Mother And Son Found Guilty of iPhone Warranty Scam

A mother and her son were found guilty of a major iPhone scam exploiting the AppleCare+ warranty system, Securing Industry reported. The Chinese citizens committed  the crimes in Switzerland, where they were sentenced.

Apple claims it lost more than CHF 1m ($1.1m) as a result of the scam, which mirrors a notorious case in the US last year, which also resulted in a three-year jail term for the main perpetrator. The court heard that the main defendant earned just CHF 10,000 from the fraud, and was a small but important part of a network which prosecutors believe is based in Hong Kong. The mother and son sent the genuine handsets they received from Apple to Hong Kong, getting just CHF 10 as commission on each device. They claimed they were unaware that the iPhones they exchanged were fake.

Audio Tips, Cool Stuff Found, Rural Broadband, and More! — Mac Geek Gab 828

The summer heat hasn’t stopped your two favorite geeks — or you, with your questions — and this week’s episode shows all of that and more. You’ve had a ton of questions about audio devices and podcast management lately, so John and Dave dig into that first to re-open the doors on that conversation. Then it’s on to tips and Cool Stuff Found, with a couple of return entries in the latter, including the very, very first Cool Stuff Found to ever have been mentioned! Press play, and enjoy watching (or listening) as you learn five new things.

Apple Gains Some Repairability Points for 2019 iMac Models

iFixit, which regularly provides readers with hugely helpful teardowns, has praised Apple for making available (deliberately or otherwise) repair manuals for the 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMacs released in 2019. It even upgraded the repairability score for the devices. This is interesting, given it recently emerged that flash storage cannot be removed from the logic board in the latest 27-inch iMac, surely reducing its repairability.

But with publicly available repair manuals, however painful the actual procedures can be, this device offers a greater sense of long-term service potential. It’s a tricky thing, providing this recognition to Apple. The company puts a significant amount of effort into lobbying against Right to Repair bills that would, among other things, make all such internal manuals available to the public. And we know, by way of emails provided to Congress, that the release of the iMac repair manuals was an aberration. Since then, Apple has simultaneously produced its most repair-friendly device in many years, the Mac Pro, and chosen not to release any more manuals for its other devices. Still, this tiny revelation feels like the first signs of spring after a long winter. Apple published service manuals and the world didn’t end.

Trump’s China App Ban Will Affect Apple Due to WeChat

President Trump’s ban on Chinese apps, in particular WeChat, is going to affect Apple, writes Michael Kan.

Forty-five days from now, the White House can begin punishing US companies and individuals for making “transactions” that are related to WeChat. That means Apple will likely need to pull the product from the iOS app store.

“For Apple, it would be all iPhone sales in China will go to zero because no one in China will buy a WeChatless phone,” tweeted podcaster Carl Zha.

As I understand it, WeChat is THE most popular app in China. It’s what Facebook aspires to be with Messenger. It’s used for everything like messaging, mobile payments, a hub for businesses, etc. Like Mr. Kan notes, it won’t affect Google because apps can be sideloaded on Android. But the App Store is the single repository of iOS apps.

iPhone 12 Camera Lenses Encounter Quality Control Problems

Camera lenses set for the iPhone 12 have encountered problems, according to a note from analyst Ming Chi Kuo, seen by 9to5 Mac. However, it could save Apple some money.

The problem was spotted during a high-temperature, high-humidity test designed to ensure that the cameras can cope with use in tropical climates… The issues occurred with the camera modules destined for the non-Pro 5.4-inch and 6.1-inch models, with units made by Yujingguang. It’s not yet known whether the company will be able to fix the problem in time for the launch. While Apple will undoubtedly not be impressed by the failure in the iPhone 12 camera lenses, there may be an upside to it. Kuo believes that the lens supplier will be forced to offer Apple a substantial discount on the agreed price in order to win back the business.

‘Have I Been Pwned’ Database Now Open Source

Troy Hunt is making his Have I Been Pwned database open source. He says it’s already a community project with companies like Cloudflare providing free services to HIBP.

The single most important objective of that process was to seek a more sustainable future for HIBP and that desire hasn’t changed; the project cannot be solely dependent on me. Yet that’s where we are today and if I disappear, HIBP quickly withers and dies.

Facebook to Continue WFH Until July 2021

Facebook has joined Google in extending its work from home plans. Staff will not return to the office until July 2021, Techcrunch reported. Apple is hoping to have employees return in early 2021.

“Based on guidance from health and government experts, as well as decisions drawn from our internal discussions about these matters, we are allowing employees to continue voluntarily working from home until July 2021,” a spokeswoman told the Reuters news agency. Facebook also said it will provide employees with an additional $1,000 to spend on “home office needs”… Earlier this month, Facebook secured the main office lease on an iconic building in New York, for example — adding 730,000 square feet to its existing 2.2 million square feet of office space.

Twitter Pushed iPhone Update Notes on Limiting Who Can Reply by Mistake

Twitter pushed an iPhone release suggesting that the ability to limit who replies was being rolled out more widely than it currently has been. However, The Verge found out that the release notes came out by mistake.

Twitter has been experimenting with this feature since May, and yesterday pushed an update to the iPhone version of its mobile app suggesting the feature would be more widely rolling out. A Twitter spokesperson now tells The Verge it accidentally pushed incorrect release notes; the feature is not in fact more widely rolling out, for now. “In May, we tested a new way to have a chat with exactly who you want, so you can create and consume more meaningful changes,” read the update text on the App Store. “Now, everyone can try this new feature and choose who can reply to their tweets.” A Twitter spokesperson says the misconception was due “to some accidentally pushed release notes,” and that “the ability to limit replies on tweets is not currently available to everyone.”