iOS 12 has new features to support 911 calls. There are rumors about the screen technology for the next iPhone. What’s happening in the battle of the music streaming services? We also talk about various other Apple news and feature your comments and questions for Jason Cross, Leif Johnson, Roman Loyola, and Dan Masaoka in the Macworld Podcast, episode 610.

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Here are relevant links to get more info on the stuff we discussed on the show.

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Updated 6/20/18: Apple has struck a deal with Sesame Workshop to produce original children's programming.

Apple is said to be spending as much as $1 billion over the course of 2018 on original TV programming. That’s a lot of TV! It’s not the $8 billion Netflix is going to spend, but it’s still a huge commitment.

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I tremble at the sight of brand-new stick-on iPhone screen-protectors. No matter how hard I try, no matter how religiously I follow the directions, I always end up with three or four bubbles staring defiantly at me from the covered screen. Using the touchscreen starts to feel about like trying to read Braille. Every time I’ve tried to use one, I’ve ended up ripping it off and throwing it in the trash.

So you can imagine my fear when I received my new Toast cover for my MacBook Pro. It’s a leather case, but it differs from most of its competitors by being a stick-on—yes, much like an adhesive iPhone protector—rather than something you plop the MacBook into. It's laser-cut and designed to fit your MacBook perfectly. Even so, I steeled myself. I put it off for a day. Give me some credit: If I messed this one up, I’d be tossing around $160 total in the bin.

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It’s been almost exactly a year since Apple hired two executives from Sony Pictures Television to lay the groundwork for a new, premium Apple video service. In the intervening 12 months, Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg have staffed up their operation with heavy hitters from the television programming and development world, and Apple has since bought at least 18 original series, an animated feature, and of course, an overall deal with Oprah.

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Updated 06/19/18: Apple has released beta two of iOS 12.

Apple both sets trends and chases them, and iOS 12, unveiled Monday at the WWDC keynote, is no exception. With this release, Apple is focusing on performance improvements and enhancements, even for older devices. The company is also making important changes to augmented reality that will enable new experiences; improving Siri, FaceTime, and the Photos app to catch up to the competition; and adding new features like personalized Memoji and weekly reports about how you’re using your device.

iOS 12 will be a free update for all users this fall, and it’s supported by every device that runs iOS 11, all the way back to the iPhone 5s released in 2013. Here’s a rundown of the biggest improvements in iOS 12.

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Every day, Macworld brings you the essential daily news and other info about all things Apple. But staying on top of that torrent of information can be a constant challenge. One solution: the Macworld digital magazine.

In the July issue

This month we look back at 20 Years of the iMac, from the reaction to such a radical new mac, to its lasting legacy and how its influence reaches far beyond the desktop, or even the PC. We also look forward to a new kind of Mac, one that runs iOS apps.

Also in this month’s issue:

• MacUser: How Apple’s big picture ventures get small for the consumer. Plus, give your old Mac software eternal life.

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I’m the only member of the Macworld staff who does the vast majority of his work on a modern MacBook Pro, and lemme tell ya, right now I’m looking with envy at the amazing 2016 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar that B&H is selling for $1,200 off its regular price of $3,499. It’s one of the outlet’s “Deal Zone” flash sales, and that massive discount ends tonight at midnight Eastern time.

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After putting in years of hard work as a developer, you may have set your eyes on the next step in your career. Usually, this means career in project management, and one of the best tools for the trade is JIRA.

Before you can jump straight into project management, you’ll have to learn JIRA’s ins-and-outs. You can find courses on JIRA online, but these can be costly if you don’t know what to look for. Fortunately, this Complete Project Management Bundle will teach you everything you need to know for $29.

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A Bluetooth speaker can set the mood for any summer party, but the good ones don't come cheap. But if you act fast today, you can get the awesome Ultimate Ears Megaboom for a low price of $140 on Amazon, down from a MSRP of $250.

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If you’ve been hankering for a good deal on a 5K iMac, Woot (via Amazon) has you covered. For today only, the clearance retailer is selling 2015’s 27-inch, 2TB iMac for $1450.00. The offer expires just before midnight Pacific on Tuesday. (Update 3:10 p.m. ET: It’s gone now.)

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The loss of a loved one is devastating. When this gets tied up with a technical support issue? Even worse. Mac 911 recently received several emails from Macworld readers who inherited, purchased, or were given computers or iOS devices by people who have passed away. They have enough password information to use the Macs successfully, sometimes for years. But then an event occurs that requires resetting the machine.

Macworld reader Andrew has a Mac given to him a few years ago by a now-deceased acquaintance. He attempted to disable FileVault after upgrading to High Sierra. After restarting, the Mac presented a lock screen and asked for a code to enter. It that didn’t resemble anything he’d previously used. (It’s unclear from his email whether it was a Find My Mac style lock (which seems unlikely as it would seemingly require someone with that account to mark it as lost) or the firmware password.)

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Shocking news has reached the Macalope’s furry ears: it turns out that Apple is not a non-profit set up with the goal of protecting individual privacy and that it actually sells things and uses that as a sales point! It’s all very tawdry and shocking.

If you are five.

Writing for Gizmodo, Rhett Jones says “Apple Isn't Your Friend.” (Tip o’ the antlers to Tibor.)

YOU TAKE THAT BACK. APPLE IS MY BESTEST FRIEND FOREVER AND WE’RE RIDING OUR BIKES FAR, FAR AWAY FROM THIS STUPID PLACE VERY SOON, YOU’LL SEE.

[sob] [slam]

Apple has been steadily positioning itself as the anti-Facebook for a while now, and between verbal jabs aimed at the social media giant and privacy-focused product decisions, the patient goodwill campaign seems to be working. Unfortunately, Apple isn't going to save us, and now's the time to keep your guard up.

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At 5:30 pm EDT on Saturday, the Tidal high-fidelity music streaming service was suddenly the center of attention. Just weeks after Kanye West dropped his Ye album on all streaming services—underscoring the dissolution of his once-exclusive contract with Tidal—Jay-Z and Beyoncé shocked the world with a surprise collaborative record titled Everything is Love. And the only place you could get it was Tidal.

Somewhat surprisingly, that exclusivity didn’t last very long. While other high-profile albums have enjoyed Tidal exclusivity for weeks or, in the case of Beyoncé’s Lemonade, years, Everything is Love had a stint that lasted about 36 hours. By the time people were looking for some music to play on their Monday morning commute, Beyoncé’s and Jay-Z’s new record was available for streaming on Apple Music and Spotify Premium (available for free on Spotify on July 2)  and the only thing exclusive to Tidal was an outtake track.

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Updated 6/18/18 to reflect the inventory change in the store.

Looking for a way to save some money on the latest Apple products? Consider a refurbished MacBook, refurbished iPhone, or refurbished iPad from the Apple Certified Refurbished store. A refurbished product is just like a new, but at a lower price.

Here’s a quick guide with links to the best deals you can find on the refurb store, along with a FAQ guide if you want to know more about the ins and outs of the Apple Certified Refurbished store and buying a refurbished MacBook, desktop Mac, iPhone, or iPad.

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We’ve seen a lot of deals for the 9.7-inch iPad (both this year’s or last year’s) over the past several weeks, but we’ve seen very little discount love for the iPad Pro. Happily, that changes today over at Best Buy, where the retailer is offering anywhere from $100 to $150 on various iPad Pro models. While this offer lasts, you can get the 10.5-inch tablet in a host of colors for as little as $550.

To get that awesome of a price, you’ll have to pick up the 64GB model, which is available in space gray, silver, gold, and rose gold. The discount isn’t as steep with this model, though, as Best Buy is only taking off $100. 

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Apple made a big deal about our digital well-being when it unveiled iOS 12 at WWDC, but there’s one feature it didn't discuss that could have even greater life-saving benefits.

In a press release Monday, the company outlined how iPhones running iOS 12 will be able to share location data automatically and securely with first responders when you dial 911. Apple says this will help reduce emergency response times by providing faster and more accurate information that circumvents “outdated, landline-era infrastructure.”

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The new MacBook Pro comes with two or four external ports, depending on the model you pick. But those ports are only of one type: Thunderbolt 3, which is compatible with USB-C.

But you probably have devices that use USB-A, Thunderbolt 1, Thunderbolt 2, DisplayPort, HDMI, or something else. How do you connect these devices? With an adapter.

If you’re planning to buy a new MacBook Pro, make sure you set aside a considerable amount of cash for the adapters you need. Apple doesn’t include any in the box, except for a power adapter.

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Getting through a summer reading list is a breeze with an e-reader, and one of our favorites, the Amazon Kindle Voyage, just dropped in price from a steep $200 to just $150.

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If you shot home videos between 1995 and 2010, there’s a good chance you did so with a tape-based Mini-DV camcorder. With its simple FireWire connectivity, the DV format had a great run prior to the advent of smartphones. For those who want to relive those taped digital memories, LifeFlix is a Mac application that makes it simple to do.

LifeFlix: Attach your camcorder and import the video

LifeFlix streamlines the process of capturing tapes in three easy steps. First, dust off your Mini-DV, HDV, Hi-8, or Digital 8 camcorder and attach it to the Mac with a FireWire cable. This will be the biggest stumbling block for many, since Apple abandoned FireWire in 2012. You can overcome this hurdle by investing in a Thunderbolt to FireWire Adapter ($29 at Apple); most users will also need a FireWire 400 to 800 Adapter sold by Elago ($10 on Amazon) that I used to connect my aging JVC SR-VS30 Mini-DV/S-VHS combo deck, as well as a Canon HV20 HDV camcorder.

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The “digital shoebox” was a 2007 coinage of Steve Jobs, who intended the Mac to become a digital media hub in which Apple’s programs would help you organize everything. That’s the notion that makes an analogy to having all your negatives, prints, and slides in shoeboxes in the days of film photography, and never being able to find anything.

The digital shoebox metaphor remains accurate in 2018 for the wrong reason, as it’s very easy to wind up with images, videos, audio, and other kinds of files all over your Mac. If you’re supremely organized and single-app oriented, perhaps you manage to import everything into iPhoto (then Photos) and iTunes. But for the rest of us, we have files all over the place.

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When you have a small point to make—that Apple has trended toward slightly muter tones in its products and offloaded the more extreme color optioning to cases and bands to allow customers more options for accessorizing—the best way to make it is to loudly declare Apple has killed “fun.” That’s just basic punditry, people.

“Apple killed fun.” (Tip o’ the antlers to Shawn King.)

Just to watch it die. May or may not have happened in Reno. Still waiting for the forensics. The body of fun was found in the desert, 40 miles east.

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Next to a laptop itself, a laptop bag is one of the most important purchases you can make. With so many laptop bags and backpacks to choose from, it would be an idle exercise to try to find the best laptop bag out there. Instead, we’d rather help you find the right laptop bag for any situation, like commuting every day to work, traveling abroad, or charging your devices on the go.

With only a couple of exceptions, each product had to have a designated laptop sleeve or compartment to be considered in this review of laptop bags. These bags can all fit up to a 16-inch laptop, except where noted. Keep checking back as we review more laptop bags and backpacks and continually update this guide.

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