Maccast 2014.06.14 - Show #491
Links
V Opening
V Opening Music
* Music is Say Anything by Manda and the Marbles
V Sponsor: Sanebox
V Sanebox
* Do you get too much email? Then SaneBox is for you.
* It moves unimportant emails out of the Inbox into a separate folder and summarizes them in a digest.
* You only have important emails in your Inbox, and can process everything else in bulk.
* It works everywhere - on any email provider, client or device (you'll simply see that folder everywhere you check your email).
V How does it know what's important?
* It analyzes your past behavior (which emails you open, which you respond to, how quickly, how often, etc) and determines importance of incoming emails without ever looking at the content (only the headers).
* They add new features, like the 'SaneNotSpam' folder. You know the messages that get flagged as spam, but aren’t. They’ll show up in here not buried in your SPAM folder so you can move them back.
V SaneBox has lots of other features:
* 1 click unsubscriber
* Snoozing non-urgent emails, 1-day, 1-week, or custom.
* Moving attachments to Dropbox etc.
* Try it for free and get a $10 credit.
V News
V More iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite features
V Photos (iOS 8)
V Favorite and Hide photos
* Hidden items are visible in the Albums view, but omitted from Moments, Collections and Years.
* Albums based on type (Pano, Time Lapse, Video)
* Albums based on 3rd party editing apps
* Order albums as you like.
* Use photos in Notes app.
V AirDrop (OS X and iOS)
* Owners logged in to their iCloud account on an iOS 8 device and OS X Yosemite computer are able to share files without consent.
V AirDrop version for OS X is incompatible with the current standard
* Yosemite provides an option to "Legacy AirDrop" with Macs running Mavericks or older.
* Send from iOS-to-Mac, both with and without the OS X AirDrop window active in Finder.
V Safari
* Credit Card scanning
* Safari now includes an option to "Request Desktop Site," which will load the desktop version of a site rather than the mobile version.
V Maps updates (OS X and iOS)
V There were no new Mapping features shown off at WWDC
* Improved data, indoor mapping features, and public transit, and augmented reality modes have been rumored.
* There one a session slide that showed a "bus" icon, indicating that Apple may have transit directions planned.
* We heard rumors that some feature might have been pushed back including Maps.
* TechCrunch reports issues with planning and office politics, along with some of the mapping engineers leaving lead to the delay.
V Apple is also reportedly working on generating a system for using iBeacon technology to create indoor maps.
* Obviously privacy is a big concern, but the system is opt-in.
* Apple is possible hoping users will share the data.
V Apple added the M7 processor and iPhone motion sensors to the CoreLocation API
* Apps can use the data for indoor location detection
* In use at San Francisco's California Academy of Sciences, the Westfield Center in San Francisco, and the San Jose Airport, the system can be used to display floor number or direct users to points of interest.
* Hidden files in the first developer beta of iOS 8 show “parking pin” assets that could be used to help you locate where you parked the car
V Music
* Swipe to delete Albums
* Add songs to Playlists from other Playlists
V Accessibility
* Grayscale mode
V Improved Zoom with new options to Follow focus, Detach Zoom Controls, and Leave Keyboard Unzoomed.
* There are also new options for Lens Mode (windowed and full screen) and Lens Effects (grayscale, grayscale inverted, and inverted).
* Speak Screen. Using a two finger swipe gesture can trigger a function that will speak the contents of the screen.
V Privacy
V iOS 8 will randomize your Media Access Control (MAC) address when attempting to connect to remote wi-fi hotspots.
* Could force more retailers to iBeacons for tracking
* iBeacons are an "opt-in" system.
V "While Using" location privacy option
* Enables location services, but only while the app is in active use
* also a pop-up asking for permission if an App attempts to use location in the background
* DuckDuckGo, an alternative search engine that promises not to track its users' searches or internet history.
V Not directly related to iOS, but after an NPR report, Apple has said it will work to provide end-to-end email encryption outside of iCloud.
* Currently email in transit from Apple’s iCloud service is encrypted when sent between iCloud users, but not if the email is destined for an outside service like Google or Yahoo!
V The STARTTLS extension, which allows for the encryption of text connections between providers
* Google (GMAIL) and Yahoo! Mail have already implemented and support the STARTTLS extension
V Other stuff
* Messages can now batch save or delete attachments from the new Details view. Hole down on a single image to bring up a "More" option, select multiple attachments, then you can saved or delete.
* Mail will now let you get notifications per thread. From the "More" tab you have an option to receive a push notification whenever a reply is sent to the particular email thread.
* Phillips showed off a concept for a Notification Center widget to control your Hue bulbs on Twitter
V Future Features
V Options Control Center & Lock Screen Extensions
V One developer discovered hints that might allow more Control Center control
* Toggles to enable and disable lock screen options (like wi-fi, bluetooth, personal hotspot)
* Also the ability for Lock Screen Extentensions
* Not part of the official documentation.
* Why not also Control Center Extensions?
V Control Center in OS X Yosemite
* Was rumored to be working in early builds in March
* Wasn’t seen at WWDC, but developers have located numerous code strings in the first Yosemite build that confirm Apple’s testing an OS X variant of Control Center.
* A panel that slides out from the left of the screen like Notification Center
V Split Screen iPad
* Developer Steven Troughton-Smith has since located code strings in iOS 8 that seems to confirm Apple is at least considering the feature
* He even hacked up some examples
* And not just side by side, but also 3/4 and 1/4 options
V iWatch predicted to be huge
* And not in size, but in sales
V UBS believes it could be 21 million units in fiscal 2015 and 36 million units the following year.
* Basically as successful as the iPad.
* Apple's first iPhone only moved 5.4 million units in its first year.
* And that’s will a $300 USD price point, with about a 25 percent profit margin.
V Part of the success may come from the fact that the iWatch could appeal to a broader consumer audience.
* Fitness, fashion accessory, connected device.
* Most feel there will be an "iWatch" event in the fall, probably in October
V iPhone 6 rumors continue
V NFC (near field communication), wireless charging, and improved LTE in the next iPhone
* I learned the difference between NFC and "Chip and Pin"
* NFC feature is said to be dependent on Apple’s mobile payment system progress.
* I personally think these rumors are not right for the iPhone. If anything they seem more suited for the iWatch (except improved LTE).
* A better LTE radio capable of 300 megabits per second over the current 150 mbps capable radios used.
V Screens
* It’s looking more and more like the two screen sizes are going to become a reality.
* Apple is expected to launch the 4.7-inch model first (some say in September) with the 5.5-inch model coming a few weeks to months later
* The 5.5-inch model is also widely rumored to be priced at $100 more than the 4.7-inch models.
V A report published on Seeking Alpha says that Apple’s partner for Sapphire glass, GT Advanced Technologies, has ramped up enough production to produce 200 million units annually.
* That should be enough capacity to provide displays for no just the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 display, but also the 4.7-inch models with enough capacity left over for the iWatch too.
V Design
* The same Weibo user in China who posted accurate images of the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5c before their launch has posted images of the rumored iPhone 6
* It’s design looks like the mock ups we’ve seen. Unfortunately.
* The ugly end cap bands are there, I assume for antennas?
* The first "fully assembled" images
* Thinner bezel around the screen and less room around the home button
* The hole for the front camera is also much larger in size. Larger lens and sensor?
* Sonny Dickson posted side by side iPhone 6 "mockups" on Twitter.
V Apple is expected to announce the iPhone in the Fall and expected to ship sometime in October.
* Component orders, according to the China Times, are expected to exceed 100 million.
V iPad Air & mini updates
* Not to be left out we are stating to hear a bit about the next iPad Air
V It’s expected to begin component productions this month starting with the display. The processor and camera components should follow production starting next month.
* Production will begin with LG Display in June, with Samsung and Sharp ramping up production next month.
* The update will be all internal with the design expected to remain mostly the same.
* The display will still be 2049 x 1536, but the processor will be bumped up to an A8
* The processor should bring incremental performance increases and is focused efficiency and battery life improvements
* The rear camera is also expected to get some improvements moving from 5MP to 8MP
* The front facing camera may also be bumped from 1.2MP to 1.5MP.
* The iPad mini is expected to get similar upgrades
* I think you can almost guarantee both models will feature TouchID sensors.
V Apple cracking down on "bad" App behavior
V Apple has been rejecting apps that incentivize social sharing and use ads as rewards.
* Apple citing guidelines 2.25 and 3.10.
* 2.25 restricts promoting other Apps from within your app, unless designed for a specific approved need (e.g. health management, aviation, accessibility, etc.)
* 3.10 says you can’t manipulate App Store rankings. Apple seems to view in game "rewards", like coins for watching videos, now a violation of this policy.
* Developers can apparently no longer have a "More Games" or "Other Games" section that points to apps other than their own.
* Games that give rewards for social networking behavior may also get caught in this net, but that’s not clear yet.
V More curation in European App Stores
V Apple has expanded the categories curated by human editors to twelve. Adding seven new categories to the five that were already human curated.
* Other categories use algorithms to highlight popular apps
* The new sections have the same custom layout as curated categories in the US App Store
* Productivity, photo & video, sport, music, lifestyle, health and travel categories have been updated and now show recommendations and themed collections of apps from Apple's editorial teams.
* Games, kids, education, food and Newsstand were the categories already being human curated.
V 2013 MacBook Air SMC update
* Apple has issued SMC update 2.0 for all mid-2013 and early-2014 MacBook Airs
* This update addresses an issue which may cause the battery to drain faster than expected when the lid is closed.
* Improves reliability during booting and waking the computer from sleep while USB and Thunderbolt devices are connected.
* Solves an issue where users' MacBook Airs fail to properly sleep the built-in display when an external monitor is connected when using Boot Camp
* Addresses a memory issue that, in some cases, causes the system to randomly reboot.
V Apple allows for Lighting Headphones
* As reported by 9to5 Mac Apple recently added a specification to it’s Made for i (MFi) program that allows for headphones that use the Lightning connector
* This could allow for higher quality lossless digital audio with 48 kHz digital headphones.
* Some are speculating that this plays into the beats deal and Apple plans to replace the 3.5mm headphone jack.
* I would say that’s not likely to happen anytime soon.
* Apple could develop a HD Digital version of Beats headphones that use Lightning.
V It would be hard to shift to Lightning exclusively, even for Apple.
* Require expensive adapters
* More expensive headphones.
* Benefit is the 3.5 mm jack currently is a physical limit on thinner iDevices, but then why not just go wireless instead?
V Apple expands iTunes Radio "radio" stations
* Apple added ESPN Radio and over 40 local National Public Radio (NPR) stations to its iTunes Radio service.
* You can find and add the stations by using the built in search feature
* The content is not pre-programmed "playlists", but live streams
* I would expect we will see the services expand to likely include more local radio stations and other streaming audio content.
V New iMacs next week?
* Seems we keep hearing about new iMacs and they are always just "a week" away. The good news is I can guarantee this rumor will eventually be right.
* This time though they say it will not be the Retina iMacs of past rumors, but a simple speed bump
* A small 100Mhz (0.1GHz) processor bump. updated to Thunderbolt 2.
* Also possibly a small price cut.
* There are what appears to be code references to new iMacs in the recent OS X 10.9.4 Mavericks betas.
* Ming-Chi Kuo, also expects Apple to debut a low-cost iMac sometime this quarter. Not clear if that would be in this batch of updates.
* Apple is expected to announce the refresh later in the week, instead of on Tuesday as usually do.
V Apple replaces iPhone charges in Europe
* Apple has announced that it will replace potentially dangerous 5-watt European USB power adapters that were shipped with the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPhone 4S, as well as sold separately from October 2009 to September 2012.
* Apple has said that the USB adapters can overheat and pose a safety risk in "rare cases."
* Affected adapters are identified as "Model A1300." The redesigned adapter, "Model A1400," does not need to be replaced.
V To get a replacement take the charger and your iPhone to an Apple Retail Store or a participating Apple Authorized Service Provider.
* The iPhone serial number needs to be verified, so you’ll need it to get the replacement
* If you can’t get to a store contact Apple Technical Support and arrange an exchange.
* If you need to charge while you wait for the replacement Apple is advising you to charge using the USB cable via your Mac.
V Feedback, commentary, opinions
V A little WWDC feedback
* Play comment from Cesar
V SSD upgrade in my Macbook Pro
* I had held off because the cost per MB of SSDs were just too high, but pricing has come way down.
* I also did not want less than about 500GB of storage.
* Picked up a Crucial m500 480GB drive on Amazon for around $215.00 USD
V Also got an OWC data doubler kit and OWC SuperSlim for Apple SuperDrive external USB drive enclosure.
OWC
* To get the DVD Player working requires a Terminal PLIST hack
* Or use VLC for DVD playing
VLC
V I used the iFixit App for install instructions
* I also highly recommend their Pro Tech Toolkit ($64.95 USD)
* The speed difference has been phenomenal.
* I have not used TRIM Enabler because the drive is new and there is heated debate on whether or not there are any benefits or not. I expect email from both camps now.
V The case of the missing SSD
* This is I believe the most amazing and strange story I’ve heard since doing the Maccast. Feel like something out of a spy film.
* Ali was on holiday and had is MacBook Pro with him. The went out for the day an d he hid it in a cabinet. When he returned after dinner to work the Mac was there, but it wouldn’t boot.
* He had upgraded with a Crucial SSD and thought that may be the issue. He called Crucial support and tried some standard reset/reboot tricks but nothing worked.
* The also recommended disconnecting and reconnecting the drive, but obviously Ali didn't have the necessary tools.
* When he got home he opened up the Mac to find a 500 GB Hitachi drive and not his Crucial SSD.
* The Mac itself was definitely his, but it had a blank drive.
V The assumption is the drive was taken for the data.
* Industrial espionage? Real espionage?
V Ali wants to know what could the thieves access?
* The drive has 4 accounts. Three users plus a guest
* The guest account has no password. The other three do, but not incredibly secure ones.
* The can’t do too much without the passwords assuming you don;t have the Mac set to auto-login to an account at boot-up.
* They could use a cracking app to try and get the passwords and if there are common dictionary words, with common "tricks" like 3 for "E" and 1 or "I" or "L" then it wouldn’t take too long to break in.
* Unfortunately there is not much you can do after the fact to protect the data.
V Protect data in advance
* Use strong passwords
* Enable File Vault 2
* Use encrypted disk images for sensitive data <— this doesn’t help if they’ve cracked your user account password though.
* Lock laptop in hotel room safe or ask to use the hotel safe.
V No floating time zone in Reminders
* Carlos emailed me to express some frustration with dated reminders in the Reminders app
* Carlos often travels between time zones ad has reminders set to specific dates and times
V As he moves time zones the reminder is shifted accordingly
* In some cases this means the reminder can go off later than expected.
* this happens if your iOS device is set to set the time zone automatically based on Location
V Normally is likely what you want, but in some cases it might not be.
* If it’s, call Bob at 3:00 PM and it’s set in PDT, then you would want it shifted to 6:00 PM if you were on the east coast, because that would still be 3:00 PM in the time zone you set the reminder in.
V But some events you might want adjusted always to be the same time regardless of time zone. Say taking medication at 8:00 AM each morning, in the current Reminders it would be adjusted.
* So if you set it in Pacific Time and then went to New York for a week you’d be reminded at 11:00 AM each day (8:00 AM PDT).
* This may or may not be the desired result.
* Basically, Reminders doesn’t have time zone support
V Time Zone support is a feature in the Calendar app that lets you enter events in the time zone they will happen in and then they will be adjusted for the Time Zone you are currently in.
* It’s normally on by default.
V In OS X:
* Calendar > Preferences
* Click on 'Advanced'
* Check on "Turn on time zone support"
V In iOS:
* Settings > Mail, Contacts & Calendars
* Scroll down to the 'Calendars' Settings
* Tap 'Time Zone Support'
* When enabled time zone support gives you a drop down option when entering an event to set the time zone the event is in. Then the time will be adjusted for whatever time zone you are in.
* Meaning if you set the time for 12:00 PM PDT and then move to the Eastern Time Zone, the event will appear in your calendar at 3:00 PM EDT.
* There is also a "floating" time zone option which keeps the event at the enter time regardless of time zone.
* So Reminders basically ALWAYS has time zone support
V So possible fixes/work arounds if you want a reminder to happen at a specific time and not be adjusted for the local time zone?
V Turn off auto setting of the time zone based on location
* On iOS, Settings > General > Date & Time. Turn off 'Set Automatically'
* Mac: System Preferences > Date & Time. In the 'Date & Time' tab uncheck 'Set date and time automatically'.
* Probably not ideal for most people as you’ll have to always manually set your Date & Time
* Enter your reminder in the Calendar instead of Reminders app setting the time zone to "floating".
* Use a 3rd party to-do app that doesn't adjust the time
V Memory "vampires"
* Glen wrote to tell me that he is battling the forces of darkness on his Mac.
* Well at least he’s fighting memory issues
* Glen says he noticed that even after quitting apps the memory didn’t appear to free up.
* He wanted to know about using apps like Memory Clean, to increase the amount of "Free" memory.
V First we need to understand how OS X uses memory
* Free: This is the amount of RAM that's not being used.
* Wired: Information in RAM that can't be moved to the Mac's drive. The amount of Wired memory depends on the applications you are using.
* Active: This information is in RAM and has been recently used.
* Inactive (Vampire memory as Glen calls it): This information is in RAM but it is not actively being used, it was recently used.
* Used: This is the total amount of RAM used. (total of wired, active, and inactive)
* You used to be able to see the stats for Free, Wired, Active, Inactive & Used memory in Activity Monitor, prior to OS X Mavericks
V In Mavericks it now has been made into the "Memory Pressure" graph in the middle of the stats.
* Green – RAM memory resources are available.
* Amber – RAM memory resources are being tasked.
* Red – RAM memory resources are depleted and OS X is using the drive for memory.
* If you see a lot of red then you’ll want to quit apps to free up memory.
V Tools like Memory Cleaner basically manually force the purging of the "inactive" memory.
* The thing is "inactive" memory is available if it’s needed by apps.
* It also is there in case you re-launch and app or document, it won’t have to be reloaded into memory which makes it faster.
* You can see this if you launch and app, quit it, then relaunch. You’ll notice most times the second launch is significantly faster.
V In Glen’s case the issue was that Final Cut and Motion would slow down on his iMac with 4GB of RAM
* He also would notice on boot up that with no Apps running the system would show 3GB or RAM in use with just 1GB free.
* Using Memory Clean he could get more free RAM and improve performance for about 20 mins, but then it would slow down again.
* With memory intensive apps I guess you may get some benefits in forcing a memory clean up, but in Glen’s case I think it’s a classic case of just not enough physical RAM.
* Take a look at the memory pressure and also look at the 'Swap Used' value. If that is high then you are using a lot of Virtual memory.
* You might also consider upgrading to an SSD
V Configure an older Airport in OS X Mavericks
* If you are like me you may have an older 802.11g Airport somewhere on your network.
* The trouble is that Apple’s Airport Utility 6.3.X will not let you configure older models.
* To add to your trouble Airport 5.6.1, while available on Apple’s support site for download, was last available for Snow Leopard and will not run on later OSes
* Luckily there is a hack-a-round developed by Corey Mahler
* It’s basically a second "launcher" application that you install in a folder next to the AirPort Utility 5.6.1 app. You launch it and then it will link in some needed libraries and launch the 5.6.1 version on OS X Mavericks.
* You use the launcher app each time you need to run Airport Utility 5.6.1
* The launcher app is not signed, so the first time you need to run it you need to do the Control+Click > Open trick and say OK.
V Closing
V Podcast Marketplace
V Thanks to my sponsors
* Smile
V Gazelle
* 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.
V Lynda.com
* lynda.com helps you learn and keep-up-to-date with your software, pick up brand-new skills, or explore new hobbies with their easy to follow video tutorials.
* Get a free trial by going to lynda.com/maccast
V Supporters
* Bandwidth for the Maccast provided by CacheFly at cachefly.com
* Advertsing is handled by Backbeat Media at backbeatmedia.com
V Keep emails coming. Audio comments.
V 281-622-4269 or 281-Mac-I-Am-9
* PLEASE LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
* MacCast Forum
* Follow me on Twitter
* Checkout the page on Facebook