Category Archives: OS Software

Apple, Apps, Cutting Edge, D.I.Y., iOS 15, macOS 12 Monterey, OS Software

iPadOS 15 Preview: Get Ready for AI and Machine Learning that will Blow You Away

Video

Boring? Are you kidding me? Time to look under the hood…

Somewhere in the land of media herding there was a familiar refrain. iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 are “boring”. Apparently the idea behind this is that there is no single feature that changes the entire experience of the iPhone or iPad – no “killer app” or killer upgrade.

The “boring” crowd have focused on things like “you can banish your ex from memories in iOS 15”. I saw a slew of articles with a variation on that title.

The biggest problem with the attitude, which must have been initiated by someone that has not really been hands on with any of the new iOS software (which is still in non-public beta only) is that it’s not true. (A public beta is expected in July but it is not recommended unless you are a developer testing on “non-critical” devices).)

Why? Because there are so many killer upgrades that it’s overwhelming, basically due to the avalanche of amazing new features and improvements. This article will attempt to give an illustration of that by focusing on only one feature inside one built-in app: Memories inside of the Photos app.

First a short digression. We have been testing on several devices including a MacBook Pro 15” from 2017, an original 1st generation iPad Pro (2015) and an iPhone XS Max from 2018. None of these machines have the new Apple Silicon chips and for that reason they are only able to produce the upgraded features that don’t require it.

That makes the improvements that are possible without buying any new hardware even more amazing. Stunningly, of the three devices we upgraded the MacBook Pro was the most stable right out of the gate. Any beta software will have bugs, glitches and sometimes crash but that does not prevent one from testing out features that are new.

The iPad pro, in a non-technical observation almost appears as if the screen resolution has been increased, obviously not possible but, as you will read below, could be part of a stunning emphasis on increased beauty, sensuality and luxurious feel in the new suite of OSs.

Memory movies on iPad OS15 are an amazing example of how AI and machine learning are evolving

For those not familiar with “Memories” they are auto-generated film clips that can be found in the “For You” tab in your photos app on iPhone and iPad. While you are sleeping this feature scans everything in your photos library and uses artificial intelligence, machine learning and neural networks to choose and edit the clips, as the name says, for you.

One not confirmed but almost certain technical backdrop to this is that the learning is improving even between updates to the OS. Not only that but all Apple devices on earth are “cooperating” to help each other learn. That’s a powerful force that spreads across over 1.65 billion devices.

This feature was added in iOS 12 but started to function in iOS 14 on a much higher level. If you had tested and used the feature over the last few years as we have you’d have noticed that the ability of the AI to “see” and select photos and videos to include was limited and, at times, comical. Not any more.

Much of the data that clues the software in as to what photos belong together is from the embedded meta data. The date, time and location information helps to tell the AI that you took a group of images or videos on a day in a particular location.

The difference in iPad OS15 (iPhone too, of course) is that the more difficult to accomplish tasks, such as recognizing the subjective quality of one photo verses another (humans often take several photos of the same scene to try to capture the best out of a bunch). Or, more importantly, who and what are the subject of a photo.

All of this began to get interesting in iPad OS 14 and many groups of photos and videos were already being chosen, edited and enhanced by the software to a level that was fairly impressive.

AI and aesthetics collide and the result is a Joy to witness

Something that is starting to become a thread and a definitive direction that Apple is taking, particularly with the iPad Pro series, is, true to the name, a Pro level of visual production and manipulation throughout the OS.

Center Stage, for example and many other video and photo related upgrades were some of the big features in the newest generation of iPad Pro. Those are great, but require a new iPad along with the OS upgrade.

When it comes to the memory movie clips what we found is that even on the oldest iPad Pro from 2015 the evolution of the software due to the constant learning by the AI is already taking a huge step forward doing all the things that it was already doing only much better.

Apple’s upgrade took that and give it an additional kick up a notch with somewhat that the company is known for: good taste.

What has changed specifically?

In iPad and iPhone OS 14 there were a few things that felt awkward in the way movies were created. The biggest shortfall was in the softwares ability to deal with various aspect ratios.

These days when we shoot photos and videos with an iPhone it is tempting and, at times, wonderful to use the vertical orientation. Other times, for landscapes and other scenes we might prefer a traditional film aspect or even use the panorama feature to get an ultra-wide screen “cinema-scope” style.

Until now this was dealt with very poorly by the software. Mostly the photos would constantly zoom in (the so called “Ken Burns” effect) and if shown without zooming in a vertical portrait shot would have ugly side bars (like a vertical letterbox effect).

The zooming and most of the effects in general destroyed the resolution and therefore the quality of many photos by enlarging them and adding the effects.

Additionally the effects that were added, while cute and fun, were not much more than a way to add fun and not what would likely be used by a human editor. All of this and more made for a kind of novelty feel to the whole process that was nice to have, but many never even bothered to look at the movies that software created for them.

That’s about to be over.

A whole new array of options for the AI to use while trying to entertain

In iPad OS 15, as can be seen on the photos and videos in this article, the ways that the software solves the aspect ratio issue as described above is genius and, dare I say it, beautiful.

In a collaboration between the AI and the software itself it now has a new bag of tricks to use and, boy, does it work. One feature that is fantastic is the letterbox generator for any wide screen photos in any aspect ratio.

How this works is that it takes the iPad aspect ratio and then uses the photo in it original at 100% full resolution and then adds a letterbox. But this is not the usual plain black bars we are all familiar with – the software and AI are able to see and analyze the photo and create a custom gradient letterbox that can be any shade or color.

Photos in clip above courtesy of The 2021 International Portrait Photographer of the Year
Copyright © 2021. www.internationalportraitphotographer.com

The effect is often astoundingly tasteful and often makes the original photo look even better. We tested it on award winning photos (video above) and the result is, basically art. Also on our own “nice” photos, chosen 100% by the AI and software, look amazing also.

Actually, all the photos and videos in the clips generated from the library look much better than I had remembered. That turns out to be because the software and AI now do automated color grading on all the photos and videos in all the generated memories !

Color grading also known as color correction, especially for video, has traditionally required an expensive expert and high end software (and hardware) to enhance and color match various photos and clips, that have often been taken at different times and places, where lighting conditions vary and sometimes were shot with different camera.

AI and machine learning software on iPad OS15 (and iOS 15) now has a virtual colorist actively adjusting your shots and enhancing and color matching them while you sleep. That is basically insane. That’s probably why it appeared that the photos and even the iPad itself had been upgraded.

Ok, I could go on and on about that one feature, but let’s move to some more features. There are also new effects that are added that vary with each memory (there are a lot more clips being generated, including various versions of the same idea to choose from).

In the experiments so far the effects are clearly better and more subtle than in iOS 14. Again in many cases I found myself saying the word “beautiful” when I tried find an adjective to describe the results.

For shots that have a vertical bias there’s a vertical geometric split screen effect, often with a thin black border, and it has a kind of 60’s on steroids feel with the bars sliding in and out and resizing into place.

Another effect not seen in iOS 14 is a kind of circular rotation – great for landscapes – it’s not a common effect probably because it is computationally complex, but for the AI, it’s a snap. Sometimes this effect has a kind of blur-dissolve added which makes it fun and, again, still tasteful.

It appears that the effects are not only better and there’s a larger bag of them, but they appear to evolve and adapt to the content, that is to say that the speed and depth of each changes with the music combined with the photo and video content.

Oh, and the music. OMG. Each clip has 6 songs pre-selected and the entire clip adapts, in real time (!), when you change the song, showing you various styles and looks that match. Apparently Apple Music is also connected if you have a subscription.

As a mater of fact, it is hard to be certain, as we have not had more than a few hours to test this, but nearly everything appears to be “live” and constantly evolving in real time. In order to “freeze” a version of a memory you have to “favorite” it (with the typical heart symbol) and then “add to memories” in order to edit (change the names or choose more images – or remove anything if it is not to your liking).

There is so much more not yet mentioned here: this article could probably be a book

The AI is also getting creative with names and “concepts” for the clips. For example, if you had lunch (or took photos) over the years in the same city (for me it was Knoxville, TN) it might look at the coincidence that you tended to take photos around midday in that town and then create a memory clip called “Lunch in Knoxville over the Years”. Or for example the clip at the head of this article: “Golden Hour Over The Years”.

This is an early and primitive foretaste of the literary ambitions of AI. In the new Photos App in iOS 15 it is beginning to “think” about when, where and why humans take photos and videos and then conceiving a story that fits the behavior it is witnessing.

Other titles go beyond the basic “Amsterdam in 2016” and start to use the understanding and visual ability to “see” what is in the photo to create a clip like : “Playing in the Snow at Christmas”. Snow? Does it know it’s cold? Maybe just that it’s white and happens in the northern hemisphere in December. This is just the very beginning of something that will evolve, hourly, from now on. I can’t wait.

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Apple’s free upgrades are Inviting you into the Metaverse: iOS15 – macOS Monterey & iPadOS15

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Above:Photo Credit – Apple / Lynxotic

Sci-fi sounding, inevitable upgrade for today’s online communications

You might have heard lately about the “metaverse” and yet that can mean a variety of different things to different people. Often, it’s a term that relates back to gaming and 3D augmented reality enhancements of networked communications.

There are even crypto and blockchain related projects using this term and concept. While all of these various factors are welcome, and potentially part of this next phase of convergence of communication via networked technology, there’s something else happening under the surface.

”The pandemic, with its requirements of physical distancing, has brought people into online digital environments for a growing range of shared human experiences.” — Wired UK from “The Metaverse is coming” by David Baszucki

The acceleration in AI application, machine learning, and converging use cases for all communications tech has created a situation where the entry-portal to the emerging metaverse is already here.

One often overlooked aspect of a transition to a more complete digital life is the need for humans to have adapted to the need and potential benefits of the idea. This is what is happening via many routes, including Apple and the constant synergistic upgrade cycles that have just gone into a new, bigger phase with the migration to a unified OS structure built around Apple Silicon.

The gradual increases in iOS functionality and user sophistication are changing how we interact

iOS15, previewed this week at the WWDC2021 is rolling out literally dozens of new features, many based on machine learning, neural networks and AI that propose a new level of highly sophisticated options to communicate with video, photos and text.

While this mixture of “basic” media has been the staple of our current modes of online communication, particularly via social media, the incredibly increased depth of new options and functionality of iOS15 and iPadOS15 and MacOS Monterey will make all modes of communication feel completely new.

In the evolution of online media and enriched communication (OMEC to coin an 80s sounding acronym) the slow and uneven progress is based on many factors. #1 is always user adoption and sophistication.

Second is the quality of the hardware devices and software upgrades each user around the world has access to. In the case of iOS (iPad, iPhone & macOS) the immediate adoption of upgrades is a large factor on the plus side, helping new innovation to arrive in general use more quickly.

The last factor, a huge one, is access to fast ubiquitous internet data connections, and, in the US at least, this is less consistent than ever (or our expectations are rising faster than the build out).

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However, particularly in Asia, 5g is beginning to make a dent. Satellite broadband, like Starlink, should also start to be a factor as early as 2022. Government infrastructure build-out funding and subsidies in the US is on the way in 2021.

Augmented 3D features are still growing but will merge with 2D

The upshot of this topic is that “2D” factors and increasingly sophisticated manipulation and interactive features that are already coming in iOS15 will bring us all closer the entry-portal stone-age version of the metaverse.

We all depend more and more on communications and using our devices – work from home, personal, business and hybrid activities (such as the emerging content creator class). Often, as a result, we have fewer options to go offline for “organic” RL (real life) interactions.

The increasingly sophisticated capabilities available are beginning to make even face to face communications, particularly in work situations, feel “un-enhanced” as we become accustomed to and dependent on the digital enhancements and potential of a full media rich interaction.

This is an example, one could say, of the subtle encroachment of the emerging metaverse onto the “real world” and how the boundaries are blurring and even beginning to disappear.

Rather than a sudden “jump” into a metaverse, similar to the cliché sci-fi plots from films like “Ready Player 1”, what is happening is a nearly imperceptible transition to metaverse-like experiences that will become commonplace, initially in a primitive form, and then eventually become the norm. Similar to the proverbial Frog in pot, with warm water temperatures that increase so slowly that the Frog doesn’t even notice, until it finds that it is swimming in pot that is already boiling.

The misconception that a “killer app” or sudden shift into an online, virtual reality world, is the future, and that a big leap will happen nearly all at once, is harmlessly superimposed on the real transition that has already begun.

When Apple’s 2007 launch of the iPhone changed communication forever: the journey began

The new “Digital Legacy Program”, also announced at WWDC2021, is another hint that we are already living in an extremely primitive version of the metaverse. Our online identity, data, and even behaviors and experiences are so essential and all pervasive that it has become necessary to keep a digital key to access the huge trove of personal data we will leave behind to pass on to our living loved ones, after we are gone.

The metaverse, that means, is not only creating a parallel digital universe for us to live in, in an ever more complete and sophisticated way, but we are also already setting up the eternal storage of our virtual life experiences to be passed down to future generations.

Though nearly invisible while in such a relatively primitive iteration, the concept, an example of overlapping advancements in innovation, is a tiny step towards digital immortality.

The metaverse could help to save us all

It’s not just professional and work related communication that relates to the gradual increase in the depth of networked communication options, but, even more so, casual and leisure communication and interaction is key.

TikTok and other video communication trends are at the forefront of of user evolution and metaverse activity expansion. When people feel motivated to find new and better ways to communicate using richer media and augmented techniques for fun, and to gain more recognition in online societies, that advances digital sophistication.

This process of the evolution of user comfort and sophistication, while existing and interacting in the metaverse, is the fastest way for the augmentation to become more effective.

There’s a mostly unseen benefit and need for this, otherwise seemingly pointless, global development

The challenges that the world faces, encroaching, devastating fallout from global warming and excess carbon in the atmosphere, political corruption and inequality, disinformation and cybercrime, and so on.

Ultimately, unlike at any time in human history, we are facing a challenge. The survival of our species and even the planet are at stake.

In the years and decades to come it will become more and more obvious that there are only two paths possible. One path toward a kind of Utopia, or another one that will lead, inexorably to Oblivion.

Though the metaverse is scary in many ways, and does not always appear as a way to a better life, augmented and enhanced communication is one of the most desperately needed ways that solutions could eventually be discovered and implemented.

And that would put this progression and evolution of tech more in service of Utopia, and could be at the heart of a rescue plan to prevent Oblivion, before it’s too late.

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/videos/universal-control/Apple-Universal-Control-cc-us-_1280x720h.mp4
Above: Craig Federighi Demo Video at WWDC 2021

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Accessories, AI, Apple, Apple Services, Apple TV+, Apple Watch, Breaking News, FaceTime, iOS 15, iPad, iPhone, Mac, macOS 12 Monterey, OS Software, Tech, WWDC2021

iOS 15: It’s not just about the new Weather Animations, there’s a lot more

Video

For what seems like a long time many of us have been living inside our iPhone, immersed in a metaverse of our digital lives.

And the deeper into Apple’s walled garden we are submerged, the more monumental the yearly OS upgrades become. That’s because, when you are in a digital life, we’ll, lots of things are worse than the “real” world. The sensual experience is built of fractions of the full sensory bandwidth of life.

But there’s one thing about the metaverse, the fact that, since it’s artificial and human engineered, it can, and does, improve.

In the case of Apple’s universe, the yearly upgrades and constant, sometimes nearly imperceptible changes in a thousand different parameters add together, over time, and suddenly, the world comes alive with vibrant, super sensual satisfaction …

Sure, the weather animations just got sent to a 3rd convolution level of better-ness, that’s true. But add this to all the thousands of better feelings and deeper interactions with yourself and the spirit of ourselves, and you will find: the future

Photo credit: Apple

WWDC 2021 was a pure upgrade fest with a lot of detail to sift through

We are in the middle of our ongoing coverage of the Apple event and all that was revealed. There are so many features and so many important details and interdependent uses for this features that it can be more easily digested in bites.

What we are witnessing is the growing interdependence and interoperability of iOS 15, iPad OS 15 and macOS 12 Monterey, particularly with the built in apple apps they all have built in.

Safari, though still with slight variations between the three OSs, is becoming more powerful everywhere, FaceTime got a huge upgrade in the new systems, and utilities connected to iCloud such as the Find My network are also extensively revamped.

While some find the sheer width and breath of Apple’s hardware, software and services conceptually off-putting, it is, at this early stage of the monumental changes that are being wrought by Apple Silicon, a wonder to behold how all the various products and underlying software for those products is evolving in a way that is constant and deep.

As put forth in articles published by Lynxotic years ago the changes that are underway are vast and were conceived and put into motion based on Steve Jobs’ core concepts for the future of Apple many years ago. And Tim Cook and the rest of Apple have not deviated from that vision, in fact are reaping benefits on behalf of users that could barely be imagined a decade ago.

One bite we’ve started to delve into is the dual and interdependent features from macOS Monterey; Airplay to Mac and Universal control. It turns out that compete interoperability for Airplay to Mac is still in the future, the list of the various models and vintages that it functions on is as follows:

  • 2018 or later MacBook Pro or MacBook Air
  • a 2019 or later iMac or Mac Pro
  • an iMac Pro
  • the 2020 Mac mini

As you can see this is a fairly exclusive list. What is most conspicuously missing is the possibility to use and older mac, such as a 2018 27” 5k iMac to take advantage of the beautiful screen.

Universal Control, meanwhile appears to work with most devices that run on iPadOS 15 and macOS Monterey. It allows you to a single mouse and keyboard and flow from ‌iPad‌ to Mac and back, pretty much as you would imagine using the cursor and keyboard for either, and, thankfully there is no setup required.

FaceTime just got a Facelift

FaceTime’s big jump ahead is somewhat more complex since the iPhone, iPad (various models of both) and the mac each have a UX and screen size that varies, as well as different computing advantages. One interesting note on the various technical enhancements, pretty much across the board from what was announced at WWDC 2021, M1 chips and Apple Silicon based devices get the biggest boost from all the new capabilities.

Rather than being a marketing ploy, at least so far there’s no evidence of that kind of approach, this is an organic by product of the underlying “big picture” goal – to unify the experience and potential of the three device categories even as they cross pollinate one-another.

All the various, and gradually hard to list, OS flavors, macOS 12 Monterey, iOS 15, iPadOS 15, tvOS 15, watchOS 8 and all the various accessories that benefit from the upgrades such as AirPods pro spatial audio, HomePod mini liaison with Apple TV 4k and tvOS 15, as well as SharePlay where FaceTime can allow multiple users to share streaming audio or video content for a synchronized experience.

Please stay tuned for the many articles to come that will further dive into the changes and improvements that are on the way, free of charge, for Apple users with this massive roll-out that will culminate in fall 2021.

As per Apple:

Redesigned Weather and Notes Apps

Weather includes more graphical displays of weather data, full-screen maps, and dynamic layouts that change based on conditions. Beautifully redesigned animated backgrounds more accurately reflect the sun’s position and precipitation, and notifications highlight when rain or snow starts and stops. Video animation below:

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/videos/apple-iphone12pro-ios15-weather-app/large_2x.mp4

Notes adds user-created tags that make it easy to quickly categorize notes, and mentions allow members of shared notes to notify one another of important updates. An all-new Activity view shows the recent history of a shared note.

Notes adds user-created tags that make it easy to quickly categorize notes in line with relevant content:

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Apple, Apple Services, iOS 15, iPad, iPhone, Mac, macOS 12 Monterey, OS Software, WWDC2021

New iPhone Separation Alerts will warn you if you’re about to lose your AirPods Pro

Above: Photo Credit / Apple

This is a feel-good story if it works and then it’s Hallelujah!

Ok, other than to be a benign stalker or to monitor your girlfriends actual ETA, do you even use the Apple “Find My” network? Were you aware that it applies to people, devices and now “items” using air tags? And that you can also find yourself, in case you don’t know where you are?

Well, all that has been expanded into a new realm, at least for those that want to hang onto expensive audio gadgets as long as possible. You guessed it, Apple has now added AirPods Pro and AirPods Max to the devices list.

This was announced at WWDC2021 but it is not, I repeat, not, something that you need to wait for a software upgrade to make use of. It’s live now if you have iOS 14.

Above: Photo Credit / Apple

Why the jubilation? I think because so many of us suffer from extended anxiety, even early symptoms of PTSD from the thought of losing those $250 or yikes(!) $549 babies.

Losing both or even one of these could be a life changing event, triggering depression and doubt and sadness. And Apple appears to understand this, indeed, they assure us that, not only is the Find My network supposed to geolocate your AirPods, they even have a new feature called “Separation Alerts”.

They specifically describe this feature thusly: “Separation Alerts notify a user if they leave an AirTag, Apple device, or Find My network accessory behind in an unfamiliar location…”

“Separation Alerts”, admittedly, sounds like a term for childhood trauma but, again, if you walk out of a Starbucks on 5th Ave. in NYC and you get a notification that you are sans your AirPod Pros, hallelujah, all is not lost, instead, you are running back in to grab those babies, STAT! (From the Latin word statim, meaning “immediately.”)

These subtle, free and unheralded improvements are seemingly the wave of the future, if you are an inhabitant of the Apple ecosystem, which is on the verge of turning into a kind of pre-metaverse training ground for future digital life pioneers.

Hardware Schwardware updates, who needs ’em?

WWDC2021 was, perhaps cleverly, devoid of hardware news or release announcements. This trick worked like a charm. Various top and sub-top media outlets spent the weeks ahead of the show and keynote, touting leaks, speculation and sources regarding, mostly, what turned out to be non-existent hardware updates.

Those will no doubt still be forthcoming, just not at the WWDC2021 keynote, as that ship has sailed.

Instead, and this is a good thing, we can all begin the journey to learn more about what is in store for the annual pilgrimage to the next generation of software enhancements for the Apple ecosystem, meaning macOS 12 Monterey, iOS 15, iPadOS 15 and all the rest too numerous to name here.

See our latest posts from the show for more details.

As per Apple release:

”Find My introduces new capabilities to help locate a device that has been turned off or erased, as well as live-streaming locations for family and friends who choose to share their location. Separation Alerts notify a user if they leave an AirTag, Apple device, or Find My network accessory behind in an unfamiliar location, and the Find My network now supports AirPods Pro and AirPods Max. A new Find My widget offers an at-a-glance view directly from the Home Screen.”

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Apple, FaceTime, iOS 15, OS Software, WWDC2021

FaceTime gets Portrait Mode in iOS 15 to give the look of DSLR prime lens systems

Video

The “Pro-Vlogger” look popularized on YouTube now available to all…

Above: The stunning Portrait mode from the Camera app is now optimized for video calls in FaceTime.
Photo Credit / Apple

If you are a prolific FaceTime user or if you don’t use it as much as you would if the aesthetics were a bit better (read: more flattering selfie styles) you are in luck. In a twist which takes advantage of tech that was initially created to make portrait mode a reality in the iPhone camera app is now coming to FaceTime on iPhone and also on iPad.

The maturation of features across platforms is paying big dividends

Portrait mode was added to the camera app as a way to get a DSLR style “prime lens” look with “bokeh” which is a Japanese term for the beautiful background out of focus blur that a long lens focused on the subject in the foreground will produce.

The computational fireworks required to produce this effect are nothing short of…. well check out Apple’s description:

” It’s a depth-guided, people-focused segmentation mask generated from a proprietary Apple neural network trained to detect people. It separates an individual in the foreground from whatever is in the background, with greater detail and clarity than with the depth map alone. It achieves this clarity in part because the matte image has higher resolution than the depth map.”


So this effect, which has been in the iPhone camera app since iOS 12 is now, likely due to the ever beefier potentials of the proprietary Apple neural network can now, starting with iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 be applied to video. Live.

New features in FaceTime help users look and sound their best. – credit: Apple

This, like so many other upgrades revealed today at the WWDC2021, is a great idea. High end YouTube videographers know it’s a great idea which is why they buy special DSLR camera with prime lenses just to get the very beautiful and flattering effect of a sharp subject in the foreground and a compressed, blurred “bokeh” effect in the background.

New features in FaceTime help users look and sound their best.

Not only visual but also audio upgrades are coming

They are also adding another obviously useful feature “spatial audio”, which creates the effect of having the perceived source location of each speaker match where they appear on the screen.

This is combined with “new microphone modes” which can reduce background noises and audio interference when in a chaotic sound environment and, alternatively when appropriate pickup an entire soundscape all at once.

All in all these improvements to both the visual experience, and the audio are a much needed change from the often ugly reality of bad-webcam zoom style meetings we all endured during 2020.

And with the front facing camera, lighting and software beautifications constantly getting better, we can, at least those with great internet and high end devices, look forward to a much more sensually pleasing level of FaceTime interactions.

Additional new upgraded features for FaceTime include, but are not limited to:

A new grid view that makes it possible to do a “zoom” like stack of equal size boxes.

SharePlay which is a somewhat odd sounding option to share “Apple Music, watching a TV show or movie in sync, or sharing their screen to view apps together”. Additionally, sharing can include anyone using an iPhone, iPad or Mac and if shared playback controls are active any of the parties that are sharing can play, pause or jump ahead.

Users can now share experiences with SharePlay while connecting with friends on FaceTime, including listening to songs together with Apple Music, watching a TV show or movie in sync, or sharing their screen to view apps together. SharePlay works across iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and with shared playback controls, anyone in a SharePlay session can play, pause, or jump ahead.

There’s an expanding list of sources that can be used, including, of course, Apple TV, but also third party services that opt in, and currently, according to Apple the list already includes: Disney+, ESPN+, HBO Max, Hulu, MasterClass, Paramount+, Pluto TV, TikTok, Twitch, and many others

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/videos/apple-ios15-shareplay-music/large_2x.mp4

FaceTime calls that use all of these new features will continue to be end-to-end encrypted, so privacy is not compromised.

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The Hit of WWDC2021 is the combo of AirPlay to Mac and Universal Control

Video
credit: Apple

Allow me to explain, it’s better than it sounds…

Among the avalanche of new features and upgrades to iOS, iPadOS and most of all macOS 12 Monterey, there were two that were like a dream come true for anyone who has used AirPlay with AppleTv or “SideCar”, which originally came to the mac with macOS Catalina, and wished for one bold step further.

In an office environment, like our newsroom, being able to beam an iPad or mac on to a large conference style TV is great, but springing for the $ it takes to get a high resolution computer monitor large enough for group viewing is not such a great treat.

A fantastic compromise, one that many have wished for but never seen is the new option cogently called “AirPlay to Mac” which, just as the name implies, allows you to bean your phone or iPad (or I presume one mac to another) for paired or group viewing. (there were times when I, for one, forgot that this feature did not yet exist and tried to connect a mac screen using airPlay, to no avail).

AirPlay brings the Mac to life in all-new ways.

Even with tiny bugs that might arise at first when trying to get multiple macs to act as screens for a single source, once this is mature it should revolutionize meeting of small groups of colleagues all armed with trusty macs but wanting to do a group think and discussion session. (At a digital publisher meeting, like at Lynxotic, we might be looking at analytics data for the past week and all want to see the same data across all screens, for example.

Oh, and did I forget to mention that sound, just as in “regular” AirPlay, is included in the bargain. So even if it’s audio only that you want to share (like force feeding colleagues your favorite song) that is going to sound great on built in iMac speakers etc.

This seems instantly like something that is so obvious and intuitive that it could be one of those things, like AirPlay itself, that once entrenched and bug free, would be hard to live without.

Apple’s marketing copy:

“With AirPlay to Mac, users can play, present, and share just about anything — from the latest movies and games to vacation photos and presentations — from their iPhone or iPad right to their Mac’s stunning Retina display. The Mac’s high-fidelity sound system can also be used as an AirPlay speaker, so users can play music or podcasts on their Mac, or use their Mac as a secondary speaker for multi-room audio.”

Universal control, which sounds somehow ominous is, hopefully, just a simple way to more easily migrate live from device to device (of the same owner)

Though the mechanics of this feature were not explained in detail at the Keynote for WWDC2021, this is another feature that seems mind-bendingly obvious as a boon for any Apple device power user, it also seems strange that it did’t exist all along.

As shown with one example in the video below, it involves having a single mouse or trackpad control multiple devices. Or the same set up for a keyboard, or both. While there are some unanswered questions – such as would the keyboard designated as being the one to “universally control” another device automatically turn off the control on the remote devices native keyboard?

Perhaps this is a naive question since it appears that it is presumed that any device being universally controlled is owned and being used by a single human.

In one way this seems to have the best use when using, say, an iPad pro for a drawing task and then moving across to the mac to process the drawing in photoshop, illustrator etc. Honestly, sometimes it’s interesting to see each device as connected to a “chair mode” – iPad for a chaise lounge, iMac or MacMini for an office chair, iPhone or iPad mini for freedom from any chair, and switching from the more human-centric modes (chaise lounge) to get down to serious business on the biggest baddest screen and most powerful CPU seems like a utopian dream, with this feature activated and working without a glitch.

The ways this could be integrated into a workflow, and the permutations of how this could be useful, seem infinite, assuming it operates anywhere near as seamlessly as in the demonstration by Craig Federighi in the video. Being able to drag and drop, as he did, across three (3!) separate devices at will is pretty incredible, if not only for its simplicity and elegance.

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/videos/universal-control/Apple-Universal-Control-cc-us-_1280x720h.mp4

As per Apple: “Universal Control lets users work more seamlessly across their Mac and iPad. Working across Apple devices is now better than ever with new Continuity features:

Universal Control lets users work with a single mouse and keyboard and move between Mac and iPad for a seamless experience, with no setup required. Users can even drag and drop content back and forth between devices — great for sketching a drawing with Apple Pencil on iPad and placing it into a Keynote slide on the Mac.

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Accessories, Apple, Apple Watch, Lifestyle, OS Software, Tech

Apple Announces New Watch Pride Edition bands and gets Twitter Reactions Across the Board

Above: Photo Credit / Dominique Morgan/ Apple

New Braided Solo Loop & Pride Edition Nike Sport Loop announced via Apple Newsroom

Apple first launched the Apple Watch Pride Edition in 2016. The company’s unique bands have been a visible illustration of the ways in which Apple supports, and is proudly made up of members of the LGBTQ+ community. On on May 17th, 2021, the New Braided Solo Loop and announced with the subheading that it “represents the breadth of LGBTQ+ communities and experiences”.

The reactions on twitter were all over the map, to say the least. Many were sniping about the high price of the special band. Others seems to just be sniping as anti-Apple folks will do, but there were also plenty of defenders of the empire and Tim Cook himself.

Some of the criticism, sad and hilarious at the same time, was from people knocking Tim Cook as a presumably “straight-white-male” and defenders felt the need to remind them in a reply that he himself, is in fact publicly gay, giving him a different perspective on the LGBTQ+ movement and it’s importance overall.

There also seemed to be a lot of confusion over finances. The fact that there were associated donations to charities and pro-LGBTQ+ orgs seemed to be widely misunderstood or not recognized by would-be detractors. Again there were defenders who came to the aid of the reading-impaired:

https://twitter.com/Michael_Perski/status/1394555773552840707?s=20
https://twitter.com/logosaetos/status/1394870113577275393?s=20

Another aspect of the special product launch was the timing: “On International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (IDAHOBIT), Apple debuts the new Apple Watch Pride Edition band and dynamic watch face, both of which incorporate a broader set of colors inspired by multiple Pride flags that have represented the diverse LGBTQ+ community throughout its rich history.”

Apple Watch

In case the explanatory text above was not 100% clear the following is also spelled out in the Apple press release:

Apple donates all the proceeds to International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (IGLA), The Trevor Project, and LGBT+ youth charity GLSEN.

The 2021 edition of the Apple Watch Pride Edition Braided Solo Loop includes black and brown strips that symbolize Black and Latinx communities, in addition to those who have passed away from or are living with HIV/AIDS.

The light blue, pink, and white stripes represent transgender and nonbinary individuals.

Cook, who in 2014 became the first chief executive of a Fortune 500 company to publicly come out as gay, also added the following:

Black, Brown and transgender activists have always been at the heart of the LGBTQ+ movement. The new Apple Watch Pride Edition Braided Solo Loop honors their legacy and reaffirms Apple’s commitment to support the ongoing work toward equality.

Tim Cook / Twitter

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Apple, Apple Services, iPad, iPhone, Mac, OS Software, Tech

Spring Loaded Apple Event Confirmed for April 20th

Above: Apple Spring Loaded Event Poster Credit: Apple

“Loaded” is a loaded concept and let’s hope it rings true

After weeks of fits and starts, and even a bizarre siri advance confirmation leak, it’s finally official: Apple will be hosting a product reveal event on Tuesday, April 20 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time at the Steve Jobs Theater on the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California.

Naturally, as with all event scheduled this year so far this will be digital only and streamed live from various platforms including the Apple events page.

The event is expected to reveal new 2021 product updates and more, and the rumor mill has been busy so there’s a lot of potential for both news that’s been hinted at, as well as surprises. 

Highest on the list of anticipated possible reveals are; iPad Pro models, a new low-cost iPad and a new iPad mini. 

Less expected but also very much in the realm of possibility are refreshed iMacs, the endlessly rumored AirTags and more updated news on chip development as will as advance information ahead of WWDC2021 and the fall big show where typically new iPhones appear. 

Apple will be streaming live on its website and with the ‌Apple TV‌ app starting  at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time on Tuesday, April 20.

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Apple, iPad, iPhone, OS Software, Tech

Apple Announces WWDC21: iPhone, iPad and OS Updates Coming

Above: Photo / Apple

As big a splash as last year? Predictions are affirmative

Apple revealed its schedule for this year’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). To take place in an all online format on June 7th through 11th there will be a large audience due to the unlimited size of the venue (virtual) and, as was the case last year, the software and app developers event will also be an opportunity for Apple to highlight plans for new hardware designs. 

As is customary, of course, the keynote address will thoroughly update the progress on the upcoming OS versions; iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS 12, watchOS 8 and tvOS 15. Rumored expectations of hardware such as the highly anticipated iPad Pro, possibly a new MacBook Pro, new iMacs and the new Apple TV that is overdue and oft talked about. 

Any or all of these, as yet unconfirmed, predictions could be upended by a prior release date, the iPad Pro for one, is rumored to be likely to get an announcement before June.

Above: Photo / Apple

The bulk of the conference is devoted to the software and if the upgrades are anywhere near as substantive as they were in 2020 that will be a lot to dive into. 

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AI, Apple, Apps, Breaking News, Business, iPhone, OS Software, Tech

What is “Clubhouse” and Why is it The Next Big Thing in Social Media Networks?

Above: Photo Collage / Lynxotic / Adobe Stock

Getting more buzz daily and sign-ups continue to accelerate

Clubhouse is a fast growing “new” social media sensation that is growing at an amazing rate. It is also constantly morphing in an endless kaleidoscopic experience that comes from an amazing new technology: the conference call.

Exploring the paradox that having no gifs, no photos, no memes, not even a string of text is now the most added social app with the biggest buzz is as good a starting point as any.

Imagine you are unable to text, unable to send or post a photo, unable to speak unless you are called up or invited to be on on stage, need to use your real name for sign-up and must adhere to the specified topics and protocols of each room.

Read more: Mark Zuckerberg Joins ClubHouse: Crashes the App (for a short time)

Sounds restrictive right? But it is this very contrast with other forms of social media that seems, for many, liberating, even transcendent. Once you realize that you are in a room with, in some cases, 12 or so people on stage and thousands of people listening in the audience, its a bit like a panel discussion, but in a smaller rooms it’s like a small gang in Philly circled around an oil drum fire chatting (or conspiring as it were) while they rub their hands together to keep warm.

Next, imagine, in a few years, when apple’s “Animoji” capability is added, perhaps with a body, the ability to walk around with some scenic backgrounds and you have “Ready Player One” in real life.

Obviously gaming platforms approximate this but for non-gamers, as the tech sophistication advances, it becomes more viable and interesting. And it’s the enthusiasm from the public exploding for the speech only version of this that could be key in hastening the realization.

Read more: Apple CEO Tim Cook: ‘A social dilemma, cannot be allowed to become a social catastrophe’

On the other hand, clubhouse users are raving about, while others are lamenting, the intense intimacy that comes with speaking to, or sometimes whispering in, each other’s ears. The ASMR version of a conference call. With an audience.

There are also music rooms and a music mode – a higher fidelity version of a room where singing playing instruments and more is possible. The idea is to eventually do concerts (possibly paid) and even live collaborations and more.

The phenomenal nature and accelerated adoption since the launch is is perhaps just as much a reaction to the chaos and collisions that are so ubiquitous on platforms like Twitter, Instagram and others, as it is a fascination with the “new-yet-old” options enabled by the Clubhouse technology.

Users Date

1,500 May 2020

600,000 December 2020

2 million January 2021

6 million February 2021

Sources: TechCrunch, New York Times, Mashable, CNBC, Medium.

Add to all the the perfect synchronicity of the first lockdown phase of the pandemic corresponding to the initial public launch in March, 2020 and you have a historic paradigm shift that may well carry forward for years or even decades. Adaptation to new ways of communicating as a necessity and a natural next step.

Read more: The Social Dilemma 2.0: Follow the Money Edition

How to get your account set up and what’s what in the app

For a basic breakdown: the app is audio only. Once you are invited (or get on the waiting list and are let in by a sponsor) and ready to set up your account you will be prompted for the usual things, user name, real name, bio, phone number and so forth. You can also direct connect a live link Twitter and Instagram accounts, which is where the “DMs” have to happen since the app has no built in messaging.

Read more: Facebook, Google, Antitrust and the All Pervasive Underestimation of the Big Tech Threat

Once is you will see there are “rooms” and “clubs”. Rooms are always available and can be joined or created by all members. If you join a “live” room you are, as default, put into the “audience” which has two sub-sections: the “followed by the speakers” section which gives you a kind of front row seat, and the “non-followed” regular audience. The audience members have no microphone button and cannot speak without it.

To become a speaker you can click on a “hand” symbol which activates “raise your hand” allowing any “moderator” (designated with a “green bean” asterisk icon) to invite you to the “stage”, which is where the speakers reside.

The moderators do have the power to interrupt a speaker or even kick a speaker back to the audience, thereby removing any speaking privileges.

Read more: Spacex’s Starlink Broadband Speed Goal just went into the Stratosphere

The magic of the app is in this structure, clubhouse etiquette, and the ability to have multi-minds from all walks of life that, generally, choose a topic for the room and then, with the guidance of the moderators, get input from various speakers on stage.

“Clubs” are like permanent rooms that also have signed-up members (some have thousands or tens of thousands of them) and these often have scheduled sessions, weekly, daily or otherwise, in advance.

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Apple, Business, iPhone, Mac, OS Software, Tech

Apple Innovation in 2021 and Beyond

Video

Apple had a big year – but how big will first become apparent in 2021…

By now, it is not unexpected for the latest iteration of the iPhone, iPhone 12 in this case, to do well and even best the competition across the board in any given year. While it is nearly an automatic ritual that doubt will be cast, and the demise or at least diminution of the iPhone and Apple are predicted, nearly every year the opposite in the case.

Read More: Apple 32-core M1X chips for Mac Pro are just the tip of the tip of a very important iceberg…

This year was different. There was plenty of doubt – but the surprise announcement of the M series of chips for mac and the even more surprising benchmarks and performance improvements pretty much obliterated the doubters. 

Not only that, but a layer beneath that headline news was a secondary layer of innovation and areas where long planned improvements came to fruition.

The first steps into a massive multi-year system software transition, one that will eventually merge the mobile operating systems of the iPhone, iPad, Apple watch, etc with the mac, moved seemingly ahead of schedule, with the huge improvements in iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur.

And all the various services such as Apple TV+ and many other offerings made huge strides as well. 

As a matter of fact, a list of all the upgrades, added features and new services and products would be so long and varied that the transcription is beyond the reach of a simple article such as this one. 

However, that alone is not where some of the biggest changes and most surprising evolutions have occurred. The real “action” so to speak is in the integration and unexpected by-products of the merging and deepening of all the new features and settings. 

Take for example the macs that feature the M1 chip. It is not the chip itself, not even the new operating system that has the most impact on the performance or usability of the machines. 

It is the integrated functionality of the various elements of the chips – Apple M1,  the first ARM-based system on a chip – composed of several different components including the CPU, GPU, unified memory architecture (RAM), Neural Engine, Secure Enclave, SSD controller, image signal processor, encode/decode engines, Thunderbolt controller with USB 4 support, all of which are made more powerful by the continuously upgraded software system.

This – a kind of invisible interactive and synergistic ecosystem – not only has at it’s heart the “whole widget” philosophy legacy of Steve Jobs, but also a new and insanely futuristic definition of “whole” which now includes these proprietary Apple chips (CPU, GPU, NE), plus A.I. / machine learning and system core operating as one continuously evolving and reinforcing “unit”. 

The future is already here, we just don’t see it like fish, maybe, never heard of a thing called water…

This new concept of the constantly increasing potential advancement in efficiency and power is not only the new standard basis for what constitutes computing technology at Apple, but will emerge as the ultimate re-definition of what “power” in computing means at all.

Similar to the internet – where the evolution and development is at stone age levels compared to where it will (and must) eventually reach in decades and even centuries, computing (or “personal” computing as it was dubbed in the last century) is also in very early and very primitive stages of evolution and this next step represents an early beginning, not a destination or accomplishment of a goal. 

Even Apple has stated that the initial transition of a unified operating system shared by mobile and desktop / laptop devices, iOS / macOS, will be years still in development and implementation. 

Meaning, in 2024 we may see the first real life trails and dissemination of a new kind of computing system, and, more importantly, computer assisted communicating, made possible by the complete integration of these hardware, software and A.I. advances. 

Just in time, because the threats of global warming, pandemics, political upheaval and economic disaster need, more than anything, enhanced learning and communication that can be aided, we must fervently hope, by improved digital tools. A better bicycle, so to speak. 

Fortunately, Apple has our back on this. And in 2021 more, much more will be revealed, if 2020 was any hint, of an exciting future not just for technology, but for the creative uses of it for the betterment of humankind. 

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Apple, Cutting Edge, Mac, OS Software, Tech

MacOS Big Sur: Apple’s Ultimate Ecosystem Triumph is almost here

Photo / Apple

Apple software upgrades are now so deep and extensive that it will take months to absorb the potential benefits

Mac OS upgrades, which have been free going back more than 20 years, have been bordering on spectacular recently, but also do carry some dangers. Early adopters have been known to experience buggy not-100%-ready-for-primetime features that do, however, generally get fixed fairly quickly once live bugs are identified. 

The upside is that there is, just as in the iOS systems, a literal cornucopia of free built in apps and features most of which benefit from the periodic upgrades.

As a matter of fact, many, many of the improvements are not detailed or listed in any manual and not used in the marketing materials for the free software upgrades. As the saying goes, they just “work”.

Read more: How Apple Created the Tech Universe

Probably the biggest of these invisible improvements, one that spans multiple apps and functions is the now, fully established, system known as iCloud. Born as “Mobile-me” and a nightmare until about 3 years ago, this system for syncing across all Apple devices, apps and software has become a powerhouse that has no comparable rival.

An evolving system nearly two decades in the making

The idea, sometimes maligned as overkill, is simple in theory. An Apple aficionado might own a desktop mac such as an iMac, Mac Mini or Mac Pro. For travel; a MacBook Air, Pro, etc, an iPhone (of course), an iPad and, whew, maybe wear an Apple Watch. There might be an Apple TV unit in the house and perhaps a HomePod mini (and so on!).

All of these can benefit from iCloud. Many functions, particularly with the Apple Watch, for example, are mandatory and help to link various functionality between devices. 

But where this software enhancement has really begun to shine is when using built in apps that have a version on both the mac family and also within iOS and iPadOS, such as Notes, Photos and, of course, Safari.

Read more: Apple Search Plans & Potential are Casting a Massive Shadow on Google Anti-Trust Case

Although these have been around since Yosemite and have had the benefit of iCloud Sync since at least that time, with Catalina they really started to function at a very high level. With Big Sur the potential is off-the-charts. 

One caveat that is still a work in progress is the need for identical, or nearly identical, functionality across all devices (mac, iPhone and iPad at least). For the photos app this is nearly the case but for Safari and Notes there is still a way to go before all functions match on every device and OS. 

Of course, this is the very lofty goal, already underway with the new M1 chips and the gradual goal of total interchangeability between macOS and iOS / iPad Os.

Many actions are still more functional on a mac than on iPhone or iPad: but that’s changing

Much attention is paid to the idea of using and featuring iOS apps on a mac, but for practical applications it is the ability of the software on iOS devices to have all the functionality of the macOS versions that is even more important and desirable. 

A great example, and a glaring one, is Safari. Differences between browsing on a mobile platform (with iPad being a sort of in-between experience) and on a desktop or laptop can be frustrating and difficult.

For surfing news or browsing static content the differences are not significant, but if you start trying to do banking, or eCommerce or other more complex tasks you can hit a brick wall. 

Read more: The Exaggerated Confusion around 5G and iPhone 12 is the beginning of a new era for internet access

Much of this is on the server side where the websites themselves either block or are not compatible with all versions of Safari in every OS version. 

However, particularly on iPad, there should be an eventual ability for Safari on iPad to emulate laptop / desktop browser specs for those purposes. And, with macOS Big Sur that is already nearly a reality. 

Similarly when using the Notes app, which we do at Lynxotic extensively for story development and shared processing, the functionality is nearly seamless between macOS Big Sur and iPad or iPhone. 

As a matter of fact, the differences are so minimal that, when switching between devices, finding a “missing” function, such as the ability on an iPhone to format the text into Title, Heading, Body and so forth, as you would do in WordPress or other text editing system, it is a shocking experience. 

Beyond detailed individual features it’s the overall end-result that’s astounding

The overall experience from mac to mac – when using full iCloud Sync, is that you can move from machine to machine and a have 100% seamless transition. Although some files can be specially segregated by machine, if you choose, making them only available locally on that machine, this is up to the user.

You can have an expanded iCloud storage limit added to your account (2TB is currently $9.99) and have access to all files on all machines and devices. 

Although still not 100% functional in all situations, even the files app and iCloud storage system on the iPhone can access and store all files and allow you to save or access many important documents on the go. 

Starting with macOS Catalina, and now even more with Big Sur, the invisible and seamless “clone” experience when moving from desktop to laptop has been very functional and hugely beneficial, and now the iPhone and iPad are rapidly realizing a similar potential. 

Shared Albums in photos, Shared Notes, Safari’s vast and ever improving ability to safely  store 1000s of passwords and other site specific data, obviously the huge privacy upgrades, and soon, the identical user experience for all these apps across all devices, this amounts to a must-have success in software that easily matches the acclaim that the new hardware built-in with the new M1 chips have rightfully received. 

The future is coming, faster than you think, and that’s a good thing (in this case)

Another big, I mean huge, factor that is coming into play with Big Sur and the various OSs, is the emergence of machine learning and “over-the-air” updates, including some that are unannounced and take place within individual apps without requiring user interaction.

The photos app is a huge example of this but the phenomenon is also spreading into other built in software. 

Read more:iOS14 quick & easy with Wiley Simms – how to create Perfect Shapes in Markup Mode

This means that improvements in functionality and sometimes even added features are taking place faster and can be major, even between the official updates themselves. 

In the end the “whole widget” approach will provide benefits so astounding that a user of Apple products will be in a “universe of capability” that has no comparable alternative and certainly no rival. 

The improvements across all apps and functions are so vast that it would take thousands of pages to catalog even a fraction of them – basically it is better to do what we have always done with Apple system software; wade through while learning by doing and rejoice each time the “singularity”, that is now a stated goal, becomes a little bit closer. 

With macOS Big Sur, your mac via iCloud and your other Apple devices are now already a vastly more powerful network of tools working together than they ever could be separately. 

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Apple, Observation, OS Software, Tech

Apple Search is Coming: Google, Facebook & Amazon Surveillance facing US scrutiny

Apple will expose the worst of predatory surveillance by Facebook, Amazon and Google with new privacy features

While wrong is wrong regardless of the perpetrator, when it comes to gargantuan tech behemoths, a company with a clearly defined mission such as Apple or Tesla are in a different category than Amazon, Facebook and Google.

While Tesla’s stated mission is to “accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy” and Apple’s original mission statement, written by Steve Jobs was “to make a contribution to the world by making tools for the mind that advance humankind”, predatory vultures hide behind ridiculous slogans like “aim to be Earth’s most customer centric company” (while decimating partners and competitors by any means necessary) and “don’t be evil” (don’t get caught) and “to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together” (…all while stealing data for profit from every person on earth).

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Also Available on Amazon.

It’s just not the same – particularly as Steve Jobs, while at Apple, pushed himself and his company to invent and build many powerful examples of “tools for the mind” and Elon Musk’s Tesla brought the electric car back from the dead (after it was nearly snuffed out by big oil) and is making incredible headway in revolutionizing battery and solar technology, all with a view to literally save the planet from a climate catastrophe.

Bezos? Became the richest living human via the destruction of millions of small business and jobs all while undercutting competitors by selling virtually anything he got his hands on at a significant loss; simply to cause the demise of any competitor or partner that might threaten his rise to idiotically massive personal wealth.

Zuckerberg? Pioneered ways to suck data from virtually every human with a view to monetizing every living soul exclusively for himself and his company. Illustration? Dividing Facebook’s market cap by the number of employees it has yields the sum of $14,906,500.00 per employee. Macy’s? That’d be $16,829. (Thanks to Scott Galloway for the numbers)

Read More: In Understatement of the Century, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin says Amazon “destroyed the retail industry”

Google merely owns (91.75% as of June 2020) the search entryway to all web sites. It decides if you should or should not find them. If it can boost profits by hiding one and featuring another, either through “paid search” or by pointing you toward its own properties while hiding competitors from you, it will do exactly that. Ask the European Union’s anti-trust investigators. For them, this company is a convicted law breaker.

https://video-lynxotic.akamaized.net/Safari-Privacy-BigSur.mov
EXCERPTs FROM APPLE PRESENTATION FOR privacy settings FROM WWDC 2020

The Beginning of the End for Infinite Tracking: Apple’s EcoSystem will Protect Users Privacy

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and to help Lynxotic.

Announced at WWDC 2020, Apple is adding serious features to its various new operating systems. One big feature in Safari is the ability to track, and block as desired, all manner of data intrusions. These are not only identified, but shown and tracked and analyzed with a kind of professional dashboard, showing just how invasive and persistent these invisible spies are.

Apple is big, with more than 1.4 billion devices. Starting in around 2021 they will all be able to identify and block data surveillance by Amazon (the largest of all spies), Google and Facebook, among others. Thanks that’s not a big deal? Think again.

Read More: Cracks in The Wall: Apple, Google, Amazon and Facebook Silently Declare Wars Against Each Other

…the overall stance being taken regarding online tracking and surveillance should be seen for what it is: the first step to correcting the mistake of history that allowed the internet to be kidnapped and held hostage by a handful of companies that pretend to be “free” or “customer obsessed” while they are, in fact, Robber Barons that make the Standard Oil monopoly look like Santa Claus.

– D.L.

Tracking the Trackers will Change Your Life

Tracking the trackers is a clear and aggressive privacy stance, taken by the one company among the big four, that does not have a huge stake in you being the victim of online surveillance and tracking.

Not to say that Apple is blameless. Many are complaining about its fee structure for software sold by third parties via the app stores. While this issue is certainly a valid one, the overall stance being taken regarding online tracking and surveillance should be seen for what it is: the first step to correcting the mistake of history that allowed the internet to be kidnapped and held hostage by a handful of companies that pretend to be “free” or “customer obsessed” while they are, in fact, Robber Barons that make the Standard Oil monopoly look like Santa Claus.

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Apple, Business, Cutting Edge, OS Software, Tech

Apple Search Plans & Potential are Casting a Massive Shadow on Google Anti-Trust Case

Above: Photo Collage / Lynxotic

Search Battle Lynxotic Predicted is about to Breakout Big time

In a year that has already offered AppleOne, 5G, and perpetual AirTag teases, Apple Inc might have yet another major project hidden up its sleeve. According to a report from the Financial Times, the tech company has recently partaken in research and development indicative of creating a new original search engine.

Read More: Apple iPhone 12 Pro Models are Here and There’s More

For years, Google has been the default search engine on Apple devices. This is part of an ongoing deal between the two companies where Google pays Apple a pretty penny to foreground their services. Now, however, Google is facing an antitrust suit from the Department of Justice. This case claims that Google has a monopoly over search and directly sites its relationship with Apple as evidence.

If the DOJ manages to win against Google, it could be the end of its search engine arriving pre-encrypted in all iPhones, iPads, and Macs. Thus, an in-house Apple search engine comes at an opportune time. Not only will it provide Apple with a new default search platform, but it will also muster some competition against Google— one of the things that the antitrust case desperately calls for.

Any Engine at All by Apple is Earth-shattering to the Status Quo of Big Tech

Nothing is set in concrete about this speculative Apple search engine yet. All we know for sure is that the latest version of iOS 14 shows signs of increased search technology. Under the upgraded operating system, iPhone users can type in questions directly on their devices’ home screens and arrive at Internet results without any middleman. This has also led to an uptick in Apple’s spidering tools, which comb and datafy the web for a smoother search experience. 

These changes in iOS 14 are subtle, but given the context, they could be laying the seeds for something much larger. Tellingly, former Google head of search John Geannandrea also oversees these recent Apple advancements. Geannandrea joined Apple three years ago, and while his main focus at the company has been Siri thus far, he obviously has the expertise and experience for helming a Google-like project.

Some believe that Siri is the base of Apple’s increased search interests. Perhaps the new technologies are simply working to refine the voice assistant rather than setting up a wholly alternative Google competitor. At the same time, though, with the proper expansion, Siri could very well evolve into a worthy Google rival, especially if it becomes the one-stop search engine on all Apple devices.For now, users will just have to wait while events unfold. Experts say that the antitrust case against Google will go on for years, and if Apple is indeed developing its own search engine alternative, it will likely take just as long.

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Apple, OS Software, Tech

iOS 14 Quick & Easy: how to set-up iPhone to do a screen-shot with a double-tap on back

Video

Use this powerful setting for Screen-shot Back-Tap or many other actions

As many of you out there have undoubtedly realized, iOS 14 is a huge and powerful upgrade with layers of new features and options. Some can be learned by just getting used to the “lay of the land” and intuitively adapting.

Read More: iOS14 quick & easy with Wiley Simms – how to create Perfect Shapes in Markup Mode

Others are “secret” or at least hidden to an extent, and require a road map to find. For this reason we have begun a YouTube series we call “iOS 14 Quick & Easy” to give you a quick, easy road map to learning and using all the best tips and tricks.

This installment shows the easy way to set your iPhone to initiate an action when you tap the back of the iPhone itself – either twice (double-tap) or three times (triple-tap).

There is actually a very long list of possible actions that can be triggered, but we chose screen-shot for this tutorial since it is really useful, fun and the steps would be the same for any action.

Infinite Flexibility is built-in to iOS14, you just need to choose your custom settings

The many other actions can be seen in the photo or just by scrolling to the “double-tap” menu as per the video and checking them out yourself.

Additionally there’s a shortcut section where ANY action that you set up as a shortcut can be accessed as a double-tap or triple-tap (meaning up to two actions dependent on 2 or 3 taps).

This illustrates the vast, basically limitless, ways that the new operating system and your phone can be customized and configured for fun, power and pure creative joy.

Check out other iOS 14 quick & easy tips:

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Apple, OS Software, Tech

iOS14 quick & easy with Wiley Simms – how to create Perfect Shapes in Markup Mode

Video

A Simple but Fun Trick to use: New iOS14 Markup feature: Drawing Perfect Shapes

iOS 14 is out and probably on your phone by now. If not, it likely will be soon. Sometimes with a big, new, update like this, feelings of excitement and joy can be mixed with the fog of navigating a virtual environment where many things have changed, even while some remain familiar.

Read More: Apple Safari Version 14.0 OUT NOW with fully functional Privacy Tracker for macOS Catalina & Big Sur

Sometimes a great way to get some immediate satisfaction is to choose a simple new and improved feature and then master it, just to associate a feeling of confidence and accomplishment to the mix.

Apple picked the new markup features as one to introduce to new iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 users right away via the notification in the new widgets area. It’s simple and fun, and especially for people who are not great at drawing with fingers, can be very useful to emphasize areas in photos and screenshots. I use this daily as a way to communicate, rather than just text and email.

In this short 2 minute tutorial Wiley Simms, staff-writer and videographer on loan from our sister-site InforMinx.com, shows how it’s done. First getting easily into Markup Mode by clicking “edit” then the small circle with 3 dots – then from the drop down menu choosing “markup”.

Once in markup mode the markup pallet appears with various markers. There’s a new “selection pen” but the rest should be familiar, if you are a previous markup user. The simple trick is to draw a shape, say, for example, a star. Even if you draw a pretty rough version of the star, as long as you hold still and do not remove your finger from the screen at the end of the star – the software will figure out what you are trying to draw and “correct” or “perfect” your rough drawing into a perfect shape.

This works for stars, circles, ovals, squares, hearts and straight lines. With this group of common shapes you can do a lot of interesting compound drawings and illustrations. In particular, the straight line correction feature is very useful to build shapes that are not on the main list.

This limited 2 minute tutorial is meant to help to get a jump on learning the hundreds of new features in iOS 14 and thanks to Wiley for the video demonstration.

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Apple, Books, OS Software

Apple Safari Version 14.0 OUT NOW with fully functional Privacy Tracker for macOS Catalina & Big Sur

Video

The writing is on the wall – but it’s about to collapse: privacy wars 2021

While Apple apparently agreed to delay the surveillance-blocking privacy tools for iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 until 2021, not so apparently for Safari and Big Sur. The tracker is amazing. The system is fully automated at launch of the browser and immediately blocking tons of nasty data thieves from the jump.

I surfed about 10 minutes and it blocked 69 trackers. It has a button to allow you to check each web site and see what it is doing with your data and also a continuously updated full report screen where you can see who they all are. Surprise ! They are mainly Facebook, Google, Amazon and companies that are affiliated with or in competition against these big three.

Safari Privacy Screen from the Privacy Report Pop-up window

Although income for News Orgs like Lynxotic might be negatively affected initially the adjustment is history in the making and there will be no going back. The old way was wrong. Your data belongs to you. Period. You shouldn’t have to mess around with external ad-blocking software and plug-ins.

Why there was never any privacy protection built into the internet before now, one day will be seen as a mystery

The future is that you will be automatically protected (within the Apple ecosystem, at least), and, in you choose to be tracked and surveilled so that Mark Z. can get richer, you can opt in. (Wanted by nobody, ever).

We have been warning about this for months – here are a few articles with some more in depth information about the situation:

Read more: Cracks in The Wall: Apple, Google, Amazon and Facebook

Apple’s billion users would need to allow their data and browsing habits to be monetized by those massive ad built eco-system killers. A lot has also been discussed about how this new regime change by Apple could negatively affect publishers, like Lynxotic, but this is a case of seeing the big, long term benefits, such as an internet where the users and netizens, and not Zuckerberg, are finally in charge. This goal is lofty and honorable and long overdue. Therefore, any adjustments needed to be made by publishers business models is well worth it.

Read more: Apple is Coming 4U

That’s not all, in iOS 14 and iPad OS14 searches will default for “best for user” rather than automatically being diverted to google or any other “search engine”. If you are searching for a news article or information about an apple product, for example, the search will offer you results, within the global search on your device rather than in a browser, and this will direct you to your Apple News App or to Safari, landing directly on a web site, as appropriate. https://www.youtube.com/embed/2e2iZa3G9_0?feature=oembed

Above: Changes to search in the new iOS14, iPadOS14 and macOS 11 Big Sur

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Apple, OS Software, Tech

iOS 14, iPad OS 14 Drop, World About to change: here are some of the best new features

Video

Along with watchOS7 it’s all new with 100s of features to learn

2020 has been one hellava year so far. The fires, political chaos, pandemic lockdowns, economic depressions are all still evolving. Finally, some better news. Over the last several months the stability of the beta versions of the new operating systems became far better. In order to stay ahead of the curve we tested some of the most interesting new features including these 5.

Read more: Apple Watch Series 6 with new Blood Oxygen Sensor just released at Apple September Event

 iOS 14 and iPad OS 14 will be available on September 16th to download on your iPhone and iPad. This is a major update and includes a lot of changes to your world.Now you will be able to add widgets to your home screen, find apps easier with the App Library and there are many new features in iMessage. 

There are also, digging a little deeper, hidden gems like the Apple Translate App. in the video above we demonstrated an interesting difference between the Apple software and the well known Google Translate. This feature, called “Conversation Mode” foreshadows what we believe is going to be the hallmark of all Apple Software upgrades going forward: machine learning and built in AI for the OS and apps.

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In conversation mode the voice recognition engine is able to recognize what language it is “hearing” and then translate into the other language, based on the selected pair, in this case English and German. It can also recognize slang and alternate vocabularies and even some dialects and accents, such as UK vs American English.

At first blush this may seem like it is too deep into the detailed function of the app to be significant, after all for the most part we just need to know what a phrase means in an alternate language. But, in typical spectacular fashion, this feature is an example of something you don’t realize you need until you have it – then you can’t imagine you ever lived without it. Ultimately a conversation could be translated “live” without having to stop each time to let the app know who is speaking which language – making the flow of the conversation remain intact while the app “just works”.

Also in typical Apple fashion, it will probably take an iPhone 12 Pro, a 5G connection and a few months of machine learning to make that scenario a reality, but it would be an interesting experience nonetheless, when it is finally a reality.

Apple News goes Audio: Built in articles out loud

Apple News + might get a boost with the new Apple One bundle, also revealed in the Apple September 2020 keynote event. Those who opt for “Premier” will get Apple News+ access bundled in. Even without the News+ upgrade all users get access to audio stories released periodically “Apple News Today”, somewhat like a teaser sample pack to let you try out with your AirPods and see if the additional audio, including sync with text version and Apple Car Play might entice you to become a News+ subscriber ($5 per month without the bundle).

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Privacy features delayed due to Facebook being terrified but coming soon

Although delayed, these features are some of the most important in the new OS versions. Just ask Mark Zuckerberg. The gist of the situation is that Apple is finally asserting it’s rightful place in the internet ecosystem: users should be allowed to opt in to surveillance by advertisers and predatory juggernauts like Facebook and Amazon, rather than be surveilled automatically and then have to jump through hoops (and potentially add blockers and plug-ins to escape).

Read more: Cracks in The Wall: Apple, Google, Amazon and Facebook

Apple’s billion users would need to allow their data and browsing habits to be monetized by those massive ad built eco-system killers. A lot has also been discussed about how this new regime change by Apple could negatively affect publishers, like Lynxotic, but this is a case of seeing the big, long term benefits, such as an internet where the users and netizens, and not Zuckerberg, are finally in charge. This goal is lofty and honorable and long overdue. Therefore, any adjustments needed to be made by publishers business models is well worth it.

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That’s not all, in iOS 14 and iPad OS14 searches will default for “best for user” rather than automatically being diverted to google or any other “search engine”. If you are searching for a news article or information about an apple product, for example, the search will offer you results, within the global search on your device rather than in a browser, and this will direct you to your Apple News App or to Safari, landing directly on a web site, as appropriate.

Above: Changes to search in the new iOS14, iPadOS14 and macOS 11 Big Sur

Searches might finally find what you want, coming soon

As many have noticed Google has been diverting searches to Google hosted pages rather than offering results that take you directly to the web site that published the information. This practice is the reverse of what Apple is trying to do. Google want to “hold” you in Google “territory”, just as Facebook tries to block you from leaving its ecosystem that you are logged in to. Apple, on the other hand, is set up to send people directly to the source of the information, such as news web sites, etc., albeit via Safari or the Apple News App.

Read more: Facebook, Amazon and Google Surveillance facing US scrutiny

This will all continue to be a contentious issue going forward as it is akin to a war between Apple, Google, Amazon and Facebook (!), so we will be following this closely and will continue to report, ahead of the fact in many cases, in an ongoing fashion.

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Apple, Apple Services, OS Software, Tech

AppleNews App in iOS14 and iPadOS14 New Audio Features

Apple News Plus Audio features may remove “boring” from the aggregator

Among the many announcements anticipated for the September 15, 2020 Apple Watch and iPad virtual event: “Time Flies” there will surely be a lot of new iOS and iPad OS features revealed. Some are already available for testing in the iOS and iPad OS beta versions.

Read More: Apple Maps iOS 14 Upgrade in MacOS Big Sur is a Total Transformation

Once such already known feature are the expanded capabilities and features for audio in the Apple News App. Particularly interesting are the free stories daily – and the ability to sample narrated content. By using the new audio tab (that looks like a pair of beats headphones) any available audio features are curated for you, even if you don’t subscribe to Apple News +.

“Apple News Today”, which is a kind of teaser in a sense, is free to all users and will initially feature a “daily top stories” roundup of sorts which will be narrated and available in the audio tab.

“Audio Stories” is a more extensive collection of narrated content. These are automatically available for all Apple News + Subscribers. At $9.99 per month this is a welcome expansion of the existing perks.

Read More: Apple Privacy in iOS 14 and Big Sur: Safari to offer deep pervasive control of personal data

Somewhat like a “netflix for news” a collection of featured stories will be added each week.

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The juicy bits are in the software interface

The software features of the audio library are possibly the most interesting part. A “mini-App” similar to the familiar Music app controls the usual parameters. Additionally, there’s a great feature where you can seamlessly jump from listening to the audio version of a story and then pick up reading, or vice versa. Sometimes reading can be faster or maybe you want your ears free.

The best software feature of all though is the ability to sync the audio playlist and resume wherever you’ve left off (as per Netflix also etc) including….in your car with Apple Car Play. That has to be the most useful – being able to be reading on the train to your parked car and then switch seamlessly to audio mode as you begin the drive to your final destination…

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Apple, OS Software, Tech

Apple Maps Upgrade in iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur is a Total Transformation

New features create a more streamlined travel experience & totally new functionality

During the WWDC virtual event, Apple previewed the latest version of its upcoming desktop operating system – macOS Big Sur.  There are so many new features, it is easy to get lost in all the detail. One highlight that stands out is the updated version of the Maps app.  MacOS Big Sur is set for release next month for fall, there is, however a developer beta version currently available for download if you want a sneak peek before the official release date. Since this is beta (beta 4) and meant for developers, it is best only to download and test on a machine that you do not depend on as bugs are to be expected until the final official release (at least).

We have tested this and compiled features from what information Apple has released so far. The completely redesigned version of the app makes it even easier to find your navigation essentials.  The new interface will be a more streamlined experience including: “Favorites” like home or work , “My Guides” where you can plan a trip or save places of interest you want to one day visit, and will also save your “Recent Places.” 

Read More: iOS 14 Brings Pins, Threads, Mentions, Memoji and More to Messages App

Another new feature on the Mac is the ability to see the ETA from friends or family members that shared their routes with you. In this sort of hybrid with the features of “find friends”, now within maps, you will be able to see the current location of friends who have shared a route, and then you can monitor the progress as they journey towards their destinations.  

The Maps app in Big Sur will also include all the newest features of Maps that will be included in the newest iPhone update iOS14 as well which will include: Guide, Cycling and EV routing.

Recommendations from top travel resources coming now with “My Guides”

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Maps will offer all new tools and features that will elevate travel and planning your next exploration of the world.  Through Guides, you can discover new places as well as events and activities to participate using trusted sources.

Apple is said to be working with top companies like Lonely Planet, Zagat, and AllTrails to give you the best information. You can also customize your trip with all the places you want to visit (ex: shops, restaurants, parks, historical landmarks, etc) and share with your family and friends.   To start, Guides will be available for cities including San Francisco, New York, London and Los Angeles, with plans to expand many more cities options.

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The new Maps will make more countries available to view that will include Canada, Ireland and the UK. Then using the “Look Around” feature will allow you a 360-degree view of a destination (which is extremely cool on the big screen of your Mac). You can scroll through streets and get closer to a realistic taste of what to expect; giving rich detail of roads, buildings, parks, beaches and much more.

Apple will also make navigating within airports and shopping centers a little less stressful with detailed views of its indoor maps.

Bike riders and electric vehicle excursions are one of the cool new features

Need to get to a destination and you want to take your bicycle? No problem. Your cycling trips can now be routed from your Mac and then sent directly to your iPhone when you are on the go. Maps will provide routes for cyclists to find bike lanes, paths or bike-friendly roadways to reach your desired location. There will also be the ability to preview the elevation of the roads and have the option to avoid routes that have steep inclines or stairs that will make for an easier and smoother ride

Apple will also be utilizing EV routing for those that want to plan a trip using their electric vehicles. EV routing will help take into account your electric vehicle’s route (highlighting weather, elevation and locations of charging stations). When you add your electric vehicle to your iPhone, the Maps app will keep track of your EV’s current charge level.

Photo / Apple Maps for Cycling

Since there are so many features coming in macOS 11 Big Sur and many of those will now be even more integrated with the carious iOS, iPad OS, watch OS and so forth, it’s a great idea to keep tuned in as we will continue to produce updates on all the features, tips and tricks for all your Apple devices.

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Apple, Books, Mac, OS Software, Tech

Apple Privacy in iOS 14 and Big Sur: Safari to offer deep pervasive control of personal data

Video
EXCERPTS FROM APPLE PRESENTATION FOR PRIVACY SETTINGS FROM WWDC 2020

Apple features expose the worst of predatory surveillance by Facebook, Amazon and Google

While wrong is wrong regardless of the perpetrator, when it comes to gargantuan tech behemoths, a company with a clearly defined mission such as Apple or Tesla are in a different category than Amazon, Facebook and Google.

While Tesla’s stated mission is to “accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy” and Apple’s original mission statement, written by Steve Jobs was “to make a contribution to the world by making tools for the mind that advance humankind”, predatory vultures hide behind ridiculous slogans like “aim to be Earth’s most customer centric company” (while decimating partners and competitors by any means necessary) and “don’t be evil” (don’t get caught) and “to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together” (…all while stealing data for profit from every person on earth).

It’s just not the same – particularly as Steve Jobs, while at Apple, pushed himself and his company to invent and build many powerful examples of “tools for the mind” and Elon Musk’s Tesla brought the electric car back from the dead (after it was nearly snuffed out by big oil) and is making incredible headway in revolutionizing battery and solar technology, all with a view to literally save the planet from a climate catastrophe.

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Bezos? Became the richest living human via the destruction of millions of small business and jobs all while undercutting competitors by selling virtually anything he got his hands on at a significant loss; simply to cause the demise of any competitor or partner that might threaten his rise to idiotically massive personal wealth.

Zuckerberg? Pioneered ways to suck data from virtually every human with a view to monetizing every living soul exclusively for himself and his company. Illustration? Dividing Facebook’s market cap by the number of employees it has yields the sum of $14,906,500.00 per employee. Macy’s? That’d be $16,829. (Thanks to Scott Galloway for the numbers)

Google merely owns (91.75% as of June 2020) the search entryway to all web sites. It decides if you should or should not find them. If it can boost profits by hiding one and featuring another, either through “paid search” or by pointing you toward its own properties while hiding competitors from you, it will do exactly that. Ask the European Union’s anti-trust investigators. For them, this company is a convicted law breaker.

Read More: In Understatement of the Century, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin says Amazon “destroyed the retail industry”

Infinite Tracking Epitaph: Apple’s EcoSystem will Protect Users Privacy

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Announced at WWDC 2020, Apple is adding serious features to its various new operating systems. One big feature in Safari is the ability to track, and block as desired, all manner of data intrusions. These are not only identified, but shown and tracked and analyzed with a kind of professional dashboard, showing just how invasive and persistent these invisible spies are.

Apple is big, with more than 1.4 billion devices. Starting in around 2021 they will all be able to identify and block data surveillance by Amazon (the largest of all spies), Google and Facebook, among others. Thanks that’s not a big deal? Think again.

Read More: Cracks in The Wall: Apple, Google, Amazon and Facebook Silently Declare Wars Against Each Other

…the overall stance being taken regarding online tracking and surveillance should be seen for what it is: the first step to correcting the mistake of history that allowed the internet to be kidnapped and held hostage by a handful of companies that pretend to be “free” or “customer obsessed” while they are, in fact, Robber Barons that make the Standard Oil monopoly look like Santa Claus.

– D.L.

Tracking the Trackers will Change Your Life

Tracking the trackers is a clear and aggressive privacy stance, taken by the one company among the big four, that does not have a huge stake in you being the victim of online surveillance and tracking.

Not to say that Apple is blameless. Many are complaining about its fee structure for software sold by third parties via the app stores. While this issue is certainly a valid one, the overall stance being taken regarding online tracking and surveillance should be seen for what it is: the first step to correcting the mistake of history that allowed the internet to be kidnapped and held hostage by a handful of companies that pretend to be “free” or “customer obsessed” while they are, in fact, Robber Barons that make the Standard Oil monopoly look like Santa Claus.

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