Rachel Premack writes about how Google has dominated the education market, and how Apple and Microsoft can fight back.

When it comes to education software, which teachers and students use to manage assignments, deadlines, and documents, Apple is lacking — particularly compared to the super-popular and easy-to-use Google Classroom. That might cancel out its other strengths, said Avi Greengart, the research director for consumer devices at GlobalData.

I know everyone says this but I think the biggest thing holding Apple back in education is price.

In a case earlier this year, the government tried to make Facebook help wiretap certain Messenger voice calls. It was rejected, but the legal arguments the government made for breaking encryption remain under seal. The ACLU wants the details made public.

The case involves the executive branch’s attempt to force a private corporation to break the encryption and other security mechanisms on a product relied upon by the public to have private conversations. The government is not just seeking information held by a third party; rather, it appears to be attempting to get this Court to force a communications platform to redesign its product to thwart efforts to secure communications between users.

David Barnard takes a close look at App Store scams and manipulation going on. It sounds like it’s easy to game the system.

Apple can and does dramatically shape the App Store economy. Similar to how governments shape economies through tax law and other policies, Apple shapes the App Store economy through App Review policies, App Store implementation details, editorial decisions, the App Store search algorithm, and in so many other subtle (and not so subtle) ways.

There are shady practices going on in the App Store, and Apple should do more to crack down on developers who abuse it.

Podcasting app Anchor wants to make it easier for podcasters to connect with advertisers. It’s launching Sponsorships on its platform.

Starting this week, Sponsorships will be integrated into Anchor’s platform, letting users turn the feature on for the full show or on a per-episode basis. Anchor will then match a custom sponsor based on various factors, including size, recording location and podcast topic, sending hosts a note when they’ve found a proper match.

Sounds like a good idea for beginners and experienced podcasters alike. So far the advertisers on board are SeatGeek, Cash App, Ro, Dirty Lemon, Baboon, Living Proof, The Citizenry and Squarespace.

iMore put together a great guide for iOS 12 Apple Books. It covers everything from book samples, downloading/highlighting, PDFs, audiobooks, and more.

Apple Books will now automatically organize your library into several collections, and you can add as many of your own as you wish. In addition to books and audiobooks, you can store PDF files in the app—and all of it can sync among your Apple devices through iCloud.

As you may have known, I’m a big fan of the new Apple Books app and I hope Apple continues to improve it.

A total of 14 organizations recently sent a letter to Congress saying that the T-Mobile Sprint merger should be blocked.

The concerns range from job losses, it being an anti-competitive and anti-consumer deal, to even incentivizing Verizon, AT&T, and the new T-Mobile to “collude.”

After T-Mobile and Sprint shifted their arguments for why the merger would be beneficial, and this latest barrage of concerns from 14 organizations, the odds of it happening seem to be diminishing.

This quote from The Washington Post says it all: “The general view on Wall Street is that as a result of this deal, there are likely to be job cuts and prices are likely to rise,” he said.

iCloud for Windows has been updated, fixing the major compatibility issues that arose following an October 2018 Windows update. AppleInsider reported that users of the service had been stopped from updating to the latest version of Windows as many had run into problems whilst syncing or updating photos, Shared Albums and similar items. However, updated Apple documentation indicates the issue has now been fixed.

Earlier this month Microsoft took the unusual step of blocking iCloud users from upgrading to the latest version of Windows, as people were encountering problems syncing or updating items like photos and Shared Albums. Those trying to do a fresh install of iCloud after updating Windows ran into error messages. Apple doesn’t mention the fix in its release notes, but a support page now lists iCloud as compatible with “Windows 7 or later.

There’s a rumor going around that Apple could have an Apple TV streaming stick in the works. But how likely is that?

On the surface, the idea makes sense: Streaming sticks are popular. For under $100, they’ll give your TV a zippy, modern interface, every app you could ask for, and coveted technologies like 4K resolution and HDR, all in a sleek and slim package. What’s more, Apple is pushing its new TV service and may be looking for an accessible way to peddle its new TV shows and movies.

I didn’t even know a streaming stick was a rumor, but now I want one. I think Mr. Waniata’s argument has a flawed premise though. His whole argument is based on how Apple probably wouldn’t make a cheap streaming stick. But the company could still create one and sell it at or near the price of an Apple TV. And I think it would still sell like hot cakes.

Google employees say that the company doesn’t place values over profits anymore. They continue to call on the company to cancel the censored search engine plans for China.

Eleven Google employees had signed the letter as of its posting, and the number of signatures quickly grew, amounting to more than 100 several hours after it published. By 5 p.m. West Coast time, the letter had 300 signatures.

Did the company ever put values before profits? Is that even possible for a capitalistic corporation? Even Apple’s tune would be different if it was in the advertising business. Even now it still faces controversy over its own forays into China.

Urban Massage, a London-based massage startup, suffered a data breach recently. Among the records were allegations of sexual misconduct by clients towards workers.

But, many records also included allegations of sexual misconduct by clients — such as asking for “massage in genital area” and requesting “sexual services from therapist.” Others were marked as “dangerous,” while others were blocked due to “police enquiries.” Each complaint included a customer’s personally identifiable information — including their name, address and postcode and phone number.

Now that GDPR is in effect Urban Massage could face harsh financial penalties, up to 4% of its global revenue.

Customer service chats are able to show whatever you type as you type it, even if you don’t send it or change it.

Before the customer clicks the “Send message” button, you have a chance to see in real time what the customer is typing. This gives you more time to prepare an answer or solution to the customer’s problem. Customers will appreciate your quick and precise answers.

As long as “real time chat” is clearly disclosed, I don’t really see a problem with this. But it sounds like it’s not clearly disclosed in most cases.

Chat bubble icon made by Fermam Aziz from www.flaticon.com.

Last week the FCC announced several initiatives to help combat SMS spam. But consumer groups say they actually weaken oversight of cell carriers.

By now Ajit Pai has developed a fairly impressive skill: take something that cellular carriers lobbied for, and justify it by insisting it’s essential for overall efficiency and effective consumer protection.

Basically, cell carriers want the FCC to classify text messages as Title I Information Services. This removes certain consumer protections and makes it possible for carriers to censor any speech they think is “controversial.”

A study from researchers at the University of Michigan found that smart speaker buyers tend to brush off privacy concerns.

“What was really concerning to me was this idea that ‘it’s just a little bit more info you give Google or Amazon, and they already know a lot about you, so how is that bad?’” said Florian Schaub, an assistant professor in the University of Michigan School of Information and a co-author of the study. “It’s representative of this constant erosion of what privacy means and what our privacy expectations are.”

It’s too early in the morning and I can’t think of the term for this, but this study seems a bit loaded to me. Do these buyers already not care about privacy, or did buying a smart speaker further erode their concerns?