Facebook Messenger on iOS Gets New Chat Themes, QR Code Payments

· Andrew Orr · Link

Facebook messenger QR payments

Facebook announced new features coming to its Messenger app. Chat themes, a quick reply bar, as well as QR codes and payments links.

We’re all about increasing efficiency, so we’ve added a new quick reply bar to the Messenger media viewer. This makes it easier to have conversations sparked by a cool photo or video without needing to go back to your main chat thread. Just tap on the photo or video and send a response through the quick reply bar at the bottom of the screen. Swipe up to exit the full-screen media viewer and head back to your main chat thread

Which Devices Run macOS Monterey?

· Charlotte Henry · Quick Tip

macOS Monterey announcement

macOS Monterey, previewed Monday at WWDC 2021, runs on devices from 2013 and older, but not all the new features work on all older devices.

Outlook for iPhone Adds Voice Features With Cortana

· Andrew Orr · Link

An update for Outlook on iPhone adds voice commands powered by Microsoft’s Cortana assistant.

Now Outlook users with an iPhone or iPad can rely on Cortana’s voice capabilities to schedule meetings, search for emails, and read out a reply to an email. Outlook users can hold down the Google-like plus sign icon on iOS (and soon Android), and then tap the microphone icon to “Use Voice” to tell Cortana what to do in Outlook.

App Store: Outlook

Sony Releases $9,000 Drone for Professional Videographers

· Andrew Orr · Cool Stuff Found

Sony has announced a new drone it first unveiled at CES 2021 in January. Its called Airpeak S1, a US$9,000 aimed at professional videographers. It’s designed to work with Sony cameras that attach to a Gremsy T3 gimbal that is sold separately. It will have around 12 minutes of flight time with a camera attached, or 22 minutes without a camera.

WWDC 2021 Day Three Recap

· Charlotte Henry · Cool Stuff Found

Day three of WWDC 2021 has been and gone, and Serenity Caldwell provided an update on what happened. There were sessions on bringing real-world objects into augmented reality, designing Shortcuts and actions for apps, and UI design. Apple engineers and designers shared how the built Apple Watch around accessibility too. Also, please enjoy the Mac startup sound at the beginning of the clip!

 

JBS USA Pays $11 Million in Ransom After Cyberattack

· Andrew Orr · Link

Pile of hundred dollar bills.

On Thursday, meat supplier JBS said it paid US$11 million after ransomware attack stopped its operations.

In consultation with internal IT professionals and third-party cybersecurity experts, the company made the decision to mitigate any unforeseen issues related to the attack and ensure no data was exfiltrated.

I wonder if the FBI will recover this ransom as well, like the Colonial Pipeline money.

Digging into Apple's iCloud Private Relay

· Dave Hamilton · Deep Dive

At this week’s WWDC Keynote, Apple announced iCloud Private Relay, a privacy feature aimed towards further separating you and your browsing activity from people who want to track and collect data about you. iCloud Private Relay works for anyone with an iCloud+ subscription using iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS Monterey, and when enabled it protects all your Safari browsing, all DNS queries, and any insecure web traffic from other apps.

Mozilla Brings Firefox Redesign to iPhone and iPad

· Andrew Orr · Link

firefox 89 iphone

When Mozilla redesigned Firefox for desktop in the version 84 release, it did the same overhaul for the mobile versions.

We’ve rebuilt parts of Firefox in native components, making it feel more iPhone and iPad-like than ever before. You’ll notice design elements that look and work identically to those found in many other apps, so our browser feels instantly familiar. We’ve also taken a major step up in accessibility. Firefox now supports more text sizes and integrates better with screen readers.

FoldersSynchronizer for Mac: Lifetime Subscription

· Bryan Chaffin · TMO Deals

FoldersSynchronizer for Mac

We have a deal on FoldersSynchronizer for Mac, a Mac utility that synchronizes and backs-up files, folders and disks. You choose one or more pairs of files, folders or disks then FS will synchronize or backup those exactly. It works on Intel and Apple M1 Macs, and a lifetime subscription is $14.99 through our deal.

HBO Working With Apple to Fix HBO Max Apple TV App Issues

· Charlotte Henry · Link

HBO Max logo

Earlier this week the HBO Max app for Apple TV was updated and caused a number of issues. For example features as “What did she say?” and touching the D-pad/trackpad to bring up the timeline while playing content no longer worked. ScreenTimes reported that HBO is ow aware of “some” of the issue and working with Apple to get them fixed.

This new version, while seemingly containing no updates to the gallery UI, has replaced the standard tvOS playback UI with HBO’s own version… The bottom line is, the viewing experience in the HBO Max app is now horrifically bad and almost unusable unless you’re planning just to play and pause. If you need to do anything else, don’t get your hopes up. Ironically, the notes for the update are “A smoother streaming experience is waiting for you with a focus on bug fixes and performance improvements”.