We have a deal on the TWIST+ World Adapter Duo for MacBook. With this device, you can turn any outlet into a 4-in-1 powerhouse. You can also charge up to 4 devices via the charger, 2 USB ports, and universal AC outlet. It’s $32 through our deal.
Cricut, Rocket Book, and Setapp, with Bob LeVitus - ACM 497
In this episode, Bob LeVitus tells Bryan Chaffin all about the Cricut. This thing can cut 150 different substances, draw, write, and like I said, even sew. And you can control it from your Mac, iPhone, or iPad. They also discuss Rocket Book, which is part reusable paper (you can erase it!) and part app-based service that will scan what you write and draw and convert text with OCR. They cap the show with a look at Setapp and why they think this multi-app service for the Mac is great.
Netflix Added 8.8 Million Paid Subscribers Last Quarter
Netflix added 8.8 million paid subscribers last quarter, but Wall Street was worried its results did not justify heavy investment in content.
Apple TV Guide: All of the Original Video Content [Update]
The content won’t appear until 2019, with the majority of the production happening in 2018. The list will be updated continuously, so be sure to bookmark this page.
Thoughts About an iPad-First Workflow
Ryan Christoffel writes about key things to think about if you want to adopt an iPad-first workflow.
Software limitations aside, the iPad clearly has a lot going for it; the iPad Pro is a more attractive Mac alternative than ever before. But moving to the iPad still involves some growing pains. The longer you’ve used a traditional computer, the harder an iPad transition can be. There are a few key things, however, that can help make your iPad adoption a success.
I’m not fully iPad-first yet because I still need to get a keyboard for it. But once that happens then my transition will be complete.
David Weil, Simon Kinberg to Produce for Apple
Sci-fi lovers rejoice! A 10-episode season of a sci-fi series is coming to the company’s unnamed video platform from David Weil and Simon Kinberg.
Apple to Reduce New Hires Following Revenue Miss and Poor iPhones Sales
Apple will reduce the number of people it is going to hire following its recent revenue miss and concerns about iPhone sales numbers.
Collection 1, Tim Cook in Time Magazine – TMO Daily Observations 2019-01-17
Charlotte Henry and Andrew Orr join host Kelly Guimont to discuss the new collection of breached data and Tim Cook’s Time Magazine article.
The Facebook 10 Year Challenge Might not Just be a Harmless Meme
If you have been on Facebook or Instagram recently, you will have noticed the “10 Year Challenge”. Users post a profile picture of themselves from 10 years ago and another from now. It is meant to be a harmless meme that laughs at ourselves and late 2000s fashion. But could there be something more sinister to it? Katie O’Neil wondered in Wired if the “10 Year Challenge” is actually helping Facebook develop a facial recognition algorithm.
Imagine that you wanted to train a facial recognition algorithm on age-related characteristics and, more specifically, on age progression (e.g., how people are likely to look as they get older). Ideally, you’d want a broad and rigorous dataset with lots of people’s pictures. It would help if you knew they were taken a fixed number of years apart—say, 10 years. Sure, you could mine Facebook for profile pictures and look at posting dates or EXIF data. But that whole set of profile pictures could end up generating a lot of useless noise…In other words, it would help if you had a clean, simple, helpfully labeled set of then-and-now photos.
Federal Prosecutors Push Huawei Criminal Investigation
Federal prosecutors in the U.S. are pushing a criminal investigation against Huawei. The Chinese firm is alleged to have stolen trade secrets from U.S. business partners, including T-Mobile U.S., the Wall Street Journal reported. This latest development puts even further pressure on the company. It has already been caught up in an investigation by the U.S. Government into intellectual property theft by Chinese companies. It’s CFO, Meng Wanzhou, was arrested in Canada in December 2018 at the request of the U.S.
The investigation grew in part out of civil lawsuits against Huawei, including one in which a Seattle jury found Huawei liable for misappropriating robotic technology from T-Mobile’s Bellevue, Wash., lab, the people familiar with the matter said. The probe is at an advanced stage and could lead to an indictment soon, they said.
Chinese Think-Tank Blasts Apple's Taiwan and Hong Kong References
A Chinese think-tank criticized Apple, Amazon and a number of other firms for the way they reference Taiwan and Hong Kong, Reuters reported. Tawain is considered a wayward-province by China. Hong Kong was returned to China by the British in 1997 and is a semi-autonomous region. Apple is amongst a number of firms that refers to both Hong Kong and Tawain as separate from mainland China, something the Chinese government has been trying to crack down on recently.
China last year ramped up pressure on foreign companies including Marriott International and Qantas for referring to Taiwan and Hong Kong as separate from China in drop down menus or other material. The report was co-written by [Chinese Academy of Social Sciences] CASS and the Internet Development Research Institution of Peking University. An official at the Internet Development Research Institution told Reuters that it had not yet been published to the public and declined to provide a copy.
Did You Know the IRS Offers Free Tax Filing?
Private tax companies don’t want you to know this, but if your income is below US$66,000 the IRS offers free tax filing software. If your income is above US$66,000 you can still file for free, but you’ll have to do it manually with fillable forms. However, thanks to the long government shutdown this year, tax returns will end up being late.
Apple, Johnson & Johnson, Partner on Stroke Prevention Study
It’s not known how many participants will be in the study, or how long the study will run.
Collection 1 is a Massive New Data Breach
Troy Hunt, creator of the Have I Been Pwned? tool, wrote a blog post about the latest data breach called Collection 1.
Let’s start with the raw numbers because that’s the headline, then I’ll drill down into where it’s from and what it’s composed of. Collection #1 is a set of email addresses and passwords totaling 2,692,818,238 rows.It’s made up of many different individual data breaches from literally thousands of different sources.
To find out if your account credentials were leaked, visit haveibeenpwned.com.
Facebook Ad Preferences Lists User Traits, Interests
Maybe you knew this or maybe not, but under Facebook ad preferences you’ll see a list of traits and interests the platform associates with you.
Questions for Apple in 2019
Since 2015 Above Avalon has published a list of questions for Apple, across hardware, software, services, and “big picture.” Here are the questions for Apple in 2019.
January is a great time to embrace the unknown rather than come up with Apple predictions for the next 12 months. Accordingly, this is my fifth installment of Apple questions as a new year kicks off.
It’s a big, detailed list and lays out things we wonder and things rumors have suggested.
Tim Cook Reiterated His Call for Data Privacy Protections
Tim Cook reiterated his call for greater data privacy protections in Time, arguing that new legislation and consumer tools are needed.
Tesla Launches Charging Station that can be Plugged into A Wall Outlet
Tesla launched its first charging system that can be plugged into a standard wall outlet using a common NEMA 14-50 plug.
Apple Pay Boss to Deliver Keynote at Major Industry Conference
Apple Pay chief Jennifer Bailey will deliver a keynote address at major payments technology conference TRANSACT.
Facebook to Introduce Stricter Rules in Countries Holding Elections This Year
Facebook will introduce stricter rules on political advertising to a number of countries holding elections this year. The rules and tools aimed at curbing election interference will go live in India, Nigeria, Ukraine, and the European Union. The rollout will begin on Wednesday in Nigeria. Katie Harbath, Facebook’s Director of Global Politics and Outreach, told Reuters that only advertisers located in the country will be able to run electoral adverts there. Rob Leathern, a Director of Product Management at Facebook, also discussed the importance of storing electoral adverts in a searchable library.
We’re learning from every country,” Leathern said. “We know we’re not going to be perfect, but our goal is continuing, ongoing improvement.” Facebook believes that holding the ads in a library for seven years is a key part of fighting intereference, he added.. The library will resemble archives brought to the United States, Brazil and Britain last year.
