tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52438233314602416622024-03-18T20:10:49.212-07:00Apple ZoneNews, rumors, analysis and product reviews relating to microprocessors, Apple, and the Apple ecosystem.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243823331460241662.post-52502678765935959082015-08-18T12:20:00.003-07:002015-08-18T12:20:36.884-07:00OnHub isn't a RouterToday Google announced an expensive wifi router ($200). Supposedly "finally a simple router." Ok.
The correct take on this? An easy-to-update Internet-of-Things bridge, to bridge from ethernet to the various other radio protocols used by door locks, thermostats, security systems, etc. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243823331460241662.post-20377334426931926322015-08-10T12:55:00.002-07:002015-08-10T12:55:54.124-07:00iOS 9b5 notesStill a little bit buggy, but getting there. Some apps that crashed at startup now work for me (in fact, I now have no apps that crash at startup). Status bar now reappeared in Reeder.
Problems:
still a bit laggy. This is most noticeable when the device thinks I picked it up in landscape and takes its time rotating, in multiple steps, to portrait. Seemingly every time I pick Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243823331460241662.post-12689156765367087052015-08-10T12:16:00.000-07:002015-08-10T12:51:52.726-07:00HTC, HTC, HTC... (This is what happens when the user is not the customer)HTC stored images of users' fingerprints as world-readable files. This isn't even the problem. The real problem is: why were they storing images of fingerprints at all? If you are going to store them, you had damned well better one-way hash them and store the hashes instead. In fact, you should only be storing hashes of feature vectors, not of the prints themselves. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243823331460241662.post-82197734829770930822015-07-22T10:32:00.003-07:002015-07-22T10:32:30.593-07:00Finally: beta users can't leave misguided app reviews
It's always been the case that Apple-related forums have been filled with non-developers seeking guidance on how to install iOS betas on their primary devices. But especially now, with Apple adopting the "Public Beta" model and with them allowing more or less full access to the developer betas without the annual $99 fee, nonsense app reviews have proliferated.
These fall into two Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243823331460241662.post-56095199854220286872015-07-21T17:43:00.002-07:002015-07-21T17:43:42.630-07:00Much nicer task switcher in iOS 9b4
Now, when an activity is available via Handoff, instead of showing up as a blank white screen in the "carousel" of apps, there is a tab at the bottom of the screen that when dragged upward drags up the appropriate app and activity.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243823331460241662.post-20247636713720983102015-07-15T18:47:00.001-07:002015-07-15T18:47:09.703-07:00Seriously - Macs are Going to ARMNow comes word that Intel is delaying the 10nm node and the "tick tock" is broken. Good reader, do you really need any more data to believe that Macs are going to get ARM'd?
Source: Ars Technica
More on the inevitable Mac transition to ARM: AppleNews.ZoneUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243823331460241662.post-71393825690324870972015-07-13T17:37:00.002-07:002015-07-13T17:37:42.527-07:00Microsoft Office for Mac 2016Office 2016 is available for Office 365 subscribers. I've been using the preview for some time, and have made heavy use of Word 2016 for the last few days. A couple observations:
Interface
The new interface will be the first thing you notice.
Word 2016
Word 2011
It remains a cross between Office of old and the Windows version of Office, providing a ribbon experience in Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243823331460241662.post-71531575522036976442015-07-06T20:35:00.001-07:002015-07-06T20:35:06.146-07:00Ah ah ahUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243823331460241662.post-70555204515594723952015-07-06T15:36:00.003-07:002015-07-06T15:37:13.307-07:00Apple Co-Designing Accessory Packaging?
Today comes word that Apple is revamping another aspect of its retail Apple Stores by only carrying third party accessories sold in packages co-designed by Apple.
Anyone who has seen the same product packaged for retail and for Amazon's "frustration free packaging" program is aware of how much easier life can be when products can be packaged not for shelf appeal but for ease of opening.
AndUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243823331460241662.post-72915370457673006622015-07-05T21:14:00.001-07:002015-07-05T21:15:13.672-07:00More on the Safari Controversy
Further to an earlier post, here's another article from a web developer whining that Safari doesn't support his favorite new standards-based googads.
Here's a choice bit:
"It’s holding the mobile web back, as the web isn’t better than the lowest common denominator, and by having a dominant mobile platform where the web only is being updated once a year, and by one vendor, it simply slowsUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243823331460241662.post-78401407635006900932015-07-05T20:07:00.002-07:002015-07-05T21:01:57.435-07:00Apple Music: Interface Mess - Interstitial 5The fun continues on the desktop.
Above we have iTunes 12.2 on Mac OS X (happens to be running on El Capitan). We have a more complete set of tabs, text only, including My Music and "Playlis..." That ellipsis was certainly necessary, huh? Note that here we have the options spelled out, without any icons.
Again "New" means something closer to "Explore" than "New."
Above weUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243823331460241662.post-70402552597145894672015-07-05T15:43:00.000-07:002015-07-05T15:43:01.632-07:00Apple Music: Interface Mess - Interstitial 4The "Downloading 30 songs" belongs where, exactly?
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243823331460241662.post-15351519569473850202015-07-05T15:12:00.001-07:002015-07-05T15:12:10.403-07:00Whining About Apple Web Standards Compliance is the New Whining About Lack of FlashLink: World Shocked that Android Developer Misunderstands Apple's Priorities
People, it's simple:
1) Customers don't care about esoteric web standards
2) Apple does not benefit from you porting your shitty Android App to a multi-platform web app
3) Customers prefer native apps to web apps
4) Apple is driven by what customers want
5) If you have to post a follow-up article stating Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243823331460241662.post-35502524215451294312015-07-03T21:47:00.003-07:002015-07-03T21:47:36.244-07:00Apple Music: Interface Mess - Interstitial 3My Music Tab, artist view. Why is it that when "My Music" is selected (within the My Music section - so we have "My Music" selected twice, once at the bottom in the tab bar, and once in the selector in the middle. Argh), we see just albums (from our library) but when we click on All we see "Top Songs" then "Top Albums" then "Albums?"
All this inconsistency makes my head hurt.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243823331460241662.post-70806954211775299142015-07-02T18:29:00.000-07:002015-07-02T18:29:07.543-07:00Apple Music: Interface Mess - Interstitial 2Now we're hiding useful functions behind long-presses. Are there any other built-in apps that use long presses? Will this function be replaced with Force Touch when that becomes available? And, again, what's with the wall-of-text menu?
I didn't know this function existed, but I'm glad I finally figured out how to tell Apple Music I really have no interest in seeing any suggestionsUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243823331460241662.post-75506377320623646412015-07-02T10:52:00.003-07:002015-07-02T10:52:46.850-07:00Apple Music: Interface Mess - Interstitial 1As long as I'm ranting about Apple Music, how do you explain the following to normal user:
Do I like the track or not? What's the purpose of the star ratings? And the heart? Why are there two ratings systems that don't interact with each other?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243823331460241662.post-58900942736974173392015-07-01T19:40:00.002-07:002015-07-01T19:40:23.972-07:00Apple Music: Interface MessYes, the service called "Apple Music" encompass many disparate features but by jamming everything into a single app Apple has managed to create a confusing mess. While Apple will have its defenders, claiming that the interface isn't "that complicated," my real world observation of people who are not CPU designers or app developers, struggling to figure out how to use the Music app on iOS, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243823331460241662.post-81988775366780042682015-07-01T10:32:00.001-07:002015-07-01T19:50:43.593-07:00Apple Music: Family Sharing TroublesI'll report more fully on Apple Music in the future, but here are some preliminary thoughts on how it interacts with Family Sharing.
Up until now, my family has generally shared a single iTunes Apple ID, and has used Apple Match. We have a "server" in the house with around 8,000 songs on it, mostly ripped from our collection of CDs (we had a lot of CDs, because we are old).
Apple Match Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243823331460241662.post-66596165884712061602015-06-28T13:00:00.001-07:002015-06-28T13:01:03.522-07:00What is the NY Times Talking About?This morning the NY Times published an article entitled "Apple Can Skate by Taylor Swift, but Not Product Missteps." I challenge you to explain to me what the heck Brian X. Chen is talking about.
I can't even discern what the premise of this article is, but the reasoning encompassed therein is perhaps best summarized by the following excerpt:
But Apple has in fact had product misstepsUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243823331460241662.post-34451543615683032602015-06-27T08:12:00.001-07:002015-06-27T08:12:14.243-07:00iOS 9 Trick: Request Desktop Site In iOS 9, press and hold the reload icon in the URL bar to get a "request desktop site" pop-up. Handy!Posted with BlogsyUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243823331460241662.post-7034758819178497852015-06-26T10:59:00.000-07:002015-06-26T11:49:43.000-07:00Privaris Patents: U.S. 8,327,152Among the patents assigned from Privaris to Apple is U.S. 8,327,152, assigned on Oct. 14, 2014. The patent is entitled "System and methods for assignation and use of media content subscription service privileges."The gist of this patent is that one can use biometrics to authenticate users and allow sharing of digital media based on this authentication. Among other things, this allows sharing ofUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243823331460241662.post-19409642987555158912015-06-26T10:26:00.001-07:002015-06-26T10:26:18.478-07:00Apple obtains a biometric patent portfolioInteresting. I'll take a look at the patents and report anything interesting.
Source: Apple Obtains Touch ID-Related Patents From Biometric Security Firm Privaris [MacRumors]Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243823331460241662.post-45639116466499319402015-06-25T14:18:00.000-07:002015-06-25T14:21:50.747-07:00iOS 9 adds "save as .pdf"Dan Moren noticed that there's a "Save as PDF" feature in the iOS 9 beta. Yet another reason Apple should take care of my wish-list item and add an iOS version of the Preview .app. Opening in iBooks is Not Ideal. (Yes, there are third party apps available in the App Store, but including nice built-in functionality that syncs to the desktop with iCloud would do a lot to Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243823331460241662.post-88888221394431515912015-06-24T20:46:00.005-07:002015-06-24T20:46:56.379-07:00TV HackersToday on TV I learned that if you use linux and know the difference between KDE and Gnome you are a hacker.
Nonetheless, show was worth watching.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5243823331460241662.post-63713382705683161772015-06-24T19:47:00.001-07:002015-06-24T19:47:51.224-07:00iOS 9 preview: Spotlight SearchA long, long time ago there used to be an operating system known as PalmOS. It was used in things like PDAs (smartphones without phones) and, eventually, smartphones.
One great feature of this OS is that it had a built-in global search functionality. You could search for any term, and not only would built-in programs (what we used to call "apps") be searched, but the contents of Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0