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Category: Entertainment

Adam Engst 11 comments

Text-to-Podcast Service Listen Later Sponsoring TidBITS

Please welcome our latest long-term TidBITS sponsor, Listen Later. Email an article URL to this innovative Internet service, and it cleanly converts the article text into a custom podcast episode in your favorite podcast app.

Adam Engst 38 comments

Apple Launches iPhone Sports App

Apple has released a free Apple Sports app for the iPhone with schedules, scores, and standings for a handful of professional and college sports. It's only available the in US, UK, and Canada, and shows betting odds by default.

Adam Engst 24 comments

iOS 17.3 Stands Out from Other OS Updates with Stolen Device Protection

Apple has released a large set of operating system updates, including iOS 17.3, iPadOS 17.3, macOS 14.3 Sonoma, watchOS 10.3, tvOS 17.3, HomePod Software 17.3, macOS 13.6.4 Ventura, macOS 12.7.3 Monterey, iOS 16.7.5 and iPadOS 16.7.5, and iOS 15.8.1 and iPadOS 15.8.1. New features include Stolen Device Protection in iOS 17.3 and Apple Music collaborative playlists.

Julio Ojeda-Zapata 2 comments

Evaluating New Features in the iPhone 15 Pro Max, Apple Watch Series 9, and AirPods Pro

Julio Ojeda-Zapata took the iPhone 15 Pro Max, the Apple Watch Series 9, and the recently tweaked second-generation AirPods Pro on a trip as a tech experiment: How would their new features fare in a travel capacity? He renders his verdicts. 

Adam Engst 7 comments

Apple Adds The Athletic to Apple News+

Fans of professional and college teams across major sports leagues may appreciate the addition of The Athletic to Apple News+. Apple said content from Wirecutter would also be available to all Apple News users starting in 2024.

Adam Engst 27 comments

How to Turn Off Smart TV Automatic Content Recognition

If you have purchased a smart TV recently, beware that it probably shares everything that appears onscreen with its makers. Here are instructions for turning off this privacy-abusing technology for three major smart TV platforms.

Adam Engst 40 comments

How I Use the iPhone to Listen to Music While Biking

Given New York State laws against biking with a pair of earbuds, Adam Engst explores other options and settles on a handlebar mount for his iPhone, discovering that it also provides a perfect opportunity for reading song lyrics.

Adam Engst 26 comments

Prices Increase for Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, and Apple One

Apple has raised prices for three of its services and the Apple One bundles while leaving iCloud+, Apple Music, and Apple Fitness+ pricing alone.

Adam Engst 11 comments

AirPods Firmware Updates Add Features, Improve Automatic Switching

New AirPods firmware updates promise to improve the Automatic Switching experience for all AirPods, add a new press-to-mute feature for most models, and bring new Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness, and Personalized Volume features to the second-generation AirPods Pro.

Julio Ojeda-Zapata 5 comments

The Beats Go On: Apple Subsidiary Releases Studio Pro Headphones, Studio Buds+ Earbuds

No search for Apple earbuds or headphones is complete without weighing what’s on offer from Apple subsidiary Beats By Dre. Releases include flagship Studio Pro headphones and a modest update to its 2021 Studio Buds.

Adam Engst 5 comments

Recent macOS Update Fixes Multi-Display Screen Saver Bug

Annoyed by the bug in macOS 13.3 Ventura that prevented screen savers from working on multiple displays? Apple quietly fixed it at some point, so as of macOS 13.4.1, you can again enjoy your eye candy on all attached displays.

Adam Engst 13 comments

BookBITS: “Red Team Blues” by Cory Doctorow

Adam Engst recommends Cory Doctorow’s latest thriller. It’s an exciting read set in the tech world of today but populated by characters whose history dates back to the 1990s. It’s all fiction, but broad swaths ring surprisingly true.

Adam Engst 38 comments

How Do You Request Music Using Siri?

Frustrated by how he’s using Siri, Adam Engst explains his approach to requesting music from HomePods to see if others have techniques they feel are more successful. Is the eventual answer generative AI?

Adam Engst 6 comments

21 New Features Coming to Apple Services in 2023

Apple has released a list of enhancements coming to Apple services with the next versions of its operating systems.

Jeff Carlson 3 comments

Filling Out Your Cookbook Shelves with ckbk

Do you want the experience of cooking from a cookbook alongside the convenience of pulling up recipes online? ckbk’s collection of 700 books and 120,000 recipes makes that possible. And a new collaboration with Eat Your Books expands the offerings.