MyAppleMenu - Tue, Dec 15, 2015

Tue, Dec 15, 2015The Wrangling-Windows Edition

One Screen Or Two: Why It’s Better (Or Worse) To Have Multiple Displays On Your Mac, by Kirk McElhearn and Rob Giffiths, Macworld

If you work with multiple applications on your Mac, you find yourself confronted with managing many windows. Most people use a single Mac and struggle to organize their windows, but some people use their Mac with a second (or even a third) display.

Macworld contributors Rob Griffiths and Kirk McElhearn have different approaches to wrangling all those windows. Rob uses two displays, and Kirk uses one, leveraging Spaces to keep his apps under control. Here’s how they each manage apps and windows.

Do Computers Need Pressure-Sensing Screens?, by Adrienne Lafrance, The Atlantic

So we’re only just beginning to see what pressure-sensitive screens will mean for how people use phones. And a lot of that is because developers are still figuring out what to do with the technology.

Apple's Directions

Apple Buys Former Chip Fab In North San Jose, by Nathan Donato-Weinstein, Silicon Valley Business Journal

It's unclear what Apple will use the facility for, but marketing material from the listing agent, ATREG, says: "Well suited for prototype, pilot, and low-volume manufacturing, this facility is capable of producing a wide array of products at multiple technology nodes ranging from 600nm to 90nm, with the bulk of production from 350nm to 180nm."

Apple Opens Secret Laboratory In Taiwan To Develop New Screens, by Tim Culpan, Bloomberg

Apple Inc. opened a production laboratory in northern Taiwan where engineers are developing new display technologies, according to people with knowledge of the facility.

The Apple building in Longtan has at least 50 engineers and other workers creating new screens for devices including iPhones and iPads, the people said, asking not to be identified because the details aren’t public. Apple has recruited from local display maker AU Optronics Corp. and Qualcomm Inc., which used to own the building, the people said.

Talking Via iPad

Hillmorton High School Deputy Principal Retires After 46 Years, by Jody O'Callaghan, Stuff.co.nz

The disease may have taken his voice, but the sprightly 72-year-old has adapted to the challenge in the same way he has the decades of changes in education.

[...]

The geography teacher kept his remaining senior class informed of his condition, and used booklets, his iPad, and help from another teacher to communicate in the final weeks.

Stuff

Facebook Is Killing Photo Syncing, Asks Users To Download Its “Moments” App Instead, by Sarah Perez, TechCrunch

The company has now announced it will soon discontinue support for photo syncing, and is instead asking users to download the Moments app through a pop-up notification that appears at the top of the News Feed. That means if you want to continue to access photos you’ve privately synced from your phone, you’ll no longer be able to find these in a separate album on Facebook – you’ll need to download a new application.

Add Just The Right Touches To Your Photos With Photone, by Sandy Stachowiak, AppAdvice

From monotone to color tone filters and effects, bringing out the best in your photos is easy.

Hands On: Cardsmith 1.0.1 (OS X), by William Gallagher, MacNN

It's easier than Illustrator but it's not point, click, print, send: there is some work to be done here and many options for finely placing and adjusting both text and images. You could dart through this knocking out a card in a few minutes but you can also get rather lost and absorbed in using it.

Pandora’s New Thumbprint Radio Is A Personalized Listening Experience, by Brent Dirks, AppAdvice

The streaming music service has just launched Thumbprint Radio. As suggested by the name, the unique station is inspired by each listener’s previous thumbs up choices.

Tableau Gets Native iPhone App With Latest Version, by Enterprise Apps Today

Google Maps For iOS Gains Up-To-date Gas Prices, Popular Business Hours, by Cam Bunton, 9to5Mac

Develop

Swift String Cheat Sheet, by Keith Harrison, Use Your Loaf

The Swift String API is hard to get used to. It has also changed over time as the Swift language and the standard library have developed. Those answers you found on Stack Overflow that worked with Swift 1.2 may not work as expected (or at all) with Swift 2. On the plus side I am finding the Apple documentation to be helpful (see bottom of the post for links). So for my future reference and hopefully to help others also struggling here is my still growing list of String code snippets.

Local Teen Creates iPhone Game App, by Clayton News Daily

The game is an homage to retro Nintendo- and Game Boy-type artwork and a love for things zombie. “I wanted to bring two popular franchises together,” said Robinson. “This was my inspiration.”

Plan To Throw One Away, by Gareth Rees

This is a software development story from early in my career. The company in question went bust eighteen years ago, so it’s probably safe to tell the tale now.

Notes

Apple Gifts Retail Employees With Apple Music Subscription, by Juli Clover, MacRumors

Apple last week provided all of its employees with urBeats earphones from the Beats by Dr. Dre product lineup as part of an annual holiday gift, and today iTunes chief Eddy Cue told Apple employees they would also receive a free nine-month subscription to Apple Music.

Samsung Asks Supreme Court To Take Up Its Apple Patent Case, by Ina Fried, Re/code

In its appeal of the case, Samsung maintains that the jury in this case wasn’t — and in most design patent cases isn’t — given enough information about how to understand the patents.

The Government Wants Access To Smartphones. What You Should Know, by Christie Smythe, Bloomberg

The industry says encryption and other barriers are there to protect your personal data from falling into the hands of hackers or snoops -- or, some say, the government itself.

“Weakening security with the aim of advancing security simply does not make sense,” the Information Technology Industry Council, which represents 62 of the largest tech companies in the world, said in a statement.

Bottom of the Page

Overheard in a FedEx Kinkos: "Daddy, what is faxing?"

— Joanna Stern (@JoannaStern) December 13, 2015

~

Thanks for reading.