Tag: Apple

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That was pretty easy for something California…

The California Mobile Driver’s License is available in my Apple Wallet app.

From what I gather, the availability may be a gradual phased approach. That might make sense, when you consider the population in California. If everyone was suddenly able to request approval from the DMV it could easily overwhelm the system. Remember the Obamacare website???

Yeah, kinda like that..

I noticed a small announcement, nothing like the big splashy announcement about the Android version, and found that indeed California mDL was listed in the Apple Wallet.

I went through the process and it failed the first time. I was asked to try again later. Several hours later, I tried and the system accepted my request. About 2 hours after that, I got a notification that my ID was available. 

The one thing I don’t like is the way my name is presented. My first name and middle name are spelled out and my last name is omitted entirely from the digital representation. I’m not sure how the information can be presented better.

That being said opening the digital representation allows me to see all the same information that is present on my physical driver’s license. That’s what matters because thats the data that will be transmitted upon request.

In short, the onboarding process was pretty easy. The DMV did their part pretty efficiently and I’m impressed. Good Job, California DMV!

Now let’s see where this is useful. Honestly, the only time I’ve been asked for ID in the past few years is when I was getting a loaner car at the car dealership while my vehicle was being repaired.

I’m curious about this though. Since I have my physical DL, and now have laid claim to the Digital version, does that make my ID easier or more difficult to steal?

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I did something I swore I’d never do again.

Apple iOS18 icon 1505066260.I updated all my Apple machines to the latest IOS, WatchOS, and Mac OS versions yesterday. 

I was perhaps foolish because while my IOS devices were updating. I was working on a project dealing with some photos. However I needed a break, and my laptop battery needed recharging, so I initiated the MacOS update while the computer was recharging.

This worked out perfectly since I couldn’t get the computer into a comfortable location to work on it while it recharged. The update is completely automatic so the computer didn’t need me. An hour or so later I came back to a fully charged battery and a new operating system. Neat!

The iPhone and iPad both took a while to do their thing.

Oddly, it was the Apple Watch that was the most tedious to update.

I use the IOS 18 logo generically. 

I was kind of ambivalent about doing it. But I’m evacuated from my home and honestly… It was sort of a “Klytus, I’m Bored,” situation. 

680full ming the merciless.Fans of the movie “Flash Gordon” will recognize the reference.

Emperor Ming, The Merciless, starts the movie with that line. Beginning the travails of Earth.

For those interested, the upgrades went very smoothly. Now I’m re-evaluating some of the applications that I have subscriptions for. At least a couple of them may be superseded by Apple native versions with similar functionality.

Not that I’m complaining. The less money I have to spend with silly subscriptions the happier I’ll be.

I haven’t noticed any bugs yet, but I’ve only been working with the new systems for less than 24 hours.

My results with upgrading my devices may differ from yours. I tend to be a minimalist when it comes to software on my devices. I’ve only recently begun to wonder if that minimalism has been dictated by where I live more than by choice.

There are very few services like food deliveries, mass transit, or some of the more well known eateries where I am. As a result, I don’t have any of the usual apps because they’re useless in my particular situation.

I suspect that my lack of applications contributes to the generally successful OS upgrades I enjoy.

Were I to live someplace where transit cards, or food delivery, or any of the well known conveniences existed It’s more likely that problems would occur.

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Well Today is the Apple Announcement day.

I’m tuning in. I just want to know when the new OS stuff will be available.

I might be interested in a new set of AirPods.

I’ve also been playing around with dictation via the current Siri. It’s not too bad, I’m really getting interested in how the AI stuff enhances dictation.

IPhone 16 Pro Max 1.After watching the event, I have to say I like the iPhone 16 Pro, but not enough to ditch my iPhone 15 Pro.

Maybe I’ll wait for the iPhone 17 or 18.

I wasn’t impressed with anything else.

New color on the Apple Watch Ultra 2. Ehh. My Ultra Version 1 still supports the O2 data that Apple had to remove due to a patent infringement case. The changes to the Ultra 2 last year weren’t enough to make me want to buy a new watch and adding new color to the Ultra 2 this year isn’t going to make me run out & buy an new one either.

Apple Watch 10, is nice but again Ehh.

New colors on AirPods Max? But no changes other than making them USB-C which they had to do because of the EU requirements.

AirPods 4 okay… but nothing more than my current AirPods Pro 2 provide. 

So Wow! Just kind of disappointed. 

New OS should be available next week but not with the Apple Intelligence features. Okay, there are some things about the various OS versions that intrigue me even without the Apple Intelligence. 

I guess the real interest will be the various OS changes across the product line.