Essential Apple Podcast 150: Eyes and ears and hands and folding things

Aaaand… we made it to 150! Alas it’s also the 8th anniversary of Steve Jobs’ passing… Uncle Tim was travelling Europe drinking beer and talking about things Apple believe in. Simon was mistaken about the Loop but still wouldn’t buy one. Microsoft announced a slew of new stuff including some expensive Surface earbuds (and Will.i.am is upset about it). Nick @spligosh Riley joins Simon and they talk about all this, Apple Arcade, and more…

GIVEAWAYS & OFFERS

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Recorded 6th October 2019

Listen to the show:

This and other episodes are available at:

On this week’s show:

NICK RILEY

@spligosh on Twitter very occasionally.
Sometimes appears on Bart Busschots’ Let’s Talk Apple

APPLE

Catalina launch date rumours scuppered as Beta 9 shipped instead! And Beta 10 drops as we prepared to record!
iOS 13.2 Beta dropped too…
Tim Cook offers tribute to Steve Jobs on 8th anniversary of his passing – Apple Insider
Tim Cook talks climate change, fake news, and more during speech to students in Italy – 9to5 Mac
Apple increases production of iPhone 11 line – Apple Insider
Apple’s dropped some huge hints about its first AR glasses – Wired
Software engineer from Safari team now managing a new team at Apple whose goal is to solve the problems people have with accounts, authentication, and passwords – Ricky Mondello @rmondello on Twitter
Apple promises to fix your iPhone 6S if it stops powering on – Cult of Mac

TECHNOLOGY

Simon was wrong about the Amazon Loop – Amazon
Microsoft surprises with new dual-screen Surface Duo phone running Android – The Verge
- Microsoft Surface Neo And Duo Announced – Michael 84
They also announced their Surface Earbuds – Microsoft $250 US!!!! Religious icons on bicycles!
- And Will.i.am wasn’t very happy about it! Although the only resemblance I can find is they’re round… – @iamwill on Twitter
Paralyzed man walks again thanks to brain-controlled exoskeleton – BGR

SOFTWARE

Pixelmator Photo gets major v1.1 update with iPadOS 13 support, batch editing, improved file handling and more – DPReview
PixelmatorPro adds discount upgrade program for users of the original Pixelmator – Apple Insider
- Pixelmator Pro 1.5 (codenamed Avalon) is almost ready with macOS Catalina, Mac Pro, and Pro Display XDR support, ML Denoise (!), and more – Pixelmator Blog
And even the original Pixelmator got an update!

SECURITY & PRIVACY

Comcast, Mastercard, and Samsung Are Pouring Millions Into This Password-Killing Startup – Fortune

WORTH A CHIRP / ESSENTIAL TIPS

How to Pair DualShock PS4 or Xbox Wireless Controllers with Apple TV, iPhone, iPad – iPhone in Canada

JUST A SNIPPET

For things that are not worth more than a flypast

Pagers, faxes and cheques: Things that might seem obsolete, but aren’t – BBC News
Man sues Apple claiming iPhone turned him gay – BBC News OMG, WTF, ROTFL, RUKM?!

Nemo’s Hardware Store (44:42)

Yunmai Premium Smart Scale by Yunmai via The Grommet $70 US. Amazon $70 US / £70 UK
- The YUNMAI app can link up with Apple Health, Fitbit, Google Fit and more…
Chargehub Powerstation 360 Surge Protector from Limitless Innovations or via The Grommet $60 US. Amazon $60 US / Not available in the UK store
- That big 360 surge power cylinder disc has black rubber feet on the bottom to keep it from sliding around a table or desk which has been a real problem with all of the other surges and power strips that I have used previously so this is a real bonus and a very simple improvement!
- In the past I have used self adhesive velcro or that weird non slip “sticky” material to keep such things in place – Simon

Essential Apple Recommended Services:

Ghostery – protect yourself from trackers, scripts and ads while browsing.
33mail.com – Never give out your real email address online again.
Sudo – Get up to 9 “avatars” with email addresses, phone numbers and more to mask your online identity. Free for the first year and priced from $0.99 US / £2.50 UK per month thereafter…
ProtonMail – End to end encrypted, open source, based in Switzerland. Prices start from FREE… what more can you ask?
ProtonVPN – a VPN to go with it perhaps? Prices also starting from nothing!
Fake Name Generator – So much more than names! Create whole identities (for free) with all the information you could ever need.
Wire – Free for personal use, open source and end to end encryted messenger and VoIP.
Pinecast – a fabulous podcast hosting service with costs that start from nothing.

Essential Apple is not affiliated with or paid to promote any of these services… We recommend services that we use ourselves and feel are either unique or outstanding in their field, or in some cases are just the best value for money in our opinion.

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