Category: Link Post

About migrating Apple Account purchases between accounts – Apple Support

Now THIS is a true “finally.”

For years, I’ve thought that if Apple were ever going to allow the merging of a media-only Apple ID with a primary one, it would have happened a decade ago. I had long since given up hope that they would ever dedicate resources to this.

Recently, I’ve been dealing with an awful macOS bug where the App Store won’t stay logged into my secondary “media” Apple ID. When I called Apple Support, several specialists were surprised that it’s even possible to use two different Apple IDs. That’s how far back this issue dates. The last time Apple even allowed the creation of an Apple ID dissociated from an @mac, @me, or @iCloud address was so long ago that most of their support team is too young to know it was ever possible. Wild.

I’m overjoyed that I can finally end my 15+ year nightmare of managing media purchases under a separate account. Maybe you’re in the same boat.

If so, be sure to read all of the fine print. There are several conditions, and I’ve seen multiple reports on Reddit about common bugs. I haven’t done the migration yet because you can’t if you’ve purchased anything with one of the IDs in the past 15 days, and I just bought an app a few days ago.

I’ll report back once I go through with it. This might be one of those things where it’s worth waiting a month or so to let the rest of the internet (and Apple) work out the bugs.

About migrating Apple Account purchases between accounts – Apple Support:

You can choose to migrate apps, music, and other content you’ve purchased from Apple on a secondary Apple Account to a primary Apple Account. The secondary Apple Account might be an account that’s used only for purchases. You’ll need access to the primary email address or phone number and password for both accounts, and neither account should be shared with anyone else. Learn more about how to migrate purchases.
Keep reading here…

Twenty Years on this Journey – Technology in Music Education

Chris Russel wrote some reflections on blogging for 20 years about music, education, and technology.

This part caught my attention…

Twenty Years on this Journey – Technology in Music Education:

What has also surprised me is how technology in our field, music education, has been in a holding pattern, even before COVID. The deep dive into the use of devices during COVID has resulted in a push against the use of technology by parents and teachers alike, but the technological slowdown started before that.
Keep reading here…

My gut reaction to reading this was to remember my own excitement for tech in 2005. So much hardware and software was on the verge of a breakthrough in democratizing the creative process–making things that used to be expensive, difficult, and professional more affordable, consumer-friendly, and personal. I was primarily excited by how easily I could make and share music.

When I think about what we’re being told are the breakthroughs of 2025, it’s all AI. The positioning of AI as some sort of “next big thing” still feels like an answer in search of a question. AI, and the developments of the early 2000’s, can both make things easier, but so much of what’s emerging today feels pro-capital and anti-curious.

Definitely follow Chris Russel’s awesome work. He has helped me level up my ukulele teaching chops in recent years, and this conversation might be a good starting point for some of that if you are interested.

What We’re Fighting For – Edward Zitron

This is a long but worthwhile read that touches on many key points about the declining quality of technology everywhere–and, as a result, my diminishing joy in using it. It also speaks to my hope that I can continue finding computers both fun and useful in the future.

What We’re Fighting For:

We do not “use” the computer — we negotiate with it to try and make it do the things we want it to do, because the incentives behind modern software development no longer align with the user.
Keep reading here…

Amazon revamps Prime Video’s Apple TV app | The Verge

Wow, another finally for the Apple TV.

My son watches a lot of kids’ content on Amazon Prime and frequently asks to rewatch the same episode (or 10-second clip) over and over again.

The fact that Amazon has been using its own janky playback controls instead of Apple’s far superior ones has made me want to rip my hair out on occasion. This will be a welcome improvement.

Amazon revamps Prime Video’s Apple TV app | The Verge:

Amazon’s Prime Video app just got a big update on Apple TV. The app is now better optimized for tvOS, allowing you to swipe on the Siri Remote to scroll through Prime Video’s shows and movies as well as use touchpad gestures for fast-forwarding, rewinding, and scrubbing through content.
Keep reading here…

Netflix finally has integration with the Apple TV app – FlatpanelsHD

Wow, finally! I thought this would never happen. I use the Apple TV’s Up Next feature so often that I almost never see Netflix content. It was almost certainly a contributor to my decision to cancel Netflix a few years back.

This integration seems like it isn’t as complete as the integration of other apps like Amazon Prime and Disney+, but it’s a whole lot better than nothing.

Netflix finally has integration with the Apple TV app – FlatpanelsHD:

It seems that Apple has finally struck a deal to integrate Netflix into the Apple TV app, with Netflix content now appearing in Continue Watching, Search, and the Watchlist
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After a bruising year, Sonos readies its next big thing: a streaming box | The Verge

We have a lot of Sonos speakers in our house. $200-$400 dollars for a tv box seems crazy high in cost. Unless they really nail the interface for it and provide far more HDMI outputs than my TV, I don’t see how this competes with the abundance of affordable streaming devices on the market–let alone the premium (yet still less expensive) Apple TV.

After a bruising year, Sonos readies its next big thing: a streaming box | The Verge:

After the most tumultuous nine months in Sonos’ history, the brand is trying to find its footing again. Even as work continues to rehabilitate the company’s beleaguered mobile app, Sonos is planning to take a big swing in a new product category: it’s getting into video for the first time. In the coming months, Sonos will release a streaming player that sources tell me could cost between $200 and $400 — a truly staggering price for its category.
Keep reading here…

Apple in 2024: The Six Colors report card

CleanShot 2025-02-04 at 14.48.06@2x.

As someone who uses and thinks about Apple computers quite a lot, this read from Six Colors is always interesting.

Apple in 2024: The Six Colors report card – Six Colors:

It’s time for our annual look back on Apple’s performance during the past year, as seen through the eyes of writers, editors, developers, podcasters, and other people who spend an awful lot of time thinking about Apple. The whole idea here is to get a broad sense of sentiment—the “vibe in the room”—regarding the past year. (And by looking at previous survey results, we can even see how that sentiment has drifted over the course of an entire decade.)

This is the tenth year that I’ve presented this survey to my hand-selected group. They were prompted with 14 different Apple-related subjects, and asked to rate them on a scale from 1 (worst) to 5 (best) and optionally provide text commentary per category.
Keep reading here…

If you ask me, here’s how I’d rate Apple right now:

  • Mac: B – Mac hardware is better than ever, but macOS is cluttered with intrusive privacy popups. I’ve never found the operating system more distracting or off-putting.

  • iPhone: B – Battery life on my iPhone 16 Pro Max isn’t as good as my last phone, but I’m loving the new camera button for quick shots of my kid.

  • iPad: C – The latest iPads are great refinements of the 2018 iPad Pro design, but the software remains ok at lots of things, and not a great computer. Just put macOS on it.

  • Wearables: C – AirPods 4 and the new health features in AirPods Pro 2 are highlights, but the Vision Pro is a miss. It’s the first new Apple product category I haven’t felt tempted to buy… ever?

  • Watch: C – I love the Apple Watch, but OS updates and widgets feel half-considered. I never know whether I’ll see my watch face or the widget screen when I glance at my wrist. The Siri watch face and developer API seem abandoned, and Apple needs to figure out how to bring back the blood oxygen sensor in the U.S. before I consider upgrading.

  • Home: E – No meaningful updates. The Apple Home ecosystem remains unreliable, and the smart home industry still feels as chaotic as it did in 2019.

  • Apple TV: D – It’s odd to rate this so low because it’s still the best streaming box by very far, but Apple rarely updates the OS or expands its potential. There’s so much more I’d love them to do.

  • Services: C – Apple TV+ is decent, the news and game subscriptions are forgettable, and iCloud is passable but still not rock-solid.

  • Hardware Reliability: A – If there’s one thing Apple still nails, it’s hardware reliability.

  • Developer Relationship: E – Watching Apple handle EU regulations this past year has made it clear: their business practices hurt developers and users alike. It appears that any real improvement will require regulation.

  • World Impact: E – Given how much Apple prioritizes profit over progress in personal computing, it’s hard not to see them as more of a force for harm than good these days.

Cantai: AI-Powered Vocal Synthesis for Opera and Choral Music

David MacDonald turned me on to this vocal plugin for DAWs and notation software. I don’t know anything about this company, but the demo is pretty interesting.

Cantai:

Cantai, created by composer Richard deCosta, is a groundbreaking AI-powered vocal synthesis platform designed to transform written scores into lifelike operatic and choral performances.
Keep reading here…

CleanShot 2025-01-29 at 11.56.45.