This week in politics

Trump claims Tim Cook called him about EU fining Apple $17 billion

https://9to5mac.com/2024/10/17/trump-claims-tim-cook-called-him-about-eu-fining-apple-17-billion/ 

Elon Giving away money 

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/oct/20/elon-musk-promises-to-award-1m-every-day-to-voters-as-he-steps-up-campaigning-for-trump?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other 

X Oddness

Elon Musk's X isn't important enough to feel the full force of EU regulation

https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/17/eu_x_dma_regulation/ 

The EU may fine Elon Musk’s other companies for X violations

https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/17/24272716/x-twitter-digital-services-act-violation-fines 

Google asks 9th Circuit for emergency stay, says Epic ruling ‘is dangerous’

https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/16/24272291/google-play-changes-epic-ruling-9th-circuit-court-of-appeals 

Windows 11 24H2 disk space hoarding a 'reporting error'

https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/15/windows_11_24h2_disk_space/ 

News

People are flocking to Bluesky as X makes more unwanted changes

https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/18/24273435/bluesky-user-spike-x-tos-ai-changes-blocking 

Apple Passwords’ Generated Strong Password Format

https://rmondello.com/2024/10/07/apple-passwords-generated-strong-password-format/ 

Apple’s new feature lets brands put their stamp on emails and calls to your iPhone

https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/16/24272053/apple-brands-stamp-emails-calls-iphone 

https://9to5mac.com/2024/10/16/apple-brand-logos-iphone-mail-phone-caller-id/

Sysadmins rage over Apple’s ‘nightmarish’ SSL/TLS cert lifespan cuts plot

https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/15/apples_security_cert_lifespan/ 

Qualcomm cancels Windows dev kit PC for “comprehensively” failing to meet standards

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/10/qualcomm-cancels-windows-dev-kit-pc-for-comprehensively-failing-to-meet-standards/ 

Roadside Assistance via satellite now available in the UK, with Green Flag

https://9to5mac.com/2024/10/17/roadside-assistance-via-satellite-now-available-in-the-uk-with-green-flag/ 

Standing desks do not reduce risk of stroke and heart failure, study suggests

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/oct/16/standing-desks-may-be-bad-for-your-health-study-suggests?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other 

Media

Apple Music now lets artists publish their concert set lists as playlists

https://9to5mac.com/2024/10/17/apple-music-now-lets-artists-publish-their-concert-set-lists-as-playlists/ 

Slow Horses lands season 6 renewal on Apple TV+

https://9to5mac.com/2024/10/15/slow-horses-lands-season-6-renewal-on-apple-tv/ 

Ted Lasso Season 4 to commence in filming in January

https://9to5mac.com/2024/10/18/ted-lasso-season-4-sets-january-start-date-as-we-await-apple-tv-announcement/

Current ‘disappointing’ season of Taskmaster

Star Trek : Beyond

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/star_trek_beyond 

Filmed in Chicago on the new iPhone 16 Pro in ProRes LOG 4K and (in part) at 120 fps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccYwgOnvPL8 

Games 

Commandos Origins

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1479730/Commandos_Origins/

Main Show 

Tablets - Note taking: iPad mini / Kindle Scribe

The new iPad mini 7 is a surprisingly small update – why is that?

https://9to5mac.com/2024/10/16/the-new-ipad-mini-7-is-a-surprisingly-small-update-why-is-that/ 

Scrolling Fix: https://www.macrumors.com/2024/10/18/ipad-mini-7-jelly-scrolling/

Performance: https://www.macrumors.com/2024/10/18/ipad-mini-7-benchmarks-confirm-8gb-ram/

Amazon refreshes its monochrome Kindle lineup, including a bigger Paperwhite

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/10/amazon-refreshes-its-monochrome-kindle-lineup-including-a-bigger-paperwhite/ 

Amazon finally has a color Kindle, and it looks pretty good

https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/16/24271632/amazon-kindle-colorsoft-specs-price-hands-on 

Kindle Scribe gets an upgrade

https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/16/24271627/amazon-kindle-scribe-2024-notebook-specs

App of the Week

Zotero

https://www.zotero.org/ 

Thing of the Week

https://www.aqara.com/en/product/smart-home-hub/