Friday, July 10, 2020

Student Deals: Get up to $230 off a new Chromebook and score a free pair of $200 Sony noise-canceling headphones


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Apple Warns Against Closing MacBooks With a Cover Over the Camera

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Apple this month published a support document that warns customers against closing their Mac notebooks with a cover over the camera as it can lead to display damage.

Image via Reddit

Apple says that the clearance between the display and the keyboard is designed to very tight tolerances, which can be problematic. Covering the camera can also cause issues with automatic brightness and True Tone.
If you close your Mac notebook with a camera cover installed, you might damage your display because the clearance between the display and keyboard is designed to very tight tolerances. Covering the built-in camera might also interfere with the ambient light sensor and prevent features like automatic brightness and True Tone from working. As an alternative to a camera cover, use the camera indicator light to determine if your camera is active, and decide which apps can use your camera in System Preferences.
The warnings from Apple likely stem from complaints from MacBook Pro owners who have seen their displays crack after covering the camera, and there are multiple reports and warnings on sites that include MacRumors and Reddit. The issue appears to be especially bad with the new 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ models that have thinner bezels.

Image via the MacRumors Forums

MacRumors forum member Dashwin, for example, put a webcam cover on his 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ in April and the result was a crack in the display under where the camera is located.
The latest MBP 16 inch with the thin tiny bezels and display comes at a cost of breakage with the tiniest of forces with a webcam cover in place. The internal display no longer works and I've had to connect it to an external display. I've had one of the exact same webcam covers on my 2011 MBP with no issues whatsoever for many years.
Damage from applying a webcam cover to the camera is considered accidental and can be repaired under AppleCare+, but it's quite possible it's an issue that Apple won't fix for customers that don't have ‌AppleCare‌+, and it's an expensive fix.

Apple says that customers concerned about illicit camera access should watch for the green light that comes on when the camera is activated. The camera is engineered so that it can't be accessed without the indicator light turning on.

MacBook owners can also control which apps have access to the built-in camera as users must grant permission for camera use on any operating system after macOS Mojave. For those who do need to cover the camera, Apple recommends a camera cover that's not thicker than the average piece of printer paper (0.1mm) and that does not leave adhesive residue.
Related Roundup: MacBook Pro

This article, "Apple Warns Against Closing MacBooks With a Cover Over the Camera" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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MacRumors Giveaway: Win a Luna Display Adapter That Turns an iPad or Mac Into a Second Screen

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For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Astropad to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a Luna Display adapter that can turn an extra Mac or an iPad into a secondary display to be used with a main Mac.


The inch-long Luna Display adapter plugs into a Mac using a USB-C port (on newer Macs) or a Mini DisplayPort (on older Macs) and then when paired with the Luna Display software, your primary Mac can be connected to an ‌iPad‌ or another Mac over Wifi, providing new ways to utilize old hardware or to add extra displays without having to invest in new products.


When connected, the Luna Display is able to extend the primary Mac's display to the secondary Mac or the ‌iPad‌ to allow the extra device to be used as a second screen, a feature that can be extra useful these days as people continue to figure out their work from home setups with makeshift offices.


Available for $70, the Luna Display sets itself apart from Apple's Sidecar functionality with the Mac-to-Mac support, which ‌Sidecar‌ can't do. The Mac-to-Mac feature was introduced after ‌Sidecar‌ and it makes the Luna Display adapter more powerful than Apple's solution. Luna Display is also able to work with older iPads that aren't supported by ‌Sidecar‌.


When used in Mac-to-Mac mode, the primary Mac needs to be running macOS El Capitan or later, while the secondary Mac can be running macOS Mountain Lion or later, so you can use the Luna Display with some machines that are quite a bit older. For the best performance, the main Mac should be a 2012 MacBook Air or later, a 2012 MacBook Pro or later, a 2012 Mac mini or later, a 2012 iMac or later, or a 2013 Mac Pro or later.


Luna Display offers full keyboard, trackpad, and mouse support on both Macs when used in Mac-to-Mac mode, and more information on using Luna Display with dual Macs can be found on the Luna Display website.

As for iPads, the Luna Display is compatible with almost all modern iPads, including the the ‌iPad‌ 2 or later, all ‌iPad‌ mini models, all iPad Pro models, and all ‌iPad‌ Air models, with iOS 9.1 or later as the only requirement. Performance is faster on newer iPads, but older models work well too.


Right now, Astropad's Luna Display is compatible only with Macs, but later this year, the company is planning to debut Windows support for the first time in an effort to reach more customers and further diversify its product lineup after the launch of Apple's ‌Sidecar‌. Check out Astropad's recent blog post for more info on the Windows-based products that are coming.

We have five Luna Display adapters to give away to MacRumors readers. To enter to win our ‌giveaway‌, use the Gleam.io widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, following us on Instagram, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the ‌giveaway‌ restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.

Luna Display Giveaway
The contest will run from today (July 10) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on July 17. The winners will be chosen randomly on July 17 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.
This article, "MacRumors Giveaway: Win a Luna Display Adapter That Turns an iPad or Mac Into a Second Screen" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple Arcade Adds Puzzle Adventure Game 'Creaks'

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Apple Arcade today added the game "Creaks" to its list of titles that you can play if you have an ‌Apple Arcade‌ subscription. "Creaks" is described as a puzzle adventure game in which players have to explore an old mansion to find hidden paintings and solve puzzles to uncover the mansion's secrets.


The game comes from the creators of "Machinarium" and "Samorost," and features a hand-painted art style along with an original score from Hidden Orchestra. "Creaks" is available to play on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV. It's also designated as a single player experience aimed at players nine years or older.

‌Apple Arcade‌ launched last year and it lets subscribers gain access to hundreds of iOS games with no in-app purchases or adds for $4.99 per month. Apple worked with developers including Bossa Studios, Cartoon Network, Konami, and LEGO when building ‌Apple Arcade‌, and new games launch weekly.
This article, "Apple Arcade Adds Puzzle Adventure Game 'Creaks'" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Google acknowledges Nest speaker leak with quick-witted response


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Don’t miss this insane $230 discount on the brand-new HP Chromebook x360 14c


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Apple Moving Forward on Semitransparent Lenses for Upcoming AR Headset

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Apple and Foxconn have reached a key milestone in the development of Apple's long-rumored augmented reality headset, with the semitransparent lenses for the device moving from prototype to trial production, reports The Information.


Apple is developing the lenses on a single production line at a Foxconn factory in Chengdu in southwestern China, where most of Apple’s iPad production is centered, the person said.

Apple has multiple phases in the development of new products, starting with periods of prototyping in California and China, during which it makes dozens and hundreds of units, respectively, of the products and their parts. As of May, the lenses had entered a stage known as engineering validation test, or EVT, during which Apple typically makes thousands of units, said the person familiar with the matter. During that period, Apple has locked down the design and begins testing its suitability for mass production.
The report indicates that the lenses (and thus the headset itself) are still at least a year or two away from mass production, and various rumors have pointed toward a launch around 2022.

A recent report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman indicated that Apple's AR and VR projects have been hampered by internal divisions over whether Apple should emphasize graphics and processing power in a design that would connect wirelessly to a nearby hub or a more personal approach with lesser capabilities but which can be contained entirely within the headset.

Apple is said to have multiple AR and VR projects in the works beyond the initial headset, known by the code name of N301, with a sleeker pair of AR glasses known as N421 that could launch in 2023.
Related Roundup: Apple Glasses

This article, "Apple Moving Forward on Semitransparent Lenses for Upcoming AR Headset" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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