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In Update to Privacy Policy, Twitter Gives More Data to Advertisers

Andrew Orr ·

Twitter updated its privacy policy on Monday to reflect that more of your data will be shared with advertisers.

To help us understand if these ads are effective, we share device-level data, like IP address, with our advertising partners. We don’t share things like your name, email, phone number, or Twitter username.

To help mobile app advertisers understand if the ads they run on Twitter are effective, Twitter shares some device-level data, like which ads your device may have seen or clicked on, with them. We don’t share your name, email, phone number, or Twitter username.

It doesn’t matter if they don’t share details like your phone number if it gets leaked anyway.

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Please Don’t Disable FileVault Encryption Like Logitech Wants

Andrew Orr ·

Logitech has a support article that mentions problems customers may have with Bluetooth mice and keyboards not reconnecting under certain conditions (Brought to my attention from Reddit).

If your Bluetooth mouse or keyboard does not reconnect after a reboot at the login screen and only reconnects after the login, this might be related to FileVault encryption. When FileVault is enabled, Bluetooth mice and keyboards will only re-connect after login.

One of the potential solutions is to disable FileVault. I personally think this is a terrible idea. FileVault encryption is an important security and privacy feature. I don’t know if the bug lies with macOS or Logitech, but my potential solution is to ditch the product instead of disabling your hard disk encryption.

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Google Fi Introduces eSIM Support for New iPhone Customers

Andrew Orr ·

First introduced last month, Google Fi is rolling out eSIM support for new iPhone customers.

This capability is tied to version 2.5 of the Google Fi companion app, which rolled out yesterday. The release notes mention how “You can now activate Fi via eSIM on select iPhone devices.”

The official help document still notes how “iOS eSIM activation only works for new users who sign up for Google Fi.”

Find the Google Fi app here.

Samsung T7 SSD Drive Out Today Starting at $109
Cool Stuff Found

Samsung T7 SSD Drive Out Today Starting at $109

Andrew Orr ·

Samsung announced the release of its T7 SSD drive. It gives you read speeds up to 1,050 MB/s and write speeds of up to 1,000 MB/s. This is almost twice as fast as the older T5 model. It comes in 500 GB, 1TB, and 2TB sizes in red, blue, and gray. “Roughly the size of a few stacked credit cards, the T7 is equipped with 256-bit AES encryption and password protection, so users can rest assured knowing their data is safe. Moreover, with PCIe NVMe technology, the T7 offers users quick performance and little downtime with read and write speeds of up to 1050 MB/s and 1000 MB/s respectively. With a USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C port, it’s also backward compatible with USB 3.0 and Type-A devices with an appropriate cable.”

One retailer offering it for preorder is B&H Photo Video.

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How Sundar Pichai is Managing Google Through a Pandemic

Charlotte Henry ·

Top tech CEOs are not exactly renowned for giving long, insightful, interviews. But hey, we live in strange times, so Google boss Sundar Pichai has sat down with The Verge‘s Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn and discussed guiding his company through a pandemic.

I think the irony of the Google Meet team working remotely to make and iterate the product to get it to where they wanted it to be was very interesting to see. Javier has a very, very long commute, and one of his biggest concerns was the commute when he was joining. He’s doing it all virtually now. But it is an important moment. Many schools, many organizations already use Google Meet. So we are doubling down. Obviously, COVID has blurred the lines between consumer and enterprise, and people are using products in all kinds of contexts. And so definitely, we are using it as an opportunity to make Google Meet and Google Chat, scale it up and make it more available.

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Apple Watch For Kids May be on The Way

Charlotte Henry ·

The Apple Watch is hugely successful, but where will the product go next? Wired thinks the evidence is mounting that a child-focussed variation of the wearable could be on the way.

Evidence that Apple is trying to make its Watch a more child-friendly piece of hardware has surfaced in recent months in the same way that many future features seem to be uncovered ahead of Apple unveiling them; from people digging into software code. Some delving into an iOS software update has revealed that multiple Apple Watches will soon be able to be paired and controlled from a single iPhone, letting a parent be in charge of setting up additional smartwatches from their phone. In the process they could manage access to certain contacts or even restrict access to what music the watch can play.

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Ubisoft Sues Apple Over ‘Rainbow Six: Siege’ Copyright

Andrew Orr ·

Ubisoft is suing Apple and Google over a Chinese game it calls “a near carbon copy” of its game Rainbow Six: Siege.’

It says it has raised the issue with both Apple and Google, which both take a cut of sales on their respective app stores.

“But rather than take any measures to stop or curtail the infringement… Google and Apple instead decided that it would be more profitable to collect their revenue share from AF2 and continue their unlawful distribution,” Ubisoft says in its court filing.

Do they expect the App Store review team to be able to spot copyright  infringement related to a company that is definitely not their own company, Apple?

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Disney+ Boss Leave to Become CEO of TikTok

Charlotte Henry ·

Kevin Mayer, the Disney veteran who led the launch of the Disney+ streaming service, has left the company, Variety reported. He will become CEO of short-form mobile video network TikTok and COO of its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. He will be succeeded as Chairman, Direct-to-Consumer, by Rebecca Campbell.

Mayer, prior to his most recent role leading Disney’s DTCI organization, served as the company’s chief strategy officer and was instrumental in wrangling a number of strategic acquisitions, including the deals for 21st Century Fox and BAMTech. “Kevin has had an extraordinary impact on our company over the years, most recently as head of our direct-to-consumer business,” Chapek said in a statement. “He has done a masterful job of overseeing and growing our portfolio of streaming services while bringing together the creative and technological assets required to launch the hugely successful Disney Plus globally.”

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TMO Contributor Kelly Guimont (#11) - TMO BGM Interview

John Martellaro ·

Kelly Guimont is a long-time podcaster, Contributing Editor for The Mac Observer, the host of the Mac Observer’s Daily Observations podcast, and a tech support guru.

In her 11th appearance, Kelly and I chat about our favorite TV shows of the 1980s as well as some of our favorite, recent movies. I open segment #1 with a fond recollection by both us us for Miami Vice (Starz), then similar feelings about Hill Street Blues (Hulu). A Kelly favorite along with me was: Magnum P.I. (Amazon). In segment #2 we critiqued Knives Out (iTunes), Onward (Disney+), Saving Mr. Banks (Netflix) and superb scifi The Lost Room (Amazon). Join us as we explore together what’s great about these shows.

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iPhone Hacking Company GrayKey Reinvents the Keylogger

Andrew Orr ·

A report from NBCNews mentions a tool from GrayKey called Hide UI, and until now has been kept secret from the public.

But another tool, previously unknown to the public, doesn’t have to crack the code that people use to unlock their phones. It just has to log the code as the user types it in.

Software called Hide UI, created by Grayshift, a company that makes iPhone-cracking devices for law enforcement, can track a suspect’s passcode when it’s entered into a phone, according to two people in law enforcement, who asked not to be named out of fear of violating non-disclosure agreements.

This is called a keylogger, and it is neither new nor revolutionary. It would be cheaper for police to use pen and paper to write down a suspect’s passcode, although there is that pesky fifth amendment.

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What Will The Next Ten Years of Apple Design Look Like?

Andrew Orr ·

“The next decade of Apple design has nothing to do with its most popular product of all time (so far)” is a weird stance to take. Author Sophie Charara seems to only make two points in favor of her argument.

Lisa Jackson […] has said that Hankey and her colleagues “ask tough questions” on sustainability; critics are looking for substantive progress that will require Apple’s new design chiefs to adapt some core principles while maintaining their aesthetic standards.

One possible cultural challenger to the new Apple duo is Ivy Ross […] Ross is a proponent of softer colour palettes and warmer materials, as seen in Google’s Pixel and Home product lines, and believes that aesthetics are less about making devices look pretty than “enlivening your senses”.

Apple critics always looking for the next big thing are not and have never been a source of design inspiration. I wouldn’t look to Google for that either. The final sentence: “And we haven’t seen the end of Jony Ive’s contributions just yet: Tim Cook says that Apple will be one of LoveFrom’s primary clients.”