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The Too-Risky Edition Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Tim Cook: Users Who Want To Sideload Apps Can Use Android, While The iPhone Experience Maximizes 'Security And Privacy', by Sami Fathi, MacRumors

Speaking at The New York Times “DealBook” summit, Cook said that customers currently already have a choice between wanting a secure and protected platform or an ecosystem that allows for sideloading. “I think that people have that choice today, Andrew. If you want to sideload, you can buy an Android phone.” Cook drew the comparison of sideloading to a carmaker selling a car without airbags or seatbelt, saying it would be “too risky.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook On Life Before The Internet And Why We Need To Set Boundaries With Our Devices, by Laura Brown, InStyle

Well, you have to understand that technology doesn't want to be good. It doesn't want to be bad either. It doesn't want to be anything. It's in the eye of the user and the inventor, and technology needs balance, like anything does. You could eat the healthiest food, but eat too much of it and it has a bad result. [...] And, of course, you don't want to just mindlessly scroll, so I would caution people to be the master of their technology. Technology should serve humanity, not the other way around. And I would use our tools — we've thought deeply about this, and so we have things like Screen Time and Focus.

Apple Backs Off Of Breaking Face ID After DIY iPhone 13 Screen Replacements, by Jay Peters, The Verge

For indie repair shops, things may get easier soon, however, as Apple tells The Verge it will release a software update that doesn't require you to transfer the microcontroller to keep Face ID working after a screen swap.

The Chip That Could Transform Computing, by Farhad Manjoo, New York Times

If I sound a little too giddy about microchips, it’s because there hasn’t been much breakthrough technical innovation in the tech business for years. Facebook is off ruining democracies, Google just keeps sucking more money out of ads and each new iPhone is just incrementally better than the last.

Apple’s processors feel genuinely new. For better and worse, they will dramatically improve the capabilities of our devices in the next few years.

On App Stores

Judge Orders Apple To Allow External Payment Options For App Store By December 9th, Denying Stay, by Adi Robertson, The Verge

Epic v. Apple judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers says Apple must comply with an order to let developers add links and buttons to external payment options, denying the company’s motion for a stay. “Apple’s motion is based on a selective reading of this Court’s findings and ignores all of the findings which supported the injunction,” her new order reads.

[...]

Judge Gonzalez Rogers was skeptical of Apple’s request particularly because it asked for an indefinite stay of the injunction despite saying Apple just wanted more time to evaluate risks. “You haven’t asked for additional time. You’ve asked for an injunction which would effectively take years,” she said. “You asked for an across-the-board stay which could take 3, 4, 5 years.”

Stuff

Apple Introduces Special Edition Holiday Gift Card, Sticker, And At-home Card Templates, by Parker Ortolani, 9to5Mac

The new gift cards can be purchased in standard $25, $50, or $100 amounts. The company also offers the option to set your own balance if you’d like to gift someone just the right amount for a specific product.

Apple Reduces Trade-in Values For iPhone, iPad And Mac, by Mikey Campbell, AppleInsider

Apple this week reduced estimated maximum trade-in values for flagship devices including iPhone, iPad and Mac, with some products seeing an up to 16% change from previously offered prices.

Scanner Pro For iOS Adds New AI Smart Categories Feature For Automatic Organization, by Michael Potuck, 9to5Mac

With the new release, Scanner Pro gets Smart Categories that automatically label and sort your scans.

MacCleaner Pro 2 Review: Rid The Junk Clogging Up Your Mac, by Chris Barylick, Macworld

It may not be the flashiest thing out there, but it offers a good interface, good set of utilities, and is worth your consideration.

Netflix Launches Its First Selection Of Games On iPhone And iPad, Sign Up Using Apple In-App Purchase, by Benjamin Mayo, 9to5Mac

Following an Android launch last week, Netflix has now launched its new Games initiative on iOS. Netflix subscribers can now enjoy the following games on iPhone and iPad: Stranger Things 1984, Stranger Things 3, Shooting Hoops, Card Blast, and Teeter (Up!).

Notes

Apple's Keyboards Are Suddenly Very Boring Again, by Jason Snell, Macworld

If the price we all pay for Apple’s dalliance with the Touch Bar and the butterfly keyboard in the mid-2010s is that for the next decade, Apple just focuses on shipping a reliable traditional keyboard, it’s probably worth it.

We’ve all seen the alternative. Boring and traditional isn’t so bad, after all.

Jony Ive On Why The iPod Was Apple's First Wearable, by Brent Rose, Wired

Ive has come to realize over the last decade that, while many people think of curiosity as something innate you may be born with, it’s actually something that must be cultivated, and requires a lot of intention. Some of his memories of his most productive times with Steve Jobs are when they were walking together and not saying much, but thinking in proximity to each other. “Almost always, in my experience, the most powerful ideas occur quietly, and they are fragile. And they need to be—with reverence and respect—gently cared for so they can become powerful.”

Johnson & Johnson Chairman Alex Gorsky Joins Apple's Board Of Directors, by Juli Clover, MacRumors

In a statement, Apple CEO Tim Cook called Gorsky a “visionary in healthcare,” and said that Apple will benefit from his expertise.

Tim Cook Says He Owns Cryptocurrency And He's Been 'Interested In It For A While', by Kif Leswing, CNBC

Cook said that he had been interested in cryptocurrency "for a while" and that he had been researching the topic.

However, Cook said that his interest was from a "personal point of view" and dismissed suggestions that Apple might take cryptocurrency in exchange for products as tender.

Bottom of the Page

I am waiting to see if Apple can convince me to buy a new Mac next year.

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Thanks for reading.