Dr. Mario World is the latest mobile game from Nintendo, and it launches on July 10. It’s based on the puzzle game called Dr. Mario from 1990.
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.
Articles by Andrew Orr
Black and White Photo Editor ‘Carbon’ Has Fake Sale
There’s a photo editor on the App Store called Carbon for black and white photo editing. And the developers are lying about a sale.
Estonia’s Government AI Starts in Healthcare Next
Ott Veslberg, Estonia’s chief data officer, wants a government AI to work in every aspect of the country’s public services, and healthcare is next.
Beddit Beta Lets You Test New Features and Give Feedback
The Beddit beta program, from the sleep tracking company that Apple acquired, will let you test new features and offer feedback.
Samsung Deletes Tweet Warning of Smart TV Malware
This morning Samsung took to Twitter to warn of smart TV malware, and remaining customers to regularly do a virus scan.
HyperCube is a Data Backup iPhone Charger on Kickstarter
Sanho Corporation, creator of the USB-C Hyper Drive for iPad Pro, is coming out with a new product. Called HyperCube, it’s a data backup iPhone charger. When you plug your iPhone into it, then plug the HyperCube into a power outlet, all of your photos, videos, and contacts will automatically back up to a micro SD card or USB drive (sold separately). Then, once the back up is finished, you can remove the micro SD card or USB drive to view your content on another device. Copy/cut/paste/move/delete/rename files on microSD and USB drive, supports audio/video streaming playbacK, supports photo slideshow/thumbnail view, measures 47.3 x 35.5 x 24mm / 1.86” x 1.4” x 0.94”, weighs 20g / 0.71oz /0.04 lb. Early bird backers can get HyperCube for US$29. Expected to ship August 2019.
Meet Adobe Fresco, Adobe’s Upcoming Painting App
Adobe Fresco is an iPad painting app that Adobe is working on. Previously known as Project Gemini, it will be the newest addition to Creative Cloud.
Video Editing App LumaFusion 2.0 On Sale for $14.99
LumaFusion is a powerful video editing app for iOS, and yesterday LumaFusion 2.0 was released with new features. First, the UI is different and is designed to make it easy for beginners to start, and easy for professionals to find powerful features. LumaFusion 2.0 doubles the number of video/audio tracks to six, a new Timeline Overview makes it say to see your whole project, new media scrubber lets you find the perfect frame in your project, supports GNARBOX 2.0 SSD, and improves support for GNARBOX 1.0, and if you’re editing on your iPad LumaFusion 2.0 supports external displays. The sale lasts until June 27. App Store: US$14.99
Apple Spending up to $30M for Oscar-Worthy Original Movies
Apple wants to finance six small-budget movies per year, looking at ideas that are more likely to win the Academy Awards.
iOS 13 NFC Enables More ID Scanning
Last week we reported that iOS 13 NFC will support Japanese identity cards. Now the German Federal Ministry of Interior announced support for its ID cards as well.
The Federal Ministry of the Interior, for construction and homeland welcomes this important step. This will soon allow users of Apple’s mobile devices to benefit from digital sovereign applications such as ID, ePass, and eVisum [including] in person checks at international airports.
Bluetooth Beacons Can Track You Inside Stores
Bluetooth beacons are small devices that some stores hide throughout the building. Apps on your phone can pick up the signals they emit and send information back.
In order to track you or trigger an action like a coupon or message to your phone, companies need you to install an app on your phone that will recognize the beacon in the store. Retailers (like Target and Walmart) that use Bluetooth beacons typically build tracking into their own apps. But retailers want to make sure most of their customers can be tracked — not just the ones that download their own particular app.
I bet iOS 13’s new Bluetooth controls will affect this.
Mattel’s New Hot Wheels Smart Track Kit in Apple Stores
Mattel’s new Hot Wheels Smart Track Kit is available exclusively in Apple Stores. Vehicles cost US$6.99, the Race Portal is US$39.99, and the Smart Track Kit is US$179.99.
With the Hot Wheels Smart Track Kit, Hot Wheels id vehicles can be raced on a track that incorporates digital tracking elements through an app on the iPhone or iPad. The system allows users to keep track of speed, count laps, build a digital garage, and more, providing a mix of physical and digital play.
As Per Deal, Apple Requires Comcast, Charter to Sell Devices
Per various deals to offer the iPhone with certain cellular plans, Apple is making Comcast and Charter sell other Apple devices too.
Security 101: What is a Threat Model, and How Do I Create One?
If you hang around privacy or security forums long enough, you’ll eventually come across the term “threat model.” Here’s what they mean.
Former Siri Chief Bill Stasior Talks Virtual Assistants
Bill Stasior previously led Siri development at Apple. He sat down to discuss virtual assistants and how they can improve in the next 3-5 years.
Activ5 Smart Fitness Devices Launches in Apple Stores
Activbody, Inc., announced that its flagship product, the portable smart fitness device Activ5, is now available at apple.com and in select Apple Stores. The Activ5 is unique because, with its companion training app, users are able to access and track their activity from over a hundred personalized 5-minute strength-training workouts and exercises that can be performed anywhere. Activ5 recently announced an Apple Watch app and the adoption of HealthKit. The app includes exercise and heart rate tracking and calculates energy burned. With HealthKit, users will be able to see the data tracked on Apple Watch in the Apple Health app on iPhone. “We are experiencing phenomenal interest and growth globally due to the effectiveness of Activ5, and our ongoing commitment to meaningful, customer-centric enhancements including our recent Apple Watch app announcement,” said Dan Stevenson, CEO of Activbody. You can buy it from the Apple Store, online and retail, for US$129.95.
Madonna Launches Today at Apple Music Lab
Madonna is teaming up with Apple for a special Today at Apple Music Lab. People who sign up with work on remixing her song Crave.
How Surveillance Affects the Legal System: A Judge’s View
We often read about surveillance from the perspective of us, the users, or technology companies. Here is a judge’s view on it.
Congress is way behind in determining how far the police can go in using technology to invade people’s privacy, and many of the legal disputes arising from this collision have not reached the Supreme Court. For the public, as a practical matter, the rules of the road are being decided by prosecutors. Your privacy is not their highest priority.
I think that’s ultimately the heart of the matter: We have a technologically-inept government.
Security Tool YubiKeys Recalled Over Firmware Flaw
Yubico is recalling its line of YubiKeys, tools used for two-factor authentication that generate one-time passcodes.
Twitterific 6 With Full Images, GIPHY Integration, and a Subscription
Twitterrific 6 brings a lot of great features and improvements. You can disable video and GIF autoplaying, or choose to have them silently autoplay. With the new integration with GIPHY, you can find just the right GIF, and refine your search with filters like Reactions, Memes, and Swear Trek. Twitter’s new quoted tweets with media is supported by Twitterrific 6. Add media to a quoted tweet, and it will display both in your timeline. A new attachment preview lets you view media and add descriptions. There are three new icons: Crow, Dove, and Neon, five new themes: Dove, Akikiki, Puffin, Falcon, and Parakeet, 12 new “Olliemoji” stickers in the iMessage sticker pack, support for the San Francisco Compact Rounded Font, a High Contrast Text option, and more. App Store: Free (Offers In-App Purchases)
Google Builds HTTPS Directly Into Top Level Domains
More websites have encrypted their traffic than ever, but there is a loophole. Some use a mixture of HTTPS and unsecure HTTP. Google is closing this by building HTTPS protection directly into certain top level domains.
Which means that today, when you register a site through Google that uses “.app,” “.dev,” or “.page,” that page and any others you build off it are automatically added to a list that all mainstream browsers, including Chrome, Safari, Edge, Firefox, and Opera, check when they’re setting up encrypted web connections. It’s called the HTTPS Strict Transport Security preload list, or HSTS, and browsers use it to know which sites should only load as encrypted HTTPS automatically, rather than falling back to unencrypted HTTP in some circumstances. In short, it fully automates what can otherwise be a tricky scheme to set up.
AdGuard 3 Brings DNS Privacy, 250,000 Filter Rules, Premium Features
AdGuard is a content blocker for iOS that lets people block trackers and ads in Safari. Its AdGuard Pro app eventually got pulled from the App Store because of new VPN rules. AdGuard 3 brings some of those Pro features to the regular app, and some of them are locked behind a premium subscription. But Pro users can get a free 6-month license key. AdGuard 3 fixes a key issue with Safari. Safari’s maximum limit for content blockers is 50,000 rules. AdGuard now works around this by combining five blocks into one, each separately enabled in Settings and each with 50,000 rules. It also supports DNS-over-TLS and DNS-over-HTTPS. You can read more in the blog post. App Store: Free (Offers In-App Purchases)
macOS Mojave 10.14.5 Fixes Boot Camp Fusion Drive Bug
Apple released macOS Mojave 10.14.5 to fix a Boot Camp Fusion Drive bug. This update is for the iMac and Mac mini.
Logic Pro 10.4.5 Update Supports the 2019 Mac Pro
Logic Pro 10.4.5 comes with performance improvements and optimizations to let it take full advantage of the 2019 Mac Pro.