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The Not-Even-Close Edition Sunday, August 12, 2018

Podcasting Technology Lets Non-Engineers Host, Record A Radio Show, by Jeff Calrson, Seattle Times

I’m not an audio engineer. Not even close. And yet, I recently started a podcast (PhotoActive, covering photography and the Apple ecosystem). Because of good software, and podcasting in general, I don’t need to be an audio expert — which I think is pretty remarkable. Ten years ago, I wouldn’t have dreamed I could host and record a radio show.

USB-C Is The Standard That IT Departments Need, by Bradley Chambers, 9to5Mac

USB-A has served us well (along with MagSafe and Thunderbolt), but it’s better for users in the long term for the industry to standardize on one cable for everything.

Ralph Nader On What He Thinks Apple Should Do With Its Excess Billions, by Scott Simon, Wynne Davis, NPR

While Nader does concede that Apple has worked to improve working conditions and create programs for recycling, he says the tech giant could be doing much more.

Stuff

First Impressions After Nearly A Month With Apple’s 2018 13-Inch MacBook Pro, by Chance Miller, 9to5Mac

Coming from a 12-inch MacBook, I decided that the base model 13-inch MacBook Pro would be more than enough power for me. And in many cases, that has turned out to be right.

[...]

In my use, there haven’t been many things I’ve thrown at the MacBook Pro that it can’t handle. The only time I notice sluggishness is when I have a slew of Safari tabs and applications open. Thus, if I had upgraded any aspect of my base MacBook Pro, I wish it had been the RAM. Apple charges $200 to double the amount of RAM to 16GB – and if I had to tell people to upgrade one thing, RAM would be it.

iPad Pro 10.5 Back Cover Cases That Work With Apple’s Smart Cover, by Cella Lao Rousseau, iMore

If you're someone who's ever used Apple's Smart Cover with an iPad, you'll know how awesome of an accessory it is – the tricky part is securing the back of your iPad Pro!

Here are a couple of different back cover cases that'll fit your iPad Pro 10.5 and will work with Apple's Smart Cover.

Develop

Why Decentralized Social Networking Never Makes It - Ever Heard Of Crossing The Chasm?, by Johannes Ernst, Upon 2020

The problem — and it is the same problem that is never being addressed — is that your decentralized social networking app doesn’t actually solve any of your users problems that haven’t already been solved! And often fails to solve problems that the centralized guys have solved and that their users depend on.

Notes

Apple Trickles Out Dolby Atoms-Ready Movies As tvOS 12 Inches To Its Finish, by Brad Gibson, BestAppleTV

In preparation for the final release of tvOS 12, Apple is dribbling out titles on the Apple TV iTunes Movies app with support for Dolby Atmos audio, only viewable and downloadable for beta testers of the operating system with the immersive audio experience.

Spotify Tests Letting Listeners Skip Any Ads Tey Want, As Much As They Want, by George P. Slefo, Ad Age

The company says it's running a test in Australia that will allow listeners to skip audio and video ads any time they want, as often as they want, allowing them to quickly get back to music. Listeners who don't pay for a subscription currently can't skip ads at all.

Danielle Lee, global head of partner solutions at Spotify, says she compares the move to Spotify's "Discover Weekly" feature, which tailors a playlist to users' established listening habits. Unlimited ad skipping means Spotify users will be able to hear or watch just the ads they actually like, informing Spotify about their preferences in the process, she says.

Bottom of the Page

The more I use the spit-screen thing in an iPad, the more I am convinced the traditional one-single-active-window model in traditional operating systems (macOS, Windows) simply doesn’t work in a direct-manipulation touch-screen OS (iOS).

Although I do agree with many who wanted to have a clearer picture of which control is currently having the keyboard focus.

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When in Singapore, check out the Cracy Rich Asians.

(On the other hand, yours truly is only crazy.)

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Thanks for reading.