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Support For BlackBerry Comes to an End

Charlotte Henry ·

Blackberry ended support for its smartphone on Tuesday. It was the first smartphone I ever had, so I confess to feeling a little nostalgic about it all! Reuters looked back on the life of the previously indispensable device.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama, one of its most celebrated users, made headlines in 2016 when he was asked to give up his BlackBerry and replace it with an unnamed smartphone. Blackberry lost favor with users with the advent of Apple’s touchscreen iPhones and rival Android devices. In recent years, the company pivoted to making cybersecurity software and embedded operating systems for cars. Social media was alight with tributes. One Twitter user reminisced it was a “fabulous machine” and hoped the company’s phones would be resurrected. In a document published in 2020, the company said it would take steps to decommission legacy services for BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry OS operating systems and added devices running on them would no longer be supported and may not be able to receive or send data, make phone calls or send messages reliably.

[Image credit: Hafez Husin / Shutterstock.com]

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Over 24,000 People Sign Data Privacy Petition to Stop Facebook Extremism

Andrew Orr ·

A petition signed by over 24,000 people has been delivered to Congress from Fight for the Future, Senator Ron Wyden to encourage a federal data privacy law. The impetus? Far-right extremism on social media websites such as Facebook.

Coalition members urged lawmakers to protect against attacks like that on the Capitol last year by addressing Facebook’s data-fueled algorithmic manipulation.

When Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen testified before Congress in October, she named algorithmic manipulation as the platform’s source of power. Algorithmic manipulation is only possible with invasive and copious personal data on individual people, harvested via mass surveillance.

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This Man Predicted the Modern Smartphone in 1953

Andrew Orr ·

Here’s a cool story from Open Culture to start the week. In 1953, Mark R. Sullivan, director of Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company, made a prediction in a newspaper.

Here is my prophecy: In its final development, the telephone will be carried about by the individual, perhaps as we carry a watch today. It probably will require no dial or equivalent and I think the users will be able to see each other, if they want, as they talk. Who knows but it may actually translate from one language to another?

Podcast

A Little Notification Goes A Long Way – Mac Geek Gab 908

John F. Braun & Dave Hamilton · · Add Comment

Did you know you could create a reminder from macOS Mail? How would you like to learn about three new ways to toggle Do Not Disturb? Or a solution for dictating emojis? All this and more in just the first Quick Tips segment of the show. Then John and Dave are on to answering your questions about managing media, tweaking your AirPods, managing your Mac’s thermal limits, and wrapping up with some Cool Stuff Found. Press play and enjoy learning five new things with your two favorite geeks!