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The Capturing-the-Game Edition Tuesday, February 21, 2023

This Pro Photographer Shot The Big Game On His iPhone, by Jacob Krol, Sports Illustrated

Chances are, you watched Super Bowl LVII from home via the official broadcast (and hopefully on a large screened TV). But for the lucky few in attendance, fans and famous alike, it was the chance to see it “IRL” and capture the moment with a smartphone.

SI Showcase had the chance to connect with pro photographer Kevin Mazur, who’s worked with celebrities, athletes, and even presidents, about capturing the game from the sidelines at State Farm Stadium with his pro rig and iPhone 14 Pro Max. Yes, Apple’s flagship $1,099 smartphone.

A New Kind Of Bug Spells Trouble For iOS And macOS Security, by Matt Burgess, Wired

Researchers from security firm Trellix’s Advanced Research Center are today publishing details of a bug that could allow criminal hackers to break out of Apple’s security protections and run their own unauthorized code. The team says the security flaws they found—which they rank as medium to high severity—bypass protections Apple had put in place to protect users.

“The key thing here is the vulnerabilities break Apple’s security model at a fundamental level,” says Doug McKee, director of vulnerability research at Trellix. McKee says that finding the new bug class means researchers and Apple will potentially be able to find more similar bugs and improve overall security protections. Apple has fixed the bugs the company found, and there is no evidence they were exploited.

Apple Reveals Multiple New Security Exploits That Were Patched With iOS 16.3 Updates, by Filipe Espósito, 9to5Mac

The new exploit listed by Apple that was patched with iOS 16.3.1 is related to a “maliciously crafted certificate” that could lead to a denial-of-service (DoS) attack, when the attacker floods the device or network with traffic to trigger a crash. Apple says the DoS problem has been fixed with “improved input validation.”

Stuff

Apple's Communication Safety Feature For Children Expanding To 6 New Countries, by Eric Slivka, MacRumors

Communication Safety is an opt-in feature in the Messages app across Apple’s platforms that is designed to warn children when receiving or sending photos that contain nudity. In the coming weeks, it will be expanding to the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Japan, South Korea, and Brazil.

Apple Store App Updated With New Features For Shopping Lists, More Details On Retail Stores, by Chance Miller, 9to5Mac

Lists in the Apple Store app make it easy to save products for later and organize things you may want to buy from Apple. With the new version of the Apple Store app rolling out today, you can now share those lists with other people. Apple has also added new ways to find and manage your lists from throughout the app.

Multiple HomePods Responding To Siri Requests, Instead Of One Taking Priority, by Ben Lovejoy, 9to5Mac

A significant number of users are experiencing multiple HomePods responding to Siri commands simultaneously. This is something that is normally prevented by Apple devices communicating with each other.

Microsoft Office For Mac 16.70, by Agen Schmitz, TidBITS

The Excel update introduces the Power Query Editor, which lets you clean and shape your data from local files, SharePoint, SQL, and tables and ranges.

Hands-on: How Plugable’s Docking Stations Help Turn Your iPad Into A Desktop Computer, by Fernando Silva, 9to5Mac

It allows you to use your iPad as an iPad without needing to fumble around with undocking your iPad while also allowing you to stay plugged into your secondary display.

Clicker For Disney Plus Is The Best macOS App That Disney Has Yet To Make, by Daryl Baxter, iMore

Clicker for Disney+ is a free third-party app developed by dbk labs that allows anyone with a Mac to watch Disney Plus shows on their Mac without needing to dip into Safari or Chrome. It also lets you take advantage of features that you can't use when in a web browser, such as picture-in-picture support.

Notes

A 15-inch MacBook Air Is Fine But These Apple Devices Need New Screen Sizes Too, by Dan Moren, Macworld

Recent reports suggest that the Cupertino-based company might soon be releasing a MacBook Air with a larger 15-inch screen. Strategically, that makes a lot of sense: the MacBook Air is Apple’s best-selling Mac, and for it to only be available in a single size is a missed opportunity. Yes, there are upsell opportunities for those who want a larger display above all else, but given that currently entails a jump all the way from $1,200 to $2,000, many customers won’t take the leap–especially if they don’t need the power or performance of a MacBook Pro.

Screen size has proven to be a key differentiator in many of Apple’s other product lines, and even the MacBook Air was available in multiple sizes in its past incarnations. But I say why stop there? There are plenty of other Apple products where another screen size might make a big (or small) difference.

Apple Launches New 'Car Key Tests' App For iPhone As Adoption Lags, by Chance Miller, 9to5Mac

The app is meant for car manufacturers to test integration with Apple’s Car Key feature. Apple says that the app allows those companies to “test and validate” requirements for the certification process of adopting Car Key through its Made-For-iPhone program.

Bottom of the Page

Two years ago, I was expecting Apple to take full advantage of the transition to Apple Silicon and give us smaller Mac computers. The MacBook Airs remain at 13 inches, while the Mac mini, after so many years, does not deserve the "mini" moniker.

Okay, there probably isn't too much demand for a smaller Mac mini. Even though you and I can probably think of one hundred and one uses for a smaller Mac mini.

However, I do think a smaller MacBook Air will be quite popular. There are many people out there, I can see, are still proclaiming the previous 11-inch MacBook Air or the previous 12-inch MacBook to be their absolute favorites.

Come on, Apple. Small can be beautiful.

~

Thanks for reading.