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The 5G 'Health Hazard' Was a Misinterpretation

Andrew Orr ·

In 2000 a physicist was asked to study the health risks of wireless networks. He found [PDF] that there “was likely to be a serious health hazard.” Except he was wrong.

In his research, Dr. Curry looked at studies on how radio waves affect tissues isolated in the lab, and misinterpreted the results as applying to cells deep inside the human body. His analysis failed to recognize the protective effect of human skin. At higher radio frequencies, the skin acts as a barrier, shielding the internal organs, including the brain, from exposure. Human skin blocks the even higher frequencies of sunlight.

Despite all the studies showing a link between smartphones and cancer being debunked, I don’t think this idea will ever go away.

TMO Deals

Turn Your Favorite Websites Into Searchable Documents: $47.88

Bryan Chaffin ·

We have a deal on a subscription to History Search Pro Plan, which turns websites you visit into searchable documents. You choose what gets added to the service, and it works through browser extensions for Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Opera, and Microsoft Edge. One year of History Search Pro Plan is $47.88 through our deal.

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Lawmakers Target Amazon As Big Tech Goes to Washington

Charlotte Henry ·

Amazon faced the toughest questioning from lawmakers during a hearing Tuesday attended by representatives of big tech firms. Reuters reported that Apple too, found itself in the firing line during the hearing. Questions to Apple focussed on costs associated with App Store Purchases

Legislators also demanded explanations from Apple Inc about charges for apps and in-app purchases, Facebook Inc for its rapidly changing privacy policy and Alphabet’s Google over whether its rivals are demoted in search results. The committee does not have authority to punish the companies, and any effort to change antitrust laws affecting tech firms would face hurdles in the Republican-controlled Senate. So the questioning served largely to convey the panel’s displeasure over many of the companies’ business practices.

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PSA: FaceApp Owns Photos You Create With App

Andrew Orr ·

According to its terms of service, popular app FaceApp owns the rights to all photos you create with it.

Essentially, if you make something in FaceApp, FaceApp can do whatever it wants with what you’ve made. Not only can it repost your images without your permission, it can monetize the images, either directly or indirectly, without compensating you or notifying you that it has done so in any way.

Unfortunately, this sort of thing isn’t new. Facebook has similar terms, and so does Google.

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iPhones Have 100,000 Times More Processing Power Than Apollo 11 Computer

Andrew Orr ·

iPhones have over 100,000 times more processing power than the Apollo 11 computer; with 4GB of RAM they have over a million times more memory, and with 512GB of storage they have over seven million times more storage.

Despite the rapid technological advances since then, astronauts haven’t actually been back to the moon since 1972. This seems surprising. After all, when we reflect on this historic event, it is often said that we now have more computing power in our pocket than the computer aboard Apollo 11 did. But is that true? And, if so, how much more powerful are our phones?

It’s amazing to see how far technology has advanced since then.

TMO Deals

Keeper Password Manager 1-Year Subscription: $19.99

Bryan Chaffin ·

We have a deal on Keeper, a password manager for iOS, Mac, Android, Windows, and Linux. With Keeper’s password manager and vault, you can generate, store, and AutoFill strong passwords on all devices while securely storing private documents. It also supports multiple forms of 2FA, including TOTP, SMS, Touch ID, Face ID, and U2F security keys (e.g. Yubikey). A one year subscription is $19.99 through our deal.