The Loop

Consumer Product Safety Commission urges consumers to power down Samsung Galaxy Note 7

Dave Mark — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 21:03:26 +0000

CPSC:

Lithium-ion batteries pack a lot of power into a small package. When these batteries overheat and burst, the results can be serious. This is why the U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is urging all consumers who own a Samsung Galaxy Note7 to power them down and stop charging or using the device.

For your own safety, order an iPhone immediately.

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Revealing Dropbox’s dirty little security hack

Shawn King — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 17:49:33 +0000

This is really poor security from Dropbox. As of this writing, they have not responded to this issue or offered any explanations or solutions.

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iPhone 7 adds 11th key feature

Dave Mark — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 15:42:44 +0000

I believe this is available in both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

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The easiest way to rearrange your share sheet

Dave Mark — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 15:06:14 +0000

Brian Sutich, writing for The App Factor, talks you through the process of reordering the icons on your share sheet, the interface that pops up when you tap the share icon (square with an up arrow rising from it). Nice job.

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How to get a discount on the Apple Music Family Sharing plan

Dave Mark — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 14:52:46 +0000

A few days ago, I wrote about the $99 offer for a year of Apple Music. This offer was only good on the individual plan.

If you have a Family Sharing plan, read the linked post. It details a $100 iTunes gift card that you buy for $85 and can, supposedly, apply to your Family plan.

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The new Apple Watch, GPS, and waterproofing

Dave Mark — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 14:45:05 +0000

DC Rainmaker does a nice job capturing the images and details of the new Apple Watch concerning GPS and water resistance. Be sure to check out the breakout images showing the speaker placement in the original Apple Watch, vs that in the new Apple Watch.

I really like the image of the water testing chamber, too.

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MacStories Apple Watch Series 2 overview

Dave Mark — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 14:34:21 +0000

Alex Guyot, writing for MacStories, pulls together a nice overview of the new Apple Watch. My biggest question concerned swimming with the Apple Watch 2. From the post:

The original Apple Watch was rated to be splash proof and mostly water resistant, but submerging it was not recommended. The Apple Watch Series 2 ups the ante, receiving a water resistance rating of up to 50 meters. This means the Apple Watch can now safely be worn for swimming in pools or the ocean, and should generally remove any worry about wearing your Apple Watch into potentially watery situations.

I think swimmers are going to love the new Apple Watch.

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The FAA’s strongly worded caution on the Samsung Galaxy Note 7

Dave Mark — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 14:17:20 +0000

The Federal Aviation Administration’s official site:

In light of recent incidents and concerns raised by Samsung about its Galaxy Note 7 devices, the Federal Aviation Administration strongly advises passengers not to turn on or charge these devices on board aircraft and not to stow them in any checked baggage.

In my lifetime, I cannot think of a time when a specific product was called out in this way. As in, we urge you not to even pack this specific product in your luggage.

I can’t imagine what the Samsung corporate folks are going through right now. Airlines are banning the phone, there are stories of car fires. This is truly terrible.

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The origins of all 32 NFL team names

Shawn King — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 03:16:21 +0000

In honor of this weekend being the first full weekend of the new NFL season, check out how your favorite team got its name.

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∞ Apple’s iPhone 7 keynote was the highest ever video traffic for Akamai

Jim Dalrymple — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 21:45:58 +0000

Apple on Wednesday launched the iPhone 7, a new Apple Watch, and a couple of other new and updated products. As usual, Apple turned to Akamai Technologies to handle the streaming of the event to the public. […]

Steel beam from World Trade Center en route to Gander

Shawn King — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 19:23:34 +0000

Not enough Americans know the story of Gander (similar things happened in Halifax and Vancouver). On that awful day, and in the awful days afterwards, my fellow Canadians stepped up to help. I’m could not be more proud.

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Men are sharing selfies to raise awareness for suicide prevention and mental health

Shawn King — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 18:59:19 +0000

This is a great idea. One of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do is to talk openly as I can about my battles with depression. I’ve taken a lot of crap for it from jerks on the internet but I’ve gotten more support from complete strangers than I ever could have imagined and I’m very grateful for that. If you’re suffering, reach out to family, friends, and even complete strangers for help. There’s no shame in it.

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Apple won’t be announcing initial iPhone 7 sales

Shawn King — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 18:47:58 +0000

This will send the Tech Media into a tizzy but, as Apple says, they already know what their sales numbers will be.

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No, iPhone 6s and 6s Plus cases won’t fit the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus

Shawn King — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 18:40:26 +0000

Bummer.

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The $10,000 golden Apple Watch is no more

Shawn King — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 18:15:47 +0000

The gold Apple Watch was an interesting experiment. Apple will never say but I’d be curious to know how many they actually sold.

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Why paper cuts hurt so much

Shawn King — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 17:12:19 +0000

Great look at the science behind what seem to be the most painful cuts of all.

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All cameras are good cameras

Shawn King — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 16:32:00 +0000

I tell my students to not worry about the camera they have. Anything bought in the last five years will be a good camera. Learn how to take pictures, how to create images and learn what you like to shoot. Then worry about buying a camera that fits.

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AirPods hands-on: They stayed in my ears and sounded awesome

Dave Mark — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 15:08:34 +0000

Susie Ochs, writing for Macworld:

I didn’t want to like the AirPods, I really didn’t. But in the hands-on area after Apple’s iPhone 7 event on Wednesday, I found myself dancing along in spite of myself—and the AirPods stayed put, feeling surprisingly secure. With convenient features on both the hardware and software sides, I have to admit that Apple’s totally-wireless AirPods kind of rocked my world.

And (my favorite):

Not only did I dance, I headbanged. I shook my head side to side, I tossed my hair, I jogged in place, and I looked silly doing all of it. The AirPods stayed put, and they stayed loud. The music (more Sia, naturally) sounded full and lush and I couldn’t hear a single word anyone around me was saying, as if I was completely sealed off in a bubble of rock and roll. Pretty impressive.

Obviously, a big part of this is the fit. Give them a try, see how they feel in your ears.

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Penguin swims 5,000 miles every year for reunion with the man who saved his life

Dave Mark — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 14:11:09 +0000

This story is from back in March, but ran across it this morning. Fantastic and heartwarming.

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US Fall foliage site lets you find peak foliage in your area

Dave Mark — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 14:07:15 +0000

Launch the map, then drag the slider ’til your part of the country turns a pleasing shade of burnt orange. That’s the foliage peak. Nice resource. Pass it along.

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