Hello and welcome to Soundbyte! In this issue:
- February Meetup – SIGS
- Shot on iPhone
- AirPods Max review
- Using the Mac Mini for professional audio
- How Apple builds its stores
- Unlock with Apple Watch coming to iOS
- Crime and villainy on the internet
- Offers for members
February Meetup – SIGS
Join us this Monday February 8 at 7pm in Zoom for our monthly meeting. We’ll start with our usual round up of what’s happened this month in Newsbyte. Then we will split up into separate rooms for Special Interest Groups. Choose if you want to discuss: Tips and tricks on Zoom; Using Apple’s spreadsheet Numbers; Photos or iOS Shortcuts.
Look in the email this Soundbyte came with for the Zoom invite.
Don’t forget that you can ask questions in LMUG’s podcast, Brew and Byte. This week the team have special guests: Nancy Gavery from the Mac Observer and vice President of Capmac a Mac User Group based in Austin, Texas and the TextExpander Evangelist Jeff Gamet.
Shot on iPhone
The iPhone 12 version of the Shot on iPhone campaign was released by Apple in January. The photos show off the extraordinary abilities of the latest iPhone cameras and their powerful image processing abilities. The photos cover cityscapes, landscapes and people, from day to night.
AirPods Max Review
AirPods Max were released in December and detailed reviews are emerging. One Manchester-based YouTuber took his home with him, putting them though their paces. How did the AirPods fair and are they worth the money? Watch below to find out.
Using the Mac Mini for professional audio
We know that the new Apple M1 computers are a step-ahead in terms of performance. One of Apple’s infamous competitors has even being trying to trick people from leaving them for the new Macs. But if you use your Mac professionally, LMUG’s advice is to check that your software and peripherals work well before buying any new M1 powered Mac. It has been a few months now since the new Macs went on sale. Check out how this music studio, that dived-in early has got on.
How Apple builds its stores
Now for something different. One of the most audacious achievements of the Steve Jobs era was the opening of Apple Stores in an age where high streets were declining in favour of online shopping. Of course, a major factor in their success has been their design and vision. Have a look at the video below to see an architectural perspective on Apple’s retail empire.
Unlock with Apple Watch coming to iOS
An update is coming to the iPhone owners with Apple Watches (14.5) that will allow them to unlock their iPhone with the watch. Watch the below to see what’s coming.
That’s the good news. Unfortunately, if you have an iPhone 12 with MagSafe, there could be some bad news too. Essentially, Apple is recommending that you keep your MagSafe at least 15cm or 6-inches away from your pacemaker or defibrillator if you have one. They don’t think the phones are more dangerous than previous models, but they do contain strong magnets. Consult your doctor if unsure.
Crime and villainy on the internet
Is this headline melodramatic? Let’s review the news and you can decide!
- First is the news that when you add all the recent data hacks together, 3.2 billion email addresses with their passwords have been leaked on the internet. What this means is, it is really important to avoid using the same password across different shopping; email; video or other online services. This will stop a stolen password from one service (e.g. Amazon) being used, for example, to steal your personal photos (e.g in Flickr). Use a password manager like 1Password (25% discount below), to remember them all.
- Second: passwords for email and social media accounts are now being sold on social media (to the highest bidder no doubt). Facebook, Twitter and others have taken action to stop it.
- Third, we can trust our anti-virus can’t we? Well, one purveyor, Malwarebytes has been hacked by the Russians!
- Finally, Facebook’s recent behaviour with WhatsApp has attracted the attention of the UK’s Information Commissioner. FaceBook owns WhatsApp, and there are concerns that new terms and conditions are going to allow Facebook to access WhatsApp user information (perhaps to sell their data to advertisers). There has been an exodus to other chat services, including Signal, and Telegram as a result and Telegram has announced a migration service for WhatsApp Users to support this.
Offers for members
On a brighter note, here are the special offers available to paying members of LMUG. Find details on how to claim the discounts in the member section of the website.
- Eve Products: 25% Discount
- TechTool Pro 11: 50% Discount
- AgileBits 1Password 7: 25% Discount
- MacCleanse 8 Software: 20% Discount
- EverWeb by RAGE Software: 50% Discount
- Opus ][ Complete Collection: 25% Discount
- Que Publishing Products: 35-45% Discount
- Take Control Books: 30% Discount on All eBooks
- Teams ID, a Password Manager for Teams: 33% Discount
- TidBITS Content Network for Apple professionals: Get a free month of tips and articles!