not a lot to the story other than pure awesomeness
|
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|
|
The Apple Pencil is an accessory that completes the iPad Pro.
|
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|
I love mine for drawing, writing, and heck, just tapping.
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|
It's an extension and enhancement to the 10 styli I have built into my hand.r
|
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|
And the tech inside might be the source of it's magical powers.
|
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|
|
Chipworks did an extensive analysis and found more than 15 semiconductors inside.
|
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|
|
The Apple Pencil is just 176 millimeters long, and 9 millimeters thick, so that's impressive
|
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|
They found most of the chips were from Texas Instruments and STMicroelectronics, but there are also chips from Maxim Integrated Products, Cambridge Silicon Radio, SiTime, Bosch, and Fairchild
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|
Even more amazing there is also a chip in the tip of the Apple Pencil (a replaceable part BTW). It's a tiny driver integrated circuit designed and fabricated by STMicroelectronics.
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|
And remember too that there is a 3.82 volt 0.329Wh battery in there too.
|
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|
|
Circus Ponies closes Notebook
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|
A long standing Mac app and great developer has left our community
|
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|
|
Jayson Adams from Circus Ponies announce he is ending development on the product after 13 years on the Mac
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|
He wrote on this site:
|
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|
|
"After 13 years in business, Circus Ponies has gone to that great Alphabet company in the sky. It was a good run, but we are done (as in no longer in business)."
|
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|
The product actually began as a NeXT application in the 90's
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|
Because of the reference to "Alphabet" and a http://circusponies.xyz link, some sites speculated that Circus Ponies was maybe acquired by Google.
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|
Jayson told the Mac Observer, that while flattered people believe the app was good enough to be picked up by Google, that is not what happened.
|
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|
Another theory is that Jayson has taken a position at Google, though there is no evidence or confirmation of that.
|
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|
My guess is that that some of my fears about the future of app development are coming true.
|
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|
|
In 2010 Jayson ported Notebook to the iPad and it received mixed reviews.
|
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|
Add to that the low cost or free solutions from Apple, Microsoft, Evernote and others and it's hard for an indie to survive.
|
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|
|
It's a sad state of affairs and one that is likely to continue to be repeated.
|
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|
|
I'm saddened by this news, but I wish Jayson the best of luck in whatever he does next.
|
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|
Feedback, commentary, opinions
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|
When a host accuses a Genius
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|
|
Well, looks like I stepped in it again and it's time for a mea culpa
|
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|
|
Last week I mention that a listener was told by an Apple Genius to remove the 'wheel' "user" (group) from their Mac
|
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|
|
Turns out that was not the case. The listener did have a real mysterious "wheel" user, not group, on their Mac (as an account). It appeared in the Users & Groups System Preferences panel (odd)
|
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|
They deleted the user account themselves before visiting the Genius Bar
|
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|
|
So now the mystery is how did a "Wheel" user get onto their system. Any clues?
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|
|
Notes syncing not working on older OS X
|
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|
|
I received a couple emails this past week from users having trouble syncing Notes via iCloud on OS X Yosemite and OS X Mavericks machines.
|
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|
|
|
The reason is that for iCloud.com and iOS 9 Apple completely changed how Notes syncing works
|
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|
|
Pre-iOS 9 the system was part of IMAP, basically baked into Mail
|
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|
|
|
|
When you update to iOS 9 and first enable Notes syncing or use Notes you do get a warning that Notes will no longer sync with older systems
|
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|
|
|
|
The only workaround to getting notes to sync on pre-OS X El Capitan Macs is to use Notes through the iCloud.com interface in the browser.
|
|
|
|
|
|
That, or upgrade your Mac to OS X El Capitan
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you do upgrade there are some nice benefits as the new Notes app has a number of great new advanced features
|
|
|
|
|
|
Turn a list into an interactive checklist
|
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|
|
Add a photo, map, or URL and get image previews
|
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|
|
Can sketch in Notes on iOS, and if you have an iPap Pro and Apple Pencil you even get pressure sensitivity.
|
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|
|
Sketch
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|
|
In a new Note, tap the "+" icon in the lower right corner
|
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|
|
Then tap the "squiggly line" icon
|
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|
You'll be given a bunch of tools including a Pen, marker, pencil, ruler, eraser.
|
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|
There is also a color picker
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|
Swipe to get more color options
|
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|
You can't do a custom color though.
|
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|
|
Use two-fingers to rotate the ruler.
|
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|
|
It displays the angle as you rotate it
|
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|
|
As you draw it also lists a length, in pixels?
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|
Formatting
|
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|
Tap the "+" icon and then the "Aa" icon
|
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|
|
Title, Heading, Body, Bulleted list, Dashed List, or Numbered List
|
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|
|
Checklist
|
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|
Tap the "+" icon and then the "checkmark" icon
|
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|
|
You can also select any bulleted, dashed, or numbered list and then tap the "checkmark" icon to convert it to a checklist
|
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|
To add URLs, Photos, or Maps
|
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|
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In the appropriate app, Safari, Photos, or Maps, just tap or click the 'Share' button
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|
|
Then select 'Notes'
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|
You can create a new Note or select and existing Note to add to.
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Other apps for Notes
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|
|
Finding old Messages
|
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|
|
Play question from James
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So there are a couple ways to search for Messages on iOS
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|
Spotlight
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|
|
Make sure Spotlight serarching is on for Messages
|
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|
|
Settings > General > Spotlight Search
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|
|
Make sure 'Messages' is checked on.
|
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|
|
|
|
Looks like you cannot control order anymore which sucks.
|
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|
|
To do a search you can swipe all the way to the left on the home screen or swipe down on the home screen.
|
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|
|
Messages App
|
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|
Open Messages
|
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|
|
Swipe down on the messages list to get the serach box.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Now here's the real bummer. Looks like search in either Spotlight or Messages will only go back about a month, even if there are older messages than that in a thread
|
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|
|
You can go into a thread and scroll back, when you get back about a month it will load another months worth of Messages, but you still can't serch that far back even after letting them load.
|
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|
|
Baffling
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|
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|
|
The only way I could figure out how to do it was to use an app like PhoneView or iMazing to extract the Messages from your iPhone backup files and then search them
|
|
|
|
|
|
These apps will also let you backup and archive your Messages among other data.
|
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|
|
Remote access a Mac from iPad
|
|
|
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|
|
So as you know I've been looking into ways to make my iPad Pro my primary mobile machine
|
|
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|
|
So far it's working for most things, but the number one challenge has been coding.
|
|
|
|
|
|
There do just seem to be some tasks that the iPad Pro is just not up to yet
|
|
|
|
|
|
There are some very capable apps for writing code
|
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|
|
DraftCode, Textastic, etc.
|
|
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|
|
What there is not is a way to test code locally.
|
|
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|
|
|
You can't build out a LAMP stack on iOS
|
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|
|
|
|
DraftCode will let you run PHP, but it's limited
|
|
|
|
|
|
That means that you need to test remotely
|
|
|
|
|
|
Again apps like Transmit, etc can help but you're still doing a lot of shuffling of stuff and it's not that efficient
|
|
|
|
|
|
Right now the workaround that's best seems to be setting up a Mac with remote access.
|
|
|
|
|
|
One way would be to use an app like Logmein.
|
|
|
|
|
|
I've actually done this and it's OK, but there is a cost.
|
|
|
|
|
|
About $150/yr.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The thing is you can also roll your own remote access using VNC and an SSH tunnel.
|
|
|
|
|
|
I'm going to be covering the concepts here and not a lot of the details. All of it is easily Googleable once you know what you're trying to do.
|
|
|
|
|
|
There are some serious consideration though. Uptime, security, IP access, etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to leave a dedicated Mac on that is accessible
|
|
|
|
|
|
Overview
|
|
|
|
|
|
Set up VNC and SSH on the Mac
|
|
|
|
|
|
Create and set up SSH public/private keys
|
|
|
|
|
|
Set up router and Mac to route traffic from outside your network back to the Mac running SSH and VNC
|
|
|
|
|
|
Set up and configure a client on iOS to access VNC server via an SSH tunnel
|
|
|
|
|
|
Turn off "sleep" functions in System Preferences > Energy Saver
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need a way to be able to get back to your Mac
|
|
|
|
|
|
DynDNS Remote Access $40/yr.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you know your ISPs assigned IP address will never change (or will change infrequently) then you could just use the IP address
|
|
|
|
|
|
A route through to your Mac
|
|
|
|
|
|
To make this the most secure you'll want to use SSH and authenticate with a key.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Turning on SSH remote access is done via the System Preferences > Sharing options
|
|
|
|
|
|
Check on 'Remote Login'
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll also want to turn on 'Remote Access' and enable VNC
|
|
|
|
|
|
Advanced > VNC
|
|
|
|
|
|
Set a good strong password, though we won't allow VNC through the router.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Generate a SSH key pair
|
|
|
|
|
|
This will be how you authenticate.
|
|
|
|
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Once generated you'll want a copy of your 'public' key and you'll use that in your remote access app to create an SSH tunnel.
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You'll need to map the SSH port (22) to go through your router
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On the outside you want to use a non-standard port
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Just note that some places, like Starbucks, block certain outbound ports so trial and error may be needed.
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You'll go into the router and map the external non-standard SSH port back to the standard port on your Mac.
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Will probably want to set up your Mac with a static internal IP or use a DHCP reservation for that Mac so it's local IP never changes.
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Even better would be to set up another machine to answer on the non-standard port and proxy the SSH connection to your Mac.
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Install and configure a VNC client on your iOS device
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In that you want to enable a 'secure' connection. SSH tunnel and you'll copy your SSH public key for the authentication.
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Thing of the Moment: Know It All!
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Trivia Game for the Apple TV
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It has a "Jeopardy" like board with questions columns centered around various topics
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Movies, Music, Sports, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, STAR WARS and a special Christmas
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A "host" controls the question selection from the board with the Siri Remote
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After choosing a question, "Animated Movies for 300"
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The question is displayed and all Players have a chance to answer
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Whomever answers first will get points if they get it correct and control of the board.
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If they guess wrong control of the board goes back the the last player who correctly answered a question and play continues
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Players or "Teams" use iPhones, iPods, or iPads to answer questions
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ABCD options come up on screen
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Each game is just one "round" of 20 questions and there is not a "final" round
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Each connected iOS device is assigned a random team name.
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This was a lot of fun but I do have some complaints
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Wish you could pick your team name
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Would be nice to "buzz" in and then give a chance to answer. This would work better for team play.
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Better if missed answers could be "stolen" by another team
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Ability to have more than one round would be nice
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More categories, but I'm guessing this will happen over time.
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Option for a "Final" question like Jeopardy.
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Still a great family and party trivia game for Apple TV and it's just $1.99.
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Closing
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Podcast Marketplace
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Thanks to my sponsors
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Smile
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Gazelle
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Gazelle. The fast and simple way to sell your used gadgets! Find out what your used iPhone, iPad and other Apple products are worth at Gazelle.com.
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Supporters
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Bandwidth for the Maccast provided by CacheFly at cachefly.com
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Keep emails coming. Audio comments.
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281-622-4269 or 281-Mac-I-Am-9
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PLEASE LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
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MacCast Forum
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Follow me on Twitter
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Checkout the page on Facebook
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