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The Not-Cast-in-Concrete Edition Friday, April 30, 2021

The Problem With Apple’s Plan To Stop Facebook’s Data Collection, by Aaron Mak, Slate

“Many of these problems are policy problems,” said Serge Egelman, a research director at the University of California, Berkeley’s International Computer Science Institute, who added that Apple can’t simply relying on technology to mechanistically restrict IDFA access. In order for this new feature to work, it has to make it clear to developers that trying to track people in other ways will result in enforcement actions. “The issue is that the technology would need to anticipate every possible way that information that could be used to identify the user could be transmitted.” Constantly sweeping through apps would likely be necessary to enforce the policy.

Apple AirTags Could Enable Domestic Abuse In Terrifying Ways, by Mark Wilson, Fast Company

If you are an Android user—note that Android made up 87% of the worldwide smartphone market share as of 2019—you don’t have the protection of Apple’s network notifications. Instead, an AirTag that has not paired locally with its iPhone in three days will emit a sound. So if you are an Android user who has had an AirTag placed on you, you will know in 72 hours. (Apple told Fast Company last week that it could lengthen or shorten that time span in the future, and it reiterated that point for this article.) If you are an Android user living with an iPhone abuser, however, a hidden AirTag could be pairing far more often.

‘Not Cast In Concrete’: Apple Moving With The (Regulatory) Times, by Jason Snell, Six Colors

This statement by Cook reads to me as if he’s signaling that Apple will make more changes to its policies if it needs to do so to “move with the times.” He’s not talking about fashion there, he’s talking about the regulatory environment.

Stuff

The 2021 iPad Pro Will Work With The Old iPad Pro Magic Keyboard, by Jason Snell, Six Colors

It might be a bit too snug due to the new iPad being 0.5mm thicker, but it should work.

Apple Adds A Way To Speed Up Searches On The App Store By Suggesting Words, by Ian Carlos Campbell, The Verge

Now, after typing in a search term, the App Store will attempt to predict what you’re looking for and offer suggested words that, when tapped, will further narrow down your search results and speed up your hunt for specific kinds of apps.

Apple Says Only Select M1 iMac Colors Will Be Available To Purchase At Apple Stores, by Chance Miller, 9to5Mac

Apple says only the green, pink, blue, and silver iMac colors will be available to purchase at Apple Store locations. If you want the orange, yellow, or purple iMac, you’ll have to order directly from Apple’s Online Store.

Notes

Siri Thinks You'll Be Able To Add Your Apple TV Remote To Find My, by Benjamin Mayo, 9to5Mac

In a rather curious discovery, Siri seems to believe that the Apple TV Siri Remote will have some kind of Siri integration. If you ask Siri on iOS 14.5 to “Find my Siri Remote” or “Find my Apple TV Remote,” it will reply that it cannot find any Siri Remotes associated with the iCloud account.

The Case For A National One-Week Vacation, by Dodai Stewart, New York Times

What I’m trying to say, with a sprinkle of charm and a whole lot of gravitas, is this: Shut it down. Shut it all down.

Bottom of the Page

Don't be too quick to dismiss any candidates for the next Apple CEO job. We all remember quite a few people dismissed Tim Cook as not like Steve Jobs, but it turned out fine. There are successful companies of all sizes with very different kinds of CEOs.

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Thanks for reading.