Linked List: April 20, 2021

Tuesday, 20 April 2021

‘The Fine Print: What Apple Didn’t Talk About’ ★

Dan Moren has a good rundown of some details from today’s announcements:

An AirTag that has been separated from its owner for a long period of time will make an audible noise when it’s moved, as part of a privacy feature to let you know there’s a tag present. You can reset an AirTag by tapping with an iPhone or “NFC-capable device” — strange wording that implies maybe other non-Apple devices?

I talked to folks from Apple today about some of this. The timeout period for when an AirTag will play a sound if separated from its owner is currently three days — but that’s not baked into the AirTags themselves. It’s a server-side setting in the Find My network, so Apple can adjust it if real-world use suggests that three days is too long or too short.

The “NFC-capable device” thing means Android phones.

Hacking McDonald’s Notoriously Finicky Ice Cream Machines ★

Andy Greenberg, writing for Wired:

Of all the mysteries and injustices of the McDonald’s ice cream machine, the one that Jeremy O’Sullivan insists you understand first is its secret passcode.

Much crazier story than you’d think.

(Here’s a cached version that gets you around Wired’s odious paywall and super-annoying animated ads.)