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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

These Dynamic iOS Wallpapers Change Based on Battery Level
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These Dynamic iOS Wallpapers Change Based on Battery Level

Andrew Orr ·

Dynamo wallpapers use automation Shortcuts to change dynamically based on your iPhone’s battery life, and when your phone is charging. Not only does this create a delightful interaction, it also improves visual communication of the charging cycle. Dynamo is available in 2 different packs, each pack contains 3 sets of dynamic wallpapers. Please note: These wallpapers need to be installed and automated using the iOS 14 Shortcuts app. This takes approx 10 minutes to setup. Video and PDF instructions are included in the download.

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Twitter Launches Audio Conversation Feature ‘Spaces’

Andrew Orr ·

Twitter is one of the companies trying to complete with audio app Clubhouse. On Monday Twitter officially released its feature called Spaces centered around audio conversations.

Today, we’re bringing the ability to host a Space to all accounts with 600 or more followers on Twitter. Based on what we’ve learned so far, these accounts are likely to have a good experience hosting live conversations because of their existing audience. Before bringing the ability to create a Space to everyone, we’re focused on learning more, making it easier to discover Spaces, and helping people enjoy them with a great audience.

This Cooking App Gives You Recipes Based on Ingredients You Have
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This Cooking App Gives You Recipes Based on Ingredients You Have

Andrew Orr ·

Half Lemons is a new cooking app that suggests recipes for you based on what ingredients you already have in the pantry. The more ingredients you plug into the app, the more recipes you can make. It keeps track of them from one meal to the next. These are recipes you can actually make with the things you have on hand. No missing ingredients. No funky substitutions needed. And definitely no trips to the store. Want to use up the last chicken thighs? Or maybe your fresh cilantro is starting to look tired. No problem! Filter recipes using any ingredient in your kitchen. Recipes are sourced from favorites like: NYT Cooking, Half Baked Harvest, Epicurious, Smitten Kitchen, Skinny Taste, BBC food, Jamie Oliver and others.

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New Cloud Browser ‘Mighty’ to Cost $30 per Month

Andrew Orr ·

A startup called Mighty is building a cloud-based web browser that it claims will reduce loads on battery, CPU usage, and RAM. You can find the company’s blog post here, and a link to coverage from The Verge below.

Mighty claims it’ll eliminate distracting cookies and ads, automatically notify you about Zoom meetings, quick search Google Docs and presumably other integrations to come. Mighty also says it encrypts your data and keystrokes, among other security promises.

I think the concept of a cloud-based browser is interesting. But I prefer free Safari over paying a US$30/month fee.

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VMware Fusion Won’t Run x86 VMs on M1 Macs

Andrew Orr ·

VMware announced on its blog Tuesday that it won’t support installing or running x86 VMs on M1 Macs.

We will be delivering a Tech Preview of VMware Fusion for macOS on Apple silicon this year. We don’t plan to support installing or running x86 VMs on Macs with Apple silicon. macOS VMs are not in scope in the short term. There are challenges there which will require Apple to work with us to resolve.

Someone Built a Preacherbot Powered by AI and it’s Awesome
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Someone Built a Preacherbot Powered by AI and it’s Awesome

Andrew Orr ·

Artist Diemut Strebe built a praying robot “to explore the possibilities of an approximation to celestial and numinous entities by performing a potentially never-ending chain of religious routines and devotional attempts for communication through a self-learning software.” The production is a collaboration with Regina Barzilay, Tianxiao Shen, Enrico Santus, all MIT CSAIL, Amazon Polly, Bill and Will Sturgeon, Elchanan Mossel, MIT, Stefan Strauss, Chris Fitch, Brian Kane, Keith Welsh, Webster University, Matthew Azevedo. “Wretched sinner unit! The path to robot heaven lies here… in the Good Book 3.0.” ―Lionel Preacherbot

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Here’s When The FCC Emergency Broadband Benefit Program Starts

Andrew Orr ·

FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced the start date of the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program. It starts on May 12 for U.S. residents with low incomes or those who lost income during the pandemic. You can sign up for the program here. Benefits include:

Up to a $50/month discount on your broadband service and associated equipment rentals; Up to a $75/month discount if your household is on qualifying Tribal lands; A one-time discount of up to $100 for a laptop, tablet, or desktop computer (with a co-payment of more than $10 but less than $50)

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IRS Asks For Help to Hack Hardware Cryptocurrency Wallets

Andrew Orr ·

The IRS is asking for help to hack into hardware cryptocurrency wallets that could be useful in criminal investigations.

The decentralization and anonymity provided by cryptocurrencies has fostered an environment for the storage and exchange of something of value, outside of the traditional purview of law enforcement and regulatory organizations. There is a portion of this cryptographic puzzle that continues to elude organizations—millions, perhaps even billions of dollars, exist within cryptowallets.

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Experian’s API Exposed Credit Scores for Anyone to Discover

Andrew Orr ·

Credit bureau Experian recently fixed a flaw in its API that let anyone find a credit score of a person by typing in their name and mailing address.

Demirkapi declined to share with Experian the name of the lender or the website where the API was exposed. He refused because he said he suspects there may be hundreds or even thousands of companies using the same API, and that many of those lenders could be similarly leaking access to Experian’s consumer data.