Aperture Will Not Run on macOS Post-Mojave

Aperture was a popular professional photo editor made by Apple. It was discontinued in 2014 to the disappointment of many. Apple did try to make a compromise by putting a large effort into the photo editing abilities of the native Photos apps, but it wasn't the same by any measure. This change led many to switching to Adobe Lightroom, while some may continue using Aperture, even though it wasn't being updated anymore. However, it seems that Aperture won't be able to run after macOS 2019 is released. Apple has created a new support document regarding the change. I don't know if Aperture was 32-bit as of the final update, but Apple cites "technical reasons" for the inability to run. In the document, Apple describes the migration process to Photos and Adobe Lightroom Classic. Depending on the process you use, you may lose some metadata from your Aperture library, so be careful and make backups. I almost bought Aperture right before it was announced it was being discontinued, so I'm definitely glad I don't have to worry about this mess, but it is unfortunate to see Aperture finally meet the end of its days.

Anki Robotics Shutting Down

When I first heard of Anki from one of Apple's keynote events, I genuinely thought they had one of the coolest demos. Anki Drive reminded me of the RC cars you could race on a track. It seemed like an evolution, where you could have the cars drive themselves. I always wanted to try them out, but I never got around to it. Unfortunately, it seems like they won't be around for much longer. Recode today shared the news that Anki is shutting down on Wednesday due to lack of sufficient funding. Even more unfortunate is the fact that their products will eventually become obsolete due to their reliance on apps. If Anki isn't around to update the apps anymore, they will become more difficult to use.

Google+ Shuts Down

Seven years ago, Google tried to enter the social media ring with Google+. The service was integrated with many of Google's services and flopped hard. It was found that 90 percent of Google+ user sessions lasted less than five seconds. Because it was integrated into so many services, it only stayed around until Google had a good reason to get rid of it. Due to a security issue with Google+, Google announced that they would shutter the social network in 2019. Today, Google+ is finally gone. I have no personal attachment to Google+ today and I'm more glad it's gone than not. It just overstayed its welcome in the Google ecosystem, especially YouTube. You shouldn't have to annoy someone into using your product, and Google+ was doing just that, which may have been its downfall.

Apple Music Connect To Shut Down

Apple Music Connect was a very small feature in Apple Music. It was similar to iTunes Ping, shut down in 2012. iTunes Ping tried to make iTunes a social experience. Apple Music Connect added artist's posts and tweets into Apple Music. Apple has tried to make music a social experience for too long. I think most people just want a way to get notified if their favorite artists release a new album. Connect content will be searchable until May 24, 2019.

AirPort Line of Products No Longer Available

The AirPort line of products was officially discontinued back in April. However, Apple did allow users to deplete their stock before pulling the products from their shelves. Now, the AirPort Extreme and the 2 TB Time Capsule have reached their limit and are no longer available from Apple. With this, we no longer have any AirPort products to look for. Only refurbished models are available from Apple at this point.

Back to My Mac Being Discontinued

Back to My Mac has been around for a long time. It allowed users to perform file transfers and screen shares through iCloud. Apple will be shelving the feature with the release of macOS Mojave. I personally found Back to My Mac a bit complicated, with so many conditions that had to be met for it to work practically. There are other free alternatives, like TeamViewer, so not all is lost. Apple also mentions Apple Remote Desktop, which is $80 and receives few updates, so (while it's unlikely) we may finally see an update or a price cut.

Apple's Photo Book Service to be Discontinued

Apple has had physical Photo Books available for purchase since 2002, and many people enjoy making and receiving them. Unfortunately, Apple will be discontinuing it later this year. Found by 9to5Mac, the service will be discontinued September 30, 2018. The service will be succeeded by extensions that the user installs, such as Shutterfly. This is unfortunate for me and my family, as we loved making these books, so I'll have to be sure to make at least one more before it's discontinued.

Yahoo Messenger To Be Discontinued

After AOL Instant Messenger was discontinued, Yahoo Messenger is being discontinued. It seems like it's the end of an era for instant messengers. Yahoo Messenger has been around for 20 years now. The service will be discontinued on July 17, 2018. You will be able to download chat history for a limited time. More information is available from their website. It's also worth noting that both Yahoo! and AOL are owned by Oath.

AirPort Officially Discontinued

AirPort products were officially discontinued by Apple today, meaning any remaining stock will be the last we'll see of it [Source: iMore]. AirPort products were wireless routers made by Apple. The AirPort Time Capsule supported wireless Time Machine backup and the AirPort Express supported AirPlay. I can understand why Apple would want to discontinue this line, since it wasn't integral to Apple's main ecosystem, but I feel like if they expanded it with more unique features and advertised it more, it could've sold better. I would like it if they made them into iBeacons, so you could automate HomeKit devices when you're near one. Regardless, it's clear Apple wants to move onto bigger and better things.

Original Apple TV to Lose iTunes Store Support

The original Apple TV was released in March of 2007. It looked very different compared to the Apple TV we have today, and was designed to complement the Mac. Today, Apple TV is designed to complement our iOS devices. On May 25, Apple will add security changes that will prevent the first Apple TV from connecting to the iTunes Store, due to it being obsolete. In addition, users running Windows XP and Windows Vista will not be able to access the iTunes Store for the same reason. In short, this is a necessary change that hopefully won't affect too many people.

Twitter Discontinues macOS App

When the Mac App Store released, it remember Twitter was one of the first apps I downloaded. It’s clear that Mac apps function very differently than iOS apps. Mac apps should take advantage of the greater power and screen space of a Mac. When it doesn’t, it functions best as a website. People use websites more for these smaller apps. Twitter is noticing this change and allocating it’s resources into its website for desktops. Twitter is discontinuing it’s macOS app. I can understand this. When you pay a team to maintain the entire social network on many platforms, it can become obvious that it isn’t worth supporting a Mac app that probably isn’t frequently used, when the web version works just as well. 

AIM Will Be Discontinued After 20 Years

This year, the last 90s kid will become an adult. Fittingly, AIM, or AOL Instant Messenger, will be discontinued just before the end of the year. December 15, 2017 to be exact. I could go on and on about the rise and fall of AOL, but it’s a perfect example of how rapidly developing technology changes, but also deprecates older technologies. The advancements in technologies made even SMS a bit obsolete in favor of iMessage and other data-based SMS services. It’s no surprise that AIM is being discontinued. I forgot it existed until today.

Of course, I’m a bit saddened by this news. AOL was my first email account I got, and I would use AIM to message far-away friends. Seeing that AIM stick figure... “thing” got me really nostalgic. I was a bit surprised AIM had a Twitter account. Who knows? Maybe somebody will make an “AIM Rewritten” service. With Cuphead doing as well as it is, I wouldn’t mind a 90s nostalgia instant messenger. It’s something to think about. 

All good things come to an end. On Dec 15, we'll bid farewell to AIM. Thank you to all our users! #AIMemories https://t.co/b6cjR2tSuU pic.twitter.com/V09Fl7EPMx

— AIM (@aim) October 6, 2017

iPod Shuffle and iPod Nano Discontinued

Apple has discontinued the iPod Shuffle and iPod Nano, the two music players that didn't support Apple Music. The iPod Touch remains as the final iPod. It's the end of an era in some sense. The industry moved on from having a thousand songs in your pocket to having an infinite library in the cloud. It could be argued the iPhone ultimately killed the iPod. While the iPod is almost gone, it will live on in Apple Music.

Apple to Discontinue iPad Mini

According to BGR, Apple is planning to discontinue the iPad Mini. This isn't very surprising at this point, as the iPad Mini has been lagging behind the iPad Air and iPad Pro for the past few years. With only a smaller size to offer, the regular iPad has become a better bargain for the most part. It will likely confuse some too, as there is only a $30 price difference between the 128 GB iPad Mini and regular iPad. With a new sized iPad Pro in the rumors, this is all the more reason to discontinue the iPad Mini. We may know for sure in June with WWDC coming up.

iOS 10.3 App Compatibility

iOS 10.3 has confirmed that non-64-bit apps will no longer work with future versions of iOS. As such, developers have been put on notice for this. To submit an app to the App Store, the app must be 64-bit. That has been the standard for some time. However, app developers who neglect their users and don't maintain their apps will soon find that their apps no longer work at all. In iOS 10.3, which is currently in beta, you will be able to check which apps need to utilize 64-bit. I recommend the users contact the app developer to implement 64-bit.

Potential Apple Music Price Drop

According to Digital Music News and their sources, Apple is considering dropping their prices for Apple Music plans. To keep things simple, all prices in this post will be per month. For individual plans, the change would be from $9.99 to $7.99. Family plans would be dropped from $14.99 to $12.99. Student plans would remain at $4.99. I don't have many opinions on this since I'm on the student plan, but I know this isn't Apple giving Apple Music one last shot. They are very committed to this product, and the people who use it are typically pretty satisfied. In addition, because streaming music is very likely to be the future, Apple has no reason to discontinue Apple Music and is more likely to discontinue buying songs for 99¢, as controversial as that is. 

Microsoft Discontinues Microsoft Band

Most people I ask weren't aware Microsoft had a wearable, and Microsoft made that clear as glass today by removing their Microsoft Band listings from their website. Although it hasn't been confirmed, it seems that they are discontinuing the band, as they have stated that it won't be updated this year. The Microsoft Band lived a short life, starting in 2014 to compete with the Apple Watch. There were only two generations. For some, this is unfortunate, as those in the Microsoft ecosystem are being left in the dust, time and time again. First discontinuing the Windows Phone, and now with their flagship wearable. That's not to say they were seen as good products, but it does mean that the Microsoft ecosystem may not be the best place to go to for continuity and cohesiveness.

Facebook Moments

If you use Facebook's photo syncing feature, you might want to hear this. Unless you install Facebook's new Moments app, your photos will be deleted if they're using the photo syncing feature. You're fine if you have an extra copy on your phone, but I would install this app just to be safe. These photos will be accessible until July 7 without installing Moments. Moments is available for free from the Apple App Store [Direct Link].

iPhone 7 Will Introduce Deep Blue Color Option

According to Mac Otakara, the iPhone 7 will come in a Deep Blue option for colors. This color will replace Space Gray. It should be noted that this is a relatively sketchy rumor and should be taken with a grain of salt. It's hard to believe that Apple would get rid of Space Gray and replace it with a color with less appeal when it comes to phone colors. The Space Gray color is a color that anyone can choose and is suited for almost any consumer. It was universal. In addition, Space Gray is the closest color that resembles the color of the original iPhone, with its black front side. I doubt they would get rid of this iconic color. As a final note, I would like it if they called this color option "Sapphire" instead of "Deep Blue" to keep with the trend of precious materials (Silver, Gold, and Rose Gold).

Image Credit: Mac Otakara

iTunes Could Stop Selling Songs in 2018

Although an Apple representative stated that this is not true, rumors have surfaced that Apple wants to ditch the iTunes Store for music and switch entirely to streaming music [Source: Digital Music News]. This would shift the entire focus to Apple Music, making customers pay a monthly fee to play music, something that isn't for most people. This would effectively remove the philosophy that most songs could be purchased for $0.99. Let's hope that Apple representative was correct.