Astronomers Publish First Image of Black Hole

The first-ever image of a black hole has been published. It was taken in a galaxy called M87, BBC News reported. The picture was taken by the Event Horizon Telescope. It will give researchers information to further study the phenomen.

The image shows an intensely bright “ring of fire”, as Prof Falcke describes it, surrounding a perfectly circular dark hole. The bright halo is caused by superheated gas falling into the hole. The light is brighter than all the billions of other stars in the galaxy combined – which is why it can be seen at such distance from Earth. The edge of the dark circle at the centre is the point at which the gas enters the black hole, which is an object that has such a large gravitational pull, not even light can escape.

Why Does Apple Allow Pervasive App Tracking?

In the future, I hope Apple puts restrictions on the kind of app tracking developers use. We already have Safari’s Intelligent Tracking Prevention. I’d like to see that for the App Store.

SDKs present a solution to Apple’s pesky tracking restriction for advertisers. They can connect who you are between apps, provided the developer of each app uses the same SDK and the advertiser is able to use signals to figure out who you are. If we look at the top 200 apps on the iOS App Store, it’s interesting to see how broad the reach of most SDKs actually is.

Facebook Still Collects Your Data Even if You Deactivate Your Account

You might think that deactivating your Facebook account would stop it tracking you around the internet. You’d be wrong. CNET’s Alfred NG tried deactivating his account and found it still collected vasts amounts of data on him. The data only goes if you actually completely delete your account.

Even when your account is deactivated, the social network continues collecting data about your online activities. All that data gets sent back to Facebook and is tied to your account while it’s in this state of limbo. It’s as if you’d changed nothing. Facebook says it only removes all of your data if you permanently delete your account. Deactivating isn’t as extreme, the company says, and the social network continues collecting your data in case you change your mind and want to return to your profile.

J. J. Abrams: Working With Apple is 'The Wild West'

J.J. Abrams spoke to Fast Company about what it is like to be stepping into the unknown and working with Apple. It comes alongside the news that Julianne Moore will star in ‘Lisey’s Story’ which he is producing for Apple’s new TV+ Service.

While you could say six or eight (episodes), what does it even look like when it comes out? I have faith in (Apple), but, again, it’s not like there’s complete clarity on how it presents in the world, how it’s perceived. What’s the interface, exactly? And what do people feel when they use it? Who knows. So it’s the Wild West.

The Epic Mac Bundle Featuring Fantastical 2, PDF Expert, iStats Menu 6, More: $22.49 (Back for Limited Time)

The Epic Mac Bundle is back for a couple of days, and we have a coupon code for it, too. This bundle includes Fantastical 2, PDF Expert, Pagico 8, Flux 7, Command-Tab Plus, iLocker Pro, Ultdata Recovery, and one my all-time favorite Mac utilities, iStats Menu 6. This deal ended a couple of weeks ago, but Stack Commerce brought it back for a limited time. It’s  $29.99 through our deal, and coupon code LAST25 at checkout brings the price down to $22.49.

AI-based Malware is Coming For Our Networks

Security Week writes:

The threat of a HAL-9000 intelligence directing malware from afar is still the realm of fiction, so too is the prospect of an uber elite hacker collective that has been digitized and shrunken down to an email-sized AI package…  However, over the next two to three years, I see six economically viable and “low hanging fruit” uses for AI infused malware – all focused on optimizing efficiency in harvesting valuable data, targeting specific users, and bypassing detection technologies.

Author Gunter Ollmann describes six ways networks will be attacked.

T2 Chip Makes a Big Difference When Encoding Video

AppleInsider ran an experiment to test the effect of a T2 chip on video encoding. It found that a Mac Mini with a T2 chip encoded video in nearly half the time an iMac without one did.

Considering the possibility that the slow hard drive was the problem, we re-ran the test to both a USB 3.1 type C SSD on the iMac 4K with identical results. Additionally, running the test on an i7 Mac mini with an external 4200RPM laptop hard drive connected by USB 3.1 type A provided identical results with a higher speed encode, effectively eliminating the slow drive on the entry-level iMac 4K as a bottleneck. So, 100 percent of the difference between the iMac 4K and i3 Mac mini with the basic Video Toolkit is because of the T2.

When I Die I Want You to Delete My Facebook Account

When I die I want you to delete my Facebook account. Don’t parade my digital corpse around in Facebook’s new Tributes feature.

Facebook is rolling out several updates for memorialized accounts, which are profiles that remain active for people who have passed away. A dedicated tributes tab will let friends and family share stories and memories of their loved one, allowing the late person’s timeline to stay as it was before they passed away.

An Inside Look at How Charging Cables Work

Charging cables are a requirement for any electrical device. But have you ever wondered how they work? Rhett Allain tells us.

Inside each of those cables are multiple wires. It doesn’t matter if the cable is used for power or for data—there have to be at least two wires inside. That is because all electric circuits depend on loops. You can’t make a loop with just one wire.

China Planning to Ban Cryptocurrency Mining

China is moving to ban mining cryptocurrency. Bloomberg News reports that having banned coin offerings in 2017, as well as asking local exchanges to stop trading, Chinse officials are preparing to go a step further.

The National Development Reform Commission, the country’s powerful economic planner, this week listed crypto-mining among a plethora of industries it intends to eliminate because they “seriously wasted resources” or polluted the environment. The agency is seeking public feedback on the guidelines and indicated that the crypto-mining ban could take effect as soon as they’re formally issued… While China was once home to about 70 percent of Bitcoin mining and 90 percent of trades, authorities have waged a nearly two-year campaign to shrink the crypto industry amid concerns over speculative bubbles, fraud and wasteful energy consumption.

Which One is Better for the Environment: Physical or Digital Music?

A study published yesterday found that streaming digital music led to “unintended” environmental and economic impacts. Despite a reduction in the use of plastics in physical music media, storing and transmitting digital music led to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs).

Researchers discovered that the amount of GHGs generated by the streaming and downloading of music online is actually much larger than the amount that was once generated by the production of plastic used to make vinyl records, cassettes and CDs in earlier decades.

The study seems focused on plastic use in physical media vs. storing and streaming digital music from servers. I’d like to see more data, such as how much electricity is used when billions of people play the average CD vs. a digital song.

 

Secret Service 101 - Don't Plug Random Thumb Drives Into the Computer

When a Chinese national was arrested at President Trump’s Florida Mar-a-Lago resort in March, the Secret Service confiscated a variety of devices from her. These included a thumb drive. Now, you might think the one thing you would not do in such circumstances is plug that thumb drive into a Secret Service computer. According to Miami Herald, you’d be wrong.

Secret Service agent Samuel Ivanovich, who interviewed Zhang on the day of her arrest, testified at the hearing. He stated that when another agent put Zhang’s thumb drive into his computer, it immediately began to install files, a “very out-of-the-ordinary” event that he had never seen happen before during this kind of analysis. The agent had to immediately stop the analysis to halt any further corruption of his computer, Ivanovich testified.

 

Tech2 Juice Qi-Certified Wireless Charger: $29.99

We have a deal on the Tech2 Juice Qi-Certified Wireless Charger. This device can bring up to 10 watts of charging power to your Qi-compatible devices, including iPhone 8 and above.  It was made with a tempered glass surface for more efficient charging and greater durability, and it dims to a low-light mode when charging. It’s $29.99 through our deal.

Morgan Stanley: 4 Ways Apple Could Expand Healthcare Push

Morgan Stanley has four ideas for Apple to expand its presence in the healthcare industry, projecting up to a US$313 billion revenue opportunity by 2027.

Going forward, Morgan Stanley suggests that Apple could boost its health initiatives in several different ways. For instance, it could add blood pressure, glucose, and sleep tracking integration to the Apple Watch. It could also add hearing aid functionality to AirPods. The analysts also note that Apple could accelerate its future health efforts by acquiring an existing health company.

Beyoncé's Coachella Performance Coming to Netflix

Over the weekend Netflix announced Beyoncé’s Coachella performance will be coming to the service on April 17.

…a trailer that dropped today promises the special, called Homecoming: A Film By Beyoncé, will be “interspersed with candid footage and interviews detailing the preparation and powerful intent behind her vision, [the movie] traces the emotional road from creative concept to cultural movement.”

Two Students Accused of Jamming School Wi-Fi to Avoid Tests

Two high school students in New Jersey successfully jammed their school’s Wi-Fi network in order to avoid taking exams.

Secaucus Schools Superintendent Jennifer Montesano says the school’s Wi-Fi network has been restored and is now fully operational. But she declined further comment. Since much of the school’s curriculum is internet-based, the lack of Wi-Fi connection disrupted the students’ daily assignments.

As Redditor u/AdvancedAdvance quipped: “Although their slowing down the network to unusable speeds will land them in a lot of trouble at school, they can now expect to get full-time, high-paying job offers from AT&T and Verizon.”

EU Continues to Push For Tax on Big Tech

Sweden, Finland, Ireland, and Denmark blocked a draft tax proposal aimed at tech giants over the weekend. However, EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager continued to push for the tax which would affect Apple as well as Google, Facebook, and Amazon reported AppleInsider.

Vestager has argued that a “global solution” is ultimately needed, but that if results are to come “in a reasonable period of time,” Europe will have to lead the way with a harmonized tax. France’s National Assembly is voting today on a national GAFA tax, which would claim 3 percent from digital ads and other income sources for tech firms with revenues over 750 million euros, or about $842 million. Of concern is the fact that tech companies often escape paying regular taxes, even as they and the demands on government budgets continue to grow.

Have You Tried Restarting? London Landmark the BT Tower Displays Windows Error Message

LONDON – The iconic BT Tower in central London suffered technical problems that left a Windows error message on display for days. The landmark is a key part of the London skyline, but people noticed its screen asking for the system to be reset. The error message said: “Choose operating system to start or press TAB to select a tool: (Use arrow keys to highlight your choice and then press ENTER).” INSIDER noted that the message comes from Windows 7. The tower carries telecommunications transmissions from London to the rest of the UK.

The info board normally displays messages of good cheer, like: “Good morning London,” or “It’s coming home,” referring to England’s short-lived success in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The display was fixed eventually, however, and a BT spokesperson said: “A technical issue caused the info band on the BT Tower to display an error message.” The tower was the tallest building in London from it’s unveiling in 1965, until 1980.

 

With Safari 12.1 You Can No Longer Disable Click Tracking

Click tracking, a.k.a. hyperlink auditing, is an HTML standard that can be used to track clicks on web sites. Previous versions of Safari used to let you disable this, but Safari 12.1 changes that.

Despite several months notice from me, Apple shipped Safari 12.1 last week to the public with no way to disable hyperlink auditing. I hope to raise awareness about this issue, with the ultimate goal of getting hyperlink auditing disabled by default in Safari. Apple claims that Safari is supposed to protect your privacy and prevent cross-site tracking, but hyperlink auditing is a wide open door to cross-site tracking that still exists.

How to Take a Good, Impromptu Portrait

Have you ever been somewhere and had someone walk up to you and ask you to take their photo? Aimée Lutkin has some tips to help take a good, impromptu portrait.

You can get better photos with a little direction and a few adjustments. If you have a terrible photographer in your life, forward this post to them. If it don’t, you might be (probably are) the culprit. Here’s how to improve your flattering photography game.

ZenPod Leather Fidget Spinning Case for AirPods: $24.99

I love today’s deal, which is for Air Vinyl Design’s ZenPod. This is a leather AirPods case with finger pads and bearings that turn it into a fidget spinner. In other words, it’s two things I personally love, a fidget spinner and a leather AirPods case. I have two ZenPods myself, and I think they’re great. You can get a ZenPod through our deal for $24.99, 16% off retail, and it fits all AirPods case models. Check out the video below for a closer look.


2.7 Million Americans Still Get Netflix DVDs in the Mail

Not everyone has the luxury of broadband access capable of streaming Netflix. For these 2.7 million Americans, Netflix DVDs are a savior. But it’s not just rural folks.

“People assume that our customers must either be super seniors or folks that live in the boonies with no internet access,” [Netflix spokeswoman Annie Jung] says. “Actually, our biggest hot spots are the coasts, like the Bay Area and New York.”

”Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes hurtling down the highway.” Andrew S. Tanenbaum

Customers Are Buying-In To Digital Fashion

Digital fashion is a real and growing business. Vogue Business reported on the growing popularity of digital clothing lines, which are powered by 3D modeling. Scandinavian retailer Carlings released its first digital clothing collection in November 2018.  It included 19 limited-edition genderless, sizeless pieces that cost between €10 and €30. It sold out in a week.

The concept might seem outlandish, but gamers have been spending real money on digital fashion items for years. Glu Mobile’s Covet Fashion game lets players style models with digitally rendered designer clothing and accessories. It brought in $53.4 million in sales last year (a portion of which is from advertising)…But as people live and display more of their lives online — coupled with growing concerns about sustainability — digital clothing has the potential to expand well beyond gaming.