4 March 2019 Show full articles

#1455: USB 3.2 and USB4, repurpose the Eject key, attach an iPad to a MacBook, Palm phone and iPhone nano pondering

The group in charge of USB has unveiled a new naming convention for USB 3.2 that will likely cause massive confusion, and the announcement of the draft release of USB4 isn’t helping. Otherwise, we have three reviews for you this week. First, if you’ve ever wanted more from the Eject key on your keyboard, take a look at Ejector, which repurposes the key to eject any mounted volume. Wish your MacBook had a second display? Jeff Porten takes a look at the Mountie clip, which lets you hang #an iPad or iPhone off the side of a MacBook’s screen. Finally, for those who are pining for a much smaller iPhone, Julio Ojeda-Zapata examines the tiny but flawed Palm phone and uses it as a springboard to speculate about how Apple could create an iPhone nano. The only notable Mac app release this week is Carbon Copy Cloner 5.1.8.

The new USB 3.2 standard promises faster devices but also a great deal of confusion thanks to an insane naming convention that retroactively mixes up different USB generations. Meanwhile, a draft of USB4 was just announced.

Dave DeLong’s new Ejector app reappropriates the Eject key to eject any kind of mounted volume and adds an Eject button to the Touch Bar.

If you’d like to use another screen with your MacBook while traveling but can’t figure out how to arrange and support it, Jeff Porten has found a simple clip that attaches an iPad to a MacBook for use as a second display.

Most Apple users won’t be interested in the new Palm, a super tiny Android phone that’s also deeply flawed. But what might an iPhone with similar proportions look like? How would it work? And would anyone want it? Let’s take a flight of fancy!

Watchlist

Maintenance release for the drive-cloning and backup utility with bug fixes and improvements. ($39.99 new, free update, 15.7 MB)

ExtraBITS

Apple has named ten winners in its “Shot on iPhone Challenge,” whose photos will be featured in billboards around the world, in Apple retail stores, and online.

A group of researchers has revealed a group of security vulnerabilities exploitable by merely plugging in a malicious Thunderbolt cable or peripheral.

In an impressive piece of investigative journalism, Casey Newton of The Verge has published an article describing what it’s like to work as a Facebook content moderator. Short answer: it sounds horrible.

#1455: USB 3.2 and USB4, repurpose the Eject key, attach an iPad to a MacBook, Palm phone and iPhone nano pondering

USB 3.2’s Naming Convention Is a Hot Mess; USB4 Announced

Ejector Gives the Vestigial Eject Key a Reason to Exist

Attach an iPad to Your MacBook as a Second Display with Mountie

Palm’s Tiny Phone Sucks, but How About an iPhone nano?

Watchlist

Carbon Copy Cloner 5.1.8

ExtraBITS

Apple Announces “Shot on iPhone Challenge” Winners

Thunderclap Researchers Reveal Vulnerabilities Exploitable through Thunderbolt

The Secret Lives of Facebook Moderators in America