shownotes_20210228

Opening
  Opening Music
    Music is Say Anything by Manda and the Marbles
Sponsor: Smile
  TextExpander
    Take your time back with the power of TextExpander.
    Repetitive typing, little mistakes, searching for answers – they’re all taking precious time away from you and your team. With TextExpander, you can take it back.
    The latest version of TextExpander even has new and improved statistics reporting for organizations including the ability to build reports with customizable date ranges for Enterprise and individuals so you can track how much time your team saves.
    Create powerful snippets to save you time so that all you type is a short abbreviation, and TextExpander does the rest of the typing for you.
    TextExpander is available on Mac, Windows, Chrome, iPhone, iPad.
    Maccast listeners get 20% off their first year.
    Visit textexpander.com/podcast to learn more about TextExpander.
News
  Apple’s iPhone back on top
    At least in the 4th quarter of 2020 according to Gartner
    The popularity of Apple’s iPhone 12 helped them become the top smartphone vendor for the 4th quarter of 2020 and rise to rank as the number two smartphone vendor for all of 2020 behind Samsung.
    According to the Gartner numbers Apple saw almost 15% year over year growth in the 4th quarter and secured 20.8 percent of the global smartphone marketshare
      Gartner estimates that Apple sold 79.94 million during the quarter.
    This is despite an overall decline in the smartphone market of 5.4 percent.
    And for the year Apple saw an overall growth in iPhone sales of 3.3 while the industry as a whole experienced a 12.5 percent decline.
    IDC also had reports that Apple’s iPhone 12 was big in Japan for the 4th quarter of 2020
      They estimated that 52.6 percent of all smartphones sold in the 4th quarter in Japan were iPhones
      Apple saw a 13.8% year-on-year increase in shipments in Japan shipping an estimated 6 million units
      For all of 2020 in Japan iPhones accounted for 46.5 percent of the smartphone market
    According to DigiTimes the iPhone 13 models are expected to adopt Qualcomm's Snapdragon X60 5G modem
      The chips use a 5nm process are more efficient and smaller than the Snapdragon X55 modems used in iPhone 12
      They are able to aggregate 5G data from both mmWave and sub-6GHz bands simultaneously
  Apple blocks Silver Sparrow
    I told you last time about a couple of new pieces of malware that have been compiled to run natively on Apple Silicon
    One of the packages is called “Silver Sparrow” and is malicious package that takes advantage of the macOS Installer JavaScript API to execute remote commands
    Red Canary a security firm who discovered the malware never saw any report payload executions and could not determine the nature of the exploit
    Still Apple has now taken steps to stop Silver Sparrow before it can do anything according to MacRumors
    Apple has has revoked the certificates of the developer accounts used to sign the packages, so no further Macs could become infected.
    And for any app distributed outside the Mac App store Apple says they have "industry-leading" mechanisms in place to block attacks.
      They are likely referring to recent policies that require all Mac software developed with a Developer ID from outside the MAS to be run through their “notary” service.
      This scans for malicious content and code-signing issues.
    On the iOS side Apple also appears to be making some exploits harder for hackers according to a report by Motherboard
      Since 2018 Apple has employed a cryptography security feature called Pointer Authentication Codes
        These prevent attackers from leveraging corrupted memory to inject malicious code
      Staring iOS 14.5 Apple has developed a way to extend these protections to ISA pointers which are pointers that tell a program what code to use when it runs
      This will make zero click attacks and sandbox escape attacks much hard to execute on iOS
      This doesn’t mean these exploits will become impossible, but it will make it much more difficult.
    Some pro users of M1 Macs are noting some potentially concerning numbers for 'TBW', or total bytes written, on the machines SSD
      They are reporting drives that already are displaying anywhere from 3 to 13 percent of the TBW numbers
      At these rates it would mean the drives could be reaching 100% TBW in just a year or two.
      While you can continue to use an SSD with 100% TBW reliability becomes a serious concern
      It’s very likely at this point that the numbers are errors in software or that there are issues with smart monitoring tools which are also "notorious for misreporting"
      Either way I’m sure it’s something Apple is looking into and will likely be resolved.
    I don’t cover macOS incremental updates too much but ‌‌‌‌‌macOS Big Sur‌‌‌‌ 11.2.2‌ has an important feature for owners of later model MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs
      The update contains code to protect 2019 or later MacBook Pro models and 2020 or Later MacBook Air models from being damaged when connected to certain third-party, non-compliant powered USB-C hubs and docks.
  ‘Epic’ animated series coming to Apple TV+
    Deadline did an interview with the directors of Wolfwalkers, the Golden Globe nominated film on Apple TV+ from Cartoon Saloon
    In the interview Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart were asked about what’s next for the studio
    They mentioned a new film called “My Father’s Dragon” though they did not tie it’s release to Apple
    But they also said they are planning a 12 episode hand-drawn animated series that will be coming to Apple TV+
      Episodes will be 30 minutes and the series will end with a hour-long special
    The series is not announced yet, but they described it as a “big series” and called it “epic”
    The sequel to HBO’s “Band of Brothers” is also coming to Apple TV+
      The series is called “Masters of Air” and it’s the first series to be from Apple’s own internal production studio
      This week Deadline reported that Austin Butler and Callum Turner will star in the series.
      "Masters of Air" is based on the novel "Masters of the Air" by Donald L. Miller. It follows the story of the American and British bomber boys in World War II.
    The Golden Globes happened Sunday night and while AppleTV+ shows were up for several awards
      Best Motion Picture, Animated – “Wolfwalkers”
      Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy – “Ted Lasso”
      Best Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role In Any Motion Picture – Bill Murray in “On The Rocks”
      Best Actor in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy Series – Jason Sudeikis in “Ted Lasso”
      Jason Sudeikis won. Making it the first Golden Globe win for an Apple TV+ show or film
  Significant changes coming for MacBook Pro
    We’ve been hearing about a lot of the “pro” features making their way back to this years upcoming Apple Silicon MacBook Pro updates
    This week Ming-Chi Kuo is confirming earlier rumors we heard from Mark Guramn about the return of the SSD slot and the HDMI port
    Previously both Kuo and Gurman said Apple will have redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros this year that will not only include the new ports, but also bring back the MagSafe connector and ditch the TouchBar.
    Flat-edge bottom and top design.
    The new machines may also be the first Macs to feature Mini-LED displays
    No specific release dates being mentioned beyond just the second half of 2021
    Prosser is claiming that this years iMac line up could bring colors back to the iMac
      He says Apple will use the same colors as last years iPads, space gray, silver, rose gold, green, and sky blue.
      Kuo and Gurman hav both mentioned that Apple’s iMac will have a significant redesign this year with a look more like the Pro Display XDR
        Flat back and no “chin”
      Prosser also briefly discussed the new Mac Pro design being “less than half the size” of the existing MacPro
        It’s being likened to the old G4 Cube and Prosser says the design will have the compute unit on the bottom with a big heat sink on top.
    It’s also expected that Apple will release updated iPad Pros with min-LED displays
      Updates are expected to be mostly evolutionary with updated A14X processors and 5G support
      The mini-LED displays might be limited to the 12.9-inch model.
      Could come near the ned of the first quarter or early in the second quarter
  Apple Pay now in Mexico
    Available to Citibanamex and Banorte customers
    Now seven years after launch Apple Pay is already available in over 60 countries
    Israeli mobile banking service Pepper updated it’s mobile app with release notes that mention a “surprise” coming soon and that had a splash screen indicating you could add your card to Apple’s wallet
      The Apple Pay references were quickly removed in another update.
      Indicating that Apple Pay also may be coming to Israel soon.
  Target will update Apple store within store
    They are planning to create “Apple shopping destination” experiences at retail stores in the United States
    Sounds pretty similar to previous “store within a store” experiences Apple has done in the past like at Best Buy and CompUSA back in the day
    They will bring Apple products products and accessories together in one space
    With demos and questions answered for shoppers by Apple trained Target Tech Consultants
    It’s being rolled out to 17 Target locations now and will expand to other locations this year.
Sponsor: Sanebox
  Sanebox
    Inbox Zero is a thing of the past. We’re all so inundated with email now that it’s no longer about responding to everything, it’s about responding only to the important things – the messages that truly matter.
    And that’s where SaneBox comes in. Think of it as an EMT for your email. As messages flow in, SaneBox does the triage for you — sifting only the important emails in your inbox and directing all the other distracting stuff into your SaneLater folder. So you know what messages to pay attention to now, and what stuff you can get to later on.
    It also has nifty features like the SaneBlackHole, where you can drag messages from annoying senders you never want to hear from again, and SaneReminders to ping you if someone hasn’t replied to your email by a certain date.
    Best of all, you can use Sanebox with any email client or phone. You don’t have to change your habits by creating a new email account or downloading a new app—SaneBox just makes your existing one awesome.
    I have been a Sanebox user for years and I couldn’t imagine my email without it.
    Organize Your Inbox (and Never Waste Time on Email Again) With SaneBox. Sign up today and save $25 on any subscription.
    Visit sanebox DOT com SLASH MACCAST today to start your free trial and get a $25 credit. That’s S-A-N-E-B-O-X DOT com SLASH M-A-C-C-A-S-T.
Feedback, commentary, opinions
  Follow-up Apple Watch Allergies
    Play comment from Bill
    Amazing level of customer support and customer service for sure.
  Easy Email Signatures
    Bob wrote in to say he just created his in Notes
      Only really offers “basic” formatting.
      Can add images, from the web, but can’t really do much formatting out side basic stuff.
      website links work.
    Greg recommended a free service called [Signature Hound](https://signaturehound.com)
  Printers and Big Sur
    A number of emails from folks who upgraded to Big Sur, but have older printers.
    Apple provides the drivers, but they are submitted from the manufacturers
    Many do not provide updated drivers for older printers
    Check the manufacturer’s site as there could be updated software or at least you’ll know ahead of time if your printer is supported
    Try resetting the printing system
      1. On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Printers & Scanners.
      2. Press and hold the Control key as you click in the list at the left, then choose “Reset printing system” from the menu that appears.
      3. After you reset the printing system, the list of printers in Printers & Scanners preferences is empty.
      4. Re-add any printers.
    You can also try [GutenPrint](http://gimp-print.sourceforge.net/MacOSX.php)
      May or may not work in BigSur
      One [Roaringapps](https://roaringapps.com/app/gutenprint) report says it does
  Find Messages Live Photo Mov
    Recently had a question about how to save a Live Photo from Messages on the Mac to Photos
    I threw it out to the community
    Aaron & Martin wrote in with instruction on how to get the JPG and MOV files that are associated with the Live Photo
      Control click on the live photo in the Messages app on the Mac and select Services --> Show in finder.
      This will reveal the static image in a directory named Transfers. Screenshot
      Go back one directory which is named Messages.
      You will notice the image file (randomly named) with an extension .pvt
      Control click on the .pvt file and select Show Package Contents.
      Voilà - You will find a static image (in my case a JPEG) and .MOV file.
    This did not work for me in macOS Bug Sur. But it helped me work out a way
      In Messages right click on the Live Photo and choose “Open”
      The image will open in Preview
      Click on the long cryptic filename in the titlebar. In the dropdown copy the filename
      Go to the Finder and choose File > Find… (Command+F)
      Paste the filename in search.
      Click the “+” to add conditions. Add the “System Files” condition and set it to “are included”
      Command+Click the file and choose “Show Enclosing Folder”
      Now you should see the JPEG and the MOV files
      If you drag both of these into Photos it will import as a “Live” photo.
Closing
  Supporters
    maccast@gmail.com
    Bandwidth for the Maccast provided by CacheFly at cachefly.com
    Advertising is handled by Backbeat Media at backbeatmedia.com
  Keep emails coming. Audio comments.
    281-622-4269 or 281-Mac-I-Am-9
      PLEASE LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
    Follow me on Twitter
    Checkout the page on Facebook