Recorded 12th March 2020
Mark Nick and Jim join Simon to talk about another week in lockdown, the tech news from the week and whatever else comes up in the conversation.
GIVEAWAYS & OFFERS
- Glenn Fleishman’s Working From Home book is completely FREE and can be downloaded here
- You can get Ghostery Midnight free for 3 months with the coupon code ‘workathome’
Why not come and join the Slack community? You can now just click on this Slackroom Link to sign up and join in the chatter!
Slacker @MacJim has a family friendly Flickr group for listeners to share photos because the Darkroom channel in the Slack has become so popular – if you’re interested head over to to the Essential Apple Flickr and request an invitation.
On this week’s show:
MARK CHAPPELL
- @oceanspeed on Twitter and sometimes puts Essential Apple related stuff on YouTube
NICK RILEY
- @spligosh on Twitter very occasionally.
- Sometimes appears on Bart Busschots’ Let’s Talk Apple
JAMES ORMISTON
- MacJim in the Slack
- In charge of the Essential Apple Flickr
- Also on Flickr as thesrpspaintshop
APPLE
- Contact tracing can help slow the spread of COVID-19 and can be done without compromising user privacy. We’re working with @sundarpichai & @Google to help health officials harness Bluetooth technology in a way that also respects transparency & consent – Tim Cook
- Google and Apple launching coronavirus contact-tracing system for iOS and Android – The Verge
- Apple and Google Partner on Opt-In COVID-19 Contact Tracing Technology to Be Added to iPhone and Android Smartphones (https://flip.it/iaHCzf) – Mac Rumors
- Google Gets on Board with Apple’s SMS Security Proposal – iDrop News
- Apple fixes FaceTime, USB-C, and Office 365 bugs in macOS Catalina – Ars Technica
- This Is Apple’s Coronavirus-Fighting Face Shield – Popular Mechanics
- MacBook Pro Keyboard Ready For New Colorful Technology – Forbes
- Security firm finds sketchy ‘fleeceware’ apps in iOS App Store – Cult of Mac
TECHNOLOGY
- Google debuts a braille keyboard for vision-impaired Android users – CNet
- US States Need COBOL Programmers to Help Them Handle Aging Systems – PC Mag
- Quibi app review: shifting landscape – The Verge
- The Mu folding plug USB power supply
SECURITY & PRIVACY
- School districts ban Zoom over security concerns – Engadget
- And Google, and US Senators, and Taiwan, and probably loads of others…
- Google Pulls SuperVPN From the Play Store, Users Urged to Delete It – PC Mag
- Twitter removes option that allowed users to not share data with advertisers on its mobile app – 9to5 Mac
WORTH A CHIRP / ESSENTIAL TIPS
- How to check which iPhone apps have camera and mic access – 9to5 Mac
JUST A SNIPPET
For things that are not worth more than a flypast
- Samsung finally killing off S Voice assistant as of June 1 – The Verge
NEMO’S HARDWARE STORE
- Nemo is taking a break for the obvious reasons.
Essential Apple Recommended Services:
- Pixel Privacy – a fabulous resource full of excellent articles and advice on how to protect yourself online
- Ghostery – protect yourself from trackers, scripts and ads while browsing.
- 33mail.com – Never give out your real email address online again.
- Sudo – get up to 9 “avatars” with email addresses, phone numbers and more to mask your online identity. Free for the first year and priced from $0.99 US / £2.50 UK per month thereafter…
- ProtonMail – end to end encrypted, open source, based in Switzerland. Prices start from FREE… what more can you ask?
- ProtonVPN – a VPN to go with it perhaps? Prices also starting from nothing!
- Comparitech DNS Leak Test – simple to use and understand VPN leak test.
- Fake Name Generator – so much more than names! Create whole identities (for free) with all the information you could ever need.
- Wire – free for personal use, open source and end to end encryted messenger and VoIP.
- Pinecast – a fabulous podcast hosting service with costs that start from nothing.
Essential Apple is not affiliated with or paid to promote any of these services… We recommend services that we use ourselves and feel are either unique or outstanding in their field, or in some cases are just the best value for money in our opinion.
Social Media and Slack
You can follow us on:
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