Essential Apple Podcast 290: Spats, Hacks & A.I‪.‬ The Essential Apple Podcast

On the show this time, Nick got hacked! Apple and Epic get into another spat, in which they both came off looking stupid, and childish... Simon and Nick have been playing with A.I. image tools. Apple made modifications to its new EU rules, a man has recovered over 200 Apple Watches from lakes in Illinois and Donny is disappointed in his Zagg pencils for iPads, and of course some other stuff too!

MISSION TO SEAFARERS APPEAL

The Mission to Seafarers is looking for donations of old, but working, smartphones and internet capable tablets to give seafarers far from home a way to talk to friends and family
If you have any old smartphones or tablets cluttering your cupboard and drawers why not donate them to this worthy cause? If you are in the UK contact Rev. Andrew Dotchin Vicar@felixparish.com or your nearest Mission to Seafarers Centre, or if you live outside the UK and would like to help, simply visit missiontoseafarers.org and make a donation.

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!

Recorded 10th March 2024


On this week's show
NICK RILEY

Spligosh in the Slack
Sutton Park Circuit church worship on YouTube
Nick’s church stream videos on You Tube

APPLE

Apple reverses course and clears way for Epic Games to set up rival iPhone app store in Europe – The Independent
M3 MacBook Air has this one major upgrade Apple didn't advertise – Tom's Guide
Apple confirms the MacBook Air M3 won't be a fingerprint magnet – TechRadar


Apple releases MacOS Sonoma 14.4 with a whopping 64 bug fixes – ZDNet
Apple could be planning a giant, foldable MacBook that doubles as your iPad – TechRadar
Apple's Box Office Misfires: Are Napoleon, Flower Moon, Argylle Worth it? – Variety
Apple’s last-minute App Store changes come with a catch – The Verge
What’s the most popular Mac in the US? Here’s what one study says – 9to5Mac
HomePod 17.4 Lets Siri Learn Your Default Music Service – iDrop News
There is no excuse for failing to action Spotify HomePod support – 9to5Mac


Alternative iOS App Stores Only Work for 'Grace Period' When Traveling – MacRumors
Apple removes big barrier for rival iPhone app stores – Cult of Mac

TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE

Google is following Apple's lead by adding new developer fees in the EU – Engadget
Why the hell would Google promise seven years of updates? – Android Central

WORTH A CHIRP / ESSENTIAL TIPS

This Simple Trick Helps Stop Your iPhone Apps Tracking You – Living Etc
I review laptops for a living and this is now the MacBook I recommend – Tom’s Guide
Zagg Pencil wears out in a day – Donny in the Slackroom

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


Over 200 Apple Watches recovered from Illinois lakes by metal detectorist – 9to5Mac
Colorware delivers a retro makeover with limited edition 'Apple Number 2 Pencil' – 9to5Mac


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 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 –