Maccast 2017.09.17 - Show #628
V Opening
V Opening Music
* Music is Say Anything by Manda and the Marbles
V Sponsor: MacPaw
V Clean My Mac 3
* macOS High Sierra is here.
* If and when you upgrade you may want to make sure you leave the old file cruft and baggage behind.
* The tool I use regularly to help purge my Mac of extra system junk, old caches, app leftovers is Clean My Mac 3
* In fact, it's become of the essential utilities I install and use on all my Macs on a regular basis.
V I prefer it over other utilities for a few reasons
* Easy of use and transparency. It keeps me in control if I want and lets me automate clean up when I prefer that too.
* All the tools I need in a single app.
* I always have backups (and always will), but I've never needed them with Clean My Mac. It's been safe to use and does what it advertises.
V You have a couple options for getting Clean My Mac 3
* Available as a stand-alone version at http://cleanmymac.com
* Or as part of the equally awesome Setapp subscription service where you can get Clean My Mac, along with 90+ high-profile apps, for one low monthly subscription price
* Which ever option you choose I think you're gonna love having a clutter free and faster running Mac.
* Big thanks to Mac Paw and Clean My Mac for their support.
V News
V The iPhone 8s and LTE Apple Watch are here.
V Mixed thoughts on iPhone 8 demand
* Ming Chi Kuo mentioned that he expected iPhone X demand to cannibalize iPhone 8 pre-orders.
V There were definitely no lines and not too many shortages, though the models did sell out immediately
* Availability on most models and colors seems to be good.
* Many site reported on small or no lines, but that I think is mostly Apple's doing. Training us over the bast few year to pre-order in App or online
V I went to the store to checkout the new phones on launch day and most were there for in-store pickup orders.
* Share my impression of the new phones and concerns on wireless charging
V iPhone 8 benchmarking, in Geekbench, faster than a 13-inch MacBook Pro with a Core i5 processor (not that it matters much).
* Smoking the Galaxy Note 8 and S8+ in a 2 min 4K video export. 0:42 sec for the iPhone 8 vs. 3:03 and 4:07 respectively for the Samsung's. (this matters).
V iPhone 8 Plus received DxOMark highest rating ever for a camera phone with an overall score of 94.
* Evaluate on things like Exposure & Contrast, Gamma, Color, Autofocus, Zoom, flash, etc.
* The prior champion was the Google Pixel and the HTC u11 both with scores of 90. The iPhone 7Plus had a mark of 88.
V Apple has confirmed some customers are hearing intermittent crackling noises when using the device for phone calls and they are working on a fix.
* The noise issue can be bypassed by using headphones or the speaker phone option on an affected device.
V Repairs will be are more costly
* If you have AppleCare+ the screen replacement is still $29, but the back glass will incur the full $99 cost.
* Also in SquareTrade's drop tests the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus failed EVERY Drop.
* The new iPhone 8s and iPhone X will not support T-mobiles new 600 MHz LTE spectrum.
V Apple Watch and watchOS 4
* Teardown by iFixit shows it's almost identical to a Series 2, but with slightly bigger battery for the LTE model. Small mesh "air vent" next to diagnostic port. The barometric altimeter is using the "old" vent location next to the microphone.
V Apple Watch Series 3 with LTE may stay connected to unknown Wi-Fi networks with no connectivity, at times preventing the watch from using cellular
* Seems to be possibly limited to "public wi-fi" hotspots that have an interstitial login prompt
* Normally you'd handle this prompt on the iPhone and all would be good, but you can't on a Watch without a phone.
* Tim Cook promised a "fix" soon
* Need macOS High Sierra to use unlock Mac feature with Apple Watch Series 3.
* The Music app no longer offers browsing of your library, only sync'd music.
V When playing Music the "Now Playing" app takes over the watch face
* Can press the digital crown to get back to your Watch face, but it will switch back.
* Can turn off the feature in Watch App > General > Wake Screen. Toggle off "Auto-launch Audio Apps".
V Flashlight from "Control Center"
* Swipe left to get flashing or red color.
* Doesn't remember last setting.
* Heart rate notifications and resting heart rate tracking are not available on a Series 0 Apple Watch.
* Only 3rd party Qi chargers that support multiple portable devices appear to be able to charge Apple Watch Series 3.
V New iOS 11 info
V Battery life issues
* Many are reporting this.
* I am getting higher reports of issues with the iPhone 6s models, don't know why.
* Reports seem to be inconsistent.
* I had a weird "hot iPhone issue"
* AR Kit for me is a HUGE battery hog though not surprising.
* Can't tell, but iOS 11.0.1 may have helped a little?
* I've also been having a strange "wake" issue, anyone else?
V Some things to check:
* Settings > Battery. Which apps are using the most battery?
* Background App Refresh. Settings > General > Background App Refresh toggle off apps that don't need to be running in the background.
* Restrict Location Services. Settings > Privacy > Location Services. Look for the purple or gray arrows to see what's recently used location. Check which apps really need to be set to "Always". I tend to favor never or "while using" depending on the app.
* Fetch your Mail. Settings > Accounts & Passwords > Fetch New Data. When you toggle off push you can set the "Fetch" schedule. Will impact Mail notifications. You might want to set accounts individually.
* Lower your Adjust Auto-lock and Screen Brightness settings. Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto-Lock.
* Finally if your getting low near the end of the day enable "Low Power Mode". Settings > Battery, toggle on low power mode. You can also add this to Control Center, Settings > Control Center > Customize, tap the "+" next to "Low Power Mode"
V Toggling the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in Control Center does not fully disable them, by design according to Apple
* Disconnects current devices and connections, but leaves the radios on for features like AirDrop, AirPlay, Handoff, Instant Hotspot, Apple Pencil, Apple Watch and Location Services.
V Does disable the Auto-Join feature for any nearby Wi-Fi networks at least until:
* You turn on Wi-Fi in Control Center
* You manually connect to a Wi-Fi network in Settings → Wi-Fi
* You walk or drive to a new location
* It’s 5am local time
* You restart your device
V And for Bluetooth you can't connect any new accessories until:
* You turn on Bluetooth in Control Center
* You connect to a Bluetooth accessory in Settings → Bluetooth
* It’s 5am local time
* You restart your device
* Messages in the Cloud is not here yet.
V The 3D Touch App Switcher will return according to Craig Federighi
* Can't wait, you can use Assistive Touch to activate the switcher.
* Settings > General >Accessibility > Assistive Touch. Customize Top Level Menu. Set the '3D Touch Action' to 'Multitasking' and then turn on the "Assistive Touch' feature. Now force press the virtual button and it will activate Multitasking. press, hold, and drag the assistive touch icon where you want it.
V HEIF— High Efficiency Image File Format & HEVC—High Efficiency Video Coding
* When you use the share sheet and options iOS will automatically transcode them into a more compatible JPEG/H.264 format.
* Can toggle in Settings > Camera. Click 'Formats'. Options are "High Efficiency" or "Most Compatible".
* HEIF and HEVC can potentially give you higher quality images at half the storage cost, so probably worth giving a try and then if you have trouble with conversions or 3rd party apps turning it off.
V Spotlight and Siri searches are now Google instead of Bing (also in Spotlight on the Mac)
* Bing continues to provide web image search though.
* iOS 11.0.1 update is already out. Bug fixes and performance improvements, no real details.
V Apple TV 4K stuff
V Teardown shows 3GB RAM, new power supply with slightly more amps, new fan and cooling design and the fan is replaceable.
* We already knew they brought back the gigabit ethernet port and lost the USB-C diagnostic port.
* No support for Dolby Atmos sound, though Apple says it is coming
* YouTube cannot show 4K, due to Apple TV not supporting Google's open-source VP9 video format.
V 4K content from iTunes is streaming only, downloads are still limited to 1080p
* This will be an issue for folks how have monthly data caps from their ISP
* Movie rentals now have a 48 hour viewing window
V More signs Apple means business when it comes to original content
* The Hollywood Reporter cites multiple sources who say Apple is shopping for a Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad style drama.
* Insiders say the Apple's team of ex-Sony TV execs have already approached talent including Vince Gilligan, Bryan Cranston and Outlander‘s Ron Moore
* The report also says the company had bids out on only a handful of projects, including an update of Steven Spielberg’s 1980s sci-fi, horror, fantasy anthology series, Amazing Stories ( that would be awesome).
* Apple has reportedly set aside a USD $1 billion budget for acquiring new shows.
* Also posted a job listing for a "Video Partnerships" lead to be responsible for negotiations with content providers like TV networks and movie studios with the goal of expanding its video services.
V macOS High Sierra arrives
V Think before you upgrade
* If you're on a mission critical machine I urge you to wait.
V Make sure to check your Apps
* [Apple World Today]( https://www.appleworld.today/blog/2017/9/27/the-almost-complete-guide-to-apps-that-dont-play-well-with-macos-high-sierra) has a great piece on some common, critical apps, that are NOT High Sierra ready
* Audio Hijack Pro and Loopback, SuperDuper (though there is a beta), Adobe Illustrator CC 2017, Office 2004 (i know many of you still use this), FileMaker, Google Drive, OnyX, Bear (small theme bug, might be fixed)
* Backup, backup, backup. And keep one if you can.
V Over the top vs. clean install?
* This depends on your situation
V Comments on APFS
* If you boot drive is an SSD it will be converted, not choice, should be fine, but just be aware
* Fusion drives and HDDs are not converted.
* Time Machine Drives are also not converted and should NOT be converted
* If you have a Drobo it should still work fine, but keep it HFS+ and only format with Drobo Dashboard
V Many reports of older macs gaining new life after upgrading. They actually run faster with the new OS
* Might be due to APFS, if it's an SSD system?
* Also, just general under the hood tweaks and enhancements?
V Nvidia released drivers for macOS High Sierra to support it's PCI-E graphics cards.
* Drivers are for Quadro and GeForce Pascal-based models
* These should support legacy Mac Pros running High Sierra
* Also includes beta drivers for Thunderbolt 3 eGPU setups on the 5K iMac and MacBook Pro
V iPhone X supplies look tighter than ever
* With looming indications of many holding out for the higher end models the supply chain doesn't have good news.
V DigiTimes reports that components are arriving slower than expected saying suppliers are now shipping only about 40 percent of the components originally planned for the initial production of the iPhone X.
* There is speculating that might be coordinated by Apple waiting to see where iPhone 8 and 8 Plus orders land and how many iPhone X pre-orders they get before telling vendors to "ramp up"
* Ming-Chi Kuo said iPhone X production is totaling fewer than 10,000 units per day, but he expects pre-orders to possible exceed 40-50 million units.
V Reports are that all those sensors needed for the TrueDepth camera system are the cause of the bottleneck.
* The Wall Street Journal says there is an imbalance between the number of Dot Projector modules and the Infrared Camera modules, dubbed Romeo and Juliet according to the publication
V A filing with the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's Telecommunication Equipment Certification Center has revealed technical details of the iPhone X
* A 2,716 milliamp-hour battery and 3GB or RAM confirmed.
* Battery just slightly bigger than the iPhone 8 Pluses 2,691mAh battery. The iPhone 8 has a 1,821mAh battery.
* It's assumed the larger capacity is needed for the power hungry camera systems and True Depth sensors as the OLED display should be more energy efficient.
V Apple update Privacy site
* Apple revamped the site to reaffirm it's commitment to user privacy and make it easier to understand the technology steps they are taking.
* Explains the policies underlying systems like passcodes, Touch ID, Apple Pay, and app permissions
* There is also a link to a FaceID white paper that lays out how and when it's used, and the limits of diagnostics sharing.
V One of the big areas that Apple has highlighted in their policies is the use of "Differential Privacy".
* The whole idea is that when data is provided that might be able to be used to backtrace to discover your identity before it's sent other "false" data or "noise" is injected before the data is sent. That noise doesn't impact the usefulness of the data, but should be enough to "mask" your identity.
* With more data provided over time it can become easier, even with the noise, to possibly backtrace the identity.
* The effectiveness of that noise is measured by something called the epsilon value. The ideal epsilon value is 1, lower numbers are better. Any number above that puts data privacy at risk.
* [Wired]( https://www.wired.com/story/apple-differential-privacy-shortcomings) ran a piece with findings from researchers at the University of Southern California, Indiana University, and China’s Tsinghua University that concludes Apple's implementation is not that great at protecting your identity.
* Apple doesn't provide it's methods for achieving differential privacy, an fact researchers in the filed talk issue with, so they had to reverse engineer what Apple was doing, which took months.
V Their conclusion: acOS’s implementation of differential privacy uses an epsilon of 6, while iOS 10 has an epsilon of 14. Not good.
* Frank McSherry, one of the inventors of differential privacy, said “Using an epsilon value of 14 per day strikes me as relatively pointless”.
* His example, someone who has a 1-in-a-million medical condition uploading data from the Health app. After one upload obfuscated with an injection of random data, data analysts would be able to figure out with 50 percent certainty whether the person had the condition. After two days of uploads, the analysts would know about that medical condition with virtually 100 percent certainty.
* Apple disputes the researchers finding noting that they don't correlate different kinds of data. They point out that they don't build profiles over time, they limit the storage of data, making over time correlation impossible, and they throw out any unique identifiers, like IP addresses.
* Researchers still take issue with the need to just "trust" Apple with the data and say that not providing pure mathematical guarantees misses the whole point of differential privacy.
V Apple also notes that you must opt-in to their data collection (though most do because it's part of the setup of every Mac and iOS device).
* You can check your settings and turn it off completely
* iOS: Settings > Privacy, scroll to Analytics > Switch off the ‘Share iPhone & Watch Analytics Data’ toggle.
* Mac: System Preferences > Security & Privacy. Click the Privacy tab. Click 'Analytics' from the side and turn off the "Share" analytics toggles (may need to click the "lock" icon and enter your admin credentials to change the settings).
V Sponsor: Smile
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V Feedback, commentary, opinions
V Some iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra tips and tricks
V Filter unknown senders in SMS
* I hate junk texts so I love this new feature
* Settings > Messages. Turn on Message Filtering by toggling on "Filter Unknown Senders"
* Now you will not get notifications of those unknown messages (people not in your contacts) and they will be separated in the messages app in a new "Unknown Senders" tab.
* Doesn't filter the "four-digit" SMS numbers?
* Will also support 3rd party filters like 'Hiya'.
* Matthew found a cool tvOS 4 tip. When watching a movie tap the remote to bring up the scrubber then tap again. You'll see the "time" change from time passed and time remaining to show the current time on the left and the actually time the movie is expected to end on the right. Cool!
V Gary points out with Messages in High Sierra you can now set it to auto purge messages just like on iOS
* I assume this was added to support Messages in the Cloud when it finally arrives.
* Open Messages. Go to Messages > Preferences > General.
* Set the "Keep Messages for" value
V Quick follow-up on "matched" tracks
* We had an issue where a listener reported some of his Apple Music "matched" tracks ended up playing incorrect or wrong versions
* Several people pointed out that this may be an issue with "when" the match was done and that forcing a "re-match" can help.
V Basically, Geoff suggests:
* 1. Drag the good, original to the Desktop from iTunes
* 2 Delete the track in the iTunes library (and I assume remove it from iCloud Music Library when asked)
* 3. Re-import track from Desktop
* 4. Leave iTunes to analyze and "re-match" the track and possibly upload to iCloud Music library.
V Online Backup with Peter Cohen
* Also covered updating a Mac mini with an internal SSD.
V Closing
V PIY 2017
* If you're a podcaster or want to be podcaster and can get to Phoenix Arizona in October I'll be at the Podcast It Yourself Workshop
* Play promo
* This should be a really fun event with some great "founding" podcasters like myself, Chuck Tomasi, and Tee Morris.
* For $20 for a four hour workshop it's great deal and I'd love to see you there.
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.
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