In this episode of Compile & Conquer, we explore the life and legacy of Steve Jobs, the iconic innovator who transformed technology and design. From co-founding Apple in a garage to revolutionizing industries with products like the iPhone, Jobs left an indelible mark on the world. Join us as we dive into his journey, vision, and lasting impact on tech and culture.
Apple
What Happened at The WWDC19 Keynote Presentation
Who has time to watch the entire thing? Here’s a good summary:
How To Force Restart Frozen iPhone X
How To Force Restart Frozen iPhone X:
Press and quickly release the Volume up button then press and quickly release the Volume down button. To complete, press and hold the Side button until the Apple logo appears on the screen.
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For some reason Apple decided to hide this information after changing how the phone works.
Spotify, Apple Battle Songwriter Royalties
The drama heated up in January 2018, when the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board decided to boost the royalty rate that Spotify, Apple Music, and similar streamers must pay songwriters and publishers. Flash forward to last week, when Spotify, Google, Pandora, and Amazon revealed they were each planning to appeal that ruling. The National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) blasted the move, claiming that Spotify and Amazon had chosen to “sue songwriters.”
Perhaps fueled by this incendiary wording—which a NMPA spokesperson tells Pitchfork is “shorthand for the technical legal process of them appealing”—backlash against the streaming services quickly spread among songwriters and industry figures. This week, Spotify responded to the criticism with a blog post noting the complexity of the situation.
Apple is not taking part in the appeals. As such, the NMPA and other industry figures were quick to praise Apple as pro-artist. That said, if the appeals succeed, Apple could conceivably have its cake and eat it too, enjoying the benefit of lower rates without the ire of coming out in favor of them. Apple’s vast phone business and huge cash reserves also mean it’s more insulated from higher costs of doing business than Spotify would be.
It’s a mess.
Samsung Galaxy S10 Face Unlock is Not Reliable
There are a number of reports that say—surprise!—a 2D image sensor can be fooled by a 2D image. The Verge was able to unlock the device with a video, and YouTube channel Unbox Therapy was able to unlock the S10 just by playing one of its public channel videos in view of the camera. The worst example is probably from AndroidWorld.it, which was able to unlock the Galaxy S10 by waving a still photo around in front of the device.
The Galaxy S10 can also reportedly have trouble telling different people apart. Security Researcher Jane Wong was able to unlock her brother’s phone with her face.
Not surprised.
Apple Rumored to Release AR headset glasses
Rumors that Apple is preparing to release its own AR headset have been around since 2017 when Bloomberg predicted that it could release a headset as early as 2019. A further report from CNET last year claimed that the headset could be released in 2020 and would offer a combination of both AR and VR.
Apple’s AR headset won’t be the first to rely on an external phone for its processing power. LG released a similar (albeit VR) headset alongside its G5 flagship back in 2016, while more recently, North’s Focals smart glasses (which the company produced after acquiring the technology portfolio behind Intel’s canceled Vaunt glasses) paired to a connected phone via Bluetooth. Just last month, chipmaker Qualcomm announced a dedicated platform to help manufacturers produce their own phone-connected AR or VR headsets.
I think it’s a dumb idea to work on AR headsets. We should get them into Car windshields first, etc. Humans should be last on the list.