WhistleOut is looking for someone to review the iPhone 11 for them. You’ll get paid US$1,000 plus you can keep the phone when you’re done.
You’ll be putting the new iPhone through its paces—testing the camera, getting into the nitty gritty of the interface, seeing what kind of battery life you’re able to squeeze out of it—and writing a comprehensive review based on your findings. We’ll need your written review within a week of you receiving the phone. We’ll give you a review form for this.
Data from Leichtman Research Group showed the rise in cord cutters continues unabated. Cable companies lost 455,263 subscribers in Q2 2019. Traditional TV as a whole lost 1.53 million subscribers in the quarter. Fast Company took a look at the research.
Leichtman says this is the fourth consecutive quarter of record losses for the industry, but the bigger story is that cable TV losses are in line with where satellite providers were a year ago. In Q2 2018, Dish Network and DirecTV combined for a loss of 478,000 subscribers, and last quarter, their losses nearly doubled year-over-year, to 857,000 subscribers. Without big changes, cable TV could be looking at similarly bleak results a year from now. Not that they care too much. While satellite providers don’t have other clear business models to fall back on, cable companies can profit from cord cutting by selling more internet service at faster speeds.
Check out today’s deal on a Nomad Lightning cable that has its own built-in 2,800mAh portable battery. It’s a 1.5 meter nylon-wrapped MFi -certified Lightning charging cable, and the housings at either end are made of aluminum. And then embedded in the cable is that 2,800mAh battery, enough to charge iPhone 8/X/XS from flat to full, and put a good dent into the iPhone XR and the Max models. This device is just $19.99 through our deal.
Spotify took its podcasters dashboard out of beta Tuesday, The Verge reported. It aims to give podcasters useful data as it establishes itself as a podcasting platform.
Podcasters have long lacked data about their listeners, which poses problems when they’re trying to sell ads. Spotify is uniquely qualified to give podcasters that data because every Spotify user requires an account to listen, where they’ve provided basic demographic data about themselves, as well as their music listening habits. Nothing about the dashboard will change when it comes out of beta, although Hellman says it’ll be refined over time as podcasters respond to the product. The idea is to mirror Spotify for Artists, the dashboard it provides for musicians, but optimized for podcasters.
Dark mode for Facebook’s main app appears to be close. A researcher found the company is testing it for the Android version of the app, CNet reported. Surely an iOS version will follow too?
Reliable researcher Jane Manchun Wong found that Facebook is testing a darker color scheme on the Android version of its app. However, she noted that this feature seems to be in an “early stage of development” — it’s only appearing on the app’s Groups tab with some dark text displaying against a dark background, making it tough to read. So it might be a while before Facebook’s mobile dark mode gets a wide rollout.
Luke Kurtis shares his story of how Apple disabled his account after he unknowingly bought a fraudulent iTunes gift card. Although he eventually got his account restored, it took two months to get it back.
Had I not taken advantage of my internal Apple contacts, I may not have gotten my account back. I spent a large part of those two months in a kind of grief, mourning not only the loss of a collection of media built up over a decade and a half, but also all the products I owned that no longer functioned as they were supposed to. The company I had given so much money to over the years could revoke my access to everything with just the press of a button.
That’s pretty scary stuff. Now that Apple Card is a product, imagine getting locked out of your account, unable to pay off your Card because there isn’t a way to do it online.
Automattic, the company behind WordPress, just bought Tumblr from Verizon for less than US$3 million. Verizon had acquired the site from Yahoo for US$1.1 billion.
As part of the deal, Automattic will gain 200 staffers from Tumblr. Verizon is said to have discussed a sale of Tumblr with a handful of different companies but ultimately landed on Automattic. “The sale price isn’t material to Verizon,” today’s report says citing “people familiar with the matter.”
Before you get excited, know that the porn ban will remain in place.
The White House is drafting an executive order that would address alleged left-wing bias by social media companies, with an official saying:
If the internet is going to be presented as this egalitarian platform and most of Twitter is liberal cesspools of venom, then at least the president wants some fairness in the system. But look, we also think that social media plays a vital role. They have a vital role and an increasing responsibility to the culture that has helped make them so profitable and so prominent.
A WH official actually used the phrase “liberal cesspools of venom.” What a trashy administration.
TP-Link unveiled its Kasa Smart Plug Mini back at CES 2019. The company quietly announced that it has canceled the device’s HomeKit integration.
It’s not known yet whether the company is abandoning HomeKit for all devices or solely for this one product. Nor are there any details about whether there will be any recourse for customers who bought the Kasa Smart Plug Mini in the expectation that HomeKit was coming.
Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will host a Brilliant Event tomorrow called Back to Hogwarts. Players will get new Brilliant Foundables, earn Restricted Books, and more.
Week 1: Runs from August 13, 2019 (11 A.M. PT/2 P.M. ET) – August 20, 2019 (11 A.M. PT/2 P.M. ET)
Week 2: Runs from August 27, 2019 11 A.M. PT/2 P.M. ET) – September 3, 2019 (11 A.M. PT/2 P.M. ET)
The next iPad Pro could have a triple-lens rear camera setup. Meanwhile, the entry-level tablet could get a dual-lens camera. MacRumors rounded up the latest information coming out of China.
Japanese blog Mac Otakara cited a Chinese supply source over the weekend claiming the fourth-generation 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro devices will get the same multi-sensor array widely rumored to be coming to Apple’s next iPhone range this year. Meanwhile, Apple’s rumored new version of its entry-level iPad – a device with a slightly bigger 10.2-inch screen than the existing 9.7-inch model – will inherit the dual lens setup currently seen in the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max.
We have a deal on the Luminar 3 Software Bundle. Luminar 3 is a full-feature photo editor and organizer that lets you create edited photos with a single click. This bundle also comes with a tutorial called Deep Dive to Luminar 3 by Richard Harrington. You can get both for $49 through our deal.
Music app Deezer is adding a new feature called Queue List for premium users. People can change devices in the middle of a song without having to restart it or search for it again.
Each user’s queue list is now stored in the cloud, making it effortless to switch between mobile, web, desktop, smart watches, autos, Android TV and Xbox.
Users can also edit and make changes to their queue list with all changes reflected across devices. Even if your queue list is set to Shuffle or Repeat, you can still enjoy your music on this setting after switching devices.
Another Apple hack shown off over the weekend at Def Con 2019 involves iOS Contacts and a SQLite vulnerability. But it’s not something we need to worry about. Emphasis mine:
Documented In a 4,000-word report seen by AppleInsider, the company’s hack involved replacing one part of Apple’s Contacts app and it also relied on a known bug that has hasn’t been fixed four years after it was discovered…
They replaced a specific component of the Contacts app and found that while apps and any executable code has to have gone through Apple’s startup checks, an SQLite database is not executable.
Basically, it sounds like the bug is only available if you specifically remove a key component of Contacts.
Popular gaming platform Twitch had a bad week last week. A very bad week. First, leading Fortnite streamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins left the platform for a rival. Then, it inadvertently promoted porn on the channel he left behind. And that is not Twitch’s only problem. Eurogamer summed it all up:
After Tyler “Ninja” Blevins left Twitch for rival platform Mixer 10 days ago, visitors to his channel were redirected to a variety of other Fortnite streams – and one stream in particular got Twitch into serious trouble. Last night, Blevins tweeted a video criticising how Twitch had turned his channel into an “ad page” – and one of the promoted streams was a porn broadcast. “I’ve been streaming for eight years to build that brand and build that channel”, Blevins said. “There was a porn account that was number one recommended on my channel. And I have no say in any of this stuff.”
We have a deal on a 3-pack of JunoPower Kaebo braided, anti-tear charging cables. They’re made from aluminum and nylon, a meter long, and flexible. And the 3-pack is just $13 through our deal.
The Eclectic Light Company writes:
A few years ago, most Mac users had firewalls in their routers which blocked all incoming connections, and that was all they wanted. Over those years, we’ve increasingly installed software firewalls on our Macs to block outgoing connections. This article looks at some of the issues that arise from doing that.
The rules of the game keep changing, and this article brings us up-to-date.
In the latest issue of PCMag, Max Eddy writes that you shouldn’t give money to ransomware attackers when they ask.
First, most cyberattacks—including ransomware—don’t last long. The command and control servers that issue the unlock commands and receive payment can be found and taken offline…In either case, anyone who has been infected and not paid the ransom can no longer get their system unlocked, even if they pay.
This is why keeping several backups is important, one online, one offline. And keep your operating system up to date with the latest security patches and improvements.
This is part of Andrew’s News+ series, where he shares a magazine every Friday to help people discover good content in Apple News+.
The FBI wants to monitor Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for domestic terrorism threats in real time.
The FBI ultimately wants an interactive tool that can be accessed by all headquarters division and field office personnel via web browsers and through multiple devices. Interested vendors should have the capabilities to offer the agency the ability to set filters around the specific content they see, send immediate and custom alerts and notifications around “mission-relevant” incidents, have broad international reach and a strong language translation capability and allow for real-time geolocation-based monitoring that can be refined as events develop.
Just ask the NSA.
Jared Newman writes about the iOS 13 Bluetooth privacy feature. When an app needs to access Bluetooth, iOS displays an alert so you can allow or deny the request. Bluetooth can be used to track you, which is why Apple added the feature. I’ve seen these alerts a couple of times running the iOS 13 public beta. I disagree with Mr. Newman though; I don’t think it’s too confusing. Just think about the app and whether it legitimately needs Bluetooth. For example, if you need to connect a device to your iPhone, you’ll need Bluetooth. But apps like Google Maps and YouTube don’t need Bluetooth (and I’ve seen alerts and denied them both).
Prior to iOS 13, apps could use Bluetooth to collect detailed location data from users without explicit permission, using tracking beacons in retail stores and other public locations. Even if users had denied an app access their location data, Bluetooth could have provided a workaround.
Apple increased the team that test-drives its self-driving cars. The team in California has gone from having 110 members in April to 143 members now, macReports noted.
Apple is, currently, testing a total of 69 cars on public roads of California, according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles. The company also has 143 registered safety drivers in the State. This is an increase in drivers since April 24, when Apple had 69 test vehicles and 110 registered drivers. This means that Apple got permits for 33 more self-driving vehicles since April while keeping the same number of cars. The increase suggests that Apple is adding more drivers to the fleet at a steady rate. The new figures show that Apple still has the third-largest autonomous-car test fleet in California.
Goldman Sachs is accepting “subprime” applicants for Apple Card, meaning people with a low credit score.
While there is no standard definition for who qualifies as subprime, most fall under a FICO score of 660, and their loans often sour before borrowers with higher credit scores. Ten years ago, big lenders got into trouble when irresponsible loans made to subprime mortgage borrowers defaulted, helping create the worst excesses of the financial crisis.
I think this is great. Apple Card revolves around helping you pay off your credit as soon as possible, and tells you the minimum payment you need for a zero-interest payment. You might still get a high APR, but as long as you don’t carry a balance that won’t affect you. As we head into another school year, Apple Card could be a good choice for college students who may have low credit.
Huawei is working to find ways to withstand the U.S. – China trade war. Bloomberg News outlined some of its tactics and how it shapes up compared with Apple.
The newly hostile environment is putting to the test not just Apple’s “Designed in California, Assembled in China” slogan, but the overall preparedness of two smartphone-making giants as the decades-old made-in-China model fractures. Here’s a look at how dependent Apple and Huawei are on external suppliers. OS: Apple’s strength has always been the integration of software with hardware, and it has absolute control over iOS. Huawei is trying to do the same with Hongmeng, but it has everything left to prove, starting today. For the foreseeable future, Huawei remains dependent on Android for its mainstream smartphones, especially outside China. Advantage: Apple.
At Black Hat 2019, researcher Joshua Maddux found that security vulnerabilities can arise when websites add online payment integrations like Apple Pay. To be clear, he says it’s not an issue with Apple Pay itself, but rather how websites add it. And other third-party integrations can be similarly affected.
The flaws fit into a well-known type of vulnerability called “server side request forgery,” which allow attackers to bypass protections like firewalls to directly send commands to web applications. These vulnerabilities pose a real threat, and are regularly exploited in the wild. Most recently, they played a role in last month’s massive Capital One breach. Similarly, flexibility in how a website integrates Apple Pay potentially exposes its own backend infrastructure to unauthorized access.
