In a press release, Apple announced the best and most popular podcasts of 2021. I’m thrilled that the In the News podcast that Brett Burney and I produce almost every Friday is on the list. At least, I assume that it is somewhere on the list, if the list runs from #1 all the way to last place. We didn’t make the Top 10, but if you want to see what did, click here. Apple also announced the best apps and games of 2021, including the excellent CARROT Weather app for the Apple Watch. It is funny to see Myst as the Mac game of the year considering that I played Myst the first time that it came out on the Mac, back in 1993. Apple also announced the most downloaded iPhone and iPad apps, and Juli Clover of MacRumors shared those lists. Apple also announced the Apple Music Award winners. I only recognize a few of the music winners, but I definitely know the Drivers License song by Olivia Rodrigo (who won Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year) because my daughter played it frequently in my car. And now, the recent news of note:
- I’ve mentioned NSO Group many times this year, an Israeli company that sells hacking tools to governments. The company claims that the tool is only supposed to be used against even criminals, but there are many reports of it being used against civil rights activists and reporters. Apple has had enough and this week filed suit against NSO Group. John Gruber of Daring Fireball provides some details.
- Apple’s lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. How does it have personal jurisdiction there over an Israeli company? As reported by Mitchell Clark and Richard Lawler of The Verge, the complaint alleges that NSO Group “created more than one hundred Apple IDs to carry out their attacks and also agreed to Apple’s iCloud Terms and Conditions (‘iCloud Terms’), including a mandatory and enforceable forum selection and exclusive jurisdiction clause that constitutes express consent to the jurisdiction of this Court.” Or, as John Moltz tweeted: “Finally a good use for a EULA.”
- Brett Burney recommends 10 hidden iPhone tips on his Apps in Law blog.
- I may not recognize many of the songs that won an Apple Music Award, but Apple’s Shazam service certainly does. In fact, it now recognizes even more songs, as reported by Chance Miller of 9to5Mac, because Shazam will now spend more time trying to identify a song.
- Bradley Chambers of 9to5Mac provides tips for automating your Christmas decorations using HomeKit. My Christmas Tree is connected to a Lutron lamp dimmer, and it is nice to be able to ask Siri on any device, such as the HomePod mini in the same room, to turn the tree on or off.
- Dan Barvera of MacRumors also recommends some good HomeKit accessories.
- Michael Simon of Macworld made a big switch. Literally. After using the iPhone 12 mini, he upgraded to the iPhone 13 Pro Max, and he describes the experience.
- John Gruber of Daring Fireball recommends Vinegar, a $2 Safari plug-in for Safari on the iPhone and iPad (and Mac) that replaces embedded YouTube videos on web pages with HTML 5 video tags, which means that it is easier to play videos right on the web page. I’ve been trying it for several days now, and it is a very nice improvement.
- Zac Hall of 9to5Mac reports that we now have the first food ordering app for CarPlay. Using the Dunkin’ app you can order your favorite or recent orders using your CarPlay screen.
- iOS 15 will eventually include the ability to store a state’s driver’s license in the Wallet app, but Joe Rossignol of MacRumors reports that this feature has been delayed until early 2022.
- And finally, I always love watching the holiday ads that Apple makes every year, and this year is a great one. The video is called Saving Simon, it was filmed using an iPhone 13 Pro (using many features such as macro mode and cinematic mode), and it was directed by Jason Reitman (Juno, Thank You For Smoking, Up in the Air, etc.) and his father Ivan Reitman (Meatballs, Stripes, Ghostbusters, etc.). The video is embedded below, and I also enjoyed watching the behind the scenes video.