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Category Archives: Mac News
iPhone/iPad News, Mac News, Reviews
26th Oct 2019 Mark Webster
There are many HomeKit-enabled devices now in the geek-o-sphere, and we are finally getting some of the really well-made ones in New Zealand.
Eve Energy is very simple to look at: it's essentially a little power plug (7.1×7.2cm across) that goes into a power socket, with a female socket, in turn, on the outer face. You plug this into a wall socket or power strip and control it with your iPhone, Apple Watch or Mac (all of any of them). There's a light that glows when it's on, plus this light is an on/off button if you hold it in for ten seconds. (Note the Energy is for indoor use only.)
Make sure the device you want to control is plugged into the Eve and turned on so you can then turn it on or off with your device (or Mac). Thanks to the beauty and behind-the-scenes complexity of HomeKit, of course, once you've configured your setup on one device, it's replicated on all thanks to iCloud integration, assuming they're all signed into the same Apple ID. Now you can also activate or deactivate any device that's plugged into it using your voice over Siri (which is integrated nicely) or directly, with a tap, on your device.
Setup — For iOS 12, setup is as follows: unbox the unit and plug it into the socket. Download the Elgato Eve app from the App Store (it's free). Open the app and it asks to 'see' the code number included with the unit – this is on the little Get Started guide clipped to the inside of the box lid you took the unit out of. Line that up with the rectangle on the camera screen (inside the app itself), and it registers the code, there's a pause of about a minute and they're paired.
The Elgato Eve app, by the way, as per the directions in the little, very easy-to-follow included setup booklet, doesn't exist for iOS 13 so I guess that little printed manual will be updated according to the manufacturing schedule, since mine still had the iOS 12 directions in it. Under iOS 13x, you need the Eve Home app, as Apple has changed and expanded how HomeKit works for the updated iOS. This is a bit mystifying when you go searching in the App Store for the Eve app, as you won't find it. But once installed, this works the same way as the instructions, above, for iOS 12.
Now the Eve can be added to a 'room' which is a virtual assignation in HomeKit that may or may not correlate to an actual room, since you get to configure this how you want. By the same token, it impressed me that the Nanoleaf panels – which are from a different company – also added into the Eve app and lets you control them from there. Mostly, I assume people will control everything from the Home app anyway.
Added features and the Eve app — If you can check your own particular power bill, you can put in the rate you're paying for electricity. You set the rate you actually pay for this in the Eve Home app under Settings>General>Energy Cost. Now the Energy unit can let you know, via the Eve Home app, how much power anything plugged into it is using.
Do this by tapping Rooms at the bottom of the Eve app, choose the name from the list of wherever the Energy is plugged into, for example 'Living Room', and then tap the name of whatever the Energy has plugged into it (in my case, 'Lightbulb').
If you have, say, on old heat pump which doesn't have a timer function, or at least an easy-to-use timer function, you can set up schedules via the app of just turn it on remotely before you leave work, for example, so your house is toasty when you get there.
You can also download a version of the Eve setup guide from within the Eve app (and this has been updated-for-iOS 13 process).
The Eve app has a haptic reaction when you turn the Energy on or off, unlike the Home app. The Energy unit itself makes a definite click noise when it's turned ff or on, should you be close enough to hear it. It's a nice touch.
The more devices you add, the more comprehensive your control centre – the Home app – becomes
Home (the app) — The Home app, on Watch, iPad, iPhone and Mac, is a master controller for any HomeKit enabled device meaning whatever light bulbs you have, or other devices, you can have a snazzy interface in your pocket and act like a lesser god, turning things on and off and altering their characteristics according to whim. In my case, all I have is this and Nanoleaf lighting panels which I leave on, at a low setting, at night for an interesting night-light-style glow to assist night time navigation, and soon I'll add the Eve Aqua which will let me control watering from a hose outlet.
You can see a good cross section of what HomeKit enabled accessories are available here on the Apple NZ site.
As a rational human being, of course, I don't need any of this. However, as a geek, I love it! And now I want to try a whole of of things. There are many different bulbs you can dim and change the colour on, but honestly, while they look great, beyond an evening softening and warming, there's really not all that much need for just changing the colour of light, is there? But there are devices that let you know when your front door is opened, for example, and cameras, temperature and atmosphere gauges and a lot more, meaning you can monitor these things whether you are at home or not. I'd be keen so try the Eve Weather Station and/or the Room air quality/temperature monitor and the Eve Wireless Door and Window Contact, and there's plenty more to titillate the technocrat.
Meanwhile, I have a lot to learn about HomeKit. There's a handy guide at iMore.
Summary — I'm glad Elgato has added the Australia/New Zealand style power plug to its range of minimalist and attractive devices. I am now eyeing these up with a relish which will alarm my partner. The Energy is attractive and particularly easy to use – I just wish I had something more exciting to plug into it than a standard lamp. You could plug a coffee machine into it and turn it on remotely when you wake up, presuming you set it up the night before with coffee and water in it of course, and there will be many ingenious uses for something you can plug almost any electrical device into. It also seems to me to be an affordable price for such a well-designed and well implemented unit.
Pros — Easy setup, easy pairing, excellent HomeKit integration
Cons — It's almost instantaneous to turn something on or off if you're close by with your iPad or iPhone, but it's much slower if you're in another room. This is due the low range of Bluetooth, since it's Bluetooth-only and not wifi. (Apparently an Apple TV can work as a booster, but mine's only on when I'm watching stuff.) You can buy a Bluetooth extender, though, or a bridge that taps it into your wifi, should you go further with automation.
What — Eve Energy $89.95 (NZ RRP)
System — For indoor use only. Output AC 220-230 volts, 50/60Hz, maximum and total loading 8 Amps at 1840 Watts. Requires Bluetooth compatibility up to Bluetooth 4.0, HomeKit on iOS 11.4 or later and the Home app on Mac OS 10.14 or later.
Height 7.2 cm (2.83 in), length 7.1 cm (2.79 in) width 7.2 cm (2.83 in) weight: 123 grams.
3rd Aug 2019 Mark Webster
Have you ever wondered why a country could be collectively stupid enough to elect someone like Donald Trump to office? A new Gallup poll shows 40% of American adults comply to a strict view of creationism, in which God brought humans into existence within the last 10,000 years. This despite over 150 years of scientific inquiry including studies of transitional fossils and vestigial traits to the discovery of DNA and empirical observations of evolution in action. [Good Lord!]
Five Columbus, Ohio, police officers are facing departmental punishment for their roles in arresting Stephanie Clifford — better known as Stormy Daniels — in a strip club last summer. They include a police commander, a lieutenant, a sergeant, and two of the officers who arrested Daniels. ['Stormy' being someone allegedly stupid enough to have had an affair with the aforesaid Donald Trump.]
Another US chemical plant aflame — A mere four months after a Houston chemical plant fire made headlines, another Houston area plant has exploded into flames.
No Ratcliffe after all — President Trump abruptly dropped his intention to nominate Republican (Texas) John Ratcliffe, to serve as director of national intelligence.
Tensions between the president and the intelligence community appear to have worsened over the Ratcliffe episode, as some people in the spy world had made clear how unqualified they believed he was and just how unwelcome he would be atop the sprawling alphabet soup of US domestic and foreign spy agencies. [Ratcliffe's main qualification appeared to have been that he was a clear Trump supporter.]
Massive US hack — A hacker swiped credit card applications, Social Security numbers and bank account information affecting more than 100 million people in the US and Canada from Capital One's server.
Tech companies load up on people's data — Washington Post tech columnist Geoffrey Fowler listened to four years' worth of audio that Amazon had captured and stored from his Alexa smart speaker. He was surprised by what he found. [He was surprised, and yet he's a 'tech columnist'? Back to school for you, buddy.]
Climactic melt — Last week, Greenland's ice melt reached new heights as the heatwave that battered Europe swept across the icy island. According to estimates, 12 billion tons of Greenland's ice melted on Thursday 1st of August — equivalent to over 4 million Olympic swimming pools of water. You can watch it …
World of pain — Hong Kong protesters are going to considerable lengths to defeat surveillance. During one demonstration, some reportedly aimed laser pointers at cameras and spray painted surveillance cameras outside of the government liaison office. [Hey China, it's much harder to make personal fortunes after free and fair elections, right?]
Russian protests — Police in Moscow have arrested hundreds of people for demonstrating outside of City Hall. Protesters are calling for fair elections and for opposition candidates to be allowed to run for the city council. [Yeah, you know, it's much harder to make personal fortunes after free and fair elections.]
Ebola — The challenges of containing ebola two years on have been immense. The virus is spreading in a deeply impoverished part of the Democratic Republic of Congo which has been ravaged by various militias since the final days of the Mobutu Sese Seko dictatorship in the mid-1990s.
New Mac mini! 5 times faster, quad- and 6-core processors, up to 64GB RAM, all-flash storage
31st Oct 2018 Mark Webster	1 Comment
Apple today gave Mac mini a massive increase in performance — Now with quad- and 6-core processors, up to 64GB of faster memory and blazing fast all-flash storage, the new Mac mini delivers an insane five times faster performance, making it the most powerful Mac mini ever made.1 And with Thunderbolt 3 ports, the Apple T2 Security Chip and a 10Gb Ethernet option, the new Mac mini is a faster and more capable desktop that can do so much more.
It has more than five times the performance, up to 6-core desktop-class processors, the Apple T2 Security Chip, faster memory up to 64GB, high‑performance all-flash storage, and is packed with advanced ports including four Thunderbolt 3, two USB-A, HDMI video, audio and Ethernet up to 10 Gbps. All of this power is packed into the same-sized enclosure as before, perfect for customers updating or creating all‑new installations where Mac mini is the ideal solution.
Five times faster and more powerful than ever — Now with quad- and 6-core eighth-generation Intel Core processors with Turbo Boost speeds up to 4.6GHz and Intel UHD graphics, Mac mini delivers up to five times faster performance than the previous generation.1 Mac mini now rips through traditional desktop tasks like photo and video editing, music creation and software development, and crushes pro workflows including video transcoding, code compiling and live musical performances. And with up to 64GB of 2666 MHz memory, Mac mini can load larger files into memory, run more virtual machines and manipulate even larger datasets. Every Mac mini now features the speed and reliability of all-flash storage. With capacities up to 2TB, the SSD storage on Mac mini is up to four times faster, so working with large files and opening apps is quicker than ever.1
The Apple T2 Security Chip comes to Mac mini — The Apple T2 Security Chip brings industry-leading security to your Mac mini. The T2 Security Chip features an SSD controller with on-the-fly data encryption so everything stored on the SSD is automatically and fully encrypted. The Secure Enclave in the T2 Security Chip ensures that software loaded during the boot process has not been tampered with. The T2 Security Chip also features HEVC video transcoding that's up to an incredible 30 times faster, enabling pro users to work more quickly with higher-resolution video throughout their workflow.1
Higher-performance I/O with Thunderbolt 3 and 10Gb Ethernet — With four Thunderbolt 3 ports — twice as many Thunderbolt ports as the previous generation and each with double the performance — the new Mac mini can connect to high-speed storage, 4K and 5K Thunderbolt displays and output video in three formats. Mac mini also features an HDMI 2.0 port, two USB-A ports, an audio jack and Gigabit Ethernet, so it can connect to almost anything. And for remarkably fast networking performance, Mac mini offers a 10Gb Ethernet option for the first time.
100 per cent recycled aluminium enclosure and a smaller carbon footprint — Now in a gorgeous new space grey finish, every new Mac mini enclosure uses an Apple‑designed aluminium alloy made from 100 per cent recycled aluminium for the first time, which has the same strength, durability and beautiful finish as the aluminium in all Apple products.2 The Mac mini also features the use of more post-consumer recycled plastic in parts like the foot. All together, these advancements help to reduce the carbon footprint of the new Mac mini by nearly 50 per cent.3
macOS Mojave — All new Macs come with macOS Mojave, the latest version of the world's most advanced desktop operating system, with new features inspired by pros, but designed for everyone. In macOS Mojave, Dark Mode transforms the desktop with a dramatic new look that puts the focus on your content. The new Stacks feature organises messy desktops by automatically stacking files into neat groups. Familiar iOS apps — including News, Stocks, Voice Memos and Home — are now available on Mac for the first time. FaceTime now adds support for group calling, and the Mac App Store gets a full redesign featuring rich editorial content and apps from top developers like Microsoft and Adobe.
Pricing and availability — Starting at a recommended retail price of NZ$1449 inc. GST, the new Mac mini is available to order today on apple.com/nz. It will also be available through Apple Authorised Resellers starting on Wednesday, 7 November. Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at http://www.apple.com/nz/mac.
1 Testing conducted by Apple in October 2018 using preproduction 3.2GHz 6-core Intel Core i7–based Mac mini systems with 64GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD, and shipping 3.0GHz dual-core Intel Core i7–based Mac mini systems with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac mini.
2 Recycled material claim applies to the enclosure.
3 Based on Product Greenhouse Gas Life Cycle Assessment. See our Product Environmental Reports for more information.
5 times fasterall-flash storageNew Mac miniquad- and 6-core processorsup to 64GB RAM
All-New MacBook Air Takes Flight
31st Oct 2018 Mark Webster
Apple introduced an all-new MacBook Air today in New York, bringing a stunning 13-inch Retina display, Touch ID, the latest processors and an even more portable design to the world's most loved notebook. Delivering the all-day battery life it's known for, the new MacBook Air is available in three gorgeous finishes — gold, silver and space grey. The most affordable Mac with a Retina display also includes an Apple-designed keyboard, a spacious Force Touch trackpad, faster SSDs, wide stereo sound, the Apple T2 Security Chip and Thunderbolt 3, making the new MacBook Air the perfect notebook to take with you everywhere you go.
Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "Redesigning MacBook Air started with a stunning Retina display and all-day battery life, and then we added Touch ID and the Apple T2 Security Chip, the latest processors, incredible sound, the third-generation keyboard and Force Touch trackpad, high-speed Thunderbolt 3 ports and of course macOS Mojave, in a beautiful, thinner, lighter, all-aluminium design that a whole new generation of MacBook Air customers are going to love."
Retina Display Comes to MacBook Air — The new MacBook Air features a stunning 13.3-inch Retina display with over 4 million pixels of resolution so text and images in macOS Mojave look sharp and stunning. And with 48 per cent more colour than the previous generation, images are more lifelike than ever. The new MacBook Air also includes a built-in FaceTime HD camera, which is perfect for Group FaceTime calls with friends and family members, as well as a three microphone array for better sound quality when making calls and improved voice recognition in Siri.
Featuring Touch ID and the Apple T2 Security Chip — MacBook Air now includes Touch ID — a fingerprint sensor built into the keyboard — which allows you to conveniently and instantly unlock your MacBook Air; authenticate your identity; and make fast, simple and secure purchases using Apple Pay. To support Touch ID, MacBook Air comes with the Apple T2 Security Chip, which makes your notebook far more secure. Its Secure Enclave protects Touch ID information and ensures that software loaded during the boot process has not been tampered with. The T2 Security Chip also features an SSD controller with on-the-fly data encryption for everything stored on the SSD. These allow MacBook Air to offer the most secure boot process and storage of any notebook. The T2 Security Chip features an always-on processor that enables Hey Siri, letting you use just your voice to ask Siri for things like finding files or opening an app.
Latest Generation Keyboard and Industry's Best Trackpad — MacBook Air features a third-generation Apple-designed keyboard for more precise and responsive typing. Each key is individually backlit using low-power LEDs for more accurate illumination. The new MacBook Air also includes the industry-best Force Touch trackpad, which delivers pressure-sensing capabilities and haptic feedback. It's also 20 per cent larger than the trackpad on the previous-generation MacBook Air, offering a quieter and more capable trackpad experience.
Fuller, More Immersive Audio Experience — With more advanced speakers and audio processing technology, MacBook Air delivers a higher-quality audio experience and wide stereo playback that makes watching movies and listening to music more immersive than ever. The speakers are 25 per cent louder with twice as much bass as the previous generation, for more dynamic range and fuller sound.1
Performance to Power Your Daily Activities — The new MacBook Air features an 8th generation Intel Core i5 processor, Intel UHD graphics and faster 2133 MHz system memory up to 16GB, delivering the performance you need for everyday activities like organising your photos, browsing the web, creating presentations, or viewing and editing videos. MacBook Air also features SSDs up to 1.5TB in capacity, that are up to 60 per cent faster than the previous generation and make launching apps and opening files feel snappier and more responsive.1
Thunderbolt 3, the Most Versatile Port Ever — MacBook Air now comes with two Thunderbolt 3 ports, so you can charge your notebook; quickly transfer data via USB and Thunderbolt; output video in three formats; and connect to a whole host of devices including external storage, docks for additional ports, 4K and 5K displays, and eGPUs for faster graphics. It's the most versatile port ever. The ecosystem has over 700 Thunderbolt 3 devices and counting, along with thousands of USB-C devices, so MacBook Air allows you to take advantage of a whole new generation of accessories.
All-New, More Portable Design and The Greenest Mac Ever — The new MacBook Air packs all of these features in a new, distinctive wedge-shaped design that's now even more compact and portable. And it delivers up to 12 hours of battery life during wireless web use and up to 13 hours of iTunes movie playback.2 Featuring a significantly smaller footprint, the new MacBook Air takes up 17 per cent less volume, is 10 per cent thinner measuring just 1.56 centimetres at its thickest point, and at just 1.25 kilograms it's 100 grams lighter than the previous generation.
In addition, the new MacBook Air enclosure is made from a custom, Apple-designed aluminium alloy that enables the use of 100 per cent recycled aluminium for the first time, which has the same strength, durability and beautiful finish as the aluminium in all Apple products.3 Using this custom aluminium alloy helps reduce MacBook Air's carbon footprint by nearly 50 per cent, making it the greenest Mac ever.4
Radeon Pro Vega Graphics Coming to MacBook Pro Next Month — Apple also announced new MacBook Pro graphics options that will bring powerful Radeon Pro Vega graphics to MacBook Pro for the first time. These new graphics options deliver up to 60 per cent faster graphics performance for the most demanding video editing, 3D design and rendering workloads.
Pricing and Availability — Starting at a recommended retail price of NZ$2149 inc. GST, the new MacBook Air is available to order today on apple.com/nz. It will be available through Apple Authorised Resellers starting on Wednesday, 7 November. Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at http://www.apple.com/nz/mac.
The new graphics configuration option for MacBook Pro will be available to order on apple.com/nz and through Apple Authorised Resellers starting on Wednesday, 14 November.
Testing conducted by Apple in October 2018 using preproduction 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5-based MacBook Air systems with 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD.
The wireless web test measures battery life by wirelessly browsing 25 popular websites with display brightness set to 12 clicks from bottom or 75 per cent. Battery life varies by use and configuration. See http://www.apple.com/nz/batteries for more information.
Recycled material claim applies to the enclosure and is based on auditing done by UL LLC.
Based on Product Greenhouse Gas Life Cycle Assessment. See our product environmental reports for more information.
enhanced audioNew MacBook Airrecycled aluminiumretina displayT2 Security Chip
Mac News, Reviews
Photo Lemur 2.1.1
23rd Dec 2017 Mark Webster
Photo Lemur, the one-stop photo improvement app, has sped up a little in its latest version and improved the algorithms it uses to analyse, and then fix an image.
A slider along the bottom lets you decide how much 'improvement' Photo Lemur can deliver, from 0 to 100%. This is the least sophisticated tool as far as the user goes: no layers, selections, replacement or other area-by-area corrections are available; no brushes, correction tools, multiple undoes … almost no tools at all.
The interface is dauntingly simple (to those used to Photoshop). Open Photo Lemur and drop an image onto the Photo Lemur import window (left), and the app analyses the image (the wireframe animations as per the main image above, I suspect, are arbitrary rather than working, so you know things are happening).
The image opens, and you can drag a vertical Before and After slider to see what your image is like and what it could be like, which is invariably quite an improvement, lightening dark areas and showing otherwise hidden detail, and adding sparkle and contrast to better lit areas. Drag this slider left and right to to inspect your image.
Click the little paintbrush icon at bottom right, and the Boost level slider is revealed. What you saw in the After section is the 100% boost, so you can back off down to what you feel is a more acceptable level if that works better for you.
But does it work? Yes, and often the result is truly remarkable (click an image for a closer look). For a badly degraded, overexposed or faulty shot, there's a limit to what it can do, but honestly, iPhones simply don't deliver those kinds of results any more, since they also analyse the scene and balance the white point and exposure faster than the blink of an eye. That means 99% of the shots you send this app's way will be improved with added sparkle, depth, detail and clarity to make them really 'pop'.
This even applies to those images shot in low light, which feature noise in the darker areas as an unavoidable consequence of the way CCD sensors work when there simply isn't enough light for a decent exposure.
Click Export to see several useful options: you can export back to Disk (your hard drive, or a connected hard drive) or choose to upload directly to Flickr, email it, add it directly to Facebook, tweet it or launch it into Snapheal, should you have it, so you can do those area-by-area corrections that Photo Lemur does not support.
Small frustrations — If you open several images at once, you can't seem to resize the image you are working on to see it in more detail, as there's no Zoom. Also, the window is not resizable. When you use the Boost slider, you're actually subtracting, or at least selectively minimising the boost,. It means 'Set Amount of Boost' rather than Boost. And when you do this, the Before and After slider disappears – I'd prefer it if it stayed
Conclusion — This is like a more sophisticated, more analytical and more thorough version of the Enhance wand you can single-tap in the Photos app on iPhone and iPad, with the added feature that you can back off from the maximum level of change to the point where you think it's best. It's basic, interface-wise, sure, but with it's smart background tech, works a treat to enhance your images in a much more sophisticated way considering most of its magic is hidden from view.
What's Great — Improves most images you throw at it, without you having to do all of the legwork.
What's Not — when you have several images open, you have a limited working space. Confusing payment options: for a while this was Subscriber, then it was a single price … often gets heavily discounted and specially offered, so look out for that (for example, Photo Lemur 2.2 'Spectre' is currently 70% off until 4th January).
Needs — Those who feel their general shots are a little lacking. Photo Lemur is a very fast way to add considerable zing! to images. Its stock price is incredibly steep until you realise how much time and work it can save you.
Check out the developer's How It Works page.
Photo Lemur 2.2 Spectre, usually US$151 (NZ$215) but US$45 (cNZ$64) until 4th January).
There's also a Free Version,, for which you have to put in a name and email address. This is for those who want to try Photolemur before buying it. It's limited and puts the product logo in the photo.
Online only— Visit the Photo Lemur site.
I am here …
19th Dec 2017 Mark Webster
But back in town on Thursday …
Sorry, no posts this weekend
16th Dec 2017 Mark Webster	1 Comment
I'm off on a quick pre-Christmas break as I am working through the rest of the month and January.
iPhone/iPad News, Mac News
More comments on the changes at Mac NZ
2nd Dec 2017 Mark Webster
Oh Mark: I will miss you!!! I read every post—not always with comprehension—but I read them. Of course I understand the overload—your productivity is prodigious. You could write a history of technology development from your posts.
I'm guessing the Museum of Transport and Technology is taking all your time. And I have learned so much from reading what you write! Thank you for it all. And for your individual help to me.
And good good wishes for what you are turning towards. Best, …
Congratulations! On your achievements over the years, on your even handed reviews and comments on Apple related happenings, on beautifully composed MagBytes.
Boy, I'm going to miss my daily fix! I reckon my wife will be happy I won't spend quite so long at the computer.
Have also appreciated the times when your responses to my queries have been so promptly dealt with.
So from this almost 80 year old, a great big thank you!
Thanks Mark for all your effort. Really appreciate all the tips and tricks you have shared over the years. Made my working life way more efficient. Good luck with your next venture and work at MOTAT.
Hey Mark, I couldn't let this sad day pass without sending a message of gratitude. Knowing how time and energy-consuming this must have been for you, I totally understand your decision.
We are all richer, wiser and certainly more Mac-knowledgeable due to your efforts and contributions.
All the very best and if I ever meet you, I owe you a drink!
Kindest regards, …
I too enjoyed reading your site and learned some Apple tips via your Five Tip Friday posts. So thanks for all that you work you put in.
Glad to know that you are now employed by MOTAT, which is one of my favourite places to visit in Auckland. I have been there a few times and would love to re-visit.
Shame on Apple for doing what it did for you. But I really appreciate the work you did and I am grateful for that.
No more MagBytes, no more Apple news
1st Dec 2017 Mark Webster	6 Comments
Hi there and goodbye-ish — as I explained in MagBytes 93 that I released yesterday, I have no more time for monthly MagBytes (at least 8 hours work) and for daily Apple news updates and for weekly Friday tips. My working life has taken over, and since Apple no longer shows me products, I no longer feel qualified to talk about them.
It's been a fun and rewarding pastime; thank you for your attention and support over the last ten years.
Here are some of the reactions (senders' names withheld):
Like a lot of people I for one am very sorry to see it go. I totally understand your decision and I bet it took a lot of thought before you came to this end.
Always looked forward to all your communications, even had an alert in my calendar to remind me to check if needed. I could never understand how in the world you kept it all up, as some of your replies came very late at night. So although I am sorry to not get Magbytes any more, I say go for it.
One door closes, another one opens is a saying that does seem to happen.
I hope we can stay friends and when I have said thank you in the past, I really meant it, for I felt you must have been up against it sometimes.
The whole world is 'changing' it seems… so you are no exception to the avant-garde.
Thank you for the excellent information received over the years since we met. I have all your Magbytes on file for easy access to the Apple world when, like you, time permits, for my limited knowledge to decipher.
Just a thought.. for the moments of your creative imagination… many of us in the Apple world need someone like you to set up an Apple training school on line. 'We'… the Apple lovers of the older generation… have the toys, but do not have the school or the skill of the teenagers. But we'll pay to learn. Could you put your Apple training school online… you'd only need to update when something really new comes out. So please consider…PLEASE!
Wishing you all the best at MOTAT… Christmas… 2018… and…the new online adventure!
As one of the many people who have benefited from your expertise over the years I'd like to thank you.
Every time I've asked you for advice or information I've had a quick and useful reply.
Not being that tech savvy, but having owned a Mac since about 1992, in the past few years I've come to rely on MagBytes to keep me up to date with current advice and information.
It seems to me a real shame you cannot continue use your talents as a Mac ambassador.
My retirement field is photography and we visit MOTAT as a source of interesting subjects. Hopefully next time I can say hello.
Once again thanks for making such a valuable contribution to my technical life and good luck for the future.
If you ever start up again please let me know.
Well a sad day today with the news you are stopping your daily Mac info etc.
I for one have appreciated all the work you have done here and for the advice you have given me in times of trouble or needed some help.
I do see why you are doing this and I wish you all the very best in your job, which I must say I would also fined very interesting.
I think I can say that there will be a lot of sad people who use Macs out there with this news.
As far as my keyboard is concerned my space bar is intermittent and can drive you up the wall if you do not keep an eye on the spaces between words.
I followed advice found by searching, it's a common problem too, but if the bluetooth is connected and battery levels are good then Apple say that's it, a new keyboard in required. (Wireless 2015 or later here).
At the moment it is working but if it fails again I am off the the store.
Thank you for all you have done and I imagine it is sad for you too. You are right in that there is very little Mac support available here where one can get some answers to problems etc without taking it to places like the iStore.
Thanks, Mark, for everything you have done for fellow Apple users over many years – always interesting and informative.
Your daily news and MagBytes will be very much missed here.
Thanks Mark. That has been a long involvement. I was a subscriber to MacGuide and have really appreciated all your advice, reviews and everything over the years on paper and online. Have a restful Xmas and New Year. Kind regards.
So sorry to see this. I have enjoyed this news very much but understand that life can take over sometimes! Cheers.
Thank you and all the best for the future.
And thank you to all for these kind words! M
AirAppleiMaciOSipadiPhoneLast postMacMacBookmacOSminiPro
iPhone/iPad News, Mac News, MagBytes newsletter
MagBytes 93 is here … and it's the last one.
30th Nov 2017 Mark Webster	4 Comments
Here is MagBytes 93, the final issue. I am sorry everyone who enjoys this effort of mine, but I no longer have time to do this, and I will also be cutting my Apple news updates dramatically, and no more Friday tips, as I explain in MagBytes 93 on Page 9. I thank you for your support over the last ten years but I simply cannot sustain this any longer.
I will continue to write commentary on Apple when it's relevant and I have the time on Mac NZ, I will continue to write reviews. I will continue with Futurology and The Apocalypticon (on weekends) as they support my other interests.
Please download MagBytes 93 from this link —>> Issue93November17
Applefree tipsiOSLast MagBytesmacOSnewstricksviews
Root vulnerability, Pixelmator Pro, Photoshop tease, Similar Pic Finder, iTunes Connect downtime, Docking Station
Pixelmator Pro for Mac is now available
Apple issues macOS High Sierra update to fix password-less root vulnerability — Apple has released a special security update for macOS High Sierra, solving a recently uncovered flaw which would let people gain root access without entering a password.
The patch, Security Update 2017-001, should be available through the Updates tab in the Mac App Store. After installation, the build number of High Sierra will be 17B1002.
Apple notes that if people require a root user account on their Mac, they can create one and assign a password through System Preferences.
Apple also issued a statement to The Loop on the misstep.
Pixelmator Pro debuts with powerful image editing tools, machine learning tech — The developers behind popular image editing app Pixelmator on Tuesday released Pixelmator Pro for Mac, a new title that takes advantage of Apple APIs like Metal 2 and Core Image to deliver GPU-powered tools, machine learning features and more.
Codenamed 'Whirlwind,' Pixelmator Pro was first announced in September as a next-generation Mac image editor with hooks into Apple's latest graphics platforms, as well as advanced in-house technology designed to turbocharge editing workflows.
Pixelmator Pro version 1.0 requires macOS High Sierra and a Metal-compatible graphics card. The app is available now from the Mac App Store for NZ$89.99/US$59.99 (the consumer version of Pixelmator is NZ$21.99). [Since it has Layer support, I can buy this and drop my damn Adobe subscription …]
Adobe demonstrates future Photoshop tool that uses machine learning to select image subjects — Adobe has teased one of the AI-based features coming to Photoshop in the future, with the 'Select Subject' function simplifying the selection of an object, person, or animal in a scene, using machine learning to determine what is likely to be the main focus of an image. [See above … Pixelmator Pro already has Machine Learning, and doesn't need a subscription. Note that I wouldn't be so down on Adobe if it didn't put it's bloody subscription prices up every six months.]
B-Eng debuts Similar Pic Finder 1.0 for macOS — B-Eng has introduced Similar Pic Finder 1.0, a duplicate image discovery utility for macOS. It tracks down duplicates and copies of pictures. Similar Pic Finder requires macOS 10.10 or later. It costs NZ$2.99/US$1.99 and is available at the Mac App Store.
Apple schedules downtime for iTunes Connect — Apple has scheduled downtime for iTunes Connect from December 23rd-27th, so its employees can celebrate the holidays. iTunes Connect is a suite of web-based tools for managing content sold on iTunes, the iBooks Store, and the various app stores.
IOGEAR Compact USB-C Docking Station with PD Pass-Thru a great accessory — If you have a 12-inch MacBook and find it frustrating that it only packs one USB-C port, consider the US$99.95 IOGEAR Compact USB-C Docking Station with PD Pass-Thru [currently that's about NZ$145, but check if the power supply works in NZ].
It's also useful for expanding the connectivity options on the latest MacBook Pros as well. Through a single USB-C connection, it lets you connect monitors, a full-sized keyboard and mouse, external hard drives, printers, webcams and more. Easy to set up, the all-in-one dock serves up a total of 10 ports. The docking station is equipped with memory card readers for SD/MicroSD memory cards for quick access to your data. With two USB 3.0 (Type-A) ports, you can connect an array of USB Type-A peripherals.
AirAppleDocking StationiMaciTunes Connect downtimeMacMacBookmacOSminiPhotoshop teasePixelmator ProProRoot vulnerabilitySimilar Pic Finder
Apple's media plans, Safari mutes, sales continue
(Image from The Outline)
Analyst reckons Apple will spend $4.2 billion annually on original video content by 2022 — Apple will spend $4.2 billion per year on original video content by 2022, according to a report by Loup Ventures analyst Gene Munster [in whom I have title confidence, please note]. If he's right, that will be a major increase on the $1 billion that the tech giant will purportedly spend in 2018, although the amount is still smaller than Netflix and Amazon's video budgets.
How to mute and unmute audio in Safari tabs in macOS High Sierra — macOS High Sierra's Safari lets you mute audio in any open tabs. You can do this right from the Smart Search field, so there's no need to click through all your tabs to locate the one you want to silence. If you're viewing a tab that's not playing audio, the Audio button in the Smart Search field is white with a blue outline. If the tab is playing audio, the Audio button is solid blue.
Sales continue all week at OWC — One of the worlds premium brands for Mac equipment, Other World Computing, is continuing its MacSales.com Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales all week. OWC ships to New Zealand.
New Store for Brooklyn — Apple has announced it will open a new retail store in Downtown Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Apple Store will be located in the 300 Ashland building in the Fort Greene neighbourhood. This is Apple's second retail store in Brooklyn, the first one being in Williamsburg that opened in July 2016. [A sure sign of gentrification.]
AirAppleApple's media plansiMacMacMacBookmacOSminiProSafari mutessales continue
Mac games uptick, Scrivener 3, Photos Tagger, Cyber Monday
Mac games rise and you can find bargains — Have you noticed that more and more Mac gaming torrent sites are popping up? Clearly, the demand for Mac games is growing. However, piracy is wrong. Plus, torrent sites are dangerous for you and your Mac, especially when there are better alternatives out there. So forget about Mac games torrents, and check out this advice instead.
Hands On: Scrivener 3.0 further refines the writing, research process on the Mac — AppleInsider gets a published author to take a look at the Scrivener update, with new highlights including a much called-for rewrite of the app's Compile feature, and an interface modernisation.
Brattoo Propaganda Software debuts Photos Tagger for macOS — Brattoo Propaganda Software has introduced Photos Tagger, a new addition to their applications suite.
Photos Tagger extracts the meta data from the Photos software database, and applies it to your photos as keywords. The app is designed to make it easier to find and organize your pictures.
Photos Tagger requires macOS 10.9 or later and Photos 2.x or higher. It costs US$7.95. A demo is available for download.
Cyber Monday deals — Being New Zealand, these have come through on our Tuesday. TechTool Pro is on special, MacProVideo has deals on subscriptions (US$75 a year) and instructional downloads, and Italian V-Moda headphones have 40% off the Crossfade Wireless version.
AirAppleCyber MondayiMacMacMac games uptickMacBookmacOSminiPhotos TaggerProScrivener 3


The big money in this year's San Diego city elections is coming from the real estate and development industry.
Donors connected to real estate and development interests already have given $228,345 -- far more than any other industry -- to the campaigns for mayor, city attorney and four city council seats. That's 21 percent of the total $1.08 million the candidates received from donors in 2007. Candidates gave another $280,105 to their own campaigns.
The industry analysis by the Center on Policy Initiatives is based on donations made through December, which candidates had to report to the city clerk on Jan. 31. The next filing of donations received since then will be on March 24.
CPI makes all the reported donations available in an online, searchable database called Follow the Money. The industry categories are assigned based on the occupation and employer information supplied by donors.
Real estate and development was the biggest spending industry in all six contests, topped only by the total for miscellaneous individuals in two races and by the aggregated sector of lawyers, lobbyists and advocacy organizations in the city attorney's race.
The largest chunk of the real estate and development money -- $90,803 -- has gone to the mayoral race, all of it to incumbent Jerry Sanders, since challenger Steve Francis is self-funding his campaign. Development-connected donors also have given $49,970 in the District 5 Council race, 94% of it to candidate Carl DeMaio.
For more details, the Follow the Money database can be searched by donor name, employer and other factors. Candidates who did not file statements with at least $1,000 in contributions by Dec. 31 are not included. Loans and independent expenditures by political organizations are not included.
And did you also know that grass is green and that the sky is blue?
and that labor unions spend money too!
the entire campaign finance system is broken and needs to be reformed.
Looking at the listing, I would suspect that union spending is listed in the "lawyers, lobbyists and advocacy organizations" section. Even when you include every dollar from attorneys and lobbyists, you still aren't to half of the amount spent by developers.
I thought local officials were supposed to be "corrupt" because of all these unions. I'm sure it has nothing to do with all the developer money.
Developers are good because they turn otherwise wasteful nature lands that just give stuff away, like the air we breathe, and rewarding to the industrious that put a price on life itself.
Union spending is listed under a separate category, called Labor. It only shows up in District 3 and 7. But keep in mind this data is on contributions made before Dec. 31, the last filing cut-off. The next filing is March 24.
Check out the searchable Follow the Money database at www.onlineCPI.org --you can search by employer name, zip code, etc.


text:
What is a mechanical seal and how does it work?
Mechanical seals are devices that control the leakage of fluid between a rotating shaft and the pressurised casing on rotating equipment. Typical applications include centrifugal pumps, reactors, mixers and compressors. Originally developed to overcome gland packing-type seal limitations, modern seals are designed to reduce emissions and improve rotating equipment performance.
Figure 1 (to the right) shows a typical packed gland arrangement that might be installed on a centrifugal pump. As mentioned, this has a number of disadvantages. For example, the sealed fluid leakage rate will increase gradually as the bore of the packing wears. The usual remedy is to increase compression on the packing by tightening nuts on the gland follower. However, packing wear and leakage rates will continue to increase, resulting in an on-going maintenance cycle until the gland follower cannot be tightened further. It is also common for packed glands to be over-tightened, leading to high friction and heat generation causing significant shaft wear.
Although packed glands are still used on many rotating equipment applications, mechanical seals are taking precedence because they provide the following advantages and performance improvements:
Leakage rates are reduced significantly, in some cases to zero, which may be obligatory to meet tight emission legislation in many process industries
Friction between rotating and stationary parts is reduced considerably, often to a negligible level, which reduces power consumption and operating costs
Reliability increases significantly with reduced downtime and maintenance costs
Higher seal pressures, speeds, temperatures and arduous applications are possible
A comprehensive range of mechanical seal designs makes them suitable for almost all rotating equipment types and applications
Evolution of the basic mechanical seal design
So, how does a mechanical seal work? Let's look at a mechanical seal in its crudest form.
Figure 2a shows a rotary metal ring with a lapped radial face, fastened to the shaft with set screws. The ring is positioned to be in close contact with the lapped face of the metal gland plate. The chamber around the outside of the ring is pressurised with fluid. Fluid leakage is controlled very crudely by the gap between the two lapped radial faces as they rub against each other. However, the rotary ring is also prone to leakage through its bore due to its clearance on the shaft.
Figure 2b shows how the addition of an o-ring between the rotary ring and the shaft can reduce leakage. However, this arrangement still has its limitations. The lapped face of the ring is prone to deformation caused by the radial set screws. Furthermore, the rigid positioning of parts allows for no misalignment between the shaft and housing. Also, as the faces wear, the gap between them increases, leading to higher leakage rates.
Figure 2c shows how removing the radial set screws from the rotary ring and adding a coil spring ensures that the faces stay flat and adjust automatically to remain in contact as wear takes place. The coil spring also provides drive for the rotary ring, allowing it to flex and absorb misalignment.
Figure 2d shows how performance is improved still further by adding a separate, resiliently mounted stationary seal ring.
Basic 5 component mechanical seal
Five main components are at the core of all mechanical seals:
A stationary seal ring.
A stationary seal ring secondary seal, e.g. o-ring, gasket, packing, etc.
A rotary seal ring.
A dynamic secondary seal, e.g. o-ring, wedge ring, u-seal, piston ring, etc.
A spring, e.g. a single coil spring, multi-coils springs, wave spring, bellows, etc.
The primary seal is achieved by the two very flat (< 0.0006mm) lapped faces which create a controlled leakage path perpendicular to the shaft. A typical gap of 0.0001mm is created between the rubbing faces of the rings, which are lubricated by a film of sealed fluid. All mechanical seals leak! A degree of leakage is required to ensure that a stable lubricating film of fluid forms between the faces. However, this must be balanced to ensure an acceptable leakage level for the application.
The basic seal arrangement illustrated in figure 3 shows a stationary seal ring, mounted resiliently in a gland plate. This seal ring is usually made from a relatively soft, self-lubricating material, such as carbon graphite, and will tend to have a narrower mating surface, called the wear nose. The rotary ring is usually made from a hard wearing material, such as silicon carbide.
All mechanical seals include these five basic components at the core of their design in various forms and arrangements. More complex design arrangements are used throughout the process industries to seal combinations of high pressure, high speed and high temperature, hazardous, toxic and potentially explosive fluids.
It is now possible to repair, upgrade, replace and extend the life of all high-end 'engineered' mechanical seal brands and types through NASH. Increasingly, NASH works with partners around the world to deliver a swift and cost-effective service designed to improve efficiency and long-term performance levels.
For more information and advice about mechanical seals and their performance please see our FAQ's.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Le ePrix de Long Beach est une épreuve comptant pour le championnat du monde de Formule E. Elle a eu lieu pour la première fois le  sur le circuit urbain de Long Beach et pour la dernière fois le .

Historique
Le premier ePrix de Long Beach est disputé le  et voit la victoire de Nelsinho Piquet, qui s'impose sur le circuit trente ans après son père en Formule 1. L'édition 2016 est remportée par un autre brésilien, Lucas di Grassi.

La course disparait du calendrier en 2017.

Le circuit
Le ePrix de Long Beach est disputé sur une version raccourcie du circuit urbain de Long Beach, longue de 2,131 kilomètres. Le circuit est amputé d'environ 1 kilomètre par rapport à sa version originale utilisée en IndyCar.

Palmarès

Notes et références

Voir aussi
 Liste des ePrix de la Formule E
 Championnat de Formule E FIA
 Long Beach

Lien externe
 Site officiel de la Formule E

Long Beach
Sport automobile en Californie
Compétition fondée en 2015
Sport à Long Beach (Californie)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Dealing with the loss of a loved one is not only an emotionally distressing time, it can also take a toll on family finances.
Here's some information to help you deal with debt essentials during this difficult time.
What types of debt could be left behind?
A secured debt is essentially a type of loan that is guaranteed by collateral (eg a house or car). As secured loans provide less risk to the lender, the rates you'll get as a borrower are usually lower than on an unsecured loan.
Types of secured debts include mortages, car loans and some personal loans.
If someone passes away, these will be the first type of debt that needs to be settled.
An unsecured debt means that money has been borrowed without any kind of collateral or guarantee behind it.
Types of unsecured debt include credit cards, overdrafts or even utility services.
As the risk to the lender is higher, you'll usually pay a higher interest rate on these types of debt.
Who is responsible for paying off the debts?
Where a debt if held jointly (eg a joint mortgage) or where 2 or more people are named on the credit agreement, the other parties will still be responsible for paying the total amount of the debt.
In this situation, the most important thing to do is notify the companies you've borrowed from as soon as you can. Ask them for a breakdown of the amounts that still need to be paid and work with them to understand how to repay the outstanding amount.
If a debt is only in one name, then it will usually either be settled using money from 'the estate' of the deceased person or written off if there aren't sufficient assets to pay off the amount.
If your spouse has passed away and the debt was only in their name, you won't inherit the debt.
Any beneficiaries named in a will also won't inherit any debt (though any amount they receive from the estate will be reduced after funeral costs and debt payments).
How are debts paid off when someone dies?
Usually, debts are paid off using the value of the estate in order of importance.
The 'value of the estate' is the total amount of money an individual has in savings, investments, property, possessions or cash. The value of the estate of will be used to cover funeral costs and any debts the person had that can be settled.
Secured debts like mortgages are paid off first, followed by funeral costs and administration fees. Lastly, any unsecured debts need to be covered.
If the value of the debt is more than the value of the estate, these will usually be written off by the creditors, but it's a good idea to consult with a solicitor or probate specialist on this.
You are currently within Aviva UK Public Homepage > Insurance > Our life cover products > Life Insurance > What happens to debt when someone dies?


17 The Holdens is an attractive, well presented, modern, 4 bedroom detached family residence, set on a corner plot in a quiet, conveniently situated cul-de-sac.
We have been very happy living here for the last twenty two years, and will leave very reluctantly to a smaller home.
We've found this an easy and comfortable house to live in, warm in winter and cool in summer. Well insulated and draught - free, low maintenance. Our garden is a quiet green oasis, easy to look after.
Our neighbours here in The Holdens are friendly, and we all appreciate our quiet and convenient location.
We can walk to Yardley Wood railway station in ten minutes , to buses for Birmingham and Solihull in a couple of hundred metres. Stratford Road leads you to the M42 in a quarter of an hour. Shops in easy walking distance include Waitrose, Aldi, and Tesco.
Local schools are rated good.
These things all combine to make 17 The Holdens a good place to enjoy living.
Why is the address "The Holdens "? This little development of 17 houses is built on ground that belonged to the Holden family. Edith Holden wrote and illustrated a minor classic, "The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady", her naturalist's diary for 1906.


This flashy card is sure to make them smile when they're celebrating the big 3-0!
Celebrate their 30th birthday with a personalised card! It can be printed with a name to read '30 Today Happy Birthday'.
You can personalise your card with a name in up to 18 characters. You can also add a special message to the inside of the card.


text:
David Gray – New Day At Midnight
Listened: Thursday October 7
New Day at Midnight was David Gray's followup to White Ladder. I'm sure it let a bunch of people down who wanted another White Ladder. It's not that. The listener can almost absorb the fact that he's in a much different place in his life with this album. There won't be another White Ladder because he's not that guy anymore.
I love his songs because they're emotionally resonant songs sung beautifully. I don't really know what's going on in many of the songs, but I can feel it anyway. The stresses on the words seem to fall in the right place, even if I can't intellectually figure out why.
Nirvana – Nevermind
Listened: Wednesday October 6
It's somehow very fitting that Nevermind immediately follows Never Mind the Bollocks. The transition is musically seamless.
Nevermind was released when I was in seventh grade. It was a big part of the fabric of my adolescence as a result; it was just everywhere. I remember Smells Like Teen Spirit was one of the first singles I ever bought (a cassingle, mind you) and I also gave it as a gift to my friend Megan when she turned 13, along with Enter Sandman by Metallica. When Smells Like Teen Spirit was played at middle school dances, people would without fail "slam dance" (that's what all the teachers called moshing) for about a minute and then it would be broken up.
I remember that I bought Nevermind several years after it came out (in high school) from my friend Justin. I'm not sure why he was getting rid of it, maybe he needed the cash. I hadn't bought it before that time because a bunch of the songs were played on the radio all the time anyway, and I was a cheapskate. But I think I decided at that point that I needed to make sure I owned it, because it was important.
One side note, nothing makes me feel old like hearing about the baby on the cover being a grownup now. Stop telling me this stuff!
Sex Pistols – Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols
Any true fan of the punk revival in the early nineties would have bought Never Mind The Bollocks. Even if we didn't really grasp what the first go-round of punk was actually about.
I admit it – the summer before I was a senior in high school, my friend Audrey and I saw the Filthy Lucre tour at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View – one of the least punk venues in the world! It was a pretty crappy show, as one might expect, but I can say I've seen the Sex Pistols. From a lawn.
When I listen to the Sex Pistols with a critical ear I notice that while the bands they influenced such as Rancid and early Green Day were bratty and liked to imagine themselves as rabble-rousers, the Sex Pistols are simultaneously very aggressive and angry in both lyrics and music, but also catchy and singable. I imagine that's really difficult to do, even if you're trying really hard to achieve that balance.
Rancid and Green Day are singable, but at most they come off as just somewhat annoyed or angsty. Maybe the secret ingredient in the Sex Pistols soup is the English class system. However, even other English punk bands of the era did not achieve the anger/catchy balance as well. The Clash came close, but they still couch their anger and disdain in well-crafted music.
I've recently seen Johnny Rotten and PiL at Coachella 2010. It sounds impossible, but imagine the aggression of the Sex Pistols turned up to 11. After the first long, very loud song bled into another, we decided it was time to find another stage and get our hearing and sanity back. I have to give the guy props for still busting out like that at the age of 54. But only props. Not my ears. Or sanity.
Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
It was going to be hard to top Funeral. We all knew that as we waited for Neon Bible. Thing is, I don't think Arcade Fire topped it. Neon Bible went in a totally different direction, neither higher nor lower. The artistic quotient went up, the communal happy indie feeling, not so much.
Even if I discount the biblical nature of the title, it's still obvious this record was recorded in an old church. The lyrical subject matter, choral backing vocals, and heavy organ use make no secret of it. The feeling of questioning the religious lifestyle one grew up with hangs heavy.
This album is certainly darker in tone than Funeral, which I appreciate at some times more than others. It's brilliant, righteous, and sometimes painful, as good art should be.
Roddy Woomble – My Secret Is My Silence
This is one of those albums with a cover that successfully telegraphs the content within – it really sounds like a beardy dude in a beenie sitting in the Scottish countryside. Obviously then, Roddy Woomble's solo album My Secret is My Silence is very different in sound than classic Idlewild albums (Roddy is the singer from Idlewild).
Most of the songs are very British-trad in instrumentation – twangy and folky with flutes – as opposed to the shoutiness of early Idlewild and the REM-like rock of later records. Additionally, quite a few songs have female backing vocals or even a male-female duet, something which Idlewild never uses.
That said, songs like As Still As I Watch Your Grave or From The Drifter To The Drake could be at home on Idlewild records, so it's not a total departure. I was pleasantly surprised and pleased, since it had been some time since Idlewild had released anything.
Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career
My Maudlin Career was the first Camera Obscura album I acquired. I've since acquired others.
My Maudlin Career like ear crack. I sing songs like French Navy, Away With Murder, Swans, and James to myself for hours afterward. I've never been a big fan of breathy female vocals, but Camera Obscura do it so expertly I can't help but love it. The sixties-inspired instrumentation with Belle & Sebastian style strings tie it all up with a big bow.
I subsequently downloaded their other albums when Amazon went crazy and had them all on sale for $5!
Beck – Mutations
Listened: Tuesday October 5
I casually enjoyed Beck's singles on the radio, but I've never been a big fan. I think maybe I thought he was too popular? Which is an odd statement, coming from someone who fell so in love with U2, I realize.
That said, I love Mutations. I don't know how or why I got this album, it was probably very cheap somewhere. I love the Eastern sounds and the mellow tone of most of the songs. It's a lot more relaxed and eager to please than Odelay.
Various – Music Of Croatia
Occasionally Amazon gives away random non-mainstream albums for free. Having visited Croatia and the Balkan region before, and being a fan of the neo-gypsy music craze, I jumped at the chance to get Music of Croatia for free.
I knew nothing about the artists on the album (I've since read up on them on Wikipedia, if I could find English-language articles), but they seem to span older styles of Croatian music to modern-day examples. There's rock, reggae, octet acapella, and very traditional-sounding instrumental songs. It's quite catchy and does fulfill the need for Gypsy Soundz.
Nirvana – MTV Unplugged In New York
It took reading wikipedia's article on Nirvana's MTV Unplugged album for me to grasp how unique it is. Since I grew up with it, it was a normal part of history for me, and I hadn't really thought about how odd it was that they played relatively few of their own songs, and almost none of the big hits at all.
They play songs by David Bowie, The Meat Puppets, The Vaselines, and Leadbelly. These are probably artists and songs almost no mainstream rock fans were familiar with at the time.
I heard this version of The Man Who Sold The World before I ever heard the Bowie version, and as a result, I prefer it. It's one of the spookiest songs I can think of, second only to Ghost Town by The Specials. (My Mind Playing Tricks on Me by Geto Boys is on that list too.) As a rabid reader of rock magazines, I had heard mention of the Meat Puppets before, but was totally unfamiliar with their music before hearing this. The covers of their songs are some of the best on the album.
The capper to all this is Leadbelly's Where Did You Sleep Last Night – which Kurt totally tears up like probably no one else could. He gives us the 90s punky version of the blues, which works out perfectly. Even more so than his own songs, it gives us a glimpse of the struggles he was going through at the time.
Heartless Bastards – The Mountain
I've already commented on what a force of nature Erika Wennerstrom is, but on The Mountain, she is quite simply a badass. Fitting that this review follows Ocean Colour Scene, because I'd use the same descriptors I used there for this album: bombastic, testosterone stomp.
Since I wrote my last Heartless Bastards review all those months ago at the beginning of the project, I've had the pleasure of seeing them perform. It was everything a rock and roll show should be – loud and fearless. Heartless Bastards, like Led Zeppelin, are the rare band that makes me want to headbang.


text:
A Vibrant San Francisco Villa Welcomes French Creatives
Located below the French consulate, the Studio Mortazavi–designed residence will host local and international artists.
Stephen Zacks,
Courtesy Villa San Francisco
Villa San Francisco, a two-bedroom apartment near Golden Gate Park, launched recently as a two-week-long artist residency, welcoming collaborations between French artists and the city. Because international travel has been restricted on account of the pandemic, scheduled stays for accepted residents have been postponed until 2021. Meanwhile, the villa has welcomed local artists to research, create, and perform in the space, challenging the perception of what an artist residency looks like.
"We have this French tradition starting with Louis XIV and the Villa Medici to have an artist-in-residence program all over the world," says Juliette Donadieu, cultural attaché for the French Embassy in San Francisco. "We really wanted to think about what it means to have a residency in the 21st century and how San Francisco is a place where you have so many communities coming together," she explains.
Architect Amir Mortazavi of Studio Mortazavi, a recent transplant from San Francisco to Portugal, led a conceptual redesign of the flat to stimulate inspiration and create a sense of place. "I wanted to showcase artists from France who were influenced by and created important projects in the Bay Area," he says. Staging the apartment with furniture and lighting by local designers, artists, and craftsmen with French affiliations, he has created a place of repose. The arch-shaped kitchen table and chairs by Yvonne Mouser reference Paris's Arc de Triomphe, and Jesse Schlesinger's coffee tables draw on Charlotte Perriand and Brancusi's designs for French buildings.
Painted in a yellow, red, and blue palette inspired by Pop artist Wayne Thiebaud's French Pastries (1963), the composition also references the scale of the moldings in the still-extant Villa de Medici French residency in Rome. Walls are covered with stripes modeled on those used by conceptual artist Daniel Buren that frame the open dining room and draw visitors' gaze out toward sweeping views of the city through the living room's bay windows. Photographic wallpaper by photographer and street artist JR, drawn from his 2018 The Chronicles of San Francisco, is recessed behind bookshelves and lines the inside closets and niches. Black-and-white stills from Agnès Varda's 1968 Black Panthers documentary hang on the walls of the living space.
The development of the residence was inspired by artist-led research into ways in which entrepreneurs, universities, and local governments can come together to protect artists' communities from displacement. As the Paris metropole and the Bay Area experience the effects of economic insecurity and climate emergency, they will need the inspiration—and powerful policy tools like public banking, social housing, and the Paris Climate Agreement—to succeed.
"We need to join forces and share a common vision. We cannot live in this kind of world," says Donadieu. "How do we create windows? How do we create spaces where you can have imagination, where you can breathe, where you can share, where you can cry, where you can smile? That's why I think art is important."
You may also enjoy "A Floating Apartment Proves Small Is Beautiful"
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Categories: Residential Interiors
Tags: Interiors, Residential Interiors


Onika Tanya Maraj (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj, is a Trinidadian-born American rapper, singer and songwriter. Born in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago and raised in South Jamaica, Queens, New York, Minaj earned public attention after releasing three mixtapes between 2007–09. She has been signed to Young Money Entertainment since 2009. Minaj's first and second studio albums, Pink Friday (2010) and Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (2012), both peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and produced the successful singles "Super Bass" and "Starships", respectively. In 2010, Minaj became the first female solo artist to have seven singles simultaneously charting on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Nicki Minaj" which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.


Antonio Citterio knows how to combine the timeless criteria of elegance with ultimate comfort. The seat and backrest of the large, swivel chair accommodate movement and invite users to relax in different positions.
Click the button below to add the Vitra - Grande Repos to your wish list.


Today I met up with another mother and her adorable baby boy who is exactly three months younger than Tyler Lee and we took the boys triking around the block. It was absolutely freezing but the boys loved it and were really beginning to interact with each other and make friends. I got this picture of Tyler Lee smiling while he was looking at Rach saying 'peek-a-boo- to him. He was so happy to be out and about and meeting new people. I love catching my baby boy in natural shots like this and all the better that he's smiling.
Thank you for reading my blog and taking the time to comment. I appreciate all your comments and try to reply whenever I can.
© Dolly Dowsie | All rights reserved.


text:
Stewart worked to leave UConn women's program prepared for future
Stewart worked hard to set good example for underclassmen
1of2Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma hugs Morgan Tuck (3) Moriah Jefferson (4) and Breanna Stewart (30) following the championship game against Syracuse at the women's Final Four in the NCAA college basketball tournament Tuesday, April 5, 2016, in Indianapolis. Connecticut won 82-51. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)APShow MoreShow Less
2of2Connecticut's Moriah Jefferson, center, is congratulated by teammates Kia Nurse, left, and Napheesa Collier, right, after Jefferson hit a shot at the end of the first quarter of the championship game against Syracuse, at the women's Final Four in the NCAA college basketball tournament Tuesday, April 5, 2016, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)APShow MoreShow Less
INDIANAPOLIS >> There might not be enough time in the day to list all of Breanna Stewart's accomplishments during her senior season at UConn.
Stewart's role in leading the Huskies to an unprecedented four consecutive national titles while being the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player each year puts her in the conversation among the best women's collegiate basketball players of all time. Her gaudy individual statistics also serves as tangible proof of Stewart's greatness.
There is another way Stewart impacted the program which flew under the radar.
Knowing the pressure that awaits the returning players with herself and fellow All-Americans Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck graduation, Stewart has offered some guidance. Whether it was taking Katie Lou Samuelson out for dinner when Stewart thought Samuelson hit the proverbial wall or cracking jokes to Napheesa Collier during the stretching portion of the warmups before the national championship game, Stewart took the responsibility of bringing along the younger Huskies to heart.
"Seniors, as leaders we have to come in and make sure we are preparing the rest of our team," Stewart said. "The juniors for what is going to come next year. We are handing the torch down to them and they are going to be just fine.
"Out of respect for us, out of respect for the other players in the program, they are not going to want to let us down. Maybe they don't have as strong of a connection with former alums, they played for us, they know what we sacrificed and the ball is in their hands."
Rising juniors Kia Nurse and Gabby Williams and sophomores to be Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson were either starters or key members of this season's rotation. They will form the nucleus of UConn's first team after the departure of what could go down as the best recruiting class in women's basketball history.
"I think these seniors have done so much to prepare us for next year too," Samuelson said. "Not only were they doing it for themselves to make history, but they really showed us what we need to do to carry on. I think this year was a good learning experience and we are going to try to be as much like them as we can."
The aforementioned quartet certainly will be front and center when the Huskies begin the quest for a fifth straight title. However, players like Saniya Chong, Natalie Butler and Courtney Ekmark could have expanded roles while incoming recruits Crystal Dangerfield, a consensus first-team high school all-american, Molly Bent and Kyla Irwin could contribute right away.
Probably for the first time since the arrival of Maya Moore in 2007 there are more questions than answers when looking at the prospects for the next season.
"This might be the biggest one in the sense that when that other group (Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Asjha Jones, Tamika Williams) left we had Diana (Taurasi) coming back,and I thought, 'hey, we're starting out the season with the best player in the country. How bad can that be?" UConn coach Geno Auriemma said.
"These three leaving, the rest of the players coming back are in for a rude awakening. But you can't disregard what all this, the impact that it has on the players coming back. It's going to be really, really, one of the more difficult adjustments that we've had in the time that I've been there. I'm kind of looking forward to it. I really am. I'm really looking forward to it. There's a lot of new stories to be written by our group."
In a perfect world Chong would come back ready to assume the starting point guard job, which would keep Auriemma from throwing Dangerfield right into the fire against perhaps the most challenging non-conference schedule the Huskies have ever had.
"I have to make sure I am a leader and a role model," Chong said. "Looking at the seniors, they have been the biggest role models for us, following in their footsteps will be the best thing. I think that we have a long way to go but I think we will be OK."
The 6-foot-5 Butler would give the Huskies some size, but like Chong she has had her struggles this season.
Butler was in there for 8 minutes in the national semifinal win against Oregon State to go head to head with the 6-foot-6 Ruth Hamblin. Not only was she inserted into the game, but UConn kept looking for Butler in the low post as if they were giving the Georgetown transfer an audition to see how she would fare.
"Going against a big girl like that is always a valuable lesson, it is an experience that can really help you," Butler said. "She is a really talented post player, she moves really well for her size. From what I understand she comes from humble backgrounds, just seems like a good person who works hard."


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A creative movement and stretch class. Children will have fun engaging in a variety of yoga poses, balance and coordination activities and relaxation time.
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An intensive Bodyshape class, in which you will jump a lot, as opposed to a normal Bodyshape class. Suitable for advanced Bodyshapers.


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If you have enjoyed the Final Fantasy series, these are the best summons.
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Hacking Deep Learning Models: you don't even need a PhD nor a GPU
Hadjer Moussaoui
Deep neural networks (DNNs) are outperforming learning models that have several successful use cases, notably in many safety-critical environments such as self-driving cars, cancer diagnosis, surveillance and access control, voice-activated digital assistants, credit scoring, detection of fraudulent financial transaction and malicious binaries.
However, scientific researches from institutions (Google, Facebook, Samsung Research America), universities ( New York, Montreal, Kyushu, Imperial College London, DIEE, , Ann Arbor, Stony Brook, Carnegie Mellon, Tübingen, Zhejiang, Alibaba-Zhejiang, UIUC, Lehigh, among others) and centers (Integrative Neuroscience, Computational Neuroscience, International Max Planck Research School for Intelligent Systems and Institute for Theoretical Physics, etc.) show that these models are easily fooled. We distinguish different types of attacks that can successfully fool DNNs (see section Characterization and classification of adversarial algorithms attacks for more details):
Fig. 1 Types of adversarial attacks
Adversarial algorithms attacks
Adversarial algorithms attacks are the first and the most studied type. They are mostly applied on the computer vision domain. The next section is dedicated to learn more about them.
DNNs could be fooled by a one-pixel perturbation!
On the top of the figure, we find the correct labels of the input images. Applying a one-pixel perturbation attack [Su et al., 2017] causes DNNs to misclassify the inputs into the targeted classes on the bottom.
Fig. 2 [Su et al., 2017] One-pixel attacks that fooled Networks (AllConv, NiN and VGG).
Audio adversarial examples
We give the following example of [Carlini & Wagner, 2018] where the authors construct targeted audio adversarial examples on automatic speech recognition and apply it to Mozilla's DeepSpeec. Given the audio waveform in the top left of the image bellow, which transcribes as "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times". Then, applying a small perturbation allow to produce another that is over 99.9% similar, but transcribes as the chosen phrase "it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single" with a 100% success rate.
Fig. 3 [Carlini & Wagner, 2018] Illustration of Carlini & Wagner targeted attack on automatic speech recognition
Training data poisoning attacks
Data collection learning algorithms are exposed to the threat of data poisoning, i.e., a coordinate attack in which a fraction of the training data is controlled by the attacker and manipulated to subvert the learning process. As application examples, we find spam filtering, malware detection and handwritten digit recognition [Muñoz-González et al., 2017].
Physical-world attacks
Adversarial examples have limited effectiveness in the physical world due to changing physical conditions. We give some examples of physical successful attacks:
Physical printed attack
Consider a driverless car system that uses DNNs to identify traffic signs. The image on the left shows a real graffiti on a STOP sign and the image on the right shows crafted ones that fooled the DNN to classify the STOP sign as a speed limit 45 sign and then the car would not stop, thus subverting the car's safety.
Fig. 4 [Evtimov et al., 2017] Targeted physical perturbation experiment results on LISA-CNN using a poster-printed Stop sign (subtle attacks) and a real Stop sign (camouflage art attacks). In blue, the targeted-attacks success rate.
Accessorize to a crime
It's about a physically realizable and inconspicuous attack applied on facial biometric systems which are widely used in surveillance and access control. It is realized through printing a pair of eyeglass frames allowing the attacker wearing it to evade being recognized or to impersonate another individual as shown in the example bellow:
Fig. 5 [YouTube, Sharif et al., 2016] Example of 100% successful impersonation attack.
IPhone X Face ID fooled by 200$ Twin Mask
The Vietnamese based security experts from Bkav have successfully beat IPhone X Face ID with their 3D Twin Mask that costs less than 200$ and can unlock the phone the same way twins do.
Fig. 6 [Source, YouTube] Twin Mask
Consequences: Why is it inevitable to study this phenomenon?
Clearly, those attacks could make DNNs operating incorrectly and could create incentives for adversaries to fool network models, which can seriously undermine the security of the systems supported by those models, sometimes with devastating consequences. For example, autonomous vehicles can be crashed, illicit or illegal content can bypass content filters, or biometric authentication systems can be manipulated to allow improper access.
Consequently, users as automobile manufacturers, bank and insurance companies, radiology services, users of facial and voice ID, etc., need to trust in the correct operation and robustness of DNNs against eventual attacks. For this reason, massive scientific papers were (and still are) devoted to craft adversarial attacks, develop defensive mechanisms to reduce their effectiveness on DNNs and define utility metrics to measure the vulnerability of DNNs.
Adversarial Algorithms Attacks on DNNs
What, when and how?
This phenomenon, so-called "adversarial instability", was first introduced and studied in 2013 in the image classification domain [Szegedy et al., 2013]. The authors found that applying a very small human-imperceptible perturbation to the inputs in the test phase enable to create "adversarial examples" that can fool networks and result in arbitrary incorrect outputs (or specific ones as shown later).
Fig. 7 [Szegedy et al., 2013] Adversarial example generated for AlexNet: The bus is predicted to be an ostrich!
Why is it possible?
These manipulations are actually possible owing to the imperfect generalization learned by DNNs from finite training sets [Bengio, 2009] and the underlying linearity of most components used to build DNNs [Kurakin et al., 2016].
How to get started with protecting your DNN?
Attacks/Defenses Platforms
Several attack/defense platforms have been proposed to provide reference implementations of the attacks and defenses with most popular deep learning frameworks in purpose to be used by developers to construct robust models.
In the table below Tab. 1, we list five open source platforms. For each one, we give the number of attacks and defenses implemented, the DL frameworks supported and useful links to the codes and documentations. The lists of attacks and defenses in each platform are given bellow in Tab. 2 and Tab. 3.
Tab. 1 Attacks/ Defenses open source frameworks DeepSec, ART, AdvBox, Foolbox and Cleverhans.
In the Table below, we list the different attacks implemented in each one of the platforms DeepSec, ART, AdvBox, Foolbox and Cleverhans. We remark that there are attacks implemented in multiple platforms. The star "*" mark in some attacks in the lists of ART, AdvBox, Foolbox and Cleverhans corresponds to the attacks that are not covered in DeepSec.
Tab. 2 Lists of attacks implemented in the platforms DeepSec, ART, AdvBox, Foolbox and Cleverhans.
In the Table below, we list the different defenses/ detectors implemented in each one of the platforms DeepSec, ART and Cleverhans.
Tab. 3 Lists of defenses/detectors implemented in the platforms DeepSec, ARTand Cleverhans.
Characterization and classification of adversarial algorithms attacks
Adversarial algorithms are characterized by targeted architecture, attack strategy, perturbing average, misclassification success average and computational costs.
In general, existing attacks can be classified along multiple different dimensions [Yuan et al., 2017, Ling et al., 2019]. In the following table, we give a classification of adversarial attacks according to [Kurakin et al., 2018].
Tab. 4 Classification of Adversarial attacks
Evaluate the robustness of DNNs
In general, the evaluation of the robustness of DNNs could be done by introducing robustness metrics or by constructing attacks and introducing defensive procedures.
The former approach is substantially more difficult to implement in practice, and all attempts have required approximations [Bastani et al., 2016], [Huang et al., 2017]. On the other hand, defensive procedures should be done with low impact on the architecture, maintain accuracy and speed of network, be robust against transferability. We present in the table below the existing defending methods and their Key drawbacks according to Kurakin et al., 2018, the authors say that no method of defending against adversarial examples is yet completely satisfactory.
Tab. 5 Existing defense methods and their Key drawbacks.
Conclusion and call for collaboration
The vulnerability of deep learning models were first introduced and studied in 2013. Alongside the exponential growth of DL models that are nowadays outperforming humans in many areas, this vulnerability phenomenon becomes more and more critic and result in legal and ethical debates when it comes to the safety-critical domains such as self-driving cars or cancer diagnosis.
There exists a vast literature by scientists and developers that tries to restrain all possible adversary attacks and develop defensive mechanisms to reduce their effectiveness. Many open source platforms are available for this reason. However, this is not enough and need more efforts to ensure the robustness of our AI world. Thus, Axionable is committed to innovating on attack and defensive techniques. If you have an idea or want to collaborate, please email us at datascience@axionable.com.
The tables are available on PDF format with accessible hyperlinks. If you are interested, do not hesitate to contact us.
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While some production systems (such as Permaculture) apply ecological principles to a set of practices, it seems to me that we need to understand the underlying principles upon which ecological systems are built, so that we can \"re-invent\" agriculture using these principles. The first step in re-inventing a new ecological system, might be to understand and hopefully become free from the current mechanistic world view that so dominates our thinking.
If you are still with me, you might be asking \"what is this new way of looking at life we are talking about?\" What might a \"non-mechanistic\" worldview look like, and how might it make a difference in how we think and act?
In my next post, I\'ll explore more deeply the ecological worldview and how it applies to farming and to living.


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You are here: Home › TCL Introduces its Low Cost, Health Care Listed TV System
TCL Introduces its Low Cost, Health Care Listed TV System
By Send2Press Newswire on July 13, 2011 in Electronics, Indiana, Medical and Health Products, Press Releases, Technology
ELKHART, Ind., July 13, 2011 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — TCL picks DEHCO Commercial to distribute its line of LCD TVs to the health care industry. Dehco Commercial has combined their HC20 technology with LCD TV's made by TCL. The result is a pillow-speaker-ready (Intertek listed) TV system priced 30 to 40 percent below what is typically spent on health care TV's.
Both DEHCO and TCL are excited about this new development and see it as a testament to the quality and safety of their health care TV product.
"We provide an excellent value for hospitals and post acute facilities looking to upgrade to a highly reliable brand name TV with a lower acquisition cost," says Steve Olson, General Manager of DEHCO Oregon. "We offer a better, more dependable TV of consistent quality that has been tested and proven to exceed UL health care safety standards."
About DEHCO Commercial:
DEHCO Commercial, a division of DEHCO, Inc. based in Elkhart, Ind., specializes in providing turnkey solutions for the health care, hospitality and education markets, offering some of the best known flat screen television brands.
DEHCO, Inc has over 50 years of experience in supply chain management and fulfillment, and has established a strong network of sales, service and distribution centers across the United States allowing them the ability to inventory name brand LCDs and deliver just-in-time to their customers. DEHCO Commercial builds on that reputation with quick and reliable service, a tremendous benefit to the health care industry.
In addition to the Midwest headquarters, DEHCO offers a fully integrated network of sales, distribution and service centers throughout North America including: Eugene, OR, Elkhart, IN and Manheim, PA. More information: www.dehcocommercial.com .
About TTE Technology:
With its U.S. headquarters in Corona, California, TTE Technology, Inc. designs and markets televisions in the United States under the TCL brand name. TTE Technology and TCL Corporation are subsidiaries of TCL Multimedia Technology Holdings Limited, one of world's largest consumer electronics manufacturers specializing in the development of high-quality televisions and other leading technology products. Headquartered in China, TCL Multimedia operates a global network of research centers, manufacturing facilities, and sales offices.
News Source: DEHCO Commercial :: This press release was issued on behalf of the news source by Send2Press® Newswire, a service of Neotrope®. View all current news at: http://Send2PressNewswire.com .
DEHCO Commercial, Elkhart, health care TVs, Ind., TTE Technology
'Partner Interviewing': The Secret Every Business Owner Should Know Before Making a Promotional Video
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Of Shakespeare's thirty-seven plays, fifteen include queens. This collection gives these characters their due as powerful early modern women and agents of change, bringing together new perspectives from scholars of literature, history, theater, and the fine arts. Essays span Shakespeare's career and cover a range of famous and lesser-known queens, from the furious Margaret of Anjou in the Henry VI plays to the quietly powerful Hermione in The Winter's Tale; from vengeful Tamora in Titus Andronicus to Lady Macbeth. Early chapters situate readers in the critical concerns underpinning any discussion of Shakespeare and queenship: the ambiguous figure of Elizabeth I, and the knotty issue of gender presentation. The focus then moves to analysis of issues such as motherhood, intertextuality, and contemporary political contexts; close readings of individual plays; and investigations of rhetoric and theatricality. Featuring twenty-five chapters with a rich variety of themes and methodologies, this handbook is an invaluable reference for students and scholars, and a unique addition to the fields of Shakespeare and queenship studies.
Kavita Mudan Finn has taught medieval and early modern literature at Georgetown, University of Maryland, George Washington University, and Simmons College, USA. She is the author of The Last Plantagenet Consorts (Palgrave 2012).
Valerie Schutte is the author of Mary I and the Art of Book Dedications: Royal Women, Power, and Persuasion (Palgrave 2015) and has edited several collections on early modern kings and queens.


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