But ultimately we reached an impasse when OFCCP demanded even more: employees’ compensation and other job information dating back 15 years, as well as extensive personal employee data and contact information for more than 25,000 employees. We were concerned that these requests went beyond the scope of what was relevant to this specific audit, and posed unnecessary risks to employees’ privacy. Despite our repeated efforts to resolve this impasse informally, OFCCP issued a complaint against us demanding access to the information and asserting we had no right to challenge their requests.

Respect for standing up for what they felt was right.

There are some great new emojis in there.

While I’m not a good photographer, Om really is. He’s taken some great shots from around the world that I’ve really enjoyed seeing.

Charvel continues its long-held partnerships with Warren DeMartini and Jake E Lee with the upcoming release of brand-new signature models. The Warren DeMartini USA Signature Frenchie and the Jake E Lee USA Signature Blue Burst will be unveiled this week at the Summer NAMM Show in Nashville, Tenn., and available to consumers in October 2017.

Both of these guys are among my favorite players.

Australia on Friday proposed new laws to compel companies such as U.S. social media giant Facebook and device manufacturer Apple to provide security agencies access to encrypted messages.

They don’t seem to understand that you can’t just let them have access to the information. Once access is grant, security is weaker for everyone.

Thanks to Jamf Now for sponsoring The Loop this week. Jamf Now is an on-demand mobile device management solution for your iPad, iPhone and Mac devices at work. We make management tasks like deploying Wi-Fi passwords, securing company data and enforcing passcodes, simple and affordable, so businesses can support their users; no IT required. Get started for free today!

I just love Mark’s guitar playing.

The BIAS Mini is a compact and portable size amplifier that comes in two versions, Guitar and Bass—each one specially designed to be the most versatile amplifier on the planet for the gigging musician.

And

The BIAS Twin Delay, Modulation, and Distortion pedals are Positive Grid’s new line of professional effects stompboxes designed for maximum tone versatility. All three pedals feature the same incredible tone of the award-winning BIAS Pro pedals in a compact 2-button pedal format.

I love Positive Grid’s software, but I haven’t tried their hardware gear yet. From what I’ve seen, it’s great sounding though.

Devindra Hardawar, writing for Engadget:

Amazon is working on a new Echo that will improve on the first speaker in practically every way, a source tells Engadget. And, not surprisingly, it’s aiming to take some of the hype away from Apple’s HomePod.

Experts said a 5,800-square-kilometer (2,239-square-mile) section of Larsen C was confirmed to have broken away between Monday and Wednesday by NASA’s Aqua MODIS satellite.

Holy crap, that’s huge.

The security issue, uncovered by research from cybersecurity firm UpGuard, was caused by a misconfigured security setting on a cloud server due to “human error.”

The error made customer phone numbers, names, and some PIN codes publicly available online. PIN codes are used to confirm the identity of people who call for customer service.

Wow!

Speaking of companies I respect, check out the new Fantastical for Mac. It’s just packed with great new features.

Design, create, sketch, and diagram. An incredibly powerful app for both beginners and professionals.

There are very few companies I respect as much as The Omni Group.

Get Beats wireless headphones when you buy an eligible Mac or iPad Pro for college. And save more with Apple education pricing.

Personally, I don’t like Beats headphones, but I guess it’s something free.

iOS 11, however, will let you record the screen directly on your device, keeping your Mac out of the equation entirely. Here’s how it works in the developer and public betas.

This is a really handy addition in iOS 11. I’ve recorded my iOS screen with my Mac before, but now I’ll be able to do it right on the device.

Facebook Inc, Twitter Inc, Alphabet Inc and dozens of other major technology companies protested online on Wednesday against proposed changes to U.S. net neutrality rules that prohibit broadband providers from giving or selling access to certain internet services over others.

It’s hard to believe we’re still arguing about this.

Twenty-one percent of streaming viewers ages 18 to 24 said they had accessed at least one digital video service such as Netflix Inc, HBO Now or Hulu by using log-in credentials from someone outside their household at some time. Overall, 12 percent of adults said they did the same thing.

There is no doubt this is a problem for these companies. I’m not sure what solution they’ll come up with, but I hope they don’t overreact and make it difficult for everyone.

Rene Ritchie:

Touch ID isn’t a feature. It’s a solution to a problem that can potentially be solved in a variety of other ways. Including Face ID.

I have no doubt that Apple’s been working on an advanced Face ID system for many years. Clearly a 3D recognition system would be much better than what’s on the market now, but it would need to be as convenient and secure as Touch ID in order to work for the masses. If there’s ever a time that I need to type in my passcode because Face ID failed to recognize me in a low light or dark setting, it failed.

I’m not opposed to Face ID at all. I’m opposed to taking a step back. I hope that doesn’t happen.

I will tell you this: Dave Grohl is a beast.

Dolby announced today that its new technology, Dolby Atmos for Music will debut later this month at Sound-Bar, an upscale nightclub in Chicago. […]

Jamf Now is an on-demand mobile device management solution for your iPad, iPhone and Mac devices at work. We make management tasks like deploying Wi-Fi passwords, securing company data and enforcing passcodes, simple and affordable, so businesses can support their users; no IT required. Get started for free today!

Elon Musk was there to snap a pic of the first one.

I really do hate when someone like Justin does everything they can to prevent hacking and then a carrier mistake leads to this much trouble.

Jawbone was a good company years ago, but the fact that they stopped answering requests for their existing products and started a new company, makes me wary of trusting them.

Imagination gave the impression that Apple just cut them off, but that’s not the case, according to Apple. I was waiting for this since the dispute began.

“We began working with Imagination in 2007 and stopped accepting new IP from them in 2015,” Apple said. “After lengthy discussions we advised them on February 9 that we expected to wind down our licensing agreement since we need unique and differentiating IP for our products. We valued our past relationship and wanted to give them as much notice as possible to adapt their future plans.”

Lory Gil has a great post on what you get with Hulu’s new Live TV option. I’ll be honest, I’ve looked at all of these services, but I’m not convinced yet.

Amazon.com Inc told Whole Foods Market Inc (WFM.O) it would not engage in a sale process for the U.S. grocer that involved other bidders, a regulatory filing showed on Friday, shedding new light on the $13.7 billion acquisition.

The previously undisclosed details on the negotiations show how Amazon used its deep pockets and brand as leverage to convince Whole Foods to accept a sale process that would not result in a bidding war.

Very smart move on Amazon’s part—look for other bids and we’re out. It doesn’t sound like the other people would have offered more than Amazon anyway.