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The Curved-Front-and-Back Edition Tuesday, December 1, 2020

Apple Giving PRODUCT(RED) Proceeds To Pandemic Relief, by Michael Potuck, 9to5Mac

In partnership with (RED), Apple has announced that it will be redirecting 100% of eligible proceeds of its PRODUCT(RED) devices and accessories to the Global Fund’s COVID‑19 relief efforts from now until June 30.

The iPhone 12 & 12 Pro Review: New Design And Diminishing Returns, by Andrei Frumusanu, AnandTech

Although the width of the phones isn’t any larger on the new models, they just feel noticeably bigger in the hand due to the right-angle frame edges. I ask myself as what exactly was the reason in the first place that over the years, we transitioned to rounded phones, with various vendors investing into curved front and back glass devices, if it was not for the benefit of better ergonomics, and for the devices to fit better in our fleshy meat hands. I mean, what’s the point in making the new iPhones thinner, and lose out on battery capacity, if they don’t actually feel thinner in the hand? I know it’s a very subjective topic and people might not have the same strong opinion, but even after a few weeks I still prefer to go back to an iPhone 11 Pro because of the more natural ergonomics.

Why I’m Mourning iOS 14's Botched Clock App, by Luke Dormehl, Cult of Mac

There was something both intuitive and fun about the Clock app’s scroll wheel. It had a “fiddle factor” that was a bit of software genius. It was so very Apple.

Its replacement evokes none of that fun and wonder. Setting alarms by tapping tiny boxes offers none of the charm of the scroll wheel.

Stuff

Review: Sketchboard Pro For iPad, by Bryce Durbin, TechCrunch

The Sketchboard Pro is an iPad stand designed for artists.

Growl, Once A Staple Of The Mac Desktop Experience, Has Been Retired, by Samuel Axon, Ars Technica

Launched in 2004, Growl provided notifications for applications on Macs (it was also offered for Windows) before Apple introduced its own Notification Center.

Develop

AWS Brings The Mac Mini To Its Cloud, by Frederic Lardinois, TechCrunch

The target audience here — and the only one AWS is targeting for now — is developers who want cloud-based build and testing environments for their Mac and iOS apps. But it’s worth noting that with remote access, you get a fully-featured Mac mini in the cloud, and I’m sure developers will find all kinds of other use cases for this as well.

Notes

As The Pandemic Shatters Americans' Mental Health, The FDA, Psychiatrists, And Developers Are Betting On Smartphone Apps To Treat Them Directly, by Bill Bostock, Business Insider

Many of the mental-health apps to help people cope, like Calm and Headspace, have seen staggering usage in the pandemic. Mental-health startups are also securing record levels of funding.

Now, a select group of apps are seeking not just to help people get by, but to take the treatments normally confined to psychiatric clinics and put them in a person's hand.

20 Macs For 2020: #5 – Titanium PowerBook G4, by Jason Snell, Six Colors

So the decision was made: The new PowerBook G4 would prioritize thinness and lightness, and would be sheathed in metal, not plastic. And Apple chose to use a very light metal— titanium—to build it. “It’s stronger than steel, yet lighter than aluminum,” Jobs said on stage when introducing the laptop. “Like they build airplanes out of.”

It was a mistake.

Judge Backs Apple In BlueMail's App Store Antitrust Case, by Malcolm Owen, AppleInsider

Arguing that Apple having the power to restrict competition is not evidence that it did so, Judge Stark also said that Blix's own claims undermined its case. Reportedly, Blix had said in its filings that it had achieved success on multiple platforms, and was on sale for five years before being on the App Store.

Judge Stark said this demonstrated that the App Store is not essential to BlueMail's success.

Developer Hector Martin Announces Patreon Funding For Bringing Native Linux To M1 Macs, by Filipe Espósito, 9to5Mac

Apple recently introduced its first Macs with ARM processors and although they offer incredible performance, users cannot run Windows or Linux natively on these machines — at least for now. Popular developer Hector Martin today announced a Patreon funding to help him bring Linux to Apple Silicon Macs.

Bottom of the Page

I was at my local supermarket earlier this evening, without any AirPods in my ears, and I noticed it was playing Christmas music. And I wondered: isn't it early to be playing Christmas music? And then I remembered: it's already December.

Oh gosh.

~

Thanks for reading.