On December 28th, 1998, Dave Hamilton and Bryan Chaffin relaunched “Webintosh” as The Mac Observer, and Bryan runs through some highlights from the last 20 years.
Apple Offers Major Newspapers Opportunity and Challenge in Joining Texture Subscription Service
Apple is in talks with The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post about adding their content to Texture, Apple’s magazine subscription service.
Verizon Throttles California Firefighter Bandwidth During Emergency, Demands More Money, Later Calls It 'A Mistake'
Verizon has crawled ass-backwards into a PR nightmare of its own making after throttling firefighter bandwidth during an emergency in an effort to get $2.00 more per month.
With Thursday Close, Apple Just $9 Trillion from Becoming First $10 Trillion Company
Apple became the first company to close about a trillion dollar valuation on Thursday, which means Apple is now just $9 trillion away from being the first company valued at $10 trillion!
What Apple's Stock Buyback Plan Should Tell You about the Future
Announced during the company’s March quarter results, Apple described an aggressive plan for what is the single largest share buyback plan in history, and here’s what Bryan Chaffin thinks that means.
Ralph Nader Uses Apple's Success as Focal Point for His Causes in Open Letter
Ralph Nader has penned an open letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook urging him to suspend his company’s plan to to spend US$100 Billion on stock buybacks.
Shadowy Brokers Pay Millions for Zero Day Exploits, While Tech Giants Pay Thousands
There’s a new company called Crowdfense that represents the obstacles companies like Apple, Google, and other operating system vendors have in keeping their platforms secure.
Cybersecurity Tech Accord: 34 Tech Companies Just Promised a Bunch of Nothing
The Accord has gotten some positive headlines, but Bryan Chaffin doesn’t think the announcement stands up to logical scrutiny.
Russia's Telegram Ban Could Be First Salvo against Apple's iMessage and Other Encrypted Platforms
On Monday, state regulators began blocking access to Telegram, and Bryan Chaffin is wondering what that might mean for Apple and its iMessage platform, and to other encrypted communications platforms.
Mark Zuckerberg Says Privacy Is for the Rich
If Bryan Chaffin is reading Mark Zuckerburg correction, the Facebook CEO thinks privacy is a luxury only the rich can afford.
How Facebook Uses Web Trackers, Third Party Advertising Data, Loyalty Cards and More to Watch Us
Here’s how Facebook is able to watch us so closely that it feels like they’re listening in.
Some Interesting Excerpts from Tim Cook's Fast Company Interview
It’s a wide-ranging interview filled with a mix of marketing speak and genuine insight.
Spotify May Turn to Hardware to Solve Its Platform Problem
Spotify appears to be turning to hardware to solve what Bryan Chaffin calls the Spotify platform problem, and it may be turning to hardware to solve it.
Apple Says iPhone X #1 Smartphone, the Rest of the World Talks about Weak Demand
Bryan Chaffin says he’s a wee bit confused by this story: on the one hand, Apple says iPhone X is the top selling smartphone week in and week out, and on the other, everyone else keeps talking about Apple slashing orders due to “weak demand.”
Cryptography Experts Repudiate FBI Director Chris Wray's Call for Backdoor Encryption Access
Triggered by efforts from Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) to find out if the cryptography community supports FBI Director Christopher Wray’s calls for backdoors into encryption, four cryptography experts signed a letter repudiating those calls, and they did so in a very poignant way.
How Tim Cook and Apple Became Part of the Discussion on the Russian Investigation
Comments both critical and complimentary about Apple and Tim Cook were released in a cache of text messages released by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Apple Could Bring $200 Billion to U.S., But Don't Start Spending it Just Yet
Wall Street analysts have a shopping list of things Apple could spend that money on, but I wouldn’t advise outside observers to start spending that money for Apple just yet.
Dear World: Apple Slowing Down iPhones with Degraded Batteries Is NOT Planned Obsolescence
Bryan Chaffin have been the loudest to yell that Apple should have told users it was doing this, but it’s a case of corporate opacity, not planned obsolescence.
Ajit Pai and the FCC Will Dismantle Net Neutrality, Damage Internet, Speech and Commerce
In a feat of willful ignorance or outright deceit, Mr. Pai believes that free market competition can keep the Internet open when there is no competition.
Right On Cue, DOJ Says Encryption 'Surely Costs Lives'
Bryan Chaffin called this on Tuesday, and right on cue, the Trump Department of Justice is claiming that strong encryption “surely costs lives.”
