Why Teaching Privacy to Your Kids is Important

Siobhan O’Flynn writes about all the ways that companies like Google collect data from kids in violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. It starts when schools increasingly turn to Google services in education.

Alphabet Inc. dominates child-directed and child-featured content online through YouTube Kids and has now colonized online educational spaces through Google Docs, G-Suite, Chromebooks and the associated Gmail accounts for children that are required for use. This means that Google’s access to children’s data spans entertainment (YouTube and YouTube Kids), search and purchase histories (via associated parental accounts), and educational sectors.

How a Phone Call Led to OS X And The Return of Steve Jobs

It was a not particularly interesting phone call between an Apple exec and a midlevel manager at NeXT. However, as Cult of Mac’s ‘Today in Apple History’ noted, it started a chain overs that led to the creation of OS X and the return of Steve Jobs.

Garrett L. Rice’s communication with Ellen Hancock, Apple’s chief technology officer, is the first formal step in a long process. It ultimately leads to Apple buying NeXT, the creation of OS X, and Steve Jobs returning home to the company he co-founded… By November 1996, Jobs was speaking with Amelio again (albeit only very recently). Jobs advised that Be was not the right choice for Apple. The November 25 phone call from NeXT’s Rice presented the option Jobs surely wanted all along: that Apple acquire the rights to put a version of OpenStep on Macs. By early December, Jobs visited Apple HQ for the first time since his ouster. A deal would bring both NeXT and Jobs aboard — the best decision Apple made in years.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee's Plan to Save The Web

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, one of the founders of the web, launched The Contract for the Web on Monday. It is his plan to save the internet, according to The Guardian. However, a number of organizations were involved in the project.

The contract, which has been worked on by 80 organizations for more than a year, outlines nine central principles to safeguard the web – three each for governments, companies and individuals. The document, published by Berners-Lee’s Web Foundation, has the backing of more than 150 organizations, from Microsoft, Google and Facebook to the digital rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation. At the time of writing, neither Amazon nor Twitter had endorsed the principles. Those who back the contract must show they are implementing the principles and working on solutions to the tougher problems, or face being removed from the list of endorsers.

What Google Stadia Means for the Future

Alex Cranz reviewed Google Stadia, a game service where games are streamed to you instead of you loading them onto your device.

With Stadia, you can slip into a game typically found on a PC or console using almost any device. It makes you wonder why we’ve tethered ourselves to hardware for so long when the internet can give us all of that power at a considerably lower cost (and smaller energy bill). The problem is that Stadia rarely works perfectly. Instead, it offers us a glimmer of the future before crashing back down into the muddy present.

”It makes you wonder why.” Here’s why we’re still tethering ourselves: Because arguably you own physical copies of media like games, books, and movies. The “future” that Mr. Cranz’s headline alludes to is the Ideal Corporate World in which no one owns anything because it’s all a subscription.

Prison Profiteer Global Tel Link Charges Prisoners by the Minute for Reading

Prison libraries of paper books are slowly disappearing. In their place prisoners are getting tablets. But profits are being made when prisoners send emails, videoconferencing with family, listening to music, and reading.

In West Virginia, a company called Global Tel Link has the contract to provide prisoners in ten prisons with “free” tablets, for which they charge $0.05/minute for reading ebooks, primarily drawn from Project Gutenberg, a free online service of volunteer-produced, public domain and CC-licensed ebooks.

Database of 1.2 Billion Records Found With Scraped Data

A database filled with 1.2 billion records of data was found on the dark web back in October. I hesitate to call this a data breach because:

While the collection is impressive for its sheer volume, the data doesn’t include sensitive information like passwords, credit card numbers, or Social Security numbers. It does, though, contain profiles of hundreds of millions of people that include home and cell phone numbers, associated social media profiles like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Github, work histories seemingly scraped from LinkedIn, almost 50 million unique phone numbers, and 622 million unique email addresses.

In other words this is all data that people have willingly put on their social media profiles. While it can be used for nefarious purposes (especially phone numbers) this is less of a breach and more of a database of scrapes. Nevertheless I’m using our “data breach” tag.

This Ultra-Portable Monitor Gives Your Laptop a Second Screen Anywhere: $179.35

Check out the Mobile Pixels DUEX Pro, a portable display that connects to your laptop to give you a second display wherever you go. This device connects to your Mac, Windows, Chrome, or Linux laptop via a USB cable, and you attach it physically to the upper lid of your laptop so that it’s always with you. It slides out when you want to use it, and there’s a mirroring mode that allows you to turn it around soo you can share your screen with someone sitting across from you. It’s offers 1080p resolution, and it’s $211 through our deal. Use coupon code BFSAVE15 at checkout to bring it down to $179.35.


iPhone 12 to have 6GB of RAM, Predict Analysts

Barclays analysts believe that the new iPhone 12 and 12 Pro will have 6GB of RAM and be 5G enabled. They also made predictions about the iPhone SE 2. MacRumors got a peek at their predictions.

In a research note viewed by MacRumors, the Barclays analysts said the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max will likely have 6GB of RAM, up from 4GB in the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max. They also expect both models to feature rear-facing 3D sensing and mmWave support for higher-performance 5G. The base model iPhone 12 is expected to have 4GB of RAM, equal to the iPhone 11. While the iPhone 12 is also expected to be 5G enabled, the analysts did not indicate whether the device will support mmWave, sub-6GHz, or both. Last, the analysts indicated that the so-called “iPhone SE 2” is still in the pipeline

Uber's London License is About To Expire

Uber’s London license expires on Monday, November 25th. However, Reuters reported that the firm does not yet know if it is going to be renewed.

Transport for London (TfL) rejected a renewal request in 2017 due to shortcomings it said it found in the firm’s approach to reporting serious criminal offences and driver background checks, prompting legal action. A judge in 2018 then granted Uber a probationary 15-month license, after the Silicon Valley-based company had made several changes to its business model. In September, TfL gave Uber just a two-month extension, far short of the maximum possible five years, and imposed further conditions covering ride-sharing, appropriate insurance and driver document checks.

Elon Musk Used Steve Jobs' 'One More Thing' Trick at The Tesla Cybertruck Launch

Elon Musk unveiled Tesla’s Cybertruck on Thursday. The event was notable for being full of glitches. But, as Cult of Mac, noted, it as also notable for another thing – Mr. Musk used Steve Jobs’ famous “one more thing” trick.

“Oh by the way, we made an ATV,” he said, before it was driven onto the stage. The Cybertruck was shown off during a crazy, science-fiction-style event. The vehicle ranges in price from $39,900 for the base model to $69,900 for the fully kitted-out version. It is scheduled for release in 2020. The demonstration didn’t go entirely according to plan. The vehicle’s “unbreakable” windows broke twice, after which Musk seemed to lose a bit of his stage confidence. However he regained it when it came to the event-closing “one more thing” line. While Musk didn’t say the actual line, he paused, held up a single finger and then let the crowd yell “one more thing.” At that point, the electric ATV was driven on stage. The ATV uses the same design language as the truck. It can be driven on board via an unfolding loading ramp. It can then charge from the truck’s battery.

Would Apple Leave Russia Over Device Ban?

Going into effect on July 2020, Russia just passed a law that would ban the sale of devices that don’t come pre-installed with Russian software. This obviously butts up against the integrity of iOS. Would Apple have the “courage” to leave the country if the Kremlin tried to force them to install their surveillance software? Because of course it’s for surveillance. Why else would a government meddle with device makers in this way?

The law will not mean devices from other countries cannot be sold with their normal software – but Russian “alternatives” will also have to be installed.

The legislation was passed by Russia’s lower house of parliament on Thursday. A complete list of the gadgets affected and the Russian-made software that needs to be pre-installed will be determined by the government.

Startpage News Tab Gives You ‘Unprofiled’ News

Startpage News Tab is a new feature of the search engine that promises to give people news that hasn’t been personalized.

Personally curated feeds, sometimes referred to as a “filter bubble,” are based on an individual’s online behavior constructed by previous search queries, browsing history, social media clicks, IP address, device, and so on…Our goal with Startpage News Tab is to help people break out of that bubble.

Adobe Announces Feature Roadmap for Photoshop for iPad

Just in time after my negative review, Adobe has announced a feature roadmap for Photoshop for iPad. Here are features coming in 2019: Access all Adobe Fonts on iOS; Select Subject using machine learning; Cloud documents that will only save incremental changes to speed up the process. Here are features coming in the first half of 2020: Refine Edge; Curves and Adjustment Layer options; Brush sensitivity and Rotate Canvas; Lightroom integration.

Your experience, your feedback and your point of view has always been a critical part of our process, and we take that very seriously as we chart a path forward with the iPad.

Adobe font integration is great, but I’m not able to install fonts from outside their ecosystem.

WRAPS Wearable Charge and Sync MFi Lightning Cable: $14.44

We have a deal on a wearable Lightning cable. Yeah, I know, it sounds weird, but the WRAPS MFi Lightning cable is designed to be worn around your wrist as a bracelet. The company’s promo video below shows how it works. The WRAPS cable is $16.99 through our deal, but promo code BFSAVE15 brings it down to $14.44 at checkout.


Lots of Android Apps Contain Old Security Flaws

Underlying security flaws from code copied from code libraries are in thousands of apps, according to new research from cybersecurity firm CheckPoint. Wired reported that it is causing big problems on Android.

“There are a lot of vulnerabilities out there in applications,” says Yaniv Balmas, head of cyber research at Check Point. “Some of these vulnerabilities are not specifically in applications, but they are found in code libraries. Modern applications use dozens or hundreds of these libraries to operate.” Code libraries (often known as software libraries) allow developers without expertise in specific areas, such as Java Script, to use code that’s already been created. Researchers at Check Point say they have identified existing code libraries that contained vulnerabilities and then compared them to apps scraped from the Play Store. The company says it regularly checks Android apps for its security teams to look for current threats.

Tim Cook Thinks it is Unlikely iPhone Will Ever be Made in U.S.

Tim Cook has indicated that is unlikely that the iPhone will ever be completely built in the U.S. However, speaking to ABC News, he pointed out many components are already made there.

When asked why he still builds the iPhone in China, Cook said, “The way I think about it is, the iPhone is made everywhere.” “If you look at the glass of the iPhone, which everybody touches all day long, that glass is made in Kentucky. If you were to take apart the iPhone you would see many of the silicone components that are made in the United States as well,” he added. “The iPhone is the product of a global supply chain.”

All Major Carriers to Have 5G by 2020, Predicts Qualcomm President

All major carriers are going to have 5G networks by 2020, Qualcomm President Cristiano Amon told Yahoo Finance. Given we’re mere weeks away from the new year, that seems a bold prediction. I assume he meant the carriers will have the capability at some point in 2020, not right at the start.

Next-generation 5G wireless connectivity is coming — in fact, it’s available now in some small pockets in major U.S. cities right now. According to Qualcomm (QCOM) President Cristiano Amon, the successor to our current 4G LTE wireless networks will be up and running in all metropolitan areas by next year. “We are at the very beginning of a new technology transition, and like with every technology transition, networks have to be built, you have to have coverage,” Amon told Yahoo Finance’s On The Move on Wednesday. “However, what is great about this time is that we accelerated 5G by a year, and the device ecosystem is ready.” But it will take time before 5G reaches the ubiquity of today’s 4G LTE connections.

This Trick Might Save Your AirPods’ Battery Life

Redditor u/smakusdod proposes a trick that could help with your AirPods’ battery life. It involves resetting the AirPods case and draining the batteries of both the AirPods and the case to re-calibrate the battery life measurement system.

I completely reset the AirPods case (holding down the white button on the back for 10+ seconds), and re-paired them with my iPhone. I then completely drained both AirPods down to zero, and the case itself down to zero through normal usage. Then, I put the dead AirPods into the dead case, and charged them both up to 100%.

At some point over the weekend I’ll try this to see what happens. My AirPods haven’t significantly lost battery life, but I have noticed one Pod has a slightly lower maximum charge than the other one.

VSCO Redesigned its Feed to ‘Slow Your Scroll’

Photo app VSCO has redesigned its feed so that images are bigger. You’ll see single images at a time, instead of the old style where each image was smaller and alternated.

We believe this redesign will help you explore your VSCO feed in a new way, allowing the subtleties of each image to be front and center as you scroll. At VSCO, creative expression often starts with inspiration and sometimes that requires taking the time to appreciate the details as much as the complete work itself.

I think it’s an improvement and I’m glad to see it.

Mozilla Unveils 2019 Privacy Not Included Gift Guide

Mozilla announced its third annual 2019 *Privacy Not Included gift guide to highlight gadgets and toys that are secure, and ones that aren’t secure.

This year we found that many of the big tech companies like Apple and Google are doing pretty well at securing their products, and you’ll see that most products in the guide meet our Minimum Security Standards. But don’t let that fool you. Even though devices are secure, we found they are collecting more and more personal information on users, who often don’t have a whole lot of control over that data.

Google doing well at securing its products.

Disney+ Could Rocket to 60 Million Subscribers Sooner Than Expected

Disney+ gained 10 million subscribers on its first day and the service’s growth shows no sign of slowing down. Variety reported that it could hit its target of 60 million subscribers by 2022, two years earlier than its aiming for.

Expectations were already enormous ahead of the launch. Disney Plus was largely expected to accrue about 8 million users across the seven remaining weeks in calendar 2019 — but not 10 million in one day. Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives believes that at its current pace, Disney could hit its 2024 goal of 60 million to 90 million global streaming subscribers potentially two years earlier than targeted. That would mark admirably aggressive growth. For context, streaming market leader Netflix boasts more than 60 million subscribers in the U.S. and 158 million worldwide, a base built over the last 12 years or so. Ives’ estimates suggest Disney could get within spitting distance of a nine-figure subscriber base in just three years.

Some Google Stadia is Having Problems

Google Stadia opened up preorders for its subscription gaming service on June 6th. However, The Verge reported that some so-called ‘Founders’ who pre-ordered the service are having issues getting in.

Though Stadia is now live, many buyers are reporting they haven’t received the most crucial piece of the entire Stadia package: the invite email that opens the door to actually let them in. Many on Stadia’s official Discord server are performing what they’re calling a “code check” to let others know whether their codes have been sent, and whether their devices have actually been shipped. Others are reporting the usernames they wanted are already taken.

Spotify Free Tier Coming to Alexa, Sonos, And Bose Devices

Spotify’s free tier is coming to Alexa powered devices. It will also work on Sonos and Bose devices, Techcrunch reported. Previously only those with a premium subscription could access their music on such speakers.

In the case of Alexa devices, like Amazon Echo speakers or the Fire TV, users will be able to ask Alexa to play Spotify’s playlist, like “Today’s Top Hits,” or their personalized playlist, “Discover Weekly,” among others. The service can also be set as the default, so you can use commands like “Play my Discover Weekly,” “Like this song,” or “Pause,” and more, without having to say “on Spotify.” Meanwhile, on Sonos and Bose speakers, users can set up Spotify Connect from the Spotify app. This works with Bose smart speakers and soundbars, as well as all Sonos smart speakers, including the new indoor/outdoor speaker Sonos Move and the Symfonisk IKEA WiFi Speaker, integrated with the Sonos Home Sound System.