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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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Sponsor: Smile
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News
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Apple expands Mini-LED supply
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Ming Chi-Kuo expects that mini-LED technology will appear in roughly 30–40% of ‌iPad‌ shipments and 20–30% of MacBook shipments in 2021
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The reason is that a second Apple supplier, Sanan Optoelectronics, has been able to bring production up faster than expected and should be able to provide components to Apple in 2021 vs 2022
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Having additional suppliers also means that Apple should get better deals. Kuo expects Apple's cost for mini-LED display dies to drop to around $45 from $75-$85
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Mini-LEDs offer to deliver a lot of the features of OLED, deeper blacks, improved brightness, richer colors, and better contrast without some of the drawbacks.
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They are less prone to burn-in and won’t degrade over time.
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They can use between 1,000 and 10,000 mini LEDs.
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Apple products expected to adopt Mini-LED technology in the coming years are the 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro, the 10.2-inch iPad, the 7.9-inch iPad mini‌, a 27-inch iMac Pro, a 14.1-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro.
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The next 12.9-inch iPad Pro is likely to be the first to feature the technology for Apple possibly even arriving sometime in the 4th quarter?
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Apple TV+ picks up first Emmy
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Not bad for their first year, though they had been up for 18 Emmy nominations
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Billy Crudup won the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his performance in The Morning Show.
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Apple also did win a pair of Daytime Emmys for their children's series
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“Ghostwriter” won for Outstanding Children's or Family Viewing Program
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"Peanuts in Space: Secrets of Apollo 10" won for Outstanding Single Camera Editing
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While this was Apple’s first Emmy for Apple TV+, they actual first Emmy for a series was a daytime Emmy for "Carpool Karaoke" in 2018.
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Apple announced a new half hour comedy series called “High Desert” from Ben Stiller and Patricia Arquette
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The series will star Arquette, who is also executive producing
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Stiller will direct and serve as an executive producer
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In the show Arquette will play a former addict who lives in the desert town of Yucca Valley, California who, after the death of her mother, decides to become a private investigator.
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This marks Apple’s second series with Stiller. He’s also executive producer behind “Severance” a “workplace thriller” starring Adam Scott who is also co-producing on the series.
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Jason Segel and Cherry Jones have been announced to star in an upcoming Apple TV+ film, "The Sky Is Everywhere" which is based on young adult novel by the same name
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The film is part of Apple’s partnership with A24 Studios
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A24 is also responsible for the upcoming Apple TV+ film "On the Rocks," directed by Sofia Coppola and starring Bill Murray and Rashida Jones.
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Apple has acquired the rights to the next film from the Russo brothers, “Cherry”, for an estimated $40 million dollars according to Deadline
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The film is based on the best selling novel l by Nico Walker and will star Tom Holland and Ciara Bravo
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The Russo Brothers, Anthony and Joe, paid $1 million for the rights to adapt the film and the project is considered “one of the year’s biggest film deals in a season.”
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Cherry will be available on Apple TV+ in 2021
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iPhone 12 may get new name
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Coming from Twitter leaker l0vetodream, he says this years new smaller iPhone 12 model, the 5.4-inch version, will be named the iPhone 12 mini
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later leaked images fo sticker for the backs of Apple Silicone case boxes seemingly confirmed the rumor.
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So the full line up would be:
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iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max
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In sizes of 5.4-inch, 6.1-inch, 6.1-inch, and 6.7-inches respectively
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All this years models are expected to feature A14 chips and 5G support, though only the Max may support mmWave technology
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We also saw this week images of the rumored new braided white USB-C to Lightning cables.
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Getting predictions from the leakers that Apple will hold their iPhone 12 event on Tuesday October 13th
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With Pre-orders beginning October 16th and shipments beginning October 23rd
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Based on info leaking from Mobile operators in Europe.
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No word about a “staggered” release of devices, like we had heard previously.
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l0vetodream also claims that the rumored AirPods Studio headphones and AirTags item trackers will both use Apple’s U1 chip.
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One the headphones the U1 chip would allow them to detect orientation. Being able to be adjust the left and right ear-cups regardless of how you put on the headphones
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For the trackers, one possibility is that they could act as “bridges” connecting various U1 devices together in a sort of local mesh network.
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Apple Watch Teardown
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iFixit did their things. Now we know some things
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The Apple Watch is slightly thinner. 10.4 mm vs 10.74 mm for the Series 5
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The battery is a bit larger. up 3.5% in the 44mm model and 8.5% in the 40mm model from the Series 5
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There is a larger Taptic Engine and, no surprise, no Force Touch hardware.
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The blood oxygen sensor is one solid unit.”Fused display on top, fused sensor array on the bottom.”
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The Apple Watch Blood Oxygen sensor can’t be used by anyone under 18
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The app will refuse to launch if it detects that the user's birth date in the Health app is less than 18 years ago.
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Also, it will be disabled if the Apple Watch was set up using the new Family Setup feature.
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Apple also states that the blood oxygen monitoring on Apple Watch is not intended for medical use. It is only designed for "general fitness and wellness purposes,"
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Apparently there have been a lot of sizing issues with Apple’s new “loop” bands
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Can’t say I’m surprised
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Apple adjust their sizing instructions and clarified a few things regarding the printable paper sizing chart
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Cut the tool. Then wrap it tightly around your wrist where you typically wear your watch. You can use tape to hold the wider part in place. Make sure the tool feels snug and doesn’t slide up or down.
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Previously the instruction said, “snug but not too tight”.
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Apple is also noting that, at least the Solo Loop, over time will lengthen. So you might want a slightly tighter fit at first.
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John Gruber came up with a slightly easier sizing methodology if you already have an Apple Watch Sport Band
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View the images [on his post](https://daringfireball.net/2020/09/more_adventures_in_solo_loop_sizing) as they’ll make more sense
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But depending on the watch size (34/40mm or 42/44mm) and the band size (S/M) or (M/L) the holes in the band will line up with the number on the “Loop” band sizing charts.
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If you get the wrong size it could be bad too.
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Early last week we were hearing that if yo had the wrong size Apple was making you return the entire Apple Watch to get a replacement.
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Luckily later in the week they seem to have come to their senses and are just replacing the bands
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Although they will send you a traditional surf blue or cactus Sport band to tide you over while you wait or your replacement since bands are backordered.
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iOS and macOS Updates
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Apple release iOS 14.0.1 to address some bugs
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Fixes an issue that could cause default browser and mail settings to reset after restarting your iPhone
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Addresses an issue that could prevent camera previews from displaying on iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus
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Fixes an issue that could prevent your iPhone from connecting to Wi-Fi networks
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Resolves an issue that could prevent sending email with some mail providers
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Addresses an issue that could prevent images from appearing in the News widget
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They also released iPadOS 14.0.1, watchOS 7.0.1, macOS Catalina 10.15.7, and tvOS 14.0.1
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watchOS 7.0.1 “fixes an issue where some payment cards in Wallet were disabled for some users.”
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macOS Catalina 10.15.7
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Resolves an issue where macOS would not automatically connect to Wi-Fi networks
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Fixes an issue that could prevent files syncing through ‌iCloud Drive‌
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Addresses a graphic issue that may occur on ‌iMac‌ (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020) with Radeon Pro 5700 XT
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Apple acquired Scout FM podcast app
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According to a report by Bloomberg the acquisition occurred earlier this year.
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Scout FM would generate Podcast “stations” with similar curated podcast content around a topic.
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The app would offer recommendations based on listening history and personal preference
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Sponsor: Linode
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Linode
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They just opened their newest datacenter in Mumbai, India.
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Feedback, commentary, opinions
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Magic device switching
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Play comment from Brett
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Seems to work best if the AirPods are already in your ears and you stop using one device and then pick up the other.
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I’ve not had as much luck if I stop using the AirPods on one device and then later want to use them with the other device.
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You can enable and disable it on each device in the Bluetooth settings
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Open Settings
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Tap Bluetooth
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Tap the “i” icon for your Air Pods Pro
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Tap connect to this iPhone/iPad
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Tap When Last Connected to This iPhone/iPad.
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Tap Automatically to turn “on” auto device switching. Tap When last connected to this iPhone/iPad to turn off auto device switching.
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My “spatial audio” issue
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When you toggle the setting in control center it will temporarily say, “This content does not support spatial audio”
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The key seems to be the icon.
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Black (off)
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Blue (Spatial audio is enabled, but not active for the audio content that you're listening to)
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Blue and animated (partial audio is active.)
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Should technically work with any audio that is multichannel (5.1, 7.1, Dolby Atmos) and is played in a supported app
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iOS 14 Home Screen Customization
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Thanks to a couple new features in iOS 14 there is a new trend in configuring and designing customized iOS home screens
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The two keys are Apple’s Shortcuts app and a 3rd party app called [WidgetSmith](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/widgetsmith/id1523682319)
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WidgetSmith
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Takes advantage of Apple’s new Widgets in iOS and lets you build your own custom widgets and designs
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Time, Date, Custom: Photo, Photos in Album, Custom Text, Blank, Calendar, Reminders, Weather, Health & Activity, Tides, Astronomy
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Can customize the font style, tint color, and background color.
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Also has “timed” widgets which can change the widget functionality based on time of day.
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Calendar in the morning, reminders during the day, and Health & Activity at night
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You then use a feature in Shortcuts to make custom app icons
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You’ll need to get the your own icons, but there are already icon packs showing up online.
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[icons8](https://icons8.com) for free icons you can customize
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Download and put them in the Files or Photos app for easy access
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You’ll want to have the background in the icon match the colors of your wallpaper background.
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Open the Shortcuts app (download from App store if you don’t have it)
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Tap the “+” button (upper right)
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Tap “Add Action” and search for “Open App”
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Tap “Choose” and choose the App you want to customize the icon for.
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After adding the app, tap the three dots (…) and tap Shortcut name (give it the app name or a custom name)
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Tap “Add to Home Screen”
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Now Tap the icon, Tap Choose File (or Photo), find and tap the icon you want to use.
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adjust and zoom to make sure it’s centered.
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Tap Done.
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It’s not perfect, but the options for customizing your style are endless.
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Finder column sizing frustration
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Robert has a dilemma.
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When he resizes the columns in the Finder’s column view and gets them just the way he likes and then closes the window.
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The next time he opens the window they are all back to they way they were.
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It doesn’t remember the custom column widths
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That’s right. The Finder can only remember the “same” column widths for ALL Finder Windows
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Robert notes that if you hold option and drag a column it will resize ALL the columns to that same width.
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When you close and open this width for ALL columns is saved and maintained
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This is the same for ALL windows from this point forward
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But if you make each column a “custom” width then that spacing is not saved or maintained.
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If you option+double click a column divider it will auto size the width of each column to expose the widest content in that column
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But again this will not be maintained the next time you open that window.
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You would think by now that the Finder could save the last state of all the settings fro each window you’ve had open in the past, but it just doesn’t
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Are we missing something? Is there a 3rd party tool, utility, or Finder alternative that would do what Robert wants?
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[Pathfinder](https://cocoatech.com/) is a great Finder alternative, but I don’t believe it has this feature.
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Closing
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