Maccast 2016.05.07 - Show #570

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Opening

Opening Music

Music is Say Anything by Manda and the Marbles

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News

2017 year of no 'Home' button?

This is one of the on going iPhone rumors.

Now there is a report that LG has developed a fingerprint sensor called Innotek that can be placed under the cover glass on a device.

They also claim a failure rate is just 0.002 percent.

Apple does use LG for displays on some it's devices, still Apple developed it's own technology for TouchID after acquiring AuthenTec in 2012.

The thought is Apple could get rid of the home button and have more room for the display.

Apple has a patent on a Liquid Metal home button.

Supposed photos of the iPhone 7 lightning port assembly surfaced on the Chinese site Weibo

It looks very similar to the iPhone 6s assembly

It also shows a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

Macotakara is now also reporting that the 'Smart Connector' on the iPhone 7 has been "shelved"

I asked last show what the connector would be used for and the only plausible theory I got was a charging connector. Slimmer battery cases, etc.

Still add Lightning and wireless and we could have 3 charging connections?

UBS research shows that interest in upgrading to the iPhone 7 is high

Larger than interest in the iPhone 6s series which we know did not do well in comparison to the iPhone 6

Makes sense as I think ,ore people are sticking with a 2 year upgrade cycle and many of those iPhone 6 buyers will be ready to upgrade in the Fall.

Still the iPhone 7 won't match the numbers of the iPhone 6 according to the report

But their analysts still think it could bring back some iPhone growth. between 5 and 10 percent fro 2017

The iPhone 7 isn't even in production yet and there are already rumors Apple is preparing for the next version iPhone 7s/8

TSMC is said to be already "taping out", completing the design of, the "A11" chip, which could start production a year from now.

The chip design is based on the 10-nanometer FinFET process TSMC is still working on.

Smaller processes mean smaller chips and better energy efficiency. Currently Apple's A9s are 14- or 16-nanometer depending on if they are made by TSMC or Samsung.

Apple loses "iPhone" naming in China

Apple lost it's iPhone trademark dispute case with a Beijing-based leather products maker.

The case was an appeal to an early ruling by a lower Chinese court.

Apple filed for a trademark on iPhone in China in 2002, but they were not granted a trademark until 2013

In the meantime the Chinese company requested an iPhone trademark in 2007, same year Apple released the iPhone in the US, and was granted their trademark in 2010.

The court claimed Apple couldn't prove the name "IPHONE" was well-known prior the leather company being issued the trademark in 2010.

Apple did not start selling iPhone's in China until late in 2009 and only on China Unicom.

What does it mean? Apple will have to share the trademark in China.

The bigger deal is it's just another example of the current challenges Apple is having doing business in China.

The iTunes Movies and Book shutdown

Apple can't sell "refurbs" in India

The Indian government turned down Apple's request to sell refurbished iPhones in the country

Bloomberg cited an "unnamed" official in the report.

Apple's competitors filed objections with the government implying that Apple was trying to dump old technology on India creating a potential e-waste problem and going against the countries Make-in-India program

Apple said it would only sell certified refurbished devices with new serial numbers.

Apple's refurbs carry the same standard Applecare warranty's as new devices.

Apple is looking to India as a new market to help slowing iPhone sales. Apple currently only has about 2 to 3 percent of the smartphone market in India.

Apple needs lower priced options for India and saw the refurbished devices as an option.

I would think that one possible solution for Apple would be to set a facility in India to refurbish the phones in the country? That or just build an iPhone assembly facility in India or find a way to make some components there?

Foxconn set up a factory in Brazil to make iPhones under similar pressures from government restrictions on sales.

Still the success of the program in Brazil has been called into question

Did not generate the jobs or revenue for Brazil that the government was hoping for.

Apple Music UI overhaul

According to Bloomberg Apple will show off a new Apple Music interface at WWDC

Designed to better integrate Apple's new streaming services with the existing iTunes download business, plus expand Beats 1

The re-design is being driven by head of Apple Music content, Robert Kondrk, and Trent Reznor (yes, Nine Inch Nails Trent Reznor). With input and guidance from Jony Ive, Eddie Cue, and Jimmy Iovine.

Could possibly bring new Beats 1 stations. Apple has trademarks for Beats 2 though five

The design supposedly focuses on a few new functions and reorganization as well as simplification of existing features.

A simpler design that uses black and white backgrounds and text. No more matching to album cover colors.

Artwork will be "huge" to take up a larger part of the UI and offset the other black and white elements.

“bolder, yet simpler.”

Other features mentioned

Use of 3D Touch for previews and sharing

More focus of the UI on the 'For You' section.

"New" tab will be replaced with a "Browse" tab.

Will still contain the top charts, genres, featured music launches, and curated playlists, but with better organization

Also possibly demoting the "Connect" tab into the "For You" section

Does this mean Apple Connect has failed?

The main issue I think the is interface for artists which I think has been complained about.

I tries using connect, but found it not that useful.

Support for song lyrics, but Apple is still working with labels on this, so roll out will be gradual

Piece talks about some of the friction or "culture clash" between Apple and Beats

Iovine often making deals with artists and labels at the same time other Apple staff is in negotiations

He is credited with smoothing things over with Taylor Swift and securing Apple Music exclusives like the new Drake album.

Beats employees were also not used to the "laborious approval process" for new products which Apple says is in place to ensure product quality.

Eludes that the clash is intentional and meant to "shake things up"

Still it's resulted in some departures of Beats 1 staff.

As far as we know this UI change is only on the Apple Music side. iTunes, while due for an overhaul, has not been mentioned.

Many don't know, but the iTunes Store and, I think, Apple Music UI is basically just a big web app.

Apple recently announced Apple Music has 13 million paid subscribers

Apple's services grew 40 percent last quarter.

Apple Music also just started offering a 50% discount on subscriptions for students

That means USD $4.99/mo.

Available to students in the US, U.K., Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand who are enrolled in an eligible college or university

The discount will be available for up to four years following sign-up, and those years don’t have to be continuous.

Apple is using a leading student verification technology provider, UNiDAYS, for verification.

Apple Music doesn't delete your Music

Hey, I'm the first person to admit that Apple's Music service needs work.

Especially in the area of song matching

Often in the iCloud Music Library you'll get odd substitutions

Live tracks or compilation tracks for studio tracks, etc.

Should only occur in the iCloud Music Library, not the local one.

There was a story circulating this week of a guy claiming that Apple Music deleted his local music files and that an Apple rep told him that was normal.

He had a full backup and could recover, so YEAH BACKUP!

Now I don't know what happened exactly, but I can tell you that is NOT normal.

[This piece]( http://www.imore.com/no-apple-music-not-deleting-tracks-your-hard-drive-unless-you-tell-it) over at iMore from Serenity Caldwell explains what likely happened.

The real issue is Apple Music and especially the iCloud Music Library (and by proxy iTunes Music Match) is too confusing.

The way it works

Scan the library on your "main" Mac

Anything that "matches" is made available in your iCloud Music Library

Anything that doesn't "match" that is 128kbps or higher is uploaded into your iCloud Music Library.

Any local unmatched tracks that are NOT AAC are converted to 256kbps AAC files in the iCloud Music Library. Local copies retain their original formats.

After the scanning, matching, uploading process you have what amounts to two separate Libraries.

As long as you don't remove or delete them your local Mac copies will not be automatically deleted or replaced by Apple.

iCloud Music Library may change tags and artwork. Very annoying and mildly "destructive", but far from deleting the entire track.

If you have other devices or Macs use your iCloud Music Library however they will get their content from the Cloud. These are the "matched" (maybe incorrectly) and upload copies (some in modified AAC format).

The trouble arises if you every remove the originals from your "main" Mac

If you try deleting a track here you get the most confusing dialog ever

"Are you sure you want to delete this song?"

"This will delete this song from your iCloud Music Library and from your other devices. To keep this song in your Library and on your other devices, you can remove this download instead."

Then the buttons, "Remove download" | "Cancel" | "Delete Song".

The "correct" answer if you want to keep the music in your "original" music in your original Library is "CANCEL".

The dialog seems to imply you want "Remove Download" the trouble is that still deletes the original "main" Mac copy of the song. You're left with the iCloud Library version which might be mismatched or modified.

The trouble with the dialog is the second sentence and the word "Library", that should say "iCloud Music Library".

Another issue is some people assume that if they have ALL their music uploaded to the iCloud Music Library that they can delete the local copies to save space and just stream or re-download. Bad idea as we have noted.

Before you enable iCloud Music Library make sure you've made an archive of all your original local Music and keep it.

LAPD hack iPhone

LAPD had an iPhone 5s in a murder investigation that they wanted access to, but it was locked with TouchID

There was a sequence of text messages on the devices from shortly before the murder that cops were after.

They found and expert to crack the device and many site have suggested a flaw in Apple's tech an the secure enclave

The iPhone 5s was taken into evidence in M ay of 2014, so it had to be running iOS 7 or earlier.

That version of iOS didn't offer full device encryption that came with iOS 8 in September.

They likely used a tool like IP-BOX, which can crack the passcode on an older device in between six seconds and 17 hours.

Project 'Titan' needs more room

There's a rumor Apple is looking at an 800,000-square-foot plot of land in San Jose to be used for it's ever growing secret car project

The 43-acres of land is across the way from the 101 Tech campus where Apple already leases about 300,000 square-feet of space.

The info slipped during Pacific Properties's quarterly earnings call.

The WSJ recently reported that sources have told them Project Titan had around 600 employees as of last year.

We also had rumors the are prototyping car parts and have discuss partnering with Magna, the a car maker for BMW/Mini, on manufacturing.

The space would be too small to be a full scale production facility so watchers think Apple may plan to use it as a facility dedicated to R&D and potentially pilot manufacturing.

Feedback, commentary, opinions

Wireless charging feedback

Many cite the "convenience" of wireless charging and I'm trying had, but just not seeing it.

From the more research I've done here is what I've learned.

Most devices now use the Qi standard

They use a charging "pad", more like a puck.

The phone must be aligned correctly on the pad. Location varies by phone. Sometimes magnets are used to help alignment.

Point is it's not as simple as drop on the pad. If you mis-align you won't get a charge.

The charge times are about twice as long as plugging into a cable and a wall charger. Is faster than plugging into a computer USB port.

One person did point out a slight advantage for visually impaired users as they don't have to hunt for the small Lightning port. Many Wireless charging pads have an audible signal so you know when you're aligned and charging.

It was pointed out that if Apple loses the headphone jack that you won't be able to charge and use wired headphones at the same time.

A 3.5mm dongle with a pass through Lightning cable could solve that though I admit it's not ideal.

Kieth and Cesar mentioned it being able to avoid wear and tear cables meaning less broken cables.

Matt questioned the survey I mentioned that said wireless charging is the number one desired feature for the next iPhone

He shares my theory that people "think" they want wireless charging but once they have it and in practice they wont be so impressed.

The promise of convenience is hollow and has other disadvantages.

There are after market solutions for iPhone and Qi standard charging bases. Approx. USD $12 to $20

You get a thin Qi charging receiver that you connect to the Lightning port with a flex cable. Then stick the receiving pad to the back of your iPhone. It can be hidden under a case if you don't like the look.

Then get any Qi compatible charging pad. [Anker PowerPort Qi]( https://www.anker.com/products/A2511011) USD $15.99

Where to get refurb gear

After my discussion on this many of you wrote in with suggestions of places to buy.

Gary recommended, [Blinq]( http://www.blinq.com/)

Gary (another one), [PowerMAX]( https://www.powermax.com)

Matt uses [Swappa]( http://swappa.com/)

Nick pinged me on Twitter to make the argument that replacing gear every 2 year or so can be more cost effective

The idea is you get new gear and because Apple's gear maintains it re-sell value so well that your upgrade costs are minimized.

New faster gear would perform better meaning you's be more efficient so between the two the net result is you saving money.

I get the theory and that might be true for some, but if your current computer meets your needs you're still just spending money for the sake of spending money.

My 2011 15-inch Macbook Pro still works great for my needs, is plenty fast for what I do. Dropping $3000.00 on a new machine, even if I get $1000-$1500 for my old one, doesn't bring me much.

It also misses the point a bit. No one should be made to feel bad for NOT upgrading a machine.

There is also the environment benefit of keeping our existing equipment in service longer.

Apple Watch Language Trick

If you own an Apple Watch you may or may not know about auto responses

These are short "canned" responses to Text messages or phone calls that you can access and trigger from the watch

When you get a call or message alert and tap 'reply' on the watch you get this list

If you Open the Apple Watch App and go to Messages > Default Replies you can see the standard ones and even customize them to better match your style or personality.

But they're things like, "Hello", "OK", "On my way", "Yes", "What's up?", etc.

Well it turns out that these responses have another little trick and Gary stumbled upon it.

Play message from Gary

I tested this and sure enough if the Watch detects (or in Gary's case suspects) another language is being used it will offer language appropriate responses

As Gary mentions it's not all too helpful if you don't speak the language

If you scroll down on the Apple Watch it will also offer responses in your native language

Still kind of a cool thing and I think for sure a feature, not a bug.

Apple TV live recording

Terry has an aging PVR that is dying and he's not too interested in replacing it as he doesn't do a ton of recording anymore.

A new PVR would cost £150 and currently getting his PVR recording into iTunes and playable on his Apple TV is a hassle.

Is there a live recording solution that would maybe cost less and work better with Apple TV?

Terry is lucky as he can get OTA HD channels.

[SimpleTV]( https://us.simple.tv/) - Attach HDD, attach antenna, box is USD $199.00 and $100/yr. for premier service

Premier adds remote access to content.

They have an Apple TV app for accessing recorded content.

Seem to be currently sold out.

I asked Ara Derderian and here was his solution

A network streaming TV box called the [HD HomeRun]( https://www.silicondust.com). Let's you stream TV to any devices on your home network. They don't have a DVR version yet, but are working on it.

Have antenna or cable card versions

USD $129-149.00

Until then you can use [Geniatech's EyeTV 3]( https://www.geniatech.eu/eyetv/product/eyetv-3/) (formerly ElGato's) software on a Mac to record the streams from the HD HomeRun. 79.95€

El Gato can record, get the metadata, and place files in iTunes

Finally the ['Channels' app]( https://getchannels.com) for AppleTV will let you watch the live feed from the HD Homerun. USD $24.99

So the only disadvantage to all this is that up front it will cost a bit more than just replacing the PVR.

Recover Contacts from TimeMachine

Bob got a new iPhone SE (congrats) and while transferring data accidentally lost all his Contacts data.

Or thought he did. Luckily it was just slow in syncing back in from iCloud.

Bob also had Time Machine and SuperDuper backups, but was unsure how to recover the data files.

Still it was a harry few moments and brought up the question if you did need to resort to backups how would you restore.

To restore

First consider backing up any existing Address Book data. Contacts Menu > File > Export > Export Contacts Archive. Save the file.

You should be able to activate Time Machine while inside Contacts. It's TM aware.

That said, when I tried on my Mac my Contacts crashed.

Plan B would be to recover the data files directly.

Quit all apps that might be accessing Contacts data. Like Calendar apps, Mail, etc.

Go to your Library folder. Hold down the Option key and in Finder go to 'Go' > 'Library'

Open the 'Application Support' folder

Inside you should see the AddressBook folder.

Activate Time Machine

Select and restore the Address Book folder. When prompted you may want to choose keep both

That should be it.

Not such a bad idea to export a contacts archive file from time to time just as a local archive.

Use 'File' > 'Import' to bring back an achieved Contacts database.

Use a Calendar Automator Workflow to make a regular [automated backup]( http://www.macworld.com/article/1163273/automator_workflow_of_the_month_back_up_contacts_and_archive_calendar_events.html)

Frederico at Mac Stories recommends an app called [My Contacts Backup Pro]( https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/my-contacts-backup-pro/id466388978?mt=8) - Backs up to Email or Dropbox and will send you reminders to backup your contacts.

Thing of the Moment: SketchPartyTV

[SketchParty TV]( http://sketchparty.tv) - USD $5.99 on sale ($9.99 reg)

Pictionary like game for Apple TV

Now supports the iPad Pro and the Apple encil

Really fun.

Supports up to 8 players per team

Drag and drop support for switching teams.

Also support AirPlay mirroring.

Simple, but fun.

Closing

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