Maccast 2016.07.28 - Show #579
Links
V Opening
V Opening Music
* Music is Say Anything by Manda and the Marbles
V Sponsor: DigiDNA
V iMazing
V A tool that lets you access, view, backup, and manage the data on your iOS devices
* But while iTunes will let you do that for some data, iMazing let's you get at just about everything
* No jailbreaking required
V You can manage and interact with data from
* Messages
* Photos and videos
* Music Apps
* Notes
* Contacts
* Voicemail
* Call History
* File System
* Backups
* Very familiar "Apple" like interface
* Works fast and is asynchronous so you can continue working while doing a backup
V You can even access and browse files that are inside your backups
* Great for recovering individual app data files.
* Export and reimport saved data
* Backup your messages or voicemail so you can save space.
* You can try it for free and when you order get 20% off if you use the coupon code ' maccast'.
V News
V Apple beats Q3 expectations
* Apple had an OK 3rd quarter when it came to dollars, but it's product unit numbers continue to slump.
V They had net profits of $7.8 billion on revenues of $42.4 billion.
* That's profit down 27 percent and revenue down 14.6 percent.
* Still the numbers beat many analysts expectations which had a net positive effect on Apple's stock price.
V iPhone
* They sold 40.4 million iPhones down 15 percent in units and 23 percent in revenue.
* They were optimistic about the iPhone SE brining in new iPhone customers, but that model, with it's lower ASP, may also be the reason for the large profit decline.
* Apple shipped it's 1 billionth iPhone.
V iPad
* Unit sales of iPads were down only 9 percent this time with Apple selling 9.95 million.
* Revenue however was up 7 percent
* You can probably guess why. The iPad Pros with large appeal and a higher ASP.
V Macs
* Down 11 percent in unit sales and 13 percent in revenue.
* Still Apple did see a small quarter over quarter increase in Mac sales from 4 million to 4.2 million units.
V Apple also has really not had any new models in a while.
* Macbook got a CPU upgrade in April, but that's it.
* The Mac Pro is approaching 1000 days with no update
* New Macbook Pro with OLED touchscreen function bar.
V Services
* Again the hero of growth.
* A 19 percent increase in revenue to $5.98 billion from $5.03 billion a year ago.
* Services is now generating almost $2 billion more in revenue than Mac sales.
V Other Products
* Includes Apple TV, iPod, Apple Watch, and Beats headphones.
* Made $2.22 billion a 16 percent decline in revenue.
V Other highlights
V Apple Pay's monthly users are up over 400 percent year over year.
* Apple claims that retailers are telling them that three out of four contactless payments in the U.S. are being made with Apple Pay.
* App Store revenue up 37%
* iPhone sales in India are up 51 percent year-over-year in first three quarters this year.
* Apple now has $231.5 billion in cash and marketable securities
V They spent $7.475 billion on R&D up from $5.847 billion a year ago.
* Now is 6 percent of revenue which is the highest it's ever been.
* Tim commented that Apple is keeping an eye on AR.
V Things to think about
* Services is now Apple's second largest source of revenue behind iPhone
* iPhone generates at least 4 times more revenue than any of Apple's other product categories.
* Easy to understand why Wallstreet is really nervous about slowing iPhone sales.
V Apple Car rumors, lots to update
V Three brother's who worked on Apple's car project reveal the launch date might have slipped to 2021
* From and article the "The Information" (pay wall).
* Rumors have been saying 2020, which Elon Musk says might be too late
V Apple has pulled Bob Mansfield out of retirement for Project Titan
* According to a Wall Street Journal report
* Mansfield lead Apple's hardware team and was in special project before retiring and then acting as an advisor.
* If you remember a while back the rumored former lead, Steve Zadesky, left amid reports that the project was having internal issues due to challenges like unattainable timelines, and organizational changes.
V Bloomberg says that now that Mansfield has taken the lead the car strategy has shifted towards autonomous driving.
V He supposedly hired operating system expert and former QNX (BlackBerry) developer Dan Dodge to work on autonomous driving software.
* QNX developed infotainment and driver assistance systems used by Ford, Volkswagen, and other car companies.
* They say Apple is taking a "two pronged" approach. Hardware and software (just like with all their projects?).
* They are designing and building a car and the integrated software systems to power it.
* Mansfield is working with three teams: a software team, a sensor team, and a hardware engineering team.
V Where will Apple disrupt most?
* Apple has never been a first or early to market company. They typically shift the market or get in when it's shifting.
* Automotive industry is ripe for disruption. Electric cars, self-driving cars, and ride sharing services are all shifting the landscape (also car sharing services).
V I think Apple is more interested in cars as a service.
* The $1 billion invest in Didi Chuxing (ride sharing) is for insight and perspective
* Remember the US is car obsessed, but a big part of the rest of the world is not.
* Apple will nail the experience, what will transportation look like 10 years from now?
V Apple's moves in television
* Tim said they see Apple TV as a foundation for, "what (they) believe can be a broader business over time."
V One thought is the TV subscription package
* That has more than a few challenges
* Reports this week that Apple's hard stance on the rumored $30/mo skinny bundle has content owners annoyed with Apple.
* The key issue seems to be Apple demanding multi-year lock-in periods on the monthly rates per viewer.
* The service would reportedly have both live channels and an on-demand library of content.
V Apple continues to expand Apple Music's video content
* Carpool Karaoke being spun off from the Late Late Show as an Apple Music exclusive for 16 episodes.
* Not clear that this is any kind of play for TV in general
V While I'd like to see Apple break into original programming, not sure they will or that they should
* The new channels as apps model seems to be working well
* With the exception of maybe Amazon, most streaming TV providers offer an Apple TV app.
* Makes it a compelling set top box choice.
V Apple TV platform as home hub
* Voice commerce & Voice first computing (listen to by Brian Rommele episode).
* Home automation
V Gaming platform
* AR and VR?
* Entertainment gateway
* Services gateway?
V Eh? More iPhone 7 Headphone rumors
V Deutsche Bank says Apple will ship a Lightning-to-audio dongle, not Lightning EarPods.
* They also think the Plus will feature 3GB or RAM.
V Reported images of that adapter surfaced this week
* Short cable with a small cylindrical adapter for the headphone jack
* The design looks correct for Apple, but is really small if the adapter houses a separate DAC.
V Home button that is touch-sensitive with haptic feedback.
* Would be able to detect both presses and pressure, "force" touch.
V The rest of the rumors, for the billionth time
* Design similar to iPhone 6s with reduced antenna lines and a tapered camera bump/bezel
* Larger camera lens and dual camera lens system on the "Plus" model
* Improved, maybe stereo, sound
* Improved waterproofing
* Wireless charging option.
* Maybe new darker, Space Black or Blue, color
V Tech blogger, Even Blass, tweeted that the ship date for the iPhone 7 would be the week of September 12th.
* Pre-orders start on the 9th according to Blass.
* He's been correct on Apple rumors in the past and that seems a likely week for an announcement.
V Our first iPad Pro 12.9 leaks?
* AppleInsider had alleged images from a Chinese supplier.
* Likely a prototype if real at all (Only 12GB of storage)
* We can only speculate on at this point on new features, but some seem obvious
* A10X processor, better camera, TrueTone display, and possibly 3D Touch (unlikely).
V Supply chain rumors of Apple Watch 2 in Sept/Oct. timeframe
V Expect it to be a minor update.
* Faster processor and better battery life
* Some rumors of GPS/cellular capabilities.
* IDC thinks that Apple's Watch sales have dropped to about 1.6 million units in June, down 2 million from 3.6 million units the same quarter a year ago.
V The El-ah, Pokemon in the room
* OK, were not spending much time on this, but it has to be said. Pokemon Go is huge.
V 26 million daily active users in the U.S. as of July 15, making it the biggest mobile game launch in U.S. history, beating Candy Crush Saga.
* It is tapering off, and I expect the "fad" users to drop off quickly
V More importantly analysts think Apple could generate 3 billion or more just from in-app purchase revenue
* I think they're being overly optimistic, but even just a third of that would be an amazing feat.
V Nintendo will not make out like many think.
* Pokemon Go a collaboration of four companies, Nintendo, Google spin-off Niantic, Google, and The Pokémon Company
* The Pokémon Company maintains the Pokémon intellectual property trademarks and Nintendo only holds about one-third of that company.
V Olympic Apple Watch Straps
* Will only be available for purchase at Rio de Janeiro's VillageMall Apple Store
* A version of the nylon woven band featuring the colors of the flags of 14 nations.
* Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Jamaica, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa and USA
* The straps retail for USD $49.00
V New Apple's with USB-C
* DigiTimes reported that Apple will adopt USB Type-C ports for "its MacBook Air."
* Seems highly unlikely because I think the Air is destined for the chopping block.
* That said I do expect that Apple will update the Macbook Pro lineup this fall and I think it will have USB-C ports.
* The question is will it ONLY have USB-C? Maybe, but more likely a combo of USB-C and a Thunderbolt port.
* Could be ONLY USB-C since Thunderbolt 3 will run over a USB-C connector.
V Also the OLED touch bar to replace the row of function keys and Touch ID
* macOS Sierra's support for Apple Pay in Safari
V Feedback, commentary, opinions
V Archiving iMovie Projects
* You all know am all about backups and archiving, so when Fred sent this question in it was right up my alley.
* I'll be covering the instructions for iMovie 10.x and later
V It's important to understand the different kinds of elements you work with in iMovie 10
* Events vs. Projects
* Events are all the clips that you import into iMovie
* Projects are the movie projects that you import event clips into to do your editing.
* Prior to iMove 10 Events and Projects were stored in separate files (folders). There was an iMovie Events folder and an imovie Projects folder
* Now there is just a single Library file (more like Photos)
V To move an event or project
* Open up iMovie
* Click on the Media tab
* In the 'Libraries' sidebar you can see a list of any iMovie Libraries you have loaded. Will likely be only one, the default library, 'iMovie Library' and this is typically stored in ~/[username]/Movies
V You can add a new library and set it's location to any connected drive.
* File > Open Library… > New
* Give it a name, maybe 'iMovie Archive', and set it's location to be on your external drive
* After you add it you'll see it in your sidebar and it will likely have set up a default "event" with the current date.
V You have two options when moving event media, you can copy or you can move
* To copy simply drag the event or media from one library to the other.
* If you'd prefer to move then hold down the 'Command' key while dragging and when you drop the event and/or media will be moved.
V Moving Projects is a little different, but has a similar concept.
* Click on the 'Projects tab'
* Not the drop down next to the search, it probably says 'All Projects'
V Click to switch views between your iMovie Libraries
* You'll only see the projects that are stored in that Library
* When you hover over a Project in the grid you'll see a '…' icon next to the project title. Click that.
* You'll see 'Copy to Library' and 'Move to Library' options. Select that and you'll see a list of available libraries to copy or move you projects to.
* When you move or copy a project it will also copy or move the event files needed for that project.
V Some other tips
* Create a new 'Event' and name it before importing you clips into it. Just helps keep things organized.
* When importing, pay attention to the 'Import to:' setting at the top of the import window. Make sure it's set to the correct Library and event.
V Sharing between iTunes and Music
* Terry asked me to talk about some of the confusion that can ensue when trying to share media between iTunes (Mac) and Music (iOS).
V First there are a couple different kinds of "sharing"
* Apple Music, not technically sharing, but cloud music.
* iCloud Music Library (Apple Music)
* iTunes Match
* Home Sharing (LAN)
* Terry was really asking about the Home Sharing features
V How to enable Home Sharing
V In iTunes
* iTunes > Home Sharing > Turn on Home Sharing
* Log in with your iTunes/Apple ID
V On iOS:
* Settings > Music > Home Sharing > Sign In
* Log in with the SAME iTunes/Apple ID
* Tip: Make sure the email address is exactly the same on ALL Home Sharing logins. If you used @ me.com, then use that on all. Not @ mac.com one one and @ me.com on the other.
V Set the iTunes Library name
* iTunes > Preferences > General
* Set the Library name. Security tip: Don't use your name.
V How to access Home Sharing media on device
* iTunes on the Mac must be open and Home Sharing on
* You device and Mac must be on the same LAN connection.
* Open the Music app on an iOS device and tap on My Music
V Tap the 'Artist/Album/etc.' Drop down selector and choose Home Sharing
* Will only appear if: iTunes is running, Home sharing is enabled in iTunes and in Music, and both the Mac and device are on the same local network.
* You should then see your Library listed. Select it.
* It might take a minute to load
* After it's loaded you will see all the music, playlists, etc of the iTunes library in the Music interface
* You can see at the top of the screen which Library your connected to.
* To switch back tap the drop down again, tap Home Sharing, tap the name of your iOS device.
V Home Sharing also works for your iTunes Movies, but you access those via the Video app
* Open Videos
* Tap the 'Shared' button (only there if iTunes is running, Home sharing is enabled, and both the Mac and device are on the same local network.)
* Choose your iTunes Library
* Browse and play the movies from iTunes.
* All this also works in a similar way if you have an Apple TV.
V Issues:
V As Terry notes in his email. Sometimes Home Sharing libraries can take forever to load.
* When I have this issue most often logging out of Home Sharing on the device (Settings > General > Music) and logging back in seems to fix the issue.
V Error: “You do not have permission to access the requested resource”
* I think this can happen if you try to access Music files that have Fairplay DRM and were purchased under an account that doesn't match the one you're using for Home Sharing (even if the files are authorized to play in the local iTunes Library).
V Thing of the Moment: Bloxels
* I gave a STEAM talk at Macstock
* One of the products I covered was a cool App called Floors from [Pixel Press]( http://www.projectpixelpress.com)
* It basically lets you draw out your own side scrolling video game level on graph paper, scan them into you iPad using the camera, and converts them into playable games
* On the iPad you can test and tweak the gameplay, add in skins, themes, and stories. They even have an AdventureTime themed version of the system.
* There latest project is called [Bloxels]( http://www.bloxelsbuilder.com)
* The idea is similar design and build your own side scroller video game, but with bloxels you can develop all your game elements using a 13 x 13 plastic grid board and small colored blocks that you drop into the grid.
* You design backgrounds, characters, obstacles, etc. with the physical elements and "scan" them into the iPad or iPhone with the camera.
* Once in there you can fine tune them and add them to your game design and levels.
* You even build each room of the game with the bloxels grid. Different colored bloxels represent different parts of your level. Green for terrain, purple for enemies, red for hazards, etc.
* A game can have 169 rooms (13 x 13).
* With characters you set animations for walking and jumping.
* You can build animations for other game elements too. Say a spinning coin, or water for a terrain.
* You can also upload and share your finished games, characters, etc. and download ones others have created to make your own games.
* There are infinite possibilities. It's tons of fun.
V The Bloxels starter kit is $49.95 and the app is free.
* It is possible to build everything in the app, so if you wanted to just check it out you could.
* But the Bloxels kit is what really makes it fun. Taking something physical that you build and turning that into a digital game.
V Closing
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V Thanks to my sponsors
* Smile
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