Indie Games Developers Raise Apple Arcade Concerns

Users are excited about Apple Arcade – the company’s forthcoming games subscription service. While some indie game developers are excited at the prospect of being part of the service, Fast Company reported others had serious concerns. Either way, Apple Arcade’s launch is going to be a critical moment for indie games makers.

But not everyone’s convinced that subscription services will be a boon for developers. If these services become the predominant way that people play games, some independent creators say the result will be a new race to the bottom, in which game makers compete for a shrinking pool of revenue. “With a whole new model of selling video games like this, it comes with a whole bunch of potential ways that it can be bad for smaller developers and independent developers,” says Mike Rose, the founder of the independent game publisher No More Robots.

Much of the Early Internet has Been Lost

Websites die too, and much of the early internet has been gradually, silently lost. Organizations like the Internet Archive can only do so much.

One major problem with trying to archive the internet is that it never sits still. Every minute – every second – more photos, blog posts, videos, news stories and comments are added to the pile. While digital storage has fallen drastically in price, archiving all this material still costs money.

UK Government to Propose Holding Social Media Bosses Liable for Harmful Content

The heads of social media companies could become personally liable for harmful content that gets published on their platforms under new plans set to be proposed by the British government. The plan, leaked to the Guardian, is also set to call for a new regulator, annual “transparency reports” from social media companies and co-operation with law enforcement.

Under plans expected to be published on Monday, the government will legislate for a new statutory duty of care, to be policed by an independent regulator and likely to be funded through a levy on media companies. The regulator – likely initially to be Ofcom, but in the longer term a new body – will have the power to impose substantial fines against companies that breach their duty of care and to hold individual executives personally liable.

An Amazing Basketball-shooting, 3 Point Specialist Robot [Video]

Business Insider writes: “Toyota built Cue 3 to demonstrate the robot’s use of “visual feedback” when shooting. Cue 3 can’t run, dribble, or execute the other fundamentals necessary to play alongside humans.” But maybe soon! And the skills demonstrated here will, no doubt, someday be absorbed into more well-rounded robots. (Image credit: BI/Toyota.)

News+: What Kind of an iPad Homescreen Redesign Will iOS 13 Bring?

Writing for the Macworld magazine, Jason Snell shares some ideas for a rumored iPad homescreen redesign in iOS 13.

After more than a decade using more or less the same old app-launching interface Apple introduced with the original iPhone, it takes some effort to imagine how Apple could reinvent the concept of a home screen for the iPad. But reader, I’ve managed to make that effort. Here’s a look at some directions I hope Apple will go, assuming Gurman’s sources are right, when we first see this feature this summer.

One: I cannot wait for WWDC this year to see what iOS 13 brings. I hope the rumors are true that it will be an iPad-heavy release like iOS 11.

Two: This is the first of an occasional magazine article I’ll share as one of our Linked Teasers. Just a way to help people find cool content in Apple News+.

Amazon Alexa HIPAA Skills Come to the Device

Amazon announced six Alexa HIPAA-compliant skills are coming today. They will be for patients and caregivers.

Now Atrium Health patients in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia can ask Alexa to schedule same-day appointments, while Express Scripts members can check the status of a home delivery prescription and can request Alexa notifications when their prescription orders are shipped. Meanwhile, the Livongo Alexa skill lets people check recent blood sugar readings and monitor their blood sugar levels. Other developers or healthcare companies that are interested in adding skills to Alexa must apply to an invite-only Alexa program to participate.

Nothing will go wrong, right?

Amazon Preparing to Launch Over 3,000 Satellites to Help Provide Broadband

Amazon is working to launch thousands of satellites into space as part of a bid to offer global internet access.  CNBC found details of the project, known as Project Kuiper, contained within some of Amazon’s federal findings. A company spokesperson confirmed the project, saying it “will provide low-latency, high-speed broadband connectivity to unserved and underserved communities around the world.”

Amazon’s proposal is for a network of 3,236 satellites. Building, launching and operating the satellites will require intensive capital, likely billions of dollars. But Bezos has already been funding Blue Origin with upwards of $1 billion a year and Amazon itself remains one of the world’s most valuable companies. GeekWire first reported the filings on Thursday. Kuiper is the name of a belt of objects that include asteroids and dwarf planets. It was named for the late Dutch American astronomer Gerard Kuiper.

Facebook Runs Sponsored Content in Daily Telegraph to Help Get Its Message Out

As part of its drive for better publicity, Facebook has been running a series of articles with British broadsheet newspaper The Daily Telegraph. The partnership was reported by Business Insider as something of an exposé. In fact, it looks to be a fairly standard, and clearly marked, sponsored content campaign. However, what struck me as interesting is how seriously Facebook is taking improving its PR. More conventional adverts have appeared in Britain too. After months of bad publicity, it is taking action to get its message across and try and reassure users.

The series — called “Being human in the information age” — has published 26 stories over the last month, to run in print and online, and is produced by Telegraph Spark, the newspaper’s sponsored content unit. “Fake news, cyberbullying, artificial intelligence — it seems like life in the internet age can be a scary place,” the articles say. “That’s why Telegraph Spark and Facebook have teamed up to show how Facebook and other social media platforms are harnessing the power of the internet to protect your personal data.”

Ting Mobile Launches Right to Repair Campaign

Ting Mobile is launching a right to repair campaign, and released a survey called ‘Epic Phone Fails’ showing that 78% aren’t aware they have a right to repair their devices.

One of the least surprising results from the survey is that 78% of people have never heard of ‘Right to Repair,’ which is the sometimes contested right for people to repair the things they own without being required to go through the item’s manufacturer. We are encouraged by the opportunity to make consumers more aware of the options they have when it comes to repairing their smartphones.

Apple Cuts HomePod Price by $50, Now $299

Apple is cutting the price of the HomePod a bit. It used to be US$349 but now it costs US$299.

Apple today cut the price of HomePod on its online store by $50, with the smart speaker now listed for $299, down from $349. The price drop follows recent promotional discounts at several third-party retailers across the U.S.

Apple's Relationship with Intel Could Delay 5G iPhone

Apple is planning to release a 5G iPhone in September 2020. However, its somewhat deteriorating relationship with chipmaker Intel is putting that at risk. Fast Company looked into the situation, and why Intel could decide Apple’s business is just not worth it.

In order to deliver big numbers of those modems in time for a September 2020 iPhone launch, Intel needs to deliver sample parts to Apple by early summer of this year, and then deliver a finished modem design in early 2020. Intel said in November that it expected to ship the 8160 5G modem in the second half of 2019. The company, responding to this story, pointed me to that same statement. “As we said in November 2018, Intel plans to support customer device launches in 2020 with its XMM 8160 5G multimode modem,” a company representative said in an email late Wednesday.

AI, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning Explained

We hear the first two terms all the time from Apple. They can be confusing. So, in order to help differentiate between the terms, the TechRepublic has written up a short but helpful tutorial for business people.

The first step is communicating what the definitions are for AI, machine learning (ML), and deep learning. There is some argument that AI, ML, and deep learning are each individual technologies. I view AI/ML/deep learning as successive stages of computer automation and analytics that are built on a common platform.

A traffic planning example makes it clear.

Chronicle Pro Budgeting Tool for Mac and iOS: $9.99

We have a deal on Chronicle Pro Budgeting Tool for Mac and iOS. This app helps you estimate totals for future bills, calculates what you need to save, tracks all your spending, and more. There’s a dashboard, and you can pay (and log) bills within the app, too. It’s $9.99 through our deal.

Apple Offers $9.7 Million to Cupertino for Transportation

After the city of Cupertino agreed to hold changes to a business tax that would have cost Apple over US$9 million, the company has offered US$9.7 million on five transportation projects for cyclers and pedestrians.

[Last year’s proposal] would have generated $10 million in annual revenue, most which would have come from Apple, the city’s largest employer with 24,000 workers…The city decided to postpone a ballot measure to change the business tax until 2020, giving them time to work with Apple and other businesses on private funding to relieve commuter traffic. City staff have been meeting with Apple representatives once every two weeks since October.

Manage Faces in Apple’s Photos App

David Murphy has a nice tip out on how to organize photos by Faces on iOS. It’s a great way to manage photos of people.

On the three platforms you’re most likely to use to store your smartphone pictures—Apple Photos, Amazon Photos, and Google Photos—machine learning can categorize your photos by the faces in them, rather than rudimentary details like when or where they were taken.

A Look Inside the New iPad Air

Following on from its teardown of the new iPad Mini, iFixit took its tools to the new iPad Air Wednesday. Essentially, the Air is just a bigger Mini and the teardown revealed many of the same features. Pleasingly, all the screws can again be removed with a single Phillips screwdriver. However, there is also lots of glue holding everything in place, making fixing it that bit more difficult. Like its smaller sibling, the iPad Air received a 2 out of 10 rating for repairability.

This new Air hails from the Pro line, inheriting its dimensions, a Smart connector, and a handful of other features from the 2017 10.5″ Pro….A single Phillips driver takes care of all the screws. Many components are modular and can be replaced independently, but the Lightning port is soldered to the logic board. Battery replacement is possible, but still unnecessarily difficult. Gobs of adhesive hold many parts and cables in place, complicating all repairs.

Addiction to Fortnite is a Real Thing

Fornite has racked up millions of players, and billions of dollars of profit. That is thanks in large part to how devoted players are to the game. It turns out though that the friend you joked is addicted to it might actually be. The Boston Globe spoke to psychologists and other health professionals who explained that Fortnite addiction is a real thing.

Parents worrying about kids spending too much time playing video games isn’t new. But a few significant factors have combined to make today’s games harder to stop playing….More insidious, game makers have taken a lesson from slot-machine designers and started employing a variable reward schedule, according to Ofir Turel, a professor of Information Systems and Decision Sciences at California State University Fullerton. In the case of “Fortnite,” the psychological manipulation combines with the game’s flashy colors, its many potential plots, and the element of social interaction to stimulate the brain and train it to “crave” more, he e-mailed the Globe.

Google Duplex Rolling Out to Google Assistant on iOS

Google Duplex is a feature that lets the Google Assistant make reservations on your behalf. The company is starting to roll out the feature to iPhones and other non-Pixel phones.

The support site for Duplex lists the iPhone as being part of this rollout, with Android phones simply requiring Android 5.0 or higher to use the automated calling service. iOS users simply need to have the Google Assistant installed to get started.

Eva Galperin Wants to Eliminate Stalkerware

Eva Galperin is the head of the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s (EFF) Threat Lab. Her latest project? Ending stalkerware once and for all.

In a talk she is scheduled to give next week at the Kaspersky Security Analyst Summit in Singapore, Galperin will lay out a list of demands: First, she’s calling on the antivirus industry to finally take the threat of stalkerware seriously, after years of negligence and inaction. She’ll also ask Apple to take measures to protect iPhone users from stalkerware, given that the company doesn’t allow antivirus apps into its App Store.

How TiVo Changed the World: An Oral History

OneZero writes: “… in 1999, two former employees of Hewlett-Packard and Silicon Graphics (SGI), Jim Barton and Mike Ramsay, introduced a revolutionary new product: a digital video recorder, or DVR. The product, named TiVo, seamlessly recorded shows, paused live television, and allowed users to fast-forward through the commercials.”

The TiVo set the stage for all our modern TV viewing habits.  It changed television forever. This is a fascinating story.

Have You Seen iPad Screen Stuttering on Your Pro?

iPad screen stuttering is a growing concern among iPad Pro owners. Some 2017 and 2018 models may be affected. Juli Clover shares some reader stories.

Affected users have iPad Pro models that sometimes refuse to register touch gestures, stutter when scrolling, miss keystrokes, and have other similar issues. We here at MacRumors have not been able to replicate this issue, but the sheer number of complaints suggests something may be going on with the iPad Pro’s display.

I haven’t been able to replicate this issue either. *knocks on aluminum*

Inside the iPad Mini 5

iFixit‘s teardowns are always worth a read, and its look at the iPad Mini 5 is no different. It showed that the device’s battery flex connector is now adhered to the cover bracket. This means it automatically disconnects when the bracket is removed. This should help prevent damaging the backlighting when fixing the new iPad Mini. Amongst other things, the teardown also revealed an upgraded front-facing camera module and updated battery connectors.

A single Phillips driver takes care of all the screws. Many components are modular and can be replaced independently, but the Lightning port is soldered to the logic board. Battery replacement is possible, but still unnecessarily difficult. Gobs of adhesive hold many parts and cables in place, complicating all repairs. Removing the home button is tough, and will be required for display replacement if you want to keep Touch ID functionality.