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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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Take a Good Look at Your Digital File System This Holiday Season

Andrew Orr ·

Victoria Song advises that we should reexamine our digital file system and maybe reduce, reuse, and recycle our content.

Look, 2020 was supposed to be my year. I set out with what I thought were pretty reasonable New Year’s resolutions—one of which was to spend less time on my screens. And then the pandemic hit. During the endless hours that ensued, I noticed something: My digital filing system was a goddamn mess.

I’m taking this opportunity to shamelessly recommend my system of personal information management. It does use a series of structured folders but more importantly it creates a consistent way to write file names.

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How John Evelyn Created ‘The College Atlas’ Game for Apple Arcade

Andrew Orr ·

Developer John Evelyn created a hand-drawn, first-person shooting game for Apple Arcade called The College Atlas. In this interview he shares his story.

In broadly creative terms, and on a more positive note, there is a dizzyingly big market out there and the last 20 years have seen a huge diversification in terms of what kinds of games players will engage with. In decades gone by, I think I would have been laughed off the face of the Earth for my extremely low-poly approach – not to mention lack of scores or traditional narrative structure – but not now.

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We’re All Cyborgs and Didn’t Even Realize It

Andrew Orr ·

It’s certainly interesting to think about. Do smartphones count as “external brains?”Does wearing an Apple Watch make us a cyborg? Alex Hern examines the issue, although I disagree on one part: It’s definitely not an Apple-specific phenomenon.

Without us even noticing, Apple has turned us into organisms living symbiotically with technology: part human, part machine. We now outsource our contact books, calendars and to-do lists to devices. We no longer need to remember basic facts about the world; we can call them up on demand.

Read the article, then watch this TEDTalk from cyborg anthropologist Amber Case.

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In 2021 Comcast Will Enforce 1.2 Terabyte Data Cap

Andrew Orr ·

Comcast announced that its monthly 1.2TB data cap will come to 12 more states and the District of Columbia in 2021.

[…] an update to Comcast’s website said that the cap is coming to Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The cap is also coming to parts of Virginia and Ohio where it wasn’t already implemented. In all, Comcast has nearly 28 million residential Internet customers.

Plenty of people are calling this a money grab since the ISP networks seemed to handle the influx of video conferencing and remote work just fine during this pandemic, with no complaints from these companies.

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Amazon Sidewalk Shares Your Wi-Fi With Neighbors

Andrew Orr ·

Amazon Sidewalk is a new initiative by the company that creates a low-bandwidth network pooled from the personal networks of Amazon device owners.

Amazon Sidewalk is a shared network, coming later this year, that helps devices like Amazon Echo devices, Ring Security Cams, outdoor lights, and motion sensors work better at home and beyond the front door. When enabled, Sidewalk can unlock unique benefits for your device, support other Sidewalk devices in your community, and even open the door to new innovations like locating items connected to Sidewalk.

Of course, there are numerous privacy and security concerns, although Amazon does claim it has “strong encryption” without going into details.

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App Sale: Paprika Recipe Manager is Just $2.99

Andrew Orr ·

Paprika Recipe Manager is a wonderful app I use to keep track of recipes, and it’s currently on sale for US$2.99, down from US$4.99. The sale lasts until the end of November. Here are some of the features: Recipes – Download recipes from your favorite websites, or add your own. Grocery Lists – Create smart grocery lists that automatically combine ingredients and sort them by aisle. Pantry – Use the pantry to keep track of which ingredients you have and when they expire. Meal Planner – Plan your meals using our daily, weekly, or monthly calendars. Menus – Save your favorite meal plans as reusable menus. Sync – Keep your recipes, grocery lists, and meal plans synced between all your devices.

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Walmart ‘Jetstream’ Routers Contain Backdoors

Andrew Orr ·

Researchers found backdoors found in Jetstream routers that lets a hacker remotely control the router and any device connected to it. This router is sold exclusively at Walmart.

CyberNews reached out to Walmart for comment and to understand whether they were aware of the Jetstream backdoor, and what they plan to do to protect their customers. After we sent information about the affected Jetstream device, a Walmart spokesperson informed CyberNews: “Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We are looking into the issue to learn more. The item in question is currently out of stock and we do not have plans to replenish it.”

Bad news for owners of these routers, but at least Walmart won’t sell them anymore.

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Fraud Operation Targets Spotify Users With Leaked Database

Andrew Orr ·

In a similar situation to a Facebook scam, researchers uncovered an unsecured database with over 380 million records in a potential Spotify hacking operation.

The origins of the database and how the fraudsters were targeting Spotify are both unknown. The hackers were possibly using login credentials stolen from another platform, app, or website and using them to access Spotify accounts.

Working with Spotify, we confirmed that the database belonged to a group or individual using it to defraud Spotify and its users. We also helped the company isolate the issue and ensure its customers were safe from attack.

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What’s the Difference Between Apple Thunderbolt 4 and Windows Thunderbolt 4?

Andrew Orr ·

Larry O’Conner, CEO of Other World Computing (OWC), wrote a helpful explainer about the differences between Thunderbolt 4 used by Apple and Thunderbolt 4 used by PCs.

You see, Thunderbolt 4 finally promises PC/Windows users all the features Thunderbolt 3 has long offered Apple users. For Mac users, full Thunderbolt capability has always been present. This has been true since the first Macs with Thunderbolt 3 (Thunderbolt USB-C). What Apple did was simply call out that they now support USB 4. This is in addition to the Thunderbolt features already standard and present.