So far, doctors have been fairly comfortable with Apple’s health features because of the company’s commitment to privacy.
Do Not Track Setting Could Return With a Vengeance
Apple plans to remove the Do Not Track setting from iOS and macOS because it doesn’t actually do anything. Websites only have to voluntarily obey it, which means that the majority don’t. But a stronger DNT could be coming.
In January 2017 the European Commission announced an initiative to update the ePrivacy Regulation, a proposal that would revisit a 15-year-old directive dealing with privacy protections and how users consent to being tracked by cookies.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Echos Tim Cook on Privacy
At the Mobile World Congress 2019, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella echoed publicly the notions of Apple’s Tim Cook on customer privacy. Computerworld’s Jonny Evans has the story.
Nadella’s Microsoft seems to be moving in a similar direction as the old guard of more responsible technologists join forces to combat the unintended consequences of tech firms who have moved fast and loose in their treatment and support for user privacy.
Evans concludes: “Ultimately, it’s all about trust.”
Apple Partners With NHL for Shot on iPhone
Apple is working with the NHL to promote Shot on iPhone billboards, featuring photos of players taken by teammates on iPhones.
ActiveDock For Mac Lifetime License: $14.99
We have a deal on ActiveDock for Mac, an improved dock utility that adds several features designed to help you better manage your Mac. It looks and behaves like the regular macOS Dock, but adds in preview features, window management features, and more. Our deal is for a lifetime license for $19.99, but coupon code DOWNLOADIT takes off 25% for a checkout price of $14.99.
Email Scams Increasingly Involve iTunes Gift Cards
Email scams are increasingly involving iTunes gift cards, instead of the old wire transfers. Lily Hay Newman as the scoop.
This trend is on the rise among scammers, both for individual targets and organizations. The Federal Trade Commission reported in October that 26 percent of people who report being scammed in 2018 said they bought or reloaded a gift card to deliver the money, up from seven percent in 2015. The FTC says that gift card-related losses reported to the agency totaled $20 million in 2015, $27 million in 2016, $40 million in 2017, and $53 million in the first nine months of 2018 alone.
A Facebook Clear-History Tool is Coming in 2019
A Facebook clear-history tool is going to be with users by the end of 2019. That’s according to its CFO David Wehner, who spoke Tuesday at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference 2019 in San Francisco, CNBC reported. CEO Mark Zuckerberg originally announced the features in 2018. Mr. Zuckerberg promised in a post that the tool, when it arrived, would be “a simple control to clear your browsing history.”
The feature will allow users to see information about apps and web sites they’ve interacted with and delete this information from their Facebook accounts. Wehner said the feature will make it harder for Facebook to use data collected by third parties to target ads to users. “Broadly, [clear history is] going to give us some headwinds in terms of being able to target as effectively as before,” Wehner said.
Thunderbolt Vulnerability, Warrant Canaries – TMO Daily Observations 2019-02-27
Andrew Orr and Charlotte Henry join host Kelly Guimont to discuss the new Thunderbolt vulnerability and the latest in warrant canaries.
Streaming Services and the Arms Race for TV Writers
We seem to be living in a golden age of television thanks to streaming services, and The writers behind some of our favourite shows are getting well rewarded for it. Fast Company looked at how Netflix kickstarted “a $1 billion arms race” for TV writing talent. With Apple stepping into the field, and spending serious cash on the likes of Oprah, the fees look like they are only going to go one way.
In the last 18 months there have been so many jaw-dropping deals with the people who dream up TV shows–and the numbers for those deals so staggeringly high–that reports of another TV writer getting piles of cash thrown at him or her by a network, studio, or streaming company has become almost numbingly de rigueur. The starting gun that set off this phenomenon can be traced back to Netflix’s announcement in the summer of 2017 that it was poaching Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal creator Shonda Rhimes from her longtime home at ABC in a deal worth $150 million.
Firms Sue Apple Over LTE Patents
Apple is being sued by a number of companies that alleg it infringed more than 7 of their patents relating to LTE technology.
