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Andrew Orr

Since 2015 Andrew has been writing about Apple, privacy, security, and at one point even Android. You can find him most places online under the username @andrewornot.

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Articles by Andrew Orr

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Apple Releases Trailer for 'Truth Be Told' Based on Are You Sleeping

Andrew Orr ·

Today Apple shared a trailer for its upcoming series Truth Be Told based on a novel by Kathleen Barber called Are You Sleeping.

Every truth has a consequence. When new evidence compels podcaster Poppy Parnell (Octavia Spencer) to reopen the murder case that made her a national sensation, she comes face to face with Warren Cave (Aaron Paul), the man she may have mistakenly helped to put behind bars. Her investigation navigates urgent concerns about privacy, media and race. Truth Be Told is created by Nichelle Tramble Spellman and stars Octavia Spencer, Aaron Paul, Lizzy Caplan, Elizabeth Perkins, Michael Beach, Mekhi Phifer, Tracie Thoms, Haneefah Wood and Ron Cephas Jones.

You can watch the trailer on YouTube here.

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EyeQue Launches Vision Monitoring Kit

Andrew Orr ·

Today EyeQue has launched a vision monitoring kit that includes the EyeQue VisionCheck, PDCheck, and the new EyeQue Insight Plus.

The EyeQue Vision Monitoring Kit is available now on Indiegogo, with pledge levels starting at $119 (retail value: $205). The product is slated to ship to backers by the end of November 2019, in time for the holidays (limited quantities). Learn more about EyeQue at eyeque.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube for more updates.

Cool Stuff Found

10 Features in macOS Catalina You Need to Know

Andrew Orr ·

MacMost has a good video on YouTube where he shares 10 macOS Catalina features. They’re smaller features that don’t get the same attention or shoutout by Apple, but they’re good to know. The first one he mentions is a feature that I noticed but was annoyed about. When you hover or long-click the green fullscreen button in Safari, it now brings up a menu window to enter full screen or tile the window to the left or right. While it makes this capability more obvious it also adds an extra step, when just dragging the window by the green button was faster. In any case the video is pretty helpful and you can watch it here.

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New York City Partners With Cellebrite to Hack iPhones

Andrew Orr ·

Documents reveal that New York City law enforcement has a partnership with Cellebrite to hack iPhones.

Previously, if law enforcement wanted to get into newer devices, they had to send the phones to one of Cellebrite’s digital forensics labs, located in New Jersey and Virginia. But Cellebrite’s new UFED Premium program gave law enforcement the ability to “unlock and extract data from all iOS and high-end Android devices” on their own, using software installed on computers in their offices.

I’ve always wondered if eventually Apple will remove the Lightning port from the iPhone once wireless charging becomes the norm. Side effects may include better waterproofing and worsened hacking.

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Netflix Says No to macOS Catalina, Won't Port its App Over

Andrew Orr ·

With the release of macOS Catalina and Catalyst, many developers are now porting their iOS apps to the Mac. But not Netflix.

Last year, Apple Inc. software chief Craig Federighi said developers would be able to easily bring their iPad apps to Mac computers, essentially letting coders write an app once and deploy it across millions more devices. So far, the reality has fallen short for some developers and is even leaving consumers paying twice for apps. Major app developers and service providers like Netflix Inc. are also demurring on taking part, at least at this early stage.

I’ll be interested to see if Hulu ports their app over.

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Oops! Twitter Accidentally Used Your Phone Number for Ads

Andrew Orr ·

Twitter admitted yesterday that it “unintentionally” used some email addresses and phone numbers for advertising purposes. These phone numbers were specifically used to keep your account safe with two-factor authentication.

We recently discovered that when you provided an email address or phone number for safety or security purposes (for example, two-factor authentication) this data may have inadvertently been used for advertising purposes, specifically in our Tailored Audiences and Partner Audiences advertising system.

This is exactly why SMS-based two-factor authentication needs to go away. SMS is inherently insecure, as the FBI recently noted. Funnily enough, I recently removed my phone number from Twitter, although it’s probably too late.

Cool Stuff Found

Eve for HomeKit Updates for iOS 13

Andrew Orr ·

Eve is a smart home company that builds products that work with Apple’s HomeKit. The company recently updated its app to version 4.0 for iOS 13. It adds dark mode, easier access to your favorite views, and other refinements.

Eve works with all HomeKit-enabled accessories. See your home at a glance. Customize your ecosystem down to the finest detail. Activate scenes in a snap. And easily create automations using timers and rules. With Eve, you’re at the forefront of connected home control – and guided – every step of the way.

App Store: Eve for HomeKit – Free

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Zane Lowe Talks About The Future of Apple Music

Andrew Orr ·

Beats 1 DJ Zane Lowe talks about where Apple Music is headed in a new interview. When it comes to Beats 1, Apples radio show, the team found something interesting.

It turns out users are four times more likely to complete an album if they’d pre-added it to their collection, 1.5 times more likely to listen to it again and they listen to music four times longer than other Apple Music subscribers. In short, Apple is trying to build a better hype machine than its rivals to counteract the popular, but depersonalised playlists that have come to dominate music streaming.

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Create a macOS Catalina Bootable Drive for Installation

Andrew Orr ·

Roman Loyola shares a tip for Apple users looking to upgrade: Creating a macOS Catalina bootable drive.

An external drive that you can use as an installer for macOS Catalina is a handy thing to have. If you have multple Macs to upgrade, it’s a lot more efficient to plug in the USB installer drive and run the installer than to log into the App Store, download the 6.5GB OS installer, and then run it.

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U.S. Supreme Court Sides With Apple Over University of Wisconsin

Andrew Orr ·

For several years Apple has been in a patent fight with the University of Wisconsin. But recently the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a bid by the university to reinstate its legal victory over Apple.

The licensing body, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), filed suit in 2014, alleging infringement of a 1998 patent on a “predictor circuit” to help speed the way processors carry out computer program instructions. The patent was developed by computer science professor Gurindar Sohi and three of his students at the university, located in Madison, Wisconsin.

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An Apple Sleep App Could be Coming for Apple Watch

Andrew Orr ·

Someone found a reference to a mysterious sleep app on the Apple Watch, and it could be an Apple sleep app.

In the App Store listing for Apple’s preinstalled Alarms app on the Apple Watch, there is a screenshot of an unreleased version of the Alarms app with a “Sleep” label and fine print that reads “set your Bedtime and wake up in the Sleep app.”

There is no Sleep app or references to a Sleep app in the Alarms app on watchOS 6.0.1 or watchOS 6.1 beta, but MacRumors uncovered evidence of Apple working on a Sleep app for the Apple Watch in an internal build of iOS 13 last month, so Apple likely shared this screenshot too early by accident.