As Spotify continues to inch towards a public listing, Apple is making a move of its own to step up its game in music services. Sources tell us that the company is close to acquiring Shazam, the popular app that lets people identify any song, TV show, film or advert in seconds, by listening to an audio clip or (in the case of, say, an ad) a visual fragment, and then takes you to content relevant to that search.
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Video: What’s in my Tech Bag⇢
As nerds, we are picky about the tools that we use, and that includes what we use to work on the go. Here’s what I have in my tech bag:
Zero-day iOS HomeKit Vulnerability Discovered, Patch Coming Next Week⇢
A HomeKit vulnerability in the current version of iOS 11.2 has been demonstrated to 9to5Mac that allows unauthorized control of accessories including smart locks and garage door openers. Our understanding is Apple has rolled out a server-side fix that now prevent unauthorized access from occurring while limiting some functionality, and an update to iOS 11.2 coming next week will restore that full functionality.
The hits just keep coming.
Become a Member and Support 512 Pixels⇢
If you enjoy my work at 512 Pixels, consider becoming a member to help support it. Memberships run $5.12/month or $51.20/year1 and include a monthly newsletter featuring interviews, guest posts, Apple history topics and more. Members also get to see my videos before I publish them to YouTube, one of which should be going out very soon. Thanks!
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See what I did there? I believe it was actually Viticci’s idea… ↩︎
Ungeniused #39: The Max Headroom Broadcast Signal Intrusion⇢
The story of Max Headroom spans from a science fiction character in a made-for-TV movie to the central character in an infamous TV signal hijacking in the late 1980s.
My thanks to our sponsor:
- Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code UNGENIUSED at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.
Query #19: My Existing Best Friend⇢
Editing video on iOS is easier than ever, but what apps are worth checking out, and how does GPS work when taking a photo or video in airplane mode? What’s the focal length of the iPhone cameras? All that, plus a look at uses for older Macs
Apple Posts macOS High Sierra 10.13.2
The update’s release notes indicate that this version:
- Improves compatibility with certain third-party USB audio devices
- Improves VoiceOver navigation when viewing PDF documents in Preview
- Improves compatibility of Braille displays with Mail
It can downloaded now via the Mac App Store, and should be available as a standalone installer soon.
Amazon Prime Video Ships for Apple TV
Months after it was initially announced, the Amazon Prime Video is now available for the Apple TV.
The app comes with many of the features of the iOS version, including X-Ray, which provides additional information on actors and trivia based on scenes. Watch lists created on other versions of the app sync to the Apple TV one, and content within Amazon’s ecosystem is exposed to tvOS’ universal search.
There’s no word if this means Amazon will be selling the Apple TV on its store again, but this news comes as the rift between Google and Amazon grows. Amazon seems to love getting into fights with competitors.
Liftoff #61: Sleepover in Space⇢
This fortnight on my space podcast with Jason Snell:
Elon Musk has been tweeting about payloads and Rocket Lab prepares for another launch. That, and Gemini 6, 7, 8 and 9.
My thanks to our sponsors:
- Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code LIFTOFF at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.
- Eero: Never think about WiFi again. Use code LIFTOFF for free overnight shipping.
Connected #171: Leave it to Stephen⇢
On today’s episode of Connected:
Apple’s had a rough week, Myke’s office is full of assistants and Federico is back with a new task manager and an iPhone X review.
MarsEdit 4 Launches⇢
I use Daniel Jalkut’s MarsEdit everyday to publish articles, update pages and fix typos here on 512 Pixels. It’s the best WordPress client I’ve ever used, including the WordPress web dashboard.
Version 4 comes with an updated design that looks much more at home in our post-Yosemite world. WordPress users can now set the featured image for posts, set the Post Format and change the author of published posts. The app can now download the entire history of published posts and pages locally and preview Markdown, MultiMarkdown and “Convert Line Breaks” content before publishing.
Kbase Article of the Week: Mac OS X v10.6, 10.6.1: Active Directory User May Not be Able to Log In⇢
Even our beloved Snow Leopard had issues:
An Active Directory user may not be able to log in to Mac OS X v10.6.0 or Mac OS X v10.6.1 client. This can happen when the Active Directory connector in Directory Utility is configured to “Create mobile account at login,” and a Home folder is specified in Active Directory for the user.
The fix? Waiting around for Mac OS X 10.6.2.