Blind Bargains

Apple Weekly Rundown: The Mag Safe Edition


Microsoft stole most of the week's news with their announcement of Windows 10, Office 16 and those Holo Lens thingies. However, we still have some interesting reads this week regardless.

First up, and hey I know this guy!, Jamie Pauls is joining the gang over at Apple Vis. Content Producer Jamie Pauls Joins the AppleVis Editorial Team
Speaking of AppleVis, they had two great blog posts this week. First, A note to the mainstream media: yes, blind people can actually use touchscreens. Next, how did the BBC get it so wrong for blind users in the latest update to its iOS news app? And, take a listen to the podcast interview with Winston Chen who discusses the recent release of Voice Dream Writer. Lastly, here is the page for comments on the most recent release of Audio Hijack for Mac. Along with Voice Dream Writer, three other Voiceover friendly apps were released this week.

Some people get a holiday bonus if their company does well. Tim Cook's company could be said to be doing well one would think. Therefore, by this logic, Tim got a 9.22 million dollar bonus. Need one of those strange articles to wave in front of your Android-loving friends to show you made the right choice in phones? Here ya go. Smarter people use iPhones - study says.

Last week we posted an article noting the possibility that we'll have Voiceover compatibility in the new companion app for the upcoming Apple Watch. While that was great to hear, the old adage of skipping the first generation of an Apple product may just be the thing to do if these reports of watch battery life are true. Saving battery life is a common question for many "how to" sites. Here is one that contains 8 tips for saving the life of your precious Macbook battery. Imagine the home of the future. Maybe it uses solar power. Maybe it uses Home Kit and an even newer Apple TV? It won't, however, be using unapproved wifi, though it seems as if Apple is now starting to define more about what will, and will not, work with Home Kit.

Twitter also can be pushy it seems when it comes to what you can do with its token limits. This week saw Twitter ask app users not to use Instagram, and now Mac users of Tweetbot have run aground in Twitter's developer crackdown initiative. Google, on the other hand, appears to be running hot and cold when it comes to Apple products. Here's the hot side. Chrome for iOS adds material design, plays better with OS X Yosemite [Updated] On the cold shoulder side comes Google's disclosure of Mac security bugs. Now before you worry, remember that Google just recently did the same thing to Microsoft Windows this month. Oh, and Apple just killed those bugs in the latest beta for v10.2.2. So there, problem solved!

Sadly, that wasn't the only security story to pass along this week. Here come several more for you to ponder. Apple readies fix for Thunderstrike bootkit exploit in next OS X release Next, Snowden says that iPhones have hidden tracking software on them that will allow Governments to track you. Then there is this one... Report: Apple agrees to Chinese security audits of its products. And hopefully last up for this month, researchers use Siri to steal data from iPhones.

My college Journalism professor said to me years ago that ending some weekly columns with a joke, a funny story or just a humorous remark could go a long way to leaving a positive impression on the reader's mind. I'd like to thank the good folks at Blackberry for helping me do that for you this week. No, seriously, be sitting down for this one.
Thanks for reading the rundown and leave us a remark in the Comment Section if we missed something you thought should have been in this week's column.

Category: Articles

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Joe Steinkamp is no stranger to the world of technology, having been a user of video magnification and blindness related electronic devices since 1979. Joe has worked in radio, retail management and Vocational Rehabilitation for blind and low vision individuals in Texas. He has been writing about the A.T. Industry for 15 years and podcasting about it for almost a decade.


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