SoundByte 355 – September 2024

ChristopherNews, SoundByte

Glow up - Apple Event

Welcome to SoundByte! In this issue:

September meeting

Join LMUG on Monday, September 9, after Apple’s September ‘Glow up’ event for our monthly meeting. Join us in Zoom from 5.45PM before the event starts and you can watch the keynote in another window from 6pm UK time. Switch back to Zoom after the keynote and we will discuss what happened. Access the keynote from the Apple Events page. 

If Apple follows its regular schedule we will be expecting a new iPhone. Sneak peaks from a case designer suggest some design changes. But the invite looks a lot like the Apple Intelligence animation. We don’t deal in rumours in SoundByte so join us on the day to see what Apple unveils: expected or unexpected!

Each year Apple touts camera improvements and for most people the iPhone IS their camera. Expect to see more progress next week, but in the meantime, have a look at the astonishing winners of this year’s iPhone Photography Awards.

Check the email this newsletter came in for the Zoom link to the meeting. We will also post the link in our Slack General Channel. 

Follow the London Mac User Group on…Mastodon🐘 and X! If you are not familiar with Mastodon, have a look at TidBit’s explainer here.

Surviving the summer heat!

For our US readers, anything above 25C (77F), in the UK, is a heatwave. Although this year’s summer in the UK has been unusually cold and wet, we have had several interspersed sweltering days. The issue is that the our hot days are rare and air conditioning is an unjustifiable luxury for most people. Well, a solution has been invented for our hot home offices! Have a look at the video below for this review of a personal air-conditioning device that sits around you neck:

AI hope this isn’t as good as it gets

More mis-steps and shaky starts in AI this month. First the bad stuff: If you write about crimes that have happened, are you the criminal? Who knows? At least that’s what Microsoft Co-Pilot appears to have thought, when answering the question in a way that has resulted in a law suit. Read about it on the Register here.

If we think Apple Intelligence is going to escape ridicule when it’s used outside of polished demos, we might be disappointed. At least, that’s what happened with the beta of one of Apple’s photo features. Let’s hope it gets ironed out before launch. Read about it and cringe on Cult of Mac here.

The return of film?

We live in a world of high quality lossless music with Spatial Audio in Apple Music but also a resurgence of old-fashioned Vinyl. Now, for some, there is a revival of the (obsolete?) film camera too! Read more about this on the Guardian. Or have a look at this video below about the new film camera creating a buzz. [ED – count me out! Film was hit and miss dreadful for me.]

Are phone calls dead?

Who answers the phone anyway. Certainly for landline, the only calls I get are from scammers trying it on. But for younger people, growing up with text based communication, any phone call is rare and when the phone rings they might not be prepared to pick up at all. Read why on BBC News here.

Future Shock 8: Snap! ARM PC niggles

Remember when the first M1 Macs came out? Most Mac users could not wait for Mac developers to update their apps for Apple Silicon/ARM, especially the key developers like Adobe. Back in July we saw Microsoft saying that these updates had occurred already for the new ARM x-Elite laptops, but the complexity of the PC market means important gaps remain just like it did for the M1. Linus Tech Tips have given the new laptops a real-world test over the last month. Have a look at their highs and lows below:

Time for a new TV?

Our Technical editor has just bought a new TV and he has a few things to share from his research that he hopes will help you if you’re tempted to upgrade soon. First of all where to put it. It’s not random, there’s some science behind it to get the best picture and sound quality. Read more on What Hifi here.

Perhaps the most demanding content for your TV is going to be movies. On most TVs, the best experience is going to be from switching to a neutral picture mode with the least picture processing by the TV, but some TVs go one better. They support what’s called Filmmaker Mode (as the director intended!). Check whether your TV supports it and read about it here.

As with monitors, the first thing to check for, when you turn on a new TV, is any blown-out pixels (in case you need to return it). Our technical editor says “you [can] use videos like this [below] to [also] set up the colour and picture [modes]. Most TVs are set to have over saturation or Energy mode turned on which mutes the colours”.

His final tip is about sound. TV’s often come with feeble speakers. If you’re not investing in Home Cinema Audio or running the sound through your existing Hi-FI/home theatre system, the best option is to use a Soundbar, of which, you could buy a Sony model for just £99. Have a look at the full list, including those Sony’s with support for Spatial Audio/Dolby Atmos on What Hifi. If you do get one, have a look at the video below on setting them up.

Offers for members

Find below the special offers available to our paying members. Access these great discounts from the discounts page in the member’s section of the LMUG website. 

  • AgileBits 1Password 7: 25% Discount
  • Eve Products: 25% 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
  • TechTool Pro: 50% Discount
  • TidBITS Content Network for Apple professionals: Get a free month of tips and articles!