Maccast 2014.12.11 - Show #508
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V Opening
V Opening Music
* Music is Say Anything by Manda and the Marbles
V Sponsor: Gazelle
V Gazelle
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V News
V The ghost of Fairplay’s past
* I typically don’t like talking lawsuits, but one from long in Apple’s past seems to be finally going to trial
* A class-action lawsuit that was filed nine years ago, back in 2005, is finally being allowed to go to trial
* It all started in 2004 when RealNetworks figured out a way to allow customers of their Music Downloading service to be able to transfer purchases on to the iPod.
V Something they called RealNetworks' Harmony technology.
* Not long after Real did their thing the famous hacker who cracked the DVD encryption, DVD Jon, also cracked FairPlay and came out with "DoubleTwist". There were also product like jHymn.
* At the time only iTunes purchases using Apple’s Fairplay DRM or non-DRM’d tracks were supposed to be playable on iPods.
* In 2005 the lawsuit was filed alleging that that Apple violated federal antitrust laws and California's unfair competition law by requiring that customers use an iPod to listen to music purchased from the iTunes Music Store.
V In 2009 Apple was successful in removing a complaint in the suit over Apple’s "refusal to license FairPlay technology to other companies".
* You might remember also in that year Apple was successful in getting the Music companies to remove the Fairplay DRM from iTunes purchases all together.
* Still though the lawsuit remained with the claim that Apple used FairPlay to gain and hold a monopoly on the digital music download and portable media player markets.
V The lawsuit seeks about $350 million in damages for customers who purchased iPod classic, iPod shuffle, iPod touch and iPod nano models between Sept. 12, 2006 and March 31, 2009.
* Plaintiffs say the "lock-in" caused consumers to be overcharged tens of millions of dollars.f
* If Apple is found in violation of U.S. antitrust laws though, The Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 mandates that the damages be tripled. So Apple would have to shell out closer to $1 billion.
V In 2011 Steve Jobs gave a video deposition on the case
* Media is trying to get the video of Steve’s deposition released to the public.
* When asked about Real Networks in the deposition Jobs reportedly quipped, "Do they still exist"?
* In the tape Jobs is said to be evasive answering "I don't remember," "I don't know" or "I don't recall" to many of the questions.
* When asked if the labels complained about Real’s Harmony technology Jobs responded saying, "It doesn't really matter because in fixing holes for DRM hacks, it might screw up the Real technology anyway, as collateral damage"
* Likely much of the plaintiffs case will be made out of the emails they have subpoenaed
V Some emails and testimony is starting to come out:
* Jobs was concerned about the Music Match service and wanted to be sure their files couldn’t be transferred to an iPod
* Jobs also said Apple was "very scared" of breaking digital sales terms stipulated by record labels.
V Apple didn’t deny deleting music that was installed from competitive services via hack-arounds
* Apple would display an error message and instruct the user to restore the factory settings. When they did the offending music would be removed.
* Apple claims they were concerned about security of the hacked files.
* In an email to Eddie Cue Steve Jobs equated the hacks to, "Someone (is) breaking into our house".
* " Updates that deleted non-Apple music files were intended to protect consumers from those system break-ins."
* Apple saw it as patching security holes in the DRM and maintaining their good relations with the record labels.
* Apple contends that there was plenty of competition in both the audio player and digital music markets
* Apple will also likely focus on iPod prices going down in the years where the plaintiffs argue Apple enjoyed a monopoly.
* They were concerned that the record companies would be agitated if music could be copied from other services to Apple’s devices because it would show a failure in the DRM systems THEY (the record labels) were insisting on. They didn’t want customers to be able to copy music from device to device.
* Phil Schiller and Eddie Cue are expected to testify.
V Is Apple’s security too strong
V The US government thinks so
* Department of Justice (DOJ) needs an iPhone 5s decrypted and are invoking an 18th-century federal law to force Apple to help.
* The All Writs Act allows courts to issue a writ, or order, which compels a person or company to do something.
* Last month it was reported that DOJ officials told Apple that it was "marketing to criminals" and that "a child will die" because of Apple’s security design choices.
* But recently a federal judge in Oakland specifically notes that "Apple is not required to attempt to decrypt, or otherwise enable law enforcement’s attempts to access any encrypted data."
* Apparently, that won’t stop the DOJ from trying.
* The thing is, Apple has claimed it doesn’t have the keys, so even with their 18th century order the DOJ is probably out of luck.
V Yet maybe they could learn something from a 7-year old who bypassed his fathers TouchID
* CNN had a story about cryptography professor, Matthew Green and his seven year old son who hacked his dad’s Touch ID
* See, early one morning his son Harrison wanted Angry Birds Transformers and his dad’s iPhone was passcode locked.
* Harrison simple snuck in and "borrowed" his Dad’s thumbprint while he was sleeping. Then he was able to fling birds at pigs to his hearts content, well really until his Dad woke up.
V Twitter plans to take inventory of your apps
* If you use the official Twitter app on your device they have announced App Graph
* It will take note of the Apps you use on your device and send that data to Twitter
* It appears to watch app specific x-callback URLs (ULRs that can launch an app and take actions, I think it’s how apps like Launch Center Pro work).
V You can stop it my enabling the "Limit Ad Tracking" options on your device
* Settings > Privacy > Advertising
V Or you can disable it in the Twitter app
* Tap the Me tab.
* Tap the gear icon.
* Tap Settings.
* Select an account.
* Under Privacy, disable “Tailor Twitter based on my apps.”
V Development with our Apple Overlords
V Being a Apple developer can be hard on many levels
* Programming is hard
* Designing and marketing in a sea of millions of apps is hard
* Making a living for $0.99 or or one in-app purchase at a time, less Apple’s 30% take, is hard.
* Most developers know this and are up for the challenges and that makes them awesome
* But what really stinks is not knowing the rules of the game your playing and having them changed on you so frequently.
* We knew this was an issue early on in App development, but here we are years later and it’s still apparently a problem.
V The developer of Drafts was told to remove buttons from the widget for his app
* They allowed you to launch the app and start a new document containing the content s of your clipboard
* He was told that Today widgets need to be for presentation only.
* There are LOTS of apps that have interactive widgets, Evernote for example.
* Apple demoed the eBay widget on stage at WWDC and it was interactive letting you bid on auctions.
V It may be that a button that launches an App is not allowed, but interactivity that let’s you interact within the Widget is?
* That’s exactly the issue though. The rules are not clear.
* An app gets approved then unapproved with a minor update.
* Seems to be the whim of the reviewer you get that day.
* Remember PCalc had their widget pulled before Apple reversed the decision
V Panic was told they would need to remove their iCloud Drive uploading capabilities from Transmit
* Basically the "Send" feature that lets to send files from one source to another via the share sheet.
* The issue was App guideline 2.23, basically an App cannot upload content to iCloud Drive unless the content was created in the app itself.
* This has HUGE ramifications for many Apps.
* The bigger issue though is that to remove iCloud upload the entire "sheet" needs to be disabled, so it takes iCloud and any other services (dropbox, box, etc) with it.
* What about my favorite File Manager on iOS, Documents by Readdle?
V Apple TV adds even more "channels"
* New content from UFC, The Scene, Fusion, and DailyMotion
V YouTube has been re-designed
* Need to "activate" your account with another device or computer (annoying)
* Allows for YouTube ads on videos.
V Apple seems to be scrambling to maintain a hold on the set-top box market
* A report by Park Associates claims Apple TV slipped to 3rd in market share for streaming media devices behind Google’s Chromecast
* The Apple TV now sits at 17% to Google’s 20% and both are behind Roku at 29%. Amazon Fire TV, the newest player, is in 4th, but already at 10% share.
* 10% of US households purchased a streaming player in the first three quarters of 2014. That matches data for all of 2013.
V But I think channels and content deals are the wrong thing for Apple to be chasing.
* Recent studies show that only about 2.9 percent US pay TV subscribers are "very likely" to cancel their cable this year.
* But I think there are a lot more who want to,if the cable companies weren’t holding their favorite content hostage.
* Adding cable subscription locked "channels" to your set-top box gives those customers choice of when and how to view content, but does almost nothing to change the way we find, watch, or experience TV.
* I don’t think this is how Steve Jobs, "cracked" the next generation TV experience.
V Current devices are becoming lame "on-demand" boxes for the cable companies
* They don’t even get all the content
* It’s hard to set up with lame "auth codes". You have to use a second computer or tablet top set it up.
V You can argue that Apple is doing what it "has" to and I get that. What I question is why?
* Apple doesn’t often make concessions so that it can be a "me too" player in a market
* I want them to lead and also make the tough call to get out when it can’t make the world better.
V I believe Apple has a vision and a plan for something better and it’s a path that has many obstacles and many of them huge.
* My issue is they seem to not be trying to unblock the path as much as find an easier way around.
* Trouble is, get too far down the path of concessions and compromises and you may find you’ve lost your way and can’t see the path back.
* I love the Apple TV for what it is and more importantly for what it ISN’T (or shouldn’t be).
V If you want "channels" get an $80-150/mo cable subscription a Chromecast, FireTV, or Roku. Me, I don’t want those.
* I want the "Adam Channel"
* The content I choose regardless of where it came from.
* I can do this now with buying shows on iTunes, but selection is not complete, often delayed (thanks cable companies).
* At $40/season I can buy 2-3 shows per month for my "Adam Channel". 24-36 shows a year.
* But my Apple TV let’s me watch all that stuff without a cable package and without "channels"
* Supplement with paid streaming services, like Netflix and it’s a nice package.
* Why do I need more?
V Latest in Apple numbers
* Seems like every week analysts are crunching various numbers on Apple.
* By themselves these numbers are interesting, but don’t make much of a segment so I figured I group them together to give you a weekly look at Apple’s box scores
V With the Apple Watch on the horizon UBS claims smartwatch interest is growing
* I saw this over on MacRumors
* They did the study with 4,000 participants across 4 countries
* The survey showed that 10 percent of respondents said they were "very likely" to buy a smartwatch next year
* Now UBS used that figure to extrapolate that if 10 percent of Apple’s customers with Apple Watch compatible devices bought on then Apple would sell 24 million in the first nine months.
V That assumes that the 10 percent only buy an Apple Watch, which is not a likely scenario.
* Of those "most liklies" more said they were considering a Samsung Gear than an Apple Watch, but UBS thinks that will change when Apple’s device is released.
V A new study published by Kantar World Panel claims that Apple’s iPhone 6 plus has already captured 41 percent of the US Gigantiphone market (that Phablet market for those of you who prefer that moniker).
* Still gigantiphones make up just 10 percent of the overall smartphone market. That number did quadruple over last year though when it was just 2 percent.
* The Kantar study claims the iPhone 6 is Apple’s top selling phone making up 33 percent of all iPhone sales.
* The iPhone 6 Plus ranks fourth at 10 percent with the iPhone 5s in second at 26 percent and the often claimed to be "failing" iPhone 5c in 3rd with 18 percent of the iOS device share.
V There was a strange report circling that DigiTimes claimed Apple would replace the iPhone 5c with a new 4-inch model next year.
* If the 5c is selling well I guess anything is possible. Maybe a refresh with the iPhone 5s innards?
V A misleading headline from The Financial Times based on IDC estimates claimed "Apple has lost its longstanding lead over Google in U.S. schools,"
* Luckily the folks at AppleInsider are on top of that kind of misleading headline and broke it down
* The IDC estimates were looking at collective shipments of netbooks running Google's Chrome OS to U.S. schools and showed that those surpassed iPad sales in the September quarter by 13,500 units.
* Later in the report they contradict their own headline saying "Apple retains a slight lead over Google" when comparing all the products they market to education.
V iOS 8.1.2 released
* Contains bug fixes and addresses an issue that caused ringtones purchased through the iTunes Store to be removed from an iOS device.
* Apple advises users who have lost ringtones to restore them by visiting itunes.com/restore-tones from their iOS devices.
V Apple also updated the Find My iPhone feature on iCloud.com to use Apple Maps, instead of Google Maps.
* The change eliminates most if not all remaining Google Maps content from Apple products.
V Apple also seeded iOS 8.2 beta 2 to developers
* Contained additional support for the new WatchKit SDK
* Also fixed issues related to international languages.
V Apple Watch production starts soon?
* We had heard most recently that Apple had to bump back Watch production but now news from 'G for Games', reported on my Cult of Mac, seems to suggest differently.
* They say that Apple’s suppliers have had "breakthroughs" in yield issues for critical components like the processors and displays
* As such they report that Quanta, who’s believed to be Apple’s main Apple Watch supplier, could start production this month instead of at the end of February
* Is been reported that Quanta has expanded is production workforce by 8,000 to get ready for Apple Watch production and wants to add up to another 10,000 to meet Apple’s demand.
V It’s expected that once things get rolling the will have 3 to 5 million units ready to go at launch and will ship 24 million by the end of 2015
* Those numbers would constitute an astronomical success for the Apple Watch
* In all of 2013 only 3 million smartwatches were sold and for 2014 the latest NPD data, from October 6, 2013 to May 25, 2014, showed just 500,000 smartwatches had been sold in the US.
* Even if you include Fitness bands it’s big, numbers from Juniper Research, suggest there are about 19 million fitness bands in use this year.
V The one question the G for Games rumor doesn’t answer is when will the Apple Watch ship.
* Does the early production mean we could see an Apple Watch in February like some early rumors had predicted?
* Possibly, but I think we’re still looking at an April or May launch. I’d love to be wrong though.
V Feedback, commentary, opinions
V Delete 'All' Music in iOS
* Last show we were trying to help out Andy
* Seemed like in iOS 8 there was no longer a way to delete "All" downloaded Music from the 'Usage' area in settings.
* There used to be a button there, but it appeared to be removed.
V Don’t know how I missed it, but many of you pointed out the obvious
* 1) Go to Settings > General > Usage > Manage Storage
* 2) Find 'Music' in the list and tap it.
* 3) Then swipe right to left across the "All Music" option to get the 'Delete' option.
* 4) Tap 'Delete' and confirm.
* You can also tap the 'Edit' button on the same screen and get the 'delete' icons next to each item.
* That’s it. Not sure if this get’s the 'cached' streaming files, but my guess is that it does.
V Victor’s Apple Watch thoughts
* I was able to get our old friend Victor Cajiao on a recent Maccast Member episode and thought I’d play part of the conversation for you.
* Play segment with Victor.
* You can get the full episode by becoming a Maccast Member.
V Know your iCloud 2-factor recovery key
* Owen Williams from "The Next Web" had a trying week.
* Hackers tried to access his iCloud account, and no you haven’t heard this one before.
* In his case he had enabled Apple’s 2-factor authentication so the hackers were thwarted.
* The trouble began for Owen though when went to regain access to his account.
* Because it had been locked even though he still had his trusted device, he could not log into his account unit he reset the password using Apple’s "iForgot" service.
* When you use iForgot to reset the password on a 2-factor enabled account you MUST provide the recovery key Apple gave you when you turned on 2-factor.
* Owen, unfortunately, had misplaced his key. Luckily he eventually found it in a "ancient" Time Machine backup.
* If he had lost that key permanently he would have lost the account permanently.
V When you enable 2-factor print or copy and store that key someplace secure and where you can get to it when and if you need it.
* I put mine into a secure note in 1Password. I attached a PDF print-out of the key to the note.
* You could also use a firesafe or safety deposit box.
V If you’re listening to this, have 2-factor authentication on for iCloud, and know you have lost your Recovery Key you can generate a new one.
* As long as you still have access to a trusted device and you are not locked out of your iCloud account.
* 1) Go to My Apple ID, select "Manage your Apple ID," and sign in.
* 2) Under Edit your Apple ID, select "Password and Security."
* 3) Under Recovery Key, select Replace Lost Key and follow the onscreen instructions.
* Note: Your old Recovery Key will be deactivated immediately and cannot be used to reset your password or access your account.
V OS X Dictation Commands
* Play comment from Gary
* There are two different set of "extra" command in OS X Yosemite (some work in OS X Mavericks too)
V First are the ones like in Dragon Dictate, like "New line", "All caps", "quote", "end quote"
* Apple has a support article with a list of these
* This is something that is new, or more accurately changed, in OS X Yosemite.
* Going all the way back to the OS 9 days, and maybe earlier Macs came with "Speakable Items". Voice commands for the Mac.
V If you have a pre-OS X Yosemite Machine you can enable it:
* System Preferences > Accessibility > Speakable Items
* Set the 'Speakable Items' option to 'On' and you’ll get a little round floating UI. It will display the key to press to start listening 'Esc' by default.
* You can speak the command 'Show me what to say' to get a list of commends
* Prior to OS X Yosemite they were fairly limited. Still you can launch apps, close windows, move up and down pages, etc. Even have the Mac tell you a joke.
* You can also Listen continuously with a trigger keyword. I set up 'Hey Macintosh'.
* In OS X Yosemite the Speakable Items were merged into the core Dictation architecture
* The round UI is tossed out in favor of the Dictation Response HUD and the Dictation Commands are enabled by default.
* Speak the command "Show commands" to see a list of the commands you can say.
V You can also turn on the "Enable advanced commands" options to do even more
* Choose System Preferences from the Apple menu.
* Click the Dictation & Speech icon.
* Click On to enable Dictation.
* Next, select the option to use Enhanced Dictation. Wait a few minutes for your Mac to download related software to enable this feature.
* Choose Accessibility from the View menu.
* Choose Dictation from the list on the left side of the Accessibility pane.
* Click the Dictation Commands button. You can see a list of available commands in the Dictation Commands sheet.

A starting set of commands are enabled by default. Additional speakable items like "Open document" and "Click item" are available by enabling advanced commands using these next steps:
* Select (check) the option to "Enable advanced commands" in the Dictation Commands sheet that appears.
* Click Done.
* You can also add your own commands from the Advanced Commands window
* There is even a new 'Dictation Command' workflow for Automator which you can use to create your own workflows with.
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