The coronavirus outbreak seems to be having an effect on podcast listening habits, particularly in badly hit countries like Italy
Apple Releases 13.4 Update for iOS and iPadOS
Apple just released the latest update for its operating systems: 13.4. It includes a redesigned system to support mice and trackpads, changes in Files, and more.
Dr. Mac's Advice for Better Battery Life – TMO Daily Observations 2020-03-24
Dr. Mac (aka Bob LeVitus) joins Dave Hamilton for a geeky-yet-understandable tour through some quick things you can do to extend your MacBook’s battery life. But it’s Bob and Dave, of course, so there’s a tangent thrown in, this time about the benefits clipboard history switchers. You’ll love it!
How Twitch Helps Music Producers Connect With Fans
Twitch is, of course, predominantly associated with gaming. However, DJ Mag found it is making increasing efforts to tie-up with the music industry too, particularly those who are producing dance and electronic music.
“We’ve seen non-gaming content on Twitch quadruple over the last three years, and we’re continuing to invest in new ways to grow and support this content,” Athena Koumis, a Music Partnerships Manager at Twitch who was hired in January 2020, tells DJ Mag. And that kind of content is getting more engagement from viewers, too… Many of the core characteristics underlying electronic music — percussive rhythms, repetitive hooks, vocal-free instrumentals and high-tech gear setups — make the genre particularly conducive to collaborations with gamers and game developers, and Twitch has frequently served as ground zero for these collaborations in the modern era.
All U.S. Firefox Users Can Now Scroll Ad-Free And Guilt-Free
Mozilla has expanded its partnership with Scroll, the service that lets you avoid adverts while still generating revenue for publishers. A service called Firefox Better Web With Scroll is now available to all U.S. users, Techcrunch reported. You can support your favorite sites even if you don’t want to look at ads.
Last year, Firefox turned on something called Enhanced Tracking Protection for all its users by default, blocking third-party cookies and crypto-mining. Scroll, meanwhile, is a startup that recently launched a subscription service allowing you to read sites like BuzzFeed News, Business Insider, Salon, Slate and Vox without ads, with the revenue split among the publishers that you’re actually visiting. Mozilla has already been working with Scroll to collect feedback on this approach from small groups of Firefox users… Now, anyone in the United States who’s interested in trying this out can sign up for a Firefox account and install the Scroll extension. They’ll need to pay for a Scroll subscription as well — the company’s currently charging an introductory price of $2.49 per month, with plans to eventually increase to $4.99.
Backblaze Now Stores One Exabyte of Data
Cloud storage company Backblaze recently announced a milestone: It now stores one exabyte of data in its servers. Exabyte isn’t a word most of us come across often, so here’s a comparison: Gigabyte = 1,000 megabytes, Terabyte = 1,000 gigabytes, Petabyte = 1,000 terabytes, Exabyte = 1,000 petabytes or 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes.
But, while it’s great to keep our eyes on the future, it’s also important to celebrate what milestones mean. Yes, crossing an exabyte of data is another validation of our technology and our sustainably independent business model. But I think it really means that we’re providing value and earning the trust of our customers.
An astounding figure. Even more astounding is the fact that they’re already prepared for zettabyte-level storage, which is the next step up from exabyte. One zettabyte = 1,000 exabytes.
Universal App Purchases Roll Out For Apple’s Platforms Today
Apple is giving developers the option to distribute their apps as universal purchases starting today, so users only have to buy an app once.
Disney+ is Live in Europe, But With Reduced Bandwidth Utlilization
Disney+ is now live in Europe, but it launched with a lower overall bandwidth utilization of at least 25 percent.
Cellebrite Releases Report of Digital Intelligence Trends 2020
Forensics company Cellebrite, mainly known for its iPhone hacking capabilities, released a report of top digital intelligence trends for 2020. One thing that stuck out at me:
…over 70 percent of officers are still asking witnesses and victims to surrender their devices…However, most people do not want to have their primary communication device taken away for an indefinite period. To combat this issue, 67 percent of agency management believe that mobility technology is important or very important to the agency’s long-term digital evidence strategy and 72 percent of investigators believe it is important to conduct in-the-field extractions of this data.
In other words, it sounds to me like LE wants the capability to extract data from devices on site, instead of sending it to a lab. Fast action is important for LE, but it may also be too fast for people to think about those pesky rights they have before handing their phone over.
Lawyers: Turn off Alexa and Google Home Before Confidential Meetings
Lawyers who are working from home are encouraged to turn off devices like Amazon Alexa and Google Home because these products may eavesdrop.
“Perhaps we’re being slightly paranoid, but we need to have a lot of trust in these organizations and these devices,” Hancock said. “We’d rather not take those risks.”
The firm worries about the devices being compromised, less so with name-brand products like Alexa, but more so for cheap knock-off devices, he added.
It’s definitely not just cheap knock-offs.
