Tips for iOS 14

If you've updated your iPhone or iPad to iOS 14, this article contains ten tips that might be of interest. Note that in Tip 5 you can change the browser of choice to something other than Safari, should you want to do so. Note, however, once the device resets the browser of choice will revert back to Safari.

Jim Hamm   

iPhone Back Tap

If you've updated to iOS 14, here's a new feature for the iPhone you may want to check out: Back Tap. As the article below explains, you can set your iPhone to enable several functions by two or three taps on the back of the phone. 

I've looked at the feature on my iPhone, but haven't decided yet what function I'd like the taps to enable. Ah, a weighty decision.

Jim Hamm

https://www.yahoo.com/news/hidden-iphone-feature-launching-fall-200708155.html

iOS 14 Tips

I've upgraded to iOS 14, and am finding some new features that I'm going to like. For example: the App Library. Just tried it and like it already. Here is an article with more info on this feature:

https://www.macworld.com/article/3566693/how-to-use-the-app-library-in-ios-14.html

And here is another article with more useful tips:

https://www.macworld.com/article/3570148/ios-14-hidden-features-you-should-know-about.html

I just set up to tap the face of my iPhone X once to wake it up, and the back twice to open up the Control Center.

So far, I've enjoyed this iOS 14 update.

Jim Hamm

Mimestream

Here is a beta email app that sort of combines Gmail and Apple Mail, I think. I've not used it, and even after reading the info on the website I'm not clear of what advantages it offers. I think I'll have to read it again. I do use Gmail, and not Apple Mail, so I've not decided whether to try this app or not. If, however, you try Mimestream, let me know, if you would, what you think of it.

Jim Hamm

https://mimestream.com/

Apple’s Notarization Process Fails to Protect

'“In macOS Mojave, Apple introduced the concept of notarization, a process that developers can go through to ensure that their software is malware-free (and must go through for their software to run on macOS Catalina). This is meant to be another layer in Apple’s protection against malware. Unfortunately, it’s starting to look like notarization may be less security and more security theater.”

Below is a link to information concerning this subject.

https://blog.malwarebytes.com/mac/2020/08/apples-notarization-process-fails-to-protect/

Please note: Our users should be using an app to protect themselves, like Sophos or Malwarebytes.

Frank Croft and John Carter

Apple Stock

After reading the following article, I wonder if now is the time to sell the Apple stock I bought a few years ago. Or maybe I'll just buy another Mac.

Jim Hamm

Apple’s market cap surpassed $2 trillion for the first time yesterday, cementing its status as the biggest company in the world. Its stock, which will undergo a 4-1 split in the coming weeks, has increased over 50% in 2020. 

Apple wasn’t the first to break the $2 trillion valuation mark—that honor goes to the oil conglomerate Saudi Aramco—and it (probably) won’t be the last. Big Tech buddies Amazon and Microsoft are both sitting at valuations around $1.6 trillion.

  • A crazy stat: it took Apple 42 years to reach a $1 trillion valuation, but only two years after that to break $2 trillion.  

How’d Apple do it?

Pretty much by just being Apple. The iPhone maker hasn’t released an entirely new product since the HomePod in 2018, mostly focusing on tweaking or updating existing lines. But if there is one thing Apple does well, it’s make money: Despite the pandemic, Apple’s Q3 profits rose 12% while sales of every single product increased. 

But it doesn’t just sell iPhones: Part of investors’ Apple fever has been fueled by CEO Tim Cook’s increased focus on its services business that includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud, and the App Store. In 2017, Cook outlined his goal to double 2016 services revenue by 2020, which he achieved six months ahead of schedule. 

  • It was a prescient move. With iPhone sales plateauing worldwide, Cook’s pivot has investors valuing Apple less like a hardware company and more like a software one.

There will always be controversy

After Cook testified in the antitrust showdown with Congress last month, Fortnite creator Epic Games poked the bear by attempting to circumvent Apple’s 30% cut of in-app purchases. But even as other developers have joined in to criticize Apple’s alleged monopolistic control of the app marketplace, investors remain unfazed. 

Looking ahead...Apple optimism continues to abound. The iPhone 12 coming this fall is widely expected to come equipped with 5G connectivity.

Golden Age of Computer User Groups

Here is an article that may bring back memories for you. It brought back fond memories of about 20 years or so ago for me. Personal computing was fairly new then, new ideas and programs becoming available quite often, and all of this was a new experience for me, and many others. I belonged to both a Mac club and a PC club, and enjoyed both. As the article suggests, computer clubs may be becoming sparser nowadays, for reasons mentioned in the article. And, of course, today the virus is putting a kibosh on most personal meetings.

As to the article: as Bob Hope used to say: "Thanks for the memories".

Jim Hamm



https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/08/the-golden-age-of-computer-user-groups/

Feedback to Apple

If you'd like to send feedback to Apple on one of their products, this article explains how to do so:

https://macreports.com/how-to-send-feedback-to-apple/ 

And here is the direct link: https://www.apple.com/feedback/ 

What brought this up is my iPhone X. It is a good phone, overall, I believe, but I think the screen is way too sensitive. 

A light brush against the screen with a fingertip can redial a number, change to another app, etc. I would like the option to, say, double-tap the screen to get it to do something. So, I wanted to give my thoughts to Apple for consideration. 

Probably nothing will happen, but at least I tried. If you feel the same way about your iPhone X, let Apple know. Maybe we can gang up on Apple. .

Jim Hamm

Browser Bug

This is sort of a convoluted issue, but apparently there is a bug in Chrome, Opera, and Edge Browsers. I've recently been using the Brave Browser, and it wasn't mentioned in the article listed below.

Don't know how much of a concern this is, but one should upgrade to the latest version of the browser you're using, especially if it's one of the three mentioned above.

Jim Hamm


https://threatpost.com/google-chrome-bug-data-theft/158217/

"The bug (CVE-2020-6519) is found in Chrome, Opera and Edge, on Windows,
Mac and Android – potentially affecting billions of web users,
according to PerimeterX cybersecurity researcher Gal Weizman. Chrome
versions 73 (March 2019) through 83 are affected (84 was released in
July and fixes the issue)."

iOS Space Bar

Here are a few tips (courtesy of Small Dog Electronics) using the iOS space bar that you may already know. If not, these might be helpful.

Jim Hamm

Two Quick Tricks You Can Use with the iOS Space Bar

Sure, you know that the Space bar in the iOS virtual keyboard types a space character. But did you realize that if you tap it twice, it inserts a period? (Probably, but if not, now you do.) That’s to make it easier to provide proper punctuation, which will have the added benefit of irritating your kids when you text them. Even better, if you touch and hold the Space bar in iOS 12 or later, that invokes the trackpad mode that lets you move the insertion point around in your text. It’s way easier than previous methods of navigating in text and makes it so you can more easily edit what you write. Which, as a bonus, will also bug your kids.

Photo Editing in Photos App

I am not much of a photo-taker, and know nothing about photo editing. But this newsletter, from Small Dog Electronics, has an article on photo editing in Apple's Photo App that I thought might be of some interest to you. Scroll down about halfway to get to the article. If interested, one can also subscribe to their newsletter, which contains interesting articles relating to Apple products, which, BTW, they sell. They are a very reputable dealer, and you can trust what they say, IMHO (In my humble opinion).

Jim Hamm

http://smalldog.biz/newsletter/kibbles-bytes-1112/

Mac Tip

Here's a tip for your Mac that you might find helpful.

To automatically delete items in the trash, click Finder preferences>advanced>check auto remove items in trash after 30 days. This way, you won't have to remember to delete the items in trash periodically. This will keep trash from building up and soaking up storage space.

Jim Hamm

Google One

Here's something I just became aware of, and mention it FYI and possible consideration: Google One has an app for iOS on the iPhone wherein you can backup your iPhone for free. it includes 15 GB of storage. Why do this, you might ask, if one can just back up to iCloud? Good question, and I don't have an answer except perhaps the concept of suspenders plus a belt -- extra security. I've not used it yet, but probably will give it a try. 

One feature that I might find handy is apparently one can save an email in Gmail directly into Google One. That could be handy as I use Gmail for my email client. More info in the links below.

Jim Hamm

https://blog.google/products/google-one/free-features/  

https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/30/21347769/google-one-phone-backups-ios-android-free-account