This week in Gestalt News:
– Tom Hollingsworth and Rich Stroffolino discuss the Panera data breach
– Max Mortillaro looks at InfiniSync, a zero RPO over any distance solution from INFINIDAT
– We consider the merits of an Apple VPN
iPads for Education Revives the Spirt of the eMate 300
Apple made a major education push yesterday, updating the iPad to support Apple Pencil input, and improving fleet management capabilities. Apple has a long history in education, but this recent announcement is almost reminiscent of their most unique educational offering, the eMate 300.
Smartphones, Cars, and Democracy
What do smartphone car integrations like Apple CarPlay have in common with democracy?
BetterTouchTool and the Redemption of the Touch Bar
Apple introduced the Touch Bar at the end of 2016 as a way to bring an ergonomically sound touch screen to macOS. Over a year later, and the interface has limited functionality and incomplete developer support. To fill this gap, BetterTouchTool lets you fully customize the interface.
What Should Have Apple Done About This CPU Throttling?
Apple made a rare admission that they chose to throttle CPUs on iPhone with spent batteries. Some say an conspiracy to force upgrades, others say a proactive step to ensure a better overall user experience. But no one seems satisfied how they reacted. The question is: how should have Apple dealt with this issue?
Cyber Monday Deals
While Cyber Monday may be a cynically contrived marketing gimmick, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t good deals out there today. Our crack staff at Gestalt IT has put together a list of some of our favorite. Be sure to also check out our Gift Guide for even more fun holiday ideas!
Recognizing Disruption and the Death of the Storage Admin
In this piece, Gabriel Chapman makes an interesting case for the demise of the storage admin. He compares the state of storage to the smartphone pre-iPhone. The market is poised for someone make storage radically simpler, from providing a service that has to be laboriously constructed, to something that’s more of a platform to be built on with accessible APIs.
Remembrances of Interfaces Past: Firewire
Ars Technica published a look back at the rise and fall of Firewire.
Some highlights that jumped out to me: the connector was based on the original Game Boy connector, down to the pins. The original working name of the standard was ChefCat. Sony didn’t use the name “Firewire” in Japan because they thought it made Sony sound boring.
What Is Dead May Never Die: The Mac Pro’s Future
To say Apple can be cagey with announcements is a bit of an understatement. They’re usually a stonewall of “no comment” until a product announcements, even as leaks seep out to inform the press of new products. So I was surprised to see such a frank discussion about the future of the Mac Pro with a group of journalists, including John Gruber.
There Will Be Lawsuits: Apple & Imagination Technology Breakup
It was a bit of a shock to see yesterday that Apple will be moving to in-house GPU designs for all their mobile products. They’ve had a good run of products on the back of Imagination Technology’s IP. It left me wondering how long they’ve been working on this, and if any acquisitions had quietly set the stage for the move. Perusing their recent acquisitions, I didn’t really see anything that obviously foreshadowed the move.