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Opening
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Opening Music
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Music is Say Anything by Manda and the Marbles
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News
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Bad week for batteries
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According to iFixit Apple appears to have activated a “dormant software lock” in iOS for batteries in the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR
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If anyone other than Apple or and Apple Authorized Service Provider replaces the battery, even with and official Apple one, the Settings app will display a “service” message
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“Important Battery Message” … “unable to verify this iPhone has a genuine Apple battery.”
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You also will not have access to IOS’ Battery Health feature.
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The issue is a Texas Instruments micro-controller on the battery itself, which includes an authentication feature that includes details for pairing the battery to the iPhone’s logic board.
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No match, no access and only Apple knows the secret sauce for pairing up a replacement battery to your iPhone.
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The likely reason here is safety and quality, but it still dories limit your options (in a way) when it comes to battery replacements.
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HomePod dwarfed in smart speaker market
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Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) released it report on Smart Speakers for the second quarter of 2019 and Apple’s HomePod only represented about 5 percent of the estimated 76 million units in the market in the US
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Still that’s 3.8 million units at USD $299 or about 1.13 Billion dollars worth.
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Still Apple’s share is dwarfed by Amazon and Google which have 70 percent and 25 percent of the market respectively.
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50 percent of the market is the Echo Dot (hardly a speaker) and the Google Home mini.
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I don’t think Apple should go to the very low end of the market, but if they could get a good sounding “mid-level” model at USD $99 - $149 I think it could do quite well.
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But don’t worry about Apple’s “Other” category. Where HomePod might be lagging it’s possible AirPods and Apple Watches could more than make up for it
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Analyst Neil Cybart thinks those two product could overtake iPad and Mac by the end of next year
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Apple’s “wearables” business is at a $16 billion annual run rate and growing 55 to 60 percent
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Apple finally launches macOS bug bounties
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Apple has upped and expanded their bug bounty program and finally included macOS
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They announced the updated program at the Black Hat conference.
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Now white hats and researchers can get serious cash for finding exploits in macOS, tvOS, watchOS, iOS, and iCloud
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They originally announced a program for iOS in 2016, but that was it.
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The bug bounty program will be opened up to ALL security researchers later this year and Apple increased the max payout from $200,000 to $1 million for a zero-click kernel code execution with persistence.
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Also if a researcher finds an vulnerability in pre-release software they can be eligible for up to a 50 percent bonus on their payout.
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For researchers that have a “track record of high-quality systems security research…” Apple will also be offering access to dev devices like iPhones something they’ve never done before
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These will have features like “ssh, a root shell, and advanced debug capabilities”
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Researchers at Black Hat also showed off a set of glasses that could defeat FaceIDs “liveness” detection
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The lenses just have white squares with smaller black squares in them
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They need to be placed on the iPhone owners face while sleeping or unconscious
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Exploit seems hardly cause for any alarm
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Ready for iPhone Pro?
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Would you believe a Twitter user with the handle CoinX?
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Does have a track record of getting some recent product leaks right
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Says at least one of this year’s iPhone models with get “Pro” branding
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Not clear if it would be more than just a re-branding of the updated iPhone XS Max model.
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Rumor out of Mac Otakara that updated iPad Pros expected this October could adopt multi-lens camera systems
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Says the Pros may get the new triple-lens system and the 10.2-inch iPad dual lenses
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Apple also updated it’s USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter
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The big news is it now supports HDMI 2.0 which means 60Hz refresh rates at resolutions of 3,840-by-2,160 pixels
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It also gains support for HDR10 and Dolby Vision
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Still sell for $69 and is available at Apple Stores now.
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Better Apple Maps in more of the US
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Apple’s been working hard on updating Apple Maps with it’s own first party data
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They’ve slowly been working their way down California, looks like they’re about to Bakersfield and the Central Valley
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Though one report i read said Southern California and Hawaii were done in November of 2018?
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Also Arizona, New Mexico, and metropolitan Las Vegas
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Now it looks like they’ve expanded in eastern Texas, Louisiana, and Southern Mississippi
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You get a lot more detail like grass, trees, sports fields, and parking lots
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Apple said the updated maps will roll out to the entire United States by the end of the year and other countries in 2020.
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Sponsor: Masterclass
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Masterclass
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One of the best things about the internet is the ability to get reviews and opinions on the stuff we eat, what we buy, or the places stay on vacation.
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One of my favorite things about Masterclass is the amazing depth and variety of the courses taught by the masters in their fields.
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No place else do you have access to this kind of talent.
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My daughter is an aspiring writer and she's taking advantage of Masterclass to learn how to create memorable characters from Judy Blume and learn world building from Neil Gaiman
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Gaiman had a lesson using one of my favorite books The Graveyard Book as a case study in how character motivations help build compelling plots. It was incredible.
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I also love the cinematic quality and presentation of the courses. They're each unique in their style and really well produced
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Plus presented in small chunks, typically 10-15 minutes so I can fit then into my schedule
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That's made easier by the fact I can access them on any device iPhone, iPad, Mac, and best of all my Apple TV.
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While you can get courses individually I really love having the all-access pass because here's what happens…
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You'll want one course, like Documentary Filmmaking with Ken Burns
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But if you're like me… you'll see Aaron Franklin will show you how to make Smoked Pork Ribs (I love ribs)
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I'm not kidding I watched this and learned how to trim up and prep ribs and why it's important. Something I've never even thought was part of cooking ribs
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And then I've always been fascinated with wanting to learn magic. I've tried other videos, but the Pen & Teller one was hands down the best
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They went though the concept, then teaching to a group, then detailed step by step
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Also supplemental downloadable PDF with photos and instructions.
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They have over 60 classes and they are constantly adding more, so I think it's a great investment in learning.
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Now you can have unlimited access to EVERY MasterClass, and as a [program name] listener, you’ll get $30 off!
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Go to MASTER CLASS dot com slash MACCAST for $30 off your MasterClass All-Access Pass! Be sure to act now because this offer is available for a limited time. https://masterclass.com/maccast
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Feedback, commentary, opinions
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My MacBook Pro got FAA banned
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The 2015 MacBook Pro, because it has a recalled battery, has added it to their banned list
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It remains to be seen what airlines will do, but the FAA has told them to adhere to the agency's 2016 safety instructions for devices with recalled batteries.
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That means you can’t take it on board as a carry-on or put in in checked luggage.
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If you’ve had the battery replaced, like me, then you’re all clear.
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Some UK and Canada airlines that haul cargo have also banned the laptop.
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More than you wanted to know about Apple Card
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First, I got my “early” invite this week
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Sign-up took maybe a minute or two
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Had the card in my digital wallet
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Asked if I “wanted” the physical titanium card. Really?!! They had ask?
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Looks like most people will get approved.
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Credit scores as low as 620, but with low limit $700 and highest interest rate of 23.99%
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Some say that’s bad, but could be an opportunity for some to build better credit
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You can’t export your transaction data to other Apps, but you can get PDF versions
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Open the Wallet app on iPhone
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Tap your Apple Card
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Tap the “Total Balance” square
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Choose the month of the statement you want
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Select “Download PDF Statement”
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You can now view, share, and export the statement
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How does Daily Cash work?
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You get 3% back on Apple purchases, 2% on Apple Pay purchases, and 1% when you use the physical card.
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Daily Cash is added to your Apple Cash card
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It is paid out as soon as your transaction is settled.
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When you return an Apple Card purchase, you get refunded the purchase price and the corresponding Daily Cash is charged back to your card
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If you use your Apple Card for your iPhone Upgrade Program payments you’ll get the full 3 percent cash back
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You get 3% cashback on Apple Card purchases made through Apple
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But the iPhone Upgrade Program is run through Citizens One Bank, not Apple.
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Still counts though.
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Set up auto-payments (and you should)
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Open the Wallet app
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Tap your Apple Card
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Tap the three dots in the upper-right corner
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Tap “Bank Accounts”
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Choose “Edit” to remove a bank account, or “Add” to add a new account
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You’ll need your bank routing and account number
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You can have multiple accounts set up. Set up default payment methods and amounts to pay your bill.
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Lose you phone and you’ll have to call Apple and get connected to Goldman Sachs to make a payment over the phone.
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You could also use another device to access the Wallet app.
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Personal Cloud Backup
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Calvin asked me what I thought was a simple question:
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“Do you know a way for me and my brother to each have a hard drive with each others stuff on it at our homes in case of a fire”
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So I assume he means a sort of “personal” cloud backup.
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There used the great CrashPlan Home software that would allow you to do exactly this, even without a CrashPlan account
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Probably the best option I can think of is ChronoSync + [ChronoAgent](https://www.econtechnologies.com/chronoagent/overview.html)
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I use this locally and it will also work across the web
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You can enable SSL encryption for the connection
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Get a bundle for about $60 for each machine.
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Another option might be a set of network attached drives that offer “sync” over the internet
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Western Digital MyCloud W/ WD Sync
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I’m sure there are many other options that the community might come up with
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Write a script using rsync?
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Closing
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Supporters
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