Another messaging crash for iOS devices is making the rounds. This time, it involves the colorful rainbow emoji. The bug affects both iPhones and iPads running iOS 10.1 or below, but a variant of the crash can affect devices running iOS 10.2. Luckily the fix is very easy, and we’ll show you how.
Automatic Photo Enhancement by Photolemur for Mac
If you don’t enjoy tweaking your photos as much as Dr. Mac does, you might enjoy a little program he’s been testing called Photolemur ($49), which improves your photos automagically and may be just the ticket for the tweak-averse.
Civilization VI Gets Viking and Poland Expansions, Other Improvements
Civilization Vi got its first expansions Wednesday with the release of the Poland Civilization & Scenario Pack and Vikings Scenario Pack. The Polish pack includes the full Poland civilization, which includes the ability to take over tiles by fortifying their borders. The Poland scenario is a 60-Turn game where you defend Poland, Prague, and Vienna from Teutonic Knights and Ottoman Turks! Sounds awesome. The Viking Scenario includes new City-States with new benefits, and a 100-Turn game where you invade England, take Paris, find Vinland, or raid the Mediterranean. I’m slacking off from work just thinking about it. Each pack is $4.99, and is available through both Steam and the Mac App Store version of the game. Civilization VI itself was released in October for $59.99, and Wednesday’s update includes a variety of bug fixes, balance changes, AI tuning, and a new Earth map (standard size).
FCC Net Neutrality, Backdoor Hacks, and New Apple Products - ACM 394
Outgoing FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler made a plea for the incoming administration to protect Net Neutrality. Bryan and Jeff discuss whether that plea is likely to fall on deaf ears [spoiler: yes, it will]. They also discuss the implications of the Cellebrite hack, and the fact that Apple released two product updates this week.
Just Discovered Fruitfly Malware Uses Pre-OS X Code
Malwarebytes discovered a Mac malware threat dubbed Fruitfly that’s being used to target biomedical research facilities. Calling Fruitfly new, however, may not be correct because it looks like it’s been around since at least 2014, and it also relies on some system calls that predate OS X and macOS.
Verizon Nabs Note 7 Calls, Goodbye AT&T 2G - TMO Daily Observations 2017-01-18
Still using a Galaxy Note 7? Verizon is getting agressive about trying to stop you. Kelly Guimont and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to share their thoughts on Verizon intercepting Galaxy Note 7 calls, plus they look at AT&T shutting down their 2G wireless network.
Apple Offers 'Major Updates' to Logic Pro X and GarageBand
Apple announced “major updates” to GarageBand for iOS and Logic Pro X on Wednesday (for NAMM), going so far as to issue a press release for the updates. The consumer-oriented GarageBand is getting the Alchemy synthesizer and a new browser for finding and using sounds. Apple’s professional DAW—Logic Pro X—gets support for Touch Bar, Track Alternatives, an updated interface, and other changes. Both updates are free.
Verizon Now Intercepting Calls From Note 7 Users Refusing to Give Up Their Phone
Following Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 combust-a-phone mess and product recall, Verizon went from “We won’t do anything,” to “OK, let’s brick them,” and now is at the “Seriously people, give us the phone before you hurt yourself” stage. Verizon’s latest move is to reroute calls from Note 7 phones to customer service to convince users to exchange their phone for something less flammable.
SelectTV by FreeCast 1-Year Subscription: $24
Our friends at Stack Commerce have put together a deal on a one-year subscription to SelectTV. This internet-streaming service gives you browser access to some 300,000 TV episodes, 200,000 movies, 50,000 radio stations, and 5,000 live channels. The price for a one-year subscription through our deal is $24. There are more details on the deal listing.
Former Apple Engineer Claims Tim Cook Made Apple Boring
Former Apple engineer Bob Burrough has been arguing that CEO Tim Cook has made Apple boring. In a combination of tweet storm and an interview with CNBC stemming from said tweetstorm, the engineer said Mr. Cook has eliminated conflict within Apple, sapping its vitality in the process. Mr. Burrough argued that Steve Jobs ruled with ever-shifting chaos, where product triumphed over hierarchy. Under Tim Cook, he said, Apple is siloed, smooth, and essentially complacent. Former Apple wunderkind Tony Fadell coincidentally tweeted just last week that Steve Jobs did not manage through conflict, and others have taken issue with Mr. Burrough, too. The reality is that any one person’s perspective never tells the whole tale, but his opinions make for an interesting read. You can see the whole tweetstorm in this tweet and in the CNBC story.
@JohnKirk @asymco The very first thing Tim did as CEO was convert Apple from a dynamic change-maker into a boring operations company.
— ᴮᵒᵇ ᴮᵘʳʳᵒᵘᵍʰ (@bob_burrough) January 16, 2017