Okay, it’s part of the Asian culture to copy popular products. This has been happening in the car industry for decades. But this Moto P30 just about duplicates the iPhone X design. But come on. Really? Seriously? This is over the top. (Image credit: BBC News.)

Apparently ISPs have been recently saying that they can’t expand broadband without more government handouts.

Broadband providers have spent years lobbying against utility-style regulations that protect consumers from high prices and bad service.

But now, broadband lobby groups are arguing that Internet service is similar to utilities such as electricity, gas distribution, roads, and water and sewer networks. In the providers’ view, the essential nature of broadband doesn’t require more regulation to protect consumers. Instead, they argue that broadband’s utility-like status is reason for the government to give ISPs more money.

Of course, the biggest issue with this is that the government (read: American taxpayers) have already given ISPs US$400 billion dollars to expand fiber optic networks across the country. The article’s header says it best: ISPs want benefits but not responsibilities.

A teenager from Melbourne, Australia, has been arrested for hacking in to Apple’s servers, making off with over 90 GB of files, and accessing customer accounts. Apparently the boy developed a system that “worked flawlessly” until he was caught. The Sydney Morning Herald said,

His offending from the age of 16 saw him develop computerised tunnels and online bypassing systems to hide his identity until a raid on his family home uncovered a litany of hacking files and instructions all saved in a folder titled ‘hacky hack hack.’

Aside from the poor life choice of heading down a path of international crime, the boy’s big mistake was bragging online about what he did. Lessons learned: Don’t break federal laws and hack into company servers, and don’t tell anyone if you do.

The article’s opening paragraph puts it bluntly. “The world’s largest lifeguard organization claims there’s a direct link between child drownings and the smartphones parents hold in their hands.” Parents know that kids under 4 must be watched like a hawk, especially around water. Or do they?

Sarah Jones, Joel Kinnaman, Michael Dorman are joining the cast of Ronald D. Moore’s sci-fi series for Apple. Variety says,

Joel Kinnaman, Michael Dorman, and Sarah Jones have all been cast in the series, which takes place in a world where global space race never ended. Kinnaman will play Edward Baldwin, one of the top NASA astronauts. Dorman and Jones have been cast as Gordo and Tracy Stevens, a prominent NASA couple.

Apple is lining up what looks like a power house of shows with big names writing and producing, as well as very talented actors. The first shows are expected to start rolling out some time in 2019, and I’m really looking forward to see how they stack up against Netflix and Amazon original content.

I agree with Jeremy Horwitz when he writes that Siri on macOS “barely registers as a feature.” He specifically refers to the Hey Siri functionality though. I’ve used Siri once or twice on my Mac when it first came out, but that’s it.

Apple first added “Hey Siri” — a voice trigger for the assistant — to iOS devices four years ago. Since then, I’ve found that I can consistently rely upon it for basically three things: to tell me the time, to recite the most basic weather when I’m in bed, and to stop or start playback on my office’s infrequently used HomePod. On occasion, I ask it to do more, but frequently have to ignore or manually correct its irritatingly wrong responses.

Voice control is not a good interface for a computer, at least in my life.

Samsung’s latest Galaxy Note 9 marketing campaign bags on Apple store employees, portraying them as bumbling fools blindly pushing iPhones. ZDNET decided to put that to the test. Spoiler alert: they aren’t. My take is that the employee in the ads is a proxy for Apple customers and Samsung is saying you’re stupid for buying an iPhone. They do more to bolster people who are already Samsung customers, and if all your ad campaign does is slam the competition what does that really say about your product?

Aimée Lutkin wrote that it’s time we all quit Twitter. This Friday, August 17, some Twitter users are organizing a “social media walk out” using the hashtag #DEACTIDAY.

BoingBoing writer Mark Frauenfelder posted that his decision to leave is motivated largely by the platform’s refusal to ban Alex Jones, whom they’ve admitted has violated their official policies. Jones has long been spreading conspiracy theories to his many followers, and has encouraged the continued harassment of parents of Sandy Hook victims.

I tend to agree with Kara Swisher when she wrote, “Rules won’t save Twitter. Values will.”

Check out this great side-by-side comparison of the original version of a key scene in The Hobbit to the version we know today. It’s the scene where Bilbo meets Gollum and steals the One Ring in the bowels of the Misty Mountains. Each paragraph of both versions is laid out side by side, with changes highlighted in blue. I’m such a huge Tolkien nerd, and this is intensely cool. Here’s a passage from the introduction:

The following is a side-by-side comparison of the two versions, presented in order to provide insight as to how the smallest of details can affect the overall themes of Tolkien’s work. Of particular interest is the characterization of Gollum, who in the revised version is much more malevolent and treacherous, and yet also more pitiful, echoing the later role that he will play in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

There’s a sci-fi infographic called Untold AI that examines artificial intelligence, and we now have a behind-the-scenes glimpse from the creator.

Sci-Fi Interfaces is one of those websites the Internet was (originally) built for. It’s a passion project focusing on an incredibly niche subject, created and maintained by someone with real subject matter expertise.

Much of Chris Noessel’s professional work, academic study and enthusiasm for science fiction has come together in the creation of the Untold AI infographic. It’s breathtaking in both its scope, and as a graphic design achievement.

Apple addressed the processor throttling issue in the 2018 Touch Bar MacBook Pro, so now engineers can move on to the next problem: crackling speakers. Both the 13-inch and 15-inch models seem to suffer a problem where buzzing or crackling sounds randomly happen when audio is playing on the laptop’s built-in speakers. From TNW:

It’s unclear at this time what’s causing the issue, although a source familiar with the matter tells TNW the company is aware of the issue, and looking into it. Finding the cause, though, could be troublesome. User reports, so far, are all over the map.

It could be a hardware problem, or it could be software. Regardless, it seems like Apple’s headaches with the new MacBook Pro models aren’t over yet. And all I got with my 2016 Touch Bar MacBook Pro was a defective keyboard design.