Federico is back with some new purchases in tow. I published a book. Myke wants more from his Echo. Everyone has wishes for iOS 10.
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This week, we look at some helpful consumer advice from Apple:
A string of scams are taking place asking people to make payments over the phone for things such as taxes, hospital bills, bail money, debt collection, and utility bills. The scams are committed using many methods, including gift cards. As the fraudsters are sometimes using iTunes Gift Cards, we want to make sure our customers are aware of these scams.
Regardless of the reason for payment, the scam follows a certain formula: The victim receives a call instilling panic and urgency to make a payment by purchasing iTunes Gift Cards from the nearest retailer (convenience store, electronics retailer, etc.). After the cards have been purchased, the victim is asked to pay by sharing the 16-digit code on the back of the card with the caller over the phone.
I came across this video while working on my book, and thought it deserved a link.
In it, the editor has cut together Steve Jobs showing off NeXTSTEP and OS X. It’s really fun to see how the features of the former informed so much about the latter.
I wasn’t aware of this service when I had my watch replaced last week. It may not have saved my much time without a watch, but the hassle may have been less. Í
I had a lot of fun joining Ed on Simple Beep this weekend to talk about Designed by Apple in California and Aqua and Bondi.
In a moment of somewhat unexpected nostalgia at its most recent media event, Apple pointed out that it was the 25th anniversary of the PowerBook. (It’s good to know that, 27 years later, Apple still would rather nobody remember the Mac Portable.) I’ve been a Mac laptop user since the original PowerBook era. That ancient history is my history. Since 1991, Apple has gone through seven distinct eras when it comes to its laptop strategy and design.
Last week, I dropped my 1st generation stainless steel Apple Watch while in the locker room at my gym. It did not survive:
Thankfully, I purchased AppleCare Plus on it, so I made a Genius Bar appointment and took it in. The stores don’t repair these things; they are replaced. Three days later, I got an email to come pick up my replacement. $80 later, I was back in business:
This service replacement is identical to my previous watch, but minus all the broken sapphire. Frustratingly, I had to set it up as a new device, as it was running watchOS 2 out of the box. The whole process took a while last night, but I’m back in action today.
All in all, the process wasn’t too bad. It would have been nice if my store had a replacement in stock, but three days was faster than I was expecting. In those few days, I did find myself missing my Watch, despite it me using it as basically a fitness tracker with iMessage notifications these days. I was little surprised about that feeling, and I’m glad it’s back.
Readers of this site will no doubt know my affinity for the iMac G3. It is an important computer, as it breathed new life into the Macintosh line after the disastrous 1990s. It was cool and fun, and brought things like USB and the Internet to the Mac user base.
However, that’s only part of the story. While it was selling the Bondi, Tangerine, and Flower Power desktop computers, Apple was hard at work developing its next-generation operating system after acquiring NeXT in 1996. This came after several failed attempts to do so internally. Pink, Taligent, and Copland all imploded far short of the finish line.
Even the first attempt at combining Mac OS and NeXTSTEP technology was a miss. Rhapsody was a bold attempt to bring Mac users and developers into a new world, but it didn’t do so in the right way. As Apple struggled to release Mac OS X, the iMac helped keep the lights on and customers happy.
Aqua and Bondi is an 80-page examination of these products. In it, I look at what went so wrong inside Apple in the 90s, talk about the software strategies that came and went over the years, and, of course, the iMac.
I’ve been working on this project since the fall, and am excited to say that you can pick up a PDF today!
I think you’ll enjoy it. Thanks in advance for the support.
In honor of World AIDS Day, Apple is offering more ways than ever for customers to join (RED) in its mission to create an AIDS-free generation. Apple is the world’s largest corporate contributor to the Global Fund, and this year marks its 10th anniversary of supporting (RED) in the fight to end AIDS.
This year’s program includes some (RED) accessories including an iPhone 7 Smart Battery Case and Apple Watch band. Many developers and The Killers are donating proceeds to the cause.
There’s also this, which really jumped out at me:
Starting tomorrow through December 6, Apple is donating $1 to (RED)’s mission for every purchase made with Apple Pay at any Apple store, on Apple.com or through the Apple Store app, up to $1 million. Bank of America will also make a donation for every Apple Pay transaction using its cards, also up to $1 million.
Very cool. This program is one of the rare good causes Steve Jobs’ Apple was involved in, and it’s great to see it expand under Tim Cook.
I had a lot of fun joining Megan and Jason to talk about my ‘Designed by Apple in California’ video.
Pixel is totes great
Camera’s legit af
Low light be like wow
This Android is clean
No bloatware is a relief
Assistant is dope
Don’t want an iPhone?
Pixel is what you should get
Ignore the back case
Apple has internally announced it will issue a refund to customers who previously paid for an iMac display hinge replacement or repair, according to a recently updated service document obtained by MacRumors.
[…]
Apple’s service document acknowledges some 27-inch iMacs shipped between December 2012 and July 2014 may be affected by an issue with the display hinge, resulting in the screen no longer adjusting and continuously tilting forward. The issue appears to be limited to late 2012 and late 2013 models in particular.
My understanding is that this repair is usually about $70 here in the U.S., at least for 27-inch models.1 That price seems pretty cheap to me, as the repair is quite complicated. The display has to be removed, then the entire computer has to be scooped out of the case to access the hinge.
This photo from iFixit’s teardown of the computer shows the hinge on the inside of the back case:
The problem seems to stem from the fact that some of the components in the hinge are made of plastic, and sometimes fail after years of heating and cooling repeatedly. I don’t know if the service parts used in the repair are any better, but I’m glad Apple is making it right for customers with the issue. Drooping iMacs are no fun for anyone.
I’ve heard that some users have had the repair paid for by Apple on out of warranty machines, but clearly that hasn’t been universally applied. ↩︎