Category: Apple

Apple has released iTunes 12.6.3, an update to application for those customers who still want or need access to iOS App Store:

Apple offers Volume Purchase Programs and Apple Configurator on Mac to help enterprise environments manage and mass-deploy apps on iOS devices. But certain business partners might still need to use iTunes to install apps.

If you don’t need this, iTunes 12.7 is still the version you want. Apple notes that it will not provide technical support for this version of the app, which I find kind of funny.

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The macOS High Sierra Supplemental Update that fixed a nasty Disk Utility bug has been out for a few days has been picked apart by Daniel Martín. There’s some interesting (and very nerdy) stuff in here.

via @_inside

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We’ve had an Amazon Echo in our kitchen for over a year now. We use it for the things people use an Echo for, including check the weather, get caught up on the news, turn on light, set timers and listen to music.

That last use is an important one. Most evenings, we have something playing. I pay for a Spotify account that I have hooked up to the Echo, as Amazon’s Prime Music offering only includes around 2 million songs, and in our testing last year, often lacked what we (or the kids) wanted to listen to in the kitchen.

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Yours truly on iMore, writing about the Apple Watch with LTE:

Leave your silly phone behind, it whispers, and it’ll just be you and me. For basic connectivity, it does the bill: My spouse can call me if something comes up, and my business partner can send me an iMessage if he needs anything. I can take a call or reply with Siri quickly and easily, all while I take a quick break from filling my rings. If I am involved in an accident or need help, I can get in touch with anyone in my Contacts list with ease.

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Matheus Mariano found a nasty High Sierra bug: the system dialog box to unlock an encrypted APFS container exposed the password for that container in the hint field.

As plaintext.

Whoops.

Mariano alerted Apple, and the company has replied with details on how to make sure your data is secure. According to Rene Ritchie, Apple is pushing a supplemental update to High Sierra to fix the dialog box and close the security issue, a little over a week since Mariano’s post went up.

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The update fixes that nasty Wi-Fi bug:

watchOS 4.0.1 fixes issues that in rare cases were causing Apple Watch to join unauthenticated (captive) Wi-Fi networks, such as those found in public places like coffee shops and hotels, which direct the user to a web page before the network can be accessed.

I caught my watch trying to connect to one of these networks just the other day. I hope this takes care of things.

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David Sparks and Brett Terpstra are back with a new project:

60 Mac Tips, Volume 2, is a collection of tricks and tips to make you more efficient on your Mac. There are 60 screencasts and two hours of video that explains why each tip or trick is special and how to use it on your Mac. Learn these tips and turn yourself into a Mac power user.

Among these 60 screencasts are tips on macOS, Siri for the Mac, using the keyboard, Spotlight, Automator, Safari, Mail, Apple Notes, Apple Photos, Terminal Tips, and third-party apps. After reading and watching these tips and tricks, you’ll be more efficient on your Mac than ever.

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In the excellent Monday Note:

Acquiring Sony would give Apple a huge competitive advantage: access to the most advanced [camera] chips of the industry, ahead of its smartphone competitors. Given the camera’s importance to the iPhone, this is a strong competitive argument against Samsung’s Galaxy or Google’s Pixel.

And:

A brand new Apple Pictures Entertainment built on SPE would make Apple one of the Big Six Hollywood studios, with a market share nearly at par with 20th Century Fox (both stood in the 10 percent range over the recent years). No doubt that, with the iTunes store, Apple TV, iPad and iPhone, an Apple-Sony Studios would thrive.

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I was exchanging emails with a reader about the lack of meaningful Touch Bar improvements in High Sierra over the weekend, and this morning, saw this on Twitter from Michael Lopp:

High Sierra fixes for MacBook Pro Touch Bar appear to be zero. Please tell me I am mistaken.

— rands (@rands) October 2, 2017

I don’t have any major problems with the Touch Bar on my MacBook Pro; I just don’t find it all that useful. I type too quickly for the Quick Type to keep up in a helpful manner, and many apps I use don’t offer much in custom shortcuts. In apps that do, I am so hardwired into keyboard shortcuts, I can’t be bothered to move my hands from the keyboard to tap a glowing button.

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Small problem: it doesn’t exist.

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In years past, when a new version of macOS has come out, the previous one would still be available for download in the Mac App Store’s Purchased tab:

This year, Apple has changed its policy, according to this kbase article:

macOS Sierra or later doesn’t appear in the Purchased tab. Instead, use the Search field in the upper-right corner to find and open the App Store page for that macOS.

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If you want the nitty-gritty security details of High Sierra, this kbase article has you covered.

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