Soundbyte 294 – August 2019

ChristopherNews, SoundByte

Jonathan Ive

Welcome to Soundbyte. In this edition:

  • Details of our next meeting
  • Send us your best photowalk photos
  • Update your older iPhones and iPads!
  • Apple stops listening to Siri
  • Preview of the new Apple Maps
  • Best Mac for writing
  • How to backup you Mac to Google
  • Ken Burns on America

LMUG Meetings

Special Interest Groups – 7pm August 12, 2019

Our next meeting is on August 12. Joins us in the basement of the Sir John Balcombe to dive into Macs, iPhones and iPads with Special Interest Groups.

We will start the evening with our usual Newsbyte.

Celebrating Jony Ive’s contribution to Apple, our raffle prize is his biography, written by Leander Kahney.

Nearest Tube stops are Marylebone and Baker Street.

News

Send us your best photo walk photos

Last month, rather than meeting in the Pub, we hosted a Photo Walk around the West End. Members brought their best cameras, including iPhones. We would like to show these at our next meeting.

Please send your five best photos to our committee member, Martin Kelly by email at Martinkelly@mac.com. We will show them at the next LMUG meeting in a blind comparison and ask ask those in attendance to pick the best from your five. Then, out of the best photos, we will select a winner of the night!

Update your older iPhones and iPads!

A GPS issue means that iPhones and iPads from 2012 or earlier will have problems keeping the correct time and also the correct location in maps. Apple has posted a Software Update to address this for iPhone 4S and 5, iPad Mini, and all bigger iPads from iPad 2 to 4.

Check Apple’s support page here.

Apple stops listening to Siri

Yes, Apple contractors have been listening to a small number of the commands that we send Siri. This is to ‘help Siri understand you better and recognise what you say’. The problem as reported in the Guardian was what Siri could hear when accidentally activated: drug deals and sex. Apple has put a stop to it. Read more here.

Preview of the new Apple Maps

Apple is working on a major update to Apple Maps. It will be USA first and we will have to wait for all the updates to be available on UK maps. You can see what’s coming here.

Best Mac for writing

Do you use you Mac for writing? Are you looking to replace it with a new Mac? A great review of the options has been written on iMore. Their preferred choice is the new MacBook Air, but read about the other options, pros and cons, here.

How to backup your Mac to Google

Always back up your Mac. That is the advice that LMUG gives to all of its members. There are different strategies, but a common piece of advice is to backup your key documents in two physical locations, one in your house or office, and another in a different building. Apple provides for this with iCloud desktop, but this is limited to 5GB unless you pay for more. Did you know you could use Google to do the same thing but have 15GB free storage rather than 5? Ask about it at the next LMUG meeting you attend or read about it here.

Ken Burns on America

Finally, acclaimed photographer, Ken Burn’s 66th birthday is being celebrated by the US Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) with a day of his documentaries. You can read about them here and watch a trailer below.

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