TMO Link

We’re witnessing the death of Tumblr in real time. Recently the company announced it would ban all porn starting December 17 using special algorithms that flag content. But they’ve been flagging everything except porn.

On a purely conceptual level, this was already bad news for many Tumblr users. An NSFW content ban will hurt the livelihoods of artists and sex workers on the site, and potentially lead to a mass exodus of bloggers who want to retain their creative freedom. However, it looks like the problems go even further because Tumblr’s content flagging algorithm is hopelessly incompetent.

I’ve never been much of a Tumblr user myself, but I still knew the platform was like 90% porn. Tumblr will end up losing up to half of its user base. *shocked Pikachu face*

Security expert Jon Callas formerly led a team of hackers to break into Apple products before they were released to test their security. Now he has joined the ACLU to fight against government back doors.

Wizner said he expects Callas to help the group resist governments demanding access to company platforms for surveillance of users and to weigh in on issues including fairness and transparency in artificial intelligence.

Hopefully Jon can help the ACLU fight things like Australia’s recent anti-encryption bill.

Being hacked is a disaster for all organizations. For nonprofits, though, the consequences can be devastating. Facebook is one of the largest platforms for charitable donations. However, some organizations have claimed the firm does not provide sufficient resources to support them when things go wrong. Wired has investigated what happened to nonprofits when hackers took control of their Facebook pages and key information like donor data is exposed.

Facebook’s nonprofit efforts have also remained a public relations bright spot for the company while it’s been embroiled in one scandal after another since the 2016 US presidential election. And they play right into Mark Zuckerberg’s new mission for the company, to “bring the world closer together.” Last week, for example, Facebook announced that users contributed more than $125 million to nonprofits around the world during its annual Giving Tuesday event, over $80 million more than the year before. But some nonprofit leaders say Facebook’s decision to prioritize charitable giving hasn’t coincided with an appropriate increase in support for the organizations that use its products.

The introduction of 5G is one of the hottest topics in telecoms right now. Superfast networks are being rolled out by providers in certain cities in both the US and the UK. However, not every model of smartphone will have access to 5G, not straight away, at least. Indeed, as TMO has reported, iPhone users will likely have to wait until 2020. DigitalTrends published a list of all other phones that support 5G connectivity.

There is absolutely no doubt Apple will pick up 5G eventually, the only question is “when?” At the moment, the whispers indicate that the iPhone giant won’t be looking to release a 5G iPhone until 2020 — so expect 5G capabilities on the iPhone XIS, or whatever numerically nightmarish name Apple adopts.

Michael Potuck put together a list of five services to print photo books, calendars, cards, and more from your Mac with Photos extensions.

Even though Apple discontinued its printing services that were built-in to its Photos app, users don’t necessarily have to use a completely different app to get prints. Apple is supporting Photos extensions from third-parties to offer printing options.

Although it doesn’t have an extension that plugs into the Photos app, as a photo printing service I also recommend Artifact Uprising.

Microsoft and Mastercard are teaming up to create a universal digital identity that the want everyone to use.

Today’s digital identity landscape is patchy, inconsistent and what works in one country often won’t work in another. We have an opportunity to establish a system that puts people first, giving them control of their identity data and where it is used. Working with Microsoft brings us one step closer to making a globally interoperable digital identity service a reality, and we look forward to sharing more very soon.

This is the same Microsoft that recently pledged to share all of its technology with the United States military. A universal digital identity is an advertiser’s wet dream. It also creates a single point of failure for data breaches and hackers, like a Social Security Number.

For a limited time Apple is offering people a deal with an iPhone XR refund. You can get up to US$500 off the iPhone XR when you participate in the Apple GiveBack program with your current iPhone. You can get extra credit for an iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, iPhone 7, or iPhone 8. For example, I could get US$300 for my iPhone 7 Plus. You’ll receive your refund once Apple verifies the condition of your device.

Daniel Dilger wrote an informative article on why Apple will be focusing more on users, instead of units in the fiscal 2019 year.

The real value of Apple’s business has never changed. The real reason why Apple has always been uniquely able to sell premium hardware in a marketplace full of less expensive, generic commodity is its ability to successfully reach people, convince them that things are better inside the Apple ecosystem, and then retain their loyalty by delivering what Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook refers to as “user sat.”

At every keynote Apple emphasizes how customer satisfaction is its number one priority. Apple won’t be reporting unit sales anymore. Plenty of other companies don’t either, but it’s Apple so everyone is freaking out and death knelling.

Jake Knapp used to work on the Gmail team at Google. He recently wrote how he avoids iPhone distraction. He basically went full nuclear and deleted all of his apps, although it looks like he re-downloaded only the most important ones. If want to start limiting your phone usage, try his approach. In my opinion though, if you’re suffering from digital addiction, just get one of those flip phones. Buying an expensive smartphone only to delete 99% of the apps seems like you’re defeating its purpose, and you’ll save yourself a lot of money.

I’ve previously written about calls to Silicon Valley to embrace ethics, and how companies should have a Chief Ethics Officer. But you can’t really have ethics without morals, and this article explains how we can improve our moral reasoning.

Addressing the issues brought upon by artificial intelligence, biological advances, and the information age, I’d like to create a generalized method of moral reasoning for any human being in our current age to address issues like gene editing while remaining faithful to the work of philosophers and historians.

Apple has a long history of working with the music industry. Steve Jobs changed how songs were sold when he got the music industry to go along with US$0.99 songs on iTunes. Apple changed the game again when it decided to try and compete directly with Spotify and launched Apple Music. An interesting piece of analysis in the Financial Times looks at where Apple and the music industry might go next.

Music executives say that after a late entrance to music streaming in 2015, the tech group has been gaining confidence and ratcheting up its efforts to grow Apple Music. The number of subscribers has grown to 56m, up from 50m in May, and Apple recently overtook Spotify to become the top music streaming service in the US, the world’s biggest music market by revenues. “Apple stumbled out of the gate with an inferior product three years ago. Apple Music did not become this spectacular product like iTunes was,” said a senior executive at one of the “big three” record labels.

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.