shownotes_20180211

Opening
  Opening Music
    Music is Say Anything by Manda and the Marbles
  In this episode…
    Could you get an Apple battery rebate?
    Apple loses a TV producer over creative differences
    iOS boot code gets leaked
    A ton of HomePod questions answered
    Lots to followup on, your feedback, and more!
News
  Apple Watch tops Swiss sales
    Apple sold 18 million Apple Watches in 2017 according to research estimates made by Canalys.
    That’s a record for Apple and a 50 percent increase over the 12 million they were estimated to have sold in 2016.
    Not only that, but that number means Apple now sells more Apple Watches per year than the entire Swiss Watch industry. (Not sure that really means much, but still an interesting fact).
  Possible Battery Rebates
    Apple is considering offering rebates to customers who replaced iPhone batteries prior to them implementing their lower cost $29 replacement program
    The information came out as part of a response to letter sent by the senate chairman of the Commerce Committee
    The new power management feature has also been added to the latest iOS 11.3 beta
      New “battery health’ section.
      In the battery settings it now gives you a value for ‘maximum capacity’
      Also if you battery is supporting ‘peak performance’ and if not shows that it’s being “adjusted” to reduce crashes with the option to disable ‘Performance Management’
    iOS 11.3 beta also includes ARKit 1.5 which supports better edge detection on irregular surfaces and vertical plane detection
    Health records
    tvOS 11.3 beta also is out
      Adds Apple TV to the Home app
      Support for AirPlay 2
      Privacy icon explainer at launch
      Support for frame rate matching on 4th gen Apple TV
    A man in Florida says is AirPods "blew up" at the gym
      He noticed smoke coming from them, took them out, and went to get help
      When he returned the right one had popped open and there were pieces strewn about.
      It does seem to be a runaway chemical reaction typical of a battery failure.
      Apple is investigating and it's unknown at this time what the cause is
      For now, as far as we know, it's a one off incident probably not much cause for concern.
  ‘Amazing Stories’ producer leaves project
    According to the Hollywood Reporter Bryan Fuller has left the project due to creative differences.
      Fuller has left other projects including American Gods for similar reasons
    The report says the spilt was on good terms, but still a big blow to Apple.
    Apple is reportedly working on a 10 episode season that is a reboot of the Steven Spielberg series from the 80’s.
    Fuller supposedly wanted something “darker” and more adult like the series “Black Mirror” on Netflix
    It’s been reported that Apple wants all of their original content to be playable on Apple TVs at their retail stores.
    Does not allowing more adult/edgier content hurt Apple’s chances of success?
    Apple did also reportedly pick up another new TV series this week.
      A half-hour anthology series called "Little America" written by Kumail Nanjiani (Dinesh, Silicon Valley) and Emily V. Gordon who are the team behind the popular movie "The Big Sick"
      The show is an anthology series based on a series of true stories featured in Epic Magazine that paint a portrait of America's immigrants.
    Here is the full list of shows we know about that are linked to Apple so far:
      A new space drama from Ronald D. Moore who's done work on Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica
      Amazing Stores, which reportedly has a budget of $5 million an episode
      Three shows from Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine studio
        A Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston in a drama based on morning show production.
        "Are You Sleeping," based on a book of the same title by Kathleen Barber. About a podcast that re-opens a murder investigation and the impact that has on the live of the victims daughter.
        A sketch comedy show starring SNL veteran Kristen Wiig
      Apple is also said to have signed a deal with "La La Land" writer and director Damien Chazelle.
      And Drake supposedly has a "blank check" to create his own tv shows and movies for Apple.
      All told it's been reported that Apple has pledged to spend $1 billion on original programming in 2018
    We still have no clue how it will be distributed or fit into Apple's eco-system
      New service, bolt on to Apple Music? Set up to drive sales of Apple TVs in some way?
      My guess is it's either part of or a small add-on to the Apple Music service set to drive services revenue which is the fastest growing part of Apple's revenue stream.
    Apple did add the dedicated News section to Apple TV
      Apple announced it was coming along with dedicated sports sections back in September
      Sports was added a couple months ago.
      CBS News, CNN, Fox News, Cheddar, CNBC, and Bloomberg
      You'll need to install the app for the service and in some cases connect it to your cable provider or subscribe to a monthly service.
  iOS iBoot code shows up on Github
    According to Motherboard
    part of the operating system that handles the trusted boot up process
    It was older code, for iOS 9.3 and after the report Apple confirmed they were aware of the leak. The sent a DMCA takedown.
    The code had been posted on Reddit long ago and was already circulating in the hacker and jailbreak communities.
      In fact, reports say the code was originally leaked by an intern who worked at Apple and was encouraged to get the code for some friends in the jailbreaking community.
      It was supposed to stay in a circle of three friends, but we know how these things go.
    Apple said in a statement that, "by design the security of our products doesn't depend on the secrecy of our source code. There are many layers of hardware and software protections built into our products"
    Nearly 95 percent of users are on later versions of iOS.
    Still I think Apple is underplaying this a little bit. Should we panic no. Does the average consumer need to be worried no. But iOS 11 has a heritage and part of that is iOS 9. There could be clues, even if it's just into the ways Apple approaches security. There could be breadcrubs here and there are for sure folks who are looking to follow their trail.
    It also adds to a recent set of security related stories that don't paint Apple in a good light. That might even be the bigger bit of damage.
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Feedback, commentary, opinions
  Getting international iTunes Gift cards
    We been discussing ways to handle having multiple iTunes accounts in multiple countries
    One issue I had was how to get iTunes gift cards from other countries
    Maccast listener Bebe, who lives in New Zealand, says she has used [PC Game Supply](https://pcgamesupply.com/) for years and has had a great experience with the service.
    In a quick Google search they had great reviews and ratings.
    I know nothing about the outfit, so please use your best judgment and do your own research.
    Other "follow-up"
      Thanks to the many of you who confirmed my issues with the iPad pro keyboard.
        Play comment from Barry.
        Others confirmed that replacements don't fix the issue.
        Seems to be a touchy sensor in where it rests in the plastic "groove" in keyboard mode.
  More remote iOS support tips
    So many people wrote in to tell me about [Teamviewer 13](https://www.teamviewer.us/)
      New version has a trick that uses iOS 11's new ReplayKit to send screen video from an iOS device to the Teamviwer app on the Mac.
      The person with the iOS device just needs the TeamViewer QuickSupport app installed
      They open the App and give you the ID which you put into the app
      They will be asked to allow access.
      In the Mac app tap on 'Screen Sharing' button in the screen sharing tab.
      To share their screen, in iOS, they access Control Center and force press the Screen Recording icon
        If that is not in control center they can add it from Settings > Control Center
      Should see 'Team Viewer' as a destination, tap that, and tap 'Start Broadcast'
      All of this is free to use for "personal" use.
    Gary says you can do something similar with [Zoom](https://www.zoom.us/). Play comment from Gary
    Showing "touches"
      Marty wrote in to say this could be done using Accessibility and Assistive Touch, custom gestures
      1) Go to your Settings > General > Accessibility
      2) Tap Assistive Touch.
      3) Enable Assistive Touch, and hit Create New Gesture.
      4) Now in the create gesture screen just tap once. Name the gesture, Tap, and tap the save button
      5) You should now see the "white" assistive touch icon hovering above your screen.
      6) When you are doing your screen recording or broadcast, tap the Assistive Touch button, then choose 'Custom' and then your gesture, called Tap. Now when you tap it will place a tap ("circle") icon where you tapped.
      You'll need to repeat the steps for each app you open.
  Things to know about HomePod
    Share my thoughts and opinions about HomePod
      I was the only person at my local Apple store that morning there to pick up a HomePod.
        Vast majority were there to get new iPhone batteries.
      The subjective nature of sound
        Bass response
      A/B test with Sonos Play:1
      Siri experience
    Using two HomePods as a “stereo pair” is coming soon (before multi-room and AirPlay 2)
      It’s also not “true stereo”. They automatically detect and balance and using their beamforming create a “wider and more immersive” sound then a traditional stereo pair according to Apple.
    For testing Apple built a new anechoic test chamber, said to be one of the biggest in the U.S.
    HomePod Controls
      Tap to play/pause
      Double tap to skip forward
      Triple tap to skip back
      Tap and hold to invoke Siri
    How does it know which Siri should respond?
      Siri polls all devices over Bluetooth to figure it out.
      Most of the time HomePod will attempt to handle the request.
      If another device is currently active, like you just raised your wrist or are actively engaged with your iPhone then that device will likely handle your request.
      I’ve had issues with this in practice specifically with my Apple Watch.
    HomePod settings to know about
      Settings access from the Home app, under Details
      You can turn off “Use Listening History” to prevent songs from influencing the “For You” suggestions
      Enable/Disable Personal Requests
        1) Open the Home app on your iOS device.
        2) Tap the location arrow icon in the upper left corner of the screen.
        3) Under the People section, tap your profile picture.
        4) Under "Siri on HomePod", toggle on/off the Personal Requests button.
      Control access to AirPlay
        Launch the Home app
        Tap the Home tab
        Tap geolocation button (upper left)
        Choose `Home Settings…`
        Select your HomeKit network
        Tap `Allow Speaker Access`
        Set the level of access you want. Everyone, Anyone on the Same Network (default), Only People Sharing this Home (one's you've invited including temporary guests).
        You can also set a password that will be required when they first attempt to Airplay to your HomePod.
    No manual EQ, will automatically adjust
      Uses analytics to set levels for each individual song,
      Can send via AirPlay from apps like iTunes that have built in EQs
    You can control HomePod payback and volume from an iOS device
      While music is playing on the HomePod access the control center on your iOS device (on the same wifi)
      Force press on the the music player controls (or tap the "network" icon)
      Below the main music player for the phone you should see your HomePod (and other Bluetooth or WiFi speakers)
      Tap on the HomePod panel and you should get controls.
      Shows the track info, scrubber, play/pause and skip controls, and manual volume control
      You can also access this from the Music App. In the player controls tap the 'AirPlay' icon and you'll see the same options.
    Use alarms or reminders to get around one timer limit
      "Hey, Siri remind me to take the chicken out of the oven in 30 minutes"
    Yes you can use HomePod with your AppleTV
      You need to use AirPlay to send movie audio, but you can access it in two ways
        Press and hold the "Play" button on the main screen and select it under the audio selection screen
        While playing a video, swipe down and then choose 'Audio', then select the HomePod
    I just discovered you can control what's playing on the HomePod from the Apple TV including selecting a track from your Music library. (not sure if it tvOS 11.3 beta or if in 11.2.5).
      From the main screen press and hold the button on the Siri remote to bring up the audio selection interface.
      From there you'll see 'Choose Music' options for the Apple TV and also for your HomePod.
      If you choose the HomePod it will open the Music app and you can choose and control the Music for the Home Pod.
      On that main screen too when you have the Home Pod selected you can use the "+" and "-" buttons on the Siri remote to control HomePod volume.
      Finally, in the TVs Music App in the Now Playing Screen you can access the the AirPlay icon in the upper left corner to switch between controlling the Music for Home Pod or the Apple TV.
    How much will it cost to fix a HomePod?
      A $279 service fee for any damage that isn’t covered under warranty
      $29 for a faulty power cord, which is "technically" user removable, but please don't try (scary).
      AppleCare+ runs $39 USD. Two accidental damage incidents for a $39 per incident service fee.
  What’s in your iOS iTunes backups
    A lot of this info comes from [this great piece](https://www.macworld.com/article/3246206/ios/what-you-can-and-cant-restore-through-an-ios-backup-in-itunes.html) by Glenn Fleishman at Macworld
    Here is what you will not find in your iOS backups
      Apps
      Music
      All images and videos, maybe the Camera Roll, but that can also be disabled
        Basically if you use iCloud Photo Library it’s assumed these are in the cloud
        It’s also assumed your syncing/importing these into Photos
      Setup photo syncing in iTunes
        Open iTunes on your computer.
        Use the included USB cable to connect your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your computer.
        Click on the device icon in iTunes.
        In the sidebar on the left side of the iTunes window, click Photos.
        Click the box next to "Sync Photos." If instead you see "iCloud Photos is On," all of your photos and videos are already on all of your devices that use iCloud Photo Library. You don't need to sync them through iTunes.
        Choose the app or folder that you want to sync from.
        If you choose to sync a folder with sub-folders, the first level of sub-folders will appear as albums on your device.
        Choose to sync all photos and albums or selected albums.
        Select "Include videos" to sync the videos from your app or folder too.
        Click Apply.
Closing
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