The Essential Apple Podcast Essential Apple Crew

Recorded 11th July 2021

Simon is joined once again by Nick, Jim (who appears to be demolishing his living room in the background) and Steve (who barely gets a word in) and they talk about a host of weird and wonderful stories - including why setting up an iPad isn’t as simple as it could be, an ancient ‘Easter Egg’, resurrecting 35 year old files from the dead, the Audacity furore and more...

GIVEAWAYS & OFFERS

Glenn Fleishman’s book Take Control of Securing Your Mac can be found at takecontrolbooks.com along with many other titles by him, Joe Kissell, Jeff Carlson and others.
Steve at Geeks Corner has a podcast which is usually a 5-15 min show of his thoughts on tech. Also keep an eye on his site or follow him on Twitter @GeekCorner_uk to watch for regular giveaways.

Why not come and join the Slack community? You can now just click on this Slackroom Link to sign up and join in the chatter!


On this week’s show:
NICK RILEY

Big Show on the @spligosh on Twitter very occasionally.
Sometimes appears on Bart Busschots' Let's Talk Apple
Sutton Park Circuit church worship on YouTube
Nick’s church stream videos – You Tube

JAMES ORMISTON

MacJim in the Slack
Also on Flickr as thesrpspaintshop
Has videos on Vimeo

STEVE DURBIN

Runs the Geeks Corner website
Produces the Geeks Corner podcast
@GeekCorner_uk on Twitter

APPLE

M1 MacBook battery life so good Apple thought it was a bug – 9to5Mac
Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak Declares Support for Right to Repair – Vice
12 Tips & Tricks For HomePod & HomePod mini – Forbes
iOS 14.7 beta 5 fixes annoying iPhone bug that disables Wi-Fi connections– BGR
“So I took what is my son's old computer and added an account for my wife and was going to delete his account. For some reason deleting an old account never seems to work right. After several hours I still could not close system preferences because it said it was deleting the account. I decided just to wipe the computer and start fresh. I did that and during set up it asked for the previous account password I set up before wiping the computer??? Never seen that before. Wouldn't that be gone since I wiped it? Entered the password and it worked fine, but kind of strange?” – Donny
YouTuber takes a broken iPhone 8 and turns it into a working faux iPhone 12 – iMore
Simon’s recovered 35 year old files... A tale

TECHNOLOGY

Microsoft Surface Neo Is Taking So Long to Come Out that Its Processor Got Discontinued – ReviewGeek
Karateka upside down – YouTube

SECURITY & PRIVACY

Microsoft issues emergency Windows patch to fix critical ‘PrintNightmare’ – The Verge
Microsoft’s emergency 'PrintNightmare' patch fails to fix critical exploit – IT Pro


Audacity Is Now A Possible Spyware, Remove It ASAP – FOSS Post
Tenacity - Audacity Fork – GitHub
Telemetry Debate Rocks Audacity Community In Open Source Dustup – Hadaday
10 best free DAWS for Mac – [FOSS Mint](https://www.fossmint.com/best-free-daws-for-mac/
The best DAWs 2021: the best digital audio workstations for PC and Mac – MusicRadar
Best beginner DAWs 2021: 11 music production software recommendations for newcomers – MusicRadar



WORTH A CHIRP / ESSENTIAL TIPS

‎Scan Thing: Scan Anything – App Store
How do you resize the apps in iOS 15? After install, they've all gone small. There used to be an option to make apps large or small on the display... – Jim

JUST A SNIPPET
For things that are not worth more than a flypast


Macbook M1 Air Teaser Review – Mark on YouTube
How to Install Windows 11 on Unsupported Devices – YTechB
I made GameCube Joy-Cons – YouTube


Essential Apple Recommended Services:

All Things Secured – Online security made simple by Josh Summers.
Pixel Privacy – a fabulous resource full of excellent articles and advice on how to protect yourself online.
Doug.ee Blog for Andy J’s security tips.
Ghostery –

Recorded 4th July 2021

Once again the gang (Nick, Simon and Jim) assemble to take a look at some stories from the last week or so of Apple and Tech news including Windows 11 on mad hardwares, a custom built Big Sur handheld, Apple Public Betas, Lego fun and more!

GIVEAWAYS & OFFERS

Glenn Fleishman’s book Take Control of Securing Your Mac can be found at takecontrolbooks.com along with many other titles by him, Joe Kissell, Jeff Carlson and others.
Steve at Geeks Corner has a podcast which is usually a 5-15 min show of his thoughts on tech. Also keep an eye on his site or follow him on Twitter @GeekCorner_uk to watch for regular giveaways.

Why not come and join the Slack community? You can now just click on this Slackroom Link to sign up and join in the chatter!


On this week’s show:
NICK RILEY

Big Show on the @spligosh on Twitter very occasionally.
Sometimes appears on Bart Busschots' Let's Talk Apple
Sutton Park Circuit church worship on YouTube
Nick’s church stream videos – You Tube

JAMES ORMISTON

MacJim in the Slack
Also on Flickr as thesrpspaintshop
Has videos on Vimeo

APPLE

macOS Monterey public beta: What it’s like using the Mac’s new OS – Input Mag
Apple launches public beta of macOS Monterey, bringing updates to FaceTime and Safari – The Verge


iOS 15 Hands-On: Top 5 New Features! – Marques Brownlee on YouTube
Should you install the iOS 15 public beta? Here’s what to consider – 9to5Mac


Serious Warning Issued For Millions Of Apple iPhone Users – Forbes
Windows 11 could run on Macs – What you need to know – Laptop Mag
Affinity 1.10 Sneak Peek – YouTube
Eight 'New' iOS 4 Features We're Still Using 11 Years Later – iDrop News
Dad sells family car to pay for kid’s $1,800 in-app spending spree – Cult of Mac
This tiny handheld runs macOS Big Sur and it's wild – iMore

TECHNOLOGY

Microsoft wasn't joking about the Dev Channel not enforcing hardware checks: Windows 11 pops up on Pi, mobile phone – The Register
Microsoft Backpedals, Explains Windows 11 TPM Requirement – Digital Trends
Microsoft acknowledges the Windows 11 PC Health Check was 'not fully prepared' – PC Gamer


Jeff Bezos leaves an enduring legacy as he steps down as Amazon CEO – FRANCE 24 English
Design student creates device that rapidly stops bleeding from stab wounds – Sky News
NASA Continues to Try and Rescue Failing Hubble - Universe Today – Universe Today

SECURITY & PRIVACY

Major Vulnerability Affects All Western Digital NAS Devices Running OS 3 | PetaPixel – PetaPixel
Another day, another WD security flaw – The Verge


New Critical Security Warning Issued For All Windows Versions As ‘PrintNightmare’ Confirmed – Forbes
Apps with 5.8 million Google Play downloads stole users’ Facebook passwords – Ars Technica

WORTH A CHIRP / ESSENTIAL TIPS

How to Enable the Hidden 'Hello' Screen Saver in macOS Big Sur – Wccftech NOTE: where they say DRAG, they should say COPY - otherwise it won't work!
Satechi Just Released The Perfect Docking Station For Apple's Mac Mini – HiConsumption
Got A Box Of Lego Bricks? This Amazing App Scans Them And Suggests New Builds – Forbes
German scientists built a high-resolution microscope out of Lego bricks – Ars Technica

JUST A SNIPPET
For things that are not worth more than a flypast


Mac OS X Lion and Mac OS X Mountain Lion are now free to download – The Apple Post
Found a link to the elevation viewer I mentioned last show and it is based on QGIS data I believe
And here’s the thread on Twitter




Essential Apple Recommended Services:

All Things Secured – Online security made simple by Josh Summers.
Pixel Privacy – a fabulous resource full of excellent articles and advice on how to protect yourself online.
Doug.ee Blog for Andy J’s security tips.
Ghostery – protect yourself from trackers, scripts and ads while browsing.
Simple Logi

Recorded 27th June 2021

Currently Apple’s Podcast app doesn’t seem to render links properly so if you are listening in the Podcasts app go to www.essentialapple.com (http://www.essentialapple.com/) for full shownotes and links.

Simon, Steve and Nick get together again to take a look at rather more stories than they thought they had including Amazon sending tens of thousands of items a week to landfill, Safari Technology Preview, the death of John McAffee, Hubble’s broken computers, the MyBook Live story and more.

GIVEAWAYS & OFFERS

Glenn Fleishman’s book Take Control of Securing Your Mac can be found at takecontrolbooks.com along with many other titles by him, Joe Kissell, Jeff Carlson and others.
Steve at Geeks Corner has a podcast which is usually a 5-15 min show of his thoughts on tech. Also keep an eye on his site or follow him on Twitter @GeekCorner_uk to watch for regular giveaways.

Why not come and join the Slack community? You can now just click on this Slackroom Link to sign up and join in the chatter!

Slacker @MacJim has a family friendly Flickr group for listeners to share photos because the Darkroom channel in the Slack has become so popular - if you're interested head over to to the Essential Apple Flickr and request an invitation.


On this week’s show:
NICK RILEY

Big Show on the @spligosh on Twitter very occasionally.
Sometimes appears on Bart Busschots' Let's Talk Apple
Sutton Park Circuit church worship on YouTube
Nick’s church stream videos – You Tube

JAMES ORMISTON

MacJim in the Slack
In charge of the Essential Apple Flickr
Also on Flickr as thesrpspaintshop
Has videos on Vimeo

STEVE DURBIN

Runs the Geeks Corner website
Produces the Geeks Corner podcast
@GeekCorner_uk on Twitter

APPLE

Russia votes to force U.S. tech giants to open local offices – AppleInsider
Apple Shares List of Products to Keep Safe Distance Away From Pacemakers – MacRumors
Apps can request access to more RAM with iOS 15 entitlement, exceeding normal system memory limits – 9to5Mac
Safari Technology Preview - Safari – Apple Developer
Adobe Removing Photoshop Sketch and Illustrator Draw From App Store in July – MacRumors
Running Low on iCloud Storage? Heres How to Make Room for the Things You need – iDropNews
How to delete Time Machine local snapshots in macOS – AppleInsider


Hotspot connections will be safer in iOS 15 thanks to WPA3 security protocol – 9to5Mac
You Don't Need iCloud+ for 'Hide My Email' in iOS 15 | How to Set It Up Now – iDrop News
Final Cut Pro 10.5.3, Compressor 4.5.3, and Motion 5.5.2 – TidBITS
The Real System Requirements for Apple’s 2021 Operating Systems – TidBITS

TECHNOLOGY

Amazon Is Destroying Thousands of Unsold AirPods, iPads, and MacBooks According to New Investigation – iDrop News
Revealed: Amazon destroying millions of items of unsold stock in UK every year – ITV
The ex-Amazon worker who helped expose scale of unwanted stock being destroyed – ITV
Second Amazon whistleblower claims brand new goods being binned – ITV


John McAfee, Antivirus Software Creator, Found Dead In Spanish Prison Cell – HuffPost
NASA is pulling out all the stops to fix the Hubble Space Telescope – SlashGear
Podcasts | Everything Technology – Bob O’Donnell
Microsoft releases Windows 11 for free – but most computers will not be able to run it – Independent
Microsoft wont allow Windows 11 on many older Surface devices – PC World



SECURITY & PRIVACY

“I’m totally screwed.” WD My Book Live users wake up to find their data deleted – Ars Technica
Western Digital drives remotely wiped: What experts say to do now – SlashGear



WORTH A CHIRP / ESSENTIAL TIPS

All Things Secured | Online Security Made Simple – Josh Summers
This app lets you download full macOS Big Sur installer pkgs with one click – 9to5Mac

JUST A SNIPPET
For things that are not worth mor

Recorded 20th June 2021

Currently Apple’s Podcast app doesn’t seem to render links properly so if you are listening in the Podcasts app go to www.essentialapple.com for full shownotes and links.

The boys are back... Nick and Jim and Steve (from GeeksCorner.info) return to chat more about the WWDC and stuff that has happened since...

GIVEAWAYS & OFFERS

Glenn Fleishman’s book Take Control of Securing Your Mac can be found at takecontrolbooks.com along with many other titles by him, Joe Kissell, Jeff Carlson and others.
Steve at Geeks Corner has a podcast which is usually a 5-15 min show of his thoughts on tech. Also keep an eye on his site or follow him on Twitter @GeekCorner_uk to watch for regular giveaways.

Why not come and join the Slack community? You can now just click on this Slackroom Link to sign up and join in the chatter!

Slacker @MacJim has a family friendly Flickr group for listeners to share photos because the Darkroom channel in the Slack has become so popular - if you're interested head over to to the Essential Apple Flickr and request an invitation.


On this week’s show:
NICK RILEY

Big Show on the @spligosh on Twitter very occasionally.
Sometimes appears on Bart Busschots' Let's Talk Apple
Sutton Park Circuit church worship on YouTube

JAMES ORMISTON

MacJim in the Slack
In charge of the Essential Apple Flickr
Also on Flickr as thesrpspaintshop
Has videos on Vimeo

STEVE DURBIN

Runs the Geeks Corner website
Produces the Geeks Corner podcast
@GeekCorner_uk on Twitter

APPLE

You can place multiple copies of the same app on your home screen with iOS 15 — 9to5Mac
iOS 15 Allows You to Request Refunds for In-App Purchases Directly Wit... – MacRumors
Daring Fireball: The Talk Show Remote From WWDC 2021, With Craig Federighi and Greg Joswiak – Daring Fireball
Apple pays millions in iPhone-repair explicit photo case – BBC News
Apple has reportedly considered launching its own primary healthcare service – Engadget
Apple drops price of AppleCare+ for MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, with an extra discount for M1 – 9to5Mac
iPhone bug 'breaks' your WiFi when you join an oddly-named network – Engadget

TECHNOLOGY

Fastly CDN Server Issue Brings Down Swathes of Websites [Update: Solved] – MacRumors
Websites begin to work again after major breakage – BBC News


Australia internet banking outage blamed on DDoS mitigation service – IT Pro

SECURITY & PRIVACY

'RockYou2021' is the Biggest Password Leak Ever (So Far) – The Mac Observer
Newly discovered Vigilante malware outs software pirates and blocks them – Ars Technica
UK government to consider gutting GDPR rules – IT Pro

WORTH A CHIRP / ESSENTIAL TIPS

Opera GX: Gaming Browser – Opera
via Retro Rewind on YouTube
Simon plays Fallout 4 on YouTube


Essential Apple Recommended Services:

Pixel Privacy – a fabulous resource full of excellent articles and advice on how to protect yourself online.
Doug.ee Blog for Andy J’s security tips.
Ghostery – protect yourself from trackers, scripts and ads while browsing.
Simple Login – Email anonymisation and disposable emails for login/registering with
33mail.com – Never give out your real email address online again.
AnonAddy – Disposable email addresses
Sudo – get up to 9 “avatars” with email addresses, phone numbers and more to mask your online identity. Free for the first year and priced from $0.99 US / £2.50 UK per month thereafter... You get to keep 2 free avatars though.
ProtonMail – end to end encrypted, open source, based in Switzerland. Prices start from FREE... what more can you ask?
ProtonVPN – a VPN to go with it perhaps? Prices also starting from nothing!
Comparitech DNS Leak Test – simple to use and understand VPN leak test.
Fake Name Generator – so much more than names! Create whole identities (for free) with all the information you could ever need.
Wire

Recorded 13th June 2021

Currently Apple’s Podcast app doesn’t seem to render links properly so if you are listening in the Podcasts app go to www.essentialapple.com for full shownotes and links.

This week Nick is doing a “family thing”, poor Steve has “teh ill” and is sick iin bed and Jim can’t be with us because they are digging up the road outside his door and apparently the noise and vibrations are rattling the mugs in his cupboards! However Simon and Mark get together to discuss what they made of the WWDC event and cogitate on the bits that interested or disappointed them.

GIVEAWAYS & OFFERS

Glenn Fleishman’s book Take Control of Securing Your Mac can be found at takecontrolbooks.com along with many other titles by him, Joe Kissell, Jeff Carlson and others.
Steve at Geeks Corner has a podcast which is usually a 5-15 min show of his thoughts on tech. Also keep an eye on his site or follow him on Twitter @GeekCorner_uk to watch for regular giveaways.

Why not come and join the Slack community? You can now just click on this Slackroom Link to sign up and join in the chatter!

Slacker @MacJim has a family friendly Flickr group for listeners to share photos because the Darkroom channel in the Slack has become so popular - if you're interested head over to to the Essential Apple Flickr and request an invitation.


On this week’s show:
MARK CHAPPELL

@oceanspeed on Twitter
Puts Essential Apple related stuff on YouTube

TOPICS

WWDC21 in under 25 minutes by Geekscorner
No, Apple's Private Relay is not a VPN - CNET
Amazon is about to share your Internet connection with neighbors. Here’s how to turn it off – Washington Post
You can place multiple copies of the same app on your home screen with iOS 15 — 9to5Mac
Apple Temporarily Expands iCloud Storage in iOS 15 for Backing Up Data and Transferring to a New Device Mac Rumors
macOS Monterey Allows You to Erase a Mac Without Needing to Reinstall... Mac Rumors
Federighi on Apples latest privacy features – Six Colors
Buried features: There’s more to macOS Monterey than the keynote let on – Ars Technica – Ars Technica
macOS Monterey will drop support for older MacBook Pro and Air models – Engadget
The Real System Requirements for Apple’s 2021 Operating Systems - TidBITS
macOS Monterey: Here are the features exclusive to M1 Macs - 9to5Mac


Ten Cool New Features Introduced at WWDC 2021 - TidBITS
Apple almost forgot about tvOS 15, but here’s everything new - 9to5Mac
tvOS 15 lets you sign in to apps using Face ID on your iPhone - 9to5Mac


Is Old Os the New OS - Geekscorner
Update your Windows 10 PC right now to protect yourself from six new zero day exploits – BGR
Apple M1 Processor Bug Is ‘Baked’ In — But Is It Serious? – Forbes


Essential Apple Recommended Services:

Pixel Privacy – a fabulous resource full of excellent articles and advice on how to protect yourself online.
Doug.ee Blog for Andy J’s security tips.
Ghostery – protect yourself from trackers, scripts and ads while browsing.
Simple Login – Email anonymisation and disposable emails for login/registering with
33mail.com – Never give out your real email address online again.
AnonAddy – Disposable email addresses
Sudo – get up to 9 “avatars” with email addresses, phone numbers and more to mask your online identity. Free for the first year and priced from $0.99 US / £2.50 UK per month thereafter... You get to keep 2 free avatars though.
ProtonMail – end to end encrypted, open source, based in Switzerland. Prices start from FREE... what more can you ask?
ProtonVPN – a VPN to go with it perhaps? Prices also starting from nothing!
Comparitech DNS Leak Test – simple to use and understand VPN leak test.
Fake Name Generator – so much more than names! Create whole identities (for free) with all the information you could ever need.
Wire – free for personal u

Recorded 6th June 2021

Currently Apple’s Podcast app doesn’t seem to render links properly so if you are listening in the Podcasts app go to www.essentialapple.com (http://www.essentialapple.com/) for full shownotes and links.

This week I wanted to try and get this out on Monday before the event but as ever life tends to get in the way. Jim, Nick, Steve from Geeks Corner and I get together again to look at a few stories and then ponder over what Apple might or might not bring us in the WWDC keynote.

GIVEAWAYS & OFFERS

Glenn Fleishman’s book Take Control of Securing Your Mac can be found at takecontrolbooks.com along with many other titles by him, Joe Kissell, Jeff Carlson and others.
Steve at Geeks Corner has a podcast which is usually a 5-15 min show of his thoughts on tech. Also keep an eye on his site or follow him on Twitter @GeekCorner_uk to watch for regular giveaways.

Why not come and join the Slack community? You can now just click on this Slackroom Link to sign up and join in the chatter!

Slacker @MacJim has a family friendly Flickr group for listeners to share photos because the Darkroom channel in the Slack has become so popular - if you're interested head over to to the Essential Apple Flickr and request an invitation.


On this week’s show:
NICK RILEY

Big Show on the @spligosh on Twitter very occasionally.
Sometimes appears on Bart Busschots' Let's Talk Apple
Sutton Park Circuit church worship on YouTube

JAMES ORMISTON

MacJim in the Slack
In charge of the Essential Apple Flickr
Also on Flickr as thesrpspaintshop
Has videos on Vimeo

STEVE DURBIN

Runs the Geeks Corner website
Produces the Geeks Corner podcast
@GeekCorner_uk on Twitter

TOPICS

Woman called Siri writes to Apple CEO asking for free laptop to make up for jokes she’s had to endure — indy100
Apple Employees Wrote A Letter To CEO Tim Cook Saying Why They Don’t Want To Return To The Office — Forbes
This is why Apple TV 4K Siri Remote scrubbing doesn't work on Disney+, other apps — AppleInsider
Top leaker says Microsoft will unveil Windows 11 later this month — BGR
Apple's first major AirTag update addresses serious privacy concerns — BGR
This is not a drill: VMware vuln with 9.8 severity rating is under attack – Ars Technica
This is the biggest reason iPhone users switch from Apple to Android – BGR
Third eye invented to stop smartphone zombies from bumping into things – Sky News
If iPadOS 15 takes a big leap and homeOS joins the fray, it might be time for iOS to become ‘iPhoneOS’ again.– 9to5 Mac


Essential Apple Recommended Services:

Pixel Privacy – a fabulous resource full of excellent articles and advice on how to protect yourself online.
Doug.ee Blog for Andy J’s security tips.
Ghostery – protect yourself from trackers, scripts and ads while browsing.
Simple Login – Email anonymisation and disposable emails for login/registering with
33mail.com – Never give out your real email address online again.
AnonAddy – Disposable email addresses
Sudo – get up to 9 “avatars” with email addresses, phone numbers and more to mask your online identity. Free for the first year and priced from $0.99 US / £2.50 UK per month thereafter... You get to keep 2 free avatars though.
ProtonMail – end to end encrypted, open source, based in Switzerland. Prices start from FREE... what more can you ask?
ProtonVPN – a VPN to go with it perhaps? Prices also starting from nothing!
Comparitech DNS Leak Test – simple to use and understand VPN leak test.
Fake Name Generator – so much more than names! Create whole identities (for free) with all the information you could ever need.
Wire – free for personal use, open source and end to end encryted messenger and VoIP.
Pinecast – a fabulous podcast hosting service with costs that start from nothing.

Essential Apple is not affiliated with or paid to promote any