Review: Take Control of Photos, 3rd Edition, by Jason Snell

The iPhone does a great job of taking pictures, but taking pictures is only the beginning.  Once your pictures and video are in Photos, there is so much you can do to edit, organize, search, and share your photos and videos.  There is no "help" button in the Photos app, but you can learn everything that you need to know about Photos in the new-and-improved third edition of Take Control of Photos by Jason Snell.  I was provided a free review copy of this ebook, and I'm impressed.  If you want to get more out of the Photos app yourself, or if you want a great present idea for someone else who loves to take pictures with an iPhone, this $14.99 ebook is a great resource.  It comes in three formats—PDF, EPUB, and Mobipocket (Kindle)—so it can be read on nearly any device.  I read my copy in a PDF app (PDF Expert) on my iPad, and that worked great.

The Photos app can be used on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.  This book covers all three platforms.  Most features can be used on all three devices, but when a feature is only available on one platform or works differently on that platform, Jason explains the differences, such as in the section of the book discussing Portrait Mode Photos:

This book is full of pictures that make it very easy to see what Jason is describing.  That means that you see a lot of pictures of Jason's family and friends in this book, and it also means that what he showing off in the book is very similar to what you will see as you work with your own photo library because his example photos seem typical of a real photo library.

This book covers the basics including the Photos interface, the ways in which you can organize your library, tips for using search, and lots of advice for editing photos, such as an explanation of what all of the different light adjustments can do.

There are detailed sections on sharing photos.  Relatively new additions to the Photos app covered in this book include shared photo libraries, live search in Photos, and duplicate detection.

Jason Snell has been writing a "Take Control" book about Photos since 2015, when he first wrote a book about using Photos on the Mac.  In 2018, he released the first edition of the current version of this book, which covers the Mac, iPhone, and iPad, and that first version was about 150 pages.  The second edition was almost 175 pages, and this edition is just over 200 pages.  Page count is only a crude metric; more relevant is the number of years that Jason has been writing these books.  The latest version of this book reveals his deep understanding of how the Photos app works, and he is able to explain everything in a way that is easy for anyone to understand.

If you consider yourself a more advanced user of the Photos app, then I don't think that this book is for you.  There are other resources that provide detailed editing tips on certain types of pictures, such as getting the best looking picture at sunset or in the snow or making the most of HDR photography, and this book doesn't go deep on topics like that.  Also, this book only discusses using Photos in conjunction with Shortcuts app once, when Jason describes (and shares) a shortcut for resizing photos to make them easier to share.  But to be fair, Photos itself is a basic app.  Once you start getting into more sophisticated projects, you are more likely to use specialized apps like Photoshop or Pixelmator, not Photos.

On the other hand, for any beginning or intermediate level owner of an iPhone, iPad, and/or Mac who has an interest in doing more with Photos, this is an excellent resource.  You already know if that describes you, and that is also why I can see this being a nice gift for Christmas or another occasion if you know of someone who has an interest in doing more with the Photos app and would appreciate a well-written guide that has lots of information in one place.

If you are still not sure if this book is right for you, fortunately, you don't have to guess.  The publisher provides this link where you can download sample pages from across the entire book, and it is a generous sample: 49 pages, including the full index.  Flipping through those dozens of pages will give you a good sense of whether this book is right for you.

Click here to get Take Control of Photos by Jason Snell ($14.99)

       

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Podcast episode 79: ‘Tis the Season for Encryption and Karaoke

Brett and I recorded a fun episode of the In the News podcast on Saturday morning.  We start by discussing Apple's new Advanced Data Protection option, which I expect to be available in iOS 16.2 in just a few days.  I'm looking forward to the extra protection, but it does come with additional risks for you to consider.  Next, we discuss Apple Music Sings, the Karaoke feature also coming in iOS 16.2.  We also explain why you are going to see so many new types of prices for apps and in-app purchases very soon.  We also discuss AirTag stocking stuffers, GoodNotes on Windows, Apple Fitness tips, iPhone tips, and the first reported incident of someone being saved by using Apple's new Emergency SOS via Satellite feature.

In our In the Know segment, Brett shares a tip for customizing the alerts that you get when you receive a new text message.  I discuss different ways to share photos with others using the iCloud link option and related options.

Click here to listen to the audio podcast, or just use your podcast player of choice.  You can also watch the episode on YouTube:

       

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In the News

This week, Apple announced an upcoming new service for folks who subscribe to Apple Music called Apple Music Sing.  I suspect that most people will call it Apple Karaoke.  You activate this feature in the Apple Music app by turning on lyrics and then tapping the icon with a microphone and stars.  What makes Apple Music Sing different from just viewing the lyrics is that you can adjust the volume level of the vocal track so that you can replace the original artist's voice with your own or sing along with the artist. Also, the lyrics will dance to the rhythm of each syllable of the vocals.  Background vocals can animate independently, in a smaller font, from the main vocals.  And a Duet view mode will show different lyrics on each side of the screen.  Sami Fathi of MacRumors lists all of the devices that it will work with.  Although this seems like a natural feature for the Apple TV, he says that it will only work with the newest Apple TV 4K that was introduced in 2022, which is a shame because that excludes a lot of folks.  (Perhaps you can use AirPlay to stream to an older Apple TV model from a supported iPad or iPhone.)  The feature also works with the iPad Pro models introduced in 2021 or later, the iPad Air introduced in 2020 or later, the entry-level iPad introduced in 2021 or later, or the iPad mini introduced in 2021 or later.  On the iPhone, there is better support if you have a model without the button: any model without a button introduced in 2019 (iPhone 11) or later will work.  Or you can use the iPhone SE, but only the model introduced in 2022.  Why are only newer devices supported?  As Sarah Perez of TechCrunch reports, Apple isn't removing vocals from music, and instead your device uses "an on-device machine learning algorithm that processes the music in real time" to remove the vocals from songs selected by Apple (80% of the most-played songs). Apple says that Apple Music Sing will be available this month, and I expect it to be a part of iOS 16.2, which could launch as soon as next week.  So get ready to listen to a lot of poor singing voices with great background music this holiday season—especially if you spend any time near me as I check out the feature.  And now, the rest of the news of note from the past week:

• A quick programming note: this week's episode of the In the News podcast will come out tomorrow instead of today due to Brett's travel schedule.
• 'Tis the season to replace AirTag batteries for many folks.  California attorney David Sparks offers advice for doing so, and recommends an Apple TV remote case that holds an AirTag to help you find the remote.
• Starting this week, App Store developers have a lot more choices on what they charge for apps and in-app purchases.  Prices can now start as low as $0.29, with price points every ten cents up to $10 and every 50 cents up to $50.  Prices can go all the way up to $10,000, although the highest prices need to first be approved by Apple.  Chance Miller of 9to5Mac has more details on the new price points.
• If you want to get yourself or someone else an iPhone 14 Pro by this Christmas, your options are very limited, but Jason Cross of Macworld has some suggestions.
• Frank Bajak of the Washington Post reports on Apple's new Advanced Data Protection feature, which I discussed yesterday.  The article notes that the FBI says that it “continues to be deeply concerned with the threat end-to-end and user-only-access encryption pose, but also notes that "cybersecurity experts have long argued, however, that attempts by law enforcement to weaken encryption with backdoors are ill-advised because they would inherently make the internet less reliable and hurt vulnerable populations including ethnic minorities."
• For a while now, the GoodNotes app that you can use to take handwritten notes on an iPad has also worked on a Mac, and I sometimes find it useful to read through my notes when I am working on my iMac.  In a tweet this week, GoodNotes revealed it is working on a similar product for Windows, which will be very useful for folks like me who need to use a Windows computer at work.
• This week, Apple CEO Tim Cook visited the upcoming TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) factory in Arizona along with President Biden.  Cook confirmed that Apple will use chips made at the plant in its products, including the iPhone.  The plant should open in 2024.  I'm curious how much more it will cost Apple to purchase chips made in the USA, although obviously there are some advantages that come along with that.  Don Clark and Kellen Browning of the New York Times have more details on the announcement and its significance.
• Apple’s VP of Fitness Technologies Jay Blahnik shares workout tips in an article written by Sean Keach of The Sun.
• Tim Hardwick of MacRumors put together a good list of iPhone tips.  Check it out to see if there is one that you didn't already know about.
• If you have an iPhone 14 Pro and want to see live sports scores in the Dynamic Island, Stephen Hackett of 512 Pixels recommends the Sports Alerts app.
• You knew that this report was coming soon.  We now have the first report of a person being saved by using Apple's iPhone 14 Emergency SOS via Satellite feature.  Juli Clover of MacRumors reports that a man stranded in a rural part of Alaska while traveling by snow machine was rescued. 
• And finally, Apple released a trailer to preview a few shows currently streaming on Apple TV+ and many more that are coming in 2023 including Ted Lasso, CODA, Spirited, Causeway, Masters of the Air, Shrinking, Tetris, Sharper, Wool, Hello Tomorrow!, and more.  Wait, Tetris?  No, it is not a movie about fitting shapes into spaces, but instead is based on a true story about the high-stakes legal battle to secure the intellectual property rights to Tetris.

       

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Apple announces Advanced Data Protection to provide greater protection for your encrypted data on iCloud

Most people have a desire to keep certain information private, but that concern is heightened for lawyers and other professionals with a legally-imposed duty of maintaining confidentiality.  Most folks keep information on their iPhones, iPads, etc. that would be considered confidential—either because it is a personal photograph or because it is a document subject to a confidentiality agreement.  But if you backup your device to Apple using iCloud, are you maintaining the confidentiality of the information?  The confidentiality of cloud storage has been discussed countless times by legal ethics authorities over the years (for example, see here and here), but the key is always to be reasonable in protecting the confidentiality of information.  For example, putting confidential documents on an open website that doesn't have a password is unwise, but storing those same documents on encrypted and password-protected servers in the cloud is typically fine.

Up until now, iCloud backups have been encrypted in transit—meaning the information is encrypted as it travels from your iPhone to Apple's iCloud server.  But once on that server, Apple has a key that it could, in theory, use to unlock the data and look at it.  For example, if a criminal suspect backs up his iPhone to iCloud and the police obtain an appropriate warrant, the police can often obtain from Apple a copy of the backed-up data without having to access the iPhone itself.  (As Joanna Stern of the Wall Street Journal reports, last year, Apple responded to thousands of such requests in the United States.)  Or, if Apple was hacked, a hacker could potentially gain access to your data on iCloud—although Apple says that this hasn't happened in the past.

Yesterday, Apple announced that when iOS 16.2 comes out later this month, it will include a new feature called Advanced Data Protection.  It will work in the United States immediately, and will roll out to the entire world in 2023.  When you turn this on—it is turned off by default—Apple will store your iCloud data in a way that is encrypted such that even Apple cannot read the data.  And this doesn't just work with iCloud; Apple says it works with 22 other categories of information such as Photos, Reminders, Notes, iMessages, and Voice Memos.

What's the catch?  With Advanced Data Protection turned on, only you have the key to your secure data, such as the password that you use to unlock your iPhone.  If you forget your password, Apple cannot help you because it has no way to unlock your encrypted information.  However, Apple offers two ways that you can get help unlocking your encrypted backup even if you forget your password.

First, you can designate a recovery contact, such as a family member or a close friend, somehow who can verify your identity and help you regain access to your account and all of your data if you ever get locked out. 

Second, you can create a recovery key, a randomly generated 28-character code that you should store someplace very secure such as a lock box.

Advanced Data Protection sounds like a fantastic idea for attorneys and others who want extra protection for their data on Apple's cloud servers.  However, with the extra security comes extra responsibility, so think long and hard about how you will use the recovery contact and/or recovery key feature.

Joanna Stern of the Wall Street Journal conducted a fantastic, short interview with Craig Federighi of Apple to discuss the new Advanced Data Protection feature.  If you have any interest in turning this on once it becomes available later this month, I strongly recommend that you watch this video:

       

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Apple reportedly prevented most recent software of Coinbase release for NFTs in wallets

Coinbase Global Inc. bought a piece of news for iOS users. It stated that customers using Apple Inc.’s iOS would no longer be able to send non-fungible tokens (NFTs) via the cryptocurrency exchange’s wallet.

Coinbase Wallet said in a tweet, “Apple’s claim is that the gas fees required to send NFTs need to be paid through their In-App Purchase system so that they can collect 30% of the gas fee.”

Even if it tried, Coinbase claimed it would be unable to meet the need because the iPhone maker’s exclusive in-app purchasing system does not enable cryptocurrency.

According to Coinbase, “Apple has introduced new policies to protect their profits at the expense of consumer investment in NFTs and developer innovation across the crypto ecosystem.” The company added that the policy was comparable to Apple trying to charge a fee for each email sent using open internet protocols.

Apple did not immediately answer an inquiry for comment on the subject from a news panel.

Apple’s issues with Coinbase can affect the cryptocurrency exchange 

The 30% fees have been a source of contention between the most valuable corporation in the world and other app developers. The apps included Epic Games, the creator of “Fortnite,” and Spotify, who have both accused the former of abusing its “monopoly.”

Apple’s problem with Coinbase comes at a bad time for the cryptocurrency exchange, whose shares have fallen by around 80% this year. As investors’ interest in cryptocurrencies wanes, the corporation has likewise eliminated positions in order to control costs.

NFTs, which are blockchain-based digital assets with distinctive digital signatures, gained enormous popularity in 2021, and demand has been severely hampered in recent months by the crypto winter.

Higher interest rates and concerns about an economic slowdown are causing investors to sell riskier assets, and the recent collapse of rival exchange FTX is adding to the pressure on the cryptocurrency market.

“Apple’s claim is that the gas fees required to send NFTs need to be paid through their In-App Purchase system so that they can collect 30% of the gas fee,” Coinbase said. “For anyone who understands how NFTs and blockchains work, this is clearly not possible. Furthermore, apple’s proprietary In-App Purchase system does not support crypto, so we couldn’t comply even if we tried.”

However, the block prevents customers who have crypto and NFTs in their personal Coinbase Wallets on iOS from transferring their NFTs while it is in effect. Additionally, it poses a risk to sending NFTs or cryptocurrencies through any iOS app or exchanging one cryptocurrency for another, at least when gas costs are involved. It also makes it difficult for businesses to innovate in the field when people are putting the brakes on innovation by looking for ways for Apple to profit from their apps.

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As deliveries decline due to the epidemic, DoorDash eliminates 1,250 positions

According to DoorDash, it hired too many workers when delivery demand spiked during the COVID-19 outbreak. Thus it is laying go more than 1,200 corporate employees.

All the staff members were informed on Wednesday. CEO Tony Xu announced that DoorDash was understaffed before the pandemic and had accelerated hiring to keep up with its expansion. As a result, it is laying off about 1,250 people.

“Most of our investments are paying off, and while we’ve always been disciplined in how we have managed our business and operational metrics, we were not as rigorous as we should have been in managing our team growth. That’s on me. As a result, operating expenses grew quickly,” he said.

Although more than those would be required to close the gap, Xu stated that DoorDash would continue to focus on reducing operating costs unrelated to staffing. “This hard reality ultimately led me to make this painful decision to reduce our team size,” he said.

Employees of DoorDash will get 17 weeks of pay

Employees who are impacted will get 17 weeks of pay. Additionally, their stock will vest in February 2023. By March 31, 2023, all health benefits will still be available.

“Today’s announcement that 1,250 jobs are to be cut is a recognition that the business needs to take action to rein in costs. This is especially important as the consumer outlook remains uncertain and coming quarters could see households retrench on both meal spending and their use of delivery services,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData.

One of several businesses that recently announced employment layoffs is DoorDash. Twitter, Amazon, Facebook’s parent company Meta, and H&M are a few others.

The news from DoorDash comes shortly after the San Francisco-based firm released good quarterly statistics, noting that its orders increased 27% in the third quarter as a consequence of international expansion and the addition of new grocery and retail services.

The firm expanded its business internationally

DoorDash expanded internationally and introduced new grocery and retail options. As a result, its orders increased by 27% in the third quarter. By defying a general downturn in restaurant delivery in the United States.

439 million orders were placed between July and September, according to the San Francisco-based delivery service. According to experts surveyed by FactSet, that was greater than the 433 million Wall Street projected.

DoorDash expects the trend to hold throughout the remainder of the year. According to the business, gross order volumes increased by 30% in the fourth quarter, from $13.5 billion to $14.2 billion. Additionally, it would surpass Wall Street’s prediction of $13.7 billion.

A few weeks earlier after-hours trading saw a more than 8% increase in shares of DoorDash.However, as costs increased, the company’s net loss increased from $101 million in the same quarter last year to $296 million in the third quarter. Analysts had predicted a loss of 59 cents per share, while the actual defeat was 77 cents per share.

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Under Elon Musk’s leadership, Twitter stops monitoring Covid-19 disinformation and reportedly reinstates 62,000 suspended accounts

Twitter just announced that as of Nov. 23, it would no longer enforce its Covid-19 false information policy. It denotes that the business will no longer give top priority to flagging or removing inappropriate health material about Covid-19.

Twitter announced in December 2020 that it would start identifying and removing incorrect content about the Covid-19 vaccination. It was because thousands of accounts spread false information about the coronavirus and the adverse effects of immunizations.

Elon Musk, the CEO of Twitter and the single owner. Musk has been outspoken in his criticism of health officials’ response to the coronavirus pandemic. The stay-at-home orders, he claimed, were “forcibly imprisoning people in their homes against all their constitutional rights” during the company’s first-quarter 2020 earnings call. On “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast in 2020, he added that the fatality rate of Covid-19 was significantly lower than what authorities had predicted.

Musk pledged his support for free expression on Twitter, which could help to explain why the adjustment was made. However, internet safety experts argue that his strategy has increased the amount of hate speech, harassment, and false information on the network.

After Twitter laid off thousands of staff earlier this month, some civil rights organizations advised businesses to stop advertising there because they worried that this would make it harder for Twitter to police hate speech and other harmful content.

Even though it is unclear exactly how Twitter has been tracking these impressions, Musk claims that there has been a decline in hate speech since October.

Twitter reinstates 62,000 suspended accounts

The modification comes as more than 62,000 suspended accounts are being worked on by staff, according to the technology newsletter Platformer. This number might include a portion of the more than 11,000 accounts the business suspended for breaking its Covid-19 disinformation policies.

Musk posted a poll on Twitter on November 23 asking users whether Twitter should allow suspended accounts to reactivate, provided they had not engaged in “egregious spam” or broken any laws. Voters chose “Yes” 72.4% of the time, while “No” garnered 27.6%.

On November 19, Musk used the exact Latin phrase, “the voice of the people, the voice of God,” to declare that the Twitter account of the late President Donald Trump would be restored. After Trump promoted the Jan. 6 uprising, Twitter’s previous owner permanently banned his account.

The original rollout of the billionaires $8 per month Twitter Blue service was put on hold after users exploited the system by buying blue checkmarks to impersonate brands and prominent people. The billionaire is also the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX. However, he barred some impersonators before he shut down the service, once more casting doubt on his interpretation of the free expression.

A request for comment from Musk has yet to receive a prompt response.

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