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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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Hotel Lobbyists Fight Airbnb by Undermining the Internet

Andrew Orr ·

Hotel lobbyists don’t like Airbnb and its competition, so they’re introducing a bill to amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

And they’re not just focused on pushing this loophole for Airbnb. It appears they’re going all in on stripping Section 230 protections from any internet service hosting 3rd party content. As part of this, they recently released what can only be described as a push poll to mislead people about Airbnb, the laws around these issues, and Section 230. Each question in the poll is at best actively misleading and at worst, completely bullshit.

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This Fall, HomePod Will Have Ambient Sounds, Multi-User Mode

Andrew Orr ·

Apple didn’t mention the HomePod on stage yesterday, but Benjamin Mayo reports that a product refresh will appear later this fall.

A new forthcoming feature is called Ambient Sounds. This will allow users to easily play white noise sounds on their HomePods, including ocean waves, birdsong, rainstorms, and more. Right now, users are forced to AirPlay from another iOS device to easily play relaxing background audio on HomePod. Ambient Sounds will make this a first-party feature, fully integrated with Siri.

If Apple ever comes out with a cheaper HomePod, I’d probably buy one just for the ambient sounds.

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Apple Watch Series 5 Starts With 32GB of Storage

Andrew Orr ·

Amazingly, the Apple Watch Series 5 will start at 32GB of storage, doubling the Series 4 storage point of 16GB.

At 32GB of storage for both GPS and Cellular models, the Apple WatchSeries 5 offers double the storage of the previous Series 4 models. Apple may have increased the storage in the new device due to the Apple Watch App Store that’s available in watchOS 6, set to be released on September 19.

Now if only watchOS 6 had the Files app so I could store a copy of my data on it.

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Libraries Work to Scan Public Domain Books

Andrew Orr ·

Right now, books published in the U.S. before 1924 are in the public domain. This means they are publicly owned and everyone can use and copy them. But there’s a loophole in copyright law which gives up to 75% of books published between 1923 and 1964 secret public domain status. It’s hard to figure out which ones they are, so a group of libraries, archivists, and volunteers are finding these public domain books, scanning them, and uploading them to the internet.

Richardson notes that much of that heavy lifting is being done by volunteers at organizations like Project Gutenberg, a nonprofit effort to digitize and archive cultural works. These volunteers are tasked with locating a copy of the book in question, scanning it, proofing it, then putting out HTML and plain-text editions.

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macOS Catalina Isn't Coming Until October

Andrew Orr ·

Apple updated its website today, noting that macOS Catalina won’t arrive until an unknown date in October. From TechCrunch:

After a summer of beta testing, Apple is about to release the next major version of macOS: macOS Catalina. But not so fast; the new version will arrive in October, according to Apple’s updated website. As always, this update will be available as a free download in the Mac App Store.

The software release dates are all over the place this year.

Cool Stuff Found

Amtrak 4.0 Lets You Add Your eTicket to Wallet

Andrew Orr ·

Amtrak updated its app to version 4.0 (in August) and it added new features: Show your eTicket while onboard, including multi-ride and monthly passes – no need to print; Send your eTicket to Apple Wallet; Purchase one-way, roundtrip, multi-ride and monthly tickets with dollars or Amtrak Guest Rewards points; Check train status; Find station information; Edit and manage your account profile; Save credit cards for quick checkout, and more. App Store: Amtrak – Free

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Mozilla VPN Launches Under Test Pilot Program

Andrew Orr ·

Firefox Private Network is a Mozilla VPN launching under its old Test Pilot program. It’s available as a beta today for U.S. users with a Firefox account.

In a nutshell, the Firefox Private Network extension will provide a “secure, encrypted path to the web” to protect the user’s Wi-Fi connection and data contained within the Firefox browser. One of the scenarios Mozilla thinks Firefox Private Network will be useful for is when connecting to the internet through public Wi-Fi hotspots, as it will shield personal information and conceal what websites a user is visiting.

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The (In)Security Behind Trump's Twitter Account

Andrew Orr ·

According to an investigation of President Trump’s Twitter security, his account might be vulnerable to being hacked, although some disagree.

The source who shared information about Trump’s Twitter security said they don’t believe the account will be hacked, but that the risk should be kept in perspective. “Remember we are talking about access to a Twitter account, not access to the nuclear launch codes,” they said. “While the optics would be bad if the account were ever hacked, it would not be a national crisis.”

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iMessage and Safari Make iPhones Less Secure

Andrew Orr ·

Andy Greenberg writes about security problems in iMessage and Safari, saying that these products make iPhone less secure.

“If you want to compromise an iPhone, these are the best ways to do it,” says independent security researcher Linus Henze of the two apps…He and other iOS researchers argue that when it comes to the security of both iMessage and WebKit—the browser engine that serves as the foundation not just of Safari but all iOS browsers—iOS suffers from Apple’s preference for its own code above that of other companies.

Apple is in a tough position. If a company isn’t great at security, they could get a third-party to audit its software. But that would create a huge target.

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Apple Changes App Store Algorithm to Address Antitrust Complaint

Andrew Orr ·

Apple is tweaking the App Store algorithm to make Apple apps less likely to appear in search results. This seeks to address complaints that the company unfairly uses the App Store to promote its own apps in favor of competition.

Mr. Schiller and Mr. Cue said the algorithm had been working properly. They simply decided to handicap themselves to help other developers.

“We make mistakes all the time,” Mr. Cue said.

“We’re happy to admit when we do,” Mr. Schiller said. “This wasn’t a mistake.”

I think the antitrust concerns about Apple have valid arguments, and I think this is a good move by Apple. Notice Phil Schiller gently correct Eddy.

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Apple's Fifth Avenue Store Gets a Rainbow Reopening

Andrew Orr ·

Apple’s glass cube retail store on Fifth Avenue is reopening, and it’s bedecked with rainbows to celebrate.

A filming crew was posted outside the cube, grabbing shots of passers-by photographing themselves with the new design. One of the crew members told Quartz they were filming “a new commercial” for Apple about the relaunched store, but wouldn’t go into any further detail.

I think it looks great.

Featured image credit: Quartz/Mike Murphy

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iCloud Cluster****, Or Why You Shouldn't Run Betas On Important Devices

Andrew Orr ·

iCloud features in the iOS 13 betas have been removed because of buggy issues (And is probably a big driver behind iOS 13.1 betas). Developer Craig Hockenberry says this resulted in some unhappy customers.

Entire folders were either gone or corrupted. Apple’s mechanism to recover deleted files was of no help. The customers with weird folder duplicates were the “lucky” ones…Anyone who’s not a developer, and hasn’t been burned by a bad OS, does not know the kind of trouble that lies ahead. It’s irresponsible for Apple to release a public beta with known issues in iCloud…As an Apple shareholder, I also worry about how these failures will damage the iCloud brand.

This is exactly why you don’t run beta software on mission-critical devices. It’s not irresponsible of Apple, it’s irresponsible of people who ignore the warning on beta.apple.com to make backups. These people are why there are “Caution: Product May Be Hot” labels on microwaveable food.