shownotes_20190318

Opening
  Opening Music
    Music is Say Anything by Manda and the Marbles
News
  It's officially "Showtime"
    Apple sent out the invites for it's March 25th event
    Will start at 10:00 AM PT at the Steve Jobs Theater on the Apple Park campus and it will be live streamed.
    Apple's expected to focus on two new services
      The Apple News Service and new streaming TV service
    Apple News Service
      iOS 12.2 and macOS 10.14.4 include several references to the magazine subscription service within Apple News.
      Paid service with unlimited access to paywalled news sites like The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and The New York Times.
      Also access to magazines
        The magazines will be PDF based and offer access to offline reading
      Expected to cost $9.99/mo.
    Apple TV Service
      It's expected to announce the service and possibly show off clips from some of the shows.
      Apple has over two dozen projects in the works, but the launch of the service is believed to be "months" away.
        The NYTs is reporting that at least five shows have finished filming, six are in the middle of production, and five have moved into the post-production stages.
        The shows they claim have wrapped are: “Are You Sleeping” starring Octavia Spencer, a space drama called “For All Mankind”, a thriller from M. Night Shyamalan, a comedy from the stars of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and a comedy called “Dickinson” based on the poet Emily Dickinson
        Still they don't expect shows to debut until the Fall.
      Apple is also expected to have some "premium" channel partners in the service like HBO, Showtime, and STARz
        Netflix confirmed they are NOT part of Apple's new service.
    At least one analyst thinks that Apple's new service could net the company 100 million subscribers by 2024 generating as much at $7 to $10 billion in revenue
      Thinks it would possibly require Apple to acquire some studios to beef up the amount of content they have on the service.
    WWDC dates were also announced
      June 3rd through the 7th at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California.
      You can register to attend now and tickets are going on a lottery system
  New iPad Air and mini
    They're here
    iPad Air with a thinner design, a 10.5-inch display and the Apple A12 Bionic chip
      True Tone display with a resolution of 2224×1668
      comes in 64GB and 256GB options
      still uses Touch ID and has a Lightning and headphone jack
      Prices start at USD $499
      There is also a new Smart Keyboard sized for the new iPad Air
    iPad mini has the same 7.9-inch display, but adds an A12 chip
      Comes in 64GB and 256GB options
      Includes the same 8MP rear camera and 7MP FaceTime HD camera found in the iPad Air.
      Prices start at USD $399 for the 64Gb model
    Both devices are compatible with the 1st gen Apple Pencil (and Logitec Crayon)
    The 10.5-inch iPad Pro has been removed from Apple's site, so the new Air appears to be it's replacement in the line-up
      Worth noting the Air doesn't have the "Pro motion" 120Hz refresh rate display or a quad speaker array, like the 10.5-inch iPad Pro.
    Apple is also still expected to have new AirPods and the Air Power and Airpod Wireless charging case soon
      Counterpoint Research estimated that Apple sold 35 million AirPods in 2018
      Consumer rated the AirPods tops for Comfort and fit as well as for ease of use. Only about 41 percent surveyed said the choose the AirPods for sound quality.
  Time Bandits gets Waititi
    Variety is reporting that Taika Waititi, known for his work on "Thor: Ragnarok," will the Time Bandits tv series on Apple's new video service
      The series is an adaptation of 80's Terry Gilliam movie of the same name.
      I loved Time Bandits as a kid and am now even more excited about this series.
    RTL Group, the largest broadcasting and production company in Europe, has also confirmed talks with Apple
      They own the company that produces reality series and game shows like American Idol, America's Got Talent, The Price is Right, and Family Feud
      They also have shows like "American Gods" and "My Brilliant Friend".
    Apple has put in a series order for "Pachinko," a drama based on the bestselling novel of the same name.
      Written by Min Jin Lee, chronicles the lives of four generations of a poor Korean immigrant family as they migrate to and establish a life in Japan
  Polly want a "Camera"?
    Mac Otakara is pointing to info from suppliers in China and says Apple is working on a triple lens camera system for future iPhones.
    The camera bump is square with three cameras and the True Tone flash arranged like pips for the number four on six sided die.
    Original leaks though the new lens system might be limited to the next generation of the iPhone XS Max, but this latest one says there is a "high probability" the next gen iPhone XS will also have it.
    The extra lens, in addition to providing another lens, should improve 3D and depth sensing for more imaging options and improved AR features
  Apple's new "privacy" ad
    I don't normally mention Apple ads, but I just found this one clever and funny
    They connect privacy with several real world scenarios.
    Basically, we tend to protect our privacy in "real world" scenarios, so why wouldn't we do that with the data we have on our phones?
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    When you leave your internet connection unencrypted your potentially opening up your personal data like passwords and credit card numbers for the world to see.
    That's why when I'm using ANY wifi that I'm not in control of, like at an Airport, in a coffee shop, restaurant, hotel, I've been turning on and using Express VPN.
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Feedback, commentary, opinions
  For the love of hubs
    So my "Thing of the moment" was the iDevices Dimmer switch.
    I mentioned my feelings that ditching the "hub" was a good thing and many of you agreed.
    Still there are some hub defenders in our community, including our friend Robert, who has a business doing home automation
      He agreed with my decision to dump Insteon
      Says the choice between hub and hub-less is more nuanced.
      Don't write off all hubs just because of one bad experience with one brand.
      That's fair
    Still many more of you wrote in to share your bad experiences with hubs
      I heard about issues with several brands
      The one hub that seemed to get universal praises was the Lutron Caseta line.
      I also heard a lot more support from our community for the iDevices products, unfortunately it looks like iDevices is US only for now.
    Security of the iDevices products and IoT in general
      Play question from Eric
      How at risk is the device in question?
        If your light or window shades get hacked, maybe an inconvenience, but not that bad
        Garage door opener or door locks? Security camera. BAD!!!
      Keep your devices software updated.
        Yes the iDevices update via the app. The firmware updated the day I installed them.
      Know who makes your devices. Do you trust them?
      HomeKit requires encryption
        It used to require hardware, but now vendors are allowed to do it in software too.
        Still most good IoT devices are using encryption for their communication
        This prevents snooping of the traffic
      Apple requires HomeKit devices to work directly with their Home App and to access the internet via a HomeKit Hub
        Apple TV, iPad, or Home Pod
        Can control HomeKit devices over iCloud without going through 3rd party service.
        More control over the privacy of your data.
        Also means if your 3rd party app and service goes out of business your HomeKit capable products should still work.
  Options for encrypting files
    We discussed how to encrypt files and folders locally. Hider 2, sparse bundles, and VeraCrypt, formerly TruCrypt
    Daniel wrote in to say that he has been using [WinZip](https://www.winzip.com/win/en/), which also offers an iOS app.
      Does conceded it has a "horrible" UI, but gets the job done.
    As Daniel points out, encrypting files that are then sync'd to the cloud does propose a challenge if you want to access those files via the cloud on iOS.
  Archive Originals from Photos
    Dan wrote in to ask about a way to automate archiving the originals from his Photos library
    You can do it manually
      Open Photos
      Go to the 'Photos' tab
      Select all the Photos, "Command+A"
      Go under 'File > Export…'
      Choose 'Export Unmodified Original for X Items…"
      Choose the File Name and subfolder format options and click "Export"
      Choose your destination and click "Export Originals"
    You could also manually copy the folders yourself
      In the Finder go to '~/Pictures' and control+click your Photos.photoslibrary item
      Choose 'Show Package Contents'
      Locate the "Masters" folder (or Originals alias)
      See organized by Year > Month > Day
      Then YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS folders
    Dan was more interested in some automation.
      Basically anytime a new file is added to the Library then make a copy of the original to another external drive or NAS drive for safe keeping
      Could probably set up an Automator, but another good option is [Hazel](https://www.noodlesoft.com)
    Hazel is Automatic organization for folders and files on your Mac.
      You can also manipulate the files as you organize then
      Add tag, rename, sort, move, copy, and more.
      Supports Photos and iTunes importing and you can get notifications and integrate with AppleScript and Automator
    In this case you can build a Hazel script to watch the "Masters" folder
      You need to show package contents and drag the folder into Hazel when you're setting it it.
      Also need to add a Hazel action to watch the subfolders for changes.
      Then copy and "new" files (I used created in the last 5 minutes) to a new location
      Set an option to ignore duplicates (if the file already exists)
      There is also an option to retain the subfolder structure if you want.
  Starting out with Shortcuts
    Last time I talked about a couple different sites where you can find Shortcuts for iOS to download and use on your iOS devices.
    I also mentioned taking a shortcut and opening it up in iOS's Shortcut app and using that to maybe learn how to build your own Shortcuts
    Several of you emailed in and asked if I could give some additional starter tips on getting going with Shortcuts
    So here are some things to hopefully make Shortcuts feel less daunting
      Open the App and just look around.
        Explore the Gallery and just download some things that look interesting to you and try them out
        Back in the Library tap on the "…" icon and see how the Shortcut works.
    Anatomy of a shortcut
      One of the best analogies I'v ever heard is that of a recipe. The Shortcut is your finished dish and to get that you need to assemble ingredients in a specific order to achieve the result.
      Looking at a Shortcut in the editor you see a series of steps top to bottom that make up the Shortcut
      Each step is an action with an input, information or data coming in, and an output, information coming out.
      Data flows from one step to the other and in each step can be manipulated, combined, added to, output, etc.
    The easiest way to "craft" a new Shortcut is to write out, in plain english, what you're trying to accomplish as a series of steps.
      I want to make a tip calculator, so…
        Ask for the amount of the bill
        Select from a list of tip percentages
        Calculate the tip amount
        Display the tip amount
    To create the tip shortcut
      Open Shortcuts
      Tap the "+" to set up a new shortcut
      In the search type 'Ask' and choose 'Ask for input'
        Fill out the question, "How much is your bill?"
        For input type choose number.
      'Choose from menu' and add that
        In the prompt, "How much do you want to tip"
        Add the items, '10%', 15%, 18%, etc.
        This one was a bit tricky, but if you tap the icon on the title bar of the item, "Choose from Menu" and read the description it makes sense.
          "Presents a menu and runs different actions based on which menu item was chosen"
          "Passed the input through as output"
        So now you'll search and add a "Calculate" action and place it after each menu item action, so Calculate with "x" as the Operation and "0.1" as the operand for 10% tip.
          Add one of these after each tip menu option (step) to calculate the percentage for that menu option.
      Now after the "End menu" step, search and add a "Format Number" step.
        Set it to 2 Decimal Places
      Finally search for and add a 'Show Alert' step
        Title: You should tip: 💵
        $ and add the "Formatted Number" result selected from the QuickType toolbar.
          You can scroll the QuickType toolbar.
      Now press the "Play" button at the top to test your Shortcut. Adjust as needed.
      Before you press done, tap the "settings" button
        Give your Shortcut a name
        Change the icon, You can set the color and the glyph
        Can add to Siri, show in Widget, Show in Share Sheet, Add to Home Screen
        Tap Done.
      Tap 'Done'
      Enjoy your new Shortcut
  Listener: Thing of the Moment: Amaze Fit Bip
    Play review from Robert
      Has an old series 0, but didn't like the
      Pain points
        delayed notifications on the Watch, show up on the Phone first. (might be solved with a series 4 cellular?)
        battery life only a day
        Delay to see the time. Wake to see time
        Limited watch face choices.
      Play what he loves.
    [Amaze Fit Bip](https://us.amazfit.com/shop/bip?variant=336750)
    Looks like there is an App and it has HealthKit integration
Closing
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