Panel: Tina, Alastair, Craig, Martin,

The Show The Apple Studio And the Magic Beans

Runtime: 43 Mins

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News

EU will require iMessage, WhatsApp to communicate with smaller messaging services

On Thursday, the European Union announced plans to enact new legislation that would demand major messaging services — including iMessage, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger — to send and receive messages, calls, videos, and files from smaller competitors.

The rule, part of the larger proposed Digital Markets Act (DMA) would require major messaging platforms to allow their services to work with smaller messaging platforms. Services that would need to work between platforms include sending messages, making video calls, and even sending files.

The rule would apply to any company that has at least 45 million monthly active end users and 10,000 annually active corporate users in Europe as noted by TechCrunch. Failure to comply with the new legislation could see violators incurring fines of up to 10% global annual turnover or up to 20% for repeat violations. link

Apple working on hardware subscription service for iPhone, other products

Apple is reportedly working on a subscription service that would allow users to buy iPhones and other hardware products for a monthly fee – but how it differs from purchase vectors now isn’t clear. The service would be Apple’s biggest push into recurring revenue streams, essentially bringing the company’s Services model to its lucrative hardware business. However, the project is still in development and the initiative has yet to be announced, Bloomberg reported Thursday. Additionally, the subscription could also tie into existing Apple services such as Apple One and AppleCare, Bloomberg added. This is not the first time that a hardware subscription has been rumoured. Analysts have long thought that such a service, which could include bundled services, would be a natural fit for Apple. The report isn’t clear about how the service will differ from the existing Apple iPhone Upgrade Program, buying a device with monthly payments on an Apple Card, or buying a phone with monthly payments through a carrier. -info

HomePod mini officially available in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland

The HomePod mini is now officially available in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. Apple had previously said that the smart speaker would launch in these countries by the end of March. Apple updated earlier news releases to confirm today’s launch, with identical copy aside from the country and price … -info

Happy Birthday MacOS

The first official public version of Mac OS X was launched by Apple on March 24, 2001. It wasn’t a success at first, but it powered the Mac through the next 19 years until macOS Big Sur. The fact that OS X launched at all on March 24, 2001, was a relief and felt like an achievement if you were a long-time Mac user. Even though that very first “Cheetah” version, 10.0, lacked features and did not lack bugs, it existed and that wasn’t something you could say about Apple’s previous OS attempts.

iPhone SE

“iPhone SE has been an incredibly popular choice with our existing users and for new iPhone customers, thanks to its iconic design, exceptional performance, and affordable price. This year we’ve built the most powerful and durable iPhone SE yet, with better battery life thanks to A15 Bionic, the same chip as our iPhone 13 lineup that also unlocks advanced camera features like Smart HDR 4, Photographic Styles, and Deep Fusion,” -info

iPad Air

The breakthrough M1 chip in iPad Air delivers a giant performance boost to even the most demanding apps and workflows, with incredible power efficiency and all-day battery life.1 The 8-core CPU delivers up to 60 percent faster performance, and the 8-core GPU delivers up to 2x faster graphics performance compared to the previous iPad Air. -info

iPhone 13 Pro

New, sophisticated alpine green iPhone 13 Pro and green iPhone 13 join the lineup, featuring the lightning-fast A15 Bionic, advanced camera systems, great battery life, impressive durability, and 5G -info

Mac Studio

Mac Studio delivers even more capability to users who are looking to push the limits of their creativity — with breakthrough performance, a wide range of connectivity for peripherals, and a modular system to create the perfect setup. Revolutionary Desktop Design Enabled by Apple Silicon

With the power and efficiency of Apple silicon, Mac Studio completely reimagines what a high-performance desktop looks like. Every element inside Mac Studio was designed to optimise the performance of M1 Max and M1 Ultra, producing an unprecedented amount of power and capability in a form factor that can live right on a desk. Built from a single aluminium extrusion with a square footprint of just 7.7 inches and a height of only 3.7 inches, Mac Studio takes up very little space and fits perfectly under most displays. Mac Studio also features an innovative thermal design that enables an extraordinary amount of performance. The unique system of double-sided blowers, precisely placed airflow channels, and over 4,000 perforations on the back and bottom of the enclosure guide air through the internal components and help cool the high-performance chips. And because of the efficiency of Apple silicon, Mac Studio remains incredibly quiet, even under the heaviest workloads.

Studio Display

Features an expansive 27-inch 5K Retina screen, an advanced camera with Centre Stage, and amazing high-fidelity audio The all-new Studio Display perfectly complements Mac Studio and also beautifully pairs with any Mac. In a class of its own, it features a gorgeous 27-inch 5K Retina screen, plus sensational camera and audio, delivering that integrated experience Mac users love. info

Have We Seen the Last of the 27-inch iMac?

M1 Ultra

Apple today announced M1 Ultra, the next giant leap for Apple silicon and the Mac. Featuring UltraFusion — Apple’s innovative packaging architecture that interconnects the die of two M1 Max chips to create a system on a chip (SoC) with unprecedented levels of performance and capabilities — M1 Ultra delivers breathtaking computing power to the new Mac Studio while maintaining industry-leading performance per watt.

Get in Touch!

Web: info

Twitter: @londonmacgroup

Facebook: Group

Contact us: Email

Send in a voice message: Here

Sponsored by: The London Mac User Group

Become a member: Here

Follow our podcast: Here

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Episode 23 – 18/08/21 – Keeping to the Script(able)

Panel: Tina, Craig, Martin,

Special guests: Simon Støvring Developer

The Show Keeping to the Script(able)

Runtime: 56Mins

The Show Keeping to the Script(able) ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

News

APPLE LAUNCHES IPHONE 12 ‘MAGSAFE BATTERY PACK

The battery pack makes use of Apple’s new MagSafe technology to snap onto the back of newer iPhones, and provide them with charge. It follows a range of other MagSafe accessories made by Apple, which include cards and leather wallets for cards, as well as charging pucks to plug into the wall. It costs £99, or $99, and can be ordered from Apple now

info

Apple’s MagSafe Battery Pack has more capacity than it seems – here’s why…

The MagSafe Battery Pack appears to have a tiny capacity when examining its milliamp-hour rating, but that isn’t the whole story. Here are the battery ratings and what they mean to users.

Apple hasn’t provided full specs for the MagSafe Battery Pack. Official photography shows a few numbers that give us insight into how much charging capacity it has. info

You Could Run New Windows ? on an iPad?

Microsoft unveiled a new service called Windows 365, and it makes it possible for users to run a full version of Windows in a web browser on any device. The new service is only available for businesses at first, but given Microsoft’s emphasis on cloud platforms, it is highly likely that it will become available for consumers at some point in the future. Microsoft is offering Windows 365 for businesses of all sizes, whether you are a one-person show or a giant organisation. The best part? You can run Windows 365 on an iPad in addition to a Mac. info

In other news

It’s been a big week for Backblaze you can now backup faster with increased Upload Speeds and its bank account will grow as it increases it price plans for its customers.

Backblaze Updates With Faster Upload Speeds

Backblaze Computer Backup 8.0! As a great philosopher once said, “8 is great”—and we couldn’t agree more. Our latest version is pretty great: It cranks up the speed—letting you upload at whatever rate your local system can attain—all while reducing stress on key elements of your computer by an order of magnitude.

Here’s what’s new for our app on your Mac and PC:info

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Rumours

Apple’s German site leaks a 16′ M1 MacBook Pro.

Apple Germany’s online description for the current 16-inch MacBook Pro describes it has having an Apple Silicon M1 processor. info

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Feature topic An Interview with Simon Støvring –

Simon is an iOS developer based in Denmark. During the day we works as an engineer at Lunar, a challenger bank in the nordics, and in the night he is an indie developer . His focus is on building tools for developers and automation enthusiasts.

Lunar

Lunar’s banking app makes managing your spending, budget and savings easy with its sublime user experience for both personal and business finance – info

Just a few of the great projects from Simon – Data Jar (App Store Links) HereScriptable Here and Jayson here

What is Scriptable?

Scriptable is an automation tool that enables you to write scripts that integrates with native features of iOS such as files, calendars, reminders, documents and much more.

An extensive support for widgets enables you to write your own widgets using JavaScript and run the scripts on your Home Screen. Your widgets can show any data and be customised to look just the way you want.

Scriptable sits at No2 in the developer tools chart but…. Who is Scriptable for?

Widgetsmith

lets you personalise your home screen like never before. It starts with a wide collection of highly customisable widgets, which range in function from date, to weather, to astronomy. Each can be adjusted precisely to best fit your desired function and appearance.[Info]**(https://apps.apple.com/us/app/widgetsmith/id1523682319)

Jayson and DataJar

What is Jayson format? ( It was derived from JavaScript, but many modern programming languages include code to generate and parse JSON-format data. JSON filenames use the extension .json. Douglas Crockford originally specified the JSON format in the early 2000s.)

Jayson App

Jayson is a simple yet powerful JSON viewer and editor with Siri Shortcuts, Share Sheet Actions and URL schemes.

DataJar Can be found here – Data Jar (App Store Links) Here

Passing data…. ?

Did you know

Recommendation from Simon, –

Get in Touch!

Web: info

Twitter: @londonmacgroup

Facebook: Group

Contact us: Email

Send in a voice message: Here

Sponsored by: The London Mac User Group

Become a member: Here

Follow our podcast: Here

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  • Episode 22 – 12/07/21The Apple Pi and the Inbox!

Panel: Tina, Alastair, Craig, Martin,

Special guests :
Jonathan Bernstein and Roy Wagner of Apple iP.

Runtime: 51 min

Apple Pies and the Inbox!

The Show
Recently we have covered a number different subjects from Security, Writing , and Productivity but this week we thought we would explore our down time or how we relax using Apple products, from AppleTv , YouTube to Reading books or even Podcasts.

News

New LinkedIn Data Leak Leaves 700 Million Users Exposed

Data from 700 million LinkedIn users has been put up for sale online, making this one of the largest LinkedIn data leaks to date. After analysing the data and making contact with the seller, we have updated this article with more information, including how the data was obtained and the possible impact on LinkedIn users. [info]()

Western Digital customers saw their MyBook Live

Countless Western Digital customers saw their MyBook Live network storage drives remotely wiped in the past month thanks to a bug in a product line the company stopped supporting in 2015, as well as a previously unknown zero-day flaw. But… info

Apple Seeds macOS Monterey Public Beta 1

How to install the macOS Monterey public beta?

Apple has launched the public beta for macOS Monterey. This is the next big update coming to Mac computers (the final version is expected later in 2021) and it brings several big changes. In this article, we’re going to walk you through how to get the beta onto your computer, should you want it. Once you install the beta, it will likely receive several updates between now and the final release. -info
Public Beta Access -info

Apple Offers Free Downloads of OS X Lion, OS X Mountain Lion

While macOS is currently on version 11 (otherwise known as Big Sur) and macOS 12 Monterey is coming later this year, there are plenty of folks who use old versions of the Mac operating system. Some people are still using OS X 10.7 Lion and OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, and until recently, you had to pay Apple $19.99 to get download codes for those OSes. But there’s good news: Apple is now offering Lion and Mountain Lion for free for anyone who wants them. -info

PDFpen: Extending PDF Productivity to Mac, iPad and iPhone

During the pandemic, we watched as the usage of our PDF productivity tools soared, with over two billion documents opened in Nitro Pro during 2020. In that same time, Nitro Sign also logged over one million eSignature requests (and counting!) as customers replaced paper and pen with a newer, faster, more cost-effective alternative

info.


Feature topic – What’s in your inbox?

This year at WWDC, Apple introduced MailKit, a new Mac-only framework for building modern Mail.app extensions. This framework is based on the same underlying technology that powers Safari app extensions and share sheet extensions, but what is your choice of inbox and why?

Where did Mail first start?

Apple Mail grew out of NeXTMail, which was originally developed by NeXT as part of its NeXTSTEP operating system, after Apple’s acquisition of NeXT in 1997.
NeXTMail was the email client developed by NeXT for its NeXTSTEP operating system. It was one of the first email clients to support universally visible, clickable embedded graphics and audio within an email. NeXTMail made attaching images, text and videos to a message straightforward using drag and drop. It featured a service named “lip service” that allowed a user to click a button and record audio. Apple Inc. purchased NeXT in 1997 and NeXTMail evolved into Apple Mail, the email application bundled with Mac OS X and iOS. Apple continued using NeXTMail until its OS X became stable enough for everyday use. Further development of NeXTMail was discontinued.

Email’s new heyday

Mail sucked for years. Not anymore — we fixed it. HEY’s fresh approach transforms email into something you want to use, not something you’re forced to deal with. info

MailRoute

Provides the best email security & protection. Protect your inbox, stop spam, viruses, ransomware, security threats & more with email protection services. Easy setup on Office 365, Google & more.
info

What’s New for Mail?

There will be four main categories of Mail app extensions, according to Apple:

– Compose: Extensions that provide new workflows when composing emails

– Actions: Extensions that apply custom rules to incoming emails, such as an email being color coded, moved to a separate inbox, marked as read, or flagged

– Content Blocking: Extensions that serve as WebKit content blockers for emails based on specific criteria in an email’s HTML code

Message Security: Extensions that sign, encrypt, and decrypt emails when sending and receiving mail, with signed and encrypted icons below emails

SaneBox

Is an email management software as a service that integrates with IMAP and Exchange Web Services email accounts. Its primary function is to filter email messages

SpamSieve

Save time by adding powerful spam filtering to the e-mail client on your Mac.info

Mail Drop

Lets you send large files like videos, presentations and images through iCloud. If you shared links through Mail Drop that are no longer available, you might have exceeded one or more of the service limits.info

Listeners Tech Questions

How can I tell the Wi-Fi channel my iPhone is using?

  • Apple’s upcoming iOS 14 update introduces multiple design changes, including a new look for the hidden Field Test Mode feature on the iPhone. info
  • Network Analyzer Is an iPhone and Android app offering various net diagnostics tools such as wifi/LAN/port scanner, ping, traceroute, whois, DNS and other info

How to Find the Best Wi-Fi Channel for Your Router on Any Operating System

It’s very likely you’ve had problems with your wireless connections dropping out, or just not being as fast as you’d like. This often has to do with the Wi-Fi channels in your area. Info

I have an intel Mac mini, with a broken Ethernet socket, Can I replace it?

I’ve recently installed the IOS15 Beta and playing around with shortcuts, I have another non beta device and now my shortcuts don’t work, What happened?

Apple Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter

The Apple Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter lets you easily connect to a high-performance Gigabit Ethernet network. Small and compact, it connects to the Thunderbolt port on your Mac computer and provides an RJ-45 port that supports 10/100/1000BASE-T networks.info

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Get in Touch!
Web: info
Twitter: @londonmacgroup
Facebook: Group
Contact us: Email
Sponsored by: The London Mac User Group
Become a member: Here
Follow our podcast: Here

Episode 20– 14/06/21 – Contextual Computing and a date at the Apple store

Coming up in the show this week the team is joined by two wonderful guests Jay Miller – developer advocate and multipotentialite, and iMore’s Tech Expect Oliver Haslam, as we discuss our thoughts on WWDC21, and well as our feature, as we take a dive into the subject of Contexural computing… and even a date at the Apple store…

Panel: Tina, Alastair, Craig, Martin,

Special Guests:Jay Miller and Oliver Haslam

Oliver Haslam has written about technology for nearly ten years. His work has been published in print at Macworld and online pretty much everywhere else. If it plugs in or has a battery, it’s fair game.

Jay Miller is a Developer Advocate at Elastic, based in San Diego, Ca. A multipotentialite, Jay enjoys finding unique ways to merge his fascination with productivity, automation, and development to create tools and content to serve the tech community

What what is a Multipotentialite?

In short, think of him as a renaissance artist. He pursued knowledge around many things include: Audio/Video Production System Administration Software Engineering Marketing Content Creation

These go beyond hobbies in that I’ve done some form of professional work in all of these, taking many principles from each and applying them in unique ways.

The Show

News

Wowowowo!!! We are now on Episode 20 of the Podcast and we couldn’t have done it without the Apple Communities support. THANK YOU listeners, supporter and members…

Of course Apple plans to open more Apple Stores ( follow up on from Episode 19 )

Over the weekend, a report from Bloomberg revealed that Apple still plans to open more retail locations despite an overall shift in the retail industry to online sales. The report said that Apple sees its stores as “an opportunity for people to experience new technology, ask questions and attend workshops on Apple’s products. https://www.imore.com/course-apple-plans-open-more-apple-stores

Jony Ive helped design the new M1 iMac, but Apple won’t say when?

Jony Ive was involved in the design of this new iMac, despite having left Apple back in 2019. Hardware design is a long process, so perhaps it’s not surprising that Ive’s fingerprints are all over this new desktop. But, interestingly, Apple would not confirm or deny if he worked on the 2021 iMac after he left the company – just that he had worked on it. -info

Apple Store? Plan you visit now

I’ve heard that some Apple Stores near me are now open. How do I know which stores I can visit? Some of our retail stores are now open. Please check apple.com/uk/retail for the latest on store re-openings, services available and opening hours.

Q: Will I have to queue? -info

Apple is released iOS 14.7 beta 2 for developers but where’s my SIM?

Apple today released iOS 14.7 beta 2 for developers, and while bugs and other weird issues are quite common in beta software, sometimes they can make your device nearly unusable. According to some reports, today’s beta seems to be causing a “SIM Failure” error for iPhone users. -info

macOS the name game? confirmed for macOS 10.14

Apple has confirmed the new macOS 10.14 name to be Mojave, but what else could it have called it? Here are 13 Californian cities and landmarks that will make fine names for macOS 10.15.-info……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Feature topic  “Contextual Computing and Date at the Apple store”

The contextual OS. – The minimal set of data used by a task.

What is contextual computing?

How do we each define it?

In simple terms it’s “a behaviour presenting the user with information that is based on the user’s past actions or a location”.

The Mac can make suggestions based on who, where we are and with whom. Today we are just going to discuss how we use them, where and when? And how they are useful.

A great example of this process is IOS shortcuts making recommendations for a song when you connect your AirPods or a reminder to buy milk on the way home from work.

However there are many more ways how this form of computing works. Here’s just a few to get us started.

What is a Webhook?

Webhooks are one of a few ways web applications can communicate with each other. It allows you to send real-time data from one application to another whenever a given event occurs, including IOS shortcuts.

On a daily basis we all have some form of diary, calendar or task manager apps that keeps a track of our day and it reminds us things that are outstanding. This is just one area in which contextual methods play a major part.

Fantastical

When scheduling an event with invitees, Fantastical lets you see your invitees’ availability and help you find a time that works for everyone. Even better, you can send event proposals to your invitees with multiple times and dates and Fantastical will automatically turn their responses into an event. No more back and forth text, emails, or calls! -info

Cardhop 

Thanks to Cardhop’s natural language parsing, working with your contacts has never been easier. Type what you want and Cardhop will figure it out,

Keyboard Maestro

  • Automate applications or websites, text or images, simple or complex, on command or scheduled. You can automate virtually anything. Ready for Big Sur and Native for Apple Silicon/M1.-info

Hazel Hazel watches whatever folders you tell it to, automatically organising your files according to the rules you create. Have Hazel move files around based on name… -info

Craft

Create structured & linked content easily, Group related thoughts together into subpages with a single tap, make them look amazing with cards and use bi-directional linking to connect thoughts together across multiple documents.-info

Bunch

A macOS automation tool that takes a folder of plain text files containing lists of apps and commands to launch and provides an easy-to-use menu for triggering them.

Its intuitive syntax makes it easy to get started, and its array of features allows you to automate everything you need to work smarter and faster. Build “contexts” of apps and settings for your different modes of work and play, and switch between them with a couple of keystrokes. It’s just plain text, but with Bunch, it’s a powerful automation tool -info

Hook

Don’t you hate repeatedly searching for the same item, on your Mac or the web? Then don’t search; use links instead! Popup Hook with ⇧⌘SPACE and create a link to the selected item of the current app (⌘C)— whether it’s a file, task, email, web page, etc; then paste the link anywhere. Or popup Hook on an item to hook the two items together (⌘V). Later popup the Hook window to navigate between items.

Join countless professionals who search less, and instantly access items linked by Hook! -info

BusyCal

A lot has changed since then but demand for a powerful calendar and contact manager for macOS and iOS remains to this day. That’s where Busy Apps comes in. We’ve leveraged our years of experience and passion for building great apps for the Mac and have created BusyCal and BusyContacts — the ultimate Calendar and Contact Manager for macOS and iOS.-info

Shortcuts app

Automate the things you do most often. Save time by turning something that would take multiple steps into just one, or connecting your go-to apps and services together with the Shortcuts editor. You can run them from your Dock, menu bar, the Finder, Spotlight, or even with Siri. -info

Zapier

Easy automation for busy people. Zapier moves info between your web apps automatically, so you can focus on your most important work. -info

LaunchBar

An application launcher for macOS. It provides access to user’s applications and files, by entering short abbreviations of the searched item’s name. It uses an adaptive algorithm that ‘learns’ a user’s preferred abbreviations for a particular application. -info

Spotlight

A system-wide desktop search feature of Apple’s macOS and iOS operating systems. Spotlight is a selection-based search system, which creates an index of all items and files on the system.-info

You can now use NFC chips for automation! In this quick video, we walk you through controlling your smart home through well-placed NFC tags! We used these: https://amzn.to/2Xza8Xg

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Get in Touch!

Web: info

Twitter: @londonmacgroup

Facebook: Group

Contact us: Email

Send in a voice message: Here

Sponsored by: The London Mac User Group

Become a member: Here

Follow our podcast: Here

Episode 19 – Apples Biggest Product – 31/05/21

Panel: Tina, Alastair, Craig,

The Show

News

The iMac, are out of the gates and the reviews are starting to come in

The most striking aspect of the new iMac is its long-awaited redesign, with an ultra-thin 11.5mm chassis that comes in up to seven vibrant colours, including green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and silver. The Verge’s Monica Chin said the new colours have generated lots of interest on TikTok and are “clearly a hit with certain crowds”:

This iMac model achieved a higher score on the Geekbench 5 single-core benchmark than any Mac we’ve ever seen before — even the iMac Pro. That means if you’re looking for a device for simpler everyday tasks that don’t scale to every available CPU core (and that largely seems to be the demographic that Apple is trying to sell this machine to), there has literally never been a better iMac for you to buy.

-info

Apple releases Beta 14.6RC with…….

Apple Card Family

  • Apple Card can be shared with up to five people, including anyone 13 years or older in your Family Sharing group
  • Apple Card Family adds support for families to track expenses, manage spending with optional limits and controls, and build credit together
  • Podcasts subscription support for channels and individual shows,

AirTag and Find My Lost mode option to add an email address instead of a phone number for AirTag and Find My network accessories AirTag will show the partially masked phone number of the owner when tapped with an NFC-capable device Accessibility

Voice Control users can unlock their iPhone for the first time after a restart using only their voice

But it doesn’t end their with the released of **14.7 tooo…

**But what’s new? -info

Betas of the associated operating systems, iPadOS 14.7, tvOS 14.7, and watchOS 7.6, have also been released.

it’s a sick-up!

The new lineup of 24-inch iMac with M1 chips start arriving to customers this Friday, and the reviews just dropped. Apple has gone all in colour with this generation, with the new iMac coming in seven vibrant finishes and the computer ships with colour-coded accessories, power cable, default wallpaper, … and, yes, even matching Apple stickers.-info

Apple is Discontinuing Its Space Gary Accessories,

Apple is still making colourised versions of its trackpad and keyboard to go with the new M1 iMac; however -info


This weeks Feature – The Apple Store

Bricks, Mortar and Apple Trees

This month marks the 20th anniversary of the first Apple Store

When Apple took the wrappers off its first stores on Saturday, May 19, 2001 at Tysons Corner in McLean, Virginia, and the Glendale Galleria in Glendale, California, it was shortly after industry critics almost universally called the move a colossal mistake. Each article was more critical than the previous, saying the “last thing Apple should be doing now is opening stores that could undermine (even cannibalise) the selling channel. $599,000 dollars in the first weekend.

Reimagining the Store

What the naysayers were unaware of was the way Steve Jobs, Target TGT +1.3% veteran Ron Johnson, and legendary architect Art Gensler had taken a radical, clean slate approach to the task at hand. Everything that was known about electronics retailing (even specialty retailing) had been challenged and reconsidered in pursuit of brand relevance and the delivery of a unique and superior customer experience.

So intent was the groups focus on every minute aspect of the new store that a full-scale prototype was built in a warehouse, not far from Apple’s Cupertino, CA warehouse, long before a “go-ahead” was granted. Jobs said in a 2001 press release announcing the opening of the company’s first stores. “Rather than just hear about megahertz and megabytes, customers can now learn and experience the things they can actually do with a computer, like make movies, burn custom music CDs, and publish their digital photos on a personal website.”

The UK

The Uk first Apple’s first retail store opened on Regent Street in London’s West End shopping district on Saturday November 20th at 10:00 am  -info

Uk has 38 stores While the UK features more stores than any other European nation,

It would only rank second if it was part of the United States. California, the official headquarter state of Apple’s operations, was home to 53 stores as of 26 August 2019. The number of Apple stores in the UK is one of the most obvious signs of their strength in that particular market. Apple held a 47.14 percent share of the mobile operating system market in the UK as of August 2019, but an average of just 26.74 percent across Europe. The Number of Apple Stores in European countries, as of October 2020 – https://www.statista.com/statistics/1041526/apple-store-numbers-european-countries/

Apple Store 2.0

The new iPad displays that have taken the place of the traditional paper placards offer an interactive way to explore the features of the products that they’re advertising. They also feature a call button similar to a nurse’s call button in the hospital that allows you to summon an Apple rep to the product for assistance. -info

Store refits, from Tesco to Burberry to Apple.

Apple’s senior vice president of Retail + People,

Deirdre O’Brien is Apple’s senior vice president of Retail + People, reporting to CEO Tim Cook. A 30-year Apple veteran, Deirdre holds a bachelor’s degree in Operations Management.

Jonny Ive’s and Norman foster, launch Apple Retail 2.0 –

Angela Ahrendts, DBE is an American businesswoman who was previously the senior vice president of retail at Apple Inc. She was the CEO of Burberry from 2006 to 2014.

-info

John Browett is a British businessman. Between January 2016 and August 2017 he was chief executive of the Dunelm Group. From March 2013 to February 2015, he was chief executive of the British clothing retailer Monsoon Accessorize, and from April 2012 to October 2012 he was senior vice-president of retail at Apple Inc.

Ron Johnson joined Apple Inc. as senior vice president of retail operations in January 2000. Ron Johnson joined Apple Inc and made“the boring computer sales floor into a sleek playroom filled with gadgets!”

It just “doesn’t”work?

Apple Launched the ” Watch Department stores to just shutter them, Upon opening in conjunction with the original Apple Watch launch in 2015, it was one of only three pop-up stores worldwide dedicated to watches and bands. Customers looking for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and service needed to visit a traditional Apple store. They had incredible, one-of-a-kind window displays used at the popup locations. Two of the Apple Watch shops, located at Galeries Lafayette in Paris and Selfridges in London, respectively, both closed in early 2017. All were located in department stores filled with luxury watch brands. The last to close was in Japan in 2018. Tim Cook later than countered on a repositioning of Apple Watch towards the fields of health and sports.


Episode 18 – Form follows function – 17/0/21

Panel: Tina, Alastair, Craig, Martin,

The Show

News

Apples pile of cash

Overall Apple’s revenue was $89.6B, which is only a couple billion less than its then-record quarter during the holidays of calendar-year 2019. It’s the third-largest Apple revenue quarter ever. Profit was $23.6B, making the last two financial quarters Apple’s two most profitable quarters ever
-info

New iMac, AppleTv and iPad Pro arrive the 21st May – where are the preorder dates to now?

Orders

U.K. retailer and long-time Apple stockist John Lewis has updated its online store to indicate that the new iMacs and both the 11-inch and 12.9-inch models of iPad Pro will be “available” from Friday, May 21. The reveal is notable, given that Apple usually launches new products in the U.K. on the same day as it does in the United States.-info

Apple releases software updates to iOS 14.5.1 / watch OS 7.4 as well as IOS 12.5.3 for older devices and Big Sur 11.3.1

Apple on Monday released iOS 14.5.1 and iPadOS 14.5.1 for its iPhone and iPad lineup. The update comes just a week after iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5 were officially released, but there’s a good reason for the back-to-back updates: It includes a fix for two security issues that, according to Apple, are actively being used. -info

macOS 11.3.1 fixes a pair of vulnerabilities in WebKit that could allow maliciously crafted web content to lead to arbitrary code execution. The first vulnerability was caused by a memory corruption issue, while the second was rooted in an integer overflow, Apple said. Apple said it is aware of reports that both vulnerabilities have been actively exploited in the wild.-info

Developers have access to 14.6 – what’s new?

The OS Update Process, via mobile networks/downloads and update now –
Podcasts App now have a store profile and manage subscriptions
AirTags installer update with “custom name emoji”
Fix to the Privacy error in 14.5 -info

Count down to WWDC – Keynote count down

Apple announced that WWDC 2021 is set to take place the week of June 7, and the entirely-online affair should be a good one, especially for the Mac. Apple’s PC already had a big year in 2020 with the release of the M1 system on a chip and macOS Big Sur, and WWDC should keep the momentum going with a massive event focused on the Mac. Here’s everything we expect to see when the keynote kicks off. -info

Rumours

Measuring blood glucose

According to a recent report from ETNews, the Apple Watch Series 7 will feature blood glucose monitoring via a non-invasive optical sensor. Measuring blood glucose levels, also known as blood sugar levels, is vital to managing conditions such as diabetes. Normally, measuring blood glucose requires testing a drop of blood in a blood sugar meter or using an implanted continuous glucose monitor -info
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Feature topic

The iPad – Form follows function

History of the iPad?

As of September 2020, Apple has sold more than 500 million iPads, though sales peaked in 2013. It is the most popular tablet computer by sales as of the second quarter of 2020.

Now have the – iPad , iPad Air , iPad mini, iPadPro M1

Camo

IOS Share sheet

Share extensions provide a convenient way to share information from the current context with apps, social media accounts, and other services. Action extensions let people initiate content-specific tasks, such as adding a bookmark, copying a link, or saving an image. People access share extensions and action extensions by tapping an Action button in an app to display an activity view. An activity view shows only extensions relevant to the current context. You wouldn’t see text manipulation actions while editing a video, for example. Within an activity view, share extensions are listed above action extensions.-info

iPad Apps

Procreate

Is a raster graphics editor app for digital painting developed and published by Savage Interactive for iOS and iPadOS. Designed in response to the artistic possibilities of the iPad, it was launched on the App Store in 2011-info

Jump Desktop

Is a remote desktop application that lets you securely connect to any computer in the world. Compatible with both RDP and VNC, Jump Desktop is secure, reliable and very easy to set up. Jump Desktop also supports our own, high performance, next generation remote desktop protocol called Fluid Remote Desktop. Jump Desktop is very easy to setup; anyone can do it! Just visit: https://jumpdesktop.com on your PC or Mac, click the ‘Automatic Setup’ link and follow step-by-step instructions. You’ll be up and running in no time. Also – not subscriptions! -info

Magicplan

Instantly create and share floor plans, field reports and estimates with one easy-to-use application.-info

Concepts

The free version of Concepts is a sketchbook on steroids. Use an infinite canvas, gorgeous brushes, 5 layers, and a whole lot of creative freedom. No account or signup required – just download the app and start sketching.-info

Drafts

Is a launching-off point for text – use the actions to copy it, share it, or deep link into other apps and services. Compose a tweet or message, create a file in Dropbox, send a task off to Reminders – there are hooks into tons of your favorite apps.-info

Camo

iPad Accessories

Apple Pencil (2nd Generation)
Apple Pencil (2nd generation) delivers pixel-perfect precision and industry-leading low latency, making it great for drawing, sketching, colouring, taking notes, marking up PDFs and more. And it’s as easy and natural to use as a pencil.
Apple Pencil also allows you to change tools without setting it down, thanks to its intuitive touch surface that supports double-tapping. Designed for iPad Pro and iPad Air, it features a flat edge that attaches magnetically for automatic charging and pairing.

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Tech Support Questions The section of the show where we help our listeners

1)How do I mute my Macs startup Chime?

(https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT211996)

2)Hi, I do a lot for written work on the My Mac and often end up with multiple copies of documents as loose track of them, how can I compare them, to make sure I have the right file? Thanks Ellen*

Using Drafts-info

Using BBEdit-info

3) Is sharing a password via airdrop safe

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT211996

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Episode 17 – 02/05/21Goldilocks and the iMac

Panel: Tina, Alastair, Craig, Martin,

Special guests: Robert Willams

Runtime: 62mins

The Show

News

The Spring Loaded Special

AirTag

Find My ecosystem with AirTag, an iPhone accessory that provides a private and secure way to easily locate the items that matter most, available beginning Friday, April 30 -info

Foo

iMac

The all-new iMac featuring a much more compact and remarkably thin design, enabled by the M1 chip. The new iMac offers powerful performance in a design that’s just 11.5 millimeters thin, with a striking side profile that practically disappears. Available in an array of vibrant colours to match a user’s personal style and brighten any space, iMac features a 24-inch 4.5K Retina display with 11.3 million pixels, 500 nits of brightness, and over a billion colours, delivering a brilliant and vivid viewing experience.-info

photo

iPadPro

Apple announced the most powerful and advanced iPad Pro ever, pushing the limits of what’s possible on iPad. The addition of the Apple-designed M1 chip delivers a massive leap in performance, making iPad Pro the fastest device of its kind. The 12.9-inch iPad Pro features a new Liquid Retina XDR display that brings extreme dynamic range to iPad Pro, offering a stunning visual experience with more true-to-life details to the most demanding HDR workflows. Cellular models with 5G deliver even faster wireless connectivity when on the go, and to provide users with pro-level throughput for high-speed accessories, iPad Pro now includes support for Thunderbolt. -info

1-inch M1 iPad Pro vs iPad Air: Back on top

If you want an iPad, you have three basic choices: the basic 10.2-inch iPad, the more expensive iPad Air, or the even more expensive iPad Pro. But if you have a few dollars to spend, the choice is even simpler. The standard 10.2-inch iPad is the budget option, with an aging design (big bezels, home button, Lightning port) and older processor. And the brand new 12.9-inch iPad Pro starts at a whopping $1,099 and is geared toward only the most demanding of users.-info

photo

Apple TV 4K

The next generation of Apple TV 4K, delivering high frame rate HDR with Dolby Vision and connecting customers to their favourite content with the highest quality. At the heart of the new Apple TV 4K is the A12 Bionic chip that provides a significant boost in graphics performance, video decoding, and audio processing.-info

iPhone 12 Purple

The new finish complements the beautiful flat-edge design of iPhone 12, which features an advanced dual-camera system, Super Retina XDR display with the Ceramic Shield front cover, A14 Bionic, and 5G-info

SEAL Mac User Group

South Essex Apple Link is an Apple user group run by enthusiasts with a collective deep understanding of the Apple technologies and its user community. SEAL welcomes Mac, iPod, iPhone, iPad and Apple TV users across the whole of Essex and surrounding areas.-info

LumaFusion is a powerful multi-track video editor used by mobile journalists, filmmakers, and professional video producers to tell compelling video stories. If you are a professional or aspiring producer, journalist, or filmmaker, if you have a video story that’s begging to be told, if you want to use the latest technology for iPhones and IPads; LumaFusion is the premier professional video editing and effects app for you. If you’re not a “Pro” yet, our video tutorials, world-class free support, and an incredible community of video enthusiasts and professionals on our forums will help you get there

Plugins for iPad Apps

LumaFusion

Was designed by professional editors for mobile. Not quickly ported from desktop editing software. So you’ll find all the pro features you love without the cryptic menus and stodgy editing paradigms.
If you’re an experienced editor, you’ll feel a sense of freedom and creativity that you haven’t felt since the first cut you ever made.-info

LumaFX

LumaFX is a fun and powerful app for layering customisable video FX and colour correction. Add colour effects, styles, blurs and distortions in any order to create custom effects. Adjust individual parameters on each effect and colour correction. Ideal for professional video producers, mobile journalists and movie making enthusiasts! In version 2.0 we’ve added full key-frame animation of all parameters, audio tools, and new effects! -info

Ferrite
Recordings — many hours, if you like — without breaking a sweat!
Recording a long interview and you need to highlight a few quotes? Maybe you need to take out some inappropriate language? Or just fluffed a sentence and had to start it again? Bookmark moments during your recording and they’ll be flagged up during edits, so you can jump right to them.

Monitor levels with the live recording meters, or listen through headphones. Tag your audio clips to locate them quickly later.
-info

Apple Podcast Subscriptions

“Fifteen years ago, Apple took podcasts mainstream, offering creators a premier, open platform to inform, entertain, and inspire hundreds of millions of listeners around the world,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “Today, Apple Podcasts is the best place for listeners to discover and enjoy millions of great shows, and we are proud to lead the next chapter of podcasting with Apple Podcasts Subscriptions. We’re excited to introduce this powerful new platform to creators around the world, and we can’t wait to hear what they make with it.”-info

Patreon

On Patreon, you can let your fans become active participants in the work they love by offering them a monthly membership. You give them access to exclusive content, community, and insight into your creative process. In exchange, you get the freedom to do your best work, and the stability you need to build an independent creative career.-info

Buy Me a Coffee

Buy Me a Coffee is a simple, meaningful way to fund your creative work.
Without stitching together a bunch of apps like Patreon, Mailchimp, and a donate button — you can accept support, memberships, and build a direct relationship with your fans.-info

Supercast

Patreon powers membership businesses for creators by giving them the tools they need to acquire, manage, and energise they’re paying patrons. With a subscription-style payment model, fans pay their favourite creators a monthly amount of their choice in exchange for exclusive access, extra content, or a closer look into their creative journey.-info

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Security News

On the day Apple was set to announce a slew of new products at its Spring Loaded event, a leak appeared from an unexpected quarter. The notorious ransomware gang REvil said they had stolen data and schematics from Apple supplier Quanta Computer about unreleased products and that they would sell the data to the highest bidder if they didn’t get a $50 million payment. As proof, they released a cache of documents about upcoming, unreleased MacBook Pros. They’ve since added iMac schematics to the pile.-info

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Get in Touch!

Web: info

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Contact us: Email

Send in a voice message: Here

Sponsored by: The London Mac User Group

Become a member:Here

Follow our podcast:Here


Episode 17 – 19/04/21 – Find my Pint?

Panel: Tina, Alastair, Craig, Martin,

Special guests:Christian Boyce, Aidan Fitzpatrick, Mark Ellis

Runtime: – 80 mins

The Show

News

Find out more about a amazing Guests via the links below:

Aidan Fitzpatrick – CEO of Reincubate Software -info

Christian Boyce – Tutor and Mac Expert -info

Mark Ellis – YouTuber, Videographer and Tech Reviewer -info

WWDC21 Apple today announced it will host its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) June 7 through 11, in an all-online format. Free for all developers, WWDC21 will offer unique insight into the future of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS. Building on the record-breaking participation and learnings from last year’s online conference, WWDC21 is an opportunity for developers to learn about the new technologies, tools, and frameworks they rely on to build innovative and platform-differentiating apps and games. Apple also announced that this year’s Swift Student Challenge, an opportunity for young developers to demonstrate their coding skills by creating a Swift playground, is now accepting submissions.-info

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64 or the CBM 64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, 7–10 January 1982, in Las Vegas).It has been listed in the Guinness World Records as the highest-selling single computer model of all time,[citation needed] with independent estimates placing the number sold between 12.5 and 17 million units. This claim is in spite of the Commodore 64 having three different Kernal ROM versions, two different SID sound chip versions, a few different motherboard versions and two different cases during its lifetime. Volume production started in early 1982, marketing in August for US$595…

iMac G3 The iMac G3 is a fascinating computer. It was the tool Steve Jobs used to help bring Apple back from the brink. It defined a generation of consumer electronics. -info

Amstrad Amstrad was a British electronics company, founded in 1968 by Alan Sugar at the age of 21. The name is a contraction of Alan Michael Sugar Trading. It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in April 1980. During the late 1980s, Amstrad had a substantial share of the PC market in the UK. Amstrad was once a FTSE 100 Index constituent but since 2007 is wholly owned by Sky UK

10 more years or more ? Tim Cook appears on a podcast “Probably not. But I can tell you that I feel great right now. And the date’s not in sight. But 10 more years is a long time and probably not 10 more years.”-info

  • Podcast link -info
  • Transcript of the Podcast can be found -Here

Apple News a Success? We believe Apple’s News app and the News+ paid subscription service (News platform) are well positioned to not only benefit from incremental subscriber additions but also accelerating advertising revenue growth,”-info

Find My network for third-party accessories Apple’s new Find My network accessory program means users can keep track of non-Apple devices and belongings through the familiar Find My app.-info

Father of the MP3 The MP3 was developed by the German company Fraunhofer-Gesellshaft, and also hold the patent for MP3 technology, which they license out now. In 1987 the Fraunhofer Institut Integrierte Schaltungen research centre, part of Fraunhofer-Gesellshaft, began research on high quality, low bit rate audio encoding. They named this project EUREKA EU147. Dieter Seitzer, professor at the University of Erlangen, helped with the coding. At the time he was working on a way to transfer audio file information over a standard telephone line. The main brain behind the development of the MP3 was Karlheinz Brandenburg; also know as the “father of the MP3”.-info

MacWorld Produced by Boston-based IDG World Expo, Macworld/iWorld is a trade show with conference tracks dedicated to the Apple Macintosh platform. It was held annually in the United States during January. Originally Macworld Expo and then Macworld Conference & Exposition, the gathering dates back to 1985.

Macworld is the most widely read Macintosh magazine in North America and a trademark of Mac Publishing, a wholly owned subsidiary of International Data Group.IDG World Expo is also a subsidiary.

The conference tracks are taught by leaders in their respective fields and require large admission fees. They last for a few more days than the Expo, which runs generally three or four days. Attendees can visit the exhibits, set up by hardware manufacturers and software publishers that support the Macintosh platform.

On December 18, 2008, Apple announced that the 2009 Macworld Conference & Expo would be the last in which the company participates. On October 14, 2014, IDG suspended Macworld/iWorld indefinitely-info

AppleTv + Watch Apple TV+ on the Apple TV app, which is already on your favourite Apple devices. Just open the app, click or tap Apple TV+, and enjoy the shows and movies. You can also watch Apple TV+ on streaming platforms, popular smart TVs and AirPlay-enabled TVs with the Apple TV app — or watch online at tv.apple.com. -info

Plex Brings together all the media that matters to you. Your personal collection will look beautiful alongside stellar streaming content. Enjoy Live TV & DVR, a growing catalogue of great web shows, news and podcasts. It’s finally possible to enjoy all the media you love in a single app, on any device, no matter where you are. -info

Netflix Since 2012, Netflix has taken more of an active role as producer and distributor for both film and television series, and to that end, offers a variety of “Netflix Original” content through its online library.[16] By January 2016, Netflix services operated in more than 190 countries.[17] Netflix released an estimated 126 original series and films in 2016, more than any other network or cable channel.-info

Kindle Paperwhite | Waterproof

-info

Apple Books Is the single destination for all the books you love, and the ones you’re about to. Browse the Book Store, join Oprah’s new Book Club, keep track of what you’ve read and want to read, and listen to enthralling audiobooks. All in one place.-info

iBooks Apple Books lets you lose yourself in the best books and audiobooks right on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Apple Watch. You’ll find bestsellers, classics, up-and-coming authors, and more — all ready to instantly download and enjoy.-info

Do you have a favourite app?

**VLC ** VLC is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files as well as DVDs, Audio CDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols.-info

**Handbreak ** HandBrake is a tool for converting video from nearly any format to a selection of modern, widely supported codecs.-info

Reasons you’ll love HandBrake – Convert video from nearly any format Free and Open Source Multi-Platform (Windows, Mac and Linux)

MakeMKV MakeMKV is your one-click solution to convert video that you own into free and patents-unencumbered format that can be played everywhere. MakeMKV is a format converter, otherwise called “transcoder”. It converts the video clips from proprietary (and usually encrypted) disc into a set of MKV files, preserving most information but not changing it in any way. The MKV format can store multiple video/audio tracks with all meta-information and preserve chapters. There are many players that can play MKV files nearly on all platforms, and there are tools to convert MKV files to many formats, including DVD and Blu-ray discs.-info

Don Melton probably best known as the person who started the Safari and WebKit projects at Apple. These days I’m just an aspiring writer and recovering programmer -info

-info

Tech Questions

Anita, Hi Guys, I recently brought a shiny new M1 Mac mini, and I’m now looking to sell on my older MacBook Air, I reset my Air to clear all my info in order to sell it. It now said enter Disk password? Help! I don’t recall ever having a disk password how can I override this?

Gavin, Hi all, I have recently subscribed to Apple One and over the lock down, like most I’ve put on a few pounds and thinking why not! let’s give Apple Fitness a go, However I’m having major issues with pairing my Apple Watch to the Apple TV. Any suggestions?

Carlo Hi, this isn’t really a tech question but I really love your tuning into your show from episode 5 (I’m also going back over the early episodes ), I would love to hear your thought on ….. ” do you think Apple will release an iPhone without a port and if so when?” Thanks


Episode 15 – 05/04/21 – Tiger Girl and the Geek-O-Meter

Welcome back! This week we look back at our first experience of MacOSX it celebrates its 20th Anniversary, we are joined Mac Expert, Author and Automation Bakari Chavanu of macautomationtips.com, the latest tech is being held up by a lack of chips, This week we are going to look at the best ways to save time when using your Mac, and delve into best practices to remaining organised

Panel: Tina, Alastair, Craig, Martin,
Special guest: Bakari Chavanu
Runtime: – 63mins

The Show

News

This we have seen the birthday of MacOS X – marking it’s 20th anniversary since launch on the 24th of March,

20th anniversary of macOS

The fact that OS X launched at all on March 24, 2001, was a relief and felt like an achievement if you were a long-time Mac user. Even though that very first “Cheetah” version, 10.0, lacked features and did not lack bugs, it existed and that wasn’t something you could say about Apple’s previous OS attempts. -info

Lack of Chips?

A chip shortage that started in a surge in demand for personal computers and other electronics for work or school from home during the pandemic now threatens to snarl car production around the world, but what’s it all about….. -info

  • Factory blaze adds to computer chip supply crisis -info

Intel to build ARM chips for other companies as part of its new business strategy

Intel puts Apple’s ‘I’m a Mac’ guy into new ads praising PCs

Intel has been getting quite aggressive in its recent campaigns against M1 Macs, as Apple is replacing the Intel processors in the Mac lineup with its own Apple Silicon chips. However, while trying to mock Apple, Intel showed exactly what we expect from the next generation MacBook Pro: an edge-to-edge display. -info

Mac OS X 10.0 shipped in March of 2001 – Now we are 20 years on

Apple bought NeXT in December of 1996. Mac OS X 10.0 shipped in March of 2001. As powerful and sophisticated as NextStep was, it took the new Apple software organisation—led by NeXT’s Avie Tevanian—more than four years from acquisition to a “completed” version of Mac OS X. (And stopping the clock 20 years ago this week is probably unfair. I’d mark the end of the Mac OS X transition as April 2002, when Steve Jobs held a funeral for Mac OS 9 because OS X was finally good enough.)-info

Rumours

The Event date was wrong? On event in March this year! When will the new iPad Pro come out? Apple plugging leaks with a fake date / to fool the rest of us?

We had expected a new iPad Pro to launch at an event on 23 March 2021 after multiple leakers indicated that Apple intended to hold an event on that day. However it seems that Apple was misleading the leakers and their source based on this tweet from Jon Prosser, -info

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Do you have a desktop full of so many mixed files that you can’t see the desktop wallpaper? Then is the episode for you! And today we are joined by not only a Mac expert but one of the Apples community best automation and workflow kings “Bakari Chavanu”. Are you guilty of trying to do organised, and have a folder on your desktop called “Desktop” with all your junk stored in one place? Then let’s get started….

This week we are going to look at the best ways to save time when using your Mac, and delve into best practices to remaining organised and most importantly productive! Are you one of those people that sit down at your Mac to get something done and then look at the clock and realise that you have wandered off on a tangent and feel that you have wasted an afternoon?

Keyboard Maestro Improve Your Productivity! Whether you are a power user or just getting started, your time is precious. So don’t waste it. You can quickly benefit from Keyboard Maestro. Let Keyboard Maestro help make your Mac life more pleasant and efficient -info

Better Touch Tool You can use any of the supported trigger/input types and choose from a large and always growing list of actions to automate almost any task. Actions can be chained to handle complicated things. Additionally BTT includes various handy tools that every Mac owner should have. For example: Customisable Window Snapping & Resizing & Moving tools, Screenshot Tool & Editor, Clipboard Manager, Window Switcher -info

Hazel Want to automatically organise? Hazel watches whatever folders you tell it to, automatically organising your files according to the rules you create. Have Hazel move files around based on name, date, type, what site it came from and much more. Automatically sort your movies or file your bills. Keep your files off the desktop and put them where they belong.-info

Screenfloatapp Use ScreenFloat to keep a reference of almost anything always visible, no matter what application or Space you’re in.Create a screenshot of the relevant portion of your screen with ScreenFloat and it will float above all windows. This way, you don’t have to move or resize windows around to keep information visible. With ScreenFloat’s Shots Browser, you can organise the screenshots you take in Categories and Smart Categories, give them a title and tag them. Double-click on a Shot in the Shots Browser to make it float again. -info

Timely Timely time tracking software, Making teams tick, Timely automates company time tracking, so everyone can focus on the work that matters. Timely solves the pain and inaccuracy of manual time tracking by automatically capturing everything you work on. To do that, it collects basic information — namely, the title and active timestamp of web and desktop applications. Unlike some time tracking tools, Timely offers user privacy by design, meaning all the information Timely collects stays completely private to you. -info

Timing Stay on Top of Your Time. Without Timers. Just keep focusing on your work while, Timing records your time automatically, then review your time when it is convenient for you. Whether you worked from home or in the office, you see how you spent your time and how productive you were. The timeline even shows when you worked on what, making smart suggestions to record hours of time with just one click. -info

Aperture is a discontinued image organiser that was developed by Apple for the macOS operating system. It was first released in 2005[1] and was discontinued in 2015. The software handles a number of tasks common in post-production work such as importing and organising image files, applying corrective adjustments, displaying slideshows, and printing photographs.

Features of Aperture included non-destructive editing; organisation of photographs by keyword, faces (using face recognition), and places (using GPS metadata embedded in image files); brushes for applying effects (such as dodge and burn, skin smoothing, and polarisation); and exporting to Flickr, Facebook, SmugMug, and iCloud.

On June 2, 2014, Apple announced Photos as a replacement for Aperture and iPhoto. Aperture 3.6, a final update adding compatibility with OS X Yosemite, was released on October 16, 2014. Aperture was discontinued and removed from sale on April 8, 2015. Mojave is the last version of macOS to run Aperture.

Photos Photos is where all the amazing photos you take with your iPhone and iPad live. And now it’s even smarter and more personal, with intelligent new features that help you find, edit and share your best shots.-info

Run Aperture on Big Sur or earlier? With – Retroactive Can Run Aperture, iPhoto, and iTunes on macOS Big Sur and macOS Catalina. Xcode 11.7 on macOS Mojave. Final Cut Pro 7, Logic Pro 9, and iWork ’09 on macOS Mojave or macOS High Sierra. -info

Dragon dictate Dragon Naturally Speaking (also known as Dragon for PC, or DNS) is a speech recognition software package developed by Dragon Systems of Newton, Massachusetts, which was acquired first by Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products and later by Nuance Communications. It runs on Windows personal computers. Version 15 (Professional Individual and Legal Individual),which supports 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows 7, 8 and 10, was released in August 2016. The macOS version is called Dragon Professional Individual for Mac, version 6 or Dragon for Mac.

Sadly the software is no longer produced for MacOS however there is IOS based App.

Nimbus One place to manage all your notes! Transform information chaos from multiple sources into an organized workplace. Empower yourself or your team to get things done faster with fewer iterations and meetings. -info

OmniFocus OmniFocus is powerful task management software for busy professionals. With tools to help tame the chaos, you can focus on the right tasks at the right time. More to do than you can keep in your head? OmniFocus makes it simple to capture tasks from anywhere. And because it’s deeply integrated with Apple devices, OmniFocus becomes a seamless part of your workflow. -info

Todoist Organise it all with Todoist Ranked as “the best to-do list right now” by The Verge, Todoist is used by 25 million people to organise, plan and collaborate on projects, both big and small. Use Todoist to: • Capture and organise tasks the moment they pop into your head. • Remember deadlines with reminders and due dates. • Build lasting habits with recurring due dates like “every Monday”. • Organise your projects in kanban style with Boards. • Collaborate on projects by assigning tasks to others. • Prioritise your tasks with priority levels. • Track your progress with personalised productivity trends. • Integrate your tools like Gmail, Google Calendar, Slack, Amazon Alexa and more. -info

Notion Notion is an application that provides components such as notes, databases, kanban boards, wikis, calendars and reminders. Users can connect these components to create their own systems for knowledge management, note taking, data management, project management, among others. -info

Get in touch with us at-

Web: (www.lmug.org.uk)

Twitter: @londonmacgroup

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/35108081221/

Contact us: podcast@lmug.org.uk

Send in a voice message: Message

Sponsored by: The London Mac User Group

Become a member

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Episode -14 – The Skateboard Mac – 21/03/21 –

Panel: Tina, Alastair, Craig, Martin,
Special guest: Gary Rosenzweig

We are very excited to say that we are joined this week by our special guest Gary Rosenzweig of MacMost.com
Coming up on this weeks show, Apple has been busy having a spring clean as we say goodbye to the iMac Pro, and the HomePod, will we finally see and the AirPods 3’s and I challenge the panel with your tech questions, As well as a few other surprises…….

News

AirPods 3

With the AirPods 3 rumoured to be launching as soon as this month, we’ve been seeing an increasing number of leaks showing off the design of the new earbuds. Renders were shared yesterday, and today, 52audio has published a series of images said to feature the third-generation ‌AirPods‌.
-info

Discontinuation of the full-size HomePod

Apple on Friday announced the discontinuation of the full-size HomePod, adding that it plans to focus on development of the HomePod mini.-info

iMac Pro has been discontinued

Apple in March confirmed that the iMac Pro has been discontinued, with no additional updates or refreshes planned going forward. Current iMac Pro stock will be available only as long as supplies last, with Apple already selling out of the machine in the United States and Canada -info

Virtual Sessions with today at Apple

Today at Apple is bringing more of its free creative sessions online for anyone to attend. Beginning in March, Product Skills sessions covering the basics of iPhone, iPad, and Mac will be available in a new virtual format.Creativity never stopped online. Virtual sessions are now hosted online,

Topic:

Do’s and Do not’s when buying preloved Apple tech

Top things to check when buying a Second hand Mac
Require proof of purchase If bought online there is a digital copy stored on your account. When the seller “have lost it” you know something is up.

Check how much is left of battery Learn how to determine the number of cycles your Mac notebook’s battery has.-info

How to find the model and serial number of your Mac -info

Confirm all keys are functional make sure you test Space and arrow keys as these are more exposed and more common problem keys than the rest of them for some reason. Ensure the Space key works evenly across the whole key, not just centre.

Run Apples built-in hardware test “AHT” This is by far the most important thing, It doesn’t just report what is broken, but also gives you health indicators on what the wear and tear components of the computer such as the disk drive (yes, even SSD wear out) and battery.-info

If your Mac was introduced after June 2013, follow the steps for using Apple Diagnostics instead. -info

Check for dead pixels Try to find a dark background or object on the screen you can move around and then search for a white pixel on the screen. Do the opposite for black pixels.

Apples’ online refurbished store You can save pounds when buying thought the apple refurbished store.

SECOND HAND IOS DEVICES

Most of the above apply however…

Check the IMEI number How to and now the new Barcode mode in IOS
-info

Check the seller’s return policy Some offer a return policy, which gives extra peace of mind. These sellers are often big resellers who have an established brand or shop. You’ll not find private sellers offering a return policy, as there are no laws surrounding the sale of secondhand purchases.

Check for an iCloud account, reset and set up the iPhone you should request the seller to charge the phone before bringing it to you

Always meet in a safe public place At a coffee shop, train station or even in front of an Apple store; these are all great places to meet a private seller. info

Preparing to sell or pass on you device

What do I do with a Mac that still has personal data on it? Do I take out the disk drive and smash it? Do I sweep it with a really strong magnet? Is there a difference in how I handle a hard drive (HDD) versus a solid-state drive (SSD).

…….. Tech Questions …..

Wesley’s Question
Hi, does anyone here have experience with the old thunderbolt monitor? Since Big Sur, I’ve had some performance issues and I’m wondering if it is to do with this monitor?
Any thoughts on this or do we have to just wait for bug fixes?

Use the Thunderbolt port of this adapter to connect your Mac to a display that uses a Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2 cable. For example, you can use this adapter to connect your Mac to an Apple

Thunderbolt Display or LG Thunderbolt 2 display.
-info

Apple Support Specs
-info

Amelia’s Question
How to turn off the alert sound for a specific app? Certain apps make unnecessary beeping alerts too often, and this is driving me crazy 🙁 I just want to turn it off for certain apps only.

If you can it’s always best to try and contact the developers.

SOUNDSOURCE

  • Adjust volume levels for each of your applications, all in one place. Make one app louder or softer than others, or even mute it entirely.
    -info

Bakari’s Questions
How do I change the Big Sur login wallpaper to something of my own?

1 System Preferences > Users & Groups.
2 Open lock to make changes.
3 Right click on user in left column > Advanced Options.
4 Copy UUID value.
5 Go to /Library/Caches/Desktop Pictures.
6 If it doesn’t exist create Desktop Pictures folder.
7 Inside Desktop Pictures create folder with UUID value as name.
8 Right click on folder > Get Info.
9 Open lock to make changes.
10 Grant permission to Read & Write to user, admin, everyone.
11 Make sure FileVault and Guest user are deactivated.
12 Change desktop wallpaper.
13 Restart computer.

Big Sur will now always create a lockscreen.png file in the UUID folder matching the current wallpaper.

Tested on a 2018 MBP.

Adobe AIR

Since its release in 2008, the Adobe AIR runtime has enabled developers to create and deploy Flex, ActionScript and HTML-based content as standalone desktop apps, as well as native iOS and Android apps running on mobile devices since 2010. We’ve been impressed by the broad set of AIR apps and games created by the developer community – reaching hundreds of millions of desktop and mobile devices. Adobe values the work of the developer community, and we’ve incorporated feedback received over the years into our runtimes and product roadmaps. info

Swift

Swift is a robust and intuitive programming language created by Apple for building apps for iOS, Mac, Apple TV and Apple Watch. It’s designed to give developers more freedom than ever. Swift is easy to use and open-source, so anyone with an idea can create something incredible. info

https://www.w3schools.com/html/