iMore:

Literally every time I work in the computer store, we’ll get a customer whose Mac is plagued with problems they don’t understand: Their Mac is acting slow. It crashes. And more. And in more cases than not, we find that they’ve installed a program called MacKeeper. Removing MacKeeper fixes the problem. So what is MacKeeper and why should you avoid it? Read on for details

It’s definitely “crapware” and the company’s tactics are sleazy. As Peter says, avoid and warn others.

Six Colors:

Rogue Amoeba has announced the release of Audio Hijack 3, the successor to the venerable Mac sound utility Audio Hijack Pro. This is a huge update—the first major one for Audio Hijack in ten years—and so comprehensive that this feels more like a successor to the old Audio Hijack rather than a continuation.

Rogue Amoeba has always made good, high quality software especially on the audio side.

Re/code:

The key rule in evaluating the flood of new hardware and software that’s constantly being hawked at you is this: If you’re happy with what you already use, if it works well for you, don’t upgrade.

Yes, the tech industry employs a massive marketing machine to get you on the upgrade treadmill and keep you there, but you don’t have to do so. Resistance isn’t futile.

Lack of funds may have something to do with it but I no longer need to be the first to have all the latest and greatest software and hardware. If what I use works and the new version doesn’t offer tangible benefits, I’ll stick with what I have.

Macworld:

While the amount of stuff you need to protect has shrunk enormously in the last few years, with Facebook and Twitter encrypting by default, and Google and others upping their game, a VPN still buys you peace of mind.

A well written article from Fleishman. How many of you use VPN on a regular basis?

The Verge:

Maybe it’s a good thing that Amazon is so slowly rolling out the Echo to customers — you can only get it by invitation, and if you do so you should know what you’re getting into. Right now, once the honeymoon ends, I suspect most people will stop using the Echo for anything other than occasional music and podcast listening. After a few days of trying to come up with things to ask Alexa just for the fun of the thing, my Echo became mostly a slightly faster way to set a timer or do quick conversions while I cook. It’s great for those things, but those are small things.

Yet this is the future, I’m sure of it.

I think the Echo is an interesting product and likely points the way to the future. Whether the Echo is part of that future or not is debatable.

7Online:

A video of a bald and burly Delaware police officer enthusiastically lip-syncing to Taylor Swift’s “Shake it Off” is getting global attention.

The video, posted to the Dover Police Department’s Facebook page Friday, shows Master Cpl. Jeff Davis in uniform and driving a patrol car while lip-syncing to the popular pop song – sassy head rolls and finger-pointing included.

What a hilarious video. I especially love the moments like at 1:20 when he sees someone he recognizes and “becomes a cop” again. The rest of the time, he’s just an average father of four who knows “Shake it Off” because of his 10-year-old daughter.

The downside of watching the video is that I’ve now finally listened to my very first Taylor Swift song. Thanks to my friend Lesley for the link.

Academy Award nomination or not, it’s a good, fun movie.

Craig Grannell:

Within the pages of MacUser, you’d not find a great deal of templated fare, and sometimes not even a great deal of content directly about the Mac. What you would find was interesting opinion and analysis about technology, brilliant insight into design and creativity, and in-depth features on all kinds of creative fare. All this was wrapped up in stunning design and layout work that let the content breathe and positively begged you to explore every page.

I never read MacUser on a regular basis but when I did, I always enjoyed its unique sensibility and writing style. A shame it’s shuttering its doors.

Jim and Shawn talk about the Mac, the iPhone in the past, the Apple Watch in the future, and how to learn to play guitar!

Sponsored by lynda.com (Start learning something new by visiting lynda.com/amplified and get a FREE 10-day trial where you can access all of their 3,000+ courses).

Matt Gemmell:

Rumours abound at the moment about an upcoming new 12” MacBook Air, with a Retina display, further-reduced thickness and weight, and of course a slightly larger screen. I’m intrigued, and all other things being more or less equal, I’ll certainly buy one.

It’s tough to see what the next step will be, though. My wish list has been exhausted. Every checkbox is checked.

But what more is there to really do?

Matt makes a good point that, for the vast majority of us, Apple’s present laptops do more than we actually need them to do. I know my next laptop will likely be an Air if only because I no longer need the power of a full desktop CPU.

Google:

We’re taking it to the next level and letting you instantly translate text using your camera—so it’s way easier to navigate street signs in the Italian countryside or decide what to order off a Barcelona menu. While using the Translate app, just point your camera at a sign or text and you’ll see the translated text overlaid on your screen—even if you don’t have an Internet or data connection.

This looks really cool. I remember traveling in Italy and not being able to understand the signs at the train station. This would have come in very handy.

The Verge:

Set out in a series of detailed renders, the conceptual iMac combines the internal components of an 11.6-inch MacBook Air with the addition of a touchscreen and the new reversible USB connector. Its shape echoes that of the original Mac…There’s nothing particularly practical or realistic about this iMac, which is probably why it feels so sublimely desirable.

Utterly ridiculous. Utterly impractical. Utterly unbuildable. But I still want one.

RazorianFly:

While some are shocked at the sudden demise of Apple’s popular free giveaway promotions, such as 12 Days and the just axed “Single of the Week,” others are seemingly less shocked at the ending of these ‘FREE’ iTunes promotions.

We think MacRumors forum user, fluchtpunkt, nails it:

“I think that entitlement mentality is what has killed these promotions. Getting free stuff is no longer enough. It must be exactly what you want.”

As the piece says, we may never know why Apple has discontinued these giveaways but I would have no problem believing it is, in part, due to the epic amounts of whining from a segment of users.

John Moltz:

A newsroom can be an environment that benefits from an open floor plan, but this level of exacting control over it is exactly what’s wrong with corporate America. If you’re so concerned about coffee stains, hire someone to clean things up. It’s a hell of a lot cheaper and it sends a better message than spending $3 million to make a 2001: A Space Odyssey set for your employees to spend their days maintaining.

The memo from Wired’s editor-in-chief Scott Dadich has been making the rounds and Moltz, as usual, has a funny and accurate takedown of the attitude and tone of his attempt at controlling the workplace environment.

TidBITS:

To take over a Mac, the attacker needs physical access. He then plugs in Thunderstrike-enabled hardware — a modified Thunderbolt-to-Ethernet dongle in the demo — and reboots the Mac, triggering the process that replaces the firmware with malicious code. That’s it.

While all Macs are technically vulnerable to the Thunderstrike attack, few readers face any immediate risk. The attack is highly targeted — someone needs both physical access to your Mac and time to reboot it and reinstall the firmware.

As always when it comes to Macs and security, Rich Mogull is my go-to guy. He writes well and clearly about the subject and I trust his opinion and advice.

The Sydney Morning Herald:

One student has spoken up against the world leaders with poor human rights records who took it upon themselves to march for free speech following the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attacks.

In a series of tweets, London School of Economics student Daniel Wickham attacked some of the world leaders for attending the rally despite restricting press freedom in their own countries.

Good for him. When I first saw the photo of the world leaders, I thought it looked like just another photo op. Wickham shows it was also incredibly hypocritical.

Re/code:

The study of Amazon’s pricing uncovered some interesting tactics. First, Amazon doesn’t have the lowest prices across the board, which may not surprise industry insiders but might surprise Amazon shoppers.

Instead, according to Boomerang’s analysis, Amazon identifies the most popular products on its site and consistently prices them under the competition.

A good reminder to not assume Amazon has the best prices and to always shop around.

The New York Times:

Popular messaging services like Snapchat and WhatsApp are in the cross hairs in Britain.

That was the message delivered on Monday by Prime Minister David Cameron, who said he would pursue banning encrypted messaging services if Britain’s intelligence services were not given access to the communications.

I’m sorry to our British friends but you have an idiot for a Prime Minister.

New York Times:

Untrammeled oases beckon, once-avoided destinations become must-sees and familiar cities offer new reasons to visit.

Some obvious choices like Rome and some I really agree with like Milan, Cuba and Quebec City but some suspect suggestions, too. Squamish, BC? Orlando, FL? Cleveland, OH? Seriously?

The Robservatory:

Last week, I used the just-released Hubble Space Telescope images of the Andromeda galaxy to create a couple of desktop images for my Retina iMac. I liked the results so much that I spent some time collecting other suitable images from the Hubble site, and then cropping and/or scaling them to create interesting high-res desktop images.

The end result is a collection of 50+ Retina iMac-sized (5120×2880) desktop wallpapers, courtesy of the Hubble Space Telescope. Here’s the full collection.

That nice young man, Rob Griffiths, put together this gorgeous collection of images.

The Daily Dot:

We’re glad that 15-year-old Tyler Barlow decided to stick an old barbecue in a grassy field and ignite 5 pounds of thermite on top of it, because the resulting video is super cool.

A fifteen year old kid and 5lbs of thermite – what could possibly go wrong? Turns out, nothing bad because, except for a disturbing lack of safety gear, the kid seems to know what he’s talking about. And the thermite reaction is pretty cool.

The Consumerist:

Even though the newest and freshest iPhones, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, are now legally available in mainland China, hauling them over the border from Hong Kong is still a profitable enterprise. Apparently. According to a report in Chinese media, an enterprising young man created a plastic suit that held 94 iPhones, strapping them around his arms, legs, hips, and torso.

The pictures are hilarious.

The Verge:

On January 9th, 2007, Steve Jobs took to the stage to announce the first iPhone, in a keynote that would revolutionize the industry and set the tone for every major tech announcement since.

I’d been to every Steve Jobs keynote after he came back to Apple but this one was special. Even sitting in the audience, you could feel the excitement and the anticipation. Best Keynote ever.

CNET:

Smartphones are a top choice for today’s street criminals, especially teenagers. In the year ending in June 2013, nearly two-thirds of robberies by minors in San Francisco involved cell phones, according to the city’s public defender.

Government officials have called the trend an epidemic. One in 10 smartphone owners in the United States have had their phone stolen. More than 3 million were pilfered in 2013, nearly double the number nabbed the year before.

A reminder to always be aware of your surroundings and how you use your iOS device, or any device for that matter, while out in public. I’m always intensely aware of how I use my iPhone, iPad and DSLR while out and about.

Vancouver Sun:

Get your 99 cent apps while you can, iPhone and iPad users.

Apple will soon hike the prices in its App Store for Canadian customers, according to an email sent to software developers.

The email, sent out on Wednesday, said the unspecified price increase in Canada, Norway and European Union countries would take effect within 36 hours.

Apple said foreign exchange rates were triggering the increase in Canada.

I wonder how it’s going to affect sales? The 99 cent price point is generally thought of as a no brainer but even a small increase in the price sensitive App Store can significantly lower sales.

Tech in Asia:

Fresh research from UBS estimates Apple sold 69.3 million iPhones in the last quarter of 2014, setting an all-time record for the company. China accounts for more than a third of those shipments.

A delayed release for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in China doesn’t seem to have put much of a dent in the devices’ sales figures, which don’t even account for grey market units brought in from Hong Kong and other countries.

As (easily) predicted by many. And it will only increase from here going forward. China is the new centre of Apple’s iPhone sales.

Apple:

Tim Cook: “We’re proud to create 1M+ US jobs in all 50 states and ring in another record-breaking year for developers globally.” iOS developers were paid at the average rate of $28 million/day in 2014. $25 billion dollars cumulative has been paid to developers.

Little bit of well deserved back patting from Apple.

The Internet Archive:

The collection includes action, strategy, adventure and other unique genres of game and entertainment software. Through the use of the EM-DOSBOX in-browser emulator, these programs are bootable and playable.

I never had a computer that could play any of these games but I recognize many of the names as classics of the genre.

Pacific Standard:

It’s no secret in the jewelry industry that retail demand for fine jewelry is slipping. As Forbes reports, the demand for gold jewelry has dropped 30 percent since last year, and continues to fall. Even diamond behemoth De Beers had to admit in their 2014 Insight Report that “retailers have faced pressures from a weak economic environment and strong competition from branded luxury goods and experiential categories, as well as the low-price models of e-commerce companies.”

Simply put: There are better things to spend money on, often at better prices, than jewelry.

Interesting premise. While I’m sure there are many contributing factors, I wonder how much the “rise of the machine” has contributed to this decline.

Jim and Shawn talk about Apple’s 2014, Amplitube and guitars!

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