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This Planned Parenthood Chatbot Can Answer Your Teen's Sex Questions

Andrew Orr ·

Planned Parenthood has a chatbot called Roo that can answer questions about sex your teens may have.

Many teens search for answers online, but the internet is rife with misinformation. As a result, reproductive health organization Planned Parenthood is releasing a chatbot that will provide teens ages 13 to 17–or anyone who has a question–with accurate information about their bodies and sexual health.

I wish I had had a tool like this. When I was a young’un I took out a library book to figure out what that weird puberty thing was all about.

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Looking at Apple Job Hiring For Streaming Video

Andrew Orr ·

Joshua Fruhlinger put together a great deep dive into Apple’s job hiring for positions involving streaming video for its service.

Apple job listings data tracked over time reveals hiring efforts to build out the company’s “Interactive Media Group” (IMG), which, based on job descriptions, is busy building out the base for the company’s upcoming streaming service. Apple is also busy hiring for its retail operations where it hopes to beat concerns that iPhone and hardware sales will continue to wane.

Rumors point to a mid-April launch for Apple’s streaming video service.

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Facebook Research Broke the Rules. Now it Faces the Consequences

Andrew Orr ·

Casey Newton wrote a defense of Facebook/attack of Apple, because of the Facebook Research app that got banned.

But for all the attention we’re paying to Facebook’s moves here, I hope we spare at least as much for Apple. If Tim Cook can wreak this much havoc on Facebook’s day, however justified, just imagine what power Apple holds over the rest of us.

That power is App Store rules, which Facebook willfully ignored. We should be glad that big companies have to follow the same rules as small companies. If you’re a Facebook employee unable to use internal apps, don’t be mad at Apple. Instead, be mad at your employer who was willing to throw it all away in order to take advantage of children.

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Ex-ESPN President John Skipper Wants to Build the Netflix of Sports. But Don't Call it That.

Charlotte Henry ·

John Skipper left ESPN abruptly in December 2017, just days after he announced a contract extension. In March 2018, he revealed he had been had been suffering from substance abuse issues and the victim of an extortion plot. Now he’s well and truly back, with an ambitious digital venture called DAZN. Bloomberg Business Week spoke with Mr. Skipper and discussed the prospects for the service as it begins to expand.

Skipper won’t call DAZN a “Netflix for sports,” at least not publicly, but it’s useful shorthand. DAZN offers live sports on the internet for a monthly fee. It started in Germany and Japan in summer 2016 and now also operates in Canada, Italy, and the U.S. The German service (which is also available in Austria and Switzerland) offers four of the top European soccer leagues plus the NBA and NFL for about $10 per month. In Japan, subscribers get domestic soccer and baseball, plus MLB, the NFL, three European soccer leagues, and UEFA Champions League, for about $15. U.S. service began in September, offering boxing and mixed martial arts at $10 a month.

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How IoT Devices Can Bite You Even From the Trashcan

John Martellaro ·

TechCrunch writes: “But it’s not just while they’re plugged in that these slapdash [IoT] gadgets are a security risk — even from the garbage can, they can still compromise your network.” Scavengers taking a discarded one apart can discover all kinds of secrets about your network. OMG. Trash talk. (Image credit: TechCrunch.)

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UK Mobile Bank Monzo Has Taken a Big Bet Against Paper Receipts

Charlotte Henry ·

LONDON – Monzo is an increasingly popular UK mobile bank. From Wednesday, its customers will be able to get itemized digital receipts sent directly to their device when they eat at four prominent high-street food retailers – Pod, Pure, EAT, and Itsu. No more bits of paper to accompany your sushi or sandwich. This will be achieved via a system called Flux. More retailers, including Costa Coffee and non-food outlets, are set to join Flux during 2019. Wired took a look at Monzo’s bet against the paper receipt and the competition the new-look bank faces.

Anyone paying with Monzo in participating shops will be presented with a prompt – ‘Do you want to get digital receipts and rewards here?’ – to set up Flux in a few taps and in some cases opt in or out to extras such as digital loyalty and rewards. Costa Coffee is joining the Flux scheme soon and more partners, in categories outside fast food, are on the horizon for 2019 with Monzo confirming support for future retailers.

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The Changing Style of Super Bowl Logos

Charlotte Henry ·

It is nearly time for SuperBowl LVIII. On Sunday, the LA Rams and the New England Patriots will go head-to-head for the sport’s biggest prize. To celebrate, Fast Company produced a very cool round-up of all the Super Bowl logo since the AFL and NFL champions clashed for the first time in 1967. They perfectly illustrate a lot of the design sensibilities of their time. Some of the ones from the ’90s are rather…interesting, shall we say!

 

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How Former U.S. Hackers Broke Into iPhones For UAE

Andrew Orr ·

A team of former U.S. hackers broke into iPhones for the United Arab Emirates. They used a spying tool called ‘Karma.’

Karma was used by an offensive cyber operations unit in Abu Dhabi comprised of Emirati security officials and former American intelligence operatives working as contractors for the UAE’s intelligence services. The existence of Karma and of the hacking unit, code named Project Raven, haven’t been previously reported.

Sounds like a powerful tool. They could remotely break into iPhones just by uploading phone numbers or email accounts into an automated system. It didn’t work on Android phones.

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It Doesn't Look Good for Qualcomm in Antitrust Trial

Andrew Orr ·

Qualcomm and the FTC have presented closing arguments in the antitrust trial, and it doesn’t sound good for Qualcomm.

The evidence is overwhelming that Qualcomm engaged in exclusionary conduct. The effects of Qualcomm’s conduct, when considered together, are anticompetitive.

It will be interesting to see if this case will finally close, or if Apple and Qualcomm will keep fighting like Apple and Samsung do.

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Apple Sued Over Group FaceTime Eavesdropping Bug

Charlotte Henry ·

An Attorney in Houston, Texas sued Apple Wednesday as the fallout over the Group FaceTime eavesdropping bug continued. Bloomberg News reported on allegations from Larry Williams. He claimed the flaw resulted in him being eavesdropped on while a client was giving sworn testimony in a deposition.

Attorney Larry Williams II said the glitch intrudes on the privacy of “one’s most intimate conversations without consent,” according to the complaint he filed in state court in Houston. He said he was eavesdropped on while taking sworn testimony during a client deposition. Williams is seeking unspecified punitive damages on his claims of negligence, product liability, misrepresentation and warranty breach.

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Silicon Valley Needs Abusability Testing

Andrew Orr ·

Andy Greenberg writes that security isn’t enough for Silicon Valley. Companies should also adopt abusability testing.

It’s time for Silicon Valley companies to take the potential for unintended, malicious use of a product as seriously as they take its security. From Russian disinformation on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to YouTube extremism to drones grounding air traffic, Soltani argues that tech companies need to think not just in terms of protecting their own users, but what Soltani calls abusability: the possibility that users could exploit their tech to harm others, or the world.

In my cynical opinion, companies don’t care about whether their products could cause social harm. It’s all about money.

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Support for MFi Controllers Comes to Fortnite

Andrew Orr ·

Fortnite’s latest update adds support for MFi controllers, making it a bit easier to play. Another feature includes a chiller grenade.

Bluetooth controller support has arrived in mobile on supported devices! Drop in and earn a Victory in a whole new way.

I don’t play Fortnite but game controllers make it easier to play action games, instead of relying on touchscreen controls.

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Group FaceTime Security Bug was Apparently Highlighted by Twitter User a Week Ago

Charlotte Henry ·

Most of us are only heard about a security flaw on FaceTime on Monday and Tuesday. However, MacRumors found that a Twitter user actually tweeted both Apple Support and Tim Cook about the issue a week earlier. They also submitted a bug report, emailed Apple Support, and contacted Fox News. The user said their teen had found the Group FaceTime bug and could listen to a user’s iPhone or iPad without their permission. It all just adds to the embarrassment caused to Apple by this incident.

Twitter user MGT7500 tagged the official Apple Support account in a January 20 tweet claiming that her 14-year-old son discovered a “major security flaw” that allowed him to “listen in to your iPhone/iPad without your approval.” The user also tagged Tim Cook on the issue in a follow-up tweet on January 21.

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Apple's Privacy Stance Means it Does Not Get a Pass on FaceTime Security Bug

Charlotte Henry ·

It was revealed Monday that Group FaceTime has a major bug. It allows a caller to hear the person they are ringing before the recipient has picked up the phone. As Ben Lovejoy points out on 9to5Mac, Apple, and Tim Cook, in particular, have taken a very strong stance on privacy in recent months. The company even put a big privacy advert on the side of a Marriott in Las Vegas during CES. It has received a lot of praise for its approach to privacy. However, that does not mean they cannot be held to account when a security flaw like this is exposed. In fact, arguably we should expect more from a company that puts such importance on privacy.

This particular FaceTime bug occurs only when someone does something completely illogical and unexpected: adds themselves to a call they initiated. I appreciate this would have been a tricky scenario to anticipate and include in testing. But when you are Apple, a company which has talked of little other than privacy over the past few months, then you don’t get a pass on this.

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GQ's History of Cool Examines White Apple Earbuds

Andrew Orr ·

Johnathon Heaf writes how Apple’s white earbuds changed the industry forever. It all started with the iPod.

The “silhouette campaign” ads, which I’m sure many of you remember more than the early hardware, focused on the white earbuds that came with each iPod – a design feature that Ive has since stated was pure serendipity.

When he first saw the ads, Steve Jobs was worried the iPod wasn’t visible enough. Yet they were popular because they were fun and emotive.

 

TMO Deals

Apple HomePod: $296.10

Bryan Chaffin ·

We have a deal on an Apple HomePod. This is Apple’s Siri-based speaker with a built-in subwoofer, 7 tweeters, and microphones to hear your commands for Siri. It retails for $349, and our deal is for $329. But, our friends at Stack Commerce gave us coupon code “HOMEPOD10” that will save 10%, for a checkout price of $296.10. Our link points to the Space Gray mode, but you can also choose the White version in the deal listing. Get it while you can.

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Users Reported iOS 12.1.3 WiFi Issues

Charlotte Henry ·

When it first launched, iOS 12.1.3 stopped some users accessing cellular data, something that had already happened with the rollout of iOS 12.1.2. The situation was so bad, provider Sprint put out a warning. This emerged after iOS 12.1.1 caused 4G issues. Now, it seems, the latest version of the operating system is also causing WiFi issues. Gordon Kelly rounded up the situation for Forbes.

Apple’s pledge with iOS 12 was to focus on performance and reliability. It actually fulfilled its promise on speed, which makes iOS 12 a very appealing upgrade, but its failure with reliability is twofold. Not only are major bugs still occurring, what’s worse (since bugs are inevitable), is they not being fixed as a priority from release to release.

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This Weird Trick Will Make Five Eyes Countries Hate You

Andrew Orr ·

Michael Grothaus argues that it’s the perfect time for Android iMessage thanks to Facebook’s plans to unify its messaging apps.

The iPhone maker’s messaging app is widely regarded as one of the best messaging apps ever, thanks to its clean, simple design, its ability to send and receive both encrypted iMessages and regular SMS text messages in the same interface, and its end-to-end encryption.

It’s not the first time this has been suggested, but I think Android iMessage would be great for users. We need an end-to-end encrypted messaging app from a company with a better track record than Facebook.

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Unicorn Born in China every 3.8 Days in 2018

Charlotte Henry ·

97 tech unicorns, companies valued at over $1 billion, were formed in China in 2018. That’s the equivalent of one launching in the country every 3.8 days.. However, Bloomberg News reported that this pace of creation actually slowed down during the fourth quarter of the year. Only 11 unicorns launched in those three months. Instead of startups, large tech firms reasserted their position. The Chinese economic slowdown also contributed to this.

China spawned 97 unicorns last year with a combined valuation of 1.2 trillion yuan ($178 billion) across sectors from consumer internet to online shopping and electric vehicles, according to a report published by consultancy Hurun. That’s about one unicorn born every 3.8 days. But of those, 11 were created in the December quarter, down from more than 30 in the previous three months.

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What Mark Zuckerberg Really Meant in his Wall Street Journal Piece

Charlotte Henry ·

There has been a lot of reaction to *that* Mark Zuckerberg piece in the Wall Street Journal last week. The Facebook CEO and founder tried to allay users’ fears about how the service uses their data. TMO’s Andrew Orr described it as “tone deaf,” which seems pretty on the money to me. Kara Swisher used her New York Times column Friday to rewrite the column and explain to readers what Zuckerberg really mean. Not surprisingly, it is funny, cutting, and well worth a read.

The post was essentially the greatest hits that we have heard Mr. Zuckerberg sing for a while now. He focused on the enormous advertising system that powers Facebook, while ignoring almost entirely the news from the last disastrous year, including Russian abuse of the platform, sloppy management of data, recent revelations that the company throws some pretty sharp elbows when it needs to, and more. You kind of get why Mr. Zuckerberg would want to forget it all.

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Here's Why iPhone Assembly Doesn't Happen Here

Andrew Orr ·

Apple relies on China for a huge part of its manufacturing needs. But why can’t the company bring it back to the United States? Custom screws.

The challenges in Texas illustrate problems that Apple would face if it tried to move a significant amount of manufacturing out of China. Apple has found that no country — and certainly not the United States — can match China’s combination of scale, skills, infrastructure and cost.

Manufacturing and cheap labor are the reasons why Apple and other companies go to China. The GOP can talk about bringing jobs like that back, but it’s not an easy problem to solve.

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iPhone, Apple Watch: The New Tricorder

John Martellaro ·

9to5Mac writes: “Apple has been granted a patent today which illustrates how future products such as iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch could have built-in sensors to detect harmful, poisonous gasses, such as CO…” [and others.] Now we’re getting into Star Trek’s Tricorder territory. I expect these kind of technical advances to continue. Early earthquake warnings?