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The Clean-Out-the-Dust Edition Monday, March 19, 2018

Don't Make My Mistake: How A Minute Of Spring Cleaning Made My Computer Run Like New Again, by Alex Cooke, Fstoppers

If the computer was shutting itself off while the fan was blowing at full hurricane strength, it was probably overheating. I put my hand on the case, and sure enough, it was uncomfortably hot. I had only been in Photoshop for a few minutes, so I grabbed the computer out of frustration and looked it over as if I would suddenly see the key, except I did suddenly see the key: a bit of dust on the USB cables in the back. It suddenly occurred to me that in almost six years of owning this computer, I had never thought to clean out the dust that was constantly accumulating on the internals.

People Are Accidentally Setting Off Apple’s Emergency SOS Alert, by Russell Brandom, The Verge

If you sleep on your Apple Watch the wrong way, you might get a wake-up call from the police. That’s what happened to Jason Rowley, who tweeted about the incident earlier this week. Using his watch as a sleep tracker, he ended up holding down the crown button to trigger an emergency call to the police, who showed up in his bedroom at 1AM. Rowley told us the police were friendly and helpful, and accustomed to WatchOS misdials like this one.

Take This App And Call Me In The Morning, by Natasha Singer, New York Times

Later this year, doctors treating patients addicted to substances like cocaine and amphetamines will be able to prescribe Reset, an app that gives patients lessons to help them modify their behavior. The Food and Drug Administration cleared it in September as the first mobile medical app to help treat substance-use disorders.

“It’s all the things you would traditionally associate with a pill or any other medication,” said Dr. Corey McCann, the chief executive of Pear Therapeutics, the start-up behind Reset. “But it just so happens to be a piece of software.”

Apple Is Secretly Developing Its Own Screens For The First Time, by Mark Gurman, Bloomberg

The technology giant is making a significant investment in the development of next-generation MicroLED screens, say the people, who requested anonymity to discuss internal planning. MicroLED screens use different light-emitting compounds than the current OLED displays and promise to make future gadgets slimmer, brighter and less power-hungry.

The screens are far more difficult to produce than OLED displays, and the company almost killed the project a year or so ago, the people say. Engineers have since been making progress and the technology is now at an advanced stage, they say, though consumers will probably have to wait a few years before seeing the results.

Stuff

Clean Up That Text With TextSoap 8 For The Mac, by Dennis Sellers, Apple World Today

The software can tackle text from a variety of formats. It processes text documents, skipping past the repetitive work of manually fixing up text with a simple click.

Let Your Family Know You're Safe With These Apps, by Telegraph Herald

Considering seemingly everyone that’s old enough to go out on their own has mobile phones, let’s look at some apps that can help give you, Mom, et al., a little more comfort as you navigate the dangerous world back to your pad.

One Of My Favorite Tech Gadgets Prevents Me From Ever Losing My Phone, Wallet, Or Keys — And It Only Costs $35, by Avery Hartmans, Business Insider

Tile works like a tiny tracking device. You can attach it to you keychain, slip into a pocket, or toss it in the bottom of your suitcase. You'll need to pair it with your iPhone or Android phone, and then you can basically forget it exists.

Notes

Apple's Third Large California Campus Is Already Built, by Daniel Eran Dilger, AppleInsider

In January, Apple announced plans to build a new campus in the United States. However, it hasn't previously said much about AC3, its third major campus development already nearing completion in Silicon Valley. Here's a look at the more immediate growth occurring in Apple's backyard as the company works to accommodate an expansion of workers.

Bottom of the Page

A completely-sealed, non-user-upgradeable machine will not build up with dust internally. And probably be water-resistant too, if not water-proof. As someone who has really never upgrade a machine after purchase, that's very attractive to me.

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I'm enjoying my long walks that I do on weekend mornings. Part of my walk is within an urban area, full of cars and apartment blocks. But the other part of the walk is in a nature park, with butterflies, monkeys, and squirrels. This is the part that I look forward to the entire week.

My eye-sights and my hearing are both getting worse as I age. I will be sad if, one day, my legs get weak and I cannot walk as well.

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Thanks for reading.