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The NeXT-Purchase Edition Wednesday, March 24, 2021

An Act Of Desperation 20 Years Ago Was The Building Block For The Modern Mac, by Jason Snell, Macworld

At Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in June 1996, many of us got to experience the future of the Mac for the first time. We got the t-shirt for test driving Apple’s transformational new operating system, one that replaced the woefully out-of-date classic Mac OS with something that could compete with Microsoft. The operating system was nicknamed Copland and it never shipped. The “Hands-On Experience” shirts and an accompanying book, “Mac OS 8 Revealed,” were as good it was ever going to get.

With its back against the wall and its internal software development failing, Apple was left with only desperation moves. Fortunately, it made a good one, resulting in Mac OS X 10.0, which shipped 20 years ago this week.

From Aqua To Catalina: The Evolution Of The Mac OS X Operating System, by Jason Snell, Macworld

Mac OS X has been through a lot in 20-plus years. As someone who was sitting in the front row at Macworld Expo when then-CEO Gil Amelio brought Steve Jobs on stage to celebrate Apple’s purchase of NeXT, it feels like I’ve been a witness to the whole story.

The macOS we use today is the result of iteration—sometimes rapid, sometimes painfully slow—over 16 major OS releases during those 20 years. Here are the highlights.

On Privacy

Closing Web Browser Windows Doesn't Close Connections, by Jeff Johnson

I feel that many decisions made by web browser developers in the past — sometimes more than a decade ago — need to be reevaluated now that browsers are finally starting to care about user privacy. The browser vendors have always loved to compete and brag about whose browser loads pages faster, but the pursuit of speed at all costs can lead to compromises in other areas, such as privacy. And it's still too often the case that the browser vendors tend to favor the interests and demands of web developers over web users. Web developers and web users have very different ideas about what makes a "good experience".

Coming Soon

Apple Removes 'Siri Remote' Mentions In tvOS 14.5 Beta, Changes 'Home' Button Name, by Juli Clover, MacRumors

The ‌Siri‌ Remote has always been the ‌Apple TV‌ Remote in countries where ‌Siri‌ functionality is not available on the ‌Apple TV‌, but now Apple is using the ‌Apple TV‌ Remote wording in countries where the remote was previously referred to as the ‌Siri‌ Remote.

Stuff

Apple Releases Pages, Numbers, And Keynote iOS Updates With Precise Editing Controls, Onscreen Keypads, by Michael Potuck, 9to5Mac

The new iOS builds feature support for precise editing controls, onscreen keyboards, the option to always open docs in edit mode, and more. Meanwhile, the new Mac versions include a new media browser, new AppleScript functionality, and more.

Time Zone Pro Is A Minimalist World Clock App For Contacts, by José Adorno, 9to5Mac

The app is designed to make it easy to monitor multiple time zones so you know when to contact colleagues and friends around the world.

Return Of The Safari Keyword Search Extension, by Dan Moren, Six Colors

Keyword Search allows you to define certain keyword shortcuts to search a particular website.

Spotify Updating Home Hub With Recently Played Section, Deeper Podcast Integration, by Federico Viticci, MacStories

There’s something about making both kinds of audio content accessible in one place that works well for removing friction from having to choose what I want to listen to.

Notes

Goldman Cleared Of Bias In New York Review Of Apple Card, by Shahien Nasiripour and Greg Farrell, Bloomberg

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. didn’t use discriminatory practices when deciding whether to extend credit to prospective customers of its Apple Card, said the New York State Department of Financial Services.

The App Store Has A Fake-app Problem. Here's How Apple Should Crack Down On One Of Its Most Lucrative Businesses., by Jason Aten, Business Insider

I certainly don't think Apple endorses any of these scam apps, at least not directly. But by not taking a tougher stance, it's hurting both consumers and legitimate developers who are working hard to build apps that add value to users' lives.

An even bigger problem is that fixing this means cracking down on an extremely lucrative business for Apple. The App Store brings in an estimated $64 billion for Apple a year, and that number is growing.

Bottom of the Page

I still remember, fondly, QuickTime Player playing a movie inside the Dock. Of course, this is a good-for-demo only feature. We never did see any useful apps that took advantage of this Mac OS X feature.

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Thanks for reading.