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The MacBook-Day Edition Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Apple Updates Retina MacBook Air, Adds True Tone, Lowers Price To $1099 — $999 For Students, by Benjamin Mayo, 9to5Mac

The price drop of the Retina MacBook Air to $1099 means that Apple has finally killed off the previous-gen non-Retina MacBook Air, which held the $999 price point for more than eight years.

The addition of True Tone is a nice gesture for Retina MacBook Air fans, but the $100 price drop is the real news here.

$1299 Entry-level MacBook Pro Now Features 8th-gen Intel Processors, Touch ID And Touch Bar, by Benjamin Mayo, 9to5Mac

Apple has upgraded the entry-level $1299 MacBook Pro. The laptop now features the latest 8th-generation quad-core processors, and adds the Touch Bar for the first time. This means it also adds a Touch ID biometric sensor and the Apple T2 Security chip. The 13-inch Retina display now supports True Tone.

Apple Stops Selling The 12-inch MacBook, A Computer You Either Loved Or Were Confused By, by Darrell Etherington, TechCrunch

Ultimately, the MacBook resembles the original MacBook Air more than anything – an oddball that had both lovers and haters, but that didn’t meet the needs or expectations of the masses. Like the Air, the MacBook could rise from the ashes with a future incarnation, too – perhaps one made possible by the much-speculated future Apple transition to ARM processor architecture. Or maybe it’ll just make way for an ever-evolving iPad powered by the more sophisticated iPadOS coming this fall.

Regardless, the MacBook was an eccentric machine that I enjoyed using (and was potentially considering using again pending an update), so here’s hoping it’s not gone forever.

Apple No Longer Sells A MacBook Pro Without A Touch Bar, by Joe Rossignol, MacRumors

In other words, it is no longer possible to buy a new MacBook Pro with a physical escape key directly from Apple.

Stuff

Apple Revives Classic Texas Hold ’Em iOS Game To Mark 10 Years Of The App Store, by Michael Potuck, 9to5Mac

The update to the original game comes in celebration of the 10-year anniversary of the App Store and includes new characters, improved graphics, more challenging gameplay, and more.

The Best On-the-Go Headphones You'll Ever Buy, by Justin Kirkland, Esquire

You don’t buy the Powerbeats Pro to get you to your next pair of headphones. You get these when you’re ready to settle in for the long haul.

Due 3.0 Is My New App For Concurrent Timers, by Josh Ginter, The Sweet Setup

There are a wide range of timer apps available on the App Store, so there may very well be one out there better suited for my specific cooking needs. However, Due’s great design, simple user interface, and extra easy timer and reminder creation make it an instantly great option for concurrent timers.

Serious Zoom Security Flaw Could Let Websites Hijack Mac Cameras, by Dieter Bohn, The Verge

Today, security researcher Jonathan Leitschuh has publicly disclosed a serious zero-day vulnerability for the Zoom video conferencing app on Macs. He has demonstrated that any website can open up a video-enabled call on a Mac with the Zoom app installed. That’s possible in part because the Zoom app apparently installs a web server on Macs that accepts requests regular browsers wouldn’t. In fact, if you uninstall Zoom that web server persists and can reinstall Zoom without your intervention.

Develop

Apple Development With Swift Curriculum Now Available In Canvas Commons, by Dennis Sellers, Apple World Today

Canvas Commons is a digital library full of educational content that enables Canvas educators to find, import, and share resources. It allows educators to share learning resources with each other, as well as import learning resources into a Canvas course.

It's Never Too Late To Be Successful And Happy, by Invincible Career

First, don’t ever feel like it’s too late to have what you want in life. Don’t give in to a feeling of hopelessness. History shows us that talented people are capable of having amazing success for the rest of their lives. Grit matters. I know people who are still pursuing their big dreams in their 70s and 80s. Don’t give up!

Second, stop comparing yourself to others in all the wrong ways. I know you've heard this before. We all have. And, yet, we keep doing it. Sometimes it is a conscious comparison (e.g., “My friend just took his company public and became a billionaire. What have I accomplished?”). Sometimes it is a subconscious comparison that is happening in the back of your mind as you mindlessly scroll through Instagram and see your friends doing exciting things on an amazing vacation.

Notes

Superhuman’s Superficial Privacy Fixes Do Not Prevent It From Spying On You, by Mike Davidson, Mike Industries

I will say this: if you were skeptical of Superhuman’s commitment to privacy and safety after reading the last article, you should probably be even more skeptical after these changes. The company’s efforts demonstrate a desire to tamp down liability and damage to their brand, but they do not show an understanding of the core problem: you should not build software that surreptitiously collects data on people in a way that would surprise and frighten them. Superhuman needs to realize that the people their customers send emails to aren’t “externalities”. They are people. And they deserve not to be spied on by software they don’t even know about and never signed up to use.

The Sinkhole That Saved The Internet, by Zack Whittaker, TechCrunch

Hutchins and Hankins knew if the kill switch went down, the malware would pick up where it left off, infecting thousands of computers every minute. Puffy eyed and sleep deprived, they knew the domain had to stay up at all costs. The researchers fended off several attacks from an angry operator of a botnet trying to knock the domain offline with junk internet traffic. And, at one point, law enforcement seized two of their servers from a datacenter in France amid confusion that the domain was helping to spread WannaCry and not preventing it.

With the pressure on but running on empty, Hankins — who was also only pseudonymously known as @2sec4u — fought to stay awake, and would fall asleep on his couch where he worked for hours at a time, laptop still open, only to be jolted awake by messages on Slack or Skype, which the researchers used to talk.

Every time he heard an alert, he feared the kill switch had gone offline.

Bottom of the Page

Just when we thought Apple has successfully simplified its product naming strategy, along came the iPad Air and an updated iPad Mini, and then an updated MacBook Air, and the disapperance of the MacBook.

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Thanks for reading.