One connector to rule them all

EU lawmakers voted overwhelmingly (540-40) in favor for rules that would establish a common charger standard for mobile devices. It has not been decided which connector is the chosen one, but proposed charging ports include Micro-USB, USB-C and the Lightning connector. Looking at the already wide adoption of the USB-C, it's rather safe to say that it will be chosen. Fortunately, we won't have to wait long for the decision, the European Commission should adopt new rules by July.

Apple wants to make SMS one-time codes safer

Apple's WebKit team published a proposal to change the format of SMS one-time passcodes. The idea is to make the two-factor authentication process more secure. The proposal describes two ideas to achieve that:

1. SMS one-time passcodes would be associated with a URL. It would be achieved by simply adding the website's URL to the SMS itself,
2. Standardized format of two-factor authentication SMS code would allow applications to detect passcodes; automatically extract them, and complete the login process without further user interaction.

Here is an example of such SMS message:

011970 is your Brain Archives authentication code.
@brainarchives․com #011970

So far Apple and Google have backed the proposal.

iOS 14 to support the same iPhones as iOS 13

According to French website iPhonesoft, iOS 14 will be compatible with all iPhones supported by iOS 13,  including:

• iPhone 11,  11 Pro & 11 Pro Max,
• iPhone XS & XS Max,
• iPhone XR,
• iPhone X,
• iPhone 8 & 8 Plus,
• iPhone 7 & 7 Plus,
• iPhone 6S & 6S Plus,
• iPhone SE,
• iPod touch (7th generation).

As for the iPads, iPhonesoft informs that iOS14 will drop support for the iPad mini 4, and will support following devices:

• 12.9-inch iPad Pro,
• 11-inch iPad Pro,
• 10.5-inch iPad Pro,
• 9.7-inch iPad Pro,
• iPad 7th, 6th & 5th   generation,
• iPad mini (5th generation),
• iPad Air (3rd generation).

iPad turned 10

This week is the 10th anniversary of the original iPad announcement. iPad supposed to become the "post PC" device that would replace personal computers. 10 years later, we know it hasn't done that yet, but current generation of iPads and iPadOS is closer than ever. Although, tablets hasn't become as popular as smartphones, iPad helped Apple take over this market.

Google's new business communicator

According to report from The Information Google is working on a new communicator for workplaces, that will combine the part of GSuite functionality, like Gmail Google Drive & Hangouts.

Dope links

• Atomic property wrapper in Swift
• Translucent “Now Playing” Bar
• iOS App Security: Best Practices
• Post Mortem: App Store Outage on January 24th, 2020
• React Native is the Future of Mobile at Shopify
• Intro to PWAs and Service Workers
• Introducing Yarn 2 ! 🧶🌟
• TypeOfNaN JavaScript Quizzes
• A long list of (advanced) JavaScript questions, and their explanations ✨
• How Smashing Magazine Manages Content: Migration From WordPress To JAMstack
• Using NSwag to Generate a Vue Client for an ASP.NET Core 3.1 API
• Intrinsic Sizing In CSS
• Memory Management Reference
• Understanding The GIT Workflow
• Words Are Hard - An Essay on Communicating With Non-Programmers
• Postwoman • API request builder
• Are you unique?

Image credits: Lucian Alexe

Tesla Cybertruck

Tesla has revealed its new car. This time it is,  Blade Runner inspired, electric pickup truck called Cybertruck. There will be 3 versions available:

• Single motor rear-wheel drive with 250 miles of range, 7500-pound towing capacity, and 0-60 mph in under 6.5 seconds. Starting at $39900.
• Dual motor all-wheel drive with 300 miles of range, 10,000-pound towing capacity, and 0-60 mph in under 4.5 seconds. Starting at $49900.
• Triple motor all-wheel drive with 500 miles of range, 14,000-pound towing capacity, and 0-60 mph in under 2.9 seconds. Starting at $69900.

All models are made of ultra-strong glass and polymer-layered composite that can withstand even bullets.  Also, all versions come with Autopilot, but "self-driving" costs additional $7000.

Cybertruck is available to preorder, but first models won't be delivered until late 2021.

Interesting links

• Understanding CORS
• You can create these elements without JavaScript
• Easily switch to Composition API in Vue.js 3
• Audio Processing for Dummies
• How to write a commit message
• Apple has locked me out of my developer account
• The future of my games on Apple (post-Catalina) and what this means for art games in general
• Microsoft Flight Simulator - Official Gameplay Trailer

Image credits: Tesla

Sleep tracking in Apple Watch

New rumors surfaced about sleep tracking in Apple Watch. According to anonymous sources, Apple Watch will allow to track sleep quality without any additional hardware, which means this might be only a software update which would track :

• user's movement,
• heart rate,
• noises

Tracked data should be accessible via Health app.

Smart Watch bands

Patently Apple noticed that Apple has been granted new patents for watch bands and bracelets. In the future Apple could create following Watch accessories:

• band with biometric authentication sensor,
• band with visual indicators,
• self-tightening band.

Apple already has couple of patents for watch bands and we still haven't seen any smart one, so Apple is probably just trying to be ahead of competition in terms of patents, rather than trying to start production of a new product.

Apple Music on the Web

Apple launched a brand new Apple Music web player, which is currently in a beta state. Service itself looks and behaves like the Music app from macOS Catalina, so even the Windows or Linux users will be able to use Apple Music on their computers. For me, lack of lightweight client for Apple Music on Windows and Linux was the biggest blocker keeping me from switching from Spotify. I will wait a little bit to see how it will turn out. Then I will evaluate what both streaming services have to offer and maybe I will do the switch.

USB 4 standard finalized

The USB Implementers Forum has announced thatUSB 4 standard is finalized and ready for wide deployment. Here is  tl;dr version:

• up to 40Gbps data throughput,
• up to 100W power delivery,
• backwards compatibility with earlier USB standards, including USB 3.2 and USB 2.0, as well as Thunderbolt 3,
• will use USB Type-C connector.

Hopefully this will convince manufacturers to produce more accessories with USB-C connector.

Multiplayer in Cyberpunk 2077

CD Projekt Red confirmed that multiplayer in Cyberpunk 2077 left the stage of R&D and is officially coming to the game. As the multiplayer is still under early development, it will come later to the game. Next April we will get single player campaign, then couple of (free) DLCs, and after that, there will be multiplayer beta.

I'm curious how company known for single player masterpieces will tackle the multiplayer mechanics.

Interesting links

• Modeling app state using Store objects in SwiftUI
• Why users will love new Sign in with Apple
• Introducing Cyborg, an Open Source iOS Implementation of Android VectorDrawable
• A complete guide to Oauth2 protocol
• Anthoine Hubert's Accident - a gentle look at the facts

Image credits: Apple

MacBook Pro 16

Last week I was wondering whether new 16-inch MacBook Pro will have the same form factor as current 15-inch model. Based on the rumors from this week it seems so.  Here are the rumors surrounding  this laptop, we know so far:

• 16-inch LED Retina display,
• Resolution 3072×1920 px,
• Same form factor (body size) as current 15-inch model,
• New keyboard with scissor key switches,
• Price starting around $3000,
• Release date - October 2019.

The only thing we still don't know is the components (CPU, GPU, RAM, storage) spec, but I would assume it will be very similar to what we can see in current 15-inch models.

Interesting links

• PWAs on iOS 13 beta: Here Comes Good News
• HTTP Security Headers - A Complete Guide
• How To Host Your Personal Website for Free
• Game Source Code Collection
• Windows 10 Build 18947 - New Start Menu, Emoji Picker
• Diablo in a browser

Image credits: 9to5mac

During this week I looked back on what happened this year and I decided to pick my top 3 news from each month. Here are my picks.

January

1. Bitcoin bubble burst,
2. Meltdown and Spectre discovered,
3. EA became scared of YouTubers.

February

1. SpaceX launched Falcon Heavy into space,
2. Elon Musk started selling not a Flamethrowers,
3. Apple started selling HomePods.

March

1. Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal,
2. Apple fixed buggy iPhone X ad before fixing the actual iOS 11 bug,
3. Current frequency deviations in Central Europe.

April

1. Mark Zuckerberg testified before members of Congress,
2. SpaceX reached the promised land of launching every two weeks,
3. GTA V has become the most profitable entertainment product of all time.

May

1. Google Duplex has been announced,
2. GDPR has become effective,
3. Premiere of Solo: A Star Wars Story.

June

1. Microsoft bought GitHub,
2. Apple held WWDC,
3. Apple Pay became available in Poland.

July

1. Apple updated MacBook Pros,
2. New MacBook Pros fixed keyboard but overheats,
3. Clone Wars TV series has been renewed.

August

1. Apple became first IT company to be worth 1 trillion dollars,
2. Twitter limited access to the APIs,
3. CD Project released first gameplay of the Cyberpunk 2077.

September

1. Apple unveiled iPhone XS, XR and Apple Watch 4,
2. Google was celebrating its 20th birthday,
3. iOS 12 and macOS Mojave has been released.

October

1. LucasFilm shared details about first Star Wars tv series - The Mandalorian,
2. Apple shoved new iPad Pro,
3. Google unveiled Pixel 3, a tablet and HomeHub.

November

1. Disney announced new streaming service - Disney+,
2. Stan Lee has passed away,
3. Robert Kubica returned to F1.

December

1. Microsoft announced that it's working on a new browser,
2. YouTube Rewind 2018 became the most disliked video on YouTube,
3. Google’s Home Alone ad.

That's all folks. This was an incredible year. I hope next year will be event better.
Happy New year guys and see you soon!

Image credits: Annie Spratt.