Two (or more) small furry animals — Twiggy and Tommy — live on, in our hearts.
Yes, this is serious.
My thanks to our sponsor:
- Hullo: A simple, natural pillow designed for comfort. Try it for 60 days.
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Liftoff #114: A Pentagon of Storms⇢
2019 is coming to a close, but the news rolls on: NASA is close to having a new budget, Commercial Crew makes another step in the right direction and Jason ends things with a holiday message.
My thanks to our sponsors:
- StoryWorth: Record your family stories. Get $20 off your first purchase.
- Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code LIFTOFF at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.
Kbase Article of the Week: Install and Replace Parts in Your Mac Pro (2019)⇢
Learn about the many different parts you can replace and upgrade in your Mac Pro.
You can remove and install many of the parts in your Mac Pro.
Tasty.
iFixit on the Mac Pro: ‘A Masterclass in Repairability’⇢
A few things caught my eye in this teardown:
- The wheels are removable from the frame, so I’m unsure why they can’t be purchased separately.
- That CPU heatsink is huge.
- Almost everything inside can be removed with standard tools.
- I love all the little levers and switches for the RAM and PCI slots.
Sponsor: Secure ShellFish, Your Servers in the iOS Files App⇢
Secure ShellFish is a SFTP client that lives in the Files app on iPad and iPhone. Access the directories on your Mac, Linux server or Raspberry Pi like you access Dropbox and iCloud Drive. Files are downloaded when opened with changes uploaded as you make them or as soon as possible if you temporarily lose the connection to the server.
It supports the Shortcuts app allowing you to automate file transfers and can be used from the share sheet for fast uploads.
iMac Pro Limited to 5K Output with Pro Display XDR⇢
At the risk of creating some sort of space-time-link paradox, here’s Joe Rossignol at MacRumors:
Shortly after the Pro Display XDR became available to order this week, Stephen Hackett of Relay FM noted that the iMac Pro was not included in the list of Mac models compatible with the display on Apple’s website.
Fortunately, video editor Thomas Grove Carter has since demonstrated that the iMac Pro can in fact drive the Pro Display XDR, but only at a 5K resolution. This is likely because the iMac Pro uses Intel’s older “Alpine Ridge” Thunderbolt 3 controller without enough bandwidth to drive a 6K display.
Apple and Spotify Podcasts Supported by Alexa⇢
Great news if you have an Amazon Tube Friend.
Snowflake Weather⇢
The folks at Bjango have a new iOS weather app. I was able to use it during the beta process, and I’ve been really impressed with it.
It comes with all the data you could want, laid out in a compact, clean way. It’s complete with a Today View widget and Apple Watch app, and there are a bunch of ways to customize the data the app shows on its various screens.
512 Pixels Sponsorships Open for 2020⇢
If you have a product, app or service that you want to get in front of the lovely nerds who like reading 512 Pixels, get in touch.
Connected #273: Come on, Guys, Let’s Go to the Station⇢
Stephen and Myke are joined by John Voorhees to talk about the new Mac Pro, then Federico reflects on the 5th anniversary of Shortcuts.
My thanks to our sponsors:
- Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code CONNECTED at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.
- ExpressVPN: High-Speed, Secure & Anonymous VPN Service. Get 3 months free with a 1-year package.
- Bombas: Super comfortable socks. Be a holiday gifting-ninja. Use this link for 20% off.
On Cleaning the Pro Display XDR⇢
According to an Apple support document, the Pro Display XDR with nano-texture glass must be cleaned only with the dry polishing cloth that Apple provides. No water or liquids should be used to clean the glass.
Apple warns that Pro Display XDR owners should never use any other cloths to clean the glass, and if the included dry polishing cloth is lost, Apple Support should be contacted so another cloth can be ordered. There’s no word yet on what Apple is charging for replacement cleaning cloths.
iOS, iPadOS and tvOS 13.3 Released⇢
Ryan Christoffel has details, but this is the most important thing:
When visiting Settings ⇾ General ⇾ Keyboard, at the bottom of the screen there’s now a toggle that can be used to remove Memoji stickers from the emoji keyboard altogether. Once removed, they can still be accessed from the iMessage app row that lines the top of the standard keyboard inside Messages.