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The Faulty-Logic Edition Saturday, September 1, 2018

Apple Launches Repair Program For Defective iPhone 8 Logic Boards, by Nick Statt, The Verge

Apple quietly announced the launch of a free repair program for the iPhone 8 this afternoon, revealing that a “very small percentage” of units need replacement logic boards due to a manufacturing defect. The logic board is essentially the main printed circuit board of a computing device, containing the CPU, device memory, and other integral components. Apple says its faulty logic boards may have been causing random restarts, screen freezes, and defective startup initiations that prevent the iPhone 8 from turning on properly.

macOS Mojave: Opening New Vistas In Security For Mac Users, by Dave Nanian, Shirt Pocket

Back when Microsoft released Vista, they added a whole bunch of security prompts that proved to be one of worst ideas Microsoft ever had. And it didn't work. It annoyed users so much, and caused such a huge backlash that they backed off the approach, and got smarter about their prompting in later releases.

Perhaps Apple's marketing team needs to talk to engineering?

Apple Discloses Minor Crash Involving Self-Driving Test Vehicle, by Mark Gurman, Bloomberg

This is the first time a collision involving an Apple autonomous vehicle has been reported by the California DMV. The car, a Lexus SUV in self-driving mode, was rear-ended by another vehicle when it was preparing to merge onto a highway in the Bay Area called the Lawrence Expressway, according to the report. Both vehicles sustained damage but no injuries were reported, the filing added.

Stuff

The Best Note-Taking Apps For Class, Work, And Life, by Shannon Liao, The Verge

The best note-taking app needs intuitive features and a nice-looking design. Bonus points if it has cloud storage, autosave, offline access, and voice-to-text recognition. I need to be able to search through my notes and organize them if they are really going to be of any use to me.

Finally, with the recent data privacy concerns, it needs to be as secure as possible from peeping advertisers or bad actors. That said, only one of the apps featured on this list (Standard Notes) had an encryption feature.

Hands On: Brydge 12.9 Series II Keyboard For Apple’s iPad Pro Aims For MacBook-style Feel With Ridiculous Battery Life, by Neil Hughes, AppleInsider

In order to match the footprint of the iPad Pro, and to have the proper heft for lap use just as you'd use a traditional MacBook, the latest Brydge does — once again — add noticeable heft to the iPad package.

However, the Brydge compensates for this by having the iPad itself be easily removable, unencumbered by a case that encloses and holds the iPad itself.

Black Pixel Transfers NetNewsWire To Brent Simmons, by John Voorhees, MacStories

Today, Brent Simmons announced and Black Pixel is expected to announce shortly that NetNewsWire will be returning to Simmons, the original developer of the app.

Notes

EU To Recommend End To Changing Clocks Twice A Year, by Sam Jones and Daniel Boffey, The Guardian

The European commission will recommend that EU member states abandon the practice of changing the clocks in spring and autumn, with many people in favour of staying on summer time throughout the year.

Jean-Claude Juncker, the commission’s president, said a recent consultation had shown that more than 80% of EU citizens were in favour of the move.

NASA Sets A Grim Deadline For Saving A Beloved Mars Rover, by Marina Koren, The Atlantic

On Thursday, NASA announced it had set a deadline for the current recovery attempts for the rover. According to atmospheric data from a NASA orbiter around Mars, there will soon be enough sunlight reaching the surface for Opportunity to recharge its batteries and kick off some automated procedures to bring it back online—if it survived the storm in the first place. When that happens, the countdown begins.

“If we do not hear back after 45 days, the team will be forced to conclude that the sun-blocking dust and the Martian cold have conspired to cause some type of fault from which the rover will more than likely not recover,” said John Callas, the Opportunity project manager, in a press release. “At that point, our active phase of reaching out to Opportunity will be at an end.”

Startup Takes Stress Out Of Fed-up Workers’ Exit Plans, by Alex Martin, Japan Times

The piles of paperwork to fill out, bosses incessantly trying to talk subordinates out of leaving and the silent recrimination filling the workplace all stand in the way, and Niino, who worked for three firms before taking the entrepreneurial path, says he understands firsthand the psychology of those who cower at the prospect of enduring the daunting process.