My thanks to TextExpander for sponsoring 512 Pixels this week. It removes the repetition out of work so you can focus on what matters most. 512 Pixels readers get 20% off their first year.
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Call Recorder is Dying; Oh No, Not I — I Will Survive⇢
On one level, the impending death of Call Recorder, a utility I’ve relied on for more than a decade, shouldn’t actually be a big deal. As useful and easy as it was, it’s not as if there aren’t alternatives.
In fact, if I’m being honest, Call Recorder hasn’t been my primary audio-recording tool for years. That distinction goes to Audio Hijack, which works with any app (not just Skype). But I have kept Call Recorder running for every Skype call I make, sometimes as my primary recorder, more often as a backup.
Macs, But Not⇢
I love this, but it makes me feel weird inside, too.
Connected #331: Honey, Did You Put Kickstands on my Yoga Mat?⇢
The guys review CARROT Weather 5, dream up new health devices for Apple to make and dive into the new iOS 14.5 beta. Also: Myke won’t wear an anklet, Federico has words for certain drivers and Stephen files feedback about the Reminders app.
(It’s Feedback #FB8989457)
On Connected Pro, the longer, ad-free version of the show, Federico updates everyone on Italian political changes before admitting to reading the rules. And apparently, Casey Liss was behaving badly.
Flashback #13: The CrunchPad⇢
This time on Flashback, Quinn Nelson and I get into the weird tale of the CrunchPadJooJoo Grid10 tablet.
70% of Most Active ‘Civic’ Facebook Groups are Terrible Places⇢
I think we’ve all known Facebook is a cesspool, but now we have hard numbers, as Kate Cox writes at Ars Technica:
As Facebook scrambles to deal with its most problematic groups in the wake of January’s assault on the US Capitol, a new report finds that leaders inside the company knew as long ago as August that 70 percent of its top “civic” groups had too much hate speech, misinformation, violent rhetoric, or other toxic behavior to be recommended to other users.
SpaceX Planning to Fly First All-Civilian Mission This Year; Two Seats Donated to St. Jude Backers⇢
Darrell Etherington, writing at TechCrunch:
SpaceX has announced its first all-civilian private spaceflight mission, a high-priced galactic tourism launch that it hopes to fly by the fourth quarter of 2021. The mission, which will use SpaceX’s Dragon crew spacecraft and its Falcon 9 rocket, will include Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman, who is CEO of Shift4 Payments, as well as three crew members to be selected and donated by Isaacman, his company and St Jude’s Children Research Hospital. That’s one way to drive product adoption.
Apple Releases macOS Big Sur 11.2⇢
According to Apple, the update improves Bluetooth reliability and addresses the following issues:
- External displays may show a black screen when connected to a Mac mini ( M1 , 2020) using an HDMI to DVI converter
- Edits to Apple ProRAW photos in the Photos app may not save
- iCloud Drive could turn off after disabling the iCloud Drive Desktop & Documents Folders option
- System Preferences may not unlock when entering your administrator password
- Globe key may not display the Emoji & Symbols pane when pressed
It’s available in Software Update now.
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My devices feel busted without TextExpander, and it helps me sound smarter. In January alone, it corrected “teh” to “the” automatically nearly 200 times.
Apple Releases Chrome Extension for iCloud Passwords⇢
Apple has released an official extension for the Windows and Mac versions of Chrome that lets you use passwords stored in your iCloud Keychain. For anyone who uses Chrome as their browser and iCloud Keychain in lieu of a dedicated password manager, this could make bouncing between Windows and Mac computers much easier.
This should make life easier for people using this part of iCloud, but it’s not enough to take me away from 1Password.
Kbase Article of the Week: Thunderbolt Software Update 1.1 (Snow Leopard)⇢
This update addresses an issue that causes some users of the Apple Thunderbolt Display to experience intermittent black screens. It also includes stability improvements for Thunderbolt devices.
Mac Power Users #573: Rosemary Orchard Returns⇢
This week on the show, the Queen of Automation drops by to talk about her current gear and use of Plex, as well as how she is using HomeKit and managing files.
On More Power Users, they tied me down to talk about iPhone 12 Pro sizes.
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