Maccast 2017.07.08 - Show #630
Links
V Opening
V Opening Music
* Music is Say Anything by Manda and the Marbles
V Sponsor: JAMF
V JAMF Now
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V News
V Apple Music now has 30M subscribers
* Up from the 27 million Apple announced at WWDC in June
* The new numbers come from a Billboard interview with Jimmy Iovine
V Good growth but Iovine thinks Apple need to do more to stay relevant
* Apple’s been adding back catalog and keeping up with new hits and exclusives.
* See competition from free services like YouTube as a threat.
* See’s helping artists create new exclusive content like films, videos, and radio shows as a way to keep the business healthy and relevant
* Converting listeners into fans
* I know thanks to Apple Music I am finding and discovering more new artists and new music. Not sure I’m a “fan” yet.
* The music industry saw a 17 percent revenue jump for the U.S. recorded-music business in the first half of 2017 and Goldman Sachs estimates the subscription streaming will drive the global record business to nearly triple to $41 billion by 2030.
* I do love the new “Friends” feature in Apple Music.
V Will Apple make ARM based Macs?
* This is a question that has been pondered for a few years now.
* The subject has new life thanks to a Nikkei report that claims Apple wants to make "core processors for notebooks, modem chips for iPhones, and a chip that integrates touch, fingerprint and display driver functions."
V Apple is supposedly investing in R&D for broadband modem chips
* Higher end a former Qualcomm modem engineer
* Also currently in a pretty big patent fight over cellular modem royalties with Qualcomm
* Report says Apple would build it’s ARM Mac processors using ARM Holding’s technology.
V This is a tactic Apple has taken with the iPhone that has worked well for them
* They can better integrate new technologies
V I can see a couple scenarios playing out
* Secondary dedicated ARM processors for some functions. Like Apple already does for the TouchBar
* “Dual” processors systems with intelligent switching, like Apple does with GPUs
* Starting with models like the MacBook
* Keep in mind that report are in benchmarking tools Apple’s A11 chips already beat out the Intel chips currently in MacBooks.
* Apple released ARM ready source code for the XNU kernels found in iOS and macOS
* Boot camp is one potential roadblock to ARM based Macs, but Microsoft is working on ARM compatible Windows
V Apple acquires French AI startup
* From TechCrunch
* Apple reported acquired Regaind, a small French company, focused on using AI for photo and facial analysis
* The company claims to focus on not just finding and recognizing the content of an image, but also is able to assess the images technical and aesthetically values
* For faces they will recognize gender, age, and emotion
* The idea being to use sharpness, exposure, colors, and other properties to surface better images or the ones you are most likely wanting to find or use in a given context.
V There are many ways Apple could leverage this technology
* Memories, Faces, Animoji, etc.
V A couple iPhone 8s reported with bulging batteries
* Two photos surfaced online. One from Taiwan and another in Japan
* A third was later reported in Hong Kong
* Then four more were reported by AppleInsider.
* Apple has confirmed they’re looking into the incidents
* Typical failure rates on lithium ion batteries is about one in one million, so currently the reports are not a sign of really anything that wouldn’t normally occur.
* Only battery bulging, no fires, injuries, or explosions
* No indication this is a widespread issue
* Share my theory as to one possible cause.
V iPhone X shortages still very likely
V Ming Chi Kuo reduced his estimates for fall iPhone X shipment to between 30 to 35 million units
* Not surprising the complexity of the True Depth camera system is being cited for production shortages
* Does feel Apple’s suppliers will quickly overcome the issues.
* Thinks other manufacturers are up to two and a half year behind in facial recognition technology
* RBC Capital Markets survey shows 57 percent are planning to buy the 256GB model
V When asked what the iPhone X’s most attractive feature was 46 percent said wireless charging, 24% facial recognition, and 14% attractive design
* No OLED screen or better cameras?
* Kuo also believes iPhone 8/8 Plus sales are going better than expected
V iOS and macOS High Sierra updates
V iOS 11.0.2
* Addresses an iPhone 8/8 Plus issue that was causing a “cracklings” sound in the earpiece during phone and FaceTime calls
V Reports that Apple Pay Cash is being tested by Apple Employees and might be released in iOS 11.1
* The feature was enabled internally via a device certificate given to employees
* Money is sent and received via an app in the Messages App
* Funds are stored on an “Apple Pay Cash” card in your wallet
* Money from the card can be transferred from an attached bank account (debit) or credit card. Credit Card transaction incur a 3 percent fee.
* Use money on Apple Pay Cash card anywhere you can use Apple Pay
V High Sierra 10.13 Supplemental Update
* Fixed a bug where encrypted APFS volumes were exposing the password via the “Password Hint”.
* If you had a volume encrypted before the update was applied see this [Apple Support Article]( https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208168). You’ll need to back up, erase, and restore the encrypted APFS volume upon updating.
V Feedback, commentary, opinions
V iPhone wake issue. Not just me
* Play comment from Gary
V Understanding Apple’s new codecs
* Based on the h.265 spec.
V HEIF
* High Efficiency Image File Format
* Uses about half the files size of a similar quality and resolution JPEG
* HEIF is a file container so it can store sequences of images (Live photos)
* Supports transparency (like PNG and GIF)
* Can store 16-bit image color for extended color range
* EXIF, ICC & XMP metadata
* When you export or share outside of macOS High Sierra or iOS 11 you get standard JPEG
V HEVC
V Final Cut X currently doesn’t support the new codec.
* Will import, but appear as black screen with audio
* Transferring images via AirDrop will convert them back to JPEG
* You can convert existing HEIF and HEVC images and videos in Photos using the export feature
V Also note that if you have an older Mac using Sierra that dragging an HEIC photo out of Photos to the desktop results in lower resolution image.
* 2048 x 1536 vs. the native 4032 x 3024
* Need to choose File > Export to maintain resolution.
* Issue doesn’t happen in High Sierra.
V How to change formats
* Settings > Camera
* Under ‘Format’ change from “High Efficiency” to “Most Compatible”
V It's a licensed technology so it might take a bit for support to come to your favorite image or video editor
* May never come
* Not a really big deal because you can also simple import as JPEG.
V Questions about APFS
* I’m getting lots of these especially about how it works with external drives and compatibility between HFS+.
V One of the biggest is will files from an APFS formatted volume be able to be copied to and used on volume that is not APFS
* Absolutely. Files are in a format independent of the filesystem
* Filesystem structure generally only impacts the way documents are managed and store on a drive.
V What gets converted to APFS
* Solid state boot drives are converted by default and you cannot opt out.
* You can convert external SSDs, but keep in mind they will then only be readable by systems running macOS Sierra or High Sierra. (Apple officially says ONLY High Sierra supports APFS).
* HDDs are supported, but drives are not currently supported, but are expected to be in the near future.
* Not really ay advantages in converting an HDD to APFS.
* You cannot convert an APFS volume back to HFS+ without re-formatting, so backup first
V Are cloned backups supported?
* Both Carbon Copy Cloner and Super Duper are offering versions that support APFS
* That said, both also note that Apple has left some features undocumented so they’ve had to “guess” at some thing to get support working.
* Personally I would wait a bit if you’re concerned about having reliable cloned backup.
V Can I use HFS+ and APFS volumes on the same Mac at the same time
* Absolutely. You can copy files back and forth no problem.
* APFS should also work fine with most cloud based services. (Still check before you upgrade).
V Be careful using encryption with HFS+
* Seems to be an issue where when you select a volume, right-click, and choose Encrypt on and HFS+ volume in High Sierra that it will be converted to APFS.
V Encryption is built in don’t disable FileVault
* It’s just now that encryption is part of the filesystem format
* Means it’s more efficient and less likely for things to go wrong.
* You still need to “enable” it using FileVault.
V Optimizing Storage
* Rick was asking about tools for cleaning-up and optimizing storage on the Mac before upgrading to macOS High Sierra
* Always good to do a bit of spring cleaning
V I like to run [Clean My Mac 3]( https://cleanmymac.com)
* Remove old system junk and cache files, Mail attachments, etc.
* You can review everything
* It also has a "Large & Old Files" scan that will let you find and archive off stuff.
V Another great app for finding and dealing with large files is [Daisy Disk]( https://daisydiskapp.com)
* Available in Mac App Store
V Large file scanner built into macOS Sierra
* 1) Apple Menu > About this Mac
* 2) Click the "Storage" tab.
* 3) Click "Manage…" and choose 'Documents' in the sidebar
V It will show you three tabs, large files, Downloads, File Browser
* hover over an item to see a magnifying glass icon (show in Finder) or a "X" (delete)
* Be aware that clicking delete will erase the item (after confirming)
V A big culprit is old iOS backups. Check in iTunes.
* iTunes > Preferences
* Click on the Devices tab
* You'll get a list of all your local iTunes backups and the dates
* You can select any old ones you no longer need and click "delete backup"
V You can also look directly in the Finder at '~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup'
* I had some in there that were not showing up in my iTunes.
V An iOS 11 and a Safari tip
V One-finger zoom in iOS 11 Maps
* Double-tap in the map, but on the second tap, don’t lift your finger.
* Slide up or down to zoom-in and out
V Safari's new 'website' preferences
* This new in Safari 11
* Safari > Preferences. Click on the 'Websites' tab
* Reader, you can set your favorite site to automatically use "Reader" mode.
* Control Content blockers, stop auto-pay video ads, control zoom level. Camera and mic access. Location and Notifications (website)
* Also manage plug-ins from here
* In Advanced > 'Show full website address' setting for 'Smart Search Field'
V Payment processors don't get Apple Pay
* Play comment from Eric
* I will just re-iterate that Apple has a BIG problem with getting Apple Pay to work correctly at retail.
V I know they are not the ones implementing these policies.
* Not sure if it's the banks, the payment processors, the credit card companies, or the retailers
* But that's not the point.
* They need to be working with whomever they need to to get broader deployment and less friction at the terminal.
* Good news in the US is that Safeway will be implementing Apple Pay.
* Even if Apple need to pay off retailers with kickback or incentives it's worth it.
* Apple Pay will NEVER replace credit cards if it is not ubiquitous.
* This is starting to feel like the days before we had a national bank (I know I'm being grandiose, but I'm trying to make a point).
V Closing
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