Amazon Alexa Voice Recordings are Stored Indefinitely

In a letter to U.S. senators Amazon said it keeps your Alexa voice recordings indefinitely unless you manually delete them.

In the letter to Coons, Amazon noted that for Alexa requests that involve a transaction, like ordering a pizza or hailing a rideshare, Amazon and the skill’s developers can keep a record of that transaction. That means that there’s a record of nearly every purchase you make on Amazon’s Alexa, which can be considered personal information.

Apple 2019 Revenue Up 15% at $39 Billion From App Store

Apple 2019 revenue for the first half of this year is up 15% from last year, topping US$39 billion from the App Store.

According to a new report from Sensor Tower, the iOS App Store and Google Play combined brought in $39.7 billion in worldwide app revenue in the first half of 2019 — that’s up 15.4% over the $34.4 billion seen during the first half of last year. However, at that time, the $34.4 billion was a 27.8% increase from 2017’s numbers, then a combined $26.9 billion across both stores.

Futurebook is a Parody Dystopian Social Media Site

Futurebook is a parody social media website by Open Rights Group. It aims to give people an example of what a future without privacy would look like. Yeah, even less privacy than we have today.

Futurebook is a parody social media website designed to warn users about how changes in Government policy could negatively impact rights to freedom of expression and privacy and disrupt user experiences online.

The website features disabled comments, invasive advertising, blocked content and throttled streaming. These are all potential outcomes of UK digital policy developments after leaving the European Union.

 

Samsung says Galaxy Fold Screen is Fixed

Samsung says it has fixed the Galaxy Fold, Bloomberg News reported. The device was beset with problems when it went to reviewers.

The world’s largest smartphone maker is now in the final stages of producing a commercial version but can’t yet pin down a date to begin sales, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified describing an internal effort. Samsung pulled the device after several publications including Bloomberg News reported problems with test versions, such as screen malfunctions that emerged after a film on the display was peeled off… It re-engineered the hinge, pushing it slightly upward from the screen (it’s now flush with the display) to help stretch the film further when the phone opens.

TikTok Facing UK Investigation Over Use of Child Data

TikTok, the social app popular with younger users, is under investigation for the way it handles personal data. UK authorities are looking into whether it prioritizes protecting children who use it, reported The Guardian.

Elizabeth Denham, the information commissioner, told a parliamentary committee the investigation began in February, prompted by a multimillion-dollar fine from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for similar violations. “We are looking at the transparency tools for children,” Denham said on Tuesday. “We’re looking at the messaging system, which is completely open, we’re looking at the kind of videos that are collected and shared by children online. We do have an active investigation into TikTok right now, so watch this space.”

Mars Rover 2020 Getting Laser to Blast Rocks

The Mars Rover, set to head into Space in 2020, is getting an overhaul CNET reported. One of the more eye-catching conditions is a laser that can zap rocks, which is part of the new SuperCam.

What does the SuperCam do? It’s the next-generation version of the ChemCam instrument installed on NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover, which is currently going about making its own discoveries on the Red Planet. According to NASA, the instrument’s camera, laser and spectrometers “can identify the chemical and mineral makeup of targets as small as a pencil point from a distance of more than 20 feet (6 meters).” NASA intends to put the SuperCam to good use examining Martian rocks and soil, in particular to seek out organic compounds that could be related to past life on Mars.

A Bill Gates Regret: How It Cost Microsoft $400B

At Roughly Drafted, Daniel Eran Dilger, diagnoses a recent assertion by Bill Gates regarding Microsoft, iOS and Android.

As Apple prepares the release of iOS 13 and splits off the new iPadOS 13 for specialized mobile tablets, Microsoft’s former chief executive Bill Gates mused this week that it would have been the “natural thing” for Microsoft to have been the “standard non-Apple phone platform.” But he’s wrong, here’s why.

Over 2 Billion User Records Exposed in Orvibo Data Breach

Orvibo makes smart home products, and researchers found a leak in its database that exposed over two billion user records. This included usernames, email addresses, passwords, and precise locations.

The data breach affects users from around the world. We found logs for users in China, Japan, Thailand, the US, the UK, Mexico, France, Australia, and Brazil. We expect that there are more users represented in the 2 billion plus logs.

We first contact Orvibo via email on June 16. When we didn’t receive a response after several days, we also tweeted the company to alert them to the breach. They still have not responded, nor has the breach been closed.

Utterly ridiculous. It’s one thing to leak data, and other thing to ignore the problem and not fix it.

Apple Wants to Reinvent The Car Bumper

Apple’s autonomous vehicle project – Project Titan remains ongoing. We have not seen much of anything yet. However, a patent, awarded today and reported on by Cult Of Mac, gives us some insight. It appears Apple wants to reinvent a normally uninspiring feature.

A car’s bumper may not be its sexiest feature but they are a critical line of defense in the event of collisions. True to Apple form, it believes it can improve on what already exists. According to claims in its application filed in 2016 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Apple’s bumper would include an inflatable structure between the bumper cover and car body. It would also be able to retract to reduce the length of the car for parking. Apple says an extended bumper changes the initial point of collision.

Xiaomi Threatens to Sue Writers Who Cry Copycat Over 'Mimoji'

I wasn’t going to bother with Xiaomi’s new “Mimoji” until I learned the company is threatening to sue journalists who call it a copycat without providing evidence. It sounds like it’s only writers in China and not journalists in other countries, but that shouldn’t matter.

As Gizmochina notes, PR head Xu Jieyun posted the app’s naming timeline, and said that the “functional logic difference between the two products is huge.” It also promised “the next phase of action” against people who said it was copying Apple’s Memoji without proof.

The Complete List of Google Alternatives

Sven Taylor put together an awesome list of Google alternatives. Search, email, browsers, and more are included in this gigantic list. Thanks to the TMO reader who emailed this to me.

A growing number of people are seeking alternatives to Google products that respect their privacy and data. This guide aims to be the most exhaustive resource available for documenting alternatives to Google product.

Polaroid Originals OneStep 2 Camera - Stranger Things Edition: $126.99

Check out our deal of the day, the Stranger Things Edition Polaroid Originals OneStep 2 Camera. Built in collaboration with Hawkins National Laboratory. That must explain the upside down labels…but come on, that’s awesome! It comes with a pack of i-Type film. Each pack features, “a random selection from 16 colorful and bold designs inspired by your favorite Hawkins hangout spots.” This device is $126.99 through our deal.


Gen Z: "If you don't have an iPhone it's kind of frowned upon."

The iPhone is the most popular device with Gen Z, the generation coming after millennials. Specifically, teens these days use iPhones so that no one is left out of iMessage group chats. Business Insider also found that iPhone ownership has created a “culture of multitasking” which I agree with, but I don’t think it’s limited to iPhones.

Some experts blame the rise of smartphones — and especially the iPhone — for fueling a pervasive culture of multitasking. Teens who spoke with Business Insider said they recognized that multitasking was not efficient. “It doesn’t really work out that well,” Jimenez said, acknowledging that she does it anyway. Experts say that trying to process two or more things at once may not even really be possible.

How Apple Defied Gravity in AirPods Ad

Apple’s new AirPods ad, ‘Bounce’, is a typically beautiful, artistic, creative, offering from the company and its ad agency TBWA\Media Arts Lab. AdWeek told the story of how the gravity-defying clip was created.

To achieve the trampoline effect on a sidewalk, the set was crafted six feet above the floor of the soundstage, enabling the talent to bounce deep into the ground for maximum lift. The talent, by the way, is a French actor chosen in part for having trampoline experience—but he’s not an acrobat or professional dancer, as the ad’s creative team wanted a lead who moved in a natural way rather than with otherworldly grace. The ad’s most impressive moment, when the star tumbles off a bench and into a wall behind him, was also achieved with practical effects. The scene was first shot right-side-up, then the set was Ad 90 degrees, allowing the actress in the scene to keep sitting (really lying on her back) while the star fell backward to bounce off what appears to be a wall.

Apple Catalyst Team Explains How it Works

Ars Technica spoke with members of the Apple Catalyst team to find out how it works and how it will affect the Mac ecosystem.

Apple seeks to funnel some of its success with the iOS App Store over to macOS using Catalyst. We’ll go over how developers use what Apple has built step-by-step, as well as what challenges they faced. And we’ll share Apple’s answers to our questions about how the company plans to maintain a high standard of quality for Mac apps as an influx of mobile-derived apps hits the platform, what Apple’s long-term plans for cross-platform apps across the entire ecosystem look like, and more.

A Cashless Society Could Affect Strippers and Other Sex Workers

I’ve written musings here and there about the cashless society, but sex work as an affected industry hadn’t crossed my mind. I think it’s an important conversation to have, though. I wonder what an alternative could be? Special jewelry with NFC chips that can accept peer-to-peer payments? Imagine tipping a stripper with Apple Pay. Sorry Tim Cook.

But without cash, the club I work at is free to exploit. Cash handed directly to a dancer gets pocketed, but credit card charges are skimmed—and because workers are more or less off the books, we have no recourse to contest absurdly high fees. When a customer pays several hundred dollars to spend time in a dark room alone with a dancer, the club takes a 70 percent cut.

Using macOS Catalina Hands Free to Design a Logo

It’s a short video, but developer Camera Cundiff tweeted a video in which he used macOS Catalina Hands Free to design a simple logo.

video: time-lapse screencast, dictating commands to XD via macOS voice control, demonstrating the use of Number and Grid targeting to create overlapping shapes and type.

Hands Free is such a powerful feature, and combined with Siri makes the Mac feel like a Star Trek computer.

Powerbeats Pros Are The Ultimate AirPods Alternative

Powerbeats Pros are the best AirPods alternative. That’s according to Avery Hartmans, who wrote about his experience with the wireless headphones for Business Insider after he used them for two months.

Beats really overhauled the look and feel of the Powerbeats with the new Pro model. They’re sleeker, and they feel more premium. The coating on the outside is that kind of smooth-yet-velvety material that’s pleasing to touch, and they have a bit of heft to them (although they’re not so heavy you’ll hate wearing them). Beats also upgraded the case, which is now a hard outer shell that can charge up your headphones, just like the AirPods case. It, too, has a luxurious look and feel, and acts as a good ambassador for the headphones inside: expensive-looking, branded — of course — but not ostentatious.

Jony Ive's Long Walk Towards The Apple Exit

In the days since Sir Jonny Ive’s imminent departure from Apple was announced, many commented that he had long checked out. The Wall Street Journal published a fascinating, detailed piece outlining his long exit.

As the deadline loomed for the 10th anniversary iPhone, Apple Inc.’s top software designers gathered in the penthouse of an exclusive San Francisco club called The Battery. They had been summoned some 50 miles from the company’s Cupertino, Calif., headquarters to demonstrate planned features of the product to Jony Ive, Apple’s design chief, who seldom came to the office anymore from his San Francisco home. For nearly three hours on that afternoon in January 2017, the group of about 20 designers stood around waiting for Mr. Ive to show, according to people familiar with the episode. After he arrived and listened to the presentations, he left without ruling on their key questions, leaving attendees frustrated. “Many of us were thinking: How did it come to this?” said a person at the meeting. There was a sense “Jony was gone but reluctant to hand over the reins.”

Eddy Cue on Apple TV+, Steve Jobs, and More

Eddy Cue sat down for an interview with GQ, talking about Apple TV+, Steve Jobs, iTunes, and more.

Today, says Cue, most people subscribe to a satellite or cable service. “But do you think that’ll be the case ten years from now? I don’t think even the cable and satellite people are going to raise their hands. There’s a pretty rapid change coming.”

Conficker - The Botnet That Could Have Decimated The Internet, But Didn't

A fascinating feature in Sunday’s New York Times tells the story of Conficker. The giant botnet could have wreaked havoc on the internet, but didn’t. We now have some idea why.

Conficker’s botnet was easily capable of launching any of the above — and far worse. At its height, when it consisted of at least 10 million individual IP addresses, there were few computer networks in the world secure enough to withstand an attack from it. And yet it was used only once, to spread a relatively minor strain of “scareware” intended to frighten unsuspecting users into downloading fake antivirus software. That attack was surprisingly pedestrian, like taking a Formula One racecar for a slow ride around the block. Surely something bigger was coming. But it never did. Why? Who created Conficker, and why bother if they were not going to use it?