How’s your Catalina installation behaving? Have any Macs left to upgrade? Your two favorite geeks talk through it all. Then it’s time to diagnose the cause of slow internet, always a pesky one to diagnose! Add in some hard drive diagnostics, follow-ups on your subscription tracking, and John and Dave have a show chock-full-of-infotainment goodness to share with you!
Clearview AI Faces Class Action Lawsuit Similar to Facebook
Two weeks ago Facebook settled a lawsuit alleging that it violated Illinois privacy laws. Now, Clearview AI is also facing a class action lawsuit in the state.
The lawsuit, filed yesterday on behalf of several Illinois citizens and first reported by Buzzfeed News, alleges that Clearview “actively collected, stored and used Plaintiffs’ biometrics — and the biometrics of most of the residents of Illinois — without providing notice, obtaining informed written consent or publishing data retention policies.”
Not only that, but this biometric data has been licensed to many law enforcement agencies, including within Illinois itself.
All this is allegedly in violation of the Biometric Information Privacy Act, a 2008 law that has proven to be remarkably long-sighted and resistant to attempts by industry (including, apparently, by Facebook while it fought its own court battle) to water it down.
‘Robo Revenge’ Will Block and Automatically Sue Robocallers
The newest service from DoNotPay is Robo Revenge. It will block robocallers and automatically sue them for you.
Robo Revenge combines both features to automatically add you to the Do Not Call Registry, generate a virtual DoNotPay burner credit card to provide scammers when they illegally call you anyways, use the transaction information to get the scammer’s contact information, then walk you through how to sue them for as much as $3,000 per call under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), a law already on the books meant to protect consumers from calls that violate the Do Not Call Registry. The app also streamlines the litigation paperwork by automatically generating demand letters and court filing documents.
As a reader pointed out below, you’ll find this service within the DoNotPay app.
US Government Agencies Expose New North Korean Malware Campaign
US Cyber Command, DHS, and FBI have exposed a new North Korean campaign of malware and phishing, with six new families of malware.
Apple Updates Human Interface Guidelines With New Resources
Apple has added new design resources in its Human Interface Guidelines collection, like Apple Pay templates, Apple Health icon, and more.
Gmail for iOS Integrates With Files App
Google shared a blog post today in which it announced that Gmail for iOS will now support adding files from the Files app.
Security Friday, Backup Tips – TMO Daily Observations 2020-02-14
Charlotte Henry and Andrew Orr join host Kelly Guimont for Security Friday, discussing security news, malware protection, and backup tips.
Blueprints Website Builder Lifetime Subscription: $39
We have a deal on Blueprints app for Mac by Bootstraptor, a prototyping tool for website ideation that will help you burn through your wire-framing time. It features 500-plus ready-made blocks, 200-plus prototype starter templates, and 30-plus navigation panels. A lifetime subscription to Blueprints is $39 through our deal.
You Can Stream on Pandora Directly From Your Apple Watch
Pandora users Apple Watch can now stream music and podcasts directly from the wearable device, without needing their iPhone. It became a standalone app via an update on Thursday, AppleInsider reported.
Pandora’s official update reads, “Leave the phone at home and bring all of your listening with you thanks to our updated Apple Watch app. Now you can stream your favorite music and podcasts, straight from your wrist – no phone required.” Other services, like Apple Music, need users to pre-load music on an Apple Watch for a run or other exercise, when the iPhone isn’t in range. The feature requires the watch in question to be running watchOS 6 or greater.
Apple Shipped Just 2.6 million HomePods During the 2019 Holiday Quarter
Apple Shipped 2.6 Million HomePods during the last three months of 2019. That is a long way behind its competitors, especially Amazon. David Watkins, director at Strategy Analytics, told Cult of Mac why he thinks that is.
“The price is still very high…That closes the door to a huge swathe of potential customers.” “I think there’s also a reasonable amount of consumer skepticism over the usefulness of Siri as a voice platform,” Watkins continued. “Amazon and Google have done an amazing job of building out their ecosystem around Alexa and Google Assistant, in partnership with so many smart home companies. Apple doesn’t have that strength of ecosystem around Siri.”