Apple has a new billboard and a far more specific target. This time, the company has erected a privacy billboard at the site of a developing “smart city” called Quayside. Some are calling the neighborhood, on Toronto’s eastern waterfront, a privacy dystopia in the making. It’s going to be sensor-thick, and it’s tangled up with the uber data-collecting Google: the developer is Sidewalk Labs, which is a subsidiary of Google’s parent company, Alphabet.
And:
The vision for Quayside is that of a smart city built “from the internet up”. As the Atlantic reported last November, sensor-collected data will be used “to disrupt everything:” traffic congestion, healthcare, housing, zoning regulations, and greenhouse-gas emissions.
Apple’s billboard hangs high over the city construction and reads:
Apple has disabled the Apple Watch Walkie Talkie app due to an unspecified vulnerability that could allow a person to listen to another customer’s iPhone without consent, the company told TechCrunch this evening.
Apple’s statement:
We were just made aware of a vulnerability related to the Walkie-Talkie app on the Apple Watch and have disabled the function as we quickly fix the issue. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and will restore the functionality as soon as possible. Although we are not aware of any use of the vulnerability against a customer and specific conditions and sequences of events are required to exploit it, we take the security and privacy of our customers extremely seriously. We concluded that disabling the app was the right course of action as this bug could allow someone to listen through another customer’s iPhone without consent. We apologize again for this issue and the inconvenience.
Sounds like this is a temporary stoppage until they can get a workaround to the vulnerability.
Does anyone reading this use the Walkie-Talkie app? If so, ping me, I’m interested in the use case.
Apple has released a silent update for Mac users removing a vulnerable component in Zoom, the popular video conferencing app, which allowed websites to automatically add a user to a video call without their permission.
Apple said the update does not require any user interaction and is deployed automatically.
Take advantage of transcripts to quickly discover and share information presented in WWDC19 videos. You can search by keyword, see all instances where the keyword is mentioned in the video, go straight to the time it was mentioned, and even share a link to that specific time.
With careful planning and dashes of creativity, engineers have been able to keep NASA’s Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft flying for nearly 42 years — longer than any other spacecraft in history. To ensure that these vintage robots continue to return the best science data possible from the frontiers of space, mission engineers are implementing a new plan to manage them. And that involves making difficult choices, particularly about instruments and thrusters.
Voyager 1 and 2 are now a mindboggling 13.5 billion and 11.1 billion miles from Earth. The people who originally designed them and the people who keep them working after 42 years should be incredibly proud of themselves.
The Pokemon Trading Card Game has had a devoted fanbase ever since it was introduced to the world in 1996, so it’ll come as no surprise that rare cards can sell for lots of dollars. For instance, one player in New York last year purchased a Pokemon card for $60,000. That was almost a year ago but he still hasn’t received it.
The card was lost in the mail.
“Recently one of the most valuable cards in the hobby was lost or stolen in the mail,” explains YouTuber smpratte, a trading card aficionado, in a video Tuesday. “Both buyer and seller, I know both of them very well, they did everything they could to make this as above board and legitimate as possible.”
Holy crap these two people are stupid and I have zero sympathy for them.
“Libra raises many serious concerns regarding privacy, money laundering, consumer protection and financial stability,” Powell said during his semi-annual testimony on monetary policy before the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee.
“I don’t think the project can go forward” without addressing those concerns, he added later in the hearing.
Everything Facebook does should raise serious concerns.
Google Translate allows you to explore unfamiliar lands, communicate in different languages, and make connections that would be otherwise impossible. One of my favorite features on the Google Translate mobile app is instant camera translation, which allows you to see the world in your language by just pointing your camera lens at the foreign text. Similar to the real-time translation feature we recently launched in Google Lens, this is an intuitive way to understand your surroundings, and it’s especially helpful when you’re traveling abroad as it works even when you’re not connected to Wi-Fi or using cellular data.
This is really cool. Although, Google will probably start showing you ads about whatever you translate.
At some point in the life of the MacBook, Apple seems to have gotten the message that it wasn’t the solution. (My guess is that Mac buyers sent the message by continuing to buy MacBook Airs—complete with MagSafe and familiar USB-A ports—despite Apple’s attempts to sell them fancy USB-C Retina Macs that cost hundreds more.)
Whatever the reason, the MacBook is gone and that’s not a bad thing. Apple did what it does best in most situations like this—it cleaned up the product line so it’s easy to understand, allowing people to buy the product they need.
Executives from Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc, Facebook Inc and Alphabet’s Google will testify before a House of Representatives congressional committee next week in a hearing to discuss the tremendous market power wielded by online platforms.
In a statement on Tuesday, the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust subcommittee said witnesses would include: Adam Cohen, director of economic policy at Google; Nate Sutton, associate general counsel for regulation at Amazon; Facebook’s Matt Perault, head of global policy development and Apple vice president for corporate law Kyle Andeer.
There is a lot of concern about the power these platforms have, and with good reason. I’m not convinced that the government, any government, has the wherewithal to actually understand the technology that has ultimately raised these concerns though—that creates an even bigger problem. Of all the companies called to testify, it seems that Apple is in the safest position, partly because of its stance on security and privacy, and they don’t have the social networking platform that the others have.
Ran across this series of commercials the other day. They were for Apple Federal Credit Union and spoofed the old “I’m a Mac. And I’m a PC” Apple commercials. And when I say spoofed, they get it pretty right. There’s the casual shirt vs the suit and tie, the fit vs the slightly paunchy, and the whimsical piano as soundtrack.
It’s clearly intentional. And it kind of works. My favorite of the series is embedded below.
Ross Perot was, indeed, a fascinating character. He ran for President back in 1992 and became a bit of a legend, part of popular culture. He’s also known for funding Steve Jobs’ NeXT venture to the tune of $20 million. Of course, Apple bought NeXT and Steve came back to Apple.
Ross Perot died yesterday and the linked story, from last year, reemerged. Perot was a compelling character and this a worthwhile read.
So many pieces here. First, why do we need another HBO streaming service? To me, this is like having a MacBook and a MacBook Air. Confusing branding for the customer.
And consider the name HBO Max. WarnerMedia owns HBO which owns Cinemax and Cinemax is frequently shortened to Max in branding and on cable. Is this completely coincidental? I have yet to see mention of Cinemax in the marketing materials.
And the biggest piece? The new service will poach Friends from Netflix. Yet another monthly tentpole service. Want Friends? That’s going to cost you another $10 a month.
Other tentpole services include Star Trek shows from CBS Online, Star Wars/Pixar from Disney+, and The Office from NBC’s coming streaming service. Waiting for a new Seinfeld service to emerge. Not kidding.
Apple has lowered the cost of higher-end Mac solid state storage options, cutting the price in half for many of the configurations.
For example, the 4 TB SSD of the 512 GB 15-inch MacBook Pro used to cost $2800. It now costs $1,400. These savings are seen across the iMac, iMac Pro, Mac mini, and MacBook Air line.
Great stuff, read the post for more examples.
Note that a 1TB SSD upgrade for the MacBook Air is $600. That is a significant price drop, but consider that a 1TB PCIe SSD runs from $99 to $217 on Amazon.
I would love the chance to buy a 128GB MacBook Air and, as my budget allows, upgrade to a 1TB SSD in the future, something that has become impossible with tough-to-open machines filled with sticky tape and glue, not to mention soldered on components. Adding RAM and storage is one way to get more life out of older machines. This might not be in the best interests of Apple’s short term bottom line, but it certainly is better for my pocketbook and the planet.
Apple Inc has started a program in Shanghai to help Chinese developers create apps as part of the iPhone maker’s efforts to build out its services business in one of its most critical overseas markets.
The program, or accelerator, will hold lectures, workshops and networking sessions for developers regularly, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. More than 2.5 million developers for Apple’s platforms are from greater China, a region that includes Taiwan, Hong Kong, and mainland China.
Apple has two main problems to solve in China to bolster revenues: Build more iPhones and raise services. The developer training program won’t help with the first, but it will definitely help with the second, as App Store revenue is booked under services.
Think about the opening of any Simpsons episode, with Homer’s dangerous interaction with plutonium, Lisa playing her saxophone, the grocery store and crazy car ride, and the couch at the end.
I have gotten into the habit of putting a post-it over my Mac camera. Some folks laugh at this, but this is exactly the reason why.
That said, the headline link is a Medium post with all the details. Most damning, though:
Additionally, if you’ve ever installed the Zoom client and then uninstalled it, you still have a localhost web server on your machine that will happily re-install the Zoom client for you, without requiring any user interaction on your behalf besides visiting a webpage. This re-install ‘feature’ continues to work to this day.
If you’ve ever installed Zoom on your Mac and want to check for this local server, go to Terminal (it’s in Applications/Utilities) and type:
lsof -i :19421
If you enter the command and nothing comes back, you’re good. If you do get a result, you’ve got that web server running. If you don’t intentionally want that server running, here’s a tweet with instructions on killing it.
One final note on this. Here’s Zoom’s official response to all of this, posted on their blog as Response to Video-On Concern.
If you are a Zoom user, worth reading the linked Medium post and Zoom’s response. Then stick some post-its on your Mac camera. Just to be safe.
Apple today updated MacBook Air, adding True Tone to its Retina display for a more natural viewing experience, and lowering the price to $1,099, with an even lower price of $999 for college students.
And:
In addition, the entry-level $1,299 13-inch MacBook Pro has been updated with the latest 8th-generation quad-core processors, making it two times more powerful than before. It also now features Touch Bar and Touch ID, a True Tone Retina display and the Apple T2 Security Chip, and is available for $1,199 for college students.
Apple will throw in a pair of Beats Studio 3 Wireless headphones with either of these Macs as part of the back to school promo.
I particularly like the tagline on the MacBook Air section of Apple’s official Mac page: Lightness strikes again.
Remind me the difference between a MacBook and a MacBook Air again? Oh, wait, looks like the MacBook has been officially end-of-lifed. On that same Mac page, you’ll see the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro as the full laptop lineup. No MacBook. I’m good with that.
The first ad is called “Nap”. It’s subtle. The takeaway for me was mostly about attention detection, the requirement that you make eye contact to trigger your iPhone’s Face ID approval. Even a squint will do.
The second ad is called “Face ID is even more secure than Touch ID”. Interesting that Apple would make that pitch, specifically call out Face ID as more secure. Is the idea here to prod resisters to buy a newer generation iPhone, to cast Touch ID as “old tech”?
Health Canada’s Twitter account has been providing the odd updates here and there, and yesterday sent out another tweet about Apple Watch Series 4 and the ECG app.
When asked about Apple Watch and the ECG app, the federal organization replied to an ongoing Twitter thread and Canadian man, @realgaryng, by saying “Health Canada has recently approved two licences for the Apple Watch ECG app and notifications. For more information on product release dates in Canada, please contact the manufacturer directly.”
In a surprise move, Apple has revived its Texas Hold’em game for iOS today. The update to the original game comes in celebration of the 10-year anniversary of the App Store and has been redesigned to include new characters, improved graphics, more challenging gameplay, and much more.
The Apple game first launched in 2006 for iPod before making its way to the App Store.
Hold’em is my favourite card game and it’s great to see this “classic” back on my phone.
Fascinating reminder of just how close Steve and Jony were.
Lots of interesting bits in there, but one quote stood out to me:
I think what you’re seeing now is a company that knows how to execute pretty well. But it doesn’t have at its core these two spiritual soulmates who just lived and breathed the beauty of products.
I believe there are visionaries at Apple today, and with Jony leaving, I think the big shadows cast by Steve and Jony will pass, and new giants will emerge.
Over the weekend, there was a 7.1 earthquake in California, centered near Ridgecrest, on the edge of the Mojave Desert. There were also preshocks and aftershocks.
Given the location (in California, though closer to LA than Apple Park), this New York Times article from last month got a lot of new attention (H/T Dman and Neal Pann, and Shawn’s original posting here). From the article:
The circular building housing Apple’s headquarters in Silicon Valley is so big, it’s nearly a mile in circumference. So it’s hard to fathom that it is not actually attached to the ground. The spaceship, as the building is often called, is a mammoth example of a technology that reduces earthquake shaking by as much as 80 percent.
Jony Ive, Apple’s chief design officer, said in an interview that he and Steve Jobs, the Apple co-founder who died in 2011, considered base isolation essential protection for the headquarters — and the brain trust that resides within. During the construction, ensuring the building’s safety and environmental integrity was crucial. Addressing potential mold issues was a significant part of this process. Finding a mold removal company near me that could handle such a large and complex structure was essential to maintaining a healthy environment for all employees. Mr. Ive also spent four years renovating his house in San Francisco to make it more resilient to earthquakes. Switching gears, using tailored London concrete services designed for precision and flexibility has never been easier. Projects across the city are thriving thanks to reliable partners providing fresh, mix-on-site concrete solutions tailored to exact specifications. Timeliness and quality are now within everyone’s grasp. If you need help renovating a room in your home, you may seek the services of contractors from Arete’ Renovators.
The article goes into great detail on the base-isolation technology, with some terrific pictures and diagrams. Very interesting.
First, there’s the opportunity to get to know Jeff Williams, to hear him talk, tell a story. Given that Apple Design now reports to Jeff, he has new importance in the product design side of Apple.
I also appreciated the anecdote at the heart of this video. It starts at about 50 seconds in. Jeff talks about Steve Jobs carrying around one of the original iPhone prototypes and complaining about the plastic screen getting scratched. The story is being told in the Corning factory where the iPhone glass is made.
Final observation, this factory is in Kentucky, and that’s Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to Jeff’s left (the right side of your picture). This was filmed in 2017, in Harrodsburg, Kentucky.
Reddit user tells first hand what it’s like to experience one of these mob shoplifting events that happens much too often.
Apple puts any stolen goods in a lost or stolen mode, rendering any gear stolen from the store useless to the thieves. So why do they do it? Either ignorance, or they’ve got access to a spare parts market.
And yup, it’s shoplifting, not robbery, but the bigger point remains.
For iOS 13, iPadOS 13, and macOS Catalina beta testers, Apple is trying out a new sign-in process for iCloud on the web. When you head to beta.icloud.com on a device running the betas, you can now sign-in to your account using Face ID or Touch ID.
If you log in to beta.icloud.com via a non-beta iOS or macOS, you’ll get the normal login experience, with a 6 digit code appearing that you type in to validate your visit.
If you log in using a beta iOS 13 or MacOS Catalina device, your Face ID or Touch ID verifies you, gives you access, without the code at all. Way better.
The Apple Watch produced a seismic shift in the public’s acceptance of biometric monitoring. Sure, we’ve had step counters, heart rate and sleep monitors for years, but the Apple Watch made it hip and cool to do so. In Deep Medicine, author Eric Topol examines how recent advances in AI and machine learning techniques can be leveraged to bring (at least the American) healthcare system out of its current dark age and create a more efficient, more effective system that better serves both its doctors and its patients. In the excerpt below, Topol examines the efforts by startup AliveCor and the Mayo Clinic to cram an ECG’s functionality into a wristwatch-sized device without — and this is the important part — generating potentially lethal false positive results.
Apple is just scratching the surface of its health care efforts.
