Federal air marshals collect information under a secret domestic surveillance program.
Bryan's Whole Home Listening Concept for Siri - TMO Daily Observations 2018-07-30
Bryan Chaffin and the Maccast’s Adam Christianson join Jeff Gamet to talk about Bryan’s vision for whole home listening for voice assistants and why an iPhone in our pocket doesn’t count.
Verizon VPN is a Thing Now. How Safe Is It?
It costs US$3.99/month and blocks advertising. But is it safe to use?
There's an Original Mac on Display at Microsoft's Headquarters
There’s an original Mac on display at Microsoft’s headquarters commemorating the fact that Microsoft Office was released first for Apple’s computer platform, and not the PC. That’s pretty cool because the company could’ve easily chosen to not recognize that bit of history and most people would’ve been none the wiser. Apple played a significant role in Microsoft’s early growth, so seeing a Mac with Office installer floppy discs, as Business Insider notes, next to Bill Gates’ original business card is great. You can check out the ancient Mac at Microsoft’s visitor center in Redmond, Washington.
Senator Wyden Wants US Government to Stop Using Adobe Flash
Flash is dead and any remaining support for the former king of online multimedia officially ends in 2020, so Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) is urging U.S. government agencies to drop the platform. In a letter to the National Institute of Standards and Technology he said,
While Flash will continue to exist past this point, it will no longer receive necessary technical support, significantly magnifying its existing cybersecurity deficiencies.
Considering the ridiculously long list of security flaws in Flash, ditching the platform is something the government should’ve done long ago.
Leaked Photos Show Apple's 6.1-inch LCD iPhone and 6.5-inch iPhone X Plus
Prolific device leaker Ben Geskin posted what he says are photos of this fall’s 6.5-inch iPhone X Plus, and the 6.1-inch iPhone on his Twitter account over the weekend.
Apple Adds Time Bandits to its Original TV Show Lineup
Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits movie from 1980 just joined Apple’s original content line up as a new television series.
Apple Opens App Store Search Ads for France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan, and South Korea
Search ads allow developers to promote their apps within the App Store, with ads that appear at the top of the page when users do searches.
The Inside Story of how a Call to Andy Grove May Have Helped Apple Buy NeXT
Check out this great account from former NeXT employee Chris MacAskill. He talks about how a phone call he made behind then-NeXT CEO Steve Jobs’s back (as you do) to Intel CEO Andy Grove probably played a role in Apple eventually buying NeXT. It’s a long story with lots of anecdotal details about working at NeXT and the things that were happening there in the lead-up to Apple buying the company. I love this stuff, I love the lore and the behind-the-scenes stories of how things happened. Mr. MacAskill isn’t taking all the credit for Apple buying NeXT, but he played a (hidden) role. If you like Apple history, this is a must-read. Here’s just a tiny taste:
The thing I loved most about working in developer relations at NeXT was how Steve could call anyone.
He would burst in my office and say, “I’m gonna call Bill about TrueType,” and gesture for me to follow. A minute later he’d have Bill Gates on the speaker phone with me in fly-on-the-wall mode.
“BUT BILL! You ripped off Adobe and made John cry.” (John Warnock was the CEO of Adobe.)
“Steve, we didn’t want to get into the font business. It’s a nightmare. But Adobe wouldn’t open their fonts until they had competition.”
Step From Your Home Right Into the Starship Enterprise
Why have a bare-naked door when you can cover it with this depiction of the corridor from the Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation. It’s available from ThinkGeek for $25. I think I want one.