Apple’s new YouTube series

Apple has recently produced a new series for iPhone called, fittingly, ‘How to shoot for iPhone’.

It features a super broad list of 38 videos in the series, covering topics such as ‘How to shoot during Golden Hour’, ‘How to shoot a Selfie with the timer’, ‘How to shoot a close-up’ and much more.

If you’re like many people and just use the camera on your iPhone to point and shoot in the way that looks best, sitting down and watching a few of these could be worthwhile.

We’ve featured the first Two videos below; ‘How to shoot with depth control on iPhone’ and ‘How to Shoot with Stage Light Mono on iPhone’. Also see Apple’s new Ad featuring people being funny about using Depth Control.

Enjoy Learning! It’s the best!

Special Apple Media Event

According to the Apple-vine, we can expect a Special Media Event on March 25th at the Steve Jobs Theater on the Apple Park campus.

What is this event all about? Apparently, we can expect an introduction to a new subscription news service, and possibly a stand-alone video streaming service.

Fancy Pants actresses Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Garner, are said to be attending the event, all of whom star in shows that Apple has purchased. The streaming service is supposed to be similar to veteran streaming services such as Netflix and will include TV shows and movies acquired by or funded by Apple, who reportedly has more than two dozen original television shows in the works.

It is unclear at this stage as to if any of the content will be provided for free to Apple TV owners or not.

The news service on the other hand, seems to be a definitive paid subscription, and we’re looking at around $9.99 a month for unlimited access to paywalled content from sites like The New York Times and the Washington Post. There is also likely to be a magazine subscription service, which could be bundled with both of the above services.

We’ll find out all the details on March 25th!

New iOS update fixes Group FaceTime Bug

Apple has just released iOS 12.1.4.  Yay! Why Yay?  Well, the update includes a fix for the much talked about privacy bug in Group FaceTime.

Which bug? Well if you haven’t heard, there was a flaw in the previous iOS that let callers access the call recipient’s microphone and front-facing camera.

From the Source: “We again apologize to our customers and we thank them for their patience,” Apple also noticed that there was another vulnerability whereby participants could capture Live Photos during a FaceTime call. “To protect customers who have not yet upgraded to the latest software, we have updated our servers to block the Live Photos feature of FaceTime for older versions of iOS and macOS,”

If you want to use Group FaceTime and not have to worry about the bug, —> Back up your iOS device, connect to Wi-Fi ,  go to Settings > General > Software Update to install the latest version of the operating system, iOS 12.1.4.

Now, who wants to FaceTime party?!

Discounted iPad Pro!

Right now, Amazon is having a limited-time-only sale on a current 10.5-inch iPad Pro model.

In the market? Get the 64GB Silver or Space Gray Apple iPad Pro with WiFi for only $500, down from $649. Want WiFi + cellular? This is also on sale for $699 instead of the usual $779.

Get on it while it lasts! Good Luck!

New iPads coming in 2019

Apple will reportedly be launching a new fifth-generation iPad mini model as well as a new entry-level iPad.

The new model – if real – is said to have an upgraded processor and a lower-cost display panel, whereas the entry-level iPad will  feature a 10-inch display within a narrower frame. There is also the possibility of two different versions of the entry level iPad.

The current entry level iPad supports Apple Pencil and is priced starting at $329.

By the way – How are we talking about 2019 already? Like it’s next week or something? Slow down, time.

HOT Deal of The day on an iPad!

Just in time for Christmas because no one knows what to get anybody ever!

Get this! The 32GB Apple iPad 9.7″ WiFi Tablet (Latest Model) is now just $229, down from $329  at Walmart.

Shipping is FREE or select free store pickup where stock permits.

Available colors are Space Gray, Silver  or Gold

Check out this stellar deal here! 

Have better passwords people!

SplashData, a large provider of security applications, just did its thing again, the thing that it does every year – published a list of the worst passwords, sourced from more than five million passwords leaked on the internet in the last 12 months, mostly from North America and Western Europe.

And is it good news? ….Not…really?

Like last year, this year has seen some pretty major data leaks, but it doesn’t seem like we’re getting any better at passwords.
For the fifth year in a row,  you guessed it, Password is up there. Like right up there at the number 2 spot. The number 1 spot? 123456.

New entries this year include ‘donald’ and ‘princess’.

According to SplashData CEO Morgan Slaint:

“Hackers have great success using celebrity names, terms from pop culture and sports, and simple keyboard patterns to break into accounts online because they know so many people are using those easy-to-remember combinations.”

Here are the top 10 most popular passwords of 2018:

1) 123456
2) password
3) 123456789
4) 12345678
5) 12345
6) 111111
7) 1234567
8) sunshine
9) qwerty
10) iloveyou

The guys at SplashData estimated that almost 10 percent of people have used at least one of the top 25 worst passwords on this year’s list, and nearly 3 percent of people have used the worst password at one time, “123456”.

So, if you find your password on the list, what should you do?

Change it.

SplashData said that passwords should be no shorter than twelve characters and have mixed types of characters in each one. Aaaaand as hard to remember as it is, every log-in should have a different password, BUT investing in a password management app to store everything, generate random new passwords, and automatically log into websites is  a good idea.

Check the rest of the top 100 worst passwords out here. 

Apple’s $29 battery replacement offer ending soon

Any of you guys have an iPhone that needs a battery replacement?

You can most likely get it replaced for a new one by Apple for $29 , but you have to do it before December 31, 2018.

The devices that works with the program are the  iPhone SE, 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus, and X, as these are the models that were affected by the battery slow-down issue that Apple got in a bit of trouble for. The $29 replacement offer has been in place since Dec 2017.

After December 31, 2018, replacement batteries will be priced at $49, with the exception of the iPhone X which will be $69.

Does this sound like something you need? Yes? Here’s what you do:

You can go to the official battery replacement site here,  or alternatively take your iPhone to an Apple retail store, an Apple Authorized Service Provider, or send it in for replacement at an Apple Repair Center.

Either method could take up to five business days, but anecdotally in-store battery replacements are often completed more quickly.

Take note- if you have any other damage to your iPhone that impairs the replacement of the battery, like a cracked screen, that damage will need to be repaired first before the battery can be swapped out for a new one.

If you want to check on the health of your battery before doing any of this, open the Settings app, choose the Battery section, and select “Battery Health.”

If the battery is not operating at Peak Performance Capability, you will see a recommendation for a battery replacement in order to restore the full functionality of the device.

Sound like you? Go team go!

Costco offering discounts on Macs!

Good news US Costco members!!

Costco just started selling discounted models of the latest MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and iMacs on its website. 

The prices range between $50 and $200 lower than Apple’s prices.  There is a limit of two per customer, and they’re accepting pre-orders now, with shipments expected to begin the week of December 17.  Shipping and handling is included, and it appears as though in store pick up is an option as well.

Also, as a bonus, some of the configurations are bundled with AppleCare+ for Mac coverage.

You have to sign in as a member in order to view the prices – Check it out! 

New Apple Ads highlight Group Facetime and The Holidays

Apple has recently released a couple of new Ads, one celebrating the holiday season and one celebrating the joys of it’s new Group Facetime feature. As usual for Apple, both may make you feel all the feels. Enjoy!!

We’re not crying – YOU’RE CRYING