Sponsor: Loopback from Rogue Amoeba ⇢

⌘ Permalink

With Loopback, moving audio between applications goes from impossible to trivial. Loopback can combine audio from any software application and any hardware device, to make a virtual source usable anywhere.

Loopback UI

Enhance the sound of your mic on Zoom calls, or pipe in music and sound effects. Podcasters can combine a mic with audio sources like Music.app or our own soundboard app Farrago, so remote guests all hear the same thing. Gamers can record gameplay videos with both game audio and commentary. With an easy-to-understand wire-based interface, Loopback gives you all the power of a high-end studio mixing board, right inside your computer!

I use Loopback all the time for custom audio stuff on my Mac, and it really does seem like magic. The folks at Rogue Amoeba are wizards when it comes to this stuff.

Download the free trial of Loopback to take a test drive! Through August 15th, 512 Pixels readers can save $20 with coupon code 512LB.

Photos of Unreleased iPod Touch Shared ⇢

⌘ Permalink

Hartley Charlton at MacRumors:

Twitter user @DongleBookPro has today posted images of what seems to be a first-generation iPod Touch prototype with a 2013 Mac Pro-style glossy black finish.

The Twitter user claims that the iPod Touch prototype pictured has “the same coating as the 2013 Mac Pro.” Had the finish been selected for the final product, it would have been the first metallic glossy black finish to be shipped on an Apple device.

Here’s a look at the device:

I always liked that the iPod touch used the same chrome back as other iPods did back in the day, but this thing looks really cool.

Mac Power Users #547: Of a Certain Age, with Jim Metzendorf ⇢

⌘ Permalink

This week on MPU:

The editor of Mac Power Users, Jim Metzendorf, talks to Stephen and David about his background in audio and photography, and how the gear and workflows have changed in those fields over the years.

My thanks to our sponsors:

  • 1Password: Have you ever forgotten a password? You don’t have to worry about that anymore.
  • Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code MPU at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.
  • The Intrazone by Microsoft SharePoint: Your bi-weekly conversation and interview podcast hosted by the SharePoint team
  • TextExpander from Smile: Get 20% off with this link and type more with less effort! Expand short abbreviations into longer bits of text, even fill-ins, with TextExpander from Smile.

Microsoft Flight Simulator Ready for Takeoff Again ⇢

⌘ Permalink

Sam Byford, writing at The Verge:

Let’sLet’s play a quick game of word association: Microsoft — Windows? Excel? Xbox? All solid answers. But for me, for a while in the ’90s at least, I would have immediately answered “Flight Simulator.” Microsoft Flight Simulator is the very first thing I can remember ever doing on a computer, sat on my granddad’s lap as we soared across blocky landscapes together with a Sidewinder joystick. It is one of Microsoft’s all-time iconic brands.

The new version, dubbed simply “Microsoft Flight Simulator” ships in just a few weeks, and Byford has a nice look at it.

Apple Posts Q3 Results ⇢

⌘ Permalink

Apple PR:

Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2020 third quarter ended June 27, 2020. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $59.7 billion, an increase of 11 percent from the year-ago quarter, and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $2.58, up 18 percent. International sales accounted for 60 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

“Apple’s record June quarter was driven by double-digit growth in both Products and Services and growth in each of our geographic segments,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “In uncertain times, this performance is a testament to the important role our products play in our customers’ lives and to Apple’s relentless innovation. This is a challenging moment for our communities, and, from Apple’s new $100 million Racial Equity and Justice Initiative to a new commitment to be carbon neutral by 2030, we’re living the principle that what we make and do should create opportunity and leave the world better than we found it.”

Jason Snell has all the charts.

Also, there’s this:

Connected #305: We Should be Doing the Questioning ⇢

⌘ Permalink

This week on Connected:

Tim Cook is answering to Congress about Apple’s App Store policies, and the guys break down his opening statement before getting into what the rest of the year could look like in terms of new iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and even Apple TV hardware.

On Connected Pro, there’s a lot of talk about summer camps, as my daughter is learning about horses this week. Also: Federico drinks a coffee and Myke wonders if being a parent ages you.1

My thanks to our sponsors this week:

  • Pingdom: Start monitoring your website performance and availability today, and get instant alerts when an outage occurs or a site transaction fails. Use offer code CONNECTED to get 30% off. Offer expires on January 31, 2021, and can be used only once.
  • Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code CONNECTED at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.
  1. It does. ↩

AppleDesigns ⇢

⌘ Permalink

Michael Steeber:

One of the first products you could purchase online from Apple was a set of golf balls and tees. Not a golfer? Apple also offered a puzzle in a can, a paddle game, luggage tags, and even a onesie with the classic Mac OS Trash icon screen printed on the front. These forgotten items and nearly 100 more products came from the peculiar world of AppleDesigns.com, one of Apple’s earliest online shopping projects.

Buying a Mac in the 90s still involved finding a local reseller and venturing out to the store. It wasn’t until November 1997 that Apple launched the online Apple Store and changed the way we shop. But even before the return of Steve Jobs, Apple was experimenting with retail online.

Apple called AppleDesigns “the Apple online department store.” The early website was featured on a full-page ad in MacWorld magazine and briefly listed on Apple’s website as a place to buy “Apple Softwear” and gifts for friends and family.

SOFTWEAR!