Egg Freckles

I went to the Apple Store today to pick up a MacBook Air I had repaired under warranty. Apple requires a state ID or passport at time of pickup to prove identity. I am legally blind so I don't carry a driver's license, and my state ID had expired during the pandemic. I could prove my identity with my MIT employee photo ID, major credit cards, and a copy of my birth certificate I brought along just in case. Apple would not accept any of my forms of identification; including the repair ticket I was issued when I dropped off my computer.

In my pocket was an iPhone registered to the same Apple ID registered to my MacBook Air. The same Apple ID I used to sign up for my Genius appointment when I dropped off the computer. I know the username and password for this Apple ID, and could prove it with Apple two-factor authentication.

Apple wouldn't accept their own forms of identification either, and told me the only way they would return my computer to me was if came back to the store with a government issued ID, or called Apple Support and arranged for a person with a government issued ID to pickup my computer.

So that is what I did.

Why is it more secure for me to make an anonymous call to Apple Support and arrange some rando from the food court with a state ID to pick up my computer, than it is for me to prove my identity using the Apple ID and two-factor authentication the computer is registered to?

Mark Gurman writing for Bloomberg:

A major change to the new computers will be how they charge. Over the past five years, Apple has relied on USB-C ports for both power and data transfer on its laptops, making them compatible with other manufacturers’ chargers. But the company is now bringing back MagSafe, the magnetic power adapter that means any accidental yanking of the power cable would simply detach it from the laptop rather than pull down the entire computer. It was a favorite feature of the company’s portable PC lineup that was first introduced in 2006 and most recently revived for its latest lineup of iPhones.

The return of MagSafe with the next MacBook Pros will also allow those laptops to charge at a faster rate, the person said. The connector will be similar to the elongated pill-shape design of the older MagSafe port.

I would be happy to see the return of MagSafe, but not as a replacement for the universal charging USB Type-C provides.

Universal charging means I am less likely to take my laptop charger with me on the go, when I know I can share the same USB Type-C charger/portable batteries as my PC laptop carrying counterparts. That I can choose my own charger from companies like Anker. And when I am at my desk the same dock or USB Type-C monitor that extends the capabilities of my MacBook can also charge it as well. If a proprietary MacSafe cable is the only way to charge my MacBook in the future, count me out.

I made the switch from an iPhone 7 to Android last month. Not for a particular handset, but features like a headphone jack, expandable storage, USB Type-C, and a 128 GBs of storage Apple does not make available on a iPhone; let alone a phone that costs under $229.

I am not an iOS power user. I don’t use Apple services like iCloud, Photos, Apple Music, or Shortcuts. Many of the third-party services I do use, like Slack, Outlook, Nike+, Instapaper, Foobar2000, and Brave offer native Android apps that are just as good if not better than their iOS equivalents. While Twitter, Reddit, RSS feeds, podcasts, and weather are available on Android, I will always miss the polish of my favorite third-party iOS apps; Twitterrific, Apollo, Unread, Castro, and Dark Sky.

There is however one Apple service I thought I would have to leave behind after making the switch to Android. Like many of you, I have been using iMessage — Apple’s blue bubble messaging service — since it debuted in October, 2011. I feared my move to Android meant missing messages from friends and family during the pandemic. Luckily I found an alternative to Apple’s proprietary messaging app that works on Android.

AirMessage brings the blue bubble messages of Apple’s proprietary iMessage communication protocol to my Android phone. It does this with an easy to install Android app, and a service running on my always-on, Internet connected Mac mini. I have been using AirMessage alongside my iPhone 7 for over a month now, and I have not missed a single iMessage. The best part is friends and family who have become accustom to my blue bubble messages over the last eight years don’t know I am using an Android phone.

One downside of AirMessage is that the service requires an always-on Internet connected Mac. AirMessage can not send or receive new iMessages if my Mac mini is shut down or put to sleep. AirMessage requires access to the Internet and a port forwarded through my router’s firewall. Even though my Mac mini stores my entire iMessage archive, AirMessage’s conversation history is limited to correspondence sent through my Android phone..

Since all of your messages are first routed through your Mac computer, it may simply be best to think of AirMessage as of extension of this computer.

And because AirMessage is an extension of Messages for Mac, it does not include include all of the modern features of Messages for iOS; including somescreen  effects, stickers, Memoji and iMessage apps.

AirMessage is not a service I would recommend to long time Android user’s, but a crutch to allow long time iPhone users like myself  the chance to try out Android without missing out on the iMessages from the people who matter most.

I first heard about OutRun from Bradley Chambers, writing for 9to5Mac.

OutRun is exactly what you’d want from a simple iPhone run tracker. It fits in nicely with a great iOS 13 design, is 100% private, and syncs with Apple Health. The syncing with Apple Health is optional as well. Settings wise, you can change your energy unit, weight unit, GPS accuracy settings, create data backups, and enable syncing. There is no friends list, ads to dismiss, or subscriptions to sign up for bonus features. It has one simple goal, and that is to track your runs.

I have been using OutRun for five days and it does a good job of tracking my miles average speed, location, and time. I trust OutRun and Apple Health to keep my workout data safe, but in order for me to adopt OutRun as my full time running app, I need it to do more for me while I am running.

• Spoken notifications for elapsed time, distance, and current pace every kilometer. The Nike Run Club app does this, and as a legally blind runner I rely on these regular audible notifications to keep my eyes on the road.
• Split tracking so that after the race is finished I can see how I performed every kilometer along the way.
• Auto pause for when I stop running, because obstacles and intersections shouldn't get in my way of my goal pace during workouts.

Last week Apple announced a new MacBook Air and not only is it good — for most people it’s the Mac to get. The new 2020 MacBook Air costs less, comes with twice the storage, more performance, all while ditching the unreliable butterfly keyboard. If I was buying a 2020 MacBook Air today, this is the configuration I would get.

Processor

Unless you are only using your MacBook Air for web browsing and word processing, get the Intel Core i5 processor upgrade. Not only do you get double the cores, but a faster 3.5 GHz Turbo Boost for only $100 more. I wouldn’t bother with the Intel Core i7 processor upgrade for another $150. If you need more performance than an Intel Core i5 you shouldn’t be buying a MacBook Air.

Memory

I have been using a 2018 MacBook Air with 8 GBs of RAM for a little over a year and never suffered from a lack of memory. I don’t use my MacBook Air for video editing, virtualization, or 3D graphics. If you do maybe 16 GBs of RAM makes sense, but at an additional $200 I’ll pass.

Storage

Luckily this year a measly 128 GB SSD is no longer an option. The biggest problem I have with my 2018 MacBook Air is running out of storage. If a MacBook Air is your only computer spring for more storage, otherwise the $200 512 GB SSD upgrade is more than enough for most people.

AppleCare+

I don’t buy AppleCare+ for my computers, and you shouldn’t either. Unless you need the 247 expert technical support from Apple there are better extended warranties out there.

Dongles

You are going to need a USB-C to USB Adapter, but you can do better than Apple’s $19.00 option with a single port. Personally I like AmazonBasics USB 3.1 Type-C to 3 Port USB Hub with Ethernet Adapter, but other models with more ports, SD card slots, and video out are also available.

Regrets

If there is anything I wish this new MacBook Air had it would be removable storage. As much as I love Apple, their storage prices are outrageous. By soldering down their SSDs, Apple is making data recovery more difficult for their customers.

Price

Dongles aside my custom MacBook Air would cost $1,299.00, and is available at most Apple Store as a standard configuration. Just don’t forget about the $100 off educational discount.