512 Pixels

I joined Katie and David on this week’s episode of Mac Power Users to catch up on my work at Relay FM and here on 512 Pixels. I walked through my studio setup and talk a little bit about my decision to purchase a 2017 iMac instead of the iMac Pro.

Since the time we recorded this episode, I decided that the 2017 iMac didn’t work for me due to its tendency to spin up its single fan under even moderate workload. I’m going to be writing more about it this week¹ but I returned it and picked up a base model iMac Pro. It’s very pretty and very powerful and I love it already. More soon on those points.

Apple:

Security researchers have recently uncovered security issues known by two names, Meltdown and Spectre. These issues apply to all modern processors and affect nearly all computing devices and operating systems. All Mac systems and iOS devices are affected, but there are no known exploits impacting customers at this time. Since exploiting many of these issues requires a malicious app to be loaded on your Mac or iOS device, we recommend downloading software only from trusted sources such as the App Store. Apple has already released mitigations in iOS 11.2, macOS 10.13.2, and tvOS 11.2 to help defend against Meltdown. Apple Watch is not affected by Meltdown. In the coming days we plan to release mitigations in Safari to help defend against Spectre. We continue to develop and test further mitigations for these issues and will release them in upcoming updates of iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS.

I recently bought a new computer, and picked up AppleCare+ for it. The process of covering the serial number with the warranty is known as “attachment.” The vast majority of the time, this process is seamless and fast, but I’ve been around the block a few times, so today, I ran my computer’s serial number through Apple’s “Check Coverage” tool to double-check that everything was in order.

Everything was not in order:

According to Apple, this computer was just covered by the limited warranty, despite my receipt showing otherwise:

I called up AppleCare support, who put me in touch with the AppleCare Agreement Administration team. The woman who was put on my case was extremely helpful. She is currently looking into the situation and I should be good to go in just a few days. I expect this to be over by the time she calls me back on Tuesday.

Like I said, this is a rare occurrence; I was honestly a little surprised when the Check Coverage tool came back mismatching my receipt. Still, if you buy AppleCare with a new device or computer, it may not be a bad idea to double-check your coverage a week or so after purchase.

Jason Snell at Macworld:

I’ve spent the last week with Apple’s new iMac Pro, and in most ways it’s just a faster Mac. It’s the first pro Mac desktop in over three years and the fastest Mac yet made, granted, but still entirely familiar. And yet in many ways—some noticeable, some entirely invisible—this new Mac is completely different from all past Mac models.

The iMac Pro may be an outlier today, but in the future we’ll probably look back on it as the start of a new era for the Mac, all because of the Apple-built T2 chip it carries inside. Here’s how the T2 makes this iMac Pro unlike all other Macs.

On this week’s Liftoff:

SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy has been erected at 39-A, while NASA moves forward with its New Frontiers finalists. Then, Apollo flight hardware and the mighty Saturn V.

My thanks to our sponsor this week:

• Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code LIFTOFF at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.

Juli Clover, MacRumors:

A serious design flaw and security vulnerability discovered in Intel CPUs has reportedly already been partially addressed by Apple in the recent macOS 10.13.2 update, which was released to the public on December 6.

It looks like 10.13.2 mostly implemented a fix, with more tweaking coming in 10.13.3.

This week on Query, my tech Q&A show with Serenity Caldwell:

Apple has launched a battery replacement program for a bunch of iPhones, and Logan is going hiking with an iPhone.

This week on Ungeniused:

It was feared that the year 2000 would arrive with worldwide calamity as the computers in our homes to the systems running our nation’s power grid and nuclear power plants ground to a halt. Thankfully, that didn’t happen, thanks to the work of software engineers… or luck. Maybe both.

My thanks to our sponsor:

• Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code UNGENIUSED at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.

If you have a new iMac Pro on your desk, this article may be handy:

The memory in iMac Pro (2017) isn’t user-accessible. If the memory in your iMac Pro needs to be replaced, contact an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider. If you’d like to upgrade the memory in your iMac Pro, an Apple Authorized Service Provider can help. Before you schedule an appointment, confirm that the specific store or service provider that you contact offers memory upgrade services.

Oh my, the inside of the iMac Pro is pretty.

I was in my Apple Store over the weekend, and every other person through the door had an iPhone 6 or 6S in hand, inquiring about getting a new battery installed. I had assumed Apple would be testing these phones and only replacing batteries that were operating below a certain threshold, but it seems like anyone who wants one can have a new battery installed at the discounted price.

This is going to cost Apple a pile of cash, but it’s the right call. Apple needs consumers to trust them, and that relationship has been damaged for many people. Turning someone away because their battery hasn’t failed would only make it worse. It’s better for the company to eat some battery swaps that it doesn’t need to do to start rebuilding trust.

We’re starting the year off right on Connected:

We grade our predictions for 2017 before setting off on a trip down memory lane of the last twelve months of Apple news.

My thanks to our sponsors this week:

• Hover: Show the world what you’re passionate about with 10% off your first purchase
• Casper: Start sleeping ahead of the curve. Get $50 off with the code ‘CONNECTED’.
• Pingdom: Start monitoring your websites and servers today. Use offer code CONNECTED to get 30% off.