YMUG Newsletter – 2015/06/26 Is it summer? Is it?
JUST IN CASE YOU TUNED OUT WHEN YOU HEARD THE NAME TAYLOR SWIFT
Okay, it was a slow week for Apple news. Even so it seems like everyone was talking about Apple’s new streaming music service after the American singer Taylor Swift criticised it for not paying artists royalties during an initial free (to the user) 90-day trial period.
http://arstechnica.com/business/2015/06/taylor-swift-blasts-apple-for-not-paying-artists-during-free-music-trial/
Apple pretty quickly changed its mind (what could it do in all respect?).
http://arstechnica.com/apple/2015/06/apple-caves-to-taylor-swift-will-pay-artists-when-music-service-launches/
Although there were questions about what rate artists would be paid during the trial period.
http://www.macrumors.com/2015/06/23/royalties-free-trial-may-be-lower/
Taylor Swift just HAD to respond to people who criticised her.
http://www.cultofmac.com/327208/taylor-swift-responds-to-criticism-that-shes-as-bad-as-apple/
And, in the end, she decided that her new album WOULD be available on the new service.
http://appleinsider.com/articles/15/06/25/taylor-swift-happily-bringing-blockbuster-1989-album-to-apple-music
So, in the end, Taylor Swift made a decent point and got a lot of free publicity for her new album including lots and lots of her pictures used in articles. Apple looked a bit cruel at first but made the ‘right’ decision and got some more publicity for its new music streaming service. And artists will now get 0.2 cents, (yes, two tenths of a US cent) per song play during a user’s free trial period. That means that one million plays during free trials will generate $2,000 for the artist. That was a lot of publicity for some fairly small amounts of money. I shouldn’t be a cynic; and I agree that artists should be payed when their songs are being played and used to sell a service. But did we have to have all the press?
And, guess what? Spotify used to have a 30-day free trial period (when it was paying artists fractions of cents for plays) but it’s now extended theirs to 60-days to compete with Apple. Which means more artists getting paid less for longer. Now that’s progress.
http://www.cultofmac.com/327333/spotify-extends-free-trial-facing-pressure-from-apple-music/
OS X AND MAC STUFF
If you’ve got a 27-inch iMac from late 2012 or 2013 and it has a 3TB hard drive then you might be due a replacement.
http://www.cultofmac.com/326824/imac-3tb-replacement/
I do use Apple’s iCloud Drive as my primary sync/storage space so I’m glad to learn new ways to move files into the cloud.
http://osxdaily.com/2015/06/19/copy-files-to-icloud-drive-from-mac-os-x/
Last week I mentioned some newly discovered XARA vulnerabilities in OS X and iOS. As you would expect, Apple says a fix is in the works.
http://appleinsider.com/articles/15/06/19/apple-addresses-xara-vulnerabilities-says-fixes-on-the-way
Apparently, Ofcom has made it much, much easier for you to switch internet service providers.
http://www.engadget.com/2015/06/20/ofcom-broadband-switching/
Some of you might like HazeOver, an app that dims non-active windows. I think it sounds great but I tend to ‘do’ everything full-screen on my laptop.
http://mac.appstorm.net/reviews/minimize-distractions-in-os-x-with-hazeover/
Home Radio is no longer free on the App Store but I’m thinking it might be worth paying for. It would be an easy way for me to tune in to some American stations. Some of the reviews in the App Store are pretty bad though. Hmmm . . . .
http://9to5mac.com/2015/06/22/homeradio-review-mac/
A brief discussion comparing Apple’s back-up options with Dropbox, Google Drive and One Drive.
http://appadvice.com/appnn/2015/06/apple-essentials-5-ways-to-backup-your-ios-device
iSTUFF
An app for the colourblind!!
http://www.cultofmac.com/326780/colorblind-this-iphone-app-tells-you-what-color-youre-looking-at/
In case you’re one of the lucky ones to have an Apple Watch you might be interested in purchasing the e-book Apple Watch: a Take Control Crash Course which you can purchase for a 30% discount using this link:
http://tid.bl.it/apple-watch-crash-course-mug-discount
I’m already using a Google calendar as my main date-tracking database. But I’m still using Apple Calendar on my Mac and iPhone. Maybe I should switch to Google’s own app . . . it is free . . .
http://9to5mac.com/2015/06/23/google-calendar-iphone-1-1/
iOS 9 will automatically delete and reinstall apps if you don’t have enough drive space for a system update. Which sounds kind of . . . yuck. BUT iOS 9 will only take up 1.3 GB vs 4.3 GB for iOS 8. So maybe it won’t matter much. (It’s pretty amazing they can cut the size of iOS in half. I hope they do that with OS X.)
http://www.engadget.com/2015/06/23/ios-9-will-delete-apps-to-make-room-for-system-updates/
WWW = WEIRD, WONDERFUL AND WHY
Got an Apple Watch? Try asking it, via Siri, what time it is.
http://www.cultofmac.com/326915/asking-apple-watch-for-the-time-will-get-you-some-well-earned-sass/
What’s Apple going to do with all its money? Become a bank maybe . . . I’d probably trust them more than RBS.
http://9to5mac.com/2015/06/22/opinion-apple-bank/
Very cool, a device that helps blind people navigate via tongue stimulation.
http://www.engadget.com/2015/06/22/brainport-v100-gets-fda-approval/
Someone got an Apple Watch to run Mac OS 7.5.5. Welcome to the future, it’s just starting now.
http://9to5mac.com/2015/06/22/apple-watch-os-7-5-5/
Gmail will be adding an ‘undo send’ option. Can’t we all just learn to pause and think before hitting send?
http://www.geeksaresexy.net/2015/06/23/gmail-adds-undo-send-feature/
Apple has added seven new cities to its Flyovers in Maps including one in the UK. Now think . . . what UK city/town would that be . . . London, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Leeds are already on the list along with Stonehenge. So . . . what to add . . . Sheffield? Newcastle? Cardiff? Plymouth? Bristol? Hadrian’s Wall? York? Nope. The new UK city you can flyover is . . . Kingston upon Hull. What? Hull? Who thought of that? Whitby, sure. Scarborough, fine. Hull? Really?
http://9to5mac.com/2015/06/23/new-flyover-cities-apple-maps/
GCHQ admits it’s been spending too much time spying on . . . itself.
http://www.engadget.com/2015/06/25/gchq-spying-on-gchq/
And, this week’s really stupid story: Apple is pulling American Civil War games from the App Store because of the use of Confederate flag icons. This is on the heels of a trend in America for considering the display of the Confederate flag as some kind of hate crime. But in games they are just being used in an historical context to show the different sides. It’s like not being allowed to label football teams in a football game with their logos or jerseys. This is just crazy. Apple has tried to say that the policy is to stop the use of the flag in an offensive or mean-spirited way. How that even comes close to being pertinent for historical video games escapes me. Sorry, but this just makes me angry.
http://www.engadget.com/2015/06/25/apple-yanks-games-with-confederate-flags-from-the-app-store/
June 26th is the 177th day of the year and is Ratcatcher’s Day in Hamelin, Germany.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to: Branwell Bronte (b 1817, d 1848), Pearl S Buck (b 1892, d 1973), Peter Lorre (b 1904, d 1964), Colonel Tom Parker (Elvis’ manager, b 1909, d 1997), Laurie Lee (b 1914, d 1997), Georgie Fame (b 1943), Mick Jones (b 1955), Greg LeMond (b 1961).
Rest in peace these folks who died on June 26th: George IV (b 1762, d 1830), Ford Madox Ford (b 1873, d 1939), Veronica Guerin (b 1958, d 1996), Strom Thurmond (b 1902, d 2003), Richard Whiteley (b 1943, d 2005), Nora Ephron (b 1941, d 2012).
Some notable events that took place on June 26th: Pope Alexander V, in Pisa, joins Pope Gregory X11, in Rome, and Pope Benedict XII, in Avignon in a three-way schism in the Catholic Church (1409), Richard III becomes king of England (1480), William IV becomes king of Britain and Hanover (1830), Christmas is declared a federal holiday in the USA (1870), first Grand Prix held (1906), first US troops arrive on the Western Front (1917), the first Berlin airlift (1948), John F Kennedy declares “Ich bin ein Berliner” (1963), the first public use of a UPC code (1974, to sell a packet of Wrigley’s chewing gum), Jayne MacDonald is killed by the Yorkshire Ripper (1977), Elvis Presley’s last concert (1977), John Paul II reveals the third secret of Fatima (2000), President Clinton declares the completion of the first complete survey of the human genome (2000).
FUNNIES, ETC
“If you happen to be a young kid in junior high or high school, and you’re being force-fed evolution, and part of evolution is teaching that the transition from dark skin to light skin equals more evolved, what are you gonna think of dark-skin people?…I’m hearing from people that this is part of the curriculum. Well, if that’s true, for crying out loud, then it makes it a little more understandable why people like this Dylann Roof guy exist.” — Rush Limbaugh
“A Stalinist purge.” — South Carolina state Senator Lee Bright on removing the Confederate flag from State House lawn
“When you see her on a stage or when she comes into a room full of people, she’s smiling with her mouth but her eyes say, ‘Where’s my latte?'” — Mitt Romney on Hillary Clinton
“It is a humorous book depicting cartoon penguins that we had ordered wrongly thinking it was suitable for children given its use of brightly cartooned penguins,” said Brooke Philpott, the manager of the Sovereign Star Nursery and Preschool in Kaiapoi, New Zealand. “The book,” Gus and Waldo’s Book of Love, “is otherwise bright and funny,” Philpott says, but a visiting parent spotted it and “raised concerns” about it. “The offending bit that we did not spot until a much closer reading,” Philpott continued, “is that it depicts the two penguins in bondage gear.” She removed it from circulation. The parent said “other kids there brought the book over to me from the shelf and asked me to read it. I looked at it and said, ‘go choose another one’.” (RC/Australian AP)
Hash oil is made by using butane to extract THC from marijuana. Kevin Tveisme, in his late 20s, and Joseph Westom, 35, were doing just that in a garage in Gresham, Ore., when the butane vapors ignited, creating a blast that killed Westom and left Tveisme with burns over 50 percent of his body. Tveisme, who is legally allowed to make hash oil because he has a medical marijuana card, is now suing the importers, the distributors, and the store where he bought the butane. The charge: nobody warned him that the hash-oil extraction process — which he learned on YouTube — is dangerous, and that there should have been warnings on the butane. “I appreciate that they put on there ‘Don’t overfill your lighter,’ but one of those cans is enough to fill up your lighter for five years,” said Tveisme’s lawyer, Jonah Flynn. “It’s a wink and a nod. They know and everybody else knows that this product is used for the manufacture of butane hash oil. It’s not a secret.” He is seeking $11 million in damages. “You have to adequately warn of the hazards and dangers of your product in this country,” Flynn said. (MS/Portland Oregonian)
What do you call it if a man goes into a place he thinks is a brothel, and women touch him? Honolulu police claimed it happened to them, and tried calling it sex assault. They went into a massage parlor for a sting and arrested 16 women on the charge, which can carry a year in jail plus sex-offender registration. A joint statement from local and federal officials said that sex workers who know they can’t be arrested for practicing the world’s oldest profession without a verbal agreement and that police are forbidden to touch them sexually frequently try to protect themselves by making contact before they make a contract. But a lawyer for some of the defendants pointed out that you can’t assault someone who consents. “How can you say it’s not consensual when the officers are going into these establishments expecting to be touched?” A prosecutor dropped the charges. “A technical violation of the law” might have occurred, he said, but it couldn’t be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. (AC/AP)
A woman and a baby were in the doctor’s examining room, waiting for the doctor to come in for the baby’s first exam. The doctor arrived, and examined the baby, checked his weight, and being a little concerned, asked if the baby was breast-fed or bottle-fed.
‘Breast-fed,’ she replied.
‘Well, strip down to your waist,’ the doctor ordered.
She did. He pinched her nipples, pressed, kneaded, and rubbed both breasts for a while in a very professional and detailed examination.
Motioning to her to get dressed, the doctor said, ‘No wonder this baby is underweight. You don’t have any milk.’
‘I know,’ she said, ‘I’m his Grandma, But I’m glad I came.’
WICO (Women In Charge Of Everything) is proud to announce the opening of its EVENING CLASSES FOR MEN!
Note: due to the complexity and level of difficulty, each course will accept a maximum of eight participants
The course covers two days, and topics covered in this course include:
DAY ONE:
HOW TO FILL ICE CUBE TRAYS – Step-by-step guide with slide presentation
TOILET ROLLS – DO THEY GROW ON THE HOLDERS? – Round-table discussion
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN LAUNDRY BASKET & FLOOR – Practicing with hamper (Pictures and graphics)
DISHES & SILVERWARE; DO THEY LEVITATE/FLY TO KITCHEN SINK OR DISHWASHER BY THEMSELVES? – Debate among a panel of experts.
REMOTE CONTROL – Losing the remote control – Help-line and support groups
LEARNING HOW TO FIND THINGS – Starting with looking in the right place instead of turning the house upside down while screaming, open forum
DAY TWO:
EMPTY MILK CARTONS – DO THEY BELONG IN THE FRIDGE OR THE BIN? – Group discussion and role play
HEALTH WATCH – BRINGING HER FLOWERS IS NOT HARMFUL TO YOUR HEALTH – PowerPoint presentation
REAL MEN ASK FOR DIRECTIONS WHEN LOST – Real-life testimonial from the one man who did
IS IT GENETICALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO SIT QUIETLY AS SHE PARALLEL PARKS? – Driving simulation
LIVING WITH ADULTS; BASIC DIFFERENCES BETWEEN YOUR MOTHER AND YOUR PARTNER – Online class and role playing
HOW TO BE THE IDEAL SHOPPING COMPANION – Relaxation exercises, meditation and breathing techniques
REMEMBERING IMPORTANT DATES & CALLING WHEN YOU’RE GOING TO BE LATE – Bring your calendar or PDA to class
GETTING OVER IT; LEARNING HOW TO LIVE WITH BEING WRONG ALL THE TIME – Individual counselors available
From some tombstones:
Harry Edsel Smith of Albany, New York: Born 1903–Died 1942. Looked up the elevator shaft to see if the car was on the way down. It was.
In a Thurmont, Maryland cemetery: Here lies an Atheist, all dressed up and no place to go.
On the grave of Ezekial Aikle in East Dalhousie Cemetery, Nova Scotia : Here lies Ezekial Aikle, Age 102. Only The Good Die Young.
In a London, England cemetery: Here lies Ann Mann, Who lived an old maid but died an old Mann. Dec. 8, 1767
In a Ribbesford, England cemetery: Anna Wallace The children of Israel wanted bread, And the Lord sent them manna. Clark Wallace wanted a wife, And the Devil sent him Anna.
In a Ruidoso, New Mexico cemetery: Here lies Johnny Yeast… Pardon me for not rising.
In a Uniontown, Pennsylvania cemetery: Here lies the body of Jonathan Blake. Stepped on the gas instead of the brake.
In a Silver City, Nevada cemetery: Here lays The Kid. We planted him raw. He was quick on the trigger But slow on the draw.
A lawyer’s epitaph in England : Sir John Strange. Here lies an honest lawyer, and that is Strange.
John Penny’s epitaph in the Wimborne, England cemetery: Reader, if cash thou art in want of any, Dig 6 feet deep and thou wilt find a Penny.
In a cemetery in Hartscombe, England : On the 22nd of June, Jonathan Fiddle went out of tune.
Anna Hopewell’s grave in Enosburg Falls, Vermont : Here lies the body of our Anna, Done to death by a banana. It wasn’t the fruit that laid her low, But the skin of the thing that made her go.
On a grave from the 1880s in Nantucket, Massachusetts : Under the sod and under the trees, Lies the body of Jonathan Pease. He is not here, there’s only the pod. Pease shelled out and went to God.
In a cemetery in England :
Remember man, as you walk by,
As you are now, so once was I
As I am now, so shall you be.
Remember this and follow me.
To which someone replied by writing on the tombstone:
To follow you I’ll not consent …
Until I know which way you went.
Rest in Peace: Patrick McNee
