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The Lost Promise of Siri⇢
It seems to me that Apple has wasted its lead with Siri. And now Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, and others are on the march. Apple has made excited announcements each time it added knowledge domains like sports and movies and restaurants to Siri on the iPhone. But it seems like it hasn’t added any major new topic domains in quite a while.
Ungeniused #10: The 1904 Summer Olympics⇢
This week’s Ungeniused is full of WTF:
The Games of the III Olympiad are marred by exploitation, experimentation and a near-deadly marathon.
Liftoff #31: Imagine If This All Works⇢
This fortnight on Liftoff, Jason Snell and I talk about Elon Musk’s train to Mars.
Thanks to our sponsor this week:
- Luminos: A fantastic astronomy app, 10 years in the making! Now with an Apple Watch app for skygazing!
Add ‘Hey Siri’ to macOS⇢
macOS Sierra doesn’t ship with the AHOY TELEPHONE feature that allows users to start a conversation with Siri. I’m not sure why Apple didn’t include it, but there’s a clever way to fake it.
Dropbox for iOS Gets Big Update⇢
This morning, Dropbox announced big changes for its iOS app.
Improvements include the ability to sign PDFs, share files with other via a new Messages app, Picture in Picture support, a lock screen widget and more.
As someone who uses Dropbox as their filing system, I’m happy with these updates. There’s just one pain point left:
And in the coming weeks, we’ll be launching split-screen support that lets you work seamlessly within Dropbox and other apps at the same time—without having to toggle back and forth.
Connected #112: Make a Little Friendship⇢
The Connected trio tackle iCloud storage limitations, iPhone reviews and changes made to some big iOS apps.
My thanks to our sponsor:
- Pearl RearVision: The wireless backup camera redefined.
Kbase Article of the Week: About Touch ID security on iPhone and iPad⇢
I can’t wait until this article talks about the Mac as well.
Apple Responds to Dash Removal Story⇢
Jim Dalrymple at the Loop, following-up on the controversy surrounding Dash:
Apple’s anti-fraud team has apparently been working with the developer for some time to stop fraudulent positive reviews, and negative reviews on competitors accounts. According to Apple, all attempts to work with the developer have failed, resulting in the account being terminated.
“Almost 1,000 fraudulent reviews were detected across two accounts and 25 apps for this developer so we removed their apps and accounts from the App Store,” Apple spokesperson, Tom Newmayr, said in a statement provided to The Loop on Monday. “Warning was given in advance of the termination and attempts were made to resolve the issue with the developer but they were unsuccessful. We will terminate developer accounts for ratings and review fraud, including actions designed to hurt other developers. This is a responsibility that we take very seriously, on behalf of all of our customers and developers.”
Computer from the Future⇢
In many ways, the iPhone 7 feels like a portable computer from the future – only in a tangible, practical way that is here with us today.
Xserves Still in Use⇢
Apple put the final nail in the Xserve’s coffin in January 2011 when it officially stopped selling rack-mounted servers. Instead, the company started pushing server customers toward Mac Pros and Minis. On Sept. 20 of this year, Apple lowered that coffin into the ground when macOS Sierra dropped software support for the systems. And while Xserves running El Capitan will keep getting security updates for a couple of years and the current build of the macOS Server software still runs on El Capitan, the hardware will soon be completely buried.
Replacement Samsung Note 7s Catching Fire⇢
If you own a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 you should immediately stop using it and return it for a refund — all the major US carriers will exchange the phone, regardless of purchase date. We don’t know why Samsung hasn’t been more forthcoming about what’s going on with these replacement devices, but it doesn’t really matter. Until we get more information, the simplest explanation is the best one: The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is a fundamentally defective product and it should be pulled from the market without delay.