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I have relied upon Apples wireless routers since the very first Airport Base Station was released twenty years ago. I still feel that they can continue to play a decent part in my home/office network. The Airport Time Capsule ought to be ideal for cross platform file sharing between Ubuntu Linux and macOS. Lets find out if it can be made to work instead of buying a new expensive network connected drive. I ought to be able to do it, after all, I've been working on cross platform network products since the first one, 'TOPS for Mac' which connected Macs to each other and to DOS based PC's and Unix based Sun workstations in the 80's. I found a screenshot from back then of my Mac looking at connecting to my IBM PS/2 or one of several Sun workstations.
What could the next Apple Airport WiFi stations look like?
Maybe, just maybe, Apple is coming back into this business. If so What could the next Apple Airport WiFi stations look like?
Apple AirPort Time Capsule surprise 2019 firmware update
Apple's Airport Time Capsule with 802.11ac was discontinued in 2018 but unusually a Firmware Update was released for it at the end of May 2019, keeping it pretty well up to date. Firmware update 7.9.1 was a security update addressing some obscure but nevertheless important issues. You can read the details over at About the security content of AirPort Base Station Firmware Update 7.9.1. Now, a firmware update for an obscure Apple product with a security issue is hardly big news, but to me it was a very welcome update as it meant that someone at Apple thought it was important enough to do and that it was still a supported device.
AirPort Time Capsule's cost £55 (2TB) or £75 (3TB) second hand from CeX (December 2024)
Apple's Airport Time Capsule with 802.11ac was expensive to buy new, at £249 (2TB) or £349 (3TB) (because it was decently specified with either a 2TB or 3TB hard drive installed. This was useful originally for over the network Time Machine backups. Nowadays all my Macs have an external Time Machine drive so this is effectively surplus. New in box Airport Time Capsules are around but expensive. You can find second hand Apple AirPort Time Capsule's at Computer Exchange (highly recommended, avoids ebay nonsense) for around £60 (2TB) and £80 (3TB) in December 2023
TL:DR Apple's A1470 Airport Time Capsule with 802.11ac was great when it was launched and is still great now, provided you have a Mac or an iOS device with Airport Utility which is required to configure and manage it. Shared Hard Drive access over the network is fast and convenient for home/office networking use for macOS based computers which use AFP sharing protocols. Some limitations in security mean that although it is usable with Linux, SMB 1.0/CIFS should not be enabled on Windows based computers.
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Read more: Airport Time Capsule shared Drive for Mac and Linux
Installing Flutter 2.2 on macOS Big Sur 11.3.1
Runnning a flutter 2.2 based 'Hello, world' app on macOS.
Flutter 2.0 can now create macOS Big Sur desktop apps, This is the hello world example app.
TL:DR— Getting this running took around a dozen commands, and a bit of default question answering in both Flutter and Android Studio, which you have to launch once it has been installed. It assumes you already have Xcode installed and its command line toole. It took about 15 minutes to set it up. I use a folder called 'Projects' in my home directory but you can choose whatever name makes sense for you.
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Read more: Flutter on macOS, and your first app, in about 15 minutes
As the number of paid add-ons available for Microsoft 365 continues to grow, customers face additional expenses. In 2019, there were only just over a dozen paid add-ons, but this number has surged to hundreds now. This article delves into the implications of these changes, the additional costs incurred, and how companies can navigate this complex landscape effectively. By addressing the key issues at hand, we aim to help you make informed decisions that will optimise your investment in Microsoft 365.
TL:DR – The number of paid add-ons for Microsoft 365 has increased significantly, leading to additional costs and challenges for organisations. The standard subscription tiers may not cover essential features anymore, requiring further assessments and investments to manage these tools effectively. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for maintaining effective operational budgets and workflows.
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Read more: Are Costly Add-Ons Draining Your Microsoft 365 Budget?
Lossless audio and Dolby Atmos sound coming to subscribers of Apple Music in June 2021 at no additional cost
Apple today announced Apple Music is bringing industry-leading sound quality to subscribers with the addition of Spatial Audio with support for Dolby Atmos. Spatial Audio gives artists the opportunity to create immersive audio experiences for their fans with true multidimensional sound and clarity. Apple Music subscribers will also be able to listen to more than 75 million songs in Lossless Audio — the way the artists created them in the studio. These new features will be available for Apple Music subscribers starting next month at no additional cost. Lossless audio alone is kind of a big deal, but the question remains open as to whether you feel the value is there in Apple Music.
Apple Music is making its biggest advancement ever in sound quality. Listening to a song in Dolby Atmos is like magic. The music comes from all around you and sounds incredible. Now we are bringing this truly innovative and immersive experience to our listeners with music from their favorite artists like J Balvin, Gustavo Dudamel, Ariana Grande, Maroon 5, Kacey Musgraves, The Weeknd, and so many more. Subscribers will also be able to listen to their music in the highest audio quality with Lossless Audio. Apple Music as we know it is about to change forever.
TL:DR — Cool if you have the right Airpods and an Apple Music subscription, otherwise meh. Amazon Music announced lossless audio today too, coincidentally.
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Read more: Apple Music Spatial Audio, Dolby Atmos, Lossless audio
XLD can be used as a CD ripper. You can convert each track in your audio CD into the desired format. I use FLAC, which is supported nicely by PLEX. X Lossless Decoder(XLD) is a comprehensive tool for macOS that is able to decode/convert/play various 'lossless' audio files. The supported audio files can be split into some tracks with cue sheets. Also XLD supports the creation of a CD image with cue sheet (wav+cue, flac+cue, etc).
TL:DR— This is a lovely audio ripper. X Lossless Decoder(XLD) rips CD's to 'lossless' audio files such as FLAC files and is built for Mac computers with Apple silicon, as well as earlier Macs and the source code is published. Importantly it works well and outputs what I need - lossless audio versions of my CD's for PLEX.
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TL:DR— XRG is an open source system monitor for macOS. XRG allows you to monitor CPU activity, GPU activity, memory usage, battery status, machine temperature, network activity, disk I/O, current weather, and stock market data.
Just take me to the link
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I switched out of using Adobe software in 2021 and don't miss a single thing about their tools. Adobe Creative Cloud was costing almost £700 per year for a single license subscription and I could not justify the payments for functionality only used from time to time.
I have replaced all the Adobe Creative Cloud tools with fully fledged Universal applications which are built to take advantage of Apple silicon. I am no expert in all these tools and I'm not reviewing these apps from that point of view and there are loads of feature based reviews out there already. My needs are straightfoward. I need functionality from graphics tools occasionally for example to clean up an image or edit a scalable vector graphic file. I need effective tools that are designed and built for the latest Apple silicon technology. I really dont need a full Adobe Creative Cloud subscription anyway. So if you, like me, have a new Apple silicon based Mac, you might like this list of software that shows its developers are up to date with Apples technology not falling behind.
TL:DR—I did it! I have been so surprised by the depth and strength in the alternatives I have found. They are all really good! With Apple silicon support they are blazingly fast and full featured and the come with an extra feature - they don't have the subscription model and lethargic pace of development of Adobe.I have now standardised on Affinity products and cancelled my Adobe Creative Cloud subscription.
Just take me to the links
PhotoLine, Krita, Affinity Designer, Affinity Publisher, Affinity Photo, Ardour REAPER
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Read more: Replacing Adobe Creative Cloud on Apple Mac computers
- macOS Stationery Pad for Document Templates
- Flutter at Google I/O 2021
- Wiring for Category 6 cable (UTP)
- Installing Android Studio for Mac
- Create an app in Flutter on Ubuntu in about 15 min
- Screenshots in Firefox 88 have been moved, annoyingly!
- Strategy
- Keeweb Desktop Password Manager on Ubuntu 21.04
- Ubuntu 21.04 delivered Wayland, Flutter and Screen sharing!
- Android 12 Developer Preview
- Installing Kali NetHunter
- iOS 14.4.2 and iPadOS 14.4.2