The Apple News Today podcast wants listeners to send in their stories about life during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Articles by Andrew Orr
Amazon’s Mac Cloud Supports macOS Big Sur on EC2
Amazon announced on Wednesday that customers of its Mac-in-the-cloud service can start running macOS Big Sur images on EC2 instances.
Otterbox Gaming Accessories Now Available to Purchase
Announced during CES 2021, Otterbox has released a suite of mobile gaming accessories that are available to purchase today.
Directors of ‘Wolfwalkers’ Plan Animated Series for Apple TV+
Directors Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart created “Wolfwalkers” for Apple TV+. In a new interview they talk plans for more content.
Firefox 86 Introduces ‘Total Cookie Protection’ Privacy Feature
Firefox 86, introduced recently by Mozilla, adds a new privacy feature called Total Cookie Protection.
Total Cookie Protection works by maintaining a separate “cookie jar” for each website you visit. Any time a website, or third-party content embedded in a website, deposits a cookie in your browser, that cookie is confined to the cookie jar assigned to that website, such that it is not allowed to be shared with any other website.
Brinda Adhikari to be Showrunner for Jon Stewart’s Apple TV Show
Jon Stewart has an upcoming series for Apple TV+ and he got Brinda Adhikari to be showrunner for it.
How to Find Out if Your Mac has ‘Silver Sparrow’ Malware
Right now we know that Malwarebytes can detect it, and other anti-malware vendors will likely be updated soon.
T-Mobile Announces New ‘Magenta MAX’ 5G Plan
T-Mobile announced on Monday the release of its new Magenta MAX 5G plan. It includes 40GB of mobile hotspot.
Magenta MAX delivers unlimited Premium Data — 4G and 5G — on your smartphone. That means you can’t be slowed down based on how much you use. Plus, Magenta MAX is made for video streaming with UHD (ultra-high definition) streaming up to 4K resolution and Netflix on Us on all MAX plans, now including single line customers. And Magenta MAX comes with the industry’s most generous smartphone mobile hotspot at 40GB of high-speed data included for consumers.
Mous Launches iPhone 12 MagSafe Accessories
Mous announced the launch of its iPhone 12 MagSafe accessory line of products. This includes two cases, a wallet, and more.
iCloud XSS Bug Discovery Earned Researcher $5,000
Security researcher Vishal Bharad wrote about a stored XSS bug he discovered in iCloud. He told Apple about it on August 7, 2020.
Chick-fil-A Uses FaceTime and iPads to Speed Up Drive-Thru
Chick-fil-A has been experiencing big drive-thru lines during the pandemic and it’s using Apple technology to speed it up.
The chain stands out from the drive-thru crowd in large part thanks to its workers with iPads who take orders from cars even before they reach the window.
“Some restaurants are using [FaceTime] during extreme weather as another measure to protect Team Members and/or for additional social distancing during COVID,” Chick-fil-A said in a statement.
Magnetic Anker iPhone 12 Power Bank Available to Preorder
Accessory maker Anker is gearing up to sell a new magnetic wireless power bank for iPhone 12 models. It’s available to preorder on Amazon.
Netflix Introduces Automatic Downloads in Mobile Apps
Netflix announced on Monday the introduction of a feature called Downloads For you. It’s an opt-in feature that will automatically download shows.
Apple’s “Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry” Premieres Live on February 25
Apple announced on Monday a live premiere event for its documentary “Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry” on February 25.
Here’s What Working With Apple is Like, According to Ron Moore
Well known for shows like “Battlestar Galactica” and “Star Trek”, Ron Moore sat down for a podcast interview to talk about what it was like working for Apple.
Encrypted Cloud Storage Service ‘Cryptee’ Announces Massive Update
Cryptee is an end-to-end encrypted cloud storage service and announced a huge update on Sunday.
We’ve re-designed the entire platform, re-engineered everything from ground up, added hundreds of new features, and created an entirely new Cryptee experience for you. Along the way we’ve realized it’s going to be a massive leap forward, so we thought we should get a new logo too.
I think Cryptee is a great service and one that I’ve recommended in the past.
Apple Teases Stephen King’s Series ‘Lisey’s Story’ Starring Julianne Moore
Stephen King and J.J. Abrams have joined forces to create a series based on Mr. King’s novel “Lisey’s Story” for Apple TV+.
Mysterious ‘Silver Sparrow’ Malware Confuses Researchers
Over the weekend we got news of a mysterious piece of malware called Silver Sparrow. It has infected 30,000 machines so far and there is a version of it built for M1 Macs. But security researchers can’t figure out its purpose.
Once an hour, infected Macs check a control server to see if there are any new commands the malware should run or binaries to execute. So far, however, researchers have yet to observe delivery of any payload on any of the infected 30,000 machines, leaving the malware’s ultimate goal unknown. The lack of a final payload suggests that the malware may spring into action once an unknown condition is met.
Plex is Beta Testing an Expansion of its Apple TV App
Plex will soon allow Apple’s TV app to include content from Plex alongside other search results. Unfortunately, content from your personal Plex library is excluded.
Mp3tag for Mac Launches With Powerful Metadata Tools
Developer Florian Heidenreich has launched Mp3tag for Mac and it’s available in the Mac App Store. It’s a tool to edit metadata of audio files.
Apple TV+ Reveals Dramedy ‘Physical’ Starring Rose Byrne
Apple announced on Friday a new dramedy called “Physical” starring Rose Byrne. It’s created by Annie Weisman, and produced by Tomorrow Studios.
Rumors Claim Apple to Hold March 16 Event
Korea’s Economic Daily News cites two leakers who claim Apple plans to hold a March 16 event this year for an iPad Pro, iPad mini, and AirTags.
The 2021 Apple Platform Security Guide is Here
Apple regularly shares security guides for each of its systems, and today it shared its 2021 Platform Security guide for all of its systems.
OWC Launches a Thunderbolt 4 USB-C Cable
OWC announced on Thursday the launch of a universal USB-C cable that is compatible with multiple ports like Thunderbolt 4.