shownotes_20160108

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News
  Dubious claims of 256GB iPhone
    Citing typical "supply chain" sources we have a claim that the next iPhone could come with a 256GB storage option, at least on the Plus
    Comes from a Chinese site, Mydrivers.
      They have in the past claimed the original iPad mini update would be as thin as an iPad 2 and have a Sharp IGZO display
    They also seem to believe that Apple will increase the iPhone 7 Plus battery up 12 percent to a whopping 3100 mAh battery
      Last update Apple actually reduced the battery size to save thickness and weight
      The battery stayed the same because of the more efficient A9 processor
      Recent rumors of a new "composite" material for the case that could remove antenna lines
        Also said it will be waterproof
    Display will likely still be TFT-IPS and not OLED
      Apple supposedly sealing contracts with their display providers for OLED but not expected in devices before 2018
      The new displays in the iPhone 7 are expected to use in-cell display technology making them thinner.
      The iPhone 7 might be as thin as the current iPod Touch (6.1mm)
    Renewed rumors that the 3.5mm headphone jack will be replaced by the Lightning connector
      With the move to an all digital connection Apple is said to be bringing in new functionality
        One rumor claims they will add noise cancelling technology that will be in the Phone and headphones
        3rd party's will be able to add the noise cancelling features for a licensing fee
      Many are not happy about this rumor
        A site, SumOfUs.org, has a petition that claims to have over 200,000 signatures from people imploring Apple to keep the 3.5mm jack
      Apple may do some things to lessen the "sting" of the transition
        9to5 Mac claims Apple will indeed ship Lightning-connected EarPods with the iPhone 7
        There's also a rumor that Apple is developing a set of Bluetooth in ear headphones with no cord.
        They would be individual ear pieces
        Users would charge the device with a special carrying case and they could ship as an available accessory when the iPhone 7 launches.
        Apple did file a trademark application last October for a product dubbed "AIRPODS".c
      Also a rumor Apple may add wireless charging.
    What else is coming soon
      iPhone 6c
        4-inch version of the iPhone 6
        Most pointing to it having an A9 processor and 2GB of RAM
        Touch ID, but no 3D Touch.
        Priced similar to the current iPhone 5s and possibly announced in March
      Apple Watch 2
        Announcement in March with an April ship date
        More sensors like possibly skin conductivity, blood oxygen level, and blood pressure
        FaceTime camera
        Thinner designs
        Upgraded WiFi, though many would like to see cellular access and GPS (not likely)
      iPad Air 3
        Since Apple didn't update the iPad Air this fall
        Would be updated in the first half of this year
        Updated specs to bring it inline with the latest iOS devices
        Processor, RAM, cameras, etc.
        Will not get 3D Touch
  More reports of Apple slowing iPhone production
    This time from the Japanese site Nikkei, they say Apple has too much excess iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus inventory in stores
    This time of year Apple would normally slow down a bit, but these cuts are rumored to be as high as 30 percent
    The strong dollar is also not helping, especially in many of the emerging markets Apple has seen growth in in recent years
    The production slow down is seen as a correction and the production levels are expected to be brought back to normal in the April-June quarter
    In the short term the cuts do seem to be impacting some of Apple's suppliers
      Many, including Touch panel maker TPK Holding and an iPhone chassis supplier Catcher, are lowering revenue estimates
      The suppliers are citing reduced client orders for the cutbacks and many analysts believe that client is Apple.
    Gene Munster still thinks Apple will meet it's iPhone guidance during their quarterly sales call which happens on Jan. 26th
      He expects Apple will still announce year over year growth for iPhone
      Apple projects revenue between $75.5 billion and $77.5 billion, with gross margins between 39 and 40 percent
  AT&T and Sprint killing off contracts
    Depending on how you feel about carrier subsidies this might make you happy or sad
    Verizon and T-Mobile had already moved to kill off contracts
    Engadget got a hold of leaked internal AT&T documents that say after January 8th they will not longer offer subsidized phones, including iPhones.
      You will need to buy the device outright or use the AT&T Next Plans
      Apple stopped offering subsidized iPhones in their retails stores when the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus went on sale.
    If you're a grandfathered "unlimited" plan subscriber this could impact you if you don't want to pay the additional $5/mo. To keep your unlimited plan.
    AT&T also recently started rolling out limited availability of cross-carrier VoLTE (voice over LTE)
      It's in limited areas and only calls to an unnamed "other"carrier.
    And since this party is growing looks like Sprint figured they better join in too
      In a leaked internal memo Sprint tells employees they are ending their 2-year pricing options
      No more subsidies
      They will now just offer the Lease and EasyPay options according to the leaked document
  USB-C on the rise at CES
    This week is the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas
    So far I haven't seen many showstoppers, but one trend that seems to be taking shape is many products and devices that support USB-C
    Monitors from Lenovo featuring at 24-inch model with multiple ways to connect and a 27-inch model with a single USB-C cable that carries power to charge your device
    Acer also announced a line up of USB-C supported monitors and ASUS jumped in with a 15.6-inch 1080p portable model.
      The ASUS display is 1.8 lbs and gets power and display signal via the single USB-C cable
    Griffin announced their own take a MagSafe with BreakSafe.
      It's a USB-C power cable that has a magnetic connector on the USB-C side
    LaCie announced both mobile and desktop updates to their Porsche Design lines. The new drives have USB-C connections and come in 1,2 and 4TB sizes for mobile and 4, 5, and 8TB sizes for desktop.
  CarPlay also getting mixed play at CES
    Apple isn't at CES, but their presence is always felt.
    This year so far it's CarPlay that seems to be getting some buzz even if that buzz is a mix of seemingly good and bad news
    First off Ford made the big announcement that it's adding CarPlay and Android Auto to all 2017 vehicles in North America equipped with BlackBerry's QNX-based SYNC 3 platform
      Also they said that 2016 cars that have a SYNC 3 system will get an upgrade later this year to add CarPlay and Android Auto support
    Fiat Chrysler also announced it would add CarPlay support to a "select number of vehicles" in 2016
      They didn't give specifics, but said cars with their UConnect systems with its 8.4-inch screen, along with a select number of other cars would be supported
    Toyota on the other had has moved forward on their stated intention to dump CarPlay
      They were one of the early supporters, but last year announced they would not adopts CarPlay
      At CES they announced support for, oddly enough, Ford's SmartDeviceLink
      SmartDeviceLink is the open-source version of Ford AppLink platform for smartphone apps and car's that allows "customers can use apps in their vehicle through voice recognition function and operation panel."
      Sounds more like Siri Eyes Free for apps and true device integration.
      Developers of iOS apps can build in SmartDeviceLink support to their apps, so the technology may still integrate with some apps
  Apple Pencil is an IC bundle of joy
    There's not a lot to the story other than pure awesomeness
    The Apple Pencil is an accessory that completes the iPad Pro.
      I love mine for drawing, writing, and heck, just tapping.
      It's an extension and enhancement to the 10 styli I have built into my hand.r
    And the tech inside might be the source of it's magical powers.
    Chipworks did an extensive analysis and found more than 15 semiconductors inside.
    The Apple Pencil is just 176 millimeters long, and 9 millimeters thick, so that's impressive
    They found most of the chips were from Texas Instruments and STMicroelectronics, but there are also chips from Maxim Integrated Products, Cambridge Silicon Radio, SiTime, Bosch, and Fairchild
    Even more amazing there is also a chip in the tip of the Apple Pencil (a replaceable part BTW). It's a tiny driver integrated circuit designed and fabricated by STMicroelectronics.
    And remember too that there is a 3.82 volt 0.329Wh battery in there too.
  Circus Ponies closes Notebook
    A long standing Mac app and great developer has left our community
    Jayson Adams from Circus Ponies announce he is ending development on the product after 13 years on the Mac
    He wrote on this site:
      "After 13 years in business, Circus Ponies has gone to that great Alphabet company in the sky. It was a good run, but we are done (as in no longer in business)."
    The product actually began as a NeXT application in the 90's
    Because of the reference to "Alphabet" and a http://circusponies.xyz link, some sites speculated that Circus Ponies was maybe acquired by Google.
    Jayson told the Mac Observer, that while flattered people believe the app was good enough to be picked up by Google, that is not what happened.
    Another theory is that Jayson has taken a position at Google, though there is no evidence or confirmation of that.
    My guess is that that some of my fears about the future of app development are coming true.
    In 2010 Jayson ported Notebook to the iPad and it received mixed reviews.
    Add to that the low cost or free solutions from Apple, Microsoft, Evernote and others and it's hard for an indie to survive.
    It's a sad state of affairs and one that is likely to continue to be repeated.
    I'm saddened by this news, but I wish Jayson the best of luck in whatever he does next.
Feedback, commentary, opinions
  When a host accuses a Genius
    Well, looks like I stepped in it again and it's time for a mea culpa
    Last week I mention that a listener was told by an Apple Genius to remove the 'wheel' "user" (group) from their Mac
    Turns out that was not the case. The listener did have a real mysterious "wheel" user, not group, on their Mac (as an account). It appeared in the Users & Groups System Preferences panel (odd)
    They deleted the user account themselves before visiting the Genius Bar
    So now the mystery is how did a "Wheel" user get onto their system. Any clues?
  Notes syncing not working on older OS X
    I received a couple emails this past week from users having trouble syncing Notes via iCloud on OS X Yosemite and OS X Mavericks machines.
    The reason is that for iCloud.com and iOS 9 Apple completely changed how Notes syncing works
      Pre-iOS 9 the system was part of IMAP, basically baked into Mail
    When you update to iOS 9 and first enable Notes syncing or use Notes you do get a warning that Notes will no longer sync with older systems
    The only workaround to getting notes to sync on pre-OS X El Capitan Macs is to use Notes through the iCloud.com interface in the browser.
    That, or upgrade your Mac to OS X El Capitan
    If you do upgrade there are some nice benefits as the new Notes app has a number of great new advanced features
      Turn a list into an interactive checklist
      Add a photo, map, or URL and get image previews
      Can sketch in Notes on iOS, and if you have an iPap Pro and Apple Pencil you even get pressure sensitivity.
    Sketch
      In a new Note, tap the "+" icon in the lower right corner
      Then tap the "squiggly line" icon
      You'll be given a bunch of tools including a Pen, marker, pencil, ruler, eraser.
      There is also a color picker
        Swipe to get more color options
        You can't do a custom color though.
      Use two-fingers to rotate the ruler.
        It displays the angle as you rotate it
        As you draw it also lists a length, in pixels?
    Formatting
      Tap the "+" icon and then the "Aa" icon
      Title, Heading, Body, Bulleted list, Dashed List, or Numbered List
    Checklist
      Tap the "+" icon and then the "checkmark" icon
      You can also select any bulleted, dashed, or numbered list and then tap the "checkmark" icon to convert it to a checklist
    To add URLs, Photos, or Maps
      In the appropriate app, Safari, Photos, or Maps, just tap or click the 'Share' button
      Then select 'Notes'
      You can create a new Note or select and existing Note to add to.
    Other apps for Notes
      Evernote
      OneNote
      OmniOutliner
      ByWord, Markdown
  Finding old Messages
    Play question from James
    So there are a couple ways to search for Messages on iOS
      Spotlight
        Make sure Spotlight serarching is on for Messages
        Settings > General > Spotlight Search
        Make sure 'Messages' is checked on.
        Looks like you cannot control order anymore which sucks.
        To do a search you can swipe all the way to the left on the home screen or swipe down on the home screen.
      Messages App
        Open Messages
        Swipe down on the messages list to get the serach box.
      Now here's the real bummer. Looks like search in either Spotlight or Messages will only go back about a month, even if there are older messages than that in a thread
      You can go into a thread and scroll back, when you get back about a month it will load another months worth of Messages, but you still can't serch that far back even after letting them load.
      Baffling
      The only way I could figure out how to do it was to use an app like PhoneView or iMazing to extract the Messages from your iPhone backup files and then search them
      These apps will also let you backup and archive your Messages among other data.
  Remote access a Mac from iPad
    So as you know I've been looking into ways to make my iPad Pro my primary mobile machine
    So far it's working for most things, but the number one challenge has been coding.
    There do just seem to be some tasks that the iPad Pro is just not up to yet
    There are some very capable apps for writing code
      DraftCode, Textastic, etc.
    What there is not is a way to test code locally.
      You can't build out a LAMP stack on iOS
      DraftCode will let you run PHP, but it's limited
    That means that you need to test remotely
      Again apps like Transmit, etc can help but you're still doing a lot of shuffling of stuff and it's not that efficient
    Right now the workaround that's best seems to be setting up a Mac with remote access.
    One way would be to use an app like Logmein.
      I've actually done this and it's OK, but there is a cost.
      About $150/yr.
    The thing is you can also roll your own remote access using VNC and an SSH tunnel.
      I'm going to be covering the concepts here and not a lot of the details. All of it is easily Googleable once you know what you're trying to do.
      There are some serious consideration though. Uptime, security, IP access, etc.
      You need to leave a dedicated Mac on that is accessible
    Overview
      Set up VNC and SSH on the Mac
      Create and set up SSH public/private keys
      Set up router and Mac to route traffic from outside your network back to the Mac running SSH and VNC
      Set up and configure a client on iOS to access VNC server via an SSH tunnel
    Turn off "sleep" functions in System Preferences > Energy Saver
    You need a way to be able to get back to your Mac
      DynDNS Remote Access $40/yr.
      If you know your ISPs assigned IP address will never change (or will change infrequently) then you could just use the IP address
    A route through to your Mac
      To make this the most secure you'll want to use SSH and authenticate with a key.
      Turning on SSH remote access is done via the System Preferences > Sharing options
        Check on 'Remote Login'
      You'll also want to turn on 'Remote Access' and enable VNC
        Advanced > VNC
        Set a good strong password, though we won't allow VNC through the router.
    Generate a SSH key pair
      This will be how you authenticate.
      There are lots of tutorials online that will teach you how to do it. [GitHub] (https://help.github.com/articles/generating-ssh-keys/) has a good one.
      Once generated you'll want a copy of your 'public' key and you'll use that in your remote access app to create an SSH tunnel.
    You'll need to map the SSH port (22) to go through your router
      On the outside you want to use a non-standard port
      Just note that some places, like Starbucks, block certain outbound ports so trial and error may be needed.
      You'll go into the router and map the external non-standard SSH port back to the standard port on your Mac.
      Will probably want to set up your Mac with a static internal IP or use a DHCP reservation for that Mac so it's local IP never changes.
      Even better would be to set up another machine to answer on the non-standard port and proxy the SSH connection to your Mac.
    Install and configure a VNC client on your iOS device
      I like [Screens](http://edovia.com/screens/)
      In that you want to enable a 'secure' connection. SSH tunnel and you'll copy your SSH public key for the authentication.
  Thing of the Moment: Know It All!
    Trivia Game for the Apple TV
    It has a "Jeopardy" like board with questions columns centered around various topics
      Movies, Music, Sports, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, STAR WARS and a special Christmas
    A "host" controls the question selection from the board with the Siri Remote
      After choosing a question, "Animated Movies for 300"
      The question is displayed and all Players have a chance to answer
      Whomever answers first will get points if they get it correct and control of the board.
      If they guess wrong control of the board goes back the the last player who correctly answered a question and play continues
    Players or "Teams" use iPhones, iPods, or iPads to answer questions
      ABCD options come up on screen
    Each game is just one "round" of 20 questions and there is not a "final" round
    Each connected iOS device is assigned a random team name.
    This was a lot of fun but I do have some complaints
      Wish you could pick your team name
      Would be nice to "buzz" in and then give a chance to answer. This would work better for team play.
      Better if missed answers could be "stolen" by another team
      Ability to have more than one round would be nice
      More categories, but I'm guessing this will happen over time.
      Option for a "Final" question like Jeopardy.
    Still a great family and party trivia game for Apple TV and it's just $1.99.
    Know It All! - USD $1.99 on iTunes
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