Nintendo announced that Mario Kart Tour is arriving on iOs (and Android) on September 25 and that pre-registration is now available.
Instagram Testing New Messaging App Called Threads
Instagram is testing a new messaging app as it looks to challenge Snapchat. The Verge got hold of some screenshots. It reported that the new product from the Facebook-owned picture-sharing service is called Threads.
Screenshots reviewed by The Verge show an app that’s designed to promote constant, automatic sharing between users and the people on their “close friends” list on Instagram. Opt in to automatic sharing, and Threads will regularly update your status, giving your friends a real-time view of information about your location, speed, and more. At the moment, Threads does not display your real-time location — instead, it might say something like a friend is “on the move,” according to sources familiar with the matter. You can also update your status manually, with statuses appearing in the main feed along with messages. It’s the latest effort to automate status sharing using mobile phone sensors and one-tap status sharing.
Comparing Apple Card's Privacy to Other Credit Cards
Geoffrey Fowler compared an Amazon credit card with Apple Card to see which one is more private. The knee jerk response is to say Apple, and it’s true that Apple does have more privacy than others. But when it comes to the Apple Card, that privacy only appears under certain circumstances.
Despite a federal privacy law covering cards, I found that six types of businesses could mine and share elements of my purchase, multiplied untold times by other companies they might have passed it to. Credit cards are a spy in your wallet — and it’s time that we add privacy, alongside rewards and rates, to how we evaluate them.
Bottom line: Neither Apple nor Goldman Sachs collects or shares your data. But retailers and card networks like Mastercard can still collect and sell your purchase data.
What a Mid-Range iPhone Might Look Like
Over on MacWorld, Jason Cross gave his wish-list for a mid-range iPhone. I am not totally convinced Apple is going to give him what he wants, but he makes some interesting arguments.
Simply put, the potential value to Apple’s bottom line of bringing new users to iPhone is much higher than it has ever been, and it is probably worth making significantly less money on each iPhone sold (at least on the cheapest model) in order to expand the reach of the ecosystem. What’s more, the competition is heating up. Android phones that cost $400 or less are getting quite good, and in many parts of the world, consumers simply don’t see the value in paying 50 percemt more to get last-year’s iPhone. Apple needs a new product that, while not necessarily as inexpensive as some Android competitors, at least feels within reach, and delivers on the core experience of the iPhone.
Tim Cook Giving $5 Million Shares to Charity And Reveals Apple Amazon Rainforest Donation
Tim Cook is giving nearly $5 million of shares to charity, while Apple is making a seperate donation in response to the Amazon forest fires.
First Trailer of 'Dickinson' on Apple TV+ Arrives
The first teaser trailer for forthcoming Apple TV+ series Dickinson appeared Sunday. The series details the life, and rebellious teenage years, of poet Emily Dickinson. As with other Apple TV+ content we’ve had a preview of, the show seems to have extremely high production values. The comedy series stars Hailee Steinfeld as the young poet. Apple said the show ” audaciously explores the constraints of society, gender, and family.” It will be released this fall.
Archaeologist Dr. Sarah Parcak - TMO Background Mode Interview
Dr. Sarah Parcak is an archaeologist, anthropologist, Egyptologist, and remote sensing expert who has used satellite imaging to identify potential archaeological sites in Egypt, Rome, and elsewhere. She’s written the first textbook in the field of satellite archaeology, called Satellite Remote Sensing for Archaeology. She holds a Ph.D. from Cambridge University in Egyptian Archaeology and is currently at the Univ. of Alabama, Birmingham.
Sarah told me how she became fascinated by Egyptology at an early age. And, yes, she was influenced by Indiana Jones. In college, inspired by her father’s aerial photogrammetry work, she took a remote sensing class, and that gave her the idea years later, to use NASA satellite photos to identify prospective archaeological sites. These satellite photos can also reveal signs of looting. Sarah described how climate change and poor funding is adversely affecting the science of archaeology.
VideoLAN Looks for iOS Beta Testers for VLC App
VideoLAN is looking for iOS beta testers to start testing is VLC app for iOS. The company’s tweet said it will have a new UI.
We’ve been working really hard here @videolan the past months to redesign the VLC iOS app and before rolling it out to everyone, we would love to get your feedback and for you to try it out and participate in our public beta.
Autographed Steve Jobs Pixar Poster Going up for Auction
A Pixar poster that Steve Jobs autographed is going up for auction this week with a starting bid of US$25,000.
Extraordinarily scarce Pixar Animation Studios poster signed by its co-founder Steve Jobs, sometime after 1995 when ”Toy Story”, the first computer-animated feature film, debuted. Jobs’ legendary vision is evident in his backing of Pixar, whose potential was immediately realized in the success of ”Toy Story”, earning three Academy Award nominations, breaking box office records and securing its reputation as one of the finest animated movies of all time. Poster measures 24” x 36”, signed by Jobs in black fiber-tip marker. In near fine condition. With JSA COA.
You Could be Fined up to $15,000 For Sharing Memes
The Senate is moving a bill forward that could impose fines of up to US$15,000 for people who share memes.
The Senate Judiciary Committee last week approved the “Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019,” which “creates a voluntary small claims board within the Copyright Office that will provide copyright owners with an alternative to the expensive process of bringing copyright claims, including infringement and misrepresentation …. in federal court,” according to the Copyright Alliance.
“This new board, called the Copyright Claims Board (CCB), would allow recovery in each case of up to $30,000 in damages total, with a cap of $15,000 in statutory damages per work infringed,” according to the alliance, an advocacy group for the copyright industry.
