Another Year, Another Death Star Bites the Dust

At the Sparks house, we don’t spend New Year’s Eve watching C-list celebrities dropping balls. Instead, we blow up the Death Star together. Specifically, we watch Star Wars, Episode IV, in such a way that the Death Star blows up precisely a the stroke of midnight. It’s not really that hard. This year I’ll be watching the Disney+ version, which means I’ll hit “Play” at 10:02:43 PM. Just go to this post by the Rebel Force Radio and note the designated start time for your version of Star Wars. Then start the movie at that time.

For my money, it really beats all the other inane New Year’s coverage. I really use the term “watch” here loosely. The movie plays while our family and friends talk and socialize. When the trench run starts toward the end is when we all really start paying attention, and it is always exhilarating watching Luke scream down that trench and knowing that when the Death Star blows, we’ve got a New Year. An added benefit is the very next scene is the award ceremony with majestic music that feels like the perfect start to a New Year. Give it a try this year.

Fix Your Photos with PowerPhotos 2.0 (Sponsor)

We’re heading into a new year, and I’m guessing over the holidays you took a few pictures. How’s your Photos library doing? If it’s anything like mine, it’s a mess right now. 

Did you know there is an app to help you out with that? PowerPhotos is here to the rescue.

PowerPhotos works with the built-in Photos app on your Mac, providing an array of tools to help you get your photo collection in order. Find and eliminate duplicate photos, split up your library into smaller ones, merge libraries together, open libraries in separate windows, export photos/albums, and more. 

Best of all, PowerPhotos 2.0 is now available! There are some great new features in version 2.0: 

– Convert your old iPhoto or Aperture library to an equivalent Photos library
– Advanced export of photos/albums
– Full support for iCloud Photos
– New visual duplicate detection engine library groups
– Global menu bar item
– Multiple windows 

PowerPhotos adds all the features to Photos that Apple never will. You can download PowerPhotos for free to check it out, and purchasing a license will unlock all the features of the program. MacSparky readers can get a 20% discount with the coupon code MACSPARKY23, and existing iPhoto Library Manager and PowerPhotos 1.0 users can also use their old serial number to receive upgrade pricing, 50% of the normal price.

So make the Photos app work harder for you with PowerPhotos 2.0. You can get it today.

Apple Licensing Data for its AI Training

The New York Times reports Apple is in negotiations to license published materials for training their generative AI model. This shouldn’t be a surprise. A few years ago, when image processing was the big thing, everyone thought Apple would fall behind because they weren’t collecting all our images for data processing. Then I saw Craig Federighi explain how Apple could get pictures of mountains and that they didn’t need mine.

This is similar to how Machine Learning requires a data set to train. Again, Apple is looking to buy data as opposed to setting its AI loose on the Internet. I really wish I had a better idea about what Apple is thinking to do with AI.