We have a deal on a suite of Corel’s Mac creative apps called the Corel Creative Mac Bundle. It features Toast 17 Titanium, AfterShot Pro 3, Painter Essentials 6, WinZip, and Particle Shop. And you can get all five of these apps for $39.99 through our deal.
Aggressive iPhone Pricing Might Not Be Enough
A number of Apple products got aggressive new price points at the “By Innovation Only” event. At Wired, Daphne Leprince-Ringuet wonders if it will be enough.
For a company that is famous for premium pricing, Apple’s sudden shift to more affordable devices (even if it is its older line-up) comes as a surprise. A look at its sales performance last year might explain the change of heart: in 2018, Apple’s best-selling device was the $649 iPhone XR, meaning that its entry-level device out-performed the more advanced XS and XS Max. In other words, phone buyers are unwilling to shell out the extra dosh to get their hands on Apple’s best smartphones. Last year in China, the tech giant even cut prices for some of its iPhones, iPads, Macs and AirPods by nearly six per cent – partly in response to “lower than anticipated” iPhone sales in the country… By cutting its prices on phones and watches, therefore, Apple is hoping to supplement its iOS customer base and lure in new customers who might purchase other services within its ecosystem.
'Carpool Karaoke' Wins Creative Arts Emmy
Apple’s Carpool Karaoke emerged victorious at the Creative Arts Emmy awards Sunday, AppleInsider reported. It was named Short Form Variety Series at the ceremony which was held, somewhat ironically, at the Microsoft Theater.
The streaming show is a long-form version of the popular segment from CBS’ “The Late Late Show with James Corden,” with the talk show host praising both his show and the spinoff. “We just want to be a place people go to have a really nice time before, or let’s be honest, while they fall asleep,” Corden told Variety. The Creative Arts Emmy Awards honor outstanding artistic and technical achievement in various TV and program genres. While the Primetime Emmy Awards are better known and are the main awards, the Creative Arts version recognizes other elements of show production and types of content not served under the Primetime accolades.
WhatsApp's 'Delete For Everyone' Feature Doesn't Work With iPhones
WhatsApp from Facebook has a feature called Delete for Everyone that lets people unsend messages, photos, and videos from an individual’s phone, or everyone in a group. But it doesn’t delete them from iPhones.
According to Shitesh Sachan, an application security consultant, who found this privacy issue and shared his findings exclusively with The Hacker News, the feature for WhatsApp for iOS has not been designed to delete received media files saved in the iPhone’s Camera Roll.
iPhone 11 Pro Triggering Small Hole Phobia
There was much excitement at the new iPhone 11 Pro’s triple-lens camera array. However, it also caused problems for some people, BBC News reported.
Hundreds of smartphone users now claim the new design has triggered their “trypophobia”, an aversion to the sight of clusters of small holes. Trypophobia” was first coined in 2005 in online forum Reddit and it has since become widely talked about on social media. American Horror Story actress Sarah Paulson and model Kendall Jenner are among those who say they have the condition. Vision scientist Dr Geoff Cole, at the University of Essex, was part of the first full scientific study of trypophobia, working with his colleague, Prof Arnold Wilkins.
Apple Joins Academy Software Foundation as Premier Member
The Academy Software Foundation advocates for greater open source software development in the motion picture and media industries. Apple has joined as a Premier member.
To support the continued growth of open source software across our industry, we have the privilege of providing developers with tools that make it easier to contribute code and participate in the community…With Apple as a new member, we hope to work with them to improve support for Apple platforms, which will continue to democratize open source software development.
Spotify Wants to Track Your Location so Friends Don't Use a Family Plan
In more location tracking news today, Spotify wants to track yours because non-family members sometimes use Family Plans *gasp!*.
“The changes to the policy allow Spotify to arbitrarily use the location of an individual to ascertain if they continue to reside at the same address when using a family account, and it’s unclear how often Spotify will query users’ devices for this information,” said Christopher Weatherhead, technology lead for UK watchdog group Privacy International, adding that there are “worrying privacy implications.”
Avantree Active Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones: $59.99
We have a deal on a pair of Avantree Active Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones. These headphones feature high precision-engineered 40mm stereo drivers, and you can wirelessly answer phone calls and control music playback via built-in mic and easily accessible keys. They’re $59.99 through our deal, 14% off retail.
iOS 13 Forced Facebook to Admit it Collects Your Location Data
Yes, I know how shocked you are folks. As it turns out, Facebook lied about yet another thing: It totally collects your location data, and admitted that fact itself in a blog post.
For years the antisocial media giant has claimed it doesn’t track your location, insisting to suspicious reporters and privacy advocates that its addicts “have full control over their data,” and that it does not gather or sell that data unless those users agree to it.
Then, late on Monday, Facebook emitted a blog post in which it kindly offered to help users “understand updates” to their “device’s location settings.”
You may have missed the critical part amid the glowing testimony so we’ll repeat it: “… use precise location even when you’re not using the app…”
Quote from a TMO reader: “Hoping that FB will somehow become secure is as much magical thinking as expecting a wild pig to perform the role Juliet for Bolshoi.”
Netflix should worry about Apple TV+
None of Apple TV+ contented revealed so far looks particularly revolutionary. However, argues Oliva Ovenden at Esquire, Netflix should still be worried.
As Apple will know from watching its soon-to-be competitors win awards for their success stories, having one tentpole series can be enough for users to stay. Both Hulu and Amazon Prime Video have earned multiple Emmy Awards for The Handmaid’s Tale and The Marvellous Mrs Maisel respectively, off-setting series which have been received less favourably. Apple TV+ only need one huge hit to make people’s Netflix subscription feel less worthwhile, and they’ve got enough money to keep trying until they get one. Getting in on the streaming game is a shrewd move given how many of Apple’s customers are currently watching Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Prime on Apple’s phones, laptops and tablets.
Manage Your Finances, Set Budgets and More on the Go with This Intuitive Finance App: $29.99
We have a deal on CoinKeeper, a streamlined personal finance app for Mac, iOS, Windows, and Android. You can track your finances through a drag and drop coin-based system, add any number of income and expense categories, use tags, and more. A lifetime subscription is $29.99 through our deal.
New Exploit Shows We Should Just Skip to iOS 13.1
A contacts exploit was discovered in iOS 13 that lets a person bypass Face ID / Touch ID to see an iPhone’s contacts.
Relatively little is at stake with this exploit. Beyond the inherent danger of an assailant having your iPhone, this method only allows someone to view the contacts within the target iPhone, provided that they have physical access to the target phone and can complete the VoiceOver exploit.
Little is at stake, but there have been so my iOS exploits in the news lately that we might as well go straight to iOS 13.1.
T-Mobile Offers iPhone 11 for 50% Off With a Trade In
T-Mobile has an aggressive strategy for the iPhone 11: People who sign up for a plan and trade in an old iPhone can get the iPhone 11 for up to 50% off.
Here’s the full pricing break down from T-Mobile: Save $550 when you trade in an iPhone XS Max 64GB or 256GB; save $500 when you trade in an iPhone XS 64GB or 256GB; and save $350 when you trade in an iPhone XR 64GB or 128GB, X 64GB, 8, 8 Plus, 7 or 7 Plus.
Those are great deals, especially for people with older models like the iPhone 7.
Uber Pushes Back Against New California Contractor Law
Uber pushed back against a new employment law in California, Wired reported. The law was designed with ride-hailing apps in mind, trying to get them classify drivers as employees not contractors.
The company’s argument rests on a premise that’s been a cornerstone since its early days: that Uber is a technology company, not a transportation one. The California law, called Assembly Bill 5, reaffirms a 2018 California Supreme Court decision that established a three-part test to separate independent contractors from employees, who are eligible for minimum wage, health care benefits, workers’ compensation, and other protections. A worker is only an independent contractor if she is not under the control or direction of the company while she’s working; if her work is “outside the usual course” of the company’s business; and if she is “customarily engaged” in the same kind of work that she does for the company. This three-part test is already in limited use in Massachusetts and New York.
NSA Publishes Threatening Letter Calling for Encryption Backdoors
Glenn S. Gerstell, general counsel for the National Security Agency (NSA) published a letter in the New York Times, writing about how a “digital revolution threatens to upend our entire national security infrastructure.” He thinks backdoors into encryption is one answer (of course he doesn’t use the word backdoor), as well as the agency collecting even more data from citizens. Read his letter by clicking the link below, then read this take by Nefarious Laboratories.
Make no mistake, this letter is a thinly-veiled threat to every major corporation around the globe: provide the U.S. government with access to all of your data or else, “there is another path, and it is the one taken by authoritarian regimes around the world”.
iPhone Naming Conventions Are a Mess
Ken Segall writes (Sep. 9) that it’s time to dump both the “i” in iPhone as well as the alphabet soup.
I think it’s amazingly cool that the i-thing happened, but everything has a beginning and an end. The trick is knowing when to end.
Smarts and forward-thinking always beats clinging to the past.
The truth is, Apple has already made the i-decision. It’s been years since a new i-product appeared. Apple Watch, Apple Music, Apple Pay, Apple Card—all would be i-things under the old rules.
Apple dropped the alphabet soup on Sep. 10 along with the bizarre “X” vs. “ten.” Will the “i” be next?
Hotel Lobbyists Fight Airbnb by Undermining the Internet
Hotel lobbyists don’t like Airbnb and its competition, so they’re introducing a bill to amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
And they’re not just focused on pushing this loophole for Airbnb. It appears they’re going all in on stripping Section 230 protections from any internet service hosting 3rd party content. As part of this, they recently released what can only be described as a push poll to mislead people about Airbnb, the laws around these issues, and Section 230. Each question in the poll is at best actively misleading and at worst, completely bullshit.
12min Book Summary Library Lifetime Premium Subscription: $39
We have a deal on a subscription to 12min, a service that takes whole books and turns them in 12 minute summaries. The company has hundreds of micro books in text and narrative form, and new users can get a Lifetime Premium subscription for $39 through our deal.
This Fall, HomePod Will Have Ambient Sounds, Multi-User Mode
Apple didn’t mention the HomePod on stage yesterday, but Benjamin Mayo reports that a product refresh will appear later this fall.
A new forthcoming feature is called Ambient Sounds. This will allow users to easily play white noise sounds on their HomePods, including ocean waves, birdsong, rainstorms, and more. Right now, users are forced to AirPlay from another iOS device to easily play relaxing background audio on HomePod. Ambient Sounds will make this a first-party feature, fully integrated with Siri.
If Apple ever comes out with a cheaper HomePod, I’d probably buy one just for the ambient sounds.
Apple Watch Series 5 Starts With 32GB of Storage
Amazingly, the Apple Watch Series 5 will start at 32GB of storage, doubling the Series 4 storage point of 16GB.
At 32GB of storage for both GPS and Cellular models, the Apple WatchSeries 5 offers double the storage of the previous Series 4 models. Apple may have increased the storage in the new device due to the Apple Watch App Store that’s available in watchOS 6, set to be released on September 19.
Now if only watchOS 6 had the Files app so I could store a copy of my data on it.
iPhone 11 Gets Muted Response in Asia
There was much fanfare around the launch of the iPhone 11 Tuesday. However, Reuters reported, that the new device did not receive su a warm welcome in Asia.
The iPhone 11, launched on Tuesday for $50 less than last year’s base XR model, was met with a limp response from social media users in Asian markets that are dominated by Huawei Technologies and Samsung Electronics. Despite the reduction, the iPhone 11, and even the higher-end models with more camera lenses, are set to come up short in Asia. “Apple’s new phones were no surprise at all. Only tangible change is having an additional camera on their premium model,” said Park Sung-soon, an analyst at Seoul-based Cape Investment & Securities.
Libraries Work to Scan Public Domain Books
Right now, books published in the U.S. before 1924 are in the public domain. This means they are publicly owned and everyone can use and copy them. But there’s a loophole in copyright law which gives up to 75% of books published between 1923 and 1964 secret public domain status. It’s hard to figure out which ones they are, so a group of libraries, archivists, and volunteers are finding these public domain books, scanning them, and uploading them to the internet.
Richardson notes that much of that heavy lifting is being done by volunteers at organizations like Project Gutenberg, a nonprofit effort to digitize and archive cultural works. These volunteers are tasked with locating a copy of the book in question, scanning it, proofing it, then putting out HTML and plain-text editions.
macOS Catalina Isn't Coming Until October
Apple updated its website today, noting that macOS Catalina won’t arrive until an unknown date in October. From TechCrunch:
After a summer of beta testing, Apple is about to release the next major version of macOS: macOS Catalina. But not so fast; the new version will arrive in October, according to Apple’s updated website. As always, this update will be available as a free download in the Mac App Store.
The software release dates are all over the place this year.
NX-100 Smart Garage Controller and Smart Plug Bundle: $79
We have a deal on the NX-100 Smart Garage Controller and Smart Plug Bundle. This device turns your garage door opener into a smart garage door opener and is compatible with Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.It’s $79 through our deal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ot-1ltcGQvI