Amazon Fire TV Apple Music launches today. The move follows Apple Music’s launch on the Amazon Echo last year.
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
iOS 12.2 Improves Audio Message Quality
In the latest iOS 12.2 beta Apple has improved audio message quality by switching to a different codec for files.
Details on the improvement in audio quality were shared on Twitter this morning, and we confirmed the change on our own devices. Apple previously used the .AMR file format for its audio messages, but in the beta, has swapped over to .CAF.
The Opus codec, coming in a 24000 Hz, is a big increase from the old AMR codec at 8000 Hz. Opus is used by other messaging services like WhatsApp, Telegram, and WebRTC.
ProtonMail Complied With 336 Government Requests in 2018
Protonmail complied with 336 government requests for assistance. This is an increase from 23 requests in 2017.
Spotify EU Complaint Says Apple Stifles Competition
A Spotify EU complaint brought against Apple says that Apple stifles competition because of Apple’s 30% App Store tax.
Firefox Send Lets You Share Big Encrypted Files
Firefox Send is a free tool that lets you send encrypted files up to 1GB in size, or 2.5GB if you sign in with a Firefox account.
What sets Send apart is its ease of use. It works in any browser; just go to send.firefox.com. Upload or drag and drop files, and Send will generate a link that you can set to expire after a certain number of downloads—up to 100—or a certain amount of time, ranging from five minutes to seven days.
Being able to use any browser is probably the best part about this tool.
More T-Mobile Location Data Abuses
In response to a letter from Senator Ron Wyden, T-Mobile has come forth with more location data abuses by third parties.
IBM Secretly Used Flickr Photos for Facial Recognition
IBM secretly used millions of Flickr photos to test its facial recognition system. IBM claimed it was to help reduce bias in facial recognition.
Despite IBM’s assurances that Flickr users can opt out of the database, NBC News discovered that it’s almost impossible to get photos removed. IBM requires photographers to email links to photos they want removed, but the company has not publicly shared the list of Flickr users and photos included in the dataset, so there is no easy way of finding out whose photos are included.
NBC News got a copy of the data set, and created a tool to help you find out if IBM used your photos without your permission.
Scientists Say AirPods May be Linked to Cancer
Over 250 are signing a petition calling on the United Nations and World Health Organization to create stronger guidelines over devices like AirPods and possible links to cancer.
Some experts believe that AirPods may be especially dangerous since the devices sit deep inside the ear canal where they emit radiation to fragile parts of the ear. The scientists also noted other possible health hazards, including an increase in harmful free radicals, genetic damages, structural and functional changes of the reproductive system, learning and memory deficits, and neurological disorders.
Further reading: PSA: Wi-Fi Doesn Cause Cancer, Some Guidelines on how to Spot Bad Science.
MAGA App '63red Safe' Leaks User Data
A French security researcher found an app called 63red Safe has been described as a “Yelp for conservatives,” has been leaking customer data.
DIY: How to Make Apple Watch Bands
Andrew O’Hara put together a neat DIY video on how to make Apple Watch bands. He tells you what parts and tools you”ll need and how to put it all together.
By putting the band together yourself, you have so many more options opened up to you. Your watch can now represent you and your style without being limited by the Apple Watch market or the steep markups we see for the best bands.
Sell these on Etsy and use words like “bespoke” and “artisanal.” You’ll be drowning in cash.
iOS: Enable Do Not Disturb to Block Spam Calls
iOS has a feature called Do Not Disturb that can help block spam calls and robocalls.
Can You Speak Tree Language? New York City Does
Created by artist Kate Holten, the New York City Tree Alphabet lets anyone send hidden messages in tree language. You can also download it as a font.
A tentative version of Holten’s new Tree Alphabet was shared across the Parks Department for months, as groups across the system chimed in on which trees should stand for which letters–a more complicated idea than one might think, given that the Parks Department is particular about the species it wants planted.
PayPal Instant Transfer Eliminates Waiting Time
PayPal Instant Transfer is launching in the United States. It lets people instantly transfer money from PayPal to their bank.
John Oliver Robocalls FCC to Protest Ineffective Rules
John Oliver is robocalling FCC commissioners like Ajit Pai. He argues that the rules are ineffective at stopping them.
“Hi FCC, this is John from customer service,” Oliver’s recorded voice says on the call. “Congratulations, you’ve just won a chance to lower robocalls in America today… robocalls are incredibly annoying, and the person who can stop them is you! Talk to you again in 90 minutes—here’s some bagpipe music.”
Apple Confirms March 25 Event: It's Show Time
Apple confirms its March 25 event at the Steve Jobs Theater with the tag line: “It’s show time.” We expect to see software and services.
Apple Still Offers Interactive Tour of iPhone 3GS
As discovered by Reddit, Apple still offers an interactive tour of the iPhone 3GS and all of its features. A tour of the iPhone 4 is available as well.
Meet the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet. iPhone 3GS features video recording, Voice Control, up to 32GB of storage, and more.
It’s so interesting to see how far the iPhone has come in terms of hardware and software. This is a cool blast from the past.
US Might Punish Germany For Using Huawei
The United States might punish Germany if the country decides to use Huawei technology in its 5G infrastructure.
Companies Affected by Box Enterprise Oopsie
Dozens of companies—including Apple—have been affected by a Box enterprise leak. Data stored in Box enterprise accounts are private by default. But people can share files and folders, which makes the data publicly accessible.
The discoveries were made by Adversis, a cybersecurity firm, which found major tech companies and corporate giants had left data inadvertently exposed…Using a script to scan for and enumerate Box accounts with lists of company names and wildcard searches, Adversis found more than 90 companies with publicly accessible folders.
AT&T Raises DirecTV Price an Extra $10 Per Month
Back in December AT&T CEO Randal Stephenson said that it would hike the DirecTV price and adjust the content available.
Going Cashless is in Our Near Future
Jefferson Graham writes how going cashless is the future, with contactless payment apps like Apple Pay ushering this reality in.
“It seems that people are moving away from cash and technology is making it easier than ever to tap and go.” Advantage: faster checkout lines, and the elimination of fees for armored car cash pickups and fear from employees about getting robbed.
For the most part I’m already mostly cashless. The only thing I need cash for is laundry. For everything else I use a debit or credit card.
Now You Can Build a Nintendo Labo VR Headset
You can now build a Nintendo Labo VR headset, the company announced recently. It will go on sale April 12.
Be Sure to Properly Remove Data from Devices
David Nield implores us to make sure we properly remove data from our devices before we get rid of them.
Your personal data—be it financial spreadsheets or web searches—is not something you want to be leaving behind for other people to find, and totally wiping your activity off devices or the web takes a few more steps than you might have realized. Don’t worry though, as we’re going to walk you through the process.
Senator Elizabeth Warren Wants to Break up Big Tech
In a plan to break up ‘Big Tech’ Senator Elizabeth Warren wants to break up tech giants like Amazon, Google, and Facebook.
Verifications.io Leaked 809 Million Records
An email marketing company called Verifications.io—which has been taken offline—exposed 809 million records in a database.
In general, the 809 million total records in the Verifications.io trove include standard information like names, email addresses, phone numbers, and physical addresses. But many also include things like gender, date of birth, personal mortgage amount, interest rate, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram accounts associated with email addresses, and characterizations of people’s credit scores (like average, above average, and so on).
As always, use the tool HaveIBeenPwned.com to see if your email was included in a data breach.