9to5Mac on ‘compute module’ in iOS 16.4 code, what is it referring to?

An article by Jeff Benjamin at 9to5 mac speculates on the 'compute module' in iOS 16.4 code. I hope it really is for the Mac Pro, but honestly I doubt it. I think the Mac Pro will be a higher end Mac Studio, with more Thunderbolt ports. After the seeming upgrade-ability of the last Mac Pro which only had PCI slot upgrades, I just doubt they are making some upgrade-able aspect to the Mac Pro. It seems much more likely to be a processor for the Reality Pro headset.

Apple Podcast app needs individual podcast controls for Playback speed

Apple's Podcast app is a good app., and getting new features soon (according to MacRumors), but what it really needs is the ability to remember playback speed on a per podcast basis. I listen to news podcasts that I always listen to at 2x speed, and then music podcasts, that need to be listened to at 1x speed so the music is correct and it is annoying to change the setting every time. You already set podcast feeds to have individual controls to how they are shown (in what order, newest or oldest first. All I ask it to allow a setting to always playback at the speed you select.

Wired on How to Make Autocorrect Work The Way You Want

Auto Correct drives me nuts and I have it turned off, so this article has how to do just that on Android or iOS. I do wish their was a way to get into the dictionary and change things on iOS so you could stop some words from showing up, but apple doesn't even let you control sync on bookmarks (why can't I have an overwrite cloud setting, and if you can't not mess up my bookmarks why would I want to sync my music collection?).

The Apple App Stores have a subscription problem

Both Apple’s app stores for iOS and Mac have a huge problem, and that is subscriptions. When the store started, it was all purchases, so you bought the app you owned it, but then they enabled in app purchases and subscriptions. Both are used to enable all features in apps, in fact some apps barely function or don’t function at without the additional purchase. And the subscription prices have been going up. It has gotten so bad, that there should be a way to filter out subscription apps, but that would cut into Apple’s profits too. Apple acts like they are all noble, wanting privacy for their users, but then they hide subscription prices and in app purchase prices in the store. The price is not shown in the first page, then hidden in a drop in the app info page itself. This info should be displayed on the main page, not hidden. And for subscriptions you should be able to not only filter them out, but set limits on subscriptions when you pay. An example being that you could say yes I subscribe but for only 1 month, and automatically cancel unless I re-subscribe. To have to know how to unsubscribe in the settings app is not putting the customer first, but instead Apple’s paycheck. The app stores are getting so much pressure from regulators, but for the developer cut to apple and opening up devices, and not for things like subscriptions. The problem with 3rd party apps is already apparent on Android, with a plethora of malware, and how easily it can be installed, to steal your data. And with a phone acting as your digital wallet with ID and Bank Cards as well as your location, 3rd party apps could endanger so much in your life, but then it is not like Apple hasn’t allowed in scam apps that are still available in the app store! And even worse most congress people don’t understand technology enough to properly regulate it, other than who is paying them that is. I have no hope of US regulators making things better, but the EU is pretty consumer oriented, so maybe they will force changes. App stores need to get better, and the companies are only worried about their bottom lines, not their customers (who become the actual product making the companies money in many ways), and regulators focus on the wrong things. Being worried about Apple’s cut, instead of how companies prey on people with subscriptions. And honestly they are Apple Devices, and an Apple built and maintained store, how can you say they don’t deserve a cut to allow access to their store. And we have too many subscriptions in our lives. Before i could buy software and could wait on upgrades that weren’t absolutely necessary, now I have to pay or I lose use of the software. And I pay enough for Adobe Creative Cloud and Maxon’s Red Giant Plug-Ins (which have changed their licensing from 2 installs…

Macworld’s take on iPhone adding scanning for Child Abuse Materials and Privacy

I have been reading a lot of articles on Apple's recent move to add CSAM or Child Sexual Abuse Materials in any photos you sync with iCloud (which is all of them if you have iCloud backup on). I really like the depth that Jason Snell at Macworld has taken on the issue, and why it is an issue. Apple’s approach here calls all of that into question, and I suspect that’s the source of some of the greatest criticism of this announcement. Apple is making decisions that it thinks will enhance privacy. Nobody at Apple is scanning your photos, and nobody at Apple can even look at the potential CSAM images until a threshold has passed that reduces the chance of false positives. Only your device sees your data. Which is great, because our devices are sacred and they belong to us. Apple’s approach here calls all of that into question, and I suspect that’s the source of some of the greatest criticism of this announcement. Apple is making decisions that it thinks will enhance privacy. Nobody at Apple is scanning your photos, and nobody at Apple can even look at the potential CSAM images until a threshold has passed that reduces the chance of false positives. Only your device sees your data. Which is great, because our devices are sacred and they belong to us. The risk for Apple here is huge. It has invested an awful lot of time in equating on-device actions with privacy, and it risks poisoning all of that work with the perception that our phones are no longer our castles. And while it is noble to try and do something about Child Sex Abuse, it also does fly in the face of Apple and them being the arbiter of privacy. And that isn't even talking about false positives. And then there is where does this lead, because if they are scanning your photos won't they soon be scanning everything, and where is the privacy there.

Harry McCracken article on the iPad Pro needing Pro Software and my thoughts

 Harry McCrakken at Fast Company has an article about how the iPad Pro just got way more Pro, but now it needs more Pro Software.And I wholeheartedly agree. There is no overall user interface, everyone does it differently, and for me at least I don't see the stability to use it in a work environment. Like Final Cut Pro X apps on iPad are supposed to just save and, but every time I have tried to really use art software on an iPad it crashes and I end up losing not a small amount of work, but most of my work, admittedly the same thing has happened to me with Final Cut pro X and it's auto save with everything you do, if you are forced to use autodave and on the iPad have no way to backup your save definitively, then it can't be used in a work environment and feel safe.Now I hate windows, but I have an old Surface and even though it is far slower and doesn't have an impressive touch interface, being able to use a full version of Photoshop is far superior to anything on a much more powerful iPad. It is too slow to edit on, but photoshop if far superior.And while I have tried some editing on the iPad, and it works for simple stuff, it just isn't pro. Even though an iPad can play back H.265 footage better than any Mac I have ever seen, the software on the iPad is not conducive to the Pro Work that the hardware is capable of. Of course again I kind of feel the same about Final Cut Pro X, it has some amazing high level technology, but it just isn't put together how it should be or how an experienced editor would want to use it.And programs just crash on an iPad, there is now way to see the memory used or how it is being taxed. Even the simplest apps like web browser crash and I lose all my tabs all the time.And since every palm pilot had a way to store the pencil securely within the device, why can't apple figure this out? The Apple Pencil is only useful if it is charged and attached. Having to keep it safe separately is not ideal.I love my iPad because of convenience, but I have to say I would rather have a mac equivalent of a Microsoft Surface Book. A laptop with a touchscreen and a graphics card in the keyboard for editing work, but that I can take off and use as a tablet. And now that they both use the same chips this certainly should be possible. That would be ideal, though it would need to add Thunderbolt External GPU support to M1 Macs.

Why is Mac OS Finder iOS Sync so inferior to the previous iTunes Sync

 I have said this before and I am sure I will it again, but why when Apple split up iTunes to make Music, Podcast and TV apps and moving iOS music sync to the finder did they make it so far inferior to the previous sync?Now I know they want you to pay for Apple Music to get your music there, but they were already getting you to pay for music through them. I think they just don't want you to sync your own music libraries anymore, they want you to just stream your music.And why is it worse. Well first off if you plug in your iOS device and go to it in the finder, and try and sync any local music (going to the Music tab and selecting any songs or playlists the sync button switches from blue and and press-able to grey and not press-able).Before any changes it has a sync that you could hit, but not if you make any changes.This makes the whole iOS thing seem broken, but there is still a way to sync, but you have to get through the whole syncing process once, which can take a very long time. And all it shows for status bars, is a little circle in the sidebar and a syncing thing on the bottom, but both are extremely slow.The sidebar shows the whole process.And this is just showing the backup stage, but no indication of how much of the synching this is.Of Course in some steps you get this wheel, which is pretty much as unhelpful as you can get.And this process can easily take 30+ minutes.One it has done a full backup and finished. You can then go into music and select what music you sync and hit sync (it will not be grayed out this time) and only then will your local music sync. And it has to do a whole other sync to get your music over.Honestly What the Absolute Fuck??!?!?And even worse sometimes it doesn't work after 1 sync and you have to do another sync before you are able to move your music over. Really?!?!??!? FUCK YOU APPLE!!!iTunes never did this.And with iTunes I could use Wifi Sync. Now I am sure you are saying that you can use Wifi sync with Music, and yes you can, but you can't stop it.With iTunes if you had to stop any iOS sync you could force quit iTunes. Sure not an ideal solution, but it worked, and say you could restart or shutdown your computer.With Music if you have WIFI sync on, you can't restart or even quit the finder to get it to stop. The only way to get it to stop is to hard reset the computer, which is beyond not ideal.You can least stop the cable based sync by unplugging the iOS device!And don't even get me started with Apple Music. If you sync your library with Apple Music you can get into tons of trouble. There are more…

MacRumors is reporting that Apple is delaying it’s anti-tracking feature from iOS 14

 MacRumors is reporting that Apple is basically bowing to pressure from major developers and delaying it's Ad Anti-Tracking feature from iOS 14. I have to say I think this totally sucks. If I am going to have to deal with Apple stopping things like Game Streaming on my iPhone, then I should at least have the privacy bonuses that they push so much in their adds.I don't want any app to be able to track what I do at all. In fact I think Safari should have containers on iOS to keep things like Facebook locked away from anything else.Delaying this feature does not help it's customers, it helps the big money making companies to continue to bilk apple customers.

Apple needs to fix Catalina’s iOS Finder Sync

I was scared when I heard apple was breaking up iTunes and everything has been proved right. The sync is terrible.To get any syncing working I have to let it sync once, and then click out of the iPhone in the finder make changes and sync if the sync button isn't greyed out.iTunes folders are showed in some completely random order in the finder.In iTunesIn Catalina Finder Sync the same folderWhat the hell is this? And the old iTunes applescripts to remove playlists from Folders no longer work.And there seems to be no way to get custom Ringtones into your phone anymore, only payed ones. WTF!And if you start a sync their is no way to stop it if say you need to restart your computer. In iTunes you could at least Force quit iTunes, but you can't force quit iOS finder sync, even restarting the finder just keeps it going. I have turned off all automatic syncing and WIFI sync so that I don't have to deal with this issue.

OMG iOS sync on Catalina is f***ing garbage!!!

OK so I been having problems with the iTunes replacement Music in Catalina since upgrading, but the worst part seems to be the finder iOS sync! Not only are anything in folders shown in the finder in completely random order, but the sync itself barely every works! if you select any music to sync the sync button gets grayed out! Sometimes if you let it do an initial full sync but make the changes in itunes after a sync you can hit the sync button and it will work, but it is far from assured that this will work.It usually takes me multiple restarts, and connect and disconnects to get the damn sync to do anything, and I am running a fairly new iMac Pro! WTF!Apple doesn't give a shit about you syncing your own music anymore, they just want you to use their cloud music and Apple Music, so they have relegated syncing to the dumpster fire of Catalina Finder sync! WTF!